Chapter 5

"Smile!" Isabella forced a grin as Jessica took the picture.

"That's a really nice picture of you two, Bella," Charlotte cooed, turning the camera around to show them. Jasper had an arm casually slung over Isabella's shoulders; both wore blinding white smiles. "I'm so glad you came over today, it's a good one for a barbecue." Peter was inside the small townhouse that he and Charlotte had recently moved into, grabbing his and Jasper's third bottle of beer from the chiller. They had been waiting for an opportunity to use the small patch of grass that lay out back, so when the weather forecast proved favourable, they had decided to change their evening date to an afternoon barbecue. Neither Isabella nor Jasper minded.

"Yeah, it is," Isabella replied with a gentle smile. "Email it to me?" Charlotte nodded.

"So how has your week been?" Jasper inquired, sitting back in his garden chair.

"Oh, not too bad. We've just been unpacking most of the time," she chuckled. "It's hard to believe how much stuff you can accumulate in only a few short years." Charlotte's accent had a slight English lilt to it: a product of studying there for her English Literature degree. It only became more apparent when she pronounced words like, 'accumulate' and 'short', which were so clearly pronounced in entirely different ways across the pond. Isabella wished to ask her more about her time there, as Jasper had explained to her that Charlotte had quite the experience out there.

"I know what you mean," Isabella empathised. "My apartment is full of so much crap that I would have never thought about when I was living back home…"

"You just pick up loads of knick-knacks, don't you? New place, new people. You just want to live in the moment…"

"Carpe diem." Charlotte smiled at the familiar phrase. "You did English Literature too, didn't you?" Isabella nodded. She thought she would have a valuable friend in Charlotte, if this first encounter was anything to go by.

"I studied in Washington State though; England sounds much more interesting." Charlotte took a sip of her wine as she considered her response. At the same time, Peter returned with the drinks.

"Uh oh," he mumbled, taking in Charlotte's dreamy expression. "You asked her about England, didn't you?" he said, looking at Isabella in mock accusation. Jasper laughed under his breath as Charlotte gave him a playful slap on the shoulder and Peter pretended to be in pain.

"England was very nice," she said simply. "I studied at York University for three years, and, to some degree, they were the best three years of my life—before I met Peter of course." Charlotte smiled at this, placing a hand on Peter's shoulder and rubbing at the spot she hit. "York is a very beautiful place, and I can see why they named New York after it." Isabella noted the wistful tone to her voice and decided that perhaps this was a topic for discussion in private.

"Charlotte would move there if she could," Peter said matter-of-factly. "But her student visa ran out when she graduated and had to move back here." He took a swig of his beer after he said this, something of bitterness and equally something of hope in his expression. Clearly, this was a contentious topic, indeed. They had only been together for ten months, but it was obvious that they were close. Isabella did not have enough knowledge of real life relationships to know how couples worked out as big a problem as wanting to live in different countries.

"I got my summer bonus yesterday!" Jasper exclaimed, hoping to lighten the mood. Peter looked up in surprise.

"Awesome! But how come you got one and I didn't?" Again, there was the laughing look in his eyes as he pretended to be annoyed with Jasper.

"I don't know, I guess I must just work harder than you…" he trailed off. Peter stood up and gave him a challenging look; Jasper met with him toe to toe for a moment before they stood back away from each other and laughed. There was a brotherliness between them that made them seem like they had known each other since birth. I envied them that, in a sense. I was never that close to anyone in Forks, not even Angela.

. . .

"Come on, Bella! Jeez, you wouldn't think it was Senior Prom," she grumbled. Jessica was frantically taking photos with her brand new camera that her parents had given her as a present for finishing high school. Tonight was Prom and they were all going as a big group, together: Isabella, Jessica, Angela, Mike, Eric and Ben. Mrs. Stanley had even hired them a limo so they could 'arrive in style.' Isabella was not sure she cared for 'style', but found it easier to just go along with what the others wanted.

"Go easy on her, Jess," Angela hissed, giving her friend a meaningful look. It took a moment for Jessica to realise what she meant, and then instantly felt remorseful. How thoughtless of her; Isabella was probably thinking of her mom, noticeably absent from what should have been the best night of Isabella's teenage life. A silence fell over the room for a moment as Jessica put the camera down and set about helping Angela do Isabella's hair. Why would Isabella want photos of herself being made up, anyway?

"Let's put some music on," Isabella said quietly, reaching for the stereo remote and pressing play. She had no idea what Pop crap Jessica was listening to, but it filled the uneasy silence that was not helping her to distract her thoughts. The therapist had made a breakthrough with her yesterday, and Isabella was still reeling from the aftermath.

. . .

Peter had started to put sausages and burgers on the barbecue when the shadows began to grow longer. Charlotte put on the latest Vampire Weekend album as she set about getting the burger and hot dog buns out of the cupboard.

"Hey! Didn't I buy you this one for your birthday?" Peter called out, turning over the meat on the grill. Charlotte called back an affirmative as Peter reflected for a moment. He turned to look at Isabella and Jasper, their hands intertwined as they spoke about the week ahead. Peter waited for a lull in the conversation before he spoke.

"I was talking to Jasper about buying this album at the same time I saw you looking across the carriage," he said with a smile. "You have me to thank for your pairing, I think," Peter murmured proudly as he turned back to the smoking grill. Isabella observed with a laugh that he really was proud, given his body language: Peter was standing taller than usual. She knew he was probably right; she would never have worked up the nerve to say 'hello' before Jasper started to notice her. "I pointed you out to him. Oblivious, he was! Oblivious!"

"It's true," Jasper shrugged. "I was much too involved in the funny page."

"That's for sure," Peter agreed, laughing. Charlotte came out to set up a folding table in the garden, and then trooped in and out with plates of bread rolls and bowls of salad.

"Do you need any help?" Isabella asked, starting to get out of her seat. Charlotte waved her off.

"No need. It's only a few little things," she replied, tucking a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear in the humidity. Isabella saw then, that Charlotte was the light to Peter's dark. She had light blonde hair and fair skin, while Peter looked vaguely Italian, if only for his dark green eyes. Isabella guessed it was true that opposites attract.

"How did you two meet?" she asked of them. They turned around to look at each other with a coy expression, questions in their eyes. Isabella noticed Jasper sitting back further in his seat with another swig of his fourth bottle of beer.

"That's a very long story," Charlotte finally replied, quickly heading inside for cutlery.

"I'm not sure if you really want to get into it," Peter finished. Isabella's ears pricked with curiosity, but did not wish to pry.

"If it's too long and involved, it's fine, I just wondered." Charlotte returned with the silverware and put it down with a clatter on the table.

The smell of smoke grew more intense suddenly, and Peter turned around to discover the meat burning. With a curse, he reached for the fork he'd been using to turn the food over and moved the meat onto the side table attached to the barbecue. "Sorry about that," he murmured.

. . .

The white limo pulled up outside the Stanleys' house at around seven o'clock; the driver was dressed in the standard, black chauffeuring attire, trying to hide his annoyance at having driven from Port Angeles during the rush hour. He waited patiently as the group of teenagers took fifty photos by the limo, and smiled kindly when the precocious Stanley girl dressed in pink posed for a picture with him. He thought of the money that would be waiting for him in his bank account the following Wednesday. Eventually, they were done and he was driving them to the High School.

Isabella reacted in much the same way as the driver, although she did a worse job of covering her misery. She did not realise how apparent her melancholy was, but the other two girls could tell that now was not the time to bring it up. Besides, as Jessica had noted, tonight was her night to be herself—if Isabella wished to spend Prom night thinking of her mom that would be her choice.

Jessica took Mike's hand as they exited the limo at the school and left Isabella behind with Angela and the other two boys. Mike protested briefly, but as soon as he heard the music booming out of the school, he forgot all about Isabella.

She was used to this by now.

. . .

After a few more drinks, everyone's tongues were looser, and when darkness eventually fell at around seven o'clock, the group were very merry. Charlotte had brought some candles out and lit them in several places around the garden, finding the glow from inside the house not ambient enough.

"It's all in the name of ambience," Charlotte slurred with a grin. "God, I feel so grown up right now! This was exactly the sort of thing my parents used to do. I used to think they were so boring, but now I completely get it." She mimed taking a pull from a cigarette and blowing out the smoke. "Just like so." She made a disgusted face. "But I would never smoke," Charlotte said sternly. Peter patted her on the back.

"Damn straight." They all nodded.

"What's it like to have two happy parents?" Isabella asked unabashedly.

"It's nice," Charlotte replied thoughtfully. "They're very together, together." She pressed her hands together and twined her fingers together in a mesh to demonstrate. "If I ever needed, or need anything, they're right there for me. They paid for me to go to York, actually. Everything was and is peaceful back home. That reminds me: I'm meant to call them in the morning about finally clearing out my room. They're moving to Indiana." Charlotte leaned over in her chair to press into Peter's chest. Such a sobering thought made Jasper change the subject.

"It's my birthday in two weeks," he said cheerfully. He would be turning 29 on the 7th October and it was a daunting thought for him, drawing ever closer to the dreaded 30 milestone. But he made light of it, as that was the only way to go about it, especially with all the alcohol sloshing about in his system. "I plan to have the biggest party ever."

"Bigger than Michael Jackson?" Isabella asked with wide eyes.

"Bigger than Michael Jackson." There was business in Jasper's tone.

"I'm not sure that's possible," she replied, getting up to go to the toilet. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back onto his lap, planting a kiss on her lips as she squirmed in his grasp.

"Jasper!" she gasped, worried about her alcohol hazed state combined with the incredible arousal she felt at being wrapped in his strong arms. He was like a jolt of lightning to her centre and suddenly her body felt very heated. Jasper, of course, could sense this—and grinned.

"Stop right there," Charlotte exclaimed seriously, though her speech was not easily taken seriously. "I can see what's happening here and it's not going to happen in my back yard." She stood up then, and went over to the couple to pull Isabella out of Jasper's close grip.

"But, but, but…" Jasper reluctantly let her go.

"Go to the toilet, Bella!" she yelled, pushing her inside with a shove. Once she was satisfied that Isabella was on her way to the bathroom, Charlotte allowed herself to beam with delight. "She's brilliant! I love her! Well done, Jasper!" He gave her a confused look for a moment before he realised that she meant to say she approved of Isabella, not that he ever doubted she would. Still, it was nice to hear.

"I agree," Peter said sleepily. "She's really great, Jaz." Jasper smiled proudly.

"Things are going really well at the moment, I like her a lot." Peter leaned over to nudge Jasper in the arm.

"That sounds like love talk, to me. Don't you think, Char?" He looked over at his girlfriend playfully.

"I think so, too," she said with a wink.

. . .

Isabella stood at the back of the hall drinking punch and slowly feeling herself become a little fuzzy with it. Of course someone had spiked the punch; it was a rite of passage. She smiled for a moment at this, and then returned to watching the room. Jessica was slow dancing with Mike in the centre of the room with Angela and Ben. She was not sure where Eric had gone off to, but guessed he felt just as out of place as she did. Maybe he had gone in search of that geeky girl, Sarah, everyone liked? She did not know.

The Prom Committee had outdone themselves with blue drapes making a cover across the ceiling so the whole room seemed much more intimate. As well as this, fake standing candles were carefully scattered across the room at even intervals just so that the right amount of dim light filled the room. A part of Isabella wished she could enjoy tonight just like every other teenager was doing, and she knew her mom would be disappointed if she knew that Isabella was just moping around at the back of the room. But another larger part of her wondered if she would be enjoying herself at her Senior Prom if the accident had not happened. Where would she be right now if her mom was still here? Where would Edward be right now if that awful night had never happened?

And then the words of her therapist cut through: 'You never knew Edward, Bella, he was just a figment of your imagination, and he was nothing like the person you described to me.' Which translated to: 'You're out of your mind, Bella. Get over it!'

With so much time having passed and no sign of Edward thus far, Isabella began to wonder if this might be the truth.

. . .

Around eleven o'clock, Peter called Jasper and Isabella a cab home, which promptly arrived ten minutes later. They had all been starting to fall asleep after so much booze and all parties felt that it was time to go to bed. Charlotte and Isabella made arrangements to meet up for lunch in town the following Saturday and then they were on their way.

Isabella leaned into Jasper's chest and closed her eyes on the ride home, which only took twenty minutes, surprisingly. She guessed the taxi driver must be using some rat runs, because she knew the ride home should take at least half an hour.

"Shall I come in with you?" Jasper inquired, his true meaning apparent in the look in his eyes. She smiled lazily.

"Please do!" She clambered out of the cab and rummaged through her bag for her keys while Jasper paid the driver. It took her a full minute to find her keys in the dark depths of her bag, and Jasper waited impatiently at her side as she did so. It was a relief when she finally put the key in the lock and they were inside her small apartment.

Isabella kicked off her canvas shoes as she made her way to the sink for a glass of water. Jasper closed the door behind them and untied his shoes on the sofa. She came around with a glass of water for him too, to sober them up some more. He smiled in appreciation as he took a long drink and they emptied their glasses in companionable silence.

He leaned over to press a gentle kiss to her lips and she met him with searing heat. She wrapped her hands around his face and pulled him close to her, releasing a contented sigh when his chest was pressed against hers. He coaxed her into his lap, and she straddled him, feeling his growing hardness between her thighs. She began to move her hips, slowly at first, but then with more passion as the friction became more and more welcome.

"Bella," he whispered, pushing her away from him so that he could remove her top and gain access to the tender skin of her chest. She sighed as he kissed down her neck, suckling at the join of neck to collarbone, just where he knew she liked it. She whimpered, and pushed his head down, silently begging for more.

He reached around and undid her bra clasp, pulling the soft fabric from her breasts so that there would be no constraints. She, in turn, reached to the bottom of his cotton t-shirt to pull it off. When their skin met, they smiled at each other as they kissed—this closeness was something they both treasured, and neither wanted to ever let it go.

"I love you," Isabella murmured in between kisses. Jasper pulled back in shock. The earnest look in her eyes told him that this was no drunken rambling, and they were both mostly sober anyway. He pulled her in for a long, lingering kiss before he released her again.

"I love you, too." With that, he picked her up with her legs wrapped around him, and carried her into the bedroom.

A/N: *smiles* Yay! Sorry about the fade to black, but this was just the right place to finish the chapter. Hope you enjoyed it...