Please Read: There is a few things i'd like to say. First, all things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer. Second, this is my favorite chapter so far, and it's kind of two in one--but i couldnt rotate to Bella without getting Edward's view on the last part (ooohh :D). Please review, i think this is so good, even though it's not as detailed as the partner scene from Twilight.

Finally...3rd. I have the most horrible case of writers block. I have 1 chapter after this one saved on my computer, and then i kind of went blank. Of course, there is the meeting the family--but the truth is i'm stuck. Please give me any ideas or feed back to make Equinox as fun to read as possible.

Chapter 6- Revelation

Edward Cullen

A week had passed since I thoroughly warned Bella. Sure, I didn't tell her that I was vampire, an immortal freak—but I did tell her I was a monster. It was about enough she needed to know, but it didn't change the way she was around me. Trusting.

I wished I had told her, but afraid the moment I did, she would make her decision. The decision that would lead her down the path that I would never make her take. The path to become a vampire.

And a week with her made my wretched adoration grow even stronger. I had only begun to understand her facial expressions; only begun to interpret every stutter in her heart as some sign that she was…attracted to me. Or she was just really scared, and hid it physically…no. I noted she was a horrible liar, so she wouldn't be able to pull it off at the amount of time I had spent trying to understand her.

Her suspicions of me grew stronger with every sentence I said. She was too perceptive, too intuitive, for me to hide my secret meanings behind my vague words. I also underlined a lot of what I said with other things besides Run Bella, I'm too dangerous for you. I sometimes threw in the unusual Bella, I love you too much to hurt you. But that was the one thing she never caught onto. The fact that I loved her was always unseen, because she was too busy trying to figure out the mystery of Edward Cullen. Stupid vampire fixation.

It was about four-thirty, and Alice's thoughts had informed me of her afternoon shifts at the Portland Bank. I decided to drop in on an unexpected visit, maybe try to scare her a bit. I laughed at the thought of Bella actually being scared of me. I wished, and dreaded that moment that hopefully would come soon.

I drove as fast as could to the bank, not wanting to wait to see Bella. I shouldn't want to see her so badly, it wasn't right. It would never work the right way, and Alice's vision of how it could work would not happen. I would not ruin Bella that way.

I sat in the parking lot for a moment, looking through the thoughts of the customers already in the bank.

What was my pin number, oh yes…

Where did I put my stupid checkbook?

'Can I with draw one-hundred and fifty dollars please?' Ah, I found Bella. On the other side of the marble counter through a woman's thoughts, there she was. Just as beautiful as ever, wearing a lovely blue sweater. It made her pale face look like whipped cream. I sighed, coveting something that was never my right to have.

'Here you go,' she said quietly. 'Have a nice day.' Her booth was available, so I made my move.

As I walked into the bank, heads turned, and women gasped. Nothing out of the ordinary, unfortunately. But my eyes were on one girl. And that girl's eyes were open wide in shock, and I listened for her familiar heartbeat, the heartbeat that thrummed a calming rhythm. For a few seconds—there was nothing. She must have a heart condition. Then the uneven beats began to calm me down.

I smiled a little, and Bella smiled softly back. She leaned over the counter, her eyebrow arched over her perfectly shaped face. She propped her head on her elbows.

"And what can I do for you today, Mr. Cullen," she said tenderly. Hearing her voice my dead heart jump with joy. But then her scent…oh her scent hit me all over again. Deal with it, because it's not going away anytime soon, I told the monster, who cowered in the back of my mind. My throat still burned with thirst.

"Oh, I don't really know. I'm not a customer at this bank," I mused. I smiled frivolously.

"Would you like to open an account?" she teased. She shook her head, as if she was denying herself a thought. "Really, Edward. What do you want?" she asked, her voice was a little stiff. I just looked to her eyes, until they darted away from mine. Her heart stuttered again.

"I just wanted to—" I paused. My line of thoughts came to a halt as I was overwhelmed by others.

We're going to hold up the bank, take them by surprise.

I'm going to take the tellers hostage first, and hold the youngest person in there so no one calls the police.

We're going to run across the country with all the money we'll ever need.

My first instinct was to protect Bella, to get her out of the way of danger. Because this bank was about to be held up. I looked into her eyes, and her calm and inviting face faded. She knew something was wrong, and I heard her heart beat suddenly race—an unfamiliar uneven beat.

"Bella," I hissed urgently. "We need to leave, now!" She hesitated, panicking. She didn't know what to do. One side of me yelled to protect her at all costs, but another side wanted my secret kept; wanted to keep her safe from my secret. Throwing her over my shoulder and running at an immeasurable speed wouldn't help. "Bella!"

Then the screaming began. I turned around, and there were three masked men holding guns in the air. One locked the door, one pulled the shades, and the other waved the gun at the bank tellers. My Bella.

"If anyone calls the police, she will die!" he pointed the gun to a little girl in her mother's arms.

"You can't have her!" the mother desperately yelled. My baby, protect my baby! Her pure thoughts screamed at me. Than man walked over to the woman and put the gun to her head. She didn't loosen the grasp on her daughter for one second. She eyed the man, tears in her eyes. I'd die before I'd give her to you.

"Let go of her," he moved the gun to the little girl's head, and the mother released her.

"If you hurt her…" I'll hunt you down and kill you! I was overcome by the untainted emotion of this mother. Protect at all costs. The purest love of all, the love that won't fade even when the object of your love is gone. The selfless love.

Every thought I heard radiated with fear, with anger, with remorse. The man held the gun to the little girl. I heard his dark thoughts, his happiness.

"I love you," the mother mouthed as the man held the toddler in his grasp. I looked back to Bella, who was genuinely afraid. Fear that I had never witnessed, fear that made every muscle in my body ache.

"Everyone over here!" One man yelled, pointing to the far wall. Protect Bella, Protect Bella. I waited for her to come out with all the other tellers, she was crying. Her pain hit me harder than anything, almost as hard as her scent. I sat next to her, and her scent, her heat…radiating onto me. I took a deep breath, knowing that I would have to deal with it more than ever before if I was going to save her.

"Edward," she whispered, trying to hide her fear. I looked at her, her brown eyes twinkling.

"Yes," I murmured.

"You have to do something; you have to save that little girl." She knew. She knew that there was something abnormal about me, something different. But…she was so selfless, so genuine—that she didn't care if she lived or died. She cared about that little girl, a level of caring that I could barely understand. The only thing that made me relate, was what I felt for Bella. The unwelcome, the endearing, the absolute focal point of my world.

"Bella," I whispered. "I don't—I can't—"

"I don't care what you are Edward," she whispered sternly. "I don't care if you're the object of some infamous horror story, I don't even care if you have hurt someone before. This isn't about that, this is about her," she urged. Her gaze moved to the girl. Red faced, her brown hair flailing—trying to escape the man. It reminded me of a younger Bella.

"Bella, it's not just you. If people knew who I was, or what I could do…I'd have to leave forever."

"No!" she said a little too loudly. One man came over to us, and I glared at him. But for all he knew, he was the hunter—and I was the prey. So he just waved his gun at me. Little did he know that I was the most dangerous thing he'd ever encountered.

"Take her," the man with the girl, who seemed to be in charge instructed—pointing at Bella. Maybe her little boyfriend could make a good fight. I growled as he pointed the gun at Bella. Oh, maybe I'll make him a little jealous, too.

"No!" I yelled. I swiftly snatched the gun from the man's hand and pointed it at him. That's not how I wanted to kill him though. I wanted him to suffer, to be sucked dry. The worthless scum of the earth hadn't been my diet for nearly seven decades, but…

No. I couldn't, not in front of Bella. She was already frightened, I would never scare her like that. But I wanted to kill him; I wanted to rip him in to a million pieces. But Bella kept me sane, her eyes wide with hope as I held the man in my grip.

I lightly pushed him to the ground—using as little vampire-force as possible, his head then cracking on the floor. That would be enough to satisfy me for now. The girl, the mini-Bella. I had to save her. I ran across the room at a normal human run, and punched the leader in the jaw. I heard it shatter, him screaming. That was what he deserved. I took the girl who was already sobbing beyond comprehension, and led her back to her mother.

Thank you, so much. Thank you, she thought mentally. She was crying too hard to get any words out. Then there was the man who was in the safe, already coming out to find out what the commotion was. I picked up one of the guns that was lying on the ground and just threw it at him. And he was unconscious as well. They all were.

"Edward," Bella whispered quietly. It was so soft I knew it was only meant for her ears. I turned around, a worried smile trying to flash on my face.

"Are you alright?" I demanded. I kneeled to the ground, and wiped the hair from her face. My fingers lightly brushed against her flaming skin, and my finger tips felt oddly sensational as they brushed against her ivory cheek.

"Yes. Thank you," she breathed. I nodded; I didn't know what to say. Her bloodshot eyes gleaming with appreciation, they glanced to the mother and her little girl. "You're not a monster, Edward." Her mouth wrapped itself around my name. Her eyes were filled with affection, not just any kind. They tenderly reached inside my chest, making my heart bead against its deadened will.

"But I'm not the hero, either," I clarified. She smiled lightly, and put her hand on top of mine. I imagined the repulsive skin making her flinch away from me.

But it didn't. She just sat he palm on top of my hand, everything drifting away. My breathing got louder and irregular. Her touch, so warm, so kind. The touch I didn't deserve.

"I'm no good."

"For the last time: I—don't—care!" she said loudly. I pulled my hand out from under hers. I wanted desperately put it back…no I wanted to put my hand on her cheek, feel the rosiness for myself again.

No. I was a monster; she didn't need me that close to her.

"Bella, you should. You shouldn't be hanging around with a bunch of—" I paused. I was so tied up in her emotions, her beauty, her touch…that I almost gave away what we were. I almost told her, exposed us for what we were. But she didn't care; she had made that really clear.

"You don't have to tell me what you are if you don't want to," she muttered. She was almost pouting. The way she said it, the expression her face made—it pleaded me to tell her. It was almost impossible not to blurt the word right there. It was so easy. Vampire!

She lifted herself off the ground, and I heard the sirens outside the bank. Who would dare call the police when they were holding that little girl? Then I knew from the panicking thoughts outside.

Edward! How could you do this? Exposing us to her was one thing, but the whole bank. Idiot, Jasper growled mentally.

Be careful, Jasper is absolutely angry. But that was so romantic the way I saw it in my head, Alice warned, then gleefully replaying the events in her vision. Then I saw the picture of Bella's breathtaking face as I saved her from the man. She was glorified, her eyes illuminating with trust…that I defiantly didn't deserve. It gently tugged at my heart again.

"Come on, Bella. Let's go." I motioned her to follow me. A lot of people had already emptied themselves from the bank as soon as the men were unconscious, so we just walked out casually. I had to get out of there before anybody started pointing at me and calling me the hero. I was no hero; I was a selfish creature with only one agenda.

Before she was fastened into her seat, I drove away. She cringed in her seat; Alice had told me she didn't like driving fast.

"How come if you and Alice have your own cars you all go in one?" Bella pondered. I'd be expecting twenty-questions from her after what she saw. I was also expecting her to be in shock, or something.

"Well, it's eco friendly," I chuckled. It didn't faze her. "It's less conspicuous if everyone doesn't take their fifty-thousand dollar car for a drive to college."

"Not to mention it's over the top," she added. I smirked.

"Oh, it's an indulgence. Driving fast is great," I explained.

"Until I went for a drive with Alice, I've never drove over a hundred miles per hour," she muttered. She really didn't like driving fast. I teased her by pressing the gas pedal. She threw a glare at me.

"Bella, I was expecting you to go into shock. Near death expierences usually do that to humans." She heaved a sigh.

"I knew as long as you were there I was safe," she said sincerely. She did believe that somehow I would find a way to save her. To help her survive.

"No. You—you can't be safe with me," I told her sternly. "You are never safe as long as I'm in your life."

"You being in my life really helped me today. I could have died without you," she corrected. So maybe I did save her…but she could have died a much, much worse death than being shot. I saw Alice's vision of Bella in my head again. I knew now, after seeing what her fear looked like—that I would need to scare her. I'd have to tell her what I was.

Bella. I want you to know what I am." I was waiting for her to scream in joy, but she just nodded.

"Tell me." I thought. Maybe I should take her somewhere else; somewhere she can see the true monster. Somewhere with sunlight.

"Let me park my car at home, and I'll show you what I am."

The drive home was slow 1) because I was driving slow and 2) because Bella didn't say a word. I eagerly waited for her to say something witty and defensive. But she had nothing. Maybe she was scared, not in the way she had been when the bank was held up, but in a way that she should be. Afraid of me, but not wanting to hurt my feelings. Oh, Bella. Please spare my feelings!

Being in the car with her was hard; her scent was unbearably strong in the small space. The venom in my mouth told me that it was so dangerous for me to be with her now. So dangerous, that I couldn't stand it.

I was glad that this venture also allowed me to avoid a run-in with Jasper and Alice. Alice, who would be over excited that we had in her own thoughts…the moment. And Jasper, who would be irately angry with me for using my abilities in the bank. Like anyone but Bella saw anything out of the ordinary. Only she was that observant and perceptive as me.

I parked in my driveway, even though Bella had been to our house before, she had never been my guest.

"When are you going to show me what you are?" she finally asked. I inhaled her sweet breath as it stirred through the car.

"Now. Follow me," I said as I got out of the car. I walked near the woods, her following me hesitantly. Either she was confused…or hopefully afraid.

I swallowed the venom in my mouth again, but her scent seemed to be fading a little every second I was with her.

"Okay…" there was a questionable tone in her voice. I hesitantly took her hand, hoping the cold wouldn't shock her. Even though she had purposely held it earlier.

But she embraced my hand, the warmth spreading lucidly through my entire body. She gasped, and her heartbeat quickened. It was fluttering, just like the butterflies in my stomach. Just being near her, made me want her more.

"Are you going to explain that?" she asked. She was referring to the coolness of my hand. I let go as a reflex, but she held onto me even tighter. So I retightened my grip.

"If you can handle it," I whispered to her, pulling her off her feet. She smiled again. I pulled her into deeper the woods. It was supposed to be sunny today, so it was just my luck.

I took both of her hands gently into mind, and looked her in the eyes. "Are you afraid?"

"No," she whispered. The sincerity in her eyes only encouraged me more. "Why would I be?"

"There are some things…about our family that are found terrifying in some cultures," I laughed. I dropped her hands.

"I don't care," she murmured. Did she know what she was saying? What she was inviting herself into. I looked at her severely, and shook my head.

"Don't be brave, Bella. Just please tell me when you're afraid." She grimaced. I took her in my arms, and then through her on to my back. I ran at my enormously inhuman speed through the forest. There was no turning back now.

The exhilarating speed made me feel free, and Bella on my back made me feel complete. I could feel her racing pulse in her fingers as the dug uselessly into my shoulders. Then I stopped at a small creek. I waited for her to get off, but she stayed latched onto me.

"Bella?" I was growing worried. I peeled her arms off of me, and her face was frozen in shock. I thought it would be a good thing, her finally being afraid. But it was painful, my dead heart shattering into a million places. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"I think I'm going to be sick," she mumbled as she sunk to the ground. The running made her nauseous. The running really bothered her…the one thing I thought she might find entertaining. The only thing I appreciated about being a vampire.

"Sorry, maybe next time you close your eyes," I chuckled.

"Ha! Sure…there is going to be a next time," she laughed. I was sure she would be running and screaming by now. "Let me ask you this, Edward. How in the hell did you do that?" She demanded. She didn't look scared, she looked angry

"That's part of the secret," I murmured. She stood up, wobbling, and crossed her arms over her chest. She was surprisingly adorable when she was irate.

"What are you?" The question burned me, all over. She didn't hesitate when I took a step closer to her. "All of you?"

"You don't have any guesses?"

"Well," she mused. "Your skin, is ice cold, you're pale white. Almost dead looking." Key word, Bella. Dead. "I'm pretty sure Alice was fake-sleeping the other night, so I'm just going to assume none of you sleep." Observant, very observant. "And Alice always knows when things are going to happen, like phone calls. It's creepy."

"Creepy is a perfect Alice-adjective," I chuckled. Her expression grew confused, searching the answer.

"And you already admitted…you read minds."

"Yes, in so many words…I did." My eyes were locked on hers.

"How old are you?" Another key question.

"Seventeen," I murmured. It was too young for the average college student.

"Wow. Way to go making me feel like a grandma," she murmured. "But…how long?" I opened my mouth, she knew somewhere in the back of my mind. But she probably didn't want to look like an idiot if she was wrong.

"Longer than you've been alive," I whispered. I was waiting for the screaming, waiting for her to be scared.

"I don't care," she said again. "I don't care…because it wouldn't make a difference."

"It makes all the difference, Bella!" I yelled. It made her flinch. My emotions were scarier than who I was. Maybe I was losing my touch. "And do you even know what I am?"

She hesitated; I could almost see the word hanging on her tongue. I wanted her to run, before I could have a chance to get hurt. Or to hurt her.

"Just say it Bella," I snapped. She stepped closer to me, only putting a few inches between us. She stared up into my eyes, and I stared down into hers.

"Don't be mad," she mumbled. Never. Never could she do anything to sway her heart away from mine.

"I won't, I just want you to know the truth. And I know you know, so just say it," I pleaded.

"Vampire," she stuttered. I exhaled a breath of relief. "But I don't care, I know you're good."

"I'm no good, Bella," my mouth stung at her name. "I'm a monster."

"No," she whispered. She reached for my hand, and I only stepped back. Her expression was hurting. "Please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at myself. I shouldn't have waited for you; I should have just run from you."

"No!" she shrieked. It pierced into the forest. She wanted me, she wanted me here.

"It would be a better way to keep you safe," I recoiled.

"But a lousy way to keep me happy." Her expression cruelly stabbed by long-dead heart.

"You like to live vicariously, don't you," I said.

"Not really," she said.

"How can you stand knowing what I am and still want to be around me?"

She stared deeper into my eyes. "I…don't know."

"As long as I'm being truthful, I want you to know," I stepped closer to her. "My family, we don't drink human blood. We don't want to be monsters, we want be as human as we can." She sighed in relief. "We are different. But we are still just a dangerous. Living on animal blood, is like a human living on tofu. It's never really enough."

"Like I said, I really don't care if you snack on little woodland creatures."

"But Bella! Human blood is what was meant to flow through my veins. And more than anything else, your blood." She flinched away. Finally she was scared. "You…are like a drug. Designed personally just for me. That first day, I was so close to killing you, because your blood is the sweetest of them all. Your scent so…mouth-watering."

"I know you won't hurt me," she muttered. But if only she had seen what I almost did.

"I know I don't want to, but I am the ultimate predator. I'm nearly indestructible. Nothing hunts me, but I hunt everything." She looked confused. I began to unbutton my shirt, moving to a place where the sun peeked through the canopy of trees.

I took a cautious step. Revealing my most utterly monstrous quality. My skin, in the sunlight.

She approached me, her face in awe. Of course, my destined prey, would find this clearly beautiful. What use would it be?

"It's like…a million little diamonds," her voice rang in an unfamiliar tone. It was beautiful. "Amazing." I buttoned up my shirt, frustrated. How could I possibly scare her?

"Bella, you're incorrigible." I walked over to her again. Her heart frenzied, as I approached her. I wish I knew what she was thinking.

"I don't care, Edward," her lips wrapped around my name. "You are…important to me, and it doesn't matter what you are. Nothing can keep me away from you now." I was important to her. And knowing Bella, she was understating due to her frequent embarrassment. I wondered if her heart beat faster when she was near me, because of that importance.

"I'm not strong enough to stay away from you." Her eyes widened.

"I'm glad," she muttered.

"You shouldn't be," I sneered, maybe a bit too harshly.

"I'm a big girl, Edward. I'm making the choice to stay with you," she put her hand on mine, and it sent the shock of electricity through me gain. So warm, so soft. My finger traced her palm.

"You can't even to begin to imagine how this feels. The closeness." She smiled.

"Me too." I felt her other arm begin to wrap around my waist… the monster inside rejoiced at the moment of weakness, and I ripped myself away from her.

I stood on the edge of the trees, watching her confused expression.

"I'm...so sorry," she whispered. I shook my head.

"My fault," I called. I slowly walked back towards her, her heart beating rapidly.

"I'm sorry, Edward. I didn't mean to." Her eyes cried in sorrow.

"You just took me by surprise, I am alright now. I'm alright," I whispered, assuring her that I wasn't dangerous, at least at the moment. I took her hands in mine again, wrapping them around my waist as she attempted before. It was alright now. I was strong, the surprise gone. "I will never hurt you. Please don't…be afraid."

I put my face in her hair, the scent burning my throat more than ever before. But it was wonderful. I smiled.

"I hope I'm not too cold," I said into her hair.

"No, you're surprisingly warm for a statue." I laughed. "I hope I'm not too warm," she whispered back.

"No," I assured her. "You're perfect." I smiled.

I wrapped my arms even tighter around her, breathing only her. But then, it happened again. I wanted to kill her.

I ran again, away from her. Her hurt, and confusion, it just made me want to comfort her, to love her.

"Sorry," she breathed. I nodded. She placed her head on my stone chest and sighed. "This is enough for now." For now? How could I ever test myself with her like that ever again? How could I take a chance of hurting her? Love. Passion…all valid reasons.

"Alice, she saw you coming." Bella did not hesitate, she only held me tighter to her fragile body.

"Go figure," she said into my shirt.

"Two years ago, she saw you. But you never came," I whispered. Burying my face in her hair. My throat burned furiously.

"Hmm?"

"Her…visions depend on the path that person is going on. They're subjective. And your path was to Forks, at the moment. We would have met."

She backed away from me, her expression sad. "You mean I would have found you that much sooner if it wasn't for my erratic mother?" she blurted. She was upset. "Uh! Renee," she groaned.

"But I found you now, and I knew what I was looking for."

"What do you mean?"

"When I read peoples thoughts, I see exactly what was going on in their mind. I saw Alice's visions."

"I wish I knew you were looking for me."

"I wish I had known who you were, I would have found you that much sooner," I whispered. I was glad though. It was that much more time she had in a normal life.

"Do all vampires have special abilities?" she muttered after a moment of silence.

"No, it's pretty rare.

"Let me guess, Jasper can fly?" she chided suddenly.

"No…he controls people's emotions," I murmured with a smirk.

"Nice." Did she feel left out that she didn't have a supernatural power? "But you can read people's thoughts. I mean, that has to be…cool." She seemed embarrassed. Did she not understand that I couldn't read her mind the slightest bit.

"But you, my Bella, are the exception." She lit up, it drove me crazy that I didn't know what she was thinking, but she was glad. I couldn't argue with her happiness.

"That's nice," she said smoothly, a smile on her face.

"But back to the other thing—I saw Alice's vision of you in my mind. It was cloudy, but I saw your face every time she saw the vision. And then the vision banished and all I had was the foggy memory." I sighed. "But then, over the summer, she began to have the vision again. She was all ecstatic when she started seeing details. Like you two were going to be best friends, and you were going to be her maid of honor…"

"She hasn't asked me yet."

"She will," I whispered, putting my hand on her cheek. "And the most important detail was you and I were going to be together." She smiled brightly.

"Edward, thank you." She threw her arms around my waist again. No surprise, I was alright.

"What for?" I patted her hair.

"For waiting for me," she breathed. I felt her lips press through my shirt into my marble chest. My whole chest burned with heat from the place her lips touched mine.

"My entire existence, I've waited to find someone that I could truly love—irrevocably, illogically, and unconditionally. And I have found more that I could ever ask for; in you." She backed away from my chest, her arms still around me tight. Her eyes met mine, warm and affectionate. For once, I felt like I deserved the caring that radiated through everything she did.

"Well, I probably haven't waited as long as you have, but what I feel for you is truer than anything I have ever felt; stronger than any emotion I've ever experienced." The words flushed over me, so sweet. I wish I could have forever with her. But that entailed one little detail that I could never stand to bring upon the only person I'd ever loved so passionately.

The sun, beginning to rise, showered down on my skin. Her fingers brushed over my arms, the warm tingling everywhere she touched.