Three.
By the time we got to the party everyone was sloppy drunk. People spilled onto the front lawn and bass pumped inside.
I'd spent the last two hours with Alice and Emily swapping outfits and perfecting every strand of hair on my head into the perfect just-woke-up-but-still-sexy way. And when I say I did, it was all Alice. I didn't have much feminine energy at my house, so Alice all too happily stepped into the Make Bella A Girl role. I was wearing one of her too short mini skirts and a tank top with high top sneakers, and I felt cute. Alice tried to talk me into a pair of heels, but by the face I made she quickly gave up knowing it was futile.
Mike walked ahead of us as we waded through the sea of people crowding the hallway, stopping every now and then to give someone a bro hug.
My body was vibrating with excitement, but a part of me was anxious to see Em. I knew he wasn't going to be happy I was there, but… whatever. I was fifteen now and he was about to leave for college, he had to accept the fact that I was growing up and doing things without him too.
The air in the room was thick with moisture from the gyrating bodies on the makeshift dance floor in the living room. It was almost overwhelming, this was easily the biggest house party I'd ever seen.
Emily bobbed her head around, looking for her beau, Sam. When she couldn't see him she turned to me, plump lips twisted into a pout."Kitchen?"
I nodded and Alice and I squeezed our way between the sweat-soaked bodies, Mike lost somewhere behind us.
The three of us piled into what could only be described as a war zone, cups and bottles strewn across every surface. We found a spot against the sink and began bopping along to the music as we took sips from Alice's flask.
Spirits were high and we saw some kids we knew and chatted for a bit until Mike caught up to us, then Emily said she wanted to head outside to find Sam.
"I'll come with you," I offered, sloshing some of Alice's vodka into my cup before following Emily out into the backyard where there seemed to impossibly be even more bodies scattered around the pool and yard.
Emily caught sight of Sam wedged between a group of juniors on a couch and skipped over. I trailed behind until someone hooked their finger under my bra strap and released it with a sharp snap.
"Ouch!" I yelled, whipping around.
Edward was standing behind me with a smug grin plastered across his face.
"What the hell?" I complained, rubbing my shoulder.
"Who, me? I don't know what you're talking about." The exaggerated smile stayed as his eyes twinkled with mischief.
"Fuck off, Edward," I said playfully, rolling my eyes.
He laughed, bringing his beer bottle to his lips and taking a swig. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand without taking his eyes off me.
"Does Emmett know you're here?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
"No, and he doesn't need to."
"Not fucking likely," he laughed again, this time with his full belly. "He's going to see you here, Bell. Then what?"
"Then Emmett has to deal. I'm not a little kid anymore, he can't boss me around," I said, knowing just how childish that must've sounded.
Edward rolled his eyes in amusement, and I couldn't help but crack a smile too.
"You know you'll always be a kid to us," he said softly, slinging an arm around my shoulders and leading me to the couch where Emily was now sitting on Sam's lap swapping saliva like their lives depended on it.
Edward had always been cool with me. Almost like a second brother, he looked out for me like Emmett did, but he never tried to tell me what to do.
He and Emmett had been best friends since middle school when Edward moved from Chicago with his family. They were similar in their easygoing attitude, both always goofing off yet serious when they needed to be. His parents, Esme and Carlisle, became close to my dad after my mom died, often offering to take Emmett and I to our after school activities when Charlie had to work, or inviting us around for barbecues over the summer. I didn't really get too close to Edward until I started high school, but he's always been in the periphery. I still followed Emmett around like a lost puppy, and I guess Edward just kind of accepted that we were a package deal.
Edward pulled a beer from a cooler beside the couch and offered it to me with a wink. "Just don't tell Emmett," he said close to my ear.
As if summoned by our secret, I heard Emmett's booming voice approaching behind us.
"Well, well, well," he gleaned. "What do we have here? A little Bella-boo out past her bed time?" Emmett slapped his giant hands around mine and Edward's shoulders, knocking our heads together.
I looked up at him nervously, but a half smile had already begun to creep its way onto Emmett's face. He so caught me.
"I told you, one last party together?" I meant to say it with conviction but it came out sounding more like a question.
"Pffft, yeah right. You just wanted to party with the big kids before your big brother goes away and you lose all your cool cred."
He wasn't totally wrong.
"Oh yeah, because you're just so cool, huh?" He was, and he knew it. Emmett has always, always, been well liked. He's smart, funny and he's good at everything he touches. Girls threw themselves at him (gross) and guys couldn't even be jealous, they all just wanted to be friends with him.
Emmett cocked a brow, knowing all this. I hesitated for a moment, waiting for him to tell me to march myself back home. But he didn't. Instead he let out an exaggerated sigh and clinked his beer bottle with mine. "Keep the fuck away from Crowley's space brownies," he said, then turned and began laughing like a fucking hyena at some sophomore stretching a condom over his head.
I looked around for Alice and saw her peeling off her clothes by the pool. She looked up and waved me over with a maniac grin on her face. I pressed my lips together and shook my head, looking up at Edward who was still standing beside me looking quizzically at my face.
"What?" I scowled defensively.
"You gonna go?"
"Swim? No way."
He snickered. "Too scared to get your kit off Bella?"
I punched him in the gut, eliciting a squeal from him. I knew what he was talking about. I was a late bloomer, okay. While the breasts of all the other girls swelled to plump little pillows throughout the year, mine remained disturbingly flat. Emmett and Edward always called me their little dude. Cute, maybe, when I was 10. But now, it was a frustrating reminder that I was always going to be the rough and tumble kid that used to follow them around with dirt on my face.
Even though I knew that Edward was joking, I felt heat spread across my cheeks and I had the weirdest sensation that I was about to cry. Before I got too worked up and embarrassed myself, I turned on my heel and strode away towards the house.
"Oh come on, I was only kidding!" I heard him call, but I kept walking inside wanting to put some distance between me and Edward, and the dozens of pairs of perky tits pushed up in bikinis.
Once inside I bumped into some girls I knew in the grade above me and followed them onto the dance floor. People were sloppy, sloshing their drinks around all over each other but no one seemed to care. I polished off my drink and got another, then Alice and Emily came to find me on the dance floor and joined in, shaking their asses and flapping their hands around.
It was one a.m. by the time we meandered back to the backyard, cheeks pink and a light layer of sweat settled across our skin.
I caught sight of Edward with a blonde senior I recognised but couldn't name strewn across his lap giggling. I rolled my eyes, used to seeing girls fawn over Edward. He was attractive, I guess, but I never really saw him the way other girls seemed to.
The crowd had dispersed some, with only a few groups huddled at different corners of the yard.
I spotted Emmett lighting up a bong with a group crowded around him, talking shit and laughing in that dumb teenage boy way. I made my way over and plopped down on the couch beside him.
"Can I try?" I chanced, knowing the answer. I was working a nice buzz and giddy from the beer, and my confidence was up.
He sputtered out a laugh, smoke coming out in plumes from his lips. "No fucking way. Beer after grass and you're on your ass. Or is it the other way around?" He began chortling at his own joke, passing the bong to a guy across from him.
I rolled my eyes but didn't push it. He didn't give me anywhere near as much grief as I thought he would for turning up tonight, and I didn't want to try my luck.
He wrapped a mammoth arm around my neck, lightly rubbing his knuckles into the crown of my head. I laughed and pushed him away, looking into his dopey glassy eyes.
"I'm gonna miss you my little dude," he said wistfully.
I stared at him, a sad smile taking place on my lips. "I know. I'm gonna miss you too. Only three hours away though, right?"
He smiled, bumping his shoulder into mine. "Only three hours away. Plus, you'll get your licence soon, then you can drive Helga down to visit me."
I shuddered at the thought. Helga, as we'd affectionately named her, was the beastly old pick up truck my dad had bought when Emmett turned fifteen. To learn on, he'd said, then Emmett could get a new car when he went to college and Helga would be passed down to me.
We fell into a comfortable silence, listening to the conversations go on around us. I was in my own head, and I knew Emmett was too. As independent and boisterous as Emmett was, I knew it would be hard for him to leave home. He was my best friend, and our little family was such a tight unit. I knew he'd miss playing video games with me, eating pizza and talking shit about anything and everything, pulling pranks on Charlie and riding our bikes around the neighbourhood til our legs burned.
I knew we'd be okay without him, and I was excited for him to start this next stage of his life, but I was scared too. I wouldn't have my security blanket, and I'd be forced to actually be on my own for once. I had my girls, and I couldn't be more thankful for them, but it would never be the same. No one knew me like my brother, and I couldn't really fathom the idea of losing him to his new grown up life.
At some point Alice wandered over, telling me Emily was puking in the bathroom and Sam was taking Mike's car to drive her home. Emmett made a move to stand, saying he was going to head out anyway and he'd walk us home. I shook my head, knowing he'd planned to have a much later night.
"It's okay, Alice and I can walk. It's not far."
He was about to protest when Edward suddenly appeared. "I'll drive them," I said, jingling his keys. "I only had one beer earlier."
Satisfied, Emmett shrugged and looked between me and Alice.
"I'll just go say bye to Mike," Alice said, disappearing back into the house.
I looked up at Edward who raised his eyebrows expectantly.
"I'll see you tomorrow," I said to Emmett, gathering my bag as I stood. He nodded and turned his attention to the guys sitting on the other side of the couch.
Wordlessly, I followed Edward around the side of the house to wait for Alice. He was parked right out front, so he leaned against his car spinning the keys around his finger.
I pulled out my phone to text her where we were.
"I didn't mean it, Bell," he suddenly spoke.
I blinked. "Mean what?"
"The getting your kit off thing. It was a stupid joke. I didn't mean to make you feel self-conscious."
Shocked, I stuttered an awkward laugh. To be honest, I'd already forgotten about it. It was a stupid joke, and an overreaction by me. I was used to Edward and Emmett riling me up.
"Thanks, I guess. I didn't think you meant it."
He nodded thoughtfully, a strangely serious look coming over his face as his brow creased like he was concentrating really hard on something.
After a moment he spoke. "Good, because you shouldn't be. Self-conscious, I mean. You're beautiful."
I was slightly stunned. Edward has never paid me a compliment like that before, and hearing it made my stomach twist in a weird way.
"Thanks," I mumbled.
Just then, Alice came bouncing out of the house. "I call shot gun!"
I rolled my eyes and dutifully slipped into the back.