"This is much better," I sighed into my rum and cherry cola. I felt the music vibrating in my drink.
Alice laughed at me "Cheers!" I clinked my silver solo cup with her shot glass and took a nice swing. Cherry was one of my favorite flavors, I was starting to believe this drink might be a little too good.
"I'll switch to rum and coke later, I swear," giggled Alice "I don't want a repeat of the last time. Worst. Hangover. Ever! Did you know, I puked like twice after you left?"
"Alice, no! Please be careful," I was definitely sticking to mixers with my liquor this time because I hated how drunk I got the last party. I didn't even remember half the night!
"Alright, alright, I will. I don't like being wasted anyways," Alice turned from me back into the line. I was standing next to the bar and admiring how the bar light tonight was now golden, casting a ray of sunshine down on my silver heels. I people-watched as I waited for Alice to returned. The party had started only an hour ago and was in full swing just like before. There were girls wearing an array of clothes from jeans and a loose top to skirts but mostly skin-tight dresses as if this were some type of Hollywood event.
A girl with dyed white hair stumbled past me, laughing like a hyena to the guy she was holding hands with. I made a face to my drink and couldn't help but wonder if that was me in the past party.
I started drinking smaller sips as I surveyed the room for Edward. There was no glowing basketball jersey stealing the spotlight tonight. I wondered where could he be...
"Mm, this taste so good!" Alice popped up beside me.
I took another heavenly sip and moaned in agreement "I don't ever want to hear the word Vodka again."
She laughed into her drink. I noticed as she sipped her eyes were taking in the scene before us. "Looking for Jasper?" I wondered.
"That obvious?" She rolled her eyes.
"Look I know we said tonight was gonna be just us and have fun but that doesn't mean you should torture yourself either. If you see and want to talk to him, you have my blessings."
She nodded at my words "Same for you... you can also talk or dance with a guy if he's cool. So that means no Edward!" She pointed her finger at me as if I were a child. I bit my lip.
"I know, I know," I put my hands up defensively "I doubt he'll go for me again anyways..." Sad, but true.
"Let's go have fun!" exclaimed Alice. She grabbed my hand and dragged me to go dancing. We danced by ourselves in the corner of the room and moved all over the giant living room. We danced with classmates that I never spoke to before and even danced with an old friend from elementary school. When Alice wanted to move closer to the center of the dance floor, I made sure to pull her back. There was something hypnotizing about that dance floor and I didn't want another dancing attack to be triggered.
We moved to the outer bounds where it was less constricted. Alice and I started off just dancing to the beat in front of each other. After doing a twist, I saw from my peripheral vision Edward Masen standing near the opposite wall with a beer in hand, talking to a teammate.
Finally My heart sang. A weight I didn't realize I was carrying lifted off my shoulders after seeing him with just a male friend.
I tried to turn my attention back to Alice and focus on us. We'd exchanged smiles and laugh at our silly moves. But I couldn't help peek at Edward from the other side of the room. I know I told myself tonight was only about Alice and I but I found myself slowly changing my mind.
It felt like the cosmos knew I was watching him because at the same exact second I looked at him again, I witnessed a girl with brown hair the length of Rapunzel, join into the boy's conversation. She was clearly looking at Edward.
My heated stare got cut off by Jacob Black "Hey, girls." He had a charming smile on tonight.
Ever since that last phone call where he tried that lame pick up line, we haven't talked. I avoided eye contact with him at school and I'm sure he must have heard me laughing on the phone because he didn't try any more moves on me.
Alice and I exchanged a look "Hey," "Hi," We murmured back to him.
"I hate to interrupt, but Bella, you look absolutely stunning tonight. Want to dance with me?" He held his hand out as an invitation.
"I don't th-"
"Yes, I'd love to." I cut off Alice and gave a forced smile. I grabbed his hand gratefully and as he pulled me away I told Alice "I'll try to be back soon!" I could clearly see in her face she was not happy. I wasn't too happy either to be walking off with Jacob Black, whose reputation says he's a hothead but it's like my body has a mind of its own. It wanted to get Edward jealous while my mind told myself I didn't care.
My blood boiled at the sight of the girl in the tight black dress get close to Edward and whisper him a secret. So I made sure we got nearby then started dancing with Jacob Black.
Our dancing didn't stir up electricity like it did with Edward but it did bring pitch black smoke to the party: he was lusting after me while I felt burned for someone else.
Jacobs dance moves were typical but I matched his pace as we danced to Lady Gagas John Wayne. I've never heard this song before so when I heard the weird EDM drop, I found myself getting lost in the music.
The second chorus pours in and Jacob moves closer to me and copies my dance mood. What I love and hate about dancing to these types of songs with liquor in your system is that, as you move you're momentarily pulled away from reality. My veins were pumping the lyrics with my vibrating blood cells. My hips shook accordingly to the beat.
For a moment, Jacob Black looked handsome as the blue and green lights blurred my vision.
We cooled down once the song switched to a more slower song. "You're a great dancer," purrs Jacob into my ear.
"Thanks," I say in a breathless tone. I looked at Edward once more to see that he was already looking at me with a hard stare and wasn't looking away. I felt my cheeks heat up as I gazed back to Jacob Black. Yes, he was attractive, I'll admit that. But I've grown up with this guy, I know how much of a douche he could be. His personality wasn't attractive at all...what was I doing dancing with him?
I looked back at Edward and saw his head nod in a direction. The girl's hair bounced up and down as she told him 'yes' and I watched the pair disappear in the crowd.
My heart dropped at the sight. Panic rose in me, I'm sure I knew where they were going.
I was just another girl to him.
-x-
You ever had one of those moments where you convince yourself something so well, you believe it? You think you're prepared and invincible until what you expect to happen actually does happen and your ego feels like it's been torn apart. You feel betrayed and shocked but mostly at yourself for how you managed to hide your true emotions.
Well, I was having one of those moments right now.
"Damn, Swan!" exclaimed Jacob as I slammed down another shot.
I'm pretty sure I had only like three.. of these rum shots... I think. Anything to numb the pain of seeing Edward with another girl. Maybe I should have another shot for how stupid I was to believe we had anything special.
In front of us were eight shots, I've had like three. I reached for the fourth one "Hey, slow down there girl." Jacob pushed my hand away. He grabbed the shot I was aiming for.
"I'm fine," I slurred to him, annoyed. He isn't my father or anything. Where was Alice?
"I'm a bigger guy than you, ok? I should be having the most of these shots." Jacob drank my shot and shivered "I don't want you having alcohol poisoning on my watch."
I stuck my tongue out at him as he went for another glass. He was probably right, I drank those shots pretty fast and I swore to Alice we were not repeating last time. Jacob was like a machine swallowing those last shots. After knocking back the last one he rose his arms over his head like a V and screamed "WOOOO!"
Once he was done, I stood on my tippy toes and patted his head as if he were a dog "No more shots for you, mister." I felt like if he had anymore shots he would transform into the hulk.
"Let's dance, baby!" He grabbed my arm and pulled me to the dance floor.
"Uh, no!" I pulled back weakly multiple times before he got the message "I want to find Alice." I told him and crossed my arms. He scanned the room looking like a bloodhound for my friend.
"I don't see her," He shrugged and started grabbing my hand to dance.
"No!" I hiss at him. Now I was even more annoyed at myself for leaving Alice. I did not want to be stuck with Jacob all night. I was not thinking clearly obviously...
He threw his hands up in defeat "Okay, let's find her." He sighed. He grabbed my hand again more softly this time. I was too drunk to complain again as long as we find Alice, I'll be fine. We walked all over the dance floor with no sign of my pixie friend and her neon green dress. There was also no sign of Edward but I tried to not let that get to me again.
The bathroom didn't have Alice, nor did any of the connecting rooms. We ended up in one of the deep rich red hallways when this hopelessness feeling came over me. She probably found Jasper or a friend to hang out with.
"Let's just go back," I frowned. It's better to find her if we stay in one spot then play Scooby-doo in this mansion.
"Aw, maybe she's in one of these rooms?" slurred Jacob
"I'd rather wait for her in the dance floor. Let's just go get more shots." I suggested. I turned to walk down the bright hallway when Jacob grabbed my wrist and pulled me into one of the dark rooms.
He slammed me against the door and started kissing my neck "We could just stay here instead." He said in a husky, drunken voice.
"What the fuck!" I tried to push him off but he was so strong. I was drunk and could barely see a thing. I just felt his arms holding me down and his sloppy kisses rose to my lips. I was suddenly collected in his arms and screamed as I was thrown onto to the bed.
Alice POV
I was by the bar watching Bella dance with Jacob Black. I had no idea why she'd decide to dance with him, I could have sworn she didn't like him. He was rude and arrogant. I took another sip from my double-shot rum and cherry cola drink as I frowned at them, they didn't look good together in my opinion. It was like watching a wolf dance with a lamb.
I saw behind them was Edward Masen chatting with a girl. I rose my eyebrows at that. Was it a coincidence that she decided to dance so close to him? I drank again as I observed that Edward could barely keep his eyes off of Bella.
I shook my head at my best friend. She was the sweetest girl I've ever met but boy did she have a bad taste for men! I couldn't tell who was worse for her!
I looked around at the party. The disco ball tonight was mostly light colors such as white, silver and yellow and even the bar underneath us had golden lights. I wondered if there was a theme I was missing. The crowd all blended together till I saw a golden head of hair walked past in a small group of guys. That head of hair was something I could spot a mile away:
Jasper
Bingo!
I took off without thinking and stayed at a close distance. "Jasper!" I called out. Those luscious locks turn around and I could see in his eyes melt at the sight of me. I hate that he pushes me away.
"Alice..." He walked up to me. I missed him so much, I couldn't resist pulling him in for an embrace. I breathed in his cologne and chestnut smell. He was suddenly forgiven.
He smelled like home.
"Where are you going?" I asked him in an innocent tone.
"Uh, the guys and I were going to go smoke a joint." He brushed one of my spikey hairs out of my face. I made sure my eyes appeared bigger as he looked down into them "Want to join us?" He added hesitantly.
"Mhmm!" I smiled back. I followed him outside. He pushed open a giant, clear door that led to the backyard area. Multiple strings of light bulbs intimately illuminated the tiled patio. Small groups of people huddled in different areas, joking and smoking. His friends sat around a barely lit bonfire. Jasper sat on the last seat and plopped me on his lap.
A guy sitting across from us looked Indian, his black hair was gelled back. "Who's your girl?" He nodded at me as he lit the fat, white joint.
"This is Alice," Jasper introduced me. He placed his hand on my wrist.
"Hello," I added in a sing-song voice. Happy that I was finally meeting some of his friends.
"That's Sam," He pointed to the guy who was blowing out a big white cloud. "And that's Paul."
Paul looked similar to Sam, the only main difference was he didn't wear as much gel and his eyes were intense. "Paul Lahote," He smiled at me as he took a hit of the joint "I'm sure you heard about me."
"I don't think I have," I told him truthfully.
He choked with laughter while blowing smoke "Ah, c'mon. You never heard of Paul La-Hot-E?" I shook my head no. "Baby, damn! You go to Port Angeles High?" He passed Jasper the J now, who passed it straight to me.
"Yeah, I do!" I took a small hit from the joint. I was being cautious so I didn't have another cough attack infront of these stoners.
"Baby, you need to get out more if you don't know Paul La-Hot-E." He winked at me. I was grateful I was hitting the joint so I didn't have to respond, this guy was really full of himself.
"Dude. Chill." Jasper said. After I felt my body start vibrating a bit, I passed the joint to Jasper.
"Aye," Paul waved off Jaspers comment. We sat in a weird silence afterward "She's a beautiful girl you got there." Paul continued.
I felt Jasper tense "Whatever man." Jaspers' hand was rubbing mine now. Sam just sat in silence observing us. The joint kept passing around almost a bit too slow.
"Got any friends here at this party you can hook me up with?" Paul spoke again.
I was suddenly very weirded out by this conversation "Nope, I don't" I said blankly. His comment suddenly reminded me of Bella and I knew I should leave soon. Man! I can't believe I left her with Jacob!
Well... technically she left me. But I should still save her. She's probably annoyed with him already.
"So who you came here with?" Paul asked while handing me the joint.
"A friend but she isn't single." I lied while hitting the J. I made sure my last hit count. "I should go find her though. Jass, you coming?" I asked him.
"Yup," I passed him the joint.
I stood up and the world felt heavier. Like gravity was pulling down harder, it made me want to laugh but I kept it in so I wouldn't see weird. But once Jasper and I started walking back inside, I couldn't help but giggle hard at this feeling.
Jasper smiled at me and grabbed my hand. "What's so funny?"
"I'm hiigh," I giggled. Once we were inside and not surrounded by people, I fell into his arms. "You feel soo nice," I moaned while rubbing my arms all over his body.I loved hugging him and feeling him. His hand caressed my cheek before lifting it up.
Our lips found each other and they felt so heavenly. His lips were soft, I couldn't stop kissing him. My hands found themselves in his hair, pulling him to me. I wanted more. My lips were buzzing when we pulled apart. "Should we go find your friend?" He whispered.
Lust answered for me "We should find a room."
He smiled at that "Even better," He agreed. He pulled me along passing crowds of my drunk classmates. Everyone's energy seemed so high, there were so many smiles on everyone's faces! I feel like tonight was a good night, a perfect re-do.
Jasper tripped on the corner of the wall once we entered the hallway of bedrooms. I laughed so hard at that. We literally had to stop walking because I couldn't walk, just laugh. I laughed as if that's all I knew what to do and couldn't stop.
Jasper pushed me against the wall with a mischievous smile "Oh you think that's funny?"
"Y-yes! Haha!" He shut me up by kissing me. It was the perfect way to shut me up. My laughter died as we nearly devoured each other.
Suddenly a piercing scream pulled us apart. "What was that?" I asked in a hushed voice.
Jasper immediately followed the sound and I followed behind him. The screams and pounding got louder as we walked down the hall. "You stupid bitch!" A deranged voice yelled. We turned the corner of the red hallways and saw the screams coming from the only door that was partially opened. Jasper tensed up before opening the door fully.
We came face to face with a paled Royce Walker who had streaks of blood coming down his cheek "She's crazy man!" He sprinted past us.
In the room, we saw Rosalie Hale absolutely battering her friend Tanya Denali. Rosalie was crying as she hit Tanya "I can't believe you, bitch!"
Jasper jumped into action and pulled Rosalie off Tanya who covered her face and cried "I hate you! My god my fucking face! My face!" As Jasper held Rosalie down, I went to Tanya. "Are you ok?" I asked her. When she uncovered her hands, I was horrified at the state of her face.
"Leave me the fuck alone!" She shoved me away from her and I fell on the floor. "You're crazy Rosalie! You need help! You're a fucking crazy bitch and that's why Royce can't stand you!" She snarled before stomping out the room.
My knee scraped against the carpet during the fall, causing it to sting and bleed. I was mad at how Tanya treated me and Rosalie especially since I was trying to help! I looked up to see Rosalie was using all her strength for Jasper to let go. "No!" She hollered "Let me get that whore!" She was trying to push free and then started biting him.
"Rosalie!" I yelled, tears welling up in my own eyes "Stop that, relax! They're gone, you did enough damage. Relax!" She looked at me before giving up. Her energy deflated and Jasper allowed her to fall on the floor and curl into a ball and just cry.
Jasper and I exchanged a look before sitting down next to her and attempted to calm her down.
AN: I know, I'm the worst. I'm sorry! Would it make you feel better if the next chapter finally brings some much-needed happiness and fluff? Click follow or comment to save our Bella faster.
Also, shout out to Vanilla19 for your comment! You're the reason this chapter is posted a day earlier than planned!