Disclaimer-- I do not own the rights of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.
Midnight Sun--Edward's Story
Chapter Three-- Open Book
Pacing in my room later that night, I was listening to one particular CD over and over again. It's not something that I normally did, but the songs on the disc sang out to me in its haunting ballads. Several lyrics flew out at me with no recollection on why they enchanted me so.
Lyric after lyric.
I was listening to a band called Evanescence. They weren't necessarily my favorite band, but it was the first CD I had grabbed off my shelves and jammed into my stereo system. Now I couldn't imagine listening to anything more appropriate.
The melodies weaved through my mind in their intricacy. I was drinking it all in, trying to keep my mind clear, however, Bella consumed my every thought with no explanation.
It was starting to drive me insane.
Sighing, I took a seat on my black leather sofa and rubbed the bridge of my nose.
Hearing a light knock on my door, Jasper's voice called out, "Can we come in?"
"Come on in," I replied, as Jasper and Emmett appeared in the room.
Surprise overtook me at seeing Emmett with him. I hadn't sensed his thoughts and so I had assumed Alice was with Jasper.
"Could you turn off that wretched disc, Edward?" Jasper asked with a frown of annoyance. How could he play that repeatedly?
Nodding, I crossed the room in less than a second and switched off the stereo. Turning to them, I suspiciously asked, "What's going on?"
Emmett took a step forward, "I just wanted to tell you that what you did…that's just something I could never do, brother."
"What do you mean?" I had to ask because Emmett had been way too careful with his thoughts since I had been home. Suddenly, I understood as images of Emmett stalking two different young girls in dark alleys at two very separate times of his non-life flitted across my mind. Finally understanding, I said, "It's happened to you, twice? Hasn't it, Emmett?"
Emmett nodded. "It has. I just can't put it together how you resisted, though? The call of the blood was so strong in them?" He took a seat on my sofa, as Jasper stood off to the side in contemplation.
I shrugged my shoulders. "I just pictured Carlisle and my family. I just kept thinking that I couldn't hurt anyone else if I killed this girl."
Emmett was clearly impressed, I can never underestimate his self-control again…
Jasper was in utter shock.
"Has it ever happened to you, Jasper?" I asked, growing ever more agitated at Emmett's trust in my abilities of self-control.
Jasper shook his head in confusion, "I don't think so…I've come across many humans in my old life and killed most of them. I'm almost certain I haven't, though."
Furrowing my eyebrows, I was silent as I stood before my huge window. The sun was breaking the surface of the mountains and trees. It was twilight, the safest time of day for us. Soon the early morning sun would be obscured by the thick gray clouds that covered the sky. Before I knew it, I was left with my thoughts. Turning back to my stereo, I flicked on the switch and began to replay the previous disc, before my interesting interruption.
Minutes, hours, days passed in much the same way, until Monday. I listened to my music endlessly, and I only left my room to go out hunting. My mind was absorbed with thoughts of Bella, only my thoughts weren't conclusive. However, I felt more than ready to face her at school on Monday.
I decided to take Carlisle's advice and talk to her. To get to know her, so it would give me more incentive not to kill her. Also, I thought selfishly, if I talked to her, maybe I could decipher some of her thoughts.
Sliding out of my Volvo in the school parking lot, Alice danced to me as the rest of our family went off in their separate directions. Alice's voice chimed out to me excitedly, "I saw that you were going to talk to Bella Swan today. That's a good idea. I saw she was a very nice girl…" But before she finished she caught herself abruptly, blocked her mind of any thoughts and then ran off to Jasper.
Dumbfounded at Alice's exchange, I didn't know what to think. Shaking it off, I headed to my first class.
Leaving first period an hour later, swirling bits of snow cascaded through the wind. Detecting a certain scent, I disappeared into the shadows of the school buildings in the opposite direction in which the wind blew. Struggling with the scent of Bella's blood, it was just as pungent as before, however it was a bit easier in the open fresh air, and with me not being thirsty. Swallowing the venom that flooded my mouth, I took my mind away from the smell. Instead I focused on her words, which crept to my ears.
"Ew." I heard her exclaim in disgust.
Mike Newton's voice came next in surprise, "Don't you like the snow?" How could she not like the snow? Well…whatever she does or doesn't like is okay with me…she's so good looking…, he thought.
In surprise irritation flooded through my dead veins from the thought Newton had about Bella.
"No. That means it's too cold for rain." Her voice once again flowed to me, as I smirked at her obvious answer. She continued, "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes--you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."
"Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" Mike's voice was incredulous. Where is she from again? Oh yeah, Phoenix…I think…
"Sure I have," Bella replied, and then paused, "On TV."
At that Mike laughed, which cause me even more irritation. Then at that moment Eric hit Mike in the back of the head with a mushy snowball.
Chuckling, as I saw Eric walking conspicuously in the opposite direction of his next class, Mike started pulling snow together, glaring at Eric's back.
Blocking out their mundane thoughts, I focused back on Bella who was hurriedly walking away as she spoke, "I'll see you at lunch, okay? Once people start throwing wet stuff, I go inside."
I laughed even more as I turned away and continued down to my next class. Now I was truly curious about what went on in Bella's mind. It was strange to think that I nearly killed her a few days ago and now I was taking amusement in her human ways.
School continued on in the same monotone. It was never worth listening to any of the teachers, because they would never tell me anything that I already didn't know. Even Gym was a bore, a highly frustrating bore. I always had to keep enough control so I didn't run too fast, or accidentally kill someone, or to not take my frustration out on the ball and not tear it apart or pop it.
Stepping out into the snow, the flakes kissed my cold skin. I could barely even feel the cold flakes. Walking out onto the sidewalk, the rest of my family caught up to me, on our way to the cafeteria.
Did you have fun eavesdropping on Bella, Edward? I haven't seen you laugh like that in a long while, Alice thought.
I nodded slightly in her direction. She seemed satisfied.
"Let's have a snowball fight before lunch!" Emmett exclaimed with a wicked grin, slamming his hands together and eyeing Jasper.
Jasper smirked as he took Alice's arm, Oh, I'd like to see him try to beat me again.
Rosalie rolled her eyes with a smile, "Good idea, Emmett." But we were all adamant in doing so. So we found a secluded area of the school grounds and made sure no one saw us.
Our snowball fight lasted less than five minutes, with us flying around each other and several balls of snow flying. Winning the game, we all made our way to the cafeteria, laughing.
At our table, still chuckling, Emmett leaned towards Alice and Rosalie as he shook out his hair that was saturated with melted snow. Alice and Rosalie moved away from him with good-natured grimaces.
Suddenly, I heard Jessica call out Bella's name, "Bella, what are you staring at?" Of course, she's probably looking at the Cullen's. Looks like they earned themselves another admirer.
Glancing up, my eyes met Bella's for a brief instant until she dropped her head letting her hair fall to conceal her reddening face. Curiosity bubbled through me as did frustration, as I was hoping I would be able to see into her thoughts.
"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica giggled, although her thoughts were mean, Don't ell me Edward has a crush on her too! He never showed me any interest, and I'm a lot prettier than her! That little…
I ignored her angry thoughts. Though once again, exactly like the first day I saw Bella, I felt compelled to protect her from Jessica.
"He doesn't look angry, does her?" Bella asked, her face still curtained by her mahogany hair.
So she did notice there was something wrong with me that first day of class. I was pretty sure she must have thought that I had hated her. But despite my thoughts that first day, I found I couldn't dislike her.
Jessica was confused as she answered, "No. Should he be?" Oh, maybe I'm in luck! Maybe he doesn't like her!
"I don't think he likes me," Bella admitted, just as Jessica thought, Yes!
"The Cullen's don't like anybody…well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them. But he's still staring at you," Jessica replied a bit grudgingly.
"Stop looking at him," I heard Bella hiss, as I chuckled, and Jessica snickered.
Still gazing at Bella, I saw her start to look up at me, but to my utter disappointment, Mike Newton interrupted her with talk of a snowball fight after school in the parking lot.
Looking away, frowning, I contemplated on why I had wanted Bella to look back up at me. Why was I disappointed?
"What were you staring at, Edward?" Rosalie demanded. I bet he was looking at that girl.
Rolling my eyes with a sigh, I replied, "You already know who I was looking at, Rosalie."
All of my family seemed worried about me now. The afternoon snowball fight seemed like a distant memory as the happiness drained. They were worried that I wouldn't be able to control my blood lust for Bella in my next class. The only one who didn't seem anxious was Alice.
"Don't worry," I said in a whisper they would only hear. "I've fed way more than usual this past week and I would never let anything hurt you all."
They all nodded slightly, besides Alice, all seemed uncertain. Glancing around, I noticed everyone was gone from the building besides us. Standing, I gestured 'farewell' and began to walk away. As I did, Alice's voice flowed in my mind, Everything will turn out fine, I know…
Smiling in relief, I walked out into the wet, saw it wasn't snowing any longer and made my way to Biology.
Once I was inside the small classroom, I was bombarded by Bella's scent. Pausing at the door, the monster inside gnashed its teeth. Filling my head with a simple mantra 'I'm not thirsty, I'm not thirsty' I composed myself enough to walk to the back of the classroom. I pulled out my chair and took a seat. Of course, I kept my chair at the farthest distance as the table would allow, but I kept the chair angled at Bella in a friendly manner.
"Hello," I said in a quiet, musical voice.
Bella gazed up at me from her doodling, her eyes alarmed as she took me in.
I continued, "My name is Edward Cullen. I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."
She continued to take me in in confusion. It looked as if she were trying to think of something to say. Finally, she stammered out, "H-how do you know my name?"
I softly laughed at her absurdity.
"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive."
Bella grimaced, as a light blush crept up her face. Obviously she didn't seem to like the attention everyone gave her.
"No," she persisted. "I meant, why did you call me Bella?"
I pulled my eyebrows together in confusion. "Do you prefer Isabella?" Did I get that wrong? It sounded like she preferred Bella. It's what everyone calls her now. Unless she wanted to sound more mature by using her full first name? It hasn't been the first time when human females addressed me.
"No, I like Bella," she said. "But I think Charlie--I mean my dad--must call me Isabella behind my back--that's what everyone here seems to know me as."
"Oh," I simply replied, in relief that I got her name right. Bella looked away seeming a bit awkward.
At that Mr. Banner began class. He explained a lab we would be doing at our table. We were going to look at onion root tip cells and label them accordingly into the phases of mitosis that they represent. We were also told we couldn't use our books. Discreetly, I rolled my eyes at this mundane lab. Nothing could surprise me, nothing could teach me anything that I already didn't know. Not with two doctoral degrees.
"Get started," Mr. Banner commanded.
"Ladies first, partner?" I asked, smiling. Bella only stared at me.
"Or I could start, if you wish." I felt my smile disappear, as I wondered if she was mentally competent.
"No," she said, while a deep crimson rose in her cheeks. "I'll go ahead."
Bella grabbed a slide from the box, snapped it into place under the microscope and adjusted it to 40X objective. She glanced at the slide briefly, and confidently said, "Prophase."
"Do you mind if I look?" I asked as she began to remove the slide. I caught her hand in mine, but as soon as I caught her, she jerked away, with just cause. However I was sure she felt the same electric current that had passed through our hands.
"I'm sorry," I muttered, pulling my hand back immediately. However, I continued to reach for the microscope. Bella gazed at me as I examined the slide for a short second.
"Prophase," I agreed, writing it neatly in the first space on our worksheet. Swiftly I switched the slides, and glanced at it.
"Anaphase," I murmured, writing it down as I spoke.
"May I?" She asked, her voice indifferent.
Pushing the microscope to her, I smirked.
She looked into the eyepiece, and then appeared disappointed. She held out her hand without looking at me and said, "Slide three?"
I handed the slide to her, though I was being extra careful in not touching her again.
She glanced in the eyepiece again and replied, "Interphase." She passed it to me. Taking a quick peek, agreeing, I wrote it down.
We finished before anyone else was even close. Not surprising. I wasn't too sure to begin with if Bella was intelligent. Now I knew she was.
I could tell Bella was trying not to look at me. Suddenly her hair moved on her way of looking at me. The scent dazed me and flooded me with frustration.
"Did you get contacts?" She blurted out.
Puzzled by her question, I replied, "No."
"Oh," she mumbled. "I thought there was something different about your eyes."
I shrugged as she looked away. Now uncharacteristically I was frightened. She noticed the change in my eye color? How is it possible? How exactly could she notice? How perceptive was she? I knew now that I needed to be very careful around her.
Why are they not working? Mr. Banner wondered as he glanced over our shoulders at our work.
"So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" He asked.
"Bella," I corrected automatically.
"Actually, she identified three of the five."
I haven't seen her records yet, maybe…? Skeptical, he looked upon Bella.
"Have you done this lab before?" He asked.
She smiled, a bit sheepish. "Not with onion root."
"Whitefish blastula?"
"Yeah."
Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?"
"Yes."
"Well," he said after a moment, "I guess it's good you two are lab partners." And then he walked away thinking, The two smartest kids in class and they get paired together. Where's the justice?
As he left, Bella began to doodle once again. Deciding to have a little fun while trying to gain some answers, I casually asked, "It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?"
"Not really," she answered honestly, squinting her eyes as if in suspicion.
"You don't like the cold," I stated, prying a bit more.
"Or the wet."
"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," I mused, enjoying myself.
"You have no idea," she muttered darkly.
Suddenly fascinated at her statement, I asked, "Why did you come here, then?"
"It's…complicated."
"I think I can keep up," I pressed.
She met my eyes with hrs, and then answered.
"My mother got remarried."
"That doesn't sound so complex," I disagreed, though I still made myself seem sympathetic. "When did that happen?"
"Last September." Her voice was laced with sadness.
"And you don't like him," I surmised, still being kind. I wondered if maybe her stepfather was mean to her?
"No, Phil is fine. Too young, maybe, but nice enough," she surprised me by saying.
"Why didn't you stay with them?"
Now I was very intrigued. I now wanted to know everything about her. It confused me though, so I chalked it down on an instinct on trying to keep her alive.
"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living." She slightly smiled in amusement.
"Have I heard of him?" I asked, smiling in response.
She chuckled. "Probably not. He doesn't play well. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."
"And your mother sent you here so that she could travel with him." I assumed, thinking that her mother was incredibly selfish.
Bella's chin rose a fraction. "No, she did not send me here. I sent myself."
In confusion, my eyebrows knitted together. "I don't understand," I admitted, extremely frustrated that I had to admit something like that.
She sighed.
"She stayed with me at first, but she missed him. It made her unhappy…so I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie." By the time she ended she seemed morose.
"But now you're unhappy," I pointed out.
"And?" She challenged.
"That doesn't seem fair," I shrugged.
She laughed humorlessly. "Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair."
"I believe I have heard that somewhere before," I agreed dryly. Life isn't fair? Non-life is even more unfair.
"So that's all," she insisted.
I gave her an appraising look. "You put on a good show," I said slowly. "But I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."
She gazed back at me in a grimace and then looked away.
"Am I wrong?"
She tried to ignore me.
"I didn't think so," I murmured smugly.
"Why does it matter to you?" She asked, irritated, not looking at me.
"That's a very good question," I muttered, knowing it was true. Why did I care?
She sighed and scowled at the blackboard.
"Am I annoying you?" I asked, amused.
Glancing at me, she replied, "Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read--my mother always calls me her open book." she frowned in memory.
"On the contrary, I find you very difficult to read." This was the absolute truth. Instead of reading her thoughts I had to ask her questions about her life and interpret her expressions and body language.
"You must be a good reader then," she replied.
"Usually." I flashed her a wide smile.
Mr. Banner called the class to order then. Turning her head attentively a burst of Bella's scent hit me full on. Leaning away from her, I gripped the edges of the table full of tension.
The monster inside growled and urged me to take her here and now, but I persisted to remain in control in this situation. I just couldn't hurt anyone, especially my family. The monster roared as I saw that her translucent neck was showing. Oh, how I wanted to take her! I saw the pulse in her neck throb as blood flowed throw the veins, making her scent even more intense. Keeping the monster at bay, I kept repeating my mantra over and over again.
When the bell finally rang, I swiftly rose out of my chair and was out the door before anyone else.
The fresh air helped me un-cloud my mind as I made my way to my car. I was in no shape to go to my next mundane class. So instead I spent the next hour listening to some calming classical music. As the school day ended, I got out of my Volvo and leaned against the drivers side door.
It was still no longer snowing, instead a wet mist lingered. Looking around, I spotted Bella walking through the parking lot towards a very old, red truck covered in rust three cars down. Watching her get in and start it, she fiddled with what I guessed was the heater. The roar of the truck was deafening, but it didn't matter when I saw her pull down the hood of her rain coat and fluff out her mahogany hair.
Bella glanced around, making sure the way was clear, until her eyes focused on me. She quickly looked away and threw her truck in reverse almost pulverizing a rusty Toyota Corolla. Lucky for the Toyota she stomped on the brake in time. As she finally collected herself and pulled out, I was laughing at her absurdity.
