Asteraceae

SIXTY EIGHT

Streamers were silently being put up as everyone moved around at their own pace to make sure the decorations were nice and pretty for Bella's birthday. None of them would admit it but it did feel good celebrating something that didn't hold any meaning to them anymore. Bella's birthday in a way was like a birthday for them for the second they turned was when aging was long forgotten with a heavy heart. Alice and Joshua, back from their date, were dressed casually, both draped in similar silk button-down shirts, and jeans with the only physical difference being the heels Alice insisted she wore. Joshua wasn't helping, he was sitting back in a reclined seat nursing a glass of wine that Esme had offered him the second he stepped through the door. He could've helped, whether that would be on input or simply moving things, but he just didn't because his disdain for Bella was obvious.

Rosalie, though she was curious, saw the difference in Alice, remembered the latest look Edward had temporarily got, and felt just a slight bit jealous and concerned about what this could mean for the rest of them. She remained silent though, sneaking glances and occupying herself with taping up some streamers that would dangle from the ceiling like silly string. Emmett, he didn't notice anything, not the obvious things at least. He was busy moving furniture, lifting the recliner Joshua was resting in to set it in a different corner that Alice had demanded it go in. He wasn't concerned, wasn't bothered, and not even unnerved about the things that were changing around him and that made Rosalie envy him for his lack of concern of the future.

Edward was gone, probably at the Swan residence chatting with Charlie Swan as he waited until they announced they were done to drag Bella back. It took a bit of convincing but begged for Evangeline to be removed from the house just so that Bella could feel a bit safer. Came up with every excuse in the book, with the final one being that she wasn't family considering she would be leaving after all was done. It took a day, took hours after for everyone to give into his request, and ask her to leave for the night...she had left, and with a few words from Joshua she ran off into the woods in some random direction. Next person who was gone after Edward was Jasper, the teen was in a bit of a daze before Alice and Joshua had even arrived. He was silent, simply moving some things out of the way to help his coven before disappearing into the woods to deal with his own thoughts away from the mind reader. It was unknown to them all if Evangeline and Jasper were together since he took off in a similar direction as she had.

"A bit quiet in here isn't it." Carlisle, uneasy from the lack of conversation tried lifting everyone's mood, "todays supposed to be a special day, we all should be excited." He himself didn't know exactly what was making his coven this way. He had own problems to deal with and that came in the form of watching Joshua enjoying his drink that his mate made sure never emptied when she was free. He still looked amazing, but so did Alice, and he didn't think it was right to approach him now, so he kept his distance. Standing beside his mate and never wondering far from her whenever she disappeared off into another room.

"I know!" Alice whined, "I've tried everything, but they are such party poopers." She was busy setting up a few gifts for Bella, artfully arranging everything and making sure Her's and Joshua was front and center while the others laid behind a bit. She wanted Bella to know that while she might've been a bit busy, she still cared for the girl like a sister and would happily get back to working on their relationship.

"Nothing to be happy about." Joshua merely shrugged, "won't the girl get the likes of you killed simply for knowing of your kind? Isn't that against what the Volturi preached?" At the end of the day, it wasn't like they would do anything to him, but he still had his mate to worry about. They of course would never get to her either, but better to be safe than sorry otherwise they'll be going through so much more than what they current were.

"Exactly." Rosalie murmured, she agreed with a lot of things Joshua says but that could also be because they just had similar views on the entire Edward dating a human thing. She couldn't be mad at Alice for her mate was capable of things she didn't know was possible, but Bella was a liability for them all, Joshua included.