Disclaimer: The Twilight characters and universe belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement intended.
Night is coming. By now, I know the drill.
I've seen them watch the sky darken with a buzzing anticipation that feels like watching the Lord of the Rings for the thousandth time. Comfy like old slippers and thrilling like furious thunder.
It's time now.
They pick up the gear that they've spent the day shedding and, one by one, drop off the roof like teardrops in the dark. Black against black, silence in the quiet, not to be seen until they decide to.
Nemo watches them go, sharp eyes and glinting teeth.
"You know," I muse, "I don't believe anyone's told me how the fuck you ended up out here."
Prodding. Has it been long enough for me to know?
"I killed a boy."
She's not casual or aloof or remorseful or ominous. She's nothing, absent-minded maybe.
"Mike. I killed Mike – I was twelve – and ended up in a psych ward. Met a couple people there. Pix. Jazz and Rose. We hit it on. But then at some point, I was told to go back to my parents and that… That I couldn't do. Not there – where I'd killed him. Not back to my old life, all over again, like nothing ever happened. I couldn't."
"A couple months later, she found the three of us under a bridge."
I didn't notice Jazz there before he started talking, but by now I've stopped jumping out of my skin every time he appears at my side. Teleportation seems to be these people's main means of transportation.
"We'd agreed we'd meet here, as far away as possible from both Washington and Texas. The perfect fit."
Of course Pix is there too. Along with Em and Rose.
"Then this little sweet-talker managed to unite every bum, gang and junkie in the fucking city. Now we're one big happy family."
I know the bear is mocking me, but I toss him a tight smile. Still kinda wary.
"And that…"
Rose's eyes are as cold as ever, gleaming blades.
"That's when the fun starts."
I'm reeling, head spinning, but Nemo's already jumped down, and she's getting tired of waiting. Wordlessly her people drop to her side and I trail behind, reluctant but ready for another night.
As she walks she calls over her shoulder.
"Eddy? Forget Nemo, call me Med."
A/N: See the pattern yet? I'm curious.
If not, it gets explicit in the next couple chapters or so, I believe.