Since I haven't done one in a few chapters, DISCLAIMER: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. The characters presented in this fanfiction were created by her, as was the dialogue, I am merely borrowing them to embelish on them for mine and others amusement. As this site is called FANfiction though, I'm sure everyone already knows this, so I will not be putting another disclaimer on any of my new chapters.

A/N: Thank you so much to all my reviewers, especially my repeat reviewers, VampireSithLordDarthTryphin..., magical-moi, and La tua Cantante101. And of course my other repeat reviewer, my best friend and sister, Bridgewater1989. Now for the next chapter!

Back in the early twentieth century, much more emphasis was put on the importance of literature. Poetry, drama, epic tales of ancient heroes were all well-known and cherished pieces. As such, and with having been through high school nearly a dozen times, I practically knew Romeo and Juliet like the back of my hand.

As I lounged comfortably on the usually Charlie-frequented sofa, Bella snuggled close to my chest, I quietly recited my favorite of Romes's lines into her ear, making the chocolate hair that draped there flutter slightly in my breath.

As Romeo caught a first glimpse of Juliet over the dancing heads of Capulet's guests and exclaimed, I matched his pace, whispering:

"Oh she doth teach the torches to burn bright!

It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night

As a rich jewel in an Ethiop's ear--

Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear:

So shows a snowy dove, trooping with crows

As yonder lady o'er her fellows shows.

...Did my heart love till now? Forswear it sight!

For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night."

I felt a slight shiver ripple down Bella's spine, and a smile of satisfaction reached my lips.

The masquerade ball passed, and, after evading his persistant friends, Romeo hopped the Capulet orchard wall and spoke to himself in the darkness.

"But soft, what light through yonder window breaks?

It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.

Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon,

Who is already sick and pale with grief

that thou, her maid, are far more fair than she."

Though the iconic 'balcony scene' continued, my mind strayed with these lines. Bella was the first human I had ever told my family secret. She was the only mortal with whom I had openly shared a sunlit afternoon in my beloved meadow, my skin scattering rainbow shards of light across her face. A face that did not fill with fear at the sight of me, but rather with awe and affection. For eighty-five years I had been forced to live a life of semi-darkness in order to preserve my secret, but with Bella, I was free to feel the sun on my face with someone other than my family members, to be able to enjoy the silence only gained when others' thoughts are quieted to my ears by distance. You would be surprised how very distracting it is to always hear everything, to never be completely alone in one's own mind. Bella gave me all this. She was my Juliet, my sun.

I shook myself from my reverie and resumed my murmering endearments. When at last the end had neared, and the two lovers' fates had been disappointingly sealed, I peered up into Bella's face to see a shimmering sphere rolling down her cheek. Taking the very tress that had fluttered by her ear, and using it to gently brush the tear from her chin, I commented on the present scene, breaking into Bella's half-trance.

"I'll admit, I do sort of envy him here."

Still partly absorbed in the film, she absent-mindedly replied, "She's very pretty."

I had to snort. As if an actress from a forty-year-old film had anything on her allure. "I don't envy him the girl--just the ease of the suicide." I worked to put a joking to in my voice as I continued so that she wouldn't realize the seriousness with which I approached the subject. "You humans have it so easy! All you have to do is throw down one tiny vial of plant extracts..." I trailed off, indicating the television screen with a hand gesture. I simply had meant to mention it in passing, but Bella suddenly looked very distressed.

"What?" She very nearly shreeked.

"It's something I had to think about once, and I knew from Carlisle's experience that it wouldn't be simple. I'm not even sure how many ways Carlisle tried to kill himself in the beginning..." I had gone through several possibilities last spring while I had barreled half way across the country, dreading what I might find when I reached Phoenix. Jumping off a cliff wouldn't do, and since it was unneccesary to breathe, drowning was out as well. Carlisle had already tested both those theories... "...after he realized what he'd become..." I completed both my spoken sentence and my unfinished thought.

I could see Bella's brow furrow at my tone, so I tried to turn my bitter memories into a joke, for her sake. "And he's clearly still in excellent health."

Apparently my attempts at nonchalance were unsuccessful, because Bella turned to me with a scowl. "What are you talking about? What do you mean, this something you had to think about once?" Her voice was full of disapproval and outrage.

I tried to explain without letting on how very difficult it was to do so, my voice faltering half way through. "Last spring, when you were...nearly killed..." I had to stop, to force the image that involuntarily intruded my thoughts back out of my mind. The image of her limp, bloodied body slumped against the mirrored wall, her leg twisted at an odd angle. I took a deep breath to calm myself and continued in a brighter tone. "Of course I was trying to focus on finding you alive, but part of my mind was making contingency plans. Like I said, it's not as easy fo me as it is for a human."

It is quite easy to find part of your mind wandering elsewhere, if, like me, you constantly have to deal with hearing the thoughts of others as well as your own. As with any other adaptation to adversity, it was as if my mind had split itself into two parts in order to be able to process all the information. I peered over at Bella slyly. Her forehead was puckered as if she were in deep thought, or revisiting either painful or vague memories.