"You don't know how long I've been waiting for you."
~Edward Cullen – Twilight
…
~Edward POV~
I swore to myself I wouldn't kill another human. I owe it to Carlisle for saving me from death – technically anyway – and I don't want to turn into one of the monsters everyone's so afraid of. And I can't believe that I'm actually overcome by one woman's mere presence! I want to bite her so badly, she smells so good… Goddammit!
"Edward, did you hear a word I just said?!" My "sister" Alice waved her hand in my face as if she was trying to be a five-year-old again.
"Uh… No…?" I laughed a little bit, hoping that she would take time to say what she had said again whenever I wasn't distracted.
"Ugh!" Alice threw her hands up in defeat and pointed a very slender finger right in my face. "You can read my mind, I know you can, but you have to pay attention to what people are saying sometimes instead of just what they're thinking!"
I laughed nervously this time, knowing that I would soon regret what I'm about to say. "I wasn't really paying any attention to your thoughts either."
"ARGH!!!!!" She put her hands on her head as trying to rid herself of a headache – which would be impossible because she's a vampire, like me, and can't get headaches, only blocks in her vision.
"What's had you so distracted lately, Edward?" My "brother" Jasper asked. (Him and Alice are a couple, it's weird to see one without the other, which is incredibly rare.)
I shrugged, glad that I was the only one in this small circle sitting on the grass in front of our schoolhouse who could read minds. Unfortunately…
Alice stared straight forward blankly for a total of maybe thirty seconds. I decided it was a good idea to pay attention to her thoughts this time, so I concentrated specifically on her.
…
I approached a young girl with long dark brown hair and wearing a long dark red dress – much like the one Alice is wearing right now – and stopped in front of her. "Hi."
She looked up at me with frightened sapphire eyes. "Um, hi."
I smiled politely and held out my gloved hand for her to shake. "I'm Edward Cullen. You are?"
She shook my hand tentatively. "Johanna Shaw. It's, um, good to meet you…?"
I continued smiling as I pulled my hand away, knowing that if she held it for too long, she'd feel the cold stiffness underneath the glove.
…
Alice looked at me like I was the biggest idiot in this world. "You're turning into a lecher!" She said in a shocked voice.
"I am not!" I argued in my defense.
My second "sister" Rosalie – called Rose for short – looked between Alice and me. "Our brother is becoming a lecher how?"
"I am not becoming a lecher!"
"Quiet, Edward, so I can tell them!" Alice scolded me as if tired with it – can't blame her either, I've been doing this a lot lately. "I saw Edward in my vision this time. He's going to go introduce himself to that Johanna girl. I wish I could read his mind to know just what he's going to do once he gains her trust, but I don't need to read minds, or see the future to know how this will turn out. It'll be just like last time."
"In my defense, I didn't realize that girl last time had been imprinted by one of the mangy mutts!"
And lastly, my second "brother" Emmett started to just roar with laughter. "Regardless of that, you shouldn't have told her the secret until Carlisle or Esme had approved." (Him and Rose are together and it's just as weird to see them separate like when Alice and Jasper are apart.)
"I agree with Emmett." Jasper nodded. "It's true that I managed to calm her down enough to where she didn't tell her 'imprinter' our location, but they do know we exist."
I crossed my arms over my chest in a slightly childish way. I hated when they brought that up, it's always annoying. I had made one little mistake by letting a young girl that a werewolf had imprinted know that my family and myself were vampires. Luckily, Jasper was nearby and managed to calm her down before she ran off and told "the pack". They know we exist and that's the extent of it, but none of them will ever let me forget, even if I live to be one thousand.
The bell in the wooden one-room schoolhouse rang loudly, signaling us to go back inside for the remainder of the day.
Emmett sighed. If there was one thing he hated, it was probably sitting behind the small desk that was half his size and learning about stuff we've learned over and over again. But, we have to keep going to school to keep up the human façade.
I looked over at small brown-haired, blue-eyed, pale girl in the red dress as she stood up from talking with her friends. "Johanna…" I mumbled softly, forgetting until that moment that Emmett, Rose, Alice, and Jasper could hear me.
Alice giggled as Emmett laughed loudly again. Both were enjoying my little moment of self-conflict as heart was starting to win over common sense.
I ignored them and their laughter as I strolled gracefully over to where Johanna was walking. I stopped in front of her. "Hi."
…
~Johanna POV~
I stopped instantly the moment I saw the perfect, lean figure of Edward Cullen standing in front of me. I barely even heard him as he said, "Hi." Somehow, I managed to gather enough courage to look up at his beautiful golden-brown eyes and reply:
"Um, hi." God, I must sound like such a frightened child right now! I mean, I should be anyway, Edward is actually talking to me! Okay, I have to act indifferent! Be indifferent!!! …This isn't going to work; I know it's not.
He smiled politely and held out a gloved hand for me to shake. "I'm Edward Cullen. You are?"
I shook his hand tentatively, scared to even think that this god could really want anything to do with me. "Johanna Shaw. It's, um, good to meet you…?"
He continued smiling as he pulled his hand away quickly, almost like touching me had scalded his hand through the glove. Okay, maybe he thought talking to me would be a good idea but has changed his mind. That would be a good thing, then I could go on without freaking out anymore.
"I was wondering if I could escort you back inside, miss Shaw. I would be happy if you would allow me that." Edward said through a completely genuine smile. He didn't seem nervous, or was acting like someone on a dare; he was being completely sincere.
I smiled softly and took his arm – he had it held out for me to grab onto if I had decided to allow him to escort me. As we walked into the schoolhouse, I felt every eye in the room – including that of the teacher – on us. My face started to burn with embarrassment. This wasn't such a good idea! I don't do well with people staring! (Okay, so a few girls were glaring, but they were still pretty much staring!)
Over in the far corner, the way Edward walked after taking me to my seat, his brother Emmett was all but rolling on the floor with laughter. That just made my face completely flush red. I was glad that all the eyes were away from me and on the teacher, who was trying to teach over Emmett's laughter, but I was still completely embarrassed. After all, I hadn't considered the consequences of being escorted into the schoolhouse by Edward. I guess I probably should've thought about that, but the moment was too good to pass up. I just reacted like any sane woman would have.
Oh well, I'll deal with it later. Right now, though, I need to concentrate on the teacher. My grades aren't the best, so I need to pay special attention to this lesson.
I sighed as quiet as I could, but for some reason when I looked over, Edward and his sister Alice were both looking at me. I turned my head back to the front of the room; I knew my face was red again. What did I do to deserve such weirdness today? What?
…
Sorry that Johanna's POV wasn't very long, but the next chapter will pick up with her POV to start with, I promise!
