Something Blue:
"Mark did you know our daughter has made a new friend. A boy in fact." said her mother curtly as she grimly stabbed at a piece of roasted carrot. Her mother had been less than pleased with Angela's past public display towards Edward and no qualms in making her views known.
Lucy looked up in shock at her sister in law's sarcastic manner. She held Teddy's mash potato just out of Teddy's reach. Simon and Peter looked gleefully from Angela to their mother. Hopeful that she and her mother would finally have an actual fight. Angela kept her eyes on her plate of food.
Angela's father smiled warmly at his daughter. "That's nice sweetheart. Is he a good Christian? I'm sick of all your agnostic friends. "
"Mark!" snapped her mother angrily before continuing, "I don't think he's that type of 'friend'." Her mother sneered condescendingly. "He walked her home this afternoon."
"Mom he's just a friend!" cried Angela anxiously. "Besides he didn't mean to walk me home. He was trying to... I was..." stuttered Angela desperately looking for a way to not reveal the exact intricacies of their conversation. "We just got carried away with our conversation and he just sort of fell into step with me."
Peter snorted with laughter, "You and Ed getting caught up in conversation? I've never seen such an awkward silence like you two had."
Angela returned her gaze back to her full plate of food.
Her mother's sneer softened and she touched Angela's hand. Angela flinched slightly as a sudden pain shot through. Her mother looked curiously at Angela's hand before she spoke. "Angela dear, not everyone is as truthful as you. He might have said that but trust me that boy knew exactly what he was doing."
Angela drew her hand away from her mother. "Mom, Tyler and Ben have walked me home before and you didn't mind. Why is it different with Edward?"
Her mother gritted her teeth, "Because you've never grabbed Tyler or Ben's hand before; or kissed either of them."
There was a sudden clatter as Angela's father's knife fell onto his plate. "You did what?"
"Where?" Quizzed Lucy as her eyes sparkled with excitement. She quickly turned her attention back to Teddy's dinner at her sister in-laws withering stare.
"It wasn't like that." Pleaded Angela as she slammed her hands on the table, before quickly withdrawing her right hand -another spasm of pain shot through it. She quickly placed her hand in her lap and out of view of her mother's suspicious eyes.
"Yeah, but where?" Pressed Lucy eagerly, her eyes bright with excitement.
"Lucy stop encouraging her!" ordered Angela's mother icily.
"I only kissed him on the cheek. It was nothing. He knows that it was nothing."
"Angela you're not allowed to date until you turn seventeen. So you're going to have to tell this boy to give his affections to someone else."
Angela bowed her head not daring to meet anyone at the tables gaze as she mumbled sadly. "I can't dad I promised him... and... he needs me."
Her mother snorted sarcastically. "That's the oldest line in the book. Angela trust me what ever he 'needs' you for, he can wait a year."
"Angela I don't think you should enter into that type of relationship just because you feel obligated to do so." Recommended Lucy pensively. "You can't force yourself to feel something that doesn't exist."
Angela couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't sit there and have a group of adults tell her how to behave when they clearly didn't understand. They didn't understand how wildly, hopeless Edward had looked in the music room. They didn't see how deep his own sense of loneliness was set into his forever changing eyes. They didn't sit beside him in English and couldn't feel his almost exude so many conflicting emotions at once; as if he wanted so much to belong to someone, but didn't think he deserved to.
Angela excused herself from the table before running down the hall to the front door. She was sure that the sharp, cold air would clear her head of her thoughts. She quickly wrapped her right hand around the door knob but soon wiped her hand away as another pang of pain shot through her hand. She looked curiously at her hand. For the first time she saw the faint blue-ish bruise in the shape of a grip run icily over her hand. She didn't ponder over the cause of its appearance for long as she soon heard her mother calling her back.
She could feel her heart begin to race as it always would. Her breath started to become quick and shallow as she stared into the empty night. Angela could feel herself becoming increasingly dizzy from the lack of oxygen. The darkness was calling her to out to join it. It seemed to promise that it only wanted to play, but Angela wondered for how long. She wondered if she stepped over the threshold. Would the darkness ever release its hold on her or would its grasp on her sanity strength? It was tempting thought, to surrender to the darkness. Angela could tell that the dark force wasn't going to leave without her one way or another.
She motioned her foot over the door way and was about to place her foot tentatively on the other side when a hand wrapped itself around her right and yanked her back into the house. Angela gasped in pain.
"Angela? What on earth were you doing?" squealed Lucy with worry etched all over her young, sweet face. Her eyes moved quickly to Angela's right hand, "What's this bruise?"
Angela quickly wrenched her hand away defensively. "It's nothing. I don't even remember how I got it."
Lucy eyed Angela suspiciously. Angela could see anger beginning to rise within her normally level headed aunt. "Did he do this to you?"
Angela's eyes widened in shock, it hadn't even crossed her mind that he was capable of leaving such a strange mark. Lucy stood their, with her piercing blue eyes boring into her. Knowing the truth wouldn't be good enough, Angela changed tact. She crossed her arms aggressively, "No, it was an accident." Angela replied in unusually defensive tone. "I was playing volleyball in gym class and I went to go hit the volleyball and clumsily fell."
Lucy raised an eye brow unconvinced. "You fell and didn't think to unlink your hands, to break your fall?"
Angela nodded shakily.
"I don't think you and this Edward boy should be friends. It's obvious that his influence makes you unnaturally clumsy."
Angela sighed exasperated and pushed past Lucy to get to the stairs. She quickly ran up to the top of the stairs before turning back to face Lucy's critical face. "He's not the monster mom makes him out to be."
Lucy snorted snidely. "Oh of course not he's just like every other teenager with anger management problems. Mrs Crowley told me about the school yard fight Tyler and your prince charming had."
"That was my fault not his!"
"I'd be careful with those lies Angela. He might have you believing them one day."
"I swear he never touched me! I was the one who grabbed his hand!" screamed Angela desperately.
"He's a foster kid Angela. You don't know what sort of prior parental upbringing they've had. You just don't know what they're capable of."
Angela let out an exasperated shout and stormed up the rest of the way to her room. Once inside her room she slammed the door, before she kicked it with all her strength; frustrated at the adults in her life's narrow mindedness. She could hear her mother quickly usher the twins to bed and Lucy yell at Teddy with frustration as he refused to budge from his high chair. Angela winced as she heard Teddy wail in his own confusion of his mother's anxiety.
Once Lucy had finally wrestled Teddy into bed and Angela's mother had managed to convince the twins that eight-thirty was late enough for the both of them; Angela could hear all three of them meet in the kitchen to discuss Lucy's resent discovery. Angela put her ear to the door, so she could only hear what was being said. She couldn't stand the stand the sound of their voices deciding how she should live. No doubt they'd decide that Edward wouldn't be welcome anymore –not that he ever had been-.
Angela's right hand began to throb in a late reaction to Lucy's firm grasp. Angela brought her hand up to look at the faint, blue grip mark and groaned. She pressed her back up against her wooden door and allowed herself to sink to the floor. She didn't understand herself anymore. If she was so afraid of Edward and every fibre of her being agreed that this was reasonable, then why was she so ready to defend him? She wasn't even sure that he wasn't responsible for the mark. Why did she feel the need to protect him when she'd have those haunting dreams were his intentions had been anything less than pure.
Angela could feel tears starting to well up in her eyes, threatening to break free from their boundaries. She drew her knees up beneath herself and held them close to herself. Ever since she met Edward and his family everything had gone from bad to worse. She sometimes felt that there had been a reason why Edward just coincidently kept re-appearing in her life. It felt as if the universe was forcing her to befriend him. So for once she listened, and now it seemed that universe had decided to pull her away from him.
It wasn't fair. The universe shouldn't be able to change its course at a flick of a switch; Lauren and Jess should still be her friends; that dark, unsustainable force shouldn't be feeding off her sanity; Edward shouldn't look so tortured for a boy who appears to have almost everything; Teddy's father shouldn't be so far away from Teddy and most of all she should not have that ridiculous bruise on her hand.
All of these thoughts were too much for Angela and she was soon caught up in a fit of violent, passionate sobs – that seemed to shake her from the depths of her soul. She was careful to suppress the most of her violent crying from becoming too audible and soon through her own tiredness fell into one of the deepest sleeps she had had for weeks.
When Angela awoke the next morning; she found herself tucked safely in her own bed. She furrowed her eyebrows slightly confused. She could have sworn that she had fallen asleep up against her bedroom door. Slowly as she became more attuned to reality; she soon began to feel something cool resting on her right hand. She turned her head side ways to find her right hand resting on her pillow; curiously wrapped in a bandage. The long since melted ice pack on top of her hand was the answer for her original query. Soon her eyes began to focus on her window. Her blinds were swaying gently in response to the cool autumn breeze.
Angela sat up abruptly. She may have forgotten herself getting into bed but she had been quite certain that her window had been shut. It was always closed. This sent an unwelcomed surge of panic to course through her. It was silly but ever since that terrible force had appeared she had habitually closed her window.
Lucy quietly opened Angela's door and cautiously peeped from behind it. She soon opened the door wider, to allow herself in, once she had seen that Angela was already awake. "Angela," she pleaded meekly, "I'm sorry about what I said about...about...Edward. It's just that when you've worked with foster kids for as long as I have... you just can't help but get suspicious when a foster kid and a good kid decide to befriend each other."
Angela shifted uncomfortably at Lucy choice of words, "So... what you're saying is that all foster kids are bad and then by that logic all non-foster children are little angels."
Lucy winced, obviously aware that she had been 'misunderstood'. She took some time before she made her next statement, "No, what I mean is - Angela you're such a sweet girl – and these foster kids, they come from an entirely different world to you. I'm just afraid that because of whatever Edward's" –she pronounced 'Edward' in an odd tone- "past living situation must have been like, that he might –and I'm not saying he means too! - try and take it out on you."
Lucy crawled onto Angela's bed pleadingly. Angela looked away; she couldn't stand to look at any of the adults in her life at the moment. Lucy took hold of Angela's chin to force Angela to look at her. "Angela please, your mother, father and I just want you to be safe."
Angela wasn't listening. Instead her eyes were set on the empty spot on her dresser. "Where's my alarm clock?" Angela turned to look at Lucy, "Did you move it?"
Angela was late for school that day. Lucy had insisted that - due to their previous fight, last night – Angela should allow her to by her breakfast; despite how late for school Angela already was. Lucy also insisted that Angela take as long as she wanted. Angela's mother had already left for work and there was no reason –that Lucy could see- why Angela couldn't be just a little bit later for school.
Finally after what seemed like a lifetime in that cafe, Angela appeared just in time for third period, English. Her English teacher was less than pleased at Angela's tardiness and scowled at her profusely as Angela searched for a seat. Today Edward was reluctantly sitting next to Angela's former friend Jess. He appeared to be consciously ignoring Angela's appearance and had resolved to glare at the black board.
Angela furrowed her eyebrows. She found that quite strange, usually it was her who was consciously avoiding him. She soon found a spare seat placed directly behind Edward and Jess at the back of class room. As she settled into her lonely seat, her school diary slid off the top her pile of books and landed with a dull thud on the floor before she could catch it. The teacher turned to glare at her once more as Angela bent down to pick up her diary, but it Edward had miraculously beaten her to it. He wordless and aggressively placed the diary back on her desk, before stalking back to his own seat.
Angela sat down in her seat, slightly aghast at his behaviour. Then she noticed a piece of note paper peeping from behind her diary cover. She quickly snatched at her diary; opened it and released the note paper from its prison. It was folded in half, so she opened it, as she could feel curiosity getting the best of her. There was no name or anything to signify its author – although she already knew who would bother to write her a note. It read as follows:
Don't talk to me anymore. I don't need your charity, or help or whatever you think it is; you could possibly tempt me with. As of today, yesterday never happened; consider yourself free from any previous obligation you may have felt. In fact you are even sillier than I thought; if you thought highly enough of yourself to think that I could possibly be so much in need of your friendship.
His words hurt Angela greatly though she decided to respect his wishes and give him his space. Although she couldn't stop herself from allowing a few tears to make an appearance at the rim of her eye lids. He had been the last thread –no matter how bleak the relationship was – that stoped her from giving into her own spiral of angst. He had essentially become her distraction and for him to say that he never needed or wanted her friendship; create da painful rip in her heart, as if he had physically wrenched her heart from her chest.
Angry foot steps began to become louder as the teacher stalked towards Angela. Angela quickly stowed the note way under her desk. The English teacher's usually annoyed face stopped directly in front of Angela's desk, but the teacher harsh gaze softened when she spotted Angela's still bandaged hand. Angela impulsive dropped her right hand to her side, but it was too late, the teacher was already curious.
"Angela, what happened to your right hand?" quizzed the teacher as she pointed at where Angela's right hand had been.
Angela could have sworn she heard Edward groan exasperatedly before she replied, "Sorry Ms. Frost, I was playing with my little cousin and fell... and I must have landed on my wrist by mistake. I think it's just a sprain. It should be better in a few days or so. My handwriting will be pretty illegible until then though."
By the time Angela had finished her lie, the entirety of the class had turned around to look at her. Lauren glared at her for being such a disturbance; Jess seemed to carry a look of sorrowful concern; yet it was Edward's expression that confused her the most. He shook his head slightly as if her answer displeased him, but his eyes seemed to hold a mixture of sadness, admiration and a tormented look as if he hated himself for leaving her that note.
The teacher deliberated her answer for a moment before saying, "Okay, so who's going to write for Angela?"
As Angela expected very few were willing to do so for her. Finally Edward reluctantly and wordlessly raised his hand. Angela smiled in relief. He quickly turned back to face the blackboard. Angela's smile faded though she couldn't stop herself from thinking warmly of him. She didn't know why but despite her prejudices against him and his often unpredictable behaviour; she couldn't help but think that he'd be around for her, even in the smallest ways.
Something New:
The minute Edward was out of his Songbirds sight and hearing; he let out a frustrated shout. He wasn't sure what he had been thinking –walking her home-. He had been trying to convince her not to waste her energy on him but she stupidly wouldn't listen. Walking her definitely was a bad idea. As if to emphasize this idea it seemed what ever force was out there decided to through a particularly tantalizing, smelling human. It took all his strength not to throw her aside and devour him right then and there. Even her mother seemed to detect his impure thoughts as she had immediately stood between him and his chosen prey.
His Songbird had misinterpreted his stony facial expression as a reaction to her mother's hostility and stupidly forced her hand into his. He was thankful for that at least. The beauty of her standing so close to him with her weak, - what he could definitely say was- sour and salty smell; was that it seemed to dull
his sense of smell. The only downside was it was harder to remember that she wasn't as indestructible as he was – he hardly considered her as prey, as she rarely tempted him. As a result he had unconsciously squeezed her hand too hard, after she'd kissed his cheek. He regrettably didn't mind her being so bold as to do that. It was nice to think that there was someone out there who was willing to dismiss all her better judgement just to make him feel wanted.
That's what made his unconscious abuse all the more heinous. She had been so kind and understanding to him and what had he done to repay her? He had broken millions of her capillaries' and contemplated killing someone so young, and who she loved so dearly. She may not feel it straight away but Edward had heard enough blood vessels burst in his lifetime to know that she would not be able to play the guitar for a while.
He continued his walk back to the school parking lot, where he knew the others had been waiting for him. Alice looked up anxiously. Edward past her and then wordless climbed into the car and ignored any of his siblings attempts at conversing with him.
Edward planned to stay away from his Songbird that night, but he couldn't stop himself from wondering how badly he had injured her. It was obvious, to Edward, the minute he stepped onto his Songbird's lawn that their new found friendship did not go down well.
It was dinner time and his Songbird's mother had already become suspicious as to why his Songbird had such an odd bruise. Her thoughts were already eagerly searching for a viable reason to restrict her daughter's involvement with him. She regrettably welcomed the idea that his Songbird's bruise was his doing. His Songbird screamed in desperation to convince her parents of the current 'innocence' of their relationship, before stalking towards the front door. Edward quickly crouched into the small corner between the porch stairs and the porch; just as she threw the front door open.
His Songbird could feel him, as she always could. She stood their dumbly staring into the darkness as her heart began to race. Her fear had become almost unbearable for him to bear. He began to wish that if she just stepped out of her confinements and find him. He wasn't exactly sure why he wanted her to find him so much. All he knew is every fibre of his being was willing her to take that extra step.
His Songbird's pulse increased as she became more aware of his unspoken wish. He could hear her quietly deliberating the possibility of taken that step. Her motivation to do so was not exactly what Edward would have wished her to have but somehow it didn't matter. All that matter was that she might find the strength to over come her fear once more. If she just found the courage to walk out into the darkness; then he'd be able to be with her again. Edward soon found himself unconsciously quietly urging her to do so.
Edward heard light; hurried footsteps rush towards his Songbird and pull her back just as his Songbird decided to step over the threshold. His Songbird gasped in pain and Edward felt a sudden, violent urge to break the neck of the women who had hurt his Songbird. An instant pang of shame shot through Edward just as quickly as the violence had. This was why he could never completely be with her. There would always be other innocent human's around who would unknowingly hurt her or try to keep her from him and he would instantly feel the need to break every single one of those guilty necks. She would never want him if she knew how obsessively possessive and protective he was of her.
Suddenly his Songbird let out an exasperated sigh and purposefully stormed into her room. Edward moved so that he could sit directly bellow her window. She violently kicked the door before reluctantly glancing at her damaged hand. She groaned at the sight of it and there was something about the desperation, fear and confusion in that groan that made Edward want to reassure her that he had never meant her any harm.
Then Edward heard her slide down her door, hug her knees and begin to cry. There was something about her violent convulsion of sobs that seemed to cut through Edward more painfully than his own loneliness. It was as if suddenly her pain had become his too. The pain was almost unbearable. The way her passionate, painful convulsions seemed to shake her from the inside out, made him temporarily forget about his own. It was impossible to think that as she cried for his unexplained pay, he felt just as equally devastated about hers. Somehow over the weeks in which they have known each other; they had become impossibly attuned to each others emotions. Through this they could potentially be each others downfall and each others saviour. It frightened Edward greatly to think how deeply intertwined their mental state of mind had become.
His Songbird started to realize how uncontrollably loud her sobs were becoming and almost instantly covered her mouth with her good hand. His Songbirds sobs began to sound thick with suffocation and rattled fiercely in his ears. Edward suddenly felt an unstoppable urge to break into her house, bust down her door and gather her up in his arms. He wanted to rip her hand away from her mouth and hold her as tightly as he could, with out breaking her into two. He wanted to stop her from falling apart because he needed her too much. He wanted to but knew that if he gave into such an urge, it would only worsen the situation. His songbird could never know how much he needed her and he would never be able to express it to her without appearing to forceful or obsessive.
Reluctantly Edward remained at his post and waited for his Songbird to tire herself out. Every minute until she finally fell asleep was torture for Edward. He couldn't stand being so close to her and not being able to help her. Finally his Songbird slowly, drifted off to a place he would never be able to follow.
In a rash decision Edward hurled himself up her drain pipe and nimbly landed on her roof. He then turned to her attic window and easily lifted up her window pane. He paused for a moment as she stirred, irritably on the floor – even in her dreams she could sense him. Edward smiled cheekily, when he realized how similar his sudden decision was to that of any stereotypical fairytale; where the 'knight in shinning armour' braved many trials just to reach his damsel, who had always been conveniently hidden in the highest room of the highest tower.
Edward ducked under her window and onto his Songbirds desk. "You just had to lock yourself in the least; easily accessed room in the house didn't you?" he whispered more to himself than to his Songbird. Glad that she would never know he was there. Edward then soundlessly made his way over to his unconscious helper. Instantly reminded of a similar time when his intentions towards his Songbird weren't so pure. Edward felt an instant stab of anguish that only worsened his never ending pain of loneliness, at the memory.
He immediately diverted his, recently golden eyes, from her conflicted face and forced himself to look at her injured hand. He then tentatively lifted her delicate hand to examine it more closely. His Songbird wrinkled her nose but remained very much asleep. Edward always thought it odd that she was decidedly avoiding him during her waking hours but the minute she was in any real close proximately to him, she would be very much unaware to his advances.
After Edward's quick examination, he concluded that the best way to treat such an injury was to bind it and at least try to bring the swelling down with a cool ice pack. Both of these treatments were easily accessible from the medicine cabinet and freezer downstairs. Edward gently gathered his Songbird in his arms and slowly stood up. His Songbird's head gently fell onto his chest –were his heart would have been beating. For Edward, there was slightly awkward moment were he stood motionless, unsure of how to react to his Songbird's involuntary movement. Then his Songbird shivered in response to his cold skin and squirmed uncomfortably in his arms. He felt ashamed that he caused such repulsion with in her and quickly his placed his Songbird on top of her quilt, before he quickly dashed out of her room to retrieve what he needed.
He was back before his Songbird had even finished settling into her bed. Edward felt guilty for so ruthlessly trespassing on his Songbirds property, but he couldn't have allowed her to sleep in such a poor choice of floor space. Edward hoped he wouldn't make a habit of interacting with his Songbird, when she wasn't aware of it. He was starting to feel like her ghost.
Edward began his short walk over to the right side of his Songbird's bed and started to gently wrap her hand. He was finished in no time and quickly attached the ice pack to his Songbird's bandaged hand. He then gently placed her hand on top of her pillow case. Edward then noticed that his Songbird was still wearing her sneakers, so he quickly moved to the edge of her bed to remove them. He methodically untied the shoe lace and gently pulled the sneaker from her small, slender foot. He then changed his attention to the other foot and began gently undoing that shoe lace. His Songbird squirmed, sweetly and drowsily –Edward's eye's shot up to look at his Songbird. She sighed restless and continued her slumber. Edward returned to the work at hand.
"Edward?"
Edward's eyes shot up towards his Songbird again; her eyes were closed and he could tell she was still sleeping. He kept his voice casual as he removed her other sneaker. "Yes?"
"Why do you always look sad?" His Songbird mumbled as she moved her foot subconsciously out of his hand.
Edward sighed, hoping his Songbird wouldn't remember this conversation when she awoke. "Because I can't have what everyone else can. It's frustrating."
He then quietly picked her up again. This time she her whole body seemed to turn to him. He shifted her whole body effortlessly to his left arm, so that he could pull back his Songbird's bed sheets. He then slowly placed her back on the bed and placed his hand under head so his Songbird's head wouldn't land too heavily.
As soon as he loosened his grip on his Songbird; she quickly wriggled away from him. Edward knew it would be easy for him to stop his Songbird from doing this if he only gripped her shoulder; but he couldn't force himself to. He sighed apathetically and pulled the covers over his Songbird. He'd just finished tucking his Songbird in when her hand absently grazed his. "I love you..." His Songbird muttered before turning her back on him.
Edward's eyes narrowed at his Songbird's drowsy declaration. He had always known how his Songbird had felt about him. He'd purposely manipulated her, so that she would feel this way about him. Making his Songbird fall for him had been so easy and simple; like taking candy from a baby. He hated himself for doing that to her. His Songbird now felt things for him that Edward was sure she would not naturally feel. Edward was sure if he had let nature really take its course he wouldn't be standing centimetres away from his Songbird and his Songbird would never have been as isolated from her friends as she was now. Most of his Songbirds current situation was due to his interference: her small, warm, injured hand; the fights; the isolation; her conflicting emotions; even her sanity. He had to stop before he completely destroyed the one thing that was keeping him sane.
Edward quickly glanced at his Songbird's clock. It read 1:30 PM. He whipped the alarm clock cord from its socket and the fluoro red light ceased to shed light on his Songbird's disturbed facial features. He then leaned over his Songbird so his lips were just barely touching her ear, "You're too young to love me." He then seized the clock in one hand and dashed down his Songbird's stairs once more.
He stopped on the second floor as he was met by the tantalizing smell of his would be prey. Not particularly thirsty for his preys blood but curious as to whom was the owner of such a smell, was what brought him to follow the sent to the third room to the left. It was a makeshift nursery and in that nursery was the ungrateful child, his Songbird had been trying to protect from him all those weeks ago. The small human wasn't asleep and it jumped up at his appearance.
Edward walked coolly into the nursery and the child cocked its head in curiosity. He felt a sudden pang of jealousy as he remembered how much easier it was for the child to obtain his Songbird's affection, without trickery. He hated the puny, little, thing; his life would always be infinitely easier than Edward's existence.
Edward was soon standing over the child's cot. The child fell back onto its bottom in reaction to Edwards large and -he supposed- menacing frame. Then Edward slowly placed His Songbird's alarm clock beside the child. The child watched fearfully before looking up at Edward and quite audibly saying "Angie? Angie... clock."
Edward nodded curtly and left his Songbird's house from the backdoor. He couldn't bring himself to exit from his Songbirds room.
The minute Edward arrived back at the house; he was met by Alice's angry welcome. "I thought you told me that you were done playing with the Minister's daughter?"
"I am now." he muttered in a low voice so only Alice could hear him. He tried to push past her so he could enter the house, but she remained unmoved.
"Oh I see, so when is the next time you planning to toy with her? Just so I know not to be surprised, when I see you pulling a fast one; or decide to turn her into one of us; or break into her house. Edward I swear if you don't leave that girl alone; I will start staking her out just so you can't-"
"You don't have to do that. I'm through with her."
Alice narrowed her eyes and searched his face wearily. "I'd ask you for your word on that; but lately your word hasn't meant much."
Edward hoped that hiding his Songbird's alarm clock would stop her from attending school the following day, or at the very least make her miss English class entirely. He wasn't ready to face her and the undoubtedly the questions she would have for his change of heart.
He was the first one to stroll into his class, soon followed by his obsessive lover, Jess and her jealous friend. As always she smiled, warmly at him and tried –but failed- to walk seductively over to him. "Hi,"
she said as her voice broke from nerves, "do you mind if I sit here? It's just I noticed that Angela isn't here today and I'd hate to see you sitting by yourself."
Edward raised an eyebrow - his obsessive lover's heart skipped a beat. "Really, it can't bother you too much. After all my previous table partner sits by herself, all the time, at lunch and you've never looked twice at her."
Jess's smile faltered. She obviously hadn't been expecting this reply. She soon gathered herself to say in a shrill voice, "You don't understand, I'd invite her to sit with us again... It's just..." –Jess glanced over at Lauren – "...sometimes there are just other things that get in the way."
Edward could already hear the reasoning in his obsessive lover's mind. She would invite his Songbird back into the fold, for him. It wasn't exactly what he'd hoped for but he guess he could play along. If it meant that he could right his wrongs. Edward sighed resolutely before pushing his books effortlessly to his side of the table. His Songbird's new best friend smile broadened once more and she clumsily fell into the seat beside him. Jess immediately turned to him and was about to say something of no real consequence when the teacher stalked through the door. "Afternoon everyone and Miss. Stanley stop bothering Mr. Cullen and turn to the front."
Jess frowned but did as she was told. Although Edward could tell she wasn't going to give up. She was determined to talk to him after class. A fact he was glad he had the capacity to avoid.
"Everyone take out your poetry books... What are you smiling about Mr. Cullen?" barked the teacher angrily.
Edward continued to smile impishly, "Nothing Miss, I just really like poetry."
Jess practically melted in her seat when she heard that. His teacher's angry guard faltered for a moment and she smiled girlishly at him. The rest of the male population thoughts were divided between questions of his masculinity or whether he'd just said that to win the girls over.
The rest of the English lesson was spent in mind numbing boredom. The teacher had decided since he loved poetry so much; then he should be obliged to read "How Do I Love Thee?" by Elizabeth Barrett-Browning. He was half way through the poem when he heard his Songbird's light footsteps travel down the corridor. Instinctively he stopped reading out loud. He didn't want his Songbird to hear him read such a lovesick poem, because he didn't want her to fall any deeper. It would already be hard enough for him to detach her from his existence; with out her thinking she'd been played.
"Mr. Cullen? You haven't finished the poem," barked the teacher icily.
"Sorry, Ms. Frost but this poem just too much of a chick magnet," replied Edward. His Songbird would soon be in earshot, so his decided big headedness was really only intended for her. "I can't read it any more. Chick's will be endlessly throwing themselves at me if I do."
"What's wrong with that?" piped up a boy called Austen.
The entire male population hooted at his remark, but all fell silent when Edward's Songbird entered the classroom. Edward immediately set all his attention to mentally burning a whole in the black board as he desperately resisted the urge to look at her. He couldn't bear to look at her innocent, naive features.
She anxiously made her way to the back of the classroom and Edward was almost successful in ignoring her until he heard her diary begin to slip from the table. Edward saw his chance to take the cowards' way out of this ridiculous mess. He quickly wrote a note to his Songbird and was finished even before her diary hit the ground. Edward then raced to the back of the classroom and slipped the note into her diary; before returning to his seat –Jess had barely noticed that he was gone. Edward resumed his angry glares at the inanimate blackboard.
In his head he could hear his songbird read his note and her tears clouding her vision. He'd hurt his Songbird more than he thought he would, but it was her resolve to respect his wishes that hurt him the most. No matter what blow he gave his Songbird she would just rollover and say 'do it again!'. He hated her for that. She would make all this a great deal easier if she wasn't so understanding –or blindly in love with him. Then the teacher stalked over to her to her and his Songbird unknowingly made his current situation worse by lying for him. He wished she wasn't so determined to save him; he was already a lost cause.
Finally class ended and it was off to fourth period. He had math with his Songbird's obnoxious lover and his Songbird had music. As he backed up his things; he could hear his Songbird think of asking him about the note he'd left her, so he instinctively struck up a conversation with his least favourite admirer. She complied happily and his Songbird decided it was a sign not to push the issue and sneaked a small, encouraging smile at Jess. Somehow that angered him. He couldn't believe how his Songbird could be in love with him and not feel in the least bit resentful towards her competition. That had to be a first for the human race. They were usually much more territorially and jealous creatures.
"So, Edward... Do you want to go out sometime? We could see a movie." quizzed Jess clearly finished talking about her topic, which meant nothing to him.
Edward exhaled before replying - in a tone that clearly told her never to ask him again – "No, Jess I don't." With that that Edward quickly exited the English room, before Jess could suggest inviting his Songbird along. The last thing he wanted was to be left sitting in a dark room with his Songbird.
