Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
It was the welcome inconvenience of a cute human cradled against his chest that kept Edward from his top speed. But Bella's heat was fairly leeched out of her over the two hour trip so that between the sun's failing light providing too little warmth to combat the damp 59 degrees, the nearly triple digit streams of air, and the necessity of clinging to a cold-skinned creature, she got quickly chilled. The brisk autumn wind whipping around the cliffs isn't helping either. At the sight of his shivering sweetheart, Edward is quick to come to her rescue.
"Cover your ears," he requests. When Bella, huddled in on herself, casts an annoyed glance his way, he simply rolls his eyes, grins at her and laughs out, "suit yourself, silly Bella." The cacophony that erupts from between his hands, now furiously rubbing together, is the immortal's equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. And even though she can't hear anything other than the ridiculous din, she can see his giggling face, and his obvious amusement at her bewilderment and continued annoyance. What she doesn't realize, and can't fathom, is that Edward is giddy at the prospect of this girl, who has the brass to be annoyed at, and defiant to, a potentially murderous myth.
His hands, near glowing with heat from friction have switched to frenetically roaming his shirtless torso, having tucked his flannel button-up in the waistband of his jeans. Warming his whole upper body takes a moment, and he's watching Bella's features morph from aggrieved discomfort into mild-mannered amusement. He's keen to ask what's tickled her, and does so after she dislodges her dainty fingers from her ears. "You just felt yourself up."
He guffaws once and freezes her, deer-in-the-headlights, with a dangerous smirk. Then, as he stalks toward her, he soothes, "No 'm cara, this is a vampire-feel-up." When she's fully in his arms, limp and warming, she moans comically loud and snarks ,"watch those wandering hands," and softer, "or don't." They are, at that moment, underneath her bra-strap at the center of her back and progressing steadily south of her waistline under her jeans. At her insistent but entirely unconvincing, "Quit it," he relents and returns to simply warming what cool skin remains. When the heat seems to have seeped into her sufficiently, he grabs her hand, tugs her over to the cliff face overlooking the Pacific and plops down unceremoniously amidst a copse of evergreens. She sits facing him a few feet away, back against bark, and the silence singes their nerves. Edward breaks it, his voice cracking through air like the frayed edge of a live-wire, "What do you want to know?"
She narrows her eyes, "What happened on the first day of school?"
Avoidance is his first instinct, so he says, "Pertaining to us? A few things actually."
"I'm talking about when you..." Bella's blush begins to bloom. "...you know, grabbed me."
"There's not a simple explanation for what happened. Let's just say you aroused me."
Her face is red, but the reason behind its color shifts from embarrassment to anger fairly quickly for a human. If nothing else is certain, it's clear that Edward ignites Bella's passions in roller-coaster fashion. "Don't do that. Try and distract me with your... vampire dazzle. I want to know what was really going on."
"I'm not lying, Bella. I felt—feel—desire for you. In every way imaginable; when your scent wafted to the front of that classroom, I felt a thirst for human blood that I've never experienced." He takes a moment to collect his thoughts, examine Bella for signs of stress and run his hands through his wind-whipped hair. "Your scent is beyond description, but I will say that I have never encountered such a perfect aroma in my whole life."
Bella glances around, as if taking in her surroundings for the first time. What she sees, among the rock-strewn mossy ground, the varieties of flora, and the panoramic view of the pacific, is her isolation and vulnerability. In spite of this, Edward detects no outward signs of fear. "You said that you wouldn't hurt me. Is that still true?"
"Yes. I've desensitized myself somewhat. Restraint is nothing new to me."
"I do trust you."
"You're right to question me, Bella. And you need to know these things about me, so that we're on equal footing. To me, you are much more than your scent. You are very important to me, so much so that I could never hurt you. I'm so, so sorry."
Nodding and nibbling on her lower lip are her only responses, but a burden is lifted by her straightforward acceptance of his nature. Bella, in her unpredictability, alights on a lighter subject.
"Where are you from?"
"Scotland." The word leaves a bitter taste in his mouth. "The highlands."
"Your accent isn't Scottish. You sound more like... Legolas." His eyebrows rise and there's a specter of a smile but he doesn't comment, mainly because her blush distracts him.
He'd intended to ease her into his more traumatic aspects, but Bella obviously has none of his hesitance. Between the situational stress and the frustration of her silent mind, he's having a hard time deciding how to answer, so deliberates, "It's a little tricky to..."
"Out with it," she interrupts.
"English isn't my first language. Nor my second."
Bella is silent a moment while she logics this out. Then she says, "Oookay. Let's come back to that one, captain confusing." A ponderous pause, then, "So you eat people?"
Aedwaerth feels like a fool for leaving this issue unaddressed, but her calm goes a long way towards assuaging his guilt. He's almost cheerful, "No. Animals. Besides you, It's been... well... a while since I was interested in human blood."
"And you chase down, like... deer and stuff, in the woods?" She says this in an attempt to convince herself.
"Deer are the largest component of my diet at the moment. But they taste somewhat... I would say it's analogous to bitter, though I'm not certain. Others mammals taste better, and it correlates to the amount of dietary protein. Wolves and the big cats are my preferences, but they tend to be scarce in any ecosystem. So mainly we eat the local large herbivores. In this case: deer. It gives our eyes a less conspicuous color; normal vampires, almost all of them, don't share our diet, and have red irises."
With no hint of sympathy, "Poor Bambi never had a chance did he? Wait. You said big cats. Like lions?" Her eyebrows are attempting to hide in her hairline. "You know what, never mind. Let me think for a second." And she does. "How much of what I've read is real, and how much is vampire propaganda: stuff made up to throw everybody off?"
"Snow in summer, you are astute."
"Flattery will get... oh hell." She breathes the expletive just as a smile overtakes her lips. Edward just smiles, happy and smitten until he realizes she asked him a question he's yet to answer.
"Most of it is nonsense. In fictionalized accounts, writers attribute a number of weaknesses to vampires in order to create realistic tension between the two species. But we are, for all intents and purposes, invulnerable to humans. Meaning... aside from a tactical nuclear warhead, Van Helsing was massively outgunned."
"Has a vampire been nuked?" Her face is scrunched with something between confusion and mirth.
"Ah... there might've been one in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, but it's impossible to say. At any rate, that's more of a theory based on scientific observation combined with some personal empirical evidence."
"What empirical evidence?" Either Bella has a knack for asking troublesome questions, or he deems a large percentage of his personal history heavy for a human. She senses his hesitation and admonishes, "Look, either take me home or start answering my questions a little more honestly. What happened to 'anything, everything.'" Her imitation of his voice is not flattering. "I mean, we've kissed, and we're not even members of the same species, and I don't even..." By the time she gets wound up, Edward feels transparent and childish; he silently promises, to her and himself, to freely divulge the facts.
For some reason, Edward is reminded of their first few conversations. So, out of reflex rather than reason, he interrupts and attempts to soothe her, "Bella. You're right. And I'm sorry." He struggles with the words that need to come next. "It's just... my life has been—is—
a series of gruesome events. I only want to protect you from that. You are so young." Bella waits expectantly for him to continue. "I was in Ethiopia and there was an... altercation. I had to dispose of a particularly nasty member of 'my species,' as you so eloquently, and accurately phrased. We happened to be within a few miles of Erte Ale." He stops here to illuminate her on the active volcano, one of very few with a lava lake within the summit. "We tossed her in. I believe the temperatures, well north of 1000 degrees celsius, were enough to destroy her. She didn't climb out, at any rate. There are higher temperatures within the radius of a nuclear blast. Much higher actually." The look on Bella's face is completely indecipherable, and Edward hears no thoughts to go by. So he presses on. "Was that forthcoming enough?"
"So how many ways can you kill a vampire?"
He laughs, "You're already figuring out ways to kill me?"
"You're on thin ice, buddy. Above a lake of lava. Just answer the question."
"Yes ma'am. The traditional way to end us is decapitation, dismemberment, and setting the pieces aflame. There's the lava. I'd guess that the vacuum of space would probably do it, but I've no realistic way to test that one."
"That's it? No blood diseases or drowning or anything else?"
"Technically we don't even require oxygen, although it's uncomfortable to refrain from breathing for too long. I have never heard of any vampire dying from disease or old age." A large grin when he sees the segue. "And I'm very old, my darling."
Bella looks like an adolescent who's been served a plate of kale and squash. "Oh God, you're ancient aren't you. You must be, like, one hundred and four or something. You could be my great great grandfather. Maybe you are my..."
Again, her diatribe has left Edward laughing, "Oh, it's much worse than that, I'm afraid. Bella, I was born, I think, in the year 423. In Scotland. That's why English isn't my first language—it didn't exist yet."
Bella looks almost relieved, and then she levels him, "Somehow that's better."
"In what way is that better?"
It looks as though the thoughts occur to her as they leave her mouth when she starts, "Would it make sense if I said that because you're so different we can actually relate? Look, you can pose as a teacher at a rural high school, so you can't be that different. You look young. We... get along. It doesn't matter how old you are." It sounds to Aedwaerth like she's trying to convince herself.
"So what you're saying is... they don't make 'em like they used to." He has a wry grin on his face, because he wholeheartedly agrees, but she's not even listening.
"So what did you do back then, as a human? Were you a blacksmith or something?"
"I was a tribal king and a warrior."
She laughs, then sobers and says, "Oh. You're serious."
"Quite."
"So you had subjects. And a crown? This sounds ridiculous, Edward."
A deep sigh. "I know. But you've seen my crown," and his fingers sift through hair to reveal the dark ink underneath. "And I would not lie to you."
When the conversations stops and she considers this, he scuttles a few feet closer to her and, and when he hears no objections, he plants himself beside her. In those scant seconds, her posture has closed him off completely; her hair has curtained her face which is cradled in her own palms and she's canted forward, elbows on knees. Settled so close to her, Edward's actions have little basis in forethought—he simply places an arm around her shoulders and uses his opposite hand to reveal her right ear by placing the silken weight of her hair behind her shoulder. He leans close and says, "What is it?"
Bella can't quite banish the tortured look on her face, or the tremble in her voice when she asks, "How many times have you done this?"
"Done what?"
"Made some stupid, human girl fall for..."
A gasp, a mile-wide-smile then, "Do you like me, Bella Swan?" She doesn't say anything, rather she uses a backhand to speak for her, but Edward gingerly catches it before she can damage her delicate human hand. Placing lingering kisses along the back of her wrist, savoring the essence of her skin, he begins to disabuse her of such ludicrous notions. "I've been remiss, 'm cara. How could you know how wrong you are?" Edward has never seen her bright brown eyes so wide, or this beautiful woman look more like a child. "Vampires are different from humans. We're static, stuck in a single moment of time: that second after our transformation is complete. I've only gone through two true changes in my long life. The first was when I rediscovered my humanity, sloughed off the beast that bade me murder indiscriminately. The second was the moment I saw you, and knew what you might be to me. Do you not know? It is only you. It will only ever be you. You own me, 'm cara." Edward can't resist leaning close and placing a soft, sweet kiss on her parted lips. "You may doubt what I am, but please do not despair who I am."
"So what are you?"
A moment of heavy-handed self-judgment twists Edward's face into a hard mask. Then he tells her, "A murderer, a mercenary, a thief and a liar. Imagine a bad thing ,and I have probably done it. Dream of an evil, and I have seen it. Envision a life of darkness, and I have lived it." What was it she said earlier, he thinks, 'out with it.' "I killed corrupted and cold men for a thousand years. For a decade before that I ate anything with a pulse. As a human, I killed my fellow man for petty politics, land and wealth." He's sure to make eye contact with her here, in an effort to convey his sincerity. "I'm not remotely good enough for you, but I'm too selfish to leave you alone."
She doesn't say anything, but she also doesn't remove his arm from around her. Bella's reticence is frustrating for Edward, especially since he can't read her thoughts, but he won't begrudge her reflection on his revelations. Over the course of their conversation, the sun has squatted on the horizon. The orange orb has swelled under earth's atmospheric distortion, popped out from under the ever-present clouds, and the fading sunlight writhes on the salty chop. It's for this very view that Edward admires this place. He may be resigned to the shadows, but he is a creature of the light; the peculiars of circumstance may have curved his choices, but Edward emerged with a clear and profound understanding of what is moral and the way he must live to satisfy his conscience. As they watch the sunset, they both know this. Bella's perceptive mind has cleaved to his heart, and she sees him for what he is: a man, like any other, fighting an ancient struggle to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly.
"It's getting late. And cold." Bella's voice breaks several minutes of comfortable silence. Despite being able to hear a few human minds, Edward has experienced a moment of peace he rarely, if ever, experiences. It's realigned his thoughts and emotions, and they are in stark contrast to the serious conversation they just had. After getting both of them to their feet, he checks his phone, the latest touchscreen technology, which has a text message from his clairvoyant. It reads, Car- 750m north-northeast at Chevron. Key on front passenger wheel. Feed her.
With a hesitant smile, he informs, "Alice brought us more convenient transportation. It's about a half-mile away, so do you want to walk or ride?"
"Piggy back?" she asks.
"Sure, but you'll have to hang on tight. Can't have the g-forces taking you away from me."
Feigning hurt she retorts, "I've got a good grip."
Edward winks, and suggests, "I'm sure you do."
After Bella catches on, she looks flummoxed and mumbles, "Such a guy."
Edward squats down and glances sidelong saying, "Mount up."
A grin begins to creep at the corners of Bella's mouth, "Stop, already." But she climbs on without further protest, and Edward gently accelerates, no faster than a human, until he's dodging trees with preternatural grace.
"I'm sorry I teased you, Bella. I'm just happy you're not running away, or reporting me to your father."
"You underestimate me, Edward. I think... I thought I knew what I was getting into, what with you being my teacher, so all of this," she squeezes his shoulders, "isn't as big of a shock, maybe. It's just varying degrees of the same insanity."
"At least you've acknowledged that it's insane. And here we are." Edward slows to a reasonable pace as he breaks the tree line and comes to rest next to the Vanquish parked behind a gas station.
"Weird. I thought we were in the middle of nowhere."
"That's America. Always close to petroleum products." Bella gives him a strange look at his statement and then realizes that Edward has retrieved the key and has the door opened for her. When she stares, mouth agape and makes no move to get in the car, Edward inquires, "Would you like to drive?" No response. "Why don't you drive, and I'll navigate."
"Is this your car?"
"Not as sharp as I thought. What gave it away?" His teasing snaps her out of her funk. And she snatches the key, tongue pointed at a certain vampire, as she makes her way around the vehicle to the driver side door. When she gets there Edward is already there, door ajar, gesturing for her to sit.
"So you've been alive for like, forever. Just how rich are you?"
He contemplates for a moment then decides to be a bit vague, "I could buy every person in forks an Aston Martin. And still make the mortgage." Bella just shakes her head. "What do you know about the time-value of money, anyway?"
She hesitant at first but then divulges, "My mom isn't exactly responsible enough for that kind of thing. I started balancing the checkbook when I was 12." She rolls her eyes, "Don't get me wrong. I love her, but she was always too scatterbrained for that kinda thing."
"And you picked up the slack? That doesn't seem fair."
"Life isn't... like I need to tell you." Bella seems deep in thought, a condition that Edward groks is her norm. While she's contemplating, she slips the car into first and smoothly accelerates out of the parking lot, following his cues on their destination. Then she asks, "Speaking of unfair, how did you get to be a vampire?"
"If I answer your question, will you consent to mine for the rest of the evening?"
Tantalizing Edward, she chews on her lower lip and negotiates, "This one, and one more. But we're not done, Edward. I need to know things."
"That's debatable, but I'm willing to tell you, against my better judgment and counter to your best interest."
"So go ahead."
"I'd lead the war-band against a group of Celts that had been raiding my people's farms. After the battle..." Edward feels the car, traveling five miles-per-hour under the speed limit, swerve slightly before Bella recovers, "Tanya, a female vampire, bit me." After explaining the mechanism for vampire transformations, namely the bite and the venom, he continues, "She'd intended for me to be some kind of sexual accessory." Another small swerve as Bella flinches behind the wheel. "I declined by outrunning her. I'm very fast. I didn't see her again until 1905. We've since become... friends. She understands and respects that I could never be with her that way."
"That wasn't what I was expecting."
"Me neither. Alright, left here and then pull into that parking lot." Edward gestures to the boutique restaurant catty-cornered across the intersection.
"Edward, where are we?"
"Ocean Shores. Were you worried about us being seen together?"
"A little yeah. Where is that?"
"We're about one hundred miles south of Forks. And I can guarantee you that our little liaison will not be discovered."
"How?" Bella is clearly disbelieving.
"If I answer that question, it will be your last one for the evening." She deliberates, and then requests that he continue. "Bear in mind that you are my exception, in this and many other ways." As he says this the car comes to a stop outside the small seafood establishment and he takes her hands in his. "I can read the thoughts of those around me. In all my life, in all my encounters with humans and vampires, you are the only person whose thoughts are hidden. Do you know how remarkable you are?" His smile and sincerity have surprised Bella to the point of asphyxiation. "Breathe, 'm cara." She does and then, for the first time, initiates a kiss.
Their lips press against each other's firmly, almost awkwardly. Bella's hands have clutched his mouth to hers so humanly hard that he's afraid to move. They continue to kiss and cling for a minute, both of them silently cursing the cumbersome center console. Gradually she loosens her hold on his hair and pulls away to inform him, "I'm actually kind of hungry. Could we continue this later?"
Edward nods, not trusting his tongue, and they enter the tiny restaurant. What follows is 48 minutes of intense interrogation, where Edward catalogues characteristics and comments like he'll be tested on the material. Despite his tenacity for the task, it's the most pleasant meal that Bella can ever remember having, even if she's struggling to chew with her mouth closed amidst his incessant questioning. Discovering that Bella is an intelligent, intuitive introvert is akin to an archeologist uncovering Atlantis for Edward. He's so attracted and so attentive during the meal, that Bella is constantly slapping at his wandering hands. What neither realizes, Edward-the-mind-reader included, is that everyone in the restaurant is glowing with their reflected affection. Just as they've ignited each other, everyone around them experiences a small portion of their joy. Just as the check comes, and they prepare to leave, Edward senses this in the thoughts of those around them; he realizes something, that they'll never succeed in hiding their feelings for one another.
When they get back in the car he gets on his cell, despite the late hour on a weekend, and dials Alice. "You know what I need, huh?"
"Yeah, but are you sure this is the best idea?"
"I don't really have a choice."
"But I was going to be your student next semester," Alice whines.
"Text me the number."
Bella curiosity demands she join in, "What's going on."
"I need to make a phone call. We'll talk about it after."
"Oookay."
When the text comes in he quickly clicks the screen. Driving and texting are no real difficulty given his abilities. The number rings. Rings. Rings.
"This is Paul Greene."
"Principal Greene. This is Edward Cullen. Do you have a moment to talk?" Bella mouthes, What are you doing?
"Sure Edward, what can I do for you? First week go okay?"
"Beyond my expectations. But I have some bad news. There's been some family issues, and I need to tender my resignation, effective immediately."
Shocked silence emanates in the car, and over the phone. "If that's what you need to do, son. But I gotta tell you, you've put us in a tight spot. We opened that AP biology section just for you."
"I realize that, and I've made some preparations. If a substitute can make it through a week or two, I can find an adequate replacement. Is it alright if I email you with some details tomorrow?"
"That'd be fine. I hope whatever is going on with you turns out alright."
"I've no doubt it will, sir. Thanks." Click. He can't help but grin at Bella's disbelieving face, but before she can say a word about anything, he starts in on his second decision. "Bella, do you want to be with me? Will you let me get to know you? Spend time with you? Learn how to make you happy? Please?"
In spite of the startling past few minutes, she can only answer with a trademark blush and "Yes."
"Then I need to talk to your father."
A/N: I hope there is a correlation between how easy it was for me to write a chapter and how much y'all enjoy it. Rock on. Bonus points for anyone who can spot the biblical reference... maybe I could send you a portion of the next chapter. Put it in your review I guess.