"Super Fan"

Universe: Twilight Fandom

Rating: T

Genre: Humor

Summary: Brenna is Edward Cullen's biggest fan. This Halloween she decides to take a drastic step to capture the vampire of her dreams.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. Duh.

Brenna loved Twilight. And, loving Twilight meant she loved Edward Cullen. Loving Edward Cullen meant she loved Robert Pattinson. She couldn't get enough of him. She sucked up every drop of tabloid gossip and drooled over every new photo shoot. She knew she was obsessed. She didn't think that was a bad thing. After all, that man was gorgeous on every level.

She heard her parents whispered conversation when she traipsed up the stairs after a visit to Hot Topic carrying a life-size cardboard cutout of Edward with his sulking, smoldering, sexy glare. She didn't care. She didn't expect them to understand. She placed the 2-D replica of her future husband in the corner by the window so he could watch her sleep. Sometimes, when she woke at night, she would imagine him sitting in the rocking chair, watching her. She would fold back her purple comforter (identical to Bella's – purchased for $70.13 on Amazon) and kneel on her bed hoping he would step forward to share a passionate, breathless kiss. He never did. So she practiced on the back of her hand, imagining it to be as cold and unyielding as Edward's lips.

It took four and a half months and all of her baby sitting money – plus a sizable loan from her long-suffering mother – to decorate her room like Bella's from the first movie. She had begged and pleaded until her dad helped her carry and assemble the pine furniture she needed to recreate the Northwest, small-town atmosphere. She had repainted the walls a soft turquoise and hung similar artwork on the walls. Her computer was more modern and not all of the books on the shelf matched exactly, but she was proud of the details she had managed to duplicate.

When she started her junior year her obsession reached new heights. This was the year that Bella had met Edward! Brenna was 17 years old, brunette and a virgin. That had to count for something, right? She wasn't very good at science or language arts, but she did her best to live up to the Bella Model. Truthfully, she though Wuthering Heights was depressing and disturbing, but she read it multiple times anyway. Edward loved Bella and Bella loved Wuthering Heights. If she wanted to stand a chance of attracting his attention, even within the enabling realm of her own imagination, she needed to simulate his soul mate as closely as possible.

Her parents were mildly concerned, but believed she would eventually grow out of it. A crush on an imaginary character/unattainable celebrity was safer than pursuing a real-life horny teenage boy. Besides, Brenna was getting better grades than ever before, talking about college prospects, and frequently volunteered to cook dinner, clean the bathroom and do laundry. In between re-reading Twilight and surfing the gossip sites online, of course.

One night in early October, Brenna sat on her bed thinking hard and staring at the empty rocking chair in the corner. She was frustrated. She was a smart girl and knew that her efforts, while valiant, were not going to cause Robert Pattinson/Edward Cullen to materialize in her bedroom. She needed supernatural help.

The next day, after school, she walked into town and visited Madame Fieri's book store. Madame Fieri sold books on healing and meditation. She also dabbled in the occult. She listened with uncanny stillness as Brenna detailed her tale of woe. She was embarrassed at first, but when Madame Fieri didn't laugh or shoo her away, she gained confidence.

"Hmmm. I have heard of this Edward Cullen boy. He seems to have gained a powerful hold over the minds of young girls and even mature women the whole world over. When you spend as much time linked to the spirit realm as I do, you learn to take notice of phenomena like this. Artists and authors have a special power. I'm not referring to everyone who picks up a pen or a paint brush, mind you. I speak of those who open themselves to the visions and inspiration that control their art. They are in communion with other dimensions and, through their chosen medium, can share these other universes with the world."

"Wait. . . do you mean to say that you believe Edward Cullen is real? Somewhere, in another part of the universe, vampires really exist?"

"I have not spoken to them myself, but I do communicate with enough beings we would not classify as human to know that he is a very real possibility. You must admit, the force of the Twilight story took over with supernatural rapidity. One could say that Twilight gathered an almost religious following."

Brenna thought of her bedroom which she had transformed into a sort of shrine. She considered her morning and evening rituals of reading and meditating on passages from the novels. She thought about her dozens of bookmarked websites, blogs and online communities where hundreds of thousands of other girls and even a few boys shared their persistent attachment to the Saga that had transformed their lives and perspective on love.

"I think you must be right. When I read the first book, I just had a sense he was something more than fiction. Even Stephenie Meyer says that Edward visited her in her dreams and that's where she learned his story."

"So now we come to your problem. . ."

"Yes. I know that my chances are slim, but I feel like I need to try to reach him. Sitting passively and waiting for him to find me isn't enough. I'll go crazy. If he's out there, and I can reach him, I have to give it a try."

"Hmmm. You're talking about a very big step. You are reaching out across the plains of eternity to try to speak with another soul. I have been training and practicing for decades, and the effort it takes to speak to those who will listen is both physically and mentally exhausting. But you seem to be determined. Your focus is clearly defined and unwavering. I think. . . maybe. . . with you it could be possible."

"Really? Do you think so? What do I need to do?"

"Have you ever used an Ouija board?"

"I thought that was just a game."

"Ahhh. To most it is. But it is also a powerful tool in the hands of a witch like me. And possibly you, too."

Brenna was skeptical, but Madame Fieri had spoken with such confidence and sincerity that she decided to press forward with an open mind. The fact was, she had gone there looking for answers and a teacher had willingly responded.

An hour later, Brenna left the quaint shop with her very own Ouija board and two sticks of incense wrapped in a brown paper bag and tucked under her arm. Madam Fieri had shown her how to prepare herself and her room. Using the board was surprisingly easy. The wood had felt warm and comfortable beneath her fingertips. Brenna was impatient for All Hallows Eve to arrive, the day of power when a link to the other realms would be easier to establish.

The next several weeks passed in a haze of anxiety and excitement. When Nadia invited her to a Halloween party she found it hard to turn down the invitation in a manner that wouldn't invite scrutiny. Nadia was bubbly and boy-crazy but also incredibly smart. Brenna was only friends with her because she reminded her of Jessica from the Twilight books. She figured that every Bella needed a shallow, snarky friend to make them feel clumsy, plain and in all ways inferior.

October 31st finally arrived with a blistering wind and storm clouds on the horizon. It promised to be a terrible night for trick-or-treating. Brenna excused herself from dinner and escaped to her room. Her parents exchanged knowing looks. She spent every spare second on the internet searching for new pictures of her earthbound Edward Cullen avatar, Robert Pattinson. They were used to her behavior by that point.

Brenna was well into her preparations when her mother knocked on the door an hour later.

"Brenna? Do I smell smoke? Or is that incense? What are you doing in there?"

"Nothing, Mom. I'm just cleaning my room. A friend from school said that incense helps keep the moisture down so I'm trying that out. For my books. And to smell good. I'll put it out before I go to bed. Promise!"

"Okay then. Just make sure you had it over a fire-proof holder."

"Yes, Mom. It's on a big plate."

"Okay, sweetie. Well, Dad and I are going to watch a movie and hand out candy. Let me. . ." Ding Dong. "Oh, I better get that. Just be safe, okay?"

"Yes, Mom!" Brenna breathed a sigh of relief. She hoped the trick-or-treaters would keep her parents busy until she was finished.

Kneeling on her floor, surrounded by candles with her new Ouija board placed between her and the cardboard Edward Cullen, Brenna finally felt like she was ready. She rested her hands gently on her knees, closed her eyes and breathed in the smoky air. She exhaled and inhaled five more times, willing her heart to slow and her mind to open.

She employed another meditation technique that Madame Fieri had shown her, humming gently through her nose each time she exhaled, feeling the subtle vibration creep around her skull, down her spine and into the floorboards beneath her knees.

When she felt calm and centered she drew in all of her thoughts and all of her senses to focus them on one point of light. Edward. She projected his name and her passion for him, the fascination and the adoration that consumed her. She pictured his face as he had appeared to her when she first read Twilight. He did look surprisingly similar to Robert Pattinson, only younger with a straighter nose and sharper cheekbones. His eyebrows climbed in a sculpted arc over the piercing honeyed gold of his irises. And his lips. . .

Brenna felt the familiar bloom of love in her chest and was struck by an answering call. Her heart jolted through its next several beats and she felt a pulling, tugging sensation. She held onto the image of Edward, calling his name into the deep and silent void that spread out before her mind's eye. The tugging increased momentarily and then sparked and snapped like an electric shock, knocking her off balance.

She opened her eyes and looked around. The candle flames were dancing wildly. The incense smoke curled around the perimeter of her room, clinging to the walls as if held back from the center by a physical force. Brenna looked up at her love's image and felt as if there was true depth and feeling in those golden eyes.

In a trancelike state, Brenna put out the candles and snuffed the half-burnt sticks of incense. She put away her Ouija board, realizing with a start that she had never even used it. But she felt as if something powerful had happened all the same. She returned Edward to his place of honor with a hopeful kiss across his life-like lips. With a sigh of contentment she climbed into bed. She had done everything she could. Now, it was truly up to Edward. If he didn't respond tonight of all nights, she would have to acknowledge that her dream would always remain a dream and nothing more.

Perhaps she was exhausted from the weeks of anticipation. Or maybe the effort of stretching her will across the expanse of creation had depleted her strength. Brenna passed into a deep slumber with very little effort.

Her subconscious wandered along familiar paths of hope and fantasy. She lay on a blanket in a small sunlit meadow. Beneath the shadow of the trees he stood, watching her. She beckoned and he stepped cautiously forward to join her. This was the part where her dream always got good. Her sleeping mind waited in tense anticipation for the moment when his features would become visible, reflecting and refracting the sun's rays in scintillating flashes of light. That moment never came. The shadowed figure paused, looking over his shoulder into the shadows. An unearthly screech shattered the stillness. Brenna felt and saw the sunlight disappear as heavy clouds tumbled across the sky and a brisk breeze whipped through the meadow. Brenna woke with a start. What had happened? That particular dream was as familiar and well-worn as her favorite sneakers. Something was different.

She shivered and clutched her blankets tightly to her torso as another blast of chill air swirled through her room. She gaped at the open window.

Her rocking chair was bobbing in the corner. There was a tall figure outlined dimly against the wall, gliding closer with silent steps.

"Brenna. . ." the figured whispered in a voice both achingly familiar and foreign to her ears. "I've tried to stay away from you, but I just can't any longer."

With a start Brenna recognized the profile of her Edward. She scrambled to her knees, heedless of the cold, damp air raising goose pimples on her bare legs. "Edward. . . is that really you? Are you really here?"

"Yes, my love," the figure spoke, moving even closer, then pausing at the end of her bed.

Brenna couldn't believe that it had worked! Madame Fieri was not a fraud, she really had supernatural insight. And now Edward was here. He had chosen her! Out of all the obsessed fans around the world, she had succeeded in capturing his attention and winning his heart! Brenna couldn't breathe. Her heart was swelling so big that there was no room in her chest for air.

She was frozen in anticipation. This was it. The moment she had dreamed about and re-enacted a hundred times. Edward Cullen was going to kiss her! She squeezed her eyes shut and pinched herself hard, and then she opened them. He was still there. This was real!

At that moment she heard heavy footsteps in the hall. Oh no! Dad's coming!

Edward didn't disappear out of the window or hide in her closet. He stood there unmoving as the door burst open and the light flicked on, blinding her with its sudden brightness.

"Bella, how many times have a told you, no vampires in your room after 10 pm!"

"Dad?" Brenna gasped in horror. He was wearing a police officer uniform and a bushy mustache. Her eyes darted to Edward only to see her 2D cutout tipping and shaking violently while her mother collapsed into a helpless, giggling heap.

"Mom, Dad! Oh, my gosh! You guys are so mean!"

Worst. Halloween. Ever.

Have an idea for a Halloween one-shot? Send me your prompts. . . if you dare. Mwah hah hah hah