CHAPTER THREE:

Bella's POV:

I remember- vividly- Alice breaking the news I was having a bachelorette party. She just mentioned it, so casually, like it was common knowledge, leaving me spluttering and gaping.

"No! I am not having a bachelorette party!" I'd protested- loudly. Alice just rolled her eyes at me.

"Don't be ridiculous Bella, of course you are. And it's not just for you- it's for your sister too. And me. We didn't have one, you know. "

The argument continued like that for about thirty seconds, before Alice told me point blank it was happening even if she had to get Hermione to put me in a full body bind to get me there.

Alice was really embracing the whole "my soul-mate's a witch" thing- her wizard lingo was right up there with Hermione's.

So, with poor grace, I'd resigned myself to the inevitability of the party, which was how I found myself standing miserably in a Ginny's living room. Harry and Ginny lived in a simple, yet elegant house, a Tudor style three-floored manor, with a tower and a slate roof. There was a large flower garden, an orchard, and what looked like some sort of sports field, with three large hoops on opposite sides, hoops almost twenty feet up in the air. It had been in Harry's family for several generations, apparently.

The living room was old-fashioned in architectural design, furniture included, yet the whole space had been transformed into something extremely modern, and hideously decorated with male genital shaped balloons, and crude posters of naked, posing males and females. Two giant cakes, one shaped like a male genit- screw that, one shaped like a massive penis and the other shaped like a pair of knockers.

The only people I knew more then just from the passing or through Hermione, were Maggie, Leah and Alice- Rosalie had been invited, but she declined, wanting to spend time with Teddy instead. There was no real surprise there- Rosalie officially loved Hermione, and because of that didn't mind me anymore, but she spent nearly every second she could with her new son.

The other guests were Luna, Ginny, Fleur, Audrey, and two girls I'd never seen before who were introduced to me as Lavender, who was apparently Ron's ex-girlfriend and Parvati Patil, two of Hermione's dorm-mates during her Hogwarts years, and fellow members of the DA.

Unlike me hiding (sulking) in the corner, Hermione was the life of the party with her glowing look of pure happiness, and her bright smile stretching from ear to ear.

The difference in Hermione from when she first moved in with me and Charlie to now is astronomical. And absolutely worth this horrible ordeal known as a 'hen's night'.

"You feeling as awkward as me?" I heard a melodious voice beside me say, and I jumped slightly, swearing as I spilt champagne on the dress Alice had forced me in for this occasion.

"Sorry." Maggie apologizes, grimacing slightly.

Maggie looks beautiful, clad in a white sundress with her long, red curls bouncing free and her golden eyes shining brightly. She's so, so beautiful, I muse. Will I be as pretty as her? There's a part of me that begs for that answer to be yes. I want to be beautiful. I want to feel like I belong at Edward's side.

"You okay, Bella?" Maggie's voice breaks me out of my thoughts, "you're looking a little deep in thought there." I blush slightly, realizing I'd just been staring at her, not saying anything.

"S-sorry," I stammer, and she gives me a small smile.

"Calm down, a mhuirnín- your heart's beating almost as fast as a rabbit's!"

"I'm just..." I hesitate, looming for the right word as I fiddle with the hem of my dress. "Hating this?" Maggie supplies, dryly. I crack a small smile.

"Pretty much."

My gaze sweeps over the room again, and I watch as Hermione twirls Alice around, laughing, before planting a deep kiss on her lips.

Then the doorbell rings, and a wicked smile crosses Ginny's face. "Oh no," I mutter, "this cannot be good."

I was right.

My jaw dropped as an incredibly handsome man, even more stunning then a vampire, walked in. He had to be a Veela, with his silver-blonde hair, deep blue eyes and flawless creamy skin that seemed to glow like moonlight. And, I realize with a gulp, he's looking straight at me.

"Bonjour belles dames," he purred, in the sexiest French accent I've ever heard, before he raises his hand and flicks his wrist. Music fills the room, a sensual, pounding beat that has me realizing what exactly this man is here to do.

I cannot believe they hired a stripper. ...actually, I can.

Ginny's suddenly behind me, pushing me forwards, and onto a chair that's appeared out of nowhere. If I wasn't in such a state of shock I would have fought back, but by the time my brain started functioning normally again, she'd already forced me to sit down on and cast a spell of some sort traps me there.

"I'm going to kill you!" I moan, as the male Veela rips off his shirt, revealing a chiseled chest. "Holy mother of god!"

The man is suddenly grinding against me, and I start feeling dazed. He smells amazing, he looks amazing, and his body is all perfection.

Soon he's down to nothing but an extremely tight, extremely revealing leopard-print thong that leaves nothingto the imagination. I gulp, trying not to stare. I don't exactly succeed, and my cheeks are a flaming red.

Looking me straight in the eyes, the Veela licks his lips, and a rush of heat travels through me. I don't know if I'm relieved or disappointed when the music stops, and the dance finishes. I sag in the chair my breath escaping my mouth in shallow pants.

"Oh my god." I mumble under my breath, over and over. The spell on the chair seems to have dissipated, and my body's so floppy I almost slide off it, and have to quickly grab the sides.

Maggie is suddenly next to me again, her arm around my waist supporting me, her eyes as wide as coins. "Mháthair naofa thuas, Bella, is he not the most handsome specimen you have ever seen?" she sighs.

"What about Jasper?" I protest, glad for her support as my legs still feel like jelly. Maggie snorts.

"My Jasper is my anamchara, but that Alphonse... if my heart still beat, I'd be telling it to be still!" She sighed, happily, before releasing me and gliding over to where the Veela was dancing with some of the other women.

I assumed that 'Alphonse' was the name of the Veela, and resigned myself to the fact that not only was I alone in my misery now, but I was also extremely aroused.

Damn it.

Hermione walks over to me, a smile on her face. "Merlin, Bella, you looked so horrified it almost wasn't funny...only almost though." I balled my hands into fists and made a growling sound in the back of my throat before turning and storming away from her.

"I hate you!" I called back over my shoulder.

"I love you too, darling." Was her ever-so cheerful reply. -

After Alphonse left, it was present time. At Alice's instruction, we all had to sit in a circle while everyone watched me unwrap present after present. I was already feeling dazed, and Alice's present didn't help.

"You bought me underwear." I stated in disbelief. Alice didn't seem to understand just why I was so incredulous and swelled indignantly, completely taking it the wrong way.

"I didn't get you just any underwear! I got you the best of Bordelle!" I blinked, not recognizing the brand, and Alice pouted at me. Hermione wrapped an arm around her.

"It's actually a good thing she doesn't recognize Bordelle, sweetheart. If she knew how much they cost she'd throw a fit." She comforts her mate. Ginny speaks up before I can say anything- like demand just how much these tiny pieces of lace and silk with tiny crystals actually cost.

"I got you some knickers too, Alice," Ginny says with a cheeky grin.

"You bought my wife lingerie? Should I be worried?" Hermione teases Ginny who laughs.

"It's more a present for both of you."

"Well Alice in knickers is a gift." Hermione smiles. My cheeks are burning, and the scandalous lingerie on my lap isn't making it any easier.

"Open eet already!" Fleur urges, as Alice eyes the gift, wrapped in gaudy pink paper.

She gives a wicked grin and opens it tantalizingly slowly, before looking at it slightly puzzled. It's Hermione who recognizes what they are.

"Edible panties?" she asks, her eyes wide. "Oh my god!"

"It's not quite Bordelle's gold filigree, Swarovski crystals and silk, but I can tell you right now- Harry and I enjoy them very much." Ginny states, smugly.

"Oh god, kill me now!" I moan. "I can't deal with this anymore!"

"Here, open this." Audrey speaks up, with a soft smile, her voice a touch awkward. "I promise it's not s-sex related." Hearing her stammer slightly and seeing her pink cheeks makes me feel better about my own awkwardness and flaming red blush. I give the gentle, timid witch a grateful look, before accepting her present, peeling away the shiny silver paper and promptly gasping.

"Oh Audrey!" Audrey blushes and looks down at her hands as I gaze reverently at the framed photograph. The image was captured at Hermione and Alice's bonding ceremony/wedding, and it's of Edward and I. We smile and wave at the camera with our spare hands, before Edward turns and kisses me softly.

The moving photographs of the Wizarding world always drew me in, but this...

Tears actually prick in my eyes and I have to blink several times before looking up and giving Audrey a smile that trembles slightly. "Thank you. Really. I love it." I tell her.

"I'm very glad." She replies, softly, her cheeks still pink.

After the exchange of gifts and eating of the cakes, the next stop on our itinerary was Las Vegas. We got there via portkey, and before the night was out, they'd dragged me to a bar, a strip club and then another bar. I decided, very quickly, that the only way I was going to survive the night was to get drunk. Really, really drunk. Which was why my voice was so slurred when I stumbled over to Ginny, near the end of the night.

"Gin-eeee!" I slurred, a beaming smile on my face.

"Bellaaaa!" Ginny cheered back, clunking her glass into mine, causing it to slop all over my dress. "Oops!" she giggled. For some reason I found that hilarious, and started laughing hysterically.

"Hey... hey Gin-Gin... how much did the lingerie Alice bought me cost?" I slurred.

"Dunno... 'round 3000 galleons." She giggles.

"How many dollars is that?" I frown, the word 'thousand' sobering me slightly. Ginny thinks for a few seconds before groaning.

"I dunno! I'm too pissed to figure that out! Ask me when I'm sober!"

The rest of the night was kind of... foggy. I do know that it was around three in the morning before the males are called to come and collect us. All of the witches are too drunk to apparate or catch a portkey, and seeing as we're currently in Las Vegas, the drive back to Forks would take hours.

Harry is the one who apparates me to the Cullen Mansion, and being the gentleman that he is, he doesn't complain when I throw up all over him.

From there, I think Esme was the one who gave me a quick shower- Edward, of course, was too much of a nineteenth century gentleman- and then Edward tucked me up in the bed in his room. I remember snuggling up next to him, and pretty much passing out straight away.

-

When morning comes, it greets me with a hangover worse then the one I suffered after the graduation party. "Have mercy!" I plead to some kind of deity, yanking the covers over my head to block out the sunlight pouring through the window. What the hell had I done to myself? I wondered, bleakly, as my head pounded ferociously.

"Bella?" A musical voice asked me.

"G'way!" I moaned, and Edward chuckled before pushing something under the duvet.

"Hangover potion, my love." I immediately sat up, letting the duvet pool around my hips, and let out an agonized cry, even as I ripped the top off the phial and chugged it down as quickly as I could. The headache vanished, pretty much instantly, and I flopped back down on the bed.

"I'm never drinking again." I tell him, mournfully, and he chuckles, before sliding into the bed next to me.

"So how was the party?" he asked. I glared at him.

"I don't want to talk about it." He looks amused.

"Should I be worried about this Alphonse?" My cheeks instantly flame red.

"Edward!" I'm ashamed to say my voice is almost a whine, "what happens at a bachelorette party stays there! As in, you never, ever bring it up! Ever! Ever!" Edward gives me an amused look.

"My apologies, love, Maggie's thoughts were just... very occupied. Jasper was supposed to take me for a bachelor party with Emmett, but I'm not sure Maggie's going to let him leave their bed for the next few days." I can't help blushing again, and I bury my face against Edward's cool chest, letting his icy temperature cool down my burning cheeks.

He gives a soft sigh as he rests his forehead on the top of my head. "I'll miss that."

"Miss what?" I ask, my voice muffled slightly.

"Your blush." This, of course, just made me blush harder.

The day was a whirlwind of activity, and I made it a point to stay out of Alice's way. Maggie and Jasper were nowhere to be seen, as per Edward's prediction, and I kept blushing whenever I thought about what they were most likely doing right now.

The general awkwardness I was feeling wasn't at all helped when Edward came across the lingerie Alice bought me, though it did prompt me to ask him how much it cost in American dollars.

"Around eight thousand." He'd said, after a moment, and I'd let out a small moan.

"I'm going to kill them both."

Night came quickly. Much too quickly. Of course it would, when I was wishing it wouldn't. As the sun sank and the moon rose, I was too agitated to do anything, and ended up retiring to bed early.

Edward joined me, and we curled up on my small bed, intertwined as much as it was possible, considering the thick afghan I was swathed in like a cocoon. I hated the necessity of the blanket, but it sort of ruined the romance when my teeth started chattering.

"I miss you already." I sighed, as I watched the numbers on my clock go by.

"I don't need to leave. I can stay..."

"Mmm." I quite liked the sound of that, but, "no, no. It's your bachelor party. You have to go." I sigh.

"Bachelor parties are designed for those who are said to see the passing of their single days. I couldn't be more eager to have mine behind me. So there's really no point." He countered.

"True," I mused, a smile crossing my face, twisting around so that I was facing him. Our lips met, and I pressed my tongue against his glass-smooth lip and he sighed. Hi sweet breath washed- cold and delicious- over my face. He started to pull away- that was his automatic response whenever he decided things had gone too far, his reflex action whenever he most wanted to keep going.

"Wait," I said, gripping his shoulders and hugging myself close to him. I kicked one leg free and wrapped it around his waist, locking myself against him. "Practice makes perfect." He chuckled.

"Well, we should be fairly close to perfection by this point, then, shouldn't we?"

"But this is the dress rehearsal," I reminded him, "and we've only practiced certain scenes. It's no time for playing safe." I thought he would laugh, but he didn't answer, and his body was suddenly motionless with stress. I thought over my words, and quickly realized what he would have heard in them.

"Bella..." he whispered, but I interrupted him.

"Don't start this again. A deal's a deal."

"I don't know. It's too hard to concentrate when you're with me like this. I- I can't think straight. I won't be able to control myself. You'll get hurt."

"I'll be fine."

"Bella..."

"Shut up." I told him, sternly, before pressing my lips against his to stop his panic attack. I'd heard it before. He wasn't getting out of this deal. Not after insisting I marry him first.

He kissed me back for a moment, but I could tell he wasn't as into it as before. Worrying, always worrying. How different it would be when he didn't have to worry about me anymore, I mused. What would he do with all his free time? He'd have to get a new hobby.

"How are your feet?" he asked.

"Toasty warm." I answered, without pause.

"Really? No second thoughts? It's not too late to change your mind."

"Are you trying to ditch me?" I ask, in mock-outrage. He chuckled.

"Just making sure. I don't want you to do anything you're not sure about."

"I'm sure about you," I tell him, firmly, "the rest I can live through." He hesitated again, his face turning back serious.

"Can you?" he asked quietly. "I don't mean the wedding- which I am positive you will survive despite your qualms- but afterward... what about Renée, what about Charlie?" I sighed.

"I'll miss them." Worse, that they would miss me, but I didn't want to give him any fuel. I also didn't voice my hopes that Hermione would be able to work out some sort of spell, or something, that would make me look like I used to, so that I could still see them, after a few years when my Thirst was... manageable.

"Frozen forever at eighteen." Edward whispered.

"Every woman's dream come true," I teased.

"Never changing... never moving forward." I frowned.

"What does that mean?" He answered slowly.

"Do you remember when we told Charlie we were getting married? And he thought you were... pregnant?"

"And he thought about shooting you," I laughed, "admit it- for one second, he honestly considered it." He didn't answer, and I repressed the urge to sigh. "What, Edward?"

"I just wish... well, I wish that he'd been right."

"Gah!" I gasped, spluttering loudly.

"More I wish that there was some way he could have been. That we had that kind of potential. I hate taking that away from you, too."

"Edward," my voice was stern, "I know what I'm doing."

"How could you know that, Bella? Look at my mother, look at my sister. It's not as easy a sacrifice as you imagine."

"Esme and Rosalie get by just fine. If it's a problem later, we can do what they did- we'll adopt." He sighed, and then his voice was fierce.

"It's not right! I don't want you to have to make sacrifices for me. I want to give you things, not take things away from you. I don't want to steal your future. If I were human-" I put my hand over his lips.

"You are my future. Now stop. No moping, or I'm calling your brothers to come and get you. Maybe you need a bachelor party." He smiled at me sheepishly when I removed my hand.

"I'm sorry. I am moping, aren't I? Must be the nerves."

"Are your feet cold?" I tease.

"Not in that sense. I've been waiting a century to marry you, Miss Swan. The wedding ceremony is the one thing I can't wait-" he broke off mid-thought. "Oh, for the love of all that's holy!"

"What's wrong?" I asked, not worried- he seemed angry, not scared. He gritted his teeth.

"You don't have to call my brothers. Apparently Emmett and Jasper are not going to let me bow out tonight." I laugh.

"Have fun." There was a squeal against the window- someone deliberately scarping their steel nails across the glass to make a horrible, cover-your-ears, goose-bumps-down-your-spine noise. I shuddered.

"If you don't send Edward out," Emmett- still invisible in the night- hissed menacingly, "we're coming in after him!"

"Go!" I laughed, "before they break my house." Edward rolled his eyes, but he got to his feet in one fluid motion, then leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Get to sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow." I snort. "Thanks! That's sure to help me wind down." He chuckled.

"I'll meet you at the altar, love."

"I'll be the one in white." I sighed. He chuckled again, and then suddenly sank into a crouch and vanished, launching himself out of my window too swiftly for my eyes to follow. Outside there was a muted thud and I heard Emmett curse. "You'd better not make him late," I warned, knowing they could hear. And then Jasper's face was peering in my window.

"Don't worry, Bella. We'll get him home in plenty of time." I was suddenly very calm, and my qualms all seemed unimportant. I sat up awkwardly, still tangled in my blanket.

"Jasper? What do vampires do for bachelor parties? You're not taking him to a strip club, are you?"

"Don't tell her anything!" Emmett complained from below. There was another thud and Edward laughed quietly.

"Relax," Jasper told me- and I did. "We Cullens have our own version. Just a few mountain lions and a couple of grizzly bears."

"You should have told Alice that," I grumble, and he chuckles.

"I don't think anyone but your sister could get away with that." I laugh.

"Have fun, boys." Jasper winked and dropped from sight, and I lay back against my pillows again. It was completely silent outside, and I sighed. This was my last night in my room. My last night as Isabella Swan. Tomorrow I would be Bella Cullen.

Despite the whole marriage thing being a thorn in my side, I had to admit- I did like the sound of that.