A.N: Welcome, old friends and new!
Yeah, so it's been a while... I said like 3 days and it's been longer. I'm not sure why, I just got weird jitters when I thought about uploading, so I didn't.
If you haven't read It's What Makes Us Human, this will not make sense.
No flamers, if you would please.
Chapter 1 - The Cullen's Easter
'Sometimes, you can believe that it's the end when, in reality, it's only the beginning.' - Anonymous
"Item unaccepted."
My fury was almost uncontainable as I stared at the self checkout machine in Walmart. I'd thought that it was a good idea, considering that I only had a packet of strawberry flavoured Pop Tarts to purchase, but apparently the self checkout was going to waste more of my time than queuing up like a normal person would. I'd thought that it was a good idea; how hard could it be, to just push an item over a scanner, then put it into a bag and pay?
Surely the job of the cashier wasn't that hard; I knew for a fact that you didn't exactly need amazing qualifications to apply. But the damned self checkout machine obviously hated me. Or maybe it was faulty; I didn't particularly care. It wasn't doing what it was supposed to do, which was grating on my already antagonised mood.
I brought the Pop Tarts back across the scanner, a little more swiftly than before. The machine beeped in protest, the blasé voice of the machine speaking up again.
"Item unaccepted."
A low, guttural snarl ripped from between my teeth, my form already shaking. I'd always managed fairly well with my werewolf temper, I'd always been the calm one of the Pack. I'd never endangered another human; I was one of the fastest to phase back after phasing for the first time. Even as a new wolf, I'd handled the anger part fairly well.
Now, it felt as if I was Paul; unable to control my temper and my reactions in turn as I clenched my fists and sucked in an even, ragged breath. Above all things, I knew that if I did phase in the middle of a shop, I would endanger myself; human scientists were too curious. I'd become the result of a lab experiment, sliced up into tiny pieces.
"Leah."
Instantly, my muscles relaxed and my hands fell limply at my sides. I heaved out a heavy sigh, leaning back into the cool, comforting arms of my husband. He didn't question my reaction; he already knew, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.
"You're incredibly intolerant lately," Edward told me, gently taking the Pop Tarts from my hands and moving them swiftly across the scanner. The machine beeped again; but this time, it was in acceptance.
"Item scanned."
I ground my teeth together in frustration, and Edward relinquished his grip around my waist, sensing that I needed space for the moment. His eyes were wary yet amused at the same time; lately, my short temper had been a source of humour for him.
"Why does it work for you?" I asked, as Edward swiftly put the Pop Tarts into a plastic carrier bag. He loped his arm through mine, and I leaned against him, more infuriated with the machine than Edward himself.
"You weren't doing it right," Edward said with a smirk. He surprised me by suddenly moving around and, rather than exiting the shop, walked back through the entrance.
"What're we doing?" I asked, confusion filling my words.
"Emmett asked me to pick up some Easter Eggs," Edward replied vaguely.
"Why?" I demanded.
"God knows," Edward replied, picking up a basket. "He asked for a few, though. Specifically requested Mars Bar and Lindor. He seems to think that you'd like some this year, though, considering that you downplayed Easter so much last year."
"I didn't want any chocolate," I said vaguely as Edward pulled some Mars Bar eggs from the shop shelf. He grabbed an unfamiliar Easter Egg, too; it was blue and green, with three bunnies inside. Lindor Bunny Egg, the box read.
Edward moved back to the self checkouts, with me in tow. I grumbled unintelligibly about the stupid machines, whilst Edward just smirked and scanned the four eggs. He shoved them into the same bag that contained my Pop Tarts.
I frowned and dug my hand into the bag, pulling my Pop Tarts to the top, and placing them carefully on top of the Mars egg. When Edward looked at me with one eyebrow raised questioningly, I simply said;
"I don't want them to get squashed," I defended myself as we climbed into the old Aston Martin. It was still gleaming, the engine still as enthusiastic as it was years ago, when I first met Edward.
It had been two years since Edward and I got married, and I was in my element. I'd always wanted to travel; I'd always felt trapped in La Push, and now, I could. We'd moved to Vancouver a couple of months ago, and the infamous Cullens were the talk of the town. We didn't live in Vancouver, just off of it - about five miles into the country. It was quiet, but I liked that. There was a house for all of us, and a few smaller cottages for us to live in privately. We were close enough to be near to one another, but far enough away to retain well needed privacy.
"We should go to Antarctica," I said.
"Antarctica?" Edward asked, amusement and shock filling his tone.
"Hear me out," I said as Edward turned out of the Walmart parking lot and made his way down the road. He put his foot down suddenly, and the car jolted forwards, the engine growling in enthusiasm. "Antarctica... It's cold, it's private, and I don't know, you could feed from penguins. We could save the polar bears..."
"Maybe we could take a holiday and go to Antarctica," Edward said, appeasing me. "Carlisle and Esme particularly enjoy Antarctica," he added.
"How come?" I asked. I was forever learning about the Cullens, and I often made Edward recount old memories... their lives were just so interesting. I didn't want to miss a thing.
"Carlisle has a very compassionate nature," Edward replied. "He and Esme particularly enjoy swimming with the polar bears."
I smiled. Carlisle and Esme were perfectly suited to one another.
Edward let out a groan suddenly. The smile fell from my face. He was looking straight ahead, a frown on his face.
"What's wrong?" I asked, concerned.
"You look so amazingly sexy when you smile like that," Edward replied, "and I can't kiss you when I'm driving..." I grinned.
"Sure you can't..." I leaned over, gently kissing him on the cheek.
He groaned. "Leah..."
I laughed. "Hold it in, Mr. Masen."
He threw me a level glare, before smiling and pushing the car to its limits as civilisation disappeared around us.
XXX
Mine and Edward's house was quite possibly the most beautiful piece of architecture that I had ever seen.
Esme was a genius; she had designed the house from scratch, planted ivy plants on the walls and painted the window sills a clear white. The house itself was made from grey stone, perfectly cemented together. On the left of the house, there was a tiny engraving in one of the stones, courtesy of Emmett. If you looked closely, you could read the message; Emmett woz 'ere.
I pulled out my silver house keys and jammed them into the lock, turning it quickly and finding the creak of the front door comforting. I entered the hallway, taking off my boots and putting them on the iron shoe stand - courtesy of Alice, of course.
The floor was wooden, slippery treads. It was deep brown, finely polished. The walls were painted a creamy white, with pictures of Edward and I on the walls. There were a couple of the whole Cullen family dotted around, too, as well as some of Rosalie's paintings.
Edward followed behind me, holding the Walmart bag. As always, we'd fought over who brought it inside, and Edward won. He was normally adamant, prepared to stand outside in the rain and argue about it. Normally, we had a mad race for the bag and dashed for the front door before the other could snatch it back. We were childish, ridiculous, but I thought it was fun, and so did Edward; or perhaps he was just insistent that I didn't carry anything.
I took off my coat and hung it up on one of the pegs, before trudging through the house into the lounge.
There was an old fashioned open fire in the centre of the wall, with an orange fire burning in the grate. A couple of black leather couches were set on the wooden floor, with a couple of armchairs, too.
Once there, I collapsed onto one of the couches, while Edward went to put the Pop Tarts away in the kitchen. He left the Easter Eggs in the bag by the door.
Edward came and sat beside me on the couch, suddenly picking me up and sitting me on his lap. I grinned at him, picking up my current book from the coffee table and opening it. Edward turned to the small flatscreen, turning it on with the remote and flicking onto the news.
"The news is depressing," I said.
"...Mother of four found seriously injured... critical condition... serial killer strikes again in LA... Series of robberies in Ottawa leaves police stumped..."
"You're right," Edward replied, reaching for the remote to turn the TV off.
After a couple of moments of silence, I frowned and chucked my book back onto the coffee table. I couldn't concentrate when I was sat on Edward's lap, knowing that he was analysing my every movement.
"Can we go upstairs?" I asked, curious.
Edward beamed toothily. "I thought you'd never ask."
XXX
"Helloooo? Anybody home?"
I'd heard Emmett and Rose pull up outside, both of them bickering quietly.
"Hi Em," I called from where I was curled up on the couch. Edward was in the kitchen preparing dinner; I was being lazy for once, and rather than arguing with him about who was going to bake as I normally did, I'd just allowed him to stand up and go cook.
"Hi Leah!" Emmett said, launching himself onto me and pulling me up into one of his bear hugs. He swung me around a couple of times, as if I was as weightless as a rag doll, before putting me back down on the couch. "And where is Eddie-Boy today?"
"Kitchen," I replied with a grin.
"Playing maid today Eddie?" Emmett called. A moment later, a random kitchen utensil - which happened to be a carving knife - was thrown towards Emmett. It bounced straight from him, cutting into his shirt but leaving Emmett himself completely unscathed. I looked down, seeing the bent blade of the knife on the ground.
"Edward Anthony Masen, you are replacing that knife," I called, not that bothered, but playing angry all the same.
"Yes Ma'am," I heard him reply.
"Dude, whipped," Emmett said under his breath.
"Emmett!" Rose interjected at this point. "Edward's just being a good husband. Apologise."
"Rosie..."
"Apologise."
"I'm sorry, Eddie."
I smirked.
"Dude, whipped," I repeated his earlier words, grinning at him tauntingly. Emmett shot me a death glare, before turning around and running a hand through his short black hair. He changed the subject.
"So, I hear you have some Easter Eggs with my name on them?" he asked conventionally.
"In the kitchen," I replied, gesturing. Rosalie sat down in the armchair opposite mine, looked at me with a calculating look looming in her eyes. I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Are you still coming over tomorrow, then?" Rose asked, after a slightly awkward pause.
"Of course," I replied. The next day was Easter Sunday, and Edward and I would be going to the Cullen's main household. The Denali Coven had been invited - I wasn't entirely sure why, but I had a feeling that Alice was using Easter as an opportunity to throw a party or something. I smiled slightly at the thought of seeing the Denali Coven, though.
Kate and I had bonded surprisingly well, considering our polar opposite personalities. While I was quietly happy, yet cynical, Kate was fun loving and very happy-go-lucky. In some ways, she reminded me of Seth.
And of course, there was Joe. The newly turned, erratic, Joe. Tanya's mate, Joe from the pub, bastard, even.
Joe was changed four years ago, just a few years after he first met Tanya. The two were polar opposites, but their relationship reminded me of Edward and mine. Both completely in love, fascinated with one another because they were so different. And Joe, predictably, was gifted. He possessed an exceptionally thick skin; he was a shield, according to Edward. When Kate tried to use her gift against him, the electrical current bounced straight from his skin and instead hit Eleazar. It made sense; when we met in the bar, and I threw insults at him, they just bounced off of him.
"Why does Emmett want easter eggs, anyway?" I asked, focusing on the present.
"God knows," Rose replied.
"I'm not getting involved." I chuckled.
"C'mon, Eddie!" I looked up, and Emmett had been thrown over Edward's shoulder. The sight was utterly ridiculous, considering how much bigger Emmett was than Edward. Edward's expression was unamused.
"No, Emmett," his tone was firm.
"Leah, do you want to get ha-"
A moment later, Edward had forcibly thrown his brother out of the house, and the door slammed behind him.
"Eddie," Emmett whined from behind the door like a petulant child. "Please."
"No."
"Leah..." Emmett began again.
"Fuck," Edward swore, a rare occurrence. "Emmett, get out of my house."
"I'm not in your house," Emmett pointed out, his tone triumphant.
"This is ridiculous!" Edward exploded. "My wife is not going to get hammered for no reason!"
I rolled my eyes. "Edward, calm down. I'm not going to get drunk and make a fool out of myself in front of a bunch of vampires."
Edward turned to smirk at me. "Atta girl."
I rolled my eyes again. Edward was fully against my drinking alcohol, but sometimes a drink was nice. I didn't really like or dislike alcohol; it was just there as an option.
"Hmph," Emmett pouted from outside.
"Rosie, can we go now?"
"No," Rose replied, grinning at me. I smirked in response as I heard Emmett's annoyed growl from outside.
XXX
A.N: So I got really inspired for the sequel and wrote up a bunch of chapters... I'm going to go and work on the wedding outtake: EPOV, and also E's birthday outtake too. Which one do you guys want first, and do you have any inspiring music for weddings/birthdays? Lemme know.
Next chapter preview:
Joe chuckled. "See, Em, I'm younger than you and I'm gentler," Joe hugged me lightly, barely even touching.
"Yes, but you're treating me like I'm some fragile doll," I said with a smirk.
Joe scowled. "My hugs are special."
Your thoughts/requests/music recs?