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Chapter Eleven: Danger

Part Two:

Bet-Girl

Edward, curled up in the corner of his room, lifted his head abruptly at the sound of frantic footsteps coming closer towards the attic. He scrambled clumsily to his feet and straightened his silhouette just as his eyes caught the familiar dark brown hue of Rose's hair. His wide smile, however, soon turned upside down as he took a peak at her face.

Rose's hair was disheveled and her face was moist with sweat. She was also panting heavily and had to bend down slightly, hands on her knees, to catch her breath. She took three deep breaths and looked up at him, her eyes wide.

"Edward," she breathed out heavily and he could feel himself shiver. The girl pushed herself up and was beside him within a second. Beside the slight flush of her cheeks, she was almost as pale as he was. "I made it…"

Edward watched her intently as she closed her eyes momentarily and breathed out a sigh of relief. "What happened?"

"Nothing, Edward," she reopened her eyes and grabbed his arm just a little above his elbow. Her gaze was hard and determined. "Nothing yet."

"Um…"

"Listen," she said before he had the chance to ask "You remember Jason and his friends coming here a few days ago, right?"

He could only nod, gulping loudly. How could he forget, those boys really gave him a scare.

"Yeah, well, the party's not off, like I thought it was. Some people from my school will be here any minute, and –" Rose paused as she saw and felt Edward shiver again, this time more violently. He was positively terrified.

"What do we do now?" his voice was barely above a whisper and if she'd been standing two steps away from him, she wouldn't hear him at all.

"We, uh," Rose bit her lower lip and let her hand release Edward's forearm and drop at her side. She had to form some sort of a plan to… To what, exactly? What did she want to do? 'Not let the party happen.' Was the first answer that came to her mind. 'Now, what can I do to achieve that?' If only they'd have more time!

Both Rose and Edward jumped as a salvo of car horns rang through the still silence. Time's up.

"Come with me, Edward," Rose heard herself whisper as she gripped Edward's arm once again, gently yet firmly "And keep quiet."

"B-but, I…"

"Not a word, Edward!" she turned to look at him and noted how frightened he was. His white face was glowing in the dark, his purplish lips were quivering and his eyes… His eyes, wide with panic and as black as their surroundings, were filed with pure fear to the brim. She could almost make out her own reflection in them; and she was sure she looked as afraid as he was.

But, Rose also had a plan, and that plan made her keep the panic at bay. For now.

"Come on, let's go," she urged silently and began to walk fast-pace down the stairs, careful not to let her friend slip on the stairs. It took them a while to reach the bottom of the stone staircase, but Rose assured herself that the hardest part was now over and that everything will go quicker from then on. She truly hoped so.

Rose, still clutching Edward's elbow, came up to the door and dared to open it slightly. She peered through the slit and couldn't help releasing yet another sigh of relief when she found nothing wrong. The cars still hadn't arrived. They still had a chance to get away unnoticed.

"Wher-"

"Shh!" she hissed, twitching at the unexpected sound of Edward's hushed voice just a little above her shoulder. "Later,"

Deciding it's now or never, Rose yanked the door open, startling Edward greatly (she felt the sharp tug as she did so), and pulled him behind her. The still bright light made the boy close his eyes and he stumbled, but managed to stay on his feet and let Rose drag him behind her, keeping up with her pace without much problem.

Rose had the plan ready by the time she opened the door. On the other side of the road leading up to Edward's mansion, there was a forest. It wasn't too dense, but most of the trees had thick trunks that could hide the two of them and help getting down unnoticed.

Edward followed Rose closely, not daring to utter a word, even though he was confused. Confused and terrified. They reached the iron gate and Rose opened it, dashing forward without looking around. Her eyes were glued to the nearest trees, wanting to hide herself and Edward in their shadows. Edward, however, being dragged along, risked a glance to his right and was blinded by two bright reflectors. He stumbled again.

Rose noticed the dark green sports car when she felt slight resistance coming from her friend. She pulled him even stronger and they were able to reach the first trees just as the car passed them by. The girl continued running for a few more seconds when the first car pulled to a stop. She sat down behind the thickest tree trunk she could find in the dark and settled Edward closely next to her. Just then she noticed that behind the dark green car were more vehicles and all of them were shaking with the maximum volume of music coming from the radio. Also, each car was packed with people.

Rose could feel Edward shiver violently as the cars stopped and those people began to come out. Never before, during all the years of his solitude, had he seen so many people on his grounds. Even the angry mob that had chased him hadn't crossed the threshold of his property. And the people he watched from the shadows of the forest… He did not like them. Not one bit. They all reminded him of Jim and his friends.

He felt a slight pressure on his arm and turned his gaze on Rose, who was watching him intently. "We need to go," she said in a whisper and began to rise quietly. Keeping her eyes on the group of young people at the entrance gate at the other side of the road, Rose helped Edward get to his feet and the two of them started moving towards the town, far away from the mansion.

Edward didn't resist at all until his home was too far away for comfort. He stopped suddenly.

"I can't." he uttered quietly, even though the cars and the teenagers were way out of earshot.

Rose turned to face him with a sympathetic, yet determined expression. "I'm sorry, Edward, but you don't really have a choice now." She tugged at his arm, but he refused to move "Come on, I'm sure there's more of them coming."

"More?" Edward turned to look at her, his black eyes wide and purplish lips quivering ever so slightly "More? But I… That's my home… My only… Why are they there? Why do they keep coming, even though you've told them not to?"

"Edward…" Rose trailed off, not knowing what to say. She could faintly take notice of her heart which was hammering loudly in her ribcage. "Listen, uh… We can't stay here for too long. I'll take you to my house -" she noted how he flinched upon hearing that "-to my room, and you'll stay there until tomorrow. Then you'll be able to return. Okay?"

"But…"

"No one will notice you," she cut him off, hearing another car engine from afar "I'll take you straight to my room and no one will ever know. I promise." She tugged at his arm gently "Now, let's go."

As they continued their journey down the hill, several other cars passed them and Rose recognized the familiar red sports car that belonged to one of Jason's closest friends. Gritting her teeth, the girl tried not to think about her childhood friend and how much of it was his fault.

Everything was a blur for both Rose and Edward. The scissor-handed boy could faintly recall the girl pulling him behind her and circling the houses so that no one would notice them if they look out the window. They arrived at the Wheelers' doorstep and Rose, after making sure her parents' car wasn't around, told him to follow her very closely and as silently as he could. He could barely heard her since her voice was so quiet and, it could be his imagination, but it was also shaky.

Maybe it was just him, but when Edward watched her, fidgeting, he noticed that her hands were shaking when she reached for the doorknob.

When the door opened with a soft click, his mind went blank. He could only watch and follow Rose like a faithful shadow. Rose, on the other hand, staid clear-headed. She had to. The lights in the living room were turned off, so she passed it without a thought. She climbed the stairs, stomping a bit louder than she should have to cover Edward's footsteps, and without the shortest pause at her brother's door yelled out "I'm back!". Rose quickened her pace even more and calmed down only when the door to her own room closed.

Instead of flicking the main light on, she went up to her bed and lit up a small lamp that was standing on the bedpost. Soft, pale yellow light flooded her room and she indicated Edward to sit down on her bed. The boy complied, looking around curiously.

The room wasn't big; though it seemed more than enough for one person. The big white-framed window was oppositely to the entrance and was the only one in the room, at the moment covered with cream white curtains. The bed – wide with cream and green covers – was set right next to the window; then there was a wooden drawer with many framed pictures on top of it. The opposite side of the room was slightly more clustered. Edward eyed the desk, the strange-looking square machine along with a mess of books and papers on top of it, them moved his eyes to the side to admire Rose's book collection which filled five shelves from floor level almost reaching the ceiling. In the corner oppositely to the bed, there was a wide closet.

Edward's eyes slowly rolled back to Rose, who seemed to calm down almost completely, yet still seemed to be in a hurry.

"Uh, listen, Edward," she began, sitting down next to him "I have to leave for a while, and I'll do my best to be back as soon as possible."

"L-leave?" Edward echoed, his eyes growing wide once again. "Why?

"I need to see Nina, it seems important." Rose stood up again and pointed at the closet. "No one's allowed here, especially at this hour, but if someone comes in, you have to hide there. If it's me, I'll call out by your name, okay?"

Stunned, Edward could only nod.

"Good," she breathed, chewing on her lip "I'll be back soon, okay? Promise."

With that, she turned around and opened the door quietly, then gave him one last reassuring gaze and vanished.

Edward was left alone with the swirling, overwhelming emotions, sitting on Rose's bed in her room. Away from the mansion, his home, that was currently occupied by strangers. Strange, sitting there didn't make him feel as lonely as he thought it would.

Nina, just like Rose, was home alone that night. Since she was an only child, she didn't have anyone to share the house with, anyone who'd prevent her from feeling lonely. When she heard the sound of knocking cut through the almost perfect silence, she jumped up from the couch where she was sitting curled up for the past 30 minutes. Nina opened the door to see an out of breath Rose.

"Sorry I'm late, got stopped by something really important, what is it?" the words were rushed and stringed into one sentence and Nina had to blink before bursting into chuckles. She stepped aside and let the brunette inside.

"Have a seat; we have the whole house to ourselves tonight!" Nina uttered in a cheerful voice, making Rose frown "Would you like a drink or something?"

"No, I…" Rose bit herself on the tongue to stop herself from continuing "No, thanks."

Nina's smile faltered visibly. "You seem like you want to get this over with fast. Come on."

Rose followed Nina to the spacious and light living room. She noticed a plate full of biscuits on top of a wood-and-glass coffee table and many papers crumpled into balls or ripped to shreds. Raising an eyebrow, Rose took a seat on the couch and waited.

"First of all, I want to ask you something." Nina stood on the other side of the coffee table and put her hands on her hips, staring Rose dead in the eye "Did you left me a note today or earlier this week in my locker?"

Rose shook her head without hesitation. "I didn't left you anything. Why?"

Nina stared at her for another second, then sighed and sat down next to her. She nodded towards the papers. "Take a look."

Rose reached for the crumpled notes and unfolded one of them.

WHORE

Eyes wide, she turned the paper to see what's on the other side. A red lipstick imprint of full lips without another word. Rose took another paper and unfolded.

Did that month gave you an idea that you're somebody?

Dream on.

The sentence on the third one was written with a pink glitter pen.

As J's gf, I thank you for the 50 bucks. He and I had a wonderful date. xoxo

"Who the hell gave you all th-" Rose's eyes landed on one of the shreds. It was ripped completely, but that one strap of paper that held the writing was in one piece.

Bet-girl

"Nina…" Rose looked up to see her friend watching her intently. The blonde shifted her gaze to the table silently, then shuddered. One tear rolled down her pale cheek, soon followed by a whole cascade.

Nina burst into an unexpected, uncontrollable crying fit.

A: I actually have a pretty good reason for such late update, you know. I had my driving exam (theory only, for now) the past Thursday and I had to study my ass off. But I passed :)

I hope you understand and will be patient with me. I promise to write as often as possible.

Once again, thank you for reviewing! Keep 'em coming! ;)