The Stars and the Sun
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. I own uh…a house. It's a nice house. At some point I should go outside it and mow the yard….
Summary: What is someone from our universe enter the Twilight universe? What would she think? Do? Feel? And what is our universe was the fictional one?
Author's Note: I am truly impressed by the reviews. I'm glad so many people liked the last chapter. So yes, our Elizabeth and Gabriel are officially a couple but they have a ring or two to jump through yet. Like the whole I saw you kill a college kid thing. Yeap, that might be a hurdle. Gabriel's going to totally max out his cc on Betsey Johnson and chocolate covered strawberries because of that. Maybe a bottle of mead or three…from Ireland.
Also, please don't forget to check out youtube for Elizabeth's Ipod music. It's what they listen to in the car. It will come back into play in the next chapter... ::vbeg:: I've been updating the list and adding videos. Elizabeth's tastes are just eclectic. The link is on my profile page at the end.
Chapter 25
Gabriel drove away from the beach, away from the murder scene, down 50, and back towards DC. I sat slumped in the passenger seat this time, half curled up and gazing out the window. We'd stay at some hotel tonight and worry about picking up Miss Ginsie in the morning. Right now, I was worried over the family of the boy, his friends, and my Gabriel.
I wanted to know if he felt guilty over killing in front of me or if he was truly remorseful for having killed at all. I was praying it was the latter rather than the former but I also realized I wouldn't leave him either way. My feelings towards him also bothered me. How could I love someone who was essentially a serial killer? The answer: easily.
He had smelled blood. How hard would it be for me to avoid killing someone when they essentially have chocolate syrup running through their veins? And then for them to attack me, for me to defend myself, for them to start to bleed that divine substance… No, I wouldn't fair well either. Between the anger and the scent, my own instincts wouldn't have been much better; assuming the guy had chocolate syrup for blood.
And that's why I knew I couldn't be upset with Gabriel. How do you get upset with someone who was not only trying to defend you but do what comes naturally? He was only trying to defend my honor –from his perspective- and get the boy to apologize. If the boy had listened, he'd be alive. Instead, he fought. Gabriel defended and that was the boy's undoing.
I heard Gabriel intake air like he was about to say something. I turned my head to look at him but I saw the pain and confusion in my vampire's eyes. He thought better of speaking and looked back out on to the road again. The sliver of a moon barely lit the roadways as we zoomed by a perfectly good exit with hotels.
"Gabriel?" I whispered. I noticed he slowed down slightly and turned to look at me.
"Si, Elizabetta?" he asked softly, carefully. He looked so…fragile. I felt that if said the wrong thing he'd break into a million pieces. Yes, he was feeling guilty but for which reason?
"Where are we going?" I asked gently. His face twisted slightly into a hint of confusion.
"To a hotel, cara mia," he replied.
I pointed behind us. "There was a sign for a Super 8 back there," I told him. His face hardened and he looked forward again.
"I will not have you staying at just any inn that we find every again," he said determinedly. I rolled my eyes.
"The Super 8 is perfectly fine. I'm sure it's clean and looks closer to the hotel we just stayed at than that rat trap we burned down," I mumbled.
"I will not have you staying at such a simple place," he muttered. I watched as his fists clenched and narrowed my eyes at him. Although we were arguing, the familiar feelings that this argument brought up felt comforting, welcoming. Almost like it was pushing out the silence and worry from the past few minutes and going back to the typical snide comments we were both very use to.
"Watch the steering wheel," I snapped at him. He looked at me, surprised, for a moment, and then began to laugh. It only took me a couple of seconds to smile at him. The familiar comments we were both making, the familiar comfort of our argument seemed so out of place with the previous mood.
"I will not break your steering wheel, amore," he said, his voice light. I watched as emotions began to play across his face though. His face began to fall and form a tight line. "I will not break anything ever again," he whispered. I didn't need to be a mind reader to see what he was thinking about. It was written all over his face. He was feeling guilty over the boy.
"Gabriel," I said gently, placing my hand on his arm. He covered my hand with one of his own.
"You should not have witnessed my behavior, cucciola mia. I will be stronger and not kill a human again. I will stick to this…vegetarian diet if you so wish," he told me. I sighed and pulled my hand away as I looked back out the passenger side window.
"It's not about what I wish, Gabriel," I muttered, slightly angrily. "It's about what is right," I told him.
He was quiet for so long that my anger faded and I looked back over at him. His lips formed a grim line. I was about to call out to him again when he spoke. "I have committed too much evil for this world," he stated matter of factly.
"Gabriel," I sighed, half rolling my eyes.
"No, amore. What I say is true. I am a vampire, a murderer. Yet, despite that, you stay," he told me, curiosity coloring his tone.
"Yes, you are a vampire," I told him, sitting up straighter in my seat so I could face him properly. "But you don't have to be a murderer. You said you have changed and I think you will change more," I told him. I bit my bottom lip and looked down at the consul. I didn't think I had that many coins in the cup holders…
"Like I said earlier, I'll need your help next year," I whispered. "If you try and stick to the vegetarian diet, then you can help me do the same," I continued.
"I killed someone, Elizabetta. I doubt he was a murderer or worse either," Gabriel said, emphasizing the word "killed" as he spoke. He muttered something in Italian under his breath but I chose to ignore that.
"Yes, you did. And I seriously doubt I'd do much better if the boy had been bleeding out buttercream icing right under my nose," I told him emphatically. My eyes met Gabriel's red ones.
We stared at each other for a moment. Even though he was driving, I knew he had perfect peripheral vision. He didn't need to look ahead to drive. I stayed strong, not backing down, my eyes never wavering from his. It was Gabriel who made the first move by raising his eyebrow. "Buttercream icing?" he asked.
I shrugged and looked down slightly. "It's harder to resist than chocolate syrup," I told him truthfully. There was just something about licking the icing bowl clean when you are making a cake. Eating straight chocolate syrup was just disgusting but straight icing? Delicious. After all, who hasn't had a bad break up or a really bad day and at least thought about eating just the icing cup? Well…among human females at least….
I looked up when Gabriel smirked. A hint of his normal sarcastic smile upon his face. I smiled back slightly. "Then I shall endeavor not to take another human life and help you next year so that you will not make the same mistakes as myself," he told him.
I nodded once. "Good." Looking around, I noticed we were getting close to the Annapolis mall. I had been there enough –there is nothing more amusing than going to the mall after the Renn Fest- to know there were hotels around it. "Why don't you pull off up here?" I asked.
He looked at me in question but complied without a word. "There are a few hotels around here," I informed him right before we passed one of those blue signs that showed the various directions to different hotels.
"Hmm," Gabriel hummed before turning towards the mall. Most of the hotels looked to be the other way. I looked up at my vampire curiously but said nothing. It was only a couple of minutes later that I found us pulling up into a Sheraton. Well, I guess that was the Super 8 of the rich and famous. I doubt I could convince my vampire that the Holiday Inn would have been fine.
Gabriel parked and I started to get out of the truck to follow him. He smiled at me, opened my door, and shook his head. "Wait here, cucciola mia. I will see if they have rooms available," he told me. I scowled when he kissed the top of my head and closed my door. I don't see why I couldn't go in with him.
While waiting inside the truck, I kept my arms crossed. It took me a moment to realize I no longer cared that Gabriel was paying for the room. Was it simply because I knew he was mine and wouldn't expect the Cullens to pay him back? Or was it because I finally realized I did love him and he loved me? I wasn't sure and didn't care either way.
We'd have a lot to discuss tonight and I was hoping that I would be able to stay up. I was pretty good about staying up until pretty darn late without too many issues. It's if I went for about a week with staying up late that I started to be permanently "grumpy Lizzie" as Emmett would say. I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
I heard the car door open and saw Gabriel climb in the driver's side. I smiled slightly at him until I saw his face. He looked sort of…mad. "Gabriel?" I asked him, concerned.
"The room is upon the third floor. They allow pets so your zibellina will be welcomed if we choose to stay," he stated.
"Gabriel," I said, trying to demand what was wrong with my tone. He said nothing and re-parked the car closer to the back of the hotel. I could see the huge indoor swimming pool and regretted not bringing a bathing suit. Maybe I could go to the mall tomorrow and get a new one?
I went to grab my door again but Gabriel beat me to it. I looked up at him and he smiled. "My apologizes, cara mia," he said as he took my hand and kissed it lightly. I must have stiffened at his kiss: my hand near his mouth brought back memories of the poor boy breaking his hand. Gabriel looked concerned and sadness started to fill his eyes again.
"What happened in the lobby?" I asked as I hopped out, holding his hand tightly. I was not about to let Gabriel worry over hurting me. He could feel guilty killing the boy but he was not allowed to feel any sadness over me.
Gabriel was easily distracted by my comment. "The hotel cashier was…friendly," he said. His tone indicated that this cashier was a lot more than friendly. I could feel the jealousy bubbling up inside of me. Who cares if he only admitted that I was his mate less than a couple of hours ago? I loved him long before that, even if I couldn't admit it to myself.
"Oh," I replied. I at least hoped she wasn't pretty. If she wasn't pretty then I could deal with my jealously more easily. Clearly, Gabriel didn't like being hit on by her either way but…
"Was she pretty?" I asked brightly, trying to hide my fears.
"No, he wasn't," Gabriel said as he lead me towards the hotel. I stopped, forcing Gabriel to stop too. He looked down at me curiously as I started to laugh. I stood there, in the middle of the parking lot, wrapping my arms around my middle as I shook with laughter. Gabriel actually attempted to glare at me. He needs practice.
"Did he," I tried to say but my words were only coming out in between gasps of laughing, "try to.. come on..to you?" I was grinning wildly at my darling vampire as he looked back down at me somewhat coldly.
"Yes," Gabriel answered as he looked back at the hotel. He tried, again, to steer me towards the back entrance to the hotel.
"I've totally got to see this guy," I said, still smiling, and started to walk towards the front entrance. Who cares if it's cold out?
The only reason I wasn't moving towards the entrance was because of a cold hard hand wrapped around my upper arm. I looked up at Gabriel whose face was a mask. "What?" I asked him, still trying not to giggle…much.
"We can get to our room this way," he muttered, trying to drag me, albeit gently, to the back entrance. In turn, I attempted to hold my ground and failed miserably until I took my arm away from his grasp.
"Nu huh, I gotta see the competition," I teased.
"That," Gabriel stated emphatically, "is not competition."
My evil side immediately took over. The grin grew across my face. There are just days when I cannot help myself. "Well, maybe not for you but for me," I said with a shrug. "I mean, after all, if he thinks you're cute then we have something in common," I told him before heading towards the front entrance again. I got two steps before Gabriel grabbed me again.
I turned my head around to look at him. My beautiful vampire was standing there, mouth agape, looking like a fish out of water. My grin only grew.
In a flash, I found myself pressed up against Gabriel. He had pulled me into him again, holding me in a tight embrace, my head tucked against the crook of his neck, and he was growling. "Cute?" he asked as he growled. I smirked and looked up at him.
"Very cute," I teased. It was wrong to call him cute. Garden gnomes are cute. Gabriel was magnificent and devastatingly handsome but I liked seeing what I'm guessing is jealousy in his eyes.
"Jealous?" I asked, still teasing. He growled in response and pulled me with him up to the hotel room. It was only once we were in the elevator he let go of my shoulders enough that I could wiggle out of his grasp. Of course, all I did was start laughing. Gabriel humphed at my reaction.
We walked down the corridor with the typical terrible hotel carpeting towards our room. "Sorry, Gabriel," I giggled. He only muttered something in Italian under his breath. I think it was about green eyed women but I'm not sure.
I smirked and followed him into the hotel room. Of course, he couldn't just get a hotel room, he had to get a suite. The décor was all red and white and there was a living area, a kitchenette, and a couple of doors –one of which I'm sure is the bedroom and the other the bathroom. Just looking at the microwave reminded me of how little I had eaten lately.
Gabriel's eyes followed mine and he saw the microwave as well. "We should go out. I should not force you to eat hidden away as I have," he told me sadly. I shook my head.
"I'll just order room service," I said before stopping as I picked up the little hotel guide. "Unless it's too expensive," I more asked than told him. I'd happily go to Mickey D's and pick up some chicken nuggets. Gabriel just raised an eyebrow at me that told me all I needed to know. I picked up the phone and ordered crab cakes with a salad.
I picked at my food when it came. Gabriel and I had both become quite again, both lost in our own thoughts. My thoughts were about how weird my current situation was. If anyone told me two months ago that I'd be staying in a hotel room with a man I loved, I would have blushed and told them I didn't have anyone. Yet here I was; not that we were doing anything. Well, I was attempting to eat human food and Gabriel was finding the TV a curious thing. He was growing increasingly frustrated with the remote.
I held out my hand. "Gabriel, here. Let me do it," I told him with a sigh.
"No," he stated as he grimaced and tried to figure the remote again only to accidentally order Underworld: Evolution on pay per view. I quirked my eyebrow at him.
"Did you mean to order that movie?" I asked. Not that I minded. I rather liked it but that was before I was in this universe were vampires and werewolves were very real. The idea of a vampire growing wings now seemed…comical to me. Although Vampire/werewolf hybrids were good.
"No," he said frustrated and then began to mumble a string of things in Italian, growing increasing frustrated with the TV…to the point he crushed the remote.
"Gabriel," I admonished him slightly as I got up to help clean up the mess he made. I so did not want to be stepping on pieces of plastic in the morning.
When he saw what I was about to do, my beautiful vampire stopped me. I looked up at him and saw his sad ruby eyes. "No, amore. It is for me to do. I broke it," he said sadly. At the word "broke", his face crumbled even more. All I could think on was when he promised not to break anything else in the car. He was probably thinking of the murder again.
"Gabriel," I said softly, moving to at least hold his hand for a moment while I talked to him about this…all of this. About the Volturi Guard, the murder of the college kid, about…us. But he turned away from me and went towards the kitchen. Feeling rejected, I looked down. He had already cleaned up the pieces of the broken remote but I couldn't help but feel slightly broken –cracked- as well by his actions.
"I will take you to the Cullens," Gabriel said from the kitchenette. I turned around to look at him and saw his back still to me. "They will keep you until your year is up. They can help you," he stated. I immediately felt every fear from earlier, from before he told me I was his mate, spring towards the surface.
"No!" I shouted at him, angry and confused. I would not let him leave me. He would not pull an Edward.
Gabriel turned around, lightening fast, to look at me. I saw his eyes and looked down, feeling tears form in my own eyes. "You can't leave me. I'll just hunt you down. I won't stop lookin'," I whispered, my accent getting thicker by the second.
"Please, Elizabetta," he pleaded in a whisper. "I am not what is best for you," he told me.
Best for me? I remember all the times other people thought on what was "best" for me. My Dad decided it was "best" for me to go into Oceanography rather than Fashion Design. That had been a disaster. My school counselor thought it was "best" for me if I tried to talk to my teachers about a couple of issues I was having with two of them. One teacher decided to change the curriculum in the middle of the semester just to make things harder for me. Rather than multiple choice questions, it was all essays; I couldn't double check my work against someone elses. My friends thought it "best" if I stayed at home rather than try to figure a way to move out. It's not like apartments were cheap and that I had any money….
My anger got to a boiling point quickly. "Best for me?" I repeated. Gabriel stared back at me, his face a mask again. "Best for me?" I said angrily this time as I walked toward him, shaking my ring finger at him. "Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that?!?" I shouted.
I turned around and glared at the floor, trying to get my anger under control. It wasn't like I could hit Gabriel –it would just cause me to bruise my knuckles. "My bosses say that when they want me to go training. My teachers said that when they wanted me to re-write a paper for the sixth time rather than just giving me a grade. My own father said that when he wanted to push me into sports or doing something else that I would end up only getting hurt in. So best for me?" I asked looking back at my vampire. "I don't give a damn what you think is best for me," I told him.
My face softened a bit as my anger started to dissipate. "Let me decide what is best for me," I said, moving back towards Gabriel, who hadn't moved from his spot in the kitchenette. "You may not be what is best for me," I agreed, "but you are what I need."
I saw Gabriel's hand twitch after a few seconds. His face never faltered until his hand rose to cup my face. His eyes were sad but resigned. "Alright, cucciola mia. I will stay, I will not leave you."
"Thank you," I whispered as I kissed the palm of his hand. Both of us just looked at each other, neither moving away from the other. All I wanted to do was stay there for a minute or maybe an hour. I didn't care that his eyes were now ruby, I could get lost in them no matter the color.
Finally, Gabriel smirked after what must have been a good five minutes. "Go, eat, gioia mia," he told me before getting distracted by the movie on the TV. "Che cavolo…?" he whispered as he slowly dropped his hand from my face. I followed his gaze and giggled.
"Underworld. You haven't seen it?" I asked as I followed him back into the living room area.
Gabriel shook his head. "What is this regarding?" he asked as he watched in wrapped fascination.
"Werewolves and vampires. The guy there was born a werewolf but got bit by her," I said, pointing out the various characters on the screen. "So he's a hybrid now," I told him as I plopped back down to finish my dinner. Gabriel just looked at me in wide wonder. "What?" I asked.
He shook his head again. "Nothing," he said.
"Gabriel," I warned him as I popped a French fry in my mouth. It was cold now. Ugh.
"You know this show?" he asked, curiously, as he stretched his arms out along the back of the couch. He really looked devastatingly handsome.
I shrugged. "What can I say?" I told him before smiling slightly. "I've always had a thing for vampires," I teased. I'm really starting to love it when he does his fish out of water impression. It's really quite funny.
So, we spent the rest of the night watching the movie. At some point, I must have fallen asleep because I found myself the next morning in the big king sized bed rather than on the sofa out in the living room. I was slightly disappointed. I had hoped to wake up with Gabriel holding me but I guess that would be a while yet… We only just admitted our feelings to each other yesterday. And then a boy died. Fun.
I wandered out into the living room, yawning as I slowly woke up. Gabriel was sitting at the computer desk with my laptop, looking over Google maps with an intense look of concentration upon his face. I muttered something that sounded like hello. I think. At least it was a noise.
Gabriel looked over at me and gently took my hand to pull me towards him. With his other hand, he pointed to the screen. "Should we drive without rest or would you like to stop after a few hours?" he asked, pointing to the route. I saw that the yellow highlighted line transected the United States from one coast to the other. It was the route home.
"I'd like to," I started to say when the phone rang next to him. Gabriel muttered something about fastidiosi fata's under his breath. I grinned as I picked up the phone to answer it. "I'm sure she heard that," I told him.
I didn't even get a chance to say hello before Alice erupted into a very one sided conversation. "I did see that and you should burn his pinkie off for that. No, wait, you should burn his whole hand off after what he did in front of you last night! I can't believe him!" Alice exclaimed.
"Would Jasper have reacted any differently?" I pointed out to her. I can't see that the situation would have changed much at all if the boy had taken a picture of Alice and Jasper while they were uh…making out in a parking lot. Jasper would have killed him.
"That's not the point! You're still human!" Alice told me.
"Yes, and so?" I asked her.
"Elizabeth," she complained as she tried to explain this to me. "When the bloodlust gets like that he could have," she started. I saw my beloved vampire start to drop his head. I put my hand on his shoulder and stopped Alice immediately.
"He didn't, Alice. He's only been at this a couple of weeks," I informed her. He was trying. I know if I gave up everything to drink except water, I'd last maybe two days. If that long. I'd probably get dehydrated long before then. I lived off of ginger ale and lemonade.
Alice sighed heavily. "Well, at least come straight here. We can help him," she muttered.
I bit my bottom lip and looked down at Gabriel. He kissed my hand on his shoulder gently. I didn't want to go straight there simply because I really did want to see the country as we traveled. At the very least, I wanted to spend a day at Mount Rushmore and maybe Yellowstone…
"Do you see any problems if we don't?" I asked carefully. Alice was quite for a minute before begrudgingly answering.
"No, but I do see you NOT spending your birthday here if you don't come straight across," she informed me, unhappily.
I felt a smile creep across my face. "And how did you find out my birthday?" I asked.
"You are going to tell Gabriel on your birthday why you are so depressed. It was really cute in a way but I already warned him," Alice said. "And he was supposed to bring you straight here so you could have your birthday at home!"
I laughed a bit at that. "We can have a birthday party when I get to Forks, Alice," I told her. I'd just bring my letter opener with me to cut through the wrapping paper.
"Really?" she asked excitedly. Before I could answer, she squealed over the phone. "Oh, I need to make sure we can get a cake like that," she said absent mindedly.
"Alice, only Bella and I eat cake. The rest…well, I guess we could invite the wolves," I teased. Gabriel actually growled at that and Alice gave me a quick "No."
"You will have your cake. I promise I won't go overboard. Well, maybe with the balloons," she informed me.
"Lots of balloons is fine, Alice," I smiled.
"Okay, good. Oh, here's Carlisle," Alice said. I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye before Carlisle's voice sounded through the phone.
"Are you alright?" he asked, sounding gravely concerned.
"I'm fine, Carlisle," I told him. Glancing at my vampire, I decided to change the subject. "We'll be there, hopefully, before May first," I told him. I wanted to give Edward and Bella the books right about then. May first seemed like a good deadline for destination Forks, WA.
"I want you to be careful, Elizabeth. I have already spoken with Gabriel and he has already told me what has occurred. We would like you to come home as soon as possible," Carlisle told me.
"I will," I promised. "I just want to see Mount Rushmore and maybe stop by Yellowstone. I haven't been there in ages," I told him truthfully. I hadn't been to Yellowstone since I was five, I think. Maybe seven. I just remember camping out there a lot when I was little and we lived in Idaho. Of course, that's where the infamous bear attack story happened for my family. Mom had to push us all to the center of the tent while a bear sniffed around the edges late one night. Thank God he decided not to try and get in the tent and left us alone. The camper two weeks later wasn't so lucky. This time, I had my own personal vampire to eat any bears that might wander by.
"I understand," Carlisle said, followed by a slight chuckle. "I believe Alice wishes to speak with you again," he told me.
I sighed. "Put her on," I told him.
"You have to wear your red velvet top on your birthday," Alice told me. After I thought about it –it was a pretty top and I didn't see the harm- Alice commented again. "Oh yes, perfect!" she said.
"Alice," I said in a warning tone. "What is going on?" I asked.
"Nothing," she said quickly; too quickly. "Tell Gabriel that he needs to behave and not slip up anymore; especially in front of you," she said. Before I could respond, I heard the dial tone. Alice never said goodbye.
"O-kay," I stated and I hung up the phone and smiled slightly at Gabriel. He squeezed my hand.
"So, we shall stop every 10 hours so you may rest?" Gabriel asked as he kissed my fingers gently.
"Can we," I tried to say. It was hard to speak with Gabriel looking at me like that. Didn't he know I just woke up? "Can we stop at various places along the way? Not really time constraints but just like maybe check out a couple of the museums in Chicago? See Mount Rushmore? Go to a dairy farm in Minnesota?" I asked.
"A dairy farm?" Gabriel asked me, a smile tugging at his lips. I shrugged.
"Well, what else do they have in Minnesota?" I asked him.
Gabriel thought for a moment. "I believe you have a point," he told me before looking back at the map. I sighed and went to go get breakfast –pop tarts out of the vending machine- and clean up.
When I came back in the room, Gabriel stood up and was suddenly right before me; only a couple of inches between us. I automatically stepped back to look at him. His eyes still looked sad but also slightly hurt. "We will retrieve your pup and leave soon, amore," he told me.
"Oh, umm, should I pack up everything?" I asked, looking around. It looks like he already did.
"No, I have done so. Just…rest. I…" he stuttered. Since when does my macho I-am-vampire vampire even think to stutter? I was dressed. Did I just smell too good? My face fell at that thought.
"Do, umm, I need to open a window for the room?" I asked, slightly embarrassed.
Gabriel tilted my chin up. "No, cara mia. I am well. I swear it," he told me. "I simply know that I do not deserve your love, in any form," he whispered. And with that, I hugged him tight. He was my vampire.
Author's Note: So, still working on some issues. The dead boy will come up again but that issue won't stick around for long. Elizabeth's worked that out in her head and Gabriel has killed before – just not when he was madly in love with a human! So, the next chapter will probably be them traveling…then her birthday (which I'm super excited about) and then, finally, Forks! The Cullens are coming back. I swear! And boy, do they have a word or three for Gabriel. An angry Carlisle is scary!