EPOV
You. My brain automatically responded. I kicked myself mentally. I liked the idea of pretending to be her boyfriend, if only because it gave me an excuse to be near her. I also wanted to hear her sing again. Her voice was wonderful.
"Your voice. You have to sing for me, whenever I want you to." I said. I thought I sounded ridiculous, but she blushed and nodded.
"Deal."
The bell rang then and I escorted her to her next class, carrying her heavy (for her) bag. Two of the afore mentioned boys were in there, looking wistfully at Bella and angrily at me. So I took her hand and led her to her desk. Her heart picked up speed at my touch and the electricity was tingling up my arm as I led her gently to her seat. I placed her bag beside her.
"What are you doing?" she asked quietly through her teeth.
"Having fun." I replied and swiftly turned to leave. I came face to face with the teacher.
"Tell me, young man," wrong. I was older than his grandfather. "What are you doing in this class?"
"Admiring your piano forte. It's beautifully constructed, worth about twenty thousand. The embellishment on the stool and legs indicates that this was made specifically for somebody. Was it made for the school or bought randomly?" I asked. The teacher took a second to compose his thoughts.
"Made for the school. Tell me are you transferring here? Do you play?"
"I'm not sure, and yes."
"Would you care to play for us then Mr?"
"Cullen."
"Cullen then."
I sat down and turned to Bella. She was glaring at me. So I played one of her pieces. I knew she recognized it instantly, because she buried her face into her hands. When I finished the teacher and students looked at me baffled.
I've never heard that piece before.
He's hot.
Bella is so lucky.
He's a suck up. I bet I could take him.
That was Bella's piece. I wonder how he memorised it so quickly. He's quite talented. I recognised Angela's voice.
"Well done Mr. Cullen, did you write that?"
"No. A friend of mine did." I said. "Now, I must be leaving. I am sorry for interrupting." I stood and left, still seeing Bella glaring at me, through her hair, which was covering the majority of her face.
BPOV
He played my piece and left. Was he trying to embarrass me permanently? I hated attention, mostly because being in the spotlight did nothing for confidence, especially since I was a klutz. Now everyone would be watching me for a while. More people to see when I fell over. Great.
Music and Biology passed quickly. True to Alice's word, I was called down to the office at the end of the Biology period. I told the principle I would consider it and asked him to keep it quiet. However, because it was a secret, I had a feeling that the whole school would know, if not tomorrow then the day after.
On my way out of the office I saw Edward pressed up against a wall. At first I thought he was just standing there to see me, but I quickly realised that the sun was shining. He was hiding in the shadows. I walked over to him. He was trapped in a circle of sunlight. Edward literally couldn't move from the spot he was in.
"Alice warned you."
"I forgot." He spat back.
"What's the opposite of spotlight? That seems to be what you're standing in."
"Very funny."
"So Edward, did you like your first day at my school?" I ignored the electricity my body felt when I said his name.
"The teachers are all boring. One's a pedophile actually."
"What?"
"Kidding."
"Not funny Edward." I looked around. "Do you know how long you're stuck here?"
"Fifteen minutes." He sighed.
"Oh. Poor you. See you later." I turned.
"Wait!" he called. I paused and turned back. He seemed almost pained.
"Is it that hard for you to be trapped? For only fifteen minutes. You already look like you're being tortured." I asked softly. He did look uncomfortable.
"I don't like confinement." He admitted. I sat down in front of him and he slid down, bending his knees, to stay out of the sunlight. He rested his head on his knees as I sat beside him.
"I could teach you how to play concentration." I offered. He laughed and the sound made my breathing irregular. I calmed it again and he looked at me.
"You do that a lot."
"Do what?"
"Your breathing catches, or becomes scattered. Your heart rate picks up and slows down sporadically. Is it me?"
"You wish." I managed to retort, though I was glad I wasn't blushing. It was him, but I didn't need him to know that. "It's just your kind in general." I lied, well I had thought, but he smirked.
"So, you can sing, you can play the piano, you're wonderful at school, you're accident prone, is there anything else I should know about you?"
"Heaps. But I'm going to let you figure that out by yourself." I smiled. He scowled. I sat, partially in the sunlight that was trapping him, watching his topaz eyes watch me.
"What are you thinking?" he asked.
"Trigonometry." I answered, without thinking. I have a test tomorrow.
"Worried?" he asked.
"Excited actually." I admitted. "I like it when I'm able to work out the questions and get the answers however long the process is. It's kind of rewarding." Edward looked at me confusedly again.
"What?"
"Adults like that kind of reward, not teenagers. Teenagers are usually motivated by hormones, and the thrill of irresponsibility"
"Because you'd know this, you've been one for how long?"
"Very funny."
"We seem to be saying that a lot lately."
"We do."
As we sat there the sunlight began to fade, but then shone through again, pulsing, teasing. Edward sighed again.
"How come no one recognises you? Any of you? You don't exactly have the most inconspicuous haircuts, and those masks only cover so much. Yet no one seems to make the connection."
Edward smiled at me, thoughtfully. He mulled it over a little.
"A few people do almost guess. But since we rarely travel as the full group in public, no one really makes the connection. What do you mean, by the way, about my hair?"
"Oh nothing." I smiled. He stared at me, his eyes trying to lift the truth from my mind. Tyler came walking down the hall at that point.
"Bella?" I turned and grimaced, turning it into a smile at the last second.
"Hey Tyler."
"So, Edward... are you going to be in town much longer?"
"I'm not sure. Bella's slowly convincing me to make my stay longer. Give us some time together and what not." Edward replied smoothly. I blushed and stared very adamantly at my hands. The sunlight that had trapped Edward disappeared and he stood up, offering his hand to me. I took it and felt the electricity shoot through my fingers. He let go as soon as I was on my feet. The tingling vanished when we broke contact.
"Shall we go home Bella, love?" Edward asked politely. Although it was pretend, my heart fluttered whenever he called me that. His crooked smile flashed across his face, in response to my heart beat.
"You driving? Um, I'll see you later Tyler." He looked sad, thoughtful and slightly irritated. Edward's eyes flashed briefly with anger, but he composed himself and we walked to his car.
In five minutes we were home. I dumped all of my homework onto the table. Alice came flying in and picked me up, spinning me round and round and round, vampire speed. When she finally let go I fell to the ground. As I lay, my stomach heaved, and the room span almost as quickly as I had just been.
"Sorry Bella! I forgot!" Alice chimed and sat down beside me. My eyes told me she was still dancing around, but her hand on my shoulder told me otherwise. Carlisle was at my side next. After a few minutes I was feeling better. He was rubbing soft circles into my back and I kept my eyes closed. He talked to me softly, telling me to breathe deeply. Esme came and sat with us. Edward followed suit. Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper walked in and wondered why we were all sitting on the floor.
"Carlisle has something to tell, or ask you all." Alice squeaked quickly.
"Only Carlisle and Alice know so far. I have guesses and a bet running, so please make it worth my while." I muttered.
"You bet? On what? With who? Why wasn't I invited?" Emmett asked quickly. I opened my eyes and everyone stayed where they were supposed to. I looked expectantly at Carlisle.
EPOV
Bella stared at Carlisle, her face still slightly pale.
"I have decided to stay here for a while. A long while, to get to know this strange coven and its enticing members more carefully. I do not force you to stay with me, but I would like it if you did."
Bella looked smugly at me. That was a bet I had lost, and won in so many ways because of it.
"I'll stay. There's no reason to break up now, besides that. I kind of like it here." And I think I'm in love with Alice. Jasper added silently. Carlisle smiled and held out his fist. Jasper punched it.
"I'll stick around. I want to try pranking with Alice's help. It could be interesting." Emmett laughed, also bashing Carlisle's fist. His thoughts were exactly matched to his words. I never felt intrusive when reading Emmett's mind. He always spoke what he thought, or it was so obvious he needn't bother.
I still don't see what's so interesting here. If Emmett wants to stay, I suppose I should too. I am not happy with this Edward. Yes I know you're listening. I do not want to stay, especially not with that human around. She's far too calm around us for her own good. Rosalie looked pointedly at me, but tapped her fist onto Carlisle's anyway. I had to restrain a growl. I sighed and placed my hand onto Carlisle's also. I would have to hunt more frequently if I had any chance of staying near Bella for an extended period of time. I would also have to put up with the impure thoughts and noises of three couples now instead of one, although I had a feeling that at least Esme and Carlisle would be more mature, when they finally got together.
"Great!" Alice squeaked. She bounced all the way around the kitchen, making Jasper laugh and jumped onto Emmett's back. "You and I will have some fun my brother."
Flashes of various pranks and their outcomes flowed from the both of them. Carlisle and Esme went to enrol us in Bella's school. Rosalie stalked off to find a room she liked. I sighed and decided to leaf through Bella's homework. It was all easy, ridiculously so for a vampire with four medical degrees, but Bella would be working on it for a while.
I sat, watching her work, later in the evening. The others had found rooms and were moving their things around. Bella would mumble to herself, completely unaware of the fact she was doing so. When she finished her trigonometry homework she moved on to English and visibly relaxed. With her head resting on the table she wrote with astonishing speed.
I watched her until Esme broke my concentration.
"Peaceful isn't she?" I nodded. I had been watching her from the garden, far away from her view.
"Make yourself useful. Offer to proofread. Alice would do it, but her and Jasper are hunting somewhere."
"That's cheating."
"Not if you tell her there are mistakes, but don't tell her where they are. Now go. I have to start dinner soon. Or I could just order in..." Esme wandered around to the other side of the house. I walked into the kitchen. Bella's eyes acknowledged my presence, although the rest of her barely moved. Her hand still flew across the page.
"Want me to check anything? I've heard that's the way things are done around here." I felt silly, as I asked, but a faint blush crept onto her cheeks as she looked towards her trig pile. I sat and flipped through her book. All of her pages were extremely neat, dated, organised, easy to understand. I found the sheet she had been working on earlier and began skimming through the formulas. She was watching me, I could see it in my peripheral vision. My eyes darted to her face and locked with hers. She blushed and looked back to what she was writing. I half smiled. It was so easy to make her blush. There was only one mistake and it was simply an error of copying, not calculation. I let my finger rest on it as I lowered the book to the table. She looked at my finger and I quickly moved it.
"There's an error in there."
"Hmm. I wonder where it could be." She asked sarcastically. She took the book from me, looking immediately to the spot I had pointed out. When she fixed it she closed the book and I took the page she was writing from.
"What are you doing?"
"English. It's an essay. On a book called Blood and Chocolate. It's..." she broke off smiling. I raised one eyebrow.
"It's what?"
"It's kind of a love story. There's a girl, who's a werewolf and she falls in love with a regular human boy. Society and rules and everything is against them, but they manage it anyway."
"Sounds almost clichéd."
"Kinda. But I still liked it."
I read over the paragraphs amazed at how easily her words fit together. Her writing style belonged in an earlier decade. Was that because she had been raised by Alice and Esme, or because she had grown up reading the greatest works of literature? Esme came in after, placing a Subway on the table.
"Your favourite." Food is disgusting.
"I agree Esme." I muttered. Bella unwrapped the meal and broke off small pieces with her fingers, ingesting chicken, lettuce, bread, cheese. I was unaware of the revolted look that had flashed across my face until Bella scolded me.
"Hey. I crave food. You crave me. So in effect, you crave food. So stop grimacing. It's unbecoming." She smiled. That didn't make sense. Not to me anyway. I stayed silent, watching her eat with a silent fascination.
"Dare ya." She said, holding out a piece of lettuce. I leaned backwards. "Oh come on. You are my boyfriend after all."
Suddenly everyone was around us, Alice looking shocked, surprised and hopeful. Rose looked disgusted, Emmett looked confused, as did Jasper, Carlisle and Esme.
Edward? What did she say? Carlisle. I pressed my hands to my temples, sighing.
"Now you've done it Bella. They'll never believe me."
"Edward and I made a bet remember? If he lost he had to pretend to be my boyfriend, to keep away all the jerks who actually want to be my boyfriend. Well he lost." Bella barely looked interested in the conversation, still eating her dinner.
I felt something else though. Especially when she said boyfriend. Was it a flash of 'pride' Edward? You're proud to be her fake boyfriend? Maybe they'll be another couple in this family. Jasper was teasing, yet his face remained impassively bored, while looking casually at Bella's homework. I growled.
"No fair! Edward is having a yelling match and I don't even know with who!" Emmett sighed.
"That's it. I am really starting to need my own space now guys. Vampires are nosy enough don't you think?" Bella was cowering, surrounded by nearly everyone. She ducked under the table, and looked around frantically for an escape of some sort.
"Alice." I could see the effort she was putting behind the words, like she was regretting saying them as soon as she thought about them. "Remember my birthday present?"
Flashes of clothing. A pass to a club of some sort. Images of her presents filled my head via Alice. Oh! Of course. That would be so much fun! Bella is a genius.
"You want to?"
"Not tonight, but yes."
"Eeek!" Alice squeaked and grabbed Rosalie, Jasper and Esme, pulling them towards the front door. "We have to go shopping! Emmett, Carlisle you coming?"
"What about me?" I asked.
"Babysit." Alice told me pushing me back into my chair. I heard all of the others laughing as they disappeared. Bella sighed and threw herself onto the floor.
BPOV
It was the only thing I could think of. I hated dances, and clubbing, but unless I did something, I would be completely smothered by vampires.
"Seven is just far too big a number." I murmured. I heard Edward chuckle from behind me. I glared at him.
"Would you care to explain exactly what you just did?"
"I got everyone away from me, made Alice happy and now we're all going clubbing tomorrow night. Easy." I stood up, remembering my dinner and almost finished homework. Edward watched me as I ate and wrote. It was slightly disconcerting.
"What are you thinking?" I asked him. He laughed.
"I was thinking about asking you what you were thinking, actually." He smiled. I went over that a few times. I looked at his calm expression and wondered why he was smiling. I stood up and decided that I wanted to watch a movie. Edward sat and watched with me, although I had the strongest suspicion that he was watching me more than the movie. When I finally turned in, the others still hadn't come home yet and I wondered just how many stores they were bombarding. As I settled down to sleep I heard a beautiful piano piece floating through the walls. Edward was playing. I concentrated on the tune as I fell asleep. It seemed familiar somehow, but I was sure I'd never heard it.
I woke at two in the morning. I wasn't completely awake; my eyes were still closed, my breathing was still calm and I hadn't moved, yet I was aware of everything in the room. I soon realised what had woken me. Edward was having a fast conversation with Jasper, in my room.
"You really think so?"
"Alice is fond of you. Surely you've felt it."
"She's always so filled with love and energy, I can't separate it."
"Wait until she's looking at you, only you, close your eyes and feel. There's a difference. Believe me."
"What do you think about Carlisle and Esme? Man their fireworks are going fast as lighting, but neither of them have budged. We need to do something."
"Don't worry. Alice and Emmett have got it covered."
Jasper chuckled at Edward's assurances.
"And what about you?"
"What about me?"
They went quiet for a small amount of time and I could only assume that Edward was reading Jasper's mind. I heard a quick laugh.
"Honestly Jasper! Don't be ridiculous."
"I'm not. You are." Then I heard my door open and close. Jasper must've left because I heard Edward's voice again.
"I can't be." The next second, his breathing was awfully close to my ear. The cool air fluttered across my jaw and raised goosebumps. I didn't move. He stayed there, so close, so patient, for a while, until he stood and went to my door. He leaned carefully against the frame; I could hear it squeak. He sighed and left. I could no longer hear his breathing. I lay perfectly still for a few more moments, then opened my eyes. No one was there. Could it have been a dream?
EPOV
She went to bed as I started playing. It was a simple piece, inspired by Bella herself. The notes flew from my fingers as I sat, inhaling her scent. The piece was as beautiful as she was, and sad, like the sadness she felt. Being the outsider was difficult. I knew that, from my time surrounded by humans. I sat, perfecting the piece until late into the morning when the others finally arrived home.
"Yay. You didn't kill her!" Alice chimed.
"Thanks." I spat bitterly.
"Kidding, brother dear." Alice hugged me. Had it been anyone else less charming and caring, her calling me her brother would've annoyed me. They showed me their purchases, including what they had bought for myself and Bella. Carlisle and Esme were talking downstairs, both sitting at the kitchen table. Rosalie and Alice were rifling through closest of clothing. Jasper and Emmett were wrestling, outside.
I heard Bella softly chuckle and went to her room. She was lying completely motionless, other than the steady beating of her heart and the slow rise and fall of her chest. Her curly hair tumbled around her pale face. I stood beside her watching, thinking.
"Damn. I hate clubs." Bella whispered and I smiled. She was quite a unique character. I wondered if I'd ever truly understand her. I stood watching her until I heard Jasper come in behind me.
"You really are messed up."
"Excuse me?"
"You're stalking her. Or are you planning to kill her? I would've thought Alice would stop that."
"Alice is too preoccupied with you."
"You really think so?"
"Alice is fond of you. Surely you've felt it."
"She's always so filled with love and energy, I can't separate it."
"Wait until she's looking at you, only you, close your eyes and feel. There's a difference. Believe me."
"What do you think about Carlisle and Esme? Man their fireworks are going fast as lighting, but neither of them have budged. We need to do something."
"Don't worry. Alice and Emmett have got it covered." I remembered the plans involving a tall building and a faulty elevator. Jasper started imagining hundreds of scenarios; including tying the two of them together.
"And what about you?"
"What about me?"
You're falling in love with your food. Isabella.
"Honestly Jasper! Don't be ridiculous."
"I'm not. You are." Jasper smiled at me, tapping his heart and saluting me as he left.
What would be so bad about loving her anyway? She's beautiful, and she is admittedly a part of our new strange coven. You're already falling head over heels...
Jasper went and resumed wrestling.
"I can't be." I was just intrigued by her. That was all. Besides, it was dangerous to have me so near her. I stayed, watching her peaceful face, and then moved away. Her blood was far too tempting. I left, going to join the wrestling match outside.
BPOV
School got interesting. Everyone was terrified of Emmett, intimidated by Rosalie, unsettled by Jasper and they were the talk of the school. Alice always sat with them. I switched, between sitting with Alice and the Cullens to sitting with Angela and her friends. Edward noticed this, and always kept an eye on me when I wasn't sitting with them. He told me it was because three of the people I sat with had huge crushes on me. Surrounded by five boys and three girls I couldn't help but wonder which. That, Edward wouldn't tell me. Fortunately, nobody made any more moves. If only because Edward would come over, letting his hand rest on my neck or on the small of my back. Gentle touches that to us meant nothing, but it helped keep up the pretence of him being my boyfriend.
I wouldn't tell him that those gentle touches made my day worth living. It sounded dramatic, but it was true. I waited for the moments when Edward would simply smile at me, rest his hand on my shoulder, my back, my hand. A lot of the time we were together we talked. Edward told me about his many years, stories of Emmett's bluntness, Rosalie's tenacity, Carlisle's medical marvels. He told me about his years at university, night courses, naturally, and the odd professors he had met.
I told him about every detail of my life. From stupidly embarrassing stories, to puzzles I'd solved, situations I'd gotten into and out of. I told him about nearly all of my major accidents, showing the scars for most of them.
"You think I'd ridden into battle or something."
"I am going to have to keep my eye on you."
"Well, it's been a while since I've done any serious sports, so I should be okay."
"I hope so." Edward always seemed so troubled when I showed him my old injuries. It was like he was wishing he had been there to save me. My own personal Superman.
Christmas break came and we were soon trapped in the house because of snow. Emmett and the others immediately went into a few huge rounds of snowball fights. I stayed indoors, enjoying watching them. The phone rang, it was for Carlisle, from the hospital, so I made the mistake of going outside to get him.
Emmett had thrown a snowball, except he'd packed it so tightly that it was an ice ball. He had thrown it very hard. I threw the phone to Carlisle and he ducked to catch it. The snowball, intended for Carlisle had flown straight over him and whacked me instead.
I could only feel the breath being pounded out of my lungs, and being caught before I hit the snow. Edward had caught me. His face was over mine, his sweet breath not helping my concentration as I tried to get air back into my lungs. For some reason I couldn't inhale. I was trying, but pain kept stopping me. As I began to lose consciousness, I felt a pair of cold lips on mine, and a painful amount of air was forced into my lungs. I cried out, into the mouth of the person trying to save me. They pulled back quickly. It was Edward, and my cry of pain had filled his mouth with my scent.
His eyes looked dangerously excited but he persisted. He kept breathing for me, because my lungs didn't want to inhale on their own. I vaguely remembered being carried to the hospital. They put a plastic tube in my mouth and supplied me with oxygen that way. I didn't like that. The air tasted much better coming from Edward.
My thoughts were of random things; snowballs, books, school, Santa Claus even crossed my mind. I was pretty sure they had given me some medication of some sort. There was no way I could be in no pain. I tried to wrap my head around the events, but it wasn't working.
So instead I drifted into unconsciousness.
