I see forever in your eyes
"Bed, wed, dead out of Harry Styles, Hermione Granger and... Loki?" Carmen asked from Alice's large beige bed where the two had flopped.
"Hmm, wed Hermione, obviously bed Harry and... well, sorry Loki," Alice giggled, clutching one of many brightly coloured plush pillows to her chest.
"K, Your turn, Young Leo-" Alice started but was quickly cut off by the brunette beside her.
"Marry!"
"But you didn't even hear the other opinions!"
"Don't care, I'll always choose young Leo," Carmen gushed while swooning dramatically, earning a hearty laugh from her new best friend.
"Young Leo? My one true love," Rosalie said suddenly from the doorway of Alice's room with a dazzling smile, making Carmen almost fall off the bed in surprise.
"Hey!" A very Emmett voice shouted from across the house and Carmen laughed, surprised he'd heard her from so far. Even more surprised when he appeared next to the stunning blonde a few seconds later with a sulk.
"I'm not even going to deny it," Rosalie teased the oversized teddy bear as she walked over to sit at the edge of the bed.
Emmett smiled contently at his angel of a wife's happiness, slightly surprised that she was so comfortable with a human.
"Whatever. Alice, you've hogged her for long enough and I'm bored," Emmett informed the group as he took a seat on the floor with his tree-trunk legs stretched out before him.
Alice tolled her eyes with a smile, "fine, what do you wanna do?"
"Monopoly?" Emmett asked excitedly.
"You got that banned for the next century, remember!" Alice replied, annoyed at her adoptive brother's competitiveness that cost them her favourite board game.
"The next century? That's quite a while," Carmen teased, slightly confused.
"Yeah...um haha mom's a bit dramatic. What about Uno?" Alice replied in an attempt to excuse her slip up.
The group quickly agreed to play.
"Jasper! Wanna play Uno?" Emmett yelled and Carmen's cheeks pinked slightly.
A very southern "K" was yelled back, seconds before the gorgeous Hale boy strode into Alice's bright bedroom. His topaz eyes were immediately drawn to the brunette next to his sisters. He sat down next to his brother, one leg propped over the other. It was only then that Carmen noticed his boots...cowboy boots! Oh boy, she'd tease the hell out of him later.
Rosalie bent to the floor next to Emmett while Jasper tossed Alice the deck. After she'd shuffled, a very intense and competitive game commenced. Yet no one seemed to be able to interrupt Carmen's winning streak.
"What the bloody heck?! You're better than Edward!" Emmett confided, immensely annoyed at the hit his ego was taking.
"Yeah, how do you keep winning? It's so unfair!" Alice complained as she flopped back onto the bed behind her. Meanwhile, Rosalie looked slightly annoyed but very amused, probably due to the three pickup 4 cards Carmen had dumped on her. However, that was nothing compared to what Jasper endured. After three loops of everyone placing pick up 2 cards, he was the one to end the cycle, earning around thirty cards much to his dismay and everyone else's amusement. Yet he smirked at the brunette with a touch of admiration swirling through his eyes.
"Well, I can let you in on my secret if you'd like?" Carmen confided and they'd all noticed the mischievous glint in her eye.
They were all overwhelmingly intrigued by the girl before them, so of course, they agreed and Carmen struggled to withhold her laughter. She quickly grabbed all of Alice's pillows and surrounded her self with them much to the siblings' confusion.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Rosalie asked,
"Creating a shield,"
"Why?"
"I have a feeling I'll need it," the brunette responded simply.
They all looked at her in a mix of confusion and anticipation and that was when she burst into laughter, "turn around!"
Through much hesitation, they cautiously turned. Their groans met Carmen's ears, spurring her to laugh harder as the Siblings were met with a reflection of themselves through the mirror that covered the whole wall behind them, giving Carmen easy access to their cards.
She was glad she'd made the pillow shield as it provided a degree of protection from Emmett who'd pounced on the girl to tickled the living daylights out of her.
🌑
After an afternoon imbued with fun at the Cullen household, Alice had easily persuaded Jasper into being the one to drop Carmen home. The blood-red car was stark against the darkness that had settled across the sky, racing along the lonely roads through the chilly air.
Carmen couldn't help but glance at the Hale boy every so often. Everytime she did, she was overcome with a warm, tingly feeling that erased her coldness. He gripped the stearing wheel with one hand while the other resided in his lap, Carmen almost laughed at how similar he must look when he'd ride a horse.
Too soon, they pulled up to the Swan residence after Carmen gave some directions. Ever the gentlemen, Japser walked her to the front door with his hands held together behind his back. Her keys jingled as she retrieved themfrom her bag, hoping to enter the house subtly without Charlie noticing the boy's presence.
As she opened the door as slither, Jasper started to step back,
"Thanks for the ride. Nice boots by the way, cowboy," Carmen smirked with a wink. She was met with a dazzling smile and a chuckle as she slipped through the door and he retreated to the car, glancing back in adoration at the glimmer of her the moon reflected in the flick of her hair.
🌑
Later that night, Carmen ducked under the covers of her bed and leant against her muted red pillows, ones she'd chosen when she was deep in her Gryffindor obsession. In her lap rested a fresh journal, it was a black leather binded one that she'd bought from a market in Pheonix when she'd gone with some friends.
As much as she was beginning the adore the family who had welcomed her so warmly, something deep within her whispered that there was something...not quite right about them. So, following the advise of almost every detective ever, she wrote down all the odities, hoping to somehow fit the pieces together.
1. Adopted, yet they share the same eyes - most of the time
2. Jasper's eyes were black yesterday, but they matched his siblings' today
3. They'd yell from the other side of the house and appear within seconds- maybe it's just the echo
4. Quite well off
5. Seem to avoid people, usually a symbol of having something to hide
She heaved a sigh when she glanced back at her list, realising how insane it all seemed. She placed the journal between two plants and grabbed Rebecca from her bag, flicking through the pages to delve back into the mystery.
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Heyyyoooo!
I wanted the say a massive thank you for all the support so far! It warms my heart to hear all your feedback.
This chapter was so much fun to write! Gotta love a game of UNO, its definitely one of the best quarantine activities. Hope you all have a great week!
xx