AN: Alright! First chapter posted! My first fanfic ever, I'm so proud lol. I've always loved writing, and this seemed like a good chance to do it publicly. I wanted to post it before someone else came up with the same idea :P I love Twilight; it's one of the most brilliant books ever. I've read it so many times, I've lost count. Of course, I can't compare to the genius of Stephanie Meyers, so this story will only be a shadow of what hers was. That fact aside, I'll try to make this story as interesting as I can. Constructive criticism welcome, I know that I have a lot of brushing up to do. Also, I may owe you a little comment/warning. Everyone knows how annoying it is to read cliffy's, and everyone hates it when that happens. I know, because it happens to me all the time. I have found though, that cliffy's are extremely… fun to write. I'll be doing that a few times (not out of the pure evilness of my heart), so you're forewarned ;)
I thought that this would be my second fanfic, but I stopped writing my AF one when I had a sudden writer's block and have no desire to continue it. First few chapters are just fluff, but we all like fluff, so it's not a problem, right? ;) I didn't go into too much detail :P chapters will be around 3k – 4k words each, to make an average length read, some in Bella's PoV, and some in Edward's when they're apart. I know that a lot of stories have Edward/Alice dragging Bella shopping, and I found it interesting, so I'll be mentioning it a little. Just a very little though, I promise I won't go too much into detail, since I'm not too much of a shopping fan myself. It'll take a few chapters to get to the actual plot of the story – which you would have all guessed what it is by now, I summarize so well x) – but I won't let it get boring (I have some sub-plots planned)…
Enjoy, and review!
Thanks to:
Stephanie Meyers – for sharing such a special story like Twilight with the world
My English teacher – I know, hard to believe, but out of all people she helped me improve my writing the most
Anonymous friend – If it weren't for the joy of teasing you, I wouldn't have put so much effort into Twilight Thanks for putting up with me x)
Mum – For buying Twilight for me, even though it cost $22-
Disclaimer: -hangs head- I'll fess up. Nothing here belongs to me, unless of course I decide to introduce a few characters ;) I'll say which ones… sooner or later
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter One
My Angel
Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep, Beep!
The alarm went off, the familiar but still annoying electronic sound uncomfortably shrieking in my ear. I mumbled something to myself, still hovering in that limbo that made me still half unconscious, reaching out to slap the snooze button, my arm muscle straining. It was too early… but I was already awake now, so I decided to open my eyes.
It was one of those rare sunny mornings in Forks. The sunlight made a nice change to the usually dingy grey sky, radiating through my window, letting a soft golden glow spill onto my bed, filtering the air so that I could see hundreds and thousands of little dust mites that danced in the morning air.
I closed my eyes again anyway, breathing deeply, rubbing my eyes groggily, turning over in my warm bed, stretching my stiff arm and leg muscles that had been used too much the previous day. I winced slightly as a jabbing pain in my side indicated a muscle making its discomfort known.
There was a slight squeak as an extra weight was added to my bed, and a smile crept over my features as those familiar marble arms slipped around my waist, and I felt cool hands brushing my hair back. I took a risk and inhaled, making sure that Edward's scent still making me go dizzy.
Well, no changes there.
"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." His soft voice said in my ear, and I heard the smile in it.
"Good morning, Prince Charming." I whispered back, my voice slightly sarcastic, but my heart beating ecstatically as it did every morning in his presence.
I rolled onto my back, eyes still closed, stretching and muffling a yawn. Edward pinned my arms down just as I started to retract them, and bent his face down to mine, brushing his cold lips along my face, before kissing me lightly on the side of my neck, his soft cool fingers tracing the length of my arms. I laughed shakily, exhaling loudly, meanwhile reminding myself that I had to breathe.
Finally, when I opened my eyes, Edward's golden ones were held about an inch from my face, soft and with a little bit of humor in them. My breath caught in my throat – no matter how long I look at him, his perfection still seemed unreal for me.
He let me go, and I finished my stretching.
"Thank God that it's the holidays." I murmured, turning to face him, laying my hand on his chest. I could spend all day lying here with him, and there wasn't the school factor to drive me away from the thought.
"Actually, if you can believe it, we should thank the teachers." His voice said somewhere from above my head, his fingers stroking my hair softly.
I scowled. It was just like him, prove me wrong. Just as I started getting up, Edward suddenly got off my bed and was standing at my cupboard door, which he promptly threw open and glared at its contents critically. I propped myself up on an elbow, staring at him, forgetting to get out of bed.
I watched him silently, but when he started rifling through my clothes, I had to speak up. I started with the cough-to-get-attention, and then spoke.
"Ahem. What are you doing, exactly?"
"I am…" I could barely see him. It looked like he was being buried under an avalanche of my clothes. I myself never knew that he had that much. But that might wholly be Alice's fault; she had filled my usually spacey wardrobe over the space of one night that I had been away, when I wasn't there to interrupt her 'fun'.
Edward finished his sentence. "… Looking for clothes you have that I haven't seen you wearing before."
I rolled my eyes, getting out of the bed. I walked over to him, putting my hands on my hips. "You make me sound like I'm poor or something." I complained, trying to push my jacket back onto the hook, but as soon as that one was back another one had fallen into my arms. "And it's not like Alice hasn't filled my wardrobe to bursting point every time I'm away."
"Well…" Edward said, and then suddenly he heaved, and my clothes all slipped back into their places. I just stared, something that I found myself doing more and more lately. He plucked the jacket from my arms, putting it in its right place. "Alice said that your wardrobe is too small, and she always wanted an excuse to personally take you on a shopping spree." He said, with a cheeky grin.
"Excuse me?" I spluttered. The memory of Alice trying to dress me up for prom still haunted me. If she had her hands on me while surrounded by clothes…
Edward looked at me skeptically. "You cannot honestly tell me that out of all the things that should frighten you; you're scared about what Alice would do to you if you two went shopping?"
I just pouted. "She'll probably make me wear stilettos or something, and even dress me up in another dress like the one she forced me into at prom. My leg has just healed you know, tripping over wisps of silk or even my own shoes won't help me stay accident free." I said snippily, sticking my leg out from under the cover as if that would somehow prove something. All it did was give my leg unnecessary chills. I quickly pulled it back under the warm covers again.
Edward flashed to my side, gathering he up in his arms. "Would I let you break your other leg?" he whispered into my ear, but I tried pushing him away.
"Who knows what you'll do to me." I grumbled.
His laughter rang through the air, and I turned, intending to stalk away but my leg still slightly weak, having been out of the cast for a little less than two weeks. Before I could blink Edward had scooped me up in his arms, carrying me smoothly down the stairs.
I felt like I was gliding on water, but I protested nevertheless. He put one hand gently over my mouth, carrying all my weight with one arm and didn't give any hint that I was weighing him down. I quieted immediately, and we were at the kitchen in a few seconds. He plopped me down, before bringing me a plate laden with food and emitting aromas that made my mouth water.
I knew that I did it a lot, but all I could do was stare at the full plate, trying not to inhale the delicious smells around me. Instead, I looked up at him, miffed.
Edward seemed surprised at my reaction. "Don't you like it?" His voice sounded a little hurt, his alabaster brow furrowing.
"You just had to do it, didn't you?" I complained, but, to my extreme embarrassment, the smell from the loaded plate made my stomach grumble.
"Do what?" He still looked genuinely confused.
"Do everything better than me!" I pouted, but I started picking hungrily at the plate anyway, regardless of my brief irritation.
Edward's eyes cleared, his worried look disappearing. He chuckled, and I tucked in, despite my indignation. It was all delicious, of course. I even ate the chocolate muffin, and I didn't usually eat chocolate at breakfast.
He watched me with a smug expression on his face, and after I finished, I pushed back my plate, still trying to look indignant. I don't need to mention the fact that I failed. He took my now empty plate, taking it to the sink. He knew my morning routine as well as I did now, especially because he watched me eat everyday, hiding in the corners from Charlie when he was here.
"So what's on for today?" I asked innocently. Edward tossed the plate into the air, then caught it with one hand. I raised an eyebrow.
He had lately taken to taking me out to a different place everyday. If it was with anyone else I'd be bored stiff by the car ride, and be too annoyed to actually enjoy the place we were supposed to reach, but with Edward's lunatic driving and Edward himself, I usually found myself stepping out of the car when I felt like I had just stepped in.
Yesterday, for example, he had taken me hiking, again. He said that it would help he exercise me said that it would help he exercise my leg muscles. If it were anyone else, I would've vehemently refused, and would've cuffed myself to the table if they had insisted. Edward though, only had to turn his eyes on me, utter one 'Please', and I would go along meekly with him to anything, even if it were to another prom. He would always get his way when he cheated like that. We left early morning, and he had taken me to the place were we would usually get to his meadow. This time however, we took the thin, almost nonexistent trail, and it took almost half the morning, despite our early start. Edward would've carried me on his back, but I had refused his own 'method' of travelling. Now, however, I was regretting it. I shifted slightly in my chair, wincing again at the protest of stiff muscles that had been used.
Edward watched me trying to rotate my shoulders without pulling something, before considering my question. He surprised me by shrugging. "Like I said, Alice wanted to do something… special with you today." He said, looking perfecting innocent, but his eyes were playful. I crossed my arms.
"I'm not going anywhere with her alone." I refused stubbornly, all the time knowing that Alice, or more importantly, Edward would always get their way in the end.
Edward turned to me, leaning against the kitchen bench. "Trust me, if I could go with you, I would, but Alice was really… fierce about going alone with you." He grimaced, but this time I was the one who grinned.
"Can't talk past your sister, can you?" I stood up gingerly as he scowled at me.
"Well I guess then you'd like to go shopping with her."
"Yeah, hm, I wonder when that would happen. Maybe in a thousand years?" I walked around the table. "Oh, wait, better make that a million. How long do vampires live for anyway?"
Edward's eyes turned amused. "Longer than you need to know."
I scowled at his evasive reply. "What, still waiting for me to go running and screaming? I've hopped right past that stage, thank you very much."
He stared at me for a while longer, and I felt my annoyance disappear. How could I possibly feel annoyed with those eyes? He walked to me, placing his hands on my shoulders. I felt extremely weak.
"I believe you have hopped over that stage as well." He said, and I looked at him in amazement. "But that doesn't mean that you don't have other stages to skip past."
I tried shrugging his shoulders off. No use, of course. "What other stages?"
"How about the Trying-Not-to-Fall-Over stage?"
"That's not funny." I snapped. He just grinned at me.
"Go get dressed. She's waiting for us at the mall." He ordered, walking to the bench again.
I knew he was trying to change the subject. "What makes you think that I'll volunteer to do anything that's leading to agony?" As soon as I said it I regretted it.
As I knew they would, Edward's eyes hardened, but he just repeated what he said. I knew what had made his mood change. I had been pestering him for months now to change me. Of course, he had stubbornly refused each and every time, and his mood instantly turned black when it was mentioned, even vaguely.
I sat for a moment longer, debating about if I should stay and argue with him or just go upstairs, but Edward sensed my hesitation and he was having his way. Turning his scorching golden eyes on me, Edward stepped closer, running one finger down my neck. I felt my resolve instantly disappear, and I slid upstairs meekly.
I stood, and like Edward looked critically at my wardrobe. As much as I hated to admit it, he was right. Of course I did still had clothes that he hadn't seen me wear, but that was only because Forks weather was too cold to even think about wearing a tank top or shorts. I saw the weather outside was still sunny, only one layer of wispy clouds that still hovered above the treetops, but I didn't think it was warm enough to wear anything but jeans.
As for the top, I would be a little daring. I put on a sleeveless shirt, with sketchy flower prints that was splashed across it from the top left hand corner. I was about to turn to go downstairs, but I chickened out and grabbed my jacket, slipping my arms into it, before bouncing down the stairs, back into the kitchen.
I found Edward leaning against the kitchen bench, staring out of the window. The mild sunlight sent his flawless skin glittering softly, and I couldn't help but marvel at him. After what seemed like an age, I hadn't moved an inch, and he turned his head to look at me. I quickly faced down, embarrassed, by cheeks of course, flushing.
I heard his quiet laugh and then he was next to me, pulling me towards the door. Of course, I had no choice to follow. We walked to his car, which he promptly started and we hurtled down the driveway. I closed my eyes.
"There's just no possibility that you could ever want to drive slowly, is there?" I muttered.
I heard him laugh quietly, his hand taking mine.
"Bella, Bella, Bella… How many times have I told you that you don't need to worry about my driving? I am accident free, unlike yourself." He boasted playfully.
I scowled at him. "And how many times have I told you that I do worry about your driving?"
Edward pretended to think for a moment, turning his golden eyes back to the road. I sneaked a peak under my lashes, and saw that we were just exiting Forks. Already. I shifted uncomfortably in the leather seat.
"About the same." He admitted.
We drove on in silence, with me slowly opening my eyes, still not trying to look out the window or at Edward's face. I stared at my lap, entwining my fingers, fidgeting with the zipper on my jacket. Unreasonable electricity sparked at my fingers, I couldn't seem to stay still. I felt annoyed, irritated, thrilled, and those combined emotions made me hyper. He caught my hand just as I started zipping and unzipping my jacket. I looked up into his amused golden eyes.
"Bella, what are you doing?"
I dropped my eyes, and he pulled one of my hands free again, pulling it up to use the back of my hand to touch his cheek. I felt my stomach knot up as it did every time I touched him, so I let my eyes wander out the window. All I saw was a curtain of green foliage, sliding by so fast that the trees seemed to blend into each other. I decided that it would be better if I looked away.
Instead my eyes drifted to his face – all the worse for me. He turned his beautiful golden eyes to me, they were surprisingly gentle. I stared back – forgetting that when he was looking at me, he wasn't looking at the road.
Only when I started to blush did I look away. Too soon the car stopped at the Cullen's gorgeous mansion, and Edward flashed to my side of the car, opening the door for me. I was so accustomed to his inhuman speed, I barely noticed it.
"I can walk now, you know." I told him as I stepped out, ignoring his outstretched hand, and immediately narrowly avoiding twisting my ankle on a pebble.
Edward smirked at me, walking over and taking my head in his hands. "That doesn't stop you from trying to break your leg again every other second." He whispered into my ear.
I just stood there, frozen, feeling his fingers dance lightly over my jacket, with just enough weight that I could feel his cool fingers tapping down my spine as he touched his cold lips gently to mine. My own hands were ridiculously limp on his chest, but sooner than I'd have wished he pulled away, releasing my head but taking my hand as we started to walk up the grassy slope.
"Why are we coming here?" I asked, after a minute of collecting my jumbled thoughts. "I thought you said Alice was waiting for us at the mall. Unless you're planning to sabotage her plan…?" I added, too scared to be hopeful.
Edward shrugged, but I caught a sly glint in his eye. "Alice had a change of plans I think."
I squinted at him suspiciously. "I'm sure I'm going to regret this." I muttered under my breath, mostly to myself as the house door approached even closer. It loomed ahead rather menacingly, twice the size of my door back at Forks.
Of course he heard my little remark, even though I barely heard it myself. Edward's hand tightened around mine, his cool touch rubbing the back of my hand, trying to calm me down, even though he was smirking. I wondered briefly what Alice was thinking, but I couldn't help but relax at his tough though, which was as good as Jasper's strange gift, but it didn't help my mind constantly worrying about my fate for the day.
I felt my sense of foreboding increase as we approached the house, and as if to encourage my feeling, the sky darkened, hiding the sun behind a layer of thick grey clouds that wasn't there this morning. My apprehension must've shown on my face. I saw Edward glance at me, and then widen his smirk.
"This is the only time you've approached this place with the proper look on your face." He remarked, still smirking.
"Oh, ha ha ha," I retorted, my voice sarcastic. "I suppose it's the best thing in the world, isn't it, if I were frightened of you."
"Well it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world now, would it?" he murmured softly, almost as if to himself. I wondered if he meant for me to hear it. Then he turned to me, his mood deliberately bright. "Not to say that it isn't more than a bit amusing." Edward added, a wicked smile playing around his lips.
I refused to let him change the subject. "I'm not giving up on this and you know it." I said between clenched teeth.
"I have no idea what you mean." He said, even though his stride become a little longer and his body tenser as soon as the words were out of his mouth.
"You know exactly what I mean." I frowned at him, feeling a slight edge of annoyance creep into me. Ever since that he had found that I wouldn't change my mind about it, Edward had begun ignoring me every time the subject was cropped up, or if that failed changing the subject. And when he turned his eyes on me, he was usually get his way.
Edward turned, his golden eyes turning a shade darker even as I watched, but still managing to effectively smolder at me. I let the subject drop, walking along meekly as he pulled me towards the door. It would take more than that to make my annoyance disappear though.
"Cheater…" I muttered under my breath, deliberately making my footsteps long and slow. He noticed the change in my pace as I got dragged along behind him, trailing further and further behind. He turned to me, slightly exasperated.
"Bella, can you just please go along with this?"
I set my mouth, not willing to answer, keeping my eyes determinedly away from his face. He wasn't having it. Taking my face in his hands, Edward forced my eyes to meet his. I swear that I saw the gold swirling in them. However, as strong as my will was, it didn't stand a chance against him. I felt myself crumbling in his hands, and nodded submissively, even though I was still annoyed. Edward smiled, kissing me softly before turning to the front of the house.
I scowled at Edward, but he ignored me, leaving me to scowl at his back as he reached out one pale, no longer glittering hand to open the front door. With a soft sigh, it swung open.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: I spent about two hours adding words to this so it could be long enough… lol. 3000 seems to be pretty short, but I couldn't think of anything else. I promise the next chapter will be longer, but I might drag it on to enhance your image of me x) lol. I finished this one at 1am in the morning… I had the clock next to me
As I said, please review. Even if it's just three words saying 'I read it' would be nice. Also, as I said, constructive criticism wanted! Praise is good too ;)
xx Athemia