Earthshine

Chapter XVIII

"House Party"

…

"If we shadows have offended, think but this, and all is mended, that you have but slumber'd here while these visions did appear." - William Shakespeare

…

[Edward]

Over the next few days, I recieved a couple of texts from Vitalia.

Vitalia: Hey! I'm thinking of building a fort. Wanna come help out? (:

I had debated a long time whether I should answer it, but ultimately decided to.

Edward: I can't today. I'll see you Saturday at the party.

A day later, she texted me again.

Vitalia: How did things go with Bella, by the way?

Edward: We can talk about it at the party.

I was sure she'd picked up on the fact that I was avoiding speaking with her. Maybe she'd even guessed at the reason. But if I was going to cut things off, I needed to start now.

Bella had decided to take on fewer shifts at Newton's in preparation for school. She'd only be working there twice a week now. I was glad for the extra time with her and it helped me not to dwell on the goodbye I was going to have to say to Vitalia.

We did our summer reading assignment together, reading through Romeo and Juliet, which our first six weeks course was going to cover. Bella loved the story and I saw that her eyes were tearing up as I read some of the lines to her in our meadow.

As for me, I was reading the story through a fresh perspective. For one, I was in love and could relate to the characters in a new way. And for another, I felt a surge of envy this time at the ease in which Romeo was able to end his life. I'd considered it once too, after all, when I thought I might lose Bella. There was no question in my mind that, were she to die, I would find a way to end my own life. It was unthinkable to live in a world without her.

The best plan I had so far was to provoke the Volturi. There were a few ways it could be done and I was sure I'd be granted my death wish. Marcus might even understand on a personal level, though the others had denied him the luxury.

On one of the days Bella worked, I stopped by my house. My mother called to me from the kitchen and presented a beautiful cake that she'd decorated specifically with Eden in mind. She wanted me to bring it over to her.

I sighed and shook my head. "I'm sorry, I can't right now."

"Oh. Is something wrong?"

"I'll explain later."

She nodded, accepting my answer, and then I heard her silently debate whether to take the cake over herself.

Rosalie brushed past me with Emmett right behind her. "We'll take it." She told our mother, holding out her hands.

Guess you've decided to take your idiocy to a whole new level. She thought with a glance in my direction. Let me guess, trouble with Bella?

What happened now, kid? Emmett thought curiously.

I didn't want to explain it to them. Not yet. Not until after I was able to speak with Vitalia myself.

"We'll talk about it later." I gazed between them both before watching them walk out the door. I couldn't help but wish I could go with them.

Alice walked down the stairs then and I met her eyes with a glare.

Someone's bad mood is back. Jasper noted as he came from around the corner of the living room to greet Alice.

"You can't stay mad at me forever." Alice told me, chin tilting up.

"Try me." I moved to sweep past her, but she put a hand on my chest to stop me.

"I was only trying to help."

My eyes flashed to hers. "I don't want your help!"

She flinched back and Jasper quickly walked over to place an arm around her shoulders. He gave me a warning look.

Easy, Edward. Calm down a little, will you?

I closed my eyes and sighed, trying to put out the fire that'd been ignited in me. When I opened my eyes again, I spoke in a more even tone, but the words were still seething.

"You've been trying to help since day one. I haven't had a real choice in any of this. You've had my entire future mapped out. Set in stone."

"That isn't my fault. You know that."

"Then what about this? What's the problem with it? Why couldn't you be satisfied until it was put to an end?"

Jasper blinked and looked at her. "Put to an end?"

She glanced up at him. "I knew that…Bella would ask Edward to stop seeing Vitalia if the bowling alley outing happened."

"The ace up her sleeve." I reminded Jasper.

"…I see." His eyes fell. Sorry about that, Edward.

Alice inhaled then looked me straight on. "I can't explain what it is, exactly. I'm not getting any visions of you two together, but I do get a feeling about you two and I've learned to trust those."

"That's ridiculous." I shook my head. "It is impossible for me to love anyone but Bella."

"We don't know that for sure."

"It's never happened before."

"Well, nearly everything else about your relationship with her has been unprecedented. No one we know has fallen for a human. We don't know if that changes things."

I hate that they're arguing so much about this. Esme was thinking from the kitchen.

" I know. I know it doesn't change things." I said quietly. "Why can't you trust my feelings?"

"Because you have a track record of being wrong about them."

I rolled my eyes.

"Edward," Jasper spoke up, and I could tell he was trying to be delicate. Many thoughts were circulating in his head. Disagreement with Alice's involvement, but also agreement with her reasoning. He too believed it was possible for me to love someone else. "If you'd never met Bella and Vitalia had come along…what then? How would you have felt?"

I felt the urge to immediately shoot that line of questioning down, but I hesitated. I'd already considered that very thing. I thought of the moment it'd occurred to me that an alternative existed — that my path might have led me in Vitalia's direction.

That's what I thought. Jasper nodded, picking up on my feelings.

Alice looked at me intently. "You think you could have loved her."

I sighed. " Could have, but that wasn't the choice I made. I'm not going back on what I've decided. I can't." I took a step towards her. "I told you to stay out of it. Why couldn't you have just given me a few more weeks? Would that have been so hard?"

"I knew Bella was struggling with the idea. You were ignoring the obvious. You didn't want to see that it was better for her that you cut things off."

She got me with that and I lowered my eyes, feeling the guilt again.

"But not better for Edward." Jasper spoke up, to the surprise of both of us. He was looking down at Alice gently. "This wasn't better for him. Romantic interest or not, Vitalia was helpin' things." He glanced over at me. "Isn't that right?"

I stared at him a long moment before slowly nodding. I caught Alice's eyes.

Go on. Jasper urged me. Open up to her.

I gritted my teeth but spoke anyway. "…that's right. It was helping. Her influence was something I was hoping Bella would benefit from too. I felt hopeful. There were even times when I felt… good. It might've been delusional of me, and exceptionally selfish, but for a brief time…it was nice to feel that way. To feel light and free. It was nice to feel so close to life." My eyes turned regretful. "I wish you'd given her a chance, at least, because then you'd have seen it too. You'd have seen that there's something…indescribable about her."

Alice's solidly assured expression faltered and she glanced at Jasper. She was thinking of the many times he'd told her the same thing. Of the impact Vitalia had on him personally.

Her eyes lowered before she looked at me again.

"…I'm sorry. I didn't know it was like that."

"It doesn't matter now." I said under my breath before moving past them both to head upstairs.

Hate to see him like this again. Jasper thought.

I hope I didn't make a mistake, Alice was thinking.

As much as she cared for Bella, her love for me ran much deeper and now, knowing she might've deprived me of something that had the potential to improve my undead life in such a positive way…well, it was having her second guess herself.

That's a first, I thought as I walked into my room.

I sat on my sofa and stared at my wall of CDs. I grimaced and clasped my hands together, bringing them to my forehead. I shouldn't care so much. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I'd let this get way out of hand.

How would Vitalia react? How hurt would she be? I trusted that she wouldn't be set back too much, she was resiliant and she'd been prepared for something like this, but she did feel things very strongly.

I stood and moved to my stereo, turning up the volume and letting the easy tones of an indie band soothe my thoughts. I let it quiet them as much as it could.

I lied down on the floor, eyes watching the swaying trees outside my window. I hyperfocused on each miniscule movement and listened to all the little intricacies of the music notes until my head was relatively silent.

…

[Vitalia]

I was excited to finally see where Eddie and his family lived, but I was also kinda nervous. I rotated my phone in my hand, thinking of the short texts Eddie had sent. I hadn't seen him since the night he'd given me my bracelet. I looked down at it and fiddled with the fork charm. It sort of felt like a parting gift now.

The conversation with Bella must have gone badly. I felt disappointed with that conclusion, but my gut was screaming at me that I was on the right track, so I'd been preparing for what he was probably going to tell me at the party.

I breathed out and forced myself to stay positive. I wanted to have fun tonight, so I hoped that he was going to at least wait to talk to me until the end.

As a reminder, I was wearing my favorite Winnie the Pooh dress. It was blue with white clouds and a little pooh bear drifting up with his red balloon. There was a red belt around the waist and matching converse high tops. It was easy to feel cheerful whenever I looked at it.

I lifted a hand to straighten the red bow in my hair before I heard the purr of Rosalie's car. I hopped up from the porch steps and smoothed the skirt of my dress before skipping forward to greet her with a wave.

"Aww," she grinned. "You look so adorable."

"Thank you!" I chirped before sliding into the passenger seat and pulling the seat belt on. "You look pretty amazing yourself."

She grinned smugly. She was dressed in pink and white designer clothes and looked absolutely flawless.

We sped across town and I tilted my head as the evening town of Forks flew by. I wondered, if Eddie cut off our friendship, would I still be able to hang with the rest of them? I hoped so. I really enjoyed them all in their own way. I'd been seeing a lot of Rosie and Emmy the last few days.

We turned down a long, bending driveway with lots of twisted, overgrown trees. I loved how wild it looked! It was like we were heading into a completely different world. Like a fantasy world! Where wood nymphs and fairies lived. Like in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Stupid Eddie, getting me thinking about Shakespeare. That was one of the only stories of his that I actually sort of liked. Mostly because of Puck, because he was awesome. I was tempted to mention that to Eddie, but decided against it. No need to encourage him to actually gift me a book.

We pulled up to the house and the setting sun was casting everything in whimsical, dreamy colors. The house itself looked like something from a Southern Gothic story — like Gone with the Wind, my Daddy's favorite movie. It was white and picturesque. I grinned and twirled in a circle before looking at Rosalie.

"This place is so magical!"

"You have no idea," she returned my smile before motioning me toward the house. "Now, we have just about everything done, we just have to switch on the lights, set out the food, and wait for our guests to arrive. Should be any minute now."

She opened the door and let me pass her. I stared in wonder at the open feel of the place and at all the classy, elegant furnishings. Everything had a tropical vibe though because of the party, but I thought it kind of added a whole Casablanca thing to the mix. There were lots of neon signs arranged throughout the house, casting electric glows on the polished surfaces.

"Are we ready to get things started?" Alice asked, hopping down the stairs.

"We are." Rosalie nodded.

"Jazz?!" Alice called. "You and Em go ahead and get those lights turned on. And set the trays of food out!"

She moved over to a large sound system on the wall, where she turned on a loud, blasting surge of music. I laughed, feeling the excitement already.

"Hey," Alice looked at me and I was surprised to see that her expression looked almost friendly. "You should take a look at the set up in the back."

"Okay!" I gave her an uncertain, but eager smile, and moved across the room to the large, sliding glass doors. From behind me, I heard Rosie ask where Bella and Edward were and Alice answered that they were upstairs.

I stepped outside and it was like being transported to some fancy island resort somewhere. They had several palm trees set up and strung with lights. The tiki torches lined the walkway all the way to a large pool.

I glanced to my left and saw my open bar idea there for real and the tables of food behind it. Emmett waved at me and Jasper sent me a quick smile as they set trays down.

I greeted them both then turned to head back inside. I caught sight of the doctor and his lovely wife heading out the front door. He waved at us. "Have fun, kids. Don't go too crazy." Rosalie and Alice chuckled and I smiled as I stopped beside them.

"Where they heading off to?" I asked curiously.

"Date night," Rosalie answered. "Long overdue too. Hospital hours keep him pretty busy."

"He's pretty trusting of you guys, huh?"

My parents would never let me throw a party like this. But then, I wasn't the most responsible with this sort of thing. I'd done a lot of things in the past to earn their mistrust.

"There you two are!" Rosalie exclaimed suddenly as Alice bounded past me towards the staircase. She swept Bella up in a tight hug.

I saw Bella return Alice's hug shyly before straightening the outfit she was wearing. It looked really nice. A pretty blouse and a floral skirt. Rosie whispered that the outfit was one of Esme's. I smiled then my eyes shifted to Eddie, who was coming down the stairs behind Bella, rolling up the sleeves of his button down. It wasn't his usual white, but a pale, mint green color that really suited him. He was smiling as his eyes moved between Bella and Alice before he looked up and swept them across the room. They landed on me.

I got that weird fluttery feeling in my stomach again and I started feeling all warm.

He held my stare for a long moment, his smile lowering into a sort of frozen expression.

If this is going to be our last chance to hang, I want to make it count, but maybe he doesn't feel the same? Maybe it's easier for him to be all distant like this?

He tilted his head at me before glancing at Bella then back at me. He seemed to decide something before approaching, corner of his mouth lifting into another little smile.

"Good evening, Vitalia."

"Hey, Eddie." I said, sounding casual as always. We didn't need to make it weird.

His smile widended fractionally. "How've you been?"

"Pretty good. Getting everything all ready for a new school year."

"Your homeschooling year, you mean?"

"Yep! Mom likes it to line up with you public people."

He chuckled. " Public people."

His shadowed expression was growing lighter by the second. That was good. I didn't want him to waste any time feeling bad about this. We'd both agreed to it, after all. I could take it, so he didn't have to worry.

Something unreadable entered his eyes then as he stared at me. Something soft. Like he knew what I silently wanted him to hear. He looked close to grateful.

"We're good to go!" Emmett shouted as he and Jasper walked in the door.

He bounded across the room to Rosalie, who lifted a hand and smoothed his shirt with a fond smile.

Tex walked past and glanced at me and Eddie. He nodded at us then wrapped an arm around Alice and smiled at Bella.

"The first guests are arriving!" Alice bounced up and down as she threw open the door.

I could see the headlights of the approaching cars and the hum of the engines as a line of them moved up the driveway.

Emmett walked over to dim the lights and the neon signs really came to life. He moved to turn up the music next and I was thrown right into a sensory world. I grinned. This is incredible.

Eddie caught my eye and I could see from his expression that the exciting feelings were getting to him to. His stare was bright and engaged as he matched my grin. His usual, sunny glow was more muted in the neon. Darker. But it had a cool affect on his pale skin.

The trembling feeling under my own skin was back and I was suddenly breathing a little heavier. Weird. I looked away and caught Jasper looking at me with a raised brow. I wondered what it meant, but put it out of my head. Again, I wasn't sure I wanted to know.

"I'm going to head back to Bella," Edward told me. "I'll catch up with you in a little while." He hesitated then continued. "Before you go though…I need to speak with you about something."

I breathed out my nerves and nodded. "I know, Eddie. No worries. We'll talk."

He gave me that soft look again then he turned to walk across the room, reaching for Bella's hand. She smiled up at him as he led her to the backyard.

I figured that was probably where everything was gonna be happening, so I moved with some of the other teens through the room and into the chilly August night.

I headed right for the Tiki bar and ordered myself a giant Piña Colada. I'd been craving one ever since I'd mentioned it.

"Hey again!"

I spun around and saw one of the kids I'd met at the bonfire. I couldn't remember his name though. "Hey! Uhm, sorry, I forgot your name."

"It's Mike. Mike Newton. And this is Jessica."

"What's up?" Jessica greeted with a tiny wave. "This is some party, huh?"

"Isn't it?! I love this whole set up." I took a sip of my drink then motioned them behind me. "You two should get one of these. They taste amazing."

"Alcohol?" The Mike guy asked hopefully.

I laughed. "Nah. They aren't about that."

Jessica rolled her eyes then ordered herself a daquiri.

"This is actually my first time being here," Jessica said a few moments later as she dabbed her straw in her drink. "I knew they were well off, but wow. I mean, no one wonder they look down on the rest of us."

"There's just something not right about them." Mike shook his head. "Can't put my finger on what it is though."

I listened to what they were saying curiously. I guess that I had noticed some of them could be kind of uptight and critical. I mean, obviously Rosie had her moments. And Alice. I guess Eddie too, sometimes, but I'd rarely seen it. I didn't think he actually looked down an anyone worse than he seemed to look down on himself. The others were always super nice though. Emmett and Tex and the Doc and Esme. They were some of kindest people I'd ever met.

"Not right about them?" I asked, intrigued by that part. "What'd you mean?"

"I don't know." Mike popped an ice cube into his mouth and crunched it. "Edward's whole thing with Bella was kinda weird. He was so freaky about it. Sometimes I swore he was going to actually kill me if I looked at her wrong."

That kind of backed up my secret assassin theory. Alice had looked at me the same way. And they were all crazy good shots. Instant kills, every time. Plus Eddie's tortured confession that he was the worst sort of person for Bella. It was something I imagined only killers would say.

"Jealousy is very normal. But what's weird is just, like-" Jessica lowered her voice and glanced around, before talking directly to me. "I think it's so weird that Bella was the one Edward chose. I mean, come on. And now they're both so totally obsessed with each other. Like, seriously, gag."

"Why wouldn't he go for Bella? She seems sweet." I asked.

"And she's hot." Mike added.

Jessica glared at him before looking at me again. "Maybe she is, but she's just so…I don't know, boring. And plain. Not much about her that would catch the interest of a guy like Edward. He obviously doesn't just go for hot either, Mike, or he wouldn't have been so against dating the rest of us."

Wasn't she supposed to be Bella's friend? I felt my chest tighten angerily as I listened to the way she was being talked about. I didn't like backstabbers. It kind of sounded like Jessica was feeling jealous.

Bella and Edward walked over to us then and Mike cleared his throat while Jessica took a long sip of her drink.

I crossed my arms to watch how this would play out. I had a theory about this girl.

She proved me a right a second later when she gave Bella a friendly smile. "Hey, you two! How's your summer been? Can't wait to see you guys back at school on Monday."

Yep. Two-faced. I knew her type. I smirked and shook my head.

"It's been good." Bella smiled at her and Mike. "I've missed you guys."

My brows creased at that. Like I'd thought, sweet, and probably unaware how much talking went on behind her back. She seemed to genuinely care about them.

At least Mike seemed to like her, even if he looked a little frightened of Eddie.

I almost laughed when Eddie seemed to kind of fuel the fire, giving Mike a chilling smirk. I guessed he knew exactly how the guy felt about him.

You're a rebel too, you know. In your own way. I thought to myself.

That dangerous edge I'd picked up on the day we met was more obvious now with him actually trying to look scary. And it excited me. That part of my brain that was so drawn to the thrills was feeling especially drawn to him right now.

I watched as he gave his head a little shake before looking away from Mike and directly at me. It was another one of those moments where it seemed like he knew what I was thinking.

I raised my brow at him and he gave me one of his disapproving looks before he leaned toward Bella.

"Come on, let's get you your drink and a little food."

I waited until they were out of earshot before looking at Jessica. "I think you should be straight with her about what you really think. Or stop acting like you're her friend. I don't like talking to people who act fake and I don't like saying hurtful things behind people's backs."

Jessica's mouth dropped open in shock and Mike let out a low whistle before looking down at his feet.

I smiled sarcastically and raised my cup. "Nice talkikg to you guys!" Then I walked away from them and headed to the food table. I grabbed some coconut shrimp and grilled fruit then moved to take a seat on top of the deck railing. I swung my legs contentedly and chewed my food.

My eyes widened though when Alice walked over and leaned next to me. Her eyes were such a bright gold, that in the dark, with the lights reflecting off of them, they almost looked like how a cat's eyes looked at night.

"I couldn't help but overhear a second ago." She pointed over at Jessica and Mike before sighing. "…it was nice of you to defend Bella that way."

I nodded. "It just seemed kind of uncalled for, what they were saying. That sort of thing makes me mad."

She gave me a reluctant smile, eyes running over me. "I'm sorry for getting so involved, by the way, with yours and Edward's friendship. Maybe it wasn't my place, but he's had this whole absurd mindset about his relationship with Bella from the beginning. Feels like he'll use any excuse he can to explain why he's all wrong for her."

"Yeah…he mentioned something about that. I don't get it either, but," I shrugged, "I really do think he has to figure this out for himself. If you think him and Bella are soulmates, don't you think he'll find his way back to her? In the end?"

She tilted her head thoughtfully. "Maybe…but it's going to really hurt Bella in the process. It'll hurt him too."

I nodded. "I get that. You don't want to see that happen."

Her smile widened as she looked at me again. "I guess I kind of get what the others see in you."

I laughed. "Uhm…thanks."

She chuckled too then patted my leg. "I'm going to try to find Jasper. Have to make sure he's not harassing the guests."

That was an odd thing to say. Standoffish, shy Tex, harassing people? Maybe he had a wild streak I didn't know about? The thought was hilarious.

I watched her walk off before looking to the pool, where some of the kids were hanging. I hadn't brought a swimsuit, but I entertained the idea of just jumping in anyway, dress and all. Maybe before I Ieft. I saw Emmett stand on the edge before cannonballing into the center, where he created a rippling wave that had the other people in the water shrieking.

People on the deck had started dancing and I spotted Eddie looking like he was trying to persuade Bella, who was blushing and shaking her head. I saw him step close to her and I saw her expression change instantly. They had a way with each other, didn't they? It looked like he'd gotten what he wanted though. Bella let him lead her to the center, where she swayed in place with him.

I looked away, not knowing why I suddenly didn't want to watch them.

"Hey there again, dance instructor."

I looked to my left and saw Tex.

Boy, him and Alice are really good at the whole sneaking-up-on-people thing.

"Hey!" I said. "What's up? Did Alice find you? She was looking."

"Yes. We just crossed paths. She and Rosalie are making another ice run."

"Gotcha. You having a good time?"

"I s'pose. I don't party much or anything, that's more Alice's thing, but this one isn't so bad. Not too many people."

I nodded. "I heard your anniversary went well, by the way."

"Yeah…" he looked to the side and I watched his face flush. "She liked the dancin'. Thanks for that."

"Anytime," I grinned.

He nodded before he started fiddling with the wood on the railing. He looked past me then motioned his head at Bella and Edward. "How're things with you two?"

"Me and Eddie?"

"Mhm."

I sighed then pursed my lips. "I don't know…I think we've reached the end of the road. He's planning to talk to me after the party."

"How do you feel about that?"

I looked down at my dress and traced the outline of one of the clouds. "Disappointed, mostly. I totally get it, but I'm definitely going to miss him."

"I think that feeling's mutual."

"You think?" I asked, glancing up at him.

"Oh yeah. He doesn't seem happy about it at all. He's been all moody and snappy at everyone the last few days."

I laughed. "Oh no."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm going to miss you brightening up his day, that's for sure."

"Well I was always gonna have to leave. I would've already been gone by now, if we hadn't extended our stay."

"Yeah, I know. It's not on you to bring those feelings out."

"Not really, no." I hummed and started kicking my feet again, breathing in the chilly, tropical air. "He really needs to learn how to do that for himself."

Jasper nodded in quiet agreement.

After a moment, I spotted Rosie and she waved me over. I looked at Tex with another smile. "I'll see you around, okay? Hopefully I'll get to say goodbye to all of you before I leave for real."

"We'll make it happen." He promised.

[Jasper]

I watched as the bundle of energy ran over to Rosalie and Alice. I had noticed a moment ago that Alice's feelings seemed to have changed a little. She wasn't feeling as hostile when she looked at Vitalia now.

I sighed and looked at Edward again. I picked up on his usual devotion for Bella and her equal feelings for him. I wasn't put off by them the way Rosalie was, I even sort of liked Bella, but I considered myself a lot more objective about this whole thing because of that.

Bella wasn't bad for Edward, I thought, but she also wasn't the best. She wasn't what he needed. I suspected the same was true for her. She needed someone who could light up her life too. Make her enjoy it a little bit. She seemed to spend a lot of time feeling all bitter and cynical about things. She definitely took it all for granted.

Edward didn't understand what an easy loss for her it was, her humanity. He spent a lot of time fussing over that. Worrying that he was stealing it away from her. But that wasn't the actual problem. The problem was that there wasn't much to steal in the first place. Bella simply didn't care. I felt that but I figured telling him so would be useless. He had made up his mind about it.

I suddenly stiffened as a group of four teens passed close to me, close enough that their scent made my mouth instinctively water and my ingrained instincts shout to my brain that they were mine for the taking.

I closed my eyes and held my breath. I focused on Alice and her confidence in me.

You won't hurt them, she always said. And I trusted that. She knew better than anyone what I would or wouldn't do.

I looked at her and at Vitalia standin' there. I didn't know why it was so easy to be close to that girl. I guess the familiarity helped — it always helped to see them as actual people. Her blood smelled sweet, but it was a soothing sort of scent. Refreshing. Like a glass of Southern iced tea. With a slice of lemon. I smirked. She had that little bit of spunk. Tea had caffeine in it, so it was both refreshing and energizing.

A couple passed me then, shallow feelings and all, and I decided it was time to stand a little further away from all the main happenings. I meandered around the edges of the crowd, keepin' to myself and feeling all the things.

My thoughts went back to Edward. When he was around Vitalia, it wasn't like he felt desire or attraction or anything like that, though there were some moments where it kind of went there. Where he was feeling kind of drawn to her.

It was deeper than all that though. More intense. He was absolutely in awe of her. He was energized by her. It made him feel lighter and happier, which was a thing missing a lot of the time with Bella. It was a thing the rest of us felt nearly all the time with our own significant others. Whether he was consciously aware of it or not, his feelings betrayed a connection he didn't feel with anyone else.

And as for Vitalia…well, she was a little more straightforward. She was also unaware. Or willfully ignorant maybe. But tonight, when she'd been standing there with Edward, I'd felt that her emotions were stronger for him than she seemed to realize. She had gotten that classic butterfly sensation. That flushed feeling. She liked him, I was pretty sure, but her mind hadn't caught up to her feelings yet. It hadn't noticed. I guessed that was maybe a good thing though. Nothin' was going to scare off Edward faster than knowing all of that. So I intended to keep it to myself until the truth came out.

I watched as Emmett approached and wrapped Vitalia in a giant hug that caught her completely by surprise. She laughed as he whirled her around before setting her on her feet again.

Typical Emmett, I thought with a click of my tongue. Regular bear of a man.

He pulled Rosalie in for a dance next as a house beat remix came on over the stereo. Their feelings were so influenced by the sensations of each other. I chuckled to myself. It seemed he was finally getting his night club moment.

Eric Yorkie, that geeky kid who I'd caught shyly watching us more than once, approached Vitalia and smiled. I heard him ask to dance with her and she eagerly nodded, feeling that he seemed like a sweet kid.

He was crushing a little bit but she didn't seem to notice. Alice caught my eye and skipped her way over to me, dancing around in circles until she held out her hand as she reached me and I gave her a big spin before dipping her and kissing her softly.

She still took my breath away. My feelings for her were every bit as strong as the day we'd met. And the way she felt for me was constantly overwhelming.

"You done causing trouble?" I murmured to her as I wrapped my arms around her and rested my chin on top of her head.

She shrugged. "We'll see!"

I laughed and we just enjoyed the company of each other a long while. She was always good about drowning out all the other feelings around us.

As the party continued, I watched as Vitalia flitted from one activity to the next, striking up conversations with new people, playing a game of limbo, and even, when Emmett dared her, jumping straight into the pool, drenching her pretty dress.

He was shocked she'd done it, but beyond excited too. The scandalized look on Rosalie's face only seemed to prolong his raucous laughing.

I noted another little wave of excitement from across the deck and I spotted Edward, his eyes set on where Vitalia had just surfaced from underneath the water. He was very drawn to her liveliness. It held his focus in a unique way. I'd noticed his eyes straying over to her countless times throughout the evening.

I could feel how torn he was. He was eager to get a chance to spend time with her, but he was also dreading that very thing. He had already decided where the conversation would lead.

Aside from his occasional, straying eyes, he and Bella did not leave each other's side and his attention was almost completely hers. They spent a lot of time together sitting on the grass. They were currently discussing their upcoming classes. They seemed especially enthusiastic about their Shakespeare assignment.

It was hard to be around him when he was with Bella though. I could feel how strongly her blood called to him and the very great amount of restraint required just to leave her alive. I figured that was the biggest issue with their relationship. How happy could my guilt-prone brother be when he was constantly being tempted to kill the girl he loved? Not a good combination. And he refused to turn her, which was a good solution and one Alice was counting on, but then Edward would probably feel guilty about stealing her soul and that would plague him instead. I just didn't see a win-win for him there.

I distanced myself from him and Bella. Her blood was tempting him and so it was also tempting me. She did have an absurdly strong, desirable scent, even to the rest of us. Like some sort of siren or something.

I walked over to the pool, where the scent of chlorine helped mask the fragrance of the humans there.

"Hey, Jazz!" Emmett called as he floated on the water. "Come on in. Rose ran off after I threatened to pull her in with me." He laughed. "She's probably going to avoid me the rest of the night."

"I'm good, Emmett, thanks. Just watchin'. I don't want to get all drenched right now."

Vitalia was splashing around with a group of teens in the corner. They were playing volleyball or something.

Alice followed me over here and she stepped on her toes to kiss my cheek. She was feeling all mischievous about something, but I didn't know what. What was she up to now? I felt my dead heart go all warm feeling though as she kissed me before she smiled brightly and gave me a hard shove in the center of my chest. I was sent toppling backwards into the water. I landed with a great splash and I felt all the shocked feelings around me a moment before they were replaced with humor.

"Good one!" Ememtt shouted to Alice through his laughter.

I heard Vitalia chuckling too as she left her game of volleyball to swim over to us.

"Alice…" I said under my breath, though I couldn't really bring myself to be mad at her.

She gave me another impish smile before jumping in herself and landing in front of me. She, of course, had taken the time to change into a swimsuit. I had wondered where she had scampered off to.

Alice wrapped her arms around my neck. "Did I forget to mention I wanted to go for a swim?"

"I think I got the hint," I answered sourly.

She was good at landing these surprise attacks on me.

The warm water did feel good though, us being naturally cold and all that. Real soothing.

"Who's up for a game of chicken?" Emmett asked suddenly.

I glanced over as he reached for Vitalia.

"Ah, Emmett, that's hardly fair. You're gonna have her go against Alice?"

Emmett shrugged. "It'll be fun."

"Yeah, I don't mind!" Vitalia answered, looking to Alice with a challenge in her eyes. "Let's do it."

Famous last words, I thought. "Don't say I didn't warn you." I said out loud to her. I exchanged a glance with Alice then lifted her onto my shoulders. "Well let's go, little monster."

I watched Emmett and Vitalia exchange a high five. "I'll be holding onto you real tight." He told her. That might help some, but there was no way she was getting Alice off my shoulders.

Emmett lifted her up as Vitalia grinned. Emmett and I slowly circled before the girls reached for each other.

"Man, you really are crazy strong." Vitalia grimaced as she tried with all her might to shove Alice over.

Alice chuckled. "I like your determination anyway."

And she did. Taking her personal feelings out of the equation, Alice certainly appreciated who Vitalia was as a person.

[Edward]

I sat with Bella as she talked with Angela and Ben. It was polite conversation and the thoughts of the Webber girl were always so kind. I was fond of her. I was happy she and Ben Cheney's relationship had worked out. I had played a bit of a hand in setting them up. A show of gratitude to her for paving the way for Bella and I to spend an evening alone together all those months ago in Port Angeles.

Argh! Alice. Come on! Jasper's annoyed thoughts reached me and drew my attention to the pool. Again.

I chuckled under my breath as I saw what Alice had done. Nice one, I thought. Jasper had walked right into that.

Aww, they're so cute together. Vitalia thought as she swam over to Emmett.

She looked like she was having a blast. All night, she'd looked that way. Having the time of her life. It was so much easier for her to overlook unpleasant things than it was for me. I couldn't seem to get my mind off of the goodbye I was preparing to say.

Or maybe she didn't care as much as I did. That was possible. I didn't know how strongly she felt about our friendship, but maybe her ease meant that it didn't mean as much to her as it did to me. It was a discouraging thought.

Yes! Chicken. Vitalia thought and my eyes widened. Were they really going to let her go against Alice? I watched my sister smirk.

Yes, it made total sense, let Vi go up against the vampire who had something against her. Great idea. But I stayed where I was. I knew I was overreacting. Alice wouldn't actually hurt her. She was smarter than that. She was more compassionate than that.

They're totally underestimating us. Vitalia thought as she climbed onto Emmett's shoulders.

She was, sadly, very mistaken. I saw the eagerness in her expression. The thriving she felt off of these challenges. I felt a stirring within myself too. For a moment, I felt a surge of longing. A wish to be part of the fun. The beloved members of my family and my exciting friend were over there having a positively wonderful time. I strangely craved to immerse myself in their energy.

I forced myself to look away though and at Bella, who was immediately able to pull me to her presence. I took a long inhale of her mouthwatering scent and it stole my focus completely. It settled like a thick cloud over my mind. Why should I desire to be anywhere but right beside her? It thrilled me to watch all of the little movements in her expression. To listen to all the inflections in her voice.

But just as had been the case the entire rest of the night, Vitalia's thoughts were able to cut through even this haze and I was curious enough to look over to see what was happening.

I was so wrong! We're totally going to lose. She. Just. Won't. Move!

She gave one final shove, but the momentum was enough to send her flying back. Emmett probably could've held onto her, but I guessed he was ready to throw in the towel. He let her fall back into the water.

When she surfaced, she smacked his arm. Ouch! He's got some seriously tough skin. I winced as she held her hand.

"You were supposed to hold onto me!" She exclaimed.

"Sorry," Emmett smirked. "Didn't expect you to throw yourself back like that."

"Whatever."

"Edward?" Bella's voice called to me and my eyes immediately snapped down to her.

"Yes?" I asked.

She glanced to where I'd been looking then back at me. "Are you wanting to join them?"

"You said you didn't want to swim." I reminded her.

She shrugged. "I can put my feet in the water. Sounds kind of nice. If I don't trip and fall in." She laughed at herself.

I sighed. "If you're sure, then alright."

I almost hated the part of me that rose up eagerly for the opportunity. I took Bella by the hand and we moved over to the pool.

"Hey! There you are." Emmett grinned. "Brave of you to bring Bella. There's a lot of sabotage happening right now."

"Don't you dare." Bella raised a finger at him, causing me to chuckle as I eased down next to her on the edge of pool.

"I'd be more worried about Alice if I were you," I cautioned.

Alice sent a large splash of water at me and I closed my eyes as it slapped me in the face.

Jasper laughed one of his rare, uninhibited laughs and Emmett joined him.

Vitalia swam up to us with a humored smile as I spat chlorine infested water out of my mouth. "Hey, glad you decided to join the party."

Haven't been seeing much of Eddie tonight. Guess I get it though.

So she had noticed my absence. At least that was something.

Bella gave her a polite smile as I stared silently into her wide, wild eyes. She was a complete mess. The bow in her hair looked like it'd come loose at any moment.

"Enjoying yourself?" I smiled lopsidedly at her as I moved my drenched hair out of my eyes.

"Obviously," her eyes glistened. The iridescent green of the pool light was giving the pale blue shade of her gaze an intriguing aqua affect. They looked like they were glowing. "What about you?"

I shrugged. "Just been trying to relax." I exchanged a glance with Bella. It was true enough. I wasn't able to fully relax, of course, but Bella helped. Knowing I was doing right by her helped.

Wish I could get Edward in here somehow, Emmett was thinking. I gave him a narrow glance, letting him know I'd heard him. It wasn't easy to catch me off guard.

"Why don't you jump in?" Vitalia asked, looking between me and Bella. "It feels so nice!"

Ah, such an open, direct approach. I saw Bella shake her head.

"Not really dressed for that," she said. "I don't want to ruin Esme's clothes."

I smiled at her before glancing at Vitalia. "Maybe some other time."

I knew that was a complete lie though. This was literally the last time I'd be spending around her.

Don't say things you don't mean, she echoed my thoughts. She only smiled regretfully on the outside though before turning to swim back over to Emmett.

"You can get in, if you want." Bella was saying.

Turning my head to look down at her, I gently took her hand in mine. "No, I'd rather stay with you."

This caused her to blush my favorite blush. It was as torturous as it was lovely.

After several moments, Rosalie returned to the pool and I noticed in amusement that she was hanging back. She was keeping a close eye on Emmett.

Can't risk being thrown in, she thought to herself.

Vitalia got out of the pool and grabbed another piece of pineapple before prancing over to Rosalie. Rosalie chuckled at her and remarked how entirely unfit she looked.

"Come on, let's get you something dry to wear." Rose steered her toward the house.

Guess it is pretty cold," Vitalia thought as she shivered and observed the goosebumps on her arms.

I watched them go then swept my eyes around the backyard. It seemed the party was staring to die down. People were clearing out and the food was getting sparse. I breathed in, knowing the time was close.

Alice hopped onto the edge of the pool, sitting beside Bella and giving her a wide grin.

I observed the two of them a long moment then decided this was as good an opportunity as any.

"Alice, will you sit with Bella?" I met Bella's questioning gaze and motioned my head toward the house. "I'm going to try talking with Vitalia now."

Bella nodded then gave me a small smile.

Alice shooed me away. No worries, I've got Bella.

I nodded and stood, cautioning my sister with my eyes. "Don't even think about throwing her into the pool."

Alice laughed. "I promise, I'm not."

Bella gave her a suspicious glance then looked at me. "Hurry back, okay?"

"I will," I chuckled before turning to head inside.

Once my back was turned, my smile fell and my brows creased.

I could definitely do this, but the sharp tug of dread in my chest was unexpectedly strong. I closed my eyes, breathed out, then opened the glass door and stepped inside.

Summer was now over, and along with it, the invigorating friendship I had shared with Vitalia. Reality had overtaken the magic.