DISCLAIMER? Okay everybody knows what disclaimers are supposed to say, but I honestly don't understand why we put them up. Legally, yes I do understand. Otherwise, no I don't. Obviously none of us are Stephenie Meyer, therefore obviously none of us own Twilight or its characters. If any of us did or were Stephenie Meyer, we wouldn't be writing on fanfiction… We would probably be writing another book. But that is just my opinion. I mean, you never know.
ALSO, I have decided that I will be posting a new chapter every wednesday. That is all. Pitch forks are not neccesary. This will allow me to finish chapters before hand and get them out on a timely basis.
Chapter 11.
"A bar, Alice?" I asked. There was no reply. I just saw Alice across the tent, smiling. I knew she had heard me, everyone at this party could hear me. I was fuming. Alice had gone way overboard! The beautiful, mahogany bar would be yet just another prop in Alice's party façade. I glanced around to find someone who would answer my question, I saw Jasper cringe from my anger.
"Sorry, Jazz." I whispered. I glared back towards Alice. She was still talking to Siobhan. I almost forgot that Edward was holding my hand until he gave it a tight squeeze. I turned around to face him and intertwined our other fingers. I smiled, what I hoped was a convincing smile. He chuckled and muttered,
"Bella." Clearly my annoyance was written on my face. "You could only imagine what Alice has planned…" He trailed off.
"No, I probably couldn't." I disagreed, "Alice is far more imaginative than I am." I couldn't help it. Edward was like a vacuum. Whenever I am with him he just suctions away all of my negative energy and negative thoughts. He makes me such a better person.
To my resentment, Edward released one of his hands. To my enjoyment, he cupped his hand against my cheek and stroked my cheek bone. "Don't doubt yourself, love." He whispered. I reached up to my tiptoes and lightly pressed my lips against his. To my dismay, he pulled away slightly, breaking our kiss. He only smiled and then returned his lips to mine. I reached my arm around his neck and pulled his head down towards me. I was quite content, until he smiled against my lips and started laughing again!
"Okay. Seriously, Edward." I snapped. "What the hell is so amusing to you?" Then I heard the sound of liquid sloshing around cups. "What the-" I swiveled from side to side, attempting to locate the cause of the sound. Edward put his hands on the sides of my head and turned them towards the UNNECESSARY bar.
Emmett was standing behind the bar, filling up martini glasses with a red liquid. Blood, the smell hit me as soon as I saw him. All eyes in the room turned to Emmett, suddenly Alice was leaning on the bar. "Martini, anyone?" She asked raising her eyebrows. The entire population of the tent crowded into the corner with the bar. Well, everybody except Jacob. Renesmee was tugging on his hand,
"I want one. I want one!" She pleaded. Jacob stood with a confused expression on his face, shaking his head. I saw that Edward was watching them too and began making my way over.
"I thought you couldn't drink anything besides…blood?" He asked. He probably couldn't smell it, at least not yet.
"We can't." I confirmed.
An amused smile crept onto Edward's face. "Yes." He said slowly, nodding. I assumed that Jacob understood. His face crinkled up in a disgusted expression. People, well vampires, began walking past us with ice blue martini glasses filled with a red liquid. Jacob's expression got even more disgusted.
"Just pretend its punch." Renesmee directed, shrugging. I nodded, agreeing with Renesmee.
Emmett glided over to us, holding a martini glass in one hand and two in the other. He held out the two in his hands to Edward and me. Edward reached and took them while Emmett downed his in one gulp.
"Derien!" Emmett called, slinking off towards the bar, again. Rosalie appeared on the other side of Edward as soon as Emmett left.
"There isn't actually any alcohol in them, Emmett is just acting like he's drunk." She said smiling, taking small sips of hers. I watched Emmett pretend to stumble around, but failing. Even his hulking, bear like form couldn't look inelegant.
Edward took a sip of his "martini", a low rumble forming in his chest. It must be good. I took a small sip of mine, monitoring the taste.
It was delicious, a delectable combination. I could taste the stale, dry taste of animal blood. There was also salty and sweet components in it.
"What's in these?" I asked Edward. He smiled and answered,
"Well, there's animal-"
"Bye." Jacob interrupted, scooping up Renesmee and running her over to the pond.
I giggled at Jacob's obvious discomfort. Edward chuckled and continued. "There is animal blood and some extra minerals, proteins, and sugars that can be found in human blood." I tilted my head to the side. Element of human blood? That means that there was human blood in this. I made a disgusted look, like I was going to throw up, and held the glass away from me. Edward shook his head. "There isn't any human blood. It just contains some of the minerals, proteins, and sugars to accommodate the…non-vegetarian vampires here." He explained, pausing to think of a way to put it as not to offend anybody.
I made a satisfied noise and quickly downed my glass, tipping my head back. I rolled on to my tip toes to kiss Edward on the cheek and began to break our interlaced fingers.
"Where are you going?" He asked lightly.
"To get another." I explained, holding up my empty glass. He chuckled and pulled me to the bar.
Emmett was behind the bar, manning the tap. "Another, mademoiselle?" He asked in a perfect French accent, reaching for my cup. He set it on the counter. He squirted the mixture out of the tap into a silver martini mixer, put in a spoonful of a powder, and began shaking it by hand. I was sure that at vampire speed, the powder would be dissolved quickly. Emmett smiled and poured the mixture into my glass.
"Merci." I said, my French accent off. Emmett nodded and moved on to Benjamin who was in line behind me. A line of six had formed behind me.
I turned, amazed, and looked over the party. Everyone was lively, and in a pleasant conversation with a small group around them. The only one who was straying from a group was Alice, who was bounding across the tent towards the exit. I pulled Edward to intercept Alice's path.
"Hi, Bella. Enjoying yourself?" She asked, eyeing my 'martini'. I nodded vigorously and took sip. Although it was cold, it tasted better than drinking it straight from an animal. I assumed it was because of all the extra ingredients Alice decided to add.
"You may want to speed it up though." I motioned towards the longer line. "Even with Emmett the trusty bar tender going at vampire speed there's still a line." I explained.
Alice nodded knowingly. "I was going to fix that." She explained. "See you in a second!" With that Alice bounded out of the tent.
"What is she-" I asked before being interrupted by Edward.
"I don't know." He said frustrated. "She was translating Romeo and Juliet into Indian." I didn't push Edward, I knew how it irritated him to not know what people were thinking.
I felt small hands hugging my right leg. I looked down and there was a head of bouncing, bonze curls.
"Hi, sweetheart. Is everything okay?"
She nodded. "Yeah. But mommy?" She questioned, I nodded to encourage her. "Can I have one?" She asked, pointing to my cup. I looked at Edward, he shrugged.
"Sure." I approved, scooping her up and putting her near Edward. I ambled over to the bar, cutting the line.
"Sorry, sorry." I apologized, "Renesmee wanted one. Can you put it in a normal cup though?" I asked. I didn't want to give her the wrong impression. Vampire or not, no parent wants their child to get the impression that drinking is okay.
"Here, darling." I said, handing Renesmee the drink. She took it out of hands greedily and put her mouth to the rim. She tipped it once, taking one sip, and sloshed it around her mouth before swallowing it.
"Yum." She said, smiling. Dipping her head to get another sip, she moved her eyes up to watch me. I smiled and took a sip of my own. She gulped down another sip, smiled at me, then dashed off to find Jacob.
"It will be interesting to see if Jacob can put his disgust for blood drinking away in order to keep Renesmee happy." Edward murmured in my ear. I could feel his lips, tickling my ear lobe. A single shiver ran through my body. I turned, placing one hand on Edward's shoulder, and pulled myself up to his face. He ducked his head to allow me to stand on two feet. Curling my hand holding my drink in towards my body, to shield it from being knocked over, I could feel Edward's arms wrapping around my back under my sweater. Our bodies were pressed together at every available spot.
"You guys are worse than me and Rose." Emmett said. I turned to see Emmett standing a little over a yard away, watching us with an amused expression on his face.
"Not quite." Edward sneered. I glared at Emmett. He seemed to be trying to get me back for interrupting his intimate moment earlier. I didn't do interrupt on purpose. Nobody would want to see that.
"Wait…if you're here, who is taking care of the bar?" I asked, rotating to look at the bar. On the bar there was now a massive ice sculpture. It looked like a volcano, spewing lava, with lava pathways swirling down the sides. All the magma converged at the bottom in a ring surrounding the mountain, and then was sucked back up to repeat the cycle. The ring around the bottom was accented by a plug. Release the plug, and the blood would funnel out, into your cup.
"Oh my…Alice." I called, never taking my eye off the ice sculpture. She was at my side in a second. "Alice, how did you get that so quickly?" I asked.
"Oh. Well, it's kind of a long story." She answered. I nodded curtly. She skipped away, heading towards Jasper. I shook my head in disbelief.
"Now, where were we?" Edward asked, leaning in towards me. I smiled and began closing the small gap between us.
"Cake time!" I heard Alice call. Edward groaned and rolled his eyes. I could hear many confused noises from the party. But, none the less, everyone still gathered around the cake stand in the center. I wasn't quite sure whether it was out of curiosity or because nobody wanted to offend Alice.
Esme was standing next to Alice, and with one swift motion the sheet was off of the cake. It was a piece of art. The cake's base coating of frosting was white, perfectly matching the delicate blue and white frosting lilies placed in groups around the cake. The flowers were hand crafted and perfect replica's of the one floating around the base of the cake in water, rimming the pedestal.
I could see everyone's wide eyes, I could hear everyone's silent gasps, and then I heard Renesmee clapping her hands excitedly.
"Thank you, thank you, Grandma Esme. It is so pretty! I don't think we should eat it." She said, attaching herself to Esme. Esme kneeled down to Renesmee's level and wrapped her in a tight hug.
"You're right." Esme said, "It's almost as beautiful as you are."
By then end of the night; the volcano was almost running dry, there was one swipe of frosting taken off the cake to reveal the chocolate underneath, and goodbye's were being spread around. As the first guests announced their departure, Alice disappeared. She emerged from the house shortly after, carrying a basket with blue and white ribbons tied around the handle. Placed on top of the pale blue tissue paper, there were many thin, silver cell phones.
Alice cleared her throat to get the attention of all the guests. "On the porch," She began in her wind chime voice, "This basket will be out on the table. There will be one with your coven's name on the are for you, in case any of us ever need to reach each other for…various reasons. Please enjoy your party favors!" Alice chirped, exiting the tent. She entered moments later, skipping over to Edward and I. We were speaking to Kate and Garrett.
"Too much?" She asked, making it sound more like an accusation of my thoughts than a question.
I nodded, "But it would be a good idea, if everyone had phones." I explained. Alice nodded a consensus and skipped off towards Jasper.
Garrett's eyes were following after Alice questioningly.
"She really likes planning parties." I explained quietly.
"I can tell." Garrett said skeptically.
The guests dwindled, the volcano ran almost dry, and the cake had not been touched. There was one little swipe someone had taken at the very bottom edge. It was between Jacob and Renesmee. I was upset. I knew I would be more upset if it was Jacob than Renesmee. The cake was Renesmee's, but it was so beautiful. It was a piece of art work. Edward could tell I was furious.
"What happened?" He asked concerned, resting his hand on my hip bone. He stood directly in front of me, tilting my chin up. We made eye contact and I could see the worry in his golden eyes. "What's wrong?" He asked again, more concern mounting up behind his words.
"Nothing, nothing. Somebody just took a finger full of Esme's cake." I explained. He grimaced playfully.
"Let's see who." He said, leading me over to the cake. I bent down and sniffed the area around the print left from the finger.
"Definitely Jacob." I said standing up stiffly. My eyes scanned the almost empty room. There he was, with Renesmee half asleep at his side. He was on the opposite side of me, over by the pond. I stalked towards him, and he looked up into the fury of my eyes. His eyes grew wide and he subconsciously backed up a step.
"Jacob." I said flatly. "Was the frosting good?" I asked with fake enthusiasm.
"Yeah, it was fanta-" He began off sounding excited, but once he realized I was angry he slowed down worriedly. I cut him off with a glare. "sorry…" He mumbled, looking down. He seemed worried I was going to hate him for taking a tiny taste of frosting. I didn't know I had gotten that bad.
"It's okay." I said quietly, looking down at my feet. I was a little ashamed. I didn't know why, but I was having tons of mood swings now.
"It's fine, Bells." Jacob said cheerfully.
"Bella, Edward." Carlisle called, "Where's Renesmee?"
"Right here." I called back.
"One second, Carlisle." Edward answered. "Come here, sweetheart." Edward said leaning down to pick up Renesmee. He cradled her in his arms, speeding towards the exit of the tent. Jacob and I followed Edward.
Edward stopped at the front porch of the house where Carlisle and the rest of the family were standing. The Denali's were also standing on the porch. Esme and Carmen were hugging while Tanya and Carlisle were having a conversation.
"You must visit soon." Carlisle said warmly, pulling Tanya in for a quick embrace. The goodbye's almost seemed to follow a pattern or system. Each person would exchange a few words and move on to the next, nobody was ever left without another.
Tanya next moved to Edward and Renesmee. "Goodbye, little one." Tanya said, kissing Renesmee on the forehead. She then stood up and looked in Edward's eyes. I could see Edward's neck muscle's tighten slightly in reaction to Tanya's thoughts. "Goodbye, Edward." Tanya said tenderly, smiling.
"Goodbye, Tanya." Edward answered, smiling politely. They could not embrace, Edward was holding Renesmee, but Tanya placed a hand on Edward's forearm.
"It has been good seeing you." She murmured before moving on to me. We shared and awkward embrace. She rested her hand on my upper arm, "You are very lucky, Bella Cullen." Tanya stated. She was smiling, but I could see her jealousy.
"Thank you. I know I am, and I am very grateful. Please stop by soon." I replied.
"Yes, anytime. Please, you are always welcome in our home." Esme declared.
"As you are in ours." Kate replied.
We all watched the gold escalade depart down the driveway. Once we heard it turn onto the highway, everyone filtered inside.
Alice slumped down onto a couch, with Jasper following. Edward, Renesmee, and I sat on a different couch, while Rosalie and Emmett wandered upstairs.
Alice's small lips were formed into a small pout in the shape of a frown. Jasper rubbed her arm. This must have been the 'post party depression' Emmett had been referring to before.
Abruptly Alice's face dropped all emotions. We all sat forward on our seats, eagerly waiting for Alice's visions. Well, Jasper and I did. Edward sat back and gazed at the half conscious Renesmee.
Alice's eyes released the haze, but her face showed little emotion. Edward's head jerked up. Alice's face held one emotion, worry.
"Oh my." She whispered under her breath.
Ahhhh. Cliff hanger. I know I'm evil. I seem to use Alice's visions to my benefit.
Review, Review, Review!!
Thank you to those who commented and those who left names! I have already decided on a name and changed the character a little bit. I would love to thank my best friend, Izi, and to my sister, Hannah, who have helped me tremendously with my story. I would also like to thank all of you! You guys are the reasons I continue writing this story. Thank you so, so, so, so much.
Bitsy!