Unconditionally and Irrevocably
I Didn't Expect the Spanish Inquisition
As the early morning sun filtered in through my curtained windows, I stared up at the ceiling trying to convince myself that yesterday hadn't been a dream. Logic and common sense just weren't on my side— how could they be? And so, I forced myself to focus on the parts that I couldn't have possibly made up, the parts that I was way too uncreative to have— like his scent, or the feel of his cold smooth cheek against my lips.
With a sigh, I glanced over at the window. What little I could see through my thick curtains told me that it was foggy out. Fog meant that Edward had no reason to not be in school today. I felt a wave of excitement and rolled out of bed to begin my morning ablutions. I kept my dress simple in a pair of dark blue jeans and a long-sleeved teal shirt. I grabbed my phone from my side table, and my bag from the foot of my bed and hurried out of my room, closing the bedroom door behind me.
Renee had yet to text me back, and knowing her, it was probably because she had been late to work this morning. The only hairstyle I would be able to pull off, to hide my burnt strands, was a high ponytail— there would be no hiding behind hair for me today. Merlin, I hope I can keep my blushing under control. I hoped Renee would send me something later and I could fix my hair tonight at Jacob's. I didn't fancy a trip to the hair salon. That would require lying and I wasn't a good liar.
Despite my hair situation, I couldn't help but grin to myself as I tripped down the stairs. I was determined for today to go well, to learn more about the Cullens— especially Edward. Downstairs was unusually quiet and dark, which meant that Charlie already left for work. I glanced at the clock by the stairs and groaned. It was 7:50, I only had thirty minutes before my first class.
I sighed heavily as I walked over to take a swig of water from the faucet. Ugh, I'll need to stop by Walmart and get a water filter soon. I grabbed a granola bar from the box on top of the fridge and hurried out the door. Hopefully, the rain could hold off until I met up with Jessica. I had no want to get stuck in the rain and have to go through school wet and chilly.
As soon as I closed the door behind me, the freezing fog had wrapped itself around me like a blanket, crawling up my shirt and clinging to the exposed skin on my face, arms and neck. It swooped in and skirted around the trees and house, like a giant eraser moving indiscriminately to eradicate what was once there. It was so white, it hurt my eyes. The sounds of the birds, crickets and occasional motor that normally filled the air seemed to have disappeared, they too were immersed by the mist. I held my hand out in front of me, only for it to be swallowed up. I smirked to myself, imagining chanting spells and conjuring the mist like a deranged witch drunk on my powers, cackling, eyes twinkling, just like the type of witches muggles tended to imagine us as.
I blindly gripped the handrail and slowly walked down the steps, begging myself not to trip. It took a bit but I made it to my car and wrenched open the door, quickly reaching over to turn on the heat. I groaned as the heater sputtered out cold air. "Ugh!" I growled with a shake of my head. I would have to get Jake to check it out when I saw him tonight. I couldn't go around without a heater in Forks.
"Bella!"
I turned, slipping on the concrete beneath my feet. I gripped the edge of the truck to keep upright and turned to where Edward's melodic voice seemed to have come from. However, it was an exercise in futility. With all the fog I couldn't see much past my nose. I heard his chuckle before I saw the faint outline of his body. Unsure whether or not my mind was playing tricks on me, I reached out, my hand connecting with his chest. He wrapped his hand around my wrist and pulled me against him. "You're too much," he whispered, his nose caressing the shell of my ear.
Not a mirage then.
He chuckled.
Damn, I must've said that out loud.
I would have glared at him, but my heart was too busy beating itself out of my chest. All I could focus on was the feel of his hand on my wrist, and his hip against my stomach. Edward's touching me, he's touching me! I inwardly squealed, hoping that my outside features didn't betray my inside excitement. I needed to play it cool after all. "Good morning," I said, trying to keep my voice neutral.
He had pulled away, dropping his hand from my wrist. I felt my stomach drop in disappointment. "Would you like to ride with me today?" From what little I could see from my position at his side, he looked amused at my inability to get around in the fog but his voice was laced with uncertainty. He was giving me a choice- I was free to refuse him, and a small part of him likely hoped that I would. But it was pointless on his part and not just because I'd likely crash in these conditions.
"Yes, please," I said, smiling up at him. I let him take my hand and lead me to the car. He opened the passenger side and I slipped in, feeling a sense of loss as his fingers dropped from mine. He closed my door and was in his seat in less than a second.
I tried not to think too hard about my reactions to him and focus instead on how the warmth of the car quickly penetrated my skin and bones. I leaned back and smiled when I felt his tan jacket against the side of my head. I turned, allowing my eyes to fall shut as I pushed my nose into the folds to take in his scent, feeling myself relax as it filled my lungs.
"I brought the jacket for you. I didn't want you to get sick or something." His walls seemed to be up again, his tone guarded. I opened my eyes and studied him. He wore no jacket himself, just a long-sleeved light grey v-neck shirt. The fabric clung to his perfect chest and it did things to me. It was a colossal tribute to his face that it kept me away from his body. The things I want to do to that body— bad, Bella! I scolded myself.
"I'm not that delicate." I chastised lightly. Despite my words, I pulled the jacket off the back of the seat and into my lap, draping it over me like a blanket and shoving my hands in the too-big sleeves. It was just as cold as it had been when he handed it to me yesterday, but his scent more than made up for the slight chill.
"Aren't you?" he contradicted, his voice so low that I barely caught it. I wasn't certain I was supposed to.
"Don't be preposterous." I rolled my eyes.
He drove through the fog-shrouded streets, much too fast, or rather, I think it was too fast. I actually couldn't see anything and I had to grudgingly admit that the Volvo was a very smooth ride. I sighed deeply. Admittedly, I felt a bit awkward. Last night the walls had been down, at least partially, and now I couldn't see if that was still the case. I'd love for us to be just as candid today as we were yesterday, but-
"Are we not playing twenty-questions today?" he asked teasingly.
I breathed a sigh of relief, "I wasn't sure if you'd be up for it." I admitted, "I thought I might have bothered you last night."
"Your questions didn't bother me," he said softly, "your reactions on the other hand…"
I laughed, "I imagine if I were a muggle I would've given you more of the reaction that you wanted." I shrugged, smirk still on my face. "Sorry, Bud. To a witch, you just aren't that scary. There are much scarier things in my world."
He huffed out a laugh of disbelief, "such as?"
"Dementors for one."
"Demons of some sort?"
I leaned my head back and hummed, "how does one go about describing a dementor?" I murmured more to myself. "They are, bar-none, considered the most insidious of creatures that reside in the wizarding world. They suck all the peace, happiness and hope out of the air around them. If you get too close to one, every good feeling you have ever had, every single happy memory is sucked out of you."
I shivered, "for however long you are by them, you will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life— well, if you are lucky."
"And if you aren't?"
"You become soulless."
"As in evil?" he asked.
"Soulless isn't just a flowery description of evil," I said darkly. "They can suck your soul from your body."
He gasped.
"It's interesting, many think that you can't live without your soul, but that's not entirely true in the most literal of senses. You can exist, as long as your brain and heart are still working. But is one really alive if they have no sense of self, no memory, no… anything?" I shook my head. "Once your soul has left your body there is no chance of recovery. You're just… there, an empty shell. Your soul is gone forever… lost." I looked out the window, "this fog reminds me of them a lot, if I didn't know any better I would say there was a horde of them around. Fog is one of their markers."
"Is that possible?" He slowed down and seemed to be scanning the area around us. We were about three miles from school now. There were trees everywhere and the rare house, but otherwise, nothing from what I could tell.
"Is what possible?"
"That they are around?"
I fell silent at that. That wasn't something I had been considering, but now that he mentions it. I closed my eyes and focused on what I was feeling. I was content, nervous, excited— no, they weren't here. "No, you'd be able to feel them, like I said, they suck all sense of happiness and peace right out of you."
"Ah, they are most definitely not here then." I blushed at the seductive timbre in his voice.
I didn't say anything as I struggled to get my blush down. He looked over at me and sighed heavily, "what are you thinking?"
I turned to him, "hmm? Oh, nothing."
"How frustrating," he muttered to himself, so low that had I not been listening I would have never caught it.
"What is?"
"I keep wondering what you are thinking," he admitted after a moment, tapping his hand on the steering wheel.
I clicked my tongue and smiled, "I hardly have a filter, Edward. I always tell you what I am really thinking."
"You edit." he accused.
"Not very much."
"Enough to drive me insane."
"Seems like a control issue," I said with a shrug. At his scowl, I sighed, "trust me, you wouldn't want to hear it." As soon as the words left my lips, I regretted them. The pain in my voice was faint, but by the stiffness in his shoulders, I could tell he caught on to it.
The rest of the ride was silent, the fog lightening up the closer we got to the school. The area was practically clear by the time we were in the school parking lot. So clear, in fact, I was able to see most of Alice as she waved at us before walking into Building 3 with Jasper. It was then that I realised something.
"How did everyone else get to school today?" I asked, suddenly remembering that his car was usually filled to the brim.
"They took Rosalie's car." He shrugged as he parked next to a glossy red convertible with the top up. "Ostentatious, isn't it?"
"Um, wow!" I breathed, eyeing the car beside me. "If she has that, why does she ride with you?"
"As I said, it's ostentatious. We try to blend in."
I snorted at that, shaking my head as I got out of the car and put on his jacket properly. I pulled my hair out from the neck of it, grabbed my bag and shut the door, meeting him at the front of the car.
"So, why is Rosalie driving today then?" I pulled my phone from my pocket and glanced at the screen. Class wouldn't start for another twenty minutes. Edward's driving might be insane, but I could see how helpful it might be in certain situations.
Mom had finally texted me the list of ingredients for a potion that would restore my hair. I'll have to check after school and see if I have all the ingredients at home. A cursory glance told me that they were mostly things muggles had, so in the worst case, I'll have to take a trip to the grocery store.
"You know if you are trying to blend in and all." I snickered to myself as I snapped my phone closed and put it away. What a failure of epic proportions on their part- even before the shiny red sports car.
"Hadn't you noticed? I'm breaking all the rules." He stayed very close to my side as we walked onto campus.
Are you now? Deciding to test that theory, I allowed my fingers to lightly graze the palm of his hand while we walked, curious to see what he would do.
I had to bite my lip to keep from gasping when he purposely brushed his fingers against mine, before tangling them together. I felt a rush of electricity run through my body at the contact. The feeling of him holding my hand was akin to standing at the edge of a cliff with the wind rushing past from all sides. I was a mess, the blush on my face quickly making it's way down my chest and to my ears, and my heartbeat so hard in my chest that I was certain that everyone we passed could hear it, human or otherwise. It wasn't like he had never held my hand before, but the fact that it was at school where anyone could see and it wasn't because he feared I would fall...
I squeezed his fingers and cleared my throat, "So, why do you have cars like that? You know, if you want to remain inconspicuous and all?"
"A bit of an indulgence," he admitted with an impish smile. "We all like to drive fast."
"Figures," I muttered under my breath as I swung our hands between us.
I could see Jessica under the shelter of the cafeteria roof's overhang waiting for me, my jacket in her arms. She looked comical, her eyes large and round as she stared at our hands swinging between us.
"Hey, Jess," I said when we were a few feet away. "Thanks for remembering." She handed me my jacket without speaking. I clumsily slipped it over my free hand, Edward not letting go of the one he was holding.
"Good morning, Jessica," Edward said politely. It wasn't his fault that his voice was so irresistible. He could probably tone down the eye thing though. I'll need to remember to talk to him about that later.
"Er… hi." She shifted her wide eyes from him to me to our hands and back, trying to gather her jumbled thoughts. "We'll talk in Trig," she said after a moment, throwing me a meaningful look. What on earth was I going to tell her?
I sighed heavily. "Yeah, I'll see you then."
She walked away, pausing twice to peek back over her shoulder at us before finally disappearing into Building Four.
"What are you going to tell her?" Edward murmured.
"I thought you couldn't read my mind!" I hissed, turning to stare at him indignantly.
"I can't," he said, startled. Then understanding brightened his eyes. "However, I can read hers — she'll be waiting to ambush you in class."
I groaned in annoyance, hitting my head against his shoulder. "Ow!" I complained, rubbing the pain in my forehead away. He was as hard as marble.
Edward struggled to keep a straight face as he peered down at me, "what do you plan on telling her?"
"I don't know," I whined. "A bit of help would be nice. What exactly would she like to know?"
He lifted my hand to his lips, brushing them against my fingertips as he shook his head, grinning wickedly. "That's not fair."
"No, you not sharing what you know — that's not fair." I pouted, curling my fingers around his and pulling them away from his face.
He deliberated for a moment as we walked, not saying anything until we stopped outside the door to my first class. I leaned back against the wall by the front door and looked up at him expectantly. "Well?"
"She wants to know if we are secretly dating. And how you feel about me." he finally said.
"What should I say?" I kept my expression neutral and voice low, trying to keep our conversation as private as possible. Slowly, I raised our hands to my face and rubbed them against my cheek, pushing the stubborn strands of hair that fell from my ponytail out of my eyes. The contrast of his cold fingers against my warm skin helped calm me as I anxiously thought of my impending conversation with Jessica. Everything I said would be analyzed to the nth degree and then twisted for the gossip-hungry population.
"Hmm." He paused to catch a stray lock of hair that fell into my face again and brush it behind my ear. My heart spluttered. "I suppose you could say yes to the first… if you don't mind — it's easier than any other explanation." He gave my hand a quick squeeze, his thumb rubbing against the back of it.
I threw him a grin, "Does that mean I can borrow your jacket for the day then? It's all the rage with human couples." Actually, it's because I want to be surrounded by your scent, but you don't need to know that.
He chuckled, "Of course." He reached for mine with his free hand and indicated towards my locker. "Text me your combination and I'll put yours in your locker for when we leave today."
I smiled my thanks, "And what should I say when she asks her other question?"
"Well, I'll be listening to hear the answer to that one myself." One side of his mouth pulled up into my favourite uneven smile. I couldn't catch my breath soon enough to respond to that remark. He pressed a kiss to the palm of my hand before dropping it, turning and walking away.
"I'll see you at lunch," he called over his shoulder, waving my jacket in the air as a way of goodbye.
Three people walking through the door stopped to stare at me. "Yeah, I know." I breathed before blushing wildly and pushing my way through the door.
As I made my way to my seat, I suddenly felt flushed and irritated. He was such a jerk. Now I was even more worried about what I was going to say to Jessica. Everything I say will be analysed not only by my gossip-hungry friend but by my boyf- by Edward. I slammed my bag down onto my desk and plopped into my seat, growling.
"Morning, Bella," Mike said from the seat next to me. I glowered at him, my face dropping to a more neutral expression when I saw the odd somewhat resigned look on his face. "How was Port Angeles?"
"It was…" How the hell do you sum up last night- you can't! "Great." I finished lamely, "Jessica got the cutest dress."
"Did she say anything about our date?"
I smiled slightly. He was sweet when he was acting like a puppy— when that behaviour wasn't aimed towards me, that is.
"She said she had a really great time," I assured him.
His grin somehow widened. "She did‽"
"Yep, you've nothing to worry about."
Mr. Mason called the class to order, reminding us that our papers would be due tomorrow. English and Government passed in a blur as I worried about what I would say to Jessica. Every time I thought I knew what I was going to say, I figured out a way Edward would be able to analyze it wrong and I had to start all over again. Ugh, stupid mind-reading vampires.
The fog from this morning rolled into the school grounds by the second hour, suffocating everything with its freezing oppressive presence. I frowned up at the sky as I made my way to Trig, but I could think no more of it as Jessica was waiting at the door to ambush me, jumping on the balls of her feet in her excitement. I rolled my eyes and pushed her in front of me, allowing her to lead us to the back row.
I better get the Spanish Inquisition over with now, or it would likely have dire consequences later. I shudder to think of the rumours if I were to allow Jessica's mind to run wild.
"You have to tell me everything," she commanded as we plopped down into our seats, bags on our desks to give us a modicum of privacy.
"We will be here all day." I teased her. At her impatient glare I sighed, "what would you like to know?"
"What happened last night?"
I shrugged, "Nothing. He bought me dinner, and then he drove me home."
Her glare deepened, expression stiff with scepticism. "How did you get home so fast?"
This girl needs to be an investigative reporter when she grows up. "He drives like a maniac. It's terrifying."
"Was it a date— did you tell him to meet you?"
I shook my head, "I was thrilled just to hang out with you and Angela, I was very shocked to see him there." Thankful, but shocked.
She pouted a bit, apparently unhappy with my transparency and my lack of blushing.
"But he picked you up for school today?" she probed.
"Probably because he thought I'd crash." I rolled my eyes and smiled sardonically. "I am a 'danger magnet', apparently."
She snorted, "well, you aren't wrong there."
"It's likely because he noticed I didn't have my jacket," I said offhandedly, pulling on the collar of his to bring her attention to it. Not that I needed to. She probably zeroed in on it the second I showed up to Trig with it still on. "He seems to be very gentlemanly in that way."
"Well, did he ask you out again?" she asked thoughtfully.
"He offered to drive me to Seattle Saturday because he thinks my truck isn't up to it — does that count?"
"Yes." She nodded.
"Well, then, yes."
"W-o-w." She exaggerated the word into three syllables. "Edward Cullen."
"I know." I agreed. "Wow" didn't even begin to cover it. I was past wow last night.
"Wait!" Her hands flew up, palms toward me like she was stopping traffic. "Has he kissed you?"
"No." I mumbled, shaking my head."It's not like that." After a moment, I tilted my head to the side, a small smile crossing my face. "I did kiss him on the cheek— as a thank you, though."
Her eyes widened comically and she began to smile as she slapped my arm. I winced and grabbed her wrist to keep her from doing it again. The girl can hit hard. "Shut up! You kissed Edward Cullen!"
I blushed and hid behind my bag as the entire class turned to look at us with wide eyes.
"On the cheek!" I hissed, "I've kissed my best friend less chastely." I blew my bangs out of my face and huffed, "As I said, it's not like that." I whispered, glaring down at my desk.
She looked disappointed. I'm sure I did, too.
"Maybe Saturday?" She suggested, "You guys were holding hands this morning and you are wearing his jacket. That has to mean something."
"I really doubt it." I threw my head onto the desk in my crossed arms, discontent colouring my tone. I tucked my nose into the neck of his jacket, breathing in his scent. It calmed me, allowing me to think a little clearer.
She brought up good points- we did hold hands, and he seemed to accept the cheek kiss readily enough, but I do those things with Jake and we are only friends. Those are just things friends do.
"What did you talk about?" She pushed for more information in a whisper, leaning closer to me. The class had started but Mr. Varner wasn't paying close attention and we weren't the only ones still talking. I slipped my bag off the desk and pulled out my binder, flipping to my Trig section.
"I don't know, Jess, lots of stuff," I whispered back. "We talked about him having a test today for a little while." A very, very little while. I'm pretty sure it was mentioned in passing.
"Please, Bella," she begged. "Give me some details."
I began to doodle as I thought about last night, trying to think of something I could tell her. "Well… okay, I've got one. You should have seen the waitress flirting with him — it was over the top. But he didn't pay any attention to her at all." Let him make what he could of that.
"That's a good sign." she nodded. "Was she pretty?"
"Gorgeous, and probably nineteen or twenty."
Jessica looked impressed, "Even better. He must like you."
"I think so, but it's hard to tell. He's always so cryptic," I threw in for his benefit, sighing.
"I don't know how you're brave enough to be alone with him," she admitted in a breathy tone.
"Why?" I was shocked, but she didn't understand my reaction.
"He's so intimidating. I would never know what to say to him," she made a face, likely remembering this morning or last night when he turned the overwhelming force of his eyes on her.
I shrugged. "He's just a boy." A gorgeous, gorgeous vampire boy. "I do have some incoherency issues with him too, sometimes," I admitted at her pout.
"Well, he is unbelievably gorgeous," she said with a shrug as if that excused any flaws that he might have. Which, to be fair, to her it probably did.
"He's very pretty," I agreed. "But he is so much more than that."
"Really, like what?"
F-u-c-k. I could see the smug bastard's smirk right now. Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut?
"I mean, I can't explain it right, but he's even more unbelievable behind the face." The vampire who wanted to be good — who ran around saving people's lives so he wouldn't be a monster… I stared at the front of the room writing down the problems from the board. "He's really smart and caring, protective. He does have a bit of a temper and drives like a damned maniac, but he's awesome and interesting and fun to be around." I felt myself blushing viciously, Merlin… I hadn't meant to say all that.
"So you like him, then?" She wasn't about to give up.
No Shit, Sherlock. "Yes," I said curtly.
"I mean, do you really like him?" she urged.
Wow, I never thought I would be transported back to Middle School. "Yes," I said again, cursing as the blush began to spread down my neck making me feel uncomfortably hot. I hoped that detail wouldn't register in her thoughts.
She'd had enough with the single syllable answers. "How much do you like him?"
"Too much," I whispered, wincing at the desperateness in my voice. Too much, too soon. "More than I should. Way more than he likes me, but I don't see how that could be helped."
It's only been a week, these feelings were too much, too soon. Seventeen was too young for this, there was no way to be this in love and still have anything left over for me. Like a tsunami, the feelings were rushing over me much too quickly to comprehend, throwing me under until I could think, see and feel nothing but him.
Then, thankfully, Mr. Varner called on Jessica for an answer.
She didn't have a chance to interrogate me for the rest of the period, and as soon as the bell rang, I took evasive action.
"I didn't get to tell you, Mike asked me if you said anything about your date," I told her.
She gasped, clapping her hands together, "You're kidding. What did you say‽"
I smiled widely at her. That was too easy. "I told him you had a great time— he was quite pleased."
"Tell me exactly what he said, and your exact answer!"
We spent the rest of the walk dissecting sentence structures and most of Spanish on a minute description of Mike's facial expressions. I wouldn't have helped draw it out for as long as I did if I wasn't worried about the subject returning to me.
And then the bell rang for lunch. As I jumped up out of my seat, shoving my binder roughly into my bag, my uplifted expression must have tipped Jessica off.
"You're not sitting with us today, are you?" she guessed.
"I don't think so." I couldn't be positive he didn't just up and disappear again. He always seemed to do that at the most inconvenient of times.
But outside the door to our Spanish class, leaning against the wall — looking more like a Greek god than anyone had a right to — Edward was waiting for me. Jessica took one look, rolled her eyes, and departed.
"See you later, Bella." Her voice was thick with implications. I might have to keep my phone on silent for a while.
"Hello." His tone was both amused and irritated. He had been listening, that much was obvious. Not that I expected anything else when he had said he would be.
"Hola." I walked past him and led him to the cafeteria, using the silence between us to gather my thoughts. Walking with him into the cafeteria was very much like my first day; everyone stared, mouths agape.
Merlin, these people need a life. He got in front of me and led the way into the line, still not speaking, though his eyes returned to my face every few seconds. I raised my eyebrows at him and held back a smile as I watched irritation win out over amusement as the dominant expression on his face. I bit my lip to keep back a smile and began to fidget with the zipper on his jacket to distract me and keep from laughing. He obviously heard something he didn't want to hear.
He stepped up to the counter and filled a tray with food.
"What are you doing?" I objected. "You're not getting all that for me?"
He shook his head, stepping forward to buy the food.
"Half is for me, of course."
I raised one eyebrow. "While it's nice that you heeded my advice from yesterday, this might be a bit overboard."
He rolled his eyes and nudged me forward, motioning with his head towards the same place we had sat last week. As I was placing my bag beside me, I noticed a group of seniors at the other end of the table gazing at us in amazement. Edward remained oblivious— at least on the outside. He likely heard their thoughts.
"Take whatever you want," he said, pushing the tray toward me.
"So, I have a quick question." I grabbed an apple from the pile, turning it in my hands. "In the book, Jacob was looking stuff up in, it said that natural-born vampires can eat human food."
"But I am a changed one." Edward reminded me.
I nodded, "I know. But, I was wondering if the same applied to you."
"Didn't your new book say?" he asked teasingly.
I pouted. "On that, the book was silent."
He chuckled and took the apple from my hands. He raised his eyebrows, deliberately took a bite and swallowed before handing it back to me. "If someone asked you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?" he said, condescension colouring his tone.
"Funny story," I smirked and bit into the apple. I kept eye contact as I swallowed, "I have eaten dirt." I shrugged, "Wasn't bad. Much better than the earthworm."
He puffed out a laugh and shook his head, a soft smile on his face. "Of course you have, you absurd thing." He looked over my shoulder, irritation colouring his features once again.
"What's wrong?" I frowned, looking over my shoulder to see what he was looking at as I took another bite of the apple.
He lightly kicked me to get me to look back at him and shook his head. "Jessica's analyzing everything I do — she'll break it down for you later."
I shrugged, "Ok, that's Jessica. What has you so irritated?" I finished off the apple and started on the slice of pizza in front of me. "You should be used to her by now— no?"
"So, the waitress was pretty, was she?" he asked, casually changing the course of the conversation.
"I'd do her if I wasn't straight," I said bluntly, turning towards the Cullen table in mild amusement as I heard Alice's musical laughter in conjunction with a booming one. She leaned against Jasper, giggling into her hands. Emmett, Edward's brother had his head in his arms and I could see his shoulders shaking. He was obviously the culprit for the other laugh.
When Alice looked up from her hands, I gave her a quick wave before turning back to him. "You really didn't notice?"
"No. I wasn't paying attention. I had a lot on my mind."
"Poor girl." I could afford to be generous now.
"Something you said to Jessica… well, it bothers me." He refused to be distracted. His voice was husky, and he glanced up from under his lashes with troubled eyes.
I grinned a little. "Well, you know what they say about eavesdroppers." I sang, gasping as I felt two small cold arms wrap around my neck.
"I tell him that all the time," came Alice's exasperated voice in my ear.
I tapped her arms, "Alice. You might not have to, but humans need to breathe."
"Sorry." She loosened her grip around my neck and leaned her head on my shoulder.
"Go away, Alice," Edward snapped. "This is an AB conversation, C your way out of it."
Alice grinned, "Don't be such a D. I'm just here to grab Bella's number."
I burst out laughing, hiding my laugh in my hand. I hadn't been expecting that— they never really seemed to play around with each other. Well, other than that one time with the snow. Seeing them like this made them seem almost human. It was really sweet. I shifted in Alice's arms and pulled my phone out, handing it to her.
She took it from me and programmed her number into it, making sure to call her phone before she handed mine back. Lightly, she pressed a kiss to my cheek. "I'll text you later, Bella." She skipped around the table and pressed a kiss to Edward's cheek, "get the stick out of your ass, Edward." She whispered to him, just loud enough for me to hear.
She squealed and ran, at a believable human speed, back to the Cullen table and into Jasper's waiting arms when Edward growled and began to stand.
"It's your fault," I said with a chuckle, taking another bite of the pizza. It was cold now, but still edible. Well… as edible as cafeteria food could be.
"I warned you that I would be listening," he said as he slowly settled back into his seat. Right after a buzzing sound came from his lips as he said something much too quickly and softly for my ears to pick up. Probably to Alice who was going around taking their siblings phones into her hand, likely programming my number into them. Well, almost everyone. From my position, it looked to me like Rosalie refused to hand her phone over.
"And I warned you that you didn't want to know everything I was thinking," I said after pulling my eyes from the Cullen table. I watched as my phone vibrated two separate times in a matter of seconds; that must be the texts from the other Cullens' phones.
"You did," he agreed, but his voice was still rough. "You aren't precisely right, though. I do want to know what you're thinking — everything. I just wish… that you wouldn't be thinking some of the things you've been."
I shrugged, "I can't help what I am thinking."
"Be that as it may…"
I felt a sudden flare of anger overcome me. "Just tell me what's bothering you!" I slammed my hands on the table, causing him to widen his eyes in shock. The lights above our heads flickered in warning, telling me to get my emotions under control.
I was annoyed that he always felt the need to skip around topics rather than tell me directly what was wrong.
I took a deep breath as he inclined towards me, hands under his chin. I mirrored him. My little outburst had suddenly reminded me that we were in a crowded lunchroom, likely with many curious eyes on us. It was too easy to get wrapped up in our own private, tense little bubble. It wouldn't do any good to allow myself to lose control.
"Do you truly believe that you care more for me than I do for you?" he murmured, leaning closer to me as he spoke, his dark golden eyes piercing.
I felt my head start to spin and I squeezed my eyes tight to block him. I slowly focused on my breathing as I ground out, "Stop doing that."
"Doing what?" His voice was full of shock, and when I looked, his eyes were clouded with confusion.
"Compelling me," I snapped, "It doesn't seem to work the same way as it does with natural-born vampires, but it makes it impossible for me to think." I hadn't realised it last night, but that 'dazzling' feeling that I got when he looked me in the eyes with that intense stare was him compelling me, or rather, his version of it.
With natural-born vampires, if they look someone in the eyes they can compel them to do anything they want— much like the Imperious Curse. They can influence humans— make suggestions, order them around, wipe out memories, sometimes even alter them. It seems like Edward didn't have that particular ability, but he could make people forget everything they were saying or doing with only a look.
"I didn't realise," he took my hand in his and squeezed it, lightly running his fingers over my wrist. "I'm sorry."
I blinked down at the table a couple of times, willing the fog in my brain to go away. "It's fine. Just try to control it," I said after a moment.
"Of course," he said. "You didn't answer my question."
"Hmm."
"Hmm?"
"Yeah, I think that." I shrugged, pulling my hand away from him and leaning my head against my fist. I stared at him as silence fell over us, his eyes calculating before they turned soft.
"You're wrong," his voice velvet soft.
I shook my head, a small smile on my face. "Unlikely." I felt my heart thud in my chest, wincing at the information it would give him.
"What makes you think so?" I felt his eyes get intense again, so I looked to the side to keep from falling into their depths.
"Just a feeling," I sighed deeply. "It feels like you are saying goodbye when you're saying something else." I cocked half a smile, "Other than the obvious, of course."
"Perceptive," he muttered and I sighed, tapping my nose. There was that feeling again.
"So you've mentioned."
"That's where you would be wrong, though— wait, what did you mean when you said 'other than the obvious'?" he demanded, eyes narrowing.
"Intellectually speaking, we are well matched," I said after a moment. I paused thinking through my next words carefully. Wording was everything with Edward. "Other than that, I tend to be very ordinary— quiet, stay to myself. I guess my abilities might make me seem a bit more interesting to someone, like you, that hasn't ever been exposed to them before. And yes, my 'danger magnet' status makes for a laugh or two, but other than that…" I shrugged with a sigh, "Honestly, the only two reasons I can come up with that would make you interested in me is that you can't read my mind and my blood is really yummy to you."
"Finally, something we agree on!" My head whipped over to the Cullen table to see Rosalie smirking in our direction.
I heard Edward growling and turned back to look at him. He looked furious although if it was at my bluntness or Rosalie, I couldn't say. Likely both. "You don't see yourself clearly," he said through gritted teeth. "You have no idea what the thoughts of every human teen male in this school were the first day you arrived."
"I have some idea," I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "I was the shiny new toy— someone they had never seen before." I waved my hand around the cafeteria, "Look around, Edward, this is Forks. Other than your family, their families have lived here for generations. Their grandparents have been best friends since diapers. Most have never stepped foot past Seattle, so if you are new, you basically have automatic celebrity status." I paused for a moment, wondering if I should point out the obvious. "Not to mention, they are all hormone ridden boys— they'll try to screw anything that moves and if that doesn't work, they'll have fun fantasizing about it."
He stayed quiet at that, but really, what was there to argue against?
"But more to the point, I am not the one trying to say goodbye," I pointed out. I might have to erase your memory, but I am not trying to leave.
"But that proves me right. I care more, because if I can leave— " he paused for a moment as if trying to shake away that thought, "If I had to leave to keep you safe, I would."
I raised an eyebrow, "And I wouldn't?"
"You'd never have to make that choice."
I coughed a bit, hiding a laugh. Oh, you sweet summer child. "Never say never." I smirked, "And besides, after what you saw yesterday, one would think that you would realise that I wouldn't even need you to do that. I can take care of myself."
"You could have easily gotten very hurt," he countered. "Honestly, based on the evidence thus far, keeping you safe is a full-time occupation that requires my constant presence."
"No one has tried to off me today," I reminded him cheerfully.
"Yet. The day is still young."
"Don't be a jinx," I chided, biting my lip to keep from laughing.
"I have another question for you." His face was still casual.
"Shoot."
"Do you really need to go to Seattle this Saturday, or was that just an excuse to get out of saying no to all your admirers?"
I made a face at the memory. "You know. I still haven't forgiven you for what you pulled with Tyler," I warned him. "It's your fault he has deluded himself into thinking I'm going to prom with him." I threw up my hands. "Prom, of all things!"
"I just moved things along, he would have eventually found a chance to ask you without me." He smirked a bit, "I really wanted to see your face." He chuckled, and I wanted to slap him so bad. I would have too, if I didn't think I would break my hand. "If I had asked you, would you have turned me down?"
"Depends."
"On?"
"How I felt about you at the time." I raised my eyebrows at him, "If it was the first day I would have told you to get lost. If it had been this past week, I might've said yes, and then cancelled later on." If he were to ask me now though… I'll put up a fight but likely give in... eventually.
He looked puzzled, "Why would you do that?"
I shook my head sadly. "You've never seen me in Gym, I guess, but I would have thought you would understand."
"Are you referring to the fact that you can't walk across a flat, stable surface without finding something to trip over?"
"Obviously."
"That wouldn't be a problem." He was very confident. "It's all in the leading." He could see that I was about to protest, and he cut me off. "But you never told me — are you resolved on going to Seattle, or do you mind if we do something different?"
"Hm," as long as the 'we' part is still a thing. "I'm open to alternatives," I said after a moment. "Why, what were you thinking?"
"The weather will be nice, so I'll be staying out of the public eye… and you can stay with me if you'd like to." Again, he was leaving the choice up to me.
"And you'll show me what you meant about the sun?" I asked, curious about checking something else off my ever-growing list.
"Yes," he smiled and then paused. "But if you don't want to be… alone with me, I'd still rather you didn't go to Seattle by yourself. I shudder to think of the trouble you could find in a city that size."
"Now who is too much?" I teased. "Phoenix is three times bigger than Seattle — just in population. In physical size —"
"But apparently," he interrupted me, "Your number wasn't up in Phoenix. So I'd rather you stayed near me." I looked away as his eyes started to smoulder again— I am beginning to wonder if it's not something he could control.
I really couldn't argue with his logic in either case. "As it happens, I don't mind being alone with you." I paused for a moment, "But I'm driving."
"Pardon— absolutely not. We will never get there."
"You drive like a maniac," I said with a roll of my eyes. "Besides, it would make Charlie feel better if he knows that I have my own car to get away in case something happens."
He smiled in approval, "So you do have some self-preservation."
"I have a cop for a father— he and Renee have pounded in every 'safe dating' lecture they could into the last few years. I've never had to use any of it, and I am sure Charlie won't be thrilled about me going with you, but he won't stop me as long as I follow the rules."
"Ah, self-preservation in terms of dating- not in terms of-"
"Shh," I pressed my fingers to my lips and shook my head. "Your siblings can hear us."
He glanced over his shoulder, "Right, sorry." He sighed heavily, "What will your mother think then?"
"I told you, she will be fine with it. Thrilled probably. It worried her that I wasn't really hanging out with anyone in Phoenix and would just come home and cook, clean, call Jacob, read and write fanfiction-" F-u-c-k.
He grinned widely, "You write fanfiction? What about?"
"Shut up," I said quickly. "Let's talk about something else."
"I'm not letting this go," he said, laughter colouring his tone.
I raised his eyebrows, "You are for now." I looked down at the half-eaten pizza and took a bite while I thought of a topic to talk about. "What did you guys hunt this weekend anyway— bears? Charlie says there are a lot of them where you went."
"Grizzly is Emmett's favourite." He said it offhandedly, but his eyes were scrutinizing my reaction.
"Hmm," I said, taking another bite of pizza. I chewed slowly, and then took a long drink of Coke without looking up. Oh, I hope they left the babies alone. I am not exactly sure what he wanted me to react to; it wasn't like he was sucking humans dry.
"So," I said after a moment, finally meeting his now-anxious gaze. "What's your favourite?"
He raised an eyebrow and the corners of his mouth turned down in disapproval. "Mountain lion."
"Ah," I said in a politely disinterested tone, looking for my soda again.
"Of course," he said, and his tone mirrored mine, "We have to be careful not to impact the environment with injudicious hunting. We try to focus on areas with an overpopulation of predators — ranging as far away as we need. There's always plenty of deer and elk here, and they'll do, but where's the fun in that?" He smiled teasingly.
"Where indeed." I murmured around another bite of pizza.
"Early spring is Emmett's favourite bear season — they're just coming out of hibernation, so they're more irritable." He smiled at some remembered joke.
"Nothing more fun than an irritated grizzly bear." I agreed, nodding. "I hope you guys left the babies and their mothers alone."
He snickered, shaking his head. "Of course, we aren't monsters. Tell me what you're really thinking, please."
"That was what I was really thinking," I admitted with a shrug.
At his snort of derision, I continued. "It's in your nature to drink blood. You can't stop drinking it any more than I can stop eating and drinking and sleeping. It's not going to bother me. I am wondering more about natural-born versus changed vampires though."
"In terms of?"
"Well, not that you could answer this, but from my research, it seems like natural-born vampires are very different from your kind. In fact, I am pretty sure you guys are a completely different species or, at least, have significant evolutionary differences." I took a sip of my soda. "Kind of like the Galapagos finches."
"Galapagos vampires," he said dryly.
I snorted, wincing as soda went up my nose, "Don't say such ridiculous things when I am drinking!"
"Sorry." He didn't look sorry at all, the jerk.
I glanced over at the Cullen table. They looked like they weren't listening, but Alice was acting much too innocent for my liking. She was scribbling in a notebook, casually leaning towards our table.
"Out of curiosity," I said after a moment of observing them.
"You're always curious," he complained.
"Do your siblings know... about me?" I asked as low as I could, barely moving my lips. From the corner of my eye, I watched Alice and Emmett move a little closer. Interesting, they must not be able to hear whispering as well when there is a lot of noise around. That's good to know.
"They know you aren't completely human, but I didn't tell them what you were." Edward shrugged, "Alice saw some things, but nothing clear and I didn't know if I could tell them."
"What did Alice see?"
He glanced over at her, and she gave a quick nod, seeming to permit him to tell me. "Alice can see the future, well, bits and pieces mostly, sometimes clearer pictures."
"Cool, give me the right things and I can too." Not well, but he didn't need to know that. "What did she see?"
"Not much in regards to you, it was all foggy, uncertain. A flashing blue light, you saying Memoria Falsum, a cauldron or pot with some green bubbling liquid inside."
Memoria Falsum… that's a memory charm of some sort. I grimaced at that. "Anything else?"
He shook his head, "Not yet and what little she did see is subject to change."
That's good, I won't have to alter their memories then if that is the case. I looked him in the eyes willing myself not to be dazzled. "I need you to be completely honest with me." I implored.
"I'll be as honest as I can." Fair.
"Have you been at OR in my house lately," he twitched slightly, "— other than in the tree yesterday afternoon."
He nodded sharply, his eyebrows knitting together. I sighed heavily, covering my eyes with the heels of my hands. This complicated things immensely.
"Is there a place we can talk where they won't be able to hear us?"
He nodded and reached over to grab my bag. I went to throw away the rest of the food and met him, allowing him to take my hand. We waved to his siblings as we passed their table and left the cafeteria.
Edward led me to the parking lot, taking me to his car. The air around us was thick with fog now, much thicker than it was during the second hour. Still, it wasn't nearly as bad as this morning, but it was still difficult to see more than a few feet in either direction.
He placed both of our bags on the hood and leant against it, crossing his arms over his chest. "As long as you talk softly, they shouldn't be able to hear. The cafeteria is too loud. I'm watching to make sure Alice or Emmett's curiosity doesn't get the better of them."
I leant my hip against the bumper and looked up at him. "I have government officials coming from my world." His eyes bored into mine and I dropped them to his chest, unable to handle the intensity. However, that led to another problem. My mind ran into fantasy overdrive. Thank Merlin he couldn't read me.
I could see myself pressing against his side, whispering the next words into his ear. "They know that there was a vampire on scene, they just don't know who. Thankfully magic messes with electronics so they didn't find any video evidence." It took all my effort to not reach over and touch his chest, imagining how his muscles would shift under my hand.
I swallowed heavily and tried to focus on what was supposed to be a very serious conversation. I couldn't let my hormones get in the way. "If they catch any trace of you at my house they'll easily be able to find you and the others. We must avoid that."
Despite my best efforts, I couldn't stop myself from imagining that I was grazing his ear with my lips, causing him to shiver. "If they catch any trace of you at my house they'll easily be able to find you and the others. We must avoid that."
I pictured myself scratching my fingers down his chest to his stomach— perhaps making him stutter out his next sentence.
"Can they hurt us?"
"Technically, yes, but they are more likely to just erase memories unless you fight them."
Maybe I'd rub my cheek against his shoulder, and press tightly against him until not even a whisper of air could pass between us. I took out a shaky breath— focus Bella!
"It would be a lot easier if your family didn't get involved. If it's just you, I can protect you. I just need to know if you have been at the house. If you have been, I can make a potion to hide your trace from them and they won't be the wiser, but I need to know there is a trace. If there is nothing, they'll be able to sense that I was trying to hide something and it'll make things much more complicated. It only works if what I am using has a trace to attach to."
The imagines flashing my mind were stopped by his movement. Broken from whatever hormonal haze I was in, I blinked, watching as he sighed heavily and hung his head so that the strands of his hair tickled his forehead and fell into his eyes. "I know you said you don't like me watching you—"
"Edward!" I growled, feeling anger pulse through me. I glared up into his eyes so that he could see that I was furious.
"They'll find traces of me in your room, the tree outside your window and the front lawn," he said quietly.
"We just talked about this. I'm infuriated!" I squeezed my eyes shut to keep my magic from getting out of control. I could feel the wind pick up around us, the parking sign a few cars down creaking with the force of it.
"I'm so—"
"— Sorry means nothing unless you change your actions, Edward. Don't tell me you are sorry. Show me you are by not doing what you were explicitly asked not to." I said through gritted teeth. I took deep breaths to keep myself under control. I couldn't lose control here. With my luck, I'd blow up his or Rosalie's car and owe them tens of thousands of dollars.
"I was just worried about you!"
I looked up, brows knitted together. The wind around us was dying down the more I studied him. His jaw and fists were clenched tight, and he seemed to be holding his breath.
"Worried about me, why?"
"When you have particularly difficult days you have nightmares, and last night was worse than usual. I noticed…" he sighed heavily, his face and hands loosening."I noticed that you calm down while sleeping when I am near you. So I went to make sure that I could calm you down if you had one of your nightmares. I didn't want you to wake up scared." He said the last part quietly.
I felt my face soften, and the wind had died completely. That was really sweet. Creepy, but sweet. "Thank you." I said, "That is unbelievably sweet. But next time, just text me and ask if it is ok. Hell, just come by if you want. I'll send you away if I don't want you there."
"Yeah?" He looked worried about the prospect of me ever turning him away. Silly boy, like that, would ever happen.
I shrugged one shoulder, "I probably wouldn't ever turn you away." I admitted, pressing my face into his chest. God, he smells so good. I could just eat him. "Just please, no more stalking. I realise you were doing it from a place of wanting to… protect me, but I won't tolerate it."
"No more stalking," he agreed.
I smiled up at him sweetly,"So, are there any other places that I need to douse? ... like the bathroom—"
"Isabella!" it was his turn to be outraged.
I giggled and leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek. I couldn't help but tease him a little.
Reluctantly, I pulled away and saw that everyone was starting to leave the cafeteria for the next class. "We better get to Bio." He nodded before taking both of our bags and my hand. Slowly, we walked to Bio, ignoring everyone as they stared after us with open mouths.
o0o
The rest of the day was interesting, to say the least. Mr. Banner showed a movie in Bio. I'd be hard-pressed to recall what the subject matter was about, however. All I was able to focus on during that forty-minute period was Edward sitting a foot away from me— driving me absolutely insane. We barely touched, except for when our hands would brush together, but the electricity between us never seemed to slacken. I'd lost my breath more than once. Between that, and the odd fantasy or two my mind supplied me, it took all my power to not take his stupid face in my hands and kiss him soundly in front of everyone. It is amazing what an almost dark room could do to a person.
Gym hadn't been much better. I walked into class light headed and wobbly and stayed that way the entire period. Fortunately, Mike was there to protect me from any flying birdies— but he didn't save me from his incessant questions.
After his Spanish Inquisition, I had half wished that I had hit myself hard enough with the racket to warrant a trip to the nurse. The only highlight was the comment he made about Edward looking like he wanted to eat me constantly— c'mon, how could anyone not find that hilarious.
I was still chuckling to myself over it as I left the gym locker room, tripping when I turned past the lockers. I sighed, resigning myself to my fate when two strong cold arms wrapped around my waist, stopping me from falling. "Jesus, Bella," Edward whispered in my ear, tightly pulling me up against his body. His strong, hard, cold body. Stop it, Bella!
I gripped his arm and smiled up at him widely. "Hello, my Hero."
He reached up and stroked my cheek before letting me go, slipping my bag from my shoulder. Lightly, he took my hand and led me over to my locker to get my jacket. "How was gym?"
I scrunched up my face. "Fine."
"Was it?" He looked down at me unconvinced. His eyes shifted their focus to something above my head, narrowing. I glanced behind me, my head brushing against his shoulder, to Mike's back as he walked out of the building.
"What now?"
He glanced down at me, his eyes dark. "Newton's getting on my nerves."
I groaned, slapping him lightly on the arm. "You're unbelievable. You were reading his thoughts while we were in gym, weren't you?" Edward made quick work of my lock and opened my locker to grab my jacket. Slamming it shut, he twisted the lock and began to lead me out of the building.
"How's your head?" he asked innocently.
"Seriously." I rolled my eyes at him. "You know, it's rude to read people's minds without their permission."
"I can't exactly help it." He wrapped an arm around my shoulders as we entered the parking lot. It was much windier than it was this afternoon. I leaned into him and wrapped an arm around his waist. He made an excellent windbreaker. "You were the one who mentioned how I'd never seen you in Gym — it made me curious." He didn't sound very repentant, but he squeezed me closer to his body so I could forgive him this one time.
We walked in silence the rest of the way to his car. "What on Earth?" I muttered as we neared the Volvo. There was a group of boys surrounding the silver car and Rosalie's beside it. I hope nothing happened to her car, I'd feel so guilty considering I am technically the reason she had to bring it.
The closer we got, the easier it was to realise that they were merely eyeing Rosalie's red convertible with unmistakable lust in their eyes. Nothing was wrong. I let out the breath I hadn't realised I was holding.
None of them bothered to look up as Edward slid between them to open his door. I climbed quickly in the passenger side, also unnoticed.
"Ostentatious," he muttered, starting the car.
"Maybe I should just drive myself to school from now on." I murmured, feeling overwhelmed by the crowd.
He muttered more under his breath as he tried to back out without running over all of the car enthusiasts. "Are you upset with me— for listening to Mike's thoughts?" he asked after a long silence.
I shrugged, "I think it's rude and would rather you not do it again, to any of my friends. Especially when the reason is to spy on me. I deserve some privacy." He had mentioned that he could block their thoughts to some extent, after all.
"How about I make it up to you by letting you drive on Saturday?"
"That was happening anyway," I said with a shrug. He flashed me a grin as he pulled into my driveway, shutting off the car. I slowly pulled off his jacket and handed it back to him, slipping my own back on. "I do look forward to it."
He chuckled and leaned over, lightly brushing his hand across my cheek as he pressed his lips against the other one. He held it for a moment, and I felt as if I couldn't breathe. He pulled away, his fingers lightly trailing across my jaw. "Tomorrow is my turn," he stated confidently.
"Hmm?" I lightly touched my cheek where he had kissed me. "You're turn to do what?"
"To ask questions."
I groaned, "Why. I am so boring."
"Hardly." he grinned. He motioned towards my car. "You better get going. Aren't you meeting Jacob for a study session tonight?"
I pouted. "But I don't wanna."
Edward rolled his eyes and rubbed my cheek with his fingers. "Go, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Fine!" I huffed, leaning over to kiss his cheek quickly. "Thanks for the ride home."
I slipped out the door and shouldered my bag, gently closing it behind me. "I'll text you when I get back from Jacob's tonight."
"I'll be waiting with bated breath."
And then, he was gone, the car speeding down the street and disappearing around the corner before I could even collect my thoughts. I quickly went into the house to gather the ingredients for my hair potion before walking to my truck and texting Jacob that I would grab a pizza on the way there.
I would hang out with my best friend and fix my hair tonight, then hang out with Edward tomorrow. Everything was coming up Bella.
o0o
I arrived at Jacob's house fifteen minutes before I was expected, and it seemed like I was the only one there. I grabbed my bag and the pizza and left my car by the garage. Slowly, I made my way to the front door and let myself in. "Billy? Jake? Anyone home?" Silence met my calls. It was as I thought. No one was home yet.
I walked into the kitchen and dropped my burden on the table before walking back to the front door and taking off my shoes, leaving them under the coat hanger. I took off my jacket and placed it on a hook before grabbing my bag and going to Jake's room.
I plopped down on the bed and leaned back onto his pillows. The room screamed Jake. The walls were forest green, with gold borders. He had posters of cars and several movies on his walls— none holding images of sexy girls just yet, but I suppose it was only a matter of time. That was something teen boys had, right?
I glanced at the wall by the door and studied the collage of pictures that covered it; not a bit of the green paint underneath could be seen. The pictures were of me and him, us with his sisters, us with Billy, of the boys on the rez, Billy and Charlie, Renee and Sarah, Renee and Charlie- it was never-ending and made me yearn for everything I had missed over the years. I should have come here more often, but there wasn't anything I could do about it now.
His bookshelves by the bed were filled to the brim with various types of books— manga, graphic novels, Eragon, Artemis Fowl, Sherlock Holmes— my little nerd. His desk opposite the bed held his school books, and books covering all sorts of Quileute laws and etiquette.
I closed my eyes and allowed my head to fall to the side, nuzzling his pillow. It smelled like him— like forest and sun. I allowed it to take me over, and I felt myself relax...
.
"Bells?" I groaned and blinked my eyes open to see Jacob peering down at me, with a worried expression. He had his hand on my hip and was rubbing it, trying to get my attention.
"Hello, Sleeping Beauty."
I rolled my eyes and pushed him away so I could sit up and stretch. "Sorry, I must've fallen asleep." I pulled my phone from my pocket, 4:57 flashed at me. I wasn't asleep too long then.
He laughed lightly. "It's my fault. I had to stay after school for an audition. I wasn't going to do it, but I figured I might as well go for it last second." He tapped my phone. "I texted you, saying I would be late." Jacob was always going on auditions for musicals or plays. Sometimes he just offered to do set design, depending on his mood. It kept him out of the empty house and out of trouble.
I glanced back down at my phone and sure enough, there was a text from Jake. "I must've missed it." He was smirking at me and I groaned, throwing his pillow in his face. "Stop smirking with your dumb face."
"What was that for‽" He laughed, flicking the pillow away.
"You just keep getting prettier, it pisses me off." I pouted.
Jacob rolled his eyes and leaned over to kiss my nose. "You are absurd."
I threw my hands up in the air. "What is it with all of the boys in my life calling me absurd‽"
"It's because you are." he clicked his tongue. He dragged his bag onto the bed, and dumped his books out, scanning the pile for something. "Can we get my math exam reflection over with before we start on the vampire stuff?"
"Of course."
"Thanks," he muttered, pulling his math test from under his history book and handing it over to me.
"Woof, polynomials," I muttered as I glanced over his test. The good news was he had just made simple mistakes. "A lot of this is very fixable," I assured him.
He shrugged. "I can get half-credit for every question I got wrong if I redo them correctly."
I nodded. "We can easily do that."
"I still won't pass though." he scowled.
"Getting a 55% after revisions is better than 10%." I reminded him softly.
"True," he growled and flung the rest of the books on his bed to the side. "There's just so much crap."
"We will organize it later," I promised. I could see that the folders I suggested him to buy were unused in the cubby of his desk. I'll go through and colour code the classes with him.
I placed the test on the bed and walked over to his desk to clear everything off of it. I put the books in piles on the floor and swiped the rest into a partially filled cardboard box he kept beside his bed. Once it was clear, I grabbed the test and his arm and pulled him to the cleared desk. "We will work here. Fewer distractions."
He grumbled but plopped into the metal chair at his desk. I leaned my elbows on his shoulders and my chin on his head. I pointed to the first question. "Look at it carefully, where is the mistake?"
The question asked him to find the root of (X+10)(X-2)=0. Jacob got X=-2; X=-10.
He looked at it for about thirty seconds before answering uncertainty. "Only one of the answers should be negative?"
I nodded. "Which one and why?"
"Hmm." He took a minute before he responded again. "I think the negative 10 is correct because in the original equation it is a plus 10 and the answer should be the opposite?"
"Why?"
"Because… X needs to be alone? It doesn't want to be with anyone. The only way to do that is to get rid of any unwanted numbers with the opposite operation."
"Excellent, so where is your mistake?"
He went quiet for another minute, his pencil tapping on the desk. "The negative 2 should be positive. In the original equation, it is (X-2) which we change to X-2=0. To get X alone you need to add 2 to each side because the opposite of a negative number is its positive counterpart and that's how you get rid of it."
I hugged him tightly. "Exactly!"
I watched as he corrected his work in green ink; he hated red ink and refused to use it. We went on for another hour, going through each equation on the exam. Some mistakes he was able to catch with some prompting, others he wasn't, but he was certainly doing much better than the beginning of the year. I could tell he had improved, even if he couldn't see it in himself.
Jacob threw his pen onto the desk and stretched after he corrected the last question. "I actually know more than I thought I did." He admitted after a moment. "It helps when I am prompted, keeps me focused."
I hugged him tightly and kissed the top of his head before I grabbed his hand and pulled him into a standing position. "Let's go grab some pizza."
We went to the kitchen and grabbed a couple of slices each before retreating back into his room. We really weren't supposed to eat in his room, but we couldn't risk having Billy overhear what we were about to talk about if he came home in the middle of our conversation.
We settled on the floor on his threadbare rug, backs against the bed. As I ate, I leaned my head against his shoulder.
"I found something you might be interested in," he said after he finished his first slice.
"Oh, god what?"
"Changed vampires and hunting," Jacob said casually.
"Ooo, tell me." I nudged him with an elbow, "I'd probably have to pull teeth to get that information from him."
"So apparently, when they hunt they give themselves over to their senses. They govern less with their minds— they aren't entirely making conscious thoughts. They are ruled by their sense of smell, rather than thought."
"Hmm," I took a bite of information as I thought through what he told me."Thanks for the information. With it I can probably get him to talk to me about it, at least I know something going into the conversation." I pulled my knees to my chest, balancing my plate on top of them. "I remember reading somewhere that it is different with the natural borns, they can keep their head around food- much like we do- unless they are starved. I guess that's another difference then."
The more information I gathered on changed and natural-born vampires, the more questions I had. It was utterly fascinating how different they were. "It's interesting how different they are from one another, even with something as fundamental as hunting. I made the analogy earlier that they were kind of like the Galapagos finches."
"I'm sure he was thrilled with that, Darwinia." Jacob snarked.
I shrugged, taking a sip from my coke.
"So, what happened yesterday?" He pulled his phone from his pocket and opened up his messages. "You said something big occurred?"
"Sparknotes version?"
"Always."
We made the 'SparkNotes' version a thing because both of us would take hours to explain a singular event if we weren't reigned in. As it was, we still got out of hand.
"So, I went to Port Angeles with some friends to get dresses for the school dance."
Jacob coughed. "You're going to a dance?"
"Never." I threw my napkin at him. "Anyway, I separated from them for a bit so that I could get some books from the magical bookstore there." I indicated to my bag at the foot of the bed that held the Encyclopedia of Vampires. "I had some time to kill after the store so I decided to explore— on the warehouse side of town apparently."
"Oh, Bella, no! Why?" Jacob pulled at his long hair, twisting the strands through his fingers. It was a nervous habit that he learned from me.
"I hadn't known it at the time!" I said in my defence. "I was walking and eventually I noticed I was being followed, so I tried to walk a few different ways to get them off my trail, but it turns out they were herding me."
Jacob growled- was that a normal thing boys did or something exclusive to Edward and Jacob when they were annoyed? I've never noticed Jacob do it before.
"There were four of them," I continued, "but three were squibs, only one was a real danger to me. So we were duelling in the middle of warehouse central when suddenly a silver Volvo came out of nowhere. It was Edward."
"What?" Jacob gasped, his large eyes widening in shock.
"Right!?" I exclaimed. "So, anyway, we drove for a while until we were in the middle of nowhere, and suddenly, he stops. I could tell he was furious. I took a couple of droughts because I had gotten hurt, and gave him half of my calming drought hoping it would relax him a bit."
"You gave a vampire some of your calming drought?" Jacob asked, amused.
I shrugged. "He was ready to go back and murder those guys, I needed to do something." I frowned a bit. "But I don't think it worked very well. He must've metabolised it a lot quicker than I thought he might."
"He is a vampire, their bodies work differently from ours." Jacob took a sip from his soda. "So, what else happened?"
"He took me to dinner, and we just talked." I placed my plate on the floor and stretched out my legs. "After, we were home in like twenty minutes because he drives like a damned maniac." Jacob grinned widely, causing me to roll my eyes. "You'd love him, speed demon you are."
"I fully expect to become very close to Edward, no worries there," Jacob stated, his grin widening a bit more.
"Isn't there a treaty?"
"He can't come on our land, we can't go on theirs— without permission. Everywhere else is fair game."
"Oh god." I shuddered. They would be dangerous together. With Jacob there to encourage him, Edward would probably go way over 200mph despite my protests. Maybe I could get them to hang out alone and keep me the hell out of it— if Edward would even agree to being friendly with Jacob.
I looked over at my best friend, studying him as he reached over to take my half-eaten pizza off my plate. Who was I kidding? Jacob was literally the best person in the world. Anyone would want to be his friend.
"Anything else?"
"Hm, I called Renee and she informed me that the three squibs are being charged with assault and likely will spend some time in Alcatraz. However, the wizard is not from here so I might have to go overseas to a trial at the Ministry."
Jacob scrunched up his nose. "Yipee."
"Oh, it gets better."
"How is that even possible?"
"They know a vampire was at the scene, but don't have any evidence as to who because the cameras went out. I need to talk to MACUSA individuals later this week so that they can see if I saw anything. They are looking to erase his memory."
"Well, shit." He leaned his head back against his bed and pulled me to him. He played with my hair as he sighed. It was obvious that he was thinking through his next words carefully. "You know there is really only one thing you can do in this situation, Bells."
I shifted into his lap and pressed my forehead to his temple, snuggling deeper into his arms. "No." I wasn't saying that I didn't know what I had to do, I was saying that I couldn't.
"You'll have to erase his memory before MACUSA finds out he was on site."
I looked into his eyes, wincing at the pain reflected back at me. He didn't like the situation any more than I did. I hope he kept these thoughts when he finally shifted. It would be good to have someone on the Cullens' side, to give the werewolves another perspective.
"We finally started opening up to each other!" I exclaimed in his ear causing him to wince in pain. "If I erase his memory, who knows what will happen?"
Jacob made a noise in this throat- almost like that of a frog, and moved his hand over his ear. It was the most bizarre thing that he had learned to do when he was younger. Apparently, it helped when his ears hurt, or his throat was itchy.
He huffed, shaking his head. "I mean it, Bells, especially since he is a vampire. It could put him in a lot of danger. I know we both say, a lot, that it wouldn't be a big deal if dark creatures were to find out, but you know that MACUSA doesn't look too kindly on dark creatures. That's why they aren't even allowed to know about wizards and witches."
"But America is the only country where dark creatures don't know that a wizarding world exists."
He shrugged helplessly. "We do a lot of things differently here. It sucks, but it's what we have to deal with."
"It makes no sense," I growled.
"These things hardly do," Jacob whispered.
"Ugh, I hate you." I hit my head against his shoulder, it didn't hurt nearly as much as it had when I did the same thing to Edward earlier today.
"No, you don't." Jacob contradicted. "You love me."
"I can do both; between love and hate is a very fine line," I said stubbornly.
"I know it's hard, Bells, but either you do this and have a chance at staying with him, or let him keep the memories and put both of you in serious danger."
"Ugh, why must you be the voice of reason?"
"Because you can't have a relationship if one or both of you wind up dead or in Alcatraz."
"Have I ever told you that I hate you?"
"Almost exclusively," he said dryly.
I tucked myself under his chin and closed my eyes, allowing him to pull me closer to him until you couldn't tell where either of us ended or began. As much as I hated to admit it, Jacob was right. If I didn't erase Edward's memories of magic, even the very little he possessed, it would put him in immeasurable danger. I couldn't do that, not to Edward.
Hello, Everyone!
First, a huge thanks to my beta, Seygen Belial, for looking over this chapter for me! It would have not been nearly as good without your help. I am eternally grateful. Any excess mistakes you see laying about are completely my doing.
I hope you enjoyed chapter 8, I am overjoyed everyone seems to be liking the story. If you did, favourite, alert and/or leave a review! Anyone who does will get an exclusive sneak peek of the next chapter ;).
Keep it classy, make good choices and I hope to see you soon.
Chandlure