And unexpected c h a n g e {open}

[Stephine Fitzhugh]

Standing in front of a large mirror, Stephine twisted slightly, looking over the dress she was considering buying. Strapless, black with gradually growing spots of purple downward. It clung to her nicely, which had no doubt a smirk on her lips. Yes.. She liked it. Wasn't like it was sher money, either. Her parents hadn't canceled the card yet, leaving her an unlimited amount of money.. That was, until she reached the limit. She hadn't done it just yet, so she was fairly safe.

Unzipping it and stepping out, it fluttered down to the floor. Pulling her old clothes back on, Stephine hung the dress back on the hanger and unlatched the door, stepping out of the dressing room. A nice shopping trip was what she needed, honestly, even if it meant going all the way to Seattle. There was absolutely no shops in Forks, it was ridiculous when it came to trying to get some good clothing. Oh well, it didn't bother Stephine to much to be out of the dreary town, seeing as she was always stuck in the house.

And, another plus, she didn't have Toby crawling up her ass bugging her. Honestly, Stephine still didn't know why she had the stupid dog. She couldn't stand the thing, and it was just so stupid it couldn't be trained to do anything! If it was one like her parents use to have, a gordan setter rotwhiler mix, she'd be good because that dog had been smart. Her dad had trained the thing to get him a beer from the fridge.. Granted, it dropped it allot, and needed a special cloth on the handle to pull it open, but the point was that it was smart. Toby was no such thing.

Oh well, she was stuck with the thing for right then. Heading over to the cash register, Stephine stood in line for a few moments, though was able to move quickly up in the line. It hadn't taken long to pay for the dress, and the strange purple shoes she'd found to go with it, and was out of there in no time. Bag slung over her right arm, Stephine paused momentarily, glancing around. Hm.. Now all she needed was to find a good place to get accessories, and she'd be completely set. Perhaps she could find a cheap pair of strange earing's to go with the dress, or even a necklace or two.

Yes, today was a fairly non-annoying day, and she was quite happy at the fact. She had very few of those, but then again, she hadn't talked to many people. Didn't matter, she'd gotten a cute dress, though she had no idea where she would wear it, and got out of the house for a bit. Perhaps she'd shop around a while to see if she could find something else. She needed some new clothes, too..

[swivelfangs]

Emmett had known that, after their fight over Bella, he'd be subjected to waiting on Rosalie hand and foot for at least a few weeks. Usually it wasn't so bad, he'd just have to take her out more than the usual, not get any action until she gave him the green light, and be banned from watching the television. One might think Rosalie had all the control in the relationship. One might be right.

But honestly Emmett didn't mind, he was a generally happy-go-lucky person and it took a lot to bother him. Besides, he did feel guilty for treating his wife the way he had, and had agreed to doing whatever she wanted. When she suggested that he come along with her and Tanya to shop in Seattle he hadn't had any objections, so here he was, walking a few feet behind the two beautiful vampires, arms full of heavy shopping bags and their ridiculously expensive designer purses. It was quite an amusing sight, a man such as Emmett handling such feminine objects, but after being married to someone like Rosalie for around a century, he got used to it. He was comfortable enough in his masculinity that it didn't bother him one bit.

The sky was cloudy but it didn't look like rain just yet, thankfully. Emmett knew well enough that all the storms seemed to hold off on releasing any water until they hit Forks. Still, he was cautious, and kept his eyes on the sky in case one of them passed over the sun and revealed that him and his companions happened to sparkle. That may be a bit noticable.

Emmett was wearing his regular, casual clothing; black cotton pants, white converses, and a faded red button down t-shirt. His thick arms were unclothed, showing his pale skin and the strong muscles that they stretched over. His eyes were almost black with his thrist; it had been awhile since he had gotten back from his grizzely banquet in Oregon.

For now though Emmett just lagged behind Tanya and Rosalie, smiling and trying not to draw too much attention, although in their case, it was unavoidable.

[tanya]

“They’re staring again,” came a voice, unlike any of those around her. It unmasked years of living in two parks of Europe, their accents blended together to create one smooth, irresistible one. One would think that the tone of voice on those words would be exasperated, but no; Tanya Lilith Denali was delighted. She was one that craved attention, one that soaked up the limelight like UV rays that made her skin shine like diamonds. Her eyes fell onto her companion. A true beauty, as well as herself, though the town of Forks was used to the beauty of Rosalie Hale. They were not, however, used to Tanya Denali.

The eyes of men and women alike followed the two as they walked; the former full of lust, the latter full of envy. Tanya was used to both expressions and attitudes, and she was sure Rosalie must be as well. Her expression was amused, for the most part, though a seductive smirk or pout would pull onto her lips when a certain male captured her attention. “Can I have one?” She asked Rosalie, eyes not leaving a rather pretty male human. “Pretty please? I promise I’ll be good.”

Why they were staring just may be obvious; Tanya was beautiful, if not flawless. Her skin was paler than pale, and almost perfect, aside from the Fleur de Lils burned into the left side of her upper back. For once, the burn was revealed, as she was wearing a dark red halter top and her vibrant red locks (curled) were pulled into a pony-tail. Thankfully, it could pass as a tattoo, and it would have to do just that. The skirt was loose and black, the material brushing her mid thigh; sheer, and see-through if caught in the right light. The black heels brought her height to approximately five foot ten, as they were about three inches high, and the leather in them matched that of her purse. Topaz eyes lingered on the male for one more moment before a pout graced crimson glossed lips. “I want one, Rosie.”

She had handed everything she had bought thus far to Emmett, no guilt filling her mind at all for making the man carry her bags, which were filled with things that she didn't need, but felt as she did. After being around for a thousand-and-three years, money accumulated and you had enough to waste it on whatever you pleased. The trust fund money daddy dearest had left behind for her was long, long gone, as well as the money from her ballet days, but more and more had come to her over the years. Tanya was, no doubt, high maintenance; she didn’t feel as if she wanted things, she needed them.

“Where to next, love? And, might I request a place where some yummy humans will be? I really want one. I don't suppose I could but one of those...could I?” She looked back at Emmett, and glanced over at Rose. "How long are we holding him hostage for?"

[rose]

"They always stare," was the calm reply of the girl's companion. From her tone, she might consider their staring to be no more surprising than the sun shining or the grass growing. In truth, though, she loved that they stared. She loved how, for one brief moment, she could drive every other thought out of their head and she could become their dearest wish. For Rosalie Hale being the center of attention was a must, and she certainly had the looks with which to do it. She not only stole the spot light, but thrived in it and flourished under it.

Now, as she walked down the Seattle streets, she could feel eyes on her: desirous, curious, envious. All wanted something from her, her body, for her to be gone, a look, a touch, a word. Rosalie offered them none, in stead focusing on the girl she kept in step with and the boy only two feet behind her at whom she shot glances regularly. Her black slippers, styled after a ballet slipper, with ribbons up her ankle, kept in time with her friend's high heels without trouble, despite the thin sole of the shoe.

"No, Tanya," Rosalie said with a light, happy laugh. This only drew more looks their way. Rose's large, topaz eyes shifted to those men who stared and the one who had interested Tanya in particular. It was easy to see where her friend's interest lay-- the man was good looking-- but he wasn't Rosalie's type. She liked big and strong. She liked Emmett. Her gaze went back to her friend, shaking out her long, wavy, thick golden hair and ignoring the dazed expressions left in her wake. "Trust me, I know how you feel, honey, but Carlisle and Edward would scold us." She pulled a cute, pouting face, but could not hold it and laughed.

The words dressed to kill usually applied to Rosalie, except when she was in the garage, but now more than ever, she could draw stares. A black dress was tight at the bodice, revealing a neat and perfect figure, with thin straps over her shoulders, then loose at the skirt, falling a few inches above her knees. Her legs were bare, revealing the pure white skin and shapeliness. She allowed her long blond hair to fall in thick waves, but her eyes were subtly lined in kohl and her lips were naturally, deeply red.

Likewise, Rosalie held only a few paper bags on her wrist, with rope strings and designer labels. Some were for Emmett (he did like to let her go shopping, due to her taste in clothes), but most were frivolous things such as shoes. She didn't often get to shop and be girly (Alice had taken to going out with Bella more often, and going alone was no fun) so Rosalie was thrilled to have Tanya back. The rest of the things she’d purchased and her purse were being held by Emmett, who received little next to nothing in return other than the lack of Rosalie’s wrath.

"I don't think you can have a human," she said. "Although you'd have no problems catching his attention-- these boys would look happy if you owned them and kept them on a leash." She smiled, wide and evil and her beauty was both seductive and inhuman. "I don't much mind where we go. I think there's a café nearby if you just want to window shop."

Rosalie laughed again, and fell back a few steps to stand next to her husband for a moment. She gazed up at him, and asked, “You don’t mind being held hostage, do you, Emmett?” Even if he did, it probably wouldn’t have mattered much. Her hand lingered on his arm, and her smile was so wide and beautiful to her husband.

[Stephine Fitzhugh]

The only thing Stephine could find wrong with the day was that there was no sun, what so ever. The sky was still coated in a thick layer of clouds, blocking out any sunlight that may have filtered through. Not like they regularly had sunny days in forks, but even winter in Michigan had more sunny days then Forks did in the summer. Granted, she'd never actually been there in the summer, but statistics said that they still had almost never nice days. Whatever, doesn't matter much honestly, because she's almost never was outside. Why would she go outside if it was always going to rain?

A long, over exasperated sigh escaped her lips in annoyance as she glanced around, lent against one of th e brick walls. What was she going to do for the rest of the afternoon? Honestly, was there anything to do around there? Whatever.. Adjusting her bags on her arms, Stephine began down the street once more, a rather bored expression on her face. Weaving through the crowds easily, Stephine had to pause slightly when several people caught her eye.

Holy.. Three people that stood way out in the many people walking down the street. Two females and a male.. No words honestly could describe what Stephine saw right there, and was almost unaware that her mouth was slightly open. The first woman, not much older then Stephine, had long, silky golden blond hair, strange white skin- which reminded her of someone she'd met a few weeks before with the same strange pale skin as she, Edward, was his name? The next woman, Long, luscious auburn hair, rather tall, though it might have something to do with her heals. And the male.. Woah.

He looked rather content carrying the womans bags, presuming they were together because the blond was speaking of him, was extremely well built. And he, too, was pale, like the woman. Shaking herself from the trance-like state, Stephine let out a sharp sigh and continued walking, carefully moving around the trio.

[swivelfangs]

Emmett chuckled to himself softly as he listened to Rosalie and Tanya's conversation. He knew Tanya was rather promiscious but she usually held off in their company, which he was thankful for - Rosalie sometimes got a little competitive and he didn't like to think about what that meant for him. All in all though he liked Tanya, not only because Rosalie liked her, because she was charming and witty, just like her sisters in Alaska. There was respect, too; she was much more controlled than anyone in his family, excluding Edward and Carlisle of course.

As Rosalie fell back to talk to him, Emmett re-adjusted the bags and slowed down to almost a complete stop, getting a few low mumblings of protest that quickly turned silent when they saw who they were talking to. "Of course not," he said, grinning down at her, his dimples showing on his smooth, pale face. "It's my pleasure." And it truly was. He leaned in and placed a kiss on her red lips, one of his hands gently cupping her hip. She looked stunning in her black dress, golden hair brighter than usual in the city lights.

Then he inhaled something, a scent so strong and mouth-watering that he nearly dropped his bags. At first he thought it was Rosalie or Tanya's perfume but it carried the unmistakable tang of iron; blood. His whole body stiffened and his eyes, already dark, grew pitch black in just a few heartbeats. He had not smelled blood so strong in over twenty years. He opened his mouth ever so slightly, letting his tastebuds catch it...it was so delicious. Every other thought was erased from his mind, all he could think about was the unattainable smell, so rich and practically singing to him...

His head snapped up violently and his black eyes searched the crowed, trying to put a face to the smell currently wafting into his nose. He had to have them. There was no reason, no control in him. The muscles in his arm twitched, wanting to pounce on whoever came into closest contact with him. Whoever held that blood was going to meet their end today, this much he knew.

[tanya]

"Well, that's good then," Tanya said, with a pretty smile. She raised an eyebrow when he kissed Rosalie, and sighed a little. Well, they could be there a while. She cast a few flirty looks towards random boys, who stood there dumbstruck for a few moments, and sadly moved on when she moved her gaze to someone else.

She absently pulled her purse off of her shoulder and quickly pulled out a mirror, frowned at her reflection, and pulled out the lipgloss she was currently wearing. She fixed it up quickly, and smiled at her reflection then. Much better. She absently curled a strand of hair around her forefinger, fixing the imperfect curl, and pulled it away.

"Hm?" She looked up when Emmett seemed to be acting strange, and snapped her mirror shut (albeit a bit grudgingly) and put it away. "Something wrong, Emmett?" He seemed a little off, and she didn't like when Emmett was off--that meant something was wrong, and Rose didn't like was something was wrong, and thus, neither did Tanya.

She was, however, distracted a moment later by a store. "Ooh, Rosie, can we go there next? They have cute purses in the window.." ..Pretty girls never did have good attention spans, did they?

[rose]

As much as Rosalie loved Emmett, she loved Tanya, too. The girl was her best friend, her sister in all but blood (if you'll excuse the irony in the phrasing), and being with her simply made Rose smile. So to be out with both of them, she felt at ease. Though it might have seemed odd for two people who loved attention as much as they did to get along so well, it had always been. They were each other's closest confidants and best shopping partners. Mostly because Alice wouldn't understand why Rose would wear tight bodices and high heels just to go shopping.

"Mm-hm," Rose murmured absently, eying the purses in the windows. She already liked the one she had right now, but she loved to shop for them anyway. "We can look in there, of course. I am showing you the city sights today, aren't I?" At least that was the premise. In truth, though, it was an excuse to be out with her friend, look good and draw gazes, maybe do a little shopping in between. Although she was thankful for Emmett's strength. Otherwise she wasn't sure how she would be able to carry the bags.

Rosalie turned, accepting the kiss happily. She loved Emmett, loved his gaze on her and his big hand on her hip. Absently, she ran her fingers across his face in a smooth caress, playing along the subtle dimples that grew in his handsome face. Even after fighting, she loved him, and loved the fact that he loved her. Red, red lips brushed along his, then along his cheek before Rosalie lowered herself from her toes (she always had to stand up so tall to reach him) and smiled.

Her smile faded when the hand pulled too tight on her waist. She winced (though it didn't hurt that much-- Emmett might've been the strongest but Rosalie was close behind him) and raised her eyes from his hand to his face. "Emm, what are you...?" she trailed off as she caught sight of his expression. It was tight, like when he was chasing a grizzly, and his eyes, only moments ago a bright topaz, were now pitch black. "Emmett? Emmett!" Despite her words, she kept her tone low to avoid drawing attention to them. Her hand grabbed his wrist, gripped hard. "Emmett." Please, please, look at me.

[Stephine Fitzhugh]

A single hand was placed delicately on Stephines hip, cocked slightly to the side as she glared into a shop window. She had been contemplating getting the dress that was hung on a lifeless mannequin, bottom being like a tutu but long and the same material, while the top being black and corseted. Wouldn't look half bad on her, either, and it wasn't like she wasn't use to wearing strange things like that, let alone a tutu. She had been a dancer, one of the better ones in her class, but had always had a strange taste in fashion. Stuff that was bold, making her stand out. Why, not to long ago she'd worn a pair of leggings with a white tutu over them, studded belt across the top. She'd received many many strange looks that day, but nothing she wasn't use to. She'd always been one for the.. Abnormal.

A small smile curled onto her plush lips as she finally nodded, deciding to get the gorgeous ensemble, when she stopped dead. Looking down at her arm, a small groan of annoyance escaped her as she realized something. She'd forgotten her purse somewhere.. When was the last time she'd seen it? Had she had it when she left the one dress shop..? No.. No she didn't, but she'd had it when she paid. Hopefully the cashier had put it off to the side.. It had been her favorite one, on top of the fact that it held her master card and plenty other things she couldn't get along without.

With that, Stephine turned on her heel, heading back in that direction. Though, her hazel eyes were now upon the three once more, eyebrows high. Well, it was easy enough to see that the male and the blond were together, plain as day.. Though something seemed to change. The way he held himself, she realized as she quickly began to pass. He was so tense, his muscles, if possible, were even more apparent then before on his pale skin.. Though, Stephine managed to tear her eyes away from him, muttering something along the lines of staring wasn't polite..

But there was something wrong. Very, very wrong, and she could see that plain as day.

[swivelfangs]

The sound of blood, blood of the people passing by him, roared in Emmett’s ears. It was so much harder to control himself with that appetizing smell in the air. Were it not for Rosalie, for his family, he would have already slaughtered half the people on the street alone. Just for that smell, just for that blood.

Rosalie’s voice was soft as she addressed him, but grew coarse as he grew more distant, mind narrowing in on the smells and sounds around him. The animal in him was taking over, desperately trying to find a way to whomever the scent was coming from. If he would settle with it peacefully and not fight it he could get it over with easily enough, but for all that Carlisle had taught him, it was difficult to just surrender all will.

Vampires are all-around rapid creatures. They move fast – faster than a speeding bullet, funnily enough. No other living thing on earth could out-run them (except maybe the mutts). The speed was amazing and unthinkable, and he still was a bit surprised every now and again by how fast he could make himself run. But vampires are also very quick when it comes to making decisions – as they have not changed in so long, they are usually faced with a problem multiple times and know the best way to handle it. Emmett had encountered two ‘la tua cantantes’ before and had, both times, murdered them. He knew how to corner the human. He knew how to escape the notice of his wife. So it didn’t take him long to decide to not fight what he wanted to do so badly. It was just nature taking its course, after all.

With a forced smile, he looked back down to his wife. His heart sank as he took in her worried expression. Comforting himself with the thought that soon enough this would be over, he brushed the feeling away, and said to her, “Don’t worry, I’m just a bit thirsty. You and Tanya go ahead to the purse store – I’ll see if there are any pigeons near by,” he joked, winking.

Absent-mindedly, his eyes again wandered back to the crowd of humans, and in that instant he saw her, the human he wanted. She appeared to be alone and was rather small, something he was thankful for even if it wasn’t completely necessary. It wasn’t like he wouldn’t attack her even if she was with a group of people or even larger than he was.