Chapter 25: Chapter 25

Pulling up to the Cullen's house, Juliet couldn't help but be in awe. Just like Bella had said when they first pulled onto the private road that led to the house, Alice didn't do things half way. Charlie had, of course, brought up Juliet going to the party-probably assuming she and Bella had agreed on it before. Bella put up a good front, saying that she was 'glad Juliet agreed to come'. Bella was quick to get out of the cruiser, Edward already waiting outside for her.

"You have fun, kiddo." Charlie turned to look back at Juliet. "Maybe you'll make some new friends tonight."

"I'm perfectly happy with the friend group I have." She huffed. She looked at Charlie's face and sighed. "Fine, maybe some new faces wouldn't be so bad." She was, of course, lying.

"That's the spirit." He nodded. "Go have a blast." She snorted, pushing open the door and stepping out. Somehow, the house looked even bigger than it did when she was in the car. Three stories, hyper-modern, the kind of house you'd see in a movie or in Los Angeles, not in the woods outside of Forks.

"Juliet." Edward's voice drew her attention, so she looked away from the house. Bella was no where to be seen, likely already inside judging by how Edward was standing in the doorway. "Thank you for coming. She won't say it, but I know she did want you around."

"I'm only here for her." Juliet walked up the stairs. Edward nodded lightly. "I'm sure you're well aware of how I feel."

"And I'm sorry for it." He hung his head. "I've tried to get her to see reason, to stop wanting this. But she won't. It seems, though, I'm able to hold her off with my condition, though."

"Condition?" Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Her condition is that she wants me to be the one." He explained. "Mine is that I want her to marry me first. And, being Bella, she's stubborn about my condition."

"I can't imagine why." Juliet snorted. "What's marriage to the commitment of an eternity?" He actually cracked a small smile.

"At least one of you can see reason." She couldn't help but laugh lightly. When she wasn't so focused on hating him, Edward didn't really seem that bad. If only he wasn't planning to kill Bella. "Anyway, thank you. I know she's been nervous about what comes after, about what she'll lose after. I can only hope if she spends enough time with you, maybe she'll change her mind."

"Yeah, I wouldn't count on it." She sighed.

"Ah, nice metaphor." He nodded. "Smart, too. Charlie would've never suspected a thing."

"Stop reading my mind." She frowned. "That's not fair. And by the way, that was really uncool of you to do it when I had no idea you could."

"Sorry." He chuckled. "Force of habit around the other member of the Swan family."

"God I'd love to know what goes on in Charlie's head all day." She sighed. "Wait let me guess. Sports, fishing, Harry, more sports, the weather report, how much he hates Seattle, and Bella."

"Are you sure you can't read minds, too?" Edward had an amused smile on his face.

"God damnit." She sighed. "I hate to admit it but you're not that bad. Well, besides the whole Bella part."

"If I don't do it, she'll go to Carlisle." He said. "I'm only delaying the inevitable."

"Well thanks, I guess." She shrugged. "For delaying it."

"Are you two fighting?" Bella stepped outside, nervously looking between them. "I don't-"

"We're not, I assure you." Edward said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "We were talking about you, actually."

"Me?" Bella raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, turns out your bloodsucker isn't as bad as I thought he was." Juliet snorted. "Sorry, force of habit. You wouldn't believe how many times Paul says that everyday."

"That much?" Edward raised an eyebrow.

"Get out of my head, Edward!"

"Sorry, sorry." He held his free hand up as he chuckled.

"Edward, come here!" She heard Alice call from inside. "What CDs should I play? This is really important!" Edward sighed, kissing Bella's forehead before disappearing into the house.

"So what were you two actually talking about?" Bella crossed her arms over her chest.

"You, he wasn't lying." Juliet said, now comfortable to take a few more steps closer to the house. "You, you, you, you, Charlie, you, you, and more you."

"Charlie? Why?"

"I wanted to guess what his thoughts were all the time." Juliet had a smug smile on her face. "Got it right, first try." Bella shook her head. "Alright, come on. I'm playing nice tonight, so you might as well introduce me to the rest."

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Much to her own surprise, Juliet wasn't having a bad time. It wasn't great, knowing she was in a house of vampires, but with all the other humans around her, she somehow felt more relaxed. Everyone in town knew about the party. If something happened now, they'd be exposed. Ironically, it was probably one of the safest places in town to be. She'd, of course, already met Alice-who was very exited to see her. Then she met Esme, the "mom". She seemed nice enough, and she had an air about her that reminded her a bit like Renee-though Esme was far more put together.

Then there was Carlisle, again she already knew him, though it was her first time seeing him since she'd learned he was a vampire. She couldn't even understand how she didn't know before. Looking at him now, and all of the Cullen's, it was hard to believe anyone believed they were human. After the party had kicked off, and people had crowded into the Cullen's home, she'd met Emmett in the kitchen. He was her favorite by far.

"Tell that dog he needs to work on his aim. He missed me by a mile." He joked, his dimple's featuring prominently on his face.

"Oh don't worry." She snorted. "Paul's itching for a rematch. I'll be sure to pass on the message." Emmett then introduced her to Rosalie. She was gorgeous, Juliet almost felt like she was in a daze just looking at her. Rosalie was in a mood, however, not enjoying the party, so she pulled Emmett away. And finally, she was lingering by the bookshelves in the corner of the living room, her eyes scanning the titles as her finger tips brushed lightly against the spines. She heard someone clear her throat, so she looked to her right.

"We haven't been introduced yet. I'm Jasper." He spoke, an ever so slight southern drawl to his voice. "Bella doesn't talk about you much, but I remember her saying you loved books."

"Oh, yeah." She nodded, a little caught of guard by the vampire. "I work at a bookstore in town and everything. Bella always used to call me a nerd when we were kids." Jasper chuckled. "She wasn't wrong, mind you."

"I just wanted to tell you..." He glanced around, and she saw his eyes flash from Alice to Bella before landing back on her. "We'll take good care of her. To me, Bella's already family. To all of us, really." Juliet sighed. As much as she didn't want to, she believed him. In fact, she was starting to believe more and more of everything Bella had said. Maybe the Cullen's weren't that bad. But at the end of the day, she couldn't get past that final hurdle."I know it must seem so...unusual, her request. It is. But we only want what's best for her. She's a bit of a danger magnet, she'll honestly be safer afterward when she's indestructible." Juliet chuckled.

"I didn't want to believe her, but I can see what she sees in you all, now." She admitted. "Thank you. For taking care of her. Someone has to-and honestly I'm glad it's not gonna be me for eternity." Jasper chuckled.

"Well, it was nice meetin' you." He dipped his head lightly. She nodded, and he slipped off into the crowd. She sighed, leaning back against the bookcase slightly. She felt so confused now. Obviously, she didn't want Bella to become a vampire, but part of her had started to think maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. She was asking for it, it's not like the Cullen's were going to totally kill her. She'd come back. And maybe, in ten years after she learned to control herself, Juliet could see her again. She hated that she was actually considering supporting Bella's decision-Edward would definitely not be happy with her thoughts, now-but she couldn't help it.

"Jules?" Juliet looked away from where she'd been spacing out, seeing Embry, Jake and Quil standing to her left.

"What are you doing here?" She and Embry said at the same time.

"Bella invited me." Jake spoke first. "These clowns are here because of Sam's orders."

"I'm here because of Leah. She thought I should spend some time with Bella so she tricked me into it." Quil's eyes just about bugged out of his head.

"No way Leah would ever let you come here by yourself." He was in disbelief, and all she could do was shrug.

"I'm assuming you're to blame, Jacob." She looked at him. "After all, she said there was a surprise. I'm assuming you told her you were coming?"

"Oh yeah, she was there when I told Sam this morning." Juliet groaned.

"Alright, well I'm leaving when you guys do. I've been stuck here for like three hours." She pushed off the bookshelves. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"She invited me." He said, holding up a small, colorful woven bag that Emily had made. "Plus, graduation present." He shoved it back into his pocket. "Now, where is she...?" His eyes began scanning the room, and Juliet inched closer to Quil and Embry.

"Do you think Sam would kill you guys if we left him here?" She asked quietly.

"You're not very fast, one of us would have to carry you." Quil said.

"Ugh, that's your job, Quil." Embry recoiled when he finally smelled Juliet. "No offense, but god you smell like them."

"Again, blame Leah." She sighed. Jake weaved away from them, going after Bella. "Who wants to make a bet?" Both boys perked up.

"I'm in, whatever it is." Embry said excitedly.

"Yeah, me too." Quil nodded. "Been a while since we had a good one. And I lost twenty bucks to Paul because of it." He huffed.

"How much you wanna bet Bella slaps Jake for showing up?" She asked. She had, of course, heard all about the hand breaking kiss from a few days ago-and had, of course, chastised Jacob over it for hours until he felt guilty enough to apologize.

"Oo, that's a tough one." Embry sucked a breath through his teeth. "She always forgives him so fast, no matter what. I say she doesn't hit him."

"Yeah, but she also broke her hand this time." Quil pointed out. "I say she does. How about 15? It's all I've got I'm account right now."

"What, has your mommy not paid your allowance this week?" Embry teased, and Quil shoved him, rolling his eyes. "15 it is. Jules?"

"I'm with you Embry, 15." They all nodded, the boys then turning around and keeping their eyes on Jake. They had the advantage here, both being freakishly tall so they could see over most of the crowd. That was one thing Juliet hated about the wolves, they were all so damn tall. Even Leah had grown a few inches after her first phase-finally putting her over the 6 foot mark.

"They're definitely not having a pleasant conversation." Embry said. "Bella definitely didn't think he was gonna show up."

"Yeah, if a girl punched you in the face, would you go to her graduation party two days later?" Quil laughed. "Jake's a freak."

"Yes!" Embry cheered. "He's giving her the present." He turned to Quil, hand stuck out. "15 bucks, cough it up dude."

"Shut up." Quil slapped his hand away. "She still has time to hit him." Embry huffed, turning back to watch Jake. "Come on, Bella." Quil muttered, making Juliet stifle a laugh. "Uh oh." She looked up, glancing between them. Their expressions had turned serious.

"What? What is it?" She asked quickly.

"Dunno. Let's go find out." Embry said. She was just barely able to grab Quil's arm before the boys took off. It wasn't easy to keep up with them as they weaved through the packed crowd, but she managed. Quil and Embry flanked Jake, and Juliet stood at Quil's side.