HELLOOOOOOOOOO! LIKE MY NEW UNDERLINE? I WAS PLAYING AROUND AND I FOUND IT! IT SO MUCH FUN! BUT TIME TO GET SERIOUS! I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE TWILIGHT CHARACTERS. IF I DID, EDWARD WOULD HAVE GOTTEN HIS BUTT BIT OFF, THE WOLF PACK WOULD HAVE HAD MORE LINES, AND EMMETT WOULD HAVE ADOPTED BELLA!
Embry walked through the bitter cold November weather towards Bella's house. Yes, it was thanksgiving, and Embry was going over to Bella's to help out, and eat with them. He felt his heart flutter. His realization from last night was making him hesitant to see Bella, the fact that whenever he liked a girl he would shut down, blush and stutter around them, that's why he never got a girlfriend, but maybe he could try his best with Bella. After all, she WAS his friend. He knocks on the door and is met with a disheveled Bella. Covered in what looked like flour. Embry raises an eyebrow, even though Bella couldn't see.
"Emmett." He nodded and followed her into the kitchen.
"So where is he?"
"Getting our parents and his girlfriend, he knew he was in trouble when he flung the flour at me." He watches her mix a bowl of gravy; she looks up and smiles at him.
"Would you mind dicing the potatoes please?" he nods and goes to the counter where a small pile of peeled potatoes were lying. For a long moment, they work in silence, Bella humming as she bases the turkey and moves around, giving Embry different things to do. Emmett's voice rings through the small house followed by many footsteps. Embry rinses his hands once Bella says everything simmering and its okay to take a break. He walks out with Bella. The first thing he sees is Mr. Swan looking him up and down. All he can think is 'thank god I kept my hood on.' Charlie frowns as he looks at the boy who he interrogated from the beginning. He was very worried about Bella so much time with the guy, especially after Emmett called him saying Embry had facial scars that looked like knife marks. Of course he heard Bella screaming at him, defending him. Now, here he was again, still wearing a hood, and staying close to Bella.
"Hey bells! Happy Thanksgiving." He gives his daughter a hug, his wife behind to give Bella a kiss. Emmett already has the game on, and is sitting next to Victoria, talking. Charlie watches Embry closely as he talks to Bella as well, but quietly. He hears the murmurs of the young man, but can never make out the words. Every now and ten Bella will giggle and murmur back. Charlie stretches his neck in attempt to see the kitchen, and he sees Bella wrapped up in Embrys arms. He stiffens. 'The boy better no try anything' he thinks in warning.
"Charlie, quit spying!" Renee pinches his shoulder with a scowl.
"I can't help it! He has my little girl in his arms." He mutters. Renee rolls her eyes with a grin on her face.
"I thought you said he was too shy."
"That was weeks ago, seems like he gained a little courage." He hears more murmuring and clanging of dishes, showing it was nearly time to eat. Bella tries to contain a squeal of surprise as Embry grabs her waist from behind.
"Boo." She giggles.
"Em, you're going to make me drop dishes!" But Bella was happy. Embry seemed much better after yesterday, he seemed livelier, more affectionate…Bella blushed and set the table, Embry setting the glasses down. She called everyone in and dinner started. Embry hesitated. Should he take his hood off? He can feel Charlie's eyes on him, making him more nervous than he already was. Bella squeezed his hand underneath the table, showing it was his choice. He squeezed back, before he speared a piece of turkey and began eating. The silence was uncomfortable.
"So Bella, how's skating?" Renee asks, after a mouthful of potatoes.
"It's great mom, James' really patient." Her mother smiles.
"That's nice. Have you seen Edward and Alice lately?" She nods.
"There really busy with the diner, I understand why, the foods great." She looks at Emmett who's' trying to contain his annoyance with how their dad is staring daggers at Embry.
Embry sits in silence feeling the chill of someone watching him, he knows it's Mr. Swan. He sticks a forkful of potatoes in his mouth.
"So, Embry is it?" He freezes.
"Y-yeah." He turns his head slightly to see Mr. Swan giving him a probing look.
"You know it's rude to eat with a hood on." Embry's pupils shrink; he knows what he's trying to do.
"Dad, its fine, I told him it was okay." Bella scolded.
"That may be true, but its disrespectful to eat with a hood on, weather the host says yes or no." Embry looks at Bella who is obviously irritated. They have to know…it's the best choice. Embry raises his arms shakily and gently pulls his hood down; luckily his scars only face Bella. She holds his hand. Charlie's surprised; he was expecting the boy to have messy hair, to look like a trouble maker. But it was nicely trimmed, slightly spiked. The boy doesn't turn around, though; he stays exactly where he is, so the scars wouldn't be revealed. Bella got up to get the pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Embry runs a hand through his short hair.
Bella comes back with a pie and cuts it evenly, giving everyone a piece. "I haven't had pie in a long time." He whispers to Bella, catching Charlie's attention. "Well I guess it's time to start having it again." Bella replies playfully. Embry smiles. Bella looks at his face in familiarity. His scars added maturity to his face, his pale eye always was her favorite thing. She didn't know why, but the color was like chocolate, fitting him perfectly of sweetness, no matter how corny that sounded.
When desert was finished, Charlie tried his best to subtly stay behind to talk to Embry, but he was pushed away by his wife just when Embry turned around. He caught a glimpse; the boy has uneven eye colors. Embry stood at the sink with Bella rinsing dishes. "I'm glad you came." Bella murmurs shyly.
"I'm glad I came too." He tries to move closer to Bella without being noticed.
"I'm sorry about my dad; I guess Emmett blabbed something to him." He shrugs.
"Its fine, this was still nice, you're really good in the kitchen." Bella blushes.
"Thanks." Silence washed over except the noise of the TV. Bella moved to put away the last plate, but slipped on a tiny puddle. She let out a little shriek, falling right into Embry, who lost his balance and toppled to the floor. He grunted as his back made contact with the linoleum. Bella huffed and tried to get up, but her legs were tangled with Embry's. She was on top of him, forced to look right in his eyes.
"S-sorry!" they awkwardly tried to maneuver out of their position, but ended up having some other difficulty. Embry's heart was going mad, and to make matters worse, he heard footsteps. They both froze only to go into frenzie mode; desperate to get out of their awkward position before someone came in. finally they managed to get untangled and on their feet as Renee came in with a glass. "Bella honey, where do you keep your ice?" She pointed to a small space on her refrigerator. Her mother looked at Embry with curiosity. So it was true, he had scars, but just because of that didn't make him harmful. She mentally scolded her husband and got some ice and water.
"I'll be right back." Bella said as she left the kitchen. Embry put away the last of the dishes feeling Renee's eyes on him.
"You seem harmless." He turns to look at the older woman who has a friendly smile. He bites his lip, well that was sudden.
"I am." He mumbles. The woman lets out a small laugh.
"I sorta knew that the moment you took off your hood, I can tell you care about my daughter." She sips her water. Embry rubs the back of his neck.
"Uhhh…yeah." His voice breaks from nervousness, making Renee let out another small laugh.
"I can tell your sweet. Don't let my husband scare you, just follow your heart and all will fall together. I know that sounds corny but I'm a mom, trust me." Her blue eyes twinkle as she smiles at him with such a motherly look, his eyes pivot to the ring on his finger, the last, and only thing he had of a reminder of HIS mother… the woman who left him just to find the bastard he was told was his father. He swallows the lump in his throat.
"Thanks…" she smiles once more, and heads into the living room, where her two boys and Victoria are watching the football game. He leans against the counter when belle comes in. she smiles at him and takes his hand.
"You wanna hang out on the porch?" he nods, following her out the door. They sit quietly, just like they had many nights ago, but apparently Emmett had replaced the chairs with a bench, saying the house looked weird with two lawn chairs, so now Bella and him were sitting about a foot away, watching small flutters of snow come down.
"I've never noticed that ring before, and I've held your hand so many times." Bella gently lifts his hand to look at the small blue stone. He shrugs.
"Sometimes I forget I'm wearing it myself." Bella gives him a smile, her eyes nervous. She bites her lip and scoots closer. She slips her fingers through Embrys, the moment is so cliché, a young girl feeling nervous holding a boys hand, but…it feels different than the other times. He sighs his contented sigh and gently tugs Bella closer, until their shoulders are touching. The fluttering of the snow makes him think of how quiet things are, hardly any cars because of the fact it's the holidays, everyone's home with families. Bella rests her head in the crook of Embrys neck, letting out a little purr from the warmth.
For some reason, Embry can't fight the chuckle that shakes his chest. Bella just purred! Bella seems to understand why he's chuckling and giggles. He wraps an arm around her, picking up on her sudden want of warmth.
"You're so warm." She mumbles. Embry grins and looks at her dark chocolate eyes. His heart picks up pace, the feeling of being in middle school, the words of his annoying old man, of Bella's mother popping into his head. "Every rough has a diamond, she made you laugh, admit it, just follow your heart. He takes a deep breath and daringly leans into Bella a little closer, and gently kisses her cheek.
She closes her eyes and snuggles deeper into his neck; he can feel her small on his neck, the moment so light and comfortable that Embry can't help but smile. He felt suddenly lighter, he felt like he could face his fear, as long as Bella was there to support him. He holds her slightly tighter.
"Hey guys you out here?" they both jump when the front door slams, and Emmett's bulky figure charges through the door. He turns to see their cuddling position. He tries to stay normal, not letting the big brother out, and smiles. He knows Embry means well, and has proven he's serious after he took off his hood and kept it off the entire meal. Maybe his assumptions about the scars were wrong.
"Mom and Dad are heading out bells, c'mon." Bella gets up holding Embry's hand. Bella lets go to hug her father saying it was great seeing them, and then hugging her mother, who gave Embry a sneaky wink and mouthed 'take care of her.' He nods as Bella release her mother, waving them goodbye. Emmett huffs himself off the couch, grabbing his keys.
"Well, Victoria and I are going to do some early Christmas shopping, you two kiddies have fun... but not too much!" Bella laughs and slaps her brother's ass before he leaves.
"Just go you big teddy bear!" Embry grins and grabs Bella's waist making her squeal.
"So what's the plan now that the supervisors are gone?" Bella bites her lip and turns around so she's facing him.
"I thought we'd go to the rink." Embry stomach drops, but he smiles.
"Sounds like a plan." Bella smiles back and gets a duffel bag out of her room. Embry takes a deep breath. 'stay calm, you can do this, just…casually get on the ice, and don't look down.' But he knew it would require more than a Minnie pep talk. He grasped Bella's hand as they left the house and began the walk towards the ice rink, His heart going mad from fear. He hoped that Bella really would keep him a-float when he did this. They walked in, the smell of frozen water in the air. Bella waves at her couch James, who agreed to meet her. When Embry looks at James and sees him giving the once over just like Bella's dad, he realizes he never put his hood back up, not that it mattered, the streets had been practically dead on their way. He turns his head, making James laugh.
"Relax; I've seen worse injuries from ice." He whips his head toward the couch.
"You…" "Yes I know, I was actually there when it happened. Embry call, 21 years old at the time, plummeted into the water after the unsafely thin layer of ice gave out from the other teams, when they pulled you out you were covered in blood and your uniform was in shreds, after that you disappeared, news of your team cutting you two weeks later." Embry swallowed.
"Yeah…" The blonde man smiled at him.
"Well, bell told me about you situation, and I want to help." Embry raise an eyebrow towards Bella who bites her lip and blushes.
"James has dealt with phobias before, I knew I wouldn't be able to do it on my own, and he's' the only one I trust with this kind of stuff." Embry wraps and arm around Bella's waist and pulls her close, showing he was fine.
"So what do you say, you wanna get started?" He looks at Bella one more time before turning his attention to the coach.
"Let's get started."
DUN! EMBRY'S GETTING READY TO BREAK HIS FEAR! BUT IT'S NOT THAT EASY, THERE WILL BE SURPIRSES IN THE FUTURE, AND IT SEEMS EMBRY STARTING TO PEAK BACK TO HIS OLD SELF, ESPECIALLY BUILDING UP THAT COURAGE TO GIVE BELLA THAT KISS ON THE CHEEK! GO EM! FAREWELL UNTIL NEXT CHAPTER MY EVER SO LOYAL READERS!