AN: Thank you to danisu20, stressylemon, Stacie-Ann Halliwell, jake4ever151, DeanParker, oneiros lykos, RosalieandEmmett, Lost in Believing, xBlackxLightx, Purple-Panda1401, Twi1ightR0cks, Kerrilea, Anime Makerz, Gotsta Have My Hardy, LSinclair, Edwella4eva, sweetXsunshine, LittleStarThingys, BabyVampBella, juliet233, wherthewild1s-trulyare, 4vr17Vi, okAna, graceylu89, EternalTwilight94, Fire.or.Ice, Bellaxvampire, StarShiney, Twilightnight132, Brandicimo, Nateksi, friscofilly, flutesrtooty, DamnThoseDazzlingCullens, DeathlyPain666, Jesusrocks, jennysometimes and alliee-loveefor the reviews, alerts and favorites. I'm a tease, I know . Onto our regularly scheduled program.
29. Date Night:
Elizabeth:
The bell rang and I all but jumped out of my seat. We were done with our sophomore year of school. One step closer to graduating. Alex met me outside of the classroom, and I went to him, looping my arm through his. It was no surprise to anyone in my family when we started dating just after my sixteenth birthday, which, I might add, went better than my fifteenth. Alex had made good on his promise and kept my family's secret. It was only natural that I'd fall for him. He was the only other person who wasn't family whom I could be completely relaxed around.
"Are you going to Marcus's right now?" He asked me as we made our way to the parking lot.
I shook my head, "No. He said that I've been remembering more and more and that I don't really need to see him as much."
It was true. Marcus and I had continued my lessons religiously until my sixteenth. Once my last birthday came, it seemed like the floodgate of hidden knowledge had finally burst open. I could will objects into being without needing to concentrate as hard as I'd used to. I knew the magical properties of several plants and gemstones by heart and even, sometime, execute the old talent that my mother had: Mind walking. I had wandered into Alex's dreams on more than one occasion. Those were always fun.
"So, since you're not going to your lessons," Alex hedged, "Do you want to go to Port Angeles and catch a movie and some dinner?"
"It's a date," I smiled, pecking him on the cheek, "I have to go home first, though."
"No problem," Alex smiled, "Pick you up at six?"
I nodded as we came to a halt in front of my father's Volvo. My father nodded at Alex who returned it weakly. This whole process of dating Alex was actually really hilarious. Alex always went out of his way to think of other things but me while he was in my father's presence. Sometimes, his eyes would start crossing with the effort. Like now. Dad chuckled and shook his head as he got in the car. I kissed Alex on the cheek again as I slid into the backseat while he held the door open for me. My mom waved at Alex from the passengers seat and he smiled.
"I don't want her home too late, Alex," Dad warned.
"Damn," Alex exclaimed, "And I thought I was doing a better job of distracting myself."
Dad chuckled again, "Close, but not quite."
"We'll be home at a reasonable hour, I swear," Alex held up his hand in a three fingered Boy Scout salute.
"See you later, goof," I laughed and he shut my door for me. He walked over to his beat up 2008 Toyota Yaris. He called it a classic. I called it a disaster waiting to happen.
"Are you excited that your sophmore year is over?" Mom asked on the ride home.
"Heck yes I am," I replied happily, "I'm one step closer to graduating."
"I'm glad you're still looking forward to that," Dad replied.
"Well I don't have much of a choice, do I?" I replied, "None of you will change me."
"And don't you forget it," Dad nodded firmly.
I was still trying to get them to agree to make me one of the family in a more permanent sense. And they all still refused. All of them. Alex wasn't too keen on the idea, either. He and my father had a bit of a bonding moment with that one. And Marcus. Marcus hadn't been too happy with the idea, either.
We got home and I danced through the front door. The house was silent, all of my other family members busy with their own stuff. I took the stairs to my room two at a time. I needed to get my cell phone and call Marcus, to let him know that I wasn't coming over tonight. I threw my book bag unceremoniously to the floor and began digging through my dirty clothes to locate my cell. I found it under my bed and dialed Marcus's number from memory.
It rang twice before he answered.
"Elizabeth," he said, a strange note in his voice, "Are you okay?"
"Yes," I replied wearily, "Why?"
"Nothing," Marcus breathed over the line, like a sigh of relief. A twinge of unease tugged at my stomach, "What's up?"
"I was just calling to say that I'm not coming over tonight," I said, still a bit worried, "Or do you need me to come over..."
"No," Marcus replied, "No, that's fine. Date with Alex?"
"Yes," I nodded to myself. The line went quiet, something that never happened before with Marcus, "Marcus, are you still with me?"
"I'm here," he said, his voice a long way away, as if his mind were on other things, "Have fun tonight."
"I will," I replied, "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"As long as you still want to come over," Marcus said.
"I will," I promised, "I'll come over right after my shift at Newton's."
"Tomorrow, then," he confirmed, "Take care, kid."
"Hey Marcus," I said, before he could hang up.
"Yes?" He asked.
"You know I love you, right?" I asked, suddenly needing to get that out in the open, "You've taught me so much and I'm grateful to you, even if I don't always show it. I just..."
"I know, Elizabeth," he interrupted me softly, "I love you too, niece and I'm happy for all of the time that I got to spend with you. Have fun on your date and say hello to Alex for me."
"I will," I nodded, sadness welling up inside of me for some unknown reason. I pushed it away firmly, "Goodbye. See you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," Marcus replied before the line went dead.
I listened to the dial tone for a long moment after that, struggling with the totally uncalled for feelings of loss. What the hell was wrong with me? I was going to see him tomorrow for crying out loud. My self assurance didn't reach my core. Not really.
"Stop this," I told myself as I snapped my phone shut, "Nothing's gonna happen to Marcus. He's a powerful man, he can take care of himself."
I wandered over to my closet to pick out something to wear for my date. It was sure to be a wet evening, like any other night in Forks. I settled on a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and an olive colored long sleeved sweater tunic with a cowl neckline. I pulled out an over sized brown belt and secured it around my waist over the top of the sweater. My knee high black boots completed the outfit. I looked at myself in the mirror with a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes. I was still feeling apprehensive.
"LIZ!" I heard my father call.
"Yes," I answered at a normal volume, knowing that he could hear me, even from two floors below.
I felt a soft, gentle prodding in my mind and I opened my wall for my father.
Alex is here.
'Kay, I replied, feeling him back off, signalling me to close my mental barrier again.
I checked my watch. He was way early. It was only 5:15. I shook my head with a smile and I opened my bedroom door and ran straight into Alice. She grabbed my shoulders to keep me from falling backwards. I looked down at her, annoyed. She kept her grip on me while she appraised me.
"Well, well, well," she smiled, "Look who finally grew a fashion sense."
"Does this please you, Aunt Alice?" I rolled my eyes at her.
Her musical laugh echoed around the hall, "Yes, Liz, it does. Looks like I'm not needed here after all."
She let go of my shoulders and danced down the stairs. I followed after her and met Alex at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes started crossing as soon as he saw me. Apparently, he was trying hard to block his thoughts on my outfit. My dad shook his head with a sigh.
"You're early," I accused him, taking his hand.
"Sorry," he shrugged, "I got bored."
He had changed his clothes. He was now wearing black Dickies and a tasteful pinstriped button up. His hair, which he had allowed to grow out a bit, fell into his face on the right side. He shook it out of the way with little success. I laughed as I reached up and brushed it away for him.
"What are you going to see tonight?" My mother asked from her seat on the couch.
Alex grinned mischievously, "The new vampire flick."
Mom snorted, "Tell me how that turns out."
"Don't worry," I smiled, "I plan to."
"If we leave now we can catch the seven o'clock showing," Alex said, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"You just want to go, don't you?" I giggled at him.
"Please," he begged.
"Fine," I nodded, "Let me get my coat and we can go."
The movie theatre was packed. I had not expected this many people to be here to see what promised to be another ridiculous vampire movie. Alex took my hand firmly within his and led us through the crowd as quickly as possible. Someone in the milling throng laughed, a melodious sound that froze me in my tracks. Alex stopped short as I stood in the middle of the crowded lobby. I knew that laugh. It was a touchable sound. I began to shake.
"What's wrong, Liz?" Alex asked, taking note of my trembling hand.
I ignored his question, my eyes scanning the crowd for anyone who was impossibly beautiful and deathly pale. I couldn't see anyone that matched what I was looking for. Maybe I imagined it. Yes, I'm sure that was it. Had to be. What animalistic vampire could withstand this magnitude of a crowd?
"Liz," Alex asked again.
"Nothing," I breathed, "I thought I heard...it must have been my imagination."
Alex gave me a long look, his eyes searching my face. I forced myself to smile and hoped that it looked genuine. I must have succeeded because Alex nodded and we made our way into the theatre. We took seats in the very back. I always preferred the back row, that way no one could kick the back of your seat and you had a better vantage point of the entire theatre. Paranoid, who me? The theatre quickly filled up and I was very glad that we had been among the first to claim seats.
The lights went down and the previews started to run. I watched them with little attention. One preview looked okay. It was for a werewolf movie and for once, the werewolves didn't look stupid. No, for this film, the director had decided to use real wolves. That made me smile and think of one of my all time favorite flicks, Blood and Chocolate, which took a similar approach on how a werewolf should look.
"That one looks cool," Alex whispered to me.
I nodded in reply. Finally, the actual movie began. The first scene depicted a dark, small, misty town not unlike Forks. It was mostly artistic shots of buildings and streets and then we saw a young woman walking alone down the creepy deserted street, her head turning at regular intervals to make sure that she was still alone. My mind made the next logical conclusion. Surley, she would be attacked by the evil vampire at any moment.
Just then, a dark figure stepped into her path as she looked behind her. The background music made a chilling violin screech as she turned her head toward the dark shadow standing a few feet in front of her. She froze in her tracks, fear holding her in its grip. The camera switched angles, shooting from behind our masked villain as he walked towards the frightened girl. A flash of silver was pulled from out of his pocket as he advanced on her.
Suddenly, the scared woman smiled, her teeth bright and perfect in the dim light of the full moon above. The man stopped, obviously confused by this turn of events. In a flash of movement, the woman was at the mans throat, her teeth sinking into his neck with violent urgency. Our would-be attacker let off a strangled cry as he tried to pry her off but to no avail. He brought his knife up and stabbed at her uselessly but she ignored it like she didn't even feel it. It wasn't long before the man went limp in her grip and she let him fall onto the pavement unceremoniously, licking her lips as she did so.
"I knew it," I heard Alex mumble to himself as he leaned toward the screen.
I shook my head at his self-commentary and watched as our vampire took to the sky in the form of a crow. I snorted at that. The movie instantly lost all props from me with that last maneuver. I leaned back in my seat and sighed. This was going to be a long ninety minuets.
Alex and I walked out of the theatre laughing our heads off. The crowd around us looked at us like we were insane. That movie was so stupid, it should have been labeled as a comedy rather than a horror flick.
"Did you see the way they burst into flames," I giggled, "It was so Lost Boys."
Alex chuckled, "And how long their fangs were...ridiculous."
"And the whole turning into animals shtick," I shook my head, "Where do they get this stuff?"
"Comedic gold," Alex replied, taking my hand firmly within his, "Hungry?"
"Starved," I nodded.
"I'm thinking Bushwhacker?" Alex asked, naming the best steak and seafood restaurant in Port Angeles.
"Sounds good to me," I replied.
We made it as far as the parking lot. My head split with pain. I yelped, my hands clutching my head, trying to keep it from exploding. Alex caught me as I stumbled backwards, my equilibrium pitching me off balance.
"Elizabeth," Alex called, alarmed, "What's wrong?"
I couldn't answer him as a crippling feeling of apprehension squeezed all air from my chest and had my stomach locked in a painful knot. I gasped for air past the horrible panic that rose up my throat like bile.
"Something's wrong," I wheezed out, "Something's wrong."
"What do you want me to do?" Alex asked.
"Help," I whispered and then screamed as another excruciating pain stabbed at my head, "Call my parents...help..."
My body was losing feeling. Alex supported my full weight as my legs gave out under me. He hoisted me into his arms and made a quick exit to his car. He opened the passenger side door one handed. He slipped me into the seat and buckled my seat belt. I saw him on his phone, talking quickly and frantically as he walked around the car to the drivers side.
My vision spun, the edges going a menacing shade of gray as light spots danced around me. I was going to faint.
"Hold on, Liz," Alex said as he burned rubber out of the parking lot, "I'll get you to Carlisle."
"Something's wrong," I murmured.
Alex said something but I couldn't hear. All I could hear was a mocking laugh echoing around in my mind. I was shaking violently, suddenly freezing. My throat burned like I had just swallowed fire and I lost sight.
Elizabeth, said a groaning, pain filled voice in my head, Elizabeth...I'm so sorry.
I had one terror filled moment of recognition before complete unconsciousness took me.
AN: . Sorry it took so long. I was procrastinating. Onto the next.
