The First Drop Of Rain

Chapter Sixty Six

December

Charlie couldn't stop gushing about the fact that Bella would be here in a month, and while I was excited to have an old childhood best friend back in town, I was also nervous about the amount of supernatural beings that had culminated in my life at this point. I stared at my sister, trying to process how I would even begin to explain that detail to Bella. I was once again hanging out at the Cullen's, dad had been encouraging me to get out. I think his recent brush with death made him want me to make as many memories as possible, he always asks me for stories when I get back. Stories that I of course have to make sound more human, can't exactly tell dad that I was watching Emmett and Jasper roll their sleeves up in the backyard because they had to settle a bet about who was better at hand to hand combat.

Alice was not allowed to wage, and by proxy neither was Edward. Beatrice had seemed intrigued, but conceded the betting process from not only the fact that she could see the future, but that she had the same training as Jasper. "Boys." Rose scoffed, though I knew she loved it.

"How many times have they duked it out like this?" I asked curiously, keeping one eye on the slowly brewing battle as I looked toward Rose and Alice. The boys had gone outside only by request of Esme, who was still decorating the living room with pristine decorations. Everyone else had remained inside, casting our eyes to the wall of glass that dominated the back of the room, though I suspected they did this only to appease me. The weather had turned bitter cold but hardly any snow had fallen yet, even just stepping outside sent me into a fit of chattering teeth.

"Are we talking since they met or just this year?" Rose smirked as Alice rolled her eyes. The boys collided in an explosion of force, and my eyes simply could not keep up with it.

"Hot chocolate?" Edward asked as he extended a mug towards me.

"Why thank you sir." I grinned, my hand closing around the warm ceramic. "Are you going to tell me what we are doing tonight or am I just going to have to guess?" Gazing up through my lashes, I maintained his eye contact as I sipped on the molten delight.

Edward heaved a dramatic sigh and smirked at me. "What part of surprise do you not understand?"

I stuck my tongue out and countered him with a smirk. "The part that requires patience." With another cautious yet greedy sip of my hot chocolate, I raised a challenging brow at him.

"We leave in two hours, it will take at least half of that for those two boneheads to settle." He thrust a thumb at the window, seconds later a snowball burst against the glass just beside his head.

"Come out here and say that like a man!" Emmett yelled through cupped hands. I was surprised to learn that he had even found enough snow to throw, but before I knew it Edward was kissing me atop the head.

"I have something I need to settle." He chuckled in as he dragged a hand along my side. "We leave in two hours, and I think Alice might want to dress you up again."

"Don't strain yourself, old man." I smiled as he walked out, as I turned to look out the window again I saw Jasper tipping his back in glee at my jab. "I was talking about you, Major Whitlock." I smirked as I watched his jaw snap close and his eyes pin on me.

Jasper's lips moved, but he didn't shout. A second later Alice was laughing as she tapped my elbow. "He's going to get you back for that."

"He can try." I grinned, watching all three of the boys disappear into the woods at a whiplash speed. "Where are they going?"

Alice heaved a dramatic sigh, cast a tired look to Rose, then begrudgingly spoke. "They are going to have a snowball fight up the mountain. There was heavy snowfall up there last night and it stuck rather well."