And here we go again... another chapter!! 35 reviews for the last chapter, lol, thanks a million guys. You really are the reason I keep writing!! Geez, you guys nearly had a party when the MikexBella relationship became no more... but hey, whatever pleases the public!! Haha.
Just something random... OVER 10,000 HITS!! WOoooooOooOoOoooo!
In other business style news; I was having a look at everyone's profiles yesterday (i.e. YOUR profiles, the ones of my reviewers!) and anyway, I had a squizz of some of your stories. Now, there was one in particular that I really liked but it had like zilch reviews - so, because I truly believe it's a story worth reading and reviewing; if she doesn't get thirty reviews for it by the time I reach the 25th chapter of My Pen Pal, I won't post anything after that. And trust me - you don't want that to happen! Since the link is being a poo and won't work for me so just go to AlwaysBettingOnAlice's profile and follow the link there. There's only one story to choose from, so don't worry about clicking on the wrong link!! Go, REVIEW IT!
And the reviewers are: beggingtobitten, Child-Of-God13, Intoxicated By His Presence, jennifier potter, CraZy-BunNy, dollegirl, okiegirlforever, yaaaay, chrissyhale, jake.n.ash.edward, jacob is the new black, Erika, booknerd14, edwardsfavouriteflavour, Princess-Tinkerbelle, AlwaysBettingOnAlice, Muff'Nbutter, x-aly-x, FrEvrNvrLasts, bedwardforever, AlwaysAround888, Ghosts in the Snow, King of the broken hearted, laibballfan, flossiemae (x2), twilightaddict26, Bellefire253 (x2), GinnyBrown is here and now, Music ADD, featherwing, 143twilighter (x2), abercrombiegrl15, mari alice, Erika Baby, EC4me, Kevin the Cornbread Slice, Sing-my-heart-out.
Special Mentions:
jennifier potter: Hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. I was actually laughing my head off when I read your review! Seriously, my dad came in and was like "Die quietly!" (Lame parent joke, I think). To all the other readers reading this: I recommend reading the last review from jennifier potter!
CrazZy-BunNy: Yep, Edward definitely likes Bella!
dollegirl: Hahaha, I love debating with people, especially when you know that they're so wrong and you're so right!! Go ahead and do your Snoopy dance, I can wait! ... The drama awaiting us next will be grand! In fact, there's another letter from Edward in this chapter. Jacob will come back into it soon enough :-) And awww, thankyou for saying I have talent! You're so sweet!
chrissyhale: Sorry about missing your review! Sometimes I have to skip the shorter ones - especially when I was posting the last one cos it was like ten minutes to write review responses and post the chapter and stuff before I had to leave for my maths exam. Gosh am I glad that's over though! I hope the party will be as good as you're expecting!
jake.n.ash.n.edward: Hahahahaha, loved the review, very clever! I will be including an Epov in a little while, but not for a few chapters. I want it to be a surprise! I think you all will enjoy the little insight into that boy's mind.
booknerd14: Thanks for your suggestion. I'll try and integrate a little bit of your idea into the actual get-together - but you'll have to wait and see!! Hehe. I'm so evil.
Princess-Tinkerbelle: You hate art?? Noo! I lurve art! But I love photography more - that doesn't mean I'm any good at it though lol. Your whole review was just great, loved it, you're hired! Lol. Hope you like the following chapter!
AlwaysBettingOnAlice: So, did you see the reviews I left for your story? It really is a great story! I hope you post another chapter soon, otherwise you know what'll happen! And I'm pretty sure the reviewers of this story won't be very happy if you don't meet my demands!
Muff'Nbutter: Sorry, sorry, my Aussie ways seem to be confusing people! I think in Twilight SM called it 'black top' - bitumen basically means the road surface. Sorry again, I didn't think it wouldn't make any sense! (Or maybe I spelt it wrong...?) Thanks for the claps on my maths exam, too!! I appreciate it!
x-aly-x: Yes, Edward and Leah did overhear Alice and Bella talking - but Edward's going to pretend he didn't for the sake of courtesy.
AlwaysAround888: Lol, I love emo moments too! They're great for getting it all out, eh!
Ghosts in the Snow: I thought that was a pretty good line too!! I kept on saying it the day I wrote it and no one understood it; sigh; there's no way to explain that you're making an inside joke when there's no one else to back you up!! I love that the MCR song your username is from has 'vampires' in the title, lol.
King of the broken hearted: Yay! You logged in! I'm very proud -beams- I hope I'll see another review from you...?
flossiemae: Ohh!! AWESOME! I wish my pov school ('pov' means something along the lines of 'bogan' I think - it might be Aussie language again) anyway, I wish my pov school would do something awesome like that!! Edward and Bella will definitely get together, but it won't be a big 'bang' kind of relationship. It must develop over time :-) Alice and Jasper will get together too, but same circumstances as ExB.
twilightaddict26: Yes, Mike is a bit of a moody cow, eh! Worse than Edward in the Twilights - though his mood swings are captivating. Mike's are just irritating.
Bellefire253: Don't panic, Edward will be at the party!! Lol. Loved your second review! Made me crack up. Okay, the relationships between Bella/Jacob and Alice/Jasper are:
Bella and Jacob's will be explained in the story as time goes on through flashbacks and things like that. As you'd be able to tell already, they were once very good friends but the status quo came between them. People change - there's not a lot you can do to stop it.
Alice and Jasper despise each other only because Jasper has always been a nasty pasty to little Alice. But, I think you all would have figured out that there is something more than pure hate between them, I mean; isn't hate the first sign of love?
featherwing: Thanks for adding my story to your C2! I was very excited to see in the stats that the number of communities had changed!! And cheers for the review too :-)
Music ADD: Yep, he will. Edward's next letter appears in this chapter!
143twilighter: I made up the dress, but if I find a picture I'll definitely post a link! Very good observation about the moth - keep an eye out for copycat attacks. Mike and Bella might remain friends.
abercrombiegrl15: Aww, thankyou so much for saying this is the best story you've read!
ErikaBaby: if the stars in your username don't come up, I'm sorry, but sometimes they just wont appear in story formats. Anyway. Thanks for your review! I'm thinking this story will be approx 30 chapters, and I update almost every day. Hope you will keep reviewing!
Kevin the Cornbread Slice: Lol, loved the review! And I was glad I made Kevin happy with the crushing of Mike Newton. I'll try and make Mike a big depressed mess, too, so I hope you enjoy seeing him suffer in the latter chapters.
Chapter Sixteen: Smile
Amazingly, I had avoided even seeing Mike through first and second lessons. It was now morning break, and everyone at the table was being deathly silent. Mike wasn't there.
Alice had guessed what had happened when she saw me this morning in English. She didn't even have to say anything, the hug she gave me was worth more than she knew. Angela had also kept mainly quiet, knowing I needed my space like only Angela could. Emmett was just a hum of laughs and jokes in the background; a hum because almost all of my effort was being used to try and stop that broken image of Mike from entering my mind.
"…Mike is?" someone asked. I instantly regretted hearing it. His name had not caused butterflies in my stomach before, yet it caused an awful squeezing of my heart now. I ignored the voice – it sounded like Emmett – and tried to build up the mental walls again.
"Must be sick," someone replied. Alice, I thought. The walls fell down again, and though I would have usually tried to rebuild them I let them down. I mentally prepared myself for the well-deserved guilt onslaught the innocent conversations of my friends were going to cause now.
"Yeah, he didn't look so well," Tyler answered Alice's assumption across the table. I caught on fairly quickly. Mike wasn't avoiding me inside the school grounds with successful outcomes – he had skipped the charade and wasn't at school at all. For a reason obvious to me, I felt more guilt about this. (a/n: he's missing school because of her.)
There was silence at the table again. Rosalie tore a roll of bread in half and proceeded to rip smaller, bite-sized pieces away. I exhaled heavily, much to Ally's shock, who was beside me.
She tried to hide her fright at the noise and turned to me with a smile. I could see her mind working to find a distraction for a moment before speaking.
"Feel like picking up your letter, Bella?" She was very careful with her words, like I was recovering from a very serious illness or near-fatal accident. I avoided the urge to sigh again and simply nodded at her, not trusting my voice to be volume-consistent.
"See you in history, Bella," Rosalie said to me as I stood from the table. Wow. Rosalie is being unusually serious at the moment. I must look really terrible for that kind of sympathy.
I just nodded as I turned away with Ally in the direction of the offices.
It seemed my appearance had a sobering effect on the whole student body – there was a gap in the crowd as Ally and I left the cafeteria. I chose to keep my eyes down and prayed that no one would offer their whispered apologies of 'I'm sorry' to me. The little luck I had left held together and we exited the bustling room in silence, uninterrupted by the gawking faces.
My thoughts were lost as we crossed the pavement to the shining front office doors. I realised too late that Ally had been speaking to me, and tried better to tune in as she pushed open the door, allowing a waft of warmer air to wash over us both. The heat woke me slightly and it wasn't quite so hard to stay focused.
"…wicked designer. Wants to open her own store, you know. I'd definitely buy things from her, she sent me a few shots of the stuff she's made so far and I loved them! The dresses, I mean, my goodness, they look like she bought them from a retailer!"
Ally was uncharacteristically rambling on about something I didn't really understand. Since we were getting our letters, I guessed she was talking about her pen-pal. Kim, I remembered suddenly. She's writing to Kim. I found that out on Saturday, when I was talking to the Port Angeles kids. An image of Edward floated to my mind … my heart sped up stupidly at the memory of his lovely face. I kicked myself internally, but it wouldn't leave the eyes of my mind so I stamped on my own foot and (embarrassingly) ended up on the floor.
"Bella!" Mrs Cope's nasal voice asked in concern. Ally gently pulled me up and set me on my reasonably steady feet. "Are you alright?" The secretary fussed, and I realised her voice only sounded nasal because her nose was red and her eyes were puffy. Excellent. Another round of the flu is on its way.
"Fine," I mumbled, knowing that a wordless response would not pacify the woman. Ally brushed off my arm as I straightened my jacket.
"We're here to pick up our letters, Mrs Cope," Ally said kindly to the woman, who had revealed a small bowl of chocolates from behind the desk and was holding it out to me.
I picked one up politely, then Ally took one too as the bowl was waved in her face. I mumbled my thanks but was drowned out by Mrs Cope, who answered Ally at the same moment.
"Yes, yes, we just got them no more than half an hour ago. You two certainly know when to turn up here!" She chuckled at her own wit and turned to get the letters from another room. A moment later she returned and Ally and I gratefully took our letters from her.
The walk back was as uneventful as the one before. The only difference was that the rain had started to fall, and like it does in Forks, there were no visible objects to be tripped over until I had tripped over them. Mercifully, Ally guided me through the mist and we found ourselves under shelter just as the bell for third period class sounded.
"Thanks," I said, finding my voice was not as croaky as I'd have thought.
Ally knew that I wasn't just referring to her saving me from meeting with the ground. "Any time," she said sincerely. She hugged me tightly, and I did my best to hug her back just as firmly before we set off again.
Alice was waiting for me when I walked into the warm history room. Beside her, Rosalie smiled kindly at me and I was too surprised to be able to pull the correct answering expression quickly enough. Rosalie turned back to her work, but I didn't think she looked offended at me, so I sat down on Alice's vacant side. I didn't see where Ally went, but she usually sat somewhere else in History anyway.
"Got it?" Alice asked, and I knew she was referring to the letter.
I felt too tired to vocalise another response, so I just nodded. I pulled out my books and slapped them down on the desk, then found the right page and tried to concentrate on the Nazi regime while the rest of the class laughed and talked around me.
Rosalie seemed to be on the same page as me, but just as I leaned over Alice to see if she had stared taking notes again Rosalie closed the book and leant her elbows on the hard cover. She sighed. I could tell from the expression on her strangely flawless face that she had troubles of her own, but since I didn't really enjoy being quizzed when I was upset I left her alone to her own thoughts.
Alice, despite having me practically lean into her face to see Rose's work, was chattering happily to someone on the other side of the room. It was Tyler. He was sitting with Ally two rows up, his arm draped comfortably around her shoulders. Ally had also twisted around in her seat, and every few seconds she would give Tyler a glance that I hadn't seen before. I realised too quickly that it was the type of look I had thought I would have given Mike, but Mike and I had never had a relationship like that, with a honeymoon stage and all. For me, at least, it was more of a convenience than anything.
No! I couldn't exactly clamp my hands over my ears to stop the thought occurring, but as soon as it had reached my conscious mind I instantly regretted it. What a horrid thing to say. I shouldn't even be thinking about him, it made my heart ache with guilt at the consideration that I'd never really even liked Mike at all. I had never deserved him.
I looked back down at my book and picked a random spot on a paragraph, trying to distract my mind.
I got down to the part about Hitler Youth when the teacher cleared his throat, and started jabbing a pointer at spots on the map at the front of the class. He was, obviously, pointing out places in and around Germany. The glare at the front of the room hurt my eyes so I looked back down at the book.
Something around me, I realised, was missing. I looked up and scanned the room, but realised only when I looked at Alice that she wasn't secretively passing notes to someone across the room, but she was staring down at her text book in a way I suspected was similar to my own. Alice was such a quick reader that I knew she would have finished it when we were first "asked" to "look through" the chapter on Friday, so I leaned over slightly to see if she was re-reading it or something else.
I was right; she wasn't reading the paragraphs about the worst of the Germans. There were a few loose sheets of paper sitting atop the open text book, and each page had neat blue writing on it. Alice's letter from Leah. I wondered vaguely when she had collected it, but wasn't very concerned with that once my eyes accidentally caught onto a sentence penned on the paper.
'We went to the movies Saturday night, but Edward was being a sook and wouldn't tell me why…'
I ripped my eyes away, not wanting Alice to catch me reading over her shoulder … but I couldn't kelp but wander what Edward had been upset about.
The rest of the day passed by in a fashion which could only be described as slow. I felt so tired that everything had started to meld into a dream-like state, and I got Alice to pick up a sugary drink for me during lunch because I was incapable of doing it myself. The soda, at least, held me up through Calculus that afternoon, but was starting to run out when I pulled into Charlie's driveway.
My bag felt it necessary to spill its contents as I tried to drag it from the car, and both my patience and knowledge of swear-words were tested as I angrily shoved everything back in. The zipper almost coughed everything out again, so I sat on it to make it close, hoping that the mobile phone I rarely used wasn't going to end up damaged from the onslaught. I slung it over my back and scanned the floor for anything important that'd evaded me, but all I saw was a shiny something poking out from under the passenger side. Too tired to care, I left it behind and headed on up to the house.
I shut the front door behind me, and checked the coat pegs for Charlie's presence. He wasn't home yet; I hadn't expected any different. I dragged my feet up the stairs and headed to my room, dropping my bag at the foot of my bed and dropping down on the mattress with a soft flump.
I lay down on the covers for a few minutes, deliberately allowing my mind to be blank. But after a while; I didn't know how long; I started to feel a little cold and so I rolled onto my back, thinking of going downstairs and digging up an old hot water bottle.
As I raised myself from the flat-on-back position in a style that would have made a vampire proud, I saw my lumpy and annoyingly bulging school bag sitting on the carpet. Mentally cursing Mr Varner for giving us homework after two hours with him – hadn't that been enough work? – I pulled my bag toward me and leaned back to drag it onto the bed.
It was difficult to get the zipper open, but it had been harder to get it closed. Once the brown canvas revealed my work, I sighed and reached for the easiest subject I had homework for – History. The folder came out easily enough, but I hadn't expected the white square of paper that fell out with it. I picked it up and realised that it was a letter. And it was from Edward.
Possibly much too eager than was considered normal, I ripped it open and read it with more energy than I had collectively used all day.
--
Dear Bella,
How are you? Not much has been going on around here – so I hope you've got something more interesting to tell me than I have to you!
Last Sunday night after I picked Leah up from Alice's we all went to the cinema down the road from Sam's place. There was Leah, Sam, Paul, Jared, Kim and me there. The funniest thing happened while we were there! We chose to go see I Am Legend with Will Smith. I'm pretty sure you know what movie that is. Anyway, Sam was arguing to the death with Leah and Paul (who were uniting nicely over the issue) because he wanted to go see some blood-and-guts thing. We all just thought he was being stubborn and dopey as usual, wanting to see some innocent people getting hacked up or something, but apparently that wasn't the case. When we got into the cinema, he kept trying to sneak out for food, or drinks, or toilet uses or something lame like that. Eventually Leah got fed up with his whining and went out with him to the toilets. The reason why none of us will let him alone outside a cinema is another story all together – remind me to tell you one day. Anyway, so Leah made sure he didn't sneak off, because he took aaaaages in the bathroom. When they got back he was nearly falling off his seat for some reason. Then, when it got to the scary parts he shrieked! Seriously, he screamed like a scared little girl! It was the funniest thing I've ever seen, or heard. At first everyone thought it was Leah or Kim, because they were the ones blocking him into his chair from either side, but when I leaned over Paul's knees to look at the girls they were both shaking with laughter and Sam was staring at the screen with this totally horrified look on his face. It was wicked! I wish you could've been there to see it! You probably would have ended up with a cracked rib from laughing so much, but gee it would have been worth it!
Yeah, well, that's my big news of the moment. Now to answer your very important questions ….
Um, no, I didn't dare nor expect Alice to run that race in heels. I have to admit though, I was impressed! If she can do that three inches off the ground, she must be quick with flats on! And you're right, if I had dared her to do it I certainly wouldn't own up to it because you would kick me in the butt! But maybe I would have, because I'd be able to just hold you above my head so your feet would be nowhere near my backside? Haha!!
As for the sleep talking – yes, you did say some things. But it was mostly words I couldn't understand anyway, I think you said at some point 'not the candle' or something along those lines. It was over a week ago, Bella! It's too hard to think that far back. Oh, and you also said my name, but I think you must have said it while you were waking up because it was much clearer than anything else. So, nothing too embarrassing!
So tell me, how is Mike? I can't remember if I asked you how long the two of you were going out for, so I'll ask again; how long have you and Mike been going for? It must be nice to have a boyfriend. It's nice to be dating someone, isn't it? I think you've inspired me to get back into the dating game, Miss Swan!
Anyway, I'd better go, I have some French homework that's calling my name. I'd like to meet up again with you, though, if you're interested? Our groups could go see a movie or something together if you'd like. I think Emmett and Paul made pretty good friends at the Athletics Day. Emmett certainly knows how to give long-lasting bruises – Paul showed us. It was sick.
Maybe you could call me sometime? Or, if Mi- your Dad doesn't like that idea then you could give me your number and I can call you if you like?
Hoping to speak to you soon,
Edward Masen
P.S. My clothes always smell like boys. I can't seem to get rid of it. I wonder why? Any tips?
--
I smiled for what felt like the first time in years. My eyes crinkled and I laughed very softly to myself. Edward was so silly sometimes. I looked down at the bottom of the piece of paper and saw that he had given me his home phone number. It wasn't long enough for a mobile number.
I folded the letter up and kept my hand in the same pocket while I went downstairs and dug around to find a hot water bottle. After ducking a broom handle from the overly-crowded closet in the hall, I found one sitting atop an old dusty cardboard box. It was green. The filling of the bottle woudn't take very long, but the croaky old kettle took its sweet time in heating up. I waited patiently in the kitchen, foot tapping and hands repeatedly pulling out Edward's letter so I could stare at the number on it.
Why shouldn't I call him? He gave me his number. He obviously wants me to call him. Unless it's a test, and he's trying to find out whether I'm a stalker or not. Yeah, that's probably it. Well, I'm not going to fall for it. He can just learn I'm not a stalker the hard way – the one which involves him sitting by the phone for hours and hours without a single ring to listen to.
Ugh. That is the stupidest theory I've ever thought of. Honestly, who makes 'stalker tests'? Maybe he just feels sorry for me. Maybe he got dared to do it. Maybe he's going to try and hack into my mind and get my bank account details so he can rob me blind then bugger off to a secret location in Bali or something. Maybe Leah's doing the same to Alice. Maybe the world is made of millions of microscopic hamburgers. Maybe I should go swimming in the kettle. Maybe I'm losing my mind.
The kettle switch clicked then, and I nearly fell to the floor with fright. I took a few calming breaths and righted myself, ensuring that my feet were steady before carefully pouring the hot liquid into the rubbery water bottle. The task was done without any burns, so I screwed the lid on and headed back to my room.
It was easier to think with the bottle warming my toes, and after an hour and a half I put down my Calculus and felt glad that the homework – for tonight at least – was done. I pulled Edward's letter from my pocket again.
Maybe I should call him. Why else would he have given me his number? He ever offered to call me if I wasn't allowed phone courtesies. That's definitely a good sign, isn't it? Of course it is. Yes. I will call him.
I pushed my school bag away from me and swung my legs from the bed, grabbing the hot water bottle from the floor when I realised I'd dropped it. I carried it with me on the way down the stairs, warming my fingers. The letter in my pocket felt like it was on fire, because my heightened awareness of its presence was a burning sensation in my overly-thinking head.
The chair made a hollow scraping noise across the tiles when I pulled it back. I sat, and it squeaked, making me jump again. My heart sped up – but it wasn't only from the ominous noises around me. I looked over Edward's handwriting again, feeling utterly stupid but very glad that no one else was in the room.
I picked up the phone, and punched in the first few numbers, my hands getting clammy. I cleared my throat and looked back down at the paper for the last three digits, but almost dropped the electrical item when I saw what was walking around my page.
There was a moth, small and gray, pacing over my paper. Its wings were quivering like it was cold, or frightened. I stared at it, frozen into place by the overwhelming fear that its life was about to end and my own was about to get much, much worse.
As I stared relentlessly at it, it paced over Edward's beautiful handwriting, leaving a very faint shimmer from its wings on the page. Its wings continued to quiver. Then, as it headed for the edge of the page, it stopped. The thing which shocked me more than its unexplained appearance was the fact that just as it stopped, from the phone line I heard 'beep, beep, beep's indicating that the phone had been idling for too long, and that the moth had chosen to stop its pacing right over the last three digits of Edward Masen's phone number.
I gasped, but controlled myself well enough to hang up the phone, put it down, and blow the moth from my letter before yanking it from the table and racing into my room, praying that the little bugger didn't know how to get through key-holes or open doors.
Now, before you all ask if I'm insane and have a thing against butterflies and moths and stuff; no, I don't. But the moth aversion is important. Remember it!
Don't forget to review AlwaysBettingOnAlice's story - otherwise I won't post past chapter 25. You've got a fair while to do it - and 30 reviews isn't that much. Go, go! Fly my pretties, fly!!
Love you all, and review!
-Shaps