A/N: Happy New Moon Friday everyone!! YAY!! Ok, it came down to either just skipping this week or posting this outtake, and since 40% of you wanted me to post it I'm doing just that. Instead of breaking it into two parts I'm just posting the whole thing, that way for those of you who don't care anything about what's going through Newton's head it will be back to the story next week – I'm hoping this way I make everyone happy. That being said, the easiest way to do this was to go through from the beginning and cover Mike's side of it – it's a bit long, but I only went up to the part in the storyline that we stopped at, so it won't give anything away. Some of it will seem repetitive since you've basically already read it (only in BPOV), but hopefully it will show why Edward is always so irritated with Newton. Thanks, and ENJOY the New Moon movie!
Mike Newton's Thoughts
Sunday morning:
I glanced over at the clock next to the crappy cot I was lying on while Jessica rambled on about everything she needed to buy before college started. She was sitting at the foot of my bunk, continuously leaning closer to me, but I wasn't complaining – if she was going to want to hang out with me while we were here I wasn't about to discourage her. If nothing else it would give me a distraction from the kids. I was actually still trying to figure out how the heck I'd ended up here in the first place; summer was supposed to be about having fun, not looking after a bunch of snot-nosed kids.
My mom had signed me up to be a counselor when we'd gotten the notice at my family's store without even asking me first – some crap about building character - and ever since I'd been trying to find a way out of it. I mean come on, I had lots of character – I probably had the most character out of everyone in our school, if character had anything to do with popularity. Pissed off, I'd mentioned it to Jess and Ang one morning when we'd met up for breakfast, and they'd both agreed to help. Even with them signed up, I hadn't thought we'd actually have to go through with it; the new owner was some kind of nutcase and had messed all kinds of stuff up. There had been such a shortage of help that it hadn't looked like the camp would go on as scheduled. I don't know what happened, but somehow things had worked out and here I was, stuck spending a week of my summer in this place. At least I had two friends here with me; too bad one of them couldn't have been Bella.
"Newton! Stanley! Weber! Front and center!" Big Sue barked from somewhere outside causing all three of us to jump. I rolled my eyes. What was up with her - did she think she was a drill sergeant or something?
We made our way outside to meet what we assumed must be the other counselors. I stepped out onto the cabin's porch curiously; I had to wonder what kind of help I would really have, especially considering the desperateness of the situation – how far would they go to keep the camp running this year…would I end up being co-workers with a bunch of idiots or murderers? I blinked in the sunlight and moved my hand to shield my eyes from the sun. Damn…it was the Cullens…I think I would have preferred the idiots and murderers. Wait a minute…is that Bella? She's looking uncertain and awkward, but she's here! I bet after she hung out with me for a while she'd be more confident with herself…but she's so stuck on that damn Cullen. I wonder if he's why she always seems so unsure of herself – he seems like one of those controlling types that put their girlfriends down so that they don't think they could do any better.
The next thing I knew Big Sue had finished barking her instructions and had disappeared with that weird Jasper following her, and suddenly Alice Cullen was in my face asking me something. I blinked, trying to follow her. Almost before I had finished my simple answer, she was flitting around and had told everyone else where they were staying within a minute or two. I really couldn't understand her…I mean her father is a doctor, shouldn't she be on Ritalin or something? She was just all over the freaking place – that had to be annoying at home, yet all her 'siblings' seemed to take it in stride…even Bella seemed fairly unruffled.
After the newcomers got settled into our cabins, we were supposed to be looking over our camper's information sheets. Jessica wanted me to work with her, but I had something else in mind. I told her to get started without me, and began to make my way across camp to Bella's cabin. With any luck Cullen would be off with his idiot brothers and I could convince Bella to work with me…who knows, maybe with him out of the way and an empty cabin on my side, I could get Bella to forget all about her egotistical fiancée and open up her eyes to other opportunities before it was too late. I bet one kiss from me would be enough to show her the difference between a real man and a stuck up snob who just wanted to own her.
My feet had barely cleared the top step of her porch when a familiar voice made me freeze in my tracks.
"Hello, Mike. Was there something you needed?" Edward asked, glaring purposefully through the screen at me. "Bella's settling in just fine, you needn't worry. As my future bride, I've ensured that she has everything she needs to make her stay quite comfortable."
"Err...of course. Sure. I just thought I'd check..." I trailed off, irritated. How the heck had he gotten here so fast? I'd left almost as soon as I could, and he'd still beaten me here…why couldn't he just have been hanging out with his brothers for once? I turned and stomped back to my cabin; I guess I'd take Jessica up on her offer after all.
Sunday afternoon:
Orientation sucked. It was freaking boring, just a waste of time, really. Like we all couldn't find our way around this place if we tried. Well…maybe some of the girls may not be able to, so I suppose it was useful to an extent – but it was boring to me. I mean I don't consider myself sexist at all, but the thought of people like Alice and Rosalie living in the woods for a week was especially disconcerting – they were some of the most feminine females I'd ever seen.
The whole orientation thing was stupid, Big Sue going on more than needed, the Cullen boys always looking as if they thought themselves to be superior. I'd been doing my best to ignore everything around me until we came to stop in front of a small white-washed building and Sue sort of commanded our attention by making us all halt. She was going on and on about being confused about its origins, which I found to be lame. I mean come on, if you take on a job you learn all of its ins and outs – this woman seemed to be more than a bit clueless. I stood on the sidelines as once again I watched Alice Cullen step forward and take control of the situation – she seemed eager to take over as tour guide or something. Alice dismissed Sue's hesitancy over some sort of camp paper work and was going in and out of the store chirping excitedly; I tuned it out as I found it to be just another annoying stop on the boredom express.
I was glad when it was over and we were left to have pizza for dinner. That was one thing I could understand and appreciate – food. I hoped the rest of the food here would be decent – I was an athlete and I had to keep fit if I had any hopes of making the teams in college. After dinner I was eager to retreat to my cabin to reflect on everything the day had brought with it. This camp thing had started out not looking too bad, at least I'd have Jessica to entertain me – and now suddenly I was going to be surrounded by the people I hated the most, and the one girl who I really liked but refused to see me as anything other than a friend. This would be a long week.
When my alarm went off in the morning, I forced myself up out of bed, automatically reached for my bathroom kit and trudged outside to the bathhouses. The kids were arriving today so there wasn't much time to mess around. I was only half awake and staring at the ground as I walked, when I heard Jessica gasp and cry out in pain. Curious, I glanced up and suddenly bright pastel colors filled my vision; despite the cloudy sky overhead, it had a blinding effect on sleep-heavy eyes, and I dropped into a crouch in shock. What was happening – where was I? This wasn't where I had gone to sleep, there's no way! My body was flying into defensive behavior, while my mind was heading into the direction of paranoia – this was not normal. When I'd gone to sleep all the cabins had been the dull, murky brown color of aged wood. Now they were all different colors - light, cheery pastel colors. I spun in circles; I knew I was spluttering, not making any sense, but I didn't know what to say – my brain wasn't working properly.
Faintly I heard Angela talking to Alice, and Alice explaining that they had all painted the cabins last night. I blinked, trying to figure out if that was even possible…the way she was explaining it sounded completely rational, almost as if I'd be a fool if I didn't believe it. I watched for Angela's reaction – she was so incredibly level-minded, I'd know if she thought it was weird or impossible. She didn't though – she just applauded the Cullen's efforts and moved on to preparing for the day. Shaking my head, I forced myself to start moving again so I wouldn't be late – I guess if Angela thought it was possible, maybe it was. After all, how else could it be explained? That Alice really does have a lot of energy…maybe doing stuff like this is how she avoids taking meds. Freaks.
Monday morning:
When the kids started to arrive, everything happened pretty fast. It was a lot to keep up with, but nothing I couldn't handle. My campers seemed ok…most of them seemed to get along with each other, so I could only hope I that would remain to be the case. I kept one eye on them while I watched the others meet their kids…I'd never seen the Cullens really interact with anyone aside from Bella, so to see them dealing with a bunch of six-year olds – well, let's just say they had my attention.
Edward seemed overconfident as usual. He was smiling smugly and talking easily to his kids, all while keeping his gaze fixed on Bella. He was freaking creepy with that crap – give her some space, dude. Why she didn't see that, I have no idea.
Bella looked a little overwhelmed, but she was standing her ground I guess. Her and kids seemed like a bad combination; the girl could barely walk without hurting herself. I don't know why, but I found it to be sort of cute – if I were dating her I could take care of her, and she wouldn't fall half as much as she does around Cullen. Obviously he wasn't helping her – she'd even fallen through a window when she was off begging him to take her back for crying out loud. He was probably too busy staring in a mirror admiring himself to watch out for her.
That crazy blonde Rosalie seemed to be happier than I'd ever seen her. Actually, she sort of scared the crap out of me…almost as much as her boyfriend Emmett. Both of them just had something about them that creeped me out. It was beyond weird to see her cooing and coddling all these kids, not missing a step. You'd think she'd done this before or something.
Her boyfriend looked kind of put off at first, but then he started high-fiving all the kids and seemed to think that was fun or something. After a few minutes one of his kids just walked away from him and I thought maybe the kid was just smart and knew he'd been stuck with a freak counselor, but then when Emmett followed him they seemed to be discussing something, and then they were consoling each other or something…and then that other Cullen – Jasper – was sitting with them, looking all emo, which was an interesting change from his usual constipated look.
That Alice…need I say Ritalin again? She was flitting around her kids so fast it was making me dizzy and I had to look away. This was going to be one messed-up camp.
By the time we got back to the mess hall for lunch, I was starving. I pointed out where to go to the kids, and then got in line behind them. Needless to say I was shocked when I reached the counter and saw the Cullen's mom in the kitchen, serving the food. What the heck was that about? Does the whole freak family have to constantly be together? I couldn't wait to go to college to get away from my parents, but these people were always together. She smiled and greeted me, and I politely replied as I made my selections – I was raised to respect my elders if nothing else, even if she looked more like an older sister than a mother.
Of course it was just like the school cafeteria and the Cullens were all sitting together. I glanced from Bella to Edward, and decided I'd be much more comfortable at the table beside them. During the last year of school Edward and Alice had joined us at our table, but that was because half their "group" had moved on to college – now Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie were back for the summer, and I just wasn't comfortable around them. For that matter, I wasn't comfortable around Edward or Alice either, but if it had meant Bella would sit at our table I hadn't been about to protest. Jessica dropped her tray next to mine, and Angela hesitated as she looked from us to Bella. She shrugged and chose our table, but sat as close to the end that was nearest the Cullen table, as if she was trying to be neutral.
After a little while Big Sue stomped into the mess hall and started another long, boring speech. It wasn't until she announced that there would be a competition of some sort that she regained my attention. I knew what my suggestions were going to be – anything sports related, like a basketball match or something. He didn't even play basketball, or any sports, really. He seemed to be a decent enough runner, but I was fairly sure I could totally take him on the courts. I was the best player our school had! I allowed my mind to drift, imagining the look on Bella's face when I made a fool out of him on the basketball court…yes, I was going to be stuffing the suggestion box full, that was for sure.
Sue was still going on, and now she was saying something about this year's physician, and Dr. Cullen stood up. I rolled my eyes – of course he was here too, his wife and entire family was, I shouldn't be surprised. This was just getting more and more annoying.
After we got our itineraries I looked to see what my group was scheduled for today – swimming. I wouldn't have minded so much except that it seemed fate was mocking me, just trying to see how far it could push me…I was paired up with Edward Cullen's group.
Freaking great.
Monday afternoon:
Dinner tonight was interesting…Bella had some sort of crap wrapped around her leg…it looked like a bunch of slime with a huge slice of onion on top – what was that all about? She looked tired, and Edward hovered over her the entire meal. I'm still waiting for the day when he refuses to let her feed herself and insists on doing it for her. I can't believe he's letting her sit there with that on her leg anyway…if it were me, I would have taken it off for her. I leaned back in my chair, trying to get a better look at her. Yes, I would definitely be willing to help her with that. I shifted my attention back to my tray as Edward suddenly glared over at me – what was his problem? It's not like he knew what I was thinking.
Swimming lessons with Cullen's group had been as annoying as I'd expected it to be. Cullen did his best to glare at me the entire time, while Jessica attempted to instruct the kids on the various styles of swimming. She was shamelessly trying to catch both of our attention, but was stupid enough to think I didn't notice what she was doing. Like Cullen would give her the time of day – he had Bella, which reminded me why I hated him so much all over again. He seemed so egotistical, leaning against the fence just staring the whole time, as if he thought he was better than us. All those stupid family camping outings they all go on…you'd think at least once they could have come across a bear or something and it could have solved my whole problem, and then Bella would have been left alone, and I could have been the one to step in and console her. Maybe there was still hope…
"Hey Cullen – you got plans to go on anymore family camping outings before the wedding?" I asked gruffly from where I sat near the pool.
He glared back at me for a moment before answering. "No. Sorry to disappoint you," he said disdainfully. What was that supposed to mean – how would he know I wanted him to go? He's so stupidly smug about everything.
I brought my attention back to the present. We were about halfway through our meal now, and my attention shifted over to the Cullen's table. Daddy C and Alice were having some sort of heated discussion – he looked pissed! I tried to overhear what the argument was about, but they were being careful with their whispering. All I could catch was something about rule breaking. When Bella yelled at Alice I really wanted to know what was up – maybe this was something that could put a rift in the wedding plans. I mean Edward didn't seem to be involved, but maybe a fight with the family would force him to defend them and then Bella and Edward would fight too; I'd be there to soothe her pain. I smiled at the thought as I took another bite of my lasagna, and Jessica rambled on beside me about who knows what.
Later when we were all getting things ready for the nightly fire and snacks, Emmett asked what would go on tonight, and Edward replied with some lame comment with hidden meaning implied about how it would be different from when they went camping – again, they think they're so special. I couldn't help but ask what the heck they were talking about.
"What's so different when you all go camping?" I asked irritably while rolling my eyes at Jessica, who snickered back.
"Why don't you stay up after the kiddies are in bed and find out, huh Newton?" Emmett sneered back, grinning devilishly at me; I automatically crept backwards a little.
Like I said, Emmett kind of scares me. I don't know what they do on their camping trips, but I was tired of them and just wanted to get the rest of the night over with, so I let it drop.
Apparently, Bella had set up a ghost story with props. I was familiar with it, it was popular when we were kids at Halloween parties – she'd just altered minor details so it could be done at any time of the year. She was really thinking of what would really capture the kids' attention without scaring the crap out of them – it was a really great idea. Sometimes I thought she was just as smart as she was hot.
The storytelling was done by Emmett, and he did a good job of adding the freaky element to it. It went well, the kids seemed enthralled by it all, but at the end of it Edward sort of freaked out and threw one of the bowls at Rosalie. I had no idea what that was about…if I had to guess I'd say that he was tired of all the attention being on Emmett and wanted it to be over so he could be in Bella's spotlight again. What a loser.
Monday night:
Almost as soon as we'd had everything cleaned up and my campers were settled in, I'd settled into my own bunk, eager to get the night over with. I'd been lying there for a while though, and sleep was not coming easy. I think seeing Bella again was having more of an effect on me than I thought it would. It was weird for me…I had Jessica chasing after me, practically falling all over me, but all I could think about was Bella – and not in a stalkerish way like Cullen; I just didn't understand why she wasn't interested. She'd never even given me a chance. I was popular, played tons of sports, did all the right things. I had tons of girls wanting to go out with me, but yet she treated me like her brother or something.
Frustrated, I sighed and put my arms above my head and clasped my hands behind my head, thinking. Bella was different. There was just something about her that was different than any girl I'd ever met – maybe it was that she didn't seem to get caught up in the trends, or that she seemed so much more mature than the other girls. She actually listens when someone speaks, rather than just nodding her head along absently like so many people I knew. I liked being listened to…even if I'd never said anything all that serious to her – I could tell that if I did, I'd be able to talk to her about things I'd never talked to anyone about.
Sighing again, I closed my eyes, willing sleep to come. The soft snore of one of my campers filled the silence, and I kept my eyes shut hoping I'd drift off.
It wasn't working. All I could see was Bella's face; all I could think of was pulling her to me, kissing her…holding her… Turning onto my side I tried to think of something else. I thought of working at my parents shop, and how I couldn't wait to go to school so I could take some management courses and possibly take over the business. Maybe if I was successful I could get Bella to come back and work permanently there, and she'd think more of me because of my accomplishments. UGH! Her hair, her skin, her lips…she was just calling to me. I know I could make her forget Cullen if I had the chance – I know I could.
I got out of bed…there was no way I was going to sleep. I had no real idea of what I was going to do, but I knew I had to go for a walk. I had to get out – maybe the fresh air would help to clear my mind and make me feel better. Careful not to wake my campers, I stepped into my flip flops and crept out the door.
I saw the fire was still burning, and there looked to be at least one person sitting around it, but it was hard to tell. Whatever – it was surely a Cullen, so I didn't care. I stuffed my hands into the pockets of my shorts and started walking, concentrating on the fresh air. I'd reached the end of the boys' cabins when something occurred to me: what if I could talk to Bella, just her and me? Maybe she'd see there is a serious side to me and want to learn more about me – maybe she'd see that she's crazy for rushing into marriage at her age and call it all off. It's stupid - its way too young to get married. I think Cullen pushed her into it, and he probably can't wait to get her pregnant and trapped. Hell, she could be pregnant now and we wouldn't know… Crap – was she pregnant? I hadn't pictured her to be the easy type, but it would explain such an early, rushed wedding. Nah…I don't think that's it. I just think Cullen has brainwashed her into joining his cult of a family. I've got to talk to her. No time like the present I guess - I'll try – maybe she'll still be awake or something; if not, I can try and throw a pebble at her door to catch her attention.
I was about fifteen yards from her cabin when I tripped over some big rock. My foot was throbbing as I landed in a heap on the ground.
"What the hell?!" I muttered loudly, clutching my foot.
"Going somewhere?" an all too familiarly annoying voice murmured from the shadows.
"What's going on here?" Bella hissed quietly; she must have heard me fall and come out to see what was going on
"Nothing to worry about, Bella - go on back to bed. Newton here just found the sudden urge to go for a midnight stroll, which he claims just coincidentally involved a trip over to this area. Thankfully I was still up and was here to remind him the guys are to stay on their side of the campsite during the night, and to steer him back in the right direction," Edward replied in a light tone, while simultaneously glaring at me.
"Well…what exactly are you doing on the ground then, Mike?" Bella asked.
"Err – I tripped on – something. It was a rock, I guess…" I muttered, looking around curiously. There were no rocks anywhere near me. What the heck? It had to have been a rock – it had felt like tripping over granite!
"Perhaps you should pay closer attention to where you're walking, Mike," Edward replied icily.
Feeling beyond embarrassed, I mumbled something about wanting to make sure Bella had gotten settled in all right and then tromped back to my cabin, hoping everyone would forget the whole situation in the morning.
Tuesday morning:
The morning was difficult, as I was still tired and my foot was kind of bruised. Rushing around trying to get all the kids ready for the day was trying, but somehow I got through it and we were finally trudging our way up the path to the flag ceremony. I was looking forward to a big breakfast, and that thought lifted my spirits and took my concentration away from the embarrassment from the night before. I could only hope Bella was as clueless as she'd acted – it would be humiliating for her to know what I'd been doing.
When we reached the top of the hill, I noticed the kids were all laughing at something. Even my own campers started snickering, and I looked around curiously. I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but when my gaze fell on Emmett I noticed he was looking up – I followed his gaze and was horrified to see my Superman boxers at the top of the flagpole. Instantly I looked around the crowd, paranoid that the kids all knew the underwear belonged to me. It would be hell to have a bunch of six-year olds making fun of me… So my mom had bought them for me last Christmas – big deal, at least they were boxers. I'd always had a fascination with the comic book heroes, I didn't see anything wrong with it – how was it any different than being a fan of the newer versions of the same thing, like the X-Men or something? There was just something cool about the idea of having superpowers…I'll bet if I was able to spray webs out of my arms or save the world that someone like Bella would think it was cool. Whatever - none of the kids seemed to know who they belonged to, so I breathed a sigh of relief. As I did, Jasper slowly lowered the shorts and removed them, and as he announced that the owner could retrieve them from the lost and found bin he looked right at me, with something close to pity in his eyes. There was no doubt – the Cullens not only knew they belonged to me, they had to be behind it. Who else would have done it and looked at me that way? Stupid freaks were jealous of me, and now they were trying to actually do something about it since we weren't in school where I had so many friends to back me up.
It was a free day, and that had me worried that all the kids would want to do different things, meaning we'd have a mini-rebellion on our hands. Oddly, over-active Alice Cullen was the one to coordinate it; she had it all wrapped up in no time, and it seemed we were headed to the lake. I was cool with that – it meant Jessica would be going, and I wondered if I could get Bella to feel jealous somehow. If playing games was what got you the prize, I didn't see a problem with it. There was a faint stab of guilt…Jess had been a friend for a while, even though we'd had our dating history. I made a mental note not to be too leading with my behavior…I wasn't purposefully trying to hurt Jess after all. She was a sweet girl, just a bit flighty for my taste. Besides, she'd hurt my feelings plenty when I'd taken her to that bowling alley in Port Angeles and she spent half the night checking out other guys.
I'd tried to get Bella to swim at the beach, but Edward was sitting right there, glaring like usual. She'd obviously felt intimidated by him and said something about honeymoon plans, which Edward had smirked at. I wondered if he'd trained her to respond that way to anyone that wanted to talk to her other than his royal freaking self. Before I could try a different approach, Jessica was calling me over, so I spent the rest of my day with her, laughing and smiling while sneaking glances over at Bella every now and then.
After the day at the beach, everything went fairly smoothly and the night passed by quickly. As I drifted off to sleep I re-played the days events in my mind differently than they'd actually occurred, and imagined what it would have been like if Bella had jumped up into my arms when I'd asked her to swim. I would have kissed her passionately, and then we would have run off, kicking sand in Cullen's face as we went, leaving him and his loser family behind.
The next morning I awoke refreshed and ready to start the day. After my trip to the bathhouse I was on my way back to the cabin to get all the kids up and ready when I noticed Cullen sitting near the fire pit. He looked sullen…depressed, really. Maybe he and Bella had an argument – I could only be so lucky. As I ran my tongue over my freshly brushed teeth I thought of kissing her again. When I looked back up, Bella was sitting with Cullen and they were both talking seriously. He glanced up at me, and then quickly averted his gaze. They had to be arguing – he looked so unhappy and she looked so serious. I took the opportunity and winked at Bella, hoping to distract her. She'd gone back to paying attention to Edward though, so I wasn't sure she'd even seen me do it – but then she started giggling loudly, and I thought maybe I was wrong, maybe she had seen it. Giggling was good, right? Chicks always giggled when they were flirting or embarrassed. Encouraged, I continued on my way to my cabin to gather the kids for breakfast.
My mood dropped a little at the flag ceremony; another pair of my boxers was waving from the top. Which one of the Cullens was doing it? Better yet, when were they getting them out of my dresser? It was freaking stupid, and it was getting on my nerves. Glaring, I looked around from under my lashes trying to be inconspicuous, only to find Emmett watching me expectantly. Was it him? I'd barely even talked to the guy, why would he care anything about me?
I was starving and just about ready to begin eating when the madness began. I still don't even know what happened or how it began; one minute it was completely normal, the next food was flying everywhere and I was trying to hide behind my tray. We ended up having to go back to camp and start the day over again, which I was incredibly irritated about – I was ready to move onto the day's assigned activity – crafts, with Bella's group.
Wednesday midday:
Craft time was not going as planned, at least not for me. I'd thought I'd have all kinds of time to talk to Bella, but between my kids and Angela's constant instructions, I hadn't even had a minute with her. Eventually I glanced up and noticed Angela had disappeared, so I was trying to hurry my last couple of kids through their projects, but by the time they were done Angela was back – and Bella had a kid glued to her. How the heck had that happened? The kid was seriously stuck to her – so much so that Bella had to carry the girl to the mess hall; Angela had explained that she was going to help them get separated. I just shook my head as they went.
Later, once Bella had returned and the kids were flying their kites I made my way over to where she was sitting in the grass.
"That's an interesting look, Bella," I said, nodding at her hair. "I especially like the sparkling effect – the glitter is a nice touch," I added, chuckling.
She rolled her eyes at me, not saying anything. She was probably embarrassed.
Before I could really think it through, I said the first thing on my mind. "So…you're really going through with this whole wedding thing? I mean…are you sure you want to be with Cullen for the rest of your life?"
Bella sighed. "Yes, Mike – I'm absolutely sure I want to marry Edward, and I can't wait to start my life with him, ok?"
I sighed in response. "Look, I'm just saying I think he's kind of weird – his whole family is, for that matter. I think you could do a lot better," I added, glancing down at the ground.
"Mike, if you're going to sit here and continue to pick on Edward and his family or discourage me from marrying him, then I'm not going to continue this conversation, got it?" she replied irritably.
Maybe I'd been too direct – I thought since they'd probably been fighting earlier it would be a fairly easy way to start a conversation. In my experience girls were always eager to put down their boyfriends to someone else when they were arguing – venting, they called it. Movement on the outskirts of the clearing caught my attention; it was the gluey girl that had been stuck to Bella earlier. "Err – it looks like one of your kids is having some trouble," I muttered.
Bella looked up and saw the girl, and then made her way over to assist her.
I turned my attention to the kids to make sure everyone else was doing ok while thinking about how to approach Bella. Maybe I was wrong – maybe I wasn't being too forward, maybe what had set her off was that I'd put the Cullens down. I mean even if she discovered Edward was all wrong for her, she was still friends with Alice and the others…so obviously she'd take it personally for someone to say something like I had. Duh, Mike! I really had to think about this more carefully. I thought back to when Cullen hadn't been around, when he had left her. I'd tried to make a move then, but I was too timid, and then that Jacob guy had stepped in. She seemed to have taken to him whenever he was always putting himself in her face, so maybe it was a good tactic. Heck, even after Edward had come back to town Jacob had continued to push himself on her, showing up in the school parking lot making a scene…and she'd seemed torn between the two. So maybe that was it…maybe I should be more forward, more direct, but just not put the Cullens down. Maybe she just didn't realize that I still felt more than friendship towards her, maybe I needed to flirt with her more obviously.
After looking over the clearing and checking on all my campers and the rest of Bella's, my attention shifted back to where Bella had gone. The little girl was now approaching me, looking worried. She asked if I could go help Bella – of course I could.
"Bella…what happened to you?" I asked, taking in her situation. She was trapped in some sort of string cocoon wrapped around the tree.
"I was trying to help Sophie get her kite free, Mike. Could you please get me loose? We weren't having much luck," she replied. She seemed embarrassed again.
I chuckled. "Sure, Bella, I can help. Maybe next time you should ask someone else to help instead of getting involved yourself," I added, grinning at her.
I started working where she said the kid had left off, carefully tracing the string's path backwards, slowly unraveling it. Each time I had the opportunity to get close to her I lingered just for a moment, trying to get her to notice me. When I was almost done, I stood right in front of her and boldly wrapped both arms around the back of the tree to pass the string from one hand to the other, kind of putting us in a hug – that definitely seemed like something that Jacob kid would have done. I was trying to be a little more forward, just trying to get noticed.
"There, that should do it, Bella," I breathed into her hair. For a moment I considered throwing all caution to the wind and kissing her – when would I have her alone like this, away from even the kids? She squirmed a bit and I realized she was probably uncomfortable from being wrapped to the tree – not the best thing for a romantic moment. I pulled away from her, smiling. Maybe there would be more time later – the point was that I'd asserted myself a bit more, so maybe I'd given her something to think about.
She tried to step away from the tree but was still stuck for some reason, and before I could help her further she forcefully tugged free, causing her to lose balance and stumble over. I stared at her for a moment, wondering how one person could continually be at odds with nature, and then offered my hand to help her up, trying to fight back a smile.
She looked embarrassed again and got up on her own, huffing off. I chuckled, watching her gather her kids as they all looked at her in shock. I couldn't blame them – she was covered in sap from the tree which was in turn covered in pine needles from the ground. Combined with the crazy glitter hair it really did look like a Halloween costume gone wrong.
I followed behind her with my campers, thoughts of an imaginary kiss playing over and over in my head…I should have taken the opportunity when I'd had it.
At some point during lunch a pounding sound coming from nearby interrupted my make-believe thoughts. I shook my head, focusing on everything around me. Jessica and Angela weren't around – they'd gotten up to empty their trays. I glanced warily over at the Cullen's table. Edward looked really upset over something, and the Cullens all looked shocked. Bella looked stuck somewhere between shock and horror; they must be having another argument! I wonder what that jerk was saying to her now – he was whispering something so quietly I couldn't hear a thing, but he looked real intense. Maybe being around all these kids had Bella realizing what it would be like to be married so young – maybe she was realizing she wasn't ready to be tied down and to have his children. Maybe…this whole camp thing with the kids had been a great thing after all…
Thursday night:
By Thursday night, I was more than ready for camp to just be over. Spending so much time around the Cullens was doing nothing for me other than add more proof to the fact that they're total freaks; it was just more obvious everyday why they hadn't ever fit in at school.
Rosalie's cabin had woken up the entire campgrounds in the middle of the night screaming bloody freaking murder because two guinea pigs had gotten loose in their cabin. My kids informed me the next day that the things had come from her idiot boyfriend's cabin; apparently they had all kinds of animals in there. What's more irritating is that I think that big jerk tried saying I was somehow involved – while I was trying to get a good look at Bella to see what she was wearing to sleep in I'd heard him mention my name and then Rosalie turned and glared at me.
Of course they'd continued their fascination of running my underwear up the flagpole, and despite the fact that I was hiding them every night before bed, they were still finding them somehow. Then this morning the lamest thing happened yet – Emmett, who was supposed to be a college student, somehow thought it was wise to give all his kids Mohawks because one of them had gotten gum in his hair. Where's the logic in that? How the heck could someone that stupid graduate high school, not to mention get into college?
That over-hyper Alice somehow managed to win the scavenger hunt, which I was sort of put off about, I thought my group might have a chance. How she found everything so fast is beyond me – I'd purposefully put a four-leaf clover on the list because I already had one I always carried with me and figured nobody else would be able to spot one – they were really hard to find. So I'd planned on cheating – big deal, it's not like my campers would have known.
Then tonight on my way to bed Emmett had gone all weird on me, saying some crap about a flesh-eating virus in the creek. Yeah, right – like we wouldn't have been warned about that. Freaking stupid is what that was. I mean even if something had gotten into the water, Big Sue or someone would have to tell us, right? Of course they would. Forget it – the sooner I go to bed the sooner it will be one day closer to Sunday when we can all go home. I wonder if there was a way I can get back at those losers before camp is over.
A/N: Please review – and I'd love to hear what you all thought of the movie too (if you've seen it!) Does anyone have any crazy stories that happened while standing in line? Did anyone get trampled in the mobs? Thanks everyone!