A/N: Ok so this is posted a few hours early but I would rather not have to post this before school... Special Thanks to Missy! Read. Enjoy. Review..
Chapter Two: USC
It was taking all my control not to be bouncing up and down in the front seat as Emmett drove us up to USC Sunday afternoon. We left right after lunch so that we would miss the traffic, but I knew the real reason, Emmett couldn't spend more than a few minutes in the same place if nothing was going on. This is why, I suspected that he rarely came home from school, the house was always just so quiet, and that did not suit Emmett. He let me pick the radio station, but that was always our little joke, considering we both liked the same music, it really didn't matter who found the appropriate station.
We both sang along, with our horrible singing voices and all until we passed by the campus, and he turned the music down. He was living off campus this year, and I had never been up to visit him there. I was so excited to be able to spend a week with my brother. Since he went to school, I only ever really hung around with him for extended periods of time in the summer when we were both off from school, or during Winter break.
He pulled into a condo style apartment area and pulled up to a garage that separated two of the units. They were very nice looking, but then again, mom and dad did pay for it anyways, and I couldn't imagine mom allowing him to live in anything less. From what Emmett had told me, the majority of the residents were college kids too. Emmett tooted the horn twice before turning off the engine and opening his door, grabbing my bag from the back.
I didn't get why he tooted for a second, but then I looked over to one of the porches, where three college age guys were sitting. I got out of the car and looked over. They were all really handsome, but only one really caught my eye right away.
He was sitting in a folding chair at a patio table, which I recognized as our old one that mom had given to Emmett, in a white t-shirt and jeans. He had a light tan and I could tell he was well built, even with his shirt on. His face was kind, it was somewhat boyish, though he was clearly just as old as Emmett. He had blonde hair and green gray eyes. He smiled at me, showing off dimples and I almost fainted. The guy was completely gorgeous.
He hopped off his seat, and rather than using the stairs a few feet away, he hopped over the white railing on the porch and walked over to me and Emmett who had come up next to me. He stopped a few feet in front of me and I had to check myself mentally to make sure I wasn't noticeably drooling.
"Hey, you must be Isabella," He said, though I could barely comprehend what he was saying, I shook his hand as he outstretched it, "I'm Carlisle."
"This is my roommate, and she prefers Bella, Carlisle," said Emmett, as the other two came up, after using the stairs, "And they're Jasper and Micah, they live next door."
Jasper looked about twenty, he was by far the youngest, and he had wavy, almost fro like dirty blonde hair and a tough look about him. He smiled a little crookedly, and his hair was gelled, but was sticking out in every way. I thought it was a pretty safe bet that the motorcycle parked nearby was his. Micah's age was somewhere between Emmett and Jasper, he was wearing a wife beater, to show off his biceps, and ripped jeans, with remnants of blonde still in his hair, as though he dyed it and it was now fading out. His hair itself was relatively long and grungy looking.
"Hey," I said with a small smile.
"Hi," said Jasper with a smile, he had a very strong New York accent, and Micah just nodded with a similar smile.
"Bella, why don't you go get yourself settled in," Emmett said, sensing his friends' eyes on me, "Carlisle, why don't you…"
"Yeah, I'll help her get settled," He finished for Emmett as he took my bag from Emmett and led me towards the front door.
"Dude," said Jasper while we were still within ear shot, "You didn't mention that your sister's smokin'."
"Little sister!" Emmett reminded him, this was one of the only times I had ever seen him aggravated, well other than with Edward, and then I heard was an unmistakable sound of Emmett's hand coming into contact with the back of Jasper's head.
"Yeah, but you made her sound like she was ten," said Micah with a slightly southern accent.
I heard Carlisle chuckle and he shook his head as he held the front door open for me. I ducked under his arm and he followed me in. He set my bag down near the futon couch before walking over to the fridge and getting himself a glass of water.
"I don't know where Emmett is planning on putting you," he said as he grabbed a bag of chips from the cabinet, "You want a soda or something? I'd offer you a beer, but Emmett'd kill me. You want a Snack?"
I shook my head and chuckled, imagining my slightly over protective brother coming in and seeing me sitting on his futon throwing back a cold one. Carlisle watched me as I chuckled, joining in after a few seconds. His eyes were soft as he did and it made me smile.
"Soda or water?" He asked again.
"I'll have a water," I said and he tossed me a bottle of water, which I caught, barely.
"Nice catch," He said as he sipped his water, coming over and sitting with me on the futon, then after a few seconds he turned to me, "So how long do you think their lecture will be?"
"I honestly don't know," I said and he chuckled as I hid my face, "So embarrassing."
"Your boyfriend must get it a lot from him," said Carlisle and I just shook my head.
"Don't have one, Emmett would kill him anyways," I said, only half joking, he wouldn't kill him, just scare him enough so that he wouldn't come around anymore, but Carlisle smiled.
"I can only imagine," He said, looking out the front window, over their TV at the front yard, where Emmett was still talking to the other two guys.
Carlisle just gazed at me, as I gazed at him for a few seconds, he kind of looked like he was starting to daze off. He jumped off the couch like a rocket as we saw Emmett coming towards the door, and he came in rolling his eyes.
"Sorry about them, Bell," He said, spotting my bag on the floor, "Oh, you're taking my room, I'll take the futon."
I, rather reluctantly, got up and walked out of Carlisle's presence, following Emmett into a room off the kitchen.
"Here ya go," He said, dropping my bag on the bed, "You can unpack later, I think there's a party over at one of the dorms we're going to. You're welcome to stay here though, if you want to get settled."
I followed Emmett back out into the kitchen and living room area, Carlisle was now sitting with Jasper on the couch, and Micah was kneeling in front of the coffee table, expertly shuffling a deck of cards. The other two were chuckling.
"Do you ever go anywhere without those?" Jasper asked as he sipped a beer, and Micah took a sip of his own, which was sitting on the coffee table near his arm.
"Bed." He said simply and I chuckled along with the rest of them as Emmett spun his car keys around his finger.
"OK," He said, "Clean up and let's go."
"Where're we going chief?" asked Jasper, smiling as he shot his empty beer bottle into the recycling bin across the room.
"Party near Jessica's dorm," Carlisle said as he stood up, went over to the sink, and put his glass in it.
"Why're we going to that girl's party?" asked Micah, "She's so irritating."
"Because she asked us if we were coming, and I told her we would," said Emmett, "I was trying to be nice to her."
"And, just curious, how would Rosalie feel about you being nice to Jessica?" said Micah curiously as he slipped the deck of cards he had been playing with into his back pocket.
"She'd be fine," He said and Carlisle shook his head as he shook excess water from his hand and walked over to us.
"Famous last words," He said teasingly, clapping Emmett on the shoulder as he walked by.
"So, do you want to come?" Emmett asked, turning back to look at me and I nodded, "Ok, just stay within eyesight of one of us at all times, these things get pretty rowdy sometimes."
"We'll protect you," said Carlisle in a tone meant to mock Emmett, but it just made me laugh as he grabbed a brown leather jacket from the closet, and a helmet from the shelf.
Clearly I had been wrong about the bike belonging to Jasper.
"Yes, Madame," said Jasper in a mildly entertaining faux accent while he stood up and bowed to me obnoxiously.
Emmett just chuckled as he ushered us out the door and into the parking lot. I was sad to see Carlisle walking over to the motorcycle before mentioned, and hopping on. I was kind of disappointed at the lack of being able to somehow manage to sit next to him in the car. I ended up sitting in the front with Emmett anyways as we followed Carlisle to the campus, with Micah and Jasper chattering in the backseat.
Emmett pulled up to the party around eight. Somewhere between getting settled and the time we arrived on campus it had gotten dark, and there were tiki torches outlining a common area of grass between two or three dorms. There was blaring music and a big tarp down a slanting hill, which people were using like a slip and slide. There was also a dancing area over under a tent, and people were milling around everywhere. Carlisle, who had been in front of us, parked his bike near the exit to the party and Emmett took a spot next to him, so that I was positioned right next to him. We all piled out of the car, and walked over to the party. Emmett and Carlisle were on either side of me, with Jasper and Micah behind us.
"Stay close," Carlisle reminded me, leaning down slightly so that I would be able to hear him and his voice wouldn't be drowned out in the music and laughter around us.
We walked onto the grass, standing in a small clump to the side until two girls ran over, one of them giggling, the other looking at me like I hadn't showered in over a week. The giggling tall blonde one was just one of those girls that you just saw and you were annoyed. The one who had her nose all crinkled up was short with brown hair, and would have been relatively pretty with a different expression on her face.
"Hey, Em," said the blonde one smiling that that girl on the beach had and Emmett just kind of looked at her, clearly annoyed, "Glad you could make it."
Emmett was saved from replying by the brown haired girl, who looked from me to Carlisle and back again.
"Who's she?" she asked, not even bothering to hide her irritation at my presence.
"This is my sister," Emmett said, "She's staying with Carlisle and I for a little bit."
"Oh," said the girl, trying to seem a little happier, and I heard Micah scoff a little behind me.
She did not seem at all pleased with my relation, or perhaps it was just my sleeping arrangement, as she looked back over to Carlisle and smiled. I looked over at him, and he gave her an uncomfortable smile, then he put a hand on my shoulder and led me, and the group away from them.
"Sorry about them, Bella," He said with a heart breaking smile as he picked a can of soda of a table and cracked it open while the rest of the boys, including, to my silent surprise, Emmett grabbed a beer.
"Yeah, pay them no attention," said Emmett as he swallowed a mouthful of beer.
"No one ever does," Micah chimed in.
The group slowly disbanded and dispersed throughout the party. I wandered a little, making sure one of the guys was within my sight at all times. Mostly I just wanted to make sure I could see Carlisle. Emmett was keeping an eye on me, never more than a few feet away, Micah and Jasper had long since disappeared. Some of the guys that were hanging around started to talk to me.
Each time one of them did Carlisle or Emmett gave me a look and I just shrugged them off, telling them silently that I was fine. What I didn't like was the fact that Jessica, the brown haired girl, and Lauren, the blonde haired girl, from before were not too far from Emmett and Carlisle respectively at all times. I went to the other side of the party where people were dancing and lost sight of Emmett, but Carlisle was just a few feet away. I just needed to get away from Jessica's glares for a little while.
I saw Carlisle chuckle a little as some, rather intoxicated, guy came up to me and led me by the hand over to the dancing. Carlisle watched chuckling as the guy tried to dance with me, a slow song, to my horror, before casually walking over to us and tapping him on the shoulder.
"May I cut in?" He said with a charming smile that made my knees go weak.
He didn't wait for the guy to respond before replacing his arms around me, and I could've died happy right there and then. He smiled at me.
"Thank you," I said, letting out a sigh and putting my arms up and around his neck.
"No problem," He said with a smile and a sparkle in his eye, then added after a moment, "Where's Emmett?"
"Don't know," I said simply and he laughed.
"Probably having a heart attack then," said Carlisle, when I noticed Jessica glaring at me over his shoulder, and he followed my eye line back to her, and then looked at me, "So we're both helping each other out then."
He laughed a little as I did and grinned down at me.
"You really are very beautiful," He said sincerely, and my heart swelled as I desperately hoped I wasn't dreaming.
I wasn't. The only thing was, since there was no alarm clock, it was Emmett who came up to spoil it.
"C'mon, this party's crashing," He said and Carlisle let go of me and we followed Emmett to the car, where Jasper and Micah were waiting.
I could've snapped Emmett's neck.