I am so sorry I neglected this story for, what, a whole month(?) when it was finally starting to get good. Inexcusable. Well, this is my first update in 2011! I hope it's a great year for everybody.
Chapter 11: Enemies
Elle sat frozen and - for once in her life - mute, clutching the Volvo's leather seat with both hands until Edward successfully whipped it around the impossibly sharp bend and the road straightened out again. He picked up even more speed, and she decided that she didn't want to ride with him anymore until he stopped pretending he was driving in the Indianapolis 500.
She found the lock on her door, undid it...and then Edward noticed what she was doing. He punched a button, and the locking mechanism clicked back into place. "Elle, what do you think you're doing?" he asked, oddly calm for a guy who was driving over one hundred-fifty miles per hour on a narrow, dangerously curvy road.
"Well, you've obviously gone crazy," she replied with equal calmness, "so I've decided I want out of your car."
"Not happening," he said instantly.
"Wanna bet?" She reached for the button that would release her seatbelt.
"You cannot jump out of a moving vehicle at this speed. You'd be killed," Edward patiently explained.
"Grass is pretty thick; I think I could make it so long as I don't hit a tree." Elle freed herself from the seatbelt and went for the lock again.
Edward grabbed her arm and pulled her closer to himself, easily restraining her so that she couldn't reach the controls that would open any doors or windows. "I'm sorry, I can't let you do that. Would you mind telling me why you are so averse to spending another minute in this car with me?"
"Because you're driving like a crazy person - and now you're only using one hand! Oh, and let's not forget the way you threw me in so that I almost broke my nose on your stupid gearshift! I'm not feeling especially safe with you at the moment."
"Very well." With a sigh, Edward slammed on the brakes so abruptly that Elle would have gone flying through the windshield if he hadn't been holding her by the arm; his grip kept her in her seat more effectively than the car's safety restraints would have. "There, is this better?"
Elle checked the speedometer and decided that ninety mph was a perfectly reasonable speed. "Okay, now that I'm not worried about dying, you can explain why you were channeling Mario Andretti in the first place."
Edward didn't answer right away; first he scanned their surroundings, pushing his telepathy to its limits. The Quileute wolf was still tailing them, still spewing a vitriolic mental rant about vampires, but not planning to attack them since Edward didn't appear to be making an afternoon snack out of Elle. As if I would ever do that! Even if he would, it would be much more quick and painless and much less sloppy than the wolf's mental picture suggested - he seemed to think vampires had never heard of table manners.
"If you're gonna ignore me, you can just let me out here," Elle said loudly. "I can walk to Port Angeles."
"Did you remember my advice not to pick fights with the Quileutes?"
"Yeah, I remembered."
"Did you follow my advice?"
"I didn't pick any fights!" Elle shouted. "I wouldn't bother with those creeps anyway. I just minded my own business, but this big guy, Sam, kept staring at me like I smelled bad!"
Edward's razor teeth ground together. "Is that so?"
"Yes, he did, which is ridiculous - I took a shower last night. Then Lauren brought you up and gave me crap for allegedly being your girlfriend and not inviting you, and Sam was way too interested in what she said. I could tell he didn't like the idea of us going to that dance next weekend...like it made him angry. That's freaky, right?"
She watched his reaction closely; Edward imagined that he could feel her steely eyes burning into him like acid, eating away at his defenses. He couldn't pretend ignorance here; she would never believe his act. Far too perceptive for a human, he thought again. "I suppose I should tell you... They don't like my family in La Push." He hoped she might let him leave it there, but no such luck.
"Why not?" she asked swiftly. "What'd you do to them?"
"I assure you, no one in my family has ever done the Quileutes any harm. It's just that we... Well, you've noticed that we're different. Everyone notices."
Elle picked up the faint sadness in Edward's tone, but she had other things on her mind besides comforting him. "Most people just avoid you, though. Sam and these two other big guys he went off with, who also kept sneaking looks at me when they thought I wouldn't see, looked like they hated you."
Edward shrugged. "Nobody really likes us - the Quileutes are simply taking the common sentiment a couple steps further." It was at least a part of the truth, minus the tiny detail of the Cullens' outcast status being due to their vampirism; Elle accepted it, much to Edward's relief.
"Oh. Well, screw 'em," she said in her casually brazen way. "Screw all of them. I like you."
She spoke the words as if they were no big deal, which they weren't - to her. Her unwavering acceptance meant more than she would ever know to Edward, though he seriously doubted she would be so understanding if she knew the true extent to which he and his family differed from everyone else in town. She wouldn't like me if she knew what I am; she'd hate me. She would think I'm a monster. Vampires didn't need to breathe, but that thought made him feel like he couldn't, like all the air had been sucked out of the car. He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Elle, and realized that he couldn't stand it if she saw him the way he saw himself: as a soulless, unnatural creature. I'll just have to make certain she never finds out.
###
The rest of their drive passed uneventfully, apart from a single incident in which Edward's telepathy alerted him that they were about to meet a police officer, forcing him to actually obey the speed limit for once. He and Elle waved at Charlie Swan as they passed him, and then Edward sped back up to one-twenty as soon as they were safely out of range of the police chief's radar. Elle pretended it was perfectly natural for him to know when there was a cop approaching. Edward, of course, noticed her pretending. Neither of them mentioned it.
When they reached Port Angeles, it crossed Edward's mind to ask if he could take Elle to dinner, but he quickly dismissed the idea. The wolf had caught up with them somewhere on the road; it would be foolish to assume he couldn't catch them again once he had changed to his human form and gotten dressed. He had orders to tail Edward and Elle as long as they were together (but without interfering unless Elle seemed to be in danger) and to report back to his alpha after they split up.
If I leave her at home and go my own way, the wolf should follow me, then leave once it becomes obvious I'm not going to hunt in town. One would think that after all these years they should know we won't break the treaty... But that is unimportant. All that matters is getting the dog away from Elle; I can handle whatever he does afterward. In any case, we probably should not go to dinner together - she could hardly fail to notice that I don't eat. I suppose I could eat just enough to keep her from getting suspicious...
The vampire's stomach clenched - he really hated the thought of eating human food. No, I won't do that, he decided. Not even as a way to prolong his time with his favorite human. He glanced over at her side of the car and saw her staring out her window at downtown Port Angeles. A quick peek into her mind told him she was admiring the stores' and restaurants' neon lights. She was completely oblivious to the fact that they were being stalked by a werewolf...who happened to be intent on protecting her from her vampiric best friend. Lucky girl.
Edward drove to her apartment building, walked her to her door, and then stood there, knowing he should leave but not wanting to.
Elle picked up on his inner conflict and tried to help him out. "Do you wanna come in?"
"No thank you. I don't want to cause you any trouble." He was referring to trouble with the wolves; Elle's mind went in a different direction.
"Daddy isn't home yet, and what he doesn't know won't hurt him."
"Oh." Edward was thrown by Elle bringing up her father, since he hadn't been anywhere in her thoughts a second ago - there she went pulling things out of the blue again. "Well, I suppose not, but still..."
"You weren't thinking of my dad," Elle said shrewdly. "So what's the problem? No, don't tell me, let me guess - you think the creepy guys from La Push who hate your family followed us here, and they could be watching us right...this...minute." She lowered her voice to an ominous undertone, then laughed.
Edward made himself laugh with her, though his was faked. She was joking...wasn't she? There was no way she could be aware that they had indeed been followed...right? With Elle Bishop, he could never be as sure as he would have liked. "Yes, they probably are, but don't worry. I'll protect you. You know that, don't you? I would never let anything happen to you."
Elle stared up into his liquid gold eyes, eyes that almost seemed to burn in their intensity, and didn't know whether to feel comforted or frightened. It was definitely better to hear Edward say that he wanted to protect her than that he intended to harm her, but at the same time she was disturbed by his perfect sincerity - like he actually believed she might be in some kind of danger. "Um...thanks...I think. Well, that's great. I'm going inside now." She scooted through her door at twice her usual speed and shut it with more force than she usually applied.
Edward heard the distinct metallic clink of her locking the door, both with the regular lock and the deadbolt, and cursed himself for a fool. Instead of reassuring her, he had upset her, and she was so rarely upset that he felt terrible about it. At least she was safe - from both werewolves and vampires - at least for tonight. And he would see her again on Monday, in school; till then he would leave her alone. Hopefully that would be enough time for her to forget the weekend's stranger events.
###
Jared breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the silver Volvo pull out of the apartment complex's parking lot and onto the road leading out of Port Angeles. The leech was leaving, the girl was still alive, and he could finally quit crouching in bushes like some perverted stalker and go home.
Sam and Paul met him in the forest and viewed his memories of Edward and Elle via the pack's telepathic link; he in turn felt their amazement and disgust at what they saw.
Filthy bloodsucking leech, Paul snarled, hackles raised. I always thought it was sick, the way they like to pretend they're human, but this is a new low even for them.
At least he hasn't yet harmed the girl. That's something, Sam pointed out. Still, this is worrisome. I'll report this to the elders - they've been waiting for more information before making a decision. Good work, Jared.
Thanks. Before you go, Sam... He hesitated. You saw how he suddenly shoved the girl into the car - what if he somehow knew I was there? I was sure I stayed upwind of him, but...
What if he did? You weren't in their territory. Under the terms of the treaty, they have no grounds for complaint, Sam assured him. Now go home, both of you. I'll call you when the elders decide what our next move is. He watched until the other members of his three-man pack were out of sight, then he too started running.
The Council of Elders had assembled in Billy Black's backyard since he was the least mobile of the bunch, and were anxiously awaiting Sam's return. When he stepped out of the woods in human form, they all sat up straighter in their lawn chairs (or, in Billy's case, wheelchair).
"Well? What did Jared find out?" Harry Clearwater demanded.
"It's what we were afraid of. One of the Cullen males, the one with bronze-colored hair who looks like a teenager, met her near Newton's Olympic Outfitters. She acted...way too comfortable with him. He drove her home, and Jared thought for a moment that he was going to go inside with her, but it didn't happen."
The elders let out a collective sigh of relief; there was no way Jared could've got close enough to see what went on inside Elle's apartment and remained undetected.
Sam continued, detailing the disturbing closeness displayed by Edward and Elle. "The Cullens are odd in number," he concluded. "They're all mated, except this one. Judging by what I heard on the beach today, I'm afraid that may be about to change."
"The treaty explicitly states that they're not allowed to bite or change anyone," Billy said sharply.
"Can we be sure he's planning on changing her?"
"It's better than the alternative... A vampire trying to mate with a human girl..."
This brought grumbling and noises of outright disgust from everyone present. "We can't sit by and let this happen," Harry insisted. "The girl might not be part of our tribe, but she is human and therefore needs to be protected from these monsters. This relationship has to be discouraged."
"Paul says the Cullens need a reminder of the treaty's finer points," Sam said. Paul might be impetuous and hot-tempered, but that didn't mean his suggestions were entirely without merit.
Billy Black agreed. "That's not a bad idea. The only problem is finding a safe place to talk with them."
This momentarily stymied them - it wasn't like anyone in La Push had the Cullens' telephone number. It was Sam who finally came up with a solution. "Forks High School's spring dance - the bloodsucker and his human will be there next Saturday night. I can crash the dance, get him alone when she goes to the bathroom to check her makeup."
Everyone agreed that this was a great idea. "Sam, you and your pack will keep watching them whenever you can, but make sure you don't encroach on their territory."
"That shouldn't be a problem, since the girl lives in Port Angeles."
"Good. Keep an eye on them, and assuming the girl survives the week with him..."
"My pack will make sure she does," Sam vowed. "And on Saturday night, I'll tell the leech he'd better break it off with his human girlfriend and find another vampire...or else."
Next time: Someone unexpected shows up to help Elle get ready for the dance, Edward tries to determine if she can actually dance, Sam makes his move...and someone else does as well.