Hey guys! I know I said I would update quickly, but sadly, I didn't get many reviews - which means no quick update. PLEASE REVIEW! I'm dying to know what people think!
I hope everyone loved Breaking Dawn - I know I did, but it was very hard to resist the wonderful world of fanfiction
So, as always the amazing Stephanie Meyer owns all things Twilight and much thanks to my fantastic beta saram05 for being basically the best ever.
And away we go...
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EPOV
I seemed to be unable to force Charlotte Monroe out of my thoughts. Not only was she incredibly beautiful, witty and charming, but she also confused me to no end. She seemed to be under the assumption that I was a character that came to life from a recently released book. The mere idea of the situation made me laugh; the notion was completely insane.
There was something about her that had me hooked, however, and as I made my way home from the beach, I found myself in a daze, my mind was solely focused on her - her exquisite green eyes that seemed to delve into my soul every time we made eye contact, her brilliant chestnut hair that clung to her perfect oval face – it seemed as though every delicate feature of Charlotte's was awakening urges in me I had never felt before. I was hesitant to admit it, but I was terrified.
Wow, I thought to myself as I quickly tried to shake all thoughts of her from my head. She's a human Edward, pull it together, I told myself as I began to forcibly remove her from my thoughts. I couldn't understand how she had this affect on me. I had met plenty of beautiful women in my…existence; however, never before had a woman – vampire or human - caused a reaction like this in me. My thoughts were abruptly interrupted by Emmett's typical juvenile musings.
Man that girl was hot! He thought to himself, forgetting once again that I could hear every meditation of his in my mind. I was shocked when I immediately became overcome with a possessiveness I had never felt before. I wanted to take Charlotte away and shield her from all the bad things in the world, or at least from Emmett. I knew that my reaction was useless though - that I should just back away. I was me and she was she, and I knew that we could never be a we.
I internally grimaced at my asinine train of thought.
Emmett's shallow thoughts continued flashing through my mind until I could no longer stand it. I had to find a distraction, so I decided to take a trip downtown and wander around the market; I had promised I would bring something home for Alice.
Because of my desire for speed, the ten-minute drive from our beach house took less than three and I soon found myself in the market surrounded by a countless number of booths and hundreds of people. I slowly made my way from booth to booth, forcing myself to take my time and really search for something suitable for Alice.
I happened upon a vendor selling pocket watches; something Alice would loathe, but Jasper would appreciate. I found an antique silver watch that dated back to the civil war, and I knew it was perfect for Jasper. Hopefully Alice wouldn't be too put out if I brought something back for her mate, rather than her. I carefully examined it for breaks or cracks, forcing myself to focus all of my thoughts on the watch in order to keep my mind off of her. It must have been a half-hearted attempt though, for I soon found myself listening to the voices around me.
I was astonished to hear a strikingly familiar voice in my mind. It was Charlotte, and she was looking for me.
I brought my head up and found her at a stand a few feet away from me, our eyes locked and as hard as I tried, I couldn't fight the smile that made its way to my lips. She looked happy to see me, and the joy I felt at that moment amounted to more than I had ever felt in my entire life. I noticed that I had unintentionally begun walking toward her, and on my approach I tried to hear what she was thinking, however, her intriguing mind was blank.
When I finally reached her, I immediately looked down. I realized with chagrin that I was slightly embarrassed at my lack of eloquence. I noticed she held two wooden bracelets in her hands, one a beautiful forest green, the other a pearly white.
"You should purchase the green one" I heard myself saying after I had stared at the two bracelets for much longer than was necessary. "It matches the hue of your eyes". I pulled my face up and our eyes immediately connected, her sparkling green meeting my gold and merging our two extremely different beings. The world stood still as we reveled in each other's faces, and I smiled – feeling happier than I had in a long time.
"Hi", she whispered, her small frame dropping as she breathed out the word.
"Hello" I murmured back, barely able to find my voice since I was so consumed in her eyes. We continued marveling at one another for several minutes until I noticed Ashley's impending appearance at Charlotte's side. As I heard her coming I straightened up and gathered my thoughts as best I could.
"Hi Edward", Ashley greeted, her voice nearly bubbling over with excitement. Wow, he really is gorgeous up close.
"Good afternoon, Ashley. Are you girls enjoying your shopping?" I responded while hiding a grimace. Although all I wanted to do was continue the marvelous moment Charlotte and I had just shared, I assumed that making small talk would be my smartest move. The thought of having to carry on a conversation was making me uncharacteristically nervous.
"Yeah, we figured we should make use of the awful, rainy weather somehow, right Charlotte?"
"Mmhmm," Charlotte mumbled, and I chuckled to myself at the fact that Charlotte still was not forming coherent thoughts.
"I'm glad I ran into you two, I was wondering if you would be willing to join me for dinner tomorrow night. I'm new in town, and I don't have the slightest idea where to go, and I was looking for some company to explore with me." The words shot from my lips before I could stop them. What are you doing? My mind shouted at me, although the damage was already done. You can't even eat!
He couldn't even eat! The words spun around in my head as I realized they belonged to a different set of lips, or mind rather. I quickly did a double take, my head reeling from confusion. Ashley began to speak again, but I wasn't listening. I used my vampire speed to disguise my face in order to shield my astonishment from Charlotte. How would she know that? I kept asking myself. I had no idea of the answer, but I knew that something was not right.
I suddenly realized Ashley was still talking, and I brought my mind back down to earth, forcing myself to listen.
"…know I have no choice. However, Charlotte grew up around here, so she knows the area pretty well. I'm sure she would love to go, wouldn't you Charlotte?" Ashley finished, looking at her friend expectantly. Charlotte's face reminded me of a deer caught in headlights, and for a split-second I hoped that she would decline, so I could go on as though this meeting had never happened; thus keeping my families secret – not to mention her - safe. That split-second passed quickly and I was positive that she would accept my invitation. The greater part of me was thrilled with that revelation.
"I'd love to", she finally replied, and even with the knowledge that her answer would put her into a large amount of danger, my non-beating heart soared. "That is, if you're sure you want just my company," she quickly added, and I had to force myself not to laugh outright at her absurd notion.
"You would be the perfect company", I replied as I slightly brushed my hand across hers, once again amazed at the sparks that seemed to fly whenever we touched. "How does seven sound?"
Perfect, I heard her think, and before I could stop myself words flew again.
"Great", I announced, and I cursed myself in my head. What if she notices that? My mind screamed at me. It was apparent that I couldn't control myself around this girl, and that couldn't be a good thing.
She didn't seem to catch my slip-up, so I decided to leave before I could implicate my special "gift" any further. I smiled at her before turning and walking away. I was overcome with the knowledge that taking Charlotte out was a bad idea, but at this point, I couldn't imagine not spending some time with her; she had utterly captivated my thoughts.
My mind kept flashing back to what I overheard in her thoughts earlier. What did she mean? I kept asking myself, trying to understand what was going on in that beautiful head of hers. There is no way she knows, I reassured myself, and decided I would use our dinner tomorrow evening as a way to better understand what she was thinking, and who – or what she thought I was.
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Oh goodness, I love me some Edward.
Although, he does seem to talk a lot!
I promise that the more you review the faster I'll update, so keep it coming.
Next chapter is the long awaited date (at least long awaited by me :) )
