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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: A LEAP OF FAITH
THE DUO EXITED THE clothing store, Alice of course forcing the younger Star sibling to buy a few articles of clothing so that she wouldn't have to keep stealing Luna's. Like Luna, Estella wasn't really one for shopping. It was never her forte. But with Alice, it was the best shopping trip she had ever been on in her entire life. Now, the two were walking down the dark streets of Port Angeles to a book store.
"So, what are we looking for?" Alice asked, a little skip in her step. Alice was happy, beyond happy even. She got to spend the entire day with her mate, and not once did they argue. This was a step in the right direction for the two. Of course, Alice didn't know that the simple shopping trip would be the reason for Estella's actions that not even Alice herself could predict.
Estella shrugged her shoulders. "Nothing in particular. Just something I or Luna would enjoy. But Luna enjoys everything, so. . ." She pulled open the door to the library, greeting the older woman as she walked by her desk. Alice walked beside of Estella, her eyes scanning over the spines of all the books. Estella grabbed three books that she thought she and her sister would enjoy whilst Alice grabbed two, along with an older book that she thought Jasper would enjoy―︎though, he probably already read it however.
"Is five enough?" Alice asked, placing the books in the basket Estella had managed to grab.
"Seven isn't enough, this is Luna we're talking about." Estella retorted. "And Alice, you have three books in your hand, not two."
"I know, this ones for Jasper." She responded, pointing to the book that had a plain green cover. Estella hummed in response before her eyes fell over the shelves. She stopped and picked up a book, looking at it with curiosity.
"The Hunger Games." She read, the book cover itself intriguing her. "Sounds fun." She placed the thick book into the basket. Estella looked at the books in the basket before giving a confident nod of her head. "Hopefully this'll last us a few days." The two females bought the books before taking the bag they were in and then walking out of the library. The two walked in a comfortable silence, both in thought but for completely different reasons. Alice was thinking about whether or not she should grab Estella's hand and hope and pray to the gods above that she wouldn't jerk away and ignore Alice for another two weeks.
Estella on the other hand was having a major debate in her head about whether or not she should do the actions she found herself so desperately wanting to do. She didn't know what it was, but spendiing the entire day with Alice, having none of the other family members around, it made Estella realize how deep she had fallen for the Cullen girl. She didn't even realize when the feelings had started to develop. Maybe it was when she was spending all that time trying to ignore Alice and be mad at her, that the mate bond was so strained, that spending the entire day with the pixie made it heal and appear ten times stronger. And now, she wanted to be so close to her. She wanted to be with her. In more ways than one.
"Alice?" Estella asked just as they arrived at the car. Alice turned her head to look at the blonde.
"Yeah?" Alice quizzed. Estella opened the backseat door and placed the books inside, Alice having already placed the clothes inside earlier so they wouldn't have to carry them as they walked.
"Do you mind if we just. . . walk for a few minutes?" Estella hesitantly asked. Estella would be lying if she said she didn't want this night to end. And maybe it didn't have to, not yet anyways.
Alice smiled at the girl, having the exact same thought as the blonde. She didn't want the night to end, and she would be lying if she said she didn't want to leave Port Angeles without taking possibly another step in the right direction. But she wouldn't force the girl, she would be right by her side, no matter how long it took. She didn't care if it took centuries, she would gladly wait for the Star girl. "Of course," Alice nodded.
The two girls walked down the silent streets of Port Angeles, midnight crawling closer and closer, but neither of them cared. They two were standing so close that their hands continuously brushed until finally Alice took a leap of faith and grabbed Estella's hand. However, Estella didn't react exactly how Alice had expected her to. Instead, Estella took it upon herself to interlace their fingers, forcing a smile to pull up at the corners of her lips whilst Alice had a full blown smile on her face.
The two continued to walk in a comfortable silence, relishing in the presence of one another as well as listening to the animals that let out loud chirps in the night. Estella looked up at the stars, a sad smile forming on her face as images of her smiling parents popped into her head. They would be encouraging her right now, telling her that they loved her no matter what and that they would always support her. What was holding her back from taking Alice's face in her hands and crashing their lips together? The answer: nothing.
Estella stopped, forcing Alice to turn her head to look at her with furrowed eyebrows. Alice turned her body to face the girl who's eyes had yet to leave the stars that were rarely found in the sky due to them living in a cloudy town.
"Estella?" Alice asked, frowning slightly.
Estella finally turned her head to look at the girl before turning her body to face her. Alice furrowed her eyebrows in slight worry as Estella's eyes roamed her face, a debate seeming to run back and forth between her now golden irises. Alice opened her mouth to speak but took in a shocked intake of breath when Estella's hands cupped her face. Estella's eyes never left Alice's, almost as if she was asking for permission. Before Alice could even fully register what was happening, Estella's lips crashed onto hers in a confident yet delicate kiss, almost as if she were afraid Alice was going to reject her.
But she didn't. No, instead, Alice managed to kiss her back with so much love and passion that it surprised both of them. The kiss became so intensely heated and loving, filled with wanting and desire, that the two had to move to the woods so as to not scar any stragglers that was still out so late. Neither were expecting to jump to such a quick level from a simple kiss, but neither of them could help it. The bond was so strong, and their hearts and bodies longed for one another that it just happened. Articles of clothing were ripped from their bodies, their lips never once leaving each other. This is what they had both been waiting for, and Estella felt so stupid for forcing both herself and Alice to wait so long.
━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎ 1,211 words I was going to drag this out to twenty chapters, but I didn't think it was necessary and that their relationship doesn't need to be dragged out any longer. So, I am here to say that this is the LAST OFFICIAL CHAPTER of The Only Exception! The next chapter is the Epilogue and then this book will be completed!
