Annora |E. Cullen|

THIRTEEN

"I guess this means you're not moving back to DC?" Emmett laughed as we helped set up for Bella's birthday party at the Cullen's home.

"I mean, you're not there, so why would I go?" I asked as I attempted to stand on the tips of my toes to hang decorations.

"Fair point," he came up behind me and lifted me by my waist so that I could reach.

"Thanks," I smiled once he put me down, "I know I'm under average height."

"You're short," he grinned as he summed up my sentence.

I playfully scowled at him and then checked my phone for the time, I had three hours before the party started. "I'm gonna run home and change, I'll be right back," I reached up and kissed him.

"Be safe," he reminded me.

"As always," I turned and smiled before making my way out of the house and towards my Range Rover that my father had picked up for me at the dealership the other week.

As much as I loved being driven around by Emmett, I felt as though I had been quite a burden on him. I knew this wasn't true, but I didn't want him to feel like he was wasting his time or like he had to wait up for me when he could be out hunting. I drove at a moderate speed down the main road of the town that connected our two homes.

Once I reached my own, I threw my car in park and jogged inside my house. I was the only one home, so I wrote on the whiteboard at the front door where I would be for the night. I then walked down to my room and rooted through my closet for something acceptable to wear. I decided on a pair of nice jeans, a flowy blouse, and a pair of flats. I wasn't one to dress up for events, but I didn't want to look like my normal self.

I braided my hair just to give it a chance to hold some level of curl by the time I reached the Cullen's house. I grabbed my phone, my water, and my wallet and then headed back out of the front door. I turned my music on from my phone and increased the volume several increments after I pulled out of my driveway.

I sang along to every lyric, not caring at all what my voice sounded like. I rolled down my windows and let the wind blow on my face as I sped down the road back towards the other direction. I shuffled through several early 90's hits before I reached one of my favourite songs just as I was turning down the long road that led to the Cullen's house.

"I'm weak, and what's wrong with that? Boy, oh boy, I love it when I fall for that, I'm weak," I beat on my steering wheel along to the song.

I looked in my rear view mirror and noticed that Bella was right behind me, driving her red pickup truck. She looked quite the opposite of excited, she seemed to have a hard time with becoming eighteen. I didn't quite understand it, I thought the whole ordeal was rather childish. I was twenty and saw nothing wrong with it other than it was a year too young to purchase my own wine.

I pulled up on the side of the drive and shut my car off. I grabbed my belongings and jumped out of the car, as it was rather high. "Hiya," I waved to Bella and started walking closer to her as she exited her own vehicle.

"Hey, Annora," she tried to smile at me.

"Happy birthday," I cheered.

"Not you, too!" She groaned.

"Oh, don't you even start with me. It is completely illogical to be this distraught over turning eighteen. I'm twenty and you don't see me complaining," I glared lightly.

"Can I talk to you?" She asked, signalling for Edward to go inside and leave us to ourselves for a moment.

"I'll be inside," he pointed towards the door and started walking.

"Come on," I motioned towards my car and got in. I turned the vehicle on and turned the music to a decent volume. As soon as she stepped in and shut her door, I explained, "So that all they hear is music and not our conversation."

"That's smart," Bella looked towards my radio.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"It's one year older than Edward, that's why I'm upset," she sighed.

"Do you want me to be myself and tell you the truth or do you want me to tell you what you want to hear?" I questioned.

"Be yourself," she frowned.

"That is the stupidest concern I have ever heard. You're upset because you're physically one year older than someone who is upwards of 100-years-old? Bella, you need to learn how to pick your battles, this being one of the ones you let go," I smirked.

She paused for a long moment, her face cycling through several different expressions. She seemed to actually sit on the topic and think about it for a moment before she decided to speak again. "That was rude," she huffed and got out of the car, slamming the door on her way out.

"Well, you fuckin' asked," I mumbled and took a minute to calm myself down.

I spent more than a few minutes alone in my car, I debated walking inside but decided against it. After a while, Alice came and knocked on my window with an urgent look on her face. I pressed the button to roll down the window without looking back at her.

"Well, are you coming or not?" She asked.

"I don't think my presence is wanted," I shrugged.

"Of course you are! Why would you say that?" She questioned.

"I think I pissed her off," I answered.

Alice stood outside of my car for a minute before she decided on what to say, "I'll go get Emmett, he has to do something out here anyways."

I nodded and turned back to watch the seconds on my radio tick by as the song played through. I waited for Emmett, which didn't take long at all.

"Want to help me set this up in Bella's truck?" He asked.

"I don't know, will she magically know that I was in there and get pissed off again?" I asked without looking up.

"What happened?" He placed one of his hands on my upper arm through the car window.

"She was upset and she told me about it. I asked her if she wanted to hear the truth or if she wanted to hear what would make her happy. She said she wanted to hear the truth. I told her it was stupid to be so upset that she was physically a year older than Edward when he's over a hundred years older than she is. I told her to learn how to pick her battles and then she stormed off."

"To be honest, I think she's being rather ignorant."

"You're not just saying that, are you?"

"No. I know you don't need to be agreed with if it isn't true. I think that is something very foolish to be distraught over. For heaven's sake, you're almost two years older than me physically, it doesn't mean anything."

"Except that now I can buy the liquor," I smiled up at him.

His booming laughter filled the space around us, "Come watch me do this," he shook the radio in his hand.