𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢'𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 | carlisle cullen [ON HOLD]

7 | ''happy birthday, bella''

"𝘪 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘺."

𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚 𝐒𝐰𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐭 all the blood drain from her face when she was stopped in the school hallways by the – arguably – cutest Cullen as she hopped over the staircase rail and landed gracefully before her.

"Happy birthday!" She chirped while pulling the human in for a hug. Edward chuckled lightly as Bella shushed Alice quickly, though it didn't stop the vampire from smiling with excitement.

Bella sighed when Alice then handed her a box with grey wrapping paper and a black bow. "I thought I said no presents." Bella glanced back at Jasper, who was waiting patiently while he watched his mate fawn over the human. His expression was tight, no doubt from having to adjust to being around humans all the time again after the summer.

Alice ignored Bella's frown. "I've already seen you open it, and guess what, you love it!" She grinned. "You're gonna wear it tonight. Our place." Bella's frown deepened, realizing what Alice was alluding to. A freaking birthday party. "Come on, please," Alice sighed, watching the hesitant look on her face. "It'll be fun!"

Sensing that Bella would not ease up, Jasper used his pathokinetic abilities to make the human a bit more... agreeable.

"Ok, yay, great! All right," Bella conceded, finding herself in a less hesitant mood than she was mere seconds ago.

"Great!" Alice exclaimed, thrilled that she had agreed – not that she would have let Bella get out of the party anyways. "I'll see you at 7:00."

It was when Alice turned to leave, Jasper following her, that the emotional manipulation fell. Bella immediately sensed the change in her mood and glared at the blond vampire. "Jasper, no fair with the mood control thing!" Bella yelled after him.

Jasper smiled back at her sheepishly while Alice giggled as she tucked into his side. "Sorry, Bella," he apologized. "Happy..." His voice trailed off when he saw her expression sour. "Never mind."

Bella sighed, knowing that she was once again caught in Alice Cullen's schemes. "You didn't tell anyone, right?" Her eyes were pleading for her to answer "no." She was relieved to find that her friends didn't know when they greeted her that morning in the parking lot. Even Jessica Stanley didn't know. And if she didn't know, no one else knew.

"Not a soul," Alice promised with an earnest tone. Bella was too busy eyeing Alice's seemingly honest expression to notice how her boyfriend smirked beside her, knowing the truth without having to read his sister's mind. She and Jasper then left the couple to go to their first class.

Bella then smacked the gift box on Edward's chest. She knew that he knew about her plan, and not just because he was a mind reader. He shrugged, clearly not feeling any sense of guilt or remorse for sharing the secret of the day's specialty. "You can't trust vampires," he said in response. "Trust me."