DISCLAIMER: Edward's not mine unfortunately.
Golden eyes?!
Were they vampires? Or were they simply something else?
Either way posed a possible threat to Nessie and me.
Even if I wasn't sure if they were vampires, I was certain they weren't human.
True, Nessie and I didn't have the distinctive red eyes either. That was one of our deceptive human traits as a human/vampire hybrid.
In my mind I concluded that they must have been vampires because I had no proof that any other mythical creature really existed.
What did their eyes mean?
Fear trickled its way down my back as I thought of the possibilities of what they could have been. Assuming that they were vampires, I wondered what kind had golden eyes. Were they some kind of evolved vampires that ate flesh as well as drank the blood?
Even though it was not the time for my childish, overactive imagination, I couldn't help but laugh in my mind. Were they authentic Hannibal Lecters? He drank blood and ate flesh, right?
I shook my head to dispel such thoughts and instantly remembered the seriousness of the situation.
Why were they in a school?
It was hard enough for us to be around so much fresh, pumping blood. Wouldn't the blood lust be damn near impossible for them?
I looked over to the table on my left. All three of them were devastatingly beautiful. I wasn't surprised in the least. It was a vampire's magnetism mechanism. Their beauty lures in the unsuspecting victims.
Even their features weren't marred by the murderous look the two guys graced me with. Though, it wasn't their actions that worried me the most. The miniature girl in the middle was bouncing up and down in her seat in excitement, whilst watching me with unrelenting interest.
Was she bouncing in her seat because she couldn't wait to get a piece of me, I wondered.
Were they there by request of the Volturi to take Nessie and me, I thought. Were they waiting until there were no witnesses to attack?
Even if they weren't with the Volturi, it still wasn't safe.
The boy closest to me on the table on the left had beach blonde tousled locks with washboard abs. He was hunky. The girl in the middle could not be described as anything but a pixie; she was tiny, angular and skinny in the extreme. I would call her funky. However I could find no words to describe the boy with bronze sex hair and a lean figure. He was indescribable. Beautiful beyond words.
During the rest of the lesson I tried to keep in touch with reality. Angela, the tall, half Asian girl and Ben, the afro guy joined my table. They seemed really pleasant and genuine people, and it felt really nice making new friends for once in my life. Usually people felt intimidated by us. I didn't think it had anything to do with us being slightly different, but because Nessie and I were usually inseparable.
I could understand why people would keep their distance from those three, though. They oozed danger, beauty and confidence.
"Would you like to sit with us at lunch?" Angela asked timidly.
"I'm sorry Angela. My sister and I are visiting Charlie during lunch break," I said. I felt terrible that I had to let her down, but my sister's safety was more important at that moment.
"Oh, who's Charlie?" She asked. She tried to hide her disappointment and it made me feel even guiltier.
"My Dad. But I'd love for you to meet my sister. So maybe we could join you tomorrow?" I asked.
"Sure. She was in English with you this morning, wasn't she?" she smiled knowingly.
"Yes," I smiled too. "She's a bit of a hand full, isn't she?"
Nessie had been asked to read one part of the play Hamlet. Unfortunately she liked the sound of her voice too much and continued to read everyone's lines in varying dialects. Often she would voice her own opinions on the characters; Hamlet was an incestuous little shit-head, and Ophelia was a prissy nut job. I would have found it amusing if I wasn't sitting next to her and attracting the attention of so many strangers.
"I'd say she's more of a breath of fresh air, actually" Angela giggled, covering her mouth in a shy gesture. She really was too nice for her own good.
The bell rang and I left the art room, the Hannibal Lecters and Angela and Ben like a bat out of hell. I gave a chaste wave over my shoulder to Angela and Ben.
***
Outside of the room stood Nessie, and I nearly rammed into her in my hasty departure.
"Where's the fire Bells? Miss me already?" She asked, but the expression on my face must have made her realize something was wrong.
"What's bugging you?"
I ignored her and tugged her by the hand out into the parking lot and to the truck.
"Please get in the truck, Nessie," I said flatly. She climbed in and I ran around to my side at barely a human pace.
We drove in silence for about ten minutes before Nessie couldn't stand it.
"Ditching already? On the first day of school?" she asked incredulously. Even for her it was a long stretch. I threw her a side glance.
"Okay, what's up your ass?" she said.
"Vampires" I said muttered.
"Literally?! God Bella, that's gross, I didn't know you were into that kind of thing!" she teased. For once I wasn't in the mood.
I shook my head annoyed.
"Nessie, I'm being serious," I moaned. "There are vampires here. Here in Forks."
"Oh" she said, shocked "how many?"
"Three as far as I know," I said.
The silence stretched for a few minutes while we both thought it over.
"Do you think they're in alliance with the Volturi?" she asked the same question I did.
"I don't know. I didn't actually stay to ask them," I clipped.
"Well what are we going to do?" She asked.
"I don't know. Let's get some blood and then get back home before Charlie does," I said.
I knew we couldn't leave again because it would break Charlie's heart. Forks was his hometown and he had finally got promoted to chief police. Not to mention that he would be suspicious if we wanted to leave because we had only just arrived there.
I started up the truck and drove to the nearest hospital, the Olympic Medical Centre.
***
It was the first time we had fed on blood since we moved from New Hampshire. I parked at the side of the A & E doors and Nessie got out of the truck, leaning into open the window and said "Be back in a jiffy."
She went inside to steal some blood.
It sounded terrible. Like we'd suck the blood of the sick or that we snagged the blood transfusions from a croaking old man. But it was far from sinister what we had to do to stay alive.
We simply stole blood bags from the hematology unit. Nessie nor I liked the idea of killing anybody for blood, so stealing was the next best thing. In the ten commandments coveting definitely came after murder. It's not like we ever strictly complied with the bible.
Besides:
Basic
Instructions
Before
Leaving
Earth
And Nessie always said that instructions and rules were meant to be broken.
Within two minutes Nessie entered and exited the A & E department. I tried not to laugh as a bunch of guys whistled and ogled her chest as she dashed past them, her boobs bouncing, towards the truck. Little did they know that her enhanced bosom was not real or even filled with chicken fillets.
She got in the car grinning like a Cheshire cat and I socked her in the belly.
"Get 'em out now before I do it myself," I growled. That was totally an empty threat.
"Getting frisky little sis?" she smirked but reached in her top to retrieve the blood all the same.
She slapped them on the dashboard and I started the long journey home.
***
When we got there Nessie took one of the bags into our room to the mini fridge under her bed.
The other I poured into two cups and filled the remainder with water. We swiftly drank those and started preparing Charlie's dinner.
Well I prepared and Nessie kept me company.
As we waited for the pasta to boil, we got back to the latest most concerning topic.
"So any thoughts on how we're going to handle this?" Nessie asked.
"Well there is nothing we can do," I said seriously.
Charlie came home shortly after that and we all settled down for dinner.
"So girls, how was your first day?" Charlie asked.
"Boring" Nessie said the same time I said "fine."
Charlie smiled. He already knew they were our usual comments.
"Are either of you going to ask me how my day was?" Charlie said breezily, but looked pointedly at Nessie. I noticed she was looking down at her pasta like it was the most amusing thing in the universe. She coughed gravely and tried to cover up her amusement with a serious expression.
I looked at them both, confused.
"I will tell you anyway," Charlie said saccharinely.
"Well, when I went to arrest some hells angels, down at the tavern after things had gotten rowdy I pulled out a pair of red fluffy handcuffs from my pouch." Uh-oh.
"Harry, my partner, found it hilarious until the bikers thought we were stripper grams and insisted we start the show already," he said his voice which had remained even cracked on the last word.
"Can you imagine what happened when one of the guys groped Harry and I pulled out a black dildo instead of a nightstick?!" His voice escalated higher.
I couldn't hold my laughter in anymore and a few giggles managed to seep though my lips.
"It was not funny!" Charlie shouted exasperated, though when he saw our faces he couldn't help but see the funny side too.
Charlie's chuckles calmed and he finished the rest of his little rant.
"They were twice our size Bells. And there were about ten of them…they could have raped me!!!" He said forlorn. Unfortunately it made me laugh even more.
We were all hunched over laughing by that point and Nessie waited until we all calmed down before speaking for the first time in a while.
"So you had a good first day then?" she asked innocently.
Charlie ruffled her hair and said, "I made a real good impression down at the station. In fact the boys can't wait to meet you. They already think you're a hoot."
We went back to silence after that and continued eating our food. It made me feel even guiltier. Leaving was definitely not an option. Charlie clearly adored Forks.
Charlie went to watch the game while we did the dishes. Just as we finished, there was a knock on the door.
Who visited at nine pm, I thought perplexed.
"I'll get it!" I shouted out to Charlie, although he hadn't even acknowledged someone at the door in the first place. He was too engrossed in his game.
I pressed my ear to the door but couldn't her anybody behind it. Not a heartbeat.
Maybe it was kids playing rat-a-tat ginger, I thought.
I opened the door to see if I could see the kids but nearly had a heart attack when I came face to face with a blonde haired beauty.
"Gah!" I yelped and covered my rapidly beating heart.
The beautiful blonde haired man, who was even more gorgeous than any movie star I had ever seen, looked at me sympathetically.
I looked over his shoulder and recognized the three vampires from my art class. Not only were there three, but there were another three alongside them, not including Blondie.
I flashed my wide eyes back to Blondie and realized in horror why he had had no heartbeat and took in the big golden eyes I had missed.
He was the same as them.
All traces of humor from dinnertime were long gone. In its place, unadulterated fear was harboring.
In the meantime Nessie had sidled up next to me and she too was also watching over the seven of them in horror.
Even when there were only three of them our chances of survival were slim, never mind that there were seven of them.
At our house.
With Charlie.
"Go get Charlie. Take him out for fire wood out back," I growled to Nessie under my breath, quieter even than they could hear.
She frowned at me but said nothing as she ran back inside. If anyone could save Charlie it was Nessie; she had a gift. It was a physical shield. I had a mental shield. Fat lot of good mine was.
She would not have been able to protect the three of us and fight at the same time, whilst keeping our secret under wraps from Charlie. It was impossible. So she acknowledged my warning with a glare and left.
I stepped outside and clicked the door shut behind me. All obstacles between them and my family were welcomed; even if it did nothing to stop them, at least it would have slowed them down by a millisecond or two.
It felt like minutes had gone past but in fact it was mere seconds.
"What do you want?" I asked the blonde man quietly. I could barely speak; I was so choked up in fear. For all I knew, they were either going to take me to the Volturi or kill me.
I regarded the others and noted that two of them were slightly older; Blondie and a caramel haired woman. The others were around my age.
The Blonde haired man stepped back, realizing he was too close for comfort. Then he stretched out his hand and smiled warmly at me.
"I'm Carlisle Cullen and this is my family." He gestured to the others before stretching out his hand and smiling warmly at me.
I flashed my eyes from his family to his hand, but did not shake it. I didn't trust them. Apart from Carlisle, the caramel haired lady, and the pixie, the rest were glaring at me.
Carlisle looked hurt and looked back at the majority of his family that were still glaring at me. He hissed at them and they all turned sheepish.
It intrigued me that these vampires could take on the pretense that they were a loving family with an authoritative father figure.
"What do you want from us?" I repeated with more courage this time. My voice only cracked on the last word.
They hadn't attacked yet, so I felt a little bit more confident.
A blonde girl at the back snarled at my lack of manners but Carlisle shot her a warning glare. She huffed, stomped her foot, then dragged the largest looking brute and the blonde boy from art off with her into the woods. I was mildly relieved that the largest and scariest had gone.
"I'm awfully sorry for their attitudes. It's just they don't know whether to consider you a threat," Carlisle said politely.
I looked up at him in confusion.
"Excuse me?" I said incredulously.
"Well we know you are not normal and are not entirely certain what your capabilities or temperaments are," Carlisle said embarrassed.
"You consider us a threat when four times as many of you turn up at our house, unannounced. Not to mention the fact that you are stronger than us, no doubt. And then there's also the possibility that you could be working for the Volturi," I whispered harshly, trying not to get too loud. "And you consider us a threat?!"
"Oh," Carlisle gave me an apologetic look. "I suppose we didn't think about it from that perspective. I'm terribly sorry. For the record, we honestly mean you no harm."
I felt horrible being so harsh to Carlisle because as far as I could tell he seemed harmless and so polite. I could understand why the others respected him.
"So are you?" I asked.
Carlisle looked at me confused.
"Working with the Volturi?" I continued.
"Oh good heavens, no," the caramel haired lady butted in. She looked horrified at the idea. She smiled at me warmly and it made my toes tingle. I had never had a mother figure and I always imagined my mother would be all warm smiles like that.
I believed her. Everything about her seemed genuine.
Besides, if they were in alliance with the Volturi, wouldn't they have taken or murdered me by now, I thought.
The lady looked down at something in her hands with disdain and I followed her gaze. In her hands were some cookies. She looked from the cookies to me in trepidation. My big smile must have been enough of a confirmation for her.
"I'm Esme, dear," she trilled as she trotted forward in vampire speed and squeezed me into a tight motherly hug. I hugged her back just as fiercely and accepted the cookies she offered.
"I'm sure Chief Swan will like them," she said.
"Without a doubt, thank you," I said whilst grabbing one and snarfing it down. They were absolutely delicious!
I wiped away the crumbs and noticed the looks of morbid fascination on all of their faces.
A deep scarlet blush covered my cheeks.
"What's the matter?" I asked, scared.
"You can eat?" Carlisle asked in awe.
"Um…yeah?" I said confused.
"That's incredible," he said.
"She can sleep too, Carlisle," the pixie girl said. I didn't want to know how she knew that. "I'm Alice by the way," she added. She danced up to me with the grace of a ballerina and kissed both my cheeks daintily, like a European.
"We are going to be the best of friends!" She squealed.
A bubbly little thing she was. It surprised me that she kept quiet for so long. She was bouncing on her feet like earlier in anticipation.
She was actually quivering in joy.
"And that Mr. Grumpy over there is Edward," she gestured over to Mr. Indescribable.
Even pouting and brooding he was inhumanly beautiful. I blushed and averted my eyes, realizing I was staring.
"Would you like to come in?" I asked politely.
I knew I believed them. They seemed harmless. I mean, what kind of vampire brought home made cookies to strangers?!
But being a worry wart for the majority of my life made it hard for me to trust anyone.
"No, we don't want to make you feel anymore uncomfortable. We won't impose in your home. We really must be going, to find Rosalie and calm her down before school tomorrow," Carlisle said.
I felt slightly relieved. I didn't fear them but home was a safe place and I didn't trust them completely yet.
"Okay, if you're sure," I said.
"I want you to know that we are not a danger to you and your family. We seek normality and peace like a respectable human. You must have noticed our family is different to other vampires," Carlisle said seriously.
"If there is anything we can ever do for you or if you need our help, we are here for you," Esme said, rubbing my arms up and down in a reassuring gesture.
"Thank you," I said, trying to swallow a lump in my throat.
Esme, Carlisle and Alice smiled at me, Edward remained impassive, and in a heartbeat they were gone.
***
I raced into the woods behind the house where I found Charlie and Nessie a mile into the thicket.
"Isabella Swan. Don't you dare tell me you walked into this wood on your own to find us," Charlie scolded.
"Okay then, I didn't," I said, smiling cheekily.
Nessie tackled me to the floor in a big hug.
"Gah! Get off fatty!" I screeched.
"Not till the fat lady sings!" she countered, obviously meaning me.
***
That night I lay in bed tossing and turning. I had so much on my mind.
Attempting to role myself into a comfy position, hopefully for the last time I had the fright of my life.
"Hello."
Sitting in my rocking chair was Edward.
He was the last person I thought out of the Cullen family that would have been over for a friendly visit.
"Christ on a bike! Don't you knock?!" I hissed.
"The people I visit usually hear me coming," he said.
Silence ensued for a few minutes.
"Is there a reason you are here?" I asked quietly.
"I guess," was all he said.
More silence followed, all except for Charlie's light snores and the ticking from the kitchen clock.
I was just dozing off into a light sleep when two golden orbs appeared right in front of my face.
I startled myself back into consciousness.
I was getting quite annoyed that he was keeping me from my sleep when he had no objective.
"Can I ask you something?" I asked annoyed.
"Yes, but it doesn't mean I will answer it," he said.
"Why are your eyes gold?" I inquired.
"Our diet," he said insufficiently.
"What of your diet?" I nudged him along.
He was silent for a few moments.
He sighed and gave in. I guess the determined look in my eyes was not negotiable.
"We only drink animal blood," he said simply.
"Oh," I mumbled and blushed.
"Why are you blushing?" He asked confused.
"Well my overactive imagination told me you were like Hannibal Lecter, or something." He looked confused. "You know, the whole flesh eating, blood drinking shebang…" I mumbled, feeling incredibly stupid.
"Oh, wow," he said and he scratched the back of his neck in a nervous habit. "Not quite."
"Can I ask you another question?" I asked.
"Well you didn't really give me a choice…" he smiled.
"Don't get smart with me Cullen. You still don't know what I'm capable of yet," I teased, using what they had mentioned earlier.
"How do you know what I am?" I asked all traces of humor gone.
"I still don't know exactly what you are, but we have a theory," he said bemused.
"Well considering you already answered one of my questions, it's only fair that I answer the question I'm sure is on your mind first," I said cutting to the chase.
"My dad was like you - Charlie's not my dad by the way- and my mom was normal. And I think you can make your own conclusions from that," I trailed off, getting embarrassed.
There was more silence.
"So did I prove your theory right?" I asked.
"Mmhmm," he murmured.
He leant in closer to my face and his sweet scent filled my senses and his cool breath caressed my neck.
I could feel myself drifting off to sleep again.
"Your blood smells so sweet mixed with the venom," he said.
"huh?" I mumbled incoherently.
"That's how I knew you weren't human," he said.
"Oh,"
I couldn't resist sleep anymore. His cool breath, smell, and mellow voice were my own personal lullaby.
And for once in my life I felt safe.
"Stay?" I whispered out before I fell under.
He leant further forward, stroked my hair and placed a cold kiss on my forehead.
***
For the rest of the week the Cullen's kept their distance from us, both in school and out of it.
Though, during the day I noticed the long stares Edward kept sending my way and the way Alice looked like someone had kicked her puppy every time we caught each others eyes.
By the time Friday came around I was utterly confused by the distance the Cullen's had enforced.
I felt as if I had cooties or something!
That all changed on Saturday morning when I woke up because Nessie was sat on the edge of my bed next to Alice and was staring Edward down like a sergeant.
I rolled my eyes at Alice who smiled. We both knew who would win that staring competition. Unlike Edward Nessie needed to blink.
"What is with the congregation in my bedroom on a Saturday morning-" I looked at my bedside clock "-at eight o'clock?" I asked sleepily.
"Well these freaks scared the shit out of me in my bed this morning and I nearly beat the snot out of them," Nessie growled.
"Ahem, you are the freak and there is no chance in hell that you could ever beat us," Edward sneered at her.
"Could too!" Nessie retorted childishly.
Edward stood up from the rocking chair threateningly.
"Back down kiddiewinks!" Alice shouted.
Edward shot her the stink eye.
"We came here to invite you over to our home. Our family would be delighted to show you the way we live," Edward said calmly.
I was thinking about what Charlie was doing for the day, but before I could even put it into words and ask Nessie, Alice cut me off.
"He's gone fishing with Harry Clearwater," she said.
I looked at her confused. I wondered how she knew what I was going to ask.
Thanks for reading guys. I'm so sorry that it has been so long since I updated. I wanted to make my plan more descriptive, so now I know where I'm going with this story. We have also been decorating, so I have been too busy to write in the last fortnight.