Chapter One
"Where you off to, bro?" Emmett asked, walking up behind me.
As if I don't already know. I could almost see the smirk on his face.
I turned and shot an icy glare at him, he could be so unbelievably childish sometimes, and I'm supposedly the youngest in the family. I rolled my eyes at the thought. If there was one thing my brother was not, it was mature.
"Oh don't be mad, Eddy. You can run off to your girlfriend's house. You won't hear another word from me."
Out loud at least! I hope you're listening! What's so fascinating about watching a human sleep anyway? It seems pointless to me…I mean there are so many better ways they could be occupying that time if he would just change her…
The repetitiveness of this conversation was something I quickly grew tired of each and every time. Why did my family insist on not understanding my decision to allow Bella, sweet, innocent, Bella, to keep her soul? I wouldn't reduce her existence to this.
I picked up the closest thing I could find which, lucky for him, turned out to be only a cushion, and threw it at full speed at his head.
To my dismay, he dodged it easily, but then got the next best thing. Jasper just happened to be coming down the stairs at that exact moment, and hadn't heard our squabble beforehand.
"Oh, man! What was that for?!" Jasper trudged down the stairs, having been hit instead of Emmett.
"Edward's just trying to find a way to release all that sexual tension that's been building for the past 105 years," Emmett chuckled.
Jasper joined in his laughter; they were enjoying this way too much. "Hmm, you know, actually, he isn't throwing as hard as he used to...maybe he's found another outlet," Jasper trailed off suggestively.
I glared at the two of them as they shook with laughter. "Well if his throwing is as bad as his…" I could already hear the next part of that sentence forming in his mind. Emmett was now rolling on the floor and it didn't seem as if Jasper would be on his feet for much longer either, he was almost convulsing in giggles. Yes, my brother, the 162 year old vampire was giggling! My anger was mounting.
"He — he might never get any…and then what will we do?!"
I glanced around the room; I couldn't take anymore of this. I needed something that would inflict more damage then the cushion. Though the chances of inflicting damage to us were quite slim, I had nothing to lose for trying.
Then I saw it. The new couch sat right in front of me, Esme's new pride and joy, the one she had shipped over from Italy. Without another thought, I took a firm hold of it and launched it towards them. They were too consumed in their girlish giggles to notice it fly at them, before it hit.
I snickered to myself before turning and hurrying out the door, not wanting to have to deal with them again as I heard the inevitable crack that came with the couch breaking in half on Emmett's head.
I took off running the familiar path to Bella's house, the wind whistling past me, I pushed myself harder, racing with it, all thoughts of Emmett and Jasper and their ridiculous immaturity flying from my mind. Running was so second nature to me that I hardly needed to concentrate at all while I did it. And, as usually happened when I didn't need to pay attention to the activity at hand, my thoughts strayed to Bella.
The last time I'd seen her had been on school on Friday before I'd left to go hunting. After our return from Italy I had tried to leave her side as little as possible because being away from her had become physically painful. I'd returned early from our hunting trip for just that reason, I was eager to get back to her.
As her house came into view, I headed straight for her window, moving too fast for the human eye to detect. The image of her shocked expression at the sight of me home a day earlier than expected filled my mind; I smiled as I dashed up the wall and in her window. However, nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.
In her room I found not only Bella, but Angela and Jessica too! None of them had realized I was there, thankfully. But within one second I had another problem. My shock caused me to jump backwards. Without warning I was freefalling straight for the earth below Bella's window. I quickly righted myself so I would land on my feet. However, once again, my luck failed me when I landed on a pile of wet leaves I could have sworn weren't there before. The moisture caused me to slip on the leaves, arms flailing, and land on my derrière.
I picked myself up carefully, not wanting to repeat the experience. Groaning inwardly I attempted to brush the clinging leaves from my jeans, cursing Jessica and Angela, but Jessica especially, to a life of eternal damnation...on second thoughts, maybe having Jessica around for an eternity wasn't such a great idea. I shook my head, shuddering at the thought.
The lack of commotion from the window signified that they hadn't heard my smooth entrance and much less graceful exit; I breathed a sigh of relief.
Listening closely I realized that Jessica was rambling on about her and Mike. I groaned inwardly at the prospect of having to spend all night listening to her juvenile thoughts. Looking around I realized that the ground was too wet for me to sit on, unless I wanted to deal with more leaves. Thinking quickly, I ran up the wall to the roof and found myself a place to settle in for my wait.
For a while I tuned out, only occasionally listening to what was going on in the room below me. Until I heard my name. It was Jessica who spoke it, "So what about you and Edward then, Bella?"
I immediately straightened up from my position lying down. This night might turn out interesting after all. I waited in anticipation for what Bella would say. Unfortunately, Jessica's thoughts came first.
I wish Mike would stop going on about Bella all the time! Don't know what Edward sees in her anyway. Her mind became clouded with lustful thoughts. I shook my head. Would this girl never give up? I had been happy in the knowledge that I was rid of her infatuation, though, apparently I wasn't free yet.
When Bella finally spoke, I reveled in hearing the sound of her voice, "What about me and Edward?" She asked carefully.
Of course, Jessica couldn't take a hint from the reluctance in her voice, and pressed on.
"Well, like how far have you gone?" They're all over each other at school…this should be good.
I shook my head at her thoughts, though it was understandable. Under any normal circumstances the answer would be an easy one. But unfortunately for Bella and me, our physical relationship wasn't the most extensive because our relationship wasn't exactly what you'd call conventional either.
I could almost sense Bella's embarrassment, and cursed Jessica for putting her on the spot like that.
"Um…well, you know…we like kiss and stuff really…and hang out together…"
"Oh, come on, Bella! You can tell us, we're like your best friends!"
Angela wasn't being anywhere near as obnoxious as Jessica was, and I was happy that Bella had at least one understanding human friend. Though those thoughts about her also quickly evaporated. I guess all teenage girls were the same…well, except for Bella…
Oh, poor Bella. She's gone so red. Jessica's so nosy…but I do wonder how far they actually have gone.
"I'm serious. That's all." She sounded defensive now, determined to make them believe her.
Wow she is so lying! I mean, they're all over each other at school, imagine what they're like on their own! And anyway, if she IS telling the truth, then it must be him saying no to her.
I growled a low rumble in my chest. How could she think that I would be saying no to Bella? The only possible explanation would be her saying no to me. Before my anger could get out of hand, I caught the trail of Jessica's thoughts. She was imagining her and me lying together on a beach, feeding each other grapes. I shook my head, dispelling the absurd image. The girl had absolutely no imagination!
"So you know Edward's quite a big guy…" Through Angela's mind I saw her raise her eyebrows coyly.
This caused her to finally come to Bella's aid. Oh this has gone too far. I feel terrible for Bella "Jessica!" She hissed angrily. But Jessica took no notice; she was still gauging Bella's reaction.
Oh look Bella's gone bright red! She definitely knows what I'm talking about! Scenarios of her and I together ran through her mind again. I felt like gagging at the thoughts she was having. How could she even believe I would be interested in her?!
Then suddenly, without warning, some distinctly X-Rated images of me started playing in her mind. I could no longer contain my disgust. I took a step backwards as if trying to physically part myself from her thoughts, wishing her to just STOP THINKING! Before I had even registered what had happened, I found myself flying head first for the pile of leaves on the ground.
I grumbled angrily, having found myself buried in the mushy pile again. I made a vow, sitting there surrounded by mud-covered leaves. I would destroy them if it was the last thing I did. Then again…I started mentally calculating how long it would take me to collect all the leaves and take them to dump in Jessica's room. The idea looked more and more promising as the seconds ticked by.
Soon after I picked myself up again before commencing with the same tedious job of "de-leafing" my pants. By the time I got back up to the window, I was surprised to find that the girls had all fallen asleep. I momentarily debated just going home, I would see Bella in the morning, after all. But my selfish instincts were too strong. I had missed her far too much to just leave.
I slipped silently in the window, stepping over Jessica who was rolling around in her sleep. I briefly caught the tenor of her thoughts in her dream. She was imaging herself running through a lush, green meadow filled with flowers. I almost laughed out loud when she starting singing "The hills are alive with the sound of music!" I clamped my hand over my mouth before I moved over to where Bella slept restlessly. She couldn't seem to keep still. I lay down on the bed, careful not to wake her with the movement.
I had lain there only a few seconds when she rolled over and snuggled herself into my chest and sighed contentedly. I wrapped my arms around her waist and closed my eyes, finally happy. She didn't toss or turn again all night.
When morning finally came and Bella stirred, I wasn't sure if I should be there when she woke up. But the thought of seeing her expression when she realized I was there, was enough to keep me glued to where I was. She buried her head farther in my chest, causing me to chuckle quietly. Upon hearing the sound, she groggily opened her eyes.
Her reaction wasn't quite what I had expected though. She screamed and jumped out of bed. I couldn't get my hand over her mouth to muffle the sound and tell her it was only me. By the time she had realized though, it was too late. Jessica and Angela seemed to be waking up, and I could hear Charlie's hurried footsteps coming down the hall.
I pressed my lips to her forehead before I released her and made a quick escape through the window.
*
When I pulled up into Bella's driveway an hour later I knew for sure that Jessica and Angela had left already, probably wanted to go home before school. I sat and waited in the car and within minutes, Bella pulled the door open. Her smile widened when she saw my car waiting for her. I didn't always pick her up for school anymore, sometimes she insisted on driving herself in that old scrap of metal she so loved and she said it made it more special when it wasn't everyday. Sometimes I just couldn't understand her logic.
She skipped down to the car before sliding in.
"Good morning!" She smiled brightly, reaching over to take my hand, entwining our fingers together.
"Good morning to you too," I grinned. "So did you have a good night's sleep?" I asked innocently, so far she hadn't shown any signs of knowing I was there at all.
"Yes and no. Yes, because I had the strangest dream. I dreamt that I woke up in the morning and you were there. Of course, that would have been impossible since you were hunting. But it made me feel better. And no, for when I discovered that you weren't really there." She frowned slightly.
"Well, I'm here now," I said as I squeezed her hand tighter. I started the drive to school as we sat in a comfortable silence. Upon my return home I had narrowly avoided an ambush that Jasper and Emmett had prepared for me by escaping up to my room before they even noticed I was home. While I was there I had thought about how to drop a hint about exactly what I had heard during the night, so now I was merely waiting for the opportunity to broach the subject. Deciding that there was no point in putting it off any longer, I dove straight in.
"Did you have a nice chat with Angela and Jessica last night?" I averted my eyes to look at her out of my peripheral vision. I saw the familiar redness rush to her cheeks as she blushed in embarrassment.
"What — what are you talking about?" she asked innocently, looking away from me, before realization settled in. "Wait a minute…how did you know?!" her voice rose in volume as she looked at me expectantly.
I chuckled, unable to contain my amusement.
"You tell me, Edward Cullen! Were you spying on me?!" she was mad now. Unfortunately her anger only amused me more. "Stop laughing!" she snapped.
I looked over at her innocently, "I returned early and wanted to see you. I didn't expect you to have them over. But I was interested in hearing what you all did on a sleepover, so I decided to stay." I blinked, knowing my eyes were "dazzling" her, as she liked to call it, and her will was weakening.
"So this morning…that wasn't a dream then?" she asked, still in a daze.
I shook my head.
"And…and you heard everything?" She asked, her blush returning.
I rolled my eyes. "A lot more than you did, Bella. Just be thankful you didn't have to hear what was going through Jessica's mind."
"What do you mean?" she tilted her head, confused.
"Let's just say that I won't be going anywhere near her for a while…and even less so if there happens to be a beach and grapes around." I laughed.
We drove the rest of the way to school with her attempting to get me to explain to her exactly what I meant, but I decided that was a story for another time. Though, with what was waiting that day, perhaps I should have told her and turned around right then.