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Chapter 12.5: (feels like they are) Shouting

Edward Cullen

Bella collapsed onto her bed as soon as I pushed the door open, while I settled near her feet. We had just discovered that Skye's boyfriend was cheating on her. And with Tanya… I shivered at the mere thought.

"Why?" She whispered, and I heard her voice crack faintly. I thought back to our encounter—Christian was memorizing the curves of Tanya's figure, and recalling the magnificent night they had last night. I cringed. He had been thinking similar thoughts the same day we met Skye.

"Christian has been thinking… naughty thoughts… lately. Since before Skye left. I think he was just using her," I said slowly. It was always very sad when you find out your love didn't want you. Then again, I wasn't sure their relationship was truly love in the first place. Skye had been concentrating on anything and everything except Christian when she arrived. But I could see flashes of when he wasn't treating her like he had been when they first got together. She was suspicious. "Some people fall out of love. Some people never had it to begin with. But then, there are those who are the luckiest people on Earth, those who will do anything for the one they love. Their soul mate…" I gazed out the window, trailing deep into thought. I would never fall out of love with Bella. She was my soul mate, and I would do anything she asked. I would never leave her, unless that was what she wanted. I wasn't strong enough to be away from her. Bella was quite for some time, and I turned my attention to her. Her mahogany hair fanned out around her head like an angel's halo, and her pale skin glowed in the faint light pouring through the window. Her eyelids were quivering, looking as though she was trying to hold back tears.

"You alright?" I asked her quietly. She shrugged, her lids opening as she turned to the window. Her gaze was unfocused, her eyes shining with unshed tears. I wondered if she was even aware of them. I crawled up next to her, tucking my limbs protectively around her. She watched me, confused, as my lips grazed her ear.

"Let's play a game," I suggested alluringly. Anything to make her forget these events.

"Mmhmm." My nose was trailing along her jaw line. I pressed my lips to her neck, chuckling lightly. I looked up at her, listening to her uneven breathing. I loved the effect I had on her. My mouth made its way to hers, starting off soft. Her arms were wrapped around my neck, urging me closer. I had to voice my thoughts.

"How I love the effect I have on you." My lips moved against hers as I spoke. She shivered as I kissed her more passionately. I was about to free her from my protective cage to run my fingers through her long hair when I heard an annoying, unwelcome voice.

"Won't you two get a room?" Bella rested her small hand on my warm cheek, pushing me gently away. I stared at her while she sniped at Alice.



"Nice of you to pop by, Alice. And for your information, we are in a room. My room." I pressed my lips into a tight line as she spoke. She was so wonderful, always making me laugh.

Move over, Edward. I'm jumping onto the bed, whether she invites me to or not. Alice was turning towards the door, silently calculating how many strides it would take her to reach the bed. I reluctantly followed Alice's demands while Bella spoke again.

"Where do you think you're going, you little pixie? I haven't talked to you in ages. Come sit," Bella ordered, softly patting the bit of bed on her other side. Alice obliged, leaping gracefully onto the mattress. She wrapped her arms tightly around Bella, snaking them through mine as well. I tightened my grip, unwilling to let go. Edward, I'm not going to steal her away!

"So Alice, how are you?" I asked her stiffly. She rolled her eyes. I would like to spend some quality alone time with my best friend, but that's not happening…

"I'm pretty swell, and yourself?" Alice opted for a better answer. Good. I didn't want Bella to be upset that I didn't want to share her.

"Alice, tell me about your visions," Bella requested suddenly. Alice quirked a brow, but took a breath, thinking about her tangent before starting it.

"I'm still unsure of how they work…." Alice continued, but I wasn't listening. I wasn't sure if Bella would quite understand the whole thing. She was so wonderful, even in her slight confusion. My thoughts strayed to all of the moments I had felt her lips against mine, the movement of them when she spoke three or four magnificent words. How had I possibly gotten so lucky? Looking back on my former behavior, I didn't understand why she liked me. Certainly, she was attracted to my dashing good looks. But had she seen past the rough exterior I had created in order to fit in? I didn't doubt that—whenever I had been around Bella, I could be myself. The real me. There was only one important fact that she didn't know about me. I was still waiting for the perfect time to play for her. The lullaby was beautiful, just like her. She inspired it—just like she inspired every moment of my life. I could write a million songs about her, and it still wouldn't portray how lucky, happy, and in love I was. My gaze strayed to her. She was staring intently at Alice, who was probably just wrapping up her tale. My eyes memorized every beautiful feature of her face.

"…Just like with Edward?" I was jerked out of my reverie when Bella's beautiful voice said my name.

"Yes. Edward is the clearest for me because I have been living with him for… a while. What is it now, fifteen years?" Alice glanced at me, yelling at me. Were you paying attention at all? Obviously not. Edward, Bella is so smitten by you. Her eyes seemed somewhat unfocused, and at first I was confused as to why. Then she asked about you. Have you told her you love her?

"Yes, I already told you that she knows." Oh, that's right. I had the vision ages ago. How did it go? Never mind, it went swimmingly, seeing as you're here and not… dead. How does she feel about you? "The same," I responded, a small smile creeping across my face. Alice squealed in delight. Bella was gazing at each of us in turn during our silent exchange.



"Excellent! Now, where was I? Oh yes, my visions are clearer with people I know better. Each moment I spend with you, Bella, your future gets clearer. Don't you remember when I told you about a dream I had over breakfast? About you and Edward? And did you not experience that earlier? Or… something. And then the whole bed incident." Off she went on another tangent, as if we didn't converse at all. A memory popped up in Alice's mind as she decided to relay it to Bella. "Yeah, I told you not to jump on my bed. And then there's this other vision I--"

"Alice, enough," I demanded. I didn't want to embarrass Bella further with the thoughts of her day dream. I, of course, was ecstatic when Alice announced to me that she saw Bella and I together, a diamond glinting on her third finger. Two children were sitting around us, a girl and a boy. The little girl had long bronze curls, and the boy had a shock of mahogany hair. We were settled around the fire, exchanging tales about our day. "She was actually thinking about that," I added quietly. Alice's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, her thoughts going a mile a minute. I only caught pieces. Your children… names? Oh my god… her too! DETAILS! She screamed silently, her gaze locked on mine.

"I'll tell you about it later," I replied, trying to make my tone nonchalant. I truly hoped that Bella wouldn't catch on.

"Well, tomorrow you're going back to school. And since the dance is in--" Alice shot a glance at the calendar— "Seventeen days, you should really get working. You need to order your boutonniere and corsage, continue with your dance lessons, and deal with Tanya. Don't worry about the dress. Rose and I have it covered." The dress? I knew that I would be breathless when I saw Bella. She would be beautiful. Then again, she is always beautiful. Bella groaned.

"Alice, I don't want you to do this for me. It's too much—you know I hate being spoiled!" She whined her face crumpling. I wanted to shout at Alice for making Bella upset. But I also wanted to see Bella in that dress… Bella buried her face into my hair, and I felt her inhale deeply. I idly traced the veins on the inside of her creamy arm.

"Bella, I want to do this. You're not allowed to complain while I have my fun. So anyways, Edward, you need to get working with Lauren. She wants the flowers to be blue right? Well, yeah, Bella's dress is blue. Perfection! It's deep sky blue—not to difficult to forget, eh? It's beautiful. By the way, who is Tanya going with?" Deep sky blue… I tucked away the valuable detail for later. I was thankful that Lauren had an interesting (to say the least) choice of color coordination.

"Rosalie doesn't know?" Bella asked Alice lazily. I was starting to tune them out again, trying to picture the dress. My fingers continued to trace the inside of Bella's arm.

"Well, I'm sorry I can't keep every single secret! I'm not super human! Well, actually I am, but that's beside the point. SO, any guesses?" They were still going on about Tanya's date. I heard a faint moaning and screaming. Tanya. Christian… oh Christian… mmmm… the dance is going to be so divine. I'm glad you're coming with me rather than that hoe Skye Holmes… 'cause I can please you in so many ways. I cringed, pulling myself out of her thoughts.



"Christian." I replied, running my fingers along the inside of Bella's arm.

"Probably," Bella murmured, closing her eyes in contempt.

"No, she's going with Christian. I can faintly hear her voice screaming out his name from her new room. Interesting, huh?" I corrected her with a chuckle. She frowned unconsciously.

"Okay, 'cause that's really cool. Isn't he dating Skye? What even happened to her anyways?" Alice was searching the room. Did she really expect for Skye to come waltzing in? Here I am! Very unlikely.

"Haven't the foggiest. She did give me her number though… we should call her!" Bella announced, clambering out of the bed towards her phone and the slip of paper Skye had left for us. I wanted to never let her go. She dialed the number, waiting, and finally left a message. She decided to wait for a return call. It won't come, Alice shouted at me in her thoughts. I attempted to distract Bella with trite questions.

"What's your favorite music?"

"I like all types."

"Favorite food?"

"I'm not picky."

"Favorite book?"

"You should know that I like anything that has a binding. But I'm a fan of the classics."

"Do you consider Wuthering Heights a classic?" I glanced over at the book on her bedside table. The binding was ruined, and the pages folded. "Favorite sport?"

"Edward, seriously. I like competitive scrapbooking," She replied dryly. I laughed loudly—silly Bella with her beautiful sense of humor. Everything about her was so perfect... Alice was flipping idly thorough Skye's magazines, her eyes unfocused. What happened to Skye? She thought suddenly. My head jerked towards her. I honestly had no idea what happened to the poor girl, and why she wasn't coming back. Did it have something to do with Christian? I didn't answer, choosing to continue pelting Bella with questions instead. My eyes snapped back to hers.

"Favorite author?"

"I quite enjoy Shakespeare."

"Oh? Any particular favorites?" I asked wryly, expecting her answer. With so many unpredictable things, I knew that I could count on the fact that she would answer Romeo and Juliet. One of my personal favorites as well.



"Let's think. We've recited it before. It is probably one of the most romantic works out there. Take a guess."

"I see." I continued questioning her at top speed. She seemed to be distracted, albeit uncomfortable with all the attention. I gazed at her intently as I continued asking her my questions.

"Ye-green."

"Ye-green?" Was there a new color? Or was she unsure of how to pronounce chartreuse.

"Green," she confirmed, blushing. I wanted to know why that beautiful color was spreading across the delicate skin of her cheeks.

"Care to elaborate?" She quickly shook her head no. "I'll find out, you know that, right?"

"Yes, I do. Now is it my turn to ask the questions?" I held in a scoff. As if. I resolved to shaking my head, and flinging another question at her, my gaze never straying from hers.

"Favorite gemstone?"

"Emerald," she responded immediately. Again, bright red flashed across her cheeks. I vowed that this would be the time that I found out about her little secret. I waited patiently for her explanation, very sure that she would give it to me… eventually.

"It's for the same reason my favorite color is green… and has been for about five conscious days," she hedged. Her gaze flicked to my eyes, then down to her lap, then back again. It clicked.

"You like my eyes," I stated simply. Her blush darkened slightly as she nodded. "Don't be embarrassed. My favorite color is brown, and my favorite candy is chocolate. My favorite type of wood is mahogany, and…" I trailed off for the effect, and to gauge her reaction. I knew that she had low self esteem, but if she could make me fall in love with her, then why? Why didn't she realize her beauty. Her eyes, her pointed chin, her soft hands, her hair…

"I prefer brunettes." I grinned as she blushed further. "And you need to work on your self esteem, beautiful." Edward, stop being so cheesy, Alice commanded. I ignored her. Bella's entire face was scarlet by this point. "You really don't see yourself clearly. Do you not comprehend how many boys nearly swoon at the sight of you? No, I suppose not, because you can't read their minds…" He mused, his eyes locked on mine.

"Edward…" She said weakly.

"I think that's enough with the probing questions for now," I murmured, dragging my lips to meet hers passionately. Alice coughed loudly. I growled, my grip tightening on Bella's arm.

"Ow," she squeaked, looking up at me in hurt. I gave her an apologetic look, before glaring at Alice.

"Don't you have some tarot readings or something that only psychics do?" I spat at her. Alice glared back at me.

"No, but I do have a boyfriend I can have hot, wild sex with. See you." With that, she stormed out of the room. Bella was looking uncomfortable again—probably the sex comment. Why would she want to make love to me? She was the most perfect creature on the face of the planet. I restarted stroking the inside of her arm.

"Don't worry, Bella. Go get ready for bed—I'll be here when you get back," I suggested sweetly. She smiled weakly at me.

"Promise?"

"Anything for you, love."

Author's Note: Ta da. Edward's point of view. Now you know what Alice was thinking. Review!