Okay, here's the next chapter. I know, it's been a while since I've posted on here - truth is, I like AO3 a hell of a lot better than this site, so most of the time I tend to post up on there than here. Anyway, I decided to be nice and post the next chapter now, even though I haven't gotten many reviews for this story, so I'm not sure if anyone actually is still reading - I suppose if I get anything for this story, then I'll know if people are or not.
Anyway, this chapter is, as the title says, the big reveal from Bella to Edward. Enjoy.
The Reveal
The drive back to Forks was much faster than Jessica had driven to Port Angeles. The black forests surrounding the roads look like a wide, impenetrable wall of black steel, and my body was tense as I fought not to look at the speedometer, knowing that I'd freak if I did. Instead, while the calming music of Claire de Lune played through the car, my mind pretty much wondered, going over what had been spoken about in the restaurant. I was kind of glad to know that he didn't freak out over knowing about me being a mutant, nor did he freak out at learning that Angela knew about his talent.
Still, I couldn't help but wonder what he'd do if he knew that I knew he wasn't a mutant. The idea played in my head, my mind repeatedly reminding me that I really didn't have to hide that fact from him. By law, I was allowed to know it. Of course, I couldn't really blurt any of this out with Angela in the front seat, and I wasn't all that comfortable with telling him through my mind. Besides, if I did do that, he might lose control of the car, and I had no desire to discover what hitting the impenetrable wall of black steel that trees appeared like would be like. I figured that I would have to figure out a way to tell him sometime soon, preferably without the rest of his family hearing – I didn't think any of them would be happy to hear what I had to say, and besides, I'd wanted him to know first.
And, at this point, truthfully, I didn't want any secrets between us, especially one that was so one sided, and pointless to keep from him.
As I was trying to figure out what my plans would be, flashing red and blue lights caught my attention, and I looked up to see that we were coming close to passing by the police station. My eyes furrowed as I took in the flashing lights. It was rather busy at the moment, more busy that I'd ever seen the the station being. Edward slowed down as we came near to the turn off into the parking lot as if having realized that speeding by a police station, especially one so busy, wasn't the best idea. If he had sped by here, he'd be the first mind reader I knew to get a ticket.
"Whoa. What is going on?" I questioned, sitting up as I looked over everything that was going on, seeing what had to be almost every cop cruiser in the Forks Police Force and an ambulance, among a few other cars. I was given more time to look at the busy parking lot as Edward slowed down more when a cop vehicle pulled out, so he didn't rear end the cruiser. That was when I saw Charlie's cruiser.
"My dad's still here," I said, my surprise obvious, though, with how busy it was, there really wasn't any need for it. Once I'd mentioned the fact that Charlie was still here, Edward automatically slowed some more, pulling into the parking lot without the need for me to ask him to do so. From the corner of my eye, I saw Angela lean forward, confused at all the activity.
"Something big has to have happened," she mentioned. "I wonder what it is."
"I intend to find out," I said, as I saw Edward seem to focus for a moment on a car at the end of the row in front of the station.
"That's my father's car at the end," Edward stated as he pulled into the empty spot right in front of the station. "What's he doing here?"
We all three got out of the car, just as Carlisle Cullen walked out of the building.
"Carlisle, what's going on?" Edward asked as he let the door of his car shut behind him. He looked up to see the three of us, his face not showing a hint of confusion at eh presence of Angela and I, like I would have expected. Unless he was just hiding it from us. Instead of saying anything about the two of us having been in Edward's car, he sighed instead.
"Waylon Forge was found in a boat out near his place," he stated, his voice low and tired sounding. "I just examined the body."
"He's dead?" I stated. I didn't know Waylon all that well, having only really met him the one time, at the lodge where Charlie had introduced me to some of his friends in town at. Carlisle nodded his head. "How?" I asked.
"Animal attack," Carlisle said, and I would have taken it seriously had he not done it so quickly, as if it was an answer he was used to saying. Besides, I couldn't see how an animal could attack Waylon if he was in his boat – of course, since I didn't really know how most animals acted, I couldn't really say this for sure. The glance Carlisle gave to Edward, though, was a bit of a clue to the fact that he wasn't being entirely truthful.
Suddenly, I remembered something – Charlie had gone to Mason County several days ago, having warned me that he'd be late because he'd be helping the police there. When I had asked why, he had mentioned that a security guard had been killed by some kind of animal. I hadn't really thought much about it, figuring that, being as we were in Forks, it would be something common. I couldn't help but wonder, though, if I was wrong to think that.
An animal attack, especially out here, would be a perfect cover for a vampire attack, though it would also cause problems as well.
"Was it the same one that got that security guard down in Mason?" I asked.
"Most likely," Carlisle stated; another glance to Edward told me tat it was more than likely.
"Well, it's getting closer to town, then," I stated.
"Bella," Carlisle said, probably before I could ask another question, "you should go inside. Waylon was your father's friend."
I got what he was saying between the lines – Charlie was most likely devastated.
"Okay," I stated, making a small stop to grab the Angela's and my things from Edward's car – a minor thing, as I was sure he wouldn't really mind us leaving it in there, but I didn't want to impose on him with that. Carrying my bags, I walked between Edward and Carlisle, right behind Angela. As I went up the steps to the door, I turned back for a moment.
"I'll see you later," I said to Edward, before turning back and finishing the walk up to the door. A small glance back showed Edward heading back to the driver's side of his car. Angela took a seat in the lobby, agreeing to watch our things, while I got permission from the woman at the counter to head to the back. I could see Charlie at his desk, just staring at his computer screen. I walked over to him, skirting around the edge of the desk until I stood behind him. He didn't seem to notice that I was there, and I saw that he was looking at a picture of him and Waylon together, in fishing gear.
"Hey," I stated, causing him to jump. I leaned down, until I was more level with him.
"Hey," he stated, his eyes dull and face expressionless, grief pouring off of him in poignant waves. He turned to stare back at the picture.
"Dad," I started, "I'm really sorry."
He glanced at me once again, then looked back at the picture. He was silent for a few moments, then spoke.
"I've known him going on thirty years," he told me.
I didn't quite know what to say about that, knowing that there really wasn't any words that could be said. Instead, I placed my gloved hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly. He was still for a moment, then brought his hand up, patting mine and then lightly grabbing it. He held it for a few moments, then, as if to cover up for his emotional grief, he tried to distract himself, closing down the browser that had opened on the computer, and letting go of my hand.
"Don't worry, we're gonna find this thing," he told me, though it sounded as though he was trying to convince himself more than me. He reached over to grab something off of his desk then. "Meantime," he stated, and he looked over at me, holding out what he'd grabbed, "I want you to carry this with you."
I looked at what it was, seeing that it was a can of Mace. I made a look on my face, about to deny it, when he added in, "It'll give your old man some peace of mind."
I didn't deny him after that, reluctantly taking it from him and slipping it into my pocket.
"Let's go home," he said, after seeing what I did.
"I go let Angela know," I said, straightening. He looked startled for a moment, then seemed to remember about the fact that Angela would be staying at the house with us tonight. I walked in front of him as he stood, shutting down his computer and grabbing his jacket. I walked over to Angela, grabbing the bags in front of her and walking out in front of her. An ambulance was now parked in front of the station, and, as we headed toward Charlie's cruiser, a gurney baring a covered body was being rolled passed us. Angela gasped upon seeing the pale, almost bluish skin that peaked through the blanket covering the corpse.
"Come on," I said, gently grabbing her arm and pulling her after me. Charlie was behind us by now, and opened the trunk so that we could place the bags in there. I let Angela have the front seat, riding in the back behind the bars. It didn't take long for us to get to the house, and, after getting Charlie something to eat while Angela took a rather long shower, we were soon settled into my room.
I let her have my bed, sleeping on the floor, waking up several times that night due to a few nightmares she had. I had the feeling that the nightmares were about our almost attack, as well as what happened to Waylon. As it was, my sleep was in short intervals until three in the morning, where I was finally able to actually drop fully into sleep.
The awake intervals of my night, however, allowed me to think, and come to some rather important decisions. The first was that I no longer wanted to hide what I knew about Edward from him. The next was that, so he didn't end up freaking out over me knowing what he was, I'd tell him the final secret I was holding from him. Whether he'd believe me or not would be a mystery, but I had plans on how to make sure that he did.
After all, a wand and the use of some spells should be a pretty good incentive.
Angela was still tired when she awoke the next morning, slight bags underneath her eyes. Seeing them, I turned, rooted through a bag of rarely used cosmetics, finding the concealer that Elena used – we had the necessities for each other in case it was needed and only one of us, usually her, had their bags – and handed it to her. She and Elena were nearly the same in skin color, so it wouldn't stand out to much on her.
"Here," I told her, "to hide the bags under your eyes. I don't think you want Jessica or Lauren to try and pry answers from you as to why you look so tired."
"Thanks," she said, standing and heading to the bathroom. I walked into my closet, grabbing the first shirt my hand fell on – a blood red blouse with a sweetheart neckline, off-the-shoulders long sleeves, corset lacing on the front, and most of the sleeves cut out, with roped-like strips of fabric crisscrossing throughout it, giving it the appearance of also having been laced up, though very loosely. It wasn't a shirt I normally wore out, as it could really only be worn with gloves that went to the wrist, but a Jacket would hide the bare skin from accidentally being touched, as it was cool enough here to get away with wearing one.
Gathering a pair of black jeans and my undergarments, I headed straight to the bathroom as Angela came into the room, the bags under her eyes seemingly gone. I took a quick shower, blow drying my hair before dressing. Coming out, I checked to see that my room was empty, Angela's things neatly gathered next to the bed. I quickly grabbed my school things, heading downstairs where I saw Angela pouring herself a bowl of cereal.
Breakfast was eaten in silence, the both of us quietly lost in our own thoughts. The silence continued all the way to he school, where Jessica met us, holding Angela's jacket – she'd called last night, having found it in her car and wanting to know if it was mine or not. I let Angela and her meander ahead of me as they talked about something – what I wasn't listening to. Instead, I didn't move very far from my truck, eyes wondering as I tried to find Edward in the mass of students. I knew he was here – his car was, anyway, and I didn't see a reason why he wouldn't be here.
Not finding him in the parking lot, I made my way up to the quad, still looking. The amount of people standing around talking made this hard, but I eventually found him, standing next to a group of tables alone, looking as though he wasn't paying attention to anything around him. I walked towards him, lowering my shields as I did so.
Edward I mentally spoke to him when I was but a few steps away. He looked over at me, a questioning look on his face. There's something I need to talk to you about, in private. Follow me?
I walked passed him, not sure if he actually would follow me, but suspecting that he would. A glance behind me told me that I was right in what I suspected.
I walked into the forest that surrounded the school. Once I was sure that we were at a perfect distance from the school – as well as his siblings, though I wasn't completely sure about that little fact – I stopped and turned. Edward stood a few feet away from me, watching me with undisguised curiosity.
I turned away from him again, taking a deep breath before I turned.
"I know that you're not a mutant," I told him, "and that your abilities have nothing to do with being a mutant. I know that you're a lot older than you look. You never eat, you never drink. You were gone the last few days, the very days that the sun was actually shining. Your skin is icy cold, you're extremely pale, your eyes change color. You also speak with a cadence suited better for a past era." I paused there for a moment, gasping a bit when I felt that he was standing right behind me.
"How old are you?" I asked. The question wasn't all that relative, nor was it really related to what I was talking about.
"Seventeen," he answered, and I held back a sigh. Of course, getting him to admit that I was right wouldn't be that easy.
"And how long have you been seventeen?" I asked, this time making it clear that skirting around my questions wouldn't work. He looked uncomfortable at my question, as if realizing that I really did know that he wasn't human, and then sighed, a slight look of defeat on his face.
"A while," he said. Silence reigned for several moments, the sounds of the forest seemingly copying the silence just as much. The only sound that could be heard was my breathing, which was embarrassingly loud as my heart pounded against my chest and my nerves had butterflies fluttering in my stomach.
"I know what you are," I said, and it was almost as if I could feel him stiffening behind me. The silence came again, broken a few moments later by him this time around,
"Say it," he said, his tone forceful. "Out loud."
"Vampire," I said, my tone neutral. He exhaled, seemingly shocked and defeated.
"Are you afraid?" he asked. I turned, not able to simply tell him my answer to that question without looking at him. I had to show him that I was being serious and truthful. His face guarded as I faced him, body tense.
"No," I said. He looked shocked at my answer, but then seemed to be a bit angered.
"Then ask me the most basic question of all," he said, holding back the anger in his voice. "What do we eat?"
"I don't need to ask," I said. "I know what you survive on. It's blood, animal if you need me to be exact."
He looked at me in disbelief.
"How do you..." he started to ask.
"I've known what you were since my first day of school," I told him. "I recognized what you, and your siblings, were upon first seeing you. Truthfully, it was really only hearing the name of your 'father' that had calmed me – your father was a friend of the headmaster at my school in Scotland."
"How did you know what I was? And how do you know that my father was a friend of your headmaster – we haven't been to Scotland in years," he said. I sighed, biting my lip, as I looked away, shifting my feet.
"That's because the old headmaster of the school met him in the late eighteen hundreds," I told him. "Professor Dumbledore, our headmaster, was almost two hundred before he died – even then, he didn't die of natural causes. He could have easily lived for longer had he been more careful. And there is a reason for his longevity, and why I know this."
I took a few steps away from him, turning as I held up my hand.
"What do you see?" I asked him. "Around my wrist."
I saw him look.
"I don't see anything," he said.
"What do you feel?" I asked, holding out the hand to him. He carefully felt my wrist, frowning as he looked at me, wondering what it was that I was trying to get to. His answer was the pretty much the same as his previous one.
"Watch," I told him, then, murmuring a word, I flicked my hand, grabbing onto the stick of wood that came shooting from the invisible and seemingly non-existent holster I had wrapped around my wrist. He stated, unsure of what I was going for, but also wondering where the stick – as I had the feeling he thought of it as – came from.
"I can tell by the look on your fact that you don't know what this is," I said. "It's a wand. Now – " I held up other hand, stopping him from saying anything, as he'd opened his mouth to do so – "I know I sound crazy in saying that, but it's the truth, and I can prove it."
With that, I flicked it, mentally saying the spell I wanted, watching the results once I finished the incantation in my head. His body immediately turned upside down, one leg behind held straight up as he hung as if caught in some snare trap. He was shocked once again as he hung there. I let the spell go, watching as he crashed onto the floor – there really wasn't any way to change that effect from happening.
He looked at me, mouth slightly opened as he picked himself off from the ground.
"What are you?" he asked.
"I'm surprised you didn't realize with that little demonstration," I said. "I'm a witch, quite literally. This is one of my wands; it's always a good idea to have more than one, just in case it's needed."
He nodded, still shocked. I didn't say anything else, simply pushed the wand back into the holster as I waited for him to unfreeze.
"Why are you telling me this?" he finally asked. "And how is it that I've never...that I've never heard any thoughts that would even suggest that you're what you are?"
"To the second question, there's several answers. First off, Magicals tend to be a bit more isolated from non-magicals, mostly because of the slow aging. There's also the fact that the few who don't completely stay away from non-magicals are the ones who live in large cities, and work in things that would make what they're thinking just seem normal for them – movie directors, writers, people like that. Then there's the fact that there is a mind study that can help shield a persons thoughts called Occlumency. While it doesn't work completely with natural mind readers – it's mostly to help shield the mind against it's opposite, Legilimency – it does work enough that it can block some thoughts from mind readers – people who practice Occlumency always drove Tristelianna nuts because of that. While you might have found more thoughts about people like myself in Britain, here in the States, it's standard practice for people to learn it, as it helps the mind organize itself better.
"Then there's the fact that, like myself, they'd be able to recognize you if they saw you, and most would go away upon seeing a vampire. You wouldn't have time to hear their thoughts, nor would you be able to realize that someone was actually thinking about you if they mentioned vampire in their thoughts because they'd be gone.
"As for why I'm telling you this, well..." I shrugged. "I don't want any secrets between us. I don't know why, but it's something I feel strongly about. I didn't want you to feel you had to continue hiding a part of yourself from me, especially since I already know what that part of you is. It's not really fair to you, having to watch what you say around me in hopes of not giving yourself away, when I already know it. As for telling you I'm a witch, that's because, now that you know, if you try to attack and attempt to kill me, you'll sign your own death warrant. It's basically a safety feature, because the Volturi rules of keeping the secret exclude keeping it from witches and wizards."
"What do you mean by that?" he asked me, sounding curious. He seemed to have filtered everything through his mind and accepted it.
"There's a treaty between vampires and magicals," I said. "In this treaty, it basically states that neither sides are allowed to kill each other unless it's done in self-defense – as in, I'd have to attack you or you'd have to attack me. We magicals have a way of knowing when a vampire kills a magical, and the Volturi are informed of the infraction when it happens. Truthfully, when a magical dies of a vampire attack, the vampire doesn't live very long afterward, as the Volturi often carry out the execution of the vampire for the infraction. They take the treaty very seriously, just as witches and wizards do. The reverse happens as well, though not as often – like I already mentioned, magicals tend to avoid vampires, so chances of a fight are very slim. The few times it can't be avoided, the magical rarely dies because they can prove that it a vampire killing was done in self defense. That's not to say that all magicals are found innocent, as they're not, but most are – truthfully, most vampires seem to believe they're above the law when it comes to things like that, because, while we're not completely normal, we're still human, and, therefore, a meal."
He nodded.
"So, basically, Volturi law protects you from being killed," Edward said. "Which means that, none of my family can harm you without bringing the Volturi down on them, thus making it so that, when they learn that you know about us..."
"They can't kill me to try and comply with Volturi law, because they'd be breaking it instead," I finished.
"You know that none of my siblings will actually believe this without proof," he told me.
"Yeah, but I have the feeling that they'd believe Carlisle, and since he's very well aware of the witches and wizard, as well as this particular part of the Volturi law, he'll be able to help you. And I'm sure that it won't take much to get Jasper on your side – just mention my dulled scent being that way because of a spell and he'll probably realize what I mean," I said. "If that's not enough to convince them, then let them try to kill me. I'll be waiting in my room for them to do so. Of course, I doubt they'll be able to get into through the windows or door to my room."
He got some sort of look on his face at that, which was gone before I could actually figure out what it was.
"I take it that this is your way of saying that you give me permission to tell the rest of my family," he said.
"Yes, because this way, if I'm just taking to you, and no one is really around us, I don't have to worry about them freaking out right there in school because I mention something they think I'm not supposed to know," I said.
"Okay," he said, and it went silent for a few moments before he spoke again.
"What about your friends, the ones you had at the other school, Elena and the others...are they witches as well?" he asked. "And is Charlie and your...Renée magical as well?"
"My friends were like me, and no, neither of them are magical," I told him. "It's not uncommon for magicals to be born in mundane families. Myself, Elena, Tristelianna, and several others are like that – at least, we think it's like that for Tristelianna and her sister."
"You think?" he asked. I sighed.
"None of us, themselves included, have any idea on who their parents are," I told him. "All Tristelianna has for clues on who her family was is her name and an inheritance that was left for her via lawyer who contacted Professor Xavier upon his adoption of her. As for Alexandra, her backgrounds even more of a mystery. She was left with, quite literally, nothing except the fact that she was sold to some guys by her parents for money. She didn't even have a name, as she was usually referred to by a number. Tristelianna's the one who named her."
Edward's face was stony upon hearing that; probably wondering how her parents could do that. We'd wondered the same thing as well, when we learned about it. The only fortunate thing about the whole thing was that we were able to gain a wonderful friend, and, if her parents even tried to insert themselves into her life, doing so would only result in them wishing they hadn't, as there was an outstanding warrant for any of the people who had willing given children to the men as they had. And, though this was years ago, with Tristelianna's ability, bringing it back to the fore thoughts of the police either involved or aware of it would make sure that would happen.
"What about the rest of you?" he asked, breaking the silence and turning the subject away from the horror that was Alexandra's past. "You said that several of the others were like you, which suggest that not all of you are magicals born in a mundane family."
"That's because there's not. While the majority of my main friends are like myself – with the possibility of the two I mentioned not being so – the rest are not. All but two of them are considered half-bloods, while the last two are purebloods," I said.
"How is it that they're considered half-bloods and purebloods?" he asked. I started walking back to the school after checking the time on my cell – it was nearing lunch.
"The pure-bloods are considered that way because they can traced their magical genealogy pretty far back. While you only need to be able to trace it as far as five generation, in the strictest sense, there are those who believe that you have to trace it back even further to qualify as being pure-blood. Not that Erika or Aura really need to worry about that – they can trace their genealogy to at least thirty generations back before they run into a half-blood, which keeps it from be considered pure any futher, despite the fact that they can trace magic in their even farther back despite that bit.
"As for half-bloods, that just means that one of their parents is either half-blood (which can actually be both parents, truthfully), mundane, or mundane-born, like myself. Stupid, truthfully, but that's the how it is. Oh, and they can also be considered half-blooded if one of their parents is a magical creature, such as Veela, giants, and goblins. I know at least one half-blood from every category, except them having both parents as half-bloods."
"Veela?" he asked, confusion evident on his face. I smiled.
"Think of your sister Rosalie, and you wouldn't be too far off," I answered, not joking. "Basically, they're extremely beautiful women with an affinity for air and fire magics, have the ability to shift into avian forms, and have an allure that calls men to want to do things to impress them, this latter ability causing them to have bad reputations by many people – mostly women. Half and quarter Veela, while they don't have the avian forms, are still just as beautiful as full Veela, as well as having the affinity for the two elements, and the allure, though it's not as powerful as that of a full Veela."
He nodded, and I smiled, just as I heard the sounds of the school bell ringing that another round of classes had ended, which also had the effect of ending Edward's questions towards me. I didn't know if it was because we were definitely in the hearing range of his siblings or if it was something else, but, despite the numerous questions I was sure he still had, he kept quiet, at least, at first.
As it was lunch time, people were milling around, so the fact that Edward and I were walking together from the forest caught quite a few people, and I realized my error in not arriving before they did or not making sure that Edward and I weren't actually seen together – god knew what rumors the others would come up with upon seeing us together.
"Everyone's staring," I whispered to him, giving him a look that told him that I was sorry for not thinking about it. He gave me a small smile, coming closer.
"No, that guy...wait, he just looked," he said, his eyes looking around at the others and seeing that everyone was indeed looking at us.
"Well, since I'm already going to hell," he muttered, swinging his arm around my shoulders, reminding me instantly of his brother Emmett's actions that first day of school. The thought of him acting possessive of me sent slight pleasure running through me, but I was more focused on his words. What did he mean, he was already going to hell? I couldn't see, in any way, how he'd be set to be sent to hell, for any reason.
I figured that I'd ask about it later, maybe before I let him being his questions, as it most likely would end up taking quite a bit of time for all of his questions to be answered, assuming they were asked in one go.
Jessica was surprised to see me as I entered the lunchroom, especially when one considered how I'd skipped every class before hand, making it appear as though I hadn't been at school. Her eyes widened even more upon seeing Edward enter behind me. She wasn't the only one who noticed: the others at the table also noticed, each with varying degrees of emotions crossing their faces. Lauren's face was completely green with jealousy upon seeing Edward next to me, which seemed to darken as she saw his arm around my shoulders. The guys, however, were in disbelief over the action and my lack of stopping it. I could see that they weren't happy that I was letting Edward get away with throwing his arm over my shoulder.
I expected Edward to let me go after I got my food, having thought he'd go back and sit with his family, so I was pleasantly surprised when he didn't. Instead, he steered me to an empty table, holding the tray of food I'd gotten, and setting it down in front of me. I couldn't help but look over at the table his siblings were sitting at, wondering what they thought of this new development. Like the rest of the room, they were looking at us with bewilderment on their faces, though Jasper's face also held some suspicion as he looked between Edward and I. I had the feeling that he was wondering about what was going on between us, as this was definitely a new development.
We talked a bit while sitting there together, thought we didn't stray into any topics that would cause his siblings to wonder about us, and what I might know. We stayed in safe topics, such as books and music. He was rather surprised when I mentioned how I never really cared about only listening to one genre, preferring to listen to multiple ones. He admitted that he rarely listened to anything that came after the late fifties, early sixties, as he didn't really care for the music that was considered popular now. Truthfully, I didn't disagree with him on that – while I would listen to anything, I tended to like more of the non-popular songs than those that were popular. Of course, that wasn't to say that a popular song couldn't become one I liked, but it was rare when that happened.
He ended up walking me to French, leaving me at the door with a whispered promise to meet me outside the room after class ended. I waved to Angela as I walked to my seat, seeing Jasper enter just behind me, the suspicious look still on his face. I just smiled brightly at him, waiting for him to start asking questions, but, for the first time since got here, Ms. Beniot actually kept our attentions the entire class period, not allowing for any free time for partners to talk to each other, and, with the promise that Edward would be waiting for me, I kind of hurried out the door when class the released. As he promised, he was indeed there, waiting for me.
Angela had gone on ahead of me when the bell rang, leading me to believe that she somehow suspected that Edward would be waiting to walk me to Biology II. I hope she wasn't upset about the fact that it seemed as though I was ignoring her, for I wasn't trying to do that. I just had a really good reason for going and talking to Edward earlier, and, due to the fact that he had obviously still been wanting to spend time with me – well, his reasons for sitting with me at lunch were either that, or he just didn't want to deal with his siblings questioning him on why he was with me out in the woods – was really the only reason why I hadn't sat with her at the lunch table.
I'd asked her after school if she had minded.
When we arrived, I immediately noticed an old television and VCR on a cart in the front of the room, which Mr. Banner was fiddling with. I wondered what it was that we'd be watching, for he had several different tapes on the cart next to the VCR, the titles obscure from my view.
"Any idea what enjoyable movie we'll be seeing?" I asked Edward. He told me the title, having read it from Mr. Banner's mind, and I sighed. I remembered watching the movie, several years ago, and knew just how boring it would be. Laying my head down onto my desk, I looked over to Edward.
"If I fall asleep, wake me before Mr. Banner notices," I told him, and I saw him hold back a laugh.
"Will do," he stated, and I closed my eyes, letting the sounds around us lull me to sleep. However, as I heard Mr. Banner ask for everyone to be quiet, and the lights darken through my eyelids, the possibility of falling asleep disappeared from my mind as a strange electricity seemed to flow over and through me. I sat up, suddenly more aware of Edward that I'd been before. The strange electricity that seemed to flow through me appeared to originate from him. The urge to place my hand on him became strong, almost overwhelming, and I eventually had to cross my arms to keep from giving into the urge.
I glanced over at him, scowling since it was his fault, when I noticed that he was mirroring my position. Obviously, he was feeling the current just as I was. When he caught me looked, he chuckled a bit, and I rolled my eyes, looking back to the front of the class. I couldn't concentrate on the movie, just on the electricity, which seemed to increase the longer we sat there. Finally, I couldn't take it any longer. Slowly, so that I didn't actually reach for him straight up, I placed my hand on the table, palm up, and glanced towards him, opening up my mental shield to him.
Place your hand in mine I said, closing my shield after delivering that message. He look at me, curious, from the corner of his eye, but he did as I said. Immediately, there was a difference in the electricity. It was calmer now, softer, though still irritatingly strong enough that it would be hard to ignore. I was still hyperly aware of Edward sitting next to me, and frowned, having hoped that this would have calmed the electricity down a bit more than it actually did. Perhaps if I were to take off my glove...
The idea, which seemed to have snuck it's way into my head, wouldn't let go, but I managed not to give into it during that period. I was beyond relieved, though, when the lights were finally turned back on, and the electric feeling disappeared. Edward and I glanced at each other, our hands still together. We were silent as the sounds of everyone gathering their things to get ready to leave echoed around us, and then he spoke.
"Well, that was interesting," he said, and a snort of laughter escaped me.
"I wouldn't quite say that it was interesting," I told him, standing up as I grabbed my bag. I didn't realize that neither of us had actually let go of each other's hands until I went to turn, my hand not exactly turning with me, but being pulled behind my back. When I looked over confused and saw the reason or this, my cheeks went red, and I let go, but he kept his hold on my hand.
"Um, can I have my hand back?" I asked him, feeling a bit shy as I did so, which confused the hell out of me. I didn't get shy around guys – of course, I also didn't hold their hands and forget I was doing so, either. It seemed that I was doing more than one new thing right now.
He seemed reluctant to release my hand, but eventually did so, picking up his own bag just as the bell rang. We were among the last ones to leave, and, once we'd cleared the door, he threw his arm around my shoulder once again as he walked me over to my next class. People still stared at the action, just as they'd done earlier, and Edward seemed to be a bit disappointed in noticing their preoccupation with us.
"So, when would be the best time to ask those questions you told me to ask at a later time?" he asked, and I realized what it was that had him disappointed. I thought about it for a bit. Considering that I now had a question I myself wanted answered, and the fact that I didn't want to wait all that long to get it answered, I wasn't really willing to wait until a non-school day to schedule time for a Q and A session between us. However, I also didn't think that skipping classes would be a very good idea to do two days in a row, unless I actually skipped the entire day, which I didn't want to do, since I would still have to bring Angela to and from school unless I simply gave her the keys to my truck, which did not sit all that well with me. I liked Angela a lot, but that my baby, and the only people that I trusted to drive it, other than myself, were Logan and Elena.
I then remembered that Angela wouldn't be staying over at my house after school, as she usually did since our agreement was struck. Her mother needed her for something back at her house, so I would need to take her straight there. This mean, of course, they I'd have plenty of time between school ending to when Charlie arrived home to be able to have any talk with Edward that wasn't appropriate for others to hear.
"You can always come over to my house after school," I told him. "You can either drive there yourself after dropping off your siblings at your house, or you can just come with me straight away after school and I'll just drive you home when you're are ready to leave." The tone I used when I said drive made it clear that I wasn't actually offering to drive him back, since I knew that he could run all the way there much faster than I could drive, even going at the fastest speed I was willing to do.
He looked thoughtful for a moment, obviously weighing each decision. Unfortunately, he hadn't come up with an answer when we arrived at my next class.
"Can I get my answer back to you when school ends?" he asked.
"Sure, I won't be leaving straight away, after all," I said, before parting from him.
I couldn't pay attention in this class anymore than the previous one. Now that I wasn't distracted by Edward, I had to wonder about the electricity that I'd felt flowing between Edward and I. The event seemed to trigger something in the back of my mind, but try as I might, I couldn't think of what it might have been. Eventually, I decided not to attempt to force the information into my mind – if I didn't do that, I might get lucky and have it come to me at a later point in time.
I wasn't surprised to see Edward waiting by the door when class ended, having almost expected it. Looking at him, I wondered what his answer would be, and was answered, not verbally, but by the fact that he followed me to my truck, asking if he should get into the passenger seat, or the back.
"The back," I told him, gifting him with a smile. "So, who's going to be driving your siblings home?"
"Jasper," he answered. "I have the class after Biology with him, so it was easy to give him the keys and inform him of this fact."
"He must have been curious over that fact," I said as I started the truck, pulling out my I-pod to find
"Oh he was, but, thankfully, he accepted my answer that I'd explain everything later," he said.
"That's good," I told him, just as Angela arrived. She was a bit surprised to see Edward, but took to seeing him alright. Once she had closed the door and slipped on her seat belt, I pressed play on my I-pod, starting to bob my head as I heard opening chords to Demon by Jay Park, starting to sing the lyrics when they started. As I pulled out, I noticed that Edward had a strange look on his face, and thought about asking, but decided not to at the moment.
Edward moved up to the front seat once we'd arrived at her house, as I was waving bye to her.
"Interesting song," he said, as I pulled out form Angela's driveway.
"It's one of my favorite Jay Park songs," I said. "The other one I like is Abandoned."
About halfway to my house, the music changed again, turning into an f(x) song, La Cha Ta. I think he was a bit surprised when, upon the lyrics starting, he realize that the song wasn't in English, but Korean; he was probably equally surprised when I started singing it without a problem as well.
"You know Korean?" he asked. I nodded, not stopping singing to the song, and I think he realized that he wasn't going to get to ask me a bunch of questions at the moment. I managed to get to the end of the song just as I pulled into my driveway, where I turned off my truck and grabbed my I-pod in one hand while opening the door with the other. I led the way into the house, throwing my bag onto the couch as I walked into the living room. Edward was right behind me, looking around with interest.
I waited as he had his fill, where he finally took a seat in the chair that Charlie usually sat in. I took my seat on the couch, looking over to him. I quickly spoke before he could.
"You know, there is something that is kind of irritating me a bit. What exactly did you mean, 'since I'm already going to hell'?" I asked him. He frowned, then sighed.
"I meant that, if I am ever killed, that's where I'm going to end up at, so acting on my selfish desires wouldn't cause a change in my destination," he said. The look on my face suggested that I wasn't quite getting what he was saying, which was pretty true and he decided to elaborate. "Since I don't have a soul, Bella, that means that I'm already destined for hell."
I blinked, sure that I had misheard him with the last bit. When the look on his face didn't change, I realized that he did mean what he was saying. And I couldn't help the reaction I had to hearing that.
Okay, there you go. I hope you liked it. As you can see, there is a cliffhanger - you want to know what her reaction is, you will need to review.
So, Please, please, please review, so I know that you like this chapter and want to know what happens next.
Strange Hearts