The Twilight Twenty-Five

thetwilight25[dot]com

Prompt: Ballet Studio

Pen Name: maxandmo

Pairing/Main Character(s):ExB

Rating: M

Multi-chapter

Photo prompts can be viewed here: thetwilight25[dot]com/round-six/prompts

I don't own Twilight. Extra special thanks to Twilly for encouraging me to write and Sarah for beta'ing! Luv ya's! (maxandmo on Twitter and Maxandmo Fanfiction on FB)

16 Ballet Studio

"Bella, be happy you're klutzy. No offense," Rose stated while eyeing Bella's bruised arms. "I spent my whole youth inside a ballet studio. What started off as fun, ended up in disaster."

Bella sat wide-eyed while Alice nodded for her to continue.

"At first I was like every other little girl. I fantasized about being a ballerina. My mom let me pick out any little dance outfit I wanted, and she made a big deal out of fixing my hair in a bun. The older I got, the teachers realized that I had potential. Plus, I still loved to dance. It wasn't until I hit puberty that things changed." She looked wistfully out to the ocean where Emmett was swimming.

"Rose, you're doing great," Alice encouraged.

"When I started to mature, my parents put the pressure on me to stay in shape and keep dancing. By then, ballet became something that I did, and not necessarily something that I wanted to do. My chest kept growing and so did my waistline. I was what they started to call 'big boned' which just didn't cut it in the ballet world. I was still graceful, and one hell of a ballet dancer, but the guys started to have a hard time with lifts and the awkwardness of me being bigger than them. There wasn't much I could do about my chest, but I started to diet like a motherfucker. You name it: laxatives, diet pills, and caffeine." She laughed but it sounded hollow and didn't reach her eyes.

"The more weight I lost, the more praise I received. It became addicting; so addicting that if I gained any weight at all, I was obsessed with figuring out how to lose that and more. It started with calorie counting and ended with a miscarriage."

"Oh god, Rose. I'm so sorry." Bella couldn't imagine what it was like to have such meddling parents since Charlie was nothing like that.

"My mother refused to believe anything was wrong with me until I collapsed in the middle of a performance. The doctors told her I needed help, and if it wasn't for my father, I'm sure she would've ignored them. They set me up with a therapist who helped me see that there was more to life than ballet."

Rose noticed that the guys had joined the group and reached out her hand for Emmett.

"Meeting this guy saved my life. No one makes me feel as beautiful as he does. He made me see that it's not a crime to eat a piece of pizza and that I can workout without literally trying to kill myself. I only wish I didn't fuck up my body so bad that it affects him."

"Baby, it's not your fault," Emmett whispered. "You were just a teenager."

"I got pregnant on our honeymoon. My periods had stopped, so we were surprised, yet so excited. I miscarried right before our first doctor's appointment at nine weeks. The second time was right after we told our family and friends at thirteen weeks. My mother had the nerve to tell me at that least I wouldn't get fat," Rose said with disdain.

Emmett took over. "After that we waited awhile to try again. We were happy to just be together and weren't ready for another loss. We tried for two years with no results and then consulted a high-risk fertility specialist. The doctors couldn't find any reason for the miscarriages and said that maybe Rosie's body just needed to heal. Our first in-vitro attempt failed, and they told us we can try again next month." He reached out and took Rose's chin in his hand forcing her to look at him. "Rose, you know how much I love you, and if we never have kids, I'll still be very happy to spend my life with only you."

Alice and Jasper were holding hands and smiling at them, while Bella felt her eyes well up with tears. After seeing how committed Rose and Emmett were, Edward was even more convinced that there was no way marrying Jessica made sense to anyone other than his or her families. He wanted what they had and decided he wasn't going to settle for anything less. He hoped he could stick to his guns when he got home.

Edward instinctively reached up and brushed away Bella's tears. "Don't cry, pretty girl."

The startling blow of a whistle effectively ended the topic of conversation. Coach Clapp clapped for them to get a move on. The six new friends got into the water and headed for their jet skis. It was time to head back.

Meanwhile, back on the island, Carlisle was having a lovely day with his lady. While Esme was getting massaged, Carlisle was in the greenhouse perfecting the contents of Esme's morning tea. While he was there, he picked up the perfect combination for Rose. He then went to his wine cellar and chose the perfect gifts for the girls. Alice's wine was a bit stronger than Bella's. He knew Alice could handle her liquor better, but also was confident in Bella's ability to relax with a bit of help. Rose's wine took a bit longer to perfect, but once it was ready, he was satisfied with its contents.

After Esme's massage, they spent the day roaming around the grounds and making sweet love. He surprised her with an easel and some watercolor paints, and she was ecstatic to spend some time painting that afternoon.

Paul and Jake were eager to spend time together, while Mike retreated to the main house for lunch and then a nap. Jessica was thrilled with her massage and even more ecstatic over the mani/pedi Carlisle surprised her with.

Carlisle received a message from Coach Clapp before lunch telling him that the day was progressing nicely. The coach had perfected his ability to eavesdrop and fade into the background without anyone realizing he was memorizing every word they said and aware of every move they made.

Carlisle felt that the coach was a plethora of good information. He paid attention to his team and no one had perfected the blowing of a whistle like Coach Clapp.

When late afternoon was upon them, Carlisle went out to the patio to see how the dinner buffet was coming along. Mrs. Cope assured him that they were on schedule, and that Mr. Banner had been her saving grace. Carlisle was happy to hear she was pleased with him, though he made sure not to ask in what ways he had pleased her. The bounce in Mrs. Cope's step told him it was better that he didn't ask if he really didn't want to know.

He was pleased to see Mike and Jessica lying next to each other by the pool. Her flirtatious manner, along with Mike's loud guffaw, told him everything he needed to know.

He radioed for Jake to meet him in his quarters. Once he told Jake his idea, the little man looked thrilled. "Boss, this is the best week I've had in a long time. Paul is everything I could have ever hoped for."

"I'm happy for you, my friend. I feel the same about my lovely Esme."

They both stood silently for a moment thinking about their lovers. They knew they had to make the short time they had left count.

Rose's mom is an asshole. I had the opposite problem in my early teens. I was super skinny...so skinny that I used to drink milkshakes before bed. I wanted to fill out my Jordache jeans and parachute pants. Now, if they'd only come back in style, I'd be all set;)