[Twilight] Rising Phoenix (Part Eight)
Wow, it's been a while since I've last written. XD Was my drive to write really that bad? Either way, here's another set of drabbles I've been working on - and I think I'm finally delving into the main plot, so that's exciting.
Title: Rising Phoenix (Part Eight)
Fandom: Twilight [but incredibly AU]
Summary: Bella and Jake reunite just as Bella and Edward're about to have the fight of their lives. And why's Kenneth so interested in Bella?
Disclaimer: Leaf, Kenneth Shapiro, and headcanon about the Masens are about all that belong to me at this point. Bella, Jacob, and mostly everything from the original Twilight are property of SMeyer.
7o.
"Is that Jake I hear?"
The queen of oblivious people finally heard him! Jacob was stronger now - and taller - but the boundless energy of a Bella hug never changed. Stumbling backwards, the two found themselves pressed against the floor awkwardly. Rising up, Bella offered her hand to Jacob. Still, her face was flushed, and she was smiling like no other.
"I missed you."
How three little words could make him so incredibly weak. Jacob barely stammered, "I missed you too," as he embraced her in a tight bear hug.
Edward left, claiming he needed to clean something, but neither Bella nor Jacob managed to pay attention.
"Why didn't you answer my calls?"
Jacob sighed, "I didn't have a choice. My life's been... pretty hectic lately, to put it nicely."
"But that doesn't mean---"
He silenced her with a simple, "What if I got you something really cool for Christmas and spend more time with you? Would that make up for it?"
"You don't have to," Bella replied, though she seemed redder than usual.
Laughing, he shook his head, "Nah, I can do it."
The door suddenly opened. Jacob recoiled with disgust, putting a hand to his nose as he growled, "I-I'll see you later, Bella."
With that, he disappeared just as Leaf entered the room. He blinked, "Bella? What happened?"
Bella made a face. "... Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
71.
"That didn't smell like nothing."
Alice and some poor soul (his entire body was blocked by shopping packages) wandered in. Bella blinked, "I didn't smell---Leaf? You okay?"
Immediately taking some packages, Edward set them down on the counter. "How long were you shopping anyway?"
Leaf made a face as he collapsed on the sofa, "I lost track after four hours."
"Ouch."
"You'll recover," Alice gently patted him on the back.
Edward groaned, "What's this about a smell, Alice? Charlie doesn't hunt - and I haven't switched colognes in a while." Glancing over at the various packages, he then added, "How much of this is for us?"
"Just the stuff you took," Alice smirked. "Can't a girl buy presents for her friends, Masen?"
"No," Edward quirked an eyebrow, "But you practically bought out a whole store."
"Three," Leaf corrected sleepily.
Heading towards the door, she waved, "Remind me to take Leaf again! I bought so many cute dresses for her~~"
By the time Leaf realized the mistake ("Whaaa---- ALICE!"), Alice had already left the building.
72.
"Can you believe Alice actually thought Leaf was a girl?"
Edward rolled his eyes, "We all thought so. It's not too hard."
Staring at the multitude of dresses (all of them frilly and pink and argh, so many ribbons!), Leaf made a face, "Believe me, I tried."
Holding one up, Bella smirked, "I think this one could actually fit me."
"Try it on!" Edward encouraged, winking at her. "I've been meaning to have a photo shoot sometime. And Leaf, you don't have to wear dresses if you don't want to."
"It would not be fun without Jake," Leaf protested.
"So?" Bella laughed. "A photo shoot's a photo shoot. Come on!"
Seizing her friend's hands, the two ran up the stairs and into the nearest rooms to change. Edward watched them for a second before bursting into laughter, "Man, do they know how to cheer me up."
73.
Mrs. Masen was waiting for Edward when he arrived home. The angel quirked an eyebrow, "Mother? Is something the matter?"
She blew over the rim of her cup, "Kenneth Shapiro was in town."
All of Edward's books immediately fell to the ground. "What?"
"I didn't think it was possible either, but Bella can vouch that he was here too."
Taking a seat, Edward nearly topped to the ground, "That's not... that's not... how?"
"I don't know," Elizabeth bit her lip. "Edward, do you think you can come look for him with me? I feel uneasy knowing that he's here in Forks all by himself."
Edward blinked, "But he and I grew up in Chicago - he'll be fine."
"You know that's not what I meant."
Sighing in defeat, Edward nodded, "... All right, I'll go look for him. And if it'll make you happy, I'll take Bella too."
Mrs. Masen finally - finally! - took her first sip of her cooling tea. "Thank you."
74.
Instead of spending her time volunteering like most high school students, Bella again found herself wandering the streets of Forks alongside Edward Masen. So much for hoping to never relive summer experiences!
"I hate my life," She murmured as she was jerked behind yet another cabinet.
Glaring at Edward, she growled, "Who're we stalking this time?"
"Why, Bells," Edward replied innocently, "You're making it sound like we do this on a regular basis! I haven't done anything of the sort since our last encounter with Mr. Squirrel."
"And I'm sure Mr. Squirrel appreciates it," Bella rolled her eyes. "But come on, why're we looking for Kenneth? He's probably long gone by now."
"Bella? Edward? What're you two doing back there?"
Both of them jumped to see Mike and Jessica. As the couple before them nervously swayed their hands, Mike couldn't help adding, "Because it sorta-kinda looks like what I think it means..."
"We're having intense make-out sessions with our eyes," Bella sarcastically commented. "Glad to see you caught us."
Mike chuckled as Jessica kicked him.
"We'll never do it again!" Edward cheerfully called, waving as he watched his two friends walk away laughing. Turning his attention back to Bella, he growled, "Makeout sessions with our eyes?"
"You try and come up with a better excuse!"
More footsteps entered the room, and almost immediately, Bella and Edward silenced themselves to listen.
75.
Is that him? Holding her breath, Bella ducked beneath the counter to watch the newcomers. One of them was Angela - obviously not Kenneth - but the other? She couldn't quite make out his (her?) appearance from here.
"I told you, Miss Weber, I'm not particularly interested."
She - they - could hear Angela laugh, "Yes, but I promised Mrs. Masen I'd take care of you."
"Still. I'm eighteen, just like you. I can make my own decisions."
Edward bit his lips, "But that's not..."
"Sssh!" Bella silenced him with a finger to her lips. But it was too late -she'd missed parts of the conversation - and Angela had already left the room.
Seizing his chance, Edward squirmed out behind the door to listen. There were more footsteps - Bella could hear them - and before she knew it? There was a handsome, long-haired teenager peering above her.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?"
76.
Bella cursed under her breath. Of all the things he could've caught her doing...! And she'd been trying so hard to make herself look like a normal person too.
"No, not really," She replied, averting her gaze to the floor. "I thought you'd already left town."
He held a hand out to her, "Not yet. There's a couple of things I have to finish first."
Ignoring his hand, she rose up on her own two feet, "Yeah? Would that happen to involve Edward and Mrs. Masen?"
There was a flash of surprise from Kenneth's face before it was replaced with his typical calm, calculating expression, "Not at all."
Bella stared at him, "Then what would you want with Forks? It's possibly one of the smallest towns I've ever been in."
"Oh, trust me, Miss Swan. There's just something about Forks that makes it interesting." Kenneth smirked, brushing his hair out of his face. Leaning on a counter, he added, "And besides, surely even you've noticed how the whole town seems more... alive ever since you moved here?"
This was getting so awkward so fast. Taking her purse and swinging it across her shoulders, she glared, "If this was a pick-up line, it was really bad."
"What?" Kenneth stared. "If I wanted to pick you up, I would've done so by now..."
Groaning, Bella left him before he could even add, "Girls want to be picked up? As in, in our arms? These small towns are quainter than I remembered."
77.
Edward stopped her just as the two were out of Kenneth's sight. He studied her over before he sighed, "I don't like what he was telling you."
"What now?" Bella looked up at him, pouting. "He was implying something weird, so I left."
"You mean, you didn't believe what he said?"
"No." Bella blinked now, looking at him as they continued walking down the street. "Why would I?"
"Nothing."
She noticed that shifty glance and the quick, hastened walk. Matching it evenly, she asked, "You're acting weird again. Was something weird about him?"
Finally, Edward stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "I don't want you to talk to him again."
"What."
Bella crossed her arms, now firmly looking her best friend in the eye. "I am a 21st century woman, Edward! If I want to be friends with a guy, you can't stop me, okay?"
She then stormed off in a huff, muttering something about Victorian men and their horrible sense of feminism. Edward watched her, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.
"... Great. I think I just lost my only chance to protect her."
78.
Jacob hadn't been expecting any texts from Edward tonight. The two boys were best friends, yes, but they both figured it'd be best if Mr. Black thought Jake wasn't learning magic in addition to schoolwork and control of werewolf powers.
But there it was. Scrolling down on his phone, Jake read the text over a couple of times before he muttered, "Edward Anthony Masen, what are you thinking?"
When Edward finally answered the phone sleepily, Jake didn't waste any chances.
"What do you mean, 'protect Bella for me?' You're her guardian angel, aren't you?"
Edward sighed, "It's... kind of complicated, Jake. We got into a fight yesterday because I didn't trust a guy she was speaking with."
"You... didn't happen to be jealous of him, right?"
The firm, "Of course not," dissolved all of Jacob's fears. That's right: Edward was never really jealous of any boys Bella wanted to date. When she went out with Mike Newton that one summer night, Edward had happily picked her up without a problem.
(This, oddly enough, was vice-versa: Bella color-coordinated all of Edward's outfits for his dates with various girls at school.)
"So why didn't you like him? This doesn't make sense, coming from you."
"It's a long story," Edward sighed. "One I have to explain in person. Until I can... just look over her for me,will you?"
Jake had no choice; he glumly nodded, "Yeah, sure. But you owe me one."
79.
Watching the human girl was more boring than usual. Tapping his long, spindly fingers, he couldn't help shaking his head and letting his gaze wander from Miss Swan every now and then.
Perhaps it was because that angel no longer walked beside her (she had a werewolf for a replacement), but she no longer caught his interest.
For a human pet of the Cullens, Miss Swan didn't seem to spend a lot of time with them. She, instead, spent some time with the fashion-obsessed Cullen and other human friends of hers.
"She's an awfully boring pet," The demon mused, biting his lip as he watched Miss Swan sip some tea. "Playing with her guardian angel was more fun."
He paused, then letting his wings unfurl. "... Then perhaps I'll have to make my own fun with her."
Title: Rising Phoenix (Part Eight)
Fandom: Twilight [but incredibly AU]
Summary: Bella and Jake reunite just as Bella and Edward're about to have the fight of their lives. And why's Kenneth so interested in Bella?
Disclaimer: Leaf, Kenneth Shapiro, and headcanon about the Masens are about all that belong to me at this point. Bella, Jacob, and mostly everything from the original Twilight are property of SMeyer.
7o.
"Is that Jake I hear?"
The queen of oblivious people finally heard him! Jacob was stronger now - and taller - but the boundless energy of a Bella hug never changed. Stumbling backwards, the two found themselves pressed against the floor awkwardly. Rising up, Bella offered her hand to Jacob. Still, her face was flushed, and she was smiling like no other.
"I missed you."
How three little words could make him so incredibly weak. Jacob barely stammered, "I missed you too," as he embraced her in a tight bear hug.
Edward left, claiming he needed to clean something, but neither Bella nor Jacob managed to pay attention.
"Why didn't you answer my calls?"
Jacob sighed, "I didn't have a choice. My life's been... pretty hectic lately, to put it nicely."
"But that doesn't mean---"
He silenced her with a simple, "What if I got you something really cool for Christmas and spend more time with you? Would that make up for it?"
"You don't have to," Bella replied, though she seemed redder than usual.
Laughing, he shook his head, "Nah, I can do it."
The door suddenly opened. Jacob recoiled with disgust, putting a hand to his nose as he growled, "I-I'll see you later, Bella."
With that, he disappeared just as Leaf entered the room. He blinked, "Bella? What happened?"
Bella made a face. "... Nothing. Absolutely nothing."
71.
"That didn't smell like nothing."
Alice and some poor soul (his entire body was blocked by shopping packages) wandered in. Bella blinked, "I didn't smell---Leaf? You okay?"
Immediately taking some packages, Edward set them down on the counter. "How long were you shopping anyway?"
Leaf made a face as he collapsed on the sofa, "I lost track after four hours."
"Ouch."
"You'll recover," Alice gently patted him on the back.
Edward groaned, "What's this about a smell, Alice? Charlie doesn't hunt - and I haven't switched colognes in a while." Glancing over at the various packages, he then added, "How much of this is for us?"
"Just the stuff you took," Alice smirked. "Can't a girl buy presents for her friends, Masen?"
"No," Edward quirked an eyebrow, "But you practically bought out a whole store."
"Three," Leaf corrected sleepily.
Heading towards the door, she waved, "Remind me to take Leaf again! I bought so many cute dresses for her~~"
By the time Leaf realized the mistake ("Whaaa---- ALICE!"), Alice had already left the building.
72.
"Can you believe Alice actually thought Leaf was a girl?"
Edward rolled his eyes, "We all thought so. It's not too hard."
Staring at the multitude of dresses (all of them frilly and pink and argh, so many ribbons!), Leaf made a face, "Believe me, I tried."
Holding one up, Bella smirked, "I think this one could actually fit me."
"Try it on!" Edward encouraged, winking at her. "I've been meaning to have a photo shoot sometime. And Leaf, you don't have to wear dresses if you don't want to."
"It would not be fun without Jake," Leaf protested.
"So?" Bella laughed. "A photo shoot's a photo shoot. Come on!"
Seizing her friend's hands, the two ran up the stairs and into the nearest rooms to change. Edward watched them for a second before bursting into laughter, "Man, do they know how to cheer me up."
73.
Mrs. Masen was waiting for Edward when he arrived home. The angel quirked an eyebrow, "Mother? Is something the matter?"
She blew over the rim of her cup, "Kenneth Shapiro was in town."
All of Edward's books immediately fell to the ground. "What?"
"I didn't think it was possible either, but Bella can vouch that he was here too."
Taking a seat, Edward nearly topped to the ground, "That's not... that's not... how?"
"I don't know," Elizabeth bit her lip. "Edward, do you think you can come look for him with me? I feel uneasy knowing that he's here in Forks all by himself."
Edward blinked, "But he and I grew up in Chicago - he'll be fine."
"You know that's not what I meant."
Sighing in defeat, Edward nodded, "... All right, I'll go look for him. And if it'll make you happy, I'll take Bella too."
Mrs. Masen finally - finally! - took her first sip of her cooling tea. "Thank you."
74.
Instead of spending her time volunteering like most high school students, Bella again found herself wandering the streets of Forks alongside Edward Masen. So much for hoping to never relive summer experiences!
"I hate my life," She murmured as she was jerked behind yet another cabinet.
Glaring at Edward, she growled, "Who're we stalking this time?"
"Why, Bells," Edward replied innocently, "You're making it sound like we do this on a regular basis! I haven't done anything of the sort since our last encounter with Mr. Squirrel."
"And I'm sure Mr. Squirrel appreciates it," Bella rolled her eyes. "But come on, why're we looking for Kenneth? He's probably long gone by now."
"Bella? Edward? What're you two doing back there?"
Both of them jumped to see Mike and Jessica. As the couple before them nervously swayed their hands, Mike couldn't help adding, "Because it sorta-kinda looks like what I think it means..."
"We're having intense make-out sessions with our eyes," Bella sarcastically commented. "Glad to see you caught us."
Mike chuckled as Jessica kicked him.
"We'll never do it again!" Edward cheerfully called, waving as he watched his two friends walk away laughing. Turning his attention back to Bella, he growled, "Makeout sessions with our eyes?"
"You try and come up with a better excuse!"
More footsteps entered the room, and almost immediately, Bella and Edward silenced themselves to listen.
75.
Is that him? Holding her breath, Bella ducked beneath the counter to watch the newcomers. One of them was Angela - obviously not Kenneth - but the other? She couldn't quite make out his (her?) appearance from here.
"I told you, Miss Weber, I'm not particularly interested."
She - they - could hear Angela laugh, "Yes, but I promised Mrs. Masen I'd take care of you."
"Still. I'm eighteen, just like you. I can make my own decisions."
Edward bit his lips, "But that's not..."
"Sssh!" Bella silenced him with a finger to her lips. But it was too late -she'd missed parts of the conversation - and Angela had already left the room.
Seizing his chance, Edward squirmed out behind the door to listen. There were more footsteps - Bella could hear them - and before she knew it? There was a handsome, long-haired teenager peering above her.
"Did I catch you at a bad time?"
76.
Bella cursed under her breath. Of all the things he could've caught her doing...! And she'd been trying so hard to make herself look like a normal person too.
"No, not really," She replied, averting her gaze to the floor. "I thought you'd already left town."
He held a hand out to her, "Not yet. There's a couple of things I have to finish first."
Ignoring his hand, she rose up on her own two feet, "Yeah? Would that happen to involve Edward and Mrs. Masen?"
There was a flash of surprise from Kenneth's face before it was replaced with his typical calm, calculating expression, "Not at all."
Bella stared at him, "Then what would you want with Forks? It's possibly one of the smallest towns I've ever been in."
"Oh, trust me, Miss Swan. There's just something about Forks that makes it interesting." Kenneth smirked, brushing his hair out of his face. Leaning on a counter, he added, "And besides, surely even you've noticed how the whole town seems more... alive ever since you moved here?"
This was getting so awkward so fast. Taking her purse and swinging it across her shoulders, she glared, "If this was a pick-up line, it was really bad."
"What?" Kenneth stared. "If I wanted to pick you up, I would've done so by now..."
Groaning, Bella left him before he could even add, "Girls want to be picked up? As in, in our arms? These small towns are quainter than I remembered."
77.
Edward stopped her just as the two were out of Kenneth's sight. He studied her over before he sighed, "I don't like what he was telling you."
"What now?" Bella looked up at him, pouting. "He was implying something weird, so I left."
"You mean, you didn't believe what he said?"
"No." Bella blinked now, looking at him as they continued walking down the street. "Why would I?"
"Nothing."
She noticed that shifty glance and the quick, hastened walk. Matching it evenly, she asked, "You're acting weird again. Was something weird about him?"
Finally, Edward stopped in the middle of the sidewalk. "I don't want you to talk to him again."
"What."
Bella crossed her arms, now firmly looking her best friend in the eye. "I am a 21st century woman, Edward! If I want to be friends with a guy, you can't stop me, okay?"
She then stormed off in a huff, muttering something about Victorian men and their horrible sense of feminism. Edward watched her, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.
"... Great. I think I just lost my only chance to protect her."
78.
Jacob hadn't been expecting any texts from Edward tonight. The two boys were best friends, yes, but they both figured it'd be best if Mr. Black thought Jake wasn't learning magic in addition to schoolwork and control of werewolf powers.
But there it was. Scrolling down on his phone, Jake read the text over a couple of times before he muttered, "Edward Anthony Masen, what are you thinking?"
When Edward finally answered the phone sleepily, Jake didn't waste any chances.
"What do you mean, 'protect Bella for me?' You're her guardian angel, aren't you?"
Edward sighed, "It's... kind of complicated, Jake. We got into a fight yesterday because I didn't trust a guy she was speaking with."
"You... didn't happen to be jealous of him, right?"
The firm, "Of course not," dissolved all of Jacob's fears. That's right: Edward was never really jealous of any boys Bella wanted to date. When she went out with Mike Newton that one summer night, Edward had happily picked her up without a problem.
(This, oddly enough, was vice-versa: Bella color-coordinated all of Edward's outfits for his dates with various girls at school.)
"So why didn't you like him? This doesn't make sense, coming from you."
"It's a long story," Edward sighed. "One I have to explain in person. Until I can... just look over her for me,will you?"
Jake had no choice; he glumly nodded, "Yeah, sure. But you owe me one."
79.
Watching the human girl was more boring than usual. Tapping his long, spindly fingers, he couldn't help shaking his head and letting his gaze wander from Miss Swan every now and then.
Perhaps it was because that angel no longer walked beside her (she had a werewolf for a replacement), but she no longer caught his interest.
For a human pet of the Cullens, Miss Swan didn't seem to spend a lot of time with them. She, instead, spent some time with the fashion-obsessed Cullen and other human friends of hers.
"She's an awfully boring pet," The demon mused, biting his lip as he watched Miss Swan sip some tea. "Playing with her guardian angel was more fun."
He paused, then letting his wings unfurl. "... Then perhaps I'll have to make my own fun with her."