Disclaimer – I don't own Twilight!
Thank you to venomaddict for betaing this story for me, and for continuing to keep me up until the wee hours!
~oOo~
Edward
It was nearly eleven in the morning by the time I dragged Bella out of the house without another word. I really didn't want to spend any more time moping, having remembered just how many years I had already spent mired in my own misery. I left the CDs, journals, and my mother's jewelry box on the table by the door, but I grabbed the leather jacket as I walked past, not having taken a coat out with me earlier that morning. I held her hand as we moved, and when I caught her eye she gave me a slightly starry smile, which made all of my sadness seem somehow less important.
I had everything I had ever wanted, everything I had ever wished for, right in the palm of my hand. I would not allow myself to ruin it for either of us.
We exited the house, and as I turned to lock it, Bella let go of my hand and stepped away slightly. A moment later I turned to see her twirling her car key, while looking at me questioningly.
"So, Mr. Cullen, where are we going? Both cars are here, so maybe we should go and drop one off at home first…" she trailed off, as I pulled the leather jacket onto my shoulders. Despite its age, it was still remarkably soft and comfortable, though it smelled a little musty.
Where were we going? At that precise moment I didn't know exactly, I just needed to get away from a century's worth of memories before I forgot my blessings. In my heart of hearts I was sure that my family wasn't actually far away, but the fact that they seemed to be ignoring me for now had left me feeling rather… pissed.
I had left my broken cell phone where it had landed inside the house, though I now felt somewhat embarrassed by my hissy fit earlier on. All I had succeeded in doing was ensuring that Alice couldn't call me when she tried to… I stopped moving entirely as a thought suddenly struck me.
Why didn't you just try Carlisle? Or Emmett?
Brilliant…
"Edward?" Bella had taken a step closer to me again, and was peering into my eyes, looking a little concerned. "What is it?"
"I'm an idiot!" I groaned, as I pinched my nose between my thumb and forefinger.
"Well… I knew that," she replied, before she giggled. I rolled my eyes at her, but I couldn't help the smirk that crossed my lips.
"Thanks. What I mean is, I tried to call Alice." I sighed, and Bella frowned as she waited for me to continue. "Alice is like communications central; she always sees you calling before you even do it, so she always answers the phone."
"And that makes you an idiot because…" she said slowly, and I could read the frustration in her expression as I failed to articulate myself intelligently. Not for the first time today, unfortunately.
"It makes me an idiot, because when she didn't answer I called again, then again, and she still didn't answer. It never occurred to me to just call Carlisle…" I rolled my eyes again, at my own stupidity this time.
"Ok, well, why don't you call him now? It's not like we're in a burning hurry here or anything."
"Er, because, when she didn't answer me, I broke my phone in a minor tantrum. Then I stomped on it for good measure. And I wouldn't be able to tell you what any of their numbers were without it, even if you threatened me with fish for dinner for a week unless I did."
"Well, that would explain why I couldn't get through to you when I tried earlier." She pouted slightly, completely distracting me from my chain of thought, as I imagined biting her plump little bottom lip. "And what's wrong with fish for dinner?"
I pulled a face and poked my tongue at her, in silent explanation, before sudden inspiration struck me about what we could do today.
"How do you feel about water sports Bella?" I raised an eyebrow at her, as she narrowed her eyes at me. I knew that, believing she was as uncoordinated as she did, Bella was not a fan of any sports, but an idea for the perfect distraction had just struck me, and I was not to be put off.
"Some of the team are planning on surfing this afternoon, followed by a cookout on the beach a bit later. I think Ben said that Angela was going along, and a few of the others said they were going to take their girlfriends. It might be fun." I grinned at her hopefully, as even while I'd been telling her about it the idea had grown in its appeal.
"Edward, it's freezing. Are you kidding?" My face fell as Bella scowled at me, though as soon as it did I saw her expression soften. "I mean, you know, going in the sea? Now? Really?"
"Well, we'd need wetsuits, but then we'd be fine. You're right, it's not exactly bikini weather, but you wouldn't want to surf in a bikini anyway…" I felt my mind wander as I pictured Bella surfing in the tiny blue bikini she had worn in Florida, and I felt my cock twitch in my pants.
Jeez, don't you ever sleep?
You're talking to your penis again Edward…
"Edward?" Bella was starting to look annoyed with me as I zoned out again. I wondered to myself for a second if I needed to talk to someone professional about my sex obsession, before I realized that she was waiting for me to say something.
"Um, yeah, sorry. We can get some wetsuits, and pick up a couple of boards down at Newton's, before lunch. It's not that cold, once we're working out, we'll be plenty warm enough in a wetsuit." Bella's eyes seemed to fog over for a minute as she looked at me, and I wondered what had led her to zone out for a second this time.
Suddenly she shook herself, before she replied.
"I've never surfed; I wouldn't know where to begin, and what about your hand?" I could see that I was winning her round, as her tone wasn't totally negative now, rather more contemplative.
"We can buy you a little board, like kids use. I'll teach you." I smiled at the thought of teaching Bella to surf, which led to the thought of wet Bella, which led to the thought of wet Bella in the blue bikini. "And, my hand's fine."
That wasn't strictly true; the fingers I had broken on Tuesday still throbbed painfully, and that, along with the ache from my shoulder, had stopped me from being able to either bat or pitch during practice the day before. That hadn't stopped Coach Clapp making me train though, as he had insisted that fitness was the key thing right now anyway. As the fall raced in, it was only a matter of a couple of weeks until baseball practice became fitness training, most likely in the gym, until the season began in earnest in the spring. As a rule, it was difficult to play baseball in a torrential downpour.
"Ok, I give in!" She shook her head as she rolled her eyes at me, and I could tell that she was trying to give the impression that she was only doing this for me, but the smirk on her lips told me that she had come across some of her own reasons for going. "Where are we going?"
I didn't like to say it, but this little fact was actually the main reason why I had originally not planned to go to this event, and it was now one of the main reasons why I wanted to go.
"First Beach," I replied, somehow managing to keep my voice nonchalant.
I watched as the various emotions played across her features, and bit my lip, waiting for her response.
The truth was; I was mad. My family was gone, driven away by circumstance, their biggest reason being the disagreement with the wolves, which had never seemed to go away since the meeting they had called to discuss me. Though part of me was still keen to avoid La Push, and to keep Bella away from the wolves entirely, another part, the part that had only seemed to appear since I had recovered my humanity, wanted to walk about on First Beach, and give the Quileute the finger.
Figuratively speaking, you understand.
I had supposedly been excluded from the treaty; there was nothing to prevent me from crossing their land now, but I was certain that none of them would actually like me being there. And right then, to be honest, I really didn't give a shit.
"Is that a good idea?" Bella finally managed to articulate her thoughts, I knew from watching her expression that she had been considering what to say for some time. She knew very well the risks involved with going to La Push, and for a second I had hoped that she would refuse to go.
I began to walk towards the Volvo, I caught her hand as I passed her, and out of habit I directed her towards the passenger door.
"There's no reason why I can't go to La Push now, the Chief of the Tribe has released me from the treaty, and, today, I'd like to go and do something with people that I'm beginning to think of as friends," I said, and I could hear the resolve in my own voice. Bella pulled her bottom lip into her mouth, and began to chew on it silently as she climbed into the passenger seat of the Volvo; her expression uncertain.
"Is it… I mean… Do you think… Will you be safe?" she asked, as I climbed into the driver's seat of my old car a few seconds later. It was like pulling on an old pair of shoes, comfortable and familiar, though I wouldn't have swapped it for my BMW for an instant.
"I'm sure the wolves are as keen to keep their secret as my family is. I don't suppose we'll be seeing any overgrown mutts rampaging down the beach this afternoon, in full sight of most of the Forks High Baseball team." I couldn't restrain the grin that crossed my face, as I imagined that very event occurring.
"Why are we taking my car?" Bella mumbled as we pulled away, and I realized that I hadn't even asked her if she minded.
"Sorry, I guess I still kind of think of it as mine…" She glared at me, and I hurried to finish what I was saying. "We'd never get surf boards in the Beemer. I love it, but it's not exactly useful for things like that…"
"Ok, I guess," Bella replied, and when I chanced a glance at her, she was staring at me, rather dreamily.
I was surprised that Bella hadn't put up more of a fight in a way; I had expected to have to convince her, a lot more than I had, that a trip to First Beach wasn't the terrible idea that it probably was. In a way I had maybe even hoped that she would argue the point, as deep down another part of me, the individual I had been for so long until a month ago, yelled at me to just take her home.
It wasn't until later, when we were crossing the treaty boundary, that I wondered if maybe I should have listened to him.
Bella
As we pulled into the parking area near First Beach, I mentally questioned what in the hell we were doing here, for about the millionth time. To be honest, I knew that I should have refused to go, or to let Edward go for that matter.
It wasn't my fault though; I blamed the leather jacket. For some reason, Edward in leather just worked… The intense look he wore that morning, accompanied by the leather, and the hair that was just starting to grow out slightly again… made me stupid.
Edward had seemed certain that there would be no issue with us coming onto the Quileute land, what with the fact he was now excluded from the treaty, but now we were here he seemed jumpy and tense. I was beginning to think that maybe he hadn't thought this through after all. I mean, yes, he was excluded from the treaty now, so he could stay with me, but did that mean that we should be down here, right in La Push? With the wolves around that he insisted were so dangerous?
We sat in the car silently for a few moments after he turned off the engine, me waiting for him to come around and open my door, him waiting for…
I didn't know. His uncertainty was plain to see, and it frightened me.
"Maybe we should just go," I said after a couple of minutes, when the tension in the car became too much to bear.
"Maybe…" He didn't look at me, but I could sense him battling internally with himself.
Suddenly there was a bang on the windshield.
"Cullen! You fucker! You said you weren't coming!" Tyler was standing outside the car, grinning widely, dripping wet in a black wetsuit while holding a case of beer. "Surf's fucking awesome man."
Edward paused for another couple of seconds before he broke into a small smile, and exited the car, walking around to my side quickly to help me out.
Of my own car.
It felt strange to suddenly be a passenger in the Volvo with Edward again. He had been quite against the two of us using my car so far this week, preferring his new one apparently. Yet my Volvo still had its uses, as through the back window there now stood two brand new surfboards.
We had stopped at home before leaving for the beach, and underneath our clothes we both wore our new wetsuits. Edward grabbed the surfboards from the back of the car, before we made our way down to the crowd of Forks High School students on the sand.
"Edward!" Ben called, and waved as we approached, and I waved at Angela as I spotted her beside him. She smiled as soon as she saw me, and I realised that we were the only girls on the beach.
There were more yells as we approached, and I smiled at how welcomed Edward seemed to be by his new teammates. Beers were being passed around by Tyler, who had arrived a few seconds ahead of us, and there were snacks being pulled out of a large cooler.
Everybody was gathered in the same driftwood circle that I had sat in months before on this very beach. A couple of the guys were building a fire in the centre, and I could see others collecting wood up and down the beach. It seemed like a pretty good idea to me, as I was already feeling cold, and I hadn't even been in the water yet.
As soon as we arrived, Edward was dragged into a group of boys, and I moved towards Angela, who looked equally cold and out of place as I felt.
"Hey, Bella." She smiled as I approached, stepping away from Ben as he turned to join the conversation with Edward, who was now rather animatedly waving his arms around for some reason.
"Hey, Angela. You got talked into this too, I see?" I grinned at her as she nodded with a wry smile.
"Yeah, Ben assured me that it would be fun, and that the other guy's girlfriends would be coming too."
"Isn't Tyler dating Lauren?" I asked, looking around for a second, before I suddenly shivered, and realized that the chances of her being here now were slim to none.
"Yeah, I guess we had a lucky escape, hey?" Angela shrugged a little, as I chuckled in surprise at her remark.
"Yeah, I guess so." She must have seen that I was surprised by her response, as she quickly explained what she'd said.
"The team all gets together a lot, so now I see far more of her than I usually do. Last week Ben had a group round at his place Saturday night, and she got drunk and threw up in his Mom's wardrobe," Angela whispered, as she looked around almost conspiratorially.
"She did what? Why didn't I hear about that?" I spluttered, looking over at Edward who was now standing with both his hands resting on the top of his head, listening to something Ben was saying intently. He caught my glance, and winked at me, before I turned back to Angela.
"I don't know, I don't know how many people know about it really. Ben's Mom's made his life hell all week because of it though. Lauren ruined all of her shoes, and apparently shoes matter."
I grinned as Angela spoke, well aware of the fact that shoes did, most certainly, matter, thanks to Alice… and that passing thought made me feel sad for a moment. When we had returned home earlier, I had expected to find a message from her on the answering machine, or maybe even a call while we were there, but there had been nothing. It was almost as if she had fallen off of the face of the earth, along with the rest of the Cullens.
I swallowed and tried to ignore the thought that attacked my mind for a second, of what it could have been like if Edward had actually gone with them.
"Are you surfing today?" Angela was eyeing me up and down as my mind wandered, still fully dressed in jeans, despite my wetsuit underneath. She was wearing hers already under a sweatshirt, but her hair was wet, so I assumed that she'd already been in.
"Err…" I was already cold, and as I looked over towards the murky grey sea, the urge to snuggle down by the newly flickering fire under a large blanket was all that I could really feel.
"Yup." Edward suddenly appeared at my shoulder, wearing a huge grin, and clutching both of our newly purchased surfboards. "I'm going to teach her. It's going to be fun, isn't it love?"
No?
"Sure…" I managed rather weakly, as the thought of sitting in the frigid water before us made me shiver.
"Come on; let's get started, as soon as we get in the water you'll warm up."
Really? Are you freaking kidding me, Cullen?
"Ok…" I mumbled, unable to inject even the slightest amount of enthusiasm into my voice.
Edward didn't seem to notice though; he had enough enthusiasm for the both of us as he started backing up towards the ocean, and I couldn't bring myself to disappoint him. So, despite the fact that I knew I was going to be cold, most likely fall off my board, and then possibly drown, I followed him down to the edge of the water.
I stood and listened for several minutes as he told me what to expect, and how to surf. He then sat both of our boards on the sand, and made me practice laying on mine, while he showed me how he was going to stand on his. I had a little square board to use, whereas Edward had bought himself an enormous great long thing, which if I didn't know better might have made me think he was compensating for something.
He isn't.
Before I knew it, we were paddling out into the ocean, both of us resting on our stomachs on our boards. Despite the fact that I was freezing cold, the effort it took to paddle out did begin to warm me up, so I felt reasonably assured that I wasn't about to die of frostbite or anything out there.
"The ocean always feels warmer in the fall, it hangs on to the heat of the summer, so it's warmer than you think it should be," Edward suddenly said, and as I glanced up at him paddling beside me, he gave me a knowing look.
"Oh." That sounded like it made some kind of sense, but I really didn't know if it was true or not.
"You're not too cold, are you?" He was panting slightly as he spoke, from the effort of paddling out undoubtedly, and I couldn't help but smile at his voice.
"No. I'm not warm," I said pointedly; also panting slightly by this point. "But, I'm not cold… I'm ok." The wetsuit was providing me with more protection that I had expected, but I did still think that if Edward had wanted to go surfing, then maybe this was something we could have done while we were in Florida.
Yeah, because you had soooo much spare time down there.
Oh yeah.
I daydreamed about Florida for a few minutes, until Edward suddenly stopped and reached out towards me.
"Turn your board around, and as soon as I say, start paddling, as fast as you can!" He looked excited as we turned our boards around in the water, and I felt a little flutter of panic in my stomach.
I had been clumsy my whole life, and pretty much incapable at every kind of sport I had ever tried, the very thought of what I was about to do was extremely unnerving.
"Now!" Edward suddenly started paddling beside me, and I copied him, moving my hands furiously through the water, until I suddenly seemed to be lifted and carried away from myself.
I began to pick up speed, and after a few seconds of panic, the feeling was exhilarating. I stayed on my stomach, making no attempt to move as I clung on to my accelerating board like a limpet.
"Woo hoo!" I looked up at the yell to my left, and saw Edward standing on his board, moving faster than me as he headed into shore. There were several other members of the team surfing around us, and the air was filled with various whoops and yells as we all careered in towards the beach.
The air whipped past my face, and I seemed to soar higher and move faster with every second. My coldness was forgotten as I absorbed the sensation of moving so fast, and as I focused on not falling off.
There was a sudden curse, and I looked at Edward again in time to see him fall, diving headlong into the water. I was worried for an instant, until I saw him bob up to the surface again, spitting out seawater with a grimace, and scowling, albeit good naturedly.
I could hear jeers coming from the shoreline, and Edward yelled something in response as he climbed back onto his board, not seeming to make any effort to go anywhere for now.
I looked away from him, just in time to see that I was now headed towards the sand remarkably quickly, and I didn't seem to be slowing down.
Where are the brakes on this thing?
"Shit, shit, shit!" I yelled, as I hit the sand, and toppled off of my board and into about an inch of water.
I lay on the sand for a second, rolling onto my back as I breathed hard. I mentally checked myself over, but having found that I was still in fact alive, I focused on what I had just done. The feeling of soaring through the water had been amazing, and all I was thinking about was recovering the breath that had just been knocked out of me, and then heading out there again.
"Bella!" I heard him coming a few seconds before he was beside me, his face etched with worry as he crashed through the waves, washing over me. He fell on the sand beside me almost in a panic, as I tried to find the breath to reassure him. "Oh my God, are you hurt? Shit, what was I thinking…?"
"I'm fine, Edward." He seemed to look even more worried as I said that, but I wouldn't let him speak. "No, scratch that, I'm fantastic!" I sat up as I spoke; again glad to find that nothing appeared to be broken.
"Are you sure, that was quite a tumble…" He seemed to be becoming more relaxed as I sat up, I could see his board floating in the surf to the side of us, and for a moment I wondered what it would be like to be able to stand up as I moved through the water.
"I'm sure… though, how the hell do I stop this thing?" I stood up and started towards my board a few feet along the sand from me. It had been washed all the way up onto the beach, but I was keen to get back out into the water.
"Er, you kind of have the right idea, though if you ditch it a bit further out you'll just land in the water." Edward smiled as he rubbed at the back of his neck, obviously relieved that I was ok. "Do you want to go and sit down and warm up?"
"No, I'm going out again!" He looked at me completely shocked for an instant, until a broad grin spread slowly across his face.
"Yeah? You liked it?" He looked like a little boy in that moment; he looked so pleased that I was enjoying something that he did, and that he'd encouraged me to do. It was endearing, almost as if he wanted me to pat him on the head and tell him how good he was.
"I loved it!" I replied, with far more enthusiasm than I had ever imagined I could feel for going out into the sea, in Washington, in the middle of September. "I'm going to try your board before we finish up today!"
"Ok, well, maybe let's see how you feel after a couple more go's on this one, eh?" I rolled my eyes at his tone, but within second we were headed back out into the ocean, paddling along, side by side until he told me to stop again.
"This time, ditch earlier!" Edward had time to shout, before we began to paddle furiously again, willing the wave to catch us in its journey to the shore.
We spent the next hour surfing, and every time was incredible. I had never seen the appeal of any kind of sports really, but this I totally got, and, I was good at it.
Better than that, I rocked!
By the last time we went out, I was eyeing Edward's board jealously, wondering how difficult it could possibly be, just to maybe get onto my knees even?
But after an hour I was completely exhausted, and didn't complain this time when Edward suggested that we head back towards everyone else. I could smell the food cooking, and suddenly I was starving.
"What is it about swimming that makes you so hungry?" I said to Edward, as we made our way back up the beach.
"I don't know, you're right though, I feel like I'm starving to death right now. I don't even care that it's Lee and Connor cooking the barbeque."
"You always think you're starving to death." I snorted. Considering quite how focused Edward always seemed to be on his stomach, and the amount that he ate, I had half expected him to put on weight, but he still carried the same lean, muscular physique that he always had. "Did it not feel the same, being hungry, you know, before?"
He looked over towards me, and stroked his throat absent-mindedly for a moment before he replied.
"No, it came on much more slowly before, plus I never felt hungry in my stomach the way I do now. It was like a gradually increasing burn in my throat, which I sated for a little while, until the burn became too much again." He chuckled slightly, and almost looked embarrassed. "Now, I go from fine to starving in just a few minutes, and the suddenness of it makes me feel almost panicky sometimes, I'm still not used to it."
We arrived with the rest of the team a few seconds later, and I looked around, surprised to see some new, yet familiar, faces.
"Bella!" Jacob called me from the other side of the now blazing fire, as he made his way around towards us.
Edward seemed to groan slightly by my side, and when I glanced towards him I noticed that he looked annoyed.
"What?" I hissed, as Jacob pushed his way through the growing crowd of Edward's teammates.
"He has a very vivid imagination," Edward growled, and as I got his implication, Jacob arrived in front of me. I felt myself blush as I looked at him, wondering quite what he was imagining right now. From the look on Edward's face, it wasn't anything good.
"Was that really you out there, Bells? You're really good!" Jacob caught me around the waist, and gave me an uncomfortable half hug for a second as he complimented my surfing skills, and I could feel Edward growing more tense by the second at my side. I stepped away from Jacob, and leant into Edward slightly, and I felt him relax against me.
"Thanks, yeah it was me," I replied at the same time. I couldn't help but wonder what the hell he was thinking that pissed off Edward quite so thoroughly, and I began to feel uncomfortable under his friendly gaze. I honestly just wished that I didn't know that he was thinking anything at all.
"You're really good… I've never seen you down here before, we surf a lot." Jacob seemed to be oblivious to the animosity coming off of Edward as he continued to talk, but I could feel him becoming edgy again. I took his hand in mine, but even as I clenched it he seemed to only get worse, not better.
"I've not been down here since the last time you saw me here, Jake." I replied, as I tried to think of a way to get both Edward and I away from him, without hurting his feelings. "I tend to be with Edward… you know."
Despite the fact that Jacob didn't know the truth of why Edward hadn't been permitted onto the tribal land previously, he knew that he had been barred, and I didn't doubt knew that he was free to come and go now.
"Sure, sure." Jacob's smile seemed to falter for a second, as he glanced down at my hand in Edward's, but then carried on. "Well, I'm glad to see you. You should come down to see us at home again; I missed the pizza last time!"
Throughout this conversation, Edward hadn't taken his eyes off of Jacob; I was almost expecting him to drop dead on the floor in front of us with the death glare that Edward was giving him. Jacob on the other hand never took his eyes off of me, though by the way he was standing, I could tell that he was becoming aware of his audience.
"Well, now I've discovered surfing, I'll be back, I'm sure!" I smiled, though it was beginning to get harder as I tried to edge us away. The last thing I wanted was for Edward to start on Jacob, that wasn't going to help anybody. "But, for now, we're starving, aren't we, honey?"
I glanced at Edward, and for the first time he caught my eye. I had never called him honey in my life before, and that seemed to have been enough to distract him from his attempt on Jacob's life, by the use of his glower alone.
"Yes, indeed. Nice to see you again Jacob, but we really must go and investigate the food." With that Edward took my hand, and we headed towards the barbeque, which had been setup a little to one side of the gathering of kids around the bonfire.
Tyler was now also standing poking at the burgers and hotdogs on the griddle, and part of me wondered quite how skilled any of them were at cooking like this. Most of me just didn't care though, and I snatched at the first burger in a bun that was passed in my direction. I began eating quickly, burning my tongue on the fiercely hot meat, and I watched as Edward shoved a handful of bills at Tyler, who protested for a moment, before pocketing them. I had time to wonder where Edward had even concealed any cash, considering that he was wearing a wetsuit, before he arrived by my side, holding three burgers in a neat stack, in his hands.
"Is one of them for me?" I mumbled around the last of my first one, greedily reaching for the ones in his grasp. I honestly didn't remember the last time I was so hungry.
"Oh. Well…" Edward pulled his hand away from mine for a second, before handing me one of them, looking a little regretful.
I began to eat quickly, not even bothering to say anything about the fact that he had clearly intended on eating all of that himself.
A few minutes later, and we were both feeling much better. My two burgers had hardly touched the sides as they went down, and Edward had virtually inhaled four, before he stopped eating. He had seemed to be antsy the whole time though, to the point that when Ben and Angela had stopped by us for a couple of minutes, he had hardly replied. I couldn't even begin to imagine what Jacob had been thinking about.
"What is it, Edward? Surely he can't be thinking anything you haven't heard before, can he?" I whispered into his ear. Jacob was still glancing our way every now and then, catching my eye and smiling brightly.
"What?" He seemed surprised by my question, until he caught Jacob looking at me again. "God, no, nothing I haven't heard before. It would be sweet, if he was thinking about anyone in the world but you."
"Then, what is it? You look… well, you don't look great." In fact, he looked terrible, and I began to wonder if he was sick. I glanced towards the boys manning the barbeque, and for the first time noticed that one of them was turning the food over with what looked like an old badminton racket, and another was most definitely using a large twig.
Oh God, I just ate food that they cooked…
I was distracted from my worrying when Edward leant in towards me, and pressed his mouth tightly into my ear. He then spoke so quietly, that even like that I could hardly make out what he was saying. "The wolves are here."
Shit.
"Should we go?" I whispered, as I focused on not looking around, trying to not search out the boys that could turn into wolves at will, and could pose such a risk to us.
"No," he replied, and his expression was suddenly as hard as stone. "We have no reason to go."
I couldn't help but glance around the group now gathered around the fire. There were about twenty members of Forks High sitting around, most of them I recognised as members of the Baseball team. Angela and I were still the only girls in the group, and I imagined that the other girlfriends had all opted to spend their Saturday afternoon somewhere that didn't involve them getting cold and wet.
As I glanced around I suddenly found my eyes meeting one of the older Quileutes'. I knew immediately that he had to be one of the wolves, and I assumed that the other two standing with him were the same.
Despite the chilly air, all three of them were dressed in just shorts and T-shirts, and none of them wore any shoes. Their hair was cropped short, in stark comparison to the long hair the rest of the boys from the Reservation wore, and all three of them were just… enormous. Tall, and very heavily muscled, every one of them looked as if they could have provided Emmett with some serious competition.
If he was still around…
The three of them stood separately to the other Quileutes, who were mingling with the rest of us very freely. There were six of them sitting amongst the Forks High students, and the three standing to the side seemed to be watching rather than even attempting to join in.
I couldn't tear my eyes away from the wolf I was looking at, and for a moment I wished that I had Edward's power to read minds. He didn't look threatening in the slightest to me; confident, definitely; arrogant even? Maybe. But not dangerous. The fear that I had felt run up my spine the day I met James was entirely absent, and I wanted to trust my instincts.
"There are three of them now," I said quietly, my eyes still not leaving the wolf's.
"Yes, there are." As Edward replied the wolf nodded once, acknowledging what I had already assumed; that he could hear me. "What the hell are you doing Bella?"
Edward suddenly grabbed me by the elbow, making me look at him, and finally breaking my connection to the wolf. I looked back, but by then he had cast his eyes out to sea.
"Bella?" Edward growled impatiently in my ear. "Why are you looking at him like that?"
I turned back to Edward, and immediately recognised the expression on his face. He was furious, but I wasn't sure if it was at me, or someone else. I reached out and took his hand, and cradled it in my two for a moment, trying to calm him.
"I just caught his eye is all, Edward, but he doesn't make me feel afraid, are you sure we need to fear them?" He seemed to get even more furious as I spoke, the scowl on his face spreading until he was almost snarling at me.
"Yes, I'm sure. They're unstable creatures, Bella!" His voice began to get faster and louder, and I could hear the anger in every word. "Shapeshifters like these are utterly unpredictable; you cannot trust them for a minute. Look at what they've done; driven my family away as if they were guilty of something more than simply being themselves. Threatened them, and for what? Trying to protect me." He huffed for a moment as he glared in the direction of the wolves, who I knew for a fact must be able to hear every word that he was saying.
"And to be honest, Bella, your sense of self preservation is not known for being the most sensible there is." He spat the last words at me, and my own anger began to bloom.
"Then maybe you shouldn't have brought us down here today, Edward. You are the one who insisted that we should come," I hissed. I stood up, dropping his hand as I did. "I'm going to go and get myself a drink."
He looked as if he was about to stand with me for a moment, but I didn't wait for him, and when I checked behind me a few seconds later, he was still sitting where I'd left him, looking morose.
Good.
I was aware that I was probably PMSing a little bit today, but I still felt justified in being mad at him for now. If he felt that we were in some kind of danger just be being here, then maybe he shouldn't have made us come.
Freaking men.
I didn't really want another drink, and when I looked for Angela, I saw that she was busy with Ben.
Or should I say getting busy with Ben.
"Hey Bella, what ya doing?" I turned and smiled when I heard a voice behind me.
Jacob had gotten up from where he had been sitting for the last few minutes, between two other boys from the reservation, where he has been chatting to some of the rest of the team. He was looking down at me, and I realized that he looked noticeably taller than the last time I had seen him. Knowing what I did about him and his people now, a pang of regret shot through me at that there was nothing I could do to stop what was likely to happen to him one day.
"Hey Jake, I don't know actually." I seemed to have successfully stormed off from Edward in a huff, but now I was 'off', I wasn't quite sure what to do next.
I suddenly spied Edward's surfboard sticking out of the sand in front of me. There were still plenty of people surfing, it was only mid afternoon, and now I'd had a rest and some food, I was feeling ready to have a go on his board. I turned round to look for him, and saw that he was now standing talking to a few of the guys. After a couple of seconds he hadn't looked up at me, and I looked away again.
"Are you surfing Jake?" He wasn't wearing a wetsuit, but his hair was wet, so I wondered if maybe he was surfing, but just used to the water temperature.
"Sure, you want to go out now?" Jacob looked so delighted at the prospect of surfing with me, he cheered me up instantly.
I walked over and grabbed Edward's surfboard, and discarded my jeans, that I'd put on again over my wetsuit while we ate, onto the sand. I deliberately didn't look around at Edward again as I headed towards the water, instead focusing on Jacob as he bounced along chatting cheerfully beside me.
We entered the sea, and paddled out side by side, and a few minutes later I was sitting on Edward's board, facing the shore with Jacob beside me. The sun had broken through the clouds for the first time today, and the light was glinting on the ocean. I could see Edward standing by the edge of the water now, looking out towards me, with his hands shading his eyes. I raised my hand to wave at him, but he didn't wave back.
Jerk.
"Have you been on a board like this one before Bella?" Jake asked me suddenly. He was sitting on his board, floating beside me. He wasn't wearing a wetsuit, but he didn't seem to be unduly bothered by the cold.
"No, but Edward showed me how earlier." Jacobs pursed his lips at my reply.
"Just stay on your stomach then, yeah?" He suddenly looked a bit worried. "Maybe we should have just brought out your little board you were using earlier…"
"No, I wanted to try this one, just once. It seems to be faster than mine," I replied, glad that he hadn't thought to ask me before we came out. He seemed worried that I hadn't been on the board before, but I'd been doing so well today, I couldn't see his problem.
"Yeah, it will be. Ok, here we go Bells, I'll race you!" Jacob leant forward and began paddling hard, and I followed suit.
As I paddled I looked up, and I could see Edward, still standing by the water's edge, watching me. I felt a sudden pang of regret that I'd just left him sitting by the fire like that.
Abruptly the wave caught me, and I felt the board lift up, and begin to speed up underneath me. As it did, I started to shuffle up the board, and I tried and pull myself upwards, into a sitting position. I could have sworn that I could hear Edward's voice coming from the beach as I did, but I didn't have a chance to look up and check.
As soon as I shifted my weight on the board, I felt it veer to one side suddenly, and then I was headed straight for the ocean, the board vanishing from beneath me in an instant.
The second before I hit the water, I had the chance to decide that really, this was all Edward's leather jacket's fault.
Edward
She got up and walked away from me, apparently furious with me for some reason, and I really couldn't work out who was in the wrong. Was it me?
Yeah, it's you. Asshole.
She was right, of course. I had brought us to First Beach that afternoon with the sole intent of aggravating the wolves, having been upset at the fact that my family had been driven away by them, but now I was regretting it.
I had to admit, the wolves minds were clear. None of them actually saw me as any kind of threat anymore; they were present today almost as lifeguards rather than anything else. They seemed to take their roles as protectors of the tribe very seriously, and they expected that several of the boys now sitting among us would one day join their pack. A fact which made them take extra special interest in those particular boys, including Jacob Black.
Who was now paddling out to sea beside my Bella, who was sitting astride my surfboard, rather than the far safer one she had been using earlier.
By the time I had started to look for her, she was already out on the water, and was turning the board ready to come back in. I walked quickly towards the water's edge, and watched her, though it was difficult as she bobbed up and down against the horizon, and the sun glinted off of the water, almost blinding me.
Suddenly she was moving, and I was trying not to panic. She had done well so far today, and I hoped that she would just sit tight on the board, and let it bring her back into shore.
But of course she didn't.
"Bella! Sit still!" I yelled at her, as she began to try and move on the board, but it was too late. One second she was there, the next she was gone, as she overbalanced and the board shot up high into the air.
Shit!
Without even thinking, I went straight into the water after her. Bella had gone in a long way out, and I knew it was going to take me a while to get there, but my fears for her stopped me from even considering if going in after her like that was for the best. I just knew that I had to do something.
In the back of my mind I heard the shouts from the beach, but I ignored them, every ounce of my strength and focus was on getting to Bella. In my head I was counting, counting the seconds that she had been in the water for. The sea was getting rough, and the movement of the waves meant that I couldn't see anything ahead of me, so I couldn't see if she was ok, I couldn't even see if she'd broken the surface again…
A renewed surge of panic dumped more adrenaline into my system at that thought, and I pushed myself to go faster. As a vampire I had been able to move through the water at impossible speeds, but now I seemed to be moving ridiculously slowly. I felt almost a sense of relief a few seconds later, when two of the wolves splashed past me, headed in the direction that I had last seen her, knowing that at least they would reach her faster than me.
I continued to swim, my mind utterly focused on getting to Bella, until suddenly I realized that I wasn't heading in the direction that I should have been anymore. The current had shifted me, and I seemed to be being dragged along parallel to the beach, rather than heading to where I wanted to be.
Just as an unusually large wave crashed over my head, I figured out what was happening.
Riptide… oh hell.
I began to fight the current harder, but I seemed to be getting dragged further in the wrong direction with every move I made. In the space of a few seconds I realized that rather than saving Bella, I was going to be fighting to save myself.
Another wave crashed over me, and I inhaled a mouthful of water, making me cough hard. I struggled to stay afloat as I did, and my aching muscles began to cry out for me to slow down. My lungs were burning from the water I had just inhaled, and the cold was beginning to seep into my limbs.
I tried to make myself simply push through the water harder, but I seemed to be reaching my physical limit. My terror over what was happening to Bella was the only thing keeping me going, when I felt something bump into me and someone ran their fingers across my scalp.
"Hey, baby. Want a lift?" I looked up and there was Bella, sitting astride my surfboard grinning, in front of one of the wolves who was looking at me somewhat expectantly.
"I'm fine," I gasped, actually fairly certain that I was far from fine, but not really liking to admit to it.
"You don't look fine," commented the wolf, as he continued to look at me.
I'd better not have to drag this guy back to the beach too; just get on the board, Cullen.
His thoughts were vaguely annoyed, and clear in the fact that if I didn't join them on the board willingly, he was intending on dragging me up there.
"A lift might be good," I said after a pause. Bella was watching me, looking almost worried, as I exchanged uncertain looks with the wolf.
Suddenly he reached out and grabbed my hand, hauling me out of the water and onto the board behind Bella with apparently little effort. As I threw my leg over the other side, he slipped off, back into the water, leaving just the two of us on the board.
"Thanks, Sam," she said, as he bobbed in the water beside us for a minute. "I had a scary few seconds there."
"No problem." Sam looked towards me suddenly. "The current's getting up. Probably time to call it a day."
"Yeah, I know." I nodded as he turned away from me and began to swim for shore ahead of us. I put my arms around Bella, and held her for a second, before I called out to Sam's quickly vanishing form. "Thank you, Sam."
He didn't acknowledge me, but I knew for a fact that he would have heard me, and that was enough.
"So, shall we head back in?" Bella said quietly. We were sitting close together on the board, as we bobbed up and down on the ocean. There was silence around us now, no one else was left on the water, and I could see the crowd around the fire on the beach was growing. We weren't actually out too far, not far enough to be a problem with the board, and I felt rather disconcerted by how little distance I had actually covered, for such a great effort.
Thank God she hadn't had to rely on me to get to her.
"In a minute." I pulled her back against my chest and hugged her to me, trying not to think about what could have just happened. I took a steadying breath before I spoke again.
"You've got to take better care of yourself Bella. Please. For me." My voice sounded weak in my own ears, as I begged her to take care of the most important thing in the world to me.
She huffed for a second, and I felt her back tense under me, before she suddenly sighed.
"I know. Sorry. Jacob didn't seem to be worried; I thought he knew the beach…" She ran her hands over mine, tightening my hold around her waist.
I glanced around looking for Jacob, and found him paddling towards the beach a little behind Sam, clearly having been present for both Bella's and my rescue.
"No, I'm sorry. We shouldn't have come." I kissed her neck, burying my face there for a moment, as I made myself focus on the fact that she was here safe with me, not on what could have just happened.
"Sam's one of the wolves, isn't he?" she asked after a few more moments of silence. It was remarkably peaceful sitting out on the ocean like that, and I had no immediate urge to return to shore.
"Yes."
"He saved me. I couldn't get to the surface, and then he was suddenly dragging me up." My breath hitched as she confirmed my darkest fears.
My mind started running a mile a minute. How was I ever going to do this? How could I protect her from herself? We had been without my family for just a couple of days and she'd already had to be prevented from drowning by a fucking werewolf, for Christ's sake.
Jesus, I'm going to end up having a panic attack at this rate.
"Edward," she said quietly, disturbing me from my internal worrying. "He saved me."
I took a deep breath, and accepted that I didn't even know what was true anymore.
"Yes, he did."
We sat out on the board a little longer, quietly enjoying the sun on the ocean. Bella leant back against me, and I held her tightly in my arms, feeling nothing but overwhelming gratitude for the fact that she was ok.
After a while we began to paddle in towards the shore, and though we laughed as we did, I never quite forgot how close we could have come today. As we arrived at the sand, I helped her off the board, and we made our way towards my teammates, my… friends?
I think tonight, I need a beer.
As we sat down by the fire, and I accepted the beer from Tyler's outstretched hand, I thought about the fact that I had been human for exactly four weeks today.
I had come to learn many things in that time, but about three things I was absolutely positive. First, human life is fragile. Second, every day we lived as human we took chances – and we could never be quite sure how they would turn out. But third, there was nothing in heaven or earth that I would exchange for the chance I had been given, to actually live.
~oOo~
A/N – So, not my favourite chapter I have to admit, but it is a landmark. Edward has been human for 4 weeks, and this is the last chapter before we have a little timeslip. Chapter 30 will be called "Halloween", and will take place exactly six weeks after this chapter. For everyone who's been asking, the Cullens will not be absent for long, for us at any rate! I think vampires on Halloween seem very fitting indeed…
Thank you as ever to everyone who reviews, it does make it so much more fun for me to hear from you all!
Anyway, I leave you now to stalk Icy on Twitter, awaiting the final chapter of MOTU. I feel quite bereft that it's nearly over! You are reading Master of the Universe… aren't you?
Rec-wise, this week I've been running with the crowd, and reading "And with Thee Fade Away", which is brilliant. I'm not finished yet, but I think it's great so far. In my favourites if you fancy a look!
Til Next time,
Ria
