Disclaimer: All Twilight characters and some of the settings, ideas for action, are owned by S. Meyer. I just play with them. No infringements intended. Megan Harris is my own invention. Bella doesn't exist in this universe, some things are not canon and English is not my mother tongue. If you find any errors – I'm up to corrections.
Alternating POVs marked M=Megan or E=Edward. Mental conversation is marked in '…'.
Chapter 14 – Halloween (M POV)
Edward stayed with me and we fell into a routine over the next couple of weeks. We drove together to college in the morning and in the afternoon he picked me up and stayed with me through the night unless he had to hunt. In the evenings we talked or listened to music, watched some movies or visited his family. Once a week I gave dance lessons at the sports club and Edward came as my dance partner. On the weekends we would spend time with his family. Alice would drag me out for shopping tours or I'd watch Edward, Emmett and Rosalie play with a Wii. Sometimes I'd talk with Esme or Carlisle about their favorite topics or I'd join Jasper and play guinea pig for his psychology studies. It felt like a normal family life. I developed an understanding for the ties they had and for the structure of their life. I could see how limited they were in their contact with humans and what tricks and lies they had developed to blend in. I also developed a few rules for myself to keep them out of trouble. I learned to watch out for their eye color and I stayed away from sharp objects. When we didn't visit the Cullens, most of our evenings ended in bed. Edward and I had found a way to avoid his instinct to bite me. All we had to do was to lock eyes and his monster stayed away. Days had turned into weeks and weeks had turned into months and before we knew, it was late October.
Alice was part of the committee planning a Halloween party at the auditorium. Two days in advance she visited me in the library. "Hi Alice, what's up?" I greeted her. "Megan, can you help me with the Halloween decoration?" she asked. "Sure, what exactly did you have in mind?" I was always careful when she made one of her little plans. "Could you help me setting up the hall together with the other girls? I could need one or two extra hands on Friday night," she pleaded. I thought about it. Edward and I wanted to join his siblings there anyway. "No problem. What time do you want me to be there?" I asked. "Can you be there at 5 p.m.?" I nodded, "Should I ask Edward to come and help too?" She grinned at me. "Not unless you want him to be at the center of a dozen drooling girls." I had to laugh. "I'd love to see his face, but I'll leave the decision up to him okay?" Alice grinned and vanished. I shook my head and chuckled at the thought. Janice watched me. She didn't like the idea that a freshman was my lover, but she kept quiet. Edward and I tried to avoid physical contact in public. There was nothing more than looks and a short kiss or a caress. "You are hanging out with the Cullen kids a lot, don't you?" she suddenly asked. I turned towards her. "Yes," I replied. I could hear her thoughts. 'I wonder why they treat her so nice? They don't make contact with anyone else.' I sighed. "Janice, do you have a problem with my relationship to Edward?" I addressed her directly. Her head came up. She leaned back and placed her hands on the table. She took a deep breath before she answered. "To be honest: Yes. I think it is wrong. You are working here and he is a student. You are a couple of years older than him." I narrowed my eyes. "Are you suggesting I'm taking advantage of him or is it just the fact that I'm on the payroll?" She looked insecure now. "Both," she answered. I leaned back and shook my head. "I tell you something: I would give up this job immediately if the director asked me to. We simply love each other, Janice, can't you see that?" I asked her. She nodded. "Yes, everyone on campus sees it. You come with him every morning and he takes you home every afternoon. It's the way he looks at you during lunch break and I'm not the only one seeing it. I heard of student girls who are jealous and there is gossip about you two," she crossed her arms. 'I don't give a shit,' I thought, but I couldn't tell her. "I wouldn't give too much for the gossip, Janice, if I were you. We're not breaking laws, you know." I didn't want to say any more.
Of course, Alice had already told Edward that she expected us both Friday afternoon for decoration chores. However, she had not told him that he would be the only male among a group of girls. I didn't tell him either because I was looking forward to a little fun. The party's motto was "Movies and Musicals". Alice had decided that Edward and I should go as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, because we loved to dance together. She and Jasper were dressing as Alice and the Hatter from Alice in Wonderland while Rosalie and Emmett went as "the girl" Marylin Monroe and Richard from "The seven year itch". She had done all the costumes herself and had even sewn the famous feather dress from the movie Top Hat for me. I was taken aback, it looked so beautiful and it must have been fiddly as hell to put all the feathers on it. Edward's costume was easy, of course, he only had to dress in tails. We arrived at the auditorium Friday afternoon and Alice and the rest of the committee were already working on the decoration. I waved at her. "Hey Alice, what do you want us to do?" She came towards us. "Can you please take Edward and try to put up the balloon garlands along the walls? You will need the large ladder." Edward glared at her. "You could have told me that I would be the only guy around here," he muttered to her. "Where would have been the fun in that?" she quipped and turned away. My mouth twitched. He saw it though. "You knew it?" He raised an eyebrow. I nodded with a sheepish grin. He looked grim at first, but then a wicked smile appeared on his face. "Let's go hang those damned garlands," he said and turned around. I followed him to the ladder. The balloon garlands looked huge, although they were not heavy. "How do we fix them?" I wondered. He pointed up. "See the hooks in the wall? We can use them." I looked at the fixing material with a doubtful gaze. He grabbed some of it and the garland and went up the ladder. I held the rest of the balloons up so that they would not get caught between the chairs. I could see how the other girls followed him with their eyes and I heard their thoughts. They were pretty graphic and I was sure he heard them too. He knew they were watching him and moved his hips a few times in a very eye-catching manner. Before he went up the ladder the second time, he pulled his shirt over his head. "Phew, it's getting warm in here," he said. His upper body was only covered by a classic undershirt. I could hear their comments ranking from 'Oh my god' to 'awesome'. I had to smile. When he came down to the floor again, he pulled me into a close embrace. 'Play along,' I could hear his thought. He kissed me passionately and I let my hands wander over his body while he cupped my behind. When we finally stopped, I could see that nobody was looking at us anymore. 'I believe we corrected all misunderstandings,' he chuckled and I grinned back at him.
After we finished hanging all garlands, we asked Alice if we should go ahead and get dressed for the party. "Sure, your costumes are in Edward's room. I will come and get changed as soon as I can. Don't be late, guys!" She waved at us. We drove to the Cullen's place. Rosalie was already dressed and helped Emmett and Jasper. We went to Edward's room and closed the door behind us. I grabbed my costume and left for the bathroom. The dress had a plunging neckline on the back, so I could not wear a bra. Thank goodness Alice had tailored it exactly to my outline. I put on some make-up and left the bathroom. My mouth fell open, I had never seen Edward in tails before and he looked as if he had stepped out of a vintage movie from the 1930's. "Wow," his eyes raked over my body and started to gleam. "Hello Ginger!" he exclaimed and took my left hand to lead me into the light. I turned myself a couple of times to make the feathers move. He smiled, faking a few step dancing moves and bowed to me. "Hello Fred," I said and moved into his arms. We looked exactly like Astaire and Rogers in the the movie Top Hat, except for my dark hair. Alice had asked me to dye it blond but I had denied her the favor. I put on my matching dancing shoes and grabbed the hairpiece she had gotten me. "I'll go to Rosalie, she's supposed to fix the braid. See you downstairs?" "Definitely, I'll pick up the boys," he said. I went to Rosalie's room where she had just finished her make-up. "Wow, you look gorgeous, Rosalie" I exclaimed at the sight of the famous Marylin Monroe dress clinging to her curves. She smiled. "Thank you, you look great yourself." I blushed a little. "Alice said you would do my hair? I need this braid to be fixed." I held it up. "Sit down here, I'll do it. And if you don't mind I'll re-arrange your makeup." She pointed to her makeup table. I sat and closed my eyes during the procedure. After a while I heard Alice's voice from the door. "Oh my god," she whispered. My eyes flew open. "What happened?" I turned to see her. She was already dressed in her costume. "Look into the mirror," she replied. I got up and looked at myself. Apart from the hair color I looked like the movie character from the 1930s. "Rosalie, this is incredible!" I exclaimed and hugged her.
We walked downstairs to meet our mates. Rosalie went first and Emmett almost lost it when a breeze from the open front door lifted the hem of her skirt, then Alice. I was last and when I saw Edwards face beaming at me I knew this would be a great night. We drove all together, because Alice wanted to be early for the reception. The hall was beautifully decorated and there were tables and a bar, a dance floor and a stage for the disc jockey. It was great. We took a table near the bar and sat down. Soon enough the hall was full with people. Most of them had taken the motto seriously and were dressed in fantastic costumes. Finally the director stepped onto the stage and declared the party open. As soon as the music started the dance floor was filled and Edward took the chance to get us some drinks from the bar. When he returned, he place the glasses onto the table. "Would you like to dance?" he held out his hand. I nodded. I was so excited. The DJ was playing disco, salsa, westcoast swing and then changed to old-style music and we swirled across the floor. During some swing piece, most of the other dancers circled around us and watched us dancing. We stopped when the music changed again and I was glad to get a break. I was running out of breath.
Everybody clapped and Edward twirled me into a curtsey and bowed before we left the floor. I sat down at the table and fanned myself some air with a napkin. I was sweating a little. "I need a break," I gasped, smiling at him and he laughed, he didn't have one drop of sweat on his face. I looked around. Alice and Jasper were still dancing as well as Rose and Emmett. The bar was a little crowded, but Edward made his way to the counter asking for a glass of tab water. A lot of girls stood there and I could hear their thoughts, very carnal thoughts. One of them had a green dress and pressed her body close to him. I turned away and smiled when I heard him think something very nasty. "Oh, excuse me, I'm so sorry," he said. I turned around again to see that he had spilled water onto her dress. I snickered and turned to the table again. "If you could see her eyes," Rosalie said on her arrival. "Her looks could kill you." After a while he came back with a new glass and grinned at me. "Thanks a lot, I am so thirsty," I swallowed half of the glass. A few minutes later, two drinks arrived at our table with a card saying 'Courtesy of the bartender'. When we turned to the barkeeper and raised our glasses to him, he just grinned and toasted back with a glass of water. Edward and I remained sitting for a while and watched the dancers, making our comments on them. All of a sudden, I had a strange feeling in my stomach and decided to go to the restroom. I swayed a little when I got up. "Are you okay?" Edward asked. I nodded. "I feel funny, maybe it's the air in here. I'll go to the rest room, excuse me for a minute," I replied. I felt ill, as if I was going to throw up. My head started spinning and I closed my barriers because I thought it might have been the crowd of people making me sick. I grabbed the rim of the basin in the restroom when I got there. 'I don't want to throw up on this dress!' It was my last thought before I passed out.