Everyone watched us as we walked together to our lab table as if we were puppies behind glass. I noticed that he no longer angled the chair away from me, but came closer to myself, edging the chair closer and closer. It wasn't long till he moved so near that our legs were brushing one another. I put my bag on the table top and laid my head on it, waiting for class to start. I felt a disturbance on my scalp, a slight pulling of my hair. I looked up from the wall that was created by the dark strands, seeing Edward twist and turn it with his fingers, playing with hair as if it was a toy.
When Mr. Banner backed into the room the second I lifted my head - what superb timing the man had - pulling a tall metal frame on wheels that held a heavy-looking, outdated TV and VCR. A movie day - the lift in the class atmosphere was almost tangible on my skin. "Since you've all did pretty well on your test on Friday, I've decided to let you all watch a movie, you may be familiar with it." Mr. Banner shoved the tape into the reluctant VCR and walked to the wall to turn off the lights.
And then, as the room went black, I was suddenly hyper-aware that Edward was sitting less than an inch from me. I was stunned by the unexpected electricity that flowed through me. I picked my head all the way up so I could see the screen. I eventually turned my body a bit, Edward still played with my hair but helped me lean on his chest, his nose in my hair.
The opening credits began, lighting the room a decent amount, enough to see the outlines of most bodies but other than that your line of sight was only in front of you. Edward and I sat almost all the way in the back, with no biology partners sitting behind us.
I felt a cold hand press its way onto my arm, moving from my shoulder to my hands, before entangling them. It was like electricity - a voltage shock running up my arm. It was weird. I'd never felt something like that before, with anyone. I leaned farther into the cold body, closing my eyes and trying to get myself as attached to his torso as possible. The cold grounded me, reminded me that this wasn't just anyone with me, but Edward.
The hour seemed very long. I couldn't concentrate on the movie - I didn't even know what subject it was on, all I knew was that it had Chris Brown in it. I tried unsuccessfully to relax, but the electric current that seemed to be originating from somewhere in his body never slackened. His grip around me tightened and his face eventually went to the nape of my neck, burying himself in the thick of my hair.
It felt almost too soon when Mr. Banner flicked the lights back on. I didn't want to leave his embrace, honestly. Edward's arms tightened around me one more time before letting go and standing, helping me up too. I grabbed my book bag and put it around my shoulder, my other hand was still occupied by the Cold One.
"Well, this was nice." His hand squeezed just a bit in emphasis and we began heading for the door. "Last class," he encouraged as if it would make anything better. I groaned but nodded reluctantly. Walking to my last class of the day, we got to the door and I turned to Edward, going to say my goodbye.
It was lodged in my throat when I saw him, he looked almost sad... pained. I gave a sad smile in return, and went to my tiptoes, kissing his cheek in reassurance. "I'll see you after school." He nods and places a kiss on my forehead.
"I'll see you after school," he repeats. I show him a genuine smile now and give his hand a small squeeze before letting go. I turn to my door and head to my desk, trying to ignore the stares and wandering eyes of my peers. Once I'm sat in my seat, Austin comes up to me from the blue.
"Sup, Gwen?" he asks, sitting atop of a desk in front of me.
I chuckle. "Nothing much, what about you?"
"'Nothing much'?" he incredulously asks. "You're dating Cullen."
I take a deep inhale and then exhale. "It's no one's business but yes, I am." I mentally curse Lauren, who I should have known wouldn't keep her big mouth shut. I wish I never had answered her. But at the same time, I do. I like people knowing I care of Edward.
"I don't like it," he says, as if he gets a say in who I'm with. I feel anger bubble in the back of my throat. What right does he have to make an opinion on a relationship he hadn't even been apart of?
"Good thing you don't have to," I snark back. This causes him to blanch a bit away, unused to me being an ounce rude. But, unfortunately for me, he reagained his courage again to keep talking.
"He looks at you as if you're something to eat," he mumbles. I mentally laugh at this, if only he know. But to him, I scoff, rolling my eyes.
"Yeah, whatever Austin, get to your seat." I gesture to his desk across the room and he glowers at me before going there.
APUSH was pretty easy, we just had to do a quick paragraph on how the Roaring Twenties forced or didn't force (based on your thought process) the economic decline.
"Psst," a voice whispered. I turned to see another student, girl with black hair and a single blue strip in it, both artificial. I believe her name was Kelly - a freshman - or something that started with a 'K'. "Can you grab my pencil for me?" She pointed at my feet and I craned my neck to see what she was getting at. Her pencil was near my feet on the carpeted floors and I nodded, reaching and squirming to get it without getting off of my seat. While I went to sit up I had hit my head on my desk... hard. I could feel the goose egg already forming. This caused stifled laughter throughout the room and I just handed the girl her pencil back, her face trying to contain the laughter that just about escaped her chest. "Thanks," she giggled. I only nodded and began to rub the back of my head, waiting for this class period to end.
I got out of the room pretty quickly, just so I wouldn't be stopped by Austin again, for it to be from our earlier conversation or me getting hurt via the desk. I briefly thought as I walked down the halls that maybe I was a magnet for accidents. I walked through the hall with my head down, my eyes wandering and not really paying any attention to my surroundings.
But just as I'm getting to the parking lot I realize... I didn't bring my truck. "How was, AP US History?" A hand slipped into mine. Its familiar cool touch brought me a sense of peace over the panic I had just a moment before. I had forgotten Edward had taken me home, would he be willing to take me home too?
"It was alright," I reply, giving a small smile. "How about you?"
"Alright." His face went from sunshine and rainbows to that of annoyance. "That Austin kid's getting on my nerves," he says, eyes tight and slightly mad.
I laugh at this, allowing him to pull me to wherever. "Listening, again?"
The vampire smiles innocently. "How's your head?" I bump my whole body against him and he allows to be shoved in jest, but his hand goes from mine to around my shoulders.
"You're an ass," I reply. Once we're getting near Edward's car I realize there's a large sum of students surrounding it. Upon closer inspection, it's clear they're surrounding the red BMW, drooling over the red paint and luxurious brand. I put a hand over my mouth from letting my laughter escape and just head for the Volvo's passenger seat. The other kids don't even turn their heads upon Edward opening his door and slamming it closed.
"You guys do try to keep a low profile, right?" I ask in a joking tone.
"We try," Edward jokes back putting the car in reverse and making sure not to hit any of the car enthusiasts. "Still think I'm an ass?"
"I'll think you're an ass till the day you die," I smirk. "But a cute one."
"A cute one?" he laughed. I only nodded, biting my lower lip to hide how happy I truly was. "So, Ms. Swan," I liked the Ms. Swan bit, not the whole Abendorth-Swan and he seemed to have picked up on it. "This Saturday."
"This Saturday," I agree. We're out of the parking lot, still receiving stares despite it not being about the car. I watch as the large green trees pass us by, this time at a reasonable speed. "We're staying near, Forks?"
"Yes, we are." He nods, a small smirk dancing on his lips. "Would you like me to meet Chief Swan?"
My stomach turned to knots. Edward meeting Dad? That's what... normal people do, right? We're normal... yeah, we're normal. I can only hope Dad doesn't pull the 'I'm a cop and I have a gun' cliche on him. Not like a gun would hurt Edward or anything. "If you want," I hesitantly replied. "Don't do it, if you don't want to, though."
"I want to, he's your dad and you respect and love him a great deal. Not to mention, anyone garnering your respect demands my own." We're soon parked in front of my house, the cruiser not back from its afternoon shift yet, which I found peculiar. "And I believe I owe him an apology for keeping you out yesterday."
I wince the tiniest bit. "You heard all of that… didn't you?"
He nods, a small smirk. "I did. Maybe I can give you a lighter sentence if I apologize."
I snort, shaking my head and start unbuckling. "No, Edward. You don't have to apologize, it was on me that I got grounded."
"Still doesn't mean it won't make a good impression." He shrugs off his seatbelt and I go do the same - picking up my book bag while I'm at it from the car floor. I get out of the car, stepping onto the curb and to the white house's paved walkway/
"Come on then, Cullen. Come to my humble abode." I take my keys from the side pocket of my bag and force them into the cold lock so I can enter the warm shelter. I rub my feet on the mat at the front of our door to get any rain off of it before kicking off my shoes. "Since Dad's not home yet, I'd guess he'll be back in an hour, maybe less." I set my bag on the couch, and watch Edward's reaction to my home. At first, it looks like he's looking at the taxidermied deer head Dad killed last hunting season but under closer inspection; he's staring at the pictures. One, in particular, caught his attention, his fingers tracing over the lines of the bodies.
"How old were you?" he asks in a quiet voice, taking it off of the nail the frame hung from and looking at it. He was sitting next to me in less than a second and when the legends say that they can move fast I didn't expect him to be that fast despite what I had seen with the van almost hitting me. I jumped at his speed, causing the Cold One to look a bit sheepish. "Sorry," he mutters.
"It's fine, I'm just going to get used to it." I wave him off before scooting closer to him on his side of the couch. "I think - when this photo was taken - I was just a little older than seven. About four months after I was taken from the house if memory serves me correctly."
"You don't look any older than four, and that's at the most." I chuckle, he had me there.
"Well yeah, I guess you're right. It's one of the reasons I'm so tiny. Not Alice tiny, mind you, but still small considering my parents are both over six foot. I wasn't given proper nutrients till I was six, which was past the imperative development stage. I think that was the day, I first had real food. Not pumped into a tube or something." I shrugged and leaned my head on his shoulder.
"You're so nonchalant about all of it," he whispers. "Yet, I can feel my skin boiling with hatred for people I had never met." I sigh deeply, I was hoping not to have to bridge this topic, but I wanted him to know, I like him... a lot. I felt like I belonged somewhere, maybe not loving him just yet. But I feel as if that will quickly change.
"I've had years, Edward. And a lot of therapy. I'll get night terrors once in a while but nothing too substantial. I know it's a lot, but I'm getting better every day. And you help contribute to it. So, thank you." I craned my neck upwards to place my lips lightly on his cheek, hoping I'm not crossing any lines that have been drawn.
An arm went behind my back, bringing me closer to him, one of my legs nearly atop of his own. Delicate but firm lips placed themselves on my forehead. "And I hope, one day, you'll never have to think about them again."
A thought pressed its way to the forefront of my mind. "What about you?" His face portrayed his confusion. "You know a lot of my past, but... I don't seem to know a single thing about yours."
"Mine was bleak, a day in, day out type of deal," he explains. "Move to a city, stay there for a bit, move somewhere else. Rinse and repeat."
"What about your life before you turned?" I asked, molding myself to his side. Despite the chills it sent up my spine, I was comfortable.
"Hmm, I don't remember much. I was born in 1901 as Edward Anthony Masen, to Edward and Elizabeth Masen," he tells me. "We lived in Chicago. It was 1918 and the Spanish Influenza had just reached us. My father passed quickly, in his sleep I was told. My mother wasn't so lucky. She suffocated in her own blood, coughing. But she managed to talk to the doctor before she passed. That he would save me, no matter what."
I nodded in understanding, swallowing my sadness. "The doctor was Carlisle, wasn't it?"
He nodded. "Yes." My hand rubbed his arm, trying to give a form of reassurance. "I think she knew, what he was. But he decided on granting her final wish. I was just about to die, a spare few minutes from it when Carlisle picked me up and ran to his apartment. I thought I was being carried to heaven." He chuckled. "But soon enough, I believed I had sinned, somehow. So badly that I had been forced to suffer in the deepest pits of Hell. Once he bit me, the venom went through my veins and it burned. It was an excruciating pain for three days, no rest for my human body. But when it stopped, I was scared. Not of what I was, but the voices I heard. It was horrifying, I couldn't do anything about it.
"I eventually left Carlisle a decade later, despite his want to help me." His eyes glaze over the tiniest bit, thinking of the best way to phrase the words that wa the story of his life. "While I was gone... I turned into a monster," he started to become wary, his arm slackening and slipping from me, as if he was preparing me to bolt… or maybe himself. "I killed people, people with ill intentions, but people all the same. It wasn't till 1939 did I stop and look for Carlisle again, hoping he could help me acclimate to his diet once more." He looked at me from the corner of his eyes, expecting me to say something.
"You tried to do good," was all I could manage out at first. "You may have killed people, but from what you've said... you only did it to those who deserved it." When he opened his mouth to argue I raised a finger, getting as close to him as possible. "You changed. Edward. You changed for the better and have seemed to stick to it. I'm proud."
He wanted to argue. He wanted to argue so badly, it was almost funny. But his head snapped to the window, looking out. "Your dad's almost here." I turned to the window not seeing the cruiser even down the street. I waited for a few moments till I saw the white car with black decals. It turned into the driveway, parking next to my truck. His eyes stayed trained on the Volvo for the entirety of his walk to the door.
Then I realized... Edward and I were almost on top of each other. "Put the photo back," I whispered in a hiss, moving to my book bag and grabbing some of my Spanish homework out and a pencil. I tried to sit nonchalantly, looking as unappealing as possible so Dad didn't think we were doing anything... inappropriate, for the lack of a better word.
The door opened and it seemed almost as if Edward hadn't moved at all but the photo was back on the wall so he had to have moved I would gather. When I heard the door click open, I turned. "Gwen, do you know whose car is on the curb-" the words died off on his lips. His eyes were going to pop out of his head before he blinked, giving them their much-needed moisture. "Edward, right?"
"Yes, sir." Edward stood and put his hand out for the other to shake. "I'm Doctor Carlisle Cullen's son."
I decided to add to it. "He's also the one that practically saved me in the car crash, put me on the gurney and everything." This caused my father to harden, just a bit. He was beaming with a new-found respect for Edward, shaking his hand with eager. Edward made a show of wincing just a bit while holding his hand but they soon let go.
"Well, thank you, Edward. Gwendolyn is one of the few things that are right in the world, I don't know what I would've done if she had to leave me." Edward nodded and looked over at me.
"I know," he spoke softly. "About her being one of the few things right in the world. That's why when I heard she had been grounded for our outing yesterday, I had to come apologize. I was the one who kept her out late, we went on a date to the Italian Restaurant in Port Angeles - I uh. Wanted to make a good first impression. We talked and dined longer than planned. I also wanted to ask, if it would be alright with you if I take her out on a second date this Saturday. It's the dance this weekend, and Gwen doesn't seem so keen on going."
Dad looked taken aback. His eyes were wide in surprise at the formality and while I wasn't to keen on the dance, I wasn't to keen on Edward asking my dad for his permission to take me out. But it seemed to make a lasting impression on Dad for all intents and purposes.
"Thank you, son." Son? "I accept your apology, but Gwen does know better. But I think this Saturday will be good for her." He turned to me, his eyes gleaming. "And you and I need to talk once our guest leaves. Will you be staying for dinner? Gwen makes a mean fish fillet." He now turned to Edward.
"No sir, my mom is making a huge buffet for family night tonight, so I won't be able to. I'm sorry."
"Don't worry about it, say hello to your mother and father for me." He waved before heading up the steps, probably to drop off his gun belt and dress into some civilian clothes.
"That... went better than expected," I tell the vampire.
Edward lightly snorted. "You wouldn't say that if you listened to what he thought. For half of the conversation, he was thinking of the nearest All Girls Academies that he could afford to send you to." I belted out in laughter, hunching over trying to catch my breath.
"Oh, oh gosh." I started to wipe my eyes from the tears that started to form.
"I should start to head out," he tells me, kissing my forehead quickly. "I'll see you later."
"I don't want you to leave," I sigh.
"I can come back later tonight," he tells me, standing up. I follow suit, moving my arms around his middle.
"Please?" One arm went over my shoulders and the other massaged my scalp.
"You need to eat, and Esme's going to go crazy if I don't get home soon." Another soft kiss on the top of my head, I moved my face now from his torso to look up into the light butterscotch eyes. "Think of some snacks you want to get." He winked and let go, moving to the door. "I'll see you soon, Gwen."
I waved, following him to it. "Drive safely!" I called out to him, he was already halfway to his car now. He turned and gave a crooked smile. I stood there till his car sped off and by then Dad was down the stairs wearing some jeans and a flannel, crossing his arms.
"You have a lot of explaining, little lady." I gulped nervously.
