LEGO HOUSE

twelve.           cute, little, immortal ass

▬▬ "I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE HERE." Cori shook her head a little, her hands locked with Lola's as they danced along with most of the graduating class of Forks High school.

"Believe it, babe." The blonde stepped forward, wrapping her arms around the shorter girl's shoulders. "And this summer is gonna be absolutely insane."

"Is it?" Cori scrunched her nose a little, taking a step back. "I still have a hard time not..." she leaned closer to her best friend. "- biting people." Her voice a mere whisper. "I think calm is what I need."

"Nope." Lola grinned. "We're going to have a great time. Jasper will, too."

"Yeah, can't go far without my emotional support Jasper." Cori hummed sarcastically as she looked around the room, and the blond vampire was close by. He had Alice in his arms and a smile on his face, and when he locked eyes with Cori he simply nodded. "It's sad but true."

"What about your emotional support Emmett?" Lola raised her eyebrow, jerking her head to the side a little, towards said vampire standing against the wall with a drink in his hand. Cori chuckled as she looked over at him. He smiled and raised his cup as his other hand fisted in the pocket of his jeans – he was holding back every urge to storm across the living room and wrap her in his arms before pressing a possessive kiss to her mouth so everyone knew she was his.

"We're taking things slow." She shrugged, still dancing with the taller girl.

"Boring!"

"I will throw you out that window." Cori laughed, though she and Lola both knew she could if she really wanted to.

"Why go slow?" She shrugged. "He's hot and he hasn't taken eyes off of you all night. Seriously, the moment we stepped through that door, he was watching you. And not in a creepy way, gosh that came out wrong." She shook her head, making Cori giggle. "But it's not just that he's looking at you, it's the way he's looking at you."

"And how's that?"

"Like your the fucking ocean and he's desperate to drown. And yes, I did get that from a book."

And though her cheeks never flushed, she was flustered to say the least. "Oh."

"Oh? That's all you got? Oh?" Lola nearly shouted as she dropped Cori's hands and grabbed her cheeks, squishing her face between her palms. "That man is in love with you and you're in love with him. And I know your life was turned upside down, and I know he's a major reason for that, but you deserve love. And not just any kind of love, real, unrelenting, gut-wrenching love. The kind we read about. The kind that's right in front of you, you just have to take it."

Cori was in awe. Her eyes wide and her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. Her head was spinning, mostly because she knew everything Lola said was true. She knew he loved her and she knew she loved him, despite how much she said otherwise. She also knew, though she didn't always believe it, that she deserved love. But there was something stopping her, something holding her back. Something she had yet to wrap her head around completely.

"I'm scared." She admitted, and the dancing teenagers around the didn't seem to notice that the two had stopped dancing to Taio Cruz's Dynamite.

"Of what?" Lola asked, her voice filled with concern for her best friend.

Cori swallowed around the lump in her throat as she looked around, this was definitely not the place to be having this conversation. "Come on." She quickly grabbed Lola's hand and pulled her through the crowd of dancing teenagers. And Emmett watched them go, his own worry for his mate growing.

He hated the way her voice broke when she admitted that she was scared. And he hated even more that he didn't know that she was scared, much less what she was scared of. And that made his chest ache, but he didn't follow the two. He knew Cori would tell him when she was ready.

"Where the hell are we going?" Lola huffed as Cori pulled her through the Cullen house and up the stairs. And while Cori missed the confused looks they got from Noah and Carter, Lola didn't and she simply waved at the two in passing. "Cori!"

"Somewhere privat."

"Is this where you take advantage of me?" Lola joked when Cori opened a door and pulled into the room before closing the door behind them, immediately muffling the music.

Cori chuckled, shaking her head a little. "Yeah, I'm cutting you off for the rest of the night."

"Lame." She shrugged as she rounded the desk and plopped into the chair. Cori laughed as the blonde leaned forward, her eyebrow raised as he rested her elbows on the desk. "But seriously, what are you scared of?"

"The forever part." She shrugged a little, lifting herself up into the desk. "We live forever. Literally. What happens in a couple of years and he doesn't feel the same way or I don't feel the same way. Things change, feelings change. I just... I don't want to hurt him... or get my heart broken again."

Lola sighed but a small, comforting smile pulled at her lips. "I can't really tell you what to do here, I don't have experience with forever. But I do know that he adores you and I can't see that changing. But you should talk to him, he can tell you how he feels better than I can. I literally just met the guy."

Cori chuckled. "Yeah, that's a good point."

"So go find him. Talk to him. Tell him what you told me. Because if this relationship is gonna last, you two need to talk about stuff like this."

"I know."

"Now get off your cute, little, immortal ass, and go find him. And if you pass Noah on the way, send him in."

"Oh, God. No. You're not having sex in Carlisle's office." Cori shook her head, her nose scrunched up. "That wall is glass."

"Fine." Lola huffed as she pushed herself up. "We'll just have to find a bedroom... or a closet."

Cori opened her mouth but closed it, deciding not to argue as she pushed herself off the desk and followed Lola out of the room. The two quickly separated, Lola hunting down Noah, while Cori made her way straight to Emmett.

"Hey." She stopped in front of him and his smile grew as he pushed himself off the wall, towering over her. "We should talk." She rushed out before he could say a word then she grabbed his hand and pulled him with her.

"Should I be worried or excited that you're dragging me up to my room?" He asked, following behind her, a slight smirk on his lips.

"Just get in here." She mumbled when they reached his door. He pushed it open and watched as she paced into the room, then he closed the door behind them.

"Cori?" She stopped and looked up at him, his brows were creased and his smile no longer pulled at his lips.

"I know you heard me and Lola, at least some of it." She rushed out, trying to get her thoughts together while managing her nerves.

"Yeah." He nodded, letting out a sigh as he sat his cup on his shelf and made his way towards her. "I didn't mean-"

"No, that's not– Damn, why is this so hard?"

"It's me, Shortcake. You can tell me anything." He reached out and laced his fingers through hers as she looked up at him.

"I'm scared."

"Of me?"

Her hand tightened around his. "Definitely not. I just..." she took a breath, closing her eyes for a moment before meeting his gaze again. "This forever thing scares me. Forever is a long time and I'm worried that things will change. That feelings will change. I'm scared that your feelings for me will change."

"Never." His other hand moved up and gently caressed her cheek. "My feelings for you are never going away. I love you. I will always love you. No amount of time will ever change how I feel."

"How can you know that?" She asked, her voice quiet and he could see the desperation in her golden iries.

"Because, from the moment I saw you, my entire life changed. I was never one to brood or whine, but I definitely wasn't happy before I met you. I would smile and joke around, but none of it felt real. Then you smiled at me. And I was a goner. I was yours instantly. And nothing has changed that. Nothing will change that and if you let me, I will spend every second of the rest of our lives proving that to you. Please, let me."

If she were human, she'd be a sobbing mess of tears and flushed cheeks, but she wasn't. She was cold, hard stone... at least on the outside. Inside, she was melting and she couldn't form words and even if she could, no words seemed right. No words seemed to describe exactly what she was feeling. So, she acted on instinct.

She quickly pushed up onto her toes, her arms winding around his neck as she pressed her lips against his. And it was like he melted under her touch. His arms snaked around her waist, holding her closer to him and his hands firmly groped her anywhere they could.

And she was glad she no longer needed to stop for air, because she never wanted to stop kissing him. He ran his tongue along her bottom lip and she moaned, but refused to let him in. Taking that as a challenge, his large palms gripped her thighs and hoisted her up, forcing a gasp from her lips and he easily slipped his tongue into her mouth.