Match, Set, Love 8

“So you are saying this Jane person has multiple personalties that take over her body and each of them has their own superpower?”Rosalie asked Bella. The pair along with the Denali sisters were all on their way to the arena for Bella’s match. The night before they spent watching matches and looking at stats until it was time for Bella to go to bed. Rosalie desperately wanted to to join her but knew that it wouldn’t be a good idea. It was also when Bella went to bed that Tanya announced that everyone else was going to go to bed as well that Rosalie realized that she was going to actually be able to sleep. It wasn’t something she considered when she was changed and the idea of it got her so excited that it took over an hour of laying in bed before she dozed off. When she woke in the morning she couldn’t believe how refreshed she felt and she was happy that she would get to experience it again. She hoped the next time she would dream.

“Yes and most of them are extremely angry at the world so Jane is a probably the most dangerous on the team.”Bella told her. Rosalie had asked what current show she was watching and that led to Bella explaining to her the characters in Doom Patrol.

“I would expect a cyborg to be the most dangerous.”Rosalie said.

“He doesn’t have the guts to use his powers for evil. The only time he was really any threat was when his systems were taken over by Mr. Nobody.”Kate and most of Bella’s friends were big fans of Doom Patrol. Even Queen Athenodora watched it.

“Kate don’t give her any spoilers. I want her to be surprised when we watch it later.”Bella scolded.

“It does sound interesting.”Rosalie wasn’t usually a fan of superhero characters but for Bella she was willing to give it a try.

“You’ll love it.”Bella was positive that Rosalie would like the show.

“So what happens when we get there?”Rosalie asked.

“Bella has to do her pre match press conference. That will be filled with mostly question about what happened yesterday as Bella skipped out on the post match press conference.”Irina told her.

“I’m going to be deflecting a lot.”Bella wasn’t looking forward to dodging questions about how she really felt about the girl.

“I will step in and end things if they start to overwhelm you.”Irina wouldn’t leave Bella in an uncomfortable situation.

“I love playing tennis so much but I absolutely hate all the attention that comes with it.”Bella had loved tennis since started playing when she was 4yrs old and even her parent’s abuse didn’t make her love it less. She just hated dealing with the negative attention.

“I want to say it will get better but with the Olympics it will likely get worse.”Tanya wished there was a way for Bella to just play for fun but to achieve her goals she had to play on the professional circuit.

“I can’t wait to go Olympic Village.”Kate said.

“Bella might not have to stay there.”Irina was going to do all she could to prevent it from happening.

“It doesn’t matter if she stays there she still needs to check it out. It’s part of being an Olympian.”Ever since she knew of Bella’s goals Kate had been learning everything she could about the games and she wanted to get the full experience.

“You only want to check it out because of that article you read about the large orgies that happened at some of the Olympic Villages.”Tanya knew exactly what kind of experience Kate wanted from the Olympic Village.

“They have orgies at the Olympic Villages?”Rosalie had never heard that before.

Kate leaned over the back of the seat to see Rosalie better.”Oh yeah. It’s quite common. Not that it’s much of a surprise. I mean all these athletes have spent most of their lives training to get to the Olympics so once their event is over they can finally let loose. Just imagine going all your life without much pleasure because of your dedication to your sport and then when it’s over you are can finally do everything you always to do. Olympic Villages have thousands of people in that same position. It’s just natural they would all hook up.”

“Bella isn’t going to stay there is she?”Rosalie didn’t like the idea of her mate being in that kind of environment.

“We have to wait until Bella qualifies until we can talk to the team coach about living arrangements. I was thinking of offering to put the entire tennis team up in our hotel as an incentive to let Bella stay with us.”Irina was hoping the woman would prefer staying at a 4 star hotel instead of whatever the program picked out for her.

“I don’t know about the orgies but I would like to check it out. Like Kate said it’s part of being an Olympian.”Bella said.

“I don’t like the idea of you around all that debauchery.”Rosalie didn’t want her very attractive, talented, famous mate to be around a bunch of people cruising for sex. Bella would be sought out by many if she was in that environment.

Bella looked at Rosalie in confusion.”I appreciate the concern but I’m sure my mothers and Irina will be able to come to some kind of compromise.”

“Of course.”Rosalie cursed the fact she couldn’t say anything about the mate bond. If she did her opinion would matter just as much as Irina’s and the queens’.

“You don’t have to worry if Bella goes to the Olympic Village she will have her guards and most likely all of us to protect her from anyone making advances.”Tanya assured her.

“That’s good to hear.”Rosalie would definitely go with Bella so she could kill everyone who thought it smart to proposition her mate.”Other than Olympic Village what else are you looking forward to?”

“The opening ceremony. I’m hoping to be one of the flag bearers but I likely won’t get picked.”Bella had always dreamed of leading the procession for her country in the Olympics.

“How do we make that happen?”Rosalie asked.

“We are going to reach out to the committee in charge of that to inform them of Bella’s interest.”What Irina wasn’t going to say in front of Bella was that the queens were going to have Heidi use her gift to get them to agree. Something Bella likely wouldn’t approve of.

“Let me know if you need any help convincing them.”Rosalie would do whatever it took to get Bella the opportunity to be the flag bearer.

“You are really taking to being a Denali haven’t you?”Bella was impressed with how dedicated Rosalie was to the family.

“I have always been closer to the sisters than my own coven and had been wanting to join the Denali for a long time.”Rosalie was being truthful. She had related to the sisters a lot better than she did with her family members. That could have been because they were all mated or it might have been because the sisters understood what it was like to be targeted by people because of their looks. Rosalie wasn’t sure. She just knew that the sisters made her feel like she could be herself and didn’t have to play whatever role the Cullens created for her.

“Why did you never say anything?”Tanya had thought Rosalie was content with the Cullens. It was one of the reasons they never asked her to join their family even though it was brought up numerous times.

”I’m not sure. I think it’s because I was in a rut. I wasn’t completely unhappy with the Cullens. I was just content. Plus I really didn’t think you guys left Alaska that often and I couldn’t see myself spending decades in one spot.”Rosalie thought the idea of living in the Alaskan wilderness was boring. She liked to be around people even if they usually annoyed her.

“We have times when we travel a lot then we settle down. It just so happens our time to settle down has been since you have been in our lives.”Tanya said.

“Also it was getting harder to travel with the way technology was progressing and the human population grew. Now though that isn’t a problem because with Bella’s gift we can go wherever we want and it’s my turn to pick the next vacation.”Kate still hadn’t decided exactly where she wanted to go.

“Since Rosalie is new to the family shouldn’t it be her turn since she has never gotten a chance to go anywhere she wanted before?”Bella asked.

“No way. I don’t want to go someplace lame.”Kate wanted to have fun not go on another educational trip.

“You had fun at the Day of the Dead festival I picked for my birthday trip.”Bella reminded her.

“You always pick fun stuff. I was talking about the rest of the family.”Kate always enjoyed Bella’s picks because the human usually picked places based on if they were having festivals or large celebrations.

“What’s to say that Rosalie won’t pick something good?”Tanya didn’t pay attention to Kate’s complaints when it came to the family’s picks. She, Irina, Carmen and Eleazar usually picked places based on the history. Tanya had told Kate many times that she didn’t have to come but she never missed a trip. That told Tanya and the rest of them that Kate wasn’t that against the idea because if she was she wouldn’t have gone.

“What would you pick?”Bella was curious what a vampire as young as Rosalie would consider interesting enough to pick for her first vacation.

“I have been thinking about all kinds of places I would want to go since I found out about your gift but I think the place I most would like to go is Las Vegas.”Rosalie told her.

“Alright maybe Rosalie can pick the next trip.”Kate had been begging to go to Vegas since Bella’s gift made itself known.

“Of course you would say that.”Irina had been vetoing Vegas since Bella was 14.

“Why Vegas?”Bella asked.

“I was alive when it first was developed and I was always enamored by the idea of rich, beautiful people drinking cocktails and betting large amounts of money without a care in the world. Then there was the shows and the chances to win jackpots. It was all like a dream world out of a fantasy when it first started.”Rosalie had always wanted to see what it was like.

“I want to go to Vegas.”Bella felt the overwhelming desire to help Rosalie fulfill her dream of going.

“You can’t gamble in Vegas you are only 18.”Irina really didn’t want Bella going to Vegas. Especially with Kate who would no doubt get her caught up in something illegal.

“Even if I can’t gamble it doesn’t mean I can’t go to the shows and some of the clubs.”Bella said.

“I would rather wait until you are old enough so that we can experience everything together.”Rosalie hated having to wait but wanted Bella by her side experiencing everything with her.

Kate sighed dramatically.”That means I have to wait as well.”

“You’ll live.”Tanya was of the same thought as Irina. She didn’t want Bella in Vegas with Kate. With Rosalie added to the mix at least they would have one more person to talk Bella out of going along with whatever convoluted plans Kate came up with.

“I guess you’ll have to think of someplace else.”Bella was going to make sure when they did go to Vegas that Rosalie had the high roller experience.

“I will have to think about it.”Rosalie had so many places that she would have to narrow it down.

“Actually speaking of my age. How old are you supposedly?”Bella asked Rosalie.

“My id says that I am 17.”Rosalie told her.

“We will need to get you new identification so that you are at least the same age as Bella.”Tanya would take care of that as soon as the qualifiers were over.

“Thank you.”Rosalie would prefer to being at least the same age as Bella. That way their relationship would be legal.

“Ms. Denali there is a crowd so please keep Ms. Swan and the rest of your party close to the guards.”The driver said when the car came to a stop.

“We will.”Irina told him.

Rosalie looked out the window seeing a large group of people some with cameras and a few with microphones being held back by the guards.”Is it like this every time?”

“It’s worse for big tournaments and when Bella does events.”Kate pulled out her phone and used the front facing camera to check her appearance.

“How do you handle it?”Rosalie could imagine having to deal with large crowds everywhere she went.

“I’ve been dealing with it since I was young and it’s normal now.”Crowds were a normal part of Bella’s life.

Tanya turned her attention to Rosalie.”Since this is your first time you need to try and not get overwhelmed with everything. People will be clamoring for Bella’s attention and some with shout things that will no doubt make you uncomfortable and most likely angry. You are to not under any circumstance yell at them or get physical with them. I don’t care if they touch Bella. You are to let the guards handle it.”

“How will I be able to do that in my current mental state?”Rosalie was a newly mated vampire. Human body or not her instincts would demand she act if someone disrespected her mate and kill anyone who touched her.

“You will have to find a way and if you don’t think you can then I will have the driver take you back to the hotel and you can watch the match from there.”Tanya wasn’t going to put up with Rosalie acting out. Even if it really wouldn’t be her fault.

Rosalie took a deep breath to center herself. She would do all she could to fight her instincts because she didn’t want to be banned from future events. Something she knew would happen if she were to lose control.”I understand and I will do all I can to behave.”

“Why will you need to behave?”Bella didn’t understand why Rosalie wouldn’t act appropriately.

“She isn’t used to crowds.”Tanya lied.

“You can wait until we get into the arena before you come in if that would make it easier.”Bella suggested.

Rosalie smiled touched that Bella was thinking about her comfort.”It’s alright. If I’m going to be a part of the family I need to get used to it.”

“You are right because even when we go on vacation sometimes Bella will get recognized and we get swarmed by fans.”Kate told her.

“Are you ready?”Bella asked Rosalie after someone knocked on the door in a random pattern.

“I’m ready.”Rosalie wasn’t sure if she was but she was going to do it anyway.

“Then let’s go.”Bella said as a guard opened the door. She let Irina and Tanya go first then she exited the car.

“Come on Rosalie it’s showtime.”Kate gave herself one last check then followed after Bella.

“I can do this.”Rosalie mumbled to herself. She took a deep breath before leaving the car. Immediately she was overwhelmed with the shouting of the crowd. She smiled in thanks to the guard who out her hand on her arm and led her after Bella. The hand reminded her that Bella was safe. That reminder being needed as Rosalie watched the crowd seem to close in around Bella. It was taking everything in Rosalie not to push though the sea of people, grab Bella and get her someplace safe. The main thing that was stopping her was seeing the bright smile on Bella’s face as she signed tennis balls, photos and even a few pairs of her nike sneakers that Rosalie had already made orders for online so she had a few pairs for herself to wear. It was that smile that made Rosalie calm because it meant that Bella was enjoying herself. It seemed that Bella genuinely liked her fans and that was all that mattered. Even if Rosalie’s instincts were screaming at her to kill the teenage girl who hugged Bella a little too long for Rosalie’s liking she wouldn’t interfere. Bella was happy and it was after all her purpose in life to make Bella happy.