A/N - Sorry it's taken so long guys! I had my wisdom teeth out last Friday (urgh) and have developed an addiction for notemine. glares at appropriate people So sorry it's taken a bit longer than usual. I really want to go a whole lot further before November, cos NaNoWriMo starts and I'll be a bit busy. Something BIG coming soon, I promise. I wouldn't have underlined 'BIG' if I didn't mean it! Also, I don't know how I really feel about this chapter, especially the last part. I guess you guys will tell me if it stinks :P So keep reviewing to keep me happy, X Literater!
It was starting to drizzle, but ever so slightly. Not enough for me to be bothered to pull the hood of my jumper, the rain dampening my hair slightly. Music drifted into my ears, loud enough to drown out the annoying sounds of people but soft enough to hear the roar of Bella's tank.
If it actually started to rain, and there was still no sign of Bella, then I would be bothered.
School had ended about ten minutes ago, and Bella, whose last class was supposed to be Gym, hadn't showed up at the parking lot. There were still heaps of people milling around cars, and I couldn't see Bella's red thing. After talking to Alex, my lab partner in Physics who had the same name as me, I decided to sit on the curb and wait for her to show up, for the cars to clear.
I let my elbows dig into my knees as I rested my head in my palms, tapping out the beat of the Clash song in my ears, watching as the ants scurried away before the torrential downpour began.
The soft purr of an engine made my head turn, but it wasn't Bella's truck. You think that her red thing would make a purring sound?
It was Edward Cullen's car, a Volvo. A very shiny, very lovely Volvo. It was unfair how all the Cullens had superbly wonderful cars that you were meant to see defying speeds on an Italian cliff-face.
I sat up a bit straighter as I noticed the Volvo wasn't turning out of the school's parking lot, but rather into the school. I furrowed my brow, trying to figure out what excuse Edward Cullen would have to not be in school, only to re-appear to pick up his brothers and sisters.
Bella's home already.
A draft of cold air spat in my face, and I spent a few seconds waving it away, looking like an idiot.
Why wasn't I surprised? I glared at the Volvo. Edward Cullen had something to do with this, I knew he did.
It's not right to assume things, you know. Because that makes an ass out of you and –
"You'll be looking like an ass in a second if you don't shut up," I retorted through gritted teeth. My only option now was to walk home, a twenty minute trek at my pace that wouldn't be so bad if the heavens weren't about to open up.
And at exactly that moment the heavens opened up, raining pouring down. I was soaked in a matter of minutes. I folded my arms under my elbows, trying not to shiver as I watched the Volvo slide past, Cullen glancing out the window quickly with an amused smile on his face.
I glared as I saw him fiddling with the controls in the middle of the car, no doubt turning up the heat.
"Some people, I tell you, are just after…" I stopped my mumbling as something ice cold touched my soaking back.
Keep it moving, unless you want to die from pneumonia.
"That'd show Bella then," I grumbled. I moved on though, slipping and sliding my way through the wet grass.
The walk home, despite the chilling rain, was actually quite pleasant. I hadn't walked in the rain for ages, something I used to do a lot of when I was in Maine.
My hood, completely soaked through, wasn't much protection against the constant fall now, so it rested on my shoulders, my blonde hair now wet and a darker shade of gold. It fell around my face, water droplets running down my cheek, racing each other.
It was one of those perfect moments, as I slipped over a fallen log, where everything was beautiful and green and the only noise was the sound of the rain falling on plants.
"I feel so untouched right now, I want you so much right now, I can't forget you, not enough to say that I miss you."
I stopped, closing my eyes as the very out of tune musical notes drifted off. "You did not just sing the Veronicas to me," I groaned. Of all the music for this perfect moment and he chooses the Veronicas.
He laughed, pushing me forward again. My grumpy face caused more laughter echoing through the trees, causing me to smile. Just a little bit.
--
Bella's truck was parked outside of Charlie's house, as predicted. This meant she had come home early – somehow. Cullen still sat in the back of my mind as I entered the house.
The door was unlocked. I slipped through, shredding of my layers and bundling them up. I made a beeline for the laundry, but was intercepted on the way through.
"Ally, I am so sorry," Bella began, coming out of the kitchen with a mug of something.
I shivered. "It's okay Bella," I said, trying to calm her down. The woman was having hysterics. I walked in the direction of the laundry, Bella following.
"I completely forgot that I was taking you home today when Edward offered to-"
I stopped walking.
"Wait. Edward? As in Edward Cullen? What's he got to do with this?" I asked, turning around. I knew it.
"He-he brought me home," Bella managed to get out.
"How could Edward Cullen bring you home if your truck is here?" I was under the impression something creepy was going on here.
"I fainted in Biology, he took me home and Alice Cullen returned my truck." How she made that seem like a perfectly normal thing was beyond me.
"Do I even want to know?" I replied, finding an old pair of track pants and a tank top of mine lying on top of the dryer. I wiggled out of my wet clothes, chucking the wet ones in the dryer and slipping into my dry things.
Bella had her head titled to the side as she thought.
"I have no idea."
I sighed, shaking my head. "Bella, what you do with Edward Cullen is none of my business. Just…be careful," I said, taking the mug away from Bella.
Hot chocolate. Nice.
"Be careful?" Bella called as I headed upstairs. "What's that supposed to mean?"
I turned at the top of the stairs, looking down at where Bella was standing. She had her arms crossed, her dark brown hair falling across her face.
I rolled my eyes. "Just be careful. Once a guy, always a guy Bella." I knew that didn't make enough sense, but I had stepped my foot in it once again and intended to get out as fast as I could. Bella still looked at me as if I was slightly crazy.
"Now if you excuse me, I have a date with Paul Newman." Bella perked up. "Paul Newman? Does he go to our school?" I laughed.
"Paul Newman Bella. As in Butch Cassidy, I can't swim. Can't swim, the fall will kill ya!" I put on my best Western accent, yet Bella still looked confused.
And slightly scared. "I give up," I muttered, throwing my hands in the air. "Call me when dinner's ready!" I walked away, leaving Bella at the bottom of the stairs.
Inside my room, I dove under the warm blankets, trying to get warm as I reached for the remote control that lay on my bedside table. About three weeks ago, I had invested in one of those little TV/DVD players, and it now sat proudly on my desk. Having to fight with two people for the remote control downstairs was no fun.
The introduction to the movie began, the credits rolling as an ancient silent film played on the side.
What I loved most about this movie was that He was Butch Cassidy and I was the Sundance Kid. We would sit there, whispering the lines of the movie to each other, bursting out in random laughter. So much fun.
--
Charlie's police cruiser sat in the driveway.
The porch light was on, but when I reached the door it was locked. I sighed, fishing around for the keys I had just put back into my bag.
Sometimes I swore Charlie forgot we lived in Forks, instead mistaking the quiet town for Seattle. Maybe that's what being a cop did to you…
"Hello?" I called out. The kitchen light was on, and I could see the flicker of the TV creating patterns against the walls. "Ally?" I heard Charlie call out.
I shrugged out of my jacket, draping it across one of the chairs in the kitchen.
"Hey Charlie," I replied, resting my elbows on the couch. There was a baseball game playing on the TV, a bowl of potato chips by Charlie's side. I reached down and grabbed a handful, shoving them in my mouth.
Was it just me, or did baseball never seem to end these days?
"Where have you been all evening then?" Charlie asked, suddenly sounding all fatherly. Resting my head in the palm of my hands, I answered.
"I stole a car." I grinned as I saw Charlie's eyebrows rise. "A Ferrari. I drove it to Seattle, stole a couple of books and drove back again."
"You know I am an officer of the law, Ally," Charlie smiled. "If you have stolen a car, I should arrest you."
I laughed. "But that's the best part about it all. You can let me off, not arrest me. Plus it wasn't a good Ferrari, so it's not worth the arrest." I sighed wistfully.
Charlie laughed, shaking his head. "I hope you are not thinking about breaking into the Cullen's garage right now. I thought we'd been over that."
I laughed, pushing myself off the couch, heading towards the kitchen.
"Library meeting. Lisette Meacham finally decided it would be a wise move to try and get a grant from the Seattle Library Board," I called out, explaining the boring truth of why I was home late. "Finally," I added, grabbing an open box of cereal.
I sat down at the kitchen table, stuffing my hand inside the cereal box.
Very ladylike. Actually, it's kind of gross.
I pulled a face, shoving another handful Captain Crunch into my mouth. I saw Charlie stand up, turning the TV off.
"Ally, we have bowls and spoons for a reason you know," he said, coming to sit down opposite me.
Uh oh.
I racked through my brain, trying to think of a reason that Charlie would feel the need to sit down at the table with me.
A random thought flashed across my mind. Charlie wasn't seriously thinking about…Oh God, I thought. He's not going to…go there? I gulped. I seriously hoped that wasn't about to happen. He hadn't had the talk with his own daughter yet!
"You didn't want to go to La Push with Bella and Mike and everyone today?" Charlie asked.
"Nope," I lied, pouring some cereal into a bowl. Of course I wanted to go to La Push. But I could have hardly gone without protection.
"I had a ton of work to do, plus the library, so I couldn't really afford to go to the beach today," I explained. At least that part was true.
Charlie just nodded.
I shifted nervously in the chair. Where this conversation was headed, I had no idea. Nor did I actually want it to head somewhere, I realized.
"I got another phone call today," Charlie began. "From the agency."
Ah. So this is what it was about. No sex talk, just the I've-found-you-a-new-home-and-your-leaving-tomorrow speech. All of a sudden I didn't feel so hungry.
"I'm tired," I started, standing up. "I think I'll go to bed." I began to walk away.
"Sit back down Ally." I sighed, stopping in my tracks.
Go sit back down.
I rolled my eyes, but sat back down anyway.
"So the agency called. Shouldn't I be up there, packing my bags instead of gasbagging here?" I was being rude, I know. But I've gone through enough foster homes in my seventeen years to warrant the rudeness.
Charlie started talking again, as if he didn't notice. If he did, he certainly wasn't dwelling on my teenage angst.
"The family from Louisiana?" He said it more as a question, not an answer. "They've changed their minds. Chose a boy from Michigan instead."
I slumped back in my chair. Relief swept through me. Or should I be feeling hurt? Another kid was chosen instead me. I hadn't thought I was that rebellious when I was in Maine.
"You wouldn't have liked it anyway. The two kids were boys."
I laughed with relief. I liked Forks. And we weren't leaving, which I considered a bonus.
"Anything else?" I asked, standing back up. Charlie stood up also, his mouth open as if he wanted to say something.
An awkward moment passed. With my hands in my pocket, I glanced at Charlie with raised eyebrows.
He had his hand in his hair.
"Uh…don't forget to wash your bowl," he said, before moving back to the lounge room, the sounds of the game filling the quiet house. Rolling my eyes, I scraped out the soggy pieces of Captain Crunch, soaking the bowl in water. "Done," I mumbled, trudging up the stairs.
Back in my room, a pile of my books were spread across my bed. "Nice of you to clean up after yourself," I muttered, gathering all the books off the bed and stacking them on my desk.
I could hear the roar of the game float upstairs. "You know, for someone who has to stay by my side at all times, you have a nasty habit of disappearing on me," I said in a normal voice, my tone unmasking my anger. I sat, cross legged, on the bed, fiddling with the embroidery.
"I didn't know I was needed."
I groaned, lying back on the bed. "You know, I only agreed to move here because you. You could make it the least bit enjoyable for me."
A door slammed shut downstairs. Bella must be home. I sat up, thinking that maybe a chick flick was in order to calm my mood.
I opened my door as Bella came up the stairs. "Hey Bella," I called out, leaning against my door frame. She turned at her own door.
She had this funny look on her face. It was a strange look, as if she had been told something and didn't know what to make of it.
"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned. She nodded, but the movement was jerky. "Yeah I'm fine. Tired, that's all." She opened her door, closing it quietly as she went into her room.
I stood in my doorway for a bit longer, puzzled at the change in Bella. She was…somehow I couldn't put my finger on it. I heard her fiddling around in her room. Something heavy fell on the floor, and she picked it back up, the faint sounds of her muttering floating into the hallway.
Suddenly there was a quick burst of Linkin Park before it was cut off, presumably now filtering through headphones.
I turned back into my room.
"And people think that I'm crazy," I muttered, shaking my head.
--
The next day I was woken early by a scream and a loud thud.
I shot up, my dream of David Tennant and the Tardis disappearing in an instant. "What the…" I mumbled, glancing at my alarm clock. Five thirty. In the morning.
I hopped groggily out of bed, trying to smooth down the bird's nest that was my hair.
In the hallway, I knocked on Bella's door.
"Bella?" I called. There was silence for a while, and then Bella's voice.
"Sorry. I dropped my CD Player." Her voice sounded small. "At five thirty in the morning?" I questioned, rubbing my eyes. I was so sleepy, and I wanted to go back to David Tennant.
I heard Bella sigh. "I'm fine, Ally, just go back to bed. Sorry for waking you up." I did as she asked, moving back into my room where I flopped back down on the bed, yanking the covers back over me.
"David Tennant? That's an insult, you know."
I rolled over, covering my head with the pillow. "Just let me sleep," I moaned into the sheets.
--
When I woke, it was mid morning, the day already dull and overcast. I made my way to the kitchen; eyeing the box of Captain Crunch that someone had left on the counter, humming out loud.
It was quiet – almost too quiet. I looked around suspiciously, waiting for something airborne to land on my face or a SWAT team to burst in and yell freeze.
"Stop being melodramatic and look at the kitchen table." I let my eyes wander as I sat down with the Captain Crunch. There was a piece of paper, ripped out of a notebook, lying on the table. Bella's messy scrawl was easy to read.
Ally -
Gone for a walk, don't know when I'll be back.
Charlie fishing.
Bella :D
The smiley face was awkwardly drawn. I bunched up the piece of paper, throwing it in the wastebasket. It hit the wall before bouncing in.
"Bull's-eye!" I cried, raising my hand.
I looked over to the kitchen counter. "It's just me and you," I said solemnly. "You and me," he corrected. Stupid, grammatically correct…
A thought just popped into my mind, and I stood up in earnest. I knew I shouldn't be doing this, but the temptation was too great. What with Bella acting so weird and all…
I opened the door to her bedroom, standing in the doorway. There was a small patch of sun that had broken loose, casting light on the floorboards. Everything in Bella's room was neat and tidy, everything in order. There was a bookcase piled with some books, not as extensive as my bookcase, but worthy nonetheless. She had a few CDs piled on her bedside table, a couple of photographs on the wall below her desk.
Her desk was neat and tidy, everything piled up nicely.
It was Bella's computer that made me do it. I could hear the low hum of the hard drive – she had obviously been on the computer and forgotten to turn it off. I started to move towards it, pulling the desk chair over.
"Don't you dare."
I laughed. "Don't worry, she'll never know."
I sat down and moved the mouse around, hearing the tiny click of the screen as it came to life. Opening her internet, I shot down about a dozen pop ups. From what I remembered, Charlie had only bought dial up for the house, leaving me waiting for a while.
"Be my spy, will you?" I asked, tapping my fingers on the keyboard.
As soon as the page loaded, I clicked on the button for History, waiting for the tab to come up.
The list was small, but it made me gasp out in shock.
There were about half a dozen sites listed, one of which she had frequented the most. I clicked on that one, waiting for the webpage to load.
Finally it did, a simple white background with black text, and I gulped as I read the heading.
Vampires A-Z.
