Chapter 26: Beautiful
Bella PoV
"You have got to be kidding me." Edward muttered as we pulled into his drive.
"What is it?" I asked, concerned.
"Seth." He spat.
I shot him a confused look, but he wasn't there anymore. I spun round to see him open my door for me. I smiled at him. Still the gentleman, even when he was about to blow a fuse.
We walked into the main room to see Alice sitting on the couch, looking worried. She jumped up and dashed over to Edward, muttering to him with inhuman speed. A dark look passed across his face and he turned to me.
"Bella, you stay in here. I'll be right back." He kissed my cheek and disappeared with Alice into the kitchen.
Sighing, I sat in Alice's place on the sofa and tried to ignore the bad feeling sweeping over me.
The voices grew steadily louder and angrier as I waited. Trying to stop myself from listening, I forced myself to think of other things.
What I was going to make Charlie for dinner.
Whether or not I could slip away and visit Jacob while Edward was busy.
Whether or not Jacob would want to see me.
Whose feet those were treading gently down the stairs.
Distracted from my thoughts, feeble though they were, I turned to see Tiffany-Kry- No, Nudge- edge delicately down the stairs, as if afraid of being caught.
"Hey." I called to her, "Did you sleep well?"
She looked over at my voice and, after scanning the room, bounced over to me.
"Yeah! That bed was so comfy! I mean, like, wow! Everyone's still sleeping, 'cept Fang, but I bet he never slept, not while Max is not too great. She's probably all better by now though, she does that. Where did you go? 'Cause you and Edward just like disappeared. When I got up for a glass of water, all the vampire-people were still up, 'cept Edward. He vanished, and I don't mean like Fang vanished, but like-Mmmph!"
A hand had appeared over her mouth, stemming the flow of words.
"Nudge," Ni-Fang, muttered, "Too early. Breakfast?"
We both looked up to see Max and Fang standing behind us. Nudge nodded and they followed her through to the kitchen before I could warn them.
As soon as the door opened, the harsh voices stopped. Silence filled the house and the three stood awkwardly just inside the door.
I got to my feet and followed them inside. The problem was obvious instantly; Seth was glaring at Fang, who was glaring right back. Max stood between them, looking from one to the other with a slightly pained expression.
The Cullens stood watching with expressions that ranged from slightly amused-Emmett, to slightly troubled-Alice. My entrance didn't disturb them and nor did Nudge tugging on Fang's sleeve. The horribly tense atmosphere remained until the remainder of Max's family, or Flock, came down the stairs.
"Max!" Angel called happily, jumping into the older girl's arms. The Gasman hugged her round the legs, unable to reach anywhere else thanks to his sister.
I walked over to Edward and put my hand on his arm. His clouded expression worried me. He glanced at my face and sighed, before pulling me to one side.
"Seth wants us to change Max." He said quietly.
I gasped. "What?"
"I know, that was my reaction. He thinks changing her would solve every problem, but there seems to be something else in the back of his mind. He is very deliberate not to think about it when I'm near, but I'm going to try and catch him out." He sighed. "And I thought you were the only trouble I would face."
I smiled at him, and opened my mouth to reply, but was cut off.
"Who wants breakfast?" Iggy asked the room at large.
Many exclamations of delight came from the younger members of the Flock and I accepted, having rushed out of my house in haste to see more of this amazing family.
I took my place at the large dining table, and as I ate my scrambled eggs, allowed my eyes to wander.
The Cullens had all gone off to do their own thing and Seth was nowhere to be found. The Flock were all gobbling down incredible amounts of food.
I finished my measly portion of eggs and took my plate to the sink, before going back through to the main room, giving the Flock some privacy. I sat next to Edward, resting my head on his stone shoulder. We sat in silence, enjoying being the peace and quiet.
Eventually Angel, The Gasman and Nudge came through and started to watch cartoons. Commotion broke out when Gasman changed the channel, then proceeded to yell at his sister.
"Angel. What have I told you?" Max's voice held a powerful warning.
I turned to see her, Iggy and Fang emerge from the kitchen.
Max proceeded to kneel down in front of the blond girl, talking quietly to her.
Quiet conversation broke out between the two families. Max came to sit next to me, leaving Angel to mess around with Emmett.
We watched the huge man play around with the two small blond siblings for a while before I had to go and ruin everything.
"Can I see them? Your wings, I mean." I blurted out to Max, completely randomly. I could feel my face turning crimson as she fixed her gaze on me.
All conversation in the room ceased and twelve pairs of eyes focused on me, then swung to Max. A deadly silence, like thick smog, filled the air as everyone waited for her answer.
Her gaze slipped from my face, to Fang's. They stared at each other for a moment before she looked back at me and nodded slowly, standing up.
Max's eyes flickered round everyone, seeing their reactions and I quickly followed suit, more slowly though. The Cullens appeared slightly excited; they were just as eager to see her wings as I was. Her Flock looked slightly apprehensive. They gathered, seemingly automatically, closer together. Fang moved away from his position leaning against the wall and came up behind Max so that he was standing slightly behind her, on her right. He looked like a bodyguard.
She pulled off the huge black hoody that Fang had given her and tossed it to him.
Taking a deep breath, she spread her wings slowly.
They were beautiful. I watched as they stretched, the feathers moving to form one long, smooth shape. They were mostly brown speckles with a white background.
I reached out to touch them, transfixed. Before I had even registered what I was doing, my fingers were brushing along her feathers.
Then everything happened far too fast for my poor human reactions.
Max gasped, snapping her wings in immediately. Fang spun round when he heard Max's gasp and his eyes snapped to my outstretched hand. He stepped in front of Max, growling lowly at me. Edward did not take nicely to this, and was between Fang and me before the sound had even registered in my brain. Max's Flock all stood tense in fighting positions, ready to battle and the Cullens had all gotten to their feet, equally prepared.
Then there was me, standing in the middle of it all, completely confused.
