Sunday morning was calm or, at least, started off that way. Bella wasn't needed at Newton's until four that afternoon, so Charlie and she sat in the kitchen, him drinking coffee and warning Bella of the "bears" that were lurking in the woods. She was absentmindedly nodding, hearing but not listening to him. The "bears" he warned her of, she knew, was simply Jacob and the pack. However, the attacks they were credited with, she knew, were Victoria. A knock startled the Swans and Bella got up to answer the door. Strangely enough, Lauren Mallory stood at the door, her eyes evading Bella's gaze.
"Hi Bella," Lauren said quietly.
"Um, hey." Bella stepped onto the porch, closing the door behind her.
"I came over here to, uh, apologize. For being a bad friend, and a bitch. You didn't deserve it, it wasn't your fault that the boys wanted you, and that I have an 'obsessive need for male attention' according to my therapist," her bright green eyes looked up to Bella's stunned face. Lauren continued, "I wanted to see if you wanted to, I don't know, maybe hang out, become real friends. I understand if you don't, I've been horrible to you!"
"Actually, I'd like that very much, Lauren." Both girls smiled, a clean slate had appeared before them.
The girls tried to find a common interest among them. Lauren suggested shopping, but remembered that Bella wasn't a huge fan and dropped it. Bella proposed they check out local bookstores, but Lauren's scrunched up nose told her that wasn't favorable.
"Hmm, what about the beach? I know your friend Jackson lives down there!" Lauren beamed, she had finally come up with something they both enjoyed.
"That's a great idea, but his name is Jacob." Bella laughed and Lauren joined in.
After a short drive to the beach in Bella's truck, which Lauren admitted she admired in a "vintage sort of way", they walked along the beach, looking at tidepools and talking about anything that came to mind.
"How about you and Emmett, huh?" The blonde gently pushed Bella's shoulder.
Blushing, Bella said, "He's just...everything, y'know?"
Lauren nodded, "That's how I felt about Tyler, but then he went and cheated on me so..." She gave a small laugh to lighten the mood which Bella reciprocated.
"Edward's got a new girl now. I thought I would feel something, anything! But it seems like all of my energy and love is on Emmett now. I don't think I can ever feel anything for Edward ever again."
Lauren listened intently, and not just for gossiping purposes this time. "Good. He left you, Bella! You have no idea how many times I just wanted to shake some sense into you during your dark period. I honestly hoped that you would talk to someone, anyone about it."
Bella told Lauren everything she could without revealing the Cullens' secret. She explained that her most prominent fear had come true when Edward left - that he was too good for her. She recognized the pedestal she had put him on, which he didn't object to.
"I just never feel that way about Emmett - that he'll leave or that I'm not good enough. We're on an equal playing field here and it's lifted this enormous weight off my shoulders, Ren."
Without acknowledging the nickname (which she quite liked), Lauren nodded, "I bet it has. To be with someone who puts themselves above everyone else, to feel superior, is like being with a God. You almost don't know what's real and what's not."
The two spent almost everyday together after that. Sometimes Emmett would be there, making jokes and having fun like he always did. Bella thought it was nice that Em was someone who didn't hate her friends, or feel like they didn't have to get along.
On a Tuesday morning, Lauren walked right up to Bella's locker, holding a tube of hair dye.
"I have to do it, Bells," Lauren explained.
"Do you even know how to?"
"That's what you'll be there for!" The blonde exclaimed, her green eyes alight with excitement.
"I don't know, Ren. What if I mess up?" Bella's teeth caught her bottom lip in a nervous mannerism.
"You won't!" Then the bell rang, and Lauren was off to first period, a skip in her already bouncy step.
When Lauren got to Bella's house that night, she noticed a new car in the Swan driveway. She didn't question it, letting herself inside like she lived there.
"Hey Mr. Swan!" Her voice called out to Charlie.
"I've told you, Lauren, it's Charlie," he said in a mock stern voice, arms crossed to complete the attitude.
Lauren laughed and walked upstairs. When she opened the door to Bella's room, she was surprised to see Rosalie Hale sitting on Bella's purple comforter.
"H-hey Rosalie," she stuttered out.
"I'm here to help with your hair. Alice has had plenty of hair dying moments," Rosalie explained with a smile. Lauren laughed and rolled her eyes at Bella, amused at the lack of confidence the brunette had in herself.
"What color are we doing?" Rose asked, her hand extended for the tube of dye.
"Orange. It's my favorite color," Lauren explained sheepishly.
"It'll look good on you," Rosalie assured, positive that Lauren was intimated by the model beauty in front of her. Lauren gave a big smile, ready to start the process.
Rosalie sat the green-eyed teen in Bella's desk chair, filling a small bowl up with the contents of the tube, then mixing it with a bottle of strawberry scented conditioner she had found in the back of the linen's closet. After mixing, she showed Bella how to apply the dye, even letting her try it. At first, the human's hands were shaky, but they gained firmness the longer they held the applicator.
As they waited for the color to process, they talked about everything they could think of, from the weird teachers at Forks High, to the supposed "bears" that Lauren's father had warned her of. Bella and Rosalie exchanged a look that Lauren didn't catch. Oh, how good it felt to be human.
I have finally figured out a posting schedule! I know this should have been done a while ago but, let's face it, it didn't. There will be two stories up (hopefully) everyday. The schedule looks something like this: Scorch and A Divine Hell; Serendipity and This Golden Sun; Woman, Scorned and Brighter Gold; Meraki and Nomad. The two that are listed together will be updated every four days if everything goes accordingly. If you haven't checked out the other stories I've listed, you GOTTA check 'em out! All of them are Twilight besides Brighter Gold, which is Pansmione from Harry Potter. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. If you did, please comment and let me know!
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this golden sun || emmett cullen
Fanfiction"Something should have stopped her, should have told her it was a bad idea. Maybe she already knew, maybe she didn't care. The Cullen house sat untouched, as it had for six months." Bella Swan has been broken, her shattered heart fatefully determine...
