I'm back! Did ya'll miss me? Anywho, I have a little treat for you guys. Remember how I promised that being pacient with me for a few weeks would be worth your while? Well, it is about to become well worth your while to have been so pacient with me (for which I'm truely thankful). So, as a little thank you present, I have FOUR new chapters for you, to be posted over the course of today and tomorrow. Enjoy sweeties.

Also, I'd like to give a shout-out to my beta, SporkFilledDeath345. Thanks for your help editing and writing, SporkFilledDeath345. You rock!

A/N: This takes place at roughly the same time as Chapter 5.

Chapter 6 – A Game of Croquet (Rosalie's POV)

I turned my head slightly to the right, examining my profile. Hmm, I wondered, should I go with my left profile for my portrait? I turned my head to the left. Or my right? I turned my face towards my mirror. Or should I do a full-face portrait? Not that it matters; I look beautiful regardless.

A knock on my door interrupted my reverie. "Come in," I called. The door opened to reveal the butler.

"Miss Hale, a letter just arrived for you from a Mr. Emmett McCarty." He handed me the letter.

"Thank you," I answered. The butler nodded and left. I settled down on my bed, opened the letter and began to read.

Dear Rosalie, the letter read. I very much enjoyed spending part of my evening at the Cullens' party with you. You are a charming young lady and I am sure my parents would benefit greatly from meeting you. Please join us tomorrow at my house for a game of croquet. Please bring your parents. Sincerely, Emmett.

I stood up and walked to my desk. I sat down, took out a piece of paper and a pen, and began to write my response.

Dear Emmett, I wrote. Thank you for your compliment. I too enjoyed your company that night and would love to see you again. My parents and I will be at your house at three o'clock tomorrow. Until tomorrow, Rosalie. Finishing my letter, I went to one of the messengers, bade him to deliver the letter, informed my parents of our plans, returned to my room, and resumed examining my facial features.

The next day…

Our carriage rounded the corner and Emmett's house came into view. As we pulled into the drive, I spotted Emmett from afar. We reached the door and alighted. Emmett stood waiting for us with his parents. As we reached them, Emmett took my hand and kissed my fingertips.

"It's a pleasure to see you again, Rosalie," Emmett said.

"It's a pleasure to see you again as well, Emmett," I replied. "Mother, father, I would like you to meet Emmett McCarty. Emmett, I'd like you to meet my parents."

"It's nice to meet you Emmett," my father said as he shook hands with Emmett.

"It's nice to meet you both as well," Emmett replied. "You have a very lovely daughter." I blushed.

My mother laughed. "We think so too," she replied.

Emmett laughed. "Mother, father, I'd like you to meet my friend Rosalie Hale and her parents," he said.

"It's very nice to meet you, Rosalie, dear," Mrs. McCarty said.

"It's nice to meet you too," I answered.

"Shall we head to the backyard and commence the game of croquet?" Mr. McCarty asked.

"We shall," my father replied. We walked through the house to the backyard and found a croquet game ready for us to play. Six mallets stood on a mallet stand with the six balls lined up in color order: red, blue, yellow, orange, green, black. We each selected a ball and a mallet. The order went me, then my father, the Mrs. McCarty, then Mr. McCarty, then my mother, and last was Emmett. We played for a while amid laughter and enjoyment.

It was Emmett's turn. My ball was a few inches from the stake and I was contemplating my winning move when I heard a click of two balls hitting each other. I looked up to see my red ball rolling away, Emmett's black ball in its place.

"Emmett, it seems you have roqueted Rosalie's ball," my mother said. "What would you like to do?"

Emmett paused for a second. He bent down and picked up his own ball. He walked over to my ball and put his down next to mine, so they were touching. He put his foot on his ball, prepared his mallet, and swung. His mallet hit his ball with a resounding Crack. My ball shot off into the distance and into the tree surrounding the yard. He then took a second shot. He turned to me. "I'm sorry, Rosalie," he said sheepishly.

"I can't believe you would do that to me, Emmett," I said quietly. I could feel the anger and hurt I felt seeping into my eyes. I turned and stalked off to find my ball.

I heard footsteps behind me and a voice calling my name. "Rosalie!" It was Emmett. I turned.

"I don't want to talk to you, Emmett," I snapped. Before he could respond, I turned and walked away, disappearing into the trees. He followed me into the trees, grabbing onto my wrist to stop me from getting away. I turned. "What do you want, Emmett?" I asked.

"I want to apologize," Emmett said. He paused, but I didn't respond. "I realize that what I did was wrong. I hurt your feelings and I'm sorry." He paused again. I still did not respond. "Aren't you going to say something?" I didn't answer. "Fine, Rosalie." He let go of my wrist and walked away.

I watched him go. You ignorant, pompous girl, I told myself. He tried to apologize to you and you completely disregarded him. Is this anyway to treat someone you care about? You should go apologize.

I chased after him. "Emmett!" I called. He stopped, but didn't turn around. I made my way towards him. Tentatively, I place my hand on his arm. He still wouldn't look at me. "Emmett," I said again. He turned his head and looked at me, his eyes full of anger and hurt and something I couldn't identify. Sadness.

I looked away, but didn't hesitate. "I'm sorry, Emmett," I told him. "I'm sorry that I acted like a vain, pompous brat. I should have forgiven you. I do forgive you. I didn't mean to hurt you Emmett. I'm sorry." I met his eyes once more.

Emmett didn't say anything; he simply continued to look at me with eyes full of anger and hurt. I dropped my hand and turned away from him. A single tear slid down my cheek.

I felt a hand that wasn't my own wiping the tear off my cheek. I turned towards Emmett hesitantly and found him holding his hand out toward me, a soft smile on his face. Tentatively, I took his hand. He pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms around me. I leaned my head against him and sighed. We stood like this for a few minutes.

Suddenly, I heard Mrs. McCarty calling us. "Emmett? Rosalie?"

"Yes mother?" Emmett called back.

"Have you found the ball yet?"

"Not yet. We'll keep looking." Emmett dropped his arms. I lifted my head off of his chest and sighed in disappointment. Emmett chuckled and reached down to take my hand. "Come on," he said. "Let's go look for your croquet ball."

Hand in hand, we searched the trees for the ball. After a few moments, Emmett bent down with a triumphant "Aha!" When he straightened up, he held my ball. I smiled and we began making our way back towards our parents. When we reached the edge of the trees, Emmett let go of my hand. I pouted, but I knew it was better if we kept the whole episode in the trees a secret.

We rejoined the group and finished the game. The six of us then made our way back to the front of the house. We found our carriage waiting when we emerged. My parents bade everyone goodbye and entered the carriage. I said goodbye to Mr. and Mrs. McCarty before turning to Emmett.

"Thank you for inviting me, Emmett," I told him. "I had a wonderful time."

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, Rosalie," Emmett replied. "Will I see you again soon?"

"I believe that I can be arranged," I answered. Emmett smiled. Without another word, he helped me into my carriage and we departed.