Stuck Between a Vampire and a Hard Place
Chapter 25: Vampires and Cinema
"Well it seems as if you're implying that I'm over-reactive," Mia joked as we all huddled around in the "cinema room."
"It's not that! Dude, I'm just saying that Ross is a more laidback kind of guy…" Austin trailed off before leaving with a few other guys. He fit in quite nicely here, or I was just being very accepting today.
"He looks sixteen, Mia. How do you know that Ross isn't some dopey high-schooler?"
"So! Asians have this genetic thing where they look twenty years younger than they actually are, Zoie! Example, like me!"
Zoie threw her arms towards Mia as if pointing out her entire body. "Does she look like an embryo to any of you?"
Apparently ignoring the figure of speech, someone blurted, "Wouldn't it be sperm?"
"I'm twenty-one, for God's sake, it's besides the point!"
A smile crossed my lips while the others laughed.
We were waiting for Michael, Alberto, and Austin to run a few errands from the store. Being out of popcorn wasn't the best predicament to suffer from while enduring movie night. All of the Cullens, even Bella, had come to join us; along with our new family additions. Luxury seats and special surround-sound speakers in our "cinema-room" provided as an adequate home theater. Even a vampire couldn't resist, or our new roommates.
"So Zoie and Tyler… how long have you two known each other?" Edelle asked, popping up from behind their seats.
"Um… well… Tyler and I met at Nordstrom," Zoie paused and looked to Mia across the room, "much like my friend over there… But we got together-together like… what? Two years ago?"
"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Tyler, from the beginning of junior year?" Bella's soft, human voice twinkled.
"Why? Did I hit on you or something?" Tyler retorted with a smirk. I was guessing that he probably had.
"You kissed me… remember? And that was right before you almost killed me," she replied with a small giggle. Edward's attractive smirk never left his beautiful, flawless face while he listened to Bella speak. Dammit! He could read my thoughts!
"Tyler!" Zoie screeched before smacking him. Apparently he hadn't told her about that incident.
He didn't seem to flinch at the hit. "Werewolf, honey. Don't feel the pain, don't lose, just gain."
"Lovely jingle; but let's just see how you'd look purple," Zoie teased, turning Tyler's face into a deep shade of violet. Wow… impressive.
"Did anyone else just see that?" Emmett asked, confused beyond reason. It also perked Carlisle's attention to see Zoie manifest her powers so easily.
"Can you see this, too?" Michele ridiculed as she flashed a delicate hand over the fine leather seat, daisies and clover sprouting instantly.
"Hell no! What the eff…" Emmett stated bewilderedly. The other Cullens seemed just as amused; with the exception of Edward and Alice… I presumed that they'd seen it coming. Carlisle was an exception as well, only because I'd told him of this before.
"Unique aren't we?" Edelle commented with a grin. Knowing what that small expression meant, I rolled my eyes. Show off… Instantaneously she transformed into a peacock. Feathers fluttering then combining into the orange fur of a tiger. She purred with a feline face striped with black and white. The others in the room that were unfamiliar with her supernatural powers watched in either amazement or fear. The beautiful beast then morphed into a lap dog, finding her merry way into Michele's arms.
"Edelle, you're so adorable when you're not in human form!" Michele cooed with a laugh.
Edelle changed into a frog and leaped onto Michele's face, an amphibious slime sticking to her forehead. "Take that!" she croaked.
Emmett roared with laughter at the sight of such an amazing creature. I smiled as I watched Carlisle's expression blossom with fascination. His golden eyes staring intently on my shape-shifting friend, he watched with wondrous hypotheses flying through his academic mind.
"Back to the real subject…" Mia interrupted. "So you're five years apart, Zoie?"
"Isn't that illegal?" Michele inquired, being her mischievous self.
"Being twenty-two and dating a seventeen-year-old? That's so badass juvy style. Really, Michele?" Shadia scoffed. "Besides, Austin's what? Like four? And dating a…" she paused with an evil smirk, "never mind…"
Edelle -back in human form- gave her the annoyed look and slapped her shoulder. "Yeah, never mind, Shadia. Hey… Wait a second- he's nineteen! Way older than seventeen!"
"Oo… two years! Such a miracle!"
I chuckled at their feud. These were the good times. Even Carlisle enjoyed them, regardless if these people were family or not. We'd all adopted each other as friends, brothers, sisters, and then some. He'd seemed to grow quite a bond towards my family; only the same couldn't be said for me. Come to think about it, I had actually formed something or another towards his, only that I hadn't spent so much time with them as before when I first arrived in Forks. But I didn't mind that much. We'd have forever to get to know each other better and eternity to bond. No rush…
But then, breaking my thought process, the mocking cries shuddered in my direction. "Raven's a cougar!"
My eyes darted to Edelle, shock and embarrassment on the brim of verbal release. I felt Carlisle's low chuckle rumble softly from beside me. "What! No, I'm not!"
"Uh, yeah! Miss 1470!" she countered again.
"I'm twenty-two!" I argued in disbelief. It wasn't as if I was a pile of dust now.
"Dude, he's twenty-three!" Emmett joined in. Rosalie momentarily glared at him, refusing to lighten up.
"Pedophile!" Shadia threw in at her given cue.
"One year?" I questioned, nearly scoffing at their accusation.
"Absolutely still!"
"Crazy witch! Remember Sacha? Her mom was a freaking ten-year pedophile; Carlisle's nothing compared to that!"
"It's called a cougar for women!"
"Whatever!"
"But you're still a cougar yourself," Michele reminded with a sounding laugh.
"How?" I questioned, my brow raised in waiting for an answer. I noticed Carlisle's humorous amusement to the subject.
"Um… 1640s, 1470s, hello!"
"He's twenty-three!" I argued again.
"Okay, Grandma!"
"UGH!" I grunted, collapsing in defeat. For once I heard Rosalie chuckle, a beautiful noise, much like Alice's except at a lower and much more seductive pitch.
"Think of it this way, Raven… You could have been Carlisle's great, great, great, great-"
"I'm getting a cup of coffee," I stated, leaving the room as Michele continued to repeat the words.
"Great, great, great, great, great, great…" until I could no longer hear her.
I snagged a mug from the cupboard and walked over to the steaming coffee pot. Pouring myself a glass, then resting on the counter, I waited for Carlisle to personally announce himself. I'd known that he'd followed me here, and I was always delighted to know that I had my own personal stalker.
His hands brushed up against my hips while his chin worked its was through my hair. He inhaled deeply, taking in my scent. His lips kissed the surface of my neck beneath my ear, whispering soft words, "How old are you really, my dearest?"
Still shuddering from his icy breath, I leaned back into his chest. "Let's see… I was born in 1492, and this day I am five hundred and seventeen years old…"
He chuckled and kissed my cheek from behind. "Only a mere century and a half difference."
"Give or take a few years?" I added with a sounding giggle.
He smiled at my comment and rocked me in his steady arms, not once letting go for a moment of space. Not that I needed any of course.
"So what do you think?" I asked with a curious edge. Perhaps I could've been more descriptive in my question, but I wanted to see if he could figure that out on his own.
"About the family?"
"And the others, too," I replied proudly.
"Well… I'd have to say that they're nothing like you."
I smirked. "Is that a compliment… or a… contagious disease in the making?"
He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. Still pressing my frame against his own he replied, "Neither. I stated a personal benefit. You, my dear, sweet Raven, are one of a kind."
"That's besides the original question," I teased, biting my lower lip.
"Family," he sighed happily, "family… family, family… I'd say that they're managing to get along quite nicely."
"I share your perspective so far, go on…"
"Not to mention, we have quite a few ties."
My eyes thinned. Were there really any relations that remained unknown? What, was Zoie his second cousin, and Austin as Emmett's nephew? "How so? The curiosity moves me."
He turned me around to face him. Placing his gentle lips on my forehead then slowly dragging down the curve of my nose, he stopped short of my lips to answer my question. But I wanted so desperately to skip the talk and kiss him now.
"Are you prepared for a long… tedious… boring chain of who's related to whom? Or are you thinking otherwise?"
"Just kiss me…" I whined under my breath.
I felt his golden eyes staring down to me. His lips pulled upwards in a smile, showing his fangs- or what was barely of them. Something about that made myself weak in the eyelids and knees, nearly making me fall into his arms. Carlisle was so attractive… and the fact that he was so powerful and strong only made my want for him greater. Those destructive fangs that could rip through my flesh so easily with one strike… those little seductive points…
"Dearest, if you're going to persuade me any more than you are already, I'm going to have to wisp you away at this very moment."
Finding myself up against him with my tongue sucking on his neck, I presumed that this was my subconscious way of fulfilling my desires. "My apologies, but it seems as if I cannot contain myself with you."
"Why, such a harsh accusation, my love," he cooed.
"GET A ROOM!" Austin shouted from behind.
I involuntarily jumped at the threatening remark. His voice still immature, although nineteen, only made the hoarse pitch cracked and stale. Seriously, had he even hit puberty yet?
I felt Carlisle's cold chuckle against my neck. "Perhaps after the film…"
I shuttered and resisted the urge to hide all of our disks and tapes to prevent such a disturbance. I wanted to skip everything that the family had planned; maybe then I could escape with my Carlisle. Besides, I wasn't too enthusiastic about watching a dumbass movie anyways…
However, I wouldn't allow myself to sabotage my family night like that… as much as I was self-tempted.
But, going along with status quo, Carlisle and I painfully made our way back to the "cinema room."
"Just in time!" Mia cheered, ushering us to our seats.
I made myself a personal inside joke as I observed all of the Cullens crammed into the back corner. Either they felt awkward or wanted the quickest escape rout if the flick got that boring. I wondered if they'd take me along… actually that'd be a great idea.
A low chuckle simmered from the back corner.
Damn you, Edward…
"Where the hell's the popcorn?" Shadia whispered/yelled to Michael and Austin.
"What're you talking about?" the blond replied. He observed her expression, eyes widening at Shadia's anguish. "Oh! THAT popcorn! It's downstairs."
"Well then, go get it!" Mia sassed.
Austin jumped up from his seat, nearly running for the door.
"Wait!" Alice called, a look of disbelief on her angelic face. She spoke slowly as if to get in touch with a less civilized, somewhat retarded character- which Austin was. "Pop it in the microwave first, Austin. Pop it first…"
"Oh, yeah…" he trailed off.
The door shut with a creak while we waited in silence for him to return.
"Is it just me, or does Austin always seem like he's on crack?"
"What a lovely remark Emmett, but quite frankly, you're the one to talk," Edelle scoffed. She pouted overenthusiastically and crossed her arms before bursting into laughter. Everyone followed her example and even Emmett chuckled a bit.
"Oh! Oh! Oh, my God!" Mia hollered at she looked into a shining light on her lap. Reacting quickly as usual, I got ready to pounce for whatever was going on.
"What is it!"
"It's- it's- a… new… message…!" she squealed with tiny gasps.
I plopped back into Carlisle's lap and rolled me eyes at the drama queen. "That's… it?"
Ignoring me completely, she quickly fanned herself and asked, "W-What should I say to him? He just said 'hi,' to me!"
"Say, hey."
"With one y or two?"
"GOSH, Mia!" Michele sighed with a giggle.
"Yeah, I'm with Michele," I commented with a raised brow and steady smirk, "I've never seen you get this hyped over a human before…"
She blushed in reply and huddled into her seat, fingers racing away at her lovey-dovey text message. Following her lead, I nestled myself against Carlisle's chest. Stroking his shirt collar, I gently kissed his cheekbone and rested contently against his shoulder. My eyelids were beginning to feel heavy. I curled loosely against his frame, keeping myself from dozing off. I hadn't been sleeping well lately; I wasn't sure why, but I knew that it came with consequences.
"Would you fancy some sleep, Raven? You surely do need it."
"I can't abandon this, as much as I might want to," I replied, holding strongly to my quality time.
Austin marched in. "POPCORN!"
A few mumbles passed on here and there but it wasn't like any of us were moved by his victory call.
Michael grabbed his own bag, a critical look on his face. "Dude, this isn't butter… it's a synthetic nightmare…"
I chuckled under my breath at his comment. "Butter, plastic- what's the difference?"
Michael groaned as he almost unwillingly took a handful of popcorn to his lips.
"It took a lot of hard work to prepare all of this for you! And you call it plastic… sickening…" Austin spat with that creepy grin climbing to his crooked smile.
"Yeah, what a man…"
"Can we just shut the fuck up, pass the popcorn, and watch the movie, please?"
"Ha! You even admit that I'm bold, strong, and independent!" Austin replied, disregarding the previous comment.
"Austin, you're not even man enough to have a vagina. So shut up!" Edward retorted with a smirk. Carlisle seemed surprised at his son's unusual remark. Apparently I'd been correct when I assumed that Edward was old-fashioned: no cussing, yelling, or premarital sex/vampire biting.
Austin gruffly sighed and stomped one foot. "J-Just- just… just watch the movie!"
Not that it bothered me -nor Carlisle and the other Cullens- but I found it to be more than just coincidence that we were watching Dracula: Dead and Loving It. Of who's accord, I wasn't sure, nor did I intend to find out. I just thought it was odd to be watching a comedy about vampires… with the current circumstance. But nonetheless, I easily managed to keep my eyes open during the whole flick.
Also, to my surprise, the vampires were actually amused? Hadn't they seen this movie before? For now, I'll go with no; but to suspect otherwise would be simply nonsense. You wouldn't laugh at these jokes the second time around, let alone barely the first. But Emmett's fond sense of humor seemed to make everything that happened funnier. I'd admit that, although it was boring -for me and the literal seventeenth playback- Mel Brooks did a great job, and I could see the reasoning behind my friends' laughter.
But when it came time for the climax to settle and the final moments to play, none other than the notorious boy in the corner had anything to criticize.
"Cheesy," Jasper moaned once it ended.
"Oh, please… you think you could do any better than the director?" Alice replied.
"Maybe…" he mumbled under his breath.
"Jazz, you can't even cook a hot pocket correctly. –And that's with a microwave."
"I don't even eat those!" he retorted innocently.
Alice rolled her eyes. "So? How hard is it to place a meat-sack in a little box and punch in three numbers?"
Transitioning quickly to the other side of the room, I saw Edelle climb to her feet. "You guys get along so well…" Edelle yawned while standing up to stretch. She looked down and observed the sleeping boy at her side. "I should get him to bed."
"Yeah," Michele agreed with a look of disgust, "I don't want him drooling on our couches more than he has already."
Shadia let out a high-pitched squeak of repugnance. "Ew! That's gross!"
Edelle rolled her eyes and threw Austin's arm over her shoulder, picking him up bridal style before leaving the room.
"She can carry all of his weight?" Carlisle whispered.
I smiled at his intrigued question. "All she has to do is morph her muscles under her skin into that of a stronger species."
"Amazing…" Carlisle breathed.
"No more or less…" I commented with a smile. "Well, I'm heading to bed."
Carlisle gave me that look of permission that he usually gave before following me around.
"And you're welcome to join me, dearest."
He smiled with his boyish features. "Much obliged."
"Same here… I'm heading to bed, y'all," Michael announced quietly while rubbing his eyes.
I almost didn't notice the other agreements and farewells as I stared competitively into Carlisle's eyes. A good stare-off was my weapon of choice, especially when it came with beautiful rewards. I'd once said that I'd never seen such golden eyes before; and from the start it had made Carlisle unique. His children had the same color and glow, but with him it was different. Something about Carlisle was dissimilar and strange, but in a good way. The exotic and discrete approach that he portrayed his life aspects was apart from the norm and even his own children. No one was as compassionate as Carlisle, and I assumed that the earth had intended to keep it that way.
I saw a smirk cross his face. He had something mischievous in mind.
And the next thing I could comprehend was a soft blanket covering me slowly. He kissed the top of my head, "Goodnight, my darling. I love you."
Tucking me into bed at twenty-two years old… but I knew he wasn't babying me. Carlisle was a man who knew what and when to give. His actions could sometimes be unnecessary, but were always well wroth the trouble.
"I love you, too, Carlisle. And thanks," I blushed while slightly lifting up my sheets and peering at my currently being worn nightgown, "the pajamas are a nice touch."