CHAPTER 7: Blow Fish
"So, Edward, please tell us about your character?"
"Well, my character is a spy who meets a girl who doesn't know his true identity. She thinks he's here in Italy on vacation, but really he's trying to get Intel on a crime boss that's doing shady business. Because they've been seen together, she gets involved in his mission. He also doesn't want his work life and personal life mixing, so he tries to keep his feelings from her, especially because he doesn't want any harm to come to her. Things also become complicated due to another man in the picture that she's romantically linked to. And that's all they'll allow me to say—which is plenty," he smiles.
The reporters laugh and turn back to Aro with more questions. Interesting how they didn't ask the director about the synopsis on his own movie. Aro only talks about the character playing opposite Edward and lets Jessica speak about her role as well. The press conference seems to be going well and most of the reporters and the media are staying away from complicated questions that aren't related to the movie. Aro looks very pleased with the turn out. I'm in the back with Alice listening in. I feel a little important with the pass hanging around my neck that the girls in line that had been waiting since dawn to meet Edward with their signs keep staring at. It was like a golden ticket to them. "You should hide your pass inside your jacket, Bella, in case one of those hungry hyenas decides to rip it off your neck!" Alice warns me. I notice her pass wasn't visible at all so I take cue to do the same.
"Hey, Alice, I'll be back. I'm going to go get more water," I tell her.
"Okay, just hurry back. I think the conference is almost over. Once they let the fans near them, it'll be impossible to get back here with all crowds."
I ran toward the other long hallway to the dressing room where we were waiting in earlier. Snacks and drinks were prepared for us until the conference started. There are rows and rows of that expensive bottled water that I just couldn't get enough of. I finally reach the room, feeling a little dizzy. The throbbing in my head still wouldn't go away so I carried some Advil with me to dull the pain. All I need is water. Unfortunately, the door is locked. "Great," I sigh. I wonder if trying to break down the door with a heavy shove from my shoulder like they do the movies actually worked. I try talking to one of the security guards, but we have that language barrier problem so I give up and walk back to the stage.
As I turn the corner, I see a drinking fountain and smile. Beggars can't be choosers they say. I take out the small Advil packet, rip it open, and place the contents in my hand. I'm about to pop it into my mouth when I'm shoved out of nowhere by a bunch of girls screaming past me. I assume the conference is over as more of them are stampeding toward the stage area where only the press is permitted during the actual conference. One of the Advil pills rolls on the floor away from me so I chase after it. It finally stops a few feet away from me and as I bend down to pick it up, my forehead crashes into something hard, sending my butt to the ground. "Ow!" I rub my head and my behind. The headache I feel triples in size and I cringe at the pain.
"Sorry, I was just trying to pick it up for you," says a voice. I look up and the wall I thought I ran into wasn't a wall at all. It was a guy who's also rubbing his forehead. He has pale blue eyes, blond hair, and a baby face. He isn't bad on the eyes, either.
"Hi, I'm Mike Newton," he lends his hand down to me.
"Hi, I'm Bella Swan," I grab it as he helps me up. "You're playing the other love interest in the movie, right?"
"Yeah, I am. I remember you from the dinner a couple of nights ago," he chuckles. Oh, great. He picks up my runaway Advil and hands it to me. "Are you all right? Are you feeling sick?"
"No, I just have this small headache," I say. "Shouldn't you be inside with the rest of the cast signing autographs?"
"Yeah, we're just starting," he answers as we see more girls run past us. "I was just going to the bathroom…until I saw you." He sounds a little different when he says that last part to me, but quickly laughs it off. "You looked like you needed some help," he replaces his seriousness with a smile.
"Thanks." I half-smiled back, now feeling a little awkward. "I, umm…should take this before my headache gets any worse."
"Yeah, I should get back, too, but…hey listen, I was wondering—"
"Bella!" I spin around at call of my name. Alice looks relieved to see me. "I've been looking for you! I thought you had gotten trampled over or something. Oh, hey Mike..."
"Hey, Alice," he doesn't sound too happy to see her.
"You should get back," she says to him somewhat sternly. "Aro's looking for you."
"Thanks," he walks away without another word. His cheerful mood suddenly heads south. I wonder what that was about. He didn't even get the chance to go the bathroom.
"Anyway, what took you so long?" she places her hands on her hips—a famous Alice pose.
"I wanted bottled water but the door is locked to the room so I was just going to drink from the fountain so I can take my Advil when it fell from my hands," I explain. "I bumped into Mike when I tried to recover it."
"Mike, huh?" she turns around and looks in the direction where he left.
"He said he was on his way to the bathroom."
"I doubt that," she mutters and grabs my hand to drag me back to the stage area.
I give her a weird look. "Doubt what? That he had to pee?"
"The men's restroom is in the other hallway. Mike should have known that," she rolls her eyes. "And another thing—why are you taking Advil?" Alice returns a curious expression.
"I have a slight headache," I answer quietly.
"A headache?" my friend looks at me suspiciously. "There are other remedies for that."
"Like what?" I raise an eyebrow.
"I'll show you later," she smirks. Show me? Now, what does that mean? I didn't bother asking since Alice's sights were set on the stage. "Look at them. I swear if they could, they'd each take a piece of him home."
I didn't understand what she was referring to because I was still standing behind the heavy black drapes. When I finally peek around, I see a mass of females hovering around Edward. Three big body guards are standing in front him and beside him trying to control the crowd. The other actors have one body guard each, but they didn't appear to be in any immediate danger from getting their clothes ripped off by savages. Mike looks annoyed at Edward and all the attention he was getting even though the fans want to take pictures with all of them.
Edward gives the girls a friendly smile and willingly takes picture with as many of them that could fit in one shot, even the moms who thought he was hot. He even gave some of them kisses on the cheeks that made them squeal even louder! I can't say it didn't make me a little jealous. I know he's not mine, but I saw him first! I mean, we did have quite an interlude when we first met, although it wasn't my most graceful night.
"All right, everyone! That is the end of the meet and greet," Aro announces. "Thank you all for coming out and supporting the film!" Most of the girls groan, dragging their heels behind them as they are ushered out by security. I'd follow orders, too, if I had King Kong's relatives keeping an eye on me. The security guards were huge!
After most of the crowd leaves, Alice and I make our way to the stage where Edward, Mike and the rest of the cast are mingling with each other, with a few stray reporters chatting off the record. Alice leaves me to talk to Emmett who was near the stage the entire time with Rosalie, mostly with her phone pressed against her ear. She is still on a call when Alice pulls Emmett to the side. She looks like she was pleading with him about something.
"That went fairly well," Mike approaches me, laughing softly.
"Yeah, all you guys did great," I reply, my focus still on Alice. What is she up to this time? "Are you excited about the movie?" I ask with my eyes still set on the little pixie.
"Yeah, I think it'll be a big hit. Aro is a great director and the script is great too…" he answers, running a hand through his hair. It's cute but not as cute as when Edward does it.
Mike seems nervous for some reason. He also provides a perfect cover for me because his back is facing them allowing me to tilt my head a little to the side to see what's going on behind him. I'm trying to decipher the words their mouths are making and by this point, I've stopped paying attention to Mike altogether. I resort to nodding and responding, "Uh-huh…uh-huh…" to whatever he says.
My attention is preoccupied with Alice's conversation which Edward has joined. A handsome smile appears on his lips at something Alice has just said and slowly, he averts his eyes my way. I know he saw me staring at him because he starts to make his way in our direction. I blush for getting caught and block my vision from seeing him by using Mike as my shield. I give the blond-haired boy a big smile, pretending I was absolutely interested in whatever he was saying—whatever it was.
"So, yeah? You will?" he asks with hopeful looking eyes.
My happy façade escapes me as I stare at him blankly. "Huh? …Will what?"
"Have a…drink with me later?" he repeats himself, his voice suddenly unsure if he was going to get his wish.
"Sorry, Mike," Edward places a hand on his shoulder, almost startling him. Mike quickly turns his attention behind him, looking at Edward's hand then at him directly. If I didn't know any better I could have sworn Edward had a smug look on his face. Mike appears to be in horror. "We already have plans later," he smiles at me, finally removing his hand from Mike's shoulder.
"We—we do?" I asks bewildered at what this stunning man was saying.
"Yes, we do...and you have Alice to thank for it," he confirms. Now, I'm really curious to what Alice has planned. "Maybe next time, Mike," he pats him on the back as if he's gotten the upper hand.
Mike's face turns red like he was on the verge of hyperventilating. "Are you alright, Mike?" I ask concerned.
"Umm…yeah, I'm fine—maybe next time then. Later, Bella," he says with his head tilted to the floor. He basically dashes out of the room. What a strange boy?
"That was…weird?" I comment after his hasty departure.
"Mike's really a shy guy by nature," Edward says.
"Shy?" I almost laugh. "Why would he be shy around me?" I was the one blushing at every little thing all the time.
Edward merely shrugs with an adorable crooked grin on him. "Maybe you just have that kind of affect on people?" he says as he moistens his lips. I gulped, staring at them, as my body and face grow hotter. His lips make me thirsty.
"We're all set then!" Alice comes out of nowhere and places one arm each around our shoulders. She was on her tip-toes, swinging on us like a dangling monkey.
"So you were really able to convince Emmett?" Edward laughs.
"Yup!" she answers proudly. "Being the youngest does have its perks."
"He is always such a softy with you," he chuckles at his sister.
"Can someone please explain to me what's going on?" I look at the both of them. They stop their brother-sister inside joke and finally remember I have no clue on what is going on.
"We're going to a block party tonight," Alice smiles at the idea, "by the seaport!"
"We're what?" I didn't quite understand what she said.
"They hold one every year to celebrate the coming of the tide…or something like that?" she shrugs. "In any case, it sounds fun!"
I turn to Edward. "You don't have anything important scheduled for tomorrow?" He smiles at my concern, probably thinking how cute I was. Yeah, right! My apparent concern for his career is only an excuse so that I didn't have to be around him for long periods of time because I usually end up a nervous wreck around him!
"The cast has a photo shoot with Jasper tomorrow but it's not till later in the afternoon. The interviews come after that. So, I'm all yours tonight," he grins as if suggesting something else. I hope he really meant all our—as in his siblings, Rosalie, and me. I nod as I focus on my sandals. Alice refuses to let me wear any of my Converse sneakers I brought along for this trip. I might as well have just packed a toothbrush and carried it in my pocket to save myself the trouble of packing my favorite things.
"Okay, it's settled then!" Alice claps happily with a bounce. "You," she points to Edward, "go change. And you," she pointed to me, "let's go."
"Isn't it kind of early for that block party?" I look at my watch while I was once again dragged away like I didn't know how to walk on my own accord. From my understanding, parties in Italy didn't happen till later in the evening—the time the entire city comes to life. I remember witnessing a few of them when I was younger and always had a good time with Aro.
"Well, we need to change and do a pre-party of our own first," she tells me. I sigh and lock my curiosity away since I know she isn't going to divulge anymore information. "How's your headache?" she suddenly asks.
"It's…umm…okay? A little better," I reply. "Why?"
"We need to hurry and get changed. Edward and the others will most likely get there before us."
"Where?" I try asking just for kicks.
"Our first destination," she merely rolls her eyes at the obvious.
"Oh, right," I roll my eyes back at her since, of course, she wants to remain tight-lipped. The fact that I was going to be taken from one place to another without prior knowledge of anything didn't sit well with me. I grumble inwardly. This is one of Alice's personalities that can get so frustrating at times. I really hate it when she keeps me in the dark!
"Bella," she stops and faces me. I stand there surprised at her sudden action. "I know you don't like me hauling you everywhere without telling you anything, but I have so many wonderful plans for us," she almost frowns. Did she just read my thoughts? "They might not be your ideal way of having fun or relaxing, but just give it chance. I don't tell you anything because if I did, that would just give you the opportunity to say 'no'. And you know me, I hate that word," she makes a face.
I shake my head at her but I also can't help but laugh a little. She is definitely a spoiled brat, that's for sure. Having two older brothers and being the youngest and a girl, I'm sure she always got what she wanted. But, Alice wasn't selfish. She is also a good friend and I know she only has the best intentions at heart even though they might not always come across that way at first. "Just don't do anything to embarrass me…" I grab her arm and finally did the dragging for once. She squeals with happiness that I'm not as upset with her as she thought I would be. What can I say? She always did provide my life with some sort of excitement.
She put me in a flower printed sundress that is bright yellow at the top, which fades toward the thighs and then turns white that fades into a dark brown color at the bottom with a thin, brown waist belt. The weather is finally warming up so mostly everyone is in a dress or shorts. I put on a light cream cardigan and check that I have everything I needed for the night. It only takes us about thirty minutes to get ready since Alice kept saying we need to hurry. If she was running late for something, I swear this little speed racer can be ready in ten seconds flat!
We finally get into the tiny black cab outside that is waiting for us. It looks like one of those small European cars but a much older model. "Sunlit Café, per favore," she says to the driver. He nods and turns into the street.
"Sunlit Café?" I ask her.
"Mm-hmm," she nods. "We're going to eat and lounge around for a while before we go to the block party."
"Where's Jasper?" he suddenly popped into my head. I haven't seen him all day or seen Alice on her phone talking to him. I always know when she was conversing with him. She'd get this radiant smile plastered across her face.
"Because of the extension he asked for with his next project, he's been going over some of the material they gave him on what the shoot will consist of. There's a particular look they want for their models so he's been taking some screen shots around Volterra, checking out different lighting, and what-have-you. He'll meet us at the Café. He text me while you were getting ready."
"No rest for the weary, huh?"
"I know…" she slightly frowns, "But, he promises he'll put work on hold tonight so we can enjoy the evening together with everyone. I just hope Emmett and Rosalie last the night."
"What do you mean? Are they fighting or something?"
Alice chuckles. "No…what I meant is that they usually have something of Edward's to do like a call interview or another public statement to plug the movie he's in, and so on and so forth. They always have their hands tied in something that has to do with his career so it isn't easy convincing Emmett to turn off his Blackberry for a few hours to join us. Rosalie is another matter. She's always glued to her phone."
I laugh. That reminds me of Jane and her padfolio full of Aro's itineraries. "Yeah…I remember," I reply. "They really do a lot for Edward don't they?"
"They really want to see him succeed," she nods. "I'm not just saying this because he's my brother, but Edward is really talented. We're all proud of him. Aro picked him for the lead role, but he still had to audition just like everyone else. He's gotten a lot of good recommendations from his acting coaches and his fan base has been growing steadily over the last few months."
Female fan base is what she probably means. I grumble inwardly. I glower at the memory of those fanatic groupies touching him with their possessive little hands like they owned him—even the moms trying to get his attention for themselves more than for their daughters. Ugh, as if! He's mine! Which I know is a contradiction of what I had said before. I keep picturing myself alone with him and enjoying every piece of this angel known as Edward Cullen. The thought of my imaginings give me goose bumps that I have to discreetly shake off by pretending to adjust the way I'm sitting in the back of the cab with Alice. Every girl is allowed to daydream about her luscious crush inappropriately. It was written in the girl code manual somewhere. His eyes, his lips, even his hair made me want to…
"What are you quietly smirking about, Bella?" Alice eyes me suspiciously with a curious smirk of her own.
Crap! Were my thoughts seeping out? "Huh? Oh…nothing," I shrug, blushing. I turn my body to stare out the window hoping she wouldn't notice the tint of color on my face for my improper thoughts about her brother. Thoughts that I think would make her turn green in disgust, which only makes me smile even more.
"You're doing it again," she grins.
"What?" I turn my head back to her. She's leaning forward a little to get a better look at me. The Hobbit was examining my behavior the entire time without me noticing. "What?" I ask again.
"Nothing," she keeps her smirk, facing the front again. "Oh, look! There's Jasper and Edward!" she points at the two men standing outside. Jasper waives to us when he sees the cab approaching. He is in a white, short sleeve button up shirt and plaid shorts with a camera round his neck. Edward looks as handsome as ever in a dark brown tee with cargo shorts. Both of them are wearing sunglasses and could have been mistaken for Abercrombie & Fitch models. "Hi!" Alice goes straight into Jasper's open arms.
"Hey, sweetie, right on time," he smiles and gives her a quick kiss. They look like they really missed each other.
"But, of course!" she winks.
"Hey…" I say awkwardly to him and Edward as if we had just met for the first time. I look away to avoid Edward's gaze on me. I wish he's stop doing that!
"Hey, Bella," Jasper smiles.
"You look…nice," Edward comments on my attire, courtesy of his sister.
"Thanks," I try to smile back but avert my eyes to Alice who has a mischievous looking grin on her.
"Brown is one of my favorite colors," he informs me.
"Oh…that's cool. The dress was Alice's idea," I answer quietly.
"I'm sure it was," Jasper softly laughs. Alice pinches him on the side, getting a small glare from her after it. "What?" he mouths to her, not understanding what he did.
She rolls her eyes and takes his hand into hers. "C'mon, let's ask for a table outside." They walk in ahead of us.
"Ladies first," Edward gestures for me to walk ahead of him. I accidentally stare directly into his eyes. He has this attractive grin on his face that is so easy for him to switch on and off around me that it sometimes makes me forget what I'm doing. Or who I was. I snap myself out of his dazzling trance and nod silently, walking in, trying hard not to trip on the cracks in the tiles of the outside waiting area. I swear I can feel the heat of his eyes penetrating through me as he walked closely behind me. I just want to hurry to our table so I can get some safe distance between us for the sake of my uneasiness. I see a waiter carrying a large tray over his head in our direction and I almost look at him in horror hoping I didn't knock it out of his hands somehow with my clumsiness.
I balled my fist nervously preparing for the worse. Without a hitch, he walks right past me! I relax and sigh with relief. "Oh, mi scusi, signore!" I suddenly hear the waiter say behind me. The next thing I know I feel Edward's strong hands on my arms and his muscular chest pressed against my back. His face is so close to my ear that I can feel his warm breath against me. I start to feel lightheaded and want to pass out.
"Sorry about that," he slowly releases me and takes a step back. "The waiter had bumped into me."
I slightly turn to face him. "It's okay…" I give him a quick smile and keep walking to the table they found for us outside in their lounge area with my head down. Alice and Jasper hadn't notice anything because they were busy sharing stories about their day.
The hostess finally leads us to a table with four seats. I can see her eyeing Edward, trying to sashay sexily in front him. I inwardly roll my eyes. "Wait, don't we need a table for six?" I ask Alice, ignoring the annoying hostess, when we finally reach them. Edward did seem to pay her much attention anyway.
My little friend doesn't look very happy. "Emmett and Rosalie cancelled. He says he'll make it up to me next time," she pouts, plopping herself down on the chair Jasper has pulled out for her. He rubs her arm, giving me an apologetic smile as he sits next her. I cringe inwardly, mentally pleading with him to sit across from her but it was too late. Because he can't hear my inner thoughts he continues to tend to his girlfriend's bruised feelings. I am not comfortable that Edward and I will be sitting side-by-side. It's hard enough facing him at the table, now he's even closer to me. I really hope I didn't make a fool out of myself.
Before I get a chance to sit down, he pulls my seat out for me as well. Something I wasn't excepting. He smiles at me as I look to him for his chivalrous act. "Thank you…"
"You're welcome," he nods and sits himself down. People around us in the Café are already whispering before we even know who our waiter is. I can't fully understand what they are saying since it was in Italian, but from the looks of it, they are whispering about Edward and looking at me up and down. The whole thing was really starting to get on my nerves, so I put on my sunglasses to hide my irritation. I think Edward notices because he coolly places an arm around my chair where my back is resting and whispers in my ear. "Don't worry about them. The people in Volterra like to gossip like old women, especially the men. It's tradition."
I can't help but snicker, his words putting me a little at ease. He laughs with me as we stare around the Café at the people who finally go back to minding their own business. Alice looks very interested in what her brother had said to me, but Jasper stops her from asking by squeezing her hand that was sitting on top of the table. Our waiter finally arrives to give us our menus and water. When it was time to order, I take too long since I can't really decide on what I want so Edward ended up ordering for me. The waiter thanks us and leaves again.
"I hope you know I'm a vegetarian," I say.
"Yes, I know," he smiles to himself, relaxing in his seat with his arms folded across his chest.
"You…do?" I'm baffled. He still has his dark sunglasses on so I'm not able to read the expression on his face. The smirk he always seems to have tells me something though. Maybe he asked his sister about me?
"Don't worry," he finally turns his head in my direction, "I ordered you the spinach ravioli." As he said this, our waiter came back dropping off the drinks that Alice and Jasper had previously ordered. Alice orders some fruity liqúor drink that is pink and Jasper ordered a beer. The waiter says something else to Alice to which she just nods and continues to flip through a magazine she brought along. Edward sits up right in seat. "What other drinks, Alice?" he asks her, tilting his sunglasses down, staring at her questioningly.
"Qui si va!" the waiter places two drinks in front of me and Edward.
"What is this?" I pick up the red looking liquid with a celery stick in it. Was this a joke? Did people really drink this stuff?
"It's a Bloody Mary," Edward tells me, eyeing his sister again.
She finally tucks her magazine away, puts on her sunglasses, and takes a sip of her drink. "Well, you two were complaining about your headaches earlier so I figured a Bloody Mary would cure your ailments," she shrugs. "I'm just trying to be helpful. You don't have to drink them."
Edward leans back into his chair again, readjusting his sunglasses so they were properly resting on the bridge of his nose. "Fine," is all he says and takes a sip of the thick looking liquid. I wasn't aware he was also complaining about having a headache. I blush. Edward also seems to enjoy the drink. I, on the other hand, am still too busy examining it. I've never had one nor heard of it. Living in a small town in the Northwest during my adolescent years where I experimented with alcohol in high school comprised mostly of beer and shots. That was about it. I only started drinking white wine recently because of Alice. Baby steps.
"It's not going to turn you into a radio active spider, Bella," Alice sighs when she notices I have yet to touch it.
"I've just never had one before," I pick it up and smell it. It didn't smell very appetizing, not that the smell of alcohol is to most people, I'm assuming.
Edward laughs softly from beside me. "It's mostly tomato juice mixed with vodka. It's supposed to help with…hangovers," he suppresses a smile. I blush again.
"Oh…" I nod quietly, quickly feeling embarrassed about this new experiment. No wonder why he drank his.
"Just try it, Bella," Jasper encourages. "If you don't like it, I'll drink it for you." His proposal is somewhat convincing since the drink wouldn't go to waste if I didn't like it. I also kind of feel bad because Alice bought it. I guess the least I can do is taste it.
I take out the celery stick and hold my breath before I muster the courage to take a sip of it. I was having a hard time swallowing it from the tangy and spicy taste it left in my mouth. "Oh, and by the way…" Edward leans in again, "there's Worcestershire and Tabasco sauce in it." I puff my cheeks like a blow fish and immediately spit it out.
Author's Note: Thoughts? There's a few hidden "messages" in this chapter. Hope you caught some of them, hehe. Please review!