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.