Kit: Hey guys! Look whose not dead! I am so sorry for not updating this when I said I would. I sort of forgot to...Also guys, I seriously have no idea what I was thinking when I wrote most of this chapter. I'm completely serious you guys, something weird happened when I was writing part of this and I think I went temporarily insane. So I hope you guys like it, even if most of it isn't really realistic, something I just realized as well. Oh well, I'm sure it's still a good read.
Anyways, in this chapter you'll have friendship, some backstory on Izzy, Ash and Kevin, even some on Emmett too! You've also got action, and a shower lemon-though I'm not sure if it's any good since I've only wrote one lemon once. So I hope it's good and that you guys enjoyed it! Also, I made so many different references to so many different shows, movies, anime/manga that I don't even remember them all. So let's just go with this: Every reference I made I don't own. They belong to their respective owners, if I did own them I'd be rich as hell and would not be living in this shitty place I'm in.
The song I listened to during the making of this chapter was Lindsey Sterling's "Beyond The Veil." It's an amazing song and I really like her as well.
I'd also like to give a shout out to everyone whose still following/favoriting/reviewing/reading this fic! Without you guys to help inspire me, I wouldn't have even thought of doing a sequel, despite all the loose ends I didn't tie up in the first story.
So here is a little guide to help you guys with the reading experience:
"Talking"
Dream/Thinking
~Music~
SOUND EFFECTS
Enjoy!
Chapter 4-Enter Ash!
The scent of flowers, freshly cut grass and wet earth registers in my brain. I breathe in deeply and revel in the simple comfort this brings me. The next thing that I take in as the feel of damp grass underneath me. At my sides I spread my fingers wide as they go as blades of grass tickle my palms. A gentle breeze passes by and I can hear the sounds of leaves on the trees rustle as they rub together. I can feel the gentle fluttering of my clothes and hair, tickling my exposed skin.
~Constant as the stars above,
Always know that you are loved.
And my love shining in you,
Will help you make your dreams come true,
Will help you make your dreams come true~
My eyelids flutter as I slowly open them. The words are so soft, that they seem nothing more than a whisper on the wind. However the tune sounds familiar as it reaches a part of me that I threw away a long time ago. Above me I see a nighttime sky. Beautiful silver stars glow high above me and even if I don't remember their names, I can point out a few constellations. The sky itself is a beautiful dark blue almost black. The color reminds me of the anime Black Rock Shooter. For some reason the comparison brings a smile to my face.
Shifting I end up sitting like a beached mermaid. I'm in the very center of a clearing, full of nothing but flowers; wildflowers, daisies, roses, tulips, gardenia's, bleeding hearts, sunflowers, and a bunch of others I can't quite identify. Surrounding the outskirts of the clearing is a thick, dark forest. It's so dark beyond the trees that I can't really see pass them. Though for some reason I don't fear that darkness or even the things that might possibly be hiding in it.
~The lamb lies down
And rests it's head,
On its mothers downy bed,
Dolphin play's in the moonlights glow
And butterfly dreams of a violet rose.
Dreams of a violet rose.~
The singing is a bit louder this time, but not by much. I can tell that the person singing is a woman. From her tone of voice I feel that same comfort from the first few lyrics. The song brings a sense of familiarity and I have a feeling I've heard this song somewhere before. However no matter how hard I try to place it, I can't seem to force the memories to the surface.
It reminds me of when Jasper and I try meditating, hoping it'll help me remember my early years.
~I'll...~
What I'm sure is the next verse fades away. The woman's voice slowly fades until theres silence, except for the natural sounds of nature. My eyes narrow when the field starts to turn to darkness. I watch as everything goes dark, swallowing the beauty of the field; including myself.
"She's going to be pissed when she sees what you did to her in her sleep." A voice says, their deep baritone oddly soothing.
"Nah man, she's used to me doing weird shit to her in her sleep. Oh, if you get the chance, ask her about Mexico." A second voice, only more high pitched and talking a mile a minute.
"Mexico? What's in Mexico?" A third voice, smooth and like silk.
"My loss of virginity for one thing…kidding, I'm kidding. Yikes you people can't take a joke." The second voice grumbles.
"How's that funny?" The third voice asks.
"Don't ask what you don't understand." The second voice chastises.
"But…what?" The third voice stumbles.
"Exactly." The second one replies firmly.
As voice two and three argue is when I feel it. Fingers, thick soft and warm running up and down my arms. They start at the tips of my middle fingers, all the way to where my arm connects to my shoulder. It's a nice soothing feeling and I release a sigh.
"Wait, shut up she sighs." The second voice commands. "Izzy babe wake up homie-g. I need you, Stella!" The voice wails in such a way it's so obviously fake. For some reason it makes my left eye twitch. With all the strength I possess I force my eyes open, only to shut them just as fast. God that's so bright!
"Pepper, Snowflake time to wake up…" the first voice says and I can feel his breath on my ear. I let out another sigh, shifting closer to the one holding me.
"Ashlyn dear, would you like some more juice? Your cup is empty again." A sweet woman's voice speaks up.
"Sure, thanks Mimi you rock." The high pitched voice-her voice-sparks something in my memory. The name Ashlyn…Ash…Ashes…a box…Em in a tux…my birthday…Oh God no! That's right I fainted on my birthday after Ash-in-the-box shocked me. I feel Em's arms tighten around me as I-slowly this time-open my eyes.
All around me the house is like it normally is when I sleep over. Jay's playing video games, sitting on the floor in front of the chair Alice is sitting sideways in. Her fingers occasionally running through Jay's blonde locks. My eyes flicker to the piano to see Edo sitting there, looking across the room to Ash whose playing video games with Jay. Though the gaming doesn't seem to stop Ash from talking. Sitting beside her is what I'm sure is refill of whatever juice Esme has in the fridge.
If I strain my senses a bit, I can hear Carlisle in his office shuffling papers. Esme in the kitchen, the water running and finally Rosebush. I lift my head slightly to see her sitting on the opposite side of the couch. She's reading a car magazine though from the slightly unfocused look in her face, she's not really taking it in. Tilting my head back my ice blue eyes meet Em's topaz ones. He gives me a soft smile before leaning down and kissing my forehead.
"Hi" he whispers.
"Hi" I whisper back.
"Finally you're awake." My eyes flicker to Ash though she's still watching the screen I know she's paying attention to me.
"Yeah." I say. I watch as she leans close to Jay and whispers something to him. He nods and she pauses the game before getting to her feet-juice in hand-and comes to where I lay on the couch. She pulls my legs roughly off the couch before taking seat. Looking her over I see she's in a new outfit.
Gone is the pleated skirt and birthday shirt. Now she's wearing dark blue short shorts with thick, black leggings underneath. She still has her black and white thigh highs on as well and I see she's wearing a purple baggy shirt with Gir on it. He's wearing his dog suit and in big green bubble letters it says "Somebody needs a hug."
Her hair is scarlet red now which really make her grey eyes pop more. She has them in pigtails again with her hair parted in the middle.
"Stopped dying your hair too?" I ask her.
"Yip. I've decided I'm done with dying all my hair. I have an appointment later this month to get streaks done as well as a cut." She tells me.
"Okay, when and where?" I ask.
"September 25th at twelve. Since its so close to the beginning of the school year, a lot of kids and people are getting their hair done. That's the earliest time available the salon lady could give me. The salon's in Port Angeles, Rosie Pie recommended it to me." She informs me. I nod and sit up, curling my legs underneath me as I lean against Em.
"Cool, I'll go with you. Maybe I'll change my hair too." I run my fingers through my hair, only to feel something different. Sitting up a little I bring both hands to the back of my head. I can feel two thick strands of hair pulled into a little ponytail. Then the rest of my hair, including the ponytail is in a braid that goes down my back. The end of the braid goes just above my hips.
"I got bored and you were getting restless. Once Emi and I started playing with your hair you calmed down. So I just did your hair, since you're used to me doing things to you in your sleep. The hairstyle I did is Yumemi's from Munto when they go to the island in the sky that only she can see. " Ash explains. I roll my eyes at her logic but nod in her direction.
"That is a good anime." I agree.
"So Ash told us to ask you about Mexico. What happened?" Edo asks suddenly.
"The better question Edo, is what didn't happen in Mexico." I huff, mock glaring at Ash. She grins and wiggles her eyebrows.
"How was I supposed to know C4 could be so explody?" She shrugs.
"I believe the word is 'explosive'" I correct.
"I reject your grammar and substitute it with my own." She counters. I roll my eyes at her again.
"Wait, you guys used C4 to make something explode?" Em asks. I look to my boyfriend and grin.
"It was a freak accident that could happen to anyone who steps a little too far out of the resort they're vacationing at. Though if Kevin were here, he'd say we brought it on ourselves for walking into unknown territories." Ash giggles.
"He'd also say it was your fault for boosting that drug dealers car." I tell her.
"How was I supposed to know his profession at the time? I was bored and his car was absolutely gorgeous." The scarlet girl gushes. I scoff in amusement.
"Wait, you stole a drug dealers car and somehow made something explode with C4? What part of Mexico were you two in?" Rosebush asks incredulity.
"I've no idea. All I remember is stepping out of the resort with Izzy and Kevin and the next thing I know we're boosting some random guys car and end up in a building that we somehow end up exploding." Ash says. I grin remembering that.
"Wait a minute, that was you guys?!" Jay cries, turning to face us.
"You hear about that?" My best friend grins, showing her sharp canines off.
"Yeah it was on the news. Two years ago they did a report on a building that had been caught in an explosion. Everyone always thought the explosion was caused by a break in the pipes. Mix that with the all the drugs in there…" Jay trails.
"Ba-Boom bitch, that's what happens." Ash smirks before taking a sip of her juice.
"How we managed to escape that alive and not getting arrested, I'll never know." I comment. At my words Em's grip on me tightens. I lean into his hold. I place a hand on his thigh and rub soothing circles with my thumb.
"Because Gramps has connections. We help catch the drug dealers and make part of the warehouse explode and we get off Scott free with the promise of never returning to Mexico again." Ash chirps cheerfully."You know, I think I still have some of that C4 now that I'm thinking about it." My childhood best friend, muses as an afterthought.
The entire room-house-goes silent at Ash's announcement. I'm sure even the scarlet haired girl beside me could hear a pin drop in the attic with how silent this house and the residents here, are. Even Carlisle and Esme is silent and it makes me wonder what everyone's thinking. Though from everyone's expression down here, I think I have an idea.
That my best friend is undeniably a little bit insane.
"Ash?" I speak cautiously.
"Yes?" She grins.
"Whatever you do…don't tell my dad you have it. I'm sure he'll not only confiscate it, but he'll arrest you for public endangerment." I warn her. She grins, revealing pointy canines and with the slightly manic look in her eyes I know we're both on the same thought plane.
Someday, somehow we'll most likely end up using it again. If not to save our lives, then to create some sort of distraction.
"You got it boss!" She mock salutes me then takes another drink. I release a sigh and shake my head. I'm so used to her antics by this point that I just don't bother anymore.
"Oh, and if any of you rat me out, I'll fuck up your lives before I kill you." She giggles with a smile.
The way Edo, Jay and Alice tense they know she's serious. I grin, remembering the time she broke all the bones in Tony's right hand and threaten to murder him in cold blood if he didn't leave her alone. Strangely enough Tony had a very positive response to her death promise and show of violence.
She's crazy that girl is…
At the sound of my stomach rumbling I grumble before moving. Em's grip loosens and I stand, going to the kitchen. Behind me I can hear his heavy footsteps. My eyes look to the clock on the stove and see it's only 9 a.m. I release a yawn and go to the fridge and open it. Peering inside I grab the milk and place it on the kitchen island. A bowl, spoon and a box of chocolate rice Krsipe's is on the island as well.
"Thanks." I say to him.
"You're welcome." Em mutters.
It gets silent between us as I pour the cereal and then milk into the bowl. I sit on the stool and start eating. My eyes follow Em as he puts the milk and cereal away for me, before taking a seat across from me. We both enjoy the silence between us, neither feeling the need to talk; not just because I'm eating and can't. It doesn't take long for me to finish eating and drinking the now chocolate milk. When I do finish my boyfriend grabs the dishes and places them in the sink and runs the water.
In the living room I can hear soft voices talking.
"Aaarrrrgggghhhhhhh! Quit cheating you jerk face!" Then again maybe they're not talking softly.
"It's not my fault you suck at this." Jay's voice, full of amusement replies.
"I don't suck at this!" She screeches.
"Says the player with the least amount of kills." He chuckles.
"Would. You. Just. Shut. Up?! You're screwing with my concentration!" She shouts angrily.
"Ooohh, you almost got me there Red. Better luck next time darlin'" Jay taunts.
"Shut up! I'm going to wipe the floor with your face!" Ash yells.
Turning from the conversation-if that's what you can even call it that-I look back to Em. We share a look of amusement before peering into the living room. While Jay remains sitting on his spot on the floor, Ash is standing up. Her legs spread far apart as she bends forwards a bit, her pigtails swaying as they hang down; her fingers jabbing on the controller. I can just imagine her tongue poking out of her mouth, in an attempt to keep the cursing-and trash talk-to a minimum.
"I'M SERIOUSLY GOING TO MURDER YOU!"
BOOM!
At the loud explosion sound, my boyfriend and I share a look before hauling ass back to the living room. In the room Ash is bouncing on the balls of her feet as she shifts her weight from side to side. Jay on the other hand looks incredibly amused. Looking to the screen, I see it's got a line going down the middle and showing the player characters from Halo…or Call of Duty. The screen with Ash's character shows her person holding a grenade launcher and aiming at who I think is Jay's character. Both players are separated by a huge chasm, but it doesn't seem to stop my hostile friend from trying to kill his character.
BOOM!
Again she shoots another grenade. Judging by the growing tension I can tell Jay's pushing Ash to her limit. If I don't distract her soon, she'll stop playing and take her frustrations out on him. I should know, Kevin's done the same thing to her a lot growing up.
"Ash," I call out.
BOOM!
"Ash."
BOOM!
"Ashlyn!"
"What?!" She whirls around, hair flying as she all but growls at me.
At the sudden show of possible danger I feel the warmth inside me flare up. My hands twitch as I grit my teeth, so as not to growl at her. Suddenly the screen goes blank as the others not so subtly tense. On both of my shoulders I feel Em's large hands brace themselves on my shoulders. I can feel his chest on my back and as his scent wraps around me I feel myself calm down. The tension leaves my body as I even my breathing, just like Jay showed me in Phoenix.
Ash-seeming to be following my lead-also relaxes. Her stance loosening up as her expression softens up.
"Calm your ass down Ash. It's just a game, no need to get so worked up." Though as I say this, we both know it's a lie. Ash is a bit of a sore loser. So now she's going to challenge Jay to every game she can think of to try to win against him. I doubt it'll work.
"Yeah, right...sorry...I guess..." she trails off, rubbing the back of her neck.
"Now that we got the bloodlust out of our systems, how about we all try to get to know Ash better?" Jay grins. I snort, the inside joke not lost on any of us. Though I can tell it makes Edo and Alice fidget.
"Sure, I'm down with that." Ash agrees, giving a little shrug. "Oh and maybe we can finally Skype Kevin too. He's been excited to talk to you for awhile now." The scarlet girl tells me.
"Is it even a good time to talk to him now? I don't know the time difference between here and New Orleans." I admit.
"Neither do I but he said to text before we Skype so he can set up." Ash says.
"Cool. Call him now, I think I'm just going to shower and get all un-grimey." I announce.
Turning out of Em's hold I go upstairs and head to his room. Entering I immediately toe off my shoes, and take off my necklace and chocker. Going in his bathroom I open the glass door and turn the shower onto hot. I grin when I see my favorite shampoo, conditioner and body wash next to Em's. I strip till I'm bare and when the steam from the water makes it impossible to see through the glass, I step into the shower.
Immediately a deep sigh escapes my lips. The hot water rushes over me, almost immediately turning my skin red. I feel myself become refreshed, the grime and sweat and dirt leaving me all together. Just as I reach for my shampoo bottle, the door opens. It doesn't take a genius to know my boyfriend/mate is the one behind me. I lean into him. I feel his muscles bunch and clench as he grabs my shampoo bottle, squirts some into his hand and begins to lather my hair with it.
My body melts into goo as he massages the shampoo into my hair and scalp. Showers and bath's with Em are the best. He's always so caring and gentle and is always taking care of me. He's thorough as he scrubs my head and hair. When his hands leave I whimper, causing him to chuckle softly.
"Don't worry Snowflake, I'm not done with you yet." His breath fans my ear, causing a shiver to go down my spine. Even though I can't see him, I know he's smirking. I watch as he grabs a poufa and my body wash. He squirts some onto the blue puffball, puts the bottle down and starts lathering it up. When it's good and foamy to Em's satisfaction, he starts to scrub me. He starts at my neck, being careful not to put to much pressure against my vocal cords.
He makes his way slowly down my shoulders, arms sides everywhere he can reach really. His soothing menstrations make me weak at the knees. Honestly if I wasn't vaguely aware that we have a time limit, I'd let Em do this all day and night.
When he's done he puts the poufa down and gentely guides me under the hot spray. He carefully scrubs the bubbles away, leaving the scent of honey and vanilla on my skin. When my bodies clear of the body wash, I tilt my head back as Em massages the shampoo out of it. I release a sigh as I feel his lips on my left shoulder. He's thorough as he checks my hair for any hidden shampoo. Once Em can't seem to find any, he squirts some conditioner into my hair.
This time when he rinses my hair, I press my back to his front and wrap my arms around his middle. My hands lock themselves on his lower back, giving him a backwards hug. On my upper back thigh Em's...excitement is quite apparent to me. I grin lazily up at him, despite having my eyes closed.
"So beautiful" he breathes reverently to me. I feel his breath waft on my collar bone before he kisses me, just above my heart. My heart skips a beat and I can feel his smug grin on his boyish face.
"And oh, so yours" my voice very soft.
"Mmhmm..." he hums as he trails his nose from my heart, to my collar bone and to my neck where my pulse point is. He presses a kiss there, his lips lingering before moving upwards. Once he reaches my lips he kisses me. His normally cool lips are now warm from the hot water as he kisses me tenderly. He pulls away before going back to rinsing my hair. Once I'm all clean and clear I unwrap Em and grab his favorite citrus body wash.
I lather some into my hands before rubbing it into Em's body once I make him turn around. I start on his back and massage the stuff into his hard skin. I slowly make my way down his shoulders, to his back, his ass which I squeeze causing him to chuckle and to his legs. I wash as his feet and make sure to get between his toes, before moving my way upwards.
When I reach his manhood I run the tip of my index finger along his shaft. This causes him to moan at my teasing. I grin before wrapping my hand around him and start pumping him. Before me Em's breathing picks up, his hardness evident. I move my hand faster as I grip him a little harder.
"P-Pepper...oh shit!" He mutters. Grinning I stand up, my hand still around him as I press myself up to him.
"I'm sorry could you repeat that? I didn't understand a word you just said." I tease in a breathy voice. This causes him to moan, his breathing turning into shallow pants. I pump faster and faster, whispering sweet nothings to him and asking him to cum for me.
With a loud roar his sweet essence shoots forward, covering my lower stomach. I grin, a sense of womanly pride fills me as I manage to make my insanely hot boyfriend fall apart at the seams. Giggling I step under the spray and rinse myself off. I go back to massaging Em's body wash into his skin. Standing on my tip toes I kiss his chest, just above his heart before going back to my ministrations. From the loud purring noise it's obvious he loves this.
Once I'm he's fully scrubbed I pull him under the spray and rinse him off. Making sure every bit of soap is off, I reach for his shampoo. I squirt some into my hand and lather it up before motioning for the overly large man to bend down. He does as I ask and I grin as I see him eye my breasts. The thought of Em's tongue on my body gets me insanely horny.
Said manpire smirks as he inhales deeply before looking up at me from under his lashes. My hands slow in working his hair and he grins. I swallow as I watch him rest his hands on my hips, pulling me closer. Em bends even more forward before kissing me just above me right breast. He slowly moves downward, inhaling my scent as he goes. I rub my thighs together once he takes a nipple into his mouth.
"Mmmm..." a strange mix of a humming sound and whimper sounds in my throat. His tongue swirls and caresses the area before scraping his teeth on it. Em's right hand grabs my left breast, and moves his thumb in a circular motion around the rosy bud. My breathing turns to heavy pants as his fingers, tongue and teeth do such amazing things to me. My head rolls back as I feel his other hand move from my hip to my downstairs.
"Tell me what you want Pepper." Em's voice is soft, seductive and breathy as he whispers in my ear.
"Y-You..." I stutter. I feel his finger playing with the edges of my lips, not quite going in, but not leaving that spot either.
"Me what Pepper? What part of me do you want?" He asks softly again.
"All-All of...you...in me, please Em..." I all but beg. I feel his grin as he kisses me just behind my ear as he dips a finger inside.
"Ah" I pant out.
Inside me Em's finger stretches me and I revel in the familiar pleasure taking hold of me. A pleasure Em and only Em can give me. Soon after he adds a second finger, with this thumb rubbing my clit. My eyes shut as I feel his lips on my left breast now, his free hand moving to my other breast. The combination of Em's fingers, lips and ministrations brings forth that normal high with sex or love making.
"Tell me what you're thinking of Pepper." He commands in his deep baritone voice.
"You and-and what you're ah-ah d-doing to me..." I pant.
"What am I doing to you Snowflake?" He asks.
"Oh god..." I whimper as he adds a third finger.
"I'm sorry could you repeat that? I didn't understand a word you just said." His voice is smug as he uses my own words against me.
"Em...baby I-I think I'm gonna...OH GOD!" I cry out as I feel the sticky liquid come rushing out. I feel it run down my inner thighs and legs. I feel my boyfriend retract his fingers and whimper at the loss of him. However his strong protective arms wrap around me as my legs almost give out. He holds me close to him and purring to me as my body calms down.
We both stay under the warm spray of the shower, letting the water rinse us both. Once my breathing is back under control I turn my head up lazily. Em's topaz eyes sparkle back at me as he grins smug. I feel him release one arm from around me and turning off the water. He picks me up bridal style and steps out of the shower before closing the glass door.
He sets me on his granite counter before going to the cupboard next to the shower and grabbing three towels. He wraps one around his hips and moves towards me. Em sets me on my feet and starts towel drying my body. Once I'm mostly dry he wraps the towel so its secure around my chest. He then gives me the third towel and use it to wrap my wet hair in it.
Both of us go back to his room. He grabs a simple black shirt and cargo pants and his favorite pair of black tennis shoes. I put on a simple purple bra and matching hipster panties, with a pair of low rise black skinny jeans, a purple spaghetti strap top. Over the top I put on one of Em's shirts he gave me, it's my favorite of his. Its a dark navy blue and has a white stick figure on it, shrugging his shoulders and in white lettering says "Whatever it is, I didn't do it." I then put on a pair of black and white high top converse.
Releasing my hair, I go back to the bathroom. I blow dry my hair-something I have to do now since I have so much of it now. When it's brushed and parted so it sort of covers my right eye, I put on my usual black eyeliner. Deciding I'm done I go back to Em's room and grab my new snowflake chocker and put it on. Seeing Em stand up, I take his hand and we both walk downstairs together.
We head to the living room and the first thing I see is Ash and Edo playing chess. I raise an eyebrow at this, wondering how he managed to convince her to play.
"It's about damn time you came down." My human best friend mutters. Em and I both snort as she says this. Even though I can't see her expression, I know she's rolling her eyes.
"Oh they came down alright" Jay snickers.
"Oh hahahaha, laugh it up Jazz man but remember the jiz incident?" Em grins as he moves from my side to stand beside his brother, before clapping him on the back.
"Jiz incident?" Ash asks.
"Nothing you need to worry about m'dear" Jay says playfully. Ash turns to look at the blonde male. I watch as her nose scrunches before she looks back to the chess board. I see her pick up her knight and uses it to catch one of Edo's pawns. My eyes catch Rosebush over by the piano. She's lightly tapping one of the keys before writing something down in a spiral notebook.
Curiosity getting the better of me, I go and sit beside her. Another thing I learned about the blonde beauty is that she plays the piano. Something her human mother had her learn when she was growing up. I sit beside her and without missing a beat-literally-Rosebush scoots over to give me some room.
"Izzy, sing me a love song." Ash pipes up suddenly.
"No." I fire back.
"Why not?" She whines.
"Because no one wants to hear me imperssinate Scuttle." I tell her. "Besides, why do you want a love song?" I ask her.
"It was the first thing that popped into my head." She shrugs. I roll my eyes and shake my head.
"The answers still no." I tell her.
"I didn't know you sing dear," Esme comments, entering the living room.
"I prefer not to." I admit.
"Oh come on Izzy! You've got a fantastic voice! You should be jumping with joy at being able to sing so beautifully!" Em jumps in suddenly.
"You guys, I don't want to sing, no means no now drop it." My tone is final.
"Fine" Em and Ash pout in synch. Though I have a feeling one or both will ask again before long.
I roll my eyes again and the room goes silent, minus the sounds of Jay's video games, Ash and Edo's comments on their game and the sound of piano keys playing. My eyes scan over Rosebush's spiral page and look to see that she's writing a song. I figured that since she's at the piano and constantly writing things down or erasing them. Looking to her notes and the piano keys, I reach forward and start playing what she's written so far.
The room fills with the sweet sound of soft music. The notes come alive under my fingers, enveloping the rooms residents in a sense of peace and serenity. A second set of hands start playing the harmony. The music goes from soft and sweet, to light and playful as a small grin etches itself on my lips. Rosebush and I play together in synch, playing our parts beautifully if I do say so myself.
Looking to the notes, I see we only have a few bars left before the song ends. Rosebush and I complete the song in no time at all, or at least the finished part of it. When we're done we drop our hands from the keybar. Everyone's silent except for the noises from before we played. I tilt my head back, a sense of peace fills my soul.
My eyes close and the image of the brunette woman, standing over that baby girl's crib and singing flashes through my thoughts. I snap my eyes open and tilt my head downwards. I play the tune over in my head, wondering how to play it on the piano. In the back corner of my mind I'm also trying to figure out where I heard that song. I know I've heard it before, I just don't know from where.
GRRRROOOWWWLLLL
My thoughts leave my mind when I feel and hear my stomach growling. Placing a hand on my stomach, I pull out my phone. I raise my eyebrows when I see it's already noon.
"Who wants pizza?" I ask.
"Me!" Ash cries out, pumping her fist into the air.
"I can go for a slice." Em says giving me a wink.
"Sure why not." Jay agrees.
"I'll order some. Domino's will deliver. Who wants what?" Esme asks. She has her phone out, dialing their number.
"Cheese with regular bacon and pineapple" my human best friend say in synch.
"Combonation." Em suggests.
"Onion and sausage." Rosebush and Jay speak up.
"Mushroom and sausage." Edo adds in.
Once Esme makes the order she hangs up and heads to the dining room table, pulling out some craft stuff. Everyone else goes back to what they're doing.
"So Ash, tell us something about yourself." Em asks randomly.
"Well other than the fact that Izzy, Kevin and I are sort of banned from Mexico, what do you want to know?" She replies.
"Things you like, hobbies, interests, what you and Izzy were like as kids and how you two met." Em supplies.
"Well, I'm a Pices for one thing. I was born March 15th, 1995. I hate bullies and will not hesitate to pick a fight with someone if I see any kind of injustice and that I can help in some way. I love reading manga and watching anime. Some of my favorite manga is Mamotte Lollipop, Ruroni Kenshin, Beast Master-despite the cover art it is NOT a BDSM manga. I also like Rave Master and Fairy Tail both manga turned into anime; though Rave Master wasn't a very good anime. I do really like Fairy Tail.
For anime I like One Piece though I'm severely behind on it. I'm currently watching the first season of Yu-Gi-Oh on my Netflix que. For shows I really like Psych and if I could, I'd totally kidnap James Roday and marry him if I could and not get thrown into prison. Like Izzy, I have a Dr. Pepper addiction and I love Disney movies. My favorite is The Little Mermaid and I know most of the songs-if not all-by heart. My favorite fairy tale, other than the Little Mermaid, is Little Red Riding Hood. I love sugar, candy and other sweets and I like making references to different shows or movies I've seen.
Also I'm not allowed to drink coffee. I'm not really sure why though, Izzy nor Kevin will tell me why. I also like taking long walks on the beach, mainly cause I hardly ever get to go to the beach and I always giggle at the feeling when sand goes between your toes. If you want to know how Izzy and I met, it's because she stole my cookie!" That last bit is a shout as she stands up and jabs a finger in my direction. I roll my eyes at her.
"I didn't steal your cookie, you let me have it, then you forgot you gave it to me and just assumed I stole it. We've talked about this before." I sigh. "You know why you can't drink coffee Ash, you know this." I add in.
"Why can't she drink coffee?" Rosebush asks.
"Lets just say Jack the Ripper looks like a perfectly normal person comapred to her." Is all say. The others look skeptic at this but I let it go. Eventually they'll learn, just like Kevin, Gramps and I did.
"Oh, so what about this Kevin? You guys mention him a lot, but you never really told us how you guys met him." Edo states.
"We were in second grade when Kevin transferred to our school. His dad got a promotion and the requirement was that Kev and his family had to relocate to Phoenix. Anyways, he'd been in our class for a month when Ash and I first talked to him. We were eating lunch and Ash and I had a packet of three cupcakes. We both had one but we didn't know what to do with the third one.
Normally two people would split it, but neither of us wanted to split it. For one thing, Ash has issues with sharing things with others, and I didn't want to eat the whole thing since I was full. Kevin was sitting across the table with us for the first time. I guess he was listening when he offered a solution: "Why don't you just give the third one to someone else then? Since neither of you want to share and split, why not just give it away?" After discussing it for a bit, we decided to give it to Kevin since it was his idea.
Ever since then we've been a trio. We did everything together after that. If you went to look for one or two of us, be sure the other isn't too far away. Then when we got a little older and after Ash started getting stalked by Tony, Gramps started giving us self-defence." My voice cracks at the mention of my late grandfather.
"As we got older, self-defence training leveled up to learning how to really fight. We also worked on our detection skills, lock picking, how to break and enter without leaving any evidence and Izzy and Kevin know how to shoot a gun. As well as a few other skills that'll take too long to explain." Ash finishes for me.
"You know how to shoot a gun?" Jay exclaims.
"Yeah, Gramps taught Kevin and I when we were 15."
"How come Ash doesn't know how to shoot a gun?" Rosebush speaks up.
"All of them were jealous of how awesome I am! They all knew that someday, I'd grow powerful enough to take over the world and everyone on it!" Ash laughs maniacally. The others look at her as if she's from another planet. However Ash ignores them and goes back to her game with Edo. I roll my eyes and smirk.
"Because Gramps Kevin and I weren't sure if Ash would end up shooting us all." I say lightly. "She get's a bit hotheaded as you all saw earlier. Add that with her inability to care about the consequences of her every action, you've got a happy trigger sociopath on your hands." I tack on. Once again their unsure looks towards my friend causes me to roll my eyes.
It soon goes quiet again as everyone goes back to what they were doing before our conversation. However it doesn't escape my notice how everyone looks so deep in thought now. Esme especially looks a little troubled. A small part of me wants to know what it is they all think of what they just heard. The other, bigger part of me doesn't give a rat's ass. My inner Jiminy Cricket tells me they don't share the same opinion's as Ash, Kevin and I do about our upraising; Esme especially seems to be more...unsure than the others.
"Why would he teach you children such skills?" Esme asks. Her tone of voice suggests a judgmental one, which annoys me greatly and proves my inner Jiminy correct.
"Because he was an ex-general who had a granddaughter and two friends he wanted to prevent from becoming victims. By giving us these skills, he's preventing any real danger happening to us and making sure we live long safe and healthy lives. He was a great general and an even greater grandfather and I wouldn't change anything about my past. So before you go and judge him for teaching us how to shoot guns and to fight, think on his possible reasons for them." My voice is passionate as anger and a fiecely strong protective instinct kicks in.
The others go silent as the air in the room turns heavy. It gets hard to breathe from all the tension. So, standing I move around the piano bench and make my way to the front door. I grab Em's leather jacket off the coat rack and go out the front door.
In a somewhat blind anger, I let my feet take me into the forest.
Ash releases a sigh inwardly. She shakes her head, her pigtails gently swaying with the motion. She lifts her head to look to Mimi. The older woman looks remorseful as she looks out the window. Ash instantly catches the tears welling up in the golden brown eyes in the other woman. Mimi blinks them away before taking a seat on the couch.
"Look, I know you mean well. But I have to agree with my soul sister on this. Izzy...she has a lot of anger in her, even more so than myself and I'm a pretty angry person myself. The self-defense, the fighting, all that training was actually Gramps helping Izzy to alleviate that anger in a more healthy way. As I'm sure you've noticed, Izzy doesn't like to share her problems too often.
She holds everything in, which is really unhealthy. So all of this...training, fighting and even the occasional shooting was the only thing Gramps could think to help his only granddaughter. When we were kids Izzy was sent to the principal's office a lot for pranking bullies. There was one prank that...lets just say ended up going really bad. Izzy was almost expelled from our school if her grandfather hadn't offered to help Izzy straighten up.
Teaching Izzy...then eventually me and Kevin was his way of protecting her. Ever since she started learning how to fight, she got in trouble less and less as time went on. She stopped the pranks, she stopped the yelling and acting out. She got better. To be honest, if Gramps hadn't reached a hand out to her...I'm not sure how different Izzy would be from the Izzy we all know and love.
So for you to...use that judgemental tone, remember this: Izzy, our Izzy wouldn't be here. She'd probably would've ended up getting expelled for in school fighting, for taking her anger out on everyone around her. Who knows what else? So please take that into consideration before you all but insult and judge the man who saved Izzy...who in turn saved Kevin and I later on." With that said Ash turns back to the chess game, using her horse whom she named Sloan to take Eddie's lighthouse.
I let out an angry huff, as I run my fingers through my slightly tangled hair. I really thought Esme would be different and non-judgemental about Gramps. I grit my teeth as I remember the rumors, from both my peers and peers' parents. Every last one of them judged my Gramps for teaching us how to fight. Even Renee and Charlie don't like it.
Tears build in my eyes, but I force them back. I can't cry, Gramps wouldn't want me to. Taking a deep breath through my nose and out my mouth, I force myself to calm down. Biting my bottom lip I look up after I wipe my eyes. Shock fills me as I see how far I've walked. I can just barely see the Cullen Mansion anymore. However it doesn't bother me and I shrug it off. Well, I've come this far might as well keep going. Besides I've never been this far out in the woods before.
If Ash had followed me, she would've called it our next great adventure. However Kevin would just keep silent and tag along for the ride. Mainly cause out of the three of us, he's the one that can talk us out of most situations. A smile crawls onto my lips, thinking of my second best friend. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my phone and search Kevin's cell number.
Finding it I hit call and put it up to my ear. It only rings a few times before a voice answers.
"Hey Iz. Happy day late birthday." Kevin's somewhat deep voice says. I grin, his voice reminding me of smooth, melted chocolate.
"Hey Kev, and thanks. Ash is here in Forks, safe and sound...well, as safe and sound as Ash can be. By the way congratulations are in order Mr. College man." I tease.
"Ash obviously told you. Yeah I got accepted early, which is nice since I can finally get away from Frank and Sarah." Kevin tells me and I can hear the frown in his voice. I sigh internally as I think of Kevin's parents. Ash and I aren't the only kids who come from broken families, Kevin does too.
"Lets not talk about them. I want to hear about your classes, did you meet any new friends?" I fire off. On the other end I can hear his laughter, which makes my grin grow into a huge smile.
"School hasn't started yet. It won't for another week or so. I'm currently staying in a dorm though, which is nice. For friends I've only met a few guys, but none of them are my type. Which is a shame cause they're all hot." Kev sighs a bit sad. I chuckle at this. Kevin is actually bi, which is sometimes hard when all three of us end up liking the same guy back in Phoenix. I shake the memory out of my head.
"Too bad. How were none your type?" I ask.
"For one thing they're meatheads. Another I saw them bully this really cute looking shy girl." His voice full of caution. I take a deep breath in and then quickly release it. I slow in my walking and carefully step over a rather large tree root. It must've fallen during a storm or something.
"That's terrible. Please tell me you stepped in." I all but beg.
"Yeah. The guys were total asshole's afterwards. Though when I told them I know how to use a sniper gun effectively, they backed off after that. I took the girl out for lunch after that. Her name's Katie. She's such a shy, sweet little thing. Like how you were before you got all confident and hot." He tells me. I roll my eyes at this, though my lips tug in a smile.
"She sounds like a sweetheart. You two have any classes together?"
"Yeah, we're actually going to be taking a communications class together. She seemed really happy about it."
"Are you?"
"Yeah, you know what? I think I am. She's the first person I've really met here that isn't an asshole or a possible stripper. Plus she's genuinely sweet, but she really lacks in the self-confidence department. Which she says is the whole reason she's taking the class, if she gets better at communicating then she'll get better at dealing with people and learn to be confident." He explains.
"Do you think she'll make it?"
"I think...with time...and a lot of effort, she can." He says slowly.
"That's good. I wish her all the luck then. How're you doing though, all in all?"
"I'm good. It's not that different from Phoenix. The only real difference is that I don't have to go to those god awful work parties Frank drags me to. Also the fact my two girls aren't with me either, which makes it a little lonely." He admits.
"I'm sorry sweets. If we could Ash and I would hop on the first flight out to you." I say.
"I know you would. So tell me about Emmett. Ash mentioned meeting him earlier, but she didn't say much through her texts. Mainly that he seems cool and that you two look cute together." I snort at this.
"Emmett's...oh my god, he's amazing Kev. He's so good to me and treats me so well. Charlie likes him a lot too, he even let's Em sleep in my room with me as long as he doesn't knock me up." I say.
"Wow, Charlie likes him? Damn...that's awesome Iz. It also sounds like you love him." He states.
"I do Kev. I love him, so much. He's the best thing to ever happen to me, next to you and Ash of course." I tease.
"Oh yeah, Ash and I better come first. We were here way before him. Also send me a picture of him, I need to know if Ash's hot judgement is correct." Kevin tells me.
"Deal." I reply. On the other side of the phone I hear him yawn.
"Hey Iz, as much as I love you, I need to cut off from here. It's pretty late and I need my beauty sleep." He jokes and for the first time I can make out the sleep in his voice. I wince feeling a bit guilty, but I don't let it bother me too much.
"Alright. I'll talk to you later. I love you, bye."
"Love you too, bye." With that, Kevin hangs up.
Before I put my phone away, I look through pictures of Em. I find a full body image. He's standing by Charlie's grill, holding a beer and grinning that dimpled smile of his. While it wasn't sunny that day, it was warm enough that we could all wear shorts and t-shirts without worrying about getting sick. Charlie decided it was good to get the Cullen's and Swan families together for a family get together.
I send the picture in a text, with a short message asking how hot Em looks to Kevin. Once the message is sent, I pocket my phone and continue onwards. Not once do I look back or even feel the urge to go back to the Cullen Mansion.
As my feet continue to carry me along the forest path, my thoughts travel to that song in my dream. I know I've heard it somewhere, I just can't place it. Half of me wonders if it's a song from my childhood, or the part of my childhood I can't remember. Anything before the age of five is blurry at best. I huff and wrap Em's jacket tighter around me, revelling in his calming scent.
Not too far away I can hear the sound of water flowing. Narrowing my eyes a bit, I can sort of make out a stream. Getting closer I note that the water is shallow enough to walk in, but pretty wide. Only my feet and ankles will get wet at the most. Turning I look to see the Cullen Mansion is gone from my sight now. I sigh before turning back to the stream and give a little shrug, not even caring at this point.
Carefully so I don't slip I tread the shallow water. A shiver goes down my spine with how cold the water is. However I force myself to ignore it and continue onwards. When I cross I give a little grin before heading forward again.
Looking around I see the trees start to get taller and taller as I go on. The forest path also starts to look more wild, untamed. As I keep walking I'm not sure if it's just me, but it seems like the forest itself is getting darker. Shaking my head I blink before stopping and looking to the sky. It's overcast and the clouds do look to be getting darker than earlier. To be honest they remind me of storm clouds.
As if in answer to my thoughts, that's when I feel the first rain drop, soon the heavens open and it becomes a downpour. I'm soaked through almost instantly, despite the thickness of the trees coverage. Sighing I move to the closest tree trunk and sit at the roots. I zip Em's jacket up all the way and pop the collar and huddle close together.
I pull my phone out, needing to call Em to come get me only for the worst thing to happen in this moment; there's no cell service.
"Fuck my life..." I mutter before forcing myself up again. Releasing another sigh I turn back around intent on finding my way back to the Cullen's, my way back to Em even if it means getting stuck out in this rainstorm.
Emmett releases a sigh as his right leg bounces anxiously. Two hours after Pepper left the house it started pouring buckets and no one's received a call from her yet. The giant manpire feels his inner vampire, roaring and snarling at him to go after their mate and to make sure she's safe. He's tried leaving once before, but Alice said Izzy's fine and wants to be alone. Stupidly he listened and now he's dealing with his ever growing need to go after his mate. Fed up the large manpire gets up and walks briskly to the door. He grabs his rain jacket and storms out to where he saw Pepper enter the woods.
"Emmett, where are you going? Come back!" He hears Esme call after him. However he ignore her and enters the woods.
While the manpire may not have a gift like his mate and coven members, he does have a skill he brought over from his human days. When he was still human, Emmett's parents ran a small but well profiting Bed and Breakfast. For fresh meat, Emmett and his father would go out to the woods and go hunting. His father, his uncle and a few of his male cousins taught the young man how to hunt and track his prey; and taught him just what kind of prey he was going after. Over the years as Emmett grew, so did his tracking skill.
He smirks momentarily as he remembers using his skill to track his favorite cousin once during a game of hide and seek.
"You found me, again!"" Marie would whine.
"That's because I'll always find you"" He quotes aloud.
The young manpire shakes his head of the memory and focuses back on his main priority, finding his Pepper.
Even though the rain has most likely covered her scent, he catches a faint hint of vanilla, apples and cinnamon; Pepper's natural scent. He takes a big whiff and freezes in his spot, there's a second scent. Dread fills him as he recognizes it's a vampire one and not another human one, hell even one of the huge shape shifters from the Rez would be better. A growl slips out as he rushes forward, angry that the second vampire scent is following Pepper's. If this vampire does anything to her, there will be blood covering the entire state.
He crosses the stream two miles out behind his house and stops. Pepper's scent is all but gone now, clearly the rain washing up the last remnants of it. His body shakes as he growls out.
~I'm a Barbie girl, In a Barbie world,
Life in plastic, it's fantastic.
You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere.
Imagination, life is your creation.
Come on Barbie, let's go party!
I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world-
"What Edward?!" Emmett snaps into his phone. You can tell how pissed he is, since he didn't even chuckle at his brother's ringtone.
"Emmett, Alice says to go right and keep heading in that direction, she says that's where you'll pick up her scent again." Edward answers.
"She better be right, if not, then not even the Major can save her." He says darky before hanging up. He shoves his phone back into his pocket before going right, heading upstream. He just keeps going forward continuously inhaling, needing to catch Pepper's scent again. The beast inside him is begging to be released, saying he can find her faster than if he's locked up. Emmett ignores his inner vampire, and just keeps running.
As he runs he does need to admit that Pepper has to have a lot of endurance to go as far as she is. He's so far out he can't even see the roof of he Cullen Mansion anymore at this point. As he passes by a fallen tree that's when he catches the scent of blood...Pepper's blood. Anxiety, panic, anger and extreme protectiveness fills every fiber of his being.
Pepper, alone, out in the rain-which is getting worse by the minute-and bleeding with a second vampire after her.
BOOM!
The sound of thunder crashes overhead as the downpour practically turns into a rainstorm. Emmett releases a growl and moves forward, unable to stand still a second longer. Now he's not just searching for his mate, he's hunting the one who hurt her.
Despite the heavy showers, Pepper's scent is thick and heavy in the air thanks to her blood. He uses it as a guide, though he does note that he's not following the stream anymore, Emmett's going deeper into the forest. Just how far did Pepper manage to get in so little time?
His answer is soon answered when he hears something. He pushes forward as he makes out a woman's voice. The manpire can't make out what she's saying, but the second vampire's scent is stronger. It mixes with his mates scent. He forces his legs to move faster and sees a break in the trees only a few yards ahead. When he bursts out of the forest, he finds he's in a clearing and the singing voice is more clear. If his heart still worked, Emmett's sure his would skip a beat as he sees the second vampire.
The vampire is obviously a woman, even from the back he can see that. Her long curly hair whips around as the wind grows harder. The vampire lets out a laugh, a high pitched childish laugh that weirdly enough reminds him of Alice. He watches as the vampire starts to bend down towards the figure, at this Emmett goes berserk.
RRRRROOOOOAAAAARRRRRR!
The woman freezes at Emmett's feral roar, she darts to the woods and barely escapes Emmett's attempt to pull on her hair. He watches angrily as the bitch gets away. Normally he'd go after the other vampire, but at the soft whimpers behind him immediately grabs the manpire's attention. He turns and blurs over to his mate and kneels beside her. Carefully as possible, he pulls Pepper's shoulder and rests her on her back. Her face scrunched in pain as a large gash cuts above her left eye and ends at the top of her cheekbone.
She's covered in mud, cuts and bruises he's sure and he doesn't like the way Pepper covers her pelvis with her arms.
Forcing himself to calm down, the vegetarian manpire grabs his mate and picks her up trying to be gentle as possible. Her breath hitches and she cries out in pain. Emmett starts to purr, hopping it'll comfort his wounded mate. Moving to his feet Emmett makes the decision to call Alice and have Carlisle set up an emergency clinic in their home. Once he makes sure his precious mate is safe, healthy and alright again, he's going after the bitch that did this to Pepper.
