Yesterday's party was the single greatest night of my existence.
We all hunted on Friday night to prepare for having a human in our home for the first time in quite a while.
By daybreak on Saturday I must admit I was quite anxious, oscillating between asking Alice if she had any visions of things going awry and screaming at my family, but Rosalie especially, about not commenting on Bella's choice of costume. There was much panting and hissing on my part. Esme eventually told me to take a moment to 'chill the fuck out' in my closet, which proved to be an excellent suggestion.
In my sanctum I meditated, as Bella had advised and also spent many hours in both bed and closet engaged in what Emmett called 'pre gaming' until my climaxes resulted only in a sad, wheezing whistle of air and no further expulsion of venom.
I picked Bella up as directed and we went to the supermarket where I bought a large quantity of plastic looking brightly coloured snacks and sodas. Bella filled the cart, dismissing my suggestions of fruit and seltzer water.
We got ready at my house with Alice and Jasper. The family were under strict instructions from Carlisle to say nothing about Bella's costume choice and do nothing to humiliate me.
After a quick tour of the house, Bella oohing and ahhing at our home in the most darling way, we ended up in my room. She stepped inside and took a slow look around. I had packed away my watercolour painting station of course, and made things look as human as I could.
Bella seemed fascinated by the objects in my room, asking who the photograph of my parents were. Not wanting to lie, I told her they were relatives of mine. She moved on to a careful stocktake of my books and music collection and seemed intently focused
Jasper and I got dressed in my room, while Bella and Alice got changed in theirs. This year they had opted to go for Peter Pan and Tinkerbell as their costumes, Alice having made them from scratch of course. They looked quite marvelous.
Emmett and Rosalie dressed as a gothic couple I did not recognise. They said they were Morticia and Gomez Adams. I wonder if they are supposed to be some relatives of John Adams? They did not resemble him much.
Despite Alice's protests Bella insisted she wanted to do our makeup so we used my bathroom. She shook baby powder in my hair and then ran her fingers through it styling it for a few minutes until she was satisfied. I think I may have been purring as Bella chuckled and asked if it felt nice, she said I was making a rumbling sound. I cannot recall ever having felt happier.
I was nervous about Bella touching my face as it would be too cold, but had tried to heat myself by sticking my head in a sink full of very hot water beforehand, while Alice kept her occupied. Having her fingers brush my face with her standing so close to me was absolutely magical. Every delicate touch was electric and I couldn't help but gaze at her the entire time. I have never been more smitten.
She put various grease paints and powders on me, emphasising the shadows under my eyes and hollows of my cheeks, smudging them in with intense concentration. She cast a final gaze over my face, gave my hair another quick ruffle and nodded, saying 'take a look'. I am not sure of the intended effect, but I did indeed look quite unwell by the time she had finished with me. Unwell and totally love struck. My eyes were black and dilated with the mixture of awe and lust I felt. I was most glad of having had the foresight to follow Emmett and Jasper's guidance, engaging in hours of furious self-abuse earlier in the day, as it managed to contain my arousal for that moment at least.
I sat on the edge of the tub while Bella did her own makeup in the mirror, smearing white greasepaint over her face and painting her lips the shade of wine. She followed a video telling her how to shade her face to look like a version of Bella Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula . She had even made fangs from false fingernails and stuck them in with denture adhesive. Finally she shook down her hair and the transformation was complete. She looked amazing and had a big smile on her face, showing off her fangs.
I grabbed my plate of flies and Bella's medallion, she squeaked with excitement when she saw it then wrinkled her nose in mock anger after reading the inscription. I gave her a sheepish grin then carefully fastened it around her neck, taking as long as I could without being suspicious. I just wanted to stand so close to her again. She smells incredible.
Alice was hopping about excitedly when she saw Bella and Jasper said 'Well Renfield, you look the part!' After Alice had spent a few minutes fussing and adding details to Bella's makeup Rosalie told her to 'hurry the fuck up' and we made our way to our cars.
I checked Bella's temperature one last time before we set out and it was a healthy 98.6, she rolled her eyes and told me that was the last time. Using a very stern tone I was powerless to refuse insisting I give her the batteries from it and leave it 'in the damn car'. It was most invigorating.
Once we entered the party Bella got into character, hissing and holding up her cape, clearly having the most wonderful time. A few people still didn't seem to recognize my character, despite the fact that we had all studied Dracula in English literature in sophomore year. I fear for the future of our great nation.
Bella took a seat in an armchair as if it were a throne and shouted 'Renfield, sit!' I immediately complied, kneeling on the floor beside her, ignoring the few giggles and stares of our fellow party goers. She chatted with me about the costumes everyone was wearing and we both agreed ours were the best ones there. She thanked me again for helping her and for making the medallion, which she admired a few times through the evening, telling anyone who complimented her costume that I had made it. I felt so appreciated and was fairly giddy with adoration.
It was easier than expected to handle the thrum of others' thoughts, as Bella maintained conversation and held my undivided attention throughout the evening. We spoke of books and films, music and art. She likes Klimt and Kahlo, I promised to show her some of my art books in future so that she can learn more. Perhaps one day she might be able to accompany me to an exhibition in Seattle, that would be such a dream come true!
We had a slight falling out when I attempted to take her pulse and she told me to stop being a party pooper. I'm not sure what that is, but it doesn't sound very nice. I could hear her heart of course, but couldn't resist trying to touch her wrist.
I told her a joke to apologise ("I was stealing things in the supermarket today while balanced on the shoulders of vampires. I was charged with shoplifting on three counts."*) Bella groaned and said she would bite me if I didn't stop, so I immediately continued. The thought of Bella biting me had never occurred to me before, but it is most erotic!
I told Bella three more jokes I had found on the internet:
1. Did you hear about the scarecrow who won the award? He was outstanding in his field.
2. What's grey but turns red? An embarrassed elephant!
3. What is a chickens favorite movie? A: Cluckwork Orange.
Bella gave me a very saucy look and said in a low tone "Edward Anthony Cullen, if I didn't know better I would think you wanted me to bite you!" At this point I let out a shrill giggle and, horror of horrors, attracted the attention of greasy Newton. I hissed as he headed towards us, but I could see his thoughts were filled with trying to resurrect his failed plan to grope Bella.
After a short and sleazy conversation he invited Bella to dance, but she refused saying she had to take some medicine and wasn't feeling up to it. I looked at her with utmost concern, but as soon as Mike slithered away, she said "I was lying Edward. Why do you hate him so much anyway? What have you seen, hmm?"
I explained that Mike had unseemly thoughts about many girls but her in particular and that sometimes he looked at her in a most ungentlemanly manner when she wasn't aware. She scowled briefly and said "I fucking knew it. Well, thanks for confirming my suspicions, I felt a bit mean for being creeped out by him, but I should learn to trust my intuition."
This led into a most intriguing conversation about how Dracula can read minds and Bella quietly asking me about what the other party guests were thinking. Rosalie gave a fierce glare in our direction at this, but I ignored her and told Bella how Taylor was thinking about Lauren, Lauren was thinking about Taylor, Mike was thinking about pornography, and Eric was thinking about whether or not hard drives become heavier when they hold more data.
Angela whisked Bella off for some kind of female-only chat in the bathroom, much to my dismay, but I like Angela, so I didn't raise a protest. When they came back Angela tried to get Bella to dance and I was hoping that we might be able to try the quickstep. Bella firmly refused Angela saying she was so bad at dancing that it would be a hazard to everyone present.
As Emmett belched the national anthem, Bella asked me why Rosalie dislikes her so, she looked quite fragile in that moment and I wished so to grasp her hand and reassure her. Instead I had to settle for explaining that Rosalie is just worried about my secret getting out and it drawing all sorts of unwanted attention and trouble to our entire family.
I went to fetch Bella a drink and while I was gone I heard Jessica and Lauren close in, giving her the third degree about how on earth she'd managed to get me to talk to her and join her at the party. Lauren asked what base we'd gotten to in a conspiratorial manner, I did not know she was a baseball fan and her question seemed quite apropos of nothing. Jessica wanted to know if Bella had seen my elbows up close and to give her a detailed description of them. I hurried back, glad my costume was modest about the elbows and asked how their English biography projects were going. They rolled their eyes and chided me for bringing up school work at a party. I did not know this was such a faux pas. They would both do well to focus a little more on their studies if you ask me!
By half past eleven things had descended into some kind of adolescent bacchanal, there was much gyrating to explicit music and, I suspect, some underage drinking! Bella was getting sleepy and though this should have immediately prompted me to drive her home, she had lain her head on the arm of the armchair closest to me, with her arm stretched out beneath it. She lay on her left shoulder and her outstretched hand was hovering just above my head, with her face mere inches from my own. When she playfully patted the mess of my hair, I was totally incapacitated and all I could do was gaze at her and gulp. There was nobody else in the world in those moments all I could hear was her breathing and heartbeat.
We stayed that way for a minute of two and her eyelids started to droop, she mumbled something like "sometimes you're so rumbly" and I realised I must have been purring. Her hand relaxed, resting atop my head and I stayed frozen, not wishing to break the spell. Bella's heart rate suddenly increased and she jolted awake with a little gasp, her eyes meeting mine and widening.
She quickly withdrew her gaze, moving herself upright in the chair and said "I think you'd better take me home Renfield." We made our goodbyes and set off towards her house. On the way home she was quiet for a while and then said "I had that dream again."
I asked about it and she told me she dreams she is in the woods alone at night, the sky is clear and it is close to dawn, she can see more stars in the sky than she has ever seen before. In the dream she is climbing up to see the sunrise from an outcrop, but once she reaches it and the day breaks she stumbles over the edge of the rocks and falls backwards as everything gets brighter and brighter around her, until all she can see is the sky. She just keeps falling and falling until she wakes up.
I do not remember dreaming, nor what it is to fear falling, but it sounded terrifying and beautiful.
When we reached her home she looked a little sad as she said "Thank you for this evening, it was so much fun. Did you have a nice time? Was it ok?" I smiled warmly at her and told her it was amazing. She said "I wish you smiled like that all the time." I would if I could always be as close to her as I was tonight. I should forget I ever knew how to frown.
A/N: Please leave a review! Thanks so much to my wonderful beta wh1teow1, please show some love and read Moirai, a reimagining of Twilight for the new decade! What do you think Bella and Angela chatted about in the bathroom?