Chapter 21
My alarm screamed next to me and I rolled over and smacked it off the night stand. Sadly it continued to shriek at me from across the floor. I pushed myself out of bed and stumbled over to it and turned the horrid thing off. Stretching and yawning I was more awake after my alarm clock hunt and went to shower and get ready for school.
****
Clearing the steam from the mirror I looked over my tired face. Alice was right I looked nearly alive but definite wasn't at my best. Then again 4 hours of sleep will do that to me. Wrapping the towel tightly around myself I stole from the bathroom to my bedroom. I knew Charlie had gone to work already but wear only a towel was asking for someone to see me.
"Hi Bella." Alice said from behind me and I jumped and tumbled to the floor as I stared at her eyes wide. My heart was in my throat as I managed to blink. I don't know if I screamed but Alice found my reaction hilarious. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you." She held out her hand for me to take and she pulled me off the floor. "I just thought you might want some help this morning to look your best." I nodded my understanding as my heart slowly descended to where it belonged.
"Thanks Alice that's nice of you but use the door next time or, you know, warn me." I told her and she smiled and handed me a bag of clothing. I looked from her to the bag and wondered what she was trying to pull. "I have clothes or whatever is in that bag Alice." I told her as she pouted this cute little puppy dog pout and I didn't cave. "I can do that too Alice but I must say shiny eyes make it work better. And NO to whatever is in the bag."
"Please Bella. It's perfect for today and it's really cute!" Alice told me and I eyed the bag wondering what she meant 'for today' there was nothing special today. "And we'll match!" when she said this I finally really looked at Alice. She was wearing a lovely white trench coat with pleats. She looked rather like a ballerina, wearing a black leotard with a long sleeved white shirt under and a loose flow-y blue skirt and ballet flats.
"I'll freeze if I wear that." I told her truthfully. Smiling she removed tights and arm warmers and gave me a look as if to say 'duh.'
"Sides you'll wear your coat with the fur trim too. Please Bella." Alice looked at me sadly and I caved drat. Smiling she handed me the bag and shoed me into the washroom.
****
Looking in the mirror once again I decided that Alice was a miracle worker. I looked lovely, unusual but lovely. The purple actually made my brown eyes pop more and I didn't look overly pale. The make up probably helped on the looking alive part but it was subtle and didn't bug me like when I applied it. The purples in the different eye shadows looked almost smoky.
"Wow Alice." I told her as I took in my reflection. The paler lips and smoky eyes and lack of dark circles.
"See totally worth it. Now we have to hurry or we'll be late for school." She told me as she pulled me out to her car. I looked at her and then shrugged grabbing my coat and bag. As I passed my newly returned Nia I stroked her side and walked away. Oddly enough the coat worked but my bag really didn't. At least she hadn't dressed to match the candied apple red of her car.
"That was really nice of you Alice though I have the money to buy my own clothes." I told her grumpy but okay. It was kind of fun to dress randomly but to match one other person made it less awkward. Not that it wasn't fun to be supergirl but it was annoying being so isolated.
"When we go shopping I'll remember that." She told me and I rolled my eyes that would be interesting I'm sure.
"I will only go if I get to dress you up randomly." I replied and she grinned and nodded as we pulled into the school. It had only taken us 5 minutes what was normally a 15-20 minute drive for me. I don't really want to know how fast she had been driving. At least we made it to school on time.
"Bella?" Angela called from where she and Erik we're sitting. I waved and they both got up and walked towards us. "Morning, nice outfit you two."
"Next time you get to be in on it." I told her grinning and she shook her head smiling. "What you don't want to dance around the school like a ballerina?" I asked her and we all chuckled. It was light and I know that my jokes took some of the tension from Alice's presence. Most people seemed wary of the Cullen kids.
"Maybe baseball players next time." Alice suggested and I blushed before agreeing.
"Sure sounds fun to me." Angela answered eyeing me lightly. I shrugged at her silent question.
"Charlie and I had dinner and watched a game at her house, so I wore a baseball style shirt and she won't let me live it down. But maybe we can get a whole group and have a team?" I asked and Alice nodded and Erik and Angela agreed. Baseball was less odd then ballet really.
"I'm going to go give Jasper a kiss before class see you later?" Alice asked and I nodded of course we had class together. Erik, Angela and I walked towards the school and I filled them in on the events of yesterday and the day before that they missed. Finally the bell rang and school began, hugging Ange me and Erik made our way to class.
"You're becoming good friends with the Cullens." Erik commented and I nodded.
"Yeah randomly so, why?" I asked intrigued as to why he would be so bothered by this. It seemed to be more than just the creepy factor that most people got around the vampire family.
"Well, are you going to ditch us and spend all your time with them? I mean Edward seems interested in dating you or whatever." He rambled and I poked him and rolled my eyes. I thought only stupid and juvenile people basically vanish when they start dating someone. Sure there's finding a new balance cause friends are under boyfriends/girlfriends but no need to cut everyone out for one person right?
"Erik you're my friend, heck you and Ange are like my best friends. Alice and Jasper being more like best friends too doesn't mean you guys can't be. And Edward's odd, if he likes me swell but I'm not going to stop hanging out with you guys because of that." I told him and he smiled at me. "I think we should all eat lunch together, if you and Ange don't mind the company?" I asked and he nodded. He was less anxious which was good but I had the feeling things could get complicated fast. I began to wonder if having human and vampire friends was going to work well.
****
I moved to my next class in an odd little bubble, my thoughts were everywhere but where a normal teen's would be. Should I continue to be close friends with other humans while I was friends with the Cullens? Was it possible that they would get hurt? Not by the Cullens but by the world that they were a part of. Would being friends with a human be straining to them? Like being friends with a childish and fragile person?
"Bella?" Alice asked as I slid into my seat next to her. "You seem far away." I smiled at her and shrugged.
"Kinda, Erik asks questions that kinda make me think about all my relationships." I said and my mind flashed to Charlie was what I was doing going to affect him? Sighing I let my head fall forward and lay on the table top.
"I saw, so what did his question spark in you?" she asked and I smiled, Alice the all seeing was handy.
"Well by being friends with him and others am I exposing them to a world that might be dangerous." I replied and Alice smiled.
"Indirect exposure to us, I hadn't really thought about it." She told me and seemed to puzzle over it as class began. I didn't pay any attention and doodled a picture that was amusing and disheartening. A group shot of me and the Cullens. How long would it be before we parted ways and I was alone again? I added Clara's face to the picture and eventually my mom's and Charlie's. It looked like a family shot and that made me smile.
"Bella, I don't think you really have to worry about it unless they start to figure it out. Don't worry about Charlie either, we'll keep everyone safe." Alice told me just before we parted and I headed to History. Mrs. Levington called to me in the hall and I looked at her as she walked towards me.
"Bella I was thinking to help you out with the mural that we could get another student to act as your assistant and you and she/he would get out of your next class. Does that sound okay if you don't have anything important this period?" She asked and I smiled.
"No just history and I know the perfect student to help me he's in class with me. Nice and tall." I answered smiling at her. It would be nice to get some more work done on that. "Jasper Hale." I informed her and we walked to my class to formally excuse me and him.
Jasper smiled at me as we walked holding a ladder between the two of us. It was always a good day to get out of hearing Ms. White ramble on. As we came to a stop for the final time in front of the chalky wall I got organized.
"I don't know why you picked me but thank you." Jasper said as I opened some of the paint I would be using.
"No problem, I wouldn't have left you alone in that class. Too mean even for me." I teased and pulled out a few of the brushes I was going to use for all the black. "Sides now you get to make sure I don't hurt myself in the process." Jasper chuckled at that and stood the ladder up.
It was a fairly slow process of adding the outlines and basic elements that wouldn't even really be visible when it was done. That was only twenty minutes but felt longer, I switched to white as I began filling in the hopeful and bright background.
"As you fill it in I get more of the limitless possibility vibe rather than the 'oh what a dark and gloomy day.'" Jasper commented as he held the ladder.
"Yeah well filling it in with chalk is just a waste of chalk. I'm glad you still like it. See I see the idea that I'm drawing from and trying to create so it's never completely right to me." I told him as I tilted my head to the side trying to find the buildings before I highlighted the wrong thing.
"I suppose that's got to be disappointing, never being able to recreate the idea." He said like he understood the premise that I was going for.
"It makes me more critical of the flaws and work harder which I like but it means nothing is perfect to me. I got over it though and learned that sometimes the flaws are what make the idea come through better." I answered and Jasper smiled at that.
"Who changed your mind?" he asked and I stuck out my tongue at him.
"Clara and my mother." I told him, "My mom used to intentionally go out of the lines or make a mistake. She said that it gave the work a more real touch. And Clara would tell me to stop fussing over something that she liked the way it was."
"Your mother painted?" Jasper asked and I chuckled shaking my head.
"Dear lord no. My mother used to paint with me. She would set up a stand next to mine and finger paint. It was hilarious but she taught me to relax and let the work speak for itself. To stop pushing my concepts on it and to let the work flow as it was meant to." I answered smiling as I thought about those times.
"Child prodigy." Jasper said and I stuck my tongue out at him once again this time he copied me and we both laughed.
"Yup. I am really well known just not under my own name. I stopped painted for art shows and focused on my own world and where it needed colour." I told him as I finally finished the rain filled future.
"What was the name?" Jasper asked curious. I smiled and changed brushes and climbed down the ladder to start on my figure.
"Quinn." I answered and his eyes widened apparently he knew the name. "I only sold paintings for three years when I was discovered at five."
"We have some of your paintings in another house." He told me as he bowed to me.
"Don't be silly Jasper that is my past. I was happy and my work was light and airy. Popular with the vastly wealthy I tried to sell my work again but I could never paint the same way. My work was more imaginative and later darker no market for it. Even if my other works were bought." I told him and sighed. I didn't miss auctions and gallery showings but I longed for those innocent and happy paintings.
"We are all shaped by our lives Bella, you grew and changed there's no reason to regret that." Jasper stated and I smiled up at him.
"I know but I wish I was still that little girl." I told him as I worked on the face of my girl. It was Clara's innocent and happy as she was just hours before her end. "Tomorrow is the day I lost my mother and gained my sister." It was the only way to look at it a trade one for the other. Clinical, emotionless.
"I'm sorry and happy." Jasper said as he tried to answer the statement.
"So am I." I answered and we worked in silence from then on. I let him fill in the basic shapes of the black tunnel structure. By the time it was lunch period I just had to finish colouring the girl and the umbrella. It looked good but the flaws were staring out at me defiant and I didn't mind them in the slightest.