|
Post by Carlisle Cullen on Dec 29, 2008 16:47:59 GMT -5
Carlisle’s nose wrinkled at Esme’s accusation that they cheated when they played ball and he waved his hand in a dismissive manner.
“Ah, it’s all part of the game,” he told her, lightly. Of course he knew she was right. The family was made up of very distinct personalities, they all loved each other greatly, but they were very competitive when it came down to it - from trying to conquer Edward’s speed, or Emmett’s strength, or Alice’s extra gifts - they were always trying to outdo each other in some way or other. So long as it was all in jest though, all tinged with the familial love that bound them together, Carlisle would always support and engage in any underhanded tactics his team chose to employ. He grinned cheekily at his wife, nodding as she told him about her project.
“Anything interesting?” he asked, stooping to pick up the base pads that lay on the ground. He gesture for his wife to follow him as he began to pace out their game, placing each of the pads in the exact right place.
|
|
|
Post by Edward Cullen on Dec 31, 2008 1:41:04 GMT -5
"We'll be back to the more Bella friendly Volvo tomorrow" Edward assured her. "The jeep will fair better on the uneven ground and get us farther. I didn't think you'd want to run the whole way" He said, putting a little emphasis on the word whole, knowing he'd still have to run her part of the way to the clearing.
Edward nodded as she looked at him with almost a confused panic wondering what they were doing. "Yes we are playing baseball, but our version is..." He hesitated wondering how to explain the differences with the way theirs looks. "Well, you just have to sort of see it for yourself" He told her finally. "We play off in a clearing, deep in the woods, we need lots of room" He said with a light chuckle to himself. He knew that no matter how big of a space they found, he would always end up running into the woods to retrieve the balls, nothing was big enough of an area.
Seeing she was still struggling with her seatbelt, Edward reached over and quickly buckled the harness, making sure it was fastened to keep her safe. He then started up the jeep and pulled away from her house.
|
|
|
Post by Bella Swan on Jan 2, 2009 21:42:13 GMT -5
Bella’s mouth stretched into a smile as Edward promised her the Volvo the next day. It was a duel purpose smile, her stomach fluttering at the fact that he would be there the next day, for her - she didn’t think she would stop getting excited at seeing his silver Volvo parked outside her house if he did it every day for the rest of her life. She wrinkled her nose a little at Edward’s comment about running and nodded in vehement agreement, a blush tainting the paleness of her cheeks once more.
“You’ve got that right,” she told him, remembering the alarming dizziness she felt the first time he had taken her running. “Wait, the whole way?”
She shot him a vaguely worried look, not wanting to pass out in front of the entire Cullen family. Especially Rosalie, who made her feel uneasy as it was. She sat back and allowed Edward to do all the work with the belt, wondering if it was going to be simple enough to unbuckle the overly complicated thing. She attempted to readjust her position on the seat to angle herself more at the vampire driving, but found that the harness pretty much forbade that kind of movement.
“This doesn’t give you an excuse to drive at a million miles an hour, you know,” she told him, her tone teasing, though she really didn’t like the high speeds Edward drove at. “So, is everyone going to be there? They don‘t mind me coming, do they?”
|
|
Alice Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire, Seer
It sounded like you were having Bella for lunch, and we came to see if you would share
Posts: 115
|
Post by Alice Cullen on Jan 3, 2009 1:31:42 GMT -5
Edward and Bella would be here soon, Alice had seen them starting to move from Charlie's house, which was a relief since she herself was getting a little antsy, she'd been waiting for a day like this to play. Everyone was off doing their own thing and she'd gone to stand on the pitchers mound. Throwing the ball into the air and faking pitches Alice practiced her moves. Not that she needed the practice but with everyone else pre-occupied there wasn't much she could do. Carlisle was talking to Esme and the word cheat was brought up in the conversation. A smile graced her pretty face, Alice didn't always use her gifts to win against the others though sadly she did when the competitve bug bit her. It was mostly during the bets that Emmett and Jasper made. Hadn't they learn not to make bets around her yet?
Tossing the ball into the air, it went higher than any human could achieve, she listen to the woods around her making sure that they alone. Off in the distances there were light foot falls but there were animals in the vicinity and she hadn't seen anyone coming to investigate in their future. Sure there was something in the distances, a group, but they were heading away from Forks and she'd seen them leave. There shouldn't be danger.
|
|
Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
|
Post by Esme Cullen on Jan 3, 2009 3:08:18 GMT -5
"All part of the game," she muttered under her breath, rolling her eye. A smile played at the corners of her lips. She let her eyes trail across the clearing they would be playing in. She watched as Alice practiced her pitching moves. Alice looked so graceful in everything she did. Esme smiled widely at her before turning her attention back to her husband.
Esme followed after Carlisle, watching him lay the bases in the correct spots, everything perfectly spaced. She shook her head, answering Carlisle's question. "Nothing very interesting," she told him. She had spent a good portion of the day sketching, naturally. The other part starting the restoration of another centuries old table. Though it was a project she had done many times in her life as a vampire, it never got old.
|
|
|
Post by Carlisle Cullen on Jan 3, 2009 20:02:57 GMT -5
Carlisle’s cheeky grin only grew at the retort from his wife and followed her gaze towards their youngest daughter as they made their way slowly around to second base. He also sent a small grin in her direction, wondering whether the teams had been formed yet. Stooping a little to put he next base down at he got to the right place, he glanced back up at Esme, putting a hand on his elbow as if he needed help up. He laughed a little and grinned at her as he rose to his full height once more.
“Just practicing,” he quipped at her, slinging an arm over her shoulders as they walked together. He nodded a little and gave her quite a consolatory smile as she told him her project wasn’t interesting, but was distracted as they angled back around so that Rosalie and Emmett were in their line of view once more as he plopped third base down on to the grass. He stamped on the pad to flatten the grass beneath, careful not to bury it in the earth, and turned to Esme.
“You were having words with her before?” he spoke quietly so that his words wouldn’t carry across the field to even the vampire ears. He inclined his head towards Rosalie and Emmett, his brow showing only to Esme that he was slightly concerned. He did trust his eldest daughter, but he knew that she did tend to get over zealous in her lack of acceptance of Bella - he still remembered the confrontation at the dinner table. He trusted her, of course, but he still liked to know of any tension before it had the chance to reach a climax.
|
|
|
Post by Edward Cullen on Jan 4, 2009 23:32:47 GMT -5
Edward gave a half smile as she questioned his choice of words about not running the whole way. "The jeep will only get us so far. You'll have to hold on tight for the rest of it, but just close your eyes this time, you'll be fine" Edward said trying to reassure her. He wondered if he should try to go slower this time, or if it would help her get used to it by just continuing at the same speed as he had previously traveled with her. It would have been useful to him to know her thoughts as he ran to know the point at which she stopped feeling comfortable.
He laughed as she joked about his driving speeds. "I drive much slower than I run, think of it as a warm up" He joked back with her, though there was truth to his words.
"Yep, everyone's going to be there, and they're happy to have you join us" Edward said, knowing there was an exception to that happiness. "Well..most of them are." He said, wanting to remain honest with her.
|
|
|
Post by Bella Swan on Jan 6, 2009 19:47:31 GMT -5
Bella nodded, pressing her lips together at the thought of running again. She was surprised that as well as the dread that it brought, the thought also excited her - she did like the feeling of the wind on her face, the effortless speed. The aspects that bothered her were mostly due to her human fragility, it’s not like she usually got travel sick, but such unadulterated speed humans were not designed for, and she was still quite worried that she would end up as jam on a tree. “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be fine really,” she turned to him with a grin. “I’ve got to get used to it, right?”
She wrinkled her nose at him as he joked about his driving speeds and half-grinned at him. “One day, Edward, I’m going to show you how to drive and you’ll thank me for it!”
She crossed her arms over her chest, though moved them quickly as she felt the multitude of buckles dig into her through her thick jacket. Her face dropped a little as Edward told her that ’most’ of them were happy for her to join them. She didn’t need to ask who wasn’t happy, and she appreciated Edward’s honesty with her, but she so wished she could make peace with the beautiful Rosalie. She didn’t like to think she was the source of any conflict within the Cullen family, but, similarly, she wouldn’t leave them to avoid it. She sucked in a breath and looked out of the window for a moment, thinking.
“It’ll be fun,” she said after a few moments, with genuine enthusiasm as she put thoughts of upsetting Rosalie to bed.
|
|
|
Post by Edward Cullen on Jan 7, 2009 11:45:09 GMT -5
Edward smiled as she spoke of getting used to the speed. Despite the insanity of his world, she still spoke of wanting to be a part of it in the future, even willing to give his running a chance. He then gave out a laugh as she spoke of teaching him to drive. He gave her an incredulous look. "You've only been driving for what? A year? And you think you can teach me to drive..." He shook his head, knowing he had been driving since before her father was even born, maybe even her grandfather. "I should teach you the proper way to enjoy a car"
Edward smiled as Bella seemed to try to look at this outing with a positive outloook. Even despite Rosalie, Bella was still trying and willing to give it a chance. "It will be. " He agreed, looking forward to sharing this experience with her and letting her really see the enjoyment his family had when they didn't have to hide.
|
|
Emmett Cullen
Settled in Forks
Vegetarian Vampire, Big Brother Cullen
Hell's not so bad if you keep an angel with you
Posts: 73
|
Post by Emmett Cullen on Jan 11, 2009 3:10:38 GMT -5
A simple kiss from Rosalie was something that made his days worth it. Though he would never have admitted it, or thought it when his mind reader of a brother was around. He glanced over towards the trail his jeep would be making soon with Ed and Bella in it. His eyes soon wandered back to Rosalie and he followed her gaze up to the rolling clouds that were bringing the storm for the game. Without really looking or paying attention Emmett threw up the ball and a caught it again.
“So you think you can strike me out? Care to make a bet?” He smiled towards her, “Lets see; you strike me out and I’m your slave for a week. I get you out and….well you’ll see when it happens.” He laughed a deep rolling laugh that only the thunder would echo.
He looked quickly around the field at his assembled family. When he was with them all was when he was most content. This family and especially Rosalie were his life.
|
|
Esme Cullen
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire
The Mother
Posts: 164
|
Post by Esme Cullen on Jan 13, 2009 3:41:05 GMT -5
"Yes," she answered her husband in a hushed murmur that matched the volume of his words. "She's not happy that Bella will be joining us," she told him on a sigh.
It could get quite frustrating trying to keep them all happy, but Esme would not budge on this aspect of Edward's life. She hadn't seen him this happy for as long as she had known her oldest son. Rosalie could not deny that she noticed a change either, but she still remained bitter on the idea of Bella, a human, mingling with the vampires.
"But I asked her to behave herself," she reassured her husband with a smile. "And I'm sure she won't disobey me."
|
|
Rosalie Hale
Dazzled
Vegetarian Vampire, PsychoBlonde
Over my pile of ashes.
Posts: 233
|
Post by Rosalie Hale on Jan 13, 2009 21:11:36 GMT -5
Rosalie let herself be distracted by Emmett. She back away quickly and clapped her hands once before opening them in front of her, signaling him to throw her the ball. She considered his wager, her smile growing wider. "I think we can arrange something," she told him. Their version of baseball had always been interesting, each member of the family had different strengths and weaknesses, different strategies. There were ways to overcoming Emmett's sheer strength and she was sure she could employ them if she wanted to.
She kept her gaze on Emmett, ignoring the silence that she felt from the other side of the field. Thy were still speaking, since their lips moved, but they had made it a point to not be heard. They were no secrets in her family, so Rosalie could easily pinpoint the handful of things that would make them speak in such low tones. Rosalie's kept the smile on her face, teasing Emmett, but she felt her insides churn.
|
|
Emmett Cullen
Settled in Forks
Vegetarian Vampire, Big Brother Cullen
Hell's not so bad if you keep an angel with you
Posts: 73
|
Post by Emmett Cullen on Jan 14, 2009 0:30:31 GMT -5
A thunder shattering laugh exploded forth from Emmett as Rosalie accepted his challenge and wager. He threw the ball to her with only half strength. Rosalie may have been as strong as him but he had no desire to test her strength. Plus, he found it was fun to antagonize her but treating her as the girl she was. She was always beautiful to him, but he found her more so when she was mad at him – the fire in her golden eyes.
“So what do I win when I strike you out, babe?” He asked casually as he rolled his shoulders back and flexed his arms. Reaching up he adjusted his cap and smiled at her. Emmett could be accused of missing a lot of the obvious, and it was true except where Rose was concern. He saw the distracted look in her features and the anger bubling just under the surface. Spending so many years with her he’d learnt to read most of her moods, it was a good lesson for him.
“What happened?” He asked nodding towards their ‘parents’ on the other side of the field in the middle of their silent conversation. “Forget to empty the dishwasher?” He joked with her in an attempt to produce a real smile to her perfect lips.
|
|
|
Post by Carlisle Cullen on Jan 14, 2009 18:37:10 GMT -5
Carlisle nodded once, his assumptions confirmed with his wife’s words. He smiled at her after a moment, though, and put an arm around her shoulders as he lay down the last base.
“Don’t worry about it,” he told her, easily. His eyes looked out over the field to the rest of his family. “Disagreements happen, but I’m sure everything will be resolved soon enough. Maybe this game will even help open our daughter’s eyes a little.”
He didn’t enjoy the fact that his eldest daughter couldn’t yet accept Bella into their fold, but he wasn’t going to push her unless she was actively rude. He knew it hurt Esme to see them bickering, which often earned his daughter a reproachful look, but he wouldn’t push her beyond that. She may not accept the human into their family, but she shouldn’t hurt those she loved because of it.
|
|
|
Post by Bella Swan on Jan 15, 2009 6:01:18 GMT -5
“I know I can teach you to drive,” Bella retorted, her voice full of confidence whilst her face flooded with colour. Not even she could understand the reason for that blush, not properly. It was most likely because he had reminded her of the large age gap once more, not that it bothered her; the thing that bothered her was the fact that time was still rolling on for her. She had quickly realised that whilst Edward was frozen as the perfect seventeen year old, she was marching steadily onward to her eighteenth birthday. She shook the thought from her head and laughed a little. “There’s no way I’m breaking the rules while Charlie’s around. I’d be grounded forever, and he’d insist on driving me around in his cruiser. And he wouldn’t like you very much anymore.”
She turned to him and grinned. His meeting with Charlie had gone quite well, a typical teenage girl’s father meeting a typical teenage girl’s first boyfriend kind of meeting, except Edward had been the picture of chivalry and good taste. There was no way Charlie could pull him up for anything. Except his driving. She turned to look out of the side of the jeep, her eyes struggling to catch the whiz of landscape - mostly thick trees - through the dullness of the encroaching storm. As the beginnings of a small roll of thunder sounded, her curiosity piqued once more.
“So, why the storm?” she honestly couldn’t fathom a single reason why they would want to play baseball only in storms. It was ludicrous, baseball was hard enough to play on a fine day, but with thunder rolling and lightning flashing… She guessed that was the reason she wasn’t playing. Then again, with all of their strength and speed, she doubted she would get far in the first place.
|
|