IX. Another party.

Monday afternoon, Edward, Alice, and Jasper sat with me at my table with my friends. Edward had been sitting with us since his return, and every now and then, Alice and Jasper would join us. My friends were fine with the newcomers, except Mike and he was rarely ever with us at lunch now.

Edward had his arm draped over the back of my chair, pushing a fork around inside his salad bowl. I was leaning into his side, eating a bag of chocolate chip cookies that I pretended to share with Alice. Every time she'd take a cookie, she'd wait until no one was looking before slipping it over to me underneath the table.

Angela looked over at me, her eyebrows furrowed as she took a spoonful of yogurt into her mouth. "Have you sent your announcements yet?" She asked curiously as her head tilted to the side.

I nodded my head at her. I didn't have many to send out and Edward had helped me finish them. He did most of the writing. "Yeah, send a few out last weekend," I replied, and from the corner of my eyes, I could see Edward glance at me, knowing just as much as I did that he did most of the work for me.

Angela sighed softly, her lips pouting out before turning to the pale girl sitting next to me. "How about you Alice?" She asked curiously as she raised her eyebrows.

Alice flashed Angela a smile. Unsurprisingly the two got along well. "All done." She replied as she snagged another cookie from the bag that sat between us on the table, lifting it to her lips.

"Lucky you." Angela sighed as she lowered her head. I reached my hand out underneath the table and Alice's eyes darted around before she slipped me the cookie, pretending to chew. She went full out to try and look normal among my friends. "My mother has a thousand cousins and she expects me to hand-address one to everybody. I'm going to get carpal tunnel." Angela huffed as she ran a hand through her hair. "I can't put it off any longer and I'm just dreading it." She muttered as she shook her head.

"Wish I could help, but I still have my own to finish," Jessica replied as she sat back in her chair, taking a few sips from her water bottle before giving Angela an apologetic smile.

The gears inside my head turned as I stared at Angela. I was still grounded, but I could spin this as school work to my mom. I wanted to hang out with my friends some more. Before, it was too late, and I wouldn't be able to see them again.

"I can help you, if you want, Ang?" I suggested as I raised my eyebrows at Angela, pushing the cookie Alice sneaked me, into my mouth.

Angela piped up at my words and she sat up straight. "You'd really help me?" She asked hopefully as she raised her eyebrows, a small smile beginning to tug at the corners of her lips.

I chewed and swallowed the cookie before nodding my head, brushing crumbs off the corners of my lips. "Of course," I confirmed with a nod of my head. "I'll come by this weekend," I told her and her smile grew a little more.

Jessica glanced at me, raising her eyebrows. "Aren't you still grounded?" She asked curiously as her head tilted to the side and Alice shifted uncomfortable next to me. None of my human friends knew why I was grounded, but they were all very aware that I was grounded. While all my vampire friends, especially my boyfriend knew I did not take my grounding that seriously.

"That house is driving me crazy," I replied with a soft sigh as I shook my head. That was a lie. When my mother wasn't home, neither was I. And when I was home, Edward was with me. But I couldn't tell Angela that I wanted to hang out as much as I could these next seven months. Because after graduation, it was goodbye forever. "This is technically school-related, so I'll tell my mom it's schoolwork," I said with a sly smile that I feigned.

Angela gave me a thankful smile. "You're a lifesaver." she insisted as she reached her hand across the table, and I held my hand out, letting her take it and giving it a soft and thankful squeeze.

I smiled back at her, my dimples popping out. My gaze slowly drifted away from her before I briefly closed my eyes and scrunched my nose, pulling my head back. "I try," I replied playfully as I shrugged my shoulders and Angela chuckled.

When I got home that afternoon, I thought a lot about Jacob Black. I truly did miss my friend and I felt worried about him. My mom only told me he wasn't doing good, but I was unsure just how bad his state was.

I felt like an absolutely shitty friend, leaving him to suffer in silence. He never did that to me. Even if he didn't like Edward Cullen, Jacob was there for me through my post-break-up state. He was always there for me, and he was patient with me, and he helped me get back to who I was. I couldn't just turn my back on him now, even if I was angry. He didn't turn his back on me when he found out the boy I had been dating was his natural enemy. I had to see him.

That night, I waited for my mom to come home,e, and we had eaten dinner before I approached her. She was sitting at the kitchen table, typing on her laptop. "Mom." I began as I sat down opposite her, resting my chin on the palm of my hand.

She typed for a few seconds more before closing her laptop, her attention fully turning towards me. "Yeah, sweetheart?" She asked as she raised her eyebrows at me.

I pursed my lips tightly for a second before letting out a soft sigh. "So...if you'd allow...I was thinking of going to see Jake tonight." I informed her softly as I flicked a strand of hair out of my face with a tilt of my head.

My mom's eyes widened in surprise at my request. "Really?" She asked, her voice filled with hope and I nodded in confirmation. She nodded, willing to make this one little compromise on my grounding. "Okay, yeah of course you can go." She agreed before smiling at me. "Thank you."

I returned her smile and nodded my head in response before getting up to my feet. "I won't stay out long," I assured her before walking out of the kitchen and grabbing my bag. I climbed into my truck and tried to start it. My eyebrows furrowed when I got nothing from it. A surprised scream slipped from my lips when the passenger side door ripped open and Edward climbed in, holding something in his right hand, just barely out of my sight. I let out a huff as I stared at him, placing a hand over my pounding heart. "You scared me."

Edward stared blankly ahead of him, not once sparing me even a single glance. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking up in a low voice. "Alice called," he informed me.

I sighed softly and closed my eyes as realization hit me. Of course. I disappeared when I was with Jacob. Deciding to go see him must have taken my future away from her, blinded her. "Of course she did," I muttered softly as I slouched in my seat.

He hummed softly as he nodded his head, still staring blankly ahead of him. His face was blank but I could feel the faintest hint of his anger deep inside my chest. Not my own anger, but his. "She got nervous when your future rather abruptly disappeared five minutes ago," he informed me.

I sighed again and pursed my lips. I stared at my steering wheel for a second before my eyes squinted. I reached out for my keys and tried to start my truck again. Still, all that I got was nothing. My jaw clenched. "Did you do something to my truck, Edward?" I asked in a soft voice.

He didn't answer my question, he just continued where his previous train of words left off. "Because she can't see wolves, you remember, right?" he asked as he turned his head and looked at me. Hesitantly I met his gaze, pursing my lips. "Or had you forgotten that? When you decide to mingle your fate with theirs, you disappear, too." He muttered, his voice harsh.

"Yeah no...I remember." I replied as I nodded my head before reaching out for my truck keys, roughly jingling them in the ignition to try and start my truck. "What did you do to my truck?" I asked with a huff as I turned to look at him.

My eyes widened as Edward's right hand lifted, revealing a piece of metal that used to be in the engine of my truck. He put the piece of metal between us on the seat. "I'll put your truck back together in time for school tomorrow."He assured me softly. "That is if you want to drive yourself," he added.

I silently stared at him in disbelief as my lips parted. Then I shook my head. "Maybe leave it like this, just in case I decide to run you over." I gritted out as I glared at him for a second before huffing. "I'll walk." I insisted stubbornly as I climbed out.

I only got a few steps away from my truck before Edward was in front of me, blocking my path. "I want you to be happy... but alive is more important," he explained as he reached out to gently grab onto my upper arms. "Please go inside your house." he pleaded softly with me.

I glared up at Edward, a bitter frown tugging at my lips. "Don't bother coming by tonight, I'm closing my window," I muttered in a low voice before pulling out of his hold and turning around to go back inside my house.

Edward sighed, and within a second, he was in front of me again, stopping me in my path. "Is it so bad that I'm trying to protect you?" he asked softly as his eyebrows furrowed, his golden eyes staring intensely down at me.

My eyebrows furrowed as I stared up at him, shaking my head. "Jake is angry with me, but he won't hurt me," I argued softly in defense of my friend. I knew Jacob would never hurt me. Just like Edward, that was the one thing he was scared of, and he was careful around me.

"You don't know that," Edward argued back as he shook his head as well, staring at me with his eyebrows deeply furrowed and a frown tugging at his lips.

I huffed softly as I turned my head away for a second. This was not something we were going to agree on any time soon. "I do, just like I know you won't either." I voiced my previous thoughts as I turned back to look at him again.

Edward's face scrunched up in disgust as he stared at me. "Don't compare me with a mutt." he huffed softly as he shook his head.

I rolled my eyes at him as I shook my head again. "I'm not, and don't call him that." I insisted firmly as I crossed my arms over my chest.

Edward sighed softly and lowered his head and briefly closed his eyes. "I'm sorry." he apologized softly, and I could tell it pained him to apologize for insulting Jacob. He was silent for a few seconds as we stood there, and then he reached out and softly cupped my cheek. "I just want you to be safe," he whispered as he stared down at me, his eyebrows furrowing again.

I stared back up at him, pursing my lips for a second as I slowly nodded my head. "I know," I whispered with a soft sigh as I reached up and placed my hand over his, leaning into his touch for a second. "I'll leave my window open," I told him before pulling away and walking towards the house.

Just as I stepped through the front door, my mom came out of the kitchen with a glass of wine in her hand. Her eyebrows furrowed when she saw me. "That was fast." She commented in confusement.

I sighed deeply as I stared at her while slowly walking towards the stairs. "Something wrong with my truck," I muttered as I shrugged my shoulders and she raised her eyebrows in response. "I'll have Edward fix it tomorrow," I said before offering her a small smile. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She replied as she returned my smile before sitting down on the couch, turning on the TV as she sipped on her wine.

I stood there at the bottom of the stairs, silently watching her for a second. How was I going to say goodbye to her in a few months? I didn't think that just texting or calling would ever be enough to satisfy my heart. I wanted so much more time with her...but I didn't want to waste my time with Edward. I didn't want to wait until I was an old woman. My heart was utterly ripped into two by this decision. She was my mother and he was my soulmate.

Right before Edward came by that night, I tried calling Jacob twice, with no success. When Edward did come by, he held me in his arms as I slept. Tuesday went by in a haze, nothing really happening. I didn't try to run off to La Push again, especially after the pointed look I received from Alice when I saw her in the hallway, but I tried calling Jacob twice again, with no answer.

Wednesday, Edward sat with me, and my friends Alice and Jasper sat with Rosalie and Emmette. It was a rare day that Mike Newton graced us with his presence at lunch. He sat at the table, right next to Jessica, reading her prepared speech for our graduation ceremony. It was still a work in progress, and she just had a draft so far.

"My fellow students..." Mike uttered softly as he read her cue cards, his voice growing softer for a second as he flipped through the cards. "Cool," he muttered as he nodded his head before flipping to the next card. "Cute," he added as he read some more before flipping to the last card. "We are the future. Anything is possible... ... If you just believe," he muttered. "Blah, blah, blah... Perfect." he went on as he skipped a few cards until he reached the last one. "And got yourself a speech," he said before handing her the cards back.

Jessica sighed, not satisfied with the speech she had managed to write so far. Her lips pouted out as she shook her head. "No, this will be my speech, when I want everyone to throw diplomas at my head." She grumbled softly, tossing her cards down on the table. "So... Thank you." She mumbled as she slouched in her chair.

"Ya gotta embrace the cliches, Jess." Mike insisted as he threw his arm over the back of Jessica's chair. My eyes immediately turned towards Angela and she glanced at me, raising her eyebrows as we shared a curious look with one another, wondering if the two were back together again.

"They are the bread and butter of all valedictorians," Eric confirmed with a nod of his head as he broke off his conversation with Edward for a few seconds, just so that the two could tune in on the conversation the rest of us were having. It made me happy to see Eric and Edward got along well.

I glanced at Eric and crossed my arms on the table, leaning a little forward. "And that is why you are not valedictorian," I informed him with a playful smile and everyone let out soft chuckles. "And Jess doesn't need cliches. Speech is gonna be epic." I insisted as I sat back in my chair again.

"Epic?" Jessica repeated as she looked over at me before a big smile spread onto her lips. "It'll change lives." She insisted and I laughed softly as I nodded along to what she was saying.

Alice and Jasper approached us and everyone's attention turned towards them when they sat down with us. Alice flashed us all a big smile and I heard Edward softly groaning next to me. I glanced at him with questioning eyes, my eyebrows furrowing. "I have decided to throw a party," Alice informed us and everyone looked at her in surprise. I tensed, realizing what caused Edward's reaction.

I felt uncertain and a little unsettled at the thought of another party. Surely this would be different. They'd have to be on guard and careful, like they were here at school. Or at least Jasper had to be. Maybe Alice would be looking out for every little thing, even the simple accidents.

"After all, how many times are we gonna graduate high school?" Jasper questioned as a lopsided grin tugged at his lips.

I scoffed softly in amusement as I glanced at him and his grin grew as he met my eyes, knowing I understood his little jab. "Right." I agreed with a nod of my head as I raised my eyebrows and his grin grew a little before he looked away.

"A party? At your place?" Mike questioned as he raised his eyebrows and parted his lips, looking like he struggled to even phantom, seeing the Cullen family's house.

Jessica looked like she was struggling with the same thing as Mike. She stared at Alice with furrowed eyebrows, her head titled to the side. "I've never seen your house," she muttered softly as she shook her head.

Eric glanced at Jessica, shaking his head at her. "No one's ever seen their house," he replied, and Jessica rolled her eyes as she shot him a pointed side-eyed look of annoyance.

Edward looked over at his sister, pursing his lips. "Another party, Alice?" he asked her in a low voice as he raised his eyebrows, clearly as uncertain about this as I was.

Alice offered her brother a small smile as she nodded her head. "It'll be fun." She assured as she shrugged her shoulders.

I sighed softly and pursed my lips. "Yeah. That's what you said last time." I whispered under my breath, knowing only the three vampires would be able to hear me. Alice's last party nearly ruined both me and Edward. On instinct, feeling my emotions, Edward reached out underneath the table and placed a comforting hand on my thigh.

"Well, cool, that's really uh... normal of you," Mike muttered, unsure, and I shot him a pointed look from the corner of my eyes. I hated his snide comments towards the Cullens. Not that I could ever really talk to him about it because we rarely talked now. Even at work, he avoided me or just made brief small talk. "What time? Dress code?" Mike questioned and his eyebrows furrowed as he stared at Alice. I glanced at her, my face falling for a second when I noticed the distant look on her tense face. "Bring anything? Cheetos?"

The other four humans at the table stared at Alice in confusion as she remained rigid, staring into the distance with a blank look on her face. I glanced at Edward with a concerned look on my face, but he was staring at his sister with a tense look on his face.

"Wake up, Alice," Edward called out to his sister as his jaw ever so slightly clenched, and I could feel his anger start up inside my chest. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. What had she seen that got this reaction out of Edward?

Jasper reached out and placed a hand on Alice's shoulder when she snapped back to reality. He offered my friends an awkwardly apologetic smile. "She hasn't been getting much sleep lately; senior jitters," he explained, and everyone nodded in understanding. I glanced at Jasper when everything suddenly got extremely calm and he offered me a secretive smile.

I feigned a small smile as I looked between my friends. "I'll send you guys the details," I told them in an attempt to get the attention of Alice. "It's still a few months away... so there's still a lot of planning," I muttered and they nodded.

I looked over at Alice and she was staring down at her lap, her face blank, but I could still see the worry in her eyes. The same worry Edward had in his eyes when I looked over at him.

I was concerned about two things as I sat through the rest of the lunch period. Alice's vision and her party. Neither seemed good.