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Sakah
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 Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 1:25 pm Post subject: The Fragrance of the Perfect Lie |
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Disclaimer - All of the Twilight characters belong to the lovely Stephenie Meyer *bows*
Chapter One: Reality Hurts
Overwhelming scents of roses and other flowers that Bella couldn’t identify filled the room with a sweet fragrance. This was it. She would fulfill the last demand of Edward’s that would join them together for the rest of the eternity. Alice must’ve sensed her anxiety because she danced towards her in the blink of an eye.
“Cheer up, this is your wedding. Let me help you get your dress on,” She trilled in delight. Alice gracefully led her to a tall mirror and brought out Bella’s antique, yet beautiful wedding dress. Alice rambled on about how much trouble it caused her to order the right (human) food on such a short notice. Bella smirked at this; she knew how excited Alice was with preparing every little detail for her wedding.
Even though Alice had promised her wedding to be an unforgettable day; her hands shook whenever she thought about her wedding guests. Rosalie’s patient smile from behind made her feel slightly better; ever since that night Rosalie finally explained her behavior to her, slowly but surely, an everlasting friendship began to grow. She couldn’t imagine how flawless Edward would look in a tuxedo; it made her lightheaded to even try. She suddenly wondered if Jacob would come to her wedding or not; she wholeheartedly understood if he chose to not arrive.
Even so, a pang of sadness swept through her chest. She had a strong feeling that she wouldn’t see Jacob ever again, regardless of whether she changed into a vampire or not. The strength of her and Edward’s love would become that much more obvious after she would say “I do.” As she had explained to Edward and herself over and over again - she knew what she could live through, and leaving Edward wasn’t one of them.
“It’s time.” Rosalie lightly touched her shoulder, startling Bella out of her scattered daydream. They led her to the entrance of the magnificent church. She gave a shaky sigh when she saw Charlie - love and plain excitement shining his features - ready to lead her down the aisle.
He took a hold of her arm and as they slowly walked down the aisle; Bella finally settled her gaze on her future husband. His scorching golden eyes were filled with all the love and joy of the world - his beauty radiated the entire church and captured her heart. His gaze pulled her like a magnet as she walked down the aisle without managing to trip on her dress' full skirt. She barely noticed as Charlie let go and Bella completely ignored the priest’s words as she stared lovingly back into Edward’s eyes.
She regained focus when Edward said, "I do." This was the happiest moment of Bella’s entire life - all of the dangers and heartbreak that she had to face was worth it. She now knew better than to bet against Alice again. Her pixie sister in law was right: she was entirely grateful that Alice had made this perfect.
As the words, “I do,” formed on her mouth, a persistent alarm woke her up.
“What?” she whispered to herself, studying the room. She shook her head in confusion; looking around, she realized she was still in her bedroom, tangled in the sheets of her messy bed. Her wedding hadn’t happened yet. She wondered why Edward wasn’t there to greet her like he always was.
Oh well, maybe he needed to hunt with Jasper and Emmett and I completely forgot about it, she thought as she grasped for some reason to explain why Edward was gone. She quickly got dressed in a casual outfit of a blue sweater and jeans - Edward’s favorite outfit on her. She raced down the stairs, eager to spend the day at the Cullen’s house again. Charlie met her hurried pace with a frown.
“Eager for your first day of school?” He asked, confused.
“What do you mean? College?” She asked back, pouring some cereal into a bowl.
“What do you mean? You have to finish your Junior year and Senior year here first.” He joked. Bella froze and the spoon in her hand dropped when his words settled in.
Junior and senior year? She had already finished high school already…right? She gazed into Charlie’s eyes and took in his honest yet slightly confused facial expression.
Oh no, she thought as it clicked. Then the kitchen around her started to whirl sickeningly and her hands shook violently.
“Bella, what’s wrong? Are you nervous about meeting new people at Forks High?" Charlie asked worriedly. He must have noticed her most recent near-tumble to the floor had little to do with her usual clumsiness. "Don't worry about it, the kids around here are friendly," he said reassuringly.
“Nothing at all,” she managed to squeak. Maybe it was a belated April Fool’s joke that Charlie forgot to celebrate. She tried to quiet her agitated thoughts and decided that she would get through the day to see if he was joking or not.
She picked up her book bag and called a good-bye behind her as she climbed in her Chevy. She drove to its creaky limits and ignored the whining that her car gave her. If she hadn’t met Edward and it was all a dream, what would she do? She silenced the question at once, in order to keep her sanity in check.
She didn’t want to think about what she would do if it really had been a long, brilliant dream. Carefully parking her car by the administration building, she scanned the student parking lot and let out a sigh of relief as she saw the familiar shiny silver Volvo. Okay, it was a good sign so far. It had to be Edward’s Volvo; nobody else around would be able to afford one. If the people she knew really existed, that is.
I’m not going insane, I’m not going insane, she repeated the mantra in her mind numbly, over and over again. She entered the orange office once again, with a feeling of déjà vu clouding her senses.
“Can I help you?” Ms. Cope asked her politely. Bella used all the strength she could muster to not faint or throw up on her.
“I’m Isabella Swan,” she replied, feeling a hard lump in her throat rise.
“Of course,” said Ms. Cope as she once again, dug through a stack of documents and handed her the correct papers. “I have your schedule right here, and a map of the school.”
Bella grabbed the papers and ran out of the office before Ms. Cope could highlight the best routes to each class. She weighed her options of what to do next. Should she play out her first day of school again? |
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Music is like candy, you have to throw away the wrappers ^-^
"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." — Confucius
Last edited by Sakah on Sun Aug 17, 2008 12:53 am; edited 4 times in total |
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bunnie_i_am
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| Posted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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Wow. that's really cool! I love that! I hope you write more. I can't thank of anything that was bad. not even a mistake. Good job!
keep writeing! |
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Sakah
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 2:20 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you for your review ^-^ This fic would still have been riddled with grammatical mistakes if it wasn't for my beta. If you guys don't mind, I'll be posting the rest of the chapters here (I think it'd be a little tidier having just one thread of this fic)
Chapter Two: Blind Love?
Bella grumbled and her hands stiffened on the straps of her book bag when she noticed Eric passing by her, no doubt on his way to English. I can do this, I’ll get through the day and see if Edward…exists or not, she cringed at the word “exists.” She’d experienced many weird things – hanging out with vampires and werewolves can do that to a human – but this one took the cake.
What if Edward and the rest of the Cullens do exist? Would they remember me? This can’t really be my first stay at Forks High…these thoughts haunted her very being. A sharp chorus of the school bell alerted her to her first class of the day. She hastily entered her English room and gave Mr. Mason her slip. She studied the room with anxious eyes and desperately tried to remember where she had previously sat before.
It was as she had feared – her classmates that stared at her with eager expressions were the same classmates that she knew in her junior year of English. She easily ignored her classmates and Mr. Mason for the rest of the hour. As the clock's hands seemed to tick by much more slowly than usual; a faint feeling of nausea twisted at her insides and made her heart pound in apprehension.
She met face to face with reality once the bell rang again. Eric turned around and gave her a friendly smile. "You're Isabella Swan, aren't you?"
"Bella," She corrected with a strained smile.
"Where's your next class?" He asked with an eager expression on his face.
"Government with Jefferson, building six," She pretended to rummage through her bag for her schedule.
"I'm headed toward building four, I could show you the way..." She decided that it would be safer to stick with the same friends that she had made from before. "I'm Eric."
"Thanks." She genuinely smiled. They walked together to her next class and she said a good-bye before entering her next class. A sense of dread filled her when she thought about how many classes she still had to go through before it was time for lunch.
She continued to receive curious stares from her classmates, even though she hadn’t spoken to any of them at all today. She was terrified to even try to talk; she felt that she would start crying if she did. Jessica turned around from her seat to talk to her. Oh no, Jessica! Would she be able to “meet” her again?
“Hi, you’re the new kid that everyone’s talking about,” Jessica greeted. “Isabella Swan, right? My name is Jessica Stanley. How do you like Forks so far?” Jessica chewed her gum noisily.
Same old, same old. Nothing new, I was just about to marry my true love when I found out that it’s all A DREAM!!!! Bella tried her best to not grit her teeth.
“I go by Bella. Forks is…interesting.” She struggled to keep a normal smile on her face. The bell rang again.
“Oh, it’s time for lunch. Want to join me?” Jessica asked, leading the way to the cafeteria. Sweat broke out all over Bella’s body when Jessica said this. This is where I first saw the Cullens. Should I play it casual and eat with Jess? Her original plan of repeating her first day at Forks suddenly looked like a terrible idea. Should I skip lunch? Should I avoid Edward? An endless amount of options appeared before her, with each one becoming more and more ridiculous. As they both entered the cafeteria, Bella’s body couldn’t handle the stress any longer and she felt herself going under. “Bella?!” Jessica’s screech was the last thing that she heard.
Soft, warm hands shook her shoulders lightly. Warm? It must be Jacob. Wait a minute. Why would Jacob be here? Bella thought that he wouldn't speak to her ever again. The warm hands shook her a little harder, and she floated closer to consciousness. The past with Forks had all been a dream, including Jacob. Still, he wouldn't have any reason to be here, at Forks High. Her curiosity demanded her to wake up, just so she could discern if the past year-and-a-half had been a dream.
Bella opened her eyes and nearly fainted at what she saw. It was Edward kneeling over her all right. But he was human! His concerned, green eyes had been the first clue. The next, obvious clue was that his touch was warm, not the stony, cold touch that had the capability to shock her entire system. It comforted her to know that his tousled, bronze hair hadn’t changed, and he was still pretty handsome.
“Are you alright?” His soft voice was a little huskier, she noted with a surprise. She stopped studying his features to notice a crowd behind him. It was Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper! Obviously they were humans too; their features hadn’t changed significantly.
“Oh, yes, I’m alright Ed - um, I mean…thanks for asking!” She poorly disguised the nervousness in her tone. “My name’s Bella Swan.” She added.
“Edward Cullen,” Cullen? Were Esme and Carlisle still his “adopted” parents? “This is Rosalie, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper,” Edward pointed behind his shoulder. “Are you sure you don’t need to see the nurse?”
“Positive." She made a face at the thought of seeing the nurse. "Thanks for, er, saving me." Well, I just left quite a cliché for him to remember me by; a phrase that a damsel in distress would say out of a cheesy $.99 romance novel. Time to dig up gossip about the Cullens from Jessica. She trudged back to Jessica’s table with a heavy heart.
“Hey Bella! Are you okay?” Jessica asked as Bella sat back down next to her.
“I’m fine,” She debated in her head whether she should ask Jessica about the Cullens or not. "What do you know about the boy who just now caught me? Edward Cullen, I think? And what about his family?" she asked with a fake innocence.
“The Cullens are practically royal! They’re really rich and they moved here two years ago. They’re pretty popular around here,” Well, this was not at all like her dream. “They're all kids from different families, except for Jasper and Rosalie, the blondes. They're twins. Dr. Cullen and his wife adopted them when they were kids, or something like that,” Jessica must’ve noticed her staring at Edward, because she added with a smirk, “I’m dating Edward.”
Never mind about this being a new Jessica, Bella concluded quickly. A commonly used cliché summed up her situation perfectly; she thought that her day couldn’t get any worse, and of course, it did. Just my luck, she thought in frustration. For the rest of the lunch period, she chatted with her "new" friends, and for the last few minutes of lunch, she shyly took quick peeks towards Edward's table.
Bella felt her heart pound uneasily in her chest; it was time for Biology. At least Edward’s intent isn’t to drink my blood. She weakly laughed at the thought. She told Jessica good-bye and walked to her Biology class in low spirits. She handed Mr. Banner a slip, and looked up at her old lab table in surprise.
At last, there was a repeated moment that she was eternally grateful for; Edward’s table was once again, the only empty table. She struggled to not skip down the aisle in glee, which would undoubtedly end up as a klutzy disaster. Bella sat down next to Edward and tried to look surprised at the coincidence of this accidental arrangement. This time, Edward didn’t scoot his chair far away from hers.
“Hello Bella,” he greeted politely.
“Hi Edward.” A hot flush accidentally crept up to her face. Argh, I can’t be blushing in front of him! She felt like slapping herself for this slip up. A hollow ache rang in her chest when she remembered how much dream Edward had masochistically loved the way she looked and smelled when she blushed.
He didn’t seem to take notice though; his attention turned to Mr. Banner at the exact moment. Foolishly, it had surprised her how different the class period turned out to be. She half expected him to glare at her with hungry, black eyes at any moment. Her posture didn’t relax at all being this close to Edward in Biology.
A breath she didn't know she'd been holding back whooshed from her lungs at the sound of the bell.
“See you around.” Edward gave her a gentle smile and somehow, his green eyes managed to smolder.
“Bye.” She replied back, watching him leave the room in a graceful pace.
“Aren’t you Isabella Swan?” A much too familiar voice asked her. Enter Mike Newton, she thought sarcastically.
“Bella.” She corrected him with a half-hearted smile.
“I’m Mike.” He smiled back.
“Gym’s my next class.” The words came out sharper than she had meant them – all the little déjà vu moments were starting to really aggravate her.
“Gym’s my next class too, follow me.” Mike was as cheerful and loyal as ever.
Dream or no dream, her eye coordination was still terrible as ever. She was definitely not going to enjoy going through two years of gym again, that’s for sure. All those little details washed out of her mind once her thoughts focused back to Edward. What was she going to do with Edward?
It hurt her deeply to know that he was dating already. I guess it makes sense though, she thought sadly. The last part of her dream – the wedding – stood out prominently out in her mind. The wedding had been so beautiful so far, before she’d woken up. She couldn’t believe that her dream self would be so stubborn about marriage. Would it have made a difference?
When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it’s not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end. Those were her words that she believed in when James was about to hunt her; now, she wasn’t so sure about the accuracy of those words.
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By the way, you may wonder why the Cullens didn't eat at Jessica's table - you shall find out in a few chapters  |
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Music is like candy, you have to throw away the wrappers ^-^
"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." — Confucius |
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dommy65
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| Posted: Tue Aug 12, 2008 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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whoa!! this is great!! Jess dating Edward? What kind of Topsy-turvey world is this! ha This is very very interesting it had me glued to my seat. I can't wait to read more!!
Oh and by the way, i loved the way Edward's eyes are green now 
~Dommy |
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Sakah
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| Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 3:19 pm Post subject: |
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Mmkies, if you guys have any questions about the fic, I'll be happy to answer them!
Chapter Three: Oddly Satisfying
To Bella's relief, Gym class and the humiliating memories it held on to ended pretty quickly. She had observed four volleyball matches with a shudder; she knew that she wouldn’t manage to survive through a single volleyball match without battle scars. These everyday troubles distanced themselves as a more serious question loomed overhead; what would her next move be? The delicacy of her situation became clearer and clearer to her now; she has complete control of her fate again.
Her “first” encounter with Edward had made it very apparent that monsters and magic never existed in the first place. Her hand on the door of the Chevy froze in surprise as this thought sunk in. It meant that all of the vampire and werewolf myths she had accepted what seemed like ages ago had been a figment of her subconscious. Her mind went numb with shock, and before she knew it, her Chevy was riding down a very familiar, woodsy road.
An unconscious stream of tears slid down her cheek, when she finally realized where she was going. The two walls of trees and plants that surrounded her faded away into an elaborate drive way. Through her squinty eyes, she recognized a bright white mansion – the Cullens’ house. Before she could even think about turning around, Alice Cullen appeared next to her speckled window. She hesitated before cranking the window handle down - what possible excuse could she give Alice to explain why she was at her house?
“Hello Bella,” Alice peered through the window with a furrowed brow.
“Hi Alice,” Bella murmured shyly, not meeting her curious gaze.
"What are you doing here?" Alice's tone implied, "How you know where I live?"
“I-I…” Bella stuttered, wracking through her brain for a good excuse. “I heard that you guys are having a party, and I wanted to know when it was. I don’t know your number, so...” She silently prayed that Alice wouldn’t see through her half-lie. At lunch, Jessica had gushed over the details of her boyfriend’s party that would occur in his house. Although she desperately wanted to build a real relationship with the Cullens, her opinions on parties hadn’t wavered at all.
“Oh yeah, that party! It’s tomorrow at 6:00, after school. Everybody’s invited, so you can come if you want to. It’s just a get-together thing since it’s the beginning of the year, and all.” Alice’s suspicious expression immediately faded.
“That sounds fun, of course I’ll come,” she replied cheerfully. “See you tomorrow, Alice.” She said as she gave a little wave. Alice nodded and curiously peered into the back of Bella’s truck until it became a tiny, red beetle on the road. Alice felt a light hand press onto her shoulder and turned around.
“Who was that?” Rosalie asked with an ‘I-couldn’t-care-less’ expression on her face. Only a faint glitter of scattered emotions – curiosity and amusement – in her eyes gave her intentions away.
“Bella Swan, the girl that Edward saved in the cafeteria today. I could be wrong, but…I think she has a crush on Edward,” Alice explained, her brow furrowed in concentration. Yes, her intuition had hinted that Bella Swan would visit, but not exactly because of the party they were throwing.
“Of course she does – and it’s not only because your “predictions” have never been wrong yet – every girl in Forks High has a crush on him,” Rosalie rolled her eyes.
"She could be a better girlfriend for Edward," Alice's tone was thoughtful. "She doesn't stare at him with empty heads and drooling mouths the way the other girls do." Edward - being naturally handsome - commonly received a variety of stares from girls. Bella's stare was very puzzling and strange indeed; it was as if she were staring at a long-lost lover that she hadn't seen in years.
Alice didn’t worry about this stare too much; she could tell from the gentleness in her stare that she didn’t mean any harm. She shrugged off her suspicions and in a graceful pose, followed Rosalie back to their front door.
Bella arrived at her house in irritation - a downpour of rain caught her by surprise - and greeted Charlie on the way to her room. I can't imagine the Cullens throwing a party. Seeing as Alice is still Alice, it must've been her idea. She absolutely loathed parties, but she grudgingly accepted that this was one party that she had to crash. She needed to know how different the real Cullens were from her “dream” Cullens.
She took a quick shower and swiftly dressed into her pajamas. She knew that it was too early to go to bed, but she had to sleep again and discover what the next events in her dreams would be. She snapped the lights off and crawled into her snug bed impatiently. After a few silent minutes, she thought about her dream Edward and suddenly ached for his cold, comforting touch.
She felt a hollow ache in her chest that was similar to the ache she felt when her dream- Edward left. At that moment, she had no idea what she would do to fix her relationship with Edward; it hurt her deeply to know that he was dating at all, nonetheless Jessica Stanley! Sharp pains of jealousy stabbed at her heart, greedily chewing at the edges of her chest.
Jealousy eventually changed into anger, sadness, and back into an exhaustion that sent Bella into deep, unwelcoming sleep. She first dreamt about the empty maze that had haunted her endlessly for months, and it flashed back into her subconscious as quickly as it came. Finally, her dreams settled into a warm scene that had ended last night.
Bella had to rub her eyes twice before she could believe what she was seeing. She was standing at the edge of her meadow, and there was Edward, bare-chested and beckoning his pale finger over to the spot next to him. She unthinkingly skipped over to the middle of the sunny meadow and curled her arms around his chest. She inhaled his wonderful scent and her heart thumped unevenly at his welcoming touch.
Edward put a finger under her chin and lifted it so they could meet each other’s gazes. His warm, butterscotch eyes met her own brown eyes in amusement.
“I’ve missed you,” His velvety voice was saturated with happiness.
“I missed you too,” Bella replied, lightly tracing the contours of his flawless face. Their lips softly met, and as always, the kiss became rough as she entwined her fingers into his bronze hair. Surprisingly, Edward didn’t protest and their caresses became much more urgent than they were both used to.
Bella became utterly hypnotized in their unusual kiss and didn’t stop to notice the sky darken. A loud noise that sounded like an enormous heart beat replaced the usual chirping of birds and insects. A chilly heaviness in the air seemed to sigh its deadly breath and the flowers that surrounded the meadow turned into dust. The consistent heartbeat continued to thump, but Bella mistook it for her own.
Bella broke the spell of the kiss and felt an undeniable fear that someone was behind her. She jerked around and saw only the blackened trees and the dust that had once been colorful flowers. An ominous fog seeped into the meadow and finally caught her attention; there was something terribly wrong here. Her muscles protested against her stillness and warned her run as fast as possible.
She unwillingly turned back around and a piercing scream escaped her throat. Edward was glaring at her hungrily, and his eyes were completely black, filled with an ancient evil that had been around since the dawn of man. This wasn’t the Edward she knew; deep down, she knew it was the monster that Edward had repeatedly warned her about. She unsuccessfully tried to struggle against him, and his steely grip caught her left arm.
“Why did you leave me Bella?” An unfamiliar voice came out of Edward’s mouth. He grinned a smile that would only belong to a hunter, and grabbed her other arm.
“You’re not Edward!” Bella repeated over and over again until the three words became meaningless. ‘This is only a nightmare! Wake up right now!’ she screamed at her subconscious. She gave one last scream of terror before she woke up to find Charlie right in front of her, gripping her shoulders in fear.
“Bella, you were screaming in your sleep. What happened?” Charlie pulled her into a comforting embrace. She felt a few tears fall from her eyes and buried her face into his shoulder.
“I-it was n-n-nothing. Just a-a bad n-nightmare,” Bella replied groggily.
“It’s 5:30 am right now. You look really tired, try to go back to sleep,” he put a hand to Bella’s forehead. “You have a fever. I’ll call the school to let them know that you’re not going to school.” His words were already fading as she fell back into a dreamless sleep.
Bella woke up with a start and squinted against the bright light that filtered through her window. She twisted her neck towards her alarm clock that glowed 2:30 pm. A note underneath it caught her attention and she held it in her hands carefully.
I’ll be back by 6:30 tonight, call me if you need anything.
Love, Dad
Below the clumsy scrawl was the number to the local police department. She suppressed a sigh and stretched out her arms, feeling her elbows creak in protest. She was disheartened as she stared at the note.; she remembered in clarity every single detail of her terrible nightmare last night. A big yawn filled the silence and she rushed into the bathroom, eager to take a hot shower.
Her nightmare only seemed to make her more nervous and eager for Edward’s upcoming party. Of course she was still planning to go; despite her dream, she still craved Edward’s company. She raced through her shower much more quickly than she anticipated, and dressed into a pair of worn out jeans and an old sweater.
As she brushed through her tangled locks; she searched through her wardrobe for the right outfit that she would wear for the party. She finally decided to wear a new pair of jeans and a blue sweater. She stubbornly fought against the images of her nightmare Edward; nothing would get in her way as she met the Cullens tonight. |
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Music is like candy, you have to throw away the wrappers ^-^
"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." — Confucius |
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Sakah
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 1:13 am Post subject: |
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By the way, feel completely free to critique the heck out this fic (I'm new at writing and I want to know if there's any aspect of a good fic that this fic seriously lacks. If it's boring or the characters are acting out of character, I'd love for you to say so.)
Chapter Four: Pale Memories
Bella found a can of chicken noodle soup, which she left in the cupboard. Do I really have to gain Charlie’s trust over kitchen duties again? she thought as she filled a pan with oil and set it on the stove. She decided to fry fish for Charlie in the meantime, as a poor attempt to get her mind off of the party. Even though Alice had definitely been eager enough to invite her to the party, it still didn’t change the fact that Bella hadn’t the slightest clue of how to “party.” It terrified her that she didn’t even know what kind of behavior the Cullens would expect out of her.
The rest of the day had been uneventful – it was too rainy to read outside, so Bella decided to curl up in a ball on her couch and re-read Mansfield Park. When the sun had finally set, she left a bookmark in her book and glanced at the plain clock on the wall. Her heart skipped a beat as she read 5:48, and she quickly dressed into her outfit and a pair of boots. It was too late to do anything fancy with her hair, so she pinned her bangs to the side with a tiny blue bow. She left a note for Charlie explaining where she was and left in haste.
Her ride to the Cullens’ house hadn’t taken as long as she expected. The row of cars that were parked in their drive way had extended halfway to the end of the street. Loud music pounded in her ears and alerted her that the party had already begun. As Bella shuffled through their half-open door, Alice appeared in front her and a smile formed on her face.
“Hi Bella, let’s go join my siblings and see what they’re up to,” Alice laughed with a manic gleam in her eye. Bella didn’t trust Alice’s expression, but warily followed her with a patient smile. They had to worm their way through the tightly packed crowd, and eventually reached a leather couch. Jasper and Emmett looked like they were arguing about something, whilst Edward and Jessica were chatting while holding hands. Bella’s smile stiffened and she had to grit her teeth silently so she wouldn’t cry.
“Hey guys, look who showed up! Bella Swan!” Alice had to cup her hands to her mouth and yell over the deafening rock music. Edward, Jasper, Emmett, and Jessica stopped their current activities to greet Bella.
“I’m glad you could make it,” Edward gave her a quick smile that sent Bella’s heart thump unevenly.
“Hello,” Jasper gave her a polite nod.
“Welcome to the Cullens’ pad!” Emmett laughed and shook her hand roughly.
“There’s enough room for everyone, so scoot over!” Alice sat down next to Jessica and waved her hand towards Bella. Bella timidly sat down and scanned the room with a casual expression.
“So, where did you move from?” Alice asked with a burning curiosity in her tone. Bella hesitated before replying.
“Phoenix, Arizona. My mom re-married and I sent myself here, so she can travel with Phil. He has a lot of minor league baseball games to play,” For some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to lie to Alice. She figured if she was going to establish a good relationship with the Cullens again; why not tell them the truth? Atleast, the truth that she was willing to fess up to – which did not include her recent dreams.
Sympathy tugged at the edges of Alice’s smile and she continued to hold Bella’s gaze.
"Ugh, could we change the station? I know a really good station that plays hip hop." Jessica whined.
"Bella's a new guest, so I think she should choose the next station," Alice intervened. "What kind of music do you listen to?"
“Bits and pieces of different kinds of music. I really like Debussy’s music,” Bella slightly raised her voice at the last sentence, feeling self-conscious.
“You listen to Debussy?” Edward leaned over and gazed into her eyes in excitement. He suddenly bolted from the couch and tread across the room, towards the speakers. He switched the volume off and quickly strode to his piano. Bella’s heart skipped a beat as his pale fingers seemed to silently study the sleek keys.
The noisy crowd settled down once they noticed Edward on the piano bench. Their fascinated stares clearly expressed the depth of their appreciation for his piano skills. A simple tune that steadily increased into a complex composition filled the silence, and captured everyone’s attention. There was a dark beauty to the song that completely fascinated Bella – it strangely reminded her of the lullaby that dream-Edward had composed for her, except it sounded so lonely. A hard lump in her throat rose and she squinted back the tears that threatened to flow – the song was beautiful beyond description.
The song finally ended, and the crowd erupted in clapping and cheers.
“That was amazing,” Bella told Edward as he squeezed through the crowd to sit back down next to Jessica.
“Thank you. I’m always glad to meet a Debussy fan,” Edward gave her a crooked smile.
The rest of the party had gone far better than Bella expected possible. They joked around about various teachers, and she found herself relax and join the conversation in an animated manner. She lost track of time, until Alice asked her what time she needed to be home by.
“It’s almost 9:30,” Alice checked her watch. Bella’s posture froze and her eyes widened in surprise. I wrote to Charlie that I’d only be here for an hour or two!
“I’m sorry, but I really need to leave. I’ll see you guys tomorrow and thanks for the invitation!” she scrambled off of the couch and headed out the door.
“Bye Bella!” Alice yelled. “I’ll see you at lunch!”
Lunch? But the Cullens had sat at another table at lunch yesterday – what had changed to have them decide to sit with her now? Maybe it actually had something to do with Jessica. She shrugged off these over-all unimportant questions and drove back home. Through the bleak headlights of her truck, she saw the outline of Charlie with the front door open behind him. She parked her Chevy, turned the ignition off, and kept a steady pace towards the front door. A number of likely and not-so-likely excuses to give Charlie ran through her head as she came closer and closer to her house.
“You’re late,” Charlie’s worried tone revealed a hint of anger.
“I’m sorry, Dad. The party was really fun and I lost track of time,” Bella tried to explain. “I would’ve called you, but I forgot…” Charlie seemed to accept this answer and gave her a warm smile.
“There weren’t any drugs or alcohol? Any boys that caught your eye?” he joked, struggling to keep a serious face.
“Of course not, to all three questions,” she smiled. “Did you know that Edward Cullen is a talented pianist?” They both left the cold outside, and entered their cozy living room.
“No, I didn’t know that. The Cullens are popular around here, and I never have to put up with any trouble from Dr. Cullen’s kids.” Bella gave a sigh of relief at this – he obviously approved the Cullen family and Edward. Charlie sat back down on the couch and turned his attention to a basketball game on television.
“Good night!” she called over her shoulder as she was raced towards her bedroom.
“’Night,” Charlie vaguely replied.
Bella changed into her pajamas and turned on her computer. As it slowly chugged into life, she sat there and thought about her recent dreams. Even though her last dream had been frightening, she still longed to be with dream-Edward and his family. She knew that her fixations on these dreams were becoming unhealthy, but she had decided that it didn’t matter for the moment. All that mattered was to be with the Cullens and their dream counter-parts.
She turned on the internet and after getting rid of a few pop-ups, she checked her inbox. She received three e-mails from her mom and replied back to one of them. She described her immediate impression of Forks and little details about school and the party. Afterwards, she shut down her computer, turned off the lights, and snuggled into her bed.
She mentally braced herself for her upcoming dreams – she had a very strong feeling she would be meeting Edward again. As she concentrated on the soothing sounds of the rain outside, she felt herself slowly fall into her personal dream world.
Bella's expectant gaze quickly became confused once she realized she was surrounded by a chaotic pattern of undefined colors.
“Hello? Edward?” she asked, feeling very frightened.
“Bella,” Edward whispered in her ear. She jerked around and met his terrified, golden gaze. Before she could even greet him, he stood a few steps back.
“Bella, listen to me and listen well. You have to get out of Forks as soon as possible. Go back to Renee and stay with her. If you don’t…” His voice suddenly sounded strangely distant and she could only pick up a few words of the rest of his speech. “They…coming…leave…or else…now…dangerous…”
“I-I can’t hear you. Where are you going, Edward?” Bella became more and more terrified as her dream and Edward started to fade. “I don’t understand your warning!”
Her dream faded and she found herself in a dreamless, empty sleep. Streaks of cold light that filtered through the windows woke her up. She sighed in frustration and looked at her alarm clock. It was 6:30, which meant that she definitely needed to get up soon and get ready for school. A much more important matter was at hand – what was Edward trying to warn her about, and why did he want her out of Forks? |
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Music is like candy, you have to throw away the wrappers ^-^
"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." — Confucius |
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dommy65
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:09 pm Post subject: |
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This is really great. I liked the part with Rosalie making fun of Alice's 'feelings' it tied in Edward's description of their special talents. I couldn't really find any mistakes except that I think 'Internet' is supposed to be capitalized. You had me glued to my seat again! Awesome job!
~Dommy |
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[jacob]blackisthenewpink
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:55 pm Post subject: |
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It's good, except for the practicality of the whole theme. If she never went to her first day in Forks High, how could she have known all of the people there, and when she woke up, they were real? Dreams don't work that way.
If you have an explanation, PM me.
~Noah~ |
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Team Jacob: Because REAL men don't sparkle.
Team Switzerland: Because I like Edward, too. |
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Sakah
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| Posted: Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:33 pm Post subject: |
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Thank you for your reviews ^-^ <<I love that smilie, that's why I use it to death!
On with the next chapter! By the way, I only work on this piece once a week (pretty much, just to wait for those creative juices to build up. Or maybe it's procrastination...) so I probably won't be updating this fic daily. I had written these few chapters in the last month, but I promise that I will keep working on it, even when school starts (which is this Wednesday for me.)
P.S. I give thanks to helloworld109 (you'll find her on Twilight Archives) for making this fic so much better than it was before! Betas rock!
Chapter Five: Light/Dark
Bella tried to act as normal as possible for Charlie’s sake – she didn’t want to worry Charlie with her strange dreams. Unfortunately, she knew it would be fruitless to worry over these troubling dreams in school, especially since she wanted to ‘repair’ her relationship with the Cullens without giving them the impression that she ignores people on a regular basis. Charlie’s last few words, which suspiciously sounded like ‘wolf problem’, pulled her out of her hazy daydream and back into reality.
“What did you say?” she struggled to mask the panic in her voice and keep a casual, disinterested frown on her face.
“It looks like a couple of wolves had escaped from a local zoo. The news said to keep out of the woods until they gather them up again,” Charlie explained using a cool and collect tone, which he only used when he was warning her about something extremely dangerous. “I want you to promise me you won’t go hiking around here until they collect the wolves.”
“I promise I won’t go hiking around here at all,” she replied with a solemn look in her eyes. Truthfully, she didn’t know if she would be able to keep this promise. Her dream-self had been a ‘danger magnet’ and she had a foreboding feeling she would get into some kind of trouble, too. A shot of fear for herself and Charlie tingled through her system; she could very well be dealing with something even deadlier than a vampire from her dreams and not even know about it. She swallowed back her fears, and managed to tell Charlie to "Have a good day at work."
Charlie dumped his dishes in the sink and called a ‘good-bye’ behind him as he left the house. She quickly stumbled upstairs to her room to get dressed into a cozy outfit and collect her backpack. After hastily gulping down a bowl of corn flakes, she left the bowl in the sink and carefully marched towards her rusty Chevy. The fact that a light veil of snow coated the ground and her car left her with a queasy feeling in her stomach. The engine stuttered and after a few more tries, the ignition flared the engine into a deafening roar.
As she finally reached Fork High’s student parking lot, she became extremely aware of the other students’ – especially Tyler’s – cars and their proximity to her own. She gave a slight shudder at the thought of dealing with Tyler’s oncoming van once again without dream-Edward there to save her. After she parked the car, she gingerly placed her right foot on the slick ground. She took a deep breath, placed her other foot next to her right foot, and pushed herself out of the Chevy. She gave a squeal of surprise as her feet gave out under her and she landed on her behind. Her face burned as she stood up and supported her weight against the door. She could immediately tell that this was not going to be one of her luckier days.
Her words undoubtedly came back to haunt her, and every little thing she seemed to do went wrong for the rest of the day. During English, the ink from her pen started to bleed on her jeans, and she missed the first fifteen minutes of her next class, trying to wash the stain out. Later on, she happened to greet Edward in the hallway and trip over her own feet in the process. This is not my day, she silently fumed to herself as she walked with Jessica to the cafeteria. Her mouth slightly opened in surprise as she turned her gaze on her usual table – there was Edward, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper, laughing and eating among her other friends like they had always sat there.
Her eyes tightened in the teensiest fraction in suspicion at this arrangement. Why were the Cullens sitting at Jessica’s table now, when they didn’t on Bella’s first day of Forks High? A new revelation dawned in her mind and settled into her suspicious thoughts as she tried to come up with a rational conclusion. I think that Edward and Jessica are having relationship issues. She couldn’t believe how occupied her mind had been, when the clues were right under her nose the whole time. She carefully observed them both from the corners of her eyes during the whole lunch period.
If one was observant enough, it was obvious how strained their relationship actually turned out to be. Edward and Jessica sat close to their other neighbors and their movements were slightly stiff when they were in close contact to each other. She also noticed the hard glints in their eyes, and how they gritted their teeth as they forced small talk upon one another. Maybe they just had a fight? I wonder what happened…her train of thought was interrupted by Mike’s announcement.
“Hey guys, I think we should plan a trip to the La Push Ocean Park in a few weeks. It’d be the perfect time to go,” said Mike as he gave Bella a wink. “What do you think?” He gazed at the rest of them with plain excitement glowing on his facial expressions.
“It sounds like a great idea!” Alice piped up. The rest of the table chimed in and eagerly agreed with Alice.
Bella’s heart skipped a beat when Mike mentioned the La Push reservation. She had completely forgotten about Jacob and Sam Uley’s pack. She tried to fit the missing pieces of the mysterious puzzle together – since the Cullens turned out to be human, would the Quileute tribe turn out to be human too? Or would they still be werewolves? A pressure grew against her skull and she could feel a headache on its way. She was sorely tempted to raise her fist against the sky and scream, “Why, oh why can’t I live a normal life just like the other six billion human beings on this planet? What makes me so different from the others?” Instead, she ignored these thoughts, and concentrated on finishing her chicken burger and her bottle of lemonade.
As inevitable as it was, the bell rang once again and forced her to concentrate on her next class, Biology.
The rest of the school day went by in an alarming blur, and left Bella lightheaded. Jumbled thoughts of her future relationships with Edward and Jacob occupied her mind as her Chevy groaned its way back home. Once she arrived back to her house, she busied herself with making a light dinner. Charlie arrived a little later than expected and they slowly enjoyed their silent meal. After she cleaned the dishes, Charlie flopped himself onto his arm chair and asked her to join him in the living room.
Bella raised an eyebrow in confusion at this request – what could possibly be on TV that Charlie would want to show her? She drifted to the sofa and attentively listened to the current program. It was the nightly news channel, which showed pictures of the escaped wolves and strange information about these particular wolves. Her eyes widened in horror at these pictures; these wolves looked like freakishly mutated mammals that were as big as horses.
No, it can’t be true, she thought as her composure became absolutely still and her mouth froze into an “o” figure. The horrifying truth which had cleverly veiled itself became exposed – this world truly held mythical creatures such as werewolves. And since werewolves can’t exist without vampires and vice versa, well, you get the idea. Uncontrollable giggles escaped her throat and warned her of how close she was to a possible breakdown.
“What’s so funny?” Charlie asked as a cautious frown formed on his face.
“Are those wolves really wolves? I mean, look at how ridiculous they are. They don't even look like wolves,” Bella tried to joke in an animated manner, and she raised her arms in the air to exaggerate the effect. “Are they even from America?”
“Well…the news said that they’re a new breed that came from Canada and scientists wanted to test them here,” Charlie replied as his frown lessened a little bit. “They do look pretty huge for wolves. See, Bella, I wasn’t joking around when I said it would be a dangerous idea to hike in these woods.”
Bella nodded and ignored this supposed “information” from the news. She knew that the news station had no idea whatsoever of what these monstrous beings were, and they only made up these lies to safely warn the public. The only problem was the question of what officials would do next. These wolves could very well be Sam Uley’s pack and it would be her fault if any harm came to them.
“Good-night, Dad.” she said as she stumbled upstairs to her room to gather pajamas to wear after she took a quick shower.
She was determined to find out any necessary information from dream-Edward tonight. Maybe he would explain his warning from last night’s dream and tell her the identities of the “escaped” werewolves. This extreme determination prevented her from drifting into sleep as easily as usual, but she didn’t take any medicine to solve this problem. Instead, she let her memories of her meadow drown out all of her other worries and she could almost feel the breezy, electrical shock that her and dream-Edward had shared.
Bella found herself surrounded by the Cullens’ living room with only Alice there to greet her. She gave a little scream of surprise and hugged Alice with all of her feeble strength.
“Alice, you do not know how good it is to see you again!” She stopped to notice Alice’s blank expression. Alice turned her focus to Bella and continued to stare at her with blank eyes.
“Things are not always as they seem to be. Take heed of this warning or else you will find yourself facing Death with no escape,” Bella had to strain her ears to hear Alice’s quiet warning.
“Listen to what Alice has to say, she’s speaking the truth!” Esme appeared before her and she took Bella’s hands into her own. “The safest thing for you and Charlie is to leave here and Forks forever! Please Bella, believe in what we’re telling you.” Her golden gaze was filled with pure concern and love.
Dream-Alice and Esme’s warnings faintly echoed in her dreams until she felt a light grip on her arm. The hands started to shake her a little and she recognized Charlie’s voice whispering in her ear, “Wake up Bella, or else you’ll be late for school.” Her eyes flew open and she saw Charlie closing the door behind him.
She gave a moan of frustration and punched her pillows in response to her latest dream. “Why are these dreams becoming more and more strange?” she muttered to herself in exasperation. It was never going to end, was it? She thought about the chilling truth to these words, but instead of knowing it was Victoria hunting her down this time, she had no clue of what was after her this very moment. |
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Music is like candy, you have to throw away the wrappers ^-^
"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated." — Confucius |
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dommy65
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| Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2008 3:08 am Post subject: |
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Hi! sorry this took so long for me to get to! 
This is still really interesting. I'm confused by the dreams and what's hunting Bella but the suspense makes me want more so kudos! One thing I suggest is explaining whether or not Bella is clumsy and accident-prone. When you wrote:
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| Her dream-self had been a ‘danger magnet’ and she had a foreboding feeling she would get into some kind of trouble, too. |
it got me thinking about that.
I can't wait for her to actually have a long conversation with any of the Cullens. And I'm excited for her to meet Jacob... again or for the first time...  haha confusion!!
~Dommy |
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I said your eyes, they say nothing
So you can't stop me
On summer days like these
I said words they mean nothing
So you can't hurt me |
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JackBauerHasABaldSpot
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| Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2008 1:20 am Post subject: |
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Well, this is something I thought I'd never see: a Twilight fanfic I actually like! Most of the ones I've seen aren't shameful, just okay. This one was pretty interesting.
Certainly the idea's been a little...done, but I admire how you crafted it here. The endings of the chapters with the dreams appear to be influenced a bit by Bless Me, Ultima (it's okay!), and, like BMU, have very deep meanings relating to the future.
I'm so glad to see no need for grammar or spelling corrections in this story (it truly helps), but I've got more than simple praise.
Knowing the character of Bella from the series as I do, I doubt her reaction to Edward and the other vamps-turned-normal would be so casual. Surely you recall her behavior in New Moon? The girl is anything but cool when bloodsuckers are involved. This new third-person objective is an adjustment, and I do feel that I'm looking through a telescope sometimes when I read rather than really being there, but I like the other ways in which you have kept up Meyer's style. These seem to be characters instead of puppets coincidentally named Bella and Edward (although he is a bit unlike himself).
Also, the news about the possible werewolves is pretty great. I'd hate to have to wait so long to hear of my favorite man Jacob. Nice call. Now that I think about it, nice fanfic. Will there be more? |
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LOLLIPOPGIRL030
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| Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 4:12 am Post subject: |
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I really liked this chapter. The whole concept is really twisted, but in a good way. Edward and Jessica? Edward being human period was enough to keep me reading! You took the plot of Twilight and totally made it your own. I absolutly love it! PM me when ever you write more!  |
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