"Edward?" I called from the darkness of the room. I was certain I had felt his cold skin against mine just moments ago. He had been holding me tightly around the waist, but when I wanted to latch onto his cool stomach, all I got was the dry sheets of my bed.
Getting up from the bed hesitantly, I crept to the edge of my room where the door was. I quickly turned and went to the window. Looking out, I only saw the trees and the small garden below me. I suddenly grew worried. I hadn't found a note on the bed saying where he'd gone. Where was he?
"Bella?"
I jumped. He had appeared right behind me, looking a bit concerned that I wasn't in bed. I looked closer at him. He had a towel on his head. Had he just taken a shower?
Before I could say anything, he wrapped his arms around me and said, "I was only gone for a moment. And you just happened to awake during my absence."
I hugged him firmly, afraid that he had left me. I didn't want him to leave so quickly and I felt him bend over and kiss my head. I smiled up at him and then looked puzzled. "Uh…did you take a shower?"
Edward chuckled as he touched his towel briefly. "Looks that way, huh?"
His tone was odd in a way, almost like he was hiding something from me. As I stared at him more fervently, he sighed and pulled the towel from his head.
I gasped. I wasn't sure what else to do. There was nothing in the world that would have led to the conclusion that I was really seeing what I thought I was seeing. I clasped a hand over my heart. He must have heard it beating ten times its normal pace as I stared at him, almost too shocked to speak.
"Bella?" He asked, worried now. "Are you okay?"
I struggled to form words. "Y-Your hair!"
He flashed me a small grin as he asked playfully, "What do you think?"
I didn't know what to think. I couldn't think. My brain was crammed with the shock that still resided from seeing him without the towel.
"It's…green!" I exclaimed.
Edward laughed lightly as he touched a small bit of the bright green hair. "Does it suit me?"
I tried to remember to breathe. I suddenly couldn't feel my legs. They fell under me, but Edward was quick enough to catch me before I fell to the floor. He laid me on the bed as he sat next to me. I was still staring at his brightly colored hair. What had he done? What had happened to the beautiful bronze color I adored and loved? Did he hate it that much?
As soon as I regained my breath, I asked, "Edward, what happened?"
Edward then flashed me something in his left hand. It was a small container of some kind. When I looked at it carefully, I saw that it was a can of hair dye.
"I was being experimental." He said nonchalantly. "Jasper raided Alice's supply and wanted me to try it out."
Alice had hair dye products? This was news to me. I never thought the Cullens would branch out so much from their reserved and old-fashioned nature as to dye their hair various colors.
"Wait, why does Alice have hair dye?" I asked him, never remembering once when I'd ever seen Alice with a different shade than her brown hair that stuck out at angles.
"That's almost as rhetorical as asking why does Alice have so many clothes. She likes to shop. Surely you've noticed her take to beauty and fashion."
"But hair dye?" My mind still couldn't consume it. It was weird seeing my Edward with green hair, utterly shocking.
He laughed again as he kissed my cheek and said, "And you thought us vampires didn't fit in."
When had I ever said that? I mean, the pallid skin and the solitude must have been parts of it, but I never really said that he didn't fit in. If anything, he stood out more than anyone else I knew. I glanced at him uncomfortably now and he must have noticed my reluctance to cuddle next to him.
"You don't like it." He said plainly.
"No, I never said…" I bit my lip hard and thought of a good excuse, "I guess it just surprised me."
"It's not permanent, Bella." He assured me, his velvety voice taking on a very serious quality. "It washes out eventually."
"But green?" My mind would never get over the color choice. It would have been completely different if he had dyed it a dark rich brown or even a sandy blond. But the fact that he had dyed it a very unnatural hair color appalled me more than it seemed to appall him.
"Emmett dyed his blue and Jasper did his red." Edward said, as if those color choices were completely ridiculous compared to his.
I was still lost. "Why did you dye your hair, Edward?"
"I told you, I was being experimental." He said, though I could tell from his eyes that they didn't match with the rest of his face. There was another reason.
I waited. He didn't seem to want to go on, believing his explanation was enough. As he pulled me closer, I shrugged him off. He glanced at me questionably. "Bella, are you mad at me?"
"No…well, I just don't understand why you would just dye your hair like that. And green of all colors!"
"What's wrong with green?" He asked, pulling a strand down so he could examine it in detail.
"It's not natural, for hair that is. Plus, I thought you were too old-fashioned to even consider doing something this ridiculous." I said, thinking of everything that he had done up until now. Everything beside his fancy car seemed old-fashioned.
His eyebrows shot up in an exasperated grin as he said, "You consider this ridiculous? Next to some of the things you've done, I'd consider this fairly tame."
Shock was easily read on my face now. "What have I done that's more ridiculous than this?"
Edward smiled, "Please, Bella, I can name at least twenty things that would be considered ridiculous compared to a simple altering of hair color."
I couldn't help myself. "But it's green!"
Edward swiftly rolled his eyes as he suddenly stood up. "Do you want me to dye it back?"
I seemed confused. I grabbed for him and begged him to stay. I did prefer his bronze hair to this odd color that clashed with his golden eyes, but at the same time, I couldn't bear to have him leave me for another moment. Green hair or not, I wanted him to stay next to me. He lay back on the bed, choosing not to look at me. Was he mad at me now?
I hugged him gently and then stroked the green mass on top of his head. He looked up as he felt me touch his newly altered hair. It felt sticky still, like it hadn't really sunk in yet, but for some reason, I didn't seem to mind it. I could still see the auburn roots that were attached to his skull. After all, it's not as if it were permanent like he pointed out. It would fade eventually, and then he could have his usual bronze hair back.
"So, what brought this on?" I asked. I suddenly added, "And don't just say you were being experimental again."
He grinned as he said, "Jasper was holding a grudge against Alice over something that she wouldn't tell him for whatever reason. So, he decided to act against her and use some of her products. Emmett wanted to help and I somehow got involved. In a way, I guess you could say they dared me to do it. It's not like they could dare me to do anything, like get a tattoo or even pierce my ear, but I knew this wouldn't last forever, and it's not like I would be stuck with bright green hair for the rest of my life, so I figured, what the heck?"
I stared at him as he explained this to me. I still didn't really understand it. "But wouldn't Alice had known about you three using the dye?"
"Of course." Edward said, smirking. "That's what was so great about it. She saw that we would use her own products and she did nothing to stop us. I'm sure she's waiting back at the house with a camera or something to prove to everyone she knows that I had green hair at one point."
I tried to understand his logic in this whole thing, but it was overwhelmed by my heavy lids. Feeling his knotty hair was weird, but rather nice at the same time. Plus, it was so dark now that the color was hardly noticeable. I tried to imagine my Edward with the usual beautiful bronze hair. After all, that was one of the many features that made me fall in love with him. But the green haired Edward was almost a joke, a contradiction against all that seemed real. Was I dreaming? Not too sure, I pinched my arm and was upset when I found that nothing had changed.
I then felt his icy fingers against my face as he turned my head to look at his. I saw it now. The green mass of hair on top of my beautiful Edward's head. It didn't belong there. It belonged to someone who wasn't so inhumanly beautiful.
"Bella, if this is bothering you, I can wash it out. It'll only take a minute." He said, concern hinting in his golden eyes.
"It will?" I asked. It seemed like it would take longer to wash everything out, but then again, it was Edward.
He nodded, his eyes focusing on mine. He looked so serious that I hardly thought of the change in hair color as I stared at him, wanting nothing more than to kiss him now. But he had me at a distance and I wasn't getting any closer while he still thought I didn't approve of his hair change. Though, I had to admit it was rather shocking, it could have been worse.
"Hey, at least you still have hair. I was afraid you'd come back with it all shaved off." I reconciled.
He laughed and then said, "No, I can never change its length. The length it was when I was turned stays the same length. As much as I'd enjoy trying to grow it out, I know it's impossible. But this isn't."
"Because it doesn't affect anything but the color." I said, understanding.
He nodded, but lost his smile in the process. I tried complimenting him. "Hey, it could have been worse. You could have dyed it purple!"
His smile spread back on his lips as he responded, "Or orange."
I made a face, having a hard time imagining Edward with bright orange hair. It just didn't work. "Or yellow."
"Or even white."
I shuddered. He got me on all the wrong colors. Just the idea of Edward with white hair felt more like he was a grandfather more and more. He was one in his age. And yet, here he was with green dyed hair.
"Don't worry," he told me, "Like I said, it washes out easily and I don't intend to keep this unnatural color forever. I just wondered what you would think."
My reaction was pretty obvious so far. I didn't approve of the alteration, but then again, it wasn't as real as I had thought. If I thought of any other color, I would have thought blue would suit him more. The more I looked at him though, I realized his face hadn't changed a bit. The white marble face I fell in love with was still the same. The hair may have been a different color, but it didn't change the rest of him. If anything, it accented his golden eyes even more. I thought they had clashed, but even I didn't really understand what clashed and what didn't. Alice may have said otherwise, but the more I thought about the green hair, the more I thought it suited him. How strange.
"Well," I began, "at first it was a bit shocking in more ways than one, but now it kind of works with your eyes. I'm not sure how exactly, but it seems to me like you could dye your hair any color and still get away with dazzling me."
He then shot me his crooked smile and I knew it was true the moment I said it. Even with green hair, he still dazzled me.
"I'm glad you think that because Alice has some other colors too. I was thinking of doing a rainbow effect. What do you think?"
I stopped breathing for a moment, my eyes widening in almost horror. He then laughed and said, "Only joking. I wouldn't do that to you, unless you really wanted it."
I shook my head quickly, getting oxygen in my lungs again. "One color's good enough."
Edward wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. I reached up to touch his hair again and found that it felt less sticky now. It felt almost clean somehow. When glancing up at it, I could see the green color starting to settle in his hair, almost involuntarily. It gave me an uneasy feeling. What if it really did stay that way? Could I really imagine Edward with green hair the rest of my life, if not the rest of his existence? It seemed impossible and I didn't want to think about it.
He probably felt the tension in my fingers as I felt his head as he whispered, "What's wrong, Bella?"
"It won't settle in, will it? It kind of feels like it is." I said, worry hinting at my voice.
"It's fine. It usually does that, right?"
I wouldn't know. I've never dyed my hair. I didn't know too many other people who did it either. I shrugged under his grip.
"I can't have it forever, remember that. It will wash out and then I can go back to my usual color."
I smiled at the idea of Edward with his beautiful bronze colored hair back in place. The green just messed with my head. It made me both like and hate his appearance now. Though I could never fully hate Edward in any way, the green just accented something unpleasant, almost like a zit or something (not that Edward would ever have acne trouble).
"Will you change it back tomorrow?" I asked, trying not to sound too hopeful, but casual.
He hesitated as he said, "Would it bother you if I waited that long?"
I honestly didn't seem to mind now. He had made a bet with his brothers and I surely didn't want him to lose. "You can keep it in just to prove to them that you did it."
He knew who I was talking about and smiled. "I still think Jasper having red hair beats this." He pointed to his hair.
"I don't know about that. Plus, Alice would have to deal with that reality, not me."
"Ah, but she already knows how he looks. She's slightly reluctant to see him in person. She seemed to enjoy herself though seeing us all with different hair colors. It made Rosalie extremely jealous, considering she hasn't seen Emmett yet."
I was kind of surprised by that. I thought the other two would alter theirs at the house and Edward just did it here because that's where he's always been ever since he admitted he loved me. Now, it seemed like Jasper and Emmett were somewhere else, dying their hair away from their mates.
"Edward?" I asked hesitantly. "Why did you want to show me?"
Edward's face became still and I could tell he was thinking about the best way to say something. He then whispered, "I didn't know what to expect. I wasn't sure if you were going to be happy or upset about it. I just wanted to make a point about us, that's all."
"A point?" I sounded confused now.
He then explained, "If you were to get…experimental, would it change the way I see you now? I don't know. I couldn't bear to see you get obscure piercings or even a tattoo, but then again, if you wanted one, I would have supported you all the way. But altering even a bit of your appearance gets me worried. I don't want you to change, Bella. I love you the way you are right now. I decided to test myself on you. If I changed something about my appearance, would you still love me the way you had when you saw me in the meadow? I had to find out. This was just a test of how true our relationship is. Even though you seemed shocked at first, I was expecting it. But then, you seemed to accept it, even though you weren't one hundred percent comfortable with me having green hair."
It was all a test? I knew the sincerity in his voice must have been truthful, but the idea of his dying his hair green just to see how I would react seemed over the top. He could have just told me about it, said that if he had done it, what would I think? But now I saw that he did do this to test us, how true we were to each other. He didn't want me to change and I couldn't bear to see him change, but even if he did, I knew it wouldn't stop me from loving him. As long as he did nothing to his beautiful marble face, things were fine.
"So, if I wanted to get blonde highlights, you wouldn't mind?" I asked, teasing him.
I heard the slight growl in his voice as he looked at me with shocked eyes.
"Okay, okay, I guess I won't be doing that any time soon." I said.
"I wouldn't mind, Bella." He said quietly. "I would have to get used to it, of course, but nothing you do would ever stop me from loving you."
He set himself up for this one. "What if I got twelve different piercings, dyed my hair pink, got my nose resized and my eyebrows plucked. Would you still love me after that?"
It took a while for him to answer. He was looking out toward the window deliberately so I couldn't see his face. He finally turned back to me and said, weighing each word, "I would still love you."
I was shocked. "Really? After I'd look so different?"
"Bella, you know there's more to you than just your appearance that I fell in love with."
I was silent as I thought about it. It's true; he was fascinated with me, especially since I was the only person he's met that couldn't hear my thoughts. It was almost like I was special in that case, but he seemed to also like the way I looked too.
"But—"
"Was my bronze hair the only reason why you fell in love with me?" He asked.
I had to think about it. It was definitely one of the factors. His entire appearance was beautiful and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else that drew me to him. Most people had avoided the Cullens. They may have been just as easily dazzled as I was by them, but there was something about Edward that also caught my attention. I needed to know why. I suddenly remembered back to the very first day of school. He had glared at me. It seemed he hated me. He couldn't stand me. I was hurt, but then, the next time I saw him, he was completely normal, like this was the way he always acted. He enchanted me in a way. Plus, I would never forget all the times I've been helpless and alone and he would be there to save me if I was in trouble. He was risking his existence to be with me. Was that the reason why I was madly in love with him?
"Of course not." I said after a brief pause. "I fell in love with all of you." That was the absolute truth too.
He grinned, almost proudly as he said, "I know."
I rolled my eyes, not taking a chance at punching him in the shoulder. His body was like stone. It would only hurt me.
He laughed at my reaction and then said, "So, is this okay for the time being? Do you mind dating the green-haired man?"
It sounded so much like a super hero title that I just had to laugh as I said, "As long as you turn back into the bronze-haired man eventually."
"You never know. I could dye my hair everyday for the rest of my existence." He noticed the change in my expression as he amended, "But I wouldn't torture you like that. I'll wash it out tomorrow."
I grinned hopefully and planted my lips on his cold ones. He kissed back lightly, not wanting to go too far. Typical, even if he was branching out a little, he still had that classic romantic feel. It almost didn't matter that his hair was a different shade because my eyes were closed as I felt him close to me and by tomorrow, it would be as if he never changed his hair to begin with.