Chapter 9 – The Other American Pastime


Edward took me home so that I could get ready and ask my dad about it. I was thankful since this had been the one day I had decided to wear a dress. I changed into my favorite oversized Lord of the Rings t-shirt and cargo pants, throwing on a tie-dye jacket and a beanie. I headed down the stairs, grabbing my dad a beer and went into the dining room where he was cleaning his shotgun, making me debate on whether I should come back later.

"Hey, I got you another one," I said, setting the can down next to the one he was finishing off.

"Thanks,"

I stood there for a moment before he finally stopped what he was doing to look over at me, giving me a questioning look that finally made my mouth move.

"I have a date,"

"Really?" he asked with feigned interest, turning back to his gun.

"Tonight,"

"That sounds nice,"

"… With Edward," I finished slowly.

This made Dad stop and put down his stuff to look at me, seeming annoyed that our relationship had turned out how he had thought it would all along. I didn't really blame him all that much, just waited for the questions and the I-told-you-so's to come.

"I thought you said you guys weren't like that… that you guys were just friends,"

"We were. It's just… lately it's been different,"

He sighed and turned back to his gun.

I frowned at him. "I thought you liked the Cullens,"

"Them not causing trouble is what I like," he corrected me, continuing cleaning the barrel of the shotgun, looking at me out of the corner of his eyes. "Dating you is what I don't like,"

"Dad,"

The doorbell rang.

"That him?"

"Probably," I admitted, glancing between the shotgun and the door. "He wanted to meet you officially as my boyfriend. He's kinda old school like that,"

"All right," he sighed, flipping his gun closed threateningly. "Bring him in,"

"Please be nice," I said immediately, eyeing the shotgun carefully, hoping that we wouldn't have to put the fact/theory that vampires were indestructible to the test. "He's kinda important to me either way, friend or boyfriend,"

Dad just gave me an innocent look and drew an imaginary halo around his head.

I rolled my eyes at him and went and got Edward.

"Nice to see you again, Chief Swan," Edward smiled politely; shaking my dad's hand with his glove covered one.

"Hey, Edward," Dad nodded.

"I just wanted to tell you that I was taking your daughter out tonight to play baseball with my family. We shouldn't be out late,"

"Baseball?" my dad repeated, looking over me with a bit of a stunned look before he started laughing, much to my embarrassment.

"Yes, sir, that's the plan,"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Thanks, Dad, love you too,"

"Well, good luck with that you two," my dad finally said, coming down to a chuckle.

"I'll take good care of her. I promise," Edward finally said before I pulled him away, making him head outside as I grabbed my bag and coat. "Have a nice night, sir,"

"Hey, Andy," I stopped as Edward continued out the door, looking back at Dad as he held up his hand as if he were holding a spray can. "You still go that pepper spray I gave you?"

I rolled my eyes, grabbing it out of my bag and holding it so he could see it.

"Aim for the eyes,"

I rolled my own. "Dad,"

I quickly headed outside, heading to where Edward waited by an oversized green jeep, the passenger side door open and waiting for me. I smiled at him as he handed me an old fashioned baseball cap, having me put it on.

"So since when do vampires like baseball? Or is it just you guys?" I asked, pulling the bill down over my eyes, feeling more like a gangster (wanna be gangster) than a baseball player.

Edward smiled down at me and pulled the bill back up so he could see my eyes. "Well, it's the American pastime-"

"I thought that was football," I interrupted him with a grin.

"Wrong," he smiled, gently pushing a bit of my hair behind my ear. "And I think it'd be a bit more dangerous for vampires to play football,"

"Why?" I asked, curious as helped me into the passenger seat.

"You'll see why when we get there," he smiled before closing the door, only a second later appearing in the driver's seat, starting the jeep.

About a half hour later, we were driving into a two by two acre clearing with paths worn into the grass that created a diamond, a mound in the center. Edward's family all stood near what I assumed was the home plate, Esme and Carlisle sitting together on a nearby boulder.

"So is there anything you should warn me about?" I asked as Edward helped me down out of the jeep with more ease than it should have been for a teenage boy.

Immediately Edward busted out laughed, apparently finding me very funny. "You ask me this now?" he asked, probably meaning the hungry, hungry vampires.

I raised my hands in surrender. "I'm sorry, I thought it'd be helpful if you told me now rather than later why you guys play naked," I said, taking off towards the others.

This of course, sent Edward into another laughing fit.

When Edward and I reached the group, Esme smiled over at us, taking Carlisle's hand as they jumped off their bolder and came over to us. "Was that you we heard, Edward?"

Emmett suddenly appeared beside me, his nose scrunched. "It sounded like a bear choking,"

I nodded. "That was him,"

"Andy was being funny," Edward told everyone, the smile still on his face.

Alice caught sight of us and smiled, dancing from her position on the mound toward us, coming to a stop beside Carlisle.

"It's time," she announced, a deep rumble of thunder shaking the forest beyond us, and then crashed westward toward town just after she spoke.

Emmett leaned toward me, his eyes on Alice as if she was a frightening before he grinned down at me with easy familiarity. "Eerie, right?"

"Let's go,"

Alice reached for Emmett's hand and they darted toward the oversized field; she ran like a gazelle. He was nearly as graceful and just as fast- yet Emmett could never be compared to a gazelle.

"Are you ready for some ball?" Edward asked, managing to kiss my cheek before he ran off with the rest of them, leaving me in Esme's hands.

"Don't you play?" I asked her as she and I sat down on the boulder.

"I usually act as umpire and catcher,"

"She thinks we cheat!" Emmett suddenly yelled from the outfield, apparently having heard her from all the way out there.

"I know you cheat," she called back with an easy smile.

When the game finally started I instantly realized why they needed the thunder. Whenever they hit the ball with the bat there was such a loud crack that it could only be mistaken for thunder. But as the game continued I found that it was hard to keep up due to how fast everything went, though I enjoyed watching Alice pitch and the rest of them running around at the speed of a bullet.

By watching the game, I learned a couple of things. I learned that Edward was the fastest runner, Alice was the most awesome pitcher I'd ever seen, Emmett was the most competitive though he remained playful, Jasper could do some awesome tricks with a baseball bat and was really good at baseball, Carlisle enjoyed the game just as much as the rest of them and Esme thought, despite my being human and currently dying, that I was the best thing to happen to Edward since Volvos came out.

But things went wrong when Alice suddenly gasped, making Edward's snap up to look at her as their eyes met, something flowing between them in an instant. Before I could contemplate what was going on Edward was at my side, even before the others could ask Alice what was wrong.

Esme's voice was tense. "Alice?"

"They were leaving but then they heard us,"

"Let's go," Edward said, his body tense as he pulled me off the boulder, headed for the jeep.

"It's too late," Carlisle told him, making Edward stop.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Nomad vampires," Carlisle answered for Edward.

I nodded, remembering asking Edward about it back when the strange "animal" deaths were occurring around town. Apparently they were here and they were coming, which was not a good thing for the little blood filled human in our midst.

"Get your hair down,"

"If the wind catches it they'll smell me instantly," I argued.

"She's right," Jasper nodded, looking at me with a hint of surprise.

"Not to mention my hair is purple," I muttered, trying to ignore the first nice thing Jasper had ever said to me in this tense moment.

"Leave it then," Edward said stiffly, pushing me behind him. "I'm sorry, Andy. It was stupid and irresponsible, to expose you like this,"

I place my hand on the small of his back (lower back), rubbing my thumb over his spine to try to get him to relax a little bit. He seemed to shiver against my hand before he relaxed back against my hand minutely.

That was when the new vampires appeared. There were three of them and they appeared out of the forest in a V formation, similar to how geese fly or some predators hunt. The first thing I noticed about them as a group at the distance that we were at were that their clothes looked like clothes hikers would wear but were beyond the point where humans would wear them due to how dirty and frayed they looked. They were also barefoot which I found interesting but I figured that shoes where really pointless for vampires except for looking normal. As they grew closer, coming to stand in front of the Cullen clan, I could see that their eyes weren't the gold or black that I was used to but were blood red… go figure. This of course, led me to wonder how the hell they went around without people wondering what they were.

"I believe this belongs to you," the vampire in the center smiled, holding up the baseball that had been long forgotten. He tossed it to Carlisle with lightning fast speed but Carlisle seemed to catch it easily.

"Thank you," he nodded.

"I am Laurent," the center one smiled, a shirtless African American vampire with a bit of an accent. He may have been at the front and center of the group but by his and the second vampire's body language this wasn't true. "And this is Victoria,"

He gestured to the woman on his left, a woman with long curly hair the same color as deadly eyes who smiled at us devilishly. She looked like that cat that your grandmother has that you sure would kill you in your sleep if it had sharp enough claws to do it with.

"And James,"

To Laurent's right was the man in charge, a blonde guy with his hair pulled back into a ponytail wearing a leather jacket. He was silent but his eyes were moving over all of the Cullen clan before his eyes moved to me. They didn't linger long enough to realize what I was but slowly made their way up to Edward who had tensed again, his posture and face making me think that Edward alone would set James off.

"I am Carlisle and this is my family," Carlisle spoke up, a nice break from having to look at the new arrivals. "I'm afraid your hunting activities have caused something of a mess for us,"

"Our apologies," Laurent continued, seeming genuine and very gentlemanly. "We didn't realize the territory had been claimed,"

"Yes, well, we maintain a permanent residence nearby,"

Laurent looked between Victoria and James, surprised. "Really? Well, we won't be a problem anymore. We were just passing through,"

"The humans were tracking us, but we led them east," Victoria spoke up, looking pleased with herself as she whispered; "You should be safe,"

"Excellent," Carlisle nodded.

"So, could you use three more players?" Laurent asked, either seriously wanting to play or totally oblivious to the tension in the air. "Oh, come on. Just one game,"

Carlisle let out an uncomfortable chuckle before he nodded. "Sure, why not? A few of us were leaving. You can take their place. We'll bat first,"

Carlisle threw the ball to Laurent but Victoria's hand was suddenly up the ball appearing in her hand. "I'm the one with the wicked curve ball,"

"Oh, Ah think we can handle tha'," Jasper chuckled, making everyone else laugh as some of the tension was released as the groups broke apart.

"We shall see,"

"Emmett and Alice, you can go with Edward and Andy to get the Jeep," Carlisle said casually, half turning to us as Alice and Emmett nodded.

However, three things seemed to happen simultaneously while Carlisle was speaking; my hair ruffled with the light breeze, Edward stiffened and James suddenly whipped his head around, scrutinizing me as he nostrils flared. James lurched forward a step as he fell into a crouch, Edward shoving me backward into Esme as he and the rest of his family did the same, shortly followed by Laurent and Victoria. They all had bared teeth, crouched down defensively as feral snarls and growls poured out of all of them, making me shiver in fright.

"A human?" Laurent asked, looking beyond surprised verses James and Victoria who looked ready for a fight, wanting it more than anything.

"The girl is with us. I think it would be best if you leave," Carlisle told them instantly, leaving no room for argument.

"I can see the game is over. We'll go now," Laurent agreed, pulling back before he glanced over at his clan mates, seeing that they hadn't moved. "James,"

After a long moment of Edward and James glaring at each other, James finally pulled back, Victoria following him as they walked away with an arm around each other. James didn't disappear the same way Laurent and Victoria did as they ran back into the woods. He stopped to glance back with a smirk, telling me that he'd be back for me. I shivered and closed my eyes as I rested my head against Esme's shoulder, feeling all types of dread.

"Edward, get Andy out of here," Carlisle ordered. "Emmett, Alice, go with them,"

Before I knew what was happening I felt Edward rip me away from Esme and sling me across his back before I felt myself getting thrown into the backseat of the jeep.

"Strap her in,"

Emmett did as he was told as he appeared in the seat next to me, Alice pushing the seat back down as she got in. Edward sent the car fishtail as appeared in the driver's seat, taking off into the woods at breakneck speeds. It was a bumpy ride as we sped through the woods, everyone completely silent except Edward as he growled something that was either too fast for me to understand or just unintelligible growling.

"Where are you taking me?" I asked.

Nothing.

"Edward, answer me!"

Again, nothing.

"Would someone answer me?!" I yelled but everyone was either ignoring me or intent on staring out the windows to watch for James. "Dammit, now is not the time to not tell me!"

The stress of what had occurred, the utter hopelessness of my future, the frustration with those around me and the bumpy ride was doing wonders for my head. A throbbing was beginning to center itself over my left temple, only noticeable during the calmer parts of the ride or when I yelled. I squeezed my eyes shut to calm myself and get rid of my headache.

It worked for neither.

"I am not a five-year-old for you to just decide where I am to go or do! Tell me where the hell you're taking me, dammit!" I yelled, turning to my seatbelt, trying to undo it.

"Emmett,"

Large white hands clamped down over mine, stopping me from undoing my belt.

"Dammit, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen!" I roared, my headache growing worse. "Do you know what causes seizures? Stress! Don't make me have a seizure on you!"

I felt Emmett chuckle silently beside me as Edward groaned.

"Edward, pull over," Alice spoke for the first time, sounding completely calm.

"James is a tracker, Alice," Edward suddenly roared as I felt Emmett stiffen against me at the word, making me understand that trackers weren't a good thing for vampires, probably having extreme tracking skills like werewolves in Patricia Briggs's Mercy Thompson books. "The hunt is his obsession and he wanted her- her specifically- my reaction on the field set him off. I just made this his most exciting game ever. He's never gonna stop,"

"Edward, pull over," she repeated, undeterred.

"How long do you think it will take him to cross her scent in town?" Edward continued. "Her house will be the first place he's gonna look,"

"Oh, my God. Dad!" I yelled, fighting against Emmett even though I knew it was pointless. "We have to go back! He could get killed because of me!"

"She's right," Alice nodded. "Just pull over and we can discuss our options,"

The jeep suddenly screeched to a stop, the only thing keeping my head from slamming into the back of Edward's seat being Emmett's arm.

"There are no options," Edward hissed.

"I'm not leaving my dad!" I yelled but he seemed to ignore me completely.

Emmett finally spoke. "We have to take her back,"

"No,"

"He's no match for us, Edward. He won't be able to touch her,"

"He'll wait,"

Emmett smiled. "I can wait, too,"

"You didn't see- you don't understand. Once he commits to a hunt, he's unshakable. We'd have to kill him,"

Emmett didn't seem upset by that idea. "That's an option,"

"And the female. She's with him. If it turned into a fight, the leader will go with them, too,"

"There are enough of us,"

"There's another option," Alice said quietly.

"There-is-no-other-option! He wants her regardless!"

Emmett and I both stared at him in shock but Alice seemed unsurprised. The silence lasted for a long minute as Edward and Alice stared each other down unspoken words passing between them.

"Look, even though I know only two out of three of you are listening," I began, breaking the tensed silence as Edward and Alice continued to stare. "But I need you to listen to me. Take me back to my house, I'll tell my dad that I want to go back to Phoenix as sort of one last fling with May before graduation and everything. James will then follow us out and leave my dad alone and then you can take me where ever the hell you want,"

Emmett shrugged. "It's not a bad idea, really,"

"I think I'm insulted," I said, giving Emmett a look as he smiled at me.

"It might work," Alice began, thinking about it. "And we simply can't leave her father unprotected. You know that,"

"It's too dangerous," Edward growled, his hands nearly breaking the steering wheel like in Port Angeles. "I don't want him within a hundred miles of her,"

This was when I spoke up again. "Right now all that matters to me is making sure that my dad is safe. It doesn't matter if James gets me as long as everyone's alright- I won't let someone die in my place when I'm just going to die in a few months anyway. I don't care if he gets-"

"Would you stopping acting like dying is no big deal?!" Edward suddenly yelled at me, shocking me into silence and making me sit back in my seat. "Can you not understand that I fear for you?" he asked, toning his voice down as he glanced over the back of his seat at me. "You pretend that nothing affects you because you are just going to die anyway, like this is all some sort of game. But I care for you, Andy. It pains me to think that you might not be here tomorrow,"

Everyone was silent for a long moment before Emmett spoke up, supremely confident. "Edward, he's not getting through us,"

Alice thought for a minute. "I don't see him attacking. He'll try to wait for us to leave her alone,"

Emmett scoffed. "It won't take long for him to realize that that's not going to happen,"

"You're leaving tonight whether the tracker sees or not," It took me a second to realize that Edward was talking to me. "Tell Charlie whatever you need to get out of there; you are going to see May, you can't stand another minute in Forks, I don't care. No matter what he says to you I want you back out of there. Pack the first things your hands touch and then get into your truck. You have fifteen minutes. Do you hear me? Fifteen minutes from the time you cross the threshold,"

"Of course," I smiled, looking over at Emmett and winking at him.

After that, Edward started driving again and tried to make plans to have Emmett and Alice stay behind, wanting Emmett to watch the back and then take the jeep back to their house while Alice stayed in my truck and waited for me and we'd all drive until we found a fast car to steal and Alice would drive my truck to their house. No one agreed with anything beyond watching the house, Emmett and Alice wanting to stay with us, Alice because she was my friend and Emmett because he wanted a crack at James. I, however, didn't think that Edward should go with me at all, having had loads of experience in profiling from Criminal Minds… not that that really counted.

"Edward, I think you should let me go alone and you should stay behind," I spoke up, interrupting their argument.

"Andy, please just do this my way, just this once,"

"Listen, Charlie's not stupid," I protested. "If you're not in town tomorrow, he'd figure that you and I ran off to finish my bucket list. He'll be after you and your family in all sorts of lawful ways including with his shotgun. And then there's James. He saw the way you acted tonight, how protective you are and knows that you won't leave me. Not to mention it's not just me he wants, if you are the one that set him off tonight it's only going to be when you're there that he's going to have fulfilled his goal,"

Emmett looked at me, insultingly surprised again. "Edward, listen to her. I think she's right,"

"Yes, she is," Alice agreed.

"I can't leave you," Edward said through clenched teeth, his voice icy.

"Emmett should stay too," I continued. "He definitely got an eyeful of Emmett,"

Emmett looked betrayed. "What?"

"You'll get a better crack at him if you stay," Alice agreed.

Edward stared at her incredulously. "You think I should let her go alone?"

"Of course not," Alice said. "Jasper and I will take her,"

"I can't leave her," Edward repeated but this time there was a trace of defeat in his voice. The logic was working on him despite his emotions.

"Hang here for a few days," I continued. "Let Charlie see you aren't boinking me and lead James on a wild-goose chase. Make sure he's completely off my trail. Then, in a roundabout way, come and meet me and then Jasper and Alice can go home,"

I could see him beginning to consider it.

"Meet you where?"

"Phoenix, of course,"

"No. He'll hear that's where you're going," he said impatiently.

"He'll know that we know that he's listening and that the whole thing is a ruse. He'll never actually believe I'm going where I say I'm going,"

Emmett chuckled. "She diabolical,"

"Why, thank you," I smiled over at him.

"And if that doesn't work?"

"There are several million people in Phoenix," I told him.

"I kind of like it,"

"Shut up, Emmett,"

That was when we finally arrived at my house. All of the lights were on, meaning that Charlie had waited up for me, probably passed out on the couch watching sports. I felt my heart rate pick up as I contemplated what I had to do and what I'd possibly have to do to get my dad to let me out of there without too much of a fight. But I was determined to do it without having to delve into the world of hurt that my mom had inflicted upon him, only staying on last minute vacations with May and guilt tripping him into letting me go.

"Andy,"

I turned my attention to Edward as he looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

"If you let anything happen to yourself- anything at all- I'm holding you personally responsible,"

"Promise?" I asked, knowing that he was the Blame Me, Please types.

He ignored that and turned to Alice. "Can Jasper handle this?"

Alice rolled her eyes at him in annoyance. "Give him some credit, Edward. He's been doing very, very well all things considered,"

"Can you handle this?" Edward asked.

Alice let her lip curl away from her teeth and she snarled before a smile replaced it. "I could always just-"

"Shut up,"