Here it is... the second 11 page update I promised you. Now, two quick things before we begin:
First, I just took a look at the review count... we've hit 50!! I'm really happy about this, don't get me wrong, and I would like to thank all my reviewers, but I know we can do better than this, especially since some of my reviewers have given me more than 5 hits and a few of you anywhere from 2-5. Come on all you people who've favorited/alerted me and my story. Write reviews! I want to hear what you think. I love your opinions. I don't bite! And don't think I don't know your pennames, cause I do. So review! Don't make me hunt each of you down individually!
Secondly, a quick A/N before we begin: this chapter consists of a few flashbacks to chapter 17 each taken from a different girl's perspective. I've written next to each point it says "flashback" who's POV it is, just so you don't get confused. If you remember the last chapter well enough, feel free to skip over them; I just thought the flashbacks seemed better than long winding monolouges to explain everything.
Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, but I wish I was. If I was Stephenie Meyer, every one of my fans would currently be driving a Porsche 911 Turbo, as per her wish in the acknowledgments of Eclipse. (I swear it's there. Look at the very last of the acknowledgements on the second page of them in Eclipse and you'll see that it's right there in black and white. Seriously.)
Chapter 18 – More Than Meets the Eye (Bella's POV)
I pushed my way through the willow leaves and into the clearing. Thankfully, it was empty. I walked over to the bench and sat down. Just then, Alice came into the clearing. Like me, her eyes swept the clearing, making sure that nobody else was here. She saw me and stopped sweeping the area. "It's safe," she called to an unseen person behind her.
"Good," they said. I recognized Rosalie's voice. Alice started towards me, Rosalie on her heels. They reached the bench and sat down in silence. For a while, no one spoke. Finally, Rosalie said, "I'm…. confused."
"Why?" I asked her.
She looked back and forth between Alice and me. "Did I make the right choice?" she asked finally.
Alice and I stared at her. "I thought you said you were happy to be marrying Royce," Alice said.
"I thought I was," Rosalie said. "But after last night, I'm not so sure anymore."
"What exactly happened?" I asked her.
"Well…." Rosalie began.
Flashback (from Rosalie's POV)
I stood talking to Lauren when a man came over to me. "Excuse me, Miss, would you care to dance?" he said to me. I considered saying no, but then I thought one dance won't hurt. I'm simply being polite and sociable.
"I would care to dance," I answered. He took my hand and led me out to the dance floor. He took me in his arms and we began to dance. There was something familiar about the way it felt to be in his arms, but I couldn't understand why. I looked up at his face, trying to figure out who he was, but his mask made it impossible. I sighed.
"What's wrong?" he asked me.
"Who are you?" I asked in reply.
"A friend," he answered. A friend? I thought. What an odd answer. Though maybe that's what I need right now. Someone to talk to, someone who will listen. Someone like Alice or Bella or… or Emmett. At that, I felt my carefully construed façade collapse. Tears began to fall down my face, sliding out from under my mask.
"What's wrong?" the masked man asked, seeing my tears. "Are you alright?"
"No," I said through my tears. "I'm not alright."
"What happened?" he asked. "Why are you so upset?"
"I made a mistake," I said. "I hurt someone I really care about badly and I'm afraid they'll never forgive me."
"I don't understand."
"There was this gentleman. We met at a previous party of the Cullens. We became friends and eventually stronger feelings got involved. He started courting me, but I became engaged to another man, who made me end things with this gentleman. At first, it didn't bother me. He was hurt, but I didn't care. Now I've realized how foolish I was. This man meant so, so much to me, and I ruined things. Now the damage is done. He hates me and nothing I say to him – saying I'm sorry or telling him that I care about him – will ever change that."
"I don't mean to be rude, but I think you're wrong," the masked man told me. "I think if you told him you were sorry and that you care about him, he would forgive you."
"How can you know that for sure?" I asked him.
The masked man disregarded my question. "There was something else you were wrong about. He doesn't hate you. He could never hate you because he loves you too much to hate you. He's loved you from the first moment he met you and he still loves you now. He's just waiting for you to realize that you love him too."
"How do you know this?" I repeated my question as the midnight bells began to chime. All around us, people were unmasking. The masked man met my eyes. Slowly, he reached for the ribbons holding up my mask. Gently, he untied them and pulled my mask away from my face. He handed it to me, never breaking our connection.
"How do I know this?" he murmured to me. Slowly, he undid the ties holding up his own mask and began to take it off, his eyes never leaving mine. He pulled it away from his face and I gasped.
Involuntarily, I took a step back, shocked. "Emmett?" I whispered. He took a step closer to me and I took another step back.
"Rosalie…" Emmett said, moving closer to me again.
"No…." I said, turning and running away.
"Rosalie!"
End flashback
Alice and I stared wordlessly at Rosalie. "I shouldn't have run away from him, should I?" she asked. Speechless, we nodded our heads. "That's what I thought. He just… he just caught me off guard; I didn't know what to do, I…" She stopped. "I've been an idiot, haven't I?"
"It's about time you came to your senses," I joked. Rosalie glared at me. "But seriously, maybe it's not too late. Maybe you can still fix things."
"How?" Rosalie wailed.
"We can't tell you that," Alice said. "We don't know any better than you do. You'll have to figure this out by yourself."
Rosalie sighed. "I guess I have no other choice," she said. Then she changed the subject. "What about you two? How were your nights?"
"Confusing is a good way to describe it," Alice said.
"Why?" Rosalie asked.
"Jasper found me last night."
Flashback (from Alice's POV)
A blonde man in a silvery-gray suit and mask came over to me. "May I?" he asked, extending his hand.
"You may." I took his hand and we began to dance. I looked up at him as we spun around the room. Even though I couldn't see his eyes, I felt an aura of trust running between the two of us. I remembered the last time I had met a man in this room who I thought I could trust. Tears began to trickle down my cheeks as I thought of him.
The masked man noticed my tears. "Why are you crying?" he asked me.
"I'm sorry," I told him. "I was just remembering an old friend of mine. We're… we're no longer friends and I miss him so, so much."
"What happened?"
"Well, when I was younger, I was betrothed to the son of good friends of my parents, but the son died fighting in the Civil War. I got engaged to this friend of mine, only to find out that my betrothed was still alive. Now I have to marry him, and my friend is mad at me for betraying his trust."
"Do you love your betrothed?" the masked man asked me.
"Once upon a time I did," I told him. "But now, now I'm not so sure I do."
"So if you don't love him, do you love someone else?"
I thought about this for a moment. Was it possible that, even after what happened and what had been said, I still loved Jasper? Had I ever stopped loving him? "I think I love him. My friend."
"Does he know you love him?"
"I know he knows, but I don't think it matters to him anymore. When we had to end the engagement, I tried to convince him that I was against my parents' decision and that I still loved him, but he wouldn't listen."
"If he knows, wouldn't it matter to him?"
"Why would it? He doesn't love me anymore. My feelings are irrelevant."
"You're wrong," he told me. "He still loves you." Silence filled the air around us and the midnight bells began to chime.
"Are… are you sure?" I asked. Slowly, the masked man undid the ribbons holding my mask and pulled it away.
"I'm sure," he told me as he began to untie his mask. "I may not know everything, Alice, but one thing I do know," he pulled off his mask. "Is my heart." I gasped as I stared up into Jasper's navy blue eyes.
I stood there, frozen, for what felt like an eternity. All around us people were moving, laughing, socializing, but I couldn't. For me, none of it existed. All that existed was Jasper. Slowly, I reached my hand out and stroked his cheek. Gently, Jasper reached up and took my hand, holding it tightly in his. He pulled our interlocked hands away from his face, but smiled at me reassuringly, as if worried I would look at things from the wrong angle. Our fingers laced together and he squeezed my hand reassuringly. I squeezed back.
"Alice!" a familiar husky voice called from near by. I wretched my fingers from Jasper's and spun around, coming face to face with Jacob. If he had witnessed the exchange between me and Jasper, his face betrayed nothing. "There you are," he said. "I've been looking for you. It's getting late, you should probably get home." Reluctantly, I followed him out to our carriage and away from Jasper.
End flashback
My mouth dropped open in shock. I looked over at Rosalie and saw that her mouth was hanging open too. "Did…. did we hear you correctly?" Rosalie asked. "Did Alice Brandon actually disregard her parents?"
Alice turned away from us and buried her face in her hands. "I didn't mean to," she said. "It just happened. I can't explain it. Something about him…. about Jasper…."
"You love him, don't you Alice?" I asked her. "It's written all over your face. You love Jasper."
Alice hesitated. "I do," she whispered finally. Then she spoke louder, "I love him. I love Jasper Whitlock!" Then her face fell. "But what good does it do? I'm marrying Jacob. Love isn't a part of this equation." Tears began to fall down Alice's cheeks.
"Oh, sweetie," I said, wrapping her in a hug. "It'll be okay. Have faith, Alice. Have faith."
"Bella's right, Alice," Rosalie said. "Everything will be alright. You just have to believe." Alice continued to cry for a few more moments before recomposing herself.
"Thanks, Bella. Thanks, Rosalie," she said, drying her eyes with her handkerchief. "I don't know what I would do with out you both." She turned to me. "So, Bella, what about you? How did the masquerade ball turn out for you?"
The memories of last night flooded my mind. "Painful," I murmured.
"What happened?" Rosalie asked.
"I'd rather not talk about it," I mumbled.
"Bella, it's not good to keep these things inside you," Alice said. "It's better to let them out. That way, they won't be eating at you." Rosalie nodded.
"Fine," I said. I took a deep breath, then began my tale.
Flashback (from Bella's POV)
I found Angela and began talking to her. After a while, she excused herself and left. I made my way over to one of the vacant couches around the room and sat down, careful not to ruin my appearance. I glanced at the clock. 11:15. Forty-five more minutes until the unmasking. I sighed.
Fifteen minutes later, a young gentleman came over to me. He had bronze colored hair and pale skin, emphasized by his black suit and mask. The hair sent me into a frenzy. There was only one guy I knew with hair that color and that was….
Don't be silly, I told myself. Just because he has the same colored hair doesn't mean it's automatically him.
The masked man interrupted my thoughts. "Excuse me, Miss, would you care dance?" he asked me, holding out his hand.
"As a matter of fact, I would." I took his hand and he helped me to my feet. Hand in hand, we swept onto the dance floor and began to dance. For a while we were silent. Suddenly, I felt my foot catch on the end of my skirt and I stumbled; thankfully, I didn't ruin the dress. The masked man tightened his grip around my waist to make sure I wasn't hurt.
"Are you alright?" he asked me. He sounded so concerned, so intent on making sure I was okay, just like Edward had…
The tears started to fall as I thought of Edward. I turned my head away, hoping he wouldn't notice, but he did.
"What's wrong?" he asked me.
"It's nothing," I said.
"Please tell me," he begged. "I won't judge you. I would never judge anyone. I can't stand seeing you hurt."
"How about I tell you a story."
"I'm listening."
I hesitated. "Once upon a time, there was a princess," I began. "One night, the princess went to a ball. At this ball, she met a prince. There was an immediate attraction between the prince and the princess. The prince saved the princess from a rowdy courtier. The princess was thankful. Slowly, the prince and the princess started to fall in love. The prince began courting the princess. One day, he told her he loves her and she said it too. The princess was so happy, until she saw the prince out walking with one of the ladies of the court. The princess was so angry that she told the prince that she didn't want to ever see him again. They got into a fight and the prince confessed to having feelings for the lady. The princess was hurt and told the prince to leave. He left, and the princess was devastated. She talked to two of her ladies, but the wound was still there." I stopped.
"How does the story end?" he asked me.
"I… I don't know," I confessed. "It doesn't have an ending yet."
"Well, why don't I give it one?" he suggested. I nodded. He thought for a long moment before beginning. "The prince was deeply hurt by what had happened between him and the princess and he vowed to fix things. He waited and waited for the right moment to approach the princess and apologize to her for what he had done. Finally, opportunity presented itself in the form of a masquerade ball. He plotted and planned to make sure that he would get the chance he needed. At the masquerade ball, he tried all night to find the confidence to find the princess and apologize to her. Finally, he found the confidence. He went to find her and told her he was sorry." I looked up and found the masked man staring at me passionately.
"Wh…what did she say?" I whispered, my voice barely hearable over the chimes of the bells.
Slowly, he undid my mask and pulled it away from my face. "Why don't you tell me what she says, Isabella," he asked me quietly.
"She… she would want to know if the prince was truly sorry for what he did," I said.
"And if he was?"
"If he was, then she would forgive him."
"And what about this princess?" He took my hand. "Would you forgive your prince if he apologized?"
The answer was on my tongue before I could even think. "Yes," I whispered.
"Good," the masked man said. "That's all I needed to hear." Without letting go of my hand, he undid his mask and pulled it away from his face. I gasped. "Hello, Isabella," he murmured.
I tried to pull away, but Edward's strong grip on my hand made it impossible. "Edward…" I said, my voice strangled.
Edward pulled me closer to him. "Bella…" he whispered. Just then, a mass of pale blue silk appeared and wrapped itself around Edward. Tanya.
"There you are, Eddiekins," she cooed, locking her arms around his neck. "I've been looking all over for you."
"Tanya…" Edward said in a growl. He didn't remove her arms from around his neck.
"Come dance, sweetie," Tanya said. Then she noticed me. "Eddiekins, who is this?" she said, the smile on her face being replaced by a frown.
"This is Isabella Swan," Edward said. "She's a friend of mine."
"It's nice to meet you, Isabel," Tanya said.
"It's Isabella," I corrected through gritted teeth.
She ignored me. "Eddiekins, let's dance," she said to Edward. She tried to pull Edward to the dance floor, but he resisted. "What's wrong, sweetie? Don't you want to dance with your sweetheart?"
The word "sweetheart" was like a slap in the face. "So she's your sweetheart, Edward?" I asked, my voice quiet and deadly.
"No, Bella, it's not like that," Edward said.
"So what is it like then?" I asked.
"I can explain, Bella, just give me a chance," he begged.
"I've given you enough chances Edward," I said.
"Bella, please, just let me explain," Edward said.
"I'm sorry Edward, but I can't. I just can't," I said.
"Bella, please, I care about you, only you, I really do," he begged.
"Goodbye Edward," I said as I turned away from him and Tanya and began to make my way through the crowd.
"Bella, wait!" I heard him yell after me, but I didn't stop. "Bella!" I kept walking until I was out of the ballroom and in the entrance hall. I paused, debating what to do now. Suddenly, I heard footsteps behind me and someone calling my name. "Bella!" they yelled. Edward. I turned around, furious.
"What do you want, Edward?" I snapped. He stopped a few feet away from me.
"I want to apologize," he told me.
"I already told you that I can't let you apologize," I said.
Edward moved closer to me so we were inches apart. "Why can't you, Bella?"
"I… I just can't," I said, my resolve weakening.
"You're fighting what is meant to be, Bella," He said to me softly. "We belong to each other. Surely you've seen that this is so." I nodded. "Then why are you fighting it?"
"I… I don't know," I confessed.
"Don't fight it, Bella," he whispered. "Give in to your heart." He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. Without thinking, I leaned my head on his chest. We stood like this for a few moments, then I felt a pressure on the top of my head. Edward's lips. Something inside of me snapped and I jerked away, out of Edward's arms. Edward looked at me, shocked. "Bella…" he said.
"I can't do this, Edward," I said, my voice choked. "I'm sorry."
"Bella…" Edward reached for me. I pulled away again and turned and ran outside.
End flashback
Alice turned to Rosalie. "Please, please, please tell me I can go kill Edward and Tanya now," she begged. "And possibly Bella, for being such an idiot."
"Hey!" I said, offended. "I can understand why you would want to kill Tanya and Edward, but why me? I'm your best friend!"
"Edward and Tanya, maybe," said Rosalie. "Bella, absolutely not. I think she did the right thing."
Alice and I stared at her. "You do?" I asked.
"Yes," Rosalie said. "What Edward did hurt you badly, Bella. You shouldn't just forgive him just because he plans this sweet, romantic apology. And you really shouldn't forgive him if Tanya still thinks he cares about her. If she still thinks he cares, then one of them isn't being completely honest, and I'm almost positive that it's Edward. You deserve a man who will love you and respect you, and if Edward won't, then you should find someone else who will. If Edward thinks he can just act romantic and caring and you'll fall for him, he's wrong. You know what you deserve, Bella, and it isn't this."
"Actually, Rose, I think you may be right," Alice said. "Bella does deserve someone who cares about her and who loves her, not someone like Edward."
"But Edward does care about me," I protested. "Or, at least, I thought he did," I murmured to myself.
"Bella, if Edward cared about you, he wouldn't have gotten involved with Tanya," Rosalie said. Alice nodded. "You need to forget about Edward and find someone else."
"I guess," I said numbly. "Thanks for the advice, girls."
"Your welcome, Bella," Alice said. We fell silent, each wrapped in her own thoughts.
"Something else from last night is bothering me," I said after a few minutes of silence.
"What is it, Bella?" Rosalie asked.
"Isn't it odd how the boys managed to find us? Considering it was a masquerade ball, after all."
"It is odd," Alice murmured. In my mind, I flicked back through the events of last night, each story, looking for a common link. Suddenly, something occurred to me and I gasped.
"What is it, Bella?" Alice asked.
I ignored her and turned to Rosalie. "Rosalie, Emmett found you when you were talking to Lauren, correct?" I asked her.
"Yes, that's correct," she said, looking puzzled.
"And Alice, you talked to Jessica at some point last night, didn't you?"
"Yes," Alice said. "I did."
"And afterwards, Jasper managed to find you, didn't he?"
"Uh-huh," said Alice.
"And I talked to Angela and Edward managed to find me…" I said.
"What are you talking about, Bella?" Rosalie asked.
"I think I know how they found us," I told them.
"How?" Alice asked.
"Think about it," I told them. "The boys know we're mad at them or vice versa and they want to fix thing, but they know we'd never listen. So they decide to use our friends as means to get to us. Now who are our closest friends?"
"Each other," Rosalie said.
"Exactly," I said. "So obviously, we've probably told each other and wouldn't give them the time of day either, so that route is out. So who are our next closest friends?"
"Lauren, Jessica, and Angela," Alice said.
"Exactly," I said. "Now think about it: who did each of us talk to last night? And who managed to find us afterwards?" Alice and Rosalie gasped and I knew they had figured it out.
"So what you're trying to say is that Edward, Emmett, and Jasper recruited Lauren, Jessica, and Angela to help them find us?" Alice said.
"That's exactly what I'm trying to say," I said. We all sat there wordlessly, stunned into silence. Rosalie reached into her skirt's pocket, pulled out a watch, and glanced at it. She jumped to her feet, stuffing it back into her pocket.
"I have to go," she said. "Royce is coming over soon to continue discussing wedding plans." Without another word, she left, leaving just me and Alice in the willow grove. After a few minutes, I stood.
"I should go too," I said. "I need a little time alone to think." Alice barely acknowledged me. I turned and walked through the willow leaves, lost in thought about Edward and what Alice and Rosalie said and about Lauren, Jessica, and Angela and their quasi-betrayal. By the time I reached my carriage, I was more confused than ever. Only one thing was certain: I needed to get Edward out of my life, once and for all.
Okay, by a show of hands, how many people want to kill Bella for that last line? raises hand Don't worry sweeties, I'll make things all better with a wave of my magic wand (jk). No, but really, I promise to fix everything. The golden couples of Twilight cannot remain apart forever!
xoxoxoxoxo, TwilightTeen212