Not Without a Fight
Annaliese Marie
Round Twenty-Four
AN: Welcome back guys! Did you miss me? Of course you did. I'm fantastic, after all. Anyway, I gather that no one wants to play Assassin with me, and that's very sad. But fine. It's too much running for me, anyway.
So a long time ago I said that I wouldn't be doing any chapters from any POVs except Rose and Emmett. It was a pretty solid and final decision, so much so that it led to a whole side collection, "Not Without a Fight: Rematch". However, in order to write this chapter, I had to involve some JPOV, APOV, and BPOV. Bella kicked my ass btw, since she hasn't had much development time in this story. I hope you like it, though!
I own an old Polaroid camera that we could have used to play Assassin, but it's useless now. I have never owned Twilight, useless or not. That would be Stephanie Meyer.
Enjoy!
X
JPOV
"So... Why the sudden need to play Assassin?" Edward asked after we had delivered all of the lanyards and put our own on.
"I'm sure Emmett wants to kill me at the moment," I said, grinning. "That whole zen laugh-it-off thing he's got going on can't possibly stand up to a dunking in the Pacific in January."
"It was a little extreme," Edward conceded.
"I believe the adjective you're looking for is 'hilarious'," I said, grinning widely at him. "Anyway, I figure if he has a chance to get out some of that energy, he may chill a bit before he actually kills me."
Edward shook his head. Whatever, it was a brilliant plan.
"Good luck with that," he said doubtfully as he checked his phone. "Noon, on the dot."
"Guess we'd better split up. I'd hate for you to be my first kill, after all the trouble you went to helping me set this up," I deadpanned. Edward gave me a look that said he clearly thought I was taking this way too seriously. I wasn't bothered. I got that a lot.
See, like Emmett, I took very little seriously. But unlike that big goofball, I enjoyed pretending like I did. It was my own little game, making people uncomfortable in that way.
Edward and I split up, him heading for the docks and myself back towards the main strip. I knew Alice would recognize the game and fill in Rosalie and Bella. Maybe. There was also a fair chance that she would feign ignorance and then kill them as soon as the game started. But regardless, I wasn't too concerned about them. I wanted to pull some recon and make sure Emmett knew the game.
His revenge wouldn't be very effective if he didn't know of the opportunity, now would it? And then his anger wouldn't be placated at all and he may resort to his own means of revenge.
Don't get it twisted. I'm not afraid of Emmett. But I would much rather battle this out in a game than get into a full-out prank war or, much less likely but still possible, an actual physical altercation with someone Emmett's size. Anyone would want to avoid that. And anyone who would say otherwise, well, they're fucking liars.
X
APOV
"Okay, the game of Assassin is simple," I said, handing Rosalie and Bella their lanyards. "These pictures are your life. If someone steals yours, you're dead and out of the game. If you kill someone, you get their picture and any others that they've collected. The game ends when only one person is left alive and they have everyone else's pictures."
Bella and Rosalie nodded, slipping their lanyards over their heads. I should be annoyed at Jasper for interrupting my shopping trip, but this was just too much fun to pass up. I checked my phone. Noon.
"We should split up now. In larger games there are sometimes alliances but with only six people I don't think that would be the best strategy," I said. It was the same reason I hadn't already killed both of them. You couldn't do things like that in a game this size or it would be over pretty much before it began. "I think we should call a five-minute cease fire between us to give us time to scatter. More sportsmanlike."
"Agreed," Bella said, looking at her photo.
"Oh, and one more thing," I added. "No offense Rose, but in this game, Emmett is mine. He has to pay for this." I gestured to the horrible sweatsuit I was now wearing. No one made Alice Brandon wear whore sweats. No one. Rosalie shrugged.
"He's like twice your size, but if you insist," she said.
"Size is irrelevant. It's how you play the game," I said, ignoring Rosalie's subsequent immature snicker. She and Emmett really were a matched set. "And I take no prisoners."
"Okay, GI Jane, let's get going then," Rosalie said, rolling her eyes.
X
JPOV
I had found Emmett on the same block as the Jeep. He was wearing his picture, so I figured he had understood the game, or had played before. From there I had followed him, careful to stay a few yards behind, although he never checked to see if he was being followed, towards the smaller boat docks where everything from luxury motorboats to Sea-Doos to a few puny fishing boats were dry docked in the marina for the winter. I furrowed my brow. It seemed like Emmett was following someone, not just wondering around, but though there were some people milling around in the area none of them were consistently visible or moving along the same path as Emmett.
He reached the marina and stepped through the huge opening in the building, disappearing inside. I waited, straining my ears for any sound to indicate what he was doing or who he might be following. There was a short series of metallic clanks and rattles and then silence.
I waited a bit longer, but no more sound reached my ears. Emmett didn't reappear from the building, though, and after a few minutes I crept towards the giant opening. I had to stay near him to allow him his revenge, but I had to be cautious or it would be too easy.
I stepped through the opening and waited for my eyes to adjust. Even with the giant gap in the wall filtering in bleak January light, I could only make out the dark shapes of raised boats and equipment against the gray air.
That metallic clanking and rattling sounded again, this time behind me, and before I could turn around there was a sharp tug on my waistband and I was lifted off of my feet.
That fucker had fucking trapped me.
X
EPOV
I had to laugh at the sight of Jasper hanging from the ceiling from the length of heavy boat chain. I had orignally just planned to fuck with him when I had realized that he was following me, cut through the marina and exit the other side, throw him off the track, but when I had gotten inside and saw the hook and pulley, the idea clicked in my head. I waited for him to enter the marina himself and slipped the hook through his belt loop to hoist him off of the ground.
So now he was flailing, his legs kicking helplessly, tring to find purchase in the empty air. He was only about six inches off of the ground, but for all the good his proximity to the ground did him, it may as well have been a hundred feet.
"You okay there, Jasper?" I asked. He stopped flailing, his face smoothing to a look of cool indifference as I walked around him and he finally saw me.
"Just hanging out," he said dryly. "How about letting me down?"
"Maybe later," I said. I reached out and snagged the picture from his lanyard.
"You know, don't get me wrong, we love a good hanging in the south and all, so I can understand that bit, but even we have the manners to offer the condemned a few last words before we just kill them," he said blandly.
"So I guess yours were, 'that's what she said'," I recalled. "Not the most dignified."
"You are just sorely lacking in hanging etiquette and it's a shame, really," he said. "Now let me down, you asshat."
"Nah, you'll be fine. I'll be back later," I said, laughing and turning to leave. His curses followed me all the way out. Such a fucking mouth on that one.
X
APOV
I ran along the main strip, cursing inwardly and looking back over my shoulder every few seconds. I was sure people thought I was either crazy or in some sort of trouble, but I didn't care. I needed to find Emmett, and for the second time in as many weeks Latitude had failed me completely. I guessed that however Emmett had managed to get drenched, it had also resulted in the destruction of his phone.
Using Latitude was probably cheating anyway, but dammit, this was personal now!
I remembered Emmett mentioning that he needed to find Jasper, and even though it had been over an hour ago, I figured that was as good a place to start as any. Latitude put Jasper down by the dry docks, and he didn't seem to be moving.
Dr. Cullen had suggested the app as a way to combat my eremophobia and abandonment issues. This way, when the anxiety started when I was alone, I could reassure myself that everyone was actually still around. It helped a lot, so I guess he just figured we could work on the creepy stalker connotations later, although most of the time it just seemed to make people think that I had a weird sixth sense sort of thing going on.
I finally reached the docks, keeping my eyes peeled for any signs of Emmett, but no one in the thin crowds on this side of town even resembled him.
I found the marina that Latitude placed Jasper in, and stepped carefully inside. I had to squeeze my eyes shut and open them a few times before they adjusted to the dark, and then I couldn't help but burst out laughing at what I saw.
"Good, you're back. Let me down, you asshole!" Jasper growled, kicking his legs.
"I hope you're not playing these games with someone else, Jazz," I said sweetly. He stopped kicking.
"Alice? Dammit. No, Emmett strung me up here because I pushed him off the pier," he said. Ah, so that's why Emmett had been soaked. "Could you just let me down? This is getting uncomfortable in a really bad way."
I came around to stand in front of him, running my eyes over him appraisingly.
"I don't know, I kind of like you like this. Although the whole setup being reliant on you wearing pants is kind of a downer."
"Alice," he groaned. "You're not making this any easier, you know."
I finally noticed that his picture was gone. Ah, so this was part of the game, not just a prank.
"So where did Emmett go, anyway?" I asked. Jasper nodded behind me to the large opening in the wall opposite of the one I had come in.
"He went that way, about ten minutes ago," he said. "Now could you please-"
"Sorry, Jazz, I've gotta catch him," I said, turning to leave.
"Wait a second, are you wearing Pink?" Jasper asked suddenly. "So do the underthings match, then?"
I smiled, stepping closer to him and raising up on tiptoe to bring my mouth as close to his ear as I could.
"Jasper, love of my life," I said quietly, "I swear that if you ever mention this awful outfit again, it will be a very long time before you know anything about my underwear again."
"That is just an awful and heartless threat, darlin'," he said mournfully. I laughed.
"Now, I hate to dash, but I have to make Emmett pay for ruining my outfit and forcing me into this mess," I said, kissing him quickly on the jaw. It was the highest I could manage with him off the ground and I had to jump a little even for that. "You just hang in there, love."
"Can't really see any other option, darlin'," he said in his slow drawl. I waved and then ran from the marina.
Outside, the wind had picked up and and the sharp ocean air stung my cheeks and whipped my hair around to lash harshly at my face. I shivered, glancing over at the water. It looked like a storm was blowing in. Most people would be heading indoors. If Emmett took cover, it would make him that much harder to find. Indoors was completely within limits, but it was always a pain in the ass to find people that way.
I made it back to the Jeep, glancing inside to see if he might have been hiding there. No Emmett, but what I did find in the back seat gave me a great idea. I felt an evil grin spread across my lips.
X
EPOV
Now that I had taken care of Jasper, I really had no plan or strategey for the rest of the game. I did, however, need to replace my cigarettes.
I left the store and turned right, fumbling with the pack and not really watching where I was going. That was my mistake.
The air was knocked right out of me as I was suddenly clotheslined around the middle. With a sharp tug I was heaved around, my back slamming against a lamp post. My cigarette pack fell to the ground with a dull slap.
Whatever had thrown me back was tightening around my middle, binding my arms to my side. It was also wet; cold water was seeping through my dry clothes, chilling me to the bone. The brackish smell hit my nostrils and I knew what was restraining me before I even looked down.
Sure enough, it was my wet pants from earlier. The legs were wrapped around me, the denim refusing to give as I struggled. I twisted my head around, looking behind me, and there was Alice, tying the excess in a knot around me and the lamp post.
"Fuck, Alice, there are nicer ways to kill me," I said, wincing as my back throbbed in pain. Come to think of it, my back had taken a lot of abuse since I had moved here.
A couple of people had stopped to stare. I don't know if it had been what I said about Alice killing me, or if it was simply the spectacle of a five-foot-two, one hundred pound girl tying up a guy my size with a pair of wet jeans, but they seemed intrigued.
"Nothing to see here, folks," Alice said, flashing a grin at them as she came back around the pole to the sidewalk. I noticed that she was carrying the bag that Jasper had packed her clothes in that morning. "Go on. Shoo."
The people wandered away reluctantly, casting back curious glances every few feet.
"Now. Let's see," Alice began, bending down to unzip the duffel bag. "You left Jazz hanging off the ground by his pants in an isolated marina, and more importantly, you ruined my outfit and made me settle for this travesty. For that, I think you need to pay."
"You know, if you're going to hit on me, you should really run it past Rose first. I don't think she's into sharing," I said, grinning at her. The pain in my back had subsided some, leaving behind only a dull soreness.
"Funny, Emmett," Alice said, glaring. "But I'm wearing whore sweats and my boyfriend is strung up by his belt loops and I'm not laughing!"
"Maybe you just didn't understand the joke," I said evenly as she swelled with rage. Damn, she was mad. And what exactly were whore sweats? I mean, besides the obvious.
She reached out and snatched my picture from my lanyard before reaching in the bag and pulling out a piece of paper, clipping it in the picture's place. I looked down, struggling for a moment to read the note upside down. Do not untie me. I am thinking about what I have done, it said.
"Really, Alice? You're putting me in time out?" I asked. She reached into the bag again and took out one of my socks and my shirt.
"No talking in time out," she said. I opened my mouth to deliver what I'm sure would have been the comeback to end all comebacks - something articulate like, 'Fuck you, Alice,' - but I was cut short when she abruptly stuffed the sock in my mouth.
I immediately gagged and tried to spit it out, but Alice wrapped the shirt around the lower half of my face, tying it behind my head, securing the fabric flush against my mouth,
The wet clothes were really, really cold. Like, so cold that they were literally beginning to make my joints ache.
I tried to yell at Alice, but the words were muffled and indistinguishable. She just grinned at me.
"Don't worry, Emmett, I'll be back to untie you when the game is over," she said, slipping my picture into her jacket pocket. "Oh, right, I almost forgot," she added, reaching into my own pocket and pulling out Jasper's picture. "Thanks!"
She turned on her heel and skipped off. As miserable as this whole situation was, I had to hand it to her: if this happened to anyone else, it would easily be one of the top five most hilarious things I had seen in years. It was so well-executed, I wasn't even sure I could be mad at her for it. A little annoyed at having a soggy, dirty fucking sock shoved in my mouth, but not mad, really.
At least it was my sock, I thought ruefully as people started to gather.
X
BPOV
I had been walking around for the better part of an hour, casting furtive glances over my shoulder every few feet. This wasn't really my kind of game. I wasn't the most atheletic, or graceful, or sneaky, or anything, really. I was pretty much expecting to be killed before I even had time to process it. The others were ridiculously atheletic, and what some of them may lack in atheleticism, they made up for in pure grace and agility.
Really, most of the time I felt like a mere lowly mortal among gods or something.
There was a crowd gathering up ahead, clustered around a lamp post. As I drew closer I heard snatches of conversation.
"... Maybe we should untie him?"
"The note says not to."
"But that can't be serious, can it?"
"No one would just leave him tied up like this, would they?"
"I don't know, the note says..."
I figured someone had left a dog tied up, but I was surprised that so many people were concerned. People tied up their dogs all the time. At least they hadn't left him locked in a stuffy car while they shopped. Although that was really more of an issue of cruelty in the summer, and with it being as cold as it was...
I don't know, I couldn't really make it add up.
"Maybe it's just a prank."
"I heard something about this. The Dead Family ties them up like this when they make trouble and drop acid in their eyes so they go insane." That one made me roll my eyes.
I pushed my way to the front of the crowd.
Holy crow.
They weren't talking about a dog at all. Instead, Emmett was tied to the lamp post with what looked like a pair of jeans, with a shirt tied around his mouth. His eyes got wide when he saw me and he looked like he was trying to say something.
I stepped closer, reading the note on his lanyard.
Oh jeez.
I stepped around him to untie the shirt. When I finally got it off of his face, he spit out a sock and started gasping in huge lungfuls of air. I wrinkled my nose.
"Alice did this to you?" I guessed. I hadn't known this was what she had meant when she called dibs on him at the start of the game.
"Of course. The girl has lost her mind," Emmett grumbled as I went to work undoing the knot in the jeans securing him to the post. The wet denim was making a difficult job of it.
"Well, she was pretty ticked about her outfit," I said.
"Yeah, what are whore sweats?" he asked. I couldn't help but laugh.
"It's what she calls the Pink line from Victoria's Secret. It was all we could find for her to change into on such short notice," I explained. I finally got the knot undone and unwrapped the jeans from his waist. He rubbed his arms where they had bound him and turned to me. The issue resolved, the crowd began to disperse.
"Well, that makes sense, I guess," he said, sounding doubtful. "Plus, I guess she found out that I strung Jasper up in the marina."
"You're kind of making an enemy of Alice today, aren't you?"
"Unfortunately. Who knew she was such a worthy opponent?"
"All of you are," I said. He looked at me, puzzled. "I just mean, it's difficult being in a game like this with you guys. I'm not exactly in the same class."
"Well, you've lasted longer than me," he said, grinning. "So what's your plan?"
"I don't really have one. I'm not really as sneaky or cunning as the rest of you," I said, shrugging. He shook his head.
"Man, stop comparing yourself to the rest of us. What would you normally do when you need help? Cause no offense, but with your lack of a strategy, you seem to need some help," he said.
"I guess I'd normally find Edward. Or, he'd find me. He has this knack for turning up when I'm in trouble."
Which was true. There was that time with the motorcycles. And the cliff-diving incident. And basically everything else that had ever happened to me in La Push ever. But that was a long, long story and I doubted Emmett would be interested.
"So find Edward," Emmett said, shrugging. "He's gotta be around here somewhere. Actually, knowing you two, he's probably really close." I nodded and he turned to leave. "I guess I'll go and wait this out. Oh, and Bella?"
"Yeah?"
"Would you two just talk to each other? About... you know... stuff?" he said pointedly. "The tension between you is driving everyone crazy, and it seems like you can talk to everyone but each other."
I blushed, embarrassed that Emmett knew about something like that. But he just grinned and waved before sauntering off. Nothing seemed to bother Emmett.
Still, I turned around and headed back the way I had come, too embarrassed to risk more time with him.
x
It turns out Emmett was right. I didn't even really have to look for Edward.
The storm had finally broken and I ducked into a bookstore to escape the rain, figuring that I could at least browse a bit until someone found me or the rain let up. That was pretty much the furthest extent of my plan: wait it out.
I was browsing the classic literature section at the back of the store when I rounded a shelf and ran smack into Edward.
"I see you're still alive," he said, nodding to my picture.
"Yeah. I'm kind of surprised. Knowing me I just kind of figured I'd run smack into another live player," I said, laughing slightly. He quirked an eyebrow at me.
"I'm still alive," he said. I bit my lip, unsure if I should really do it. I wasn't fast enough, not faster than him, and the second I moved, I was sure he would too. He just continued to stare at me with those startling green eyes.
I took a deep breath, steeling myself to do it, but he moved before me. Instead of reaching for my picture, though, he tucked my hair behind my ear. I sucked in a breath as he stepped closer to me, closing the distance between us. It amazed me just how much he could still affect me, even after all of this time.
He guided my face towards his, leaning down to brush his lips softly against mine. I sighed, instantly deepening the kiss, my body warming. Edward had this insistence about taking things slow, and it was driving me crazy. My hands came up to rest against his chest. His lanyard was resting against my right thumb.
"Bella," he said, his voice husky, sending my heart leaping into my throat. The braid of the lanyard rubbed against my thumb insistently, reminding me. I took a breath, letting my hand drift slowly lower.
I reached the photo and grabbed it, tugging hard just as he spoke again.
"I love you," he said.
"Gotcha!" I shouted triumphantly at the exact same time. There was a moment's pause as he stared at his picture in my hand and I stared at him. Then his words clicked and I started to laugh. "Oh my god," I said, my shoulders shaking from the laughter. "Of course I love you too."
"Enough to kill me," he said, smirking. I shrugged.
"That could work in some situations," I teased. "Like, what if you were a vampire or something, and the only way for us to be together forever was to kill me and turn me into one."
"That sounds completely realistic and reasonable," he said, chuckling. "You have got to stop reading those books."
"They're not that bad," I said. "I mean, they're no great American classic, but they're not terrible."
"Hmm," Edward hummed noncommittally. "That aside, shouldn't you be finishing your game? Who else is out, other than me?"
"Emmett and Jasper," I answered. Edward grimaced.
"Bad day for men," he said. I laughed. "Take them out, then."
"Will do," I said, standing on tiptoe to kiss him before I turned to leave.
And found myself face-to-face with Alice.
X
Two minutes later our pictures were gone and Edward and I were locked in the utility closet.
"How did she even do that?" I asked incredulously. Edward shrugged.
"Alice has always been crafty," he said. "She seems weirdly in the zone today though."
"Probably eager to get back to playing Bella Barbie," I said ruefully. "She tied Emmett to a lamp post with a pair of jeans and gagged him with a sock."
"What?" Edward asked incredulously.
"Yeah," I confirmed. We looked at each other for a second before bursting out laughing. It really was a ridiculous image. This was what I loved about Edward, this easy comfort. Lately things had been pretty tense. Well, since I had told him I was ready to "take the next step".
"Edward?" I started. He turned his bright eyes on me. "What we talked about before..."
"We'll get there, Bella," he said. "But your first time isn't going to be in a utility closet."
"Where, then?" I asked. I knew I was nagging, and really, I felt ridiculous, practically begging my boyfriend to have sex with me, but well, here we were.
"My bed," he said. I looked up in surprise. Edward had never actually answered that before.
"When?" I asked thickly. My mouth had gone dry suddenly. Edward's eyes were dark, predatory. It sent a chill down my spine.
"Tonight."
X
RPOV
Alice was a scary little thing when she was determined. I felt bad about not helping Emmett and just watching from behind a vendor stand nearby, but giving my location away was the quickest way to get killed by Alice. That suspicion was confirmed when Bella did untie him before running off, and Alice slid from her hiding spot in the shadowed doorway of a store half a block down, following after her.
No, the easiest way to win this would be to stay a few yards behind Alice until it was just down to the two of us.
Which had finally happened, I realized as I passed the closet that Alice had chaired Edward and Bella into.
I had ditched my phone back at the Jeep, which I quickly found out was a good idea. Alice, the giant cheater, was checking Latitude as she went through each person.
I dropped back and circled the block, walking in the opposite direction as Alice. If Latitude was going to take her back to the Jeep, I was just going to have to get there before her. If I could slip into the boutique without being spotted, I could get the jump on her.
X
I didn't make it to the boutique in time. As I rounded the last corner and stepped on the main strip, Alice appeared at the opposite end of the block. There was a second where we stared at each other, and then a wide grin spread across her face.
She stayed still for only a second, and then she was running towards me. I cringed. I had been in two collisions with Alice in the past. The girl did not hesitate or shy away from the blow. It was inhuman. I knew this was her last tactic, the game-ender. It was going to come down to who shied away first.
I planted my feet, bracing myself, leaning in the direction of the coming impact. She didn't slow, and just a few seconds later I was hit full-force. My feet slipped on the soaked cement and my knees buckled, and Alice and I went sprawling to the ground, sliding a full yard along the sidewalk.
I groaned, letting my head fall back as rain spattered my face. I had been straining to keep it off the ground during the slide, and now my neck felt tight and achy. I was sure the back of my jacket was destroyed.
"Nice," a voice said, sounding amused, and I looked up to see Emmett sticking his head out of the Jeep window to where we were sprawled, a mess of tangled limbs with Alice on top of me.
"Oh, go to hell," I groaned. "Alice, get off."
She sat up, rolling to her back and checking herself for injury. After a moment she stood up, looking at me calmly.
She reached up and pulled her own picture from her lanyard, before handing it and all of the others to me.
"Okay. It's over. Can we finish shopping now?" she asked, holding her hand out to help me up. I gaped at her in disbelief as, still in the Jeep, Emmett dissolved into howls of laughter.
X
EPOV
It took longer than expected to round everyone back up after the game, respectively because Jasper wanted to fight anyone who came near him, having been left hanging for a good two hours by that point, and Edward and Bella had to be practically dragged out of the closet by force. Whatever, at least they seemed to be making progress.
By the time we atually finished with the shopping and piled into the Jeep, most of the shops were closing down. At least Alice seemed in pretty good spirits, given that we had still all gotten our prom clothes taken care of.
The Jeep was filled with the smell of rain-dampened clothes, sweat, and seawater, and we rode all the way back to Forks with the windows down despite the cold to let in fresh air. But despite the odd circumstances and ridiculous events of the day, I couldn't help but note that this was the closest I had felt to being a normal person since the moves started. A normal person with normal friends who got up to normal teenage crap. Emmett Fucking McCarty, normal fucking kid.
Go figure, right?
X
AN: Ah, what a dysfunctional little group. At least they can all take a joke. Sort of. Given enough time. Haha.
In the next chapter we return to normal life in Forks for the group after this nice little break. I hope you enjoyed it! It was ridiculous, I admit, but let's all remember that this is at its heart a comedy. :)
I should mention that, now that I'm back, I am pledging to update at LEAST once a week. If I can, it'll be more, but I'll always update at least once, Saturday to Saturday. So if you don't use an account on this site but want to keep up with the updates, that would be a good day to mark to check. :3
I'd love to hear from all of you!