Lead and Gold
Chapter 1: An Interesting Walk in the Park by Bella
Hmph, I thought to myself, as I continued to unwillingly walk with Edward Masen as my mother watched after us happily, yet obliviously.
"You don't seem to be enjoying my company much," Edward commented disinterestedly.
"To be honest, I'm not, but the last thing I need is to have my mother throw a fit."
Edward gave an empty chuckle. "We seem to be in agreement. Won't our parents be overjoyed that we finally have something in common?"
"Mm-hmm." The conversation kind of died then. The wind blew my plain brown hair out of its simple hair barrette that kept it off my face. I moved the whisps of hair out of my face. I was thankful for the wind, because it was like a genre of nature's music, and it gave me something to listen to when Edward said nothing, not that I ever particularly enjoyed listening to him anyway. Edward and I, well... you see... well, we just had nothing in common, other than the fact that our parents, well that is to say, his parents and my mother and step-father, had planned us to be together since we were just children.
Allow me to introduce myself: I'm Isabella Swan, (Bella for short) and I'm just seventeen. I have known Edward Masen since I was seven. Ten long years of slow realization of what was to come. Its not like we had never gotten along, it's just that we were never interested in each other, like perfect strangers walking opposite ways in a park. In fact, that's exactly what we were: strangers, only we were unfortunately tossed together in one-way traffic. Next stop? Most likely a bench where we could be spared the awkwardness of being alone by being out in the open, in the middle of Chicago.
My father is a police officer in the lesser areas of Chicago. He and my mother ran away from New York to elope and lived in the dingier regions of Chicago for five years. Mother slowly became resentful, however, of her new life, and, as her attention span is the size of a peanut, she immediately rechanneled it towards Philip, Mr. Step-father. I have nothing against Philip, other than the fact that he broke up my family. Charlie, my kind, loving father, whom I love dearly but don't see often, is still living in that tenement house on Turner Street.
Philip, a well-known attorney, loved my mother dearly, and she him, but I have never forgiven them for what they did to Charlie. I mean—its so pathetic that I even call him "Charlie," because I never see him enough to call him "dad" and the only thing I ever hear him referred to as in our house (no, not home) is "Charlie." Stupid habits….
The only thing that has come out of this arrangement is that Mother is happy, and I have a very good life, materialistically speaking. The only thing I lack is a mother who thinks about people's feelings rather than their social standing, and a father nearby. I still sneak out whenever I can, but with "afternoon teas, balls, coming-out parties, and luncheons with those delicious cucumber
sandwiches" (as my mother would say oh so enthusiastically, too enthusiastically for common sense) I never have the time. Its not like I want to do it, I don't really have choice. When I was fourteen, I told Mother that I wouldn't go to another tea, because I had taken enough of that crap. Shocked at my use of language, she fainted and when she came to with the aid of smelling salts, (big load of rubbish in my opinion. I've seen and heard quite a bit for my age and haven't swooned yet) she began to sob her heart out about how I was letting her down and blahblahblah. It was heart-wrenching, and even though we had absolutely nothing in common, I still loved her for all her faults. Strange, how family love works that way.
Well, now back to my thrilling walk with Edward. The wind continued to make my hair dance along my face and neck. I devoted my thoughts to nature, and how soothing and calming it was. The sun almost never shone here: the smoke and gaseous waste of the factories saw to that, and blocked the only thing that truly gave me energy, for I was always calm on cloudy days. Sunny days were a different story. I'll let you know what happens next time there is one.
Left, right, left, right. Two sets of feet walking simultaneously and in perfect rhythm the exact same way. I tripped on something so as to break the rhythm of our steps. It kept things remotely interesting. It's another one of those stupid habits: conveniently being clumsy.
"Are you alright?" Edward asked, catching my hand and looking at me with…was that a look of genuine concern?
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you," I gave him a reassuring but empty smile. His face became as emotional as a blank slate again. I studied it for a second. I often did this to other acquaintances, and I'm fairly certain they were always wondering why I was staring at them with a quizzical and curious expression on my face. Oh, there he goes, he glanced at me. I blinked. His eyes were a stunning green, and he really was handsome. I always had wondered why my "friends" were always talking about Edward Masen and giggling whenever he walked by. I guess I'd just always thought of him as a awkward teenager just like me, but when I took a good look at him, his features were well developed and handsome. In fact, I had never seen anyone with such passion behind those green irises as he did, and that was part of the aura about him.
Nah, he's just another boy.
"Why are you staring at me?" he asked curiously.
Ahhhh, time to snap back to present. "I'm trying to see who you really are." Hey, at least I was being honest.
"Found anything interesting?"
"I have several interesting theories about you."
"Pray tell, what are they?"
"I'll let you know if they're true."
I could hear him sigh.