Chapters 15.
Life in the Cullen homestead had become depending on your perspective stressful or exciting. Stressful cause Vera's makeover started the hunt for prom dresses which lead to a fateful meeting between Edward and Bella, culminating in Edward to telling Bella everything about us.
Then the moment Bella got out of Edward's Volvo and walked side by side with him as a couple it caused a stir at school.
A bigger concern than my brother's love life drawing attention to us, was the vampire or vampires that have been hunting round the Washington Coast struck here in Forks with the death of Waylon Forge, we just hoped whom or whoever they are will pass without any incident.
Exciting as the school dance was getting close and Alice was in her element planning all our attire for the event, then there's Bella coming to our house this Saturday an exciting novelty for the Cullens to host a human without all the usual pretenses they'd put up, which brings me to the present.
"They'll be here soon." Esme excitedly announced as we were finished cooking.
"Is she even Italian?" I asked eager to eat some of that mouth watering food.
"Well her name's Bella." Emmett said with a shrug.
Speak of the devil the couple walked in the kitchen. "Here comes the human." I whispered.
Buon gionro." Bella meekly said.
"Molto bene!" Esme greeted.
"This is Esme who for all intents and purposes is our mother, and you've already met Carlisle–"
"You've given Esme an excuse to use the kitchen for someone other than Rosalie." Carlisle said warmly.
"– here's my brother Emmett–" Edward said.
"S'up." Emmett grinned widely with a large knife in hand saluted her.
Walking on a branch with superhuman balance Alice leaped off in a fluidly graceful twisting back flip to effortlessly land on her feet, a feat a gymnast would've traded their soul for, Alice flashed a self-satisfied smile at a stunned Bella, she surprised us all by walking up to Bella greeted her with a hug,"–Hi, I'm Alice!" breaking from the hug she added: "My you do smell good!"
"Alice…" Edward began protesting.
"It's okay we're going to be great friends!" Alice cheerfully assured.
Trailing behind her Jasper didn't opt for his mate's dramatic entrance.
"C'mon and say hi! It's alright, you won't hurt her." Alice to said Jasper as he kept his distance.
Jasper said a brief tense "Hi" to Bella as his face was a mangled mess of trying to look politely welcoming and masking his nervousness.
"We made Italiano." Esme said.
"Thanks..." Bella nervously said.
"She already ate." Edward said nonchalantly.
When he said that my temper flared up that I didn't notice the glass bowl slip from my hands till crashed down into tiny shards. "WHAT!" I said enraged.
"We-we-well, since you guys don't eat–" looking at my frowning face she amended "–err most of you don't eat, I didn't think you'd be going through the trouble of cooking for me."
Deflatedly he introduced me –"That's Rosalie my sister just ignore I know I do." Edward said.
Carefully stepping away from the broken glass. "Fine ignore me all you want, pretend this isn't dangerous for all of us. She has to know if anything goes wrong we'll all be implicated." I stated.
"Yeah well now that you're public it complicates things." Emmett backed me up.
"Oh by end badly you mean I'd end being the meal." She said nonchalantly.
We nervously laughed at her naivety and her odd calmness when she said that including me with a morid sense of humour at how little she knew what worst entailed.
With a roll of his eyes at me Edward left us to continue their tour of our home.
"Woah! Hey! What the…" I said surprised as suddenly Emmett scooped me up in his arms carrying me to the dinning table.
"We wouldn't want you cutting yourself cause of that broken glass bowl when you're hangry, now don't we? Carlisle will clean that up." Emmett said as he carried me to the dinner table, where he pulled out a chair and curtseyed as I plopped down to sit.
I said: "Don't you mean hungry?"
"Nah! I mean HAN-GRR-RY, as in angry cause you're hungry, like the words hungry and angry combined." Emmett explained as brought me a plate of food.
"That's ridiculous!" I said replied with a deadpan expression but getting a whiff of the plate it was distracting as I added: "Imagine wasting your Saturday slaving away on a hot stove while being told to wait for the guest but said guest wasn't taking a bite. Edward could've at least told her to save appetite."
"Well we were hoping you'd like having company with someone who's in on the secret." Esme interjected.
Emmett watched intently as I took a bite. "See? Was I right or what?" Triumphantly smiled at me.
Struggling to stifle a grin unwillingly forming I said: "Okay maybe you've got a point –" As my mood improved a bit, as I continued eating. "– but did I have to stuck here just cause of Edward's girlfriend is visiting?"
Later
"C'mon we had something special planned. There's a thunderstorm brewing and you know what that means." Alice excitedly said to me as I caught baseball gear she tossed at me.
The couple finally arrived though it would've been sooner if Bella had hitched a ride of a vampire's back like how I did with Emmett.
On this rare occasion Edward and I shared a mutual infectious excitement about the game we'd play.
Ever since I've been allowed to participate in their matches there were special handicap rules they'd play by.
No vampire speed and strength while I'm on the field only what's humanly possible though Emmett's always pushing the envelope on that one, the other is whatever I score is worth 3 points to 1. Apart from including me that handicap was why Emmett fought tooth and nail to have be part of his team whatever team he's in.
After much pleading and persuasion Bella reluctantly agreed to play with us.
This was going to be the first time we'd playing a more fair game with me and Bella playing on opposing teams.
The team I was on was me, Emmett and Jasper versus Edward, Bella and Alice.
"Aren't the 2 of joining?" Bella asked Esme and Carlisle.
"It's alright I'll be the umpire." Emse answered.
Mischievously smirking Emmett said "Because she thinks we cheat."
"Oh, I know you cheat." Esme retorted as her middle and index fingers pointed to her eyes then to Emmett.
In response he theatrically looked like hurt a puppy with his right hand made a cross over his heart raised it like a boy Scout while he crossed the fingers of his left hand behind his back.
With a giggle she rolled her eyes at him and said: "Just play nice with others – okay?"
"I'd do that if Bella was on our team." Emmett said shrugging his shoulders with a wicked smile.
Much of Emmett's desire to have Bella on the team was to double the human handicap advantage and the other was having the stepdaughter of a pro minor league baseball player.
The game began as Alice made a leg raised pitch Jasper hit that far with a thunderous swing much to Bella astonishment said: "Now I see why you play in the thunder."
For someone who lived with a pro player you'd have expected some of that talent to rub off on her, let's just say her participation was more hazardous to Bella than the vampires present.
When Bella played we a had hard time stifling our giggles unlike Emmett who laughed out loudly. From tripping over her feet regularly, to fumbling easy catches.
Like the time Bella did Alice's leg high pitch or rather tried only when she leaned forward to throw the ball she flat on her face.
The only I wasn't laughing was when Bella swung to hit the ball she missed as the bat slipped from her grasp and the bat somehow flew all the way in my direction!
"HEY! WATCH IT!!!!" I shouted at her after I narrowly dodged.
As my team was ahead and it only got worse for Bella's team when she played.
Our team won that 1st game and were beginning the 2nd game though this time Bella was co umpire with Esme and Carlisle played for the opposing team.
Running fast as I could to reach the base, I slid down a fraction of a second just in time before the ball reached Carlisle's hand.
"Call 'em how you 'em Bella." Esme said.
Bella said: You're out.
What the hell! I wasn't I glared at her .
"Nice kitty." Carlisle said
On the way off the field past Bella and Esme I bumped my shoulder against Bella's.
"C'mon it's just a game." Emmett said to me.
With me out of the game, my family stopped holding and I settled for cheering on my team.
Jasper whacked the ball really far. Amidst all the tomfoolery and light-hearted fun and games Alice's face suddenly went from blank vacancy to serious nervousness as she drew in air to shout…