Setting the Mood (1/?)

(A/N - Over 1k collections, almost 200k views, hitting 2nd on the popular tab, and in the top 10 for the others. I fuckin' love you guys. Much love. Here's your bonus chapter.)

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Gabriel lay on his bed, his fingers quickly typing away on his phone. He had received multiple texts from Rosalie. He had sent her the first four chapters of his novel before he left for the Swans' residence. Midway through the movie, which he truly wasn't enjoying because of the horrible depiction of the vampire, his phone started buzzing rapidly.

Smiling, he thought about how excited she seemed.

<Rosalie Cullen: How did you write such an interesting chapter?! You're lying if said this is your first time.>

<Rosalie Cullen: Have you written any more chapters? Send me a couple! Promise I only want to see them help proofread.>

Giggling like a fool, Gabriel ignored her messages as she kept pestering him in the name of 'help.' Only a fool would believe that. She didn't even send him any edits to the pages.

Closing his phone and placing it on charge, he walked towards the bathroom. There was something he needed to test. 'Let's see how this regeneration is.'

Standing in front of the mirror, Gabriel willed his nails to elongate. They slowly morphed and grew longer and sharper, almost like he held miniature daggers at the ends of his fingers. Quickly swiping the sharp claws across his forearm, he braced for the oncoming pain.

A sharp and loud clang sounded out in the room, much like metal smashing into metal. When he peeked at the strike zone, he found himself baffled. No marks, no scratches, not even a speck of dust was on his forearm.

'This ain't fuckin' diamond-level skin. Have I got some type of adamantium-laced skin?' Grinning widely, Gabriel couldn't help but feel happy about his bodily defenses.

Walking back to his PC, Gabriel sat down once more and stretched his fingers. Opening the Word document again, he started typing at a quick pace, hoping to finish the book as soon as possible; he still needed to find a publisher.

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Days passed as Gabriel stuck to his routine. He would head to school, enjoying his favorite class, gym, in which he would mess around with Emmett as they grew closer as friends. His time in biology had changed slightly, as Rosalie seemed to have found a way to continue a conversation with him: the book he was writing. They seemed to have bonded more in those classes, as Gabriel and Rosalie dropped their full names, now calling each other by a shortened version.

After the dinner with the Swans, Gabriel also grew closer with Bella, but more in a sibling kind of way. Each would bully the other, either for Bella's longing for her one-day boyfriend or Gabriel's slowly growing affection for Rosalie.

Before he knew it, Saturday morning had arrived, and he had a playdate at the Cullens' house.

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A sleek black BMW M5 slowly drove down the winding roads of Forks, the rain slashing against the windshield as Gabriel sat in the driver's seat. His voice was loud as he yelled the lyrics to 'Gold Digger' by Ye, completely oblivious to the bleeding eardrums of all the animals in the forest surrounding.

The car lurched down a driveway nestled deep within the forest; the gravel digging into his tires as he pulled up to a large house. 'So, this is the place? Looks better in real life.'

Opening the door, Gabriel peered toward the mansion. A large home, painted in a soft faded white, it stood looming at over three stories, built more like a matchbox than a standard house. His eyes scanned over the home; the backyard was sitting right on a river.

Walking up to the door, he could hear the hushed voices of the Cullens, their attention being drawn to his arrival. Before he could even knock, the door opened wide. Rosalie stood there, a gentle smile on her glowing face as she looked at Gabriel with hidden affection.

"Thanks for coming, Gabe. I hope the drive wasn't long." She motioned for him to enter, softly closing the large wooden door behind him.

The majesty of the entrance of the house left Gabriel in awe as he looked around. It wasn't close to his home, but it still held its own. "Nah, it wasn't far at all, Rose. Honestly, I wished it was longer; the rain made the drive fun." A sheepish grin on his face at these words.

Smacking his arm, she started walking through the house with Gabriel in tow. Odd decorations were displayed everywhere as she walked through the hallway. It was like a mismatched art piece that oddly fit perfectly.

"Whoever did the interior decoration is great," Gabriel said, his eyes accidentally falling onto Rosalie's shapely and bubbly backside. Quickly averting his gaze, he looked forward. Unfortunately for him, she had noticed; her eyes lighting up for a moment.

"That would be me." A soft, but warm voice radiated out from the kitchen/living room they had entered. "You must be Gabriel. I'm Esme." Another beautiful woman with caramel-colored hair, a heart-shaped face with dimples on her cheeks. She looked barely over the age of 30.

"Ah, it's nice to meet you, Mrs. Cullen. Thank you for having me over." Gabriel smiled at her warmth.

"Please, call me Esme, I'm not that old." She chuckled as she moved to the kitchen counter.

'You're not old. I haven't died before.' He giggled internally as he followed her.

"Would you like something to eat? I made soup; unfortunately, we made a little too much." She pointed at the pot sitting on the stovetop.

"Absolutely. I may have forgotten to eat breakfast." Listening to his words, Esme beamed as she quickly filled a bowl for him, ushering him to sit at the table. 'No matter what you say, even if we're all undead, you can't fake being a loving mother.' Smiling at her, he ate.

Rosalie sat down beside him, watching him eat. "Oi, get your own. Keep your eyes to yourself." Gabriel said as he pulled the bowl closer to himself, eliciting a laugh from both women.

As he ate the food, the trio had some idle chit-chat. It turned out that Carlisle and Emmett, along with the other siblings, had to 'visit' some family members this weekend, Emmett forgetting to let Gabriel know.

'Bloody convenient. It's like they're trying to set the mood for us.' His thoughts betraying his true feelings.

His eyes quickly shifting towards Rosalie.

'Not that I'm really complaining.'

"Sorry you two, I was hoping to stick around more, but I have a client to meet today." Esme said, standing up from the table. "I need to look at their house and make some design plans."

Gabriel glanced at Esme, catching her slight wink that she placed toward Rosalie. Pretending like he saw nothing, he wished her a good day and finished up his meal. Placing the dishes in the washer, Rosalie walked up to the table.

"Sorry," she said, her face looking somewhat sad. "I know you planned a day with Emmett."

Standing up quicker than he thought, Gabriel placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't sweat it. How about we hang out today?"

Jumping quickly, Rosalie grabbed his hand and started leading him through the house eagerly. "If that's the case, let me show you my pride and joy!" Both walked through the hallway to a side door. Quickly opening it, multiple cars were parked inside. It seemed like the garage for the house.

Pointing towards a red convertible, she practically bounced towards it. "Mercedes CLK350. Though I'm currently refitting the engine and making some other changes." She smiled at Gabriel whilst running her hands across the exterior of the car.

"Now, when were you going to tell me you were into cars?" Gabriel said, completely forgetting that her passion in the books was mechanics and engineering.

Looking from left to right, she uttered, her voice barely above a whisper, "there's a lot more to me than you know."

'Fuck, I'm an idiot. Of course, she's feeling bad about hiding things from me.'

"So does this mean I have an on-the-call mechanic to fix up my car when I need?" Walking over to the car, Gabriel peered inside it.

Seeing his interest, Rosalie felt warmth within herself. "Depends on if you can afford me. I'm pretty expensive and highly requested." A twinkle in her eyes, the subtle flirtation being understood by everyone in the room.