It was snowing. I sighed happily, embracing the milk coloured flakes that drifted so gently from the orange tinted sky. My jacket and head were covered in snow; I ran my hands through my hair, enjoying the spiky, wet feel. There was a vigorous, icy wind blowing steadily at my face and the temperature was in the minuses- but of course I didn't feel the cold. In fact, this was just my kind of afternoon. Or evening. I automatically glanced down at my watch: 5 o clock. Carlisle would want me home soon, I guess. I shook my head, thinking back to how worried he always got when I drifted off by myself. " I know you're trying, Emmett. But you're still not... practiced. Never forget, even the most dedicated vegetarian dreams of meat."
Practiced? I snorted, kicking a pile of snow out of the way for good measure. Of course I was practiced. I'd been practicing for more than 35 years, living on nothing but irritated grizzly. I wasn't stupid; I'd always known what a disaster it would be to attack a human, even when I had at first found it almost impossible to resist them. Adjusting had been hard, but I'd always known I wasn't like those kinds that would just drink whatever blood they could find. That's why I had joint Carlisle's family, wasn't it? Because I was different.
The sun was beginning to set now, casting artless shadows down the empty road. It was still snowing, but a lot less than before- the snowflakes were smaller now, more watery. I looked up in admiration, secretly fascinated by their delicate beauty.
A lone flake drifted onto my eyelash, temporally clouding my vision. I lifted my hand to brush it away- and froze. Something was wrong. Wolves? I sniffed the air. No- something else. Something that made my nose tickle as I breathed it in. Something that made my mouth moisten involuntarily. A scent.
I glanced around, surprised that something was making me this hungry. There was definitely no bears around, and no human had ever smelt this good. I frowned, looking up and down the road, trying to identify where the aroma was coming from. The street was lined with houses, all seemingly empty. I peeked inside the one nearest to me anyway, wondering if it was even someone's cooking; not that that was possible.Human food was gross, tasteless at best. No, this was unique.
I continued walking, slightly more slowly than before. The smell seemed to be getting stronger, a kind of syrupy, rich smell that made my mouth water. I lifted my nose unintentionally, letting it lead me down the street until the smell became almost unbearably sweet, almost too much to handle, until-
" Bye, Dad!"
I almost fell over as a door to my immediate right opened, and a girl stepped out. I was across the road hidden behind a car before she had even shut the door; but the smell, even from so far away, hit me like a moving train. It was incredible- to say it was appetizing was an understatement. I had never smelt anything so delectable, so amazingly divine before. It was delicious. And it was coming straight from this meaningless, unaware little girl.
Who the hell was she though? I peeked out from behind the car, unable to contain the animal hunger that was beginning to boil up inside me. The girl had begun to walk away from her house, wrapping a light blue scarf around her bare neck- for now it weakened her tantalizing scent, which I was grateful for. In terms of looks, she was remarkably average. Her dirty blonde hair was chin length and unkept, her body tall and waif-like. She wore hot pants despite it being cold for her kind, although in general she dressed typically for the 70's. As a human, I would never have found anything special about her- but as a vampire I felt an unbelievable, almost delirious seduction to her. She overpowered my senses, I couldn't breathe in without being overcome by her sweet flowery scent. I craved her.
Hungrily, instinctively, my tongue flicked out, tasting the air. I had never experienced anything like this before. How could anything smell this good?
She turned right and began to walk briskly down the road. Without even thinking I began to follow her, keeping close to the shadows. Warning lights began flashing in my head as I followed her into the growing darkness- my parents wouldn't approve of this. Esmes' disappointed face flashed in my minds eye and I almost turned around then and there. But I was hungry. And, of course, I was only pursuing the girl to find out more about her, nothing else.
She turned a corner and I silently stalked her, shivering in anticipation as she made her way towards a narrow, isolated alleyway. Secretly, I knew I was playing a very dangerous game with myself. There was no way I could hurt my family by harming this person… even though her neck smelt really, REALLY good. I wondered what my brothers would do in my situation. Jasper would be more understanding, but Edward would cringe if he saw what I was doing, being the most practiced. Practiced Emmett, remember? I thought bitterly.
She was now at the mouth of the alleyway, with me at her heels. A sudden gush of air blew, causing her hair to swirl around her head as she pulled her jacket closer- but that did it for me. Her scent blew straight into my face, blinding my morality. Esmes' face reappeared in my mind, and torn between the duty to protect my family and craving, I let out a frustrated grunt.
The girl instantly froze. I stopped, unable to move.
After a few seconds, without even turning around, she began to walk again, even quicker than before, her hand tightening into a fist. She was pretending she hadn't heard me, but I knew she had; I could smell her growing fear clouding the atmosphere and I was horrified to find it made me grin. She knew I was after her- it was too late to turn back now. I was the predator, and she knew she was my prey. It gave me a twisted sense of sick excitement. I hunted her, relentlessly, and relished every second.
The Emmett I had thought I was fell away as I gave in to instinct.
She walked even faster and I followed her, my hunger almost driving me insane. I wanted to take things slowly, wanted to enjoy the inevitable end. I had hunted bears like this, working them up- high emotion always made blood thicker, more enjoyable. She began to breathe rapidly, almost running now, as I glided after her easily. She tightened the hold on her handbag, and I almost laughed. I needed more than just money.
" What do you want from me?"She stopped but didn't turn around. Her lyrical voice was terrified but steady. To my surprise, hearing her voice slowed me down. I stopped a distance behind her.
She spoke clearly. "If you want my bag, take it. Just leave me alone."
I found it hard to speak. " I don't want your bag."
"Then what do you want?" she asked, her voice breaking.
I struggled to express myself. "You," I managed in a strangled voice.
Slowly, she turned around. She was about 18, possibly older. Her eyes were a brilliant hazel and overflowed with tears; to my surprise, her sadness actually made me sad. As my more human instincts returned to me, her life was spared for just abit longer.
Now that I'd seen her face up close, along with her scent, it carried my breath away. What was this feeling? Her features were ordinary, but something stronger than mere attraction made me gawk at her everyday perfection, gave me a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. "Please," she begged, "Please don't hurt me like that."
"No, I don't want that," I said hastily, realising what she thought I was. "I just want you."
She put her head on one side and looked at me with big puppy dog eyes. If I had a heart, it just might have skipped a beat. "But why?"
The answer came so naturally I wondered why I had not realised before. "Because I love you."
Snowflakes settled in her wild hair as she looked at me. Precious seconds ticked by.