Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon blah blah blah...
*Special thanks to my beta Meepisms! because you awsome!*
Chapter 11 BPOV
The past few weeks have been pure bliss. Edward and I had been meeting in my back yard since that first meeting since, as he said, it was more convenient for me. During school, it was hard to pretend to ignore each other, especially after that first meeting.
The next day, what had happened didn't seem real at all. But after school he was waiting in the turf like he said he would and I couldn't be happier.
The days became routine. During school, we'd ignore each other although sometimes he would turn my way and give me a quick smile when his family wasn't looking. In biology, he would sometimes hold my hand under the desk and whisper something sweet too low for anyone else to hear. And sometimes he would just give me his breath taking crooked smile that I loved so much. That was usually enough to melt me.
After school I'd drive home as fast as I could (which wasn't too fast considering my truck couldn't go past fifty) and run to the backyard to see him. He was always there before I was. He would stand there and give me his crooked smile before I jumped into his arms eagerly. "Silly Bella," he would say. I'd always blush at my own desperation.
Most of the time we would just sit there and enjoy each other's company. We didn't need words to express our feelings; we just had to be there and everything was all right. Other times he would ask me completely random questions just to get to know me. He would ask nonstop and sometimes he made me feel like I was taking one those psychology test where you had to answer with the first thing that came to mind. Most of the questions, like the time he asked me my favorite gemstone, were questions that I would reference to him. It was embarrassing to confess how truly obsessed I was with him.
I told him about my life in Phoenix and about Renée and…Phil. And he wasn't too happy about it. He looked ready murder someone as soon as I told him. I kept telling him it was all right that it was no big deal but he insisted it was. He couldn't understand why I didn't hate him or why I had never told Renée. Phil loved my mom and that was good enough. I could always see the love that radiated off of him when he saw her. Phil rarely hit me and he wasn't a drunk—most of the time we could be civil to each other. But that didn't stop Edward from hating Phil.
Most of the time I would try to change the subject. I would usually ask about him. He seemed reluctant to tell me about him or his family. I imagined it had to do with his secret. That was okay with me. I trusted him and when he was ready, he would tell me. And I would still be there right by his side.
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"Bella," Edward said softly.
Today we were sprawled out in my backyard just like any other day. It was Friday, which obviously meant the weekend was coming.
I dreaded it.
He wouldn't come on the weekends, although he dropped by once or twice on Saturday. His family was starting to get suspicious. Sometimes at school I felt like I was being watched, but not by Edward. I would turn and one of his siblings would be conveniently walking by. I kept insisting to Edward that we should tell them, but he'd always brush me with a simple "not yet." The way he said it made me think he was afraid that something might happen if we did.
"Hmm?" I answered lazily.
"I have to leave early today and I won't be able to come by tomorrow either," he whispered sadly.
"Why?" I asked looking up at his ebony eyes.
"Emmett and I are going hiking tomorrow in Goat Rocks Wilderness, just south of Rainier," he said. In the back of my mind I distinctly remember him telling me he and his family went camping a lot.
"Oh," I mumbled, disappointed. "When will you be back?" I asked, trying to suppress the desperation in my tone. It was ridiculous how dependant I had gotten. Even more so in the last few weeks.
"I'm not sure. Maybe Monday—Tuesday at latest," he whispered. Four days? I felt disappointment flood through my body. The pain in his eyes was apparent, too.
"Are you going to be alright?" he asked anxiously.
"I'll be fine. I have other friends you know," I teased, trying to dissipate the heavy atmosphere.
"I was hoping we were more than friends," Edward said cheekily. I blushed.
He grinned, but changed the subject. "You know, I heard a lot of talk about a beach trip tomorrow. You should go," he encouraged. I blinked, just remembering the trip. Until now, I hadn't even considered going.
"Well… Angela has been trying to convince me to go," I pondered for a moment. "Maybe I will. I hope she still wants me to go," I murmured to myself.
He smiled, satisfied and kissed my forehead. His cold lips brushing along my skin just the slightest bit. "I have to go," he smiled sadly.
I tried to smile enthusiastically and said, "Have fun."
He chuckled at the effort and kissed my forehead one last time before he disappeared.
I sighed forlornly and reluctantly got up. I walked slowly to the house and made my way to the kitchen to make Charlie's diner. I decided to make spaghetti. It was simple, and it was fast. As it was cooking, I decided to call Angela to accept the invite to the beach tomorrow.
"Hello?" she answered after the third ring.
"Hi Angela," I said while stirring the spaghetti.
"Oh, hi Bella."
"Are you still going to the beach trip tomorrow?" I asked.
"Yes, have you changed you mind about going?" she asked hopefully.
"Yes," I tried to sound cheerful.
"That's great! We are all going to meet outside of Newton's Sporting Goods store tomorrow at nine am," she said excitedly.
"Great!"
"Okay I'll see you there. Bye!" The dial tone rang. I was actually a little excited about the trip, though I would miss Edward terribly.
I heard Charlie's cruiser pull up on the drive way and I set his dinner on the table.
"Hey Bells! How was day?" I heard Charlie ask as he came in. he pulled up a kitchen chair sat down and started to take off his shoes.
"Fine." Wonderful, magical. Though of course everyday for the past few weeks have been like that.
I put my dinner on the table and sat down. Dinner with Charlie has always been a quiet event. He attempted to start a conversation but it quickly failed. After dinner, I picked up the plates and began to do the dishes. When I was finished, I turned to face him.
"I'm going to go to first beach in La Push tomorrow with Angela and some friends from school, is that okay?" I asked.
"First beach?" he thought for a moment. I nodded.
"Sure, Bells. Have fun," he smiled.
"Thanks, Dad. Good night," I said as I walked upstairs.
"'Night Bells," I heard him say. A few moments later, I heard the T.V turn on to what sounded like baseball game.
I tried not thinking about how I wasn't going to see Edward for four days and instead tried to build up excitement for the beach trip tomorrow. I was glad to find myself exhausted enough to fall quickly into a dreamless sleep.
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I woke up the next day feeling refreshed and energized. I quickly got ready quickly and ate a pop- tart before I headed for Newton's Sporting Goods store. As I arrived, I saw a bunch of people that I recognized from school. I parked and climbed out my truck.
"Bella!" I heard Angela yell. I turned around and saw her waving at me. I waved back and headed toward her.
"Bella! You made it," I heard Mike call as he was running up to me. His smile was bright and enthusiastic.
I gave him a small smile and nodded, trying to get to Angela as quickly as possible.
"You want to ride with us? You could ride shotgun," he asked hopefully.
"Uh…" I looked at Angela desperately, who was talking to Ben Cheney. She noticed, and stepped in between Mike and me.
"Actually, Bella is going to ride with me and Ben," she said politely.
Mikes smile fell. "Oh, well okay. I'll see you there," he said and walked back to his car dejectedly. I tried to ignore the pang of guilt that soared through me. Why must Mike be so difficult?
Sighing, I turned around to Angela and smiled. "Thank you."
"No problem. I'm really glad you're coming," she said, getting into the car.
"Me too." I smiled and got in the back with a few others I recognized from school. The back wasn't too crowded. During the ride I looked out the window and watched the beautiful scenery fly by. The drive was short and we were there before I knew it.
We parked near the beach and got everything out of the trunk. I looked around and took in the breathtaking sight. The water sparkled along the horizon. The clouds were thin and wispy, not threatening the bright yellow sun above. The sand made a crescent shape along the coast.
"Come on, Bella," Angela said cheerfully, interrupting my thoughts.
We walked towards a crowd of people who had already arrived. They were sitting in a circle around a pile of drift wood. We sat down on some blankets Angela had thought of bringing.
"Hi, Bella," a familiar, annoying voice said. Great.
"Hi Mike," I said carefully. Couldn't he leave me alone for just a little while?
I turned around to see him smiling with a very annoyed Jessica trailing close by, her dark eyes flaring with resentment. This day just keeps getting better.
Mike took the seat to my right and Jessica took the one to the left, glaring daggers at me.
"Have you ever seen a drift would fire?" Mike asked cheerily, completely oblivious to the tension.
"No," I said shaking my head, not wanting to look up.
"Well you'll love it," he said confidently. He slid his hand into his front pocket and got out a small lighter. He lit a small branch and laid it beside the others then hit lit another and put in on the other side. I watched the strange blue green flames crackle towards the sky.
"The salt in the sand make it that color," he said offhandedly. I just nodded completely mesmerized. Thankfully, Jessica then captured Mike's attention.
A few moments later some people decided to go hiking in the near by forest. I declined and stayed with Angela and a few others.
On the other side of the fire, Lauren sat with Tyler listening to a CD player someone had brought. Lauren hadn't made any nasty comments since I'd arrived, keeping Tyler busy. Which meant he wouldn't be pestering me. The day was looking up.
Eventually the people returned from the hike to eat lunch. A few people whom I guessed were from the reservation started to arrive and sat around the fire with us. When the second group was about to go hiking I decided to go with them leaving Angela behind with Ben. Judging by the smile on her face I could tell she appreciated spending time alone with him.
As I walked behind the group, I didn't recognize them, they must have been from the reservation.
"Hi," someone said beside me, breaking me out of my thoughts.
I turned around and saw a young boy smiling at me. He had silky russet colored skin and crow black hair tied up in a pony tail at the nape of his neck. He had a childish face although he looked around fourteen or fifteen. His smile was bright and enthusiastic.
"I'm Jacob Black," he introduced himself, extending his hand. "You must be Isabella Swan." I grimaced at my full name.
"Bella," I corrected. I was hoping I wouldn't go through this again.
Then something hit me. Black.
"Oh! Your Billy's son," I exclaimed, feeling a bit stupid for not realizing it sooner.
"Yeah." He smiled.
"I probably should remember you," I said, recalling all those summers I came to Forks and visited La Push.
"Nah, I'm the youngest but you would probably remember my sisters Rachel and Rebecca," he said, and suddenly I recalled being lumped with two other girls when Charlie and Billy went fishing.
"How have they been? Are they here?" I asked, looking around, hoping to see a familiar face.
"No. Rachel got a scholarship to Washington State and Rebecca married a Samoan surfer and lives in Hawaii." Married. Wow. The twins were only a year or so older than me.
"Sorry I missed the wedding," I joked. "I didn't get an invitation."
"Neither did we. It was a Vegas wedding," he said casually.
"Really?" I asked, my eyes widening.
"No," he said curtly before he burst out laughing. My eyes narrowed before I joined in his laughter.
"It was a small wedding; close friends and family." I nodded understanding.
After that that the conversation flowed naturally. I found it was easy to talk to Jacob. After a while, I heard a familiar voice call my name.
"Bella, there you are," Mike called. Was he following fallowing me? Wasn't he in the last group?
He walked up to us, his eyes flashing to Jacob before locking on me.
"Hey Bella, who's this?" he asked, glaring at Jacob. His tone was territorial.
Jacob grinned. "My name's Jacob, I'm an old friend of Bella's," he said, extending his hand. It if it was possible, Mike looked even angrier. Regardless, he took Jake's hand and shook it with a firm grip. I guess he tried to scare Jacob but he didn't seem intimidated at all. Actually, he was just plain amused.
"So Bella," he said, choosing to ignore Jacob. "Do you want to go take a walk with me?" he asked. The tone of his voice implied that it was not an open invitation.
"Actually, Bella and I were going to go look at the tide pools," Jacob said, thinking quickly. Mike looked like he was about to kill Jacob.
"Yes we were," I said, relieved. With that, we walked towards the beach. I could feel Mike's stare boring into my back. As soon as we were out of hearing distance, we burst out laughing. After a while, it died down.
"Was that guy your boyfriend?" he asked, still chuckling.
"No," I said, irked. "He just thinks he is." Jacob barked a laugh. I grinned.
We walked around for a while, looking at the tide pools. Jacob pointed out the little crabs and other little animals living in them. Tide pools have always fascinated me. They were like miniature aquatic worlds.
Even though I was content, my mind couldn't help but wonder back to Edward. Where was he? What was he doing? I sighed. This was getting ridiculous.
"Bella, are you okay?" Jacob asked, concerned, breaking me out of my thoughts. I looked up to see his dark, worried eyes.
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" I said, putting up a happy face. He didn't look convinced.
"You look kind of depressed," he observed. "I know I can be a bit of a bore sometimes but definitely not enough to make someone depressed." I cracked a smile.
"No, it's not you," I reassured him.
"Thank goodness. I was worried I was turning into a total bore," he said, faking relief. I giggled.
I sighed again. "I kind of miss someone," I admitted. What an understatement.
"Your real boyfriend," he guessed, grinning slightly. I blushed scarlet.
"He's not my boyfriend," I muttered.
"Aha! So it is a he," he exclaimed victoriously. My blush deepened. I nodded and gave him small smile.
"I know what you mean," he sighed, suddenly looking down.
"You have a girlfriend?" I asked. He nodded, avoiding my questioning gaze.
"Her name is Ren," he said with goofy smile, before becoming gloomy again. "She's not here; she's visiting family down in Oregon and won't be back until Monday."
"Don't we make the perfect pair," I mused.
"Yeah," he agreed.
We walked some more down the beach and he began telling me about his family. He told me about his dad and how he ended up in wheel chair. In a way, he kind reminded me of myself. He took care of his dad physically like the way I took care of my mom mentally.
Eventually he started to tell me Quiluetemyths and legends. He spoke of great warriors who tuned into wolves and how they fought bravely for the tribe. He spoke of one woman who sacrificed her life to save her husband from them. He told me of them-their 's. The cold ones. Vampires.
I listened, fascinated as recited thehe told stories of the 'cold ones'. He told me how they looked so incredibly beautiful to any human and godlike in the sun when their skin would sparkle brilliantly like diamonds. He told of their incredible speed and strength. But most importantly, he told how they fed from humans and had sinister ruby eyes. I shuddered at his images.
"But then," he suddenly said. "A bigger coven came, normally the cold ones would only travel in pairs or by themselves, but this was a coven of five. My own great grandfather was one the ones protecting the tribe—he was chief of the tribe at the time. There were three males and two females. We were out numbered, but they didn't fight."
"They didn't?" I asked, completely engrossed.
He shook his head. "No, instead they offered a treaty. They claimed they only fed on animals. They had strange yellow eyes and they offered that as proof. So, my great grandfather accepted the treaty. The terms were that they could stay as long as they don't step foot into our territory and as long as they didn't break their word and fed on humans."
"Did they betray you?" I asked.
"No," he shook his head. "Eventually they left and over time two more joined them—one male, and one female."
"Did they ever come back?" I asked.
His voice dropped an octave lower and his face turned sinister. "Yes."
I gasped and suddenly Jacob yelled, "Boo!" and I screamed loudly. He burst out laughing, clutching his sides. I glared at him.
"You should have seen your face!" he managed between his laughter.
I looked away childishly, turning bright red.
"I'm sorry Bella, I didn't mean to scare you," he chuckled, not at all sounding sincere.
"I wasn't scared," I muttered, aggravated.
"Right," he said under his breath.
After a while, I asked curiously. "Is it true? The legend?"
"More or less," he shrugged. "My great grandfather was chief at the time, though I don't really believe all this vampire nonsense," he said annoyed. "It's ridiculous, they think they came back two years ago and since then none of them would go near Forks."
"Forks?" I questioned curiously.
He nodded. "That seems silly," I concluded.
"It is! They won't even go to the hospital since Doctor Cullen started working there," he ranted.
"Doctor Cullen?" his name being mentioned shocked me.
"It's just silly superstition," he brushed it off.
"They think he is a-a…vampire?" It was difficult for me to get the word out.
"Yes," he said, hesitating. "The same ones." I gasped again.
Suddenly everything warning Edward ever gave me came flooding back. Every time he had called himself, a monster and every time he had apologized out of the blue made sense now. I thought about all the other things Jacob had mentioned. The speed, the strength, the beauty…
"I'm not sure how you'll take it," he had said.
"I'm a monster."
I'm a monster.
Edward was vampire.
The realization came at me hard. I had never in my wildest dreams ever would have guessed or even imagined the possibility. What if…
"Bella," I heard different voice call.
I broke out of my thoughts and saw Mike with Ben and Angela trailing close behind him.
"We've looking all over for you. I thought you might of have been kidnapped," he said locking eyes with Jacob.
"Jacob was just telling me some stories," I said defensively.
"Bella," Angela interrupted before Mike could say anything. "We're leaving. It's starting to sprinkle," she said, shielding her head from rain droplets.
I looked up and felt rain drops on my face. The sky was covered with a thin layer of grey clouds. The shower would not last long.
"Oh, then I guess we're leaving." I turned to say goodbye to Jacob.
"As soon as I get my license I'll come up to Forks to visit," he promised. "And I'll bring Ren. I have a feeling you two will be great friends." I smiled at that. I quickly waved goodbye and moved back towards Mike and Angela.
"Bye Bella, it was nice to see you again," Jake called after me. I saw how much that bothered Mike and suppressed a giggle.
We walked to car and it seemed everybody was leaving, trying to seek refuge from the rain. I got into the back seat with the others and secured my seatbelt. As Ben drove away I started to think about my revelation. Could Edward really be a vampire? This idea seemed to make more sense than the other theories I had had, but…Edward wasn't like the horrible pictures Jacob had painted in his stories. He was different. He was good.
They all were.
We reached the store sooner than I expected and I got out and made my way towards my truck.
"Bye, Angela," I said as I climbed in.
"Bye, Bella! See you Monday," she called back.
The drive home was similar to the car ride. I kept thinking over the possibilities of Edward's identity. When I arrived home, I noticed the cruiser was already in the driveway. I parked and quickly dashed to the front door to avoid the rain.
"Hey kid, how was the beach trip?" Charlie asked as soon as I walked in.
"It was…interesting," I concluded. "I met Billy's son, Jacob." He face lit up when I mentioned his friend.
"Really? Nice boy," He said satisfied.
"I'm going to call it a night, I'm pretty tired."
"Alright, goodnight Bells."
As I got ready for bed I tried to push everything about Edward being a vampire out of my head. I needed to think rationally. I was starting to sound completely insane.
After lying in my bed trying miserably not think about him I felt my eyes start to droop. I really was physically and mentally exhausted. I welcomed the exhaustion and fell gladly into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I know what you thinking "OMG, YOUR NOT DEAD!"
I'M SO SORRY! Long chapter to make it up to you? A guarantee that the next chapter will come alot sooner?
I know it's been two months since I've updated. Do I have excuses? your probably wondering. Of course I do. Do you guys really want to hear them? I don't think so...but I'm going to tell you anyway because I really need to rant a little. School has been a nightmare...I haven't had a decent night sleep in months! And well honestly I have been kind of depressed lately and I don't really feel like writing...I procrastanated alot with this chapter and I'm really sorry, these chapters seem to be getting longer and it's starting to feel more like work than fun-sigh-
Anywho...
*Note: I know this seems very Twilightish right now but just hang in there I promise this story is worth you time...
and if not then let me be struck by...A FLYING ICE CREAM TRUCK...AND LIVE!...WITH LITTLE INJURY! (Haha! Spongebob is funny!)
***Don't forget to Review!***
Midnight Fangs
=D
