Author's Note: This chapter is probably a bit foreign. The idea is not used often, but I thought it would be an interesting way to emphasize the fact that Edward and Bella belong together. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.
Chapter 24
Bella's Point of View
I beat everyone else to school. Although I had slept over at the Cullens, I woke up at five in the morning and went back home. I took a shower, then made a surprised Charlie breakfast before I left for school.
Mike came over to my Audi as I was waiting for everyone else to arrive. "Hey, Bella." He leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.
I resisted the urge to lean away. He was moving a bit too fast for my liking.
"So…I thought we should go out on a date tonight," he said. "We'll go catch a movie and eat dinner. What do you say?"
I nodded. "Sounds good."
At that moment, a familiar Volvo and M3 filed inside the parking lot, and both slid inside their usual parking spaces neatly.
Alice was by my side even before Edward had cut the engine. "Hi, Mike. So I heard you asked Bella out. Can you take that back?"
"Alice," I said warningly. "Butt out."
Jasper and Rosalie leaned on the M3 casually, watching the scene with identical scowls. Emmett leaned on the Volvo's hood, looking displeased. Edward was standing next to me, which was a first in a long time. He must be jealous already.
"Mike," Edward greeted him coldly. "What brings you here so early in the morning?"
Mike shrugged. "Just asking Bella out. We're going to Port Angeles for a movie and a dinner."
"Ooh, let's make it a double date!" Tanya said, flouncing over and linking her arm through Edward's. "What do you think, Bella?"
Mike looked annoyed. "Tanya, we just started dating. I want to spend some time with Bella alone-"
"Tell you what!" Alice interrupted brightly. "Let's make it a quadruple date! Emmett and Rosalie and Jazz and I will go as well! How about it?"
I understood their plan immediately. Alice's goal was to make sure I wasn't alone with Mike at all, which I was grateful for. Though I didn't know how long she would be able to keep it up.
"That's a good idea!" Tanya said. "The more, the merrier !"
Edward shot her a suspicious look. He was probably wondering what she was planning, led on by the paranoid thought that she actually had some kind of evil plan in mind. It didn't make sense.
"How about it, Mike?" she continued. "We'll have lots of fun!"
Mike hesitated. He turned to Rosalie. "Wouldn't your parents mind?"
I nearly rolled my eyes. Such a feeble attempt in trying to get them away.
"Our parents are completely fine with whatever we do, as long as we keep each other in check," Rosalie said promptly. "And since we'll both be there, it's not a problem. Right, Jazz?"
"Right, Rose," Jasper answered without missing a beat.
They were too perfect in everything that they did, these blonde twins, and that included acting. I would have been exasperated, except I was enjoying the frustrated look on Mike's face.
Mike turned to Alice. "What about your parents?"
Alice shrugged casually, also enjoying his look of discomfort but trying not to show it. "Emmett and I go out on dates without telling them all the time, and they never worry. And since they know Edward has a girlfriend now, they won't question us if he doesn't come home right away. It's not a problem."
Mike looked sullen. "Well, I'm fine with it if Bella's okay with it." He looked at me hopefully.
I was busy trying to stifle a laugh. Despite the tension and seriousness of the atmosphere, I was tempted to bust out laughing. Which was quite a feat, considering Edward was right next to me. So close that I could feel the electricity between us.
Alice stepped on my toe inconspicuously. But of course I would've answered in the affirmative, even without the nudge.
"I'm completely fine with it," I finally managed to say without laughing.
"Perfect!" Alice chirped, clapping her hands. "Everyone's fine with this, right? Emmett?"
"Bring it on," Emmett said, winking.
"Edward?" Everyone but Mike noticed the glare she shot at him.
But I knew that Edward, too, would've answered positively without the glare.
"I'm completely fine with it," Edward repeated my words.
I resisted the urge to punch him playfully like I would usually do. It was hard to restrain myself, as it had become a habit.
"We'll go right after school, then," Alice said. "Yeah?"
"Okay," Mike muttered, looking crestfallen.
Inside, I was cheering. I wouldn't need to let him kiss me tonight. Hopefully, my friends would prevent that. Hooray for friends. For once in a long time, I was glad to have them by my side.
Alice suggested that we leave with our respected partners. I was okay with it, except the fact that Mike was the one driving my Audi. It bothered me a lot.
First, he was driving way slower than I did. And that was saying something. And second, he wouldn't stop talking. I would rather go on a long car ride with Edward in an awkward silence than face this again.
I was relieved when we arrived at the movie theatre to catch an early movie. It was an action movie, which I adored, thanks to growing up with Edward, Emmett, and Jasper. I preferred them to romance.
After the movie, we went to the Italian restaurant that the Cullens usually took me to. Edward excused himself in the middle of dinner and disappeared off to the counter. He came back moments later, announcing that the paycheck was taken care of.
I was used to it, so I didn't make a fuss. I'd given up trying to prevent the Cullens in buying things for me years ago. But Mike looked uncomfortable, as though he was disappointed that he couldn't prove himself to me.
After dinner, Rosalie suggested that we walk around to burn off the calories.
"I'm going to burst," she complained. "I won't fit into my cheerleading outfit."
"I agree," Tanya said. "Let's walk around."
So in the end, we left the cars in front of the restaurant and began walking around the neighborhood.
It was around eight o'clock. It was getting dark, and the full moon was out. It was pretty, and I was distracted by it, which was lucky, because Mike had been trying to get my attention for the past ten minutes. He'd been trying to convince me to go somewhere private with him for a while.
Edward, too, looked pretty uncomfortable with Tanya clutching at him with her claws. She kept complaining that her feet hurt, which didn't make sense. She was wearing heels, but Rosalie's was at least two inches higher than hers was, and Rose was completely fine.
"Oh, my god!" Alice said suddenly, pointing straight ahead. "A psychic reading shop! I've always wanted to do that! Is anyone else interested?"
Without waiting for an answer, she dragged Jasper ahead, leaving the rest of us to follow quickly.
The inside was mysteriously decorated with purple wallpapers. Crystal balls were on the shelves, and weird figurines and voodoo dolls…
"Hello?" Alice called. "Is anyone here?"
The shop did seem to be empty, but there was a sound behind us.
Edward and I were covering the rear, and we whirled around simultaneously. I felt kind of silly, knowing that we still shared many things even as we fought.
"Hello," a woman in her mid-sixties said cheerfully. She wore normal clothes, and looked completely normal. She didn't belong in this mysteriously decorated room. "Are you here for a reading?"
"Yes!" Alice said enthusiastically. "Are you the psychic?"
The woman chuckled as she took her place at the table. "I suppose I am. You may call me Ave. Now…" She peered at us. "How old are you? At least one of you must be eighteen."
"I'm eighteen," Jasper and Rosalie chorused.
"Same," Emmett agreed.
"Perfect!" Ave chirped. "Alright. Who's going first?"
"I want to know our compatibility," Alice said, glancing at Jasper. "You know, our love lives. Is that okay?"
"It's thirty dollars per couple," Ave said, squinting her eyes. "Plus another twenty if you want individual readings about your life in general."
Alice rolled her eyes and laughed. "Don't worry. We won't run away without paying. Come on, Jazz."
Alice and Jasper sat down in front of Ave, who spread out her tarot cards in front of them. "Pick three each."
They both picked three, and Ave glanced at them. "Hm. Not bad. Not bad at all."
"What?" Alice asked breathlessly. "Are we a good couple?"
Jasper smiled as he glanced at Alice. I could tell that he didn't believe in these things, but was only humoring her to make her happy.
"You're a pretty good couple…for your age," Ave said, raising her eyebrows. She looked impressed. "You both understand each other and accept each other. That's interesting. Not many teens can do that at their age. If you keep it up, you can stay together forever." She nodded.
Alice squealed softly. "Really? So we can get married?"
Jasper laughed. "Alice…" He didn't protest or anything, but merely looked at her affectionately.
Ave glanced down at the cards again. "That goes into your personal life. Would you add another twenty for that?"
"Of course."
Ave actually smiled widely. "You kids must be loaded. It says here that both your lives will be filled with money. You'll have no problems financially… Health-wise…no problem. Yes, you have bright futures ahead of you."
She looked up suddenly and winked at Jasper mischievously. "Don't hesitate when you feel like you want to propose to her. No worries there."
Alice squealed. "Oh my gosh! That's so cool!"
Jasper bit his lip to keep from laughing. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind." He winked back at her.
Alice and Jasper moved out of the way, and Emmett and Rosalie took their place. They picked three cards each as well, and the woman studied them.
"Huh," Ave said. "That's weird. I've never seen teenagers so clearly…but you guys know what you're going to do, eh? You're absolutely set on it. Especially you, young man," she said, narrowing her eyes at Emmett. "Follow your instincts when it comes to your girl, and you should be fine."
"Thanks for the advice," Emmett said cheerfully.
"You," Ave barked at Rosalie. "Don't ever hesitate. Do what you want to do in life – marry, become a model, whatever – and you'll succeed. Just follow your heart."
Rosalie grinned. "Nice to know."
After a few more minutes, they moved aside, and Tanya dragged Edward to take their place.
Ave frowned almost immediately when she saw the cards. "What's this?" She began muttering nonsense to herself. "Impossible."
She looked up. She completely disregarded Tanya, and studied Edward intently. "What's your name, boy?"
Edward raised his eyebrows. "Edward."
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
Ave studied him for a while longer, then turned back to his cards. "First, I'll tell you what I see in your life."
"What about our compatibility?" Tanya interjected, but she was ignored again.
"You'll be quite successful," Ave said. "You'll go to your dream college, become what you want, and have more than enough money you need. But as for your love life…" She shot Tanya a sharp look. "This isn't right." She pointed at the pair of them and glared. "No, no. This isn't correct."
They looked confused.
"Let me tell you straight out, boy," Ave said. "If you keep this one by your side, your love life will fail. If you keep going on this path, you'll lose the one you truly love forever."
Alice gasped. Rosalie's hand jumped to her mouth. Emmett and Jasper gawked. As for me, I froze.
Edward didn't looked surprised at all. He merely looked intrigued now. "Really? That's interesting."
"That's insulting," Tanya sniffed. "Of course I'm right for Edward. You're wrong."
Ave glanced at her. "I've never been wrong in my entire life, girlie."
Tanya flushed.
"So if I lose her," Edward said, leaning forward, "will I ever get her back?"
I blinked as I stared at him. What was he doing? Did he really believe in this stuff?
Ave scratched her chin. "It'll be hard. You'll lose her trust. I would say it's better to give up this nonsense now, and go after the one you love instead. But your choice." She shrugged.
"What about mine?" Tanya demanded.
Ave snorted as she reshuffled the deck without a second glance at her cards. "Nothing to see. You have a life full of hardships ahead of you, girl. It would be wise to stop what you're planning now, before you regret it."
Tanya froze. Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything. She looked creeped out by the psychic.
"But you two…" Ave paused in shuffling and looked from Tanya to Edward. "You two bother me. It's wrong."
"You keep saying that," Alice said. "What's so wrong about them?"
"They're…not right for each other," Ave said. "Completely wrong. I don't know what game fate is trying to play, but this is completely and totally wrong. Whose next?"
Mike dragged me to the chairs, and Ave squinted at me. She held out the cards wordlessly to us, and even as we picked the three cards, she kept staring at me.
She glanced at Mike's cards, and tutted as she laughed. She cast them aside and informed him, "You too. If you don't start studying hard, you'll have a miserable life, financially and personally. But it's not you I'm interested in."
She turned to me. "What's your name, girl?"
"Bella."
"How old are you?"
"Seventeen."
"You and Edward are close, no?"
I blinked. Behind me, Edward shifted uncomfortably. Alice and Rosalie looked fascinated.
"I see it now," Ave said, looking pleased. "I've never seen a more stronger bond and relationship between two people. But you two…" She pointed at Mike and me. "Wrong! Completely wrong!"
I flinched at her sudden shouts. "What?"
"It's like them," Ave said, pointing at Tanya and Edward. "Wrong. Not right. Horrible matching. Now…you two…" She pointed at Edward and me. "Completely right."
Alice grinned. "Really?"
"What are you doing with people who aren't right for you?" Ave asked. "You should be together. You should understand each other. Accept each other's feelings, and go on from there. I can tell you right now…" She snorted. "If you get together now, you'll have an easier life in the future.
"And since I'm feeling excited to read such an impressive compatibility and future, I'll tell you this as well. You would both do well if you were together forever."
Rosalie's eyes widened. "Like…marriage?"
Ave nodded. "Marriage. Bingo." She reshuffled the cards as her gaze shifted back to me. "Brace yourself, Bella. Your hardships don't end here. Your parents fighting…having the worst fight of your life with your best friend…that was nothing. From now on, you'll come to know what real hardship is. But don't worry. You'll get your happy ending. Eventually."
She smiled. "Two hundred bucks. Cough up, kiddies."
Alice grinned as Jasper paid the woman. "That was fun. You're really good. Can you guarantee that your predictions will one hundred percent come true?"
"Of course," Ave snorted. "What can I say? I'm gifted." She smiled, pleased. "Good luck, kids. And you."
She looked at me, this time, with a sympathetic look in her eyes. "Don't resist. When you feel like nobody is on your side, there will be one person who will be. Accept that person, and don't resist anymore."
AN: What do you think? Interesting, huh? Reviews, please!
