Party
Still don't own Twilight. Stephenie Meyer does.
I looked down at the sleeping girl
in my arms. Bella, my love. She tossed slightly.
'Grandma
Marie,' she moaned, 'Edward, no' I felt a bit smug. She was
dreaming about me. As usual. I smiled down at her.
'Edward, she
doesn't know, no Edward.' Not for the first time, and certainly
not the last, I struggled to figure out what was going on in her
head. I'd have to leave soon, she would wake up soon, and her
father, Charlie, didn't know I was here. I would run all the way
home and then meet her at school again. I smiled at the thought, as I
did at any thought that involved Bella.
'NO!' yelled Bella.
I was out the window before she opened her eyes, panting.
I sprinted home, a small part of my
expansive mind wondering what her dream had been about. I reached the
house within a matter of minutes, probably about two and got changed
into new clothes. I was just getting in my Volvo, the least
noticeable of all our cars, though still exceptionally new, for Forks
anyway. Alice jumped into the front seat.
'Bella's coming
over tonight. I'm throwing her a party,' she announced.
'Does
she know that yet?' I answered wryly.
'No.' Alice
thought, 'Of course she doesn't. But she will. She wouldn't
ruin my fun, she loves me too you know!' I sighed. She was
right. Bella would be difficult though. She was touchy about
birthdays.
'She has to work.' I answered.
'No she
doesn't. Mrs. Newton agreed to swap shifts,' She thought, a
little smugly.
We were already halfway to the school. I
drove even faster than usual, in an effort to see her sooner.
I was leaning against the side of
the Volvo when Bella pulled up in her Chevy. I sighed. I desperately
waned to buy her a new car, but she wouldn't let me. She was just
so stubborn. Alice skipped away from my side to meet her.
'Happy
birthday Bella' she squeaked, her face glowing.
'Shh,' she
hissed, before glancing round the lot to make sure no one had heard.
I suppressed a laugh. She would get mad at me for laughing. Alice
just ignored her, chattering on like she hadn't spoken.
'Do
you want to open your presents now or later,' she asked.
'No
presents,' Bella mumbled grumpily. I sighed. They were walking
towards me now. Alice finally seemed to get the hint.
'Okay…
later, then. Did you like the scrapbook your mum sent you? And the
camera from Charlie?' Bella sighed.
'Yeah, they're
great.'
'I think it's a nice idea. You're only a
senior once. Might as well document the experience.' Alice said and
in spite of herself, Bella smiled wryly.
'How many times have
you been a senior' I smiled. She had a point.
'That's
different.' She was close enough for me to touch then. I reached my
hand towards her, and she took it. I squeezed her fingers, smiling,
just a little bit smug as her heart stuttered. My free hand traced
the outside of her lips.
'So, as we discussed, I am not allowed
to wish you a happy birthday, is that correct?'
'Yes, that is
correct,' she replied.
'Just checking,' I sighed, running
my hands through my hair, 'You might have changed your mind.
Most people seem to enjoy things like birthdays and gifts.' But
then again, Bella wasn't most people, I thought. Alice laughed
though.
'Of course you'll enjoy it. Everyone is supposed to
be nice to you and give you your way. What's the worst that could
happen?' It was meant to be a rhetorical question, but Bella
answered anyway.
'Getting older,' she whispered her voice
cracking. I frowned. She shouldn't worry about that. Alice grimaced
too.
'Eighteen isn't very old, don't women usually wait
till they're twenty-nine to get upset over birthdays?'
'It's
older than Edward,' she mumbled. I sighed; I was over one-hundred.
'Technically,' Alice said. She kept her voice light, though
in her thoughts she was mumbling to herself grumpily, 'Just by one
little year, though'
'I don't know how you put up with
her Edward. It's her birthday, isn't she supposed to be happy?'
she thought. I smiled at her behind Bella's back.
'What time
will you be at the house?' she asked Bella aloud.
'I didn't
know I had plans to be there.' Bella replied. I smiled smugly at
Alice. I knew Bella better than she did.
'Shut up.' Alice
thought at me, even though technically, I hadn't said anything.
'Oh, be fair, Bella! You aren't going to ruin our fun like
that, are you?' she moaned.
'I thought my birthday was all
about what I want.' Bella replied stubbornly.
'Edward,
she's going to be difficult. Help,' Alice thought.
'I'll
get her from Charlie's right after school,' I said.
'I
have to work.' She protested. I exchanged a wry smile with Alice.
'You don't actually. I already spoke to Mrs. Newton about it.
She's trading your shifts. She said to tell you 'Happy
Birthday''
'I-I still can't come over,' she stammered,
'I, well, I haven't watched Romeo and Juliet yet for
English.'
'She's like, memorized that, hasn't she.'
Alice thought. I inclined my head slightly. Bella had a thing for
classics.
'You
have Romeo and Juliet memorized,' Alice accused. Bella
scrambled for another excuse.
'But Mr. Berty said we need to
see it performed to truly appreciate it - that's how Shakespeare
intended it to be presented.' I rolled my eyes. Bella was just so
stubborn.
'You've already seen the movie.' Alice was
running out of patience.
'But not the nineteen-sixties version.
Mr. Berty said it was the best.'
'This can be easy or this
can be hard, Bella, but one way or another-'Alice was glaring at
Bella now, It was time for me to step in. I my cleared throat.
'Relax
Alice. If Bella wants to watch a movie, then she can. It's her
birthday.' Bella looked smug.
'So there.'
'I'll bring
her over round seven; it will give you more time to set up.' Bella
looked upset, but Alice laughed, appeased.
'Sounds good. See
you tonight Bella. It'll be good, you'll see.' She pecked Bella
on the cheek and danced away before she could respond, happily
planning for the party in her head.
'Edward, please-'Bella
started, before I pressed my finger to her lips.
'Let's
discuss it later. We're going to be late for class.' I wouldn't
be, but Bella walked really slowly.
As we walked into the classroom, people weren't thinking about us. We were considered normal. So what, Bella and Edward. It was a relief not to have Mike Newton thinking various ways for me to die, and then Bella fall in love with him. It was funny how completely Bella had changed my life. Once I had considered school necessary, and tedious, so dull it could almost past for sleep. Now I amused myself by studying Bella's every expression. She was beautiful, in every way. I thought of her smell, so appealing to me, as a small price to pay for the fortune of spending my life in her company.
After school I escorted her to her
car. Usually I drove my car home, and came round later, but I didn't
trust her not to make a run for it. I opened the passenger door for
her. But she just stood in the rain. I felt a familiar frustration
that I couldn't read her mind as I waited for her to explain
herself.
'It's my birthday, don't I get to drive?' she
asked. I sighed internally.
'I'm pretending it's not your
birthday, just as you wished.'
'If it's not my birthday then
I don't have to go to your house tonight…' I almost smiled. She
was pretty smart sometimes, but it still annoyed me. I shut the door
and opened the driver's door for her.
'All right, Happy
birthday.'
'Shush,' she murmured. She probably wished I'd
carried on pretending it wasn't her birthday. I remembered
something that Alice had asked me to do. I started to fiddle with her
radio. It was so old, it only received about two stations, and those
had static all the time.
'Your radio has horrible reception.'
I told her. She frowned. She liked the truck, she didn't like it
when I picked on it.
'You want a nice stereo? Drive your own
car.' She sounded so gloomy, I couldn't help but smile. So much
tension over a birthday. Only Bella. I knew how distract her though.
I leaned in towards her, letting my breath fan over her face.
'You
should be in a good mood, today of all days.' I whispered. Her
heart thumped irregularly.
'And if I don't want to be in a
good mood?' she asked.
'Too bad.' She looked dazed as I
leant down and pressed my lips to hers. They were soft and warm, and
gave very easily. I imagined that mine must feel cold and hard to
her. She behaved herself for a while, but then she wrapped her arms
around my neck. I smiled to myself an unlocked her arms. I always
stopped when I felt she was going too far, and I was enjoying myself
too much. One of my worst nightmares that I would lose control and
crush her.
'Be good please,' I whispered. I kissed her again,
then she pulled away.
' Do you think I'll ever get better at
this?' She wondered aloud. 'That my heart will stop trying to
jump out of my chest whenever you touch me?' I almost frowned at
the thought. I liked hearing her hearts reaction to my closeness.
'I
really hope not.' She rolled her eyes.
'Let's go watch the
Montagues and the Capulets hack each other up, all right?'
'Your
wish, my command.'
I fast-forwarded through the
credits, and pulled her into me, so we were lying on the couch
together. I didn't really want to watch the movie. I just wanted to
see Bella's reaction.
'You know, I've never really had that
much patience with Romeo,' I remarked.
'What's wrong with
Romeo?' She sounded hurt. It made me feel uncomfortable to know she
cared about other men, even fictional ones. That was selfish though.
But I was an essentially selfish creature.
'Well first of all
he's in love with Rosaline – don't you think that makes him a
little fickle? And then, a few minutes after their wedding, he kill's
Juliet's cousin. That's not very brilliant. Mistake after
mistake. Could he have destroyed his own happiness anymore
thoroughly?' She sighed.
'Do you want me to watch this
alone?'
'No, I'll probably be watching you, anyway.' I ran
my fingers across her arm, watching her goose bumps. 'Will you
cry?'
'Probably, if I'm paying attention.' She sounded
sheepish.
'I won't distract you then.' I murmured my lips
against her hair. I whispered Romeo's lines in her ear as the movie
progressed, and at the end, she did cry, when Juliet found Romeo
dead.
Humans had it so easy. Take a little vial of poison, and
they're dead. I don't know how many times Carlisle tried. When I
was racing to save Bella from James, while my plan centered on
finding her alive, a part of my mind wondered, what if she's not
alive. What if I'm too late? It's not as if I could ask Emmett
and Jasper to kill me. They wouldn't hear of it and I knew I
couldn't live without Bella. I'd decided I would go to the
Volturi; they liked Carlisle enough to grant me a favor. These
memories had taken me about half a second, if that. Bella was still
watching Juliet cry.
'I'll admit, I do sort of envy him
there.' I said, drying her tears with her hair. I didn't like
seeing her sad.
'She's very pretty,' Bella answered. No she
wasn't. Compared to Bella, she was a gargoyle. Bella never saw
herself clearly. I snorted.
'I don't envy him the girl-just
the ease of the suicide. You humans have it so easy! All you have to
do is throw down one tiny vial of plant extracts…'
'What?'
she gasped. I wondered how I had offended her. Oh, talking about me
dying.
'It's something I had to think about once, and I knew
from Carlisle's experience it wouldn't be simple. I'm not even
sure how many ways Carlisle tried to kill himself in the beginning,
after he realized what he'd become...And he's clearly still in
excellent health.' She twisted around to look at me, still looking
horrified.
'What are you talking about? What do you mean
something you had to think about once?'
'Last spring, when you
were…nearly killed…' I couldn't remain teasing anymore. I
took a breath and started again. I didn't want to upset her. 'Of
course I was focusing on finding you alive, but part of my mind was
making contingency plans. Like I said, it's not as easy for me as
it for a human.' She shook away the bad memories and looked at me.
She looked like she felt sick.
'Contingency plans?'
'Well,
I wasn't going to live without you,' I rolled my eyes, that much
was obvious, ' But I wasn't sure how to do it – I knew Emmett
and Jasper would never help… so I was thinking maybe I would go to
Italy and do something to provoke the Volturi.' She looked
furious.
'What is a Volturi?'
'The Volturi are a
family. A very large, very powerful family of our kind. They are the
closest thing our world has to a royal family, I suppose. Carlisle
lived with them briefly in his early years, in Italy, before he
settled in America – do you remember the story?'
'Of course
I remember.' She looked lost in memories.
'Anyway, you don't
irritate the Volturi. Not unless you want to die – or whatever it
is we do.' She held my face in her hands. Pretty tightly, for
her.
'You must never, never, never think of anything like that
again! No matter what might ever happen to me, you are not allowed
to hurt yourself!'
'I'll never put you in danger again,
so it's a moot point.'
'Put me in danger? I thought
we established all the bad luck is my fault. How dare you even think
like that?' It was easy for her to say that, it wasn't like I was
going to die anytime soon. She didn't have enough perspective.
'What would you do if the situation were reversed?'
'That's
not the same thing.' Of course it was. I laughed in spite of
myself; she didn't seem to believe I loved her s much as I did.
'What if something did happen to you? Would you want me to go off
myself?' That stopped me. Even if I was dead, her not alive was
a thought I didn't like to let cross my mind. But still…living
without her.
'I guess I can see your point… a little. But
what would I do without you?'
'Whatever you were doing before
I came along and complicated your existence.' Before she came
along, I was doing nothing but wait for her. I just hadn't known
it. I sighed.
'You make that sound so easy.'
'It should
be. I'm not really that interesting.' That was basically
blasphemy, but I let it go. I could argue about it with her later.
'Moot point.' I said instead. I heard a car pulling up.
Charlie was home. I adjusted Bella so that we weren't
touching.
'Charlie?' She guessed. I smiled. She took my hand
firmly, not willing to let me go.
Charlie came in, with a box of pizza
in his hands. His thoughts were mildly disgruntled at my presence,
but he was used to it.
'Hey kids. I thought you'd like a
break from cooking and washing dishes for your birthday. Hungry?'
He obviously wasn't talking to me. I never ate here, or at all, so
he was used to it.
'Mind if I borrow Bella for the evening?'
I asked. I was sure Bella was hoping he would say yes. He wouldn't
though. She should know him better than that.
'That's fine –
the Mariners are playing the Sox tonight, so I won't be any kind of
company.' Sure enough, disappointment flickered across Bella's
face.
'Here,' He scooped up Bella's new camera and tossed
it to her. He really should have known better than that. I snagged it
before it hit the ground.
'Nice save. If they're doing
something fun at the Cullen's tonight, Bella, you should take some
pictures. You know how your mother gets – she'll be wanting to
see the pictures faster than you can take them.'
'Good idea,
Charlie.' I passed Bella the camera. She quickly took a picture of
me.
'It works,' she said happily.
'That's good,'
said Charlie, 'Hey, say hi to Alice for me. She hasn't been over
for a while.' He frowned slightly.
'It's been three days,
Dad.' Charlie had a little obsession with Alice. She had helped
Bella when she was recovering from…last spring.
'I'll tell
her,' said Bella.
'Okay. You kids have fun tonight.' Charlie
was already moving towards the TV. I smiled. There was no way Bella
was getting out of this.
I towed her out the door. This time
she let me drive. Not that it was much fun in this car. It wouldn't
go over fifty.
'Take it easy,' said Bella as I tried to push
it past its internals speed limit. I desperately wanted to buy her a
new, fast (or faster) car…
'You know what you would love? A
nice little Audi coupe. Very quiet, lots of power…'
'There's
nothing wrong with my truck. And speaking of expensive nonessentials,
if you know what's good for you, you didn't spend any money on
birthday presents.'
'Not a dime.' I was actually telling the
truth. It had been hard though…
'Good.
'Can you do me
a favor?' I asked cautiously.
'That depends on what it is,'
Bella answered, equally cautious. I sighed, she was so difficult
sometimes.
'Bella that last real birthday any of us had was
Emmett in 1935. Cut as a little slack, and don't be to difficult
tonight. They're all very excited'
'Fine, I'll behave,'
She hadn't noticed when I said all…
'I probably should warn
you…'
'Please do.'
'When I say they're all excited…
I do mean all of them.' He face went a little
pale.
'Everyone? I thought Emmett and Rosalie were in Africa.'
'Emmett wanted to be here.'
'But... Rosalie?'
'I
know, Bella. Don't worry, she'll be on her best behavior.'
Rosalie hated Bella for being human, and taking it for granted. If I
didn't love her as much as I did, it might annoy me too. I changed
the subject.
'So, if you won't let me get you
the Audi, isn't there anything else you'd like for your
birthday?'
'You know what I want.' I did, too well. But I
didn't want to have this argument now.
'Not tonight, Bella.
Please.'
'Well, maybe Alice will give me what I want.' She
wouldn't dare.
'This isn't going to be your last
birthday.'
'That's not fair!' I clenched my jaw.
We had reached the house by now.
Even for Alice, this was overkill. It was beautiful, al pink and
light. Definitely not Bella. She moaned softly. I wouldn't let her
see my dismay.
'This is a party. Try to be a good sport.'
'Sure,' she muttered. I opened her door for her.
'I have
a question,' she said idly. I waited suspiciously, not wanting to
return to our argument. 'If I develop this film, will you show up
in the picture?' I laughed, relieved. I helped her out of the car,
up the stairs and opened the door for her, still laughing.
My family was waiting in the living
room, and greeted us with a loud, 'Happy Birthday.' Bella looked
embarrassed. The entire room was pink and crystal. A cake, which no
one would eat, sat on a table next to a small pile of presents. I
wrapped my arm around her waist and kissed her hair to comfort her.
No-one would be impressed if she ran out of the room. Esme and
Carlisle moved over to greet her too.
'Sorry about this,
Bella,' Carlisle stage whispered, ' We couldn't rein Alice in.'
'You haven't changed at all,' said Emmett, ' I expected a
perceptible difference, but here you are, red faced as always.'
'Hey bro,' he thought, 'Nice to see you again.
Don't worry, Rose'll be good tonight.'
'Thanks a lot
Emmett,' Bella said, proving what he said about red-faced. He
laughed.
'I have to step out for a second,' He said, winking
at Alice. 'Don't do anything funny while I'm gone.'
'I'll
try.'
'I'll tell you when I'm ready.' Emmett
thought. Alice skipped to Bella's side.
'Time to open
presents,' declared Alice and dragged Bella to the table. Bella
looked slightly sick.
'Alice, I know I told you I didn't want
anything-'
'But I didn't listen,' she interrupted, handing
Bella a present, 'Open it.'
'Ready, it's not done, but
she shouldn't be able to get it out, without mutilating the truck.'
Emmett thought from outside. Bella tore off the paper, revealing
a box. She opened it, but it was empty.
'Umm… thanks?'
Everyone laughed, even Rosalie smiled a little.
'It's a
stereo for your truck. Emmett's installing it right now so that you
can't return it.'
'Thanks, Jasper, Rosalie,' She grinned,
'Thanks Emmett' she called. He laughed.
'Open mine and
Edward's next,' trilled Alice. Bella glared at me, not very well
though.
'You promised.' Emmett entered before I could answer.
'Just in time,' he crowed.
'I didn't spend a dime,'
I assured her, ignoring Emmett. I brushed a strand of hair away from
her face. Jasper drifted closer to look. Bella breathed deeply,
bracing herself.
'Give it to me.' She sighed. Emmett
chuckled.
She rolled her eyes at me and
started to open the present.
'Shoot,' she muttered.
I smelt the blood. The monster inside me raged to launch myself at her, kill her now. I wasn't the only one. I jumped forward, only to slam into Jasper. That brought me back to my senses. Bella was more important than her blood. I had to keep her alive. I stopped breathing. Jasper was still fighting with me, trying to get past me to Bella, his entire thoughts consumed with bloodlust. The force of us pushed into the table, crystal shattered, and Bella fell into it, cutting herself in a million different placing. The rest of my family, except for Carlisle all relatively calm, now turned to her, bloodlust raging in their eyes.
Okay, that was a long chapter. Blame Stephenie, I'm sticking to her story. I hope you liked it so far. Please review, I want opinions other than my friends (but I do love you guys). I'll update as soon as I can, which could be a while. Thanks my gorgeous friends, cos you're cool, and my sister, for dictating for me. Makes it so much faster. Mwah.
