Chapter Twenty-Four (And Then There Was Thunder)

For the next two months, the sneaking out to see James back at the Tipton was a success. But the thing was about it, almost all the time it was a school night, because Forks High School was a year-round school, where school goes through all twelve months of the year. 1

I was getting tired because of sneaking out so I told James that I was sick once a week. Turns out that Esmè and Alice weren’t done buying me clothes, so they took me to Lazena Girl and a bunch of other stores. 2

Alice picked up a pink shirt that said “Girly” on it and showed it to me. I stared at it, then at her, then at the shirt, and then at her. 3

“Oh, my God, Alice,” I said. “No, thank you. The only colours I won’t wear now are pink and purple.” 4

I was wearing that orange shirt with the flower design I bought when I was hanging out with Jasper along with red leggings and a jean miniskirt. 5

“Oh! Well, what about THIS?” Alice picked up a green shirt that said, “Don’t Look Any Farther Than the Neck” in a black print. 6

“Oh.” I stared at it, inclining my head. “That will come in handy. Esmè! What do you think of this?” 7

“I think it’s cute,” Esmè said, holding a bunch of clothes and putting them in a yellow basket. She held out her hand and I gave it to her. She put it in the basket, too. 8

“Do you think it’s time, Esmè?” Alice asked. 9

“Yes.” 10

“Huh?” I asked. 11

“Let’s go, then!” Alice said, dragging me towards the sports section. Esmè was following close behind. 12

She held up a white long-sleeved shirt that had stripes going down it. “This will be good.” She held it up in front of me then took it down. “Yes.” 13

I sighed as Alice dragged me to look at the sports Capri pants. 14

“We all wear these when we play baseball,” she said, handing the grey sports Capri pants to Esmè. “And those shirts, too.”15

They then took me to the baseball hats part of the section. Esmè picked up a white hat with the front part black. She put it in the basket. 16

“That’s all, right?” Alice said as we went up to the cashier. “For this place, I mean.” 17

Esmè nodded as the cashier rung the items in. 18

“Okay, please tell me that is ALL the shopping for today,” I said as we walked out of the store. 19

“Well…” Alice said, tilting her head in the direction of Bombshell’s Hair Salon, smiling, “for clothes, anyways.” 20

“Oh, man.” 21

Apparently Esmè and Alice were going to get my hair dyed. 22

“’Ello, ’ello, ’ello!” a French woman said when she saw me. “Vat do we ’ave ’ere?” 23

I shrugged. The woman placed me in a seat. 24

“How long will it take?” I heard Alice ask. 25

“Two hours,” the French woman said. “Fer cer’ain.” 26

“Okay!” she said, standing behind me. “Vat vould you like? Au natural? Side bangs?” 27

I shrugged. 28

“Okay. Here’s vat I vill do. I am going to dye your hair and give you side bangs, capiche?” 29

I shrugged again. “Whatever.” 30

I was getting bored after one hour. When Alice and Esmè came in, Alice’s mouth hung open for about ten seconds. Esmè smiled. 31

The French woman finally removed that thing that protected my clothes from hair. I looked at my hair and gasped. Alice and Esmè stood behind me. 32

“You look really pretty,” Alice said, nodding. 33

“Oh, my God, I look like my Aunt Madeline,” I said. 34

“Isn’t that the one you don’t like?” 35

“No, that’s my Aunt Betty. Aunt Madeline was the only family member who was nice to me.” 36

My hair had gotten dyed a light brown and my side bangs were dyed red. “This is her exact hairstyle. Thank you so much, Monique!” I said, standing up and hugging the French lady. 37

“You’re welcome, cherie. How vill we be paying for dis?” the French lady asked. 38

“Money!” Alice exclaimed happily, pulling out this bag with a bunch of bills. 39

I stared. “Whoa. They STILL have that much.” 40

“That vill be two ’undred fifty dollars, please,” Monique said. 41

“Okay, care to tell me now?” I asked as we walked out of the salon. 42

“There’s going to be a thunderstorm tonight, Dylan,” Alice told me. 43

“And?” 44

“That’s the only time we can play baseball,” Esmè said. 45

“Since when do vampires like baseball?” 46

“Bella asked the same question. It’s the American pastime!” 47

When the rest of the family saw me, they were stunned. Even Rosalie. 48

“W-wow,” she said. “You’re pretty.” 49

“Uuuuuhhhhh…thanks,” I said. I kept on trying to flip the side bangs out of my eyes but no such luck. 50

“Well, it’s just like ordinary baseball, basically,” Alice said while we walked down one of the halls. “Except it’s during a thunderstorm and it’s at night.” 51

“Oh,” I said, my lips twitching. “Do we stick with the same team as always?” 52

Alice nodded. “It’s bad luck for Rosalie, though, because Emmett’s on Edward’s team. Emmett’s a really good climber, and fast. Edward is also fast.” 53

“Oh, my God, whose team am I on?” 54

“Mine. Along with Esmè and Rosalie.” 55

Okay, so there’s Emmett, I thought, Edward, Jasper, Carlisle, Alice, Esmè and me… So that’s… seven people. 56

“We’ve got uneven teams. There are seven people. You, Emmett, Edward, Jasper, Carlisle, Esmè and me; there’s three on our team and four on the other!” 57

“It’s okay, Dylan. Really; none of us mind. Besides, when you have a team with Emmett, Carlisle and Edward, you don’t need four people.” Alice pulled out a cosmetic bag. “Mm. Here. It’s really good hair products. Manic Panic dye is in there just in case. We’re going to get changed into our uniforms, okay? I’ll be waiting for you in the kitchen and we’ll drive to the site where we play baseball.” 58

“Um, okay.” 59

Once I walked into my room, my cell phone blasted. 60

Keep, keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love. Keep, keep bleed—61

I hit the speaker button and put it on low so I could hear it but no one else could. 62

“I’m a little busy right now, James,” I said, taking off my top and grabbing the baseball top. “Can you make it quick?” 63

“Sure,” James said. “Is it possible—AT ALL—that you can stay at the hotel for two and a half weeks?” 64

I sighed and thought. “Mmm… Yeah, I could ask Esmè, I guess.” I pulled on the shirt. Two and a half weeks? What am I going to say? I thought. 65

“Good.” 66

“James? What am I going to SAY? A friend’s parents are out for that long?” 67

“That COULD work, you know, Dylan.” 68

“Okay, when should I go?” 69

“Tomorrow after school. Okay?” 70

“Um, okay. But I’ve really got to go.” 71

“Okay. Goodbye.” 72

“Bye.” I hung up and sighed, scrunching my eyes closed. I shook my head and opened my eyes again. I quickly pulled off my skirt and leggings and put on the baseball pants then put on my cleats. I quickly grabbed the baseball cap and walked down the hall. I took three wrong ways but eventually found the kitchen. 73

“Jeez! How many ways downstairs ARE there?” I asked Alice, who jumped up and nearly knocking me over. 74

“Good question!” she said. “But I don’t know the answer to that! So let’s go!” She grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards Emmett’s jeep. 75

She pushed me into the passenger seat then got into the driver’s seat then drove off. 76

“Alice! This thing makes me feel CHESTY!” I complained as she stopped on a wide dirt path. 77

“Yeah, I know. I had a vision that you’d say that,” Alice stated. “Mm. Here. Adjust this strap.” Alice pulled on two strings at the waistline of my shirt, and then she pulled the sides of the shirt so that it made it bigger and it made me look LESS chesty. “Now, isn’t that better?” 78

I nodded. “Yup.” 79

“Esmè?” I asked after Alice and I reached the site. 80

“Yes?” Esmè asked, looking at the rest of the family. 81

“Um, I was wondering, a friend of mine… Well, her parents are going out of town and she needs someone to stay with her and she asked me.” 82

“How long are her parents away for?” 83

“Two and a half weeks.” 84

“Well, sure, go ahead. It’s not like JASON is going to kill you. Okay, everyone, warm up!” 85

“Hey, Bella, what are you doing here?” I asked Bella. “Oh, my God, you’re not going to try to play baseball, are you? I’m sorry, but you are a KLUTZ.” 86

“Oh, I’m not exactly PLAYING. I’m being the umpire!” Bella explained. 87

“Cool. All of a sudden I feel jumpy!”88

Thunder. 89

“Holy crap!” 90

“You need it to play. You’ll see. Just wait.”91

“Okay!” Esmè said, patting my back. “Dylan, can you pitch?” 92

“’Course I can pitch, Esmè,” I said. “It’s just that no one can hit the ball.” 93

“Alice, you’re pitching. Dylan, third base.” 94

“Riiiight.” 95

And the first one up was, of course, Edward. He was really good. BAM! Thunder. 96

“No way she can catch THAT,” Rosalie said after I ran after it. Then her eyes went into shock as my ultra-speed came in. 97

I caught it, threw it to Rosalie and she touched Edward’s cleat. 98

“Sorry,” she said as Edward walked away. 99

“Girl’s not normal,” Emmett said as he went up to bat. 100

Alice threw the ball. BAM! Thunder. I stuck my hand up as the ball came for me. Emmett stopped and walked to the bench, clearly disappointed. 101

Then it was Jasper’s turn. I sighed. BAM! Thunder. 102

Good God, this is gonna be hard, I thought. Alice told me he was really good. 103

I ran after the ball at full speed. 104

“Is she supposed to be going that far?” Emmett asked. “Duck!” 105

“Duck? What duck?” Rosalie asked, looking around the field. “There is no— OW!” The ball smacked into the side of her head. 106

I was there in a second. “Dude, I am, like, so sorry. I was so deep into the forest I didn’t realize where I was throwing it.” 107

“It’s not the first time that’s happened,” Carlisle said. “She’ll be okay.” 108