After the first night, Edward began visiting me on a nightly basis. I wondered at first if I should tell my parents, but I came to the difficult conclusion that if I informed them, I would eventually have to tell them what he was. And as much as I hated lying, I couldn't put Edward and his family in such danger. I could have told him to cease the visits altogether so I wouldn't have been put in the awful position of lying to cover for him, but I was growing too close to him to even suggest it. Therefore, I wrote down and practiced several stories and excuses in case my parents heard the two of us at night. Luckily, Edward was always so quiet when entering and leaving my house that I never had to use them.
On one of these visits, Edward asked quite suddenly, "What are you telling your parents about me?"
Even though my blushing rate had subsided considerably since I started spending more time in his presence, my face lit up like a Christmas tree at his unexpected question. "I've been telling them that you're my friend…" I trailed off a little uncertainly. "And that you're taking me to Port Angeles tomorrow. Why?"
I examined his facial expression as he answered. Unfortunately, I seemed to forget the fact that Edward Cullen had long since mastered the art of the poker face. "I was just wondering." But I didn't believe him. I knew he asked that question for a reason yet unknown to me.
And I really had told them that Edward was taking me to Port Angeles. While my parents were both worried for my health in such a dramatically different environment than Forks, they had no qualms in letting me go with someone they had never met before. In fact, they were rather glad that I was making friends so quickly.
"Oh, Bells!" my mother sighed happily. "I was so worried that the other kids would be mean to you. But I should have known better! You're such a sweet girl, anyone would have to be out of their mind to not want to be your friend."
I grinned. She only had half the truth; all the boys wanted to be my friends, but the girls—with several exceptions—wanted nothing to do with me.
As promised, Edward showed up on my doorstep, promptly at ten o'clock. My mother opened the door and beamed at him like the prodigal son. "You must be Edward Cullen! Come in, dear, come in!"
"It's wonderful to meet you, Mrs. Swan," he said in a charmingly smooth voice. I knew instantly that he had won her over.
"Oh no, the pleasure's all mine!" giggled my mother as she led him into the kitchen. "It's nice to finally meet one of Bella's friends. I was so worried, you see. I was afraid that she might not make any friends. I'm sure you know how she shy she is—"
"Mom!" I cried out in horror.
But she continued on as if I hadn't said anything. "She's a dear girl, she really is. And all those horrible stories about the kids in high school." She shuddered. "I didn't want my Bells to have an experience like that."
"Mom," I begged. "Please?"
My mother seemed to forget that I was even in the room, but Edward turned his head and shot me a devilish grin. "Mrs. Swan, you're daughter's much too nice for anyone to terrorize her like that. And she's a very sweet girl, like you said, so she's making friends very easily."
"Oh, I'm so glad!" she said with exaggerated relief. "Would you like anything to eat?"
"No thank you," he said very politely. "I ate before I left."
She nodded. "Well then, I suppose you two should get on your way. Bella, sweetie, do you have everything you need?"
"Yes, mom," I said quickly. I didn't want my mother to make a scene and start fussing over me right in front of Edward. "My water bottle, extra tissues, my blanket, my wallet and my phone. I have everything, don't worry."
She nodded again, this time with her brow furrowed in maternal worry. "Well, alright then. You two have fun. And take care of yourself, okay? I don't want anything bad to happen to you."
"Don't worry, Mrs. Swan," he said very soothingly. "I'll make sure Bella's safe."
Wow, I thought to myself as I shook my head slightly to shake off the spell that Edward's dazzling smile cast over the female occupants of the room. He was pulling out all the charm to win over my mother, and it was working very well.
"Oh, I'm so glad! Well then, off you two go!" She followed us out to the front porch and watched with misty eyes as Edward helped me into his car. "Take care of yourselves!"
We waved to her as Edward slowly (for his standards) pulled out of the driveway. Once we had rounded the corner, I saw his leg shift, as if he were pushing his foot further down on the pedal. I tried to ignore this.
"So," he said with a grin, "your mother was lovely."
I groaned. "No, that was embarrassing."
His grin grew. "She's your mother. She's just worried."
I grumbled a bit under my breath. "You're only saying that because she's not your mother."
I heard him chuckle. "Oh, Esme doesn't have anything to worry about when it comes to me. You, on the other hand…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" I demanded.
"It means that your mother has every right to be worried for you. You manage to trip over absolutely nothing on a daily basis. It's a small wonder that you're still alive."
I stuck my tongue out at him. "Not all of us are vampires, you know," I retorted. "We can't all be perfect."
Immediately, I wished I hadn't said anything. "I'm far from perfect, Bella," Edward replied quietly as his golden eyes darkened. "If only you knew…"
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. My time spent with Edward taught me that he had a penchant for self-deprecation. "I do know," I reminded him. "You told me before. And I just don't think that you should continue to beat yourself up about this."
"You still don't get it," he said as his hands tightened over the steering wheel. "You're in danger every moment we spend together. You more than anyone."
This time, I didn't even bother trying to stop my eyeballs from rolling. "And you still don't get it either. I don't care."
He whipped his head over to glare at me so fast, his head had blurred. "Have you no sense of self preservation at all? Are you suicidal?"
I chuckled, but didn't reply. If he was allowed to be cryptic, then so was I.
Truthfully, I had a sense of self preservation, and I wasn't suicidal. I was just dying, and I never bothered to tell him. I couldn't bring myself to. I knew that the moment I did, he would start to treat me like some delicate little flower, never letting me out of the house and never letting me do anything for myself. He'd never see me the same way, and for once in my life, I just wanted to live like a normal teenager.
"What are you thinking of?" he asked curiously after my prolonged silence.
I stuck my tongue out at him for the second time. "I don't want to tell you."
He pulled his lip forward in a ridiculously beautiful pout that only he could pull off. "Why not?"
"Because I don't want to," I said lightly, but in a tone of finality.
Edward pursed his lips, but didn't pursue the subject further. After extended contact with me, he knew that tone meant the conversation was over.
After a few moments, he reached over and turned his CD player on. My eyes widened in surprise as the opening notes of "In the Mood" blasted from the speakers.
"You listen to big band swing?" I asked.
He smirked. "Of course. I lived through the era, remember?"
I could practically feel my eyes glazing over as I stared into the windshield without actually seeing anything. "I wonder what it was like," I murmured aloud. "It's so romantic in books and movies. Was it really like that?"
I felt rather than saw him shrug. "I suppose. There was a different sort of spirit in the country at that time. We all trusted each other. Everything was rationed carefully, people lived frugally, children walked up and down their blocks with little red wagons full of scrap aluminum…we were all united in solidarity against the enemies we knew were there, but couldn't see."
I hummed along to the music, feeling the beat vibrate in my bones, making me want to get to my feet and dance. I had always wanted to learn how to swing dance, but my mother wisely kept me off the dance floor. Edward had not been exaggerating when he said that I managed to trip over absolutely nothing on a daily basis.
"Will you tell me what you're thinking now?" he asked.
"I was just thinking that I might want to learn how to swing dance," I said, my mind not fully concentrated on the present. "I've seen people do it on TV…I thought it looked so cool."
I heard the grin in his voice. "Maybe I'll teach you one day. My siblings and I can cut a rug every now and then."
The image of Jasper twirling Alice around him sprang to mind and I giggled. "And you're all probably perfect at it too."
He chuckled. "Emmet hates it though. And Rosalie doesn't like swing dancing with him if she can help it."
I laughed as the image of Jasper and Alice were replaced by the hulking figure of Emmet and the more slim and slender one of Rosalie. Emmet didn't look like the kind of guy that liked dancing, and Rosalie definitely wasn't the kind of girl that liked messing her hair.
"Speaking of Rosalie," I began in a light, teasing tone, but inwardly bracing myself for the pain, "does she still hate my guts?"
Edward turned to look at me with a sympathetic smile. "She doesn't hate your guts, Bella," he told me for the millionth time. "She's just jealous."
I shrugged one shoulder, trying not to show how much pain the rejection of one of his siblings caused me. "I don't even know why. Rosalie's absolutely gorgeous. She's got everything I don't."
My companion shook his head. "No. You have a soul and for that, she can never forgive you."
A few moments later, Edward pulled into the parking lot of a department store and turned off the ignition. Before I could even pick up my purse, he was on the other side of the car, opening the door for me and grinning chivalrously.
"You know, it still throws me off balance when you do that," I said with as much dignity as I could muster after almost falling flat on my face as I got out of the car.
He scoffed. "Anything throws you off balance. You certainly don't need my help."
I smacked him playfully on the shoulder, knowing full well that he couldn't feel it.
"So, what are we doing here?" I asked him.
"Well, I thought that maybe we could do some shopping," he said, a little too innocently.
I raised my eyebrows. "Oh? Shopping for what?"
He never got the chance to answer the question. At that moment, Alice Cullen bounded forward out of nowhere and wrapped her arms around me. "Bella, it's so great to finally meet you! I mean, I've seen you in school and all, but we've never been properly introduced and now we have!"
I blushed a deep crimson as I hugged her back, a little tentatively. "It's nice to meet you too, Alice," I replied when she pulled away. "Edward's told me so much about you."
"Yeah, Edward's talked about you too!" Alice beamed. "Sometimes he won't shut up! It's always 'Bella this' and 'Bella that' and I just had to meet you in person to see if you're really like he says."
I shot a glance at Edward and saw him glaring angrily at his sister, who in turn looked up at him with very wide, innocent eyes that probably could have fooled a lesser being. My insides, however, were doing a funny little dance. Edward talked about me? To his family? What kind of things did he say? Did he tell them about everything we had talked about? Did he mention my clumsiness? I mentally cringed in horror at the thought of an entire family of vampires being regaled with tales of me running into trees and tripping down stairs.
"Let's get going, shall we?" Edward asked hurriedly before Alice could pursue that potentially embarrassing line of conversation.
"Wait, you never answered my question," I called as I jogged to catch up with the two of them. "What are we shopping for?"
Alice giggled. "We're shopping for clothes! I've seen the stuff you wear to school, and no offense or anything, but they're not flattering for you at all."
My cheeks caught fire at the thought of Edward shopping for new clothes with us. "You're not coming, are you?" I accused.
He raised his eyebrows. "I drove all the way out here. Of course I'm coming."
"But don't guys hate shopping?" I asked, desperately trying to keep him from coming along. "It's bound to get really boring."
"Bella, you honestly don't think I'm going to pay for items of clothing that I don't approve of, do you?"
I stopped dead in my tracks as my fists flew to my hips. "And what makes you think that you're paying?" I demanded testily.
Damn that self assured smirk, I thought to myself as I slowly forgot the reason why I should be annoyed with the gorgeous vampire in the first place. "Because I say so. Come on."
"Come on, slow pokes!" Alice shouted. "What's taking you two so long?"
I reluctantly allowed myself to be dragged into the department store. My immediate thoughts upon entrance were along the lines of, RUN! but Alice's grip on my arm was too tight for me to manage an escape without leaving the limb behind in the process.
"Ooh, look at that," she whispered as she dragged me off to the side to dig through racks and racks of clothing. Before I could even see what she was admiring, she pulled something off and tossed at me. "Here. Hold it and we'll go have you try it on in a moment."
And she continued to rip hangers off the racks at an alarming speed and tossing them into the large pile that was already accumulating in my arms. "Alice," I whispered hoarsely after about half an hour, "I don't need all of this. My wardrobe might not be fancy, but it's enough to keep me clothed properly."
"Nonsense!" she cried. "You'll look fantastic in these, don't worry!"
I shook my head and sighed mentally. What did I get myself into?
A/N - I'm so sorry! I know that it took me way too long to update, but I promise that future updates will happen sooner.
And for those of you who want to know what Bella's dying of, you are going to have to wait! I'm not sure when you'll find out, but I need to lay some groundwork before you do, okay?
Don't forget to review!
