Oh my Carlisle!! You guys are beyond awesome, seriously, I have almost 210 reviews!! It's amazing I tell you, amazing, and my cheeks are actually hurting from smiling so much as I read through my inbox just a moment ago!!
By the by, my notifications for reviews weren't coming through when I posted chapter 13 - so I think there must have been a glitch with the site because a few of you mentioned not receiving alerts for new chapters and whatnot. I had a flood in my inbox today, so I think it's all good now.
So, down to business, the reviews are (and I'm so excited, I have new reviewers!!):
ForeverWasteAway, Rommy, Yardley, laibballfan, bedwardforever, Screams-At-Midnight, allpresent, Intoxicated By His Presence, Ghosts in the Snow, yaaaay, dollegirl, FrEvrNvrLasts (x2), MelissaTheTwilightFan, mrsjacobblack91, Child-Of-God13, vampiressuck, SilasPrince, edwardluva234, AlwaysBettingOnAlice, Music ADD (x2), jennifier potter, 143twilighter.
Special Mentions:
ForeverWasteAway: Hahahaha, Omigosh, you are totally my fav reviewer atm! You two PM's were funny as, plus, I got all excited when I saw that someone had PM'd me!! You know what's really trippy though? I actually got my inspiration for this crazy-style of story FROM Finding Cassie Crazy - and also Feeling Sorry for Celia - I LOVE those books. And I like Jacob too!! I wanted him to start off being a tool (in this story, obviously), and for us to witness his transformation of sorts... so it's good to hear that the message is coming through! My fav part of your second PM was thus: "I was relieved you stayed away from the whole cliched 'Mike cheats on Bella with Jessica, Lauren, two gremlins and a merman in a bouncy castle' type thing."
Bahahahahahahahahahahaha!! Don't worry, I won't resort to that. I have something far more 'believable' up my sleeve.
Yes, I am Aussie too - I love saying 'dodgy'! As for the 'aural' and 'oral' thing - I don't physically know any American's - so I don't know how they pronounce 'aural'. Maybe 'are-al'? Dunno. Thanks for reviewing!
Rommy: Seriously Rom, I'm going to fail. But somehow I don't care that I'm going to fail - cos there's nothing I can do about it. I mean, I'm on the computer when I'm meant to be studying... what does that say? Hahaha. Oh well. Next year I'll try harder.
bedwardforever: Yes, yes, there will definitely be romance between Edward and Bella. But I'm not going to throw them straight into it... I want you guys to pine for the moment where they get together!! Is it working?
allpresent: Hahahahahahahahaha, your review was fantastic! Loved it! Had me laughing for yonks! (That means 'ages', in case someone thinks I'm a clack jawed hillbilly I wish!)
Intoxicated By His Presence: Awwww, you searched for my story cos you didn't get an update? That's dedication!! hug that makes me feel all gooey and pink-cheeked, lol.
dollegirl: Hahaha, javelin through the chest - you could be one hell of a horror movie director!! (Haha... lame pun... 'hell' and 'horror movie'...) JasperxAlice will definitely happen, but be patient; because trust me - it's one hell of a 'reunion'.
MelissaTheTwilightFan: Sigh, such a observational mind... you're right - but I won't tell you how right you are, just yet. Hehe.
Child-Of-God13: Ooooohhhhh, soooo close!! But no, no cheating in this story. I've seen it in too many other fanfics, so I'm taking the road less travelled with this one. The calling Edward part... oooohhh, I can't give it away. But you're SO close!
FrEvrNvrLasts: Lol, I'm glad someone else stays up late reading fanfics too, I thought I was like some kind of weirdo cos I do it all the time!!
vampiressuck: You're the only one questioning the whole Jacob being nice thing! Observancy, I like it; he's being nice because of something to do with Alice... Patience, my dear, patience!
jennifier potter: First off- I'm SO so so so sorry for misspelling your name in the last chapter! I realised afterwards and I was like :-O 'idiot!'. Lol, searches for object to shield self from blunt object with
Music ADD: YESS!! Jake hearts Bella.
Chapter Fourteen: Masks
"Just a few more, come on Bella, I know your legs haven't given out yet," Alice nagged as she tried to yank me up from the store's waiting chair. I blatantly refused her, shaking my head like a child and eyeing the bags surrounding my feet like they could explode at any moment.
It was Saturday, and Alice had succeeded in getting me out of the house. I'd almost forgotten about the day which would only end with sore feet and a considerably lighter cash count – that was, until she had called me on Friday night to give me warning about what time she was going to be picking me up.
Shockingly, Charlie had thought it was a good idea to let Alice loose in the house before dawn, and he hadn't even had to put up with my loud complaints because he was out fishing.
Stupid, intelligent father.
So far, I'd been into more shops than I could care to count, and tried on more masquerade-themed items than I knew existed. Alice already had her outfit; a gold, white and black dress with a pretty golden mask. I wanted something dark and plain and unnoticeable, but Alice wouldn't hear of it.
"Stop sooking. The quicker you get up, the quicker we can leave."
I looked at her with pleading eyes, but she just gave me an unsympathetic glance while she tapped her foot and waited for me to gather the bags around my feet.
"Can I have something to eat?" I asked, thinking that it would guarantee me at least a ten minute break.
"Hmm." She was actually considering it. "Okay. But not a long one."
The relief was clear on my face. I thought of a real chair, and a table on which I could lay my head. I suddenly bounced to my feet and snatched up the bags with as much vigour as Alice would have had if there were news of a sale. I couldn't wait to relax.
"That's the spirit!" she said grandly, following me out the store as I made a beeline for the food court.
Everyone who saw me coming moved quickly out of the way. Some people even appeared alarmed by me – but whether that was from my expression, speed, or the excess bags hanging from my arms and even around my neck I didn't know.
It seemed Alice's credit card held no limits, but why would it? Her parents could afford to buy the little speed demon a Porsche for goodness sake. That car probably was a good idea; she needed the spacious boot of the thing to fit in the products of her constant shopping sprees. She could probably shove three bodies in there with room for a day's shopping left aside.
"Right," I said, plopping down on a bench-sized chair and laying the bags out beside me. "I feel like a small thingy of popcorn chicken, and a bottle of lemonade." I started digging around to find my purse, but Alice was gone by the time I looked up again. I sighed, for many reasons, but the main one being that I wasn't going to have to listen to more shopping suggestions for at least five minutes while Alice was gone.
"Bella?" came a familiar voice. I turned around and saw Emmett standing a little way away with his arm wrapped lovingly around Rosalie.
"Hey, guys," I said, trying to shove some bags into the non-existent space so they could sit down.
Emmett laughed and pulled a couple of chairs from another table to the end of my own. "How long have you been here?" he asked, knowing that we were going shopping today because Alice's motor mouth would have informed him of it long ago.
"A long time. All morning. And by all morning, I mean all morning." I exhaled loudly, but composed myself enough to smile at Rosalie. "What are you guys here for?" I asked her, trying to be friendly.
She looked down at the table as she answered, obviously a little shy. "Well, Emmett said we're going to some party in a couple of weeks, and since we had nothing better to do this weekend I thought we could look in a few shops today."
"Plus, we're going to see a movie tonight, and I'm taking Rose out for dinner," Emmett added, smiling at his girlfriend.
"Just looking?" I clarified, looking around their feet for the bags which weren't there.
"Yeah," she said, eyeing the bags surrounding me with a mildly pained expression. "Do you want a hand with those?" she offered. I smiled like she was an angel sent from heaven and nodded.
"Yes, if you wouldn't mind. I would love you both for ever and ever." My hands seemed to tingle with the knowledge that they weren't going to have to carry painful plastic handles for much longer.
"Okay. Have you got the keys to Alice's car?" Emmett asked me.
I shook my head. "Alice should be back in a minute anyway. Thanks heaps for doing this, really. I really appreciate it," I said, knowing I sounded slightly desperate, but also knowing that Alice's shopping trips seemed to bring out that part of me.
"Why don't you just use shopping trolleys?" Emmett offered, leaning over to look into one of the branded bags I had no idea about.
"Shush!" I cussed, practically falling off my seat to make sure Alice wasn't anywhere within hearing range. "Never, ever let Alice hear you mention the 't' word. Ever. You won't be able to hear an atomic bomb once she's shouted your ear off," I whispered, keeping an eye out for Alice's quick little frame.
"Why-" Emmett started, but I cut him off deliberately because I saw Alice appear a few tables away.
"So, Rosalie, what are you thinking of wearing to the masquerade?" I asked, trying to sound innocent. Emmett looked at me with a very confused face.
"I'm not sure yet. I'm thinking of red and silver at the moment, but I haven't seen anything I love yet."
"I'm wearing a tux," Emmett announced proudly. I rolled my eyes.
"What alternative is there for you?" I asked him, and he immediately smiled like the cogs in his mind were turning very quickly.
"I was thinking of a strapless number and maybe borrowing some of Rose's heels-" he started, but was cut short by a smack upside the head, happily supplied by Rosalie.
"In your dreams," she said as Alice pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Hey guys," she said, pushing popcorn chicken and a bottle of soft drink across the table to me. She didn't sound surprised, so I guessed that either she'd seen them on her way over or Emmett had mentioned it to her before hand.
I greedily snatched the food and started digging in, knowing in the back of my mind that I was going to feel the effects of eating too fast soon enough, but not caring because I was so damned hungry.
"What are you two doing here?" she asked, flipping open the corners of some chips she'd gotten for herself. Emmett reached out for one but she promptly slapped his hand away.
"Shopping for the masquerade thing," Rosalie said, randomly pushing Emmett in his arm without looking at him until he was nearly past his centre of gravity. "We offered to carry your bags out to your Porsche, Alice, if you'd like? We're not in a hurry." Emmett nearly slipped off his chair but caught himself, grabbing Rosalie's hand and pulling her to his chest as he did so. Rose started laughing.
"Oh, really? That's be awesome! We could spend a lot more time shopping if you did that."
I spluttered on my drink, and Alice looked at me like she had been expecting as much.
"Kidding," she said, smacking me on the back while I coughed.
"Not funny," I said, diving back into the popcorn chicken.
Alice reached back into her bag and revealed a set of shiny keys with several bling-bling style attachments. "Here, Emmett. It's on the third floor, around to the left of the elevator doors."
She dropped the keys into his outstretched hand, and gave him an intentionally cheesy smile as he and Rosalie stood up.
"Thanks again, guys," I said thickly through a mouthful of food and drink.
"No problem." Emmett started gathering up the bags sitting beside me while Rosalie aimed for the ones surrounding Alice.
I saw my handbag about to be taken out to the car, but leapt forward and yanked it from the pile before Emmett picked up another wad of straps and linked them over his arms. It took a few minutes, but Emmett and Rosalie finally departed, promising to be back in about ten minutes. I felt strangely exposed without a million bags surrounding me, but wasn't willing to recreate the scene any time soon.
"So, what next?" I asked once Emmett and Rosalie had returned Alice's keys. They had gone off to enjoy the rest of their day, promising to give a review on the movie they were seeing. Alice and I headed for the escalators to take us up a level, holding onto the handrail as gravity was defied.
"I was thinking of this one place, I think you would like it. It's quite new, but very classy. The designer is from Australia." She started looking over the heads of the annoyingly slow Saturday shoppers, and then made a beeline for a shop with lights surrounding the doorway when she spotted it. "Here," she said, pushing me into the shop, which only held one or two women who were scanning leisurely through the racks of clothes around the store. I noticed as I had passed through the doors that it was called Alannah Hill.
The store was decorated in a manner which reminded me of the images I'd seen of old Victorian homes. There was intricate wood work everywhere, silk and other fine materials seemed to be in all places at once, the lighting was soft and inviting, and the whole place screamed 'class'. There was a long stretch couch dividing the room into two sides, the left holding the sales counter and shoe area, and the right holding racks of clothing, all accessible to the average-human height, which was useful. I saw the two sales girls talking to each other behind the counter, and they smiled at me as I entered. Alice stayed a step behind me, ensuring I wasn't going to make a break for it. Both sales girls were dressed in a classical manner, making full use of their store-member discounts to dress themselves completely in Alannah Hill clothing.
And I was completely shocked to find that I loved it. All the materials were lovely and thin and flowing but sewn in layers to make up for their thickness. I walked along the wall of the shop, dragging my hand along the delicate items, and saw something that caught my eye near the glittering display at the end of the row.
"Wow," I said, pulling it off the rack.
It was a dark purple dress, simple in its cut. It was floor-length, and sewn in panels. There was a magnificent jewel on the back from which strands of material draped and linked back to the main frame of the dress. I held it up to my body and swayed to the side, much to Alice's hand-clapping pleasure. She seized my hand and dragged me to the dressing rooms, which were really three or four spacious boxes with plum curtains as cover.
I walked into one and simply stared at the dress for a minute before Alice clucked her tongue impatiently.
"Move it, Bella, or I'm coming in there!" she warned, and it was enough to make me start undressing myself. A minute later I smoothed down my hair and tried to tug the zipper up. It was stuck.
"Alice," I said through the curtain.
"Yes?"
"Come zip me up," I said, and she was at my side in a flash.
She didn't look at my whole reflection until the zipper was securely done up along my side, but when she did she didn't say anything. She just stared. I was shocked.
"What?" I asked, very worried. Alice was never lost for words. "Alice?!" I said, turning to face her for real instead of speaking to her reflection in the mirror.
"Wow," she said, clearly awed by something.
"Yeah, the dress is something, isn't it?" I said, admiring the material. I turned to the side and patted down my stomach, trying to make it flatter though the dress did a good job of that on its own.
"Shoes," Alice said suddenly, grabbing my hand.
"Wha-" I started to ask as I was unceremoniously yanked through the plum curtain over to the wall of shoes behind the counter, which was set a little further out from the wall than conventional shops.
Alice scanned the wall of shoes, but seemingly couldn't decide. One of the sales girls came over.
"Can I help you at all?" she asked politely. I saw her eyeing my dress and I blushed ever so slightly.
"Yes, please, is there a pair of shoes that go with this dress?" Alice piped up, still staring at the boundless wall of shoes.
"Yes, there they are," the girl said, stepping forward to a pair of peep-toe black pumps. They had small jewels lining the peep which matched the one on the back of the dress.
Alice looked at them in the girl's hand, then tilted her head up as she held her hands out for one of the shoes. She caressed it in her hand like it was a child – weird, I know – and held it against my dress. I blushed further at the attention being paid to me.
"Do you have them in size thirty-eights?" Alice said, looking back to the salesgirl.
"Yes, I'm quite sure we do. I'll be right back," she said, and took she shoe with her as she headed out the back of the store.
I hadn't noticed when I'd first emerged from the change room, but there were people staring at me and now I could see them. Both the women-shoppers in the store were looking at me, and several strangers had paused outside the wide doors of the shop to openly stare. I blushed and crossed to the back of the long room, trying to be subtle as I hid behind the glittering display of what I could now see was jewellery.
"Bella, sit down," Alice said in my ear, and I nearly jumped. The sales girl was back and was kneeling down by the edge of the long couch, holding one of the pretty black shoes in her hand as she waited for me to sit.
I delicately held the dress up as I tried very hard not to rip it. I tried to sit up straight to avoid crinkling the material, but this unfortunately gave me a full view of the new bunch of people who had stopped at random points in the hall outside the shop to stare. I felt very self-conscious and forced myself to not look there again.
"There," the shop assistant said. "How do they feel?"
I stood up carefully, unaided by Alice or the shopgirl, which in itself was a massive achievement. I took a short walk to the dressing rooms and back again. I might have been wearing socks and sliding around on wooden floor boards for all I could feel of the impossibly comfortable shoes.
"Wow," I said, twisting my foot around to examine them further.
Nothing was digging in, nothing was too tight or poking into me, they felt just right. This day was going too well!
"I love them. They're perfect," I said, unable to tear my eyes from the black satin heels.
"Okay." Alice said to me. She turned to the shop assistant, who perked up to help immediately. "Any jewellery?"
I noticed the other shop girl filing her nails over Alice's shoulder, and it strangely added to the classiness of the place. This was a shop you could lose yourself in and not have to worry about such petty things as time, or money, or relationships hanging by a measly thread…
The shop assistant came back with a simple silver chain in her hand and a silver heart pendant dangling from the end of it. I bundled my hair up as Alice unclipped it and re-clipped it around my neck.
"Earrings?" she prompted the girl, who returned a moment later with plain dangling threads of silver in her hands.
"You can't try these on, sorry," she said apologetically. They were stud-style earrings, but I'd not have expected to have been able to try on the hook-style either. Alice nodded beside me, but took them to hold them up to my ears.
"We'll take the lot," Alice announced, handing the earrings back to the shop assistant.
I nearly fell over. I had seen the price tag on the dress while getting changed, and had assumed this shop was just for fun, not for actual buying.
"Alice!" I hissed once the girl had retreated behind the counter and was starting to rack up the price on the shoe box and earrings. Alice spun me around and unclipped the necklace, dropping it on the counter as we passed to get back to the dressing room.
"Alice!" I tried again. "This dress alone is into the four digit price range. I can't afford this!" She pulled down the zipper without a word, then waited on the other side of the curtain as I tried to change quickly without ripping anything.
"I know Bella."
"So what are you doing?!" I shot back, feeling faintly hysterical.
"I'm paying. Not you." She said it so simply, like she was telling me the time. I tore the curtain across to look her full in the face.
I was prepared to yell at her, but some unreadable part of her expression stopped me dead in my tracks. She wanted me to have something beautiful, and I wasn't appreciating it in the least.
"I…Alice…" I stuttered; trying to think of a nice way to tell her this was a big no-no.
"Don't even try, Bella, if you don't let me buy it now I'll just come back tomorrow and buy the same stuff when you're not here to argue."
I knew that was true. "Thankyou," I said sincerely, pulling her in for a hug.
"That's okay." She looked at me. "Would you button up your shirt? People are staring," she said with a giggle. I blushed furiously and did up the remaining two buttons on my top.
"Better?"
"Much."
Somehow Alice had done some of her genius work and convinced the dimmer of the two sales girls that there was a stitching error on the dress, so the price was docked down a few hundred to a three-figure sum. It was still unreasonable, but at least it was better than before. The shoes were flawlessly perfect, and she said afterwards that shoes should never be made to feel like they're worth less than they really are so she didn't try and trick the shop girls into a discount. I just stared at her when she said this. The jewellery came into the same category as the shoes, and Alice was happy to pay for it all together, despite my best efforts to let me pay for half.
The last thing we had to do, now that I had the comfortable weight of two Alannah Hill bags over my arm, was to get a mask for me. Alice said she had seen something perfect in the same store where she'd gotten her own, so I let her lead the way, not realising that the store was actually all the way on the other side of the exhaustingly large mall.
We finally got to it, however, and I didn't have enough time to read the name of the store before Alice pulled me straight to a glass cabinet of half-face masks. One in particular caught my eye; it was black like my new shoes and had thin elastic all the way round it so I wouldn't have to hold it up at all. That was the first advantage I saw. Second was the fact that Alice beckoned over a shop assistant, and pointed to that exact mask, asking for a price. The sales guy pointed to it to make sure he knew which one she meant before leaning low and whispering in her ear.
"That one is the last left. It's on sale, unadvertised, twenty dollars."
I heard this and immediately whipped out a twenty, brandishing it at the man. "Sold," I said triumphantly as Alice squealed with delight.
And it wasn't long before Alice and I were heading back along the dimming parking lot floor to her shining yellow Porsche, which I could see from the elevators was choccas with all the bags Alice had managed to accumulate during the day. I'd only bought a pair of black track pants, which Alice had snickered at, but I loved.
We got into the car, and I dug around quickly to find my solitary bag in the mess of Alice's before buckling my seat belt and turning to the front, Alice revving the car into gear.
"I hope Charlie didn't wait up for you," she commented, seeing the clock.
"Huh?" I said, thinking that the 8:45 on the clock wasn't that bad of a time to be getting home. "He knows its late-night shopping."
"Okay, whatever you say."
--
"Bella, wake up! We're here." Alice shook my shoulder as I unwillingly wrenched myself from the dreaming world. I had been having a very nice dream involving a long purple dress and a handsome stranger dancing with me while the rest of the masquerade party looked on in awe…
"I think Charlie did wait up for you," she said seriously, looking past me to the light coming faintly through the kitchen window.
"Damn," I muttered, seeing the time on the dash, which had crept forward more than two hours. "How slow did you drive?" I joked, unsurprised that she had gotten us home in such good time.
"Ha, ha, very funny. Move it girly, I'm getting tired." She hadn't turned off the motor and I sighed as I reached for my seat belt buckle.
"See you Monday," I yawned as I grabbed all three of my bags and forced myself to get out of the car.
"Bye, Bella," she said before driving away.
I crossed the lawn to the front door, which was mercifully being lit by the still-on porch light. Poor Charlie. He must have been tired beyond belief by this hour.
I carefully opened the door, which was open, and locked it behind me before trying to be quiet as I shrugged out of my jacket and hung it onto the only available peg. I balked as I saw an unfamiliar jacket there on the usually vacant end peg, and looked more closely, realising with a sick feeling in my stomach that Charlie was not the reason the kitchen light was still on.
I put my bags down by the kitchen doorway, and felt my heart break at the sight in front of me.
Mike was sitting at the table with his head on his arms and fast asleep. In front of him sat a beautifully made dinner, one plate remaining piled high while Mike's own had been pushed away from him, empty. In the middle sat two candles in holders which were now covered with wax from the length of time they had been fruitlessly burning.
I walked forward and spotted a shining silver-wrapped box sitting just beside my empty wine glass. It had a card attached to it. I reached carefully forward and picked it up, noticing it was very light. I opened the card and read,
Bella,
I told you I would make up for that terrible dinner with our parents! And I know that I'll never be as good of a cook as you are…but I hope this does the trick, though I know now that you are more special than anything else in my life. I hope you like this gift; I think it matches you perfectly, but it's not as beautiful as you are.
Happy six-month anniversary. I hope you didn't get me anything, because just having you in my life is more than enough.
I love you,
Mike xoxo
I felt a tear escape my eye, and sniffed as I smiled at his words. I carefully opened the lid of the box and gasped at what lay inside. It was beautiful, more beautiful than it had looked in the shop window six months ago on my first date with Mike.
"Oh, isn't that pretty?" I had exclaimed through the glass of the closed store.
"It's okay," he had said in a disinterested voice. "But it's more like something someone else would buy for you, not something you would buy for yourself."
I had shrugged, knowing no one would be generous enough to buy me a watch like that unless their pockets were seriously endless – and their name wasn't Alice Brandon. "I guess. But it's still beautiful."
I stared at the watch now, and couldn't help myself from bringing it out of the box. I draped it across my wrist and watched it glimmer in the candlelight. I put the box down, but managed to knock it off the table in the same motion.
Mike stirred and lifted his head. He smiled at me. "You like it?" he asked quietly, in a groggy voice.
"I love it."
"Good, good. I was hoping your tastes hadn't changed in the six months I was holding onto it for you."
"Mike," I started, but found I couldn't say what I wanted to say. That I loved him. My throat felt blocked by the resistance to tears.
"Its okay, Bella," he said, rising from his chair. "Sorry about the mess," he said, waving a hand at the table of half-eaten food behind him.
"I… Mike, I'm so sorry," I said, reaching forward to hug him tightly. He gently kissed my forehead .
"It's okay. I should go; my parents might be starting to worry. I'll see you Monday," he said, and just like that, he let go of me and walked out the room. I registered the sound of his coat rustling as he removed it from the rack, and the sound of the door quietly clicking shut behind him.
I sat down in the chair that had been meant for me and held my face in my hands, the watch swinging from between my fingers. Idiot, idiot, idiot, I chanted at myself. How could I forget? Idiot. I looked up and saw a small moth flying across the room from the sink. I watched it, somewhat mindlessly, as it headed for the bright speck of light and flew straight into the candle's flame, instantly being ignited in the heat.
I spluttered, horrified, and blew out both candles before rushing through the doorway. I grabbed my bags on the way to my room, hoping like anything that that moth hadn't met a fate which was destined to align with my own.
Well!! It seems Bella was the horrid one this time... not Mike... but I bet ya'll still hate him, right?
This chapter's questions is thus: I've been getting really bored since school is finished, spending my time looking around youtube and stuff - anyway, the point is: What is your favourite song?
I seriously need something to do.
Hope everyone is well!! And... review!
-Shaps