Epov

The beautiful lady was running at me now. My frantic instincts told me to run, move, go.

I took two steps back into the brush and tripped on a limb. I balanced myself and the now soaked beautiful lady looked at me seriously as she yelled, "Come on!"

She reached for my hand and I thought, this is it, contact.

When her hand met my hand, things seemed to slow down. The world felt like it stopped spinning. I could hear my heart speedily racing in my ears before, but when she touched me it sounded like it slowed down to a steady beat. It was loud in my ears.

Thump-thump...thump-thump...thump-thump...thump-thump

I felt the strangest, yet wonderful feeling. It was perfectly...indescribable, at best. It was more than I thought any human contact could ever be. I honestly thought you needed some kind of drug to feel this… odd.

As we stood there I looked back up at her and noticed she was stopped moving. I hadn't moved in the first place. He grip on my hand was hot compared the the temperature of my own. I was cold, immensely cold. She looked strangely at me for a moment by my skin, my scars. She shook her head and tugged on my hand. I realized then the world did not actually stop and she was going to get sick too if she stayed in this weather much longer.

Before I really knew what I was doing, I pulled her with a jerk (maybe a little too roughly) back under the tree where she had been before. She let me pull her back with an odd look to her face.

We both sat heavily with a thump on the wet blanket. I wondered if she would become ill, if her body's temperature had become low, and if I had caused her wrist pain with my pull.

"Are you cold? Do you feel ill? Did I inflict pain on your wrist? Is it hurt?"

She looked at me for the first time since sitting and answered, "I-I think I'm f-fine. W-We need t-to l-l-leave." She stuttered. She was cold, very cold.

I looked at the green grass and thought for a moment before answering. I whispered unthinkingly, "I won't go back." I may die first.

I wouldn't. I could think of very few things that would make me go back. The fact that I would, quite probably, never see the beautiful lady again if I did go back made me stay.

"W-we c-can't stay o-out here f-f-fore-ever! W-we'll b-b-both get hyp-potherm-mia. A-a-act-tually, how l-long were y-you in the r-r-rain l-like th-that?"

I could tell there was a large probability I would have to bring her back to the house now. She would contract hypothermia, like she said and so would I, which was of much less consequence. She could hardly speak through her shivers. I could tell that she was worried for me also. I didn't want her worried for me, but there seemed to be no way around it.

" Too long. I know somewhere dry and safe. It would be pertinent if you came also." I kept my eyes on my hands as I played with a piece of grass nervously, shamefully in my fingers.

Do you look at people when you speak? I never had but wanted too now. Are you suppose to use you hands to express what you feel, like the doctor? Should I hold her to keep her temperature up like I feel I should? Is that accepted? Is it expected?

I decided to do nothing because she would tell me if I should do those things, wouldn't she?

"How far away is it?" She asked.

"Not very far. I'm not sure exactly, but I walked from there so the distance should not be long." I pulled more grass from the ground and ripped it again. I felt increasingly nervous, it was so new and overwhelming.

"Can you find your way back?"

"Yes."

"I have an umbrella so we wont get any wetter." She sounded like I did, unsteadily cautious. I couldn't blame her, I knew my looks were unnatural.

She took a deep breath. "Alright, well ," She stood up, taking my arm with her, pulling me. It surprised me.

Is it normal to grab others? Is it a gesture? She seemed to be doing it often.

It felt natural.

"Im sorry!" She dropped my arm like it was on fire.

What had she done wrong?

I didn't know what I should have say, I was thinking, 'Do not apologize, I do not get a lot of human contact, and I enjoy yours.' I decided to not reply.

"I think we should go." I stated after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence and side glances.

"I think your right." She agreed but she didn't do anything, and I didn't know what that meant.

I really wanted her to say or do something first, but I realized after a few minutes that wasn't going to happen. I could tell it wouldn't be long before she would feel her possible hypothermia from the frigid temperature and her dripping clothes.

"Lady," I stood up "would you like me to lead the way?" I didn't know how to address her either, so 'lady' would have to do.

She followed my lead and stood up. "Yes, thank you."

The storm was just as bad, if not worse. I walked quickly as I came out from under the temporary shelter. I moved approximately twenty feet away before I felt two hands cling onto my upper and lower arm. Her nails dug into my skin and it stung but I felt better with her there.

I looked to the side and I saw the beautiful lady's face as she clung to me arm. Her eyes were large and her face had an expression I didn't know but I felt sympathy for. She looked in need of help.

What should I do? What does she want? What did she need me to do?

I didn't know but I knew I should.

"Just keep going!" She yelled over the rain. The rain was so loud her voice sounded like a whisper to my ears.

Instinctively, I held her hand on my forearm as I started a brisk pace out of the clearing.

As we went down the hill we picked up speed. I was surprised she fell just as much as I did.

Shouldn't she know to look where she's going?

I grew colder. The adrenaline I had felt when we met was fading. I knew I had hypothermia or I was on the brink of it. I was so very cold. Our teeth clattered and she shook.

As we neared the house we were both running an uncomfortable run with my right side slowed by her and her left pulled by me. Even under the rain and chilling temperature I felt the slight warmth that came with her touch. I wanted to hold her close and feel it on my chest that was numbly cold.

Bpov

A house.

Finally.

It felt like our shivering, wet bodies had been struggling to run in this direction for hours.

When he said he knew somewhere close I thought it would be maybe ten minutes away, but no, it had at least taken twenty.

I got a little worried as we got closer. My mind came up with all kinds of reasons why he would be out in the woods alone with no coat in the pouring rain. Not one of them were particularly good.

His scars made me want to believe he was insane and in need mental help, but after I saw his scared face I couldn't be truly scared of him anymore. One part of my mind was made up that the frightened, innocent look he had was all some kind of act and he was, no doubt, bringing me back here to hurt me; but that was a very small part. The rest of my mind was made up that you could not fake such a scared, innocent look no matter how good an actor you are, and he didn't want to hurt me.

My mind was also made up by the way he looked at me. He looked at my 'plain Jane' exterior as something other. Something almost completely unknown to him. Because he looked so alien to me I could relate. I didn't know why the pure normality of me would be so foreign to him but it was.

Maybe he was in an all boys school and was kicked out for such extreme self mutilation. Maybe he has a mental problem. Maybe he's one of those people who cant feel pain and his parents couldn't stop him from hurting himself. Maybe he did, as I thought, havee a mental problem and had to be home schooled so he never saw girls. Maybe he just enjoyed pain to n extreme point of isolation and constant cutting. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

"Lady, I-" I hadn't really noticed but we were now standing in the entryway of the house. A very, very warm house.

"My name is Bella," I told him as I took off my shoes, jacket, socks, and hat. His use of the name 'lady' was not disrespectful like you might think, but I thought he should at least know my name.

"Bella then, I am very sorry that you were so. . .inconvenienced by myself. If I had know when I set out that I would come back with a freezing lady, with no means of getting warm, I assure you I would not have even gone." I was now 99.9% sure he was completely harmless and was even more surprised then I am with this situation. The way he sounded, the use of his words showed something no actor could really recreate. It was a heartbreaking mix of elements that were thrown into one man. His voice showed his character so well. He was so nervous, scared, innocent in his intention, insecure, and just sad. I could understand his insecurity, he was torn, ripped, but sewed together. He had so many imperfections across his tall body, they seemed endless, so tragic. I had hurt myself once, just to see what it was like, and I'm not proud of having a mark left on my skin.

"It's alright. . ." I trailed off.

"My name is Edward." He sounded so unsure that it made his wise and innocent face seem even more clueless.

"Edward." I smiled, "It's okay," I hoped, "But If you have a bathroom and maybe a spare shirt and a pair of pants I could barrow, it would really help." I didn't really care to use his clothes, but I would freeze if I didn't dry off and get in something warm.

He looked very serious as he nodded and ran off to another room, leaving me alone in the entry way.