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Chapter Fourteen
Saturday morning, Danielle decided that it had been far too long since she and Bella had been able to spend some good, quality time together. As much as she loved being with Jasper, and as much as she was sure that Bella was loving being with Edward, the fact that they lived across the street from each other and barely got any one on one time these days was absolutely absurd. So as soon as Lynne and Charlies had both departed for work, she marched right across the street to the Swan house and knocked on the door, determined to get her friend to hang out with her for the morning – no vampires allowed.
It only took a few moments for the door to open, revealing the smiling face of Bella. Danielle wasn't very surprised at all to see Edward standing behind her. He was, after all, still spending every single night in Bella's bedroom. Unbeknownst to Charlie, of course.
"Hey, Dani!" Bella greeted cheerily.
"Hey, Bella. Hey, Edward," Danielle said with a smile and a nod to each.
"Hello, Dani," Edward said back. Danielle blinked in surprise for a second, then smiled even wider at Edward's use of her nickname – it was the first time he had called her 'Dani' instead of 'Danielle', and she couldn't help but feel as if that meant they had finally, officially crossed over into friendship territory. "Sorry I couldn't be there for the get together yesterday evening," he said. "I heard you made quite the impression on Carlisle and Esme, though."
"A good impression, I hope," she said cautiously.
Edward smiled and nodded. "A very good one," he assured her.
Danielle breathed easier and smiled widely. After how worried and panicked she had been to meet them, it was nice to have it confirmed that they did indeed like her and that she hadn't just dreamt the part where Carlisle gave her his approval. "Whew," she said, joking wiping away non-existent sweat from her forehead. "That's a relief!"
Bella and Edward both laughed, though Danielle couldn't help but notice that Bella's sounded a bit more nervous. "It's my turn next," she revealed, which had Danielle lifting her brows. "Since things went so well when Jasper took you over, Edward decided it would be safe to take me over there. We're going this afternoon for lunch."
"Oh, I see," Danielle said, turning a smirk on Edward. "You let me be the guinea pig, huh?"
Edward smirked at her, his eyes alight with amusement. "I didn't plan it that way. It's just how it worked out," he said with aloof shrug.
"Uh huh," Danielle said, unconvinced. "Anyway," she continued, looking back to Bella. "I actually did have a reason for coming over her," she told her.
"What's up?" Bella asked, her brows furrowed curiously. "Did you need something?"
Danielle nodded. "Yes, actually. I need you to put on your shoes, grab your keys, and come with me to the diner," she stated bluntly.
Bella blinked in confusion and shot a look at Edward. "The diner? What for?" Bella asked, looking back to Danielle.
Danielle resisted the urge to roll her eyes at her friend's obliviousness. "Breakfast, of course," she answered with raised brows. "It feels like it's been a lifetime since you and I just had some good ol' fashioned bonding time, so since it's Saturday and we have all this spare time, I figured we'd kick our vampires to the curb for the morning and hang out," she explained. Danielle then shrugged at Edward. "No offence."
Edward held up a hand. "None taken."
Danielle looked back to Bella, who was gnawing on her bottom lip with indecision and glancing between her and Edward with uncertain eyes. Clearly the thought of leaving Edward's side was one that she wasn't crazy about, but she didn't seem to want to decline Danielle's invitation either. "You won't mind if Dani and I hang out for a bit, will you?" she asked.
Edward immediately shook his head. "No, of course not. In fact, I agree with Dani. You two should spend some time together," he encouraged. "We'll be together this afternoon anyway," he reminded her. "I think I can survive if we're apart for a few hours."
Bella smiled. "Okay," she said, before nodding to Danielle. "Let me just get my shoes on then we can go."
Danielle and Edward both watched Bella disappear upstairs, then turned back to each other once they were alone. "So," Danielle said, crossing her arms over her chest and raising her brows. "Taking her to meet the parents. That's a big step," she pointed out.
"It was a big step for you and Jasper, too," Edward reminded her. "I just hope now that our visit will go as well as yours did," he added, the small smile on his lips tinged with nervousness.
"I'm sure it will," Danielle replied optimistically. "Assuming, of course, Rosalie isn't there," she added with a quirked brow. "She certainly didn't roll out the welcome wagon when I came over last night."
Edward frowned at her. "Yes, Jasper told me all about it when I dropped by earlier this morning," he confirmed. "Nobody was pleased with the way she acted, Jasper especially. That's why Rosalie received a pretty stern talking to by the family when she came back last night," he revealed, which made her eyes widen. "I don't expect she'll be jumping at the opportunity to become yours or Bella's new best friend, but hopefully she'll try to be a little more…tolerant…from here on out."
Danielle sighed and shook her head, only able to imagine how furious Rosalie must have been when the family had, she could only assume, bombarded her the moment she walked in the door. "I told Jasper not to say anything to her about it," she muttered.
"Rosalie was unkind to you. Did you really think Jasper would just sit back and do nothing while the woman he loves was being disrespected?" Edward countered pointedly.
Edward had a good point there. "Of course he wouldn't," she said with another sigh, unable to help the part of that felt a little pleased that Jasper had stood up to Rosalie for her. "I just hope Rosalie wasn't too pissed."
"Rosalie is always angry about something," Edward said dryly. "Might as well get used to it, since I'm fairly certain Jasper intends to keep you around for quite some time." Danielle smiled at that, but before she could say anything in response, Edward's attention was caught by something that had him glancing toward the left. "Speaking of Jasper," he said, before nodding toward the road.
Danielle turned, and for a few seconds, she had no idea what Edward was trying to point out to her – she didn't see Jasper anywhere. But finally she heard the hum of a car engine in the distance, before Jasper's black car came rolling into view. He parked by the curb in front of Danielle's house and got out of the car, his brows furrowed curiously when he saw her standing there with Edward. He came over to join them, and as he came to a halt by her side, Danielle couldn't resist giving him a dumb, love-struck smile that had Edward snorting quietly to himself.
"Hi," she said happily, moving closer so that she could wrap her arms around his solid, cold torso.
Jasper nodded briefly to Edward, then looked down at her. "Good morning, darlin'," he said in return, giving her a lopsided smile and dipping his head to brush his lips over hers.
"I didn't know you were coming over," she said, trying to ignore the warmth that had shot through her at his brief, sweet kiss.
"I thought I'd surprise you," he answered with a shrug. "You seem like you've already got something planned, though," he added, glancing briefly at Edward.
"Bella and I are going to breakfast," Danielle confirmed with a nod. "Unfortunately, this a 'no boyfriends allowed' kind of deal," she added with an apologetic cringe. "I'll be free once we're done, though," she made sure to point out, so he would know that she still wanted to spend time with him today.
Jasper frowned a bit, looking a little disappointed that he'd have to wait to hang out with her, but nodded anyway. "Alright. We can do something after you and Bella are finished with breakfast."
Danielle grinned. "Sounds great."
Bella reappeared after that, not looking overly surprised when she came back and discovered that Jasper had appeared. "Hey, Jasper," she greeted with a casual nod.
"Morning, Bella," he said in response.
"Ready to go?" Danielle asked, not bothering to unwind her arms from around Jasper or take a step back away from him. She wanted to be as close to him as possible, for as long as possible.
"Yep," Bella said, before glancing at Edward.
Sensing that they wanted some privacy to say a proper goodbye, Danielle disentangled herself from Jasper's embrace and grabbed his hand. "I'll meet you at the truck," she said. "See ya later, Edward."
"Goodbye, Dani," he said in return.
Danielle and Jasper left the two at the front door and walked down Bella's driveway hand in hand. Once they were at Bella's truck, Danielle turned to face Jasper, smiling up at him as she grabbed both of his hands. "You're looking particularly handsome today," she commented, though that wasn't really news considering he looked particularly handsome every day.
"Compliments right off the bat," Jasper commented with a smirk. "That's a nice way to start the day."
Danielle laughed a bit, then sighed and gave him a look of apology. "Sorry you came all this way and I'm bailing on you."
Jasper just shrugged, not looking too put out. "It's fine. You and Bella should spend time together. I don't mind waiting to be with you for a few more hours if it means you get to be with your friend for a bit."
Danielle smiled and squeezed his hands. "Thanks for understanding," she said.
"Of course," Jasper replied with a nod.
A stray leaf floated down from the tree in the yard and landed in Jasper's hair, prompting Danielle to lift her hand and pluck it out. After she tossed it away, she turned her gaze up to Jasper's and gave him a knowing look. "Edward told me the family had words with Rosalie last night," she said.
"Indeed we did," Jasper confirmed.
"I thought I asked you not to," Danielle said.
"And it was my intention to do as you had asked," Jasper rebutted patiently. "But the family had other plans, and once they got started, I couldn't hold my tongue." When Danielle sighed, he stepped closer and placed a hand on her cheek. "Don't worry, darlin'. She needed to be talked to," he said with a firm nod. "Everything's fine now. I promise."
Danielle peered into his amber colored eyes for a moment, before sighing and nodding. "Alright," she said, though inwardly there was a part of her that still worried that the Cullen Family Intervention with Rosalie would only result in the beautiful vampire hating her even more than she already appeared to.
Jasper winked at her, then leaned forward to give her a lingering kiss. The thrill that raced through her veins as his lips touched hers was enough to make any worries about Rosalie disappear instantly. Before they had a chance to even think about carried away, though, the sound of approaching footsteps had them pulling away from each other. Bella and Edward had finally finished saying their goodbyes and had come to join them at the truck.
"Ready when you are," Bella said with a nod.
"Alright," Danielle said, before looking up at Jasper again. "I'll see you in a few hours," she promised.
"Alright," Jasper said, nodding. "I love you," he told her, smiling as he peered into her eyes.
Danielle grinned. "I love you, too."
They shared one last short kiss, before he finally released her and opened the passenger side door for her. Danielle smiled and slipped inside, glancing toward Edward and Bella and feeling her smile widen when she saw Edward kiss Bella on the forehead and hug her tightly for a second or two. When he finally pulled away from Bella, he followed Jasper's lead and opened the driver's side door so that Bella could join her in the truck.
"You ladies have fun," Edward said, shutting the door behind Bella after she climbed into the cab of the truck. "Call if you need anything."
"We will," Bella assured him.
He nodded, flashed a smile at Bella that made her cheeks turn pink, then patted the truck and stepped away. Bella cleared her throat, before shoving the keys into the ignition and starting up the loud, roaring engine. After sharing a nod and a smile with Danielle, she put the truck in drive and pulled forward. Danielle blew one last kiss to Jasper, who grinned lopsidedly in response, then they were on their way to the diner, leaving the two Cullen's behind.
The diner was pretty busy, which wasn't much of a surprise seeing as it was a Saturday morning. They were able to snag a small table by the window, though, and quickly ordered orange juice and full plates of breakfast when their server came around to take their orders.
"Are you nervous?" Danielle asked as they sipped on their juice and waited for their food to arrive. "You know, about meeting the rest of the family?"
Bella didn't even bother lying about it – she nodded her head jerkily, her fingers fiddling with the paper wrapper that her straw had come in. "Yeah, I'm pretty nervous," she said. "I mean, I know they're nice. Or at least that's what Edward has told me. But meeting the family is a big deal. I want to make a good impression," she said.
"Trust me, I know exactly what you're going through right now," Danielle said with a comforting smile. "When Jasper asked me to go and meet Carlisle and Esme, I about had a heart attack right on the spot," she revealed, which made Bella laugh softly. "But Edward's right – they are super nice and they seem to be very supportive of everything. Just be yourself. They'll see how great you are and have no choice but to like you."
"Thanks, Dani," Bella said, her smile grateful but also a touch shy. "You always know what to say to make me feel better."
"That's what friends are for," Danielle said with a smile and a nod. She paused to take a sip of her orange juice, then gave her friend a questioning look. "Have you told Charlie about Edward yet?" she asked.
Bella nodded. "I introduced them last night while you and Jasper were at the Cullen's," she said. "I figured since Edward and I have been spending a lot of time together, someone was bound to notice that something was going on. It seemed like a good idea to let Charlie know we're a thing before he heard it from someone else."
Danielle made a sound of understanding. "That's the biggest drawback to small places like this. Gossip travels fast," she said with a snort.
"You're telling me," Bella responded dryly.
Danielle took another drink and raised her brows. "How did it go then? With Edward and Charlie?"
Bella nodded. "About as well as I expected. Charlie gave him the dad look, threatened him a little, and made sure Edward saw that he owned a shotgun," she said, rolling her eyes a bit. "But other than that, I guess it was alright."
"Our parents think a lot alike then, because my mom did almost the exact same thing to Jasper…minus the shotgun," she said with a laugh.
"At least your mom likes Jasper," Bella sighed. "Can't say the same for Charlie and Edward."
"Dad's are different," Danielle said with a shrug. "Edward is the first guy he's seen you with. It'll be weird for him at first, but I'm sure he'll come around," she told her encouragingly.
"I hope so," Bella sighed.
They stopped talking for a moment as their food arrived, both of them smiling politely at the waitress as she placed their plates in front of them. After she asked if there was anything else she could get for them, to which they both said no, the waitress headed off to help one of her other tables.
"Anyway," Bella said as she took her first bite of food, "tell me about last night. I wanna know what to expect when I go over there," she urged with a nod.
Danielle told her all about her trip to the Cullen house as they started eating, from hanging out with the family and getting to know them better, to Rosalie's less than friendly behavior toward her, to the Cullen's actually going out of their way to cook her dinner. "So maybe go over there with an appetite," Danielle advised as she concluded her retelling. "They'll probably try to feed you, too."
"Noted," Bella said, taking a moment to wipe her face with her napkin before drinking some juice. "Anything else?"
Danielle was quickly reminded of her private conversation with Carlisle, where he had first apologized for how Rosalie had treated her and then given his approval of her and Jasper's relationship. "I actually had a one on one chat with Carlisle in his study," she said, which made Bella's eyes go wide. "It wasn't anything bad, but I was nervous as hell," she admitted. "He apologized for Rosalie being such a jerk to me, then we talked about Jasper. I think he just wanted to make sure that I knew he and Esme support us and that they're happy we're together."
"Wow. That's awesome that he told you that," Bella said, sounding a little amazed to hear that Carlisle had been so open and honest with Danielle.
"It was. And that's why I don't think you have anything to worry about," Danielle said with a smile. "If they approve of us, then they're definitely gonna approve of you and Edward."
"I hope so," Bella said.
A brief silence passed between them as they ate their food. Bella seemed lost in thought, likely mulling over everything Danielle had told her and wondering if her visit was going to go in a similar fashion. As for Danielle, she suddenly began to think about the last thing that she and Carlisle had talked about – Alice's visions. The visions that Danielle still knew nothing about, because nobody in the Cullen family seemed to be in a rush to tell her about them.
She would be lying if she said she hadn't thought about it quite a bit after she and Jasper had parted ways the night before. There was a burning curiosity to know what Alice had seen, a strong need to find out if these visions were as important as Danielle was starting to suspect they were. She had wracked her brain and tried to come up with ideas as to what they might have been about, but thus far, she had only been able to come up with one possibility – that maybe Alice had seen her and Jasper getting married.
It was crazy to think about it, but it was the only thing that really made sense to her. She and Jasper loved each other, and though they hadn't been together for long, she could safely say that she couldn't really envision herself with anyone else. Jasper was sweet and kind and amazing, and Danielle couldn't imagine that anyone else would ever be as great as he was. In her eyes, a marriage in the future was definitely a possibility, so it made sense that maybe Alice had seen it, too. That was why Carlisle had seemed so certain she would be in Jasper's future, that was why Jasper had been hesitant to talk about it, and that was why he still couldn't decide if it was something he wanted – maybe he wasn't sure whether a marriage between a vampire and a human could work, or maybe it could work and it was simply too soon to be talking about it, too soon to be going down such a serious road.
"Dani?"
Danielle blinked and saw that Bella was staring at her with a questioning gaze. "Yeah?"
"I lost you there for a second," she said, smiling a bit. "Something on your mind?"
Danielle pressed her lips together, unsure whether or not she should tell Bella what she had been thinking about. But then she remembered that this was Bella, literally the only other person on this planet who understood what she was going through. If there was anyone she could talk to about this, it was her.
She hesitated, trying to determine how best to approach the subject, before she finally just went for it. "You know Alice has visions right?" she asked. Bella nodded. "Well, right when we got to together Jasper mentioned that Alice had had visions about me, only he didn't tell me what they were," she revealed. "Well, Carlisle said something about it again last night while we were talking. I tried to ask Jasper about it on the ride home, but he still didn't wanna tell me what the visions were about. It's just…really got me curious to know what she's seen."
"Why wouldn't Jasper tell you?" Bella asked curiously.
Danielle shrugged. "He said Alice's visions don't always come true. But he also said that he wasn't sure if he wanted whatever she had seen to come true or not, and that we'd talk about it when the time was right," she said, repeated Jasper's words from the night before.
Bella frowned thoughtfully as she mulled that one over. "So do you have any idea at all what it could be about?"
"The only thing I can come up with is that maybe she saw us getting married or something, and that maybe her seeing that when Jasper and I haven't been together for that long has him freaked out," she answered. "It's the only thing I can think of that makes any sense."
Bella nodded slowly, before her eyes suddenly widened a bit, as if a thought had just struck her. "Do you think…" She glanced around, then leaned closer. "Do you think she saw you becoming one of them?" she asked in a whisper.
The moment the words left her lips, Danielle felt like someone had smacked her upside the head. There was no question as to what Bella was suggesting – perhaps Alice had seen that Danielle would become a vampire.
She suddenly felt her stomach twist and alertness zing through her nerve endings. The thought that Alice had seen her as a vampire had never once occurred to her. In fact, the mere idea that she could become a vampire had never even entered her mind – not today, not the night before, not even during any of the days that had passed since she had first figured out what Jasper was. Simply put, Danielle had never thought it was even a possibility – the Cullen's, for the most part, had all been turned under dire circumstances, and they certainly didn't strike her as the type to just go around changing humans because they felt like it. Sure, she and Jasper were together. But did that mean that their relationship would result in her being turned into a vampire someday? And, furthermore, was being a vampire something she even wanted?
There were a million question racing through her mind now, making it difficult for her to form a coherent response to Bella's question. Finally, she cleared her throat and shook her head. "I…I have no idea," she managed out. "I…is that even a possibility?"
Bella shrugged. "I don't know," she said. "But Edward said that Alice had visions about my future, too. Visions that he didn't want to talk about, either. And since I can pretty much guarantee you that marriage isn't even on the table for us right now, then maybe it's something else. Maybe…maybe she saw me being turned. And if she saw me being turned, it's possible she saw you being turned, too."
Danielle frowned and nodded slowly, absentmindedly toying with her fork. "Maybe…"
Bella watched her for a second, then gave her a serious look. "Would you do it?" she asked quietly. "Would you become…you know?"
Danielle didn't have an answer for that question, nor did she want to try to come up with an answer when she hadn't had any time whatsoever to think about it. So, instead of answering, she countered Bella's question with a question of her own. "Would you?" she asked.
Bella pressed her lips together, a multitude of emotions flickering through her eyes. Finally, she said, "I don't know."
Danielle shook her head. "I don't know either," she confessed.
She and Bella shared a long look after that, before they both returned to their breakfast.
As if they had come to some mutual, unspoken agreement, they did not discuss the subject any further after that. It was simply too soon and, to be honest, too weird to be thinking about life-altering decisions like that. So even though it took quite a bit of effort, Danielle was able to push the subject of her possible future life of vampirism to the back of her mind so that she could enjoy her friend's company.
They stayed in the diner for another half hour, then decided to adventure around the shops in Forks just for the fun of it. By the time they were finally parking in front of Bella's house again, they had been gone for about two hours. Jasper's car was gone and there was no sign of either him or Edward anywhere nearby, leading Danielle and Bella to believe that they had gone home to wait until she and Bella were finished with their breakfast outing.
With Bella's visit to the Cullen house rapidly approaching, Danielle have her friend a big hug, wished her good luck, then went back home so Bella could start getting herself prepared to meet the family. She sent a text to Jasper to let him know that she was home, then went into the living room and flopped down on the couch, staring up at the ceiling overhead as she waited for him to come back.
Now that she was alone, the thoughts she had been suppressing during breakfast almost immediately came rushing back and the question Bella had asked rang in her ears. Would you do it? Would you become…you know?
Danielle frowned with confliction, her mind racing as she mulled the possibilities over. When she considered the way Jasper and his family were, the thought of being one of them didn't sound so bad. Sure they were beautiful and otherworldly and had super talents that nobody else knew of, but they were, for the most part, normal. They went to school, had jobs, had a house that required them to pay bills and mortgages. Hell, she'd bet they even paid taxes, just like the rest of the world did. They were good people – or rather, vampires – and they knew how to control their hunger so that they could live semi normal lives. If she could be like them, that wouldn't be so bad, right?
But then Danielle remembered that the Cullen's hadn't always been the way that they were. They hadn't been born vegetarians, they had learned to be that way. She knew from things that Jasper had told her that some of them had killed before, that there had been times in the past where they hadn't been able to control their hunger and had attacked humans. What if she turned and couldn't control herself? What if she killed someone? Danielle knew, right then and there, that becoming a killer was something she would never be able to stomach. She would never forgive herself if she hurt someone, would never be able to live with herself.
And then, of course, she had to consider exactly what she would be giving up by becoming a vampire. She would cease to age, cease to function like a normal human. Granted, she didn't know exactly how vampire bodies worked, but she seriously doubted females could carry children, so a family of her own would be out of the question. She would also become, more or less, immortal, which meant she would far outlive everyone she currently knew. The world around her would change, but she would remain the same. And she would have to stand by and watch as everyone she loved – her mother, Tom, the friends she had made here in Forks – died.
Not everyone, actually. Not Jasper.
That thought made her pause. If she was a vampire, like Jasper, then there would be nothing to stand in their way. She would no longer be the fragile, delicate human she was now, whom he had to be painstakingly careful around out of fear of accidently hurting, or killing, her. They would be the same, and they would be free to love each other without fear. They would be able to, quite literally, be together forever. And she had to admit it – forever with Jasper sounded pretty damn good.
Danielle heaved, then rubbed her face. This was too much to think about right now, which was probably why Jasper hadn't wanted to discuss Alice's visions in the first place, assuming she and Bella had guessed the visions correctly. She and Jasper had only just gotten together – it was too soon to be thinking about things like this. Things were complicated enough as they tried to figure out how to make their unconventional relationship function as normally as possible. The last thing they needed to do was complicate things more by trying to decide whether or not she should become a vampire.
A knock at the door some fifteen minutes later brought an end to her internal musings. Jumping up from the couch, she went to the door and opened it, smiling when she saw that Jasper had returned. He smiled at her for a moment, but then frowned slightly and stepped closer, his eyes worried.
"Are you alright, darlin'?" he asked, his eyes searching hers. "You seem…troubled."
Danielle resisted the urge to curse Jasper's power, which was certainly an inconvenient thing for him to have whenever she was trying to keep something from him. "I'm fine," she said innocently, knowing there was no way in hell she was going to tell him about the things she had been thinking of.
Jasper didn't look convinced. "Are you sure?"
"Honestly, Jazz," Danielle insisted. "Nothing's wrong. I'm fine. Actually, I'm more than fine now that you're here," she added with a big smile.
Jasper eyed her for a moment longer, before he finally seemed to accept what she had said and relaxed. He smiled easily and stepped further into the house, placing a hand on her waist and pulling her closer. "Did you and Bella have fun?" he asked.
Danielle nodded. "Indeed we did," she confirmed, vehemently telling herself not to think about what she and Bella had discussed, otherwise it would send her mind racing again and Jasper would pick up on it.
"And how much gossip was involved?" Jasper asked with a smirk.
Danielle wagged a finger and shook her head. "That is privileged information, sir, and I'll thank you not to ask about my private affairs," she joked.
Jasper chuckled, then pulled her even closer, so that they were nose to nose. Danielle forgot how to breathe as she stared into his smoldering gaze. "Alright, then. Keep your secrets," he said, before giving her a long kiss.
Jasper eventually pulled away, smiling down at her lopsidedly before taking her hand and kissing her knuckles. "As much as I would love to stay here and kiss you all day long, we should go out and do something," he said. "Any ideas?"
Danielle shrugged. That kiss was making it hard for her to think about much of anything. "I don't care what we do, as long as we're together," she said. "So how about we just get in the car and see where we end up?"
Jasper nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
With that, they left the house to embark on their own adventures. And for the rest of the day, Danielle did her best to put any thoughts of her being a vampire completely out of her head, telling herself that she would make a decision about that when the time was right …assuming, of course, the time ever came to make a decision.
Considering how troubled and out of sorts she had felt after her breakfast with Bella, the rest of the day ended up being surprisingly wonderful. They wound up going to Port Angeles, where they saw a cheesy romantic comedy at the local theater before spending the rest of the afternoon shopping around and, in Danielle's case, eating some tasty treats. The only irritating thing that happened was when they popped into a restaurant so Danielle could have lunch and several of the waitresses kept eyeing Jasper like he was a piece of meat, which made her ears burn with anger and annoyance. It had been bad enough to the point that she had almost said something to them about being so disrespectful, but luckily for them, she forgot to be angry after Jasper calmed her down with a soothing touch and a meaningful kiss.
By the time they were returning to Danielle's house, it was getting close to dinner time. She couldn't help but glance at Bella's house as they got out of the car, eager to know if her friend was back and how her meeting with the rest of the Cullen family had gone. She hoped it had been good, and she hoped even more that Rosalie had been a little nicer.
"They aren't there," Jasper said with a shake of his head. "They might still be at the house."
"Maybe that means things are going well?" Danielle asked.
"Probably," Jasper agreed with a nod.
They headed toward the front door, walking side by side. When Danielle started to reach for the knob, however, Jasper stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. He then cocked his head to the side, before raising his brows and peering at her house with interest.
"What is it?" Danielle asked with furrowed brows.
"Charlie," he said with a smirk. "He's inside. Sounds like he's helping your mother cook dinner."
Danielle brows shot up to her hairline. "He is?" she asked in surprise, having been previously unaware that Lynne and Charlie spent time together when she and Bella weren't around. "Wait," she said slowly. "Are they having a date?" she hissed in shock.
Jasper smirked wider. "I can't say for sure. But they sound pretty…friendly. And it feels pretty friendly," he added with a meaningful look.
Danielle gaped at him, then shook her head. "Okay, that's just weird," she said. "I mean, first me and Bella get with you and Edward, who are basically brothers, and now our parents are getting chummy with each other?" Danielle snorted and shook her head. "We're getting dangerously close to becoming the Brady Bunch."
Jasper smiled with amusement, then gave her a questioningly look. "Should we interrupt them?"
Danielle thought about it for a second, then shook her head. "I feel like we shouldn't."
Jasper nodded. "Why don't we go to my house then and see how things are going with Edward and Bella?" he suggested.
Danielle smiled and nodded. "Sure, let's go."
They got back in Jasper's car and started off for the Cullen house. Danielle sent her mother a text saying that she was going back to the Cullen house for dinner, just so Lynne wouldn't worry about her being gone for so long. When Lynne sent a text back saying to have fun and take her time coming home, Danielle snorted and showed the text to Jasper, who raised his brows. Apparently Lynne really wanted some alone time with Charlie.
When they arrived at the Cullen house, Jasper parked in the driveway and then helped her out of the car. As they walked inside, they found Bella and Edward hanging out in the living room with the rest of the Cullen family. Everyone looked relaxed and happy and as if they were enjoying the evening – the only one who didn't seem to be having fun was Rosalie, who was sitting next to Emmett with her arms crossed over her chest and looking like she'd rather be anywhere else.
"Jasper! Dani!" Alice said excitedly upon seeing them. She was out of her seat and in front of Danielle before she could blink, pulling her into an enthusiastic hug.
The rest of the Cullen's got up to greet her – minus Rosalie – smiling widely and pulling her into friendly hugs. Emmett, of course, took the opportunity to squeeze her in a big hug and ruffle her hair, which made her huff and glare at him as she tried to put herself back in order. Finally, Bella and Edward were in front of them. Bella looked curious, but Edward, who had caught Jasper's gaze, merely raised his eyebrows.
"What are you guys doing here?" Bella asked.
"My house was occupied, so we figured we'd come here instead and see how things were going," Danielle answered.
"Occupied?" Bella echoed unsurely. "What do you mean?
Danielle smirked. "Apparently my mom and your dad are having dinner together," she revealed.
Bella just nodded. "Oh, okay," she said nonchalantly. After a second, though, she seemed to realize what that meant. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped, her expression pure shock now. "Wait a minute, does that mean – ?"
"Seems like it, yeah," Danielle confirmed.
Bella looked gobsmacked. "Oh," she said, apparently too surprised to say anything else.
"How cute!" Alice said, clapping her hands and grinning widely. "Your parents are dating! There has been some serious love in the air around Forks!"
Danielle and Bella shared a look. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We don't even know if it's anything serious," Danielle reminded the eager vampire.
Alice seemed to zone out for a moment, before she blinked and gave her a secret smile. Danielle felt fairly confident she had just witnessed the vampire peeking into the future. "I wouldn't rule it out if I were you," she said mysteriously.
Danielle blinked, then shook her head. "I really can't decide if your visions are cool or if they're freaky as hell," she said honestly.
Alice giggled in response, her eyes flashing mischievously.
"Anyway," Emmett interrupted loudly. "Enough about all this mushy crap." He turned a wide smirk on Danielle and Jasper, looking excited all of a sudden. "I'm glad you two showed up."
"Why is that?" Jasper asked.
"I've got one word for you, bro," Emmett told him. "Baseball."
Danielle watched as Jasper's eyes lit with excitement, a large grin spreading across his face. She frowned with confusion and glanced around at the other Cullen's, who were looking equally as excited. Except for Rosalie of course – she was still sitting by herself, looking annoyed with everything.
"What, did you guys get tickets to a game or something?" Danielle asked uncertainly.
"Better," Emmett answered. "Alice said there's a storm coming in tonight – a real storm. Which means we finally have the opportunity to play a ball game."
Danielle still didn't get it. "What does a storm have to do with anything?" she asked.
"You'll just have to come with us and find out for yourself," Emmett told her with a shrug. "So what do ya say, Dani? You in?" he asked with an upward nod. "Bella and Edward are coming," he added, as if he thought that would sway her decision.
Danielle looked at Jasper with uncertainty. Baseball wasn't really her thing, and if she ended up playing, she had a feeling she'd probably just make a fool of herself. But then Jasper nodded encouragingly and squeezed her hand. "It's a lot of fun, I promise," he said.
Danielle thought about it for a second longer, then finally nodded. "Alright, I'll come." Hopefully with Bella present, she wouldn't be the worst player there.
Emmett cheered, then gave Jasper a high five. "I'm gonna go get ready!"
With that, Emmett disappeared upstairs, followed quickly by Alice and, a little more slowly, Rosalie. Edward shared a few quiet words with Carlisle, before placing a hand on Bella's back. "I should get you home so that you can change," he said, eyeing her dressier than usual attire, which was decidedly unfit for baseball. "We'll meet you all at the field?"
Everyone nodded except Jasper. "Why don't you come back here after Bella has changed," he suggested. "The four of us can take Emmett's jeep to the field. I think Danielle would prefer that to running all the way there," he added with a teasing smile.
"Definitely prefer a jeep to running," Danielle confirmed.
Edward smirked, then nodded. "Alright," he agreed. "We'll be back soon."
After they bid goodbye to Edward and Bella, Carlisle and Esme went downstairs to their own bedroom so they could change as well. Now alone, Danielle looked over her own clothes, which weren't fancy by any means but were still probably a little too nice to be playing sports in, especially if they were going to be doing so in a storm.
"Should I go home and change too?" she asked, though she wasn't particularly keen on interrupting whatever was going on between Charlie and her mother. "I don't know if I should play in this stuff."
"Play?" Jasper asked.
Danielle quirked a brow. "If I'm coming, I'm not just gonna sit around like a bump on a log."
Jasper pursed his lips. "You can play if you want, but our game is a little bit different than what you've seen before," he warned.
Danielle smiled, feeling her competitive side begin to make itself known at the challenge he presented. "I'm sure I can handle it," she said with confidence.
Jasper smirked. "Alright then," he said. "Alice practically has her own shopping mall upstairs. She's bound to have something that would fit you," he said next, looking her over quickly. "Come on, let's go ask."
He grabbed her hand and led her upstairs, where the bedrooms were. Danielle thought she heard muffled conversation behind the door that led to Emmett and Rosalie's room, but didn't bother trying to eavesdrop as Jasper pulled her to Alice's room. He knocked on the door twice, and it only took a second for Alice to answer. She was already decked out in baseball gear, looking more than a little excited.
"I've got something she can wear," Alice said without needing to be asked – she had probably heard them talking downstairs. Alice grabbed Danielle by the wrist and pulled her into her bedroom. "Go get changed, Jasper. I'll return her to you in a second."
Before Jasper had the chance to say anything, Alice closed the door in his face and pulled Danielle further into the room. Danielle glanced around quickly, noting that there were a lot of feminine decorations all over the place and that the room smelled distinctly of jasmine. She would have inspected the room further, but immediately lost interest when Alice showed her to a closet that was bigger than Danielle's entire bedroom. Her jaw dropped with shock as she eyed the many, many clothes, her brows shooting up to her hairline. Jasper hadn't been lying – Alice's closet was practically a department store.
"Wow. When you said you were into fashion, you meant it," Danielle commented in amazement.
Alice grinned. "A girl can never have too many options, right?"
Danielle laughed. "I guess not."
Alice glided around the spacious closet, picking out random articles of clothing as she went. By the time she was in front of Danielle again, she was holding a small pile of clothes. The vampire handed over the clothing, then stepped outside and shut the closer door so Danielle could change.
Danielle emerged from the closet a few minutes later, now wearing stretchy, black athletic pants, knee high athletic socks, a warm, long sleeved shirt, and a white baseball jersey over the top. After slipping on the sneakers she had been wearing, she felt ready to play some baseball. She smiled at Alice, carrying her own folded up clothes, and did a little spin.
"How do I look?" she asked.
"Cute and sporty," Alice said with a nod if approval. "Now, to top off the look."
Alice stepped forward and plopped a baseball cap on Danielle's head. Danielle smiled and reached up to pull her ponytail through the hole in the back of cap, then adjusted the hat on her head until it fit right. Once it was comfortably on her head, she struck a pose. "Just give me some chewing tobacco and I'm a regular Babe Ruth," she joked.
Alice laughed. "You're funny, you know that?"
Danielle shrugged modestly. "I try."
Alice continued to smile at her. "I had a vision of you," she said suddenly, which made Danielle stiffen and give her a surprised look. "A few, actually," Alice corrected herself. "I knew you were coming, but I didn't know what sort of impact you would have on the family. I just wanted to say that I'm really glad you're the one Jasper chose," she said with a nod. "I've never seen him so happy. You've really changed things for the better, especially for him."
Danielle couldn't help but blush at her exceedingly kind words. "Thank you, Alice."
"You're welcome," she said, patting her shoulder. "Jasper is waiting for you outside the door, by the way," she added with a smirk.
Danielle smiled, then went to open the bedroom door. Sure enough, Jasper was standing in the hall, his eyes bouncing back and forth between her and Alice. Alice just smiled and twiddled her fingers before disappearing downstairs, practically dancing her way down. Danielle watched her go then looked at Jasper, smiling widely when she saw his attire. He had changed into an old looking pair of jeans, a white and blue, three-quarter length sleeve baseball tee, and old sneakers. He also had put on a hat to tame his slightly wild hair.
"You look ridiculously adorable in that outfit," Danielle said with a giggle.
Jasper grinned and moved closer, looping an arm around her waist. "I could say the same for you," he said, tilting his head so he could look her up and down. "Actually, I don't think adorable is the correct word to use," he said, his eyes meeting hers again.
Her breath caught in her throat when she saw his darkened irises. He smirked widely at her response to him, then lifted her chin with the knuckle of his forefinger and leaned down to kiss her. Before their lips could touch, however, a loud voice interrupted them.
"Seriously, though. Do you two ever stop making out?" They both froze, then turned identical glares of annoyance on Emmett, who was now standing a few feet away and shaking his head in disapproval.
She heard Jasper let out a low, but distinct, growl. "Something you need, Emmett?" he asked with forced patience.
"The rest of us are heading out," Emmett said with a jerk of his thumb.
Jasper nodded. "We'll be right behind you. We're riding with Edward and Bella."
"Alright, see you guys there," Emmett said, clapping his hands and rubbing them together excitedly. "You, my friend, are in for a treat," he said, pointing at Danielle.
She smiled and nodded her head. "Looking forward to it."
Emmett grinned, then headed back downstairs. "No hanky panky while were gone!" he called over his shoulder, unable to resist throwing one last taunt at them.
Jasper rolled his eyes dramatically. "Someone hit him for me!" There was a distinct whack from downstairs, followed by a sound of protest from Emmett. "Thank you, Alice!" Jasper called down, grinning now.
Danielle just laughed and shook her head, finding the whole thing rather amusing. "Y'all are too much," she said.
Jasper gave her a look of apology. "Sorry about him. He's, well…Emmett."
Danielle smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't worry. I've got thick skin," she said, before standing on her tiptoes and giving him a long kiss, which Jasper was more than happy to reciprocate.
After the rest of the Cullen's headed out, Danielle and Jasper went downstairs to await the return of Bella and Edward. Surprisingly, it didn't take long for them to return – they were back in less than half an hour, which Danielle could only accredit to the fact that, according to Bella, Edward drove like a bat out of hell. Danielle and Jasper headed outside, then stood back while Edward headed into the garage to fetch Emmett's jeep.
"Was Charlie still with my mom?" Danielle asked Bella curiously.
Bella nodded. "He wasn't there when I got home, and when I called him to tell him we were gonna play baseball with the Cullen's I could hear her in the background." She gave Danielle a look and quirked a brow. "How long do you think they've been doing…whatever it is that they're doing?" she asked.
Danielle shrugged. "Don't know. Can't be too long, though. We probably would have noticed if it had been going on for a while."
Bella made a noise of agreement.
At the sound of a loud engine drew their attention after that, making them look to the garage. When Danielle got a good look at the vehicle they'd be taking, her jaw dropped and she forgot all about her mother's apparent date with Charlie Swan. "Good lord," she said as both she and Bella eyed the humungous jeep. "What is that monster?"
"Emmett's pride and joy," Jasper said with a shrug.
Danielle smirked and raised her brows at her boyfriend. "He better watch it. Someone might think he's overcompensating for something," she couldn't help but comment.
While Bella snorted with amusement next to her, Jasper seemed surprised to hear her say such a thing. He soon began to laugh loudly, though, shaking his head a bit. "Have I told you I love you lately?" he aske, clearly enjoying how much she made fun of Emmett.
Danielle grinned. "Only a few dozen times," she said with a wink.
"Come on, kids!" Edward said, rolling down one of the windows to call out to them. "Let's get a move on!"
Jasper helped her get into the back seat, which she was sure she never would have been able to get into without his boost. Instead of seatbelts there was a safety harness, which left her to wonder just what they used this jeep for. While Jasper helped Bella into the passenger seat, Danielle pulled the safety harness over her head and started to do the buckles. It was more difficult than it looked, however, and she was still struggling with them by the time Jasper joined her in the backseat. The frustration on her face made him chuckle.
"You could help me instead of just sitting there and laughing at me like a jerkface," Danielle said with a huff.
Jasper reached over and quickly did the buckles for her, smirking at her the entire time. When he finished, he pecked her cheek, which made her smile brightly again. Now finally secure, they only had to wait for Bella and Edward to finish with her own harness, then they were off.
They drive for maybe fifteen minutes, and to be honest, Danielle didn't really have any idea where they were going. She chatted with Jasper, Bella, and Edward, watching the scenery fly past the window – Edward really did drive like a bat out of hell, she decided. Eventually Edward pulled off the main road, turning instead onto a dirt road that led right into the forest. Despite their safety harnesses, the bumpy terrain made the jeep jostle around, which, in turn, had them jostling around. Jasper and Edward, of course, were perfectly fine, but she and Bella bumped around like they were on a rollercoaster, bouncing in their seats and nearly whacking their heads anytime they hit a particularly big bump. Thankfully Jasper quickly took notice of how rough the drive was on her and scooted closer, dropping an arm around her shoulder and resting a hand on her thigh to anchor her to the seat.
The moment his hand touched her thigh, every nerve ending in her body felt like it had been jump started. She turned her eyes to Jasper's, watching as a tiny smirk appeared on his lips and as his eyes darkened in color. He pulled her closer to him, his eyes never leaving hers, gently rubbing his thumb against her leg as he continued to hold her down. There was an undeniable feeling of desire beginning to radiate off of him, which made her feel warm and had her struggling to catch her breath.
Suddenly, the jeep lurched harder than it had before, hard enough to pull her and Jasper out of the spell they'd just fallen into and back to the present. Danielle looked forward to see that Edward was giving them a look in the rearview mirror, and when she realized that he had actually held Bella steady for that last jolt, she knew without a shadow of doubt that he had just lurched the jeep on purpose.
"I'd rather not hear those kinds of thoughts, thank you," he told them with a quirked brow.
Bella turned to look at them curiously, while Jasper frowned at his brother. Danielle couldn't help the blush that began to heat up her cheeks. "I thought Jasper told you not to read my mind," she said accusingly.
"I wasn't reading your mind," Edward countered, before shooting a pointed look at Jasper.
She had a feeling Jasper would have blushed if he had been able to. Instead he settled for narrowing his eyes and scowling at his brother. As for Danielle, she blushed bright enough for both of them. "Oh," she said, unable to think of anything else to say.
Thankfully, the ride wasn't much longer. About another five minutes later, they finally stopped as the road opened up to a very large, open field. In the distance, she could see the rest of the Cullen clan already in the process of warming up.
"Thank God," Danielle said with relief, immensely glad that the bumpy ride had come to an end. Jasper wasted no time helping her undo the buckles of the safety harness, then they both slid out of the jeep. As soon as her feet hit the ground, Danielle put a hand against her side. "I think all that bumping around made my spleen shift," she complained.
Jasper laughed. "I'm sure you'll be alright," he said. He then grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's go meet the others."
Since Edward and Bella were taking their time getting out of jeep, she and Jasper continued on, leaving them behind. They started making their way across the field hand in hand, swerving to avoid any large patches of mud that they happened across. As they slowly drew closer to the Cullen's, she could see Carlisle and Alice tossing a ball back and forth in the middle of the field, while Emmett, Rosalie, and Esme were all loitering around, chatting amongst themselves as they waited for everyone to turn up.
Rosalie saw them first, and as her gaze landed on Danielle, she immediately turned and went to join Carlisle and Alice. Emmett seemed to heave, but then wiped the look off of his face and smiled brightly at Danielle instead. Before she knew it, Emmett was right in front of her and pulling her away from Jasper yet again, throwing her over his shoulder as if she weighed absolutely nothing. Jasper made a sound of protest, but the sound was drowned out by Danielle shriek of surprise.
"Emmett!" she said, shaking his back. "I am not a rag doll!"
"Sure you are! You're my very own Raggedy Anne!" he said with a laugh, bouncing her on his shoulder for added effect. If her spleen hadn't been damaged from the ride in the jeep, it certainly was now thanks to Emmett's rock-hard shoulder.
Suddenly the world whipped around, and the next thing she knew, Emmett was lying on the ground with one large hand under her back and the other under her knees. He began to bench press her with a loud laugh, clearly amused by his own antics. Danielle looked around in bewilderment, feeling a jump in her belly every time he pushed her upward out of fear he might launch her clear into the air, something he was perfectly capable of doing if he really wanted to.
"Dude, I am not gym equipment!" she reminded him loudly.
"Er, why is Emmett bench pressing Dani?" a new voice asked. Danielle glanced over to see that Edward and Bella had finally arrived on the scene, and though Edward looked amused by what he was seeing, Bella looked downright confused.
"Gotta get loose for the game, don't I?" Emmett answered with a smirk, not even looking remotely exerted as he lifted and lowered her over and over again.
"And you couldn't just do stretches like a normal person would?" Danielle shot back. When Emmett just let out an evil cackle in response, Danielle raised her head to look at Jasper, lifting her brows. "Aren't you gonna put a stop to this?"
Jasper smirked and stepped closer. "Okay, Em, hands off my lady," he instructed sternly.
"No can do, my friend," Emmett said, never even pausing in his presses. "Gotta get ready for the game."
"Oh, are we bench pressing the humans tonight?" Alice asked suddenly as she came rushing over to join them. "Me next!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands excitedly.
"No one else is gonna bench press me!" Danielle announced loudly.
"Except maybe Jasper, eh, eh?" Emmett said, the innuendo behind his words and his tone impossible to mistake.
Danielle flushed furiously, Alice and Bella giggled, and Esme let out a sigh of disapproval. As for Jasper, he seemed to finally decide that enough was enough. "Alright, that does it," he said, rescuing her from Emmett's grasp and carefully placing her on her own two feet.
Without any warning or preamble, Jasper proceeded to pounce on his much bigger brother, who let out a grunt as Jasper landed on him. The two immediately started wrestling right there on the grass, both of them losing their ball caps in the process as they struggled to get the upperhand on one another.
"Well, there they go," Alice said with a cross of her arms. "I swear, it's always a competition between these two to see who the better fighter is," she told Danielle with a roll of her eyes.
"Who is the better fighter?" Danielle asked curiously.
"Jasper," answered all of the present Cullen's without hesitation.
"Hey!" Emmett cried indignantly, having heard what his family had said.
He didn't have time to say anything more, though, because Jasper soon locked an arm around his neck and wrestled him back to the ground. It was around that time that Carlisle appeared by Danielle's side, looking curious as to why Jasper now had Emmett in a headlock.
"What's this all about?" he asked, though she couldn't help but notice that he didn't seem all that surprised to see his two adoptive sons in a wrestling match.
"Jasper's defending my honor, I think," Danielle answered her with a shrug.
"Ah, I see," Carlisle said, nodding his head.
"Alright, boys!" Esme finally interjected, having evidently grown tired of their little display. "Cut it out! You look like a couple of wolves rolling around in the dirt like that!" she scolded sternly, placing her hands on her hips.
Jasper and Emmett stopped wrestling immediately and got to their feet. They both looked a little disheveled and a little exerted, but while Emmett scowled at his brother, Jasper smirked in what seemed like triumph. It appeared that Jasper had won this match.
"Proud of yourselves?" Esme asked with a cocked eyebrow.
Emmett scowled moodily and leaned down to pick up his hat, not even bothering to put it on straight as he plopped it on his head. "Let's just play some ball," he said. He turned to point a finger in Jasper's face. "You're going down, dude."
Jasper just smirked as he watched Emmett stomp away with a determined look on his face, chuckling under his breath when the bigger vampire grabbed a bat and began to swing it around menacingly. Danielle quirked a brow and turned a look on Jasper. "He gonna be alright?" she asked.
"He'll be fine," Jasper and with a dismissive wave of his hand. "He's just mad that I beat him."
Danielle nodded, then turned her attention to Alice, who was watching the skies with a slightly unfocused gaze. After a few seconds, she blinked and then smiled widely. "It's time!" she announced.
Barely a second later, loud thunder boomed down from the sky overhead, which was rapidly filling with storm clouds. Edward and Alice shared a look, then, after Edward squeezed Bella's hand, the two vampires hurried away to join Emmett and Rosalie, both of them equally excited. Carlisle went off next, calling out for everyone to start taking their positions. Jasper was the last to go, lingering just long enough to kiss her temple, then took off to join his family. The affectionate gesture would have made her smile, had she not been amazed by how fast the Cullen's could run. They moved so quickly, she would have missed them getting to the field completely if she had blinked.
"Shall we follow?" Esme asked the Danielle and Bella, looping her arms through theirs and giving them a friendly smile.
The three of them began to head that way, walking at a slow leisurely pace. "You don't play with them?" Bella asked Esme.
"No, I usually just play catcher and try to referee," Esme answered. "I like keeping them honest," she added with a smile.
"So they like to cheat, huh?" Danielle asked with a smirk.
"Oh, all the time. You should hear the arguments they get into," Esme said, shaking her head. "Actually, I hope you don't. You would think they were raised by a pack of wolves…assuming, of course, you haven't already been convinced of that by Jasper and Emmett's wrestling match," Esme laughed.
Danielle and Bella both laughed. "Doesn't matter if they're humans or vampires – boys will be boys, right?" Danielle said.
"Too right," Esme agreed with a smile.
Bella glanced up at the grey sky, then looked at Esme. "So why do you have to wait for the storm to play baseball?" she asked curiously.
Esme smirked, her eyes dancing. "You're about to find out very quickly."
They stopped walking as they reached the field that the Cullen's had set up. The Cullen's had divided into two teams – Emmett, Rosalie, and Carlisle were on one team, while Jasper, Alice, and Edward were on the other. Alice was pitching, while Edward and Jasper were in the outfield – first up to bat was Emmett, who looked ready to do some damage.
"Game on, everyone!" Esme announced as she went to play the position of catcher behind Emmett. "And remember, no cheating," she added with an extra stern look in Emmett's direction – he just held up his hands innocently.
For a moment, nothing happened. Alice held the ball in her hand, her eyes narrowed as she stared at Emmett, while Emmett swung his bat back and forth in anticipation. Suddenly the sky began to rumble with thunder, prompting Alice to rear back and, with a gracefulness that made Danielle instantly jealous, launch the ball through the air. Emmett swung hard, his bat connecting with the ball just as a loud BOOM sounded through the air. Even the thunder wasn't loud enough to completely drown out the ear splitting CRACK that reverberated off the trees as Emmett sent the ball soaring toward the trees at the back of the field. He then dropped his bat and took off running for first base, running so fast he was just a blur of color.
"Wow," Bella breathed next to her, her eyes just as wide as Danielle's. "Now I see why they need the thunder."
Danielle just nodded in agreement, too amazed to respond verbally.
It was remarkable to watch the Cullen's play baseball. Though she had never been a fan of the sport herself because of its slow pace, this game was anything but slow. Whenever Alice pitched the ball, it would move so quickly through the air that Danielle wouldn't even be able to see it. When Emmett or Carlisle or Rosalie hit the ball, it would go so far that Danielle would feel certain that they were never going to see it again, but then she would be left in amazement when Edward or Jasper would disappear from sight, only to reappear with the ball in hand to keep the game going.
When Jasper's team went up to bat, Emmett took over on the pitcher's mound while Alice went up to bat first. She hit the ball far to the left, then managed to make it onto first base. As Jasper went up next, Danielle clapped loudly and cheered for him, earning herself a smirk and a wink. He did a few fancy tricks with the bat, then readied himself for the pitch. As he connected with the ball with a loud crack, he tossed the bat away and ran full force toward first base. After he made it there safely, Danielle cheered loudly again.
The game continued at the same rapid pace for at least a half hour, the score changing so continuously that she couldn't keep up. For the most part, Danielle and Bella loitered close to Esme, cheering their respective boyfriends on whenever they did something good or, when needed, serving as back up referees to confirm calls that Esme made. Eventually, though, there was a pause in the game. And when Jasper came waking over to Danielle with a bat in his hand, she immediately knew what he had on his mind.
"You wanted to play?" he reminded her with a smirk.
Danielle looked at the bat he was offering her, then out towards the other Cullen's. They'd all moved in considerably closer, and both Emmett and Carlisle had menacing smiles on their faces that made her uneasy. Danielle immediately pushed the bat away from her, shaking her head quickly – any desire to play with them had flown out the window the moment she had realized they were all baseball progenies.
"No way. I'll just embarrass myself," she told him.
"No, you won't," Jasper countered patiently. "They'll play at human speed so you have a better chance," he reassured. "Now come on, darlin', you can do it. Show us what you've got," he encouraged, moving around behind her so that he could begin to gently push her in the direction of home plate.
Bella, Alice, Edward and Esme were all cheering loudly for her – even Carlisle called out a few encouraging words, to which Emmett abruptly informed him that he was cheering for the wrong team. Danielle continued to protest despite the support, though, knowing she'd look like a full fledged idiot if she tried her hand at vampire baseball.
"Jasper! I really don't think this is a good idea," she said with a shake of her head, feeling her nervousness increase as they reached home plate.
Jasper started to say something in response, but Emmett beat him to the punch. "If she can't do it, she can't do it," he said with a shrug and a smirk. "I wouldn't wanna embarrass myself either if I were in her shoes. Though I have to admit…I never took you as the type to be a chicken, Dani," he then added tauntingly.
Danielle's ears instantly perked up at his words and she slowly turned her head to look towards the much bigger vampire. He had a challenging smirk on his face and a gleam in his eyes that dared her to fight back. Danielle suddenly forgot to feel nervous, her competitive side flaring. Emmett didn't think she could play, huh? Well, she'd show him.
Danielle yanked the bat out of Jasper's hand, her expression nothing but determination now. "I'll show you who's a chicken," she shot back defensively.
Emmett chuckled gleefully, while Jasper grinned and backed off a bit, clapping loudly for her as she stood on home plate and began to swing the bat around to loosen up her arms. "You can do it, Dani!" Alice cheered from first base, looking ready to bolt to second at a moment's notice.
"You ready?" Emmett asked as she got into position, his brows raised. "You need a moment to stretch? Need some water? Anything?"
"Just shut up and throw the ball, Cullen!" she snapped.
There were laughs and jeers from the rest of the family, who appeared to be taking a great amount of amusement in their banter. Finally, Emmett narrowed his eyes and stood tall, his expression one of concentration now. When he suddenly pitched the ball, throwing it at a more normal speed so she could actually see it, Danielle swung the bat hard. Unfortunately, she missed completely and only succeeded in nearly tumbling butt first to the ground with her enthusiastic swing. Thankfully, she was able to catch herself before she could fall.
"Strike!" Esme called, before tossing the ball back to Emmett.
Emmett caught the ball easily, then smirked at Danielle and raised his brows. "I don't know if you know this, but the object of the game is to hit the ball," he said with mock seriousness.
Danielle scowled. "Wow, I had no idea you were a stand up comedian," she shot back dryly.
Emmett just laughed.
"You got this, darlin'," Jasper called encouragingly. "Just keep your eye on the ball."
There was another pause. Danielle narrowed her eyes, staring hard at Emmett. Finally, he threw the ball again, and this time she made contact, surprising not only herself, but the rest of the Cullen's, too. They were so surprised, in fact, that it flew clear over everyone's heads and landed somewhere in the bushes behind Rosalie. For a moment, nobody moved.
"Run!" Jasper suddenly yelled.
The shout was enough to jar everyone back to reality. As Rosalie scrambled to get the ball, Danielle and Alice both took off, heading for first and second base respectively. Danielle pumped her legs furiously, running as fast as she could toward first base, which seemed miles away to her. She glanced back to see that Rosalie had retrieved the ball and thrown it to Carlisle, who was quickly closing in even in spite of the fact that he was not running at full speed. Danielle pushed herself harder, then let out a cry of triumph as she touched first base just before Carlisle could tag her.
"Safe!" Esme called with a grin.
Jasper, Alice, Bella and Edward cheered and whistled, while Emmett and Rosalie scowled, looking annoyed with the fact that she had managed to get the better of them.
"You run fast for a human," Carlisle said with a grin and a pat on her shoulder.
"Thanks," Danielle said, breathing hard and resisting the urge to bend over at the waist because she was so out of breath.
Carlisle ran back to his position, announcing that they were going to keep the pace slow until either Danielle was out or she got the home run. Jasper went back up to bat next and ended up knocking it so far back that he was on second base, Danielle was on third base, and Alice had taken it in for a homerun before the other team could get the ball back into the infield. When Edward went up to bat next, he absolutely crushed it – Danielle, Jasper, and Edward were all able to get a home run.
"Alright, team!" Alice cheered, high fiving Jasper and Edward. Danielle held up her own hand, fully expecting to receive her own high five, then let out a squeak of surprise when Alice picked her up and swung her around in a circle. "You're gonna fit in just fine," she said with a grin, setting Danielle back on her own feet.
"Thanks," Danielle said with a laugh. A hand found its way onto her back in the next moment, which had her smiling up at Jasper, who had moved closer to her. "How did I do?" she asked.
Jasper smirked at her. "I've never been prouder," he said, before leaning down to give her a quick kiss.
Alice suddenly gasped sharply, which made Danielle and Jasper pull away from one another and look at her with uncertainty. "Alice?" Esme asked with concern on her eyes, taking a step closer.
"I didn't see – I couldn't tell," Alice whispered shaking her head.
Esme looked even more worried now. "Carlisle!" she called to her husband.
Danielle frowned, then glanced at Carlisle as he, Emmett, Rosalie came rushing over to see what was going on. "What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked, pushing his way through the others so that he could stand before Alice and place a hand on her shoulder.
Alice gave Carlisle a worried look. "They were traveling much quicker than I thought," she said. "I had the perspective all wrong."
Danielle was feeling more and more confused by the second. What was going on? Who were they talking about? "What changed?" Jasper asked, his brows furrowed together.
"They heard us playing and it changed their path," Alice said, which made Jasper curse under his breath.
Danielle finally held a hand up to catch everyone attention. "Can someone tell me what's going on?" she asked, glancing around at the vampires standing around her.
Jasper looked down at her and heaved. "Alice had a vision, but I didn't want to tell you about it because I didn't want you to worry," he admitted.
"Worry about what?" Danielle asked, an ominous feeling forming in her belly.
"Visitors coming to Forks," Carlisle answered. "Vampires that do not live the same lifestyle that we do."
Danielle's eyes went wide as her gaze shot back to Jasper. He looked very uneasy and kept glancing around the field, as if he expected vampires to start appearing out of thin air. "We had hoped they would pass through and be on their way, but it appears they changed their mind," Edward added, his deep frown mirroring the one on Jasper's face.
A shiver raced down Danielle's spine. She moved closer to Jasper, who wrapped a protective arm around her. "Them coming here is a bad thing, isn't it?" she asked, though she was certain she already knew the answer.
Carlisle just stared at her for a moment, the look in his eyes confirmed her suspicions, before he turned his gaze back to Alice. "How long?"
Alice glanced at Danielle first, then at Bella, before looking to Carlisle. "Not long enough," she answered with a shake of her head. "If they try to run now, they nomads will just catch their scents and start hunting."
Danielle shared a frightened look with Bella at the word 'hunting'.
"How many?" Emmett asked.
"Three," Edward answered, having obviously seen them in Alice's mind.
"Three?" Emmett echoed, before scoffing and flexing his muscles. "Let them come!" he said, looking ready to fight.
The Cullen's began to talk quietly amongst themselves, looking anxious and worried. Danielle watched as Edward began fussing over Bella, doing whatever he could to attempt to conceal the fact that she was human, before she looked up at Jasper as he turned to face her. He looked tense and frightened, which, in turn, made her feel tense and frightened.
"Stay close to me," he said, pushing the bill of her hat lower to try to cover her face. "Try not to move or draw any attention to yourself." He sighed, then turned to look at Edward. "Give me Emmett's keys," he demanded. Edward took the keys from his pocket and tossed them to Jasper without even looking. Jasper caught them, then then plopped them into her hand. It was only then that she realized her hands were shaking. "If something goes wrong, you and Bella head for the jeep and make a run for it. We'll hold them off," he instructed.
Danielle frowned deeply. "What? No!" she protested. "I don't wanna leave you. What if you get hurt?"
Jasper placed a hand on her neck. "I can take care of myself," he reassured her.
"But Jasper – "
"They're coming," Esme interrupted.
Danielle instantly fell silent, her breath catching in her throat and her heart pounding against her ribs. Jasper turned and moved so that he stood mostly in front of her, his shoulders squared and his spine rigid. The rest of the Cullen's formed a protective line in front of her, Jasper, Edward, and Bella, then faced the right side of the field. Danielle glanced over at Bella, who stood a handful of feet away from her – Bella looked as scared as Danielle currently felt, and though she wanted to muster up a comforting smile for her friend, she just couldn't seem to make it happen. Something bad was about to happen. She could feel it in her gut.
Finally she looked in the direction that the Cullen's were, reaching for Jasper's hand and intertwining her fingers with his. Then she watched as three figures appeared from the foggy trees on the far side of the field and began to walk toward them.
Thoughts?