So the last entry you read was basically the beginning of getting to know the relationships between the characters I presented to you. The Pagan family is my own creation (Valerie and Phil). I hope you stick with me through a few more chapters so you can bond with these characters and understand them. I couldnt jump right into the horror, it would have been pointless. The main character to each chapter will trade between Edward and Valerie. Again, I do not own any characters from Twilight or Resident Evil. ENJOY!!

CHAPTER TWO:

I sat back and listened to Edward try to form yet another plan on how I could stay here with him, and lit another cigarette. We had been going at this for an hour now and he hadn't moved from the spot that I had found him in. I was sprawled out on the grass looking up at the sky. I really was beginning to like it here, beside the fact that I had my whole life to warm up to the place. I always hated it until now, but that was just like me. Always wanting things that I couldn't have.

I watched my best friend as his face strained in concentration. Well to anyone else it would look like he was concentrating, but I knew that he was going through one of his inner struggles to keep it all together. Edward was such an angry person, and I could never figure out why that was. I suppose that he was just born with anger, but then my mother always said so was I. Though I had reasons to be extremely angry.

This wasn't fair, telling him on his birthday. Sure, we always acted like it was any other day before, beside constantly annoying each other about the fact. I know that he didn't care, and like me he hated birthdays, but it was our last one together. I took a drag from my cigarette and then jumped up.

"Look, there's no way around it okay?" I told him. "So lets just forget about it until later, today's supposed to be special."

Edward narrowed his eyes. This was my favorite expression on him. I was always constantly mesmerized by every movement he made, but this one was special because I only ever saw him do it to me. It wasn't a scowl, it was confusion. He was trying to figure out where I was coming from and failing. This would last for a minute, and I would stare back, and then he would nod and pretend that the entire previous conversation never happened until later just to humor me.

But this time a minute passed and he was still scrutinizing my face, slowly beginning to shake his head.

"What?"

"This isn't one of your random problems that we're dealing with Val, this is serious."

"I figured that out, but I just wanted to forget it for now okay? Today's supposed special." I repeated.

I held my breath as he stood up and approached me, getting so close that our toes touched. He looked down at me, concentrating. Then he put his hands on my shoulders and shook me slightly.

"My best friend is leaving me in a few weeks and we've never spent a day apart for as long as we can remember. She didn't tell me until now, and time is running out. What am I going to do without her? Life will be empty."

I shrugged and broke eye contact, looking down at his feet. When I looked back his eyes were narrowed again. He swallowed hard and I watched as his Adams apple rose and fell. I leaned forward and buried my face in his neck and breathed in.

Whoa, this was weird… What was wrong with me?

His skin was so smooth and warm. I flicked the remainder of my cigarette away and snuggled closer. I knew that the same things were going through his mind. This was a comfortable awkward, much like the first time we ever had a sleep over and woke up cuddling under the blankets. Much like the first time we streaked down the street and looked at each other on accident… So I wrapped my arms around his waist.

I knew that it was wrong. We were best friends that crossed lines a lot, but never dwelled on the awkward and just tended to let that emotion go. I felt him wrap his arms around my shoulders gently and lay his cheek on my forehead. His body fit mine perfectly, every curve, every dip. He was a head taller then me, which I was extremely grateful for. I was taller then everyone else our age, even most of the boys so it was easy to feel like a freak.

"I'm sorry." I breathed into his collar bone. "I didn't want it to be a big deal."

"You never want anything to be a big deal Valerie. Sometimes you have to take things more seriously."

"What fun is life if its always so serious?"

"There's certain times for each emotion."

I grunted, annoyed. I hated when he got like this.

"You smell like cigarettes." He said with a sigh.

"Shut up."

"I like it."

I pulled back from him and looked up at his face. He was smiling that sideways smile that drove all the school girls insane.

"I don't, I hate when you tell me that."

"It's your fault, I'm just stating the obvious."

I shrugged it off and backed away. Moments like these were nice with Edward, but I just couldn't keep them up. It made me feel way too close to him, and under the current circumstances I really didn't want to feel that way. Two weeks, it was enough to get tired of one another and make the parting easier. I was going to try my hardest to start being distant with him so we could get used to it.

"Don't do that." He said, all traces of his godly smile gone.

"What?"

"You know what."

I studied his face, and he looked hurt. Had he really just guessed what I was thinking? It wouldn't necessarily be odd because that's what too much time with someone would do to you. But I hoped that it wouldn't have come to this, where he could see right through me.

"What do you think I'm going to do Edward?"

"Well, the obvious thing to do would be to start pushing me away so it doesn't hurt as bad when you leave, and that's exactly the type of thing you would do."

"Good job."

"So, why would you do that when we could be making the last times we have together the best?"

"I don't know, thought it would work."

The back door opened and Phil came out of the house. He was walking with a bounce in his step, which told me that our plan was working. A quick smile in my direction told me all that I needed to know, but then it was put out when he saw our faces. When my brother landed beside of us he began looking back and forth between us trying to understand the reasoning behind what ever expression we were holding.

"You told him?" He asked me, understanding.

"Yeah." We both answered in the same discouraged voice.

"I thought there was a reason that it took you two so long to come back." Phil nodded to Edward once and then glanced sideways at me. "So I decided to let you guys have some time… But Eddie and Liz were wondering what was up, so I hope you don't mind if I already told them."

I huffed and then scowled at my brother.

"It's probably best you did," Edward told him. "I'm sure they were going to wonder why I'll be moping around the house for the rest of my life."

I looked down at my feet again… This sucked.

Moment of awkward silence, which I noted would have been less awkward if Phil wasn't there bouncing on the balls of his feet still looking at us in turn.

"So I think we can waist a few hours." Phil told me more then Edward, who threw back his head and looked at the sky in annoyance. "So what do you guys want to do?"

"Lets go shooting." Edward suggested. "I could shoot Val for not telling me sooner and it can look like an accident."

"After you." I held my hand out with an over exaggerated smile toward the shed.

We filed to get our guns that Edwards dad had got us all for Christmas when we were nine years old. My parents never knew about this, and me and Phil made an effort to keep it quiet. But Elizabeth, Edwards mom, had a fit that did justice for all parents. I smiled, remembering how her eyes widened when we opened them, and she snatched all three rifles up and towed them away with her husband in toe. They had spent the rest of the afternoon arguing, and then Liz had talked to us about how we were too young to handle something so dangerous. But Eddie had interjected and said that he would bring us to a shooting range to learn. Liz later came to a compromise with him.

"Hey Edward, remember that time-"

"That mom and dad fought over our guns for Christmas?" He smiled. "Yeah, that was great."

Phil laughed at us. "How do you guys do that?"

We shrugged and picked up our rifles, I led the way out.

It was a half hour hike to our favorite place to start firing off. It was silent most of the way, which I was grateful for. I needed to think of plans to do with Edward before I had to leave, plans that wouldn't hurt us to remember. On the way I skipped over logs laying across the ground. I liked to do this to entertain and scare my brother and Edward. I would take huge leaps and they would gasp when I would barely make it to the next log. I was great with balance, never having to take a ballet class that my mother would have insisted on if I had been born clumsy. This was always a routine thing that I liked to do in the woods, keeping the boys on the balls of their feet incase I didn't make it.

Even after all these years they still didn't trust me.

"Val stop it!" Edward shouted from at least a hundred feet behind me after I had made one of my more dangerous leaps.

I looked back at him and blew him the traditional kiss that I loved to do. The reason behind this was it was my way of rubbing things in his face without words. He couldn't stand it. I put my rifle on the ground and jumped up and grabbed a thick branch on a willow tree. When I pulled myself up and balanced out on it as far as I could, Phil and Edward were almost directly below me and I was at least fifteen feet off the ground.

"Get down from there monkey!" Phil's voice was calm, but his face gave his true worry away.

"Valerie Anne Pagan, you are so stubborn!" Edward said through gritted teeth.

"Edward Anthony Mason, you're a pussy." I smiled down at him.

"If that branch gives way I swear I'm just going to step back and watch you fall."

"Liar."

"I swear." He threw up his hands and stood back, crossing his arms over his chest.

I took a few steps further out and pretended to lose my balance. When I gasped and writhed about I saw Edward run below me with his arms outstretched. I laughed. Bracing myself, I bent my knees and did a back flip off of the branch and barely landed on my feet. My hands caught the ground, but I just stood up and brushed them off on my jeans.

I looked at Phil. "I cant believe that you weren't the one running to save me. Some brother."

"Unlike Edward, I would have laughed."

I looked at Edward and giggled. "Liar." I repeated.

"You…" But he didn't say anything else. He picked up my rifle and handed it to me, then turned to lead the rest of the way.

When we got to the clearing I could tell that the animals had probably made a playground out of our set up. The wood that we had been using as a target was knocked over and had bite marks on the side and the bottles were scattered everywhere. We all sighed in unison and then started cleaning the mess and making due with what we still had.

Shooting was my favorite thing to do, especially since I was the best at it. I would absolutely cream the boys when it came to this, which brought me so much pride that a smile would be stuck on my face for the rest of the day. Edward was second best, but no where near me, which made me snigger when he would get mad and throw his rifle down.

"Watch it, Edward." Phil said, stepping up for his turn. "That's going to backfire one day."

"Just hurry up so we can get out of here." Edward walked up to me and held out his hand.

"Oh no, never again." I told him shaking my head.

"Give me."

"No."

"Please?"

"We'll share one." I took out my pack of cigarettes and slowly slid one of my last ones out, then lit in and took a long drag, watching him.

When I held the cigarette out for him to take, he attempted to take a longer drag and I studied his face.

"What's going on?" I asked him, but it was obvious.

He shook his head and I nodded. The last time that he had asked for a cigarette his grandmother had died and it was the worst day that I had ever seen him go through. He went home smelling of it and we had to convince his dad, who thought that people who smoked were weak, that it was because of me that he smelled that way. Now, it was because he felt like he was losing someone else that he gave into this. When he handed me the cig back I took it and turned away. I started pacing the clearing while my brother took his shot. If Phil was ever faced with a life or death situation and he had to use a gun to survive, he would die.

"Phil, its been eight years that we've had these and you still suck." I declared, sounding more rude then I intended.

"Your so supportive sis."

"Says the brother that would have let me fall to my doom."

Edward held out his hand when I walked by him again not bothering to look at me. I knew it was because he couldn't, I knew that the look on his face wasn't genuine anger that he felt. Not toward me at least. I handed him the cigarette.

"You do suck Phil."

"Thanks Edward." he put his rifle down after his third shot and sat on a stump nearby. "So when are you guys going to start being nicer to me?"

"When you stick behind your sister and make sure that she doesn't have to up and leave a place that she's happy."

Both Phil and I looked at him with wide eyes. This wasn't like him at all, Edward didn't take things out on us. Edward didn't blame anyone but himself for that matter. I looked at Phil and shook my head, hoping that he would get the silent message. Edward didn't mean it.

"What are you trying to say Ed?" Phil asked, shifting his weight and narrowing his eyes at my best friend.

"I just said it."

I walked over to him and took the cigarette away, took a final drag, and then stumped it out. I stood in his view of my brother and forced him to look at me. When he looked into my eyes there was something different there that I had never seen before, and it scared me

"What are you doing Edward?" I asked him.

He shook his head and looked away, "I don't know. I don't want to be here. I don't care anymore… I could go with you."

"Why are you saying this? Look at what you have here."

"I don't care Val… You don't understand. I'm free with you!" He backed away and started pacing. "I don't have to pretend to be happy, I don't even have to talk. You're the only person that gave me that all my life and your leaving. Your leaving me to suffocate."

"You know I wouldn't if-"

"I know… Look, just forget it. I'm sorry Phil."

"It's-"

I cut Phil off. "No, you've never looked this way before. I'm not going to forget it. What do you want to do?"

"I… I want to run! Lets run! We could pull it off, just the three of us."

"Phil has a life here Edward-"

"Phil can build a new life, so can we."

I watched as he looked at Phil and gave him an offering expression. When I glanced at my brother he had excitement in his eyes. I shook my head slowly and looked back, Edward was smiling at me.

"Screw this small town. Screw our old lives. We can make it on our own-"

"No Edward, think of what your saying. Do you want to leave your parents? How do you think your mom would react to this? Our parents would have every police officer out searching for us. They could put us away as juveniles if they wanted to. My parents would fight so hard that not even your dad could get us out of it."

What Edward was failing to remember was all the times that we broke the law and how much my parents knew. They hated Edward almost as much as they hated me and Phil. They weren't the greatest of people and the liked to hold grudges. The only reason that we weren't put away for our mischief now was because Eddie liked to pay his way through things, and they needed someone to do their housework… Which, now that I thought about it, Eddie could be put away for bribery. This wasn't good.

"Think Edward. Think of how irrational your being." I told him. "Your jumping to all the wrong conclusions, you just found out a few hours ago and your ready to run away."

"So?" his brows furrowed.

"So two hours isn't enough to think on something like that and have a solid plan."

"We can make it solid as we go." He grabbed my shoulders like before, but started rubbing my upper arms as if he was trying to calm me. "You're the only person that I would do this for. You think Valerie, how trapped are you going to feel with them? You wont even have Phil with you, you'll be completely alone!"

I sighed…

"You really want to run away?" I asked

"Yes."

"Are you coming?" I looked back at my brother.

"Hell yeah." Phil's smile was huge now.

"I don't know." I shook my head.

"I cant believe your not going to give me something I actually want on my birthday." Edward said, and I was surprised to see that there was no sarcasm in his voice.

He really wanted this.

"Let's do it." I smiled.

We were in for it, I could tell.