Disclaimer: I don't ownTwilight.
A/N: I know I said I wasn't going to do this, but I'm never going to get an update out if I don't. Here's the next part of Seattle. Enjoy…
Best Definition of Good Intentions
30 – No Need to Say Goodbye
145 minutes later, Alice and Rosalie were showered, dressed and made-up. Together they left their room, shutting the door behind them. Bella, who'd been ready long ago having dressed in a simple skirt and tank top, was already waiting in the living room, leaning against the cool windowpane with her legs curled underneath her as she read.
"We're ready!" Alice announced to the entire suite.
Almost immediately, Carlisle and Esme left their room and the boys, who'd been passing time by playing videogames, were the last to make an appearance. Bella stood, gently closing her book and leaving it on the end table as she pulled the dark green cardigan over her white tank top. Standing next to Alice and Rosalie, both dressed to the nines in dresses and high hells, Bella, in her flats and brown skirt, felt dull.
There was a flurry of motion as Esme reminded Carlisle to grab their gift for Edward before they left, which reminded Emmett to retrieve his. While Carlisle was searching the room to find the card for Edward, the phone rang. It was the concierge, letting the family know that their car had arrived to take them to dinner.
"Carlisle, the car's here," Esme called, walking to the door way.
"Just a minute, dear. I'm having trouble finding the card," Carlisle said without looking up from the suitcase he was digging through.
Esme walked across the room and, from the front pocket of Carlisle's briefcase, pulled out the blue envelope of Edward's card. She smiled sweetly, holding it up for him to see.
"Thank you." Carlisle took the card from his wife's hand as he placed a loving kiss on her cheek. "Let's go to dinner."
Leading the way, hand-in-hand, Carlisle and Esme left the hotel room and stepped into the waiting elevator at the end of the hall. It was a tight fit with the eight of them inside. In the back corner, with Jasper pressed against her side, Bella fidgeted, smoothing her skirt.
"You look beautiful, Bella," Jasper leaned down to whisper.
Bella blushed, her typical reaction to any compliment or unwanted attention. She mumbled, "Thanks."
While the hotel was in the heart of the city, and not far from the Seattle Center, the limo took its time maneuvering its way through the busy city traffic. The conversation was erratic as Carlisle and Esme tried to engage the teenagers and were interrupted every few moments when the bright lights of Seattle stole their attention. Alice had to be calmed several times as time and time again, she was told she could not stand up through the moon roof.
Finally, they made it to the destination. A staff member from the Seattle Center met them downstairs and after helping everyone out of the limo, led them inside and up the elevator. This time, the ride was much roomier, as the vehicle typically carried many passengers on a regular basis. Once upstairs, the family was handed off to the hostess, a young girl named Claire, who explained the restaurant's style.
Settled at nearly the top of the Space Needle, the restaurant offered a 360-degree view of the city. To ensure that patrons wouldn't get tired of seeing the same sight of the city during their meal, the restaurant slowly turned offering all an-encompassing vision. Amazed at what lay before, and underneath them, the Cullen's grew silent as they settled into their seats. A draped curtain separated their private room from the rest of the restaurant and, like the rest, the entire wall was comprised of glass. Management would not tolerate an obstructed view of the precious, rainy city.
Bella was reminded of the Cullen's own home, although the restaurant had a much more modern feel to it. Everyone seemed just as home here as they did in Forks, though. As usual, Carlisle took his place at the head of the table, with his wife at his side. They were quickly lost in their own conversation after having spent a large majority of the day apart. Alice and Emmett settled into the seats by their parents, next to their respective halves. With birthday boy status, Edward claimed the other head of the table, leaving Bella with the open seat between him and Jasper.
The day seemed to have taken its toll on everyone for the first time since they'd entered the establishment. No longer were loud conversations being carried across the table, engulfing everyone around them. Instead each of the pairs eased into the comfort of being together, speaking softly and reminiscing over the day's events. Esme had previously coordinated with the chef, who happened to be an old friend, so there was no need to bother with menus. They simply could enjoy the time sharing a meal together and celebrating Edward's birthday.
Carlisle cleared his throat after the waiters disappeared, having deposited the drink orders. Immediately, the table was silenced as everyone turned to look at their patriarch. He smiled warmly as each of the guests, family and friends alike. "It brings me so much joy that we could all be here together to celebrate Edward's eighteenth birthday. This night would not be complete without every single one of you present." He smiled lovingly at his beautiful wife as he raised their clasped hands to rest on the tabletop. "We consider each of you a part of our family – whether by blood, by law or simply by love. Please join me in toasting Edward on this special night."
Everyone followed Carlisle's lead, raising their glasses and smiling at Edward at the other end of the table.
"Happy birthday, son," Carlisle spoke before clinking glasses with those around him.
"Happy birthday!" everyone else called out, clinking glasses as well.
As if on cue, the wait staff brought out the first course of the meal. Reenergized by Carlisle's emphatic toast, the conversation buzzed around the table. Emmett gushed over the foot, pleading with Esme to make arancini every day until he left for school. Rosalie was trying her hardest to calm her boyfriend down when Jasper joined in, claiming, "These are seriously good!"
Alice hollowed with laughter as Esme promised to do her best to live up to Emmett's request.
"That's all I'm asking," Emmett beamed as he popped another small, fried ball into his mouth, devouring it in one bite.
With that kind of enthusiasm, the appetizers didn't last long. As the empty dishes were cleared, Carlisle silently got the attention of the head waiter, requesting a few minutes before the salads were brought out. Upon receiving confirmation that his request would be granted, he demanded the attention of the table again.
"If it's alright with you, Edward, we'd like to give you our gift now," Carlisle explained, as Esme pulled the card from her purse.
Not knowing the proper words for the situation, Edward merely nodded and smiled gently. He took the card from Esme when she brought it to him and then waited until she was seated again before opening it. His mind was blank as he quickly shuffled through the possibilities; he simply could not come up with a likely solution.
Carefully, he slid his finger underneath the flap of the envelope. He pulled a card that from the outside looked fairly generic, but the inside was anything but. Every inch of empty space was filled with bright red. His eyes scanned over the loopy cursive that he recognized as Esme's handwriting. After reading the first sentence of Esme's "sheer joy that he was a part of her and Carlisle's life and now family," Edward decided it was best to save the words for another day, when he was not in such a public place. Throughout the course of the day, Edward had averted all thoughts from his parents and where he would be at that very moment if they had not been killed. And his friends had done a great job in helping with that diversion. He didn't want to risk all his hard by purposefully calling those thoughts forward. He wanted to appear every bit as thankful and happy as he felt. He wanted nothing else to show.
"We thought it'd be best to leave the choice up to you," Esme was saying, pulling Edward had from his trance. "There are a few options in there, but if you'd prefer something else, that's alright, too. We can go pick it out whenever you'd like, or you can just tell him which you'd like and I can place the order myself."
For a moment, Edward panicked as he thought he was going to have the read the card to know what Esme was talking about. His eyes deftly scanned over the red writing again, but nothing stood out. Nothing caught his attention.
Beside him, Rosalie cleared her throat. He tore his eyes away from the card, but she wasn't looking at him. Her gaze was on the piece of paper she held in her hand. She held it up to him and as soon as he unfolded the piece of paper, he whispered his thanks. He must have pulled the paper from the envelope without realizing it.
Four different models of keyboards were pictured inside the folded paper. There was Yamaha, Korg, Roland, and Kurzweil – all with 88 keys, but all with different specs. Edward quickly read over them but couldn't grasp the concept.
"You're getting me a keyboard?" he asked, his confusion apparent. "But I already have a piano."
Alice was only too happy to jump up and chime in. "It goes along with our gift!"
She motioned to Emmett, who removed the rectangular box from his jacket. No one had even noticed the extra bulk to his figure. His long arm reached down to the end of the table and he passed the gift to Edward, who was still confused.
A gift that went along with keyboard? A gift that would explain the keyboard? What could they have possibly gotten him that his piano wouldn't have sufficed?
Cautiously, because he was nervous, Edward tore the wrapping from the package corner by corner, hoping to ease himself into the unknown gift.
"Come on!" Alice encouraged when she'd tired of his slow technique. "Open it already!"
Sighing, Edward resigned and pulled the remaining paper from the box. His mouth gaped open as he looked at the computer recording program in his hands.
"We know how much you love to compose…" Alice started.
"…thought you might like to try your hand at actually recording," Emmett finished.
Edward closed his slack jaw then opened his mouth to speak before closing it once more. He struggled to find the appropriate words before embarrassing himself further. Finally, he pushed his chair back from the table and pulled Alice in a hug.
"Thank you so much. This is amazing."
"You're welcome!" she chirped, happily. "I'm just hoping you actually let us listen to some of the songs you've written now!"
Edward made his way around the table, hugging each member of his new-immediate family, showing his appreciation. When he sat back down, he turned the box over and over, reading all the information he could about the software.
"I've got the old version of the same program," Jasper leaned over Bella to say. "I'd be happy to help you set it up, show you how to use it."
"That'd be great, Jasper! I'd really appreciate that." Edward couldn't pull the grin from his face.
"Not a problem. Although, I'm sorry I can't be much help when it comes to picking out a keyboard; I just use a roll-out synthesizer. Gets the job done when I need just a bit of accompaniment for my songs." He shrugged, laughing at his own methods.
"Maybe you can come with me – help me test out a few models?" Edward asked Jasper. He called out louder down toward the opposite end of the table. "Would that be alright, Esme? Could I try out a few kinds before deciding?"
"Of course, Edward. Just let me know whenever you'd like to go, and Jasper's welcome to come along if you'd like his opinion." Esme smiled at the two boys.
Soon they were all distracted as the next course, the salads, appeared in front of them, and followed closely behind by the main course. When they'd all eaten their fill, some more than others – namely, Emmett – their dishes were cleared and they sat around the table, enjoying each other's company as conversation continued to flow. Carlisle and Esme each ordered coffee as the teenagers all dug into the giant fudge brownie and ice cream dessert that was made especially for Edward's birthday.
Back in the limo, on the way to hotel, Bella and Alice leaned against each other staring at the lights as they passed through the downtown area.
"Someone's going to have to carry me upstairs," Alice admitted through half-closed eyes. "I ate too much!"
Bella giggled quietly beside her. "Could you imagine eating as much as Emmett did?"
Alice laughed even louder at this question, capturing Jasper's attention, who was sitting on the other side of her. "I think he ate my weight in food at just dinner tonight!"
"I doubt that's very hard! You don't even weight 80 pounds!"
"92, thank you very much!" Alice huffed as she leaned back on Jasper.
"Hey! I did not each 92 pounds of food at dinner! Now, stop talking about me behind me back!" Emmett complained from the other side of the limo.
Everyone turned to look at him suspiciously.
"Alright, so maybe it was close to 92 pounds. But I'm a growing boy – I need the energy!" he refuted.
Rosalie leaned into Emmett's side as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She patted his hand before kissing his cheek and whispering in his ear, "It's alright, babe. I believe you."
"Thanks, Rosie." He beamed at her and stole a quick, chaste kiss before she laid her head against her shoulder.
Once they were all upstairs, Esme and Carlisle quickly wished all the kids a goodnight before retiring to their room. After all, Carlisle had to be up early the next morning for the conference. The boys, running off the fuel from dinner, ran to the couches in the living room, shouting at each other to bring the video games in from the other room.
"It's my birthday, I shouldn't have to," Edward argued.
"And they're technically not my games," Jasper added. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to them, Emmett."
"You guys suck!" Emmett yelled as he went to gather his video games.
Jasper threw a pillow at his retreating friend. "Gotta work off that 92 pound feast you ate some how!"
"Shut it, Whitlock!" Emmett yelled back as he caught the pillow Jasper had thrown and pegged it back. Unfortunately, Bella had chosen that time to come out of the girls' room after having changed clothes and walked right into the line of fire.
She was caught completely off balance as she tried to quickly move out of the way of the fast approaching ball of fabric. Bella tripped on the leg of the coffee table, crashing into Edward on the couch. He managed to catch her before she tumbled over the back of the couch and into the wall. Blushing furiously, Bella mumbled apologies and threatening Emmett, who'd missed it, with death.
"You alright?" Edward asked as he set her on the couch between him and Jasper.
"I'm fine. I swear, I'm not as clumsy as everyone thinks I am. Most of it is Emmett's fault!" Dramatically, she crossed her arms and leaned back against the couch cushions.
Coming out from his room, toy guitars in hand, Emmett stopped short when he saw Bella sitting on the couch. "You stole my seat, Bella!"
Everyone burst out laughing that Emmett had no idea of the ruckus he'd caused.
"You can have my seat, Em; I'm going to bed," Rosalie announced. She stood up and wished everyone a goodnight.
"I think I'm going to head to bed, too. I'm really tired," Alice said, following in Rosalie's footsteps.
Emmett, Jasper and Edward all turned to look at Bella, expectantly.
"Yea, right – and miss Guitar Hero? Game on, boys!"
"Bella's on my team!" Jasper yelled, grabbing Bella's fist and throwing both of their hands in the air.
"Not fair!" Emmett complained.
"Are you doubting me?" Edward asked, looking offended.
"No, man. But seriously, they're both so good! They're impossible to beat!"
"Well, they've never played me," Edward said, confidently as he eyed Bella and Jasper on the couch beside him.
"Bring it on, Mason," Bella said as she high-fived Jasper.
No one noticed the shift in the atmosphere except for Emmett, who immediately saw the mistake of his own that Bella had just repeated. On the end of the couch, Edward tensed but didn't say a word. Taking it upon himself to alleviate the tension, Emmett threw a guitar to Edward. "You're up first."
For about an hour they took turns playing the different songs. One person from each team played each song, switching up the matchings to ensure a fair competition. After the two renditions, they compared scores: Jasper and Bella were winning by a long shot. There had only been one song that Edward had scored better than Bella and it was the first song of the game, before they made a rule banning distractions.
"Alright, I don't need to prove myself anymore. I'm going to bed." Jasper tipped his imaginary hat as he left the room.
Bella didn't even get the chance to argue before he disappeared into his room. "What am I suppose to do now?"
"Not so confident without Jasper now, huh?" Edward teased.
"Two against one? That's not even in the realm of fair!" she argued.
"I'm going to bed, too," Emmett announced. "Too much excitement for me today. Plus, big day tomorrow. I'll see you guys in the morning."
"Emmett! Seriously?" Bella begged. She wasn't the least bit tired and hated that everyone was bailing on the game.
"You can keep playing. Just make sure you turn it off when you're done."
Just like that, Edward and Bella were alone in the living room. After a tiny, almost-awkard pause, Bella turned on the couch to look at Edward.
"What do you say?" she asked, holding up the guitar. Hopefully, she added, "Another round?"
For a moment, Edward contemplated the options. He was tired and didn't really have the energy to play another round of guitar hero, especially when it was extremely likely that Bella would beat him – again. But he wasn't ready to say goodnight to Bella. He'd hardly had the opportunity to speak with her all day because they'd always been surrounded by others.
"How about a different game?" he suggested, moving off the couch and digging through Emmett's collection.
"Scared to lose again?" Bella taunted.
Edward ignored her and instead held up another option. "Mario Kart?"
"Heck yea! I love that game!" Bella shouted before Edward shushed her. She mumbled an apology and then repeated herself, quieter.
"Don't tell me you're awesome at this game, too!" Edward said in a equally quiet tone.
"I can't help it. I'm just naturally good." Bella tilted her head, cockily and shrugged her shoulders.
"Oh, please," Edward said rolling his eyes as he gently pushed Bella.
He turned the game on and they'd only completed the first lap of the first course when they looked at each other and set the controllers down.
"Boring," Edward declared.
"TV?" Bella asked, grabbing the remote. She scanned through the channels, gathering Edward's reaction before moving on. After completing one full circuit, it was decided that there was nothing worthy on. She clicked the television off and leaned her head back against the couch, stifling a yawn.
"You're tired," Edward observed. "You should go to bed. Don't…" Edward didn't get to finish his sentence before a yawn interrupted his own body.
"You're tired," Bella mocked. "You should go to bed."
"What if I don't want to?"
"What if I did? You certainly wouldn't stay up if I weren't here."
"That's true," Edward admitted. "I just felt like I didn't get to talk to you much today."
"That's alright. There was plenty of other stuff going on," Bella said with a smile.
"I didn't to get properly thank you for my gift earlier. Or for anything for that matter, you've helped make my entire birthday special. Thank you, Bella." He spoke earnestly, capturing her gaze and holding it with his own.
"Nonsense, Edward. I didn't do anything." Bella squirmed under his intense gaze, but couldn't bring herself to look away from the burning green.
"You did, Bella. And your gift," Edward held out his wrist so she could see that he was already wearing the bracelets. "They mean the world to me. It's shocks me how well you seem to know me after such a short period of time. These are beautiful, perfect. Thank you."
Bella blushed at the compliments, not realizing herself what the gesture must have seemed like. She'd only tried to get something he'd appreciate and it had seemed like the best idea at the time. Now, though, he seemed to be reading a little far into her effort. She resigned because, after all, it was his birthday. "You're welcome, Edward."
"Oh, and the lyrics – they're perfect, as well."
Bella let out a soft laugh. "I'm glad you think so. As soon as they asked if I wanted anything engraved, it jumped in my mind. I couldn't think of anything more fitting for your eighteenth birthday."
They sat in silence for a few minutes before another yawn racked Bella's body.
"Alright," she announced, standing up. "I'm going to go to bed now."
"Me, too, then," Edward said, following her example. "See you in the morning for our adventure."
"You're not going to tell me where we're going, are you?"
"You'll see tomorrow," Edward said, smiling lazily as one side stretched farther than the other. He pushed a hand through his hair and Bella almost swooned at how boyish he looked right then. Crooked, mischievous smile and shining eyes as sleepiness clouded his features.
"Until tomorrow, then," Bella said and she disappeared into her room.
She shut the door behind her and leaned against the frame, chastising her thoughts. Almost swooning? What was going on? She'd thought she'd already made peace with the reality of her and Edward's friendship.
"You're up awfully late." Rosalie's voice pulled her from the thoughts. "Talking with Edward?"
"Uh…yea, I was. We were playing video games," Bella explained, self-conscious. What was Rosalie still doing up?
"Thought anymore about what I said?" Rosalie said.
"What you said about what?" Bella said, quietly as she sat on the edge of the bed she was sharing with Alice.
"About you and Edward." Rosalie rolled her eyes as though it were obvious.
"Bella and Edward!" Alice called out as she left the bathroom.
Bella spun around to look at the bed. She'd only thought that Alice was asleep under the covers.
"Bella and Edward, what?" she asked, annoyed at being cornered.
"You know very well what I'm talking about, now spill," Rosalie demanded as Alice bounced onto the bed beside her.
"There's nothing to spill."
"Liar."
"Rose," Alice warned.
"What?" Rosalie, asked sitting up in the bed. "It's obvious she's lying. They've been sneaking around all this time, having these private conversations when they think none of us know and you honestly believe there's nothing to spill."
"Wait," Bella interrupted their side conversation. "How do you know about that?"
"Please, Bella, you're not the only one up in the middle of the night. And you and Edward aren't exactly discrete. Or quiet," Rosalie laughed.
"Spill!" Alice demanded.
"Shhh, Alice. He's probably still awake!" Bella warned.
"What do you care if he's awake if there's nothing to spill?" she asked.
"Uh!" Bella fell back onto the bed and gathered her thoughts. "Okay, fine. There's something to spill, but I don't know what it is."
"He barely talked to you at all today, except for tonight," Rosalie pointed out.
"I know!" Bella gushed, getting into the conversation. She was happy she had someone, two someones, that she could work through all the confusion with. "I don't know why. And we really didn't talk much tonight. We were both too tired. He just thanked me for his present."
"That was an awesome present, Bella," Alice approved. "I didn't even have to help you pick it out!"
Rosalie ignored Alice's gushing since it was off topic. She gave up, realizing she wasn't going to get anymore out of Bella tonight. She'd just continue paying special attention to them like she'd been doing since the night of the party, although she'd hardly seen them together since then. "Well, you've got all day tomorrow with him to talk. You better have something good for us tomorrow night."
She turned over, crawling back down the bed, officially ending the conversation.
Until tomorrow night.
A/N: Chapter title comes from Regina Spektor's "The Call," which is also where the lyrics on Edward's bracelets from Bella came from.