A/N: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. However, I, under the penname listed above, do own this story, plot and its variations. I prefer it not to be plagiarized and thank you in advance.

As always, thank you to quothme, beta and beyond. She is the Frasier to my Niles, or in an allusion that is actually relevant to her, the Alfred Pennyworth to my Richard Grayson (I'm not anywhere as cool as Bruce Wayne yet so I get sidekick status). Want snark and superheroes? Try her Type 0- Negative (.net/s/5038080/1/). Want pathos and pain (but in a fabulous way!), then try her Awake in the Infinite Cold (.net/s/5440286/1/).

Chapter Two

His first victim was Carmen.

She was a senior, some said the most beautiful senior, and wore a purity ring prominently on her fourth finger. Not even recently graduated prom king and quarterback Rick Eleazar had been able to get into anything more than her living room, for tea with her father. She was the ultimate unattainable girl.

Before low-rise jeans and bellybutton rings, before varsity football and wet dreams, before puberty and sex but after the Cullens' first move to Forks, Edward used to love to play on the swings. At nine years old, he was bright-smiled and angel-eyed, inelegant hair flopping as he ran around. He had many, many friends—a space cowboy named Maurice, a talking dog called Sir Scratchawan, a cat called Chairman Meow, the list went on and on. His parents were rarely ever home and left their son to his own devices, which quickly manifested into a deep loneliness otherwise betrayed by his happy disposition. He spent most of his time wishing for friends. And then one day, at the swings, he made one.

Even with a lisp and a permanently runny nose, ten-year-old Carmen Weber was a beautiful girl. No matter what day of the week, she was dressed in her Sunday best, and even through winter, she wore pretty dresses and knee socks. She smiled politely, always led grace at dinner and said please and thank you. She rarely talked to anyone aside from her little sister, Angela, due to her strict father. But Reverend Weber knew how much his daughter liked the swings, so once a week, he'd let her run to the park down the street to play on the swings for half an hour.

Edward and Carmen would have contests to swing as high as possible. Edward would always fling himself off at the apogee of his ride, in a bungling sort of long jump, and land in the sandbox. He always shouted at Carmen to join him, but she never did, in fear of getting her clothes dirty and angering her father. But she watched every time, as a joyful, euphoric Edward sliced through the air, in the closest approximation of flying her young mind could imagine. And one day, she let go and flew too, shrieking with elation.

Unable to control her body the way Edward had, she barreled into his chest as he turned to face her and landed on top of him. She couldn't stop giggling, her shoulders shaking and torso convulsing. Edward, too, was consumed by a joyful chortle, pleased that he finally had someone to share his laughter with. And quite as suddenly as she had just let go of the chains, because Carmen was impulsive that day, she leaned down and kissed Edward, a first for both. His eyes went wide, since they were both too young to know to close their eyes, and she stayed stock still, since she was too naïve to know to move her lips. She pulled back away from his mouth and they both continued laughing convulsively, two children who could care less they had just kissed or were currently sprawled on top of each other in a sandbox.

The Reverend cared, however, when he found his daughter giggling with that strange, no-good Cullen boy—their family didn't even come to Christmas mass!—and lying on top of him, nonetheless. Reverend Weber knew that it didn't mean anything, that it was the simple, innocent play of two young children, but he couldn't let this slide. Today, it would be the swings and giggles; in five years, it would be bedroom windows and sex. He knew what he had to do and packed Carmen off to a private Catholic school, leaving Edward friendless. When Carmen returned midway high school, she was in her current avatar of straight arrow, virgin princess, untouchable to anyone—including non-entity Edward, the only boy she had ever kissed.

But now, after just one day with this new face and body, Edward Cullen was the king of high school. The previous day, he had flirted with many of the girls at Forks High. During French, he had conjugated (verbs) with Lauren Mallory. Jessica Stanley and he had worked through problems dealing with heat, fluids and pressure in Physics. When he had gone into the office to change his schedule, the secretary, Ms. Young hadn't recognized him.

"It's me, Ms. Young. Edward," he said, voice fluttering through the air.

"Oh! Oh my, Edward! Look… look at you," she said, faltering as she did just that. A sublime smile was on his face, sated and devilish. "You look so… different." She swallowed intentionally, hoping to stave off some of the drool she felt forming. "Very handsome." She could say that, right? Never mind that he was only five years younger than her, and maybe more attractive than all the other good-looking men from here to Port Angeles put together. She could appreciate the picture without smudging it with her fingerprints.

"Thanks, Ms. Young," he replied. He spoke differently too, voice low and smoothly shifting from word to word like he was bowing a cello rather than speaking. "Don't worry. I'm not that different." Ms. Young arched a finely plucked eyebrow. "Really. Just think of it as… I was asleep before. And now, the potential in me has awoken." He grinned and held up a piece of paper. "Thanks for the new schedule." He shot one last toe-curling, breath-halting smirk at her before turning and being accosted by a small body.

Bella looked up, shocked to see gravity-defying auburn hair and twinkling gold eyes looking down at her. She had heard about Edward, of course, but she didn't expect to see him so soon, looking as good—maybe even better—as everyone had said.

"Hello Bella," he said quietly. His velour voice was soft but carried. "It's nice to see you again." He wasn't smiling and the intensity in his burning gaze chilled her skin and warmed her insides simultaneously, leaving her feeling disconcerted.

"Hi, Edward. You look…" Gorgeous. Sensational. Downright yummy. "… different."

Edward tilted his head and stared into the distance, seemingly pondering Bella's words. "I am different," he mused a few seconds later, almost to himself. He looked straight down into Bella's brown eyes, which were wide and unbelieving. Leaning in, he said, "By the way, Bella…" His voice went even lower and softer as he got closer. "I'm in your Biology class now. Turns out, I already learned everything I had to in Physics. See you in 6th period." His breath brushed the tip of her ear, so cool that it actually felt like he touched her. Before she could register whether he had or not, he was out of the office and sight.

Edward strode through the hall, long legs taking him far. He walked regally, head held high, eyes appraising but not meeting anyone else's, gliding through the sea of students as it parted for him like he was Moses. It was just after 4th period and nearly the entire school was in the main hall to socialize before lunch. Normally abuzz with giggles, shrieks and grunts, that day there was nothing but a low drone as everyone watched a former worker approach the queen bee.

The entire hall held their breath.

"Excuse me," he said, voice like honey-glazed velvet. He stood behind Carmen, still towering over her considerable stature and placed his mouth a few inches from her ear. She whipped around in surprise, leaving their faces so close that she could smell the pinch of mint on his breath, see the dusting of gold in his eyes. He remained right where he was and she lost her balance as the nearness of him registered. He pressed his hand into the small of her back to steady her, leaving it there so that his arm draped around her waist. "Hello Carmen."

"Hi Edward," she replied, as if she had not ignored him for the last eight years. She waved her companions away and turned her full attention towards Edward. "It's been a while."

His hand was splayed along her lower back, tapping out a hypnotic rhythm. Eeny, meeny, miny, moe. Eeny, his index finger, at the center; meeny, his middle finger, curving to graze the small of her back; miny, his ring finger drumming against the slope that curved into her ass. And moe, his pinky brushing ever so lightly, up and down, along the very top of her derriere.

He smiled at her and took one step closer. "It has, Carmen. I've missed you." His voice was like rolling boil of water, rumbling and low, just on the precipice of spilling over.

Looking up at Edward, Carmen felt like she was in a daze, as if someone had filled her lungs with something that wasn't quite air and her feet were planted on something that wasn't quite the ground. She didn't quite know what was happening, but he was moving closer towards her, almost in slow motion, and she was not backing away. His sultry smirk quirked upwards and the gold of his eyes seemed to lighten. In that moment, she saw her old friend Edward from the swings again and knew what was going to happen.

"And for ten years," he murmured. His eyes flicked between her lips and her gaze. "I've just wanted to reminisce." With that, in the middle of the crowded hallway, the new and improved Edward Cullen and till-then-untouched Carmen Weber had their second first kiss.

They were in a crowded hallway, filled with their peers. She hadn't even let Rick kiss her on the cheek, even after he'd met her father. She was Carmen Weber, and she was saving herself—every part of her self—for something better than an impatient high school boy. She knew all these things, but these thoughts abandoned her mind as she breathed in the nearness of Edward, smelling like musk and midnight rain and moonless evenings. Her eyes were closing on their own accord, her hand was wrapping itself around the arm that was wrapped around her and though she stopped breathing, Edward's scent permeated her being.

And as his downy soft lips touched hers, Carmen flew with Edward again. Some sort of energy was racing through her, from where her bottom lip was firmly ensconced between his. His hands were still, one resting lightly on her waist and no other part of their bodies touched. It was a tasteful, chaste kiss but to Carmen, it was was something beyond. She had never felt anything so soft, so almost, so nearly but not quite, and behind her closed lids, she was seeing stars and galaxies and worlds outside of this one.

He pulled away slowly, and with a low, quiet voice full of chuckles, he said, "Maybe I'll see you at the swings."

As he walked away, the entire hallway stared after him, looking like uniform caricatures, eyes bugging out in disbelief, mouths agape in awe. Like a choreographed chorus, they swung their heads to look at Carmen, who was still standing in place, big, innocent brown eyes wide, open and dazed, fingers hovering over her lips, as if afraid to touch them.

Bella hadn't been there for Carmen-gate. But by the end of the day, she heard a million versions.

"Oh my god, did you hear? Edward Cullen just walked right up to Carmen Weber and kissed her! In the middle of the hallway! In front of everyone!" That was Alice and her exclamations.

"Ugh, I heard they were just going at it at her locker, making out, grabbing each other, totally not caring that everyone was watching." That was Lauren and her exaggerations.

"So do you think they're dating? I really don't think so because I mean, he is supposed to be in my Physics class but he's not anymore so I couldn't ask him, but he didn't even talk to her after that, and he talked to me the other day, and I really just don't see her being his type at all. And like I said, he didn't even talk to her at all again." That was Jessica and her explanations (and run on sentences).

"So what Cullen decides that he's cool now so he's got to prove it by kissing Waiting Till I Wed Weber? I get what Cullen's pulling. He's the new sheriff in town, so he's gotta prove his worth. Fine, stick it to Chastity Belt Weber if you want. But what the fuck was that with those other bitches? He doesn't have to piss all over every girl just because he's the new top dog." That was Mike Newton and his envy (and mixed metaphors).

Bella wondered what bizarre, Twilight Zone episode she'd fallen into that everyone seemed to be talking about Edward Cullen. The same Edward Cullen who two days ago didn't even register on their radar. The same greasy Edward Cullen whose now signature oversexed hairstyle, that everyone from Mike to Tyler "I'm gonna grow an afro this year" Crowley was aping. The same coke-bottle glasses-wearing Edward Cullen whose eyes had hypnotized Carmen Weber into kissing him. The same dorky Edward Cullen, now worthy of his own cover on GQ…whom she had turned down just a few months ago.

Who was this guy?

[-]

Floating, falling, sweet intoxication,
Touch me, trust me, savor each sensation
Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in.

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A/N: Indescribable amount of thanks to those who have read and reviewed; your words mean so much. thank you to those who alerted as well.