Leia's POV
"She looks like a reject from the Disney princess collection." Lauren Mallory's low, snarled insult made me smile. Okay, so I was already smiling and I refused to let her jealousy mess with my inner glowy feeling. Adam was here, not twenty feet from me, sitting in the audience with Sarah and Jacob. Bella might have been as excited as I was if she wasn't looking a little green around the gills at the moment. I reached over and patted her hand. Alice had assured us, before the wolves had finally decided to come, that Bella's stage fright would only add to the farce we were planning, making her forget her first couple of lines.
Somehow, Alice had managed to talk Mrs. Cope into making us the last act of the night. Bella, Edward, Ben and I were all hiding on the rigging catwalk that we would be 'flying' down from during our act. Angela hadn't been willing to climb up with us, and since she was the only one not 'flying', there was no need for her to be here. We were suspended above the stage, hidden from the crowd by swags of old, threadbare curtains. We had the best seats in the house, in my opinion. There was a tiny tear in the curtains in front of us that allowed Edward, who's knee I was currently tapping in rhythm with the music being played on the piano in the choral practice room, to see a small portion of the gym floor. Including the seats where the Cullens sat (as directed by Alice). Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately since my family really didn't like the way the wolves smelled, I couldn't see the Quileutes.
"They're on the opposite side from the family, Leia. Near the front. Adam insisted on getting down close." Edward offered with only a tiny bit of his growly overprotective brotherness showing. I patted his knee in thanks and he sighed. I didn't know what had shifted Edward's attitude towards Adam of late, but he seemed a lot more accepting of our friendship. Almost resigned. Of course he wouldn't elaborate on what had caused this shift.
"Are you sure this is safe, Ben? Are these things meant to hold the weight of four human beings?" Bella's question was nervous. She was tucked against Edward's other side, his arm locked around her waist.
"We had six people up here last year and it didn't even creak. I think we're okay." Ben said reassuringly, not even lifting his head from the harness cables he was fiddling with. Edward leaned down and whispered against Bella's ear.
"I won't let you fall, love."
"I'm not worried about that. What if you have to do something to keep me and Ben from being hurt? You could expose yourself," she hissed softly. I grinned. Trust Bella not to worry about the injuries she could sustain if the catwalk crashed to the stage. She was worried we might give the Forks High School Auditorium a demonstration of our vampire abilities. Edward kissed her temple.
"We can tell if the metal is straining too much, Bella. If it starts to give, we'll just climb down." Bella looked over at me and I nodded, tilting my head and tapping my ear. I could hear every groan and twinge of the metal fittings above our heads. Edward could too, to a degree, but I was better equipped to listen and Bella knew it. I saw her relax under Edward's arm.
"Alright, I'm gonna climb down and watch with Angela. I'll be back up after Lauren and Tyler's to hook you up." Ben waved before starting down the ladder. Edward watched him until he was almost to the bottom and then turned his attention back to the rip in the curtains.
"Lauren's talent scout just showed up." I could tell by the way Edward said 'talent scout' that something about man wasn't quite right. Edward could see him through the rip, sitting just across the aisle from our family. He currently had his eyes glued to Rosalie, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head.
'I'm afraid Lauren is in for a big surprise if she signs with this slimeball. He isn't interested in signing legitament talent.' Edward signed to me, a grimace on his face. Bella noticed and touched his cheek. He managed a smile for her before calling Alice. He spoke in a conversational tone, but of course she heard him. I felt the vibration of the platform under us as Alice climbed the ladder. She was dressed all in black, from her designer jeans to her KISS concert series t-shirt. She called it her 'grunge stagehand' look.
"You screamed?" Alice asked perkily. Edward snorted softly.
"Yeah, we need to up the timetable on Operation Scout-Be-Gone." Alice bounced on her toes, causing the catwalk to quiver enough that even Bella felt it. She tightened her grip on Edward, and he hissed at Alice to be still. She stopped, but her excitment didn't decrease.
"Lauren will be devastated. I can't wait to see her face!" I silently seconded Alice's enthusiasm. Lauren had made it her personal goal in life to make Bella as miserable as possible and I wasn't averse to seeing her wallow in a little misery of her own.
"Edward, as much as I'd love to see Lauren get her comeuppance, I thought we decided to let it go. It could be someone else's big break," Bella said softly.
"Trust me, Bella. No one at this school needs the kind of break that man can offer them. Not even Lauren Mallory. His clientelle is more Debbie Does Dallas than Gone with the Wind, if you get my meaning," Edward said with a smirk. Bella blinked at him for a full five seconds before she did get his meaning.
Cue the blush! I thought at Edward, just as Bella's cheeks turned bright red and she ducked her face into Edward's shoulder, forgetting for a moment that she was wearing stage makeup. She jerked her head back when she remembered and blushed even redder, reaching out to brush at the pale powder smudged across Edward's green shirt.
"Sorry, sorry." She cast a furtive glance at Alice, but my sister just pretended to ignore the mishap so Bella turned her attention back to the conversation at hand. "Oh, well then, tell Emmett to do his worst. Not even a bitch like Lauren deserves that kind rude awakening."
"Actually, I think you should let Rose handle this one. The way he was looking at her, I think she won't have any trouble getting him out of the auditorium for a little chat," I suggested gleefully, knowing that Rose would probably want to do more than chat with Mr. Slimeball. Edward chuckled.
"I think that's an excellent plan. He's trying to think of some way to introduce himself to her."
Alice was already halfway down the ladder at this point and Edward watched through the rip when she slipped into the empty seat beside Jasper and leaned against him. It looked like she was just enjoying a moment with her boyfriend, but she quickly explained the situation to the family. We watched, and quietly told Bella what was happening, as Rose got up and stepped out into the aisle. She walked right past the scout and turned her head to give him a wink before sauntering up the aisle and out into the lobby. Sure enough, the scout wasted no time jumping up from his seat to follow her.
"Isn't Emmett going to follow them?" Bella asked thoughtfully.
"No, Rose can handle herself without his help. He's pouting though. He was looking forward to staging a smash and grab on the man's car." Edward's tone was filled with laughter. Bella grinned and rolled her eyes.
"How dare she steal my agent! I'll scratch her eyes out!" I heard Lauren Mallory screech when one of her friends told her that the talent scout had followed Rosalie Hale from the auditorium and that they had been seen walking to the parking lot together. Little did she know that Rosalie had just saved her from signing a deal with the devil himself. I wondered idly if she would have even cared. Still, I almost hoped she would confront Rosalie. It would make the night so much more entertaining. I relayed the latest development to Edward and Bella. Edward just rolled his eyes, but Bella giggled right along with me.
About that time the lights flickered and the talent show began. The first act was Jessica Stanley, dressed like a catholic school girl gone bad. The agent might have been disappointed to miss it, but he was currently more interested in the show outside. Rosalie was flirting shamelessly with him as they walked to his car. The man pulled a briefcase out of the trunk and propositioned Rosalie with a contract and an invitation to his hotel later. At that point, Rose staged a smash and grab of her own. On the poor agent's most tender, manly parts. I clapped enthusiastically along with the crowd when Jessica's lackluster Britney Spears impression was over, but I was applauding my sister instead.
"Just as well. Men like that shouldn't have the option to procreate," Edward muttered to himself. I silently agreed with him and watched through his eyes as Rosalie settled back in beside Emmett. The scout had crawled into his car. He was still whimpering as he turned the key in the ignition. I tuned him out, satisfied that he wouldn't be coming back inside. Edward was actually watching the student on stage now, a freshman, playing the piano. She was pretty good. Bella was humming along with the piece and I was involuntarily tapping out the rhythm on Edward's knee.
There were fourteen acts total. Some, like Jessica's, were more flash and loud music than real talent. Others, like the young piano player, were actually enjoyable. I was a little embarrassed by Lauren and Tyler's act. Lauren managed to turn what Shakespeare had intended to be an innocent girl speaking to her true love from a balcony into a horny teenage girl trying to get an equally horny teenage boy into her bedroom for a romp.
Edward, she's turned Romeo and Juliet into an episode of the Young and the Talentless. Are you sure she didn't know what Mr. Slimeball was all about? I thought at Edward in disgust. He reached up and flicked my ear with his free hand, as his other arm was wrapped firmly around Bella. I punched his shoulder in retaliation. Out in the crowd, Emmett and Jasper were doing their best not to laugh out loud. I wondered if Jasper was leaking his amusement because there were a lot of giggles and snickers coming from the audience. I even heard Adam's low, gruff chuckle before I heard him comment to Sarah.
"Is this supposed to be Shakespeare or Forkerly Hills 90210?"
I giggled softly when I realized we were thinking along the same lines. I really hoped we'd get to see him once the show was over. Surely they wouldn't come just to run off before we had a chance to talk to them. Edward sighed and reassured me.
"They'll wait for us after the show, Lei. Don't fret about it. Adam is as excited to see you as you are to see him. More so, I would wager." He only muttered the last. Though he would know I could hear it, it was more a grumbled complaint than a comment to me. I patted his knee and then turned to wave at Ben when as he climbed back up the ladder. It was almost showtime. Bella groaned softly and Edward gave her a gentle kiss.
"No worries, my love. Remember, it doesn't matter what happens. Just try to have fun."
"But all those people..." she said with a shudder. Edward chuckled.
"The spotlight is so bright, you probably won't even see them Bella. Just imagine its only us, at your house, rehearsing."
Bella took a deep breath and nodded, but her eyes were still wide.
"Showtime, folks. Edward, you and Bella first, right?" Ben grinned and shook the cables that would be attached to the harnesses we were all wearing. Edward allowed Ben to hook the cables to his harness but Ben was smart enough to not even offer to hook up Bella's. After Edward's dark glare and low, violent growl when we had tested the harnesses the night before, I was surprised Ben wasn't shaking with fear. He must have put it down to jealousy, though honestly Edward just didn't trust Bella's safety to anyone else. Edward inspected each link carefully before he clipped them through the slits in Bella's dress that Alice had made for that purpose.
The act before us finished shortly after and the curtain was pulled closed so that Alice and Angela could put out our 'set'. It consisted of a painted backdrop of the Lost Boys' Treehouse, a small table and single chair and a hammock. The backdrop itself was spectacular. Esme had insisted on doing something for us, much to Alice's delight. Honestly, it was hard to tell the set was just two dimensional since Esme was such a genius with a paintbrush.
"Tell Bella to break a leg, Lei-Lei." Emmett's gleeful murmur made Edward roll his eyes but my brother grinned as he tugged, gently, on the cables that would be holding Bella. I giggled softly.
"Emmett wishes you good luck, Bella," I told her. Bella grinned a little.
"I'm sure you're editing," she said quietly. Edward snorted softly, but I nodded.
"He actually said to break a leg. It's supposed to be good luck to tell someone that before a performance."
"Are you sure he isn't just channeling Alice? Knowing me, chances are good he's being prophetic." Bella's dark humor made Edward frown, of course. She reached up and patted his cheek. "Not to worry. We practiced my landing a dozen times yesterday. I think its Leia we have to worry about."
"Don't worry about me, Bells. If anything breaks when I crash land, it'll be the stage," I said with a giggle. Ben guffawed behind me, obviously thinking I was just joking. About that time, the curtain opened, the pulleys squeaking loudly as a hush fell over the darkened auditorium. In the quiet, I heard Adam whisper.
"Good luck. Have fun." I was literally bouncing on my toes. Yes, this was going to be fun. I just hoped Bella didn't pass out from stage fright.
"Adam says good luck and have fun," I announced and Bella seemed to relax a little more. Edward sighed again and I rolled my eyes. The happy smile didn't leave my face however. Then Edward kissed Bella's hair and gave Ben a thumbs up before stepping off the platform. He dangled in mid-air for a few seconds before Ben began to lower him to the stage.
Edward's decent was fast and Ben jerked at the last second, making Edward bounce about two feet above the stage. One of his shoes fell off and his hat went askew. There were snickers from the audience as Edward glared upwards as Ben eased him to the stage surface one very slow inch at a time. Once on his feet, Edward quickly released the wires and Ben pulled them up so he could attach them to my harness.
Bella was giggling softly as she watched Edward do a fair imitation of Peter Pan, complete with posing and one rather magnificent crow. There was no talent scout to worry about, so acting badly wasn't a necessity. He did look a little crazed, however, with one shoe missing and his hat sitting almost sideways on his head, secured I knew by one very carefully place bobby pin. After Edward said his lines, he perched at the front of the stage, posed with fists on hips and a triumphant smirk. That was Bella's cue.
Bella was a little hesitant about the whole affair, holding on to the railing even after her feet were off the platform and she was dangling in the air. I came over and gently pried her hands from the bars.
"You know he'll catch you if you fall. Comeon, Bella." I held her hands for a moment and then let go. I heard her sharp intake of breath, but she didn't grab for me, so Ben began to lower her. Her decent was smooth, perfect. But she glided to a gentle stop with her feet six inches from the stage.
"Um..." Bella blushed ten shades of red as she hung there. Edward pretended not to notice. He turned around and laughed loudly.
"Hello, Wendy lady. I don't suppose you've seen the Lost Boys, have you?"
"Uh..." Bella started and blushed from the tips of her toes to the roots of her hair as she kicked her feet, causing her to rock back and forth on the cables. Edward didn't change his pose, but he did look back over his shoulder, cupping one hand around his mouth.
"Oh, Peter, the Lost Boys..." he said in a stage whisper, obviously trying to help her with her line. Bella blinked rapidly as a smattering of snickers echoed around the auditorium. I snarled softly when I heard Lauren snicker from the wings, making a snide comment about 'Bella the halfwit'. Edward didn't snarl, but he did send a glare towards stage left. I watched through Bella's eyes as she, too, looked stage left. She could see Lauren's outline there, unmistakable in her poofy, medieval style costume. Alice had spent Lauren's entire act complaining to Jasper about Lauren's failure to research proper Shakespearean fashion.
"Oh, Peter, the Lost Boys have decided to come back to London with John, Michael and I. Isn't it wonderful?" Perhaps it was seeing Lauren there that gave her the courage she needed to find her inner Wendy. It wasn't Oscar worthy, but I was thrilled to hear the determination behind the quavering words. She was still swinging her feet and by the time she and Edward had finished their dialogue, she was literally swinging back and forth across the stage. Edward was standing to the side with his arms crossed, a spectacular pout on his face as Peter told Wendy he never wanted to grow up. His back was still to Bella.
"Oh, Peter, we shall never forget you." At this point, Wendy was to hug Peter and give him a 'thimble' on the cheek. Bella reached down towards the cables on her harness, which was Ben's cue to lower her the last few inches to the stage. Just as the cables came free, she flung herself forward into Edward, her arms extended. They went tumbling to stage in a tangle of limbs that had the audience roaring with laughter. Edward lost his other shoe and the hat flew off into the crowd.
"Edward! You're ruining it," Alice's quiet screech made me giggle, and Edward's next adlib line was obviously in response to her comment.
"Well, I never did like that hat anyway. Oh, sorry, Wendy lady. Let me help you up."
As Bella ran towards stage right, she paused and turned.
"Oh Peter, don't forget to drink your medicine," she reminded him. Peter turned away from her with a harrumph and crossed his arms over his chest again. He looked back quickly, longing obvious in his eyes, but Wendy was already gone. He sighed dejectedly and went to curl up on the hammock. Or tried to. I tuned him out as he turned getting into the hammock into a comedy show, running my hands over the cables and then reaching back to turn on my 'twinkle lights' as Emmett called them. Thinking of my brother brought my attention to the fact that he was laughing harder than most others in the audience. I did hear Rose slap her husband on the back of the head and hiss.
"You know its all planned, right?" Emmett's laughter toned down a bit then, but not completely. Planned comedy or not, Edward was going to be taunted mercilessly about this performance. As I stepped out into the air, I giggled. Emmett would have a hammock strung in the backyard by tomorrow morning.
Ben lowered me a few feet, just enough so that I was dangling just in view of the audience. I didn't get a spotlight. Not yet. The effect of the fiber optics needed to have full impact. I distinctly heard several of my schoolmates snicker and at least three compared me to a Christmas tree. I tilted my body on the cables so that my gossamer thin, wire frame wings were visible and I looked a little more like I was hovering. I took on a 'listening' pose as Angela tiptoed onto the stage. I caressed the vision of those closest to the stage and finally settled in Adam's sight to watch the rest of our skit.
Chapter End Notes:
Let me know what you thought about Edward 'Peter Pan' Cullen! Okay, so I know its a stretch to imagine our dark and brooding hero doing slapstick comedy, but even the most emo have a hidden Charlie Chaplin begging to burst free. Hehe...