Stand in the Rain

Author's Notes: Hoohaa, I have returned! I know, it's been forever, and I can't apologize enough for the absence. So hopefully this chapter kicks ass and makes up for it all. Thanks to everyone who's been hanging in there with Stand in the Rain, and keeping this little underdog story alive!


If awkward silence could be a cause of death, Brooke Davis would be six feet under right now.

She sat in the passenger seat of Edward's Volvo, hands clenched between her knees to keep them still. Her eyes watched the rainy countryside zoom by at a frightening pace as they drove the streets of Forks, heading further and further out of town.

No one had said a word since they left Brooke's apartment.

She peered at Edward from the corner of her eyes, taking in his clenched jaw and focused gaze. His knuckles were stark white against the steering wheel, both hands holding it in a steel hard grip.

She moved her gaze to the rearview mirror, smirking slightly as she took in Alice sitting in the backseat. Her legs were crossed at the knees, fingers tapping against her thigh. Her lips were upturned in a sweet smile, her head bopping to a tune only she seemed to hear.

Just like light and dark, Brooke thought.

She looked at Edward again.

No…Edward wasn't dark, no matter what he insisted on.

She glanced at the speedometer on the dash, her hazel eyes going wide when she saw the arrow drifting towards 120. "Where are we going?" she asked finally, breaking the silence.

Edward glanced at her briefly before returning his gaze to the road. "To see Carlisle," he said.

She nodded. "And we have to travel at the speed of sound?"

His lips twitched as his head tilted slightly to the side. "Don't be ridiculous," he said. "The speed of sound is 768 mph; we're not even going half that." He looked at her. "Does it frighten you?"

"Only when I'm sitting in the front seat," she said, smiling, and felt the car slow. She sighed, running a hand through her hair. "So, why are we going to see your father?"

Edward's face fell with her words, and his serious, tortured expression one again made its appearance. "It will be easier if he's there…when you hear the whole truth."

She frowned. "Easier how?"

Alice giggled, leaning forward from the backseat. "He's worried you'll go into shock," she said, rolling her eyes at her brother's glare. "He's a bit melodramatic, if you haven't noticed."

"Alice," Edward reprimanded, eliciting another eye roll as Alice stuck out her tongue.

Brooke looked at him, dubious. "Is your secret really so huge that you think I can't handle it?"

Edward glanced at her, saying nothing.

She scoffed. "For God's sake, Edward, I'm not as fragile as I look."

He met her eyes. "You're far more fragile than you look," he said softly, turning back to the road.

She frowned, unsettled by his certain tone, and glanced out the passenger window once more.

They had turned onto an unpaved road abruptly, the misty forest nearly hiding the path ahead as it twisted and turned. The ancient trees seemed to never end, and Brooke began to wonder exactly how much further they would be traveling, when the woods began to thin slightly.

She watched as they drove further inward, the trees nearly disappearing as a large lawn expanded before them. Long, sweeping branches cast a slight shadow over the wraparound porch, only managing to bring more attention to the already breathtaking house.

As they drove closer, she saw that the porch was actually the second story, it's oak paneling seeming to shine against the rain. The first floor seemed to be nothing but windows, set next to a large, two car garage. The porch cast a shadow, making it difficult to see inside the first floor, but she didn't have to, to know that it was spacious. The next two floors seemed to have more windows than the first, nearly wrapping clear around the front of the house.

Edward stopped the Volvo next to the garage, and Alice bounced out even before he had it in park. Brooke watched her skip up the front steps and through the door, yelling a hello as she went. She shook her head, turning back to Edward just as he removed the keys from the ignition. They sat in silence for what seemed like forever before he turned to her. "I need to know now, Brooke," he said, an almost desperate tone to his voice. "Are you sure?"

Brooke stared at him, willing herself to not get lost in his topaz eyes. They were boring into her own, almost seeming to beg her to say no, but at the same time tormented, like he was torn between what her answer may be and what he wanted it to be. She took a deep breath, nodding, and smiled. "To be honest, I've never been more sure of anything in my life," she whispered.

Edward sighed, reaching out with his hand and gently cupping her face, his thumb caressing her cheek in what seemed an almost adoring manner. He nodded, smiling that crooked smile that stopped her heart. "Then there really is no going back now."

She nodded, smiling, and as one they got out of the car, slamming the doors behind them. Brooke tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as she stared up at the monstrous estate, barely noticing that Edward was now standing next to her, a hand on the small of her back as he led her up the stairs. She found her heart racing--in excitement or fear, she wasn't so sure--and she clenched her hands into fists at her side as he held open the front door for her. She walked past him, coming to stand in the center of the room as he shut the door behind them. Her face turned upward as she took the large room in, from its mute tone colors to the expensive furniture that took up very little space. She felt Edward's hand on her back again and let him lead her forward, her neck craning to catch every detail as they walked.

She never would have pictured this as a home that Edward and Alice would live in. It was light, open, seeming to speak volumes in itself, but none that pertained to the brother and sister. It was an extravagant home, but it almost seemed not lived in. Very few personal pictures littered the walls or shelves--it was like walking through an open house. Like everything was there for decoration only, letting the visitors imagine what it could look like in their own minds.

Edward led her down a long hallway, its walls covered in landscape paintings and art murals. She couldn't help but wonder where the rest of his family was. They were a large brood, and very close from the way Angela spoke. But no one hovered in doorways or sprawled across couches or chairs. They rounded a corner, and came to what she guessed was considered the living room. A designer couch sat in the center of the room, two arm chairs on either side, an end table claiming the middle.

Carlisle Cullen rose from his place on one of the chairs as they entered the room, and Brooke couldn't help but feel comforted by the welcoming smile on his perfect face. "It's wonderful to see you again, Brooke," he said, standing with his hands clasped behind his back. She saw his eyes quickly glance at Edward, and saw him nod imperceptibly, a father-son gesture that she didn't quite understand. He looked back at her, smiling, and motioned for them to join him. "Please, sit down."

She made her way to the large couch and sat in the center, almost breathing a sigh of relief when Edward sat next to her. She fought against the urge to reach out and clutch his hand, and instead clenched them between her knees as she smiled up at the handsome doctor. "Your house is incredible, Dr. Cullen," she said.

He smiled. "I'm afraid I can't take much credit for it," he said, laughing. "My wife is the designer in the bunch. She takes the reigns when it comes to these sorts of things. And please, Brooke, call me Carlisle."

She nodded. "Okay. Carlisle, it is." She sat, waiting for either one of the Cullen men to say something, and glanced at Edward when the silence stretched on.

Carlisle cleared his throat after a minute, leaning forward as he rested his elbows on his knees, slowly lacing his fingers together. "I can imagine that you're very much confused at this point," he said softly, looking her directly in the eye, something so very few adults had ever done with her. He looked at her and spoke to her as if they were on the same wave length, instead of treating her like an immature, naïve teenager. Her respect for the matriarch of the Cullen family rose even higher at that moment. "I'm sorry for that, but after hearing why we shroud ourselves in such secrecy and isolation, I'm hoping that you'll understand. It's become clear to me in the last few days that my son has been trying to make a choice when it comes to you."

Brooke looked over in surprise when she felt Edward's cool grasp tug her hand into his, and she watched as Carlisle's eyes softened with the motion. "And it's obvious now that he's made it." He nodded, smiling. "I believe you deserve to know exactly what you're involved in now. My hope is that after you hear everything, your feelings for my son won't have changed. That your feelings towards our family won't have changed." He sighed, leaning back slightly in his chair. "I have to ask you to please keep an open mind. I know that it's going to be hard to take in; to comprehend."

She glanced between the father and son, tilting her head to the side. "You're not…fugitives, are you?" she asked. "Like, running from the law or something?"

Carlisle chuckled, shaking his head, and she felt Edward's fingers squeeze hers in reassurance. "No," he said. "No, we're not fugitives. Though I'm not surprised that's the first reason that came to your mind." He looked at her again, smiling. "Our family isn't quite what you'd call 'conventional.' We all come from different backgrounds, different locations…different times."

Brooke frowned. "Different times?"

He smiled, glancing at Edward before he continued. "How old would you say I am, Brooke?"

She shrugged, shaking her head. "30, maybe," she said. "If that."

He nodded, taking a deep breath, and met her eyes. "I recently celebrated my three hundred and sixty-third birthday."

She nodded slowly, waiting for the punch line, and smiled. "Well, you look…really good for your age then," she joked. When he merely looked at her, she frowned, glancing between the two. "I don't get it."

"Which is understandable," Carlisle said. "But it's the truth. Not one member of this family is as old--or young--as they appear to be."

Brooke frowned again, slowly moving her gaze to Edward's face, and meeting his eyes. "So…how old are you then?"

Edward's lips parted slightly as he stared at her. "I'm nearly 110." She opened her mouth to question him, but he held up a hand, cutting her off. "Please, Brooke. Just listen to what we have to say."

She nodded, pressing her lips together, and turned back to Carlisle.

"We don't age," Carlisle continued quietly. "We don't sleep. We're rarely seen eating, because we aren't required to. Not in the way that you are, anyway. Our skin is pale, because we don't go out when the sun is shining. Our touch, as I'm sure you've noticed, is cold, because our body temperature is much, much lower than yours. Our features are perfect in almost every way, because it attracts people to us. It's what you might call a defense mechanism. A way of survival. Our reflexes are quicker than yours. Our senses more heightened. And it's for all of these reasons that we live the way we do.

"We're not exactly what you might call…human."

Brooke frowned, shaking her head, and looked at him in confusion. "What are you then?"

Carlisle exchanged a glance with Edward once more before he brought his gaze back to hers. "We're vampires."

"Vampires?" she repeated, voice unusually steady. He nodded. "Well…when you say…vampires…"

"We mean vampires."

She nodded absentmindedly. "As in…Dracula, bats, blood?"

An amused smile graced the doctor's face. "No. No, not in that sense. The blood, however…yes."

"Carlisle," Edward cautioned next to her, and she shook her head.

"No…Edward, it's okay." She motioned for Carlisle to go on.

"We live apart from others of our kind. We're what you might call…'vegetarians' in our society. We've sworn to never harm a human; never hunt them."

"What do you hunt then?"

"Animals," he replied. "It's what classifies us as outcasts when it comes to our kind. Not many understand our lifestyle, but for the most part, they leave us be. Vampires mostly stick to their own covens. We never want to draw more attention to ourselves than we have to. As you can imagine, our existence depends on secrecy."

She nodded, letting out a slow breath.

"You don't seem frightened, Brooke," Carlisle said. "In fact you're remarkably calm for someone who was just informed that monsters actually exist."

She smiled softly, running a hand through her hair. "Well, I guess that it's…not really all that hard to believe at this point," she said. She shrugged at his confused glance. "I've stared down the barrel of a gun that was held by a classmate I passed in the hall everyday. Not to mention one held by a strung out stranger that was perfectly fine with taking someone's life just to score a fix. Just because you're not human, Carlisle, it doesn't make you a monster." She sighed, pulling her hand from Edward's grasp and stood to her feet. "Do you mind if I grab a glass of water?" she asked.

Carlisle smiled softly, nodding. "Of course," he said softly. "The kitchen's down the hall."

She nodded, quickly turning and heading down the hallway, avoiding Edward's gaze as she went. She found the kitchen easily, making her way to the sink and reaching for one of the expensive glasses that sat on the counter. She filled it with water from the faucet, shaking her head as she took a sip, inwardly laughing at the irony of her situation.

She was drinking a glass of water that belonged to a family that didn't need to drink it at all.

"Brooke."

She turned at the sound of Edward's voice, her fingers clutching the glass as she smiled at him softly. "So…that's your big secret?" He nodded, his face wrecked with turmoil. "I can see why you were so worried." She raised her arms out to her sides. "Satisfied that I'm not in shock?"

His topaz eyes met hers. "I'll take you home."

Brooke frowned. "Why?" When he looked at her quizzically, she laughed. "Edward, I already told you that you don't have to worry about me running off in fear. So you and your family are vampires." She shrugged. "Carlisle said it himself: You don't hurt people."

"That doesn't make us any less dangerous, Brooke," he said.

She nodded. "Yeah, and just because Jimmy Edwards was a kid didn't mean that he couldn't shatter a hundred lives in one tormented second." She set her glass on the counter and took a step towards him, reaching for his hand. "Edward…don't you get that I'm not scared. For the first time in a very long time…I'm not scared. Not of you, anyway. Not of your family."

His cold fingers laced with hers even as he shook his head. "If you're not scared, you're much more foolish than I believed," he said with his trademark crooked smile. He reached up, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, and rested his hand against her cheek. He smiled. "I suppose I should have listened to Alice when she told me how this would turn out."

"Well," Brooke said, arching her eyebrow. "Alice is incredibly perceptive."

"You have no idea," a voice said from behind them.

Brooke looked over to see Carlisle standing in the doorway, a smile on his face and he took in the sight of them embraced.

"Don't tell me," she said, smiling. " 'There's more to learn.'"

Carlisle laughed, walking into the room. "If you're not too shaken up." She shook her head, tightening her grip on Edward's hand. He nodded. "Good. Because there are some other family members that are quite eager to meet you."

Brooke nodded, smiling, and glanced up at Edward.

His smile was all the courage and strength she needed, and she let him lead her deeper into the house.


Whew! Man, that was a toughie to write! I'm so sorry it's taken so long. I started Second Chance and just got completely wrapped up in it, and then I wanted this chapter to be PERFECT for all of you that have held on for so long with this one. But I promise that another three months won't fly by before another update.

Well, my lovelies, let me know what you think! Next chapter introduces Brooke to the rest of the Cullen brood, and when the bad girl from Tree Hill meets the blonde, bad ass Cullen…well, let's just say that it's a confrontation I'm going to have SO much fun writing.