Instead of staying in their little nest until the next school day, the two went home early. Rosalie decided she wanted to yell at Edward more. She was also debating whether she should set his favorite car on fire. She had calmed down considerably knowing that Serafina wasn't upset with her for still having those old dreams of a human life. But she was still livid with Edward.
When they got home, his favorite car was still sitting in the driveway. Rosalie had asked Emmett to move it there when they were on their way home after school. She threatened him to either move it or she would set fire to it in the garage, which wouldn't be good because his Jeep was right next to it. He guiltily complied but felt it was the best thing to do to keep the rest of the cars safe.
Edward had seen a vision of Alice's before where Rosalie had destroyed his car in a fit of rage. He wasn't surprised to see his most prized car in the driveway that day. But when the couple had left, he assumed it was safe. Everyone else did, too; they just hadn't gotten around to putting it back. When the couple returned home early, Rosalie never entered the home and began to eye it. Edward groaned internally and went outside to see what she was doing. Carlisle wasn't even home anymore to step in and help if needed.
Serafina assumed Rosalie and Edward would have a mental conversation. She stood back and watched as she leaned against a tree. The others slowly came out of the house to see what was happening.
"You're right; I would deserve it. It doesn't matter that I didn't tell her and that a descendant of Ephraim Black is her friend. I should have left before like I had thought," Edward told Rosalie. He had told them all before when Carlisle was there that it was from the legend that the Quileute boy had told Bella that helped her find out about themselves.
Rosalie continued to glare.
"She is worth it. The car is nothing compared to her," he answered.
Rosalie sighed in resignation as she began to make her way inside.
"Edward, hush!" Alice tried to warn.
Edward sighed with relief as he got a small grateful smile, "I knew you wouldn't be able to do it."
Edward's car suddenly blew up. It was a small, contained explosion that didn't cause any other damage. But his beautiful Aston Martin Vanquish was no more.
Serafina was offended on her beloved's behalf. She took his comment as he thought Rosalie was too weak to do it and taunted her.
Esme covered her mouth in shock, "Serafina Hart!" she exclaimed after she regained herself.
Rosalie had her jaw dropped for a moment before she started laughing hysterically. Emmett and Jasper tried to hold in their laughter for Edward's sake. Alice had her hand on her forehead in exasperation.
Edward looked stunned. He was. He had heard Alice's warning a moment too late and knew precisely why Serafina reacted, "I meant that I knew she would never destroy such a beautiful car. I wasn't mocking her," He whispered sadly.
Serafina's aggressive posture relaxed after she heard. It made sense. She looked over to Rosalie. Who agreed through bouts of her laughter.
"Hang on! This is going to be great!" Emmett soon disappeared. Within seconds, music started to play loudly from the house.
When Jasper heard the tune, he could no longer contain his laughter. Emmett had decided to play 'We Didn't Start The Fire' by Billy Joel. It wasn't only Jasper who reacted. Everyone else began to laugh as well, even Alice. Esme and Edward were the only ones unaffected by the joke.
"Serafina Hart, you apologize to your brother this instant! And I hope you know that you owe him a new car." Esme scolded. She then directed her frustration toward her other unruly child, "And Emmett, stop making fun of your brother! Music off, now!"
The music turned off quickly, and Edward's shock faded, but he wasn't angry. He still felt his family had a right to be angry with him, and considering he was still planning to spend time with Bella, he didn't believe he had a right to say anything, "No, it's fine. It's my fault." He sighed.
Serafina began to stroll slowly to Rosalie while singing a song to herself lowly but still loud enough for all to hear, "Well you've got your diamonds / And you've got your pretty clothes / And the chauffeur drives your car / You let everybody know / But don't play with me / 'Cause you're playing with fire." Her singing ended as she joined Rosalie's side. The two began chuckling as they made their way to their room.
That school day, Serafina ditched again, only making her way to school during lunch. She heard Bella and Edward talking about her and her siblings as she walked to her family's table. She missed the first part of the conversation but listened to a statement from the human she agreed with.
"They don't like me," Bella seemed to guess as she glanced toward their table. Serafina knew she was looking at them and shook her head as in no. This made Rosalie laugh.
Edward immediately drew the human's attention back to himself as he tried to explain that wasn't the case. But while they were talking, the girl stared at Rosalie. Rosalie wasn't in the mood for that and glared at her. She didn't hold back the edge their family typically tried to hide in public, and her eyes darkened a shade after knowing no one else was looking. This caused Bella to freeze in fear. Edward noticed her abnormality and soon turned his head and hissed at Rosalie lowly in a warning. It still caused discomfort to the humans nearest him. But Rosalie turned away. Edward did, too. But when he did, he felt a glare on the back of his head. If they were home, he knew something of his would be on fire now. He sighed again but began to reassure Bella.
Alice soon popped up from her seat and made her way over to the two. She had already told her family and was incredibly excited to meet the human for the first time, even if it was to say hello before leaving with Edward to hunt for the day. Her family couldn't fault her. She had seen a vision of their friendship. She could sometimes be overly confident in her visions, but the others were sometimes slow to trust the ones that were so far out in the future—especially ones where it kept changing and was still at a fifty-fifty chance.
When the family returned home, Emmett told them they needed to hang out in the woods until Edward relaxed. Alice's orders. She said she would meet them later to explain the situation. But after that, she would take Jasper hunting for the night and the following day.
There was a small lake where the four decided to wait. Only a few miles across, It was a Friday night, possibly Saturday morning. They had nothing to do Saturday and didn't care how long they were out there. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper began throwing a pink rubber ball between themselves across the lake. At the same time, Serafina lay on a tree branch with one leg crossed over the other, her eyes closed in relaxation.
"What do you think is up?" Emmett asked.
"It's obviously about the human," Rosalie grumbled.
"We're not due for another hunting trip for another week and a half, but she wants us to go earlier," Jasper noted.
"Yes, that sounds like it's about the human," Serafina nodded.
"It is!" Alice said as she sped over, jumping up to steal the ball thrown to Rosalie, "The odds keep going up in my favor!" she said as she turned to Serafina.
"Enough with the bet," Rosalie narrowed her eyes at Alice, "Spill it gremlin."
"I told you I wanted a cuter nickname! Serafina calls Emmett Osito, and that is adorable!" Alice complained.
"She does it to mock me. I'm not adorable, so it doesn't match anyway," Emmett said annoyedly. He quickly zipped over to where the girls were and thought momentarily, "I should be nicknamed The Axeman or Iceman. You know, something cool. Like me."
"Who cares about the nicknames?" Jasper sighed as he followed to join them as well.
"I do!" Alice and Emmett said simultaneously.
Jasper immediately backtracked, "Of course, darlin', but Rose needs more time to think about it. Plus, Serafina calls you Ali. Isn't that enough?"
"Plus, gremlin isn't even a nickname. It's just what you are, Alice," Rosalie smirked as she dodged Alice's smack and jumped up onto a different branch on the tree Serafina was on.
Serafina sat up and comfortably pushed herself back against the tree's body, allowing her legs to dangle on both sides of the branch. She patted the empty space on the branch between her legs and looked up expectantly at Rosalie. Rosalie smiled back, dropped just before her, sat down, and leaned back into Serafina's warmth. Serafina happily hugged her body closer as they looked down at their siblings.
Emmett saw the two make themselves comfortable and figured the group would be speaking now. He sat on the floor not too far away with his back leaning against a tree trunk, "I'm willing to save the nickname talk until later. Alice?" he then turned to her to ask.
Alice nodded in agreement while still pouting. She turned to her sisters and stuck her tongue out at them. They just giggled at her childishness.
Jasper saw everyone else get comfortable and followed their examples. He asked the others to wait, returned to where he remembered a fallen tree was located, and brought it back for himself and Alice. He removed his light jacket so she could sit on it instead of the log and sat beside her after ensuring she was comfortable.
Alice flicked the ball over to Emmett, who quickly caught it and threw it over to Rosalie, who tossed it back to Alice. Serafina and Jasper were watching from the sidelines. The three were mindlessly tossing and catching the ball between themselves just for the heck of it. But if a human were to pass by, the ball was being thrown impossibly fast, and they likely wouldn't have been able to see it.
Emmett finally spoke up while the ball was tossed around, "So this meeting is about the girl?"
"Her name is Bella, and yes," Alice answered happily.
"So? What about the human?" Rosalie asked with a hint of attitude.
"You said your odds were getting better?" Serafina asked.
"They are! They're about sixty-forty now," Alice chirped.
"He won't kill her?" Jasper asked, a hint of frustration in his tone. Alice noticed the tone as she gave him a particular look. Jasper looked away and cleared his throat, "that's great," he finally muttered.
"It sounds like something is going to happen though? Why are you saying it cryptically like this?" Rosalie asked.
"Tomorrow is the day," Alice said seriously, "Mine and Serafina's bet will be resolved."
"Should we pack up just in case?" Emmett wondered aloud.
"No! I'm sure he can do it! The more he thinks about it, the more and more likely he is to let her live," Alice glared.
"Where is he taking her? If he loses control, will he be able to hide the body?" Serafina asked.
"He won't need to hide the body!" Alice huffed. The others still looked at her curiously. She sighed, "But he's taking her to that meadow he likes to relax in tomorrow. It's going to be a beautiful day, after all."
"The meadow where he likes to be alone? That's good. It's in the middle of nowhere, so if he goes berserk, at least he won't be seen," Rosalie commented.
"You know, we actually found that meadow first and we-" Serafina began with a grin when Rosalie quickly covered her mouth.
"We agreed not to talk about that," Rosalie laughed awkwardly, "She's kidding. We've never been there."
"That doesn't sound suspicious at all," Emmett said with a look of disgust, "Especially not after you just said how secluded it is. But I don't want to know so, Alice?"
"Either way, we're safe," Alice rolled her eyes, "but it's going to be fine!"
"Why are we hunting earlier than normal?" Jasper asked, wanting her to cheer up since he could tell her happiness slowly turned into frustration.
"Because if everything goes well," Alice began, cheering up again, "Then he'll be bringing her home the day after tomorrow!" she squealed happily.
Only silence ensued after her statement.
Jasper tried to keep a smile on his face for her sake, but his nerves skyrocketed at the thought of this human being in the family's safe space. Serafina was annoyed, but only at the thought of a stranger entering her territory. Rosalie was angry that Edward was sharing so much with the human. Emmett didn't care about the human but was concerned about his family. He could see that the only one happy there was Alice. He was worried about his other siblings.
Alice could tell she was the only one happy but wanted the others to see that this could be good. If things went well, there was potential for another sibling. She was looking ahead into the distant future. She trusted it. The others didn't have her vision. They were more concerned about the now. Granted, she was a bit concerned about it, too, but she had faith in Edward. Aside from Carlisle and Serafina, she believed he had the most restraint. It was true that Rosalie was the only one other than Carlisle who hadn't tasted a drop of human blood, but even Rosalie didn't trust her restraint. She was just smart enough not to put herself into situations that would result in her failure. Edward was the only one who had managed to forcibly stop himself from succumbing to the monster within, even in dubious situations. Everyone else, including their mother, had an incident in the past and would rather run from the temptation than stand their ground to face it like Edward.
"If she touches my shit, I will kill her," Serafina growled.
"Why would she touch your stuff?" Alice asked with exasperation.
"Why would she go in my home?" Serafina countered.
"Our house!" Alice argued.
"Dragon mode activated," Emmett whispered excitedly.
Serafina glared down at him, about to snark back, but Rosalie turned partially to kiss her on her cheek and soothed, "We'll put your valuables in the safe. No big deal." Rosalie knew Serafina's concerns were baseless. But she would reassure her. She sometimes thought Emmett's guess was correct but would realize how silly she sounded and forget it. Her girlfriend was just greedy. But she was okay with that.
The family joked for a while longer, then decided to join Jasper and Alice to prepare themselves by hunting. Alice didn't tell their mother because she was sure Edward would tell their parents about it himself if he was able to refrain from killing her. But she didn't want to get her mother's hopes up if it didn't go how she wanted.
The female couple lagged for a moment, "Is it bad that I still hope he kills her?" Serafina asked Rosalie.
Rosalie chuckled, "It's only bad if you're hoping that because of your stupid bet."
Serafina lowered her voice, "It's a combination." She winked, "I want to win the bet, of course. But I also want him to fail." She whispered conspiratorially.
Rosalie laughed loudly. "Same!" she said as she ran to catch up with the family. Serafina chased after her as she laughed, too.