Pink Balls And Insanity

IC Time: May 11th Afternoon
Location: Newton's Olympic Outfitters
Synopsis: A family outing turns out interesting for the a couple in the family
Submitted by: Bella


It is a lovely rainy day in Forks. Of course, Rosalie is running out of golfballs. She's not doing such a good job at finding all of them. So she has Newton's ordering special ones for her now. Pink ones. Because, well, that is what Rosalies do. Order pink golf balls. With a silver 'R' on them. Yay. Go Rosalie. But here she is now, picking them up.

Stepping into the store, the bells on the door jangles noisily. Emma gives them an irritated look every so briefly, then ignores them as she scans the store. She already knows a bit of what to expect from the trail that led her here. She decides not to make it a confrontational thing and simply immediately slides along the wall, turning to head down the closest aisle. It being full of backpacks catches her attention - as the one over her shoulder is about ready to fall apart.

Alice arrives with Bella and Esme in the latter's shiny new car. Esme driving, of course. Alice's hair is slightly ruffled from the wind - she had the window all the way down, of course - and she's grinning. She can appreciate a good car as much as the next Cullen. Stepping out of the car, she reaches up to finger-comb her hair as she enters the shop. The bells announce her arrival.

Emmett is with Rosalie, of course, getting more golfballs with her. Campers out in the woods are probably wondering where the random golfballs are coming from out there… the occasional few being lodged so deeply into trees that they can't be removed. He picks out a few green balls - his favorite color, and shows them to Rose with a grin. Emma enters and is noticed immediately - or rather, smelled - and his light eyes flick to her for a pointed moment before going back to the golfballs in front of him. "Pink is too obvious, you're being too easy on yourself."

Esme steps out of her car and waits for the girls to get out before she locks the car and closes the door behind her. The woman then walks to Newton's outfitters, where she holds the door open for Bella. A whiff of the air reveals who's there, one dog, three vampires. Once she's entered the store she immediatly makes her way towards Rose and Emmett.

"And what? You want me to go with green ones? Green ones. In the forest here. And the moss. And the weeds and the grass. Green ones. Really." Rosalie looks at Emmett, smirking. "Besides, I think it will be funny to make you carry around pretty pink balls. Won't you feel oh-so feminine?"

Emma isn't much concerned about leeches being a problem in such a public place - doubting they would risk the collateral damage. So. She busies herself with the variety of backpacks on the wall, taking a few off the shelf and beginning to examine them, unzipping, sticking her hands in them, etc. All of them she puts back. She keeps her ears open so to speak and just listens as she keeps perusing the new shiny packs, finding most of them just too big for her needs.

"What about yellow?" Alice asks, wandering over the aisle that contains golf balls and selecting some in the aforementioned color. "Or red?" Alice grabs those, too. "You could add sparkles!" She tells Rose. Which is clearly what she's rooting for. Alice is very pro-sparkles.

"What!" Emmett grins, but sighs theatrically. "At least then they'd blend in and give you a bit more of a challenge." He rolls his eyes over to Alice as she suggests more colors. "Red! I like red. That dark red is nice.." Funny, isn't that the color of blood? Oh, the irony. Esme warrants a grin as she approaches, then his eyes slide back over towards the werewolf. This one has that funny tinge to it, which makes him wrinkle his nose.

Esme laughs as she hears the conversation. "Brown, or blue," she suggests with a light little giggle as she picks up the appropriatly coloured balls, looking as though she's about to juggle the balls. "You could even add sparkles, if you wanted," though Alice would probably add sparkles of her own accord. She does, of course, keep her own ears on the wolf, out of habit.

Rosalie looks up as her family joins her, shaking her head. "No. Pink ones. See? I already have them. Special ordered. They even have a sparkly silver 'R' on them." Rose turns the package in her hands so everyone can see them. "Besides, the point is to hunt them down in general. Not be crawling on my hands and knees to find them once I do so." She lifts her head to look at the person examining the backpacks nearby, and offers a grin. "Don't you think pink is best? There is a pink backpack just down there."

Emma glances over her shoulder, raising her eyebrows. Never-the-less she bends down and retrieves the pink denim pack. She checks out all the pockets and zippers and clips and even tugs on the straps a bit, but not too hard. She chuckles at the irony of it but shrugs and slings it over her shoulder and begins heading towards the counter, the faint slap of her bare feet audible on the hard wood flooring. She watches the small group, or rather large for vampires, as she walks towards the register. "Pink it is." she comments in a surprisingly low soprano, giving a wink to Rose.

Alice nods approvingly at the shown balls. "I like them! They sparkle." Going to put back her two boxes of coloured balls, she smiles briefly at the girl with the pink backpack. "Nice choice," she says, before returning to the counter with her sister. "Are we going to get anything else?" Alice looks appraisingly around the store.

Esme places her brown and blue golfballs back on the shelf before offering a light chuckle. "You're right, Rose, of course, it's not to make you dig on hands and knees once you know where they are," is given with a faint nod and a bright little smile, aimed directly at Rosalie. Emma also gets a chuckle. "Pink is a good choice, Rose has a certain sense for fashion and durability."

Rosalie gives a wink to Emma before turning to her family. "So. Now that I am pushing my pink on the entire population of Clallum county, is there anything else we need while here? Everyone stocked on camping supplies? Camping season is coming up, you know. Sleeping bags and stuff."

Emma lets her gaze roam over the coven, passing up everyone till she gets to Esme and catches her eyes. Tilting her head slightly she puts together a few things in her head. With a quirky smile she asks Esme "When might you be at the park again? Emma has a few questions for you." She tries her best to keep the question casual and not ominous or threatening - her eyes flick to the others briefly never-the-less. She turns away before she gets a response and makes people nervous, moving to the corner spot at the checkout counter, placing her new pack and a couple of very wrinkly $100 bills on the counter working at smoothing them out.

Alice eyes the aisles. "I need a new sleeping bag. The old one got all torn." Alice doesn't specify how, but it's not hard to guess. While Emmett and Rose held the record for destroying things, Alice and Jazz were a steady second. "I wonder if they have one just like my old one?" She meanders down the aisle of sleeping bags, looking each one over.
While the Vamps went into the camping store, Bella ducked into the grocery store nearby. Well she was running low on some of her favorite snacks and with final exams next week…she was going to need them! She finally walks into the outfiters with bag of sweets and snacks in hand. She looks around for a moment before spotting her almost family and makes her ways through the familiar layout of the store she once worked at. Not like Edward allows her to now.

Esme hmms slightly. "I think Carlisle and I will be needing some new camping gear. And we'll need to get some stuff for Bella, as well," she notes with a cheery little smile before her gaze settles upon Emma. "Sometime this week," she responds in a low, though audible tone. "She'll need a sleeping bag, of course, back pack, no tent, she'll just use Edwards," she murmurs, speaking of Bella, though picking out what she and Carlisle will need at the same time.

Rosalie looks between Emma and Esme, taking in the interaction with a raised brow. "Yes. Bella will need camping equipment. I think Emmett and I are good with everything. We keep on top of that kind of thing. Maybe just some new batteries. Or a bigger tent. I don't know. We'll have to look."

Emma hands the money over to Mrs. Newton and accepts the change, stuffing it one of the zippered pockets of the backpack after she removes the stuffing. Nodding as she glances at Esme she sighs slightly already making plans in her head: adjusting, considering. Distracted by these things whirling about in her head she turns and begins walking towards the door, passing Bella along the way, not paying her any mind - she smells normal after all. Tossing the stuffing she removed into the trash can at the door she heads on out, the bells jangling her departure.
Emma walks over to Forks - West Division Street.
Emma has left.

"Found a blue sleeping bag!" Alice calls from the end of the sleeping bag aisle. "Bella will like this, won't you, Bella? I bet we can find a backpack to match, even." Studying the selection, Alice selects a vivid red sleeping bag with a pale yellow interior. "I can add sequins onto it at home," she murmurs to herself.

"I am only just healing over my last excusion camping, I do hope you mean for /after/ the wedding." Bella exclaims as she joins the ladies. Her wrist only know free of the wrapping protecting the sprain. The scrapes and bruises otherwise faded. She was lucky. She moves over towards Esme, moving out of the way as Emma passes her, just another customer to her. She looks up as Alice calls out to her, "Yeah Sure…though maybe one that matches Edwards so we can zip em together…" She responds with a faint blush. Not that they really will need them, but appearances and all that.

Esme offers the faintest of waves in Emma's direction as she grabs a new sleeping bag. A large one. "Blue is a good choice, Alice," Esme notes, chipperly. Blue for Bella, Pink for Rose, yellow for Alice? Probably. "Bella, no zipping sleeping bags together until later. Besides, they make sleeping bags big enough for that…"

Rosalie watches the wolf leave the store, head tipped to the side before she fully joins her family. "Yes. This will likely be for after the wedding, of course. I think we should have a big family camping trip, once it's done."

Rosalie leaves

"Well I don't expect to go camping till later anyway." Bella replies to Esme's teasing, though there is a pink to her cheeks. She looks around at the jackets in her section before dismissing them to look over the sleeping bags with Esme and Alice. "Blue will be fine either way…" She finally says before moving over to the shoe section.
Esme chuckles. "So we'll get you a large sleeping bag," she gives with a nod. "And you'll need sturdy hiking boots, Bella," she notes as she follows the teen. "Why don't you try on some boots, make sure they fit and they're comfortable," Esme suggests.

Well at least these types of shoes are more Bella's style. She walks along the aisles and finally picks out a pair of sturdy high top hiking boots with lots of ankle support. Sure it might make her look like sasquach, but she won't trip and fall…as much, now will she? As she sits down to try them on she looks up to Esme curiously, "My…dimensions won't change much will they?" She asks in a whisper.

Esme hmms a bit at the question. "You know, I don't remember," she gives, before shaking her head. "No, I don't think that they will. Even if they do, Bella, it won't matter any," she gives with a dismissive wave of her head. "Walk about a bit in them, Bella, we need to make sure they fit like they should."

Kyler has arrived.

There is a little family outing here it seems. Rosalie picking up her pretty pink balls, Alice off looking at sleeping bags. Well the family is known for the camping outings, they got to at least pretend they need the supplies once in awhile. Bella and Esme are in the shoe area as Bella tries on some hiking boots. She nods to Esme as she rises to her feet to give the current pair a walking test. "Yeah I know, if they don't fit…we can just buy some more." Bella says with a roll of her eyes.

Esme chuckles gently and nods. "Exactly, and then we'd just have to give these ones to someone in need," she notes with a smile aimed at her future, very soon to be daughter. "But let's try to get you a pair that fit right the first time," the woman suggests.

Kyler is most certainly not a part of the family outing, though he does rather like that Esme lady. She was nice and didn't get all loud and screechy when he grinned at her, like some pretty ladies do. He slinks into the store with all the curiousity of a cat slipping into the pantry when the door was left open, sliding the door open slowly and sticking first his head in to sniff the air, only moments later to be followed by his body. Of course, as he opens the door, a bell jangles overhead, startling him just a little bit. Wide-eyed, he peers up at it, and then frowns to himself. Something will have to be done about that… But for now, he just closes the door behind him. He starts to slink toward one of the narrow aisles, and then checks himself. Purposefully, he straightens his posture, holding his head high to at least resemble a normal person, and steps lightly toward his destination, which just so happens to take him past the aisle where Esme and Bella are looking at boots. He passes without pause, smiles vaguely, then stops as he realizes that there was something awfully familiar about one of those people. A few moments later, a Kyler head appears peeking back around the corner, to curiously watch the shoe-fitting process.

The sound of the bell hardly rates a notice to Bella, just a familiar sound in the store she used to work in. Bella keeps her eyes on the ground as she walks up and down the aisle in the boots and finally moves to sit down and remove the boots, "A bit heavy I think…" She murmurs half to herself before she moves sockfooted to the rack to return the boots and grab another pair which puts her nearly face to face with Kyler. She blinks at the suddennes of his appearance and steps back, "Oh.." She says in a low voice before glancing quickly to Esme. "Esme…" She says in a sharp whisper.

Esme blinks as she hears the whisper, and is at Bella's side only fractions of a second later. "Yes, Bella?" she questions, watching Kyler carefully while safely tucking Bella behind her, away from the other vampire.

Kyler blinks a little as Bella comes face to face with him, and gives what someone must have once told him was a friendly grin. He tilts his head a little, glancing back and forth from Esme to Bella, as though trying to figure this out. When Esme pushes Bella behind her, however, something seems to click, and he seems to grin even bigger, if that's possible. "Oh! No problem, nice lady. I gotcha." Only then, the grin fades into confusion, just before he asks, "But I thought you didn't like bunnies? That's not very nice, keeping bunnies all to yourself…"

Even if others can't help but NOT notice those details that set them apart, the same dazzlement does not seem to work on Bella and she is quite aware of what those red eyes mean with the connection to the other features. As Esme pushes her behind her she tries to step to the side so it doesn't look like she is being overly protected, but safe enough. There is definately an increase in her heart rate and breathing, but she doesn't look panicked.

Esme can only offer a very, very low growl, possibly too low for Bella to hear. "This bunny is protected," she states in a very firm voice. "She's mine. And I don't share her." She tries to make her voice polite, but, when it comes to Bella, she does tend to go a bit overprotective, just not as bad as Edward.

Kyler shrinks behind the edge of the shelf he'd been peeking around as Esme growls at him. For a tense moment, he seems split between questioning that and taking it at face value. That is, until he's distracted, and peeks out a little further, sniffing the air. Once again, the strange girl leaves him puzzled, and he looks at Esme. "Does she know she's a bunny?" he asks, with a puzzled frown. "Cause you know, they're not supposed to know. You'll get in trouble if they know." He's really just trying to be helpful there. Even if Esme was so rude as to growl at him.

Bella has a faint look of confusion at first at the phrasing. Bunny? Oh…food. Yes…well. "Yes, I am well aware I am human." She finally says in a low voice as she peeks around Esme, trying to stand beside her if she is allowed. At the other comments she just sighs and actually rolls her eyes, "Everyone is so damned helpful I swear…" She mutters under her breath. Her heart rate is still a little high but she is trying to present aggravated calm. "Yes, I know, yes They know I know." Bella manages to say in a low voice to the man. Good ol Swan Defiance.

Esme has no intention's of letting Bella get any closer to Kyler than necessary. It must be quite the sight to any human who should happen upon the scene. "Everyone knows, check back in a few months, you'll understand," she gives, her posture taking a less defensive stance, though she's still positioned in front of her human daughter.

Kyler frowns again, but this time with more of a pout as he slinks from his hiding place to lean back against the shelf. "Well, that's not very fair, is it? I don't get to tell /my/ bunny that she's a bunny. How come you get to?" He eyes Bella, as though trying to figure out if there were something special about her. You know, second head. Third arm. The usual. He blinks once or twice, then looks back at Esme, "Probably not," he replies, with a vague shrug. "I hardly ever understand why They do things." He glances away, then back the other direction, suspiciously, then leans slightly toward Esme to say in a lowered voice, "My theory is that They like picking on me. I'm not hurting anything, ever, but it's always Kyler can't do this and Kyler must do that." He wrinkles his nose a little. "If I wanted a babysitter, I'd…well…um…you know. Grow one. Or steal one. Whatever you do to get a babysitter," he finishes, dismissively.

Bella will be so glad when she isn't being pushed behind some member of the Cullen for her own good. Just another month or so and she will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. There is a little sigh at that though. No doubt Edward would STILL push her behind him. Her hand rests lightly on Esme's as she watches Kyler to check his response on the news. "Its complicated." Bella says in a mild retort to him and glances over to Esme with a curious look before looking back to Kyler. There is the look of 'is this vamp nuts?' in her gaze.

Esme shakes her head, slightly. "Nobody told her. She found out without any of our help," is stated, simply, though she still attempts to keep Bella safely behind her, call it mother's instinct. "And They are inexplicable, simply put," though she could ask her husband, if she was ever curious. At the mention of a babysitter, Esme quirks a brow. "You don't… steal… one."

Kyler glares a little at Bella for that look she just gave Esme. Sure, he's a great big kitten, but kittens have feelings too! "Lots of things are complicated. It never stopped Them before." He glances back to Esme, doubtfully. "Don't they usually kill the bunnies when they figure it out?" he asks, uncertainly. "Cause I think I already tried that one…maybe…" He blinks a little, going distant for a moment, until suddenly he just quirks a grin again. "Steal what? I didn't steal anything." If this were a comic book, he'd have a halo. Since it's not, he just beams, ever so innocently.

"Yeah, I am special, your /charms/ don't work on me." Bella says with a weak smile at the vampire as she peaks around Esme's shoulder. A bit like the terrier barking from behind the heels of it's owner. Safe enough to be brave there. Her hand tights around Esme's wrist though would be like wrapping her hands around a baseball bat for all the give it has. "Yeah well, they like me." She says with a shrug of her shoulders, though the words come out flat.

A low growl builds in Esme's throat, but she's quick to control it and forces a smile. "My bunny doesn't get killed," she states in a forcable tone, attempting to use words that seem to be more on Kyler's level. "This bunny will not stay a bunny," she points out, daring, for a fraction of a second, to avert her darkened gaze towards Bella.

Kyler stares at Bella, vaguely impressed by the fact that she's not screaming and running or whatever. He grins vaguely at her words, and then tilts his head. "Sad to be you, then. Ignorance is bliss, or whatever." Ky would know. He's got a whole lifetime or forgotten knowledge to be blissful about. But he's back to glancing at Esme, and then snorts faintly. "Oh! Well, what's the big fuss, then? You oughta hurry and make her not a bunny before some jerk comes along and eats her. That would be a shame. She's too cute to be dinner." He fidgets a bit with a jacket sleeve, thougtfully, and then actually sends Bella a sympathetic look. "Good luck with the whole being not a bunny thing, though. It's not as fun as they say it is. Especially the first bit, when you're all hungry and people keep putting food in front of you and saying you can't eat it. No fun." He's not trying to scare her. Really he's not. Though he does watch just a little too closely to see how she reacts to that.

Bella stands her ground though her heartrate remains quickened. Annoyance as much as fear. It is there, but held behind a damn. Something that keeps her still instead of running. The look from Esme quells her next words and she settles in behind Esme as the matriarch defends the weak little cub. She flushes as he speaks about her qualities as an evening meal and looks away before the 'warning' against the turning reaches her ears and she tries to stand up a bit taller and prouder, "I have seen newborns, I know what I face." She says trying to make her voice sound strong and proud.

Esme scowls, she isn't so much of a 'nice lady' when it comes to her young, be they mortal or immortal. "I wouldn't worry about her. She'll do just fine when she's not a bunny," is given as she moves, just enough, to wrap an arm around Bella's waist. "She has a family to help her."

Kyler giggles faintly at Bella's words. "Oh, you're so /adorable/, trying to be all big and grown up. But you can't possibly know until you've been there. It's okay, I'm not offended. Kids always think they know all about things they don't." He beams, cheerfully, but then his smile fades slightly as Esme goes on. He watches them for a moment, as the cheer slowly drains from his face until finally he just looks away and shrugs. "Yes, well. She's lucky that way." He looks back at Esme, with a gruff little growl and glare. "You just make sure that she's /always/ got family. Forever's an awful long time to promise to help someone. Lots of things can happen between now and forever."

"Yeah, I will be just fine." Bella says in echo of Esme's words, but the taunt makes her blush feircely. No kid likes to be told stuff like that, especially those on the verge of full adulthood. "I have been preparing myself, the alternative is worse." She says matter of factly, a human life at arm's length to her beloved, knowing he would kill himself when she died. "I have studied up on it, I am ready." She says firmly with another nod of her head.

Esme keeps a level gaze on Kyler. "I wouldn't worry myself about her, if I were you. She has us forever, always," and then that hard gaze turns soft and a gentle smile is turned upon her future daughter. "She completes the family," is offered, "she'll make a good addition."

Kyler glances back and forth between them, looking rather…well, sad. Maybe even a little touch of lonliness there. After a moment, he just shrugs and stuffs his hands into his pocket. "Yeah, well. I'm sure she'll be just /fine/. After all, she's studied and everything," he taunts her, but his heart isn't really in it. Instead, he just looks away, distractedly, "You two do…whatever you were doing. I was supposed to be…" He looks around at the shelves, as though the rows of shoeboxes might somehow magically provide the answers to clear away that disorientation. "Fishing wire. Right. And maybe some of those little sparkling thingies they use to catch the fish…" he trails off, muttering vaguely to himself as he turns away from Esme and Bella. The quiet sound of that murmur can still be heard as he wanders to the next aisle, searching for the things on his strange shopping list.

Bella really is trying to look confident behind Esme, really she is. The raging blush on her cheeks is not helping, a blush that gets brighter with her anger and embaressment. She manages a smile to Esme as she looks back at her, though it is a weak one. "I will be." She says in a low voice, losing some of its earlier force. She really don't need these little nudges right now. Her jaw tightens at his further taunts, eyes growing bright with moisture. As Kyler moves on, Bella finally releases Esme's wrist, "Those boots were fine, can we go now?" She says hurriedly, trying to keep her gaze low.

Esme nods and takes all of the stuff for purchase up to the till and pays for it all. The woman then picks up the bags of items, plus anything else that wouldn't fit into the bag, intent on making this one trip. "Come on, Bella," she half orders, half demands, debating how she can quickly move herself, Bella and all the items to her car. Esme's quick to push the door open, ensuring that Bella's outside before the door is shut and moves at a quick human pace towards the car, where she puts everything into the trunk and back seat.

Kyler peeks around one of the shelves as Esme and Bella go to pay for the shoes. As they move quickly for the door and then the car, Ky's also peeking out the window to watch them go. But he doesn't attempt to follow them any further than that. He just…watches. If they see him, he won't react to it. He seems to think he's perfectly well hidden like that.

Bella takes a couple of the lighter bags she would be allowed to carry to make Esme not look too much like 'supermom', her steps are quick through the store to get out. Only misstepping once or twice, but not falling this time. She is quiet as she follows Esme out the door, just looking back to the store once she is out and the door is shyt behind her. She catches Kyler watching her and she quickly looks away again and puts her bags into the car.
Esme doesn't see Kyler, and that's probably a good thing as she finishes putting everything into the car. "Put on your seatbelt, Bella," her voice is clear and crisp, though the words are unusual coming from Esme as she sits herself in the drivers seat, not bothering with her own seatbelt.

At the order from Esme, Bella looks over the top of the car at the woman and pales. Whimper. This is not going to be an easy ride home. She takes a breath and calls up her courage before opening the car door and sliding in, quickly doing up her seat belt. "No harm, no foul, eh?" She asks to sooth the woman before they take off out of the parking lot.

Esme takes a sharp breath once she's inside the vehicle. She puts the key in the ignition, taking barely a moment to glance at Bella. "It's a reminder that we need to turn you, Bella. The longer we wait, the more the vampires like him, or worse, will come out," she offers, before she turns the key and the car comes to life. Esme takes little time in peeling out of the parking lot, possibly ripping concrete off the lot as she goes, certainly rubber off her tires. The whole way back to the house, Esme's foot does not leave the gas pedal, if there's any stop signs or red lights, they're entirely ignored, though she does manage the occasional concerned look in Bella's direction, her eyes off the road, though only when there's no other vehicles in the immedite vicinity. It takes only minutes for the wheels to be spinning on the road leading up to the hidden drive, before a very sharp turn of the wheel and the car nearly flings itself around the turn and into the driveway, gravel flying for a good few feet as the vehicle peels into the car, not slowing down until Esme's foot shifts and the breaks are rather quickly hit. Yah, that'll leave a mark.

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