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It was now a week before Halloween and the whole school was gearing up for the holiday already. It was on a Thursday this year so people weren't really going too crazy but I knew Mike was planning on having a party that most everyone was going to in our year. I planned for a night at home, remembering those I had lost through the old ways.
When everyone avoided me like the plague in fifth year I secluded myself in the library and stumbled on books that taught about the old ways. There were very appealing aspects to certain parts including the ways to honor the dead on Samhain or Halloween.
At Forks High, European History particularly kept getting more and more interesting as the year had progressed but not how I expected. Mr. Harrison, while a cool teacher, often got sidetracked in lessons. And by sidetracked, I mean he would suddenly break from what he was teaching to ask me about some random fact or opinion on English culture and history. But it was all about recent history. I didn't really know what to make of it quite yet. It just always rubbed me the wrong way. He never did it to any other student.
Today though he was announcing our mid-term project.
"Before the winter break, I want to see that history has touched all of you in some way. Starting even yesterday, every day before it is a part of human history! You will be working in groups of 2. You have class today to figure out who your partner is and then by next week to tell me your topic. " Harrison explained.
"Mr. H, that's Halloween!" This jock, Carter exclaimed.
"Then I trust you'll do your work on time." Mr. Harrison chided, making the class laugh.
Quickly different students started rushing towards each other. I turned in my seat and spotted Jasper not moving an inch.
"Jasper! Want to be partners?" I offered, one because I wanted to get to know Jasper and two, because I had an advantage maybe, depending on the topic we chose.
He gave me a polite smile and nodded. "That'd be nice Dahlia." he said, his accent unusually thick today.
I hopped up and moved till I was sitting in the seat next to him.
"So, while you are the Civil War expert between the two of us, Mr. Harrison is looking for something related to European History. Do you have any ideas?" I asked. He shook his head.
"Is there anything significant from when you lived in England that could draw some inspiration for the two of us?" he asked back. I tilted my head as I thought for a moment.
"Well...I mean in my opinion Europe has some of the most beautiful architecture around. My school, Avalon, was a boarding school inside of this ancient castle that was at least one thousand years old. And a whole ton of legends said it was once a school for those who practiced in magic. Some historians said Merlin himself went to school there, if we were to believe he existed." I explained, editing the details to a more tame Muggle version.
Merlin was in the first class of students at Hogwarts in fact. A Slytherin. And after he was done at Hogwarts was when he made his way to Arthur, the future King of Camelot...and his future husband.
"It's crazy to think about. How these structures have been there far longer than us and we will be gone far sooner than they will." Jasper said, albeit a little morbidly.
"I like to think of that as a positive trait. You can tell how a person is by their home, so in a way, it's like seeing the history of people in their structures themselves." I tried to explain. Jasper nodded in contemplation. He was a very quiet individual, but I suppose when Alice was your mate you didn't really need to do a whole lot of talking.
"What if we did something with Merlin and King Arthur? King Arthur and Camelot is one of the greatest legends in West European history. We could talk about Avalon Hall and it's association with the legends of Merlin while also discussing what was rumored to be Camelot and the evidence it shows of King Arthur and the legends surrounding him?" I proposed to Jasper.
He seemed pleased with the idea so I figured he would probably be quiet the rest of the time so I was pleasantly surprised when he spoke up again.
"I'd like to say I'm appreciative of your friendship with Alice. We don't really have friends outside of family and so it's been hard for any of us to connect with people. But Alice really likes you." he said softly. I gave him a smile.
"Alice has quickly become one of my closest friends. It's really fun hanging out with her...and having the ultimate shopping buddy." I teased which caused him to chuckle.
"Very true," he agreed.
The next Cullen I would interact with would be Edward. In Music. Today we had a substitute so we were watching a movie on the old screen protector. It was the movie version of West Side Story.
I was sitting in a seat with Edward directly behind me. So I only jumped a little bit when I felt his breath by my ear.
"How do you feel about ditching?" he asked quietly.
The rebel side of me was thrilled at the idea. With a quick glance around the room I scurried out of the room along with Edward. The substitute was asleep in her chair so I wasn't too worried.
"I didn't realize you were such a bad boy Edward" I teased as we walked through the halls.
"Oh yeah, I'm the worst." he joked, laughing when I stuck my tongue at him. We made our way to the parking lot and got into his car.
"So are we just staying here the rest of school?" I asked.
"You never skipped school before?" he asked.
"No, I've skipped plenty. Surprised you are." I said, leaning back in the seat as he turned on a CD of classical music.
"What is your favorite color?" he asked me all of a sudden. The confused look on my face made him laugh.
"We've known each other for months now and I don't even know your favorite color," he explained. I smiled back at him before tilting my head to think.
"Red. My school was split into four houses and I was in the red house, but I have always loved the color red." I said. "You?"
"Green." he said, but he was staring at me so intensely I had to look away.
"What did you want to be when you grew up?" he asked then. I thought for a moment. Merlin that was always the question wasn't it?
"You know that got so complicated the more I grew up. But...I think I wanted to be a teacher." I finished with a smile. That was the truth. I wanted to be the teacher kids could feel safe with and have fun with. The kind of teacher that Remus had been.
"What about you?" I asked, leaning back further into the seat.
"Easy. Piano player." he stated with an easy going smile.
"I like when you play piano." I said, smiling back at him.
"I like when you sing." he answered back. I fought to keep the blush off my face.
"That's what we would do a lot of the time. When everything was going crazy in England. We would hide away in different parts of the castle, singing whatever tunes that came into our head. Just to give us a few moments of peace." I reminisced. After 5th year a lot of us would hide in the Room of Requirement just to get that little bit of peace. It didn't last once we left the room, but in those few moments we had it was like the war wasn't there anymore.
What a joke that was.
"Was it always bad in England?" he asked. I sent him a smile.
"No. In the beginning...it was the most wonderful thing in the world. Avalon was like every dream I've ever had come true. It felt like home. Avalon had the absolute best treacle tart. Whenever we would have it, I always hid a piece in a napkin to take with me back to my room. Saving it for later." I laughed. Edward laughed with me.
"One of my favorite places we lived was Chicago. I remember as a little boy my mother taking me to a jazz club while my father was at work. And the way the music came to life in front of me. I knew that I wanted to play the piano right then." Edward said.
With the way he was looking out of the window I knew this was a true memory. Not even something from his vampiric life, but his original human life. I wonder how old Edward was? He couldn't possibly be too terribly old for a vampire to still have a memory like that. It softened his features though, thinking of Chicago and it made me smile.
"I bet that would be amazing. I've never traveled anywhere until coming to Forks." I said, not wanting to mention or remember the year on the run that we had. Not like I could see the sights while running for my life.
He stayed silent for a moment. I turned to see if anything was wrong but he was just staring at me.
"Do I have something on my face?" I joked, used to his stares.
"I should stay away from you." he said instead, making me frown.
"Why would you do a bloody thing like that?" I asked, a little annoyed at him. Merlin it's not like I'm Voldemort, it's ok to feel something around me. This self pity party he had with himself has to stop.
"I'm dangerous," he stressed.
"We all have the capacity to be dangerous, Edward. Even Ms Clark." I said, jokingly, of our music teacher at the end. Any human is capable of any atrocity. When someone is pushed to the brink they can be dangerous.
"I don't...I don't want to stay away from you." He then said and it made my heart flutter and my cheeks pink.
"Well don't. I don't want you to stay away." I said, showing some more of that Gryffindor courage. His eyes darkened as he watched me.
Suddenly the back doors opened making me jump.
Constant vigilance Potter!
"Hi you two!" Alice sing-songed as she got into the seat behind Edward. Jasper followed suit on the opposite side behind me.
"So we're all ditching then" I remarked with a smirk.
"Oh it's PE. Whoever wants to do PE?" Alice said with a laugh. I didn't realize the previous class was over.
"Besides! Jasper told me you are partners for the history project! While I love your house, this means you have to come to ours. Mom is dying to meet you!" Alice explained with so much excitement she was nearly bouncing in her seat.
"Well how could i reject such an invitation?" I asked, sending a smile Edward's way. He finally gave me one back and it still sent a rush of magic through me. In a good way. A very good way.
"Did you really live in a castle when you were in school?" Alice asked, excited. Hogwarts flashed through my mind, glistening in the sun and the bright light at the end of the tunnel of every horrible summer I had. Then it flashed in my mind again, but it was dark and Hogwarts was burning. I was burning.
"Dahlia?" Edward called to me, making me jump and look at him. He looked worried, so did Alice, but Jasper looked like he might throw up.
"Sorry. Zoned out for a second. Yeah, Avalon was...amazing. Portraits hung on nearly every inch of the walls, of people from hundreds of years ago who did so many amazing things. The grounds were massive and the castle was by a lake and a thick forest. Every meal was a feast fit for a king. It was...paradise." I explained, trailing off at the end.
"Do you miss it?" Alice asked.
"I miss what it was in the beginning. But after the attack there was such a dark cloud over the school. I couldn't stand to be there anymore. So I packed my stuff and went to the furthest place I could think of. I made the right decision." I said, sending a smile to Edward. The worried look on his face finally went away completely.
"There were so many secret passageways in the school, in true fashion to an old castle and all. When my parents went to school there, as tradition, they spent the whole time making a map of Avalon, which we used to our every advantage once we got it." I said, bringing the subject into a lighter mood.
I told them the edited version of sneaking under the school to Hogsmeade through Honeydukes. The vampires enjoyed the story which prompted me to talk about the horridness and hilarity that was the Yule Ball. Edward was howling practically as I recounted my horrible dancing with Neville. The two of us really had been completely hopeless when it came to dancing.
Before we knew it the bell rang for you to get to your final class for the day. and I wasn't feeling up to it now that I had been relaxing with my friends,
"I don't know about you all, but I'm starving!" I exclaimed, throwing my head back against the seat.
"Well we actually ate lunch today Dahlia." Alice teased. I shrugged my shoulders. I hadn't made lunch for myself today and nothing at the cafeteria looked appetizing. Pancakes sounded good right about now though.
"Well I want to go to the diner. And get Mitch's sinfully delicious chocolate chip pancakes. I deserve them" I said.
"We can go with you! Can't we Edward? Rosalie and Emmett have their car today." Alice pleaded with her older brother. From the dynamic they shared, she definitely was like a little sister to him. He softened up looking at the two of us back and forth before sighing.
"Amazing! I'll meet you guys there. " I said, beginning to get out.
"Why aren't you riding with us?" Edward asked, suddenly worried. I turned to him confused.
"My car? I can't exactly leave it here now that I'm ditching three classes." I explained. Edward relaxed before giving me a smile.
"See you there." I said, smiling at him before hurrying to my car to start it.
The drive wasn't long. Considering we were both speeding and soon I was nestled next to Edward in a booth with Alice and Jasper across from us. It was sweet that at least Alice and Edward wanted to keep me company, even if they couldn't eat. Jasper looked very tense, probably because it was a little busy and packed with humans.
Silently, I reached out with my magic and dimmed our surroundings. It would be unnoticable to the eye, but it meant the smells and scents around him would hopefully be manageable.
"Dahlia!" Lucy called from the opposite end. I turned and smiled at her and she hurried her way over.
"Baby doll, how have you been? Missing you since the last time you came here! How you doing? I heard you got attacked?" she asked concerned and in rapid fire. The reminder of the attack brought a low growl from Edward but I placed my hand on his to calm him down.
"I've been good, Lucy. I was attacked by a former friend from home. Charlie saved the day though. And now I have all my new friends who have my back too." I explained.
Lucy took notice of the Cullens around me and while taken aback, she gave them an easy going smile.
"I saw Dahlia. I got so excited I completely ignored you kids! I'm sorry. I'm Lucy, I'm going to be serving you today. Which by the way, should be about 45 minutes from now, but I was young once too." she said with a wink. It got the Cullen's to relax.
"I'm Alice." Alice introduced herself. "This is Jasper and Edward." she further went on. But both Jasper and Edward gave her a very polite hello.
"They already ate Lucy. But I'm absolutely famished for Mitch's chocolate chip pancakes. Could I get that with a coffee?" I asked.
"Looks like I've turned you into an addict! I can get that going for you dear. You sure you kids aren't going to want anything?" Lucy asked. With a few shakes of the head Lucy gave us a smile and headed back to the kitchen.
"She likes you. Likes hearing you talk and the different words you say compared to us." Edward said softly. There was no way he could have known that unless he read her mind. But it made me smile. I was pressed in the farthest at the booth while he took the end. I quite liked the closeness it caused and I could feel his cold temperature through the thin sleeves of the dress I was wearing today.
Lucy came back just a few minutes later with the steaming hot pancakes and coffee. I tore into them, not quite caring about the present company. I should have eaten lunch.
Not even 3:08 and soon enough Jessica and Mike burst into the diner.
"Dahlia! There you are" Jessica said happily, only pausing momentarily when she realized I was with the Cullens.
"dude you skipped like half the day!" Mike commented, looking offended that I had skipped without him.
"We're teenagers! Shouldn't we do that at least once?" I said easy going, taking a bite out of the pancake.
"What if you had been caught?" Jessica asked, concerned. She kept sneaking embarrassed glances at Edward. Probably from still lingering feelings of embarrassment from trying to ask him out that first week. From what I heard he was much more gentle about it with her than other girls like Lauren.
"Then I would have gone right back to class. No need to fret Jess. I promise." I reassured her. She took a deep breath before smiling and nodding.
"Hey you guys coming to my house next week for the Halloween party?" Mike asked, kindly including the Cullens.
Oh yeah, the party.
"We can't make it Mike. Our mom is doing this big family thing and we're keeping it subdued this year." Alice said, an easy smile on her face.
"I'm skipping it too Mike. I'm sorry. I'm going to be remembering my parents on Halloween and just...taking the night for myself you know?" I explained. Mike deflated when he realized my reasoning was sound and nodded.
Edward tensed up again but I rubbed my thumb over his hand, only now realizing I had put it back in the first place.
"Oh Dahlia. Do you want any of us to come over? I'd love to know more about your family" Jess offered although she glanced back at Mike twice in the statement. I shook my head.
"No Jess. Enjoy the party. If you want, maybe later in the week you can come by again ok?" I offered. She beamed at me and nodded.
"I could come by too, right?" Mike asked
"Of course you can Mike." I responded, making the teen chipper again. It was nice to know that Jessica and Mike wanted to stand by me in that way.
This would be, hopefully, the first Halloween that didn't end in disaster.
I should have knocked on wood.