Chapter 8.
Edward shows up to my dorm room on Saturday afternoon. As soon as he knocks, I'm already opening the door. I can't risk Alice or Rosalie finding out where I am going. It would be hypocritical of me to go somewhere with the object of my hatred... or not hatred. Things are confusing with him, and I'm still trying to make sense of it all. I don't necessarily like him, but I'm not sure that I hate him.
He thinks that we should train outside of the school grounds. I doubt that that's possible since I'm on probation, but he wants to ask the headmasters anyway. We walk to their building. It has an ominous feel to it, but I've always noticed that.
The double doors are massive. They're a deep brown without windows or anything. Edward tries the doors only to find that they're locked. "Should we knock?" He suggests. He knocks on the door three sharp times.
"I doubt the noise carried. It's a big place." I tell him.
"Well there isn't a doorbell."
We hear the turning of locks, and the doors open revealing Headmaster Marcus. His white hair is matted to his head. He wears a black robe with V.A. Inscribed in red, indicating that the headmasters may not rise early during the weekend. The headmaster looks unexcited to see us at his doorstep. "Students," He mutters. "What do you all want?"
Edward maintains his composure and speaks clearly. "We'd like to ask for permission to leave school grounds."
Marcus rolls his eyes and gestures for us to come inside. He tells us to wait in the lobby while he goes to fetch the other two headmasters. Edward and I stand awkwardly a few feet away from each other. I remind myself that this is only to help me train. It could be a training room substitute. As soon as he teaches me some new moves, I could regain my spot as top in our field. I'm not even sure why he's helping the competition. Perhaps, he doesn't realize the seriousness of this.
The headmaster returns with only Headmaster Caius. "Isabella, Edward," Headmaster Caius greets. A smile is etched onto his face. He too is wearing the black robe, but he looks well rested. Or perhaps he's always this full of life.
"We could not find Aro. He's around here somewhere." Headmaster Marcus says before allowing his younger brother to take the floor.
"Why do you want to leave?" Caius questions, his face almost has a trace of amusement. His lips are curled upward but his eyes are slightly narrowed.
"We would like to train together, if that's alright, Headmaster." Edward replies.
"Isabella is banned from the school's training facilities, so you're trying to find another way around it? Fire and ice. I'm surprised that you two can work together like that."
"Our powers are very similar, so we believe that we can help each other get better."
"Oh you do?" The headmaster turns to me to confirm that that's the truth.
With a nod, I respond, "Yes. It's our intention to better develop our skills."
"Hmm," Headmaster Caius reaches into his pocket and pulls out an object which he immediately throws to Edward. It jingles as it flies through the air. Edward catches it effortlessly, opening his palms to reveal a set of keys. Caius continues, "The parking lot is to the left of our building. You may go."
We thank them and follow their instructions. I'd never seen the parking lot before, as I'd never had a reason to come this far. Our buildings aren't anywhere near the headmasters'. Theirs is closer to the driveway and sits at the top of the hill. There are a ton of cars here, all varying in makes and colors. None of these cars look like anything I've seen before. And I'd bet that these are very expensive.
"Holy shit," Edward glances at all the cars around us. "How much money do those three have?!"
Since he is in his stupor, I take the keys out of his hand. He doesn't notice me do this. I scrutinize the vehicles and click the remote. A red car's lights blink further down the row. "The teachers could also use this parking lot. It may not be just for the headmasters."
He shakes his head. "Dr. Carlisle took me on a tour of the school grounds, minus this area. The mentors and teachers have their own lot. This is all the headmasters."
I believe what he says, but this is impossible. There are at least twenty cars minus the motorcycles. As soon as Edward lays eyes on our ride, his mouth drops open. I recognize the Ferrari symbol on the car. I walk toward the driver's side door. Edward turns his attention to me. "What are you doing?"
"About to drive," I reply.
Edward takes the keys from my hands in one smooth sweep. "This car is worth at least a million dollars. I remember reading about it. This is a Ferrari 599 GTO. Even though it seems like this costs a lot, it looks like one of the least expensive in the lot. Regardless... no way you're driving this baby."
"No way I'm trusting you to drive," I counter. I place my hands on my hips in defiance. "You're practically fire. Last time I checked, fire and gas do not mix. What if the car explodes?"
He rolls his eyes. "Then I'll contain the explosion. Look, the way you're thinking about this, it'll be dangerous if I get in the car period." Edward walks to the passenger side and opens the door. I think that this is my victory until he holds the door open, expecting me to get in. When I don't, he continues, "I'm the one with the keys here. Besides, you don't even know where we're going."
With an exasperated sigh, I get in on the passenger side, and Edward closes the door behind me. I watch as he slowly walks around the back of the car, admiring it. When he finally climbs inside, he sighs. "I'm in heaven. Now let's see what this baby can do."
I barely have time to strap myself in with the seat belt before he's peeling out of the lot. "Nice," He comments. "Already 60 mph and it's only been a couple of seconds."
"Let's not test this thing out." I suggest.
"Now where's the fun in that?" He asks, and the car lurches forward in a sudden burst of speed. Edward presses a button on the ceiling above us, and the gate opens before us.
I endure around thirty minutes of his crazy, fast driving. By the time he finally comes to a stop, he is grinning like a little kid. "That was amazing!"
My hands are shaking still from his driving, and I almost have to pry my hand from the door handle. "For you." I sigh. "Are you sure you weren't trying to kill me? If the car really did explode, you could probably walk away unscathed."
"True," He agrees. "But if I wanted you dead, I would've already done it. Now get out of the car."
"Where are we going?" I climb out of the car and carefully close the door. I'm sure Caius will have our asses if anything happens to his beloved car.
Edward replies, "There's this great secluded spot I found with my dad when I was younger. I wish I could show you so much of Chicago, but that will have to be another time."
The walk is relatively silent. He leaves me to my thoughts as he leads the way. The small amount of space between us is no longer awkward or uncomfortable, as that feeling had dissipated in the even littler distance in the car. We had only been separated by the center console. The trees begin to even out, and the tree line ends. We're in a small clearing. A river passes through the area. The water looks deep from where I stand. "Is this where we're practicing?"
"Yeah. I figured that being near a body of water could help you."
I scowl. "I can do my stuff without the help of water."
"Suit yourself. I just enjoy starting out with something simple and light." He pulls a lighter out of his jeans' pocket. A small spark catches. He grins. "Watch this." Edward places the lighter on the ground and moves his hands as if guiding the flame. It obeys willingly. He adds to the blaze, directing and moving it around in the air as if it is a snake. He's careful not to allow it to touch the grass. The serpent increases in size, and I can see little details forming within the flames, if that's possible.
I realize that he's constructing something. The smell of smoke enters my nostrils, and I lower the temperature of the air around us which works to get rid of some of the thick darkness. The fire in the air takes the form of a dragon. Edward grins successfully. He claps his hands once, and the blaze disappears, leaving only a trace of billowing smoke.
"How'd you like-" His sentence is cut off as he begins coughing violently. I stand frozen in my spot, unsure of what to do. Finally, a series of fire blasts leaves his lips. I gape at him, and he gives me a crooked smile in return. "Let loose, Bella. You're too uptight. Make training fun."
"You're here to teach me," I remind him. Not to have fun.
"And this is the first lesson. Rule number one: Take it easy and build up to the hard stuff. Pace yourself. It's just like exercising. Now can you do something similar, maybe ice breath?"
I walk to the edge of the river bank and kneel over the waters. The breeze is strong, and the water forms waves that crash a less than a foot away from me. I take a deep breath. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale through the mouth, letting out a huge breath. The cold air from my lips blows onto the water, catching some waves in mid-crash, freezing them solid. A sheet of ice begins to form at the top of the water.
"Can you freeze the whole lake?" He inquires. The proximity of his voice startles me, and I realize that he must have walked forward at some point.
"I could, but I'll only freeze the top. I don't want to kill the marine life." I place my hand on the cold frozen water, and pretty soon this entire portion of the river had frozen over.
"That's pretty cool. Ice covers the whole water. It's like a floor, a slippery one. Is it strong enough for you to walk over?"
"Yes. And you think this is cool?" Few people have ever described my ability as being cool. I know ice is cool or cold, but not many have referred to it this way.
He nods. "Definitely."
I gaze out onto the ice, taking in the scene around me. It is beautiful. Ice is an amazing wonder. I pull my arms in, clutching my sides. My mind is far away.
-Flashback-
I get the big bucket and fill it up to the top with water. My dolls need a pool. Barbie told me so herself. They're waiting outside. I have to carry the bucket through the kitchen to the back door. It splashes as I walk. This thing is really heavy. I end up tripping over the bucket, and it falls and water spills out onto the kitchen floor, covering every inch of the tile with water.
My eyes widen. Daddy's gonna be so mad. He's sleeping right now, and he hates it when stuff wakes him up. I run to get a paper towel. The water feels really cold, but I get used to it as I splash to the counter. I kneel down to dip the paper towel in the water but it doesn't help. It's still everywhere.
The sun is setting outside. I don't think he'll wake up any time soon if I don't make a lot of noise. I try to cup the water in my hands and release it into the bucket. It's taking a long time to work. I run back to get more paper towels. As my barefeet splash, the water starts to feel different. Like a slushy or a milkshake. The water turned into slush. By the time I make it to the counter, I turn back to see it is slushy. I jump in the water again and the same thing happens. I run around the kitchen, laughing and smiling until it hardens under my feet. It's no longer any fun, and I figure it's best to go change out of my wet clothes.
I end up falling asleep after changing, and I only wake up to loud yelling. "ISABELLA MARIE SWAN!"
I blink my eyes and crawl out of bed. "Daddy?" I don't have first grade today because it's the weekend. He doesn't usually get up early on the weekend. I scramble to get down the stairs and end up slipping as soon as my feet hit the kitchen floor.
With a thud, I fall onto the floor. It's cold and slippery. Ice? "Why is there ice on the floor?"
"You tell me," He says, anger or frustration in his voice. Daddy points to the backdoor. It's not all the way closed. I had forgotten all about Barbie and her friends. Their pool! "What, did you spill water everywhere last night?! And you left the door open. It's December, Bella. This is Washington! Now, there's ice everywhere."
He pulls the ends of his hair and makes me go get a heater. I put it in front of the ice to melt. "But Daddy," I say. "I think I did this."
"I know you did this. You spilled water. It's cold outside, so it froze."
"No, I mean-"
"Up to your room!" He says. His face is red.
"But-"
"Now!"
I do as he says. I stay in my room for what feels like a long time. Once I'm sure he's calmed down, I sneak down the stairs. I go to the bathroom and lock the door. I turn the sink faucet on and stop the drain. When the water fills up, I turn it off and place my hands on the surface of the water. I stare at the sink. "Come on," I encourage. The water only gets colder. "Come on..." It takes a couple of minutes, but it freezes under my hands. "Yes!"
Even though I know this is like the coolest thing ever, I decide not to say anything to Daddy about this. I don't know how he'll react.
-End Flashback-
"I'm sorry for goofing around," Edward says bringing me to the present. "You probably have a training schedule that you're used to. Let's just get started. You're pretty good with constructs, why don't we start with that?"
I put my thoughts aside and focus on the task before me. "What do you want me to construct?"
"Anything. Something elaborate."
It takes me a few minutes, but I sculpt the Caius' Ferrari out of ice. It's nothing detailed, just a rough model. Edward nods in approval. "Nice. Let's work on some blasts."
We practice for over an hour. By watching him, I realize he has a lot of control with his movements. He uses the fire, almost commanding it to do as he pleases. It's kind of interesting. I never feel like that when I generate ice, it makes me feel more of an artist. Edward uses a different form when it comes to his element.
He notices me watching him, but he never breaks his concentration. "What?" He asks.
"Nothing." I realize that there's a reason he's number one in our field, but it's something that I have to fix. "So, are we going to get to elemental forms?"
Edward looks unsure. "We can start, but I didn't learn how to do this until much later. It took me a lot of work to even keep the form for at least ten seconds. The flames tended to extinguish themselves. It's gotten easier over the years."
"Well, what's your technique?"
"Meditation. I envision a flame before me." He stands tall and claps his hands together in prayer position. He remains like that for a couple of minutes, eyes closed in meditation. Then, his hands ignite. Flames taking the place of his pale flesh. The flames lick his skin, changing his molecules as they go. Before long, the fire is all over his body, he is fire. I know he only goes through the process slowly to show me how it's done. "It also helps to imagine yourself being consumed by your element," He adds.
"You want me to visualize myself freezing to death?"
Edward looks just like he did in my dream. Those green eyes are still staring at me. "Not to see yourself freezing. Just imagine yourself encased in ice. And when the ice breaks, you're a completely different person. Like the metamorphosis of a caterpillar when it transforms to a butterfly. You're one with the ice. Or maybe there's an image of a place that really captures your element. Focus on that."
I do as he says and takes a similar pose as he extinguishes his flames, leaving him as his normal self. The grass below him has completely burned out along with the surrounding grass. However, he's put it out.
I calm myself and shut my eyes. I don't know how long I stand there, blocking everything out, only focusing on a snowy image. The snow falls on a frozen lake. I stand in the middle of the water. Ice creeps up, sheathing me with the familiar coldness. It fully encases me, but I continue to breathe. Steady breaths.
The air around me is frigid and cold. I sense no difference between it and my temperature. The image remains the focal point in my mind. Two more minutes pass, and my head feels heavier than before, as if something is pulling me down. I open my eyes to find Edward watching me in awe.
"What?" I ask.
"Your hair..."
My fingers move behind me to feel the soft locks of my brown hair but find ice instead. The ice stops about mid-length of my it. My wavy hair is now solid ice. I'm too afraid to move my head. What would happen if I did? Would the ice break? I add to the density of the ice hair to ensure that it won't crack or break.
Edward should at least know how it is with fire, so I inquire, "How do I return to normal?"
"Do the opposite. Envision your normal self- that's what I do." He holds his arms close to his body, and only then do I realize it's much colder around me in actuality than it was previously.
I concentrate and can feel my tresses change back into the usual soft curls. He wears a wide smile despite the wintry air. "I knew you could do it. You learn and perfect quickly. It takes me a while to get the hang of new things."
I shift uncomfortably at his praise. I figure that now is a good stopping point. I plan on practicing this more at home. The sun is already setting, preventing us from going much longer anyway. He seems to read my mind when he asks, "Do you want to leave now or try it some more?"
"This will end today's practice. I'd like to practice more on my own."
"So is this it, or are we meeting again after this?"
I smooth my skirt out and look up at him. "We'll see how it goes."
"Cool," Edward replies. He gestures for me to go ahead, so I begin walking back to the car. Edward stays on my right, taking the lead to guide us in the right direction. The walk is silent- reflective. I think that I now have the capabilities to undergo this metamorphosis, but it will require work and effort. Two things that my body isn't foreign to. I'm already a level five, so there's no upgrading when it comes to that. Perhaps though, this is enable me to reclaim my spot as top in elemental. In third position is Benjamin, as he was second before Edward came along. The six of us the elemental field are usually somewhat neck-to-neck on the class list. It always takes the headmasters longer to calculate our scores. We are one of- if not the- most powerful field.
When we enter the interstate, Edward turns to me from the driver's side. "If you don't mind, I'd like to stop at White Kastle on the way back."
"What's that?" I question.
"Seriously?" His eyes widen in a cross between disbelief and amazement. "You've been in Illinois this whole time and you know nothing about White Kastle?"
"We stayed within the confines of the school gates most of the time." Whenever we'd go with Garrett somewhere, it had been in another state or country. I've never really been around our area much, why would we waste our time doing that when we had the world at our fingertips?
"We're going," Edward decides. "I hope you like burgers."
Twenty minutes later, I'm staring at the burger in my hand. Edward gives an encouraging look. "Why are they so tiny?" I ask.
"They're mini burgers. It's supposed to be like that." He regards me closely. "Do you like it?"
I shrug. "It's okay." I finish the small hamburger and pull another from the bag. He tries to hide a smile.
~F&I~
Edward holds open the door to the school building. The smell of chicken wafts into the hallway outside of the dining hall. I sigh, "It's dinnertime, and I'm no longer hungry."
"You can thank me later," He responds. "The Academy's food is great and all, but I miss the great food joints around Chi-town."
He walks in front of me and gets the dining hall door for me as well. Immediately as we enter, all eyes are on us. I fall out of step with him and head for my table. Everyone is already seated here and it looks as if dinner is almost over. I sit at my spot. I'm expecting Edward to go sit with Garrett and company, but instead he takes the chair right next to me. "Hey," Edward greets my friends. They all look a little surprised to see him sitting with us, and of course I am as well. They mumble replies.
I throw him a glare. Why is he sitting here with us? We can associate outside of the academy for training purposes solely, but having him here next to me feels strange.
Alice clears her throat, gaining our attention. "I'd ask where you were all afternoon..." She twirls the straw in her bottle of coke, "-but I think it's pretty obvious."
"Everyone in Elemental had to meet today. We were -uh- working on something." I lie.
"Really?" She inquires. A curious look is on her face. Ali takes a sip of her drink. "We hung out with Kate earlier. She didn't mention anything."
They know I'm lying. Why is it such a big deal who I was with? Is it because it's Edward? It's not as if he and I are suddenly friends. I'm following the principle keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. I'm the only one benefiting from this commensalism.
Rosalie regards Edward warily. As if sensing that he was unwanted here, she asks, "Do you want me to take care of him?"
Edward pales at the thought of Rose using her mind control on him. As interesting as that seems, I feel like I have to decline. The least I can do is allow him to sit with us for the final ten minutes of dinner. Then I won't feel like I have to owe him for helping me. This is why I hate when people offer me assistance, I hate feeling entitled to someone. It makes me feel uncomfortable. I tuck a few fly strands of hair behind my ear. "Dinner will be over soon. It's fine." I assure her.
Conversation ceases, and the six of us are just kind of looking around, trying to ignore the elephant in the room. Which of these things does not belong?
"So..." Em takes a stab at rousing a topic. "Fried chicken..." He glances down at his cleaned plate for an idea. Emmett always finishes his food first. He shovels it down, so it had probably been long gone. He picks at the bone with his fork.
Our table doesn't say much after that. Then, the clock chimes as the next hour strikes, signaling the end of dinner. Jasper finally speaks, "I'm guessing you already ate, Bells?"
I nod. "Yes. That's why I'm not all that hungry."
Edward rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Today was... nice."
I glance from him to my friends. He still doesn't get it. They still think I hate him. I mean, I don't think it's really hatred anymore. It's hard to hate a person who follows you around like a lost puppy. I don't feel any compassion towards him though. After today and our agreement, perhaps I tolerate him, not that I particularly want him around my inner circle. I don't trust him like that, so I reply, "Yeah. Bye."
He looks a little confused as he walks away. Emmett exhales audibly. "Well, that was awkward."
Alice fires on questions. "Where were you really today? Where did you eat? Why were you with him? And why did he decide to sit here all of a sudden?"
"More importantly, why didn't you kick him out?" Rose glares.
Emmett gathers the empty plates for us. "Well I think Edward's alright. He obviously doesn't have the best sense of judgment if he's still trying to sit with us, but the dude is persistent. It's almost funny."
As Alice changes the subject, Rosalie gives me a look. She's still curious. She'll just dig later for more information until she's satisfied.
Jasper gets my attention. "Bella, walk with me? I think I left my notebook in my history class yesterday, and I have a paper due Monday." I'm not sure why he needs me to go with him, but we walk out of the dining room. We make a left down the hallway. The door is unlocked as all classroom doors are. What's the point of locks when the teachers would already know who was there? If something was stolen, they'd know who did it.
He flicks on the light and moves his ash blonde hair out of his eyes. His voice is low. "Working in the headmasters' building has proved advantageous. Remember how odd it was when we saw Aro in the library that time?" I nod and he continues, "Well, I found a small sheet of paper-" He reaches into his pocket and pulls the paper out. "All it had on there were four names."
Jasper tries to hand me the paper. I shake my head. "What if this was an important list? I don't want to be responsible for this if the headmasters realize it's gone."
He places it into my palm anyway. "I'm not that dense. The real one is still in the exact same spot. I just transferred the names to this just in case it means something. I took precautions. I always wear these black gloves. There wouldn't ever be the trace of a fingerprint."
I smile at my cousin in approval. "Was the paper just sitting out in the open?"
"No. It was between two books. I've been cataloging the library according to authors. The paper was between two books on the first shelf in the 'Aa' section."
"What do you think this means?"
"He scratches his chin, where a few short hairs gathered. The light gives them a blondish appearance. "I can't say anything for certain yet. These occurrences- Aro's strange behavior and what I found- may not even be related. Maybe I'm overthinking it all. Not even the names on the list match. I couldn't find any connection. You take a look at it. Let me know if you think of anything. In the meantime, I'll be conducting my own research."
We start walking out of the room when Jasper says, "Oh, I almost forgot." He walks over to his desk where his black notebook rests.
"You actually left that in here?" I inquire.
"You think I'd come in here without an excuse? I cover my tracks, cous'." Jazz smirks.
A/N: And there we go. Tell me your thoughts!
