A/N disclaimer: all things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer. This is just me playing in her pond. No copyright infringement was intended
I'm completely flabbergasted by the fantastic way this story has been received. I'm so grateful for all the great reviews. My thanks also goes to Lorraine Bubblybear for being my sounding board and co-brainstormer, Chandrakanta for the fantastic banners and even greater beta work. Finally my pre-readers LunaDiSangue85 and Bexie25 thanks for the critical eye.
Now without further ado Chapter 2
TWILESQUE
Chapter 2 Edward
EPOV
I hated new schools, I hated high school period. Every time I had to readjust to the endless vacuous thoughts of the teenage population assaulting my peace of mind. The vulgar ideas the girls had about me—the fantasies—were getting more and more invasive. Sometimes I felt raped; Rose and I talked about it and she agreed. Even though I never had looked at a girl that way, they did, and the thoughts were appalling, straight from the gutter.
This first day was as bad as all the others; I needed a pep talk early in the day. Rose and I stepped away from the others so she could boost my mental strength; we had an almost argument in Dutch so nobody would understand. Alice had added insult to injury by blocking me ever since the first bell rang: I saw her going into an extensive vision but she blocked me and kept at it. To have some reprieve, I fled the cafeteria at lunchtime when it became apparent that I was the odd man out in our quintet.
The library was thankfully on the other side of the building, and without the visual, the thoughts could be pushed back into a nice hum. I walked to the classics section, my favorites. I let my fingers run over the titles while the stories ran through my head. Finally, a moment with my own thoughts; well, the thoughts of the greats stored in my flawless memory. A hopeless romantic, I was addicted to love stories from the start of the 20th century, the time of my youth. Vampires mate for eternity, we only have one love, and with my morals bred into me by birth and rearing, I could not engage in physical relations without that love present. I had a pretty good idea how it would feel to find your mate. I was present when Carlisle found Esme and when Rosalie came home with Emmett. And I'd witnessed how their thought processes changed.
Suddenly, I heard sniffling, but only that and a heartbeat that was very appealing. There were no thoughts whatsoever, none at all. When somebody is sniffling, crying, there should be a thought process behind it. I crept silently around the bookcases and took a look. A brunette girl sat at the study table writing furiously in a notebook, all the while crying over what she wrote. She flipped her long mahogany curls over her shoulder and I got a glimpse of her profile, and a nose full of her scent. I froze; her scent was the most intoxicating I had ever smelt. Strangely, no bloodlust was involved; I had absolutely no inclination to drain her. Even being a humanitarian vampire didn't mean I didn't want to drain every human I encountered. I just had trained my resistance to human blood. But with this girl, I felt I had to be near her, not to drink her, just for the company. I felt a pull toward her.
Oh my god! Thinking back to Rose's mating, I remembered her having no bloodlust over Emmett and feeling a pull to save him from that bear. He was a bloody mess and Esme had to leave the house until the venom had changed him enough.
The five of us had never tasted human blood; Carlisle, our coven leader, had changed us by injecting us with venom, and from the moment we woke up to our second life, we were trained to withstand the lure of human blood to retain our humanity.
He encouraged us try to remember as much from our human lives as soon as we could. That was a hard one for both Esme and Rosalie because their lives had ended violently. For Emmett, his ending was a blur with an angel in it. For me, it was a feverish dream; I had been dying from the Spanish influenza.
Yeah, Carlisle was a humanitarian, compassionate to the core. He had woken up after his change with his control already there. He didn't want to become a monster and had withstood the newborn bloodlust all on his own. He discovered that animal blood could sustain him, and the rest is history.
But, coming out of my thoughts, I now knew that the beautiful girl with the silent thoughts was my mate. I had to approach her carefully, because I felt she used the library as her sanctuary too.
Vampire lore told me that mates found human usually were born to become vampires themselves, and that their human lives were troubled most of the time. We had proof of that: Esme had tried to commit suicide to flee her abusive husband after the death of her child; Emmett had been the oldest surviving child of 14 in a desperately poor family, and was mauled by a bear when he was found, hunting for meat for his family.
My mate wasn't close to death, though, and that could mean that Carlisle wouldn't want to change her. He only saved lives, he never took them. I would change her myself, but only if she wanted me to do that. I would court her, the way a gentleman would. It was remarkable; I could feel myself changing from the brooding loner to the loving mate. We hadn't even spoken yet but the change was instantaneous.
Maybe the best way to introduce myself was as a fellow fugitive. I made my way back to the entrance of the library and banged the door, closing it just as loudly behind me, and stomped towards the tables. My girl was hastily putting her things together and trying to stuff them into her book bag.
I threw myself noisily into a chair at another table with my back to her and sighed deeply, putting my head in my hands and shuddering violently. Recalling the thoughts those vile teenagers had about me, I could easily summon the sobs of being desperate to escape them.
I sat there feeling the pull strengthen; I heard her heartbeat stutter then speed up. She sighed, walked towards me, and said, "Hey, you all right, what's the matter?"
I sobbed into my hands to disguise the fact that tears were absent and stuttered, "Oh, nothing… I just feel so violated at every new school I come to. Every vapid girl dives onto me, because of my money and looks. And I just want to live my life in peace and learn what they want us to cram in our heads. I'm not interested in sleeping around. But what is it to you? I hope you're not another one of those."
"No, I'm not," she spoke adamantly, "but if you don't want a friend, someone to talk to, you can ignore me just like they all do here." Her voice trailed off towards the end and she mumbled to herself, "If you don't join them when they bully me."
So, I was right; her life was not easy. My beautiful mate was easily dejected and felt rejection even before it was dished out. I turned my head sharply and looked her straight into the eyes—the most gorgeous brown orbs—and I got lost in them immediately. We stared at each other and I whispered, "Sorry, I was just ranting. I shouldn't presume all girls to be the same. The fact I found you here in the library should have told me immediately you are different." I held out my hand for her to shake.
She wrapped her arms around her torso, looking at my hand suspiciously, and snapped, "You can't think I will be your friend that easily, not after what you said. You should watch out and not be tainted by my reputation. You are too beautiful to go around befriending the school freak. Just let me be, that would be better."
My eyebrows shot into my hairline with my astonishment. "Listen, beautiful girl, why should I want to associate myself with the mostly vapid and callous bitches and assholes running around here? Today is my first day and I have already been propositioned more than a dozen times by those tramp-like creatures they call girls here. I see you are totally different, so I can tell you that much. All of those gold-digging whores can go to hell if I can have one good conversation with anybody not that air-headed. And don't forget you just offered to be my friend."
A loud snort burst from the girl and she grabbed my still outstretched hand. "Well, if you think about it like that, welcome to Forks High. My name is Isabella Swan, or 'that plain one' for the vapid bitches. Friends call me Bella, or Bells, but those only reside inside my head."
"Well, Bella, my name is Edward Cullen and I'm the only single of the Cullen household. I am frequently lonely in my own family just because they all partner off. And, please, never call me Eddie; that is what every vapid bitch tries to get away with."
"Ok, Edward, is Teddy an acceptable short for your name or do you prefer to be called by your full name?"
"Teddy… wow, it's a long time ago that anybody called me that. My biological mother called me Teddy because my father was an Edward too. Nobody ever thought of it after her. Please, call me whatever you like, just not Eddie."
We stared in each other's eyes and couldn't break away; I felt the love pour out of mine, and got a little confusion and slow building elation in return.
"Bella, do you feel it too?" The words fell out of my mouth before I could do anything about it.
"I do, but I don't understand. This is my story… the chapter I wrote last night. Are you real?" She was still holding my hand and slowly looked at our entwined fingers. A slow but radiant smile broke out on her face. Without controlling my expression, I felt the same creep onto mine.
"Yes, I am real, but I think I just landed in my favorite fantasy. It's like I am complete for the first time ever. I feel whole, like you are the missing piece to my puzzle."
Her eyes dipped down, staring at the table, her shoulders hunched and her bottom lip caught between her teeth. A dark cloud of doom descended on her features and she started to cry. Sobbing, she fell into my arms and stuttered her explanation.
"Oh, Edward, you don't have to do all this to make me feel better. How do you know about my stories? You weren't even here. This can't be real; I want it to be real, but it just can't be. You are so much like the lead character in my stories it is frightening. Please be real and just never leave me again."
"I am absolutely, positively real, Bella, and I can feel a mountain of grief behind your words. Please believe me that I know what just happened between us, and if you give it a chance, it will be wonderful for both of us. I understand that, after a life with a lot of misfortune, it is difficult to believe that suddenly all the bad luck is sponged away by good luck. But, my beautiful girl, I'm not lying; I'm incapable of lying to you. I've waited a long time for you and I will never leave you to fend for yourself until you send me away."
Her tear-filled eyes locked with mine once again, and slowly the sparkles I had seen earlier made their entrance again.
"Oh dear, my father will be so flabbergasted when I leave his house forever. He thought he had a slave for life. And I somehow don't see you giving him the chance to keep that up. It's so strange; I feel as if my future just arrived, and I don't want to sound like one of those gold-digging bitches, but you can help me go to college, can't you?"
"Of course, love, I will even go with you if you want me to. Or follow you when you don't. Sorry, but I can't leave you ever!"
"Teddy, what are you? If I go by my story, you can't be human. How can you be so sure you want me when we just met? You have to tell me. I watched your family arrive this morning and you are all otherworldly graceful and beautiful. The most stunning thing I noticed was your eye color. You all have the same eye color, even though you are all adopted. Now it is possible I am just stunted in this backwater town, but somehow I don't think so. You all are more than human, and I will find out what you are."
"Even though we are 'otherworldly', as you say, you don't feel the urge to scream and run?"
"No; maybe it is strange not to do that, but I feel completely safe around you." She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I've never felt as if I belong in this world; maybe I belong in yours. Can you tell me what you are or is that a secret not to be revealed to outsiders?"
"Well, I won't reveal it at our first meeting or in a public place, but, being my friend, I will tell you if I can meet you somewhere private. You have my word as a gentleman; you would be completely safe with me. I won't try to take advantage. I respect you for who you are and I will keep you safe."
"Edward, you just revealed more than you should have done. What if I go and blab this all around the school?"
"Dear Bella, somehow I don't believe you to be a blabbermouth, and if you somehow did blab this, I wouldn't come to your house tonight to explain everything. Please leave your window unlocked if you want to keep my visit secret. I will come to your room. I know this is really strange all of a sudden, but I need you to be in the loop as soon as possible. You and I, my dear, have a connection—a very powerful one—and I won't deny it. This connection gives me the right to tell you all about my world. And you are right, you belong in it too, but only if you choose it yourself. I will never force your choice."
"But I'm not worth the trouble…"
"That is where you are wrong, Bella. I have waited to find you for a century, and nobody else will do. Now the rest of the explanation will have to wait until tonight. We are going to have company in about two minutes; I can hear them coming. Do you want to be seen with me? Or do you deem it more prudent to keep our association secret for now?"
I saw an adorable frown creep between her eyebrows, and while she thought hard, I listened to the minds coming our way. Damn, of course they would be coming my way. Alice and Jasper.
"Well, Bella, I'm sorry but these two who are coming our way will already know. It's part of my explanation tonight, but you might as well meet them now. They are two of my siblings, Alice and Jasper, joined at the hip and quite something to behold."
I could hear Jasper's chuckle and Alice's scoff at my remark. In my head, I made the decision to tell Alice to tone it down, that Bella wasn't fully informed yet, but knew something was not normal about us.
'Interesting, Edward, I have to say you're slow today. Maybe because most of the tracks of your mind are completely focused on your MATE! Congratulations. Bella is incredibly observant and inconspicuous. She saw your little pep talk this morning; she noticed every little slip I made in English. She's my study partner in the advanced program there, so she already knows me. By the way, you have to disappear for a little bit when we come to the library; just go to the back with Jazz, he will keep you calm. The bitch brigade is going to attack Bella and we don't want you exposing your bond too soon. I will take care of it.'
Bella looked at me expectantly and I saw she had seen something of the silent conversation I had had with Alice. Oh well, she would know soon enough. My ire was up, though, because those trollops would attack my Bella; I wanted to protect her. Sadly, I also knew that to protect her long term, I had to step back and let Alice play her part.
"Okay, here's the thing, about a minute behind Alice and Jazz, two of the school hussies are going to come in. Jazz and I will hide until they are gone. You and I will need a little more bonding time before we can face those airheads. Will you be okay? Alice will be with you, and on your side."
"Edward, they might think they get to me, but they don't. Whatever is said here at school, I can let go quite easily because I always tell myself that they are so stupid that they are jealous of me. They don't know it's much worse at home."
Alice bounded into the library and over to us. "Hi again, Bella, shall we go over our English assignment for Death of a Salesman?"
Jazz came over more slowly, his thoughts guarded, as was his stance. He told me in his thoughts that Bella's scent was mouthwatering; that earned him a glare and a growl. Bella watched me and shook her head. "Go on, Edward, the skanks are coming. You aren't the only ones hearing them now."
'She heard your growl and dismissed it without even blinking. I'm impressed' Jazz told me. We disappeared among the bookcases to the back of the library.
"Jazz, what kind of emotions did you get of me and Bella when you walked in?" I whispered to him.
He smiled and thought back, 'I think you already know what I felt, and yes, it's mutual. It almost bowled me over when I walked in; I have never felt this from you before. Congrats, bro, she's something to cherish. Her scent will become a problem for me though. It's only because of the mating bond that you don't act on it, but I sense she smells sweet to you too.'
Before I could answer, the library doors opened again and two girls stepped inside: the two most irritating whores of the day. I had classes with both of them separately and both had already suggested to hook up, in no uncertain terms.
The mousy brown-haired one was called Jessica; she had hitched her already too-short skirt up, pulled her barely decent top down so her breasts almost fell out, and panted to me that she would like to suck me, everywhere. I had asked if she was okay or if she needed the nurse for her asthma. That had shut her up. I never looked at her again.
The next class, I was unfortunate enough to be seated next to the bleached-blonde Lauren. She slipped me a note with several numbers on it. When I looked at her, she breathed huskily that those were her favorite positions of the Kama Sutra. I again recommended a trip to the nurse for asthma-related ailments and ignored her for the rest of the class.
Now, those two little whores in training thought they had the upper hand with Bella. Jazz clamped a restraining and calming hand on my shoulder.
"Ah, the ragged library girl, you must be able to help us. We're looking for one of the new guys. He promised to meet us here for some fun," Lauren screeched with a surprisingly nasty nasal voice. Images of me in every state of undress flitted through her mind. I was glad I looked nothing like what she imagined, otherwise I might have lost yesterday's kill right there.
Bella looked at her with disdain written all over her face, but the blonde, through whose eyes I watched that, didn't pick up on it. She thought Bella looked impressed by her vile statement. "Nope, sorry, haven't seen anyone but Alice here."
Alice, who had been perusing books nearby, skipped over and sat down next to Bella.
Jessica snorted and said, "Well, well, well, it looks like the ugly duckling has tried to gain a friend. Alice, is it? Don't you know that hanging with that trash could damage your reputation?"
Lauren added, "Yeah, like seriously harm you. The only thing she's good for is doing the cleanup after I had a fuck. Nobody would want to touch that."
Jazz clamped his hand more, restricting over my shoulder to keep me in place, because I wanted to rip them apart. I saw through their vile eyes that Bella's bravery started to waver and the beginning of tears were forming in her eyes.
"Hey, Frizzabella, you might want to replace those rags of yours sometime if you ever want to attract some attention. I think Alice's SINGLE brother would like something nice to look at," Lauren sneered, preening around.
Alice looked over the prostitute outfits those two were wearing and sniffed. "Look at you two, you might think those outfits are sexy, but the only thing you are portraying is: I'm easy, fuck me, it won't cost much. I know my brother and that is definitely not what he's after. So, please remove your overly processed hair and six inches of makeup from my presence. You both are ruining my view."
Lauren and Jessica both bristled at that comment, their surprisingly empty heads now completely blank. This had never happened to them. They always had the last word and everybody folded under their sneers.
"You bitch, you'll learn to choose your friends here carefully; there isn't much to choose from if you hang with the likes of her." Jessica finally found her bitch voice again.
Alice looked at the bookcases beside Bella. "Bella, did you say something? I thought I heard something. I must say I'm glad I found you. Finally somebody real to talk to."
Bella's mouth twitched and she grabbed Death of a Salesman. "No, I didn't say a thing but I was thinking about finishing up with our essay subjects. I thought of another one: unrealistic expectations. Definitely a theme here. Oh, and desperation would be a good one too."
My mate was so smart; she put the bitches down with flare, while the vapid trollops didn't even notice.
Alice piped up, "Oh, and don't forget the pathological desire for recognition." They giggled together and the skank squad stood there slack jawed, before bristling, turning on their heels and marching out. Both their minds were on finding me again.
When the library doors thumped shut, I flew out from the books and kneeled next to Bella, wrapping my arms around her waist. I nuzzled her belly and inhaled her scent. Her fingers found my hair and started moving through it, rubbing my scalp, and I started purring. Now it was clearer than ever: a vampire only purred for his or her mate.
The sound of the bell broke us apart and I was desperate to stay with her, but I knew I had to go to my class: advanced junior biology. It was a side self-study subject because not enough of the students here were advanced.
"What do you have now, Bella?"
"Advanced junior biology, one of the classes I designed together with the teachers to keep me busy. Why?"
My head whipped up and an enormous grin broke out on my face. "Oh, well, that's what I've got too. Please let me escort you to class."
"Edward, maybe we should go separately and use the class as the front for meeting each other. You see, the other students are too dense to know I'm working on senior classes right now. I mostly work by myself anyway. Alice already blew my cover in English, argh, I'm rambling. I'm not ready to become the center of attention. It would create a shit storm if you walked me to class. Please go, I'll be right behind you. You will be sitting next to me the whole hour." She looked at me apologetically and started to hastily jam her books into her bag.
I smiled at her and turned around, feeling a little dejected, but I understood her holding back. After all, she didn't have all the information yet. And she was right; if all of us locked on to her, in the public eye, she would suffer for it. Alice already stepped in and defended her, and if I'd read Jessica's mind correctly, that would be all over the school by now. I had to bide my time. While I was once again assaulted by the minds of three hundred teens, I made my way through the corridors to the science wing. The advanced class would be self-study within the normal junior biology class. I walked up to the teacher and handed him my note to sign. He looked up, surprised at the advanced prefix on it.
"Mr. Cullen, we don't have many advanced students; to be exact, without Ms. Swan, we would have none. You don't mind working with her?"
I looked at him, puzzled. "Why would I mind working with somebody somewhat on the same level as I am?"
He looked abashed. "Ah, erm, well, most students here don't like to work with her, and to be honest, she very much likes to work alone."
"Hmm, I understand. If that's the case, I will work by myself beside her. I'm not doing simple junior biology yet again if there is an advanced program. Where do I sit?" I had already spotted the little corner with a bookcase and a lab table a little apart from the rest of the class. Bella just slid into the corner, busying herself by pulling out a microscope and slide box.
"Miss Swan is over there in the corner, the girl with the microscope. When you two need to talk, please do so quietly. I am giving a lecture for the rest of class today."
I nodded and made my way over. I smiled shyly and said, "Miss Swan? I believe we share the same class here." Behind me, I heard the assembled thoughts of our classmates. They were of pity for me that I had to work with the town reject. I had to work really hard to stay focused on Bella and not whip around and tell them off.
Bella looked up from her slide box, and with a wink she said gruffly, "And you are?"
Wow, in public she had her attitude down pat. Her voice didn't have any inflection towards being nice. Her eyes, on the other hand—after all, I was blocking her from the rest of the class—exuded love and adoration. The same, I was sure, came out of mine.
"Oh, sorry, my name is Edward Cullen, I'm new here today. Mr. Banner advised me that you could help me on my way, if you're amenable that is." I made a small bow, just like I was taught by my father. I heard snorts from behind me, and their thoughts went from pity into two distinct directions. The guys thought me preposterous and in the right place after all. The girls, on the other hand, all swooned and glared at Bella for being on the receiving end of my charm. I cringed inwardly; it wasn't my intention to heap unwanted attention on her. Hastily, I sat down and turned my back on the class. "I'm ready for your explanation."
We worked together, conversing in whispers for the rest of the hour, identifying one-cell organisms, and observing an amoeba splitting itself in two.
The last hour, I had to leave her again—I had advanced Spanish—working in her corner alone. I would have to hack the computer and line our classes up so we could work together. This was ridiculous; we had all the same subjects except for the math elective, and we had only one class together. I would remedy that as soon as possible.
She had told me during biology that she had to hurry home to do grocery shopping and cook dinner for her father Charlie, so he wouldn't take his bad mood out on her. I promised her I would come by that evening to explain everything.
Being apart was not a nice feeling. It felt as if my unbeating heart was altogether missing. Even though I was elated that I had found my mate, my mood was morose. I had given Jazz my car keys and waited at school until I could go into the surrounding forest without bringing attention to myself; I ran straight to the hospital.
I hadn't been there before, but I knew the layout and walked to Carlisle's office without announcing myself at the desk. I knocked; Carlisle had caught my scent and thought his welcome to me, while opening the door with a flourish.
His mind was curious, to say the least. Why would I come to him alone, did something happen, something bad that needed covering up? He gauged my mood and couldn't put a finger on it, because I looked pained, but underneath he sensed something had changed in me.
"I have found her," I blurted out.
"Her? What do you… oh! Oh, you mean your mate?"
I let the warm feeling of that word run through me; for the first time ever, I didn't feel disgruntled at the mention of my mate. "Yes, my Bella, my mate." The smile on my face couldn't be held back. "But, Carlisle, we need a plan. She's still underage and in a very bad home situation. Her father is neglectful at the least, and also abusive for the most part. Not physical abuse, I don't think, but the worst kind of mental abuse. Her self-esteem is buried deep, but I have seen it. She is very intelligent but downtrodden. She's in my year, but I believe she's ahead almost a year in most subjects, going all by herself, doing advanced material without officially skipping a year. Alice is in her advanced English and I'm in advanced biology with her. I think she intends to graduate early to get out of her father's house as soon as she turns eighteen." I sounded, even to myself, as a proud parent, but it couldn't be helped I was proud of her.
Carlisle beamed at me and thought, 'My dear boy, finally it happened. And you're the first who finds his mate relatively healthy. Did you tell her already?'
"No, I did talk to her and made it clear that we have a connection, but I promised to go to her tonight and explain everything. I know that she'll have a lot to learn, so probably not everything will be discussed. I have the impression, though, that she somehow knows a lot already. I said she is smart, and I believe that she is very observant too. I think she picked up on our 'otherness'."
Suddenly, I doubled over in pain. It was temporary and I could adjust, but pleasant was something entirely different.
Carlisle looked at me and smiled ruefully. "I expected this; you are mated, my dear boy, but your mate still can't believe it is true. The moment she doubts your connection, you will feel it physically. When you're both mated, even only in words, she will experience it too. Simple distance will be incapacitating for both of you."
I couldn't be too far away from her ever again? That would be a problem on nights like this, when her deadbeat father was at home. I decided I would build a tree house near her house, a vampire tree house. I started designing it in my head: nobody would see it from the ground and the only entrance would be by jumping from a nearby tree. I smiled at the vibration on my leg: Alice. I took out my phone and showed Carlisle at the same time I was reading her text.
*Bella will never doubt again after tonight, and the tree house supplies will be here the day after tomorrow.
AN Next week we go back to Bella.
I'd like to take this place to recommend some stories I read, and enjoyed a lot.
Firstly one of the most original ideas I've found
Reboot by Diana Law - FFn 622264
And The complete Angel series by Drotuno - FFn 5134656, 5564546, 6203334, 8519121
This story is also available on Fictionpad, my pseudonym there is also Pienuniek.
