Author note- Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. It was a rough one to writes, but we got through it together.
Thanks to Content1 for her continued help and support. You are like the eighth wonder of the frickin' world or something!
This chapter brings us nicely through graduation and the after-party... but knowing our Kali and the Cullens, things never go that smoothly.
Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight. I own a Copy of S. Darko in which Jackson Rathbone says the word 'Cocktease'. I actually drooled.
Chapter 20
Graduating pains
Bella's hand was broken. Well, one of her knuckles were broken and was now sporting a handsome dark blue brace. I wasn't allowed to go after the fleabag that hurt her; Esme threatened to ground me if I did and suggested that focusing on the final exams at school would be a more prudent use of my time. The hazy fury that had clouded over my head lifted at her suggestion, for no other reason than her idea was hilarious. Like I would need to worry about that...
Turns out, I didn't have to worry about it at all. The finals were a breeze. I literally had the answers to the question on the papers within maybe three minutes, then spent the rest of the time either pretending to write at human speed or conversing silently with Edward. I had, during the last exam, told him that I would never be repeating this torture again. If I had any say in it, I would never go near another high school again. I only had two more days of this shit then I was free forever.
Technically, I had to get through the last two days of school, survive graduation, live through Alice's party, take out a newborn army and then destroy Victoria and then I could be an adult. I had to be a student, a teenager, a soldier and an executioner before I could enjoy my family.
"Kali, wanna play ball outside with Jazz and me?" Emmett was standing at the back door with my other brother, who was twirling a reinforced, leather American football in his hands. I sighed loudly. Normally, I would relish the opportunity, but I was under strict orders today not to ruin my outfit. Alice had been insufferable. Seeing as today was graduation, I would need three outfits today and I was only responsible for one of them. The outfit that I was currently wearing was all Alice. That was evident from the long skirt she had shoved me it. The long purple gypsy skirt brushed the floor and the black tank-top and jacket on top hugged around my waist, showing off all the best bits of me. I had to admit, I did look good. I just HATED skirts.
"Em, Alice will kill me if I get this outfit dirty. Plus, Esme and I are leaving in two minutes. Besides, don't you have tables and chairs to set up?" I teased, pointing to the heap of folded furniture on the front porch.
"Come on, Kali. It will only take a couple of minutes to do that ad everything else has been done!"
"Yeah, because Alice and I did it all last night, so you better set those up properly or it won't be Alice you will have to worry about." I reminded them. The pair of them fucked off last night in my Audi doing god knows what while Alice and Rosalie were on guard duty at Bella's house. Carlisle was at the hospital and Edward at Bella's. Esme had given me a crash course in rigging up the equivalent of a festival sound system, moving furniture, hanging drapes and preparing toxic waste for the humans. If I thought Alice was bad with clothes, she was like Hitler on crack when it came to parties.
"Kali, are you ready to go, dear?" Esme asked, descending the stairs, appearing as a vision in blue. Her periwinkle, knee-length office dress was cinched in at the waist by a thin, royal blue belt that matched her high-heeled court shoes and the bolero that hugged her delicate shoulders and fell to just above the belt on her dress. She looked glorious.
"Yep, just a second, Esme." I grabbed the hideously yellow graduation cap and gown and stood up off the couch. I silently enjoyed the swishing movement of the skirt I was wearing. It tickled the exposed skin of my legs under it. Thank God Alice wasn't here to witness my deliberate sashaying from side to side or she would hunt me down and strap me into skirts constantly. Esme led the way outside and towards my MX-5. I was allowed to take my 'special car' today because it was graduation. It was just a pity I couldn't take the Zonda. Now that was a special car. As I neared the car, Emmett bounded onto the front porch, wishing me luck and waving us off only to collapse in a heap laughing as I pull on my graduation robe. The sickly yellow clashes spectacularly with the metallic purple of the car. As I opened the door, I stuff the the cap on top of my copper curls and Emmett guffawed so loudly, I swear he was going to crack a rib. I frowned, focusing on Jasper's gift and in two seconds had him on his knees, weeping like a five year old girl with scraped knees.
"Damn it, Kali," he growled in between sobs. Esme giggled as she climbed into the drivers side of the car.
"Emmett, next time you laugh at me, I will have you pouting in front of a mirror, asking Carlisle if your jeans make you look fat." I promised before climbing into the car, making sure not to catch my skirt or my custard disaster.
"Kali, that wasn't very nice," Esme chided as she started the car. "Next time, just make him feel bored and he will bother someone else."
"Excuse me?" Did she just give me permission to harass and annoy her son?
"What?" She beamed innocently, "Emmett like to tease people and it does him good to be on the receiving end once in a while.." I just shook my head and watched the world go by outside the car.
The heavy clouds that hung low in the sky threatened rain that never came. It was humid, dull and perfect for a vampire graduation. We made our way to the high school, traffic slowing us considerably, although no more so than Esme's driving. We did, however, manage to arrive and find a parking spot next to the police cruiser of one Chief Swan. At least Edward and Bella were here. The evil Pixie had been M.I.A. since she had stuffed me into this outfit. No-one had seen her and no-one had a clue where she was.
"How long do these things last anyways?" I asked as I got out of the car and straightened my outfit.
"It should only be a couple of hours, dear. Carlisle was sorry that he was missing this one." Esme sighed.
"You sure?" I asked, nodding towards the car park and a rather familiar black Mercedes that was parking up next to my car. When he finally got himself out of the car, he looked like he was attending a red-carpet event. His light blue tie was the exact colour of Esme's dress and it stood out spectacularly against the black shirt and charcoal grey suit he was wearing. I had a feeling that Alice had had a hand in dressing him too. I felt the heartbeats of several mothers stutter severely as he walked past them, leaving a trail of swooning women in his wake. I laughed at their reactions just as he reached for Esme.
"Hey Uncle Heart-throb," I teased, waggling my eyebrows at him from under my canary cap.
His eyes rolled. "I'm used to it," he shrugged, grabbing Esme's hand.
"Ego, much?" I laughed, poking him in the arm. He slung his free arm over my shoulder and pulled me to the back of the gym where the assembled crown looked like a bowl of custard. The sea of moving yellow looked gross and also, slightly hypnotic. I spotted Bella and Edward but still no Alice. Where the hell was that pixie?
I gave Carlisle and Esme a quick hug and weaved my way through the custard people to get to my family. That was easier said than done. Nearly two hundred people were squeezed into this small space. Students, parents and teachers all with increased heartbeats and elevated blood pressures and running higher than usual temperatures due to the excitement. My usually impeccable control was being seriously tested. Human blood didn't call to me the way it should due to my 'indiscretion' with my singer, but this was testing. the sound of the hearts and the feel of the pulse and heat was setting my throat and mouth on fire. I instinctively held my breath and locked my muscles in place.
"Kali, are you alright?" Edward asked, appearing by my side and placing a hand in the small of my back. Bella was gripping his hand with her left one. Her right hand was still encased in a brace that clashed miserably with her gown. The effect was nearly as impressive as that with my car.
"Too many heartbeats," I thought, refusing to even exhale in case the scent of human tickled me.
"You are doing just fine," he said quietly.
"Don't need a pep-talk, man. Just need some air." I silently replied.
"Hold your breath," He suggested. I felt like hitting him.
"I'll try to remember that, professor," I thought sarcastically. "Where's Alice?" Edward shrugged and Bella went pillar box red, which added nicely to the forest fire that was currently ravaging my throat. I continued to hold my breath, not really wanting to kill anyone today.
"Edward, why is Alice A.W.O.L. and Bella blushing like a beetroot?" I thought.
"I don't know and I don't know."
Once Bella's face cooled down a little, I trusted myself to try and breathe again. I scrunched my nose a couple of times to get some normal feeling back into it. Holding ones breath while immortal, while not fatal, is remarkably uncomfortable.
"Mr. and Miss Cullen? Move up to the front." Mr. Varner barked, trying to get the canary masses into some kind of order and under control. Edward gave Bella a quick hug and a kiss, leading the way to the front of the huddle where we stood behind Tyler Crowley.
"Edward, what the hell is going on?" I thought.
"I don't know," He admitted. "Alice is missing and Bella is hiding something from me." He seemed disappointed at the mere thought.
"Hm, Cullen manages to pull off the yellow. Nice... I'll have to talk to her at the party and see about getting that robe off of her..." Tyler's mental fantasizing was completely disgusting. To see my own body tangled around his was nothing short of monstrous. Edward was almost vibrating with the effort it took not to laugh. I whipped my head around to catch him staring appreciatively at my behind. I let out a very low growl and felt my eyes flash with anger.
"Kali, not now," Edward whispered, grabbing one of my arms to stop me tearing one of Tyler's off. The natural instinct that humans have in reaction to my kind kicked in for Tyler. He reeked of fear. "Was that necessary?"
"His mind is a fucking cesspit. I can think of only one person who's mind is worse than his and I truly dread to think... God! Teenage boys are pigs!" I grumbled. Edward, never letting go of my arm, pulled forward as the people in front started to move. We sat in our designated seats, noticing that the Evil Fairy still wasn't here.
"When she turns up, I am going to kill her for making me wear a skirt." I threatened. "I mean, what's the point in insisting if you aren't here to witness it?"
"I think you look lovely," He offered.
"I wasn't fishing for compliments, Edward,"
"It's nice to give them all the same."
I rolled my eyes and started scanning for Alice's thoughts. I struggled against the initial roar of proud parents, excited students and bored teachers before I heard one mind I really didn't want to.
"Bella looks so beautiful. God, I love that girl!" I fought back the snarl in my chest as I heard Jacob Black's mind. I felt Edward stiffen beside me as he heard him too.
"We can deal with the fleabag later," I whispered. Edward's infinitesimal nod gave me enough reassurance that he wouldn't kill Jacob on the spot so I started to scan again; only to be interrupted by the beginning of the graduation ceremony.
Once the opening address and speeches were out of the way, it was certificate time. Seeing as the pixie was still absent, I murmured to Edward that we should pick up her diploma. He nodded again, laughing when I promised to beat her around the head with it when I found her and we waited while all the A's and B's received their certificates. As principle Green called Alice's name, she literally appeared out of nowhere. I focused on her mind only to be greeted by a rather spectacular rendition of The Battle Hymn Of The Republic...in Arabic.
"What the fuck is she doing?" I hissed as Edward's face bore the confusion I felt.
"Edward Cullen." Mr. Green called. Edward stood and got in line behind Alie, focusing furiously on her mind, waiting for her to slip.
"Kali Douglas-Cullen." I rolled my eyes and stepped into line behind my brother. As Alice got to the front of the queue, she finished her song. I paused, waiting for the slip but it didn't come.
"What language now? Hm... Korean sign language!" She thought before proceeding to bless us with the Battle hymn again. I rumbled a low growl as Edward accepted his diploma. I followed after him, accepting my own and moving to stand next to him with the rest of the graduates. I shot a look to Carlisle and Esme who looked like they might actually burst with Pride. By the time I looked back to Edward, Alice had vanished again.
"Jesus Christ! Where the hell has she fucked off to now?" I complained.
"We will deal with it," Edward promised. "The more pressing question is why Bella looks guilty." It was true- She looked like she had killed someone's cat. Although, I did detect a hint of smugness in him demeanor when she saw us looking for Alice. Realization hit me like a slap in the face.
"Your human is in on it." I whispered.
"What do you mean?"
"Look at her, Edward," I said, nodding towards Bella as Mr Green hit the G's. "She looks so bloody smug right now. She knows what Alice is keeping from us."
"Hmm..." Edward fell silent as he contemplated this. We remained silent as the rest of the names were announced. When Bella's name was called, I applauded her name, as did Carlisle, Esme and Charlie. The mutt howled like an idiot and I felt my eyes roll again. As the closing speeches were made and the graduating class was recognised, I felt a wave of relief. I would never be doing this again. High school sucked.
Edward chuckled and nudged my ribs. "Remember and throw your cap," he reminded me. I nodded and took it off my head, remembering not to send the damn thing into orbit. When it landed, I retrieved it from the ground and moved towards Carlisle and Esme.
"Congratulations, dear," Esme crowed, hugging me. We really didn't have time for pleasantries right now. Something was wrong.
"Thanks, Esme. Listen, we have to get to the car. Edward will meet us in a second so we can go back to the house."
"What's wrong?" Carlisle asked immediately, his smile vanishing.
"Alice knows or has seen something. She is blocking Edward and I right now, so we need to go and find her."
"We will leave right away," Esme announced, heading towards my car.
"Esme, I will take Edward back. You go with Carlisle and we will meet you at the house." Edward was heading in our direction with the most horrific expression on his face. If his face was anything to go by, he wasn't making it to the car without killing something. "You guys go, I'll call you from the car." I suggested to the 'adults', watching as they shot off towards the Mercedes.
"Edward," I said, slowly walking towards him. "Don't talk, just let me see." I focused on Edward's and Alice's gifts. I needed to see everything. I grabbed a hold of his elbow, towing him towards the car as I focused on their gifts more than I ever had. He began to replay his and Bella's conversation in his mind. I watched completely horror struck. Alice had visited Bella before graduation to deliver a new blouse for her to wear. After the gift was tossed onto Bella's bed, Alice apologised for her lack of vision. I knew she had been feeling bad about it, but I never thought it was something she should apologise for. She had said that Bella's new blouse was just a small token to make up for not seeing the stranger in her room and whatever was going on in Seattle. Bella's mouth fell open as realisation hit her. The two were connected.
My brain seared as I closed the door on my car. I clutched handfuls of hair on either side of my hair, trying not to scream out in pain. I doubled over until my forehead touched my knees, praying for the pain to stop or my head to explode from the pressure.
"Kali?" Edward's voice was distant but urgent with worry. "Kali!"
"Edward," I whispered, "What's happening to me?" I groaned as the pressure increased and I began to rock backwards and forwards.
"Kali, focus on my voice,"
"I can't. Fuck! It hurts!"
"Kali, just focus. Just the voice." Edward pleaded, nearly ripping my door off its hinges to get to me. "I think you forced a vision."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Bella only told me the short version of what is happening. I think you got the full version." The fire in my head began to recede, allowing me to unwrap the hair from around my hands and lean back into the seat.
"Alice see's the future, Edward. Not the past." I groaned as my head made contact with the headrest, sending another burst of heat through my head.
"I think you saw Alice recounting the story later. Your outfit is different in the vision." How the hell did he notice that but I didn't? "Are you alright?"
"My head is killing me. Can you drive Edward?" I need to see Carlisle."
"Of course, hold on,"
He slipped a hand under my knees and one behind my back, lifting my gently to his chest. Leaning forward, he placed me carefully into the passenger seat. I lifted my legs so that my feet were on the cushion of the seat and rested my head on my knees, wrapping my arms around my shins. Edward climbed into the passenger seat and started the engine, gunning it out of the car park. Thankfully, Chief Swan was still amongst the canary people to notice the highly illegal speed that Edward was now going.
He stroked my back the whole way home in an effort to comfort me. I was pretty sure I needed Jasper, though. I was sure that he could help me control the pain long enough for me to focus on shoving away Alice and Edward's gifts. My head still burned and felt over-crowded. Every time the car stopped at a set of traffic lights, my head was blazing with the thoughts of others. It was agony.
Thankfully, Carlisle's car was parked outside the garage when we arrived at the house. "Thank god!" Edward breathed, shutting off the engine. "Can you come outside for a second please, Carlisle?" he said in a tone that wouldn't awaken suspicions. I raised my head off of my knees long enough to see Carlisle appear like an apparition in the doorway of the house. He had lost his suit jacket and his tie and he still managed to look like he had stepped out of a movie premiere. Although his face was worried and his mind was troubled, he still managed to look like a fucking angel. He shot towards the car as I lowered my pounding head back to my knees.
"Edward? Kali? what's the matter?" I heard both the doctor and the father come through in his voice. it was a bizarre combination. Edward quickly filled him in on what happened and what was happening now. After a brief diagnosis of my condition from Edward, Carlisle called on Emmett to help me inside. Emmett, who turned up next to my car covered in paper streamers and popped balloons, leaned down and helped me out of the car, offering me a hand to hold myself steady. Didn't really work out that way. I think I must have looked worse than I thought, because he quickly abandoned the idea of allowing me to walk by myself and lifted me clean off the ground. With more gentility than I would have thought possible from him, Emmett had me up the stairs and into Carlisle's study.
"You alright, sis?" Emmett asked, watching as I curled myself into a tight ball on Carlisle's sofa.
"Alice's gift broke my head." I said, trying not to move. Emmett looked confused but shrugged it off.
"Can I get you anything?"
"Yeah, dig the pixie out of whatever pile of balloons and party banners she is hiding herself under and bring her arse up here!"
"It's not my fault!" Alice chimed, shoving her hands onto her tiny hips.
"You fucking kept it from us, Alice! We needed to know!"
"What good would it have done? Really?"
"Well, let's see. We would have known what was coming. We would be better prepared. We could have stopped Edward from having an episode in the middle of Forks High school car park. Oh, and we would have prevented my mind-splitting headache- which, by the way, feels like someone has poured liquid fire into my fucking brain!" As my anger increased, so did the pain and I winced, trying to calm myself.
"Okay, I'll give you that. But I saw that if I told you before the party, none of us would have went to graduation. It would have raised suspicions." She proclaimed, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Hmm... raised suspicions are bad...But not nearly as bad as being informed via excruciating vision that my sister was being hunted by an army of rabid newborns!" I felt calming waves break over me as I struggled to contain myself. "Thanks Jasper," I muttered as I stood up. Carlisle ghosted to my side to offer his assistance but was quickly shooed away. "I'm fine, Carlisle. I just need to get a shower and get changed." Alice's eyes fogged over and cleared within a second.
"You are going to look fabulous tonight." She offered. While clearly an attempt at buttering me up, I felt ridiculous about the fact that it worked. I sighed, making a snap decision, waiting for her to get the information I was hoping she would see and for her to start jumping up and down on the spot. Three...two... one...
"Oh, Kali, of course I will! Come on, let's get going! Edward, go and get Bella" Alice was directing traffic as I left the room. I giggled a little when I heard everyone following her instructions in order to avoid major incident. It was a sound plan assuming that everyone involved wanted to survive until the end of the party tonight. She accompanied me to my room where my party outfit was laying on my bed- right down the the hairclips that Alice had previously suggested.
I quickly jumped into the shower, being careful not to get my hair wet as per Alice's shouted advice as I stepped under the warm spray. Once I was out from under the warm water, I quickly dried off and threw on some underwear. I didn't bother with a bra because, honestly, there was no point. Gravity doesn't affect anything in that area and my ensemble for tonight would look ridiculous with bra straps sticking out of the top of it. I squeezed myself into my new leather trousers that Alice had purchased during our 'Shopping Battle' when I had first arrived here. While I zipped myself up, Alice carefully prepared my top.
Other than my cars, I had two indulgences. The first was my music and instruments. The second was corsets. I had discovered that my body had just enough give in it to allow me to wear steel-boned corsets, giving my waist and bust a little more definition without damaging the corset itself. I owned way too many to constantly move around with me, choosing to tote only my favourites from place to place. The one I had chosen to wear tonight was one of my all-time favourite pieces. It consisted of a very strong silk brocade in the more gorgeous regal purple. The fabric was covered in tiny black embroidered flowers and vines, twisting their way through the material until it came to the two front panels. These were set, one on either side of the front clasps and were jet black.
I allowed Alice to strap me in and cinch in the waist for me. Assuming that, being a seventy year old fashionista, she would know what she was doing and be careful with it. I was, thankfully, correct and she had me laced up quickly and without incident. Taking two strands of hair from next to my face, she pulled them back and pinned them to the back of my head with Esme's clips, allowing my copper curls to spill down my back towards the waistband of my trousers. I was pleasantly surprised to notice that the flowers on the clips matched the flowers in the brocade perfectly. After a quick application of unnecessary make-up, Alice tossed me some purple high-heeled boots and declared me good to go. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror as I exited the room and was pleased that I could agree with her assessment as she ushered me downstairs.
"Well, DAMN!" Emmett declared as I hit the bottom step.
"Emmett, I am your sister and you need to stop thinking whatever you are thinking." I slipped the boots onto my feet and sighed whenever I noticed Emmett's eyes bugging out of his head. Oh yeah... bending forward in a bust enhancing corset...
"If you stop thinking whatever you are thinking right now, I will buy Rosalie ten outfits like this in all different colours," I offered. This seemed to distract him. His eyes went out of focus and he smiled to himself. I knew he would be imagining Rosalie in an outfit just like this one.
"For God sake, Emmett," Jasper groaned. He walked into the living room from the kitchen, staggering a little under the weight of the lust that Emmett was projecting. Hell, I wasn't channeling Jasper's gift and even I could feel it. I just laughed as I heard Chief Swan's police cruiser turn off of the highway and onto the drive. Moving slowly, I went to the kitchen to help my mother. Esme had been preparing toxic waste since before the ceremony. I assumed it would all be edible for the humans but it smelled vile. I began cutting up the last of the bread and wondered how in the hell I was supposed to get the smell off of my hands.
"Alcohol rubs will take the smell off once you are finished, dear," Esme suggested, stifling a giggle at the expression on my face as I studied my sullied hands. I nodded once and finished up. I could hear Bella and Edward on the porch as I scrubbed my wretched hands. I moved back into the living room just as the lovebirds made it across the threshold. Bella froze instantly and shook her head when she surveyed the 'Cullen Club' scene before her.
"Unbelievable," She muttered. Edward just shrugged his shoulders and declared that Alice would be Alice. I stepped out of the shadows of the kitchen door and into the pulsing red and purple lights. I took a second to notice that my skin looked slightly wrong under the lights. The surface looked fine, but underneath it looked mottled, grey and almost stone-like. It was weird.
"Edward!" Alice called. She was situated behind one of the huge speakers I had recently purchased. and was surrounded by CD's. Literally, hundreds of them in piles all around her. She was pointing to two particularly high piles. "I need your advice. Should we give them familiar and comforting or educate their musical taste?"
"Keep it comforting," Edward suggested. "You can only lead the horse to water." Alice nodded seriously and began to move the larger pile of CD's into a large box. As I come forward to help her, I noticed that she had changed her outfit while I was helping in the kitchen. Her red, sleeveless top and leather trousers looked astonishing on her tiny frame. Bella must have noticed the outfit changed because she gawped at us before looking at her own clothes.
!"I think I'm under-dressed," She grumbled, looking down at her pretty blue blouse and khaki skirt. my eyes rolled all on their own when Edward disagreed with her.
"You're perfect,"
"You'll do," Alice concluded.
"You know, Bella," I mused, scanning her up and down. "If you want, we can go and pick you something out of my wardrobe. I have a stunning blue corset upstairs that would look extraordinary against your skin. UI have the matching skirt for it too which should just about hit the floor and cover the fact that you can't wear high heels." I focused as Edward's eyes widened at the images I was producing in my head of Bella in the outfit I had suggested. I saw just how an outfit like that one Bella would compromise his impeccable self-control. I couldn't stop the peels of laughter that escaped me as Edward dropped his eyes to the floor. I swear, if he had been able to blush, he would have been bright enough to be able to guide ships home on a foggy night.
"Kali, we are going to see Jasper and Carlisle," Edward stated in an obvious attempt to deflect the conversation onto less embarrassing topics. "Would you like to join us?"
"Nah, I'll stay with Alice. I got the jist of what you guys will be talking about earlier."
"You feeling any better?" Edward asked as he took a step forward.
"You were sick?" Bella looked worried for me. Every day gave me another reason to love this girl just a little bit more.
"Yeah, I felt weird earlier but I am alright now, though," I answered both of their questions at once and flitted to help Alice with the CD boxes.
It wasn't long before the sound of unfamiliar tyres on the driveway reached us and it was time to be a human again. Alice cranked the music and turned down the main lights, leaving only the recently purchased club lights pulsating and shimmering. She danced to the doorway and opened it as the bell rang. A mini-van full of Bella's friends all arrived at once, either too nervous or too scared to come on their own. I placed a welcoming smile on my face and prepared myself for playing hostess for the night.
The humans filed into the room and I watched the look on their faces. It was priceless. Their faces and thoughts were a perfect mix of shock, awe and envy. Alice would be gloating for fucking weeks. As more humans turned up, the part got underway. Bella received the most attention because under the club lights, the rest of the Cullen brood just looked wrong. Unfortunately for the Cullen females, it didn't stop the male attention.
"Damn! Those Cullen girls look amazing! Kali is so hot, I should totally ask her out!" Mental images of my body under his made my stomach churn. Mike fucking Newton! I danced my way over to the food table and stood next to my big brother, slinging an arm around his waist.
"Hey, Emmett, do me a favour, will ya?" I said in a voice too low for any human to pick up. "When Newton comes over here, give him a fright for me? The boy's mind is fucking disgusting!"
"You got it, sis."
I almost fell over laughing. I had to hold onto Emmett's arm to stop myself from collapsing into the crap that the humans were eating. As Mike approached, Emmett threw a huge arm around my shoulders and flashed his razor-sharp teeth in a toothy grin at Mike, causing him to stumble back several feet before turning and crashing into Ben Cheney.
"Thanks, Em. I owe ya one."
"Hey, no-one thinks about my little sister in a less than gentlemanly fashion."
"Hold on a second. YOU though about your little sister in a less than gentlemanly fashion." I reminded him, slapping the back of his head.
"Big brother privileges." He smirked.
"That's really creepy, you know that?"
I was moving away from hi when my head started to hurt again. It was a slow, building burn that settled into the back of my head and pulsed. "Oh god,...Emmett, get me to Carlisle, NOW!" He wasted no time in ushering me up the stairs at near human speed and into Carlisle and Esme's bedroom. They were sitting on the love seat at the foot of their bed when Emmett practically took the door of its hinges. He barely had the aforementioned door closed before my head exploded.
Images barreled through my brain as I cried out in agony. Vampires- a lot of vampires passing around a red shirt as they stood around in a basement. It was Bella's shirt. They were coming for her now. Twenty-odd vampires were coming to Forks for Bella. One of them said four days.
I was barely aware of the fact that I was falling before Emmett's arms locked around my waist, holding me up. I shook my blistering head and instantly regretted it. I tried desperately to focus on something, anything else but the pain but I couldn't find anything to hold onto. My hands gripped at my hair.
"Kali, focus on my voice," Edward sounded distant again. I hadn't even heard him enter the room. I felt his hands on my face as I fought back the scream that was beginning to build in my throat.
"Make it stop!" I yelled. "Make it fucking stop!"
"Kali, focus on my voice. Just my voice!" He urged as Emmett supported me. I felt a wave of lethargy and peace hit me with the force of a shotgun round, allowing me to follow his simple instructions.
"Oh," I gasped as I slumped into Emmett's iron grip. I was moved to the love seat where I tried to curl myself into a ball again but was hindered by my clothes. "Fucking corset." I grumbled as I reached for the corset strings at the back.
"Esme, could you please get Kali a shirt?" Edward said softly, staring at my twisted face. "She needs to get the corset off." I was quickly passed a shirt that smelled strongly of Esme. She unlaced my corset and undid the clasps at the front before peeling it off of me. The boys all turned in unison and faced the opposite way. To be honest, at that precise moment I could have given a shit about modest. I just wanted to curl into the fetal position and wait for the pain to subside.
"It will bother you later, Kali," Edward noted as he stared studiously at the wall in front of him. Shifting my gaze, I noticed that Emmett and Carlisle had found something in the wood grain utterly rapturous. Esme quickly slipped the shirt over my head and guiding my arms into the correct wholes before allowing me to flop over like a fish and curl into the back of her love seat. She began to rub slow circles into my back as Carlisle turned around to feel my head.
"What happened?" He asked, his fingers pressed into the temples of my head. Yeah, like THAT would work...
"Edward, a little help?" I pleaded quietly. He nodded once and I replayed everything that I had seen during my latest brain burning episode. He, in turn, relayed that information to the others.
"Alice needs me. She saw what you did," Edward announced and was out of the door in a flash. Esme knelt on the floor next to me and Carlisle still had his hands working around my head. I heard Emmett shift uncomfortably next to the door when the pain stopped instantly.
"It's gone," I whispered, shock pouring out of me. "It's stopped hurting."I sat up experimentally, shaking my head a little. I breathed in a huge sigh of relief and instantly regretted it. I gagged and spluttered. Esme had her hand on my back again as Emmett's nose wrinkled in disgust. "I think I found my pain-killer," I muttered. "There is a wolf here." Carlisle's eyes rolled and Emmett hissed softly.
"Emmett, in my room, there is a black bra and purple vest top on the chest of drawers at the bottom of my bed. Could you bring them to me, please?" He vanished instantly and I stood up, whipping the shirt Esme had given me back over my head. Carlisle had barely enough time to register what I was doing and spin around before I was exposed to him. I darted to the vanity table and grabbed one of Esme's hairbands. Gathering the loose curls in my hands, I secured them to the nape of my neck in a pony tail. When Emmett rushed back into the room, I turned to take my clothes from him. His eyes bugged and then slammed shut before he did a complete about turn and faced the door again.
"Jesus, Kali! Little warning next time?" He groaned.
"They are boobs, Emmett. Every girl has them," Esme chuckled in spite of her son's discomfort as I quickly dressed myself. I tapped both him and Carlisle on the shoulder when I was decent, allowing them to face us. Alice, Edward, Rosalie and Jasper came into the room then. Alice looked at me apologetically. Her face was paler than usual, if that was possible as Jasper directed her to the seat that I had just vacated.
"Thanks for the pain killer earlier, Jazz,"
"Don't mention it," He drawled. "You alright?"
"My head doesn't hurt right now. I think that may have something to do with the stray dog downstairs thought."
"Did it hurt less this time?" Carlisle asked.
"Hard to tell. I'm more worried about the fact that twenty-odd vampires are coming to Forks in four days to find Bella."
"The numbers are too high." Jasper lamented. "We haven't found help yet," I didn't like the odds any more than he did but our time was up. They weren't waiting for us in Seattle any more.
"They are coming here," Alice mumbled. Her tiny features contorted with misery. "What are we going to do?"
"Fight school," I stated. " I know enough about battling our kind that I should be able to train you. Jasper?" I looked at my brother who seemed to be a million miles away. "Jazz?"
"I will show you how to defeat the newborns," He said flatly. I didn't need to be psychic, telepathic or empathic to know he didn't relish the idea of revisiting his past like that. I didn't either, but we didn't have a choice.
"We need to tell Bella," Carlisle suggested quietly.
"I'll go and get her," I said, making for the door with Alice hot n my spiked purple heels. We found Bella quite quickly. She was backed up against a wall with three Quileute pups bearing down on her like a group of stalkers. A low growl built in my chest and bubbled up my throat, rattling my teeth. I ghosted my way over to Bella, not bothering with the human pretenses and took a hold of her elbow. The mutts leaned away from us as Alice took Bella by her other arm and we moved to lead her to the stairs.
"We need to talk to you," Alice whispered in her ear before giving her arm a gentle tug in the direction of the stairs. Jacob threw a hand out to touch the wall, which blocked our way.
"Hey, not so fast," His hand pressed further into the wall. Alice's eyes widened with surprise while mines narrowed with the effort of controlling my steadily increasing anger.
Alice's voice was clear, even over the music of the party. "Excuse me?"
"Move your hand, now." I threatened, my free hand closing into a fist.
"Tell us what's going on!" He growled.
"Fuck off!" I growled back, trying to keep calm and failing miserably. Too many witnesses. Too many witnesses. I repeated that little mantra in my head over and over as an attempt to ease my tendency towards rash behaviour. I heard Jasper approach, descending from the staircase. His eyes found mine and his expression changed instantly. He went from careful nonchalance to flat-out, life destroying fury. An emotion so strong that it twisted his features into a mask that even I found terrifying. He glared at Jacob's arm wordlessly. As the wolf clocked Jasper's mood, he slowly pulled his arm back. It was a good idea on the mutt's part. It was taking all of my energy and concentration to not rip his arm off and beat his little pound-puppy friends to death with it.
"We have a right to know," Jacob muttered, his glare trained on Alice. Jasper stood between his mate and the wolf, never losing his violent mask. I let go of Bella's arm and stood by his side, blocking her from view. The only part of her that was visible was her head. Bella mumbled something about a party but I couldn't help ignoring her. This was about something more important than not being seen. This was about keeping the whole family as safe and as informed as possible and we couldn't do that if we hung around with wolves.
"It's okay, Jasper. I think he has a point," Alice decreed thoughtfully.
"What did you see, Alice?" Bella asked. Her heart-rate increasing in direct correlation with her state of panic.
"The decision's been made,"
"You are going to Seattle?"
"No."
"They are coming here?" Bella choked. Her pule sky-rocketed.
"Yes,"
"For?"
"Once carried your red shirt," Alice concluded.
"I have to go. I have to get out of here," Bella was nearing hysteria now. Jasper fired off a quick blitz of calm, but in her panicked stated, it only really took the edge off.
"That won't help." I said, turning my head to face her. "They will come here first,"
"Hold it!" Jacob ordered. "What's coming?"
"Our kind," I stated. "Lots of them."
"Why?"
"For Bella. That's all we know." Alice said, finally trying to diffuse what was quickly becoming an all-too combustible situation.
"There are too many for you?" One of the other Quileutes asked. Jasper was not impressed.
"We have a few advantages, Dog. It will be an even fight" I tried, in spite of the pain I knew I would suffer to see the outcome of the newborn fight, but I kept coming up blank.
"No," Jacob grinned, "It WON'T be even." The realisation hit me hard and I couldn't help but laugh. Bella looked at me like I had lost my mind. To be honest, I wasn't ruling that possibility out, but if the wolves were offering their assistance...
"Excellent!" Alice hissed! I smiled widely. As much as I didn't trust them, their whole being was designed to kill our kind. We were in pretty dire straits so I wasn't going to be elitist about this. "Everything just disappeared." Alice said, still smiling. "That's inconvenient but, all things considered, I'll take it."
"I'm not about to be picky," I said. "You're on." I felt myself grin along with Alice and the wolf.
"We will have to co-ordinate." Jacob noted. "It won't be easy for us. Still, this is more our job than yours."
"I wouldn't go that far," I argued. "But we need the help."
"Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! " Bella looked completely confused and was struggling to keep up with us. "Co-ordinate?"
"You didn't really think you would keep us out of this, did ya?" Jacob laughed.
"You ARE staying out of this!" She demanded. "Alice, tell them no! They'll get killed!" Jacob and his two wolf friends laughed loudly. My eyes rolled and I focused on Bella.
"Separately, we could all get killed. Together-"
"It'll be no problem." Alice and Jacob concluded at the same time.
"How many?" The third Quileute boy asked. Bella began to protest again and was roundly ignored again.
"It changes. Twenty-one today but the numbers keep going down." Alice offered.
"Why?"
"Long story and this really isn't the place for it,"
"Later tonight?"
"Yes," Jasper said, addressing the wolf in a more courteous manner than before. "We were already planning a strategic meeting. You will need some instruction." The wolves looked unimpressed with that assessment, but wisely held their tongues. Jazz just continued as if he didn't notice their consternation. "This will be odd. I never considered working together. This has to be a first." I lost focus mid-sentence. My head was starting to hurt again.
"No doubt about that," Jacob agreed.
"Sorry to interrupt here, but there are five vampires upstairs right now who need to know what is going on and I think I need to lie down... You guys hammer out the details and I will see you later." I moved away from the wolves and headed for the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, I considered the idea of seven mature vampires and all of the Quileute wolves on one side of a battlefield. The thought was absurd, but that was what we had. I didn't want to allow myself to hope, but there it was, growing in my chest. I realised... We could win this.
Author note- Yes, I know. Another long one. Hopefully I will be able to maintain this length of chapter and finish this thing quicker! =P
Thanks again for the reads and reviews. Please feel free to let me know what you think. I love and appreciate every comment or message I receive.
Next chapter takes us to fight school! Hope you stick around for it.
Kalika87 (Amanda)