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20. THUNDER ROLLS

I woke up with a jolt the next morning as my alarm clock went off, reaching out blindly and turning its annoying rings off. I took a deep breath as I remembered the long night I'd shared with Edward, talking about anything and everything, then cautiously opened my eyes. "Oh!" I cried, jumping with surprise and trying to calm my racing heart while clutching the blanket to my chest.

Edward stood up from where he had been seated in my desk chair. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you," he said sincerely, his golden eyes flickering across my face.

Blushing, since I knew I probably looked horrible, I hurriedly ran one hand through my tangled hair. "Um…it's okay. It's just that…you're still here?"

"Of course. I…" He trailed off, looking slightly embarrassed.

My interest was immediately raised, and I shoved the blanket away and looked at him curiously. "What? You can tell me, Edward," I said earnestly.

"I enjoy watching you sleep," he blurted out. "There's something…magical about it. All your worries fade away, leaving you peaceful and free. And I suppose it's also because I can't sleep anymore."

Well, that was just a little embarrassing. "Um…okay," I said awkwardly. His reply wasn't quite what I had been expecting. "That's a good enough reason, I guess."

Edward's lips curved into a small smile as he stood. He took several steps towards me, seeming almost to float above the floor, then stopped right in front of me. I stared, memorized, as he reached out with one cold hand and reverently traced my chin like it was made of precious glass. "I don't think your father would approve."

"Of what?" I asked breathlessly, tearing my gaze from his beautifully golden depths.

"Of us. Being…together."

Oh. That. I frowned, the spell between us momentarily broken. Well, we weren't together together. We'd only kissed once, and confessed that we were probably in love with each other. But I could understand his point. We really had a Romeo and Juliet thing going on between us, though our situation was a bit more dangerous. He was a vampire, after all.

"Well…we just won't tell him, then," I decided, impressed with my own quick thinking.

"People will find out. They'll tell him." Edward moved a bit closer to the bed, and I suddenly found it very hard to breathe. "Maybe…maybe we shouldn't do this, Bella."

I shook my head stubbornly, and wrapped both arms around his waist, ignoring the slight jerk of surprise that rippled through his body. "I think I love you, Edward Cullen. There's no way that I'm going to ignore that."

Edward nodded slowly, looking resigned. "Alright, Bella. If that's what you really want. But we're going to have to keep our relationship a secret. Not only would it be dangerous for you if the humans in Forks found out, but if the Volturi discovered the truth. They would kill me for falling in love with a human, then come after you, as well." His expression was grave.

I frowned. "Then we just won't let that happen, will we?"

He didn't answer, looking towards my alarm clock instead. "You should get ready for school."

I glared theatrically at him, pulling away and getting out of bed. "Spoilsport."

Unexpectedly, a knock sounded from my closed door. "Bells? Are you okay in there?" came Charlie's concerned voice.

My eyes widened, and I glanced quickly at Edward. The latter had become frozen in place, staring directly at the door. Clearing my throat, I answered him in a voice that shook only slightly. "Fine, Dad. I was just about to take a shower."

"I thought…well, I thought I heard voices," he said in a questioning tone.

"Just me, trying to figure out what I should wear for the day," I lied convincingly, crossing my fingers behind my back.

"Okay. Well…I'm off to work, honey. I might be out late again tonight, so I'll see you when I get back."

"Okay, Dad. See you later." I listened to the sound of his retreating footsteps, then turned to Edward, releasing my breath in a gust. "That was close," I whispered.

"Yes," he agreed solemnly. "I should probably leave now."

I nodded, then blushed at what I was about to do. Standing on my tiptoes, I brushed a kiss lightly against his icy cheek, then hurriedly pulled back to watch for his reaction. Edward actually looked awkward, and mumbled a quick goodbye before ducking out the window and disappearing towards the ground.

Practically beaming, I swept up my bathroom bag and headed for the bathroom. I took a hot shower, washing my hair and scrubbing my skin until it looked pink and clean. I assumed that vampires had a better sense of smell than humans, and I didn't want Edward thinking I smelled gross.

After I got out, I dried off and wrapped myself in a fluffy towel. Heading out into the hallway, I heard the phone ringing downstairs. Rushing back into my room and leaving a trail of wet footprints behind me, I dropped the bag onto my bed and dove for the phone on my desk. "Hello?" I asked breathlessly, at the same time hoping I hadn't gone to all that trouble for a solicitor or something.

"Hi, Bella. It's Alice," the petite vampire chirped into my ear.

"Oh, hi." I couldn't help the smirk that came onto my lips. "How's your nail? You know, the one you broke yesterday?"

"Oh, just fine. Just needed a little time to heal, that's all." I couldn't find even a trace of untruth in her words, and envied her lying abilities. "By the way, I wanted to tell you to wear something warm to school today, okay?"

"Why?" I asked suspiciously. I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that she was acting on another one of her visions, and I wanted to know exactly what I was getting into before doing what she said.

"Because we're all taking you to play baseball after school today!" Alice sounded immeasurably excited, and I could even imagine her clapping her hands. "Charlie's going to be out until nearly dusk tonight, so we'll have plenty of time!"

For a few seconds, I couldn't even bring myself to speak. "Baseball?" I finally asked, in an incredulous voice.

"Yes, that's right," she replied happily. "There's going to be a storm this evening, so there should be plenty of thunder. I just know you'll have a lot of fun tonight, Bella."

I still couldn't get past the idea of vampires playing baseball, of all things. "But…oh, never mind. Why the storm?" I loathed the very idea of standing in the rain and getting soaked, but I wasn't about to argue with Alice.

"Oh, you'll see." I could almost hear the smirk in her voice, even over the phone. "Edward will drive you to the field after school today."

"Um…okay," I answered, smoothing a strand of dripping hair off my forehead.

"See you at school, Bella!" The phone went dead in my ear, and I placed it gingerly back into its plastic cradle. Staring silently at the phone for several moments, I then turned and walked over to my dresser. Shuffling through the contents, I finally came up with jeans and a long-sleeved shirt with a fairly low-cut neck. I kind of felt like impressing Edward after last night, and vampires loved necks, right?

Feeling really inexperienced, I got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast.

When I arrived at school, the sky was looking decidedly ominous. As usual, it was a faint gray color, hinting that the clouds were threatening to burst open and spill gallons of rain down onto the town. As I climbed out of the crusher, lugging my backpack after me, I didn't doubt for a moment that Alice had been right about her alleged vision. But I also wondered just why rain was necessary for them to play baseball. Maybe because it kept all the locals inside, like darkness and fog? I wasn't entirely sure, but I would have been just as happy to go with them in the sunshine, thank you very much.

"Bella!" came a cheerful voice from across the parking lot. For a minute, I thought Alice had decided it was okay to talk to me at school after all. Then I realized that it was only Jessica, rushing over from where she had just parked her car. Mike was following in her wake, still looking like the faithful puppy I'd compared him to in my mind on the first day of school.

"Hi, Jessica. Mike," I said politely as they reached me. My eyes were predictably drawn away from them as that familiar silver Volvo and a jeep pulled into the parking lot. Edward, Alice, and Jasper climbed from the Volvo, all three of them glancing at me. Emmett and Rosalie moved gracefully from the jeep without even a single look, strolling into the school with their other 'siblings'.

Jessica glanced fearfully at them until they'd vanished into the school, then grabbed me by the arm, tugging me towards the front doors. "Come on, we'd better get inside. And I'm so sorry that I didn't get to see you after school yesterday. I heard you almost got sick in class. Is that, you know, true?" She didn't pause for me to reply, just kept talking. "But anyway, it was, like, raining pretty badly. So I had to get home. You had a ride, right? Because I heard that your dad, you know, drove you to school. And did you hear about Ben and Angela? Tanya told me they're, like, a couple now, but I don't know. I'm not really sure whether to believe her or not. What do you think? Oh, there's Eric. Hey, Eric!"

She continued on in this vein of conversation until she and Mike finally parted ways with Eric and I at the door of our English classroom. Then the two of us headed inside and sat down in our respective seats. I heaved a small sigh of relief as I started pulling the supplies I needed for this class from my bag, glad to be rid of Jessica. She was very nice and all, but she talked way too much.

English wasn't the best of classes, and I found myself trying to doze through the majority of it. Staying up late talking to Edward hadn't really been the best thing to do on a school night, so I discovered.

The rest of the school day fairly flew past, with the most excitement being the fact that I actually did fall asleep in Spanish. I only woke up when the teacher started speaking in English, after failed several failed attempts to wake me in Spanish. Needless to say, this was a highly embarrassing experience.

At lunch, none of the Cullens were sitting at their usual table. As predicted, the atmosphere inside the large room was much more at ease with them missing in action. I couldn't help resenting my fellow classmates a little for this. I mean, so they were vampires. So what? No need to be scared to death of them.

But maybe I was just prejudiced, thanks to Edward.

"So, Bella. Want to come up to the café downtown today?" Jessica asked me excitedly. "A bunch of us are going to get together and head down there for a while before, um, dark."

"Are you in, or are you in?" was Eric's eager question. He grinned at me, seeming to assume that I would say yes. So did everyone else, in fact. Like they didn't think I had a life. I didn't, but who was counting?

"Sure," I muttered, word coming from my lips unbidden. "Sounds like, um, fun."

"Great," Mike said, practically beaming. "You're gonna have a blast, Bella, trust me."

"Yeah. A blast," I uttered flatly, picking idly at my salad and not really paying attention to what he was saying.

I found myself in a huge hurry after I finished eating, gathering my stuff and rushing off to biology with quick goodbyes to the others who had been sitting with me. I didn't even wait for Angela, and saw them all exchanging strange looks from the corner of my eye as I rushed to class.

Only a couple of people were already in the classroom when I arrived, including Edward. I bit back a smile, trying to make my expression seem grim, and sat down on the stool beside his. Not looking over at him was a huge effort, which I controlled by biting down hard on the inside of my lip. Not hard enough to draw blood, of course, since I didn't want to take any chances of making him lose control.

I concentrated on the general vicinity of the ceiling, counting the wads of chewing gum that had been tossed up there by bored members of the student population. There had actually been several successful people whose gum had managed to stick on contact. I could only assume that this had been before the Cullens had arrived, or in classes where they weren't present. Who would throw gum at the ceiling with Edward present, I had no idea.

After what felt like an eternity, Mr. Banner finally showed up, followed by the last of the missing students for this class. They hurried to their seats, avoiding looking at me and Edward. This included Angela, though I shouldn't really have been surprised. She hadn't talked to me much since I'd made that mistake of calling her and asking her for information so long ago.

"Alright, class. I want you to read sections A-C of chapter six," Mr. Banner said, swallowing hard. He then left the class to flip open their textbooks, settling into his chair. It squeaked loudly as he wiped sweat from his forehead with a folded handkerchief.

I reached into my bag and pulled out my book, opening it to the correct page and staring blankly at it. This chapter was apparently on dissection. The first illustration was of a frog that had been neatly cut open, a knife that was unrealistically clean placed artfully beside its body. I swallowed back bile, grimacing and averting my eyes.

Feeling something gently brush my elbow, I looked down with surprise and saw a piece of white paper sitting beside my arm. Careful not to draw attention to myself, I slowly picked it up, casually pretending that I was only taking notes on the chapter. I couldn't have been more surprised to see a neat line of words printed across the otherwise blank surface, I take it that you are as aversive to dissection as you are to blood.

Suppressing a smile, I quickly scrawled a reply, I thought you couldn't read my mind. ;P Then I nonchalantly slid the paper back to him, trying to fight the urge to turn around and make sure that no one was staring.

Edward passed the note back. I can't. But it's written all over you face.

Oh, so I'm an open book now, huh?

Yes, I'm afraid so.

It was my turn to reply now, and I considered what to write before doing so. I finally decided on, So what's this that Alice told me on the phone this morning? About playing baseball in the rain, or something.

I saw Edward's lips curve into a smile from the corner of my eye. The rain is because the locals aren't as eager to venture from their houses, he replied. And you'll find out why the thunder is necessary after we begin playing.

Have you got a baseball field hidden out behind your house or something? I asked.

Something like that. Actually, we're going to be going on a little drive into the woods.

I couldn't keep from frowning my disgust at this. Um…me and the woods don't do so well together.

Don't worry, Bella. I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself.

Well, I'm not so sure. So we'll have to wait and see. What's the plan for that, by the way?

Go home as usual, and I'll pick you up. Then we'll drive out to meet the others.

Okay, sounds like a plan, I replied, passing him the slowly-lengthening note once more. As he began to write a reply, I suddenly heard Mr. Banner say my name. "Yes, sir?" I asked quickly, hoping I didn't sound as guilty as I felt.

"Are you having trouble with the chapter? You don't, er, seem to have turned any pages yet, Ms. Swan..." He started out with the words sounding severe, then glanced at Edward and lamely trailed off.

"Um…" I felt my cheeks turning bright red, and quickly looked down at the chapter. I tried to look like I was reading it for the rest of the class, though I couldn't really comprehend much of it.

When the class finally ended, I gathered up all my stuff and shoved it back into my bag. Then, without a single glance at Edward, I hurried out into the hallway and towards gym.

Two absolutely horrible games of volleyball later, I cleaned up in the locker room and hurried to my truck without stopping to talk to anyone. I didn't really care about the school's latest gossip; I would have much rather spent all my time with Edward and his family. It was really weird remembering that I had once been afraid of them, though I kind of was still nervous around Rosalie. Now they seemed completely friendly to me.

I noticed that it was starting to sprinkle as I grabbed the steering wheel and hauled myself up into the crusher. So Alice had been right, after all. Then I threw my bag into the floor and turned the truck's key. The engine roared to life as I fumbled to pull on my seatbelt. Then I put the truck in drive and sped from the parking lot. I saw Eric and Mike standing by Angela's car and watching me go from my rearview mirror, but couldn't bring myself to feel guilty for blowing them off. Edward was much more important to me.

It took me an outrageously short amount of time to reach home, and I was grateful that I didn't run into Charlie and his cruiser on the way. But surprisingly, Edward was already there when I arrived, parked casually on the curb in Emmett's monstrous jeep.

I pulled up into the driveway and shut off the crusher, then climbed out and walked over as Edward also got out. "Are you ready to go?" I asked nervously, looking up at the stormy sky as more raindrops splattered onto my hair. It was already starting to get damp, hanging flatly around my face.

"If you are." Edward took my hand in his own icy one and led me around to the passenger's side of the mud-spotted jeep. I didn't even shiver at the feeling of his unnatural skin against mine, and couldn't help smiling a little. He chivalrously opened the door for me, then closed it after I was safely inside. I buckled in while he walked around the jeep again and climbed inside. Then he put the jeep in reverse and backed up a bit before turning the wheel and heading out of town.

The rain was coming down more heavily now, splattering against the windshield before being swept away by the wipers, then instantly replaced with more water droplets.

"Um…I don't suppose you have an umbrella handy, do you?" I asked him, trying not to dwell on the fact that we were sitting so close. It just felt so…right.

He chuckled, taking his eyes from the road ahead to glance at me for a moment. "As a matter of fact, there's one in the back. Alice foresaw that we just might need one for the human."

I nodded. Of course Alice had seen this. She saw everything, or so it seemed. "Uh…are you sure that your family doesn't, you know…mind?" I asked, before I could lose my nerve.

Edward looked puzzled, brow furrowing. "What do you mean, Bella?"

"That we're…" I couldn't really think of a word to describe what I was thinking. We weren't really dating, and the most we'd done was kiss once and talk a lot. Also, he'd watched me sleep all night.

"Together?" Edward supplied helpfully, and I nodded gratefully. "No, they don't mind. They actually think it's great."

"But I'm a human," I protested, turning around in my seat to watch him as he responded.

"You saw how they reacted to you yesterday, yes? I haven't ever been close to anyone, ever since I was…changed," he said in a low voice, golden eyes still focused on the rain-splattered windshield. "You're the first I've ever felt anything for, Bella."

Blushing, I awkwardly cleared my throat. "But Jessica told me you'd had lots of, um, 'mates'," I told him, remembering that short but disturbing conversation from so long ago.

"As you know, the Volturi occasionally break their own rules and take humans back with them for food," he replied darkly. "The victims are usually woman and girls, which is how the rumor got started. It only escalated when I was sighted around where one of the girls disappeared. Carlisle said to let the locals believe it to be the truth. It provides another layer of protection for them."

I nodded; that made sense. But it had to be hard being the Cullens. Their whole lives were lies, lived just to protect Forks from the menacing Volturi. I scrunched my eyes up, trying to think of something else I wanted to ask him. As I thought, thunder rumbled loudly on the horizon. "I'm not really sure if this is too personal a question or not…" I began slowly.

"What do you want to know?" he asked me, one brow arching.

"You never told me. How were you, um, changed? Are you bitten, then you have to be killed to rise again as a vampire? I sort of Googled it the other night, and that was the main theory on the net," I admitted embarrassedly.

"I think that's a story for another time, Bella. We're nearly there," he told me calmly, turning the wheel sharply to the left. I gasped out loud and clutched at the seat as the jeep turned off the highway and lurched into the trees that lined the road. It bounced haphazardly through the mud, Edward expertly managing to avoid crashing into any trees and killing me. For this, I was very grateful.

Eventually, Edward pulled the jeep to a stop and turned off the engine. The only sound was that of distant thunder and the rain pounding of the roof of the vehicle. "The jeep won't be able to get any further into the trees, so we'll have to go on foot from here."

"In this weather?" I couldn't help asking, a note of horror in my voice.

He smirked roguishly. "Don't worry, it won't take very long." He reached into the back, then handed me an umbrella. Then he was gone in a blur of color, his door closing at the same time that mine opened. I jumped slightly, then let him help me from the jeep to the ground.

I sank deep into mud, and grimaced with unhidden disgust. I blinked, then I found myself on his back, arms wrapped around his neck and legs around his waist. My whole body getting hot despite the cold rain pummeling me, I swallowed and asked warily, "Uh…what exactly are you planning, Edward?"

As a reply, he ran. I squeezed my eyes closed as rain drops slammed into my face, and trees shot past. Branches scratched my arms and occasionally my face, and I winced and hoped they wouldn't cut deeply enough to draw blood.

And then, as quickly as he had begun running, Edward stopped. He reached around and somehow took my waist, setting me onto the ground. My feet squished disgustingly in mud, then I cautiously opened my eyes.

We were in the middle of a large field, trees forming a circle around the clearing. The sky was dark, and rain still poured from above. "Well, that was…fun," I said carefully, while he grinned at me. Edward opened the umbrella and handed it to me, then we walked out onto the field.

The other Cullens were waiting in the center of the field, seeming oblivious to the rain that had completely soaked them. Alice waved at me cheerily, though Rosalie looked less than thrilled to see me.

"Hello, Bella!" Esme chirped happily. "It's wonderful to see you again!"

"Thanks," I said shyly. "It's good to see you, too."

"Since Edward and Bella are here, shall we begin?" Carlisle proposed to the others. "I think it's safe enough now." Another rumble of thunder illustrated his point.

"Yes, it's time," Alice said with certainty. She held up a glove, and it swallowed her tiny hand as she put it on. Carlisle took a bat from the ground, shaking it hard to disperse many droplets of mud from its wooden surface.

"Come along, dear. Let's stand over here and watch. Sometimes they like to cheat, so watch carefully." Esme looked severely at Emmett as she said this, leading me off to one side.

I was only minorly surprised when they didn't warm up before starting the game, remembering belatedly that they were vampires, and probably wouldn't get cramps.

Everyone got into position, and then Alice held up a ball and looked Carlisle straight in the eye. I waited expectantly, then blinked. And the ball was gone, colliding with the bat with a tremendous cracking sound, much like the thunder rumbling around us. It soared high into the air, almost as though it actually had wings. Then Emmett was jumping upwards and grabbing it. He landed back in the mud, carelessly sending globs of it in all directions. Rosalie whistled at him, beaming when he winked in her direction.

I laughed, startled. "So that's why you guys need the thunder when you play," I realized.

"That's why we need the thunder," Esme agreed, nodding.

It was Jasper's turn to bat. He swung the wooden bat agilely around his legs, obviously showing off. I presumed it was for Alice, who was watching him with both eyebrows calmly raised as she waited to throw another pitch. She rolled her neck, then pulled her arm back and smmothly threw. Jasper swung his bat in a lightning-fast circle, then brought it around just in time. It cracked into the ball with a sound that made me cover my ears, flying high into the air.

I laughed as Emmett and Edward both lunged for the ball at the same time, crashing into each other in midair as lightning split the sky. Esme joined in my laughter, and I couldn't help grinning as they both crashed to the ground. Mud went everywhere, some coming very close to hitting me in the face, then they were back on their feet again.

Suddenly, Esme tensed beside me, sniffing the air delicately. The smile slid from her face, and she took several steps away from me. "Carlisle!" she cried, voice ringing out above the sound of the pounding rain and rumbling thunder. The single word brought the game instantly to a halt. I blinked, and found that they had all rushed to join us. Edward and Emmett were dripping with mud, though Alice had somehow managed to remain perfectly clean.

"What is it?" the blonde doctor asked quickly, eyes scanning his wife's expression.

"Someone is coming this way. I caught their scent," she replied quickly, a look of deep concern covering her face. "They are vampires, Carlisle. More than one of them."

Emmett cursed under his breath, though it was audible even to my ears. And yet no one reprimanded him, like I'd been expecting. Things had to be really serious.

And then Edward was at my side, pulling my hair down from its ponytail and arranging it around my neck. I winced as he pulled it a little too hard, but didn't say anything. Then he took the umbrella away from my hand, sloppily folding it up again, and tossed it into the mud behind us. I was instantly drenched in freezing water that still poured from the heavens, and shuddered. My hair was immediately transformed into a dripping curtain around my face, partially obscuring my vision.

"That won't work," Rosalie said bitterly. "I could smell her halfway across the field."

Edward answered by grabbing the baseball cap from her head and shoving it onto mine. It kept the rain out of my eyes, for which I was eternally grateful.

"Edward, take Bella and get her to the jeep," Carlisle was saying, his voice strained.

Alice's face was blank, eyes wide and unseeing. "It's too late. They're here," she murmured absently, staring at something that only she could see.

"Get behind us, Bella," Jasper said, moving to stand in front of me. The others did the same, Edward remaining at my side. He reached out and took my hand in his, clenching it tightly. I swallowed hard, shocked at the intensity of his anger and concern. He was actually worried about me. He really did care for me.

And then I saw three shadows coming from the trees just ahead of us. The one who lead the others held a baseball, smiling grimly. The Cullens didn't move to either greet them or attack, and so the trio of vampires continued forward towards us.

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