Disclaimer: Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Major plot and storyline belong to Jane Austen.
A&A – Chapter 5
I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine." – (Elizabeth Bennett regarding Mr. Darcy) – Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 5, Jane Austen.
Within a short drive from the Swan household lived another family who the Swans were very close to. Harry Clearwater was the Tribal Leader of the Quileute Nation, a tribe that lived on the tiny reservation at La Push, near Forks. As the leader, he was obviously a well-respected man, and he'd had an encounter with a wolf once, where he'd been left unscathed. This distinction had apparently gone to his head, and he was constantly thinking of his own importance. But although he thought himself more as one with Mother Earth than most, he was not an unfriendly man; on the contrary, he paid very close attention to every one else. By nature, he was naturally pleasant, friendly, and obliging, and his ability to communicate with woodland creatures made him courteous as well.
Sue Clearwater was a kind woman also, not too clever to make herself invaluable to Renee. They had two children. The eldest, Leah, was a sensible, intelligent young woman, about twenty-two, who was one of Bella's best friends. Her snarky attitude though, as well as the sarcastic sneer that was almost always plastered on her face, kept her from being truly beautiful.
The Swan and Clearwater women met often for friendly chatter, and the morning after the Founder's Day Ball found them all gathered around the Clearwater's kitchen table to gossip over the previous night.
"You began the evening well, Leah," said Renee civilly. "You were the first one Jasper Whitlock danced with."
"Yes, - but he seemed to like his second choice better," answered Leah with a playful scowl.
"Oh, you mean Alice, I suppose," said Renee, feigning nonchalance, "because he danced with her twice. I suppose that does imply that he liked her – in fact, I'm pretty sure that he did – I heard something about it – I can't remember exactly what – something from Mrs. Webber."
"Maybe you mean what I overheard between him and Mrs. Webber; didn't I mention it to you?" Leah encouraged, playing along with Renee. "Mrs. Webber asked him how he was enjoying the Ball, and whether he thought there were plenty of pretty girls in town, and which exactly he found to be the prettiest, and he answered right away, "Without a doubt, Alice Swan is the prettiest here."
"Well, you don't say?" Renee gushed. "That was pretty straightforward, wasn't it? But, well…anyway, it doesn't necessarily mean anything, you know."
"I guess what I overheard was more interesting than what you did, Bella," Leah teased her friend. "Edward Cullen isn't as worth listening in on as his friend is, is he? Poor Bella! To be only just passable."
"Pshh" Renee guffawed, "Do me a favor Leah, please don't put it into Bella's head to be put off by that man's snub. He's such an ass that I'd be worried if he had liked her! Mrs. Cope told me last night that he sat next to her for half an hour without once opening his lips."
"Are you sure about that mom?" Alice asked. "Maybe there's been some sort of mistake. I'm sure I saw Edward Cullen speaking to her."
"Only because she asked him how he was liking Netherfield Estate and he couldn't help but answering – but she said he looked very upset at having been spoken to."
"Tanya Denali told me," Alice began, "that he never speaks unless he's among his close friends. With them he's extremely friendly."
"I don't believe that crap," Renee replied, rolling her eyes. "If he was really that friendly, he would've spoken to Mrs. Cope. But I'm pretty sure I can guess why he didn't. Everyone says that he's extremely snobbish, and I'm sure he probably heard that Mrs. Cope doesn't even have a car, and had to take public transportation to the ball."
"I don't mind that he didn't speak to Mrs. Cope," Leah confirmed, "but I wish he'd danced with Bella."
"If there's another party while he's still here," Renee said to Bella, "I wouldn't dance with him, if I were you."
"I'm pretty sure I can promise you mom," replied Bella, "that I'll never dance with him."
"His ego," said Leah, "doesn't offend me as much as egos often do, because there's an excuse for it. It's not hard to see that such a fine specimen of a man, from a good family, filthy rich, everything a woman could want, would think highly of himself. If I may say, I think he has a right to be egotistical."
"That's true, I guess," replied Bella, "and I could easily forgive his ego, if he hadn't stomped all over mine."
"Over-inflated egos," added Lauren, who thought herself to be quite the philosopher due to all the OK! magazines she read, "is a very common problem, I believe. From everything that I've read, I'm convinced of it, that people are particularly prone to it, and that very few of us don't feel a sense of superiority over others based on one quality or another, whether it be real or imagined. Pride and arrogance are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being arrogant. Pride is more about what we believe about ourselves, while arrogance is closer related to what we'd have others think of us."
"If I were as rich as Edward Cullen," cried Leah's younger brother Seth, who'd run into the kitchen looking for some cookies, "I wouldn't care how arrogant I was. I'd buy the most expensive cars, and drink a bottle of Jack Daniel's everyday."
"Then you'd drink a lot more than you should," his mother corrected, "and if I saw you, I'd take the bottle away from you right away."
Seth complained that he wouldn't let her take it away, and Mrs. Clearwater insisted that she would, and the argument ended only with the visit.
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