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Disclaimer: I own a red hoodie. But I do not own Twilight.
A/N: hope this clears up the questions I left ya in the last little cliffie.
ENJOY.
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"A break in routine?" I said, repeating his words in question-form. Edward nodded, averting his eyes to his shoes.
"And by that you mean…" I prompted, tugging awkwardly at the hem of my shirt because I was now under his gaze.
"Come here," he said, swinging his feet off the table and standing in one fluid motion. He began walking up the stairs and I followed hesitantly, not really having another choice. That scared me. I almost waked back down, but I physically couldn't.
Overreacting, Bella, you're just overreacting.
We got up to his room and I cringed, we were going in there? I'd stand at the doorway. He glanced over his shoulder at me, surprised I had followed him perhaps, and pushed the door open.
I'd seen the guest room before. You know, when it was an empty mattress and an open window and dusty floors. But his room…well, it looked alive and dead at the same time. Alive because his suitcase was on the floor, spilled open with clothes. The bed wasn't dressed, and some drawers were open and there was some school work in various places.
Dead because it didn't look like Edward. Or rather, what I thought to be Edward. It looked like…a guest room he was sent in to. He didn't live here. And that made me somewhat sad, for an odd reason. I refocused, though, putting my mind back on track to why I was standing in the doorway of Edward's room.
He walked over to his set of drawers, reaching one hand up so that his shirt raised just-one-tiny-bit above his belt where his boxers were poking out, but it was enough to make a naïve, innocent, good Catholic girl (like moi) blush. So I did.
He grabbed a piece of paper that was taped to the wall above the drawers, turning around and walking towards me, slapping the paper in my palm. I raised my eyebrows at him.
"These are the rules," he said, "Well, my rules, actually. My dad wrote them for me."
"Rules for…what you're not supposed to do while you're here?" I asked as I read them over. Fire? Why was that written twice…? I decided not to ask.
"Right," he said, crossing his arms and watching me read them, "So…uh…what would you do if, this is hypothetical of course…if I broke one?"
I snapped my head up. So by 'break' he meant the literal way. He stared me down, not at all taken aback by my response. I calmed down my reflexive reactions a little, trying to hold back the good Catholic girl in me that was screaming "HONOR THY MOTHER AND THY FATHER!"
"Well, I guess some of these are…breakable," I said, trying to word things correctly as I huffed, "But if you hurt anyone, then-"
"Simmer down, Bella, I'm not planning mass homicide," he said, smirking a little, "But if I was to say…get detention?"
"I mean, I wouldn't…like, tell Charlie..? Is that what you're worried about?"
He chewed on his lip, thinking about that.
"Yeah, okay, I guess I'm worried about that," he replied, shrugging. I sighed.
"Well, I don't want you to think of me like…a cop," I said, "Like Charlie's minion or something…so, how about this? I'm the neutral party that only has one rule."
"And the rule is to not commit mass homicide?" Edward clarified, smirking a little more.
"Not to hurt anyone," I said, trying to be stern even though it was impossible when he smiled crookedly like that.
"Deal," he said, "Should we pinky-promise on it?"
"Edward," I huffed again.
"What? I'm being completely serious."
I rolled my eyes, sticking my pinky out. He did the same, smiling at me even though I had my serious-face on. This only made him smile more. He leaned closer and I reflexively leaned back. Still, nothing fazed him.
"If you break this promise," he said, "I have permission to break your pinky."
"Oh, is that how it goes?" I said, rolling my eyes as he laughed, "Don't worry, I promise."
"Promise."
"Promise," I repeated, nodding. We hooked pinkies like 6 year olds, Edward grinning euphorically and me feeling stupid. He was still leaning close, but then he leaned away and snatched the rules away as he did. He jumped up to tape them back above his dresser and then walked over to me.
"So was that your break in routine?" I asked, glancing at my watch, "Starting the day like two minutes earlier?"
"Sure," he said, smiling like he was the cat planning to eat the canary. I sighed and shook my head at myself.
"When did I start making deals with criminals?" I sighed, alarmed the words had come out of my mouth. Thankfully, Edward just laughed a hearty laugh.
"Technically," he said as we walked down the stairs, "There was no deal making. Just pinky-promising."
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Edward
"Dice?!" Alice gaped as we walked down the hallway. I nodded and she plucked the dice out of my palm, which was outstretched towards her. I closed my hand and shoved it in my pocket. She glared at me.
"You decided whether or not to go to the pie-fight using dice!?" she clarified.
"Among other things," I said, shrugging, noticing how non-fazed I was by both Alice and Bella today. I guess women didn't scare me if I knew what I was doing. Or thought I knew what I was doing. Or thought my dice knew what they were doing.
"Like?" Alice huffed.
"Uh…whether or not to turn Bella from Obedient Caterpillar to Vibrant Butterfly?"
"You rolled on that too!?"
"Yes, would you calm down? It's not like fate is any different."
"Don't start with that, Edward Masen," Alice said menacingly pointing a finger at me, "You know I know fate is set for us and not some chance-thing."
I rolled my eyes. Alice was a hippie and shit, so she believed in peace and love and fate and destiny and all that gospel-y stuff. She was glaring at me.
"Fuck you, Edward, I'm pissed," she said, stomping her foot.
"I've noticed."
"Why would you go out of your way to roll dice when you could just decide yes or no by yourself?"
"Because Edward makes bad decisions and dice are a completely neutral party."
"Yeah, clearly. When you decided to go outside in the rain?! I mean, why the hell would you do that?"
"It's part of the ritual."
"Oh, so you don't believe in fate, and yet you still conduct rituals?"
"Chill yer nips, Alice," I said, snatching my dice from her before she chucked it in the garbage or at some poor, unsuspecting freshman. She was still all huffy and had her hand on her jutted hip, being all fierce and 'free the people!'
"I can't believe you didn't want to go to the pie-fight by yourself and you consulted two plastic cubes," she pouted. I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut and pinching the bridge of my nose.
"Alice, just trust me on this. It's just the way I work," I said, so not ready to explain this whole shit-fest that was my childhood to her.
"Fine. But don't come crying to me when you want to make your own decisions and can't."
"I never said I couldn't, just that I was bad at it."
She didn't answer, marching off to her homeroom as I, once again, rolled my eyes. Gee, I couldn't wait to see her reaction when I told her I still needed to get permission from the cop.
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Bella
So, I'm not gonna lie.
I was surprised, when I slammed my locker, to see Alice standing in front of me in all her eccentric glory. She was wearing two pairs of leggings, one was bright red and the other was a sparkly yellow, but both had scratched holes in them, looking stylish and grunge as per usual. She had a long, baggy black tank top (ending just below her butt) and a thin gold belt around her waist. She was wearing ratty black converses with silver laces and, to top it off, a frown that looked like she was going to hurt someone.
Or strangle a small animal.
I smiled shakily at her.
"Hey Alice-" I began before she cut me off.
"Did you know Edward rolled dice to decide whether or not to go with me to a pie fight next Saturday?" she demanded.
Pie fight? Dice? Edward? Next Saturday?
Was that the break in routine?
"Um, no I actually didn't-"
"Yeah, well, he did, and now he's all worried he can't go because your Dad will make him stay in the house and he's worried you won't want to help him if he wants to sneak out so I decided to come over here to get it over with and ask myself if he's allowed out next Saturday."
Wait.
Alice knows?
Well, of course she did. Yeesh, Bella.
"Um…you know that he's…living at my.." I said, picking at my nails. I looked up to see that Alice's face had softened.
"Oh," she said, "Right, sorry, I've known for a while. Don't worry, Edward told me not to tell anyone and I swear I haven't."
"It's fine, I'm just…" I said, shrugging and looking away. God, how I wished I wasn't so self conscious about this stuff anymore.
"No, yeah, I get it," Alice said, sounding truthful, "Sorry I just…barged at you like that. Edward's been pissing me off."
"It's okay," I laughed, staring at my boring sneakers in front of her decked-out ones and laughed internally at the symbolism.
"Anyway, so can he go?" she asked, smiling calmly now in an Alice-way.
"Well, he'd have to ask Charlie," I said, "Because, errr, I'm not like.."
Why is everyone blending me and Charlie together? Do I act that much like a cop? Like an adult? I pushed away the thoughts for later examination, leaning towards the fact that I probably was a old, boring adult at heart.
"Oh, I get it. That's fine. I'll just tell him to grow some balls and ask already."
"Okay," I laughed.
"Sorry again for like, throwing up on you."
I laughed again at the exaggeration.
"It's fine."
"Thanks, Bella. I'll see you around!"
She skipped off, leaving me half-smiling and a little bit dumbfounded.
Why a pie fight?
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"My shirt is inside out," Edward mumbled, picking at his shirt which was, in fact, inside out. I smirked, doodling on the paper to keep from staring at him. We were in Bio, and the teacher was late again. No one seemed to mind, considering he was probably holed up in the janitor's closet with some poor intern.
"How did you not notice?" he asked, squinting over at me. I shrugged, shifting and awkwardly glancing at him.
"I thought it was a fashion statement."
"Does that mean I win America' Next Top Model?"
"Maybe, like, Project Runway?"
"Hm. I should wear my shirts like this all the time…" he mumbled half to himself, making me smile again.
"Why didn't Alice notice?" I asked, glancing back down at my doodle and proud at my casual-conversation making skills.
"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Alice wears paperclips in her hair..."
"Touché."
He smirked at me, and we fell into a silence. He tapped his pen against the lab table and I willed the time to stop so the teacher would never come because…well, I guess this was kind of pathetic, but sitting in silence with Edward was starting to grow on me…
Yeah, it was pathetic. No wonder people are mistaking you for cops and grandmothers.
But still, I couldn't help but feel as if Edward and I had come to some sort of…agreement of sorts. The starts of a friendship, and the end of too many awkward I-don't-really-know-you-yet-but-I-drive-you-to-school moments.
I glanced over at his own doodling, which looked a lot cooler than my stupid little spirals in the margins of my notebook. On his notebook were cars with faces, looking like they were chewing down people, and scribbled little flames in the background.
"Alice taught me how to draw them at work," he laughed when he noticed me looking, glancing smugly at me as he pulled a receipt out to show the original doodle which was drawn on the back and looked like a less-detailed version of the doodle on his notebook now.
"Busy shift, then?" I said, laughing.
He laughed and we fell into silence again. Finally, the teacher barged into the room, slipping on his untied shoelaces and making the class snicker. Class began, and I wanted to tell Edward to teach me how to draw man-eating cars on fire. I wanted to spend the class whispering about how to draw the wheels just right, but I didn't. I shifted my stool farther away, hiding behind a curtain of hair and blushing from my thoughts. Stupid.
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Edward
"Fuck, it's icy out?" I asked, scrunching my nose up at Alice, who was pulling a bright yellow windbreaker out of her locker. She glared at the glass door with a frown.
"Random weather PMSing this time of year," she sighed, "It gets very emotional when it menstruates."
"Is there some like birth control it can take for that?"
"Yeah, it's called an umbrella."
"It wasn't raining this morning," I whined.
"What about 'mood swings' don't you comprehend?"
I mumbled, pulling my hood up on my red hoodie. Alice glanced up at me, smiling.
"I like that color on you," she said approvingly, "It looks very edgy with that black t-shirt and little cross you got going on. Very teenage-angst chic."
"Um…thanks? You know my shirt was inside out today," I said, frowning at her, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Oh. I thought it was on purpose."
"That's what Bella said," I said, rolling my eyes, "Do I really come off that fashion forward?"
"Chica, you're hanging out with the most crazy-dressed person in all of Forks' student body," Alice said, rolling her eyes, "Of course you come off fashion forward."
"Crazy isn't the same as fashion," I said as Alice snorted, "And I didn't know you knew you dressed crazy…well, I mean, you obviously do, but I didn't know you were aware that you did."
"Well, when I look in the mirror and then at how the rest of the school is dressing…"
"Fine, fine, point taken," I said, brushing it off. And, as an afterthought, I added, "And don't call me 'chica.'"
"Do you have an umbrella?" Alice asked, ignoring my protest against her nickname for me.
"I'm going in a car, so-" I said as Alice shoved a pink Hannah Montana umbrella in my face. She walked off before I could protest, calling that she would see me at work. I looked down at the umbrella. Well, what the hell was I going to do with this?
I sighed, walking down the halls and through the door. Icy rain was falling, and it was like what? Late September? Little fuckers. I glared up at the hormonal sky, popping open the Hannah Montana umbrella and jumping when, under the umbrella, her scary looking face grinned down at me. Of course Alice didn't own a normal umbrella, considering I saw her decked out with her own Bob the Builder umbrella. I guess I'm somewhat glad I got Hannah over Bob.
"Nice umbrella," a voice called out. I looked over to see some kid I met like once giving me the thumbs up sign and guffawing. Strange kid. Were we friends now? I kinda liked him, so I grinned back. I noticed Lauren Mallory attached to his hip, who was giving me a queer look that made me want to shove the umbrella in her plastic little eyeball.
Violence? When did those thoughts reappear?
They never left.
That's a good answer.
I walked over to Bella's truck, noticing she was not here and my shoes were wet and there was rain on the back of my neck. I frowned, wondering if I could pick the lock open with my Hannah Montana umbrella. I was considering it, when I felt a hand come out and grab my arm.
I jumped, but then realized it was Bella, and she was slipping. I gripped her hand, trying to steady her as her feet tried to slip out from under her again. She was bright red, the same color as my sweater and her umbrella was flipped inside out. Her hair was wet, her eyes were wide, and she looked lost and helpless and I wanted to hold her.
"You okay?" I asked, holding her shoulder with one hand and the Hannah Montana umbrella above us. She looked up at me like a lost puppy before shaking herself out of it and giving me a shaky smile.
"I…yeah, the clumsy…" she said, not really making a sentence but waving it off with her hand anyway.
She looked up at the umbrella, furrowing her brow before raising an eyebrow.
"It's Alice's," I explained as she smiled, nodding. My hand was still on her shoulder, and we were standing rather close. She was getting fidgety again, but this time I didn't look away from her eyes. She had warm, beautiful eyes and her skin looked so soft I wanted to touch it. Even her hair, wet and mangled, looked glorious and beautiful. What was wrong with me? I thought I wanted to help the girl, not fall for her?
God, Edward, get a grip on that thing.
And by thing, I mean brain, not…you know…nevermind.
No dating.
Yeah, but there's no use trying not to get attached now. You know you're going to miss Alice when you fly this coop.
Well. Yeah. But…
You're just scared she'll run. Like they always do. You little chicken shit.
"Um…we should," Bella shifted, blushing and reaching for her keys. I extracted her inside-out umbrella from her cold-fingered grip. I fixed it and closed it for her and she mumbled her thanks, opening the car door as I watched her with a new fascination. This girl was so lost. So…innocent and sheltered.
I just wanted to rip the umbrella away from above us, grab her hand, and run in the rain so she could know how it felt.
I tried to convince myself that it was for her own adolescent experience, not because I so wanted to see her sprint through this rain. And so far, it was working, but it would come back to bite me in the butt.
So then I realized I still hadn't said anything as Bella fumbled with her keys. Then I also realized I had nothing to say. And that was okay. Because I took the key from her hands, bumped her hip with mine playfully so she'd move from the door. She smiled sheepishly at me, chewing on her lower lip.
"Hands slippery?" I asked.
"Sure."
I got the door open, unlocking the other door once it was open. I handed the keys to her, wishing I had my own car back, and then climbed into my own seat. We shut the doors at the same time and Bella was looking at her lap. I wanted to roll my eyes, clearly seeing that she was embarrassed about something or another.
"Why the glum face?" I asked, snapping my seat belt and propping my feet on the dashboard.
"Ugh," she groaned, putting her forehead on the wheel, "I'm such a klutz. How are you not making fun of me?"
She tilted her head up a little to look at me, her forehead still on the wheel. Was that a serious question?
"It's endearing," I said, grinning at her and making her blush, "Not to mention, entertaining. Why the hell would I make fun of you for it?"
"I don't know," she said, shaking her thoughts and sitting back up, "Never mind. Forget I brought it up."
I didn't respond, but she pulled out of the parking lot with a glum little sigh. Oh great, she was going to be all quiet. That, I could not tolerate. She looked like the type that had a lot to say.
We drove for a minute or two, and I eventually turned on the radio. The rain pelted the windows and the creaky windshield wipers squeaked across the windshield.
I had a lot planned that I was going to say. Really, I did. I was going to talk and get to know the girl, this quiet, polite, mature girl, and then maybe ask her to come do something crazy like go to the pie fight.
But I forgot it all. And I just sat there pretending to look out the window.
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Flashback
I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the pain to go away as every muscle winced away from each kick James sent to my sides. My jaw was bloody, my hands were bruised, and my shirt was ripped. I struggled to get up, only to be kicked down by James again. I spat blood out on the pavement, letting the drizzle falling from the night sky swallow my pain and wash away the stains.
"Come on, bitch," James taunting voice, "Get up and fight like you used to."
I felt the kicking stop and turned around with my elbows propping myself up on the pavement. I wiped my bloody mouth with the back of my hand, spitting on the ground beside me. My lungs were achy and felt like they were bleeding along with every other fiber in my body.
"Fine. But don't touch her," I said, my voice thick with pain, "Beat the shit out of my all you want, just don't fucking touch her."
His fist came toward my face, but I caught it this time and spun him so fast he couldn't even realize it until he landed on the floor. I stumbled up quickly as James groaned and held his head. My legs were shaky and my breathing was heavier.
But I couldn't do it. I had my hand in my pocket, my fingers twitching to pull out my lighter.
Then James started laughing. Really laughing. Like I just told him the world's funniest joke.
"You'd never," James chortled, the rain smashing his bloody, dirty blonde hair as he grinned a bloody grin, "As much as you want to keep that bitch safe, you could never. Because she'd always come runnin' back my way, and you'd always be the one with the weapon in your pocket, too righteous to fight for what you want."
I breathed heavier.
I took out my lighter.
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"How'd you get that scar?"
Bella's voice broke me out of my thoughts.
"Which one?" I answered out of reflex as I moved the vacuum back and forth. She was sitting on the kitchen table, doing her homework and keeping me company as I did chores. She gave me a questioning look.
"Oh," I mumbled, "You probably mean the one on my face, right?"
"You have more?"
I shrugged, not really answering.
"I tripped down the stairs when I was little," I said, wondering if I've used that excuse before, "The stairs were still being buffed, but I hit my head on a sharp edge…and, well…yeah."
Bella didn't answer, looking at me intently. I kept moving my arm back and forth with the vacuum, pretending I couldn't see her. But she didn't look like she was gaping. She actually looked…disbelieving.
"What?" I asked her. She shook her head and looked back down at her work.
"Nothing," she said.
"You say that a lot."
She smiled at me sheepishly and I rolled my eyes.
I stopped the vacuum after a moment, leaning one elbow on the handle and turning towards Bella. Her hair was falling in front of her face and she tried to move it away with her hands, but when she saw me looking at her, she stopped.
"So," I sighed, trying to see how to word this, "Do you want to go to a pie fight?"
She looked shocked at first, but then she smiled and laughed a little.
"You don't even know if Charlie will say 'yes' yet. Besides, taking me with you doesn't improve your chances of a 'yes' anyway."
"Yeah, I know. But…I mean, if you wanna go…it'll be fun."
"Aren't you going with Alice?"
"Yes."
"So…"
"So, going with Alice doesn't mean you can't….never mind, if you don't wanna go, that's totally-"
"No," she interrupted. I looked up at her with raised eyebrows and she shrunk back a little, blushing. She chewed on her lip and I waited. She looked up at me slowly.
"Won't it be weird…if I go? I mean, I don't even know Alice that well..."
"You know me."
She thought about this, tapping her pen on the table. Again, I waited patiently. Because really? What else could I do?
"A change in routine?" she asked, smiling a little up at me. And I laughed because she was so right.
"Something like that," I responded with a grin, "Just as healthy for the soul."
She took one more pause, and her expression looked set and resolved.
"A pie fight?" she asked one more time, one eyebrow raised.
"Yes."
A last, final hesitation and….
"Okay."
Ah, the famous last word.
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Edward's in shell-breaking mode. Well…almost. Anyway, I don't have much to say except to thank you all for your reviews! And also, if you haven't already, check my profile for Alice's Speedway outfit from when Edward first meets her (made by the wonderful Joss17)!
As always, drop by and leave me a nice little review to keep them spirits up! Also, if you have any ideas regarding what other types of crazy events Alice should drag Edward (and possibly Bella) to, tell me them! I'm honestly dying to hear your thoughts!