DISCLAIMER: Don't own crud. But the wonderful Stephenie Meyer does!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello, I'm terribly sorry for updating like super super super late! I was just extremely stressed out and stuff. Like, my grades are slowly drooping and CSTs are coming up...grawr. Anyways, I wrote this chapter 3 days ago, then my computer froze, and as stupid as I am, I didn't save it. D= So I got pretty traumatized and whetever, and yeah. But I made a new story called Showstopper, come check it out if you please. So, yeah. Please Read & Review. And I am terribly sorry, I will try and not take as long as I did to update the next chapter!
playlist: Masterpiece - Meg & Dia
Fish Scales & Marble
CHAPTER THREE: Mahogany & Bronze
"Um," Bella immediately shot up out of Edward's arms and started scuffing her boots on the icy asphalt.
"Hey," his velvety voice rang in her ears, "it's okay. I don't mind catching you before you bust your fragile head open."
Bella looked up at him and narrowed her eyes, "Fragile? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well-,"
"You know what? Nevermind," the stubborn mermaid fumed and crossed her arms over her chest, "because, I am certainly not fragile at all, you-you, you chavinistic pig! And-and, I don't need you to be following me around everywhere, acting as my bodyguard, because I don't need you catching me everytime I fall so I can live. No! You, need to watch that big mouth of yours, because sometimes-,"
She looked up at Edward and saw him chuckling at her little rant.
"Excuse me? Does it look like a proper time to laugh?" Bella glared at Edward, who found it even more amusing.
Edward let out his last chuckle before responding, "My car is that way."
He motioned for her to follow him, but Bella stood her ground, with her slender arms crossed over her chest, and her eyes narrowed at Edward's.
The now frustrated vampire sighed and walked over to Bella, towering over her.
"I'm not going until you apologize!" Bella bit her lip and looked up at Edward.
Edward rolled his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh.
"I saw that!" Bella said and huffed again.
"Bella, aren't you a bit too old for this?" Edward crossed his arms over his chest, "Stop acting like a stubborn child."
"Nope, still, not until you say it." She shook her head from side to side, her brown locks blowing with the wind.
Edward sighed once again, "Sorry. Now let's go, Bella."
"Thank you," Bella relaxed from her position and walked forward, "now where's your car?"
He walked in front of Bella and started towards his car, an amused smile on his face the whole time. Edward then unlocked the doors and opened the passenger seat door for Bella, hearing a small 'hmph' from her, he rolled his eyes and lightly closed the door once she was settled in. He walked in human speed to his side, closed the door behind him, and started the engine to hear the soft purr of it starting up.
"So what happened to your brothers and sisters?" Bella asked staring out the window as Edward backed the car up and out of the parking space.
"They walked home." Edward proceeded into driving out of the parking lot, admiring the beauty beside him using his peripheral vision.
"Wow, aren't you a nice brother." Bella snorted and crossed her legs.
Rolling his golden eyes, Edward let out another sigh, "We live near. And Rosalie probably brought her car before the end of 6th period, anyways."
'It feels so tense, I better get there quick. Ugh, and do people not know how to drive?' Edward thought as he was caught up in the traffic on the narrow streets of Forks.
As if Bella was reading his thoughts, she turned on the radio and 'Claire de Lune' filled the once tense air.
Hearing the music, Bella immediately snapped up from her slouched position and turned her head towards Edward, "You listen to Debussy?"
"Yeah, I was listening to it while I was waiting for you," he shrugged and said silently, " it's one of my favorites."
Bella turned her head to face forward, "Same here."
"Glad to know," Edward gave a small grin and sped up to 90 mph once the traffic dispersed.
"Oh, god," Bella clutched onto the sides of the leather seat she was currently occupying, "please don't tell me that you driving like this is the regular."
He didn't say anything and just gradually lowered the speed to 77 mph.
"How can you drive like this? You certainly aren't human." Bella relaxed, while Edward tensed up at hearing her words.
Edward let out a strangled sigh or cough, and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
"Um," Bella glanced at Edward, "where are we going by the way? You never said a thing about that."
"It's a surprise." Edward loosened his grip on the steering wheel.
"Wait, isn't it a bit too early for surprises? We've only-,"
"Can't I do something nice for a friend?" Edward faced her and gave Bella a crooked smile, before turning back to face the road again.
Bella, dazzled and confused, snapped out of her daze and looked forward, "U-um, y-yeah. I guess?"
"Good." He smirked and leaned back into his chair a bit.
Before Bella knew it, or realized it, they were in Port Angeles, parking in front of, ironically, a seafood restaurant.
"Dinner? E-Edward? Are you serious?" Bella looked at Edward to see him with a smug smile on his face.
Next thing she knew, Edward was opening her door, unbuckling her seatbelt, and practically dragging her to the restaurant.
"Edward! I can't accept this offer," Bella said as she crossed her arms over her chest right outside the entrance to the restaurant, "what have I done to you to recieve this?"
"Bella, Bella. Relax. It's okay." He looked at Bella and gave her a reassuring smile, gently grabbing her arm and guiding her into the restaurant.
The hostess' eyes immediately sparkled once she saw Edward.
Bella looked up and saw Edward cringe a bit, in that case, she wrapped her arms around Edward's waist and looked up at him with lovey-dovey eyes. Edward looked at her in surprise, but then got what she was playing.
"Table for two please." He glanced at the disappointed woman once, but never fully took his eyes off of the beautiful girl who was hugging him to herself.
The hostess led them to a booth and laid down their menus; gave one longing glance at Edward, who was still staring at Bella; and left without a word.
For the whole few minutes after they were seated, Bella and Edward just stared at eachother, looking at each other's eyes.
Just then, a model-looking waitress stepped up to their table, her body fully angling towards Edward.
"I'm Amber, your waitress for this evening. So," she tried giving him a seductive grin, "what would you like to order?"
Edward kept his stare on Bella and winced a little, he reached out across the table to place his hand on top of Bella's. Bella took no notice of the coldness and hardness of his hand, having him tilt his head in confusion.
"Bella, honey," Edward gave Bella his trademark smile, "what did you say you wanted to order?"
Bella's eyes widened in shock, but relaxed after realizing Edward's intention.
The waitress reluctantly turned and slouched once she saw Bella pointing to a picture on the menu, "Um, can I have this, without the fish?"
Bella covered her mouth and tried to not seem so nauseous seeing and smelling the fish in the small restaurant.
"Are you sure?" Amber answered in a bored voice.
"Um, yes, very." Bella nodded, she saw Edward glare at the back of her head, and stroke the top of her hand with his thumb.
Amber sighed and turned back to Edward, her posture recomposed, "Are you sure you don't want anything?"
Edward smiled at Bella and shook his head 'no'.
"Okay, well, let me know..." She walked off, seductively shaking her hips.
The two snorted and slid their hands away from each other.
"What's wrong? You look nauseous. As if you're swallowing down your vomit." Edward said.
"Eh," Bella shrugged her shoulders, "vegetarian. I don't like the smell of fish."
"Agree." Edward nodded his head.
"Then why'd you take me to a-,"
"I agree to being a vegeterian," He sighed and gulped, "I don't...enjoy eating animal fat or meat."
'Just their blood.' Edward mentally chuckled.
"I see..." Bella curled her lips.
It was silent for a few minutes, until Bella cleared her throat.
"Why were you looking at me weird earlier when you first grabbed my hand?" Bella pointed out, "It's like you were expecting something."
Edward raised an eyebrow at her observation, "So you didn't feel it?"
"Feel what?"
"Nevermind." He sighed and grabbed her hand once he saw 'Amber' come back with Bella's food.
"Did you decide yet?" Amber bit her lip and cocked her perfectly shaped eyebrow.
"No. I'll just call you for the check." Edward intertwined his fingers with Bella's and gave her another warm smile.
Amber defeatedly sighed and left.
"How can you just turn her down like that?" Bella snapped her gaze from Amber's retreating figure and looked at Edward.
"Like what?" Edward tilted his head and squinted his eyes in confusement.
"You know," Bella slowly slid her hand away from Edward's, "like...like, you have this superpower of dazzling people, or catching their eye unintentionally."
"Dazzling?" Edward gave her a crooked smile.
"Like that!" She pointed out, "And let me tell you, that girl was like Megan Fox status."
"You say so?" Edward cocked an eyebrow, "You really think she's that pretty?"
Bella nodded her head.
"You really don't know, do you?" Edward gave her a small smile.
"Know what?" Bella chewed on her bottom lip.
"Nevermind," the emotionally frustrated vampire sighed, "just eat."
"Okay." She dug into the seafood-vegetarian meal, not caring if Edward was watching her or not.
After Bella was half way done with her food, she looked up at the observant Edward.
"You know Edward," she said, grabbing his attention, "you never fully told me about yourself."
"I thought I did?" He responded, putting his right elbow on the table and resting his chin on the palm of his hand.
"Nope," Bella shook her head, placing her fork down, "all I remember is that you said you were from Chicago. Then there was an interruption."
"Well, I thought it would have gotten around to you by now." Edward stared into her eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"Forks is a very small town, as you know," he inched his hand a little closer to Bella's, "and, well, everyday at least one person makes up this whole rumor about me and my family."
"Oh really?" Bella crossed her legs, "What's the most interesting one you've heard?"
Edward let out a small chuckle, "They thought I was gay."
Bella snorted and covered her mouth, "Yeah, I would've thought so too."
He rolled his golden eyes and gave her a smirk, "There's some about you too, that I've recently heard of."
"Really? Because once I get to the person that started it, they might want to shut up from now on." Bella narrowed her eyes.
"No, don't worry, it's nothing too bad."
"What's not too bad to you then?" Bella cocked her head to the side.
"Just them saying you're foster dad is gay...and that you must've been a supermodel at one point in life," Edward smirked, "which I personally think would and could be very true."
If Bella was able to blush, she would have by now.
"See? Nothing too bad."
"Okay, okay," Bella copied Edward's pose and looked at him directly in his eyes, "you're getting off topic. You still haven't told me squat about you."
The bronze haired vampire sighed and relaxed into the char, "Well, my parents died in Chicago from a sickness. And well, Carlisle was their doctor at the time. When he found out that they died, he just took me under his wing."
"Tragic," She bit her lip and sighed, "but I want to know about who you are right now. Not the past you try not to remember."
Edward nodded his head in understanding, "Then, I'm Edward Anthony Masen, my original family name, Cullen and I like to play the piano, compose songs, listen to music, and read or write. Is that good enough?"
Bella softly giggled, "For now. I'll see what else I can get out of you later on."
Right when Bella finished her meal, Edward asked for the check. This time, Amber's shift was "over", in that case, a male waiter came up with the check. He ogled Bella, and Bella, who was once again oblivious to it, just smiled at Edward.
"Here you go," The waiter gave Bella a once over.
Edward, who winced after hearing his inappropriate thoughts, stood up, helped Bella up by grabbing her hand, and wrapped his arm around her slim waist.
"Here," Edward practically shoved the money into the boy's hand, "keep the change."
Edward, his arm still wrapped around Bella, briskly walked them to his car. Opening the passenger seat door for Bella, he helped her in and buckled her seatbelt, lastly closing the door when she was comfortably sitting in the leather seat. He walked as fast as he can, in human speed, to his side and settled himself in his driver's seat, twisting his key in the ignition.
"Home?" He looked at Bella who was already staring at him.
She nodded her head in assurance, "Yeah, sure."
YAYYYY!!!!!! I am finally finished! Good Lord did that take a while to remember the main concepts of this chapter. Geesh. Well, I hope you guys enjoyed it. And I am TERRIBLY, TERRIBLY sorry for giving you guys a really late update. Please forgive me. And, please review! Thank you all, and have a great day hummies.
Bianca Lightyear, over and out.