Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of Stephenie Meyer. The original characters and plot are the property of Stephenie Meyer. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

The Gloaming - Chapter Six

Ben and Angela follow me home Friday afternoon from school so that I can drop off my truck. I'm really not in the mood for this trip. Bella hasn't been back to school all week and I can now admit to Angela that I am frustrated. I know that I am going to be bad company. As I climb into the back seat of Ben's Civic, I'm already hoping this is a quick trip.

"I was thinking that we could go to the Mexican restaurant that's close to the mall for dinner. Is that okay with you Edward?" Angela loves Mexican food. I don't care where we eat. I'd rather not be going at all.

"Sure. Whatever." Anything is better than the endless chicken spaghetti I've been enduring all week. I swear it's multiplying in the refrigerator. The foul concoction won't go away!

Ben looks at me in the rearview mirror, "You have got to snap out of this, Dude. She'll probably be back on Monday. It's not like she died or something."

I cough to keep from bursting into hysterical laughter. No, she's not dead. She's undead! Something must be seriously wrong with me that I can joke, albeit in my own mind, about vampires living in Forks. "I don't want to talk about Bella Cullen tonight." All I've done all week is think about her and do more vampire research. I'm almost convinced that's what she is.

"Why not?" I glare at the back of Ben's head. If I ever needed the ability to shoot laser beams out of my eyes.

"Leave him alone. We don't have to talk about her if you don't want to." Angela is looking at me sympathetically. I don't need her pity… yet. I could be wrong. Bella doesn't act like the vampires in the movies. Worst case scenario, I confront her with it, she slaps me across the face, calls me a freak, and never speaks to me again. Okay, maybe that's the best case scenario. Worst case? I'm right and she kills me. Strangely enough, I'm not afraid. I actually think I'm more attracted to her. I am officially nuts.

"Thank you." I am in no mood for Ben and his little jabs tonight. "What color is your dress, Ang.?"

"It's lavender and…."

I don't really hear anything else. Angela is giving us a full description. I knew if I got her started she would just keep talking about the dance. She's very excited. She and Ben weren't dating last year for the Spring Fling so this is their first dance. She's moved on to decorations now. She's on the planning committee. She says that she needed an activity for her college applications, but I think she actually enjoys being involved. I just want to get to Seattle, get Ben dressed, eat, and go home.

~*~*~*~*~*~

It's a good thing that I came along. Angela was right about Ben and the ridiculous. He walked in the door and asked for "something in a powder blue". He then tried to talk Angela into a purple tux to "match her dress". Listening to Angela persuade him against the shirt with the ruffles on the front and on the cuffs was almost worth making the trip. After much disagreement, Angela and I talk him into basic black, but he insists on tails. He says that he needs to make a statement. I don't know what statement he thinks that he is making with tails, but the shorter coat makes him look a little taller. Ben could use the help in the height department. He's barely five foot three inches tall. Angela is about four inches taller than him. I tower over them both a six foot two.

We decide to walk to the restaurant. On the way there we pass a Native American bookstore. "Um, guys. Do you mind if I stop in that bookstore? I want to see if they have a book I read about on-line."

"Sure. We can stop." Angela says.

"No, no. You go on and get us a table. I won't be long." I don't want them to see what I'm interested in. I already doubt my sanity; I don't need them to question it too.

I enter the store and start to look around. I find the Quileute section and start looking for a book on their legends. There are a lot of books here on the Quileutes. They're the dominate tribe in this area. I pick up one and flip to the contents. No cold-ones. I flip through another one and find a picture of a cold-one. It's a drawing and looks nothing like any of the Cullens. This is a monster with long arms and claws and fangs. I put it back on the shelf. I keep going through the books on the rack looking for any mention of a cold-one. I find a couple that look good. They both have chapters about the cold-one legend and the wolf legend. No pictures though. What do I think I would find; a photo of Bella Cullen with the caption "Cold-one" underneath? I go up to the counter and pay for them. I get outside and notice that it's not twilight anymore. It's dark, very dark. I must have stayed in there longer than I thought. Bookstores and libraries have that effect on me. Now I'm wishing that Angela and Ben had come in with me. I start toward the restaurant. I get almost there when I'm suddenly grabbed from behind and dragging into an alleyway. Someone has a forearm against my throat and I feel something sharp against my right side.

"Give me your money," a voice demands in my ear. His breath smells like alcohol and nicotine. I think he has a knife pressed into my right side. I can feel the tip against me shirt.

"Okay. I just have to get my wallet." He's going to have to let go of me so I can get into my back pocket. I should try to run when he loosens his grip, but I would probably just fall on my face. Maybe if I give him what little money I have with me he won't kill me.

"Get it," he sneers in my ear. His breath is revolting and I gag a little.

"You're going to have to let me reach into my back pocket. Stay calm. I'll give you my money, just don't hurt me." He releases his hold on me and I reach slowly into my back pocket. I almost have my wallet out when a car suddenly pulls into the alley. The bright lights blind us both. My attacker lets go of me to shield his eyes from the lights.

"Get in the car!" a female voice orders. I don't hesitate. I run for the car. As I get to passenger side door I look to my right and see Bella standing in the driver side door. Then I hear something growl. I quickly get in the car. Bella is already in the car and putting it in reverse. She squeals the tires as she backs out of the alley and out to the main road.

"Edward?" She's staring straight ahead through the windshield of the car. She has the strangest look on her face.

"Yes?" I answer her. I don't know what else to say. I should be shaking with fear, but I'm actually happy. I'm happy to see her!

"Are you alright?" She still isn't looking at me. She has the steering wheel in a death grip.

"I think so." I can't quit looking at her. She is quite possibly even more beautiful when she's angry.

"Did he hurt you in any way? Have you been cut?"

How did she know that he had a knife? "I don't think so. Nothing hurts. I don't smell any blood."

She turns then to look at me. The expression has changed. Now she looks confused. "Good."

"Are you okay?" I have to keep her talking. Her voice is the most amazing sound I have ever heard.

"No," she answers. She turns back to the windshield and says, "I sometimes have a problem with my temper. I need you to talk to me; calm me down so that I don't go back and do something irrational."

"Like what?" What would she do? Go back and kill the guy?

She looks back at me and says, "Like go back there and murder that fiend."

Not the answer I was expecting. "Okay. Calm it is. Mike Newton is in love with you."

She smiles a crooked half smile. "What Mike feels for me would never be classified as love. I believe that it would fall more into the category of lust."

"How would you know?" What has Newton been saying to her?!

"Trust me I know," she says with a laugh. She makes a left turn on what seems like two wheels. How fast are we going?

"Ben and Angela are going to be worried about me. I was supposed to meet them at the restaurant."

"Do you mean here?" She is pulling into Sabor Latino's parking lot. I had been staring at her the whole ride and didn't realize she had driven around the block.

"How did you know?" I didn't tell her where to go. I didn't even mention meeting them at a restaurant until two seconds ago. She doesn't answer me. She gets out of the car, so I do the same. Angela and Ben are coming out of the restaurant.

"Where have you been? We waited and waited." Ben nudges Angela then and she finally notices Bella. "Oh."

"Good evening, Angela. Hello, Ben. I'm so sorry that I kept Edward. We ran into each other at the bookstore and began talking. I'm afraid that we lost track of time." She smiles at Ben dazzling him. "Do you mind if I join you three for dinner?"

"Um, we've already eaten. Sorry, Edward, we couldn't wait any longer," Angela says. Ben is still incoherent.

"Oh. I'm afraid that I have ruined your evening, Edward. I do apologize. Let me make it up to you by buying you dinner. I can give Edward a ride home if that is alright with you, Ben."

"Huh?" Ben is still out of it.

"It's fine with us, if that's what Edward wants." Angela answers for him.

"I am a little hungry." I'm lying of course. I just don't want to leave Bella yet. I don't know if I could eat anything right now. I have butterflies doing acrobatics in my stomach.

"Well then, shall we?" She's looking at me expectantly.

As I walk past Angela to get to the door she whispers in my ear, "Call me as soon as you get home."

We enter the restaurant, although I'm at a loss as to why. I can't eat anything and she won't eat anything. This is an exercise in futility. The hostess tries to seat us at a booth near the door, but Bella asks her for something more private in the back. I think that she slips her a tip, but I can't be sure. Who still does that? Whatever she did, it works. We're escorted to a table in the back corner of the restaurant far from the other patrons. Bella smiles politely and tells the hostess thank you. I can't seem to remove my eyes from Bella's face. This is surreal. I've been fantasizing for over a week about this moment and now that it's here, I don't know what to do. I am truly a dork.

Bella is looking at me with concern. "How do you feel, Edward?"

"I'm fine," I answer her, but I'm a bit confused. Do I look like I feel bad? "And you?" She was so angry in the car. She seems calmer now.

"I'm getting better, but you should be in shock. A normal person that has just been attacked and almost killed would be hysterical right now. You are amazingly calm and stoic." She tilts her head to the right and leans in towards me. "How are you staying so calm?"

I smile at her and answer, "I'm good at blocking unpleasant things from my mind. It's a survival mechanism." She still looks confused. "I have a crazy Mom. She does unusual things sometimes. I have to block things or I would die of embarrassment." Why do I keep talking like a freak?!

"Oh. Well, you should still eat something. You need the sugar in your system." The waiter arrives then to take our drink orders. I order a Coke and Bella orders the same. Then she says, "Do you know what you want to eat?"

I lean towards her and say with a slight smirk, "Do you?" Let's see how you answer that one you little vamp.

She leans in and copies my smirk, then says, "I'll have whatever you're having."

That's not what I thought she would say. It throws me a bit. I'm not used to being outwitted. The vampire conversation could get tricky. I'm not even sure how to bring it up and now I'm afraid that she'll outwit me. Plus, I find it hard to concentrate when I look at her. She's so beautiful. Those black and gold eyes are mesmerizing. She hasn't broken eye contact with me yet. It's like she's challenging me.

"Are you ready to order?" The waiter breaks the spell. I take a breath and look at the menu to regain my composure. I can't remember what I usually get.

"You go ahead," she says to me. I scan the menu quickly. I order the chicken chimichanga with beans and rice. She says, "I'll have the same." Why did she bother? She won't eat any of it. She never eats regular food. I'm almost nervous to find out what she does eat. But, again, I'm not nervous enough to do the sensible thing and run away.

I look at her quizzically and say, "Will you eat any of it?" The look on her face turns dark. I may have crossed a line. Then she gives me that crooked half smile and looks down at the table. She shakes her head. "Bella," I start, "why won't you tell me how you pushed me out of the way of Tyler's van?" I might as well jump right in.

"I'd rather hear your theories." She looks up at me and smiles. I melt a little on the inside. Her eyes are still mostly black, but the gold ring is a little wider than it was in biology. I wonder why her eyes look like that when she's near me.

"Well, at first I thought superhuman mutant or something like that," I admit. "I used to be into comics and the X-Men were my favorite. Some of them were super fast and super strong."

"You said 'at first', what do you think now?" She's chewing nervously on her bottom lip. It's the cutest thing I've ever seen.

"Well, I didn't come up with it on my own. My friend Jacob told me a story and it reminded me of you. Jake's a Quileute Indian and he told me a story about wolves and cold-ones." I look at her and try to de-cipher her expression. It's just blank. "He also mentioned your family's name."

This changes her expression. Her eyes narrow and she says, "What's your friend's last name?"

"Black. Jacob Black," I answer her. She sucks in a breath. Does she know Jake?

"Ephraim Black's descendant has broken the treaty," she mumbles, I think to herself. She just confirmed a treaty. The story was true?! I can't believe it. I'm right. She's a vampire!

"In Jake's defense, he didn't believe the story. He thinks that it's just a silly superstition. He thinks that it's a story the grown-ups use to scare the little kids." He didn't do anything wrong intentionally. Surely she can understand that. He didn't come right out and say that the Cullens are vampires.

"What do you think? Do you think that it's a silly superstition?" She's looking me directly in the eyes and she isn't smiling. This must be what Angela meant by 'intense'.

"I did, but then I did a little research on the internet. I found some books at the bookstore." I look around the table. Where are my books? "Crap, I must have dropped them in the alley." My books are not with me and I don't remember having them in the car.

She laughs and says, "We're not going back for them. If that lowlife is still there I don't think that I could control myself."

"How did you know where to find me? Were you following me?" I know I hadn't told her that we were coming to Seattle tonight. She hasn't been at school.

"No, I didn't follow you. I had a little help." She looks down at her hands and begins playing with her nails.

"I don't understand." Who helped her? I didn't tell anyone about our trip. Ben, Angela, and I were the only ones that knew we were going to be coming here.

"Alice 'saw' you die in that alley tonight."

I almost spit Coke all over her. "She what?!" What did she mean by that?

"My sister can see the future." She says it so matter-of-factly that it almost doesn't sound ridiculous. Almost, but not quite.

"Can you all do that?!" What if all five of them can see the future? That would explain never taking notes and always knowing the answers. This is getting weirder by the second.

"No, that's just Alice." She again acts like it's no big deal.

"Do you do anything… like that?" What else does she do beside move at the speed to light and stop two ton vehicles with her body?

"Sort of." She smiles at me again. I must look hilarious to her. I don't know whether to laugh hysterically or run screaming from the room. It's probably written all over my face.

"Well, what?" I think I might have said that a little loud. A couple of people in the lower dining room turn to look our way. I can't help it. This is a little upsetting.

"I can read minds." She says it so calmly. Like everyone can do it.

"You can read my mind?! Are you reading it now?!" That must be why she looks like she fighting to keep from laughing. She's seeing my hysteria.

"No, I can't read your mind. Everyone else in the world, but not you." She smiles her crooked half smile. I love that smile. "You're completely silent to me. It's so strange. I've tried countless times to 'hear' you, but I can't. Why is that?" Her eyes narrow as she looks at me.

"Is there something wrong with my brain?" I've hit my head a lot in my life. I must have caused some type of damage. Or maybe I have a tumor.

"I tell you that I can read minds and you think that there is something wrong with you. Priceless." She shakes her head and looks down at the table.

She's laughing at me now. "I'm glad I amuse you. So you came here to save my life… again." As if once wasn't enough.

Her expression suddenly gets very serious. "I couldn't let it happen." She rests her forehead in the palm of her right hand. "Alice told me and I panicked. Rose told me not to interfere with fate, but I just couldn't stay in Forks." She looks up at me again. "I couldn't let it happen. I was almost too late. I let him get too close. I could see it in his mind. I don't think that I could survive if something happened to you."

Okay, that's a strange thing to say. "Why don't you think you could survive?" She barely knows me. Why does my life matter that much to her?

"I don't know. I just feel that way. I can't let you die." Then she looks earnestly into my eyes and says, "And I can't kill you."

"I wasn't aware that it was a possibility." I'm a little taken aback by this admission. I really didn't think that her killing me was an option. It had crossed my mind, but I never honestly believed that she would do it. For some reason I'm not afraid of her at all. I'm nuts.

The food arrives, but I'm not really hungry anymore. This conversation is not going like I had imagined it would. I've heard things that I didn't think were possible and I'm a little freaked out by it. But, again, not freaked out enough to run away from her. I must be insane.

"Edward, can we talk about this in the car on the way home? There are too many ears here."

She has a point. I don't think I want anyone to hear me call her a vampire and I'm at the point that I need confirmation. I'll ask her in the car. "Is it safe to get in the car with you?"

"I think so." She thinks so?! What does that mean?!

"You think or you know?" She had said the same thing to me in biology last week. The difference is that in biology it wasn't a life or death situation. Dying really is not on my agenda for tonight.

"We'll see, won't we?" She smiles my favorite smile again. She has to know what that does to me. "Are you afraid?" She looks like she wants me to be, but I'm really not.

"No. I don't think you'll hurt me." I really don't think she will. I don't know why, but I feel almost safe with her.

"I don't think I will either. Alice is fairly sure that I won't. At least I won't tonight. She hasn't seen anything past tonight. You were supposed to die in the alley, remember?"

"I don't think I want you to remind me of that." I kind of want to block out the whole episode entirely.

I stir my beans and rice together. Bella copies me. I smile at her and say, "Why are you doing that? You aren't going to eat it, are you?"

"No, I won't be eating this. It would look strange if it wasn't moved around a little though. You can have it if you want it." She pushes the plate toward me.

"I've got my own, thanks." I use a chip to scoop up my beans and rice mixture. I put the whole thing in my mouth and chew.

"You're a seventeen year old man, Edward. I'm sure you could eat both meals and still have room for dessert." She's smiling at me as she starts cutting the chimichanga into bite size pieces. She pushes a few into her beans and rice mixture.

"Probably, but I'm watching my figure." She smiles and raises her eyebrows at this comment. "What?"

"Nothing. Eat." I take a bite and chew slowly, staring at her face. She's watching my mouth as I eat. I take another bite and she raises one eyebrow. I take a drink of Coke and she licks her lips.

"Okay, I have to ask. What's so fascinating about me eating?"

"I don't know. I don't remember much about being human and I don't usually get this close to a human. I think it's the way your mouth moves. I can't stop watching." She looks down at the table and begins tearing her napkin into small pieces.

I feel the heat of my blush creeping up my neck to my face. "Well, I'm done. I'm too self conscious to eat now. And I have a few questions I need to ask you. Let's go back to Forks."