Dusk (twilight fan fiction) *Undergoing editing* WATTYS2015

keeping up appearances

"The Volturi?" I asked "Who are they? Everyone looked at one another, nervously. "Well,if they're going to be interfering with my life, I think I have a right to know who they are!" 

"The volturi are a coven of powerful vampires. They're like royalty. We obey what they say or we die." Esme whispered "They would not appreciate another feud between vampires and werewolves. It would be especially bad considering you're a newborn." she bowed her head and sat down as if explaining this to me had tired her out.

"They're not going to come." I said "I'll make sure of that. I'll keep up appearances. It's not like Billy's going to accuse me of being what I am in front of Charlie, that would just cause another break in their friendship." Rosalie scoffed " The wolves are highly un-intelligent, Bella." She said "There's only going to be one there anyway. Jacob isn't a wolf yet. He thinks of Billy as a superstitious old man. Don't we all." She muttered under her breath. I laughed, tentatively. Edward came and put his arms around me.

"I'll come and spring you when I can." He smiled. I snuggled up to him and closed my eyes. If only I could freeze time at this exact second. No worries, no trouble and--

"eugh, let me know when you've finished warming each other up."

--And no Emmett!!!! I reluctantly let go of Edward.

"I'll see you all soon." I said. I got into my car; the one that has been stashed in the Cullen's garage all week. What is Charlie going to say when he sees it? What am I going to say when he sees it? I went through a list of useless excuses that I could use, when suddenly, I realized I didn't care. I put my foot down as I swerved onto the highway. 110mph in counting. I make it back to Charlie's in record time. His cruiser wasn't in the drive yet, so I had time to start on dinner. I parked my car behind my truck and get out, taking the bag of ingredients I bought on the way back with me. I've become an expert on cooking lasagna, now. It's Charlie's favourite meal. Thanks to my super speed, I had it prepared in no time. Unfortunately, cooking it is something I can't rush. I grated Cheddar over the top and put it into the oven. When I finished laying the table, I went upstairs to get dressed. When I got down, Charlie was wheeling Billy Black in.

"Hey dad." I greeted "Dinner's gonna be ready in a couple minutes." 

"Hey, Bells. Do you remember Billy Black?" No "Yes. Hi Billy." he held his hand out but I just waved and pretended I hadn't noticed. No need to make him any more suspicious. Unfortunately, it seemed my attempts were wasted. His eyes narrowed and knowledge masked his face. I went into the kitchen to take the lasagna out of the oven and placed it in the middle of the table.

"Dig in." I shouted. Jacob and Charlie sat down; I had to remove one of the chairs so Billy could sit in his wheelchair at the table. They all took monster slices and while they were eating, I took a slim piece, hoping they wouldn't notice. Billy did.

"You should have more than that, Bella." He scolded "Are you on a special diet, or something?"

"Yeah, you could say that." I laughed. It was meant to make him laugh too, but it had the opposite affect. I sighed and piled more onto my plate. It wasn't until I took a large bite, that he looked slightly content. After a lot of force, I finally finished my plate. That would all be coming back up again. Jacob kept trying to talk to me. I was only half listening to the things he was saying. He smelt like wet dog. Billy seemed to relax too. Only to turn rigid when Edward came to my door. I brought him in, after scolding him senseless, to meet Charlie.

"Dad, this is Edward Cullen. I know this is a bad time," I shot Edward a dirty look "but we have a date tonight and he wanted to formally introduce myself." From the corner of my eye, I saw Billy tense in his seat.

"My name is Edward Cullen. I'm your daughter's best friend's brother." He bowed slightly as he spoke.

"Is this why Bella has been spending every day after school and on weekends at your house?" Charlie gruffed. Billy tensed even more. I could actually feel his anger radiating towards me. This made me angry at Edward.

"I can assure you that is not the reason Bella has been at my home so much. She and my sisters are best friends and Alice won't let Bella out of her reach unless it's for sleep or school." Charlie sighed, unnecessarily loud. 

"I'm sorry, Edwin. Bella can't go out with you tonight. We have guests." He lied; not about the part that we have guests, but about the part that I can't go out. He would've let me go usually.

What have I done now? 

"Edward." I corrected "I'll see you tomorow, then." He nodded and showed himself out. The silence was unbearable. The atmosphere could have been cut with a knife. Things slowly turned back to how they were, though Billy never fully relaxed. Charlie waved them off before sitting on the couch next to me.

"Would you like to explain where you got that $800,000 car?" He demanded.

"Won it in sweepstakes?" I wimpered.

"You're too young to enter sweepstakes!" He bellowed. The joys of having a father cop(!)

"I meant, Rosalie won it. She fixed it up to run better, but her other cars are faster so she gave me that."

"The Cullen's bought it for you?" He shouted, turning red. Dang it! Why did he decide to pay attention now?

"It was a bet between Alice and Edward. Alice lost. I have a car. Everyone's happy. They've already made double the price of it back." I said, my voice pleading. I realise how desperate and greedy my words sound and try another aproach.

"They won't take it back. I've tried all this week, every single one of them. They're making me keep it. It's either I keep it or they throw it." My words sounded pretty humble to myself.

"You've had it for a week?" Charlie asked through gritted teeth "Bella, that car attracts police. You're asking for a car crash! Just go." I ran up to my room without being told twice and opened my window. Edward lay on my bed.

"Won it in sweepstakes?" He scoffed "Don't give up your day job." I fell on top of him. Glad to be back in his arms.