Sex and Candy: Chapter one

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Sex & Candy

Chapter 1: Nothing Gets Crossed Off

Bella


I hated the cold but, more than that, I hated my mother. Well, no, that was a lie, I didn’t hate her, I just didn’t understand her.. Renee had always been spontaneous and free spirited. She had wanted to travel the world and meet new people when she had been younger…instead, she had married Charlie in impromptu wedding in Vegas and had me nine months later.

The thing is, a couple of years later, after they’d settled in Forks, she’d realized that the cold, depressing weather wasn’t for her and we’d moved to Phoenix, where we’d lived ever since. That is…until she met her fiancée.

We were now going back to Forks, because my mother had fallen crazily in love again, but it wasn’t my dad this time. No, apparently she’d met some guy in a hospital when she’d gone after cutting herself whilst cooking, and it was ‘love at first sight.’

It wasn’t until the next date that she found out where he was from, and how he was visiting the hospital, ‘volunteering‘. When he told her he was from Forks, she told me her heart had momentarily deflated, but the next, she thought of it as a sign that maybe she truly did belong there.

After that small incident, they’d gone on countless dates whenever he came to visit her in Phoenix. Only two months after that, my mother blurted out one morning over her overly cooked eggs that she was getting married and that we would both be moving back to Forks to live with him.

The more logical part of me refused to believe she was serious- and if she was, I didn’t think it would go far enough for us to actually move to Forks. I refused to believe she was serious because she had been the one to leave that town because she hated it.

It didn’t really hit me until we were seated, first class ( on the her fiancé’s insistence) in a plane on our way to Forks. The leather seats were hard and cold, and my mother was fast asleep with a tiny smile etched on her face. I knew she was probably dreaming of her dreamy fiancée- as she described him, waiting for her at the airport.

I tried to close my eyes and sleep too, but there was too much turbulence and it made me feel sick instead. So I closed my eyes and turned on my I-pod.

I hadn’t given much thought to where we’d be going or staying when the plane landed in Forks. The thought that my dad would pick us up had certainly crossed my mind. But then I remembered why it was that we were both going back to Forks this time, and I doubted he’d be happy to pick us up, knowing my mom was coming back to get married- and not to him.

The one thing I wasn’t expecting though was my mother’s fiancé and future husband waiting for us by his car, searching for my mother in the small crowd of people getting off the plane. As soon as they spotted each other, it was as if they were hormonal, high school teenagers, running to each other in a very clichéd way.

My mother jumped up, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him, all the while making me want to gag. I wasn’t used to seeing Renee this worked up over anybody. After their little reunion, he walked over and introduced himself.

He was extremely pale, for one, but had some of the most exquisite, golden eyes I had ever seen. In fact, seeing him up close for the first time made it incredibly apparent how Renee could have fallen for him in the first place, She was a sucker for pretty boys. His hair was an amazing, platinum blond, and his lips perfectly sculptured- he looked the epitome of a Grecian God.

I’d never been jealous of my mom, never had a reason to. Actually, sometimes I pitied her, because she always had ADD when it came to guys, but the moment I looked into those magnificent golden eyes- the pit of my stomach grew with such potent bitterness, because I doubted I would ever find my own version of Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

“It’s wonderful to finally meet you, Bella. Your mother has told me great things about you,” His voice was as perfect as his looks, and his smile was brilliance beyond that of a movie star. And though he was polite, I doubted my mother had spoken to him about me at all.

Renee was like a teenager and had probably spent all their alone time obsessing over the details of him and their ‘love’ for each other. He immediately took my carry-on bags, and I smiled back weakly. What could I do? Be ecstatic over the fact that it was this stranger’s fault that I was coming back to the town I dreaded the most? Yeah, I always put on a brave face for my father, and stuck through the week when I came to visit him, but knowing that I would live here for at least two years until I was eighteen and could run away, made me want to take some sleeping pills and sleep…for those two years.

We loaded our baggage into his car, and my mom took the front seat, holding his hand the whole time while they whispered sweet nothings to each other. It was too much for me to bear, having to watch their PDA. Instead, I decided to put my earphones back on and close my eyes, pretending I was still under the hot sun of Phoenix.

…….

“Bella?…Bella…Bella”, My moms voice made itself louder and she started shaking me awake. I sighed and laughed, dying to tell her about the horrible nightmare I’d had. That we were back in Forks- only, when I opened my eyes, saw the cloudy gray sky and felt a chilly wind come inside the car, I internally groaned.

My nightmare was still a reality, and I was still in the back of my mother’s fiancée’s Porsche, but now in front a beautiful, white, three story mansion. There was a fountain in the driveway that formed a circle for cars to go around. The entrance had two large, black gates that were slowly closing. I was momentarily marveled by it all.

Yeah, she’d neglected to mention that he was filthy rich.

Well, I sighed and stepped out of the car into the freezing October cold, it wasn’t like I had another option. It was either live with my mom or with Charlie. Either way it was Forks- basically, either way, I was screwed. Still, I couldn’t help thinking how mildly selfish it was of her to make us move, when we both hated cold weather, both hated small towns- so yeah, I felt slightly betrayed by her. I couldn’t believe she was sacrificing her the things she liked for some guy.

“The house was designed by my grandfather,” Carlisle took notice of my lack of speech. I helped him with one of my bags and nodded my head, still not sure of what to say.

My mother was ahead of us and had already gone inside, anxious, like a child. I, however, wanted to take my time to try and take in what was happening, what I was seeing.

When we got to the door, Carlisle opened it for me, and waited as I stepped inside. Again, I was overwhelmed by the beauty of it. There was so much intricacy in the molding of the walls that it completely silenced me.

My mom’s footsteps got closer behind me and I turned around to see her radiant face once more. Carlisle quickly put his arm around her and kissed her cheek. Everything was absolutely too much for me. The house, Carlisle, the absurd love between the two of them- it was like living in the twilight zone.

“Would you like to see your room, Bella?”

The truth? There wasn't anything I wanted to see less. The actual thought of having a permanent residence in this place gave me the chills. I felt condemned in someway, like it was punishment that this was happening. Couldn't she tell by the bags under my eyes, the smile that wasn't present, the constant headache that I carried that this wasn't where I wanted to be? Of course Renee couldn't. Sadly, all that mattered to her was the off-the-charts chemistry that exploded between the both of them, anything apart from that was indifferent to them.

Either way, I nodded, because it was what they expected, and Renee pulled on Carlisle's hand up the stairs, like some little kid at a theme park.. I myself, followed slowly, clutching on to my backpack so hard that my fingers had turned white. It wasn't because I was angry- OK, that's a lie, I was- but it was to prevent me from screaming.

The room, like the rest of the house, was huge, maybe even as big as our house had been back in Phoenix. It was ivory, and held a four poster bed with white, satin sheets on one side of the room. I had a fireplace, a delicate looking glass vanity, and Renee had opened a door to reveal my own bathroom, something she knew I secretly had hoped for.

Almost immediately, they were walking out the door giggling only, when they were about to close the door, she stepped back in and looked at me, "Don't forget, you're having dinner with your dad tonight."

And she was gone.

With all the torment of having to move here that day, I had completely forgotten that I had to meet with my dad. Maybe a bubble of happiness would have been inside me before, it had been every time I had come to visit my dad- but it was absent inside of me now. There was a small part of me that didn't register anything at all- that didn't care about seeing him.

I closed my eyes and sighed, wishing I could open them to see that it was all just some horrible nightmare that I was in. But, I knew that when I opened my eyes, it would just be the same, that there wasn't anything I could do to get out of this.

Something started vibrating next to me- my cell phone. I looked at the caller ID, hoping it could be a friend from Arizona, but instead it surprised me to see that it was Alice.

What could I say about Alice? Other than a pixie, which she was often referred to. She was loud, always hyper, and never missed a chance to comment on whatever you were wearing. When she would, it would never bother me, I'd brush it off, but if there was something about her was her persistence.

I had met her when I was six and visiting my dad. He'd taken me along with him to work one day, even though he'd promised to take the week off since I was visiting him, and we'd gone to pick up an 'eight year old runaway'- that being Alice. She had been dressed in a Burberry dress with sandals, and I remember how she'd clutched her Louis Vuitton luggage close to her.

When Charlie had asked her why she'd run away, I'd giggled- her mom had frozen her credit card. At first, she'd glared at me, as if I didn't understand the horrors through which she was going through. The only credit card I had ever seen was the one that Charlie had used to buy my plane ticket to visit him, but I hadn't ever touched one.

Even now, I don't remember what had changed her mind about me as she sat with me in the back of the cruiser. But she had suddenly told me that if I curled my hair instead of having it in a ponytail it would look great. After that, and the mini makeover, we had become instant friends. And every time I would come and visit Charlie in Forks, Alice would call as soon as I landed, already having an itinerary for my stay there.

"Hello?" I picked up the phone, heard an intake of breath on the other line and tires screeching. I couldn't help it, I rolled my eyes, "Are you driving and doing your make-up again?"

Alice scoffed on the other side, "I have to, I'm running late to get you. Plus, I had to pick up your costume from the dry cleaners, and the lady didn't speak English, so it took me like, literally an hour to explain to her that American Express was a credit card and not some fast food joint."

My face formed a frown and I sat up straight, "Costume? For what? And where are we late to?"

There was a loud noise outside my bedroom, and I stood up to go see what it was- a yellow Porsche.

"I'll explain everything when I get to your room."

...

"A Halloween party? And I have to be an Angel?!" I screeched, examining the long, flowing dress that she had taken out of the garment bag.

Alice rolled her eyes dramatically and pointed to the dress, "This isn't just an angel costume. It's from a movie, Bella-" she waited for me to give some type of response, but I just opened my eyes further and shrugged in complete bewilderment, "Don't you watch any movies?"

I rolled my eyes, "Just tell me what movie it's from, and let’s get this over with."

"This was the costume that Claire Danes wore as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet," she smiled excitedly. The dress wasn't ugly, it was simple, without any embellished, jewels or glitter to it, something an Angel might actually wear if they existed. There wasn't any problem with the look of it- just the idea of it. I couldn't picture myself in such a costume, it didn't feel right.

She noticed my anxiety and shook her head, "You can't dress up as anyone else- everyone's costume was decided through a random raffle. And don't worry, there will be a Romeo out there for you, I made sure they didn't forget to pick one for you- just to make sure it wasn't Jasper."

Jasper was Alice's boyfriend, no actually scratch that- more like soul mate, considering they had been together since they were kids. She'd told me herself they really hadn't ever said the words boyfriend or girlfriend, they'd just bonded together like it was biologically predetermined and had been inseparable since they had laid eyes on each other.

So it was natural and understandable that she'd ask whoever the deciding person was to make sure he wouldn't be my Romeo. I frowned and finally looked at what she was wearing, "Wait- what are you supposed to be?"

She was in a long, flowing, poison Ivy, green, satin dress and wore a single, pearl necklace. As I asked her, she twirled on her heels and smirked, "I'm Cecilia from Atonement."

"Isn't that a movie? And why am I even going to this party?" I asked suddenly, realizing how ridiculous it all seemed.

Alice groaned and tapped her foot once, "This is the party of the year, and the best way for you to get to know everyone who goes to school with us, Bella. Plus, you've never gone to a party with me when you've come to visit your dad. It's about time you paid up, don't you think?"

With a deep sigh, and a voice in the back of my head- telling me this wasn't a good idea, and that I'd regret it completely, later- I nodded, "Fine."

Edward

There was one thing I hated more than a person with bad taste in music- it was wasting time. And that's exactly what I was doing with Esme and Charlie- I was wasting my precious time on his daughter- my new, soon-to-be stepsister to show up. It wasn't even five minutes, it was twenty, and Esme could see just how impatient I was getting. I hoped she could see it, after all she was my mother- in a loose sense of the term, anyway.

I stood up and grabbed my keys, "She isn't coming."

Esme pulled me back down immediately, "Don't be so rash, Edward, maybe she got lost. She isn't that familiar with Forks yet, right?" she looked over to Charlie, for him to fly at her defense, but he merely shrugged. I rolled my eyes at his lack of response. Other than his shrugs, occasional mhms, yes and no, he wasn't much of a speaker.

When I thought about it, I guess it would actually come in handy. Considering the fact that I would be seeing this stepsister of mine quite often, and if she was anything like Charlie (i.e. lacking in the speech department), I imagined we might get along great. If she was like him, I wouldn't have to deal with her talking or complaining about the loud music echoing through the house.

My 'mommy' pleaded through her eyes with me to stay longer and I, being the great son that I was, obliged. Not because I desperately wanted to meet this Isabella that they had spoken about, or enjoyed hanging out with the couple before me, I just simply didn't want to hurt Esme's feelings again. See the thing was, since I hadn't grown up with her, we'd never really formed a mother-son bond, I hadn't even formed one with Carlisle- but when I brought it up, or she sensed a note of bitterness in my voice, she'd get all hurt, and make a face that would haunt me for days.

So, reluctantly, I sighed and set my keys down again, desiring nothing more in that second but a cigarette. That was actually the reason I had wanted to leave, so I could have one because I was getting antsy, and the guy sitting at the table next to us kept teasing me with his Turkish Royale, Camel, cigarette smoke. My insides turned into knots, and my chest sent this tiny burst of bubbles throughout me, reminding me of that one cigarette that awaited my return.

I tapped my fingers unconsciously on the table, trying to make the thoughts go away. We were in a smoking area, in the back of the restaurant patio, but I couldn't smoke. I mean, I could- my body could biologically do it, it was capable of performing the act, but I couldn't in front of Esme. She was so naive, so trusting, so believing in me and my complete innocence- I wanted to keep it that way.

"So what schools are you applying to, Edward?" Charlie was looking at me and I suddenly stopped tapping my fingers in midair, completely surprised he had actually spoken to me. Esme was looking at me too, awaiting for my response, because it dawned on me that she hadn't ever thought to ask that question- why would she?

I blinked my eyes before responding, "Dartmouth, Harvard, Georgetown, Yale, and UCLA." There were a few others as well, but I figured I didn't need to go on; those were the only few that I was actually interested in, UCLA being number one. Dartmouth was for my father, and Harvard for Carlisle-

"I'm going to go." Suddenly, my impatience had come back, I didn't want to be there any longer. I didn't want to think about school, my parents, this new girl coming to live with me, I wanted to not really think of anything. I wanted to get into my Volvo and just drive away- go to Rosalie's party and get trashed senseless.

Like a jackass, I didn't wait for their goodbyes or to tell me to stay. This time I just grabbed my stuff, got up and left, not looking back to see their faces. I hated how everything intermingled and always brought my mind back to that. I couldn't go a single day without being reminded of the past, of what could have been, what should have been, and the accident.

...

I slammed the door of my car shut and squinted; the sun was unusually bright that day. It was one of the handful of days that were sunny in Forks. And unlike the rest of the people I knew, I didn't exactly welcome it. This was Washington, not California- if I wanted sun, I would go there. I had grown up used to having cloudy days and endless rain, I welcomed it.

When I got to the front door, I banged on it, knowing James was probably in the back and wouldn't be able to hear me, judging by the loud music that I could hear through the door. Not that this was anything new. With his parents never home, James tended to do whatever he wanted to, and not even his butler stood in his way.

Figuring it was useless to keep knocking, I let myself in and closed the door behind me, already smelling a sweet trace coming from his bedroom- it positively lured me in the most basic of ways. Actually, it was that and a few other reasons that I kept him around. We weren't really 'friends', per say, or even liked each other- it was all about business. If it had to come down to liking, I couldn't stand his ponytail, or that he tended to skip days without showering.

Honestly, if it wasn't because he was the last connect I had (thanks to Charlie rounding them up, and making Forks a nearly drug free city) I didn't think I'd bother talking to him at all. Well, maybe he wasn't the last resort, there was always Laurant- but that dude was plain out freaky sometimes, not to mention James had the best pot between them, pat down.

Just as I thought, when I walked through his door, he had his Wii on, the stereo on blast, and a bong in front of him. But that wasn't all that caught my attention, because on his bed there was a this weird, metal looking top and jeans that looked like they'd been bought at a salvation army. I secretly wondered how many germs were laced in them, and what homeless person they'd belonged to before.

I fell down on the couch next to him and went for the bong, nodding towards his bed, "What the fuck is that?"

"That's a present Rose dropped off for you, its for her party tonight. That's your costume," he giggled as he said it. I frowned and took a hit, then got up to go see what crazy costume she'd conjured for me. Looking at it, I decided it could have been worse- Rose had a very twisted, sick sense of humor, considering what she'd picked out for me in previous years.

Frowning, I looked over at James, whose eyes were busy on the plasma screen as he killed some guy on the Wii, "How'd she know I'd be here?"

"Dude, its Rose, she knows you better than you do." He chuckled and shook his head.

Now, there wasn't anything romantic between Rosalie or me- we'd tried it, but it had always felt weird and forced. And since we'd grown up together, we were basically like family- so she felt free to dress me up however she wanted. This time it consisted of some armor with a silver mask.

There was a folded piece of paper on top of the costume and I frowned, sitting down to take the bong that James was extending out to me. I took it and took another hit, coughing violently after a few seconds. I felt my eyes glaze slightly and I stood up, stretching my hand to take the note. Knowing Rosalie told me to dread what ever it was that she had written inside- like I had said, she was beyond twisted.

So as soon as I opened the note, I did, because it read, "See you at the party, Romeo."