My eye lids were dropping like they were made of lead. I was so tired. I was trying to keep myself awake, but it was getting hard, what with the van cruising along the road and all the dim lights flickering past through the back window. Everyone was giggling and laughing and recalling the last couple of nights we had just experienced. I closed my eyes, but didn't fall asleep, because the houses going past started to look familiar, so I would be getting home soon. Jim must have noticed that I was dozing off, because he started to swerve along the road, taunting me and trying to scare me. "Jim," I complained, struggling to get it out of my throat and past my lips. "I'm tired, and as soon as I get home I'm going to bed."

"Aw, Gabby wants to go to sleepy-byes!"

"Jim," I said sternly. He turned and looked at me with a big smile on his face, probably checking to see if I was serious. I was. Very serious. His face slackened but his smile remained.

"Ok Gabby, no messing about. As soon as you get home I'll say bye then you can get some sleep."

"Thankyou Jim," I whispered quietly, permitting my eyes to close once more.

"Gabby…Gabby…wake up Gabby," I voice whispered in my ear. I could feel Jim's breathe against my ear, and I opened my eyes. The van had stopped and everyone was looking over me.

"Am I home?"

"Yeah, Your home," confirmed Denny, behind the right shoulder of Jim. Jim put his arms underneath my legs and behind my back and started to lift me up.

"No! Put me down!" I giggled.

"Come on, Gabby, I thought you were tired?"

"I am but I don't need you to carry me like a two year old!" I whined, getting annoyed. I always got irritated when I was tired, and he wasn't helping himself in any way.

"Ok, Gabby. Jesus, you're a bitter old woman," Jim mocked. I had had enough of him acting like an idiot. I got up and grabbed my bags, brushing past him. He caught my elbow and spun me around. I looked at him with an angry expression, but before I could tell him off, he brought his lips to mine and kissed me. I pulled back and tried to look serious, but my face broke out into a smile before I could stop it from happening.

"Love you, Gabby," He said, expecting a reply. I waited for a bit, keeping him on edge, then replied with an "I love you too."

I rustled through my mini-bag, trying to locate my house keys. I hadn't told mum and dad that I was arriving home early, so I couldn't just knock on the door; plus it was 11pm in the night. I saw it glinting in my bag, so I quickly grabbed it and unlocked the door. All the lights were off and the front room was dark. I wandered into my room and flicked on the light. I threw down my bags and walked over to the mirror. My mirror was crowded with photos of models and pieces of clothing I'd seen in magazines. My eyes had big, dark circles under them. I groaned. I hated having dark rings under my eyes, because it made me look older and wearier than I really am. Then something shone near my bed. It was bright and kept moving. Then I saw him. There was a man… in my bed… holding pairs of scissors in his hands. I slowly turned around to face my bed, working up the strength to scream as loud as I could. But just as I was about to scream I realised that something wasn't quite right. He wasn't holding scissors in his hands… the scissors were his hands. I advanced towards him, my eyes wide in amazement. He had scissors for hands. What had happened to him?

As I got closer, I noticed the scars on his face. Some were old and faded while others were a little newer and deep in his skin. He had big, innocent brown eyes that sparkled in the light of the moon. His cheekbones were distinguished and handsome. I was double thinking my previous plans to scream and run.

"Who are you?" I asked him hesitantly.

"Edward," he said, as if he was just as scared as I was. Somehow his face looked sad. He looked a little droopy, a little…well…depressed. Like he had been alone for god knows how long.

"Where are you from, Edward?"

"The mansion on top of the hill," he said, his big eyes looking up at me and shining. So he had been alone. I mean, no one had ever been seen coming out of that old mansion, and the stories people had come up with accused the house of being haunted. Where had he come from? Who lived up there with him? All these questions were knocking around in my brain, but the most obvious one past my lips without my permission.

"What happened to your hands?" Oh no. I clamped my hands over my mouth. I was so embarrassed! I couldn't believe I had just said that!

"I'm not finished yet," he simply replied. He was so innocent. So unique and mysterious. So… amazing.

"Not finished…" I repeated, confused by his answer. Soon it dawned on me that Edward wasn't a human, but a robot, or maybe not even a robot. He was a sort of invention. And when he said he wasn't finished, he meant that he hadn't been given hands yet. "So there's someone up there with you? Someone who is going to finish you?" He looked down. I took that as a no. "I...I'm sorry."

"It's ok. He never woke up."

"Well, Edward… goodnight," I said, waving him goodbye. He replied with a goodnight, and then I walked out of the room, heading out into Kevin's room to use the spare bed.

I was a mess. My hair was everywhere and my face was all puffy. I wandered into the bathroom and ran the tap. The water was freezing and numbed my fingers. It was even colder against my face. It sent a shiver down my spine. I stopped the tap and wiped my face with a towel. I saw a shadow through the mirror, but when I turned around it quickly vanished out of sight. I shook it from my mind and made my way to the dining room table. I could smell bacon and eggs. The scent was forcing its way up my nose, and my stomach made a deep, groaning sound in reply. I was starving, and my mouth had started to water. I got into the dining room and found everyone at the dining table; including Edward. "Good morning everyone."

"Good morning," they all chimed in a cheery chorus. I turned to Edward and caught his eyes fixated on my face. I quickly turned away, because I could feel my cheeks flaming into a ruby red colour.

"Did you sleep well last night Edward?" My mother asked, trying to make conversation with him.

"Yes, thank you. It was comfortable." I sat down on the end of the table; opposite from Edward. I looked up at him. It was too dark last night to see his whole face, but when I looked at him this morning, I felt my stomach fluttering. He was so…handsome. He had a soft, pale face and even though it was covered in scars, he looked more handsome than most of the boys at school. He had to be in his twenties, at least. He looked up, and our eyes met for a couple of seconds. Those seconds felt like hours and I realised I was staring. I forced my eyes from his face, and when I looked back at him he was still looking at me. I allowed the corners of my mouth to lift ever so slightly, and he smiled in return. God, his smile was amazing. I smiled even further, and even let out a little giggle. I dropped my head and looked down at my food, still smiling.

"Is something funny?" Kevin asked.

"What? Oh…no. I was just thinking about the camping trip and how much fun I had," I swiftly said, hoping he knew I was lying. I flicked my eyes up to his face, checking. His smile had faded and he was looking down. I tried catching his attention, and when I did, I grinned at him. He looked happier, but something about him always looked sad. Maybe it was all those years of being alone, or maybe he was just made like that.

Jim was knocking on my door. I wasn't as excited as I would usually be, but I knew exactly why. Jim wasn't fond of people that were…'different'. And if he wasn't fond of those sorts of people then he would not like Edward. I opened the door and sure enough, it was Jim.

"Hey Jim," I tried to say as enthusiastically as I could. It worked.

"Hey Gabby. What do you want to do today?" I thought about it.

"Let's go shopping," I answered.

"Shopping?" He asked in dismay.

"Yes, shopping. I need to get a new pair of jeans and new hair ties for cheerleading."

"Yes, my dear head Cheerleader!" He exclaimed, picking me up.

"NO, DON'T JIM! STOP, PUT ME DOWN!" I screamed, trying to keep the giggling from escaping my throat, but failing. He put me down and we walked over to his purple, flame-decorated van. But just as I was about to close the door, I noticed Edward staring at us through the window, looking ever so sad. I gave him a smile and waved to him. He still looked sad, but wrestled a smile. Then his face was replaced by a van door as Jim closed the van.

The whole time we were shopping I couldn't stop thinking about Edward. He was running through my mind like a record, over and over again. And each time I wasn't thinking about him, something would remind me of him, and my chest would start to hurt, like somehow my heart was electrified by him; his face and his name. And when I saw a button up shirt, I immediately thought of him.

"I'm going to buy this."

"Why?" Jim asked, "That's a man's shirt. And you never buy shirts for me."

"Dad might like it. And it's Christmas soon."

"Ok," he replied, thinking that I really was buying it for my father. Oh no. I was buying it for Edward, because when I imagined it on him, he looked like the most handsome person I had ever met.

I knocked on my bedroom door. "Edward? Edward are you in there?"

I heard him moving about.

"Yes," he said sheepishly. He was always as quiet as a mouse. So innocent. I loved that about him.

"I have something for you." I opened the door, and he was sitting on my bed with his hands in the air. "Why are your hands in the air?" I asked. I walked over to the bed and realised there was a hole in it, because he had shuffled one of my plush toys over it. My bed was a water bed, so the toy was soaked. I laughed and told him not to worry.

"Don't worry, I have popped that many holes in it, it isn't funny," I laughed lightly. I sat down next to him and took the shirt out from behind my back. "I went shopping today and I bought this for you. I thought it would look nice on you." He smiled a big smile. He genuinely liked it.

"Thank you. It's very nice," he commented politely. I gently lifted it up and over his head, fixing it up and moving back a bit to take in the full picture of him with the shirt on. I was right. He looked magnificent. I went to fix his collar up and caught him staring at my lips. I looked back at him. I couldn't help it. I leant in; our lips only being inches away. I could feel his breath quickening, and so was mine. Just as I was about to kiss him, there was a loud knocking on the door.

"Edward, sweetie, are you hungry?" It was mum. She must have been making dinner.

"Yes," he called while looking over my shoulder. He looked back to me, but the moment was gone. I placed my hand around his face, and allowed my eyes to meet his. He looked glum like always, but his big brown eyes shone like stars. I got up to go ask mum how long dinner would take. Before I left, I turned around and said, "I was right. You do look nice in that top." And before catching his reaction, I stalked out of the room and down the hall, trying to stop myself from going back and kissing him.

I was going crazy from my longing or him. Not Jim, but Edward. He was becoming like a cancer; growing on me, something that would never go away. Every day I spent time with him, I became mesmerised with the shadowy figure sleeping in my bedroom; The one that had spent so long alone, and acted more like a child than an adult. He was imaginative as well, and all the neighbours were just as accepting and in awe as I was. Edward soon revealed his talent in cutting hedges and bushes. My god, they were amazing! There was a dinosaur in our backyard, a ballerina in front of mum's friend, Helen's house. Everyone was requesting something new and different, something stylish and fabulous. Soon, the whole neighbourhood was decked out in shrubbery-shapes of all sorts.

One day, I was at a neighbours sitting with him while he was cutting their bushes, and her dog came around and sat next to Edward. He looked at it. He cocked his head to the side slightly, and then gave a little snip. Then another, and another. I started to pay more and more attention, moving up and out of my beach chair, moving closer to Edward and the dog. He was in full scale concentration, and was sending bits of fur flying in every direction. When he was finished, the dog scampered away to his owner, who even though was out of sight, could be heard gasping and saying,

"That couldn't possibly be my Alexis!" She seemed gob-smacked. And she had a perfect reason to be. Her dog looked like it belonged in an art exhibition. There were little pom-poms of fur scattered across her body. Soon, the whole neighbourhood was forming a line across the fence of our backyard and out onto the street, all waiting for a doggy-style for their dog's. And if they didn't have a dog? They would buy one just for Edward's styles. And soon, Edward moved on to women's hair.

"Hey Edward, could you cut my hair?" I asked him, piling up some shredded clothing he had gone through in the week.

"You…You want me to cut your hair?" He asked, seeming taken by surprise. I turned around to see if he was serious, which in fact he was. It was always a bit hard for him not to be serious, and sometimes I even thought to myself that he should loosen up and have more fun.

"Yes, I want you to cut my hair. Why wouldn't I, your very good you know," I said in a matter-of-factly tone. I ended my sentence with a smile, to show him I was being gentle.

"I-I don't want to…" he said, looking up from under his lashes. I was taken aback by his answer.

"You…You don't…want to?" I don't know why, but I was taking it way to seriously. "Is there something wrong with doing my hair Edward?" I asked him, trying to mask the pain in my voice; unsuccessfully. The truth was though, I was hurt. I was really hurt. Maybe there was something wrong with my hair, so he couldn't cut it, or he thought it was dirty or something horrible like that.

"I like it the way it is," he simply said, making my eyes widen. He didn't want to cut my hair…because he liked it the way it was? If I ever had any doubt of loving him, it was gone. Obliterated. Vaporized to little tiny bits. There was just one problem though; I was still going out with Jim. And I didn't love him anymore, and felt guilty because it felt like I was hurting Edward. But then Jim would go after Edward, and that would be a problem.

"You've been spending a lot of time with that Edward character, haven't you?" Jim asked. He was getting suspicious. And a suspicious Jim was a dangerous Jim.

"Yeah, what does it matter to you? He's like my best friend. Or a brother," I tried to explain, trying to hint to him that nothing was going on between me and Edward, even though something was. Something bigger than just a relationship. It was like I was his, now. He owned me, and I could never belong to anyone else.

"Pretty close brother, if you ask me."

"Well I didn't, so just shut up," I snapped in reply. He stopped walking down the footpath that led to my house and gave me a look that showed his confusion. It was the most unattractive face I had ever seen. He had scrunched up his whole face and stared at me. I shuddered and turned away, advancing towards my house which could now be seen from my point of view.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey! Slow down, Gabby. Why are you so moody nowadays? It's getting on my nerves."

"Yeah, well I could make a list of things about you that are getting on my nerves," I replied, flicking my long, light brown hair in his face. He swatted y hair from his face and grabbed my elbow. He turned me around and attempted to kiss me, but I pushed his face from away and snatched my elbow from his grip. I stormed off, quickening my pace and reaching my door before he could catch up. I knocked on the door, and mum answered.

"Hello, darling. Are you ready to go to the café with your father and Kevin and Edward?" She said in her chirpy little voice. She was always in a cheery disposition. It was uplifting and made me feel safe and secure.

"As ready as I'll ever be. Let me get my boots." I ran into my room, grabbed my favourite pair of brown zip-up boots and ran to the lemon yellow car my mother owned.