Before the New Moon

Chapter 6

The official start of school came with the same tired routine it always did, with the kids whose parents were wealthy enough showed off their tans and told stories about their trips to more exciting places, and those who couldn't travel simply greeted their friends who they'd seen the entire summer and complained about how the holiday came to an end too soon.
Of course, there was nothing wrong with any of that, the beginning of the school year allowed me to see my own friends. But there was something incredibly annoying about sharing a classroom with Jessica, who insisted on retelling her trip to Florida, loudly. It wasn't any sort of secret that Jessica wasn't overly fond of Bella and I, which made her indirect attempts to brag about her exciting summer in the Bahamas by talking very loudly in hopes that we'd listen and get jealous.
Despite the fact that I would have to deal with Jessica and her glaring for the rest of the year, it was nice to share so many classes with my own friends. It would definitely make copying their English homework easier.
"I won't give you mine" Edward scolded, taking a seat next to Bella, "the point of school is to learn, you can't do that if you copy other people's work."
"I thought we had a talk about reading people's minds without permission." I deadpanned.
"I know, but simple minds are just so easy to read." He grinned, giving Bella a peck on her temple while putting an arm around her.
"Hilarious" I stuck my tongue out at him, and shifted my attention towards Alice and Jasper who took their seats on the table in front of me.
It was strange, having to act like we weren't really anything because the people in this town would definitely freak out about us more than the whole vampire aspect. The thought of an 'us' made me flush though. We never really talked about it, just kind of fell into a rhythm. From what I'd been told, this was what happened when Alice found Jasper back in the 50s too. Since she's so aware of what will happen, when she finally meets someone she doesn't like to waste time with introductions, she just acts like this is the way it's always been. And I suppose that for her, it is.
All my thoughts about the two of them must've alerted Jasper, who shot me a wink, causing heat to rise to my face and Alice to giggle and throw me her own wink and a kiss. It was easy to forget how much Jasper could perceive, and how detrimental to my composure it was. After fully flustering me, the couple turned around to face me after having settled themselves.
"So, what are we going to do for Bella's birthday?" Alice whispered enthusiastically while leaning her folded arms on my table. I spared a glance at Bella's table, she seemed sufficiently distracted by Edward.
"And here I thought you had all our major life events planned in a little journal." that got a snort out of Jasper.
"Well," She said pointedly pushing herself off my table, "not to brag or anything, but I do,"
"Not a brag." She ignored me.
"But I just have some rough outlines, I of course want your guys' input."
"How considerate of you."
The teacher arrived soon after that, forcing us to stop our more interesting engagements. The rest of the day was like any other school day, the rest of the week went by just the same. There was one new development however, a lot of people spoke of the excitement they felt about finally being seniors, which was terrifying to me. I had no idea what I would do after this, I never planned that far ahead. At one point I had ideas about what I might want for the future. But it'd been a long time since I'd last thought I'd make it past eighteen.
At least Bella seemed excited for the rest of her life. She had plans for college and trips with Edward, and she wasn't scared of the prospect of literal eternity. I wish I could have that sort of comfort when I think about the future, and not the perpetual dread that something terrible is going to happen.
I shook my head, willing the thoughts to stop. Dr. Douglas had urged me to try and ignore any and all negative thoughts, even if it entailed some sort of physical action that convinced my brain they were gone. I'd become rather fond of shaking my head whenever an unwanted thought wandered into my head. Even if I couldn't feel good about the future, I could feel good about the now. And the now was pretty entertaining.
"I told Alice I didn't want a birthday party!" Bella whined as I brushed her hair.
"And I told her I didn't want her to buy my prom dress, but I'm sure she already has it in her closet, so..."
"I just wanted to do something simple," she tried to look back at me but I held her head in place and continued my brushing "watch a movie with Edward, maybe order a pizza."
"It's cute that you ever thought that was a possibility." I scoffed. "Okay, I'm done. Let's get you dressed." I handed Bella the outfit Alice had picked out for her. It was simple, fitting Bella's taste, but lacked the unflattering nature all her other outfits seemed to have. It was a short beige knitted sweater with a wide neckline and a high waisted fitted denim skirt. The outfit was finished with a simple pair of boots that I was sure was the only part of the outfit Bella would wear again.
"I'm going to freeze to death!" She complained.
"Yeah, but you'll look cute doing it though," I walked up behind her and put her hair up in a high ponytail.
"You're just an accomplice aren't you."
"I know how to choose my battles," I finished her ponytail and motioned her towards her mirror so she could see the finished look "Besides, their house has heating." I handed her a lip gloss, testing the waters.
"I'm not putting on makeup!"
"Worth a shot." I shrugged.
Soon after we heard honking from outside, indicating that our ride was here. We made our way down to Bella's front yard to see Edward waiting next to his car with a bouquet of flowers. Cute. Despite all her efforts to convince everyone that she didn't want any attention for her birthday, I could tell she was secretly enjoying the fact that everyone truly cared enough. She might not like the actual party, but she liked the effort.
When we arrived at the house I could see the lights on and a few simple party decorations peaking through the windows. Despite our jokes, Alice always took our taste into consideration. The party was completely designed to be intimate. It was decorated sparsely with some simple streamers and some balloons. She'd ordered a small two tier cake, decorated with some flowery designs.
The family greeted us warmly in their living room, everyone dressed nicely but casually. Alice gave me a brief kiss and thanked me for getting Bella into the outfit. Prompting some huffs from the birthday girl, but they were soon pushed aside when Alice guided her toward her mother. Esme gave Bella a warm hug and handed her a gift. Bella opened it, and immediately her face lit up.
"Edward tells us you enjoy literature," Esme smiled, "so I thought you might enjoy an original copy."
"I can't- I can't accept this!" Bella shook her head, trying to push the gift back into Esme's hands.
"Nonsense, I'm sure no one here will appreciate it as much as you!" She gracefully put the gift back in Bella's hands and gave her a kiss on her cheek.
I didn't recognize the book, but it seemed like a well preserved copy of an old book. Bella's would enjoy that, nerd. Carlisle was next, he shook her hand and handed her another gift, but my attention shifted as soon as I felt cold hands softly rubbing my arms.
"Hello darlin'" Jasper greeted, pressing a kiss on my shoulder. I turned around, feeling his hands move from my arms to my waist, and gave him a kiss.
"Where have you been?"
"Preparin' one of the birthday presents." He smiled but didn't elaborate. "She seems happy."
"She complained the whole way here but," I spared a glance at the others, "I am glad we did this, I don't think she's ever had a party she actually enjoyed."
Jasper hummed in agreement and led us closer to the group. The rest of the gifts were given, including the one Jasper was preparing which was a new sound system for Bella's car. The sound system was the least of that truck's problems, but Bella's was satisfied. Esme and Carlisle had prepared a nice dinner, which we ate. Where the parents decided to share less than flattering stories about their children. Us humans were very entertained.
After a few hours, when the food was eaten and the cake was cut, the family had gone their separate ways. Esme and  Carlisle were making themselves busy tidying up the kitchen. Edward and Bella had retreated to the study. And Alice, Jasper and I were on the terrace. The night was cold, but the stars were bright, so I didn't mind much.
"You seem to be getting used to the cold." Alice said, pressing herself to my side. She smiled, showing off her fangs slightly. Maybe I should find them terrifying. The same fangs James had used to hurt Bella. Something that I may or may not have witnessed. But it was just Alice, and on her, they were strangely beautiful. I leaned in without thinking, giving her a kiss. She smiled more when I pulled away, she placed a hand on the back of m y neck and pulled me in for a deeper kiss.
When we finally broke away I could hardly feel the cold anymore. My body felt hot, accentuating the cold of her hands and lips.
"What was that for?" She asked, nipping at my lips.
"I'm trying to be more open with you," I answered, leaning into the hand that had found its way to my cheek. "I was scared before, but it's different now."
"How so?"
"You know about my past now." I looked to Jasper, who'd seemed content with just spectating but perked up at the mention of our last serious conversation. Suddenly he was right next to us.
"Darlin' you don't have a past," his tone was serious, and Alice made a sound of agreement, "nothing that happened was your fault, you had nothing to 'confess'" his hand replaced Alice's on my face. I sighed.
"I don't actually want to talk about this, I was just explaining." Jasper seemed like he wanted to protest but I interrupted him, "Please."
"Alright, alright." His hand went to my lower back, and he pulled me slightly to him. "But this conversation' ain't over." He whispered in my ear before leaving a kiss there.
Alice seemed like she was going to say something, but then tensed. Her sight immediately went to the tree line. Before I could ask Jasper fully pulled me into his chest, a soft growl escaping him. Everything moved and suddenly we were back in the living room. Esme and Carlisle were already there, and Edward led Bella down the stairs.
"I thought you said they weren't coming today." Edward spoke up first. Bella shot him a confused look.
"I said I hadn't seen them come today!" Alice defended.
"What's going on? Who's here?" I asked Jasper, who hadn't let up his grip. He didn't answer, his eyes fixed on the tree line through the window.
"I didn't think they'd come back so soon," Carlisle said, "Whatever brought them back must be urgent."
"Come back?," Bella echoed, "You mean Rosalie and Emmet, right?" She tried to keep her composure, but her hand seemed to instinctively rub at her bite mark. I tensed up, but Jasper rubbed soothing circles on my back trying to calm me. His gaze didn't leave the tree line though.
"Yes, we do." Edward answered, grabbing Bella's hands, "Rosalie and Alice had a little disagreement, so Rosalie and Emmet decided to move to Seattle for a while. We just didn't think they'd be back so soon."
A disagreement? I looked at Alice for an answer,  but she seemed to be completely ignoring my gaze.
Suddenly Jasper's gaze moved in the direction of the front door. After which the doorbell rang, bringing all conversation to an end. Rosalie and Emmet had come home.