A/N: Hey, so, you had a little longer wait, but trust me, I did my best to make this a great post. You guys were so awesome, giving me tons of great reviews. I can't thank you all enough. I really hope you like this one; I gave it everything I had. And it's eleven pages! My favorite number.
Enjoy!
Alice's POV
I gasped in dismay as the vision hit me. Oh no, this would just ruin everything and just when it was getting good too! I pursed my lips, looking around me. I was sure Edward wouldn't mind too much if I just sent a little help his way. Hmm . . . yes, it could work. I nodded thoughtfully.
"Jasper, Emmett," I called them down from the upstairs living room.
"Yes Alice?" Jasper asked, appearing at my side and giving me a hug.
"Yo sis, what it is?" Emmett flashed me a piece sign that was sideways.
I turned to Jasper in disgust. "Ugh, Jazz please tell me you did not let him make another gangster Simms character after himself."
He shrugged sheepishly. "I did the best I could, but there's only so much disinterest I can send his way before he finds me out."
Emmett laughed and ruffled my hair. I hissed in anger and glared at him. He knew I didn't like my hair to be mussed. Jasper knowingly sent a wave of shame his way.
"Sorry Alice, but . . . don't hate the playa, hate the game, my peep."
"Please, never do that again."
"C'mon little sis, I mean, Simms is like the worst game in the world for humans, but for vampires, it's the best. Think about it. It takes forever, to set up your world and configure situations and make characters. Humans just lose interest. But vampires? We have all the time in the world, and we never lose interest. It's simply fascinating. And personally, I can't help it that I'm a straight up gee."
Jasper choked back a laugh. "Emmett, I think that even if you were human, you still would have found it fascinating. Others find more useful ways to spend their time, vampires, or humans."
Emmett's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Okay, that was definitely an insult, and hello, is your important way to spend time commenting on me playing the game, 'cause that was what you were doing. Oh yeah, that's so much more useful."
Shaking my head, I got back on track. If you listened to Emmett for too long, you were lost for good. I had a feeling Jazz was a goner.
"Okay, back to the reason I called you down here. I need you both to go to Golden Crest Park at 12:15 sharp, alright?"
"Why?" Emmett looked mildly curious at the request.
Taking a deep breath, I summarized as efficiently as possible.
"You know that Edward is obviously in love with Bella. And Bella is obviously in love with him. Well, tonight some serious steps are about to be taken and if you two don't go to that park tonight, Blaine is going to seriously complicate things for the two of them."
"Who is this Blaine guy anyway?" Emmett cut in.
Jasper shot him a look.
"Didn't you listen when he was telling us that guy was here?"
Emmett rolled his eyes. "Honestly, after I heard, 'not an immediate threat,' and 'no need to take action,' I just kind of tuned him out."
I sighed with impatience and summarized for him quickly.
"Edward apparently wasn't as alone during his rebellious period as we assumed. He partnered up with him and for some reason, things went downhill. We don't know why and it's always been a mute subject, but now he's back and he wants his partner. Of course that's ridiculous; Edward would never go back to that lifestyle, now especially."
"But, what would that have to do with Bella?"
I shook my head. "I'm not sure, but it can't be good. I see some very unpleasant things occurring, so I'm counting on you."
Jasper nodded solemnly.
I turned. "Emmett, are you with this?"
He grinned, "Hell yeah, this guy should know better than to try and screw with our family, especially my little bro and sis. Wait, Bella is about to become my legit sis, right?"
A frown furrowed my brow. "As of currently . . . it's a possibility."
"Good, it's about time someone came that could put Edward in his place, 'The Cullen men being whipped,' indeed, sheesh."
Seeing my expression, Jasper smothered his amusement. "I don't mind being whipped Alice."
Emmett snorted. "Well that makes one of us. I'll never be caught dead—"
"Emmett, I can hear you!"
"Oh! Uh, sorry Rose, I'm coming, darling."
"Don't forget," I reminded him as he zoomed past us, ready to make amends, "12:15."
Bella's POV
That note had to be the strangest bit of writing I'd ever read.
What did it mean?
Was it serious? I was trying to convince myself it wasn't.
It had to be a joke; had to be.
After the last guy tumbled into the taxi and it pulled away, I started putting the chairs up. Edward started at one end of the room and I went to the other. It was becoming an odd sort of routine for us over the past couple of months. This place wasn't the kind of establishment that one would consider memory worthy, but I did consider it exactly that. Even Rick wasn't quite as overbearing after Edward stepped in and Rick had realized I wasn't going to become the main attraction of his business. Of course, bribery and extortion would manage to sway almost anyone into being a little nicer. And now that he had Edward and me, Rick could afford to take a few days off. I included Edward because, no matter how much I argued, he was never going to stop helping me out.
It was weird. Part of me resented his hovering and the other half . . . it felt . . . safe because of it. That was a major weakness, I knew. It was also not too smart to get involved with someone who was hiding some part of themselves. And he was, I knew he was.
After putting up the chairs, Edward and I went to his car. I finally figured out a solution to the driving problem. Since he was a speedaholic without a cure, I closed my eyes when riding with him, unless I only focused on stationary objects within the car. I called this my 'contentedly ignorant' solution. If I didn't know how fast he was going, I couldn't panic about it. Edward also liked this development, he never really appreciated me slamming my foot down, trying to break for him. I had been slowly transforming into a passenger driver.
Tonight, I shut my door carefully and lowered my eyelids, taking position. As always, we would drive straight home after my shift, talking about movies, books, everything impersonal. But tonight we never uttered a word. Tonight was different. I clutched the tiny, almost insubstantial piece of white paper. This paper made it different, forced it to be.
The car rolled to a silent stop. It was so subtle, I almost didn't realize it. My eyes sprang open.
"Where are we?"
I turned to him, but he wasn't there. My head whipped around and my eyes focused on him. He was opening my door for me.
"How—?"
"I thought it would be appropriate to have this conversation without my family's prying ears. Do you mind? We can go somewhere more public, if you'd like to be around other people . . .?" He really was prepared to take me somewhere more comfortable for me if need be, I could sense it. But . . . he was right; we needed to hash this out alone, without interruptions, without the possibility of running away.
"What is this place?" I breathed, looking around.
"This is Golden Crest Park. It's about twenty minutes from our house. I go here sometimes when I need to think. My family knows about it, but they usually leave me to my own thoughts here."
"It's beautiful, Edward, truly lovely."
A relaxed, slightly crooked smile appeared on his face. "I like it." Then, an expression that could only be described as hopeful flitted across his face. It disappeared as quickly as it came. "Come on."
He led me down a stone walkway. It was pitch black outside. I glanced up, there was no chance of stargazing tonight. The moon was even completely obscured by the thick cloud cover. It was forever cloudy in this town.
While I was observing the sky, I stumbled over a stone and would have fallen if Edward hadn't caught my arm and steadied me. A little zing passed through the connected skin.
"Sorry," he muttered, withdrawing his hand.
The trees on either side of the path were so overgrown that at one point, they converged upon each other, and Edward held aside the branches for me to walk through. As soon as I stepped out, off the path, I stopped. Where Edward had parked, there had been benches and plastic children's play toys off to the side. Fairly lights had adorned the snowball bushes.
But here, it was like a different time period, a forgotten piece of history. There were two identical stone benches on either side of the little mini-clearing. Halfway mature trees were scattered here and there. There was an old swing set facing a fountain. The fountain itself was a stonewash gray color from what I could make out in the dark and it had to levels for the water to flow down, almost like flower petals over flowing. The circular sides of the fountain were raised up about two and a half feet. (Edward's Fountain is in my profile, just follow the link)
"So, what do you think?"
I jumped. I had been so absorbed in taking in my surroundings in the darkened clearing, I had forgotten anyone else was there.
"It suits you." A lilting laugh bubbled over my lips.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
I went over and sat in one of the aged swings, dangling lightly. Edward walked over to the fountain and sat on the edge of the circular little side.
"Are you going to tell me what it says?"
I couldn't read his face. I couldn't even see his face at all. It was growing darker by the minute. It had to be getting close to midnight. I checked my wrist. The glowing clock face told me it was 11:48.
"Um, it's not even really a list. It's a note."
He tilted his head. I pulled it out of my pocket. It was creased from my folding. With shaking hands, I unfolded it and stared down at the words. They were about to change everything, I just had a feeling.
Everything.
Taking it all in individual puzzle pieces, it wasn't serious; it might have been funny even. But somehow the puzzle pieces connected to make a picture with a disturbing reality that was about to draw me in.
I looked down at the paper.
Bella,
A few helpful ways to stay safe around Edward
Do not get into the car with him. Just say no.
Be careful to mentally insult him only after he's three miles away from you.
Wear scarves and turtlenecks frequently.
Garlic really will work if you can get him to taste it.
Producing a cross might not repel him physically, but there's always the possibility his conscience might kick in.
When Edward says he's hungry, don't get in his way. He means it.
I mutely walked over and handed him the paper and went back to the swing. The humidity was really high tonight, I observed briefly to myself. The air felt heavy, weighted down with moisture. He seemed to read it in a second. Quietly, he looked at me.
"Edward, is he serious?"
"About?"
I sighed nervously, biting my lip.
I had suspected the Cullens weren't normal, but still, this was more than I'd expected.
"It all seems to lead to one conclusion though," I said as slowly and calmly as I could.
He said nothing. He wasn't going to give me any help with this.
"The messages, they all—they all seem to point to one thing. They seem to say you're . . . ."
"Yes?"
"A vampire," I whispered it, almost flinching at the absurdity of the word. I waited for him to laugh and tell me I was wrong, to refute my claim.
He didn't speak. His expression was unfathomable.
"Is it true?"
"Edward?"
I waited.
"Edward, listen, um if it's true blink once and if it's false blink twice okay?"
He never blinked.
I huffed out another breath. This wasn't working.
I looked down. 11:59.
Thirty seconds until midnight.
Edward, as if sensing the time coming close, looked skyward. His beautiful golden eyes evaluated the skies. Swiftly he faced me.
"Bella, there's something I have to tell you."
But instead of speaking, he observed the water spilling into the fountain's collecting pool.
I squinted to see what he was doing.
His pale had reached out to hover over the water. Absently, he trailed his fingers over the water's surface, barely making ripples.
Just then, the clouds moved from shielding the moon. The iridescent glow floated down, a halo of light, hitting directly on the fountain. The clear beam of iridescent light reflected up on Edward, who was still gently touching the water.
I gasped. My hand came up to cover my open mouth.
His skin was sparkling like a thousand diamonds were reflecting. The rainbow beams were shooting off his skin like tiny rays of gleaming crystals. His hand was the brightest. As it moved across the water now, his hand left a shimmering path behind it.
His head turned sharply to me.
He didn't look human anymore, he looked like an angel. And this side of Edward scared me so much.
I wasn't scared because I was right.
I wasn't scared because he was a vampire.
I wasn't scared because he possibly more powerful than I'd ever imagined.
No, I was scared because I knew at that moment that he was so much more than I'd ever dreamed and there was no possibility he could ever love someone like me.
"Bella?" He prompted softly.
"So you are truly . . .?"
He nodded slowly.
"Oh."
"Are you frightened right now?"
"No," I paused, meeting his brilliant, tawny eyes, "should I be?"
"Oh yes, Bella," he laughed bitterly, "you should be very afraid."
"Well, you've never hurt me before, so . . . I'll take my chances."
"What?"
"It doesn't, really matter Edward."
He scoffed and was clearly appalled. "How could you say that?"
"Well, are you a vampire part of the time and a human the other part?"
"No."
"Do you have a vampire personality and a human personality?"
"Of course not."
"Then, you're still the Edward I've always known. This isn't a problem for you. It's not really a problem for me just a bit of a . . . complication."
"It's more complex than that."
"Edward, you don't get it. I trust you implicitly. This new thing, okay, this big thing it—well, what happens happens. I trust you."
He groaned.
"Don't say that. Don't trust me. Just tell me to leave you alone and I will."
"Stay."
"I could hurt you, by accident or on purpose," he warned, a formidable expression on his face.
"I'll take that chance."
He then did something so out of character, it stopped me short.
He started laughing, not the constricted, controlled laugh from before, but an incredulous, free laugh.
He seemed to be talking to himself.
"She's completely lost all elements of self preservation. I can't try to shove myself away anymore. I'll probably regret this later, but—"
He addresses me.
"You're insane."
I found myself grinning at the attack on my mentality.
"Does this mean everyone, you whole family is . . .?"
"Yes, everyone."
"I'm curious—"
He grinned. "I assumed."
"Does this mean you don't go camping?"
Blaine's POV
I couldn't believe it. He was glittering like some beacon of light and all she was doing was talking to him. She hadn't freaked out. She hadn't gone into hysterics. I had been sure she would have deserted and escaped from him the moment he revealed himself. That was the whole purpose of the note.
I wanted to show Edward that humans were not worth caring over and utterly predictable. He would have understood and accepted that. Then, he could have joined the team again. His conscience wouldn't have plagued him and he could hunt normally, like I did. I could always hunt and travel on my own, but sometimes I yearned for company. I wanted someone to talk to and someone to share the burden of my life with. And if I had to make an example of this girl to make him understand, then so be it.
I took a step forward and his head jerked up. He obviously was reading my thoughts. Now he knew I was here. He half rose, but then relaxed. What the—
A hand clapped down on my shoulder.
"Now Blaine, is it? We don't want any trouble from you, but we're not afraid to put our point across, so why don't we go a better place for this conversation, like an airport?"
There were two of them, and the big one seemed to be in charge. The quieter one looked no less menacing.
The blonde spoke.
"It's more reasonable than talking here in the woods. Let's go."
He was right; I thought as I nodded, this was a stupid place to talk.
Wait, what? What the heck was he doing to me, I felt . . . calm. I felt agreeable.
I managed to shake that feeling off, and warily looked at the two of them with matching unrelenting expressions. Two against one; I'd never make it.
I gritted my teeth and went with them.
Bella's POV
"So you could hear everything, singing in the shower?"
"Yes."
"Muttering random insults and comments about you?"
"Afraid so."
I was really worried about this one.
"Talking in my sleep?"
"I had a front row seat for that one."
My eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"
He seemed to be slightly ashamed of this.
"Well, Bella, you see . . .?"
"Yes?"
"You can't imagine how impossibly frustrating it is for me to not know what you're thinking when I have had it so easy for years. I had to find some way to understand you better. I might have gone into your room while you were sleeping to hear what you said while you slept."
I sucked in a breath of air in disbelief.
"Tell me you didn't."
"Sorry," he apologized, although there wasn't one apologetic look on his face.
"What did . . . what did I say?" I asked, wincing. I really didn't want to know.
He paused, truly looking embarrassed.
"You did say once you loved my hair."
He was just throwing me something to keep me content.
"What did I say?"
"Mostly, you talked about . . . me. Usually it was that I was annoying and I irritated you, and I was totally on the same page. But, for the last few nights you've, ah, said you—said you loved me."
I closed my eyes. Great. A rosy heat flooded to my face.
"Perfect," I mumbled. I looked up to glare at him. "Don't think for one minute I don't still find you annoyingly irritating."
"No, no Bella, don't be embarrassed. We were on the same page with the irritation, but when you said that you loved me," he paused and looked me squarely in the eyes, I forgot to breathe, "we're still on the same page."
I was confused.
"Wait, what?"
No, he could not mean that. He was wonderful as a human, but as this, this elevated him to close to perfect. He couldn't mean that. I wasn't listening close enough.
"I . . . love you too."
"You," I choked out. "You are not serious."
"Oh, I am Bella, completely serious. I fell for you too, though heaven knows why, I just had to love the one person in the world that I'm the most dangerous."
I frowned, but he continued. And my blush remained.
"If I could sleep, I would say the exact same things. Don't be embarrassed."
We were quiet for a minute, listening to the wind. The clouds had once again covered the moon. Edward was once again normal looking. Then something clicked in my mind.
"You can't sleep?" I asked with dread in my tone.
"No, why?" He asked curiously.
"At all?" I squeaked.
"No."
"So, a couple of weeks ago, when I went into your room and . . ." I trailed off in dawning horror.
The crooked smile came back. "Yes, I was awake."
I loved my life.
He walked over to my swing and began pushing me very slowly.
"You said that you can't age, right?"
"Mmmhmm."
"So, how old were you when you became a, you know?"
He chuckled, still pushing me. "Bella, you can say the word you know. I'm not that easily wounded. Seventeen."
"So, we're the same age? Cool. I thought you looked too young," I accused him. "How old are you really?"
"You don't want to know that."
"I do."
I could feel his hesitation and worry.
Finally he answered. "I was changed in Chicago, 1918. I was born in 1901."
"And you said I lied about my age."
His laughter rang out beautifully; it had a bell-like quality to it. I was addicted to that sound.
"Oh yes Edward, you never lie," I continued, still lamenting.
"Hey, I did tell you everything," he reminded me softly. I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Eventually," I grumbled, still amazed that he was actually confiding in me. He was telling me his greatest secret. Then I felt a little guilty. He had opened up to me and I was still holding back on him. I shrugged away the guilt. That was different.
"Bella, you are so different tonight. Definitely more unrestricted. I feel like this is the real you, your hidden self."
"I feel like this personality fits too, you know? I've been working through the different ones; I really like this one."
He had stopped the swing gently and leaned forward. I breathed in his heady scent. He hesitantly put his cold hands on either side of my waist. I nearly hyperventilated.
"Me too," he breathed in my hair.
"The note was really lighter than I'd expected it to be," he commented absently.
"But, under all of the lightness of the message, wasn't he trying to out you? He did want me to know. But if you hadn't expected my reaction—"
"Ridiculous," he murmured.
"Right, my ridiculous reaction, then he probably hadn't either? So, he really wanted me to run screaming from you just like you thought I would?"
"I suppose." He seemed so careless about it.
"Because he thought it would hurt you?" I guessed.
"Something along those lines."
"I'll kill him," I snarled.
He seemed taken aback by my fiercely protective announcement. His hands left my waist and he crouched in front of me.
"Whoa there tiger, I don't think you could take him on." He smiled ruefully at the thought.
"I can't help it. I feel invincible, isn't first love supposed to feel like that?"
I was tentatively opening to the idea that Edward felt something for me. Maybe he did love me after all.
"I'm not sure," he frowned, I smiled inwardly at the way his eyebrows scrunched together when he was concentrating, "I've never been in love like this; it's a first for me too."
I smiled, I liked that idea.
A thought popped into my head, and I giggled it out before I could stop myself.
"Bella and Edward, true pioneers in the wilderness of love."
He ran a hand through my hair softly and my breath hitched.
"You're silly," he murmured. "It must be the night."
"What's the night got to do with anything?"
"Tonight is midsummer night."
"That explains the oddly buoyant feeling."
Our eyes caught, and he seemed to lean in for one moment, then he visibly pulled back.
"I don't know if I can do this," he admitted in a melodic whisper. "It's so much harder because it's you."
"I know you said something like that earlier, what do you mean by that?"
He looked around, as if the scenery would help him explain.
"We don't drink humans. When we go camping, as I've said, we hunt animals, and that nourishes us, but not completely. Our thirst is never fully satisfied. A human scent is so much stronger than any animal." He closed his eyes. "And each scent is different. We all have preferences as well. You just happen to be my particular preference. My preference above all."
"So, you want to . . . now?"
"All the time," he finished grimly. "I have to hold myself back, keep the demon in check every moment. I can't afford to slip up."
"So, why didn't you just give in ages ago?"
"Are you so comfortable, talking about your own demise?" He shook his head in wonder. "I could never, ever forgive myself. I tried very recently to imagine my life, my existence without you, and it was a very bleak picture, indeed."
I nodded, following along.
It hurt me that he had to hurt himself this way. He shouldn't have to, it was obviously a strain. Not that I wasn't glad that he did. It made me feel more special that I'd ever felt before. I was important enough that he would hurt himself to stay near me. I allowed myself to revel in that for a moment.
"But there's always that chance."
"I've always been something of a gambler," I teased him.
He didn't look pleased with my brush off of his warning, but what could I say. I was positive I wouldn't be able to stop him if he changed his mind. I wanted to be with him, no matter what. I felt drawn to him. We'd never been so close. This secret, it connected us in a way that wasn't possible for normal humans.
"I don't want to hurt you in any way."
"Then don't."
He threw back his head and laughed. His white teeth gleamed in the darkness. "If only it were that easy."
"I've never seen you laugh so much," I observed.
His face was so close to mine, it dazed me. I blinked once. He was so beautiful, so perfect. Every line of his face was perfection. His nose, his jaw, his lips, his gorgeous, vibrant eyes . . . .
"I've never been this happy before."
I blushed again, I couldn't help it. He was so close; it didn't make me feel weird, just fluttery.
"Edward," I breathed, my voice a little shaky, "what are you—"
His mouth stopped me.
Kissing Edward the first time had been lovely, and sweetly short. This was different. His icy lips moved across mine urgently, mine following suit. I reached up and ran my hands through his hair, pulling his head closer to mine.
Somehow, I ended up in Edward's lap on the ground. His arms were holding me close, though subconsciously, I knew he was really being careful. We broke off. I was gasping and he didn't look much better than I felt.
"Bella, Bella, we really shouldn't," he breathed, shaking his head.
I nodded, "Yeah, we should stop."
The next second, my mouth dove back onto his. He groaned in surrender. He let me knock him back onto the ground. I was sprawled out on top of him, still fully connected to his mouth.
Finally, I had to pull away for more air.
"This can't be safe," I gasped, drawing in air.
"No, we'll have to really stop this time," Edward agreed.
We were still for a moment, my chest heaving against his.
He pounced on me. Before I could even process anything, he was hovering over me, his mouth made a return journey to mine.
The ground was soft and springy from the grass. The humidity, it seemed had reached its height. I greedily kissed Edward with everything I had and then some.
He slowly, trailed kisses down my face, to my throat, and then he hesitated.
"Are you alright," I asked, unsure, "do I need to move or anything?"
"No," he murmured, "I think I can handle this."
He moved to the skin between my ear and jaw and kissed it delicately. I inhaled sharply and shuddered with pleasure. The rhythm of my heart was moving unevenly. I felt like I was dying a blissful death.
He moved down to a pulse point. The wanting grew until I felt like I was about to scream, he was killing me with desire.
Suddenly, he stopped and looked up.
With a very smug expression on his flawless face, he grinned. "See, I told you it would be manageable."
"You convinced me." I laughed slightly.
"What was that?"
Edward was looking around him.
"What was what?"
"I thought I felt—oh well, it's not important."
I nodded solemnly. "That's right, nothing's as important as this."
Our kiss was long and very satisfactory.
I don't know the exact time that it started, but the warm summer humidity finally released. The rain drove down, pelting us with lukewarm droplets. We didn't care at that point. Nothing mattered except us.
I pulled on him, and Edward's body covered mine, his wet hair, in my fingers, his hand cupping my jaw.
Thunder crashed nearby.
"This is stupid," he murmured, giving me light, teasing kisses on my forehead.
"Definitely not smart," I agreed breathlessly.
He moved to my nose and then my jaw.
"Unacceptable really," he continued.
"Undeniably."
He lifted his face, and I stared up at him mesmerized as lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating him. The rain ran off of his hair and face in rivets, some running off onto me. His face was inches from mine, his hair in dangling dripping strands, his flawless lips open. He was breathing as heavily as I, his sweet, compelling scent only intensified by the rain.
Steam from the rain rose up and enveloped us, rising up from the ground and the rain continued.
I stared for a long time. He stared back.
"I don't think I care whether it's unacceptable."
I pulled him back to me.
"I never did."
A/N: Hope you liked it. Please review and tell me what you all thought. I do hope you'll send me a line. And as always, thanks for reading, be back with more soon!