Author's note: Posted February 5, 2009. Here's the edit guys, a little less shallow. Yay.
Movement Three: Creep
After they were close to being done unpacking, Rosalie glanced over at the clock and looked to her sister and the human. "Time for dinner" she announced and swept from the room gracefully, drawing an envious glare from Bella.
"Is she in the dance camp?" she asked offhandedly as she finished up. She'd probably need to have a lifetime of dance training to have that kind of grace.
Alice shook her head and smiled. "Photography." Bella shook her head. "She's the model." Alice added with a grin. Bella's answering smile was not surprised. " I'm dancing," Alice said offhandedly and smiled politely at Bella, who took a second to figure out what the unspoken question was. She was placing books lovingly on a shelf above her desk. "Writing?" Alice asked before hearing the answer.
Bella wished. "Music" she said, gesturing vaguely toward the guitar. She smiled and pulled another book out of the suitcase. God this girl reads. She is just perfect for Edward. Shit, uh... She tried to think of a way to block out Edward. 1 1 2 3 5...
Alice jumped up and squealed in what could only have been glee. "My brother too!" she exclaimed as she pulled Bella away from the shelf, looking at her clothes with a sudden interest.
"You should change for dinner, your shirt is wrinkled." Bella stripped down and quickly changed, embarrassed by the state of her plain outfit. Alice looked approvingly at the dark blue V-Necked sweater as she led her out the door and down the hall.
A few feet from the doorway, Alice suddenly remembered her sweater and ran back towards the room. Alone, Bella swallowed nervously as she made her way through the crowd. I hate crowds, she thought as she closed her eyes. Someone bumped into her from behind and she started panicking. She stopped walking in the middle of the hall to try to calm herself down.
She jumped as she felt cool hands lightly touch her shoulders and she looked up, half dreading, half hoping for it to be her previous savior. Instead, it was a different man, but one who, in some strange way looked like the boy from before with the same pale skin and similar dark eyes. She felt a calm sweep over her, pulling her away from her previous panicked state. He had blond hair and a calm aura around him, as if he exuded peace. He had bruises around his eyes that looked like remnants of a night without sleep, and the eyes themselves looked like he was fighting some kind of inner battle. She looked down at the ground, embarrassed for her panic of before.
"Thank you," she said, not knowing really why she was thanking him.
"My name is Jasper," he said, his voice holding a hint of a southern drawl. Alice had cornered him and asked him for a favor moments before. The favor had to do with this small frightened human girl with big brown eyes. He already knew her name, but offered his hand anyway. Because that was what the favor involved.
"Bella," she mumbled and shook his outstretched hand. He looked over her shoulder and his eyes lit up. Bella followed his gaze to see a happy Alice making her way through the crowd quickly. Her face was radiant as she took his outstretched hand. He lifted it to his lips with a smile, looking into her eyes. His were almost the same color butterscotch by then. Bella thought that that eye color was really interesting, changing so drastically.
Alice grinned as they walked in and waved to Rosalie and two other boys, Her family? Bella wondered, confused. They all seemed equally pale, and from what she could see, equally beautiful. But they did not, in any way resemble each other. Rose and the large muscled boy whom she was sitting on top of waved back. They seemed too friendly for just family. The big one leaned down to press a kiss to Rosalie's lips. Bella blushed impulsively. Definitely not related.
The other boy looked around to see what his family was waving about. Edward's face was as surprised as Bella's as he saw her in the clutches of his eccentric sister.
Edward opened his mind to Alice's thoughts. No Edward, you have to wait until it actually happens. She teased into his mind, making him grimace. He blocked her again and looked over to see Rose's eyes flicker from Bella and back to him, a slight dark cloud crossing her face.
Bella sat down at the end of the table, between Alice and the copper haired savior. She noticed his eyes were lighter while she sat down. This made her doubt them all being unrelated, the similar changing color of their eyes. And the paleness. And the beauty. "Hey guys, this is Bella. She's my roommate." Alice chirped, and a smug look flitting across the set of her mouth. She pointed to Rose and her living, chair.
"You've met Rose, and this is her boyfriend Emmett." Emmett grinned widely and held out a large hand for her to shake. She obliged and wasn't surprised to notice that his hand was cold as well. His hand engulfed hers. "you've already met Jazz too." She said and Jasper winked slightly.
"And...last but not least, is my brother Edward. He's in the music camp too Bella! Isn't that great?" Bella didn't answer, and instead offered her hand for Edward to shake. He debated for a moment, then pressed his lips gently to the top. She blushed profusely at that and his eyes immediately turned black and his jaw clenched. The test had failed.
"Bella, would you like to get some food?" Alice quickly intervened and Bella stood reluctantly. Edward, she considered the name. It seemed fitting, an old fashioned name for someone who seemed old fashioned. Of course, he was just as beautiful as she remembered, his copper hair was tousled and looked soft. She wanted to run her fingers through it. She pulled her eyes away from him to follow Alice, stumbling slightly as she walked away. Alice giggled and steadied her.
Edward lay his head down onto the table, disgusted with himself. He needed Control. He would not take this frail humans life. He looked up when Jasper put his hand on his shoulder. He knew that Jazz could feel the regret and anger swirling around his brain. Edwards eyes were sad, but had returned to his characteristic topaz color. "This human seems to mean a lot to Ali," Jasper cautioned, knowing that pretty soon she would come to mean a lot to the whole family. Especially Edward.
Who was too distracted by his own thoughts to pay attention to those around him. Which was a good thing, because the whole family had seen the exchange between their new human friend and their sullen brother. Edward probably wouldn't want to hear their excited, scheming thoughts.
"Can you handle it?" Jasper whispered, understanding. Edward slammed his fist down on the table. It took all of his control to keep from breaking the table in half. As it was, there was a sizable dent in the table in front of him, and he moved his tray to cover it. "I could easily do that to her." he despaired and looked up at his brother. Jasper was, in all aspects, an older brother. And at that moment, he needed the support of an older brother. "And her blood, It's like nothing I've ever smelled before." Jasper nodded, but couldn't grasp that concept. Thus far, all humans had been equally tempting to him. He was, of course, the newest to their way of life.
Brown eyes considered the conversation from across the room. Although she couldn't hear what they spoke of (Alice could, of course, and was listening with a content smile on her face,) Bella was filled with a strange need as she looked over an anguished Edward. She flinched as he slammed a fist on the table, but still, Bella wanted to walk over there and smooth over the sadness and anger that furrowed his brow. She looked over at Alice, hoping that she would know what to do about her brother. Instead, Alice's eyes were glazed over. As they cleared, she looked at Bella calculatingly and then grabbed a tray and threw food onto it. Bella followed her back to the table with just a soda.
She sat next to him once more, and he smiled warily at her. Alice passed her tray in front of her, and she looked down at the amusing food choices her friend had made. "Three slices of pizza and a sub sandwich, Alice? How do you eat all that and stay tiny?"
Alice grinned, "I ate before coming here. Go ahead honey, eat up." She looked down unhappily at the plate, not wanting to waste food.
"Will you help me?" she pleaded with Edward, who was staring at the food with a contemplative look. He shook his head. "I ate as well." He said quietly, his voice smooth and persuasive. She looked back down to it, shrugged, and took a wary bite of a piece of pizza. .
"How old are you Bella?" Emmett asked suddenly. She finished chewing slowly and took a swig of soda before answering. "Eighteen in about six days," she laughed, and took another bite. Edward grinned suddenly and looked down at the table.
The family moved onto different topics of their own as Bella continued to eat. She and Edward sat silently, each captured by their own thoughts. As she moved to throw away her tray, he placed his hand on hers to take it from her. A slight shock ran through both of their bodies. Confused, she took his offered hand, and he helped her out of her seat. He gestured for her to walk ahead and followed behind with one hand on the small of her back.
Across the room, once out of her brother's heightened earshot, Alice moved her head closer to Jasper's. What is he feeling, she asked with her eyes. He placed a hand in hers to focus the feeling. Her eyes widened and her smile grew.
Bella blushed as he walked with her. She could feel his proximity as he walked with his hand hovering over her back. He never actually touched her again, not after that shock she received. She couldn't be sure if he felt it also, and wanted to ask him. Instead she asked him how he had caught her in the morning, trying not to remember the hunger in his eyes. It brought heat to her face, and through her whole body.
"It would have bothered me if you had fallen and gotten hurt. I was standing nearby when you fell" This was a lie of course, considering the fact that he was across the street while she stumbled, trying to figure out the mystery of the strange scent he had detected before. It was inhuman, animal almost, and strangely aroused. He had seen her stumble, and in his heightened tracking state, would have immediately attacked if she had spilled any blood. It was merely a precaution, he told himself. Not instinct.
She smiled at him and threw away the tray, stepping back minutely closer to him. His smile brightened, and he led her back to the table slowly, with the same grace she had come to expect from his family. What's different about him, She wondered.
