Disclaimer:**All characters belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyers, I just wondered what would have happened if certain circumstances were different!**

Chapter 8

I awoke early the next morning with the same sense of anticipation a seven year old would have on Christmas morning, only with a twinge of anxiety added into it as well. I actually laid there for about fifteen minutes, simply staring at the alarm clock, waiting for it to go off. I would have normally just gotten up to start my routine a little ahead of schedule, but I was thinking too hard about things to be very productive at the moment. I was still mildly in shock over the issue of the sweater, I had never in my entire lifetime owned anything that expensive other than my truck, and my laptop, but certainly nothing clothes-wise. Then there was Edward himself, I still couldn't fathom him doing anything clumsy, much less running into a door frame because he was distracted. But the biggest shock to me above all of it was still the fact that he actually was interested in me and that it was enough of interest to make him distracted. Yes, I was excited, nervous, scared, and many other emotions I couldn't put a name to at the moment all at the very same time. I sat up on the side of the bed, throwing the covers to the side, then reaching over to cut off my alarm clock just as it started to beep at me. I did have some stuff to do today before I got ready for my date, so I gathered some basic clothes to wear until I got dressed later this evening, and headed into the bathroom to take my shower and wash my hair. I had intended to do it last night, but felt like a hot bath would serve me better, so I would take care of it now and let it air dry while I did my chores and errands.

I quickly rinsed off, then shaved and washed my hair, making certain I used my best smelling body wash and shampoo. I also did something I had taken the habit of since I had come to Forks. I spritzed myself with body spray and then with perfume along with my deodorant, and would do so again later that evening. I had never been one much for using such items before this, except my deodorant, and I guess it just didn't seem worth bothering with, even though I always had some on hand that I liked because my mom bought them for me as gifts. My perfume would please Alice I was certain, as it was the only thing designer in my room up until the day before. When I did wear it, I loved my True Religion perfume and the sweet woodsy sort of smell of my body spray. I had actually gotten a travel size of the body spray to keep in my purse since I had moved here for some reason. My mom would be proud, she'd always thought a woman should wear such things all the time pretty much.

I went about my chores as usual, and went to a couple of stores to pick up various items that we needed, making sure that I was back home with everything put up by 4:30p.m. As the day progressed, my nervousness transitioned to an almost desperate need to see Edward. I made sure Charlie was all set for a little while, then ran upstairs to change clothes, put on my makeup, and generally just let my craziness take over, just briefly. I decided against immediately putting on the new outfit, as I was afraid I would get too hot since the heat was on and my room was one of the warmer ones in the house. I put on my robe, and began applying my makeup carefully, trying to balance the subtly smoky eye I had taught myself to apply with the barely there, almost nude but not look that was my standard lately. I just didn't seem to have the time or energy when getting ready lately to do much else. My eyes and lips were my main focus of course, I had no doubt that my body would readily and willingly produce enough natural blush to sustain me throughout the night. The "Bella Blush" made its appearance even now as I stood there, simply thinking about tonight. Then the natural progression of my mind took me back to the dreams of the night before. Things had gotten a little more heated last night, as I had dreamt of Edward sweeping me up into his arms and carrying me to a giant bed. He laid me down, placing his body against mine facing each other, covering my face and neck with small hungry kisses, nibbling on my earlobe while he was at it. His hand fit in the dip above my hip bone at my waist perfectly, then suddenly, I would feel myself being shifted over and up. He placed both hands at my waist, pulling me on top of him, with me straddling his hips. It was at this point that I had woken up, just as I had looked down, with him pulling my hair to one side out of the way so that he could stare into my eyes with an unimpeded view. Oh, who was I kidding? I was in a full body blush right now!

I finished getting my makeup done, then dressed carefully, actually wrapping the sweater around me and fastening it with the leather strap instead of pulling it over my head. I slipped on a pair of simple black flats, my watch, the new earrings, and straightened my necklace, sliding the clasp to the back. My amber pendant didn't seem to quite fit the outfit, so I had switched it out earlier for a simple silver square with my initials monogrammed into it and some embellishments around the edge. When I finished dressing, I took a moment to sit on the side of my bed, breathing deeply in and out several times. I glanced over at the clock and was surprised to see that it was already 5:45 p.m. He would be here in 15 minutes, and again I was suddenly overwhelmed with a desperate need to see him, to be near him. What in the world was wrong with me? Geez, it was just a date! Just then I went to stand beside my window and happened to look down to see Carlisle's sleek black Mercedes coming down the street. I made my way downstairs and glanced in the living room to notice my dad reclined in his chair, asleep. I quietly went to the door and ushered Carlisle in, motioning at my sleeping father. I would let him sleep until Edward got here, because I knew he would be livid if he didn't get the chance to see me off on my date. Carlisle sat in his usual seat on the couch and began working on one of his puzzles while I went to pace in the kitchen, making sure all of Charlie's meds were in line for the evening. I had already done this task earlier in the day, but felt the need to do it again. The repetition was soothing to me in my slightly frazzled state, and I all but jumped out of my skin when Carlisle's voice said quietly, "Bella, I do believe my son will be stunned by your beauty tonight, if I may say so. You look wonderful." I hadn't heard a sound, if he had been a burglar, that would have been it for me. I had almost forgotten he was there in the living room for a brief moment. Now, granted, that statement might have sounded creepy coming from someone other than Carlisle, but his look told the whole story. He looked, well, hopeful I guess is the best word to describe it. An almost wistful expression crossed his face, and he turned to go back into the living room. I heard a car approach slowly and looked out the window to see the Aston Martin pulling into the driveway. I grabbed my purse from where it was hanging on the banister and went to the door to wait for him. He approached the door purposefully, and I opened it as he raised his hand to knock softly. He looked up at me and smiled that devastatingly beautiful crooked smile of his. I stepped back and to the side so that he could enter and wondered why he was keeping his left arm behind his back.

He showed me within seconds the answer to the question, as he withdrew his arm from behind his back. There in his hand was a small bouquet of a miniature fuchsia, white and light pink roses, all mixed skillfully once again with sprays of lavender accenting the palette. They were in a smaller arrangement than the ones now hanging up in the corner of my bedroom but I didn't care. He was the only guy to have ever given me flowers other than my dad. (That I knew of, the mystery behind the Angel Face roses was still unsolved) I gasped, and as he handed them to me, saying "Bella, you look stunning!" It registered in the back of my mind that there was a card in them, but I didn't stop to read it then. I was much too busy taking all of him in, piece by wondrous piece as it were. He was wearing dark wash jeans with fraying around the seams, and a chocolate brown sweater with a cowl neck and flecks of an amber color throughout the weave of the piece. The amber flecks matched his eyes of course, I noticed. He was wearing a pair of casual dark brown shoes and the ever present black leather cuff of course. I had never seen him without it, and today I noticed a silver oval on the top side of it with some sort of intricate design on it. In the brief amount of time it had taken me to take all this in, my body had flushed red hot at his statement and I began mumbling and finally managed to say out loud, "Not half as much so as yourself."Ugh! What was wrong with me, I couldn't even speak properly. Ok Bella, get a grip on yourself! This is a date, just a date, you will go and have a good time and then he will bring you home and that will be it. The pep talk that I gave myself was not the most original, but my biggest worry was that I would make a fool of myself in some way. Just try not to trip or fall into any holes or burn anything tonight, ok, I practically begged myself.

We walked into the living room, his hand on my elbow, with him standing very close to me, almost as if he were afraid I would either fall in my own living room or bolt. I was oddly comforted by his hand on my arm and body next to me. Although I hadn't considered bolting, it was not outside of the realm of possibility that I would fall, no matter how familiar the surroundings. Ugh, I wish I were graceful like Alice! Issue at hand Bella, keep your focus or you WILL trip! I told myself. I saw that my dad was still snoozing and so I walked over and gently tapped his shoulder, "Hey dad, we're getting ready to leave, ok?"

His eyes popped open and he looked kinda startled at first as he said, "Wha-? Oh, did I fall asleep? Are you leaving already? Wow Bells, you look beautiful!" I laughed slightly at the way he stumbled over the last part, as if it were a new thought to him. Then again, he had never seen me before a date, much less in such an expensive outfit before one, so I guess it was a new thing for him. "Thanks dad! Alice sort of put together the outfit I guess you could say." I looked at Carlisle and then Edward then, both of them trying to laugh at my expression obviously. Of course they knew what she had done, Edward probably knew what she did as soon as he saw her and she thought of it. I wasn't sure if there were ways that his family could prevent him from reading their every thought. I would have to ask how that worked later. Now, my father looked sternly at Edward and said, "Edward, you take care of my baby girl, I want her home by midnight! It's a school night, so both of you need to be in bed at a decent hour." He looked at Carlisle as he said this, as if making sure they were in agreement, and Carlisle nodded slightly in the affirmative. My dad looked relieved that he had back up on that and also that neither Edward or myself argued with him. Edward took the opportunity to reassure my father, and maybe score some brownie points as well, I wasn't sure. "Don't worry Chief Swan, we will be home before curfew, I promise. Actually we may be back a little earlier than that, since it is a school night." My dad gave him an odd look and then said, "Ok, well like I said, you take care of her!" Edward smiled just slightly, then put his hand over his heart and said "I promise!" I almost expected him to give the boy scout pledge sign and had to keep myself from giggling at the idea. We turned then, with both my father and his staring at us as we left the room. We quickly made our way out the front door, which he held open, and down the steps to the sidewalk. He actually walked around and opened my door for me, surprisingly. I had actually thought he'd done that before only because I was so traumatized the last time I had ridden with him. He was certainly old fashioned, which was rare these days for guys his age.

I settled into the luxurious seat of the DB9 again, fastening my seat belt, and wondering if he normally did really drive like Alice had. I was distracted from the thought at that moment by my cell phone notifying me that I had a text message and tapped it to read the message from Alice that said -You guys will have a great time, just relax! ; )P Oh, and P.S. I still say he's going to kiss you! lol- He was in his seat, buckling his seat belt and looked at me curiously when I laughed, asking me "What's so funny?" I just shook my head, saying "Nothing, well, actually to be honest, your sister was just telling me to relax." He snorted and said "Yes you really should, I want you to enjoy yourself tonight." He then grabbed his phone from the console and tapped out a short message, hit send, and was done within just a few seconds. I just glanced at him, not wanting to pry, but curious myself and he noticed. "I was just telling Alice to shut it and stop bugging us, but also thanking her for the shopping trip. You really do look amazing! That color is unbelievable on you. I know that she can be pushy and sneaky at times, but she means well. We just have to reign her in occasionally. Although I have to admit, I had seen you in this through her thoughts, but it could not have prepared me for the way it would look in front of my own eyes. It slipped before she could block me, she was trying to keep it a surprise." he said lastly, as if apologizing for his ability. He started the car without taking his eyes off me and my cheeks, which were positively crimson I was sure at this point. He reached out and brushed his finger along my cheek, barely touching me, but I felt like my skin had been lit on fire where he had ghosted acrossed it. I sucked in my breath slowly and was trying to make myself continue breathing, meanwhile I could have sworn he said something in some other language because I didn't recognize it, but it was said so softly that I couldn't have sworn exactly what I'd heard, if anything. He said nothing, he simply turned to look out the windshield and put the car in reverse and we were off.

Once I had regained my wits about me, I decided to ask him what he had meant earlier about his sister's thoughts. "Edward, when you were saying that you saw me through Alice's thoughts before she could block you, is all of your family able to block you, or just her?" He laughed quietly and answered, "All of them are pretty good at doing it actually, which is the best thing for me. It keeps me from seeing things I really would rather not in a lot of instances. I wasn't trying to ruin the surprise for you two, but she was so excited about it, her blocking slipped." I thought about his response for a moment, "What do you mean things you really would rather not see?" I was genuinely curious about this, the whole issue of their respective "powers" as I thought of them, really was a point of interest for me, but I would have to make sure I talked about other things so as not to put anyone off by focusing solely on that. He laughed loudly, and for what seemed like a long time before he was able to respond to this particular question. "Bella, imagine what happens in the minds of a bunch of teenagers who are constantly surrounded by their significant other, not to mention my parents. I try to keep away from those thoughts if at all possible, if I didn't I would have been insane long ago!" OHHH! Ok, how stupid was I that I hadn't thought of that? Especially with the way Emmett seemed to be so enamored with Rosalie at school, and Alice and Jasper were always within touching proximity it seemed. I began to wonder then, if Edward ever felt alone? They were all paired up with the exception of him. It had to be a point of contention, particularly if any of the couples were in that kind of mood. So, I wondered, what was stopping HIM of all people? He certainly could have any girl he wanted, so that wasn't the problem. Before I could stop myself, my mouth started moving and my censor chip failed to function. "Ok, I definitely understand how that could be an issue, but why not just find someone to be with yourself too? I mean, it's not like you couldn't have any girl at school, or probably outside of it for that matter. I can't think of one at Forks High that wouldn't die for that opportunity! Then again, I'm sure you know that through their thoughts, don't you?" I was rambling, badly, and I slapped my hand over my mouth to stop the flow of words and express my embarrassment. My cheeks showed it as well and I wanted to crawl underneath the car! What was I thinking? Now he was surely going to turn the car around and take me back home.

But he didn't, instead he slowed down slightly, and turned his head to look at me, looking slightly surprised but amused. "Well, to be honest, we haven't even been here a year, and I guess I have just never run into anyone that made me want to ask them out. Until you, that is." he looked pointedly at me. I felt the blush not creeping, but exploding all over my body, and I thought I was going to ignite given just the right spark. Unfortunately, the way he was looking at me with those molten amber eyes was threatening to be just that. I couldn't help saying "I'm SO sorry, it was none of my business to ask you that, please don't take it the wrong way." He barked a laugh and said "Bella, don't be silly, you don't have to apologize. And you don't have to worry about me taking it the wrong way. I know you didn't mean anything negative by it. There are plenty of people at school who think the same thing, it's just that none of them have the nerve to say it. I like that you said what you were thinking, it gives me insight into the way your mind works, even if I can't read it like most peoples." Oh, I guess I hadn't thought that his reaction would be as such, because I found myself surprised by it. I had honestly not considered that not being able to read my mind would be of any consequence to him, but apparently it was. I found myself with a niggling thought in the back of my mind that I could not prevent from growing until it forced itself out of my mouth, blowing right past the censor chip once again. "But that doesn't make sense to me, that's just it, why would it matter to you if you could or couldn't read my mind, why am I that important to you in that respect?"

I'm sure a look of sheer horror was plastered across my face, as I realized what I had just said. Was my brain broken today? Was I shortcircuiting or what? All of a sudden I didn't have the words to express what I was feeling. I was a manic jumble, twisted and gnarled like the roots of an ancient tree, confused, needy, wishful but cynical. I realized all of a sudden that I actually wanted him to want me, or even moreso I wanted him to NEED me. Me, only me, and nobody else for as long as I could think forward into my life. Whoa, that was a heavy thought, where the hell did that come from? I barely knew him, at least I felt like it. But I did know that he had helped me, shielded me, stood up for me, fought for me even, and that was before we even really knew each other. I somehow also knew that his family, for whatever reason, seemed willing to help and be there for me when I could turn nowhere else. His sister, at least one of them (I hadn't even really officially been introduced to Rosalie, so I didn't know about her) was willing and eager to spend time with me, and try to make things work out for Edward and myself on this date. I felt tears prick my eyelids, threatening to spill over and give away my angst. I could NOT cry, I would not! But I also realized that I couldn't allow myself to become hopeful that tonight was anything more than just an ordinary first date, awkward and tentative, between two teenagers. That was all it was, and ever would be, that was just the end of it. Thankfully, he seemed to be carefully thinking over his response to my question, and he didn't seem to notice the battle that was being fought within me, although I was almost sure I could hear my mind warring with my heart. Little did I know it, but one of them would eventually win, and it would change my life forever.

I was so lost in my own thoughts and the war within that it startled me when he spoke finally. "Bella, there are things about me that I have to tell you, and show you for them to be believed most likely. These things are not conventional in the least, but they are what my life is. But believe me when I say this, I will not mislead you about the way I feel about you, as long as I have control over my own fate I will not. You mean more to me now that you could ever fathom, and I know while it may be difficult for you to comprehend, that you have to understand that I could never let anything happen to you. Your mind is precious to me because it is what makes you Bella. It is your essence, and that has become more important to me than my own life. I don't know that I could ever begin to expect you to feel the same way about me, if that is even possible. However, I think if it were, it would only be possible for you, nobody else, ever. The day you ran into me at the hospital, my life was changed irrevocably. A seed was planted in my heart, and it has grown exponentially, it has twisted through my thoughts and desires and grown to such an extent that I don't know just what would happen to me if you were to reject me. Your want is my command, any need is my bidding, your happiness is the most important thing in the world to me and I would fight tooth and nail to keep you happy and safe until I had no fight left. I know this all sounds overly dramatic and unbelievable, so I won't expect you to say anything right now. Just know that I could not be more tied to you than if you were my only anchor in a typhoon. Voi siete miei tutto. You are my everything. And will be for as long as I live, unless you send me away."

I answered in a small voice, "Why would I send you away?" He looked sad at this moment, and I found myself wanting to touch his face and smooth away the worried wrinkles that sat on his forehead just then. He answered finally after a couple of minutes, "Because when you know about my life, you may not want to have anything to do with me. And while that would destroy me, I have to accept the fact that you have that right, you have the right to a life without me in it, without me impacting it." I took a moment to register what he was saying, then began refuting it, "I don't see how anything could make me not want you in my life, you have shown me nothing but kindness and strength since I have known you. What could possibly be so horrible that I would send you away from me, when I've just found you?" Indeed, what did he think could be so wretched that I would break my own self over it, because at this point that's what it felt like I would experience if that happened. I realized that I had spoken the complete truth of my heart. It had won. I had found him, and had no intention of letting him go if I had any other option. I felt the car slow to a stop and looked forward to see the front of a small restaurant as we parked. We were already in Port Angeles, and then it hit me. He had barely glanced at the highway while we drove there, he had been intently focused on me, the console when he couldn't look at me, and seemingly his hand, which I now saw was lying on the console between us. Had he intended to reach for my hand? I couldn't be sure at this point. He said, "We're here, please let's enjoy ourselves and not worry about what could or should or wont happen, ok? I want you to have fun." We got out, he handed the keys to the valet, who looked at him as if he had sprouted a third arm suddenly when he figured out what type of car key had just been handed to him. He clasped my hand in his and we walked into the restaurant and I found that instead of it feeling awkward and tentative, being beside Edward Cullen felt as natural to me as breathing, even if it was only for a little while.

I thoroughly enjoyed his company and the food, and although the service was timed perfectly to when we needed something, I had the inclination to believe that it was because our waitress was watching him obsessively. It was a wonderful little Italian place with an extensive menu, some of which was in Italian, and which Edward translated for me. I never would have imagined he could speak Italian! I had the shrimp and lobster stuffed ravioli in a garlic butter-white wine sauce with angel hair pasta and he had the manicotti stuffed with all sorts of wonderful smelling cheeses and meat, then covered in a sauce that was unbelievable. I actually knew this because he apparently saw me appreciating the aroma of it and offered me a bite. I followed suit with my ravioli, and he exclaimed how well the sauce complimented the lobster. I asked him many inane questions, like if he knew any other languages and what they were. He knew Italian, Spanish, Portugese, French, German, and Russian, and was apparently fluent in all of them. I filed this away for later to ask if he had actually said anything earlier in the car when I had wondered. He did admit however, that he had more of a base in Italian because Carlisle had spent quite a few years in Italy earlier in his life before he met Esme. He said that the family frequently tossed around different languages to keep in practice for when they traveled, which was apparently all the time. Carlisle and Esme had encouraged them each to have other interests as well. Edward, who knew the most languages other than Carlisle, taught the others foreign languages and was currently learning Scandinavian. He and Rosalie both played piano and Rosalie was the family's auto mechanic. Alice, in addition to her fashion designing and artwork of various types, dabbled in Interior Design along with Esme. They decorated all the homes they lived in themselves! Jasper was an authority on history and kept up the family's museum of sorts that they had collected over the years from visiting various places. Emmett was a sports enthusiast who had an uncanny knack for discovering new musical talent, he was actually a filter for a major record producer in Seattle. He received cd's of hopeful talent, and picked out the most promising talents and forwarded it to the producer. They all loved to play baseball as a family, each had two cars with the exception of Esme, who only drove whichever of Carlisle's was available, had a large family boat (which I could only imagine was more of a luxury yacht) and houses currently in 3 different countries, with 3 houses in different states of the US. In addition to all of this, both Carlisle and Edward enjoyed flying and each had their pilot's licenses for airplanes and helicopters, although when they traveled they primarily flew commercial jets. I had come to the conclusion during my time with him this evening that probably unbeknownst to most of the population of Forks, the Cullen family had more money than God, to pardon the expression. It probably wasn't too obvious though because no one ever really saw their home, and they only drove the less conspicuous cars to school and back every day. It was obvious that they tried hard not to be flagrant with their wealth, and they each had savings bonds and money invested, so that the money was not simply an immediate convenience type of thing for them. They had invested heavily into the stock market, which I assumed worked out better when you had a psychic in the family. We just generally had a good time, and enjoyed the food, which was followed tonight by a wonderful dessert called Pandoro with an unusual but delicious champagne-milk chocolate sauce poured over the top of it. It was almost like my Gran's lemon extract pound cake, but the sauce was what made it so different. It made me slightly nostalgic as I remembered baking them with her before the holidays when I would come to stay with my dad. We shared the dessert, as there was no way I would have been able to eat an entire one in addition to my meal, which I was even taking part of home with me. We had cappuccino with the Pandoro, so I was practically vibrating from the caffeine and sugar by the time we finally left the restaurant. The valet carefully pulled the car around and showed it the utmost respect as we picked it up and left.

It was only 8:15 p.m. when we left the restaurant, and it didn't really take that long to get home from Port Angeles. He asked me simply "Lake, ocean, or forest?" Unsure as to what there was to do at any of them, I said "Lake, I think, I haven't been to one in a while." So we headed back towards Forks on the 101, and I wasn't sure where he was headed until I saw the sign for Lake Pleasant eventually. We had traveled in comfortable silence except for the odd question here and there about the others music tastes, our favorite movies, books, and the like. His tastes leaned more towards the classics, particularly in music. We pulled into one of the public parking areas and went to a floating dock where we removed our shoes and rolled up our jeans before we sat down to dangle our feet into the warm water. It was high tide, so my legs were wet up to halfway between my ankles and knees, his were almost to his knees since his legs were longer. We sat there quietly for a few minutes, then he turned his body slightly towards mine and said "Bella, I need to tell you about my life, my family, because you knowing is not optional for me, but I have a dilemma. I'm afraid that if I tell you my secret, that you will think of me differently and will ask me to leave you alone. I am also afraid because by telling you I am actually putting you in danger if the wrong people found out. Now, if you guessed it yourself, it wouldn't be as much of an issue."

I thought about this and agreed that if it made it less dangerous for me to guess, that it would be the best course of action, but what could he possibly tell me that would help me guess without being too obvious? "Ok, I can try to guess, but what could you possibly say that would give me clues without actually saying it, because at this point I am clueless, I mean I know some of you have powers, but does that mean you're like, some sort of superhero mutants?" He shook his head somberly and laughed slightly, "No, not really, I'm not a hero type, more like the bad guy. Monster to be more exact." I thought about this for a moment, my heart picking up speed from the errant thoughts of the night he rescued me in Port Angeles. "I don't believe that, if that were true then you would have been one of the ones trying to attack me that night, instead of the one rescuing me. And that wasn't the only time that you've come to my aid. Most guys wouldn't have dropped everything to come over and help me prepare for Charlie's homecoming, especially at the last minute. Especially the monstrous ones." I smiled saying the last words. He actually smiled in return, that full blown crooked smile that made my heart trip into double time. He said "I was just doing what any decent person would have done. At any rate, I guess now we play 20 questions until you can guess…Wait, I just thought of something, you have friends who live on the Quileute reservation, don't you?"

I nodded, "Yeah, Charlie and Billy have been close friends for years, I grew up with his 2 daughters and son. Billy's wife died when Jacob was little. I was always closer to Jacob since we were closer in age and his sisters used to babysit us. Why do you ask that?" I wasn't sure where he was headed with this particular line of ideas. What did his family have to do with the Quileutes at LaPush? My mind then rewound quickly as if in response to a silent trigger from his. Jacob sitting in my bedroom, playing video games and talking about men who turned into wolves to protect their tribe from vampires who had attacked their people. My mind was flying in several different directions at once, the tribesmen stalking through the woods in their wolf forms, hunting the vampires, the chief of the tribe stopping his men from advancing on the ones who claimed to be different, a treaty between the coven and the tribe, no humans harmed. What parts of this were relevant? Obviously something was or my mind wouldn't be scrambling so frantically to grasp onto it. Suddenly, "Their eyes!" I practically jumped up as I said it. He stood up slowly, moving away from me slightly, gauging my reaction and preparing himself for my imminent meltdown. I scrambled the rest of the way to my feet on the floating decking, feeling it sway slightly in the water as it balanced itself with my movements. I finally found my voice again and said, "It was their eyes, the tribe chief knew they were different because of their eyes. The treaty, the coven, the tribe….they only drank the blood of animals. The tribe kept the secret so they could live amongst the humans as long as they abided by the treaty. You, but, it can't be, that was so long ago, your eyes, all of you! Which ones? Jacob never said what color the peaceful ones eyes were!" I backed up a step, another… Edward put his hands out in a gesture of peace and I took another step back. I started to take yet another to put space between us, and felt my footing fail as I stepped back too far, and began falling back. Well, hell! Suddenly I was being jerked back toward the beach on the decking, and I realized that my eyes were closed, apparently in my preparation for hitting the briny lake water.

I found myself gasping in a breath as I was moved, and found myself in Edward's arms. He stood me upright, then released me quickly and was away from me so fast that I couldn't register the movement properly with my eyes, especially in the dark. I blinked and looked for him, only to realize that he was all the way at the other end of the deck near where I had almost fallen off. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed, looking at me, "Bella, I…..I don't know what to say, I don't have an explanation other than the truth. I won't hurt you, I swear." I barked a laugh at him, "I know you won't hurt me, you would have already if that was your end game, not to mention the fact that the story makes no sense, so it couldn't possibly be the right one to explain what you need me to know. The coven Jacob talked about, that was when his grandfather was the tribal chief, and even if you were immortal, like vampires are supposed to be, there's no way that you could be in someplace for this long without people noticing. I mean, sure you go on vacation, but that isn't the same. Something else is going on here and I will figure it out." Edward sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between two fingers. "Bella, why do you think we own houses all over the US and in other countries? Not to mention the ones that we have bought and sold. We stayed here for about 5 years when Ephraim was chief, then we moved away to New York. We never stay together as a group in one place for more than a few years, sometimes we do go to universities and are able to stay a little longer, or Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie travel for a few months at a time and I study at home while Carlisle gets to work at one hospital for longer than usual. Thankfully, we have enough money that we can just live wherever for a year or two without anyone working or doing anything registered except for Carlisle. He can't stand to not be in a hospital somewhere, even if it's a hundred miles from our home at the time. Going off the grid every once in a while helps us to remain inconspicuous. We just came back to Forks when I told you we had, although we did own the land the house is on here. Esme had it built a couple of years ago in preparation for us to come back. We really do prefer it here if we are in the states, because there are many more cloudy days here. The land has remained in the Cullen name since Ephraim and Carlisle signed the treaty. The Quileute elders have known our secret all this time, but have kept it faithfully. I guess since Jacob is Ephraim's grandson it would make sense that he would have heard the legend, but I'm surprised he told you the story. It is actually a breach of the contract for him to tell someone about it, so I must assume he doesn't think there is any truth to it. Otherwise he would know better than to mention it." I thought about all this for a moment, and began slowly, trying to force my brain to comprehend the depth of what I was learning, how far back this actually ran. "Well, ok, first of all, Jacob didn't believe it, at least not as far as I could tell, and I can tell you that if he did, he would NOT have told me and risked breaching the Treaty. He has mentioned a treaty line before, but I wasn't ever sure what that was all about and I don't think he was either. His dad is one of the tribe elders now, but Jake doesn't get to go to the meetings until he is of age. Secondly, why does it matter how many cloudy days there are anyhow, that's what I don't get, you aren't supposed to be able to be out in the daylight. Lastly, if all of you drink animal blood instead of human, why are your eyes a different color, and what color would it be if you did, if you were like the ones that attacked the tribe to begin with?"

He began, "Well, if we drink human blood our eyes turn crimson red, like fresh blood, when we are well fed, it saturates the irises of our eyes. Ours turn golden because the animal blood is not as potent, that and the protein strands are so different from human to animal. We aren't at our optimum strength on animal blood, but still much stronger than any human could ever be. When we haven't fed in a while, our eyes turn black, all of us. The cloudy days matter because we can be out in daylight, in full sun even, but our skin reacts strangely to say the least under sunlight. That's why we aren't in school on sunny days, I will show you the next sunny day there is, if you want me to that is. We are not the creatures of the night painted by authors and Hollywood. We all think of Bram Stoker's Dracula as a comedy, because the legend it portrays is laughable although some of it is based in truth. But make no mistake about it, Bella, I am a monster. There is no other way to put it. My heart no longer beats, it stopped long ago. I drink the blood of animals, I can eat human food, but it won't stay down because my organs are frozen and cannot process it. I can shed no tears, I can not sleep or dream, I am like living stone. Our skin is only penetrable by a very few things, namely vampiric force, a vampire's teeth, or the teeth of one of the wolves Jacob spoke of. In order to destroy one of us, we must be ripped apart, decapitated and burned to ash. I don't even require oxygen, the venom and animal blood running through my veins can sustain me for days, weeks even without breathing, sleeping, or feeding. I can stand stone still for days at a time, if I choose, because I do not tire. I have to guard my every movement around you, because I could crush your body if I hugged you too hard, literally! The thought of that terrifies me, it truly does."

I contemplated what he had said for a moment, could it really have been so easy for me to guess this? Why had it not occurred to me before to connect the legend with his families strange similarities? I guess I was simply too unassuming, like most other humans, which they counted on for survival of course. I looked at him, studied his features closely, and other than his unearthly beauty, I couldn't see many differences from the form of any other human. I did, however, recall the feeling of running into him at the hospital, he was like a brick wall, his body rock hard, as was Alice's when she hugged me, and Esme's too. I knew all vampires were supposed to be unbelievably beautiful and they all fit that perfectly. Now I guess my main question was the most basic in terms of myself. "Ok, then why me? Why would you choose a human that you can't even hug, when there are others like you out there?" I think my question must have startled him because he jerked his head up, looking at me and then running his hands through his hair, tousling it further. He sighed and began walking towards me slowly, hands out, and I stepped forward, closing the distance quicker than he was willing to. He reached down and grabbed my hands, bringing them together and up to his chest, enclosed in his. "Bella, many of us spend many years alone, Carlisle was actually alone for centuries before he changed me and I became his son for all intents and purposes. Then he found Esme and she became his wife for eternity, he found her as a human who had been abused and she jumped off a cliff, she was barely alive, but he knew, it happened and he was changed irrevocably. He changed her to save her, like he had with me, Carlisle has never changed anyone who wasn't dying and he has never drank from a human in his existence. I however, cannot say the same thing. I spent about three years playing dark angel. I took it upon myself to rid society of the evil humans, rapists, murderers, abusers, if their thoughts indicated that they had or would do it, I rid the earth of them forever. I am a monster, I took lives as if I had the right to. But I realized eventually that there were always more waiting, I couldn't rid the cities of them all. So I went back to Carlisle and he forgave me of course, much more easily than I have forgiven myself. But after over a century of being alone, I found you, Mia Cantante, my singer as I knew you first of all. But then to learn that you were Il Mio Spirito ha Promesso, my spirit's promised! You became the center of my universe, your happiness is paramount to any need or want I could ever have. That is how Carlisle found Esme, Rosalie found Emmett, and Alice found Jasper, but for me, I found both in one! It has never been heard of in our histories, or at least as far as we can find it documented or told. Although Esme and Emmett were spirit's promised, neither were Carlisle or Rosalie's singers."

"What do you mean, I am your "Singer"? What does that mean, is that something like a soulmate?" He smiled slightly, and turned serious, slowly lowering my hands, placing them back at my sides where they tingled from the contact and then loss thereof. He said "A singer is the one human whose blood calls to a specific vampire moreso than any other humans ever has or ever will. Your scent, the aroma of your blood, any smell that makes you Bella, it calls to me in ways I cannot express. If I were to drink from you, your blood would be like my own brand of heroin, a drug that was made specifically for me, and it would be an ecstasy I have never known. But you are also my spirit's promised, and that means that if you were to cease to exist, I might as well cease to exist myself. So, singer or not, your blood will remain untouched. You are the one that was promised to my spirit at its creation, I can only hope that you may someday think of me as yours. I know of no greater honor I could be given than to be your spirit's promised. I had already decided that I would just have to either leave or simply learn to resist your blood, now there is no choice, except yours. Now I will warn you, these things affect people in different ways, meaning that you may gradually feel that you need to be around me, or if I am your spirit's promised as well, this may all come crashing in at once now, so you need to be prepared. It is intense, if my experience has shown me anything, it's that much. I just don't want you to feel frightened to come to me and talk to me about it, or Alice or Carlisle either. They know all about this, although it happened to us after we were changed. It makes it easier to deal with because our minds can process so much more information at one time than a normal human's."

His explanation created many questions for me, but also answered many. Since the night that he had rescued me, I felt myself being inexplicably drawn to him, like the most important thing in my life was tied around him. I guess in a way it was, but HE was the important thing, not what it was wrapped around. It also explained why I felt no fear at all towards him, I also wanted to be in physical contact with him as much as possible. Even though I was standing right next to him, I wanted more contact, in fact, I ached for it. My chest felt like a hole had been punched through it and it was now just a gaping wound that would only be filled by his touch. I reached out and took his hand in both of mine, and brought it up to brush alongside my cheek with it, and held it to the side of my face. I suddenly felt whole again. This was the damndest thing I had ever experienced. What was I going to do when he left me to go home? How was I going to sleep at night? I suddenly felt very overwhelmed and like I was going to come unraveled from the weight of all of this. I started shaking and before I knew it, I felt him brush a tear away from my cheek. "How am I supposed to be away from you now? This is not normal in any respect, and I don't even know how I'm going to cope at school being away from you for a few hours!" He leaned over and kissed away the tears streaming down my face. Cupping my cheeks in his hands, he whispered "Il Mio Spirito ha Promesso, It will get easier, day by day, as our love grows, it will stretch to fill the distance between us when we cannot be together, I promise. In the meantime, we will find ways to spend time together as much as possible, if you want." He then leaned down again and kissed the tip of my nose, then each of my eyelids, then he softly placed a kiss on my lips, gently moving them against mine until I reached up, winding my arms around the back of his neck, twisting my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to my face. He gently reached up, grabbing my wrists and pulling my hands down to rest on his chest once more with them covered by his hands. We stood forehead to forehead for a minute, and then he said "We should head back towards your house, its getting close to 11p.m. and I don't want to give your dad any reason to dislike me.

We grabbed our shoes, put them back on, and headed towards the car. We rode the rest of the way there mostly in silence, each reflecting on the evening's events. The closer we got to my house, the more nervous I became. How was I going to sleep tonight, with all of these things fighting for space in my head? Not to mention the fact that when I wasn't touching Edward in some small way at least, the gaping hole in my chest returned. I still couldn't understand how I had felt normal just earlier today, but now felt completely and irrevocably bound to him? Was this what people meant by infatuation? Surely this was more than that, wasn't it? I needed someone to tell me that I wasn't losing my mind, and quickly! Wait, Alice! He said I could talk to Alice about this, that she would understand, at least somewhat. I would call her as soon as he left tonight, it was obvious to me that I wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight anyhow. He had also said that they didn't require sleep, so she would be awake. I realized that my hand was sweating as I was clenching his so tightly on the console between us. I pulled it back for a moment, wiped it on my jeans, and quickly returned it to his. How embarassing! But, had someone asked me if I really cared at that moment, the answer would have been a resounding NO!

My heart tripped into double-time when we pulled up in front of my house, and I looked at Edward, wondering if he could sense it? He seemed to be attuned to me physically more now, so I decided to ask. "Edward, you said you could smell the scent of my blood, that my smell was like a drug? What else can you tell about my body?" He ducked his head as if embarassed, and said "Well, I can hear your heart tripping along now, and I can feel the pulse of your blood in your veins through the skin on your wrists. I can smell the tiniest bit of sweat lingering on your jeans from where you wiped your palm earlier. My senses are pretty much all magnified hundreds of times in comparison with a humans. I can smell the layers of your natural scent, body wash, shampoo, spray, perfume, deodorant, toothpaste, along with another scent that I can't entirely place. Were you afraid that I would be put off by your scent if you didn't use those things?" I nodded, slightly embarassed. He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand and the familiar burn lit across my skin, "Bella, I really would like for you to do without it one day if I could ask that of you? I would like to learn your true scent, just what Bella smells like when she's just out of the shower, no sprays or perfumes, ok? Is it ok with you that I ask for this so that I can memorize it? It will only take once if you prefer to go back to the other stuff." I ducked my head this time, and said "I don't normally wear some of that stuff usually anyhow, I just thought I would wear something special since we were going out." By the time I got to the end of my statement, I was mumbling, but I knew he heard me. I would refrain from wearing all of that stuff if it bothered him, which if he had super amplified senses, it might have been very overwhelming. I would have to be more considerate of that now that I was aware. At this point he spoke again, and I swear sometimes he COULD read my mind. "Don't think that you smell offensively or anything, you smell wonderful, I just want to know what the true perfume of Bella is for my own personal reference."

We sat there, me with his hand held against my cheek for a moment longer, lingering because we could, it was actually still only 11:25p.m. We sat there talking for a little while about things like school assignments, and yet again books and music. I guess now I could understand why he leaned toward more classical choices, which led me to my next question. "So, how old are you, actually? You look about 17 or 18, but how long have you looked that age in reality? Will you ever age?" He shook his head no, saying "No, I will never age any more than I already have. I was 17 years old when Carlisle changed me, and that was in 1901. I am 126 years old, or will be in a few days. We all celebrate the day that we emerged from our change as our birthday, for the most part. It's mostly because when we change, all of our human memories get fuzzy very fast and sometimes it is hard to remember. Not to mention that we are essentially born again when we emerge from it. The whole world becomes a very different place, and our kind are considered to be newborn vampires for at least the first year following the change. The bloodlust we experience causes us to act much younger, the thirst is so strong, it's very difficult to reason with." He looked at the clock and it was 11:45 p.m. It was time to go in, particularly if we wanted to make a good impression on my dad. He got out of the car and within a second he was around it, opening the door for me, wrapping his arm around my waist as we walked toward and up to the house and entered the door with my key. My dad was asleep in his recliner and Carlisle was sitting on the couch, working on his puzzle book. He looked up at us and smiled, looking somewhat questioningly at Edward with one eyebrow slightly raised. Was he asking him a question in his mind? I noticed Edward nod almost imperceptibly and sniff, this time questioning Carlisle with his eyes.

Carlisle spoke finally and said "Alice came by to check on Charlie and myself a couple of hours ago, she said to tell you she hoped you had a wonderful time and that she hoped you wouldn't mind that she arranged the flowers that Edward had brought for you. They are in your room on your desk. Charlie has been asleep for about an hour Bella, I tried to convince him to go to bed, but he insisted on waiting up for you of course." I nodded, looking at my dad, "That's fine of course, regarding the flowers, I plan on calling her shortly anyhow. I will thank her then. And again, I cannot thank you enough for doing this Carlisle." He had stood and gathered up his book and pen while I was speaking and he came over to stand near Edward and myself. "Nonsense Bella, you and Edward needed to go out and I think you in particular needed an evening out to dinner and such. I just hope that you found it enlightening and more of a good break than a bad one." I knew he was alluding to the deeply consequential conversations that Edward and I had that evening, and I nodded my head affirmatively and reached out for Edward's hand as I did so. He clasped mine and brought it up to his lips, kissing it softly. I looked into his eyes and gave him a tentative smile, trying to hide my sudden fear at the thoughts that attacked me of lying alone, the gaping wound growing by the hour until I saw him again. "Well, it looks like I better get Charlie up to bed so that he can be comfortable. I guess I will see you in the morning at school?" Edward nodded, leaning in and placing a soft kiss on my forehead, then each of my cheeks. "Goodnight Bella, see you tomorrow" he said.

Carlisle and he bid me goodnight again, and then they were gone, with the car's engines growling off into the distance. I woke Charlie up, got him upstairs and situated, then locked everything up. I headed to my room and the bathroom, getting ready for bed in record time, finding myself standing in my room, staring at the flowers arranged in a large crystal vase that I couldn't remember seeing before. Oh well, I picked up the card in the flowers and opened it slowly to see if he had written anything in it. I simply saw the words:

For Bella

I realized immediately that he had sent the other roses, and I added that to the list of things that I needed to thank him for. I sighed, tonight was going to be a long, sleepless night!

~*Ok, everyone, sorry this one took me a little longer, but I have struggled to get it just like I wanted it for several days. I would definitely appreciate some reviews and opinions on a couple of things. What do you guys think about maybe a little of Edwards point of view from this chapter's happenings for the next chapter, or at least a synopsis of his part in this story so far at least from his POV? Also, please pardon me if the phrases in Italian are not correct, I had to translate them online myself, so bear with me, there will be more to come! Thanks so much for reading! Enjoy!*~