Ah! Thank so much for the kind comments. Everyone has been so nice that I felt inspired to write the next chapter in one sitting basically, haha. Here it is. Please enjoy. 3
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Things had progressed rather quickly with Edward and his new human friend.
Rosalie had given Edward an earful for endangering the family. But once he'd made his case to his parents, Carlisle and Esme had jumped onto the idea of Edward making a friend. Carlisle immediately made the connection of her parents, both doctors that worked in the hospital. He heard their thoughts and almost felt like yelling for how happy they were for his normally solitary self to make a friend.
He sat with her during lunch for the rest of the week to the continued scandal of the school and took home Agnes Grey, bringing her a copy of Northanger Abbey in exchange. He personally was a huge fan of Austen, and hoped to share it. He was delighted when she returned the next day, demanding Sense and Sensibility.
Seats were assigned during their shared English class, but he noticed that she spoke up occasionally, instead of not at all, which was certainly an improvement, though she was still quiet and reluctant to take a risk.
"It's not like that." he had to correct several of his family members on their assumptions of him finally finding a mate. "I just… I don't know. She needs a friend."
So do you. Esme thought, clutching her hands together, her joy barely contained. She was already making plans for having Alia over and Edward could only sigh. She's Indian right? I've never made Indian food, but I think I can do well.
"I'm sure you can, but it's too soon for that. You'll scare her off."
On the note of scaring her off, Edward had to do his best to restrain Alice, who wanted to join them at every turn and smother poor Alia. Though it was a relief to see from Alice's visions that nothing horrible came from his decision, he didn't need her looking into every possibility. Even Alice had the wisdom to see that her interference would frighten Alia away, thankfully leading her to reluctantly restrain herself. Only for now. She promised.
Alia herself was the most surprised by this development. She had never really had any friends except in kindergarten. She was always a loner, though not by choice. So when she thought she had just humiliated herself in front of the entire class, she was stupefied by the fact that Edward Cullen of all people wanted to be her friend.
Her sister Avantika had confronted her about Edward the first day he'd sat with her as soon as she got home. Avantika was a senior and really popular. She demanded to know how her loser sister had managed to get close to one of the elusive and beautiful Cullens when so many better than her had already tried and failed.
Alia was stumped, and her sister finally dropped the topic at their parents' insistence. She wasn't so lucky at school when several popular girls in her grade cornered her and insisted on details. They weren't mean, but the attention made Alia really uncomfortable. Seeing as Alia really didn't have any ulterior motives or was making herself known, they eventually dropped the case, though she would never stop getting curious looks.
She convinced herself for the first two weeks that the boy was only hanging around her out of boredom or even worse as a prank. But he stuck around, and she had no choice but to open her walls to him. She was so desperate for a friend that she wasn't about to pass up the chance, even though it was the most gorgeous boy in her grade who had reached out to her.
One of the benefits of being ugly, she decided, was that she never needed to worry about the intentions of guys around her. And she liked it like that. Edward was the first person she could talk to about books and music. The only other teenager she had ever met that actually enjoyed the classics. Though they shared more similarities in the first area, she was eager to consume any new media. She wished she could eventually work up the courage to recommend her favourite cartoons or games to him but held herself back because they were childish and Edward seemed to appreciate more sophisticated things.
To her shock, Edward mentioned the names of her favourite cartoons in passing. She couldn't help but enthuse about it, to his satisfaction. She accepted the unlikely happening of Edward liking the same silly things she did and overcame the rest of her reservations, opening up about all her favourite cartoons and eventually games. She usually only played the Nintendo games leftover from when her older brothers had lived at home (there wasn't a huge market in Forks), but knew them inside out.
With that, she felt compelled to invite Edward to hang out at her house to try out said games, heart beating with fear the entire time. He only had to laugh and sneer at her before everything that had been building for the past few months to collapse.
Edward only smiled warmly. "I'd like that."
Alia could only grin like an idiot before she realised what she was doing, and stopped, horrified at her weirdness. He probably thought she was going to lure him over to murder him or something. But Edward only continued to smile, though she could have sworn the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement.
She normally walked home, liking the briskness and cold air of Forks. "Sorry. It's a little far, but there are no uphills or anything."
"You don't need to keep apologizing, Alia." Edward replied. Alia only wanted to apologize again, but Edward held up a pale finger and she stopped, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. It was an instinct, hard to break out of.
Well, he was keeping pace effortlessly. She didn't know why she was surprised. Clearly, he worked out. She'd never seen a fifteen year old so toned, but then she remembered his older brothers. Did Dr. Cullen put them on steroids or something? Ugh. There was no need for her to make such assumptions. They'd just moved to Forks at the start of this school year. They could have just been held back a year or two.
She turned her attention to Edward, who was only looking at her curiously. She shook her head free of those troubling intrusive thoughts and focused on talking to Edward. That made the 30 minute walk end much faster than it normally did. Edward inquired as to why she didn't get her parents to pick her up from school, like most other kids did and Alia could only shrug. "I like walking." Plus, her parents always made her wait like 15 minutes. Though it really wasn't much, she was really impatient and would much rather walk as the time evened itself out.
"It can be dangerous walking on your own everyday." Edward noted. "Can't you walk with your sister?"
Alia snorted. Avantika would rather grow wings and fly than walk home, especially with her. "Not her thing."
He dropped it, though his frown lingered. By that time, they had passed the hedge and were faced with her house. It was pretty well hidden until one crossed. She fished the key from her backpack and opened up, shaking her braid free from her coat.
At first, after offering Edward a snack being refused, Alia grabbed one for herself and they did their English homework at the dining table. It kinda pissed Alia off, kinda amused her to see Edward rattling off the answers without even consulting notes. Did he have a photographic memory or something? Still, it wasn't as if Duval challenged them in any way. One didn't even technically need to read the books as all the worksheets and tests were based off of what he said in class.
"Alright! I promised you games." she declared, once the work was done. She indicated to the stairs and they went to her bedroom, where she plopped down in front of the small T.V. "My brother's." She blushed at the low whistle. "So are the games. How does Mario Kart sound?" when Edward nodded, she could only grin. "Fair warning. I'm undefeated." Of course she was. She'd never gone up against another person before.
"I'm a fast learner." Edward promised.
And he was. Alia barely won the first match, Edward having picked up the controls easily and keeping up with her Toad with his own Dry Bones. And then he proceeded to beat her three times. "You've played this before!" she accused, tossing the controller down.
Edward had the nerve to look graceful holding his controller. "I have not."
"Let's go again." she laughed, not believing him. They played some more. Edward didn't engage in trash talk like her, but his method of coolly remarking on her mistakes was way more effective in riling her up. Despite losing, Alia was enjoying herself. It was nice to have someone to play with for once.
As if knowing her thoughts, Edward asked. "Do you play with your siblings?"
Alia shook her head. "My brothers didn't let me touch their games while they were still around. They both left by the time I was like… nine. My sister's not into them at all."
"You and your sister are quite different, then?"
"Yeah, she's the typical older sister, I guess. You seem pretty close to your siblings."
Edward smiled. "We're not perfect, but yes. We are a very close family." The smile fell a bit. "Sometimes it feels like we're too close. As if there's no space to breathe without questions from ten different directions."
"I can't imagine." she confessed. Her family was pretty distant. She loved everyone, true, but it was all but given that she'd leave as soon as she turned eighteen as was the precedent set by her siblings. "I guess there are always two sides to things."
"That's an optimistic way to put it."
The games were put aside as the conversation continued about their respective families. Alia even stopped worrying about the fact that she had a boy in her room. It felt natural, which was nice.
She told him about Neil and Sal, the former off doing tech stuff in California and the latter in England. Her brothers were supposed to stop by every Christmas and Thanksgiving, but were making more and more excuses as of late. She didn't blame them. It wasn't as if her parents attempted to keep them here with their stubborn insistence in staying in Forks. Avantika was already making plans to run away as soon as she graduated. She didn't need to be so dramatic, but her sister always had a flair for it. Her parents cared more for the hospital than their children, but that was okay. It was better than forced attention.
Edward in turn told her of his sisters: Rosalie who could be snobbish and vain, but also fiercely protective, and the cheerful Alice, who was apparently really excited to meet Alia. He spoke fondly of Emmett, who was kind and loyal, and Jasper, who was the most recently adopted, but very empathetic and shy.
"You'd probably like Jasper the most." Edward laughed. "He's good at putting people at ease."
"They all sound nice." Alia smiled. They did. More than that, what sounded the nicest was how much he loved them all from the way he talked about them. Edward had seemed so cool and solitary compared to his siblings, but it was clear that he adored them.
Her bladder was being demanding, so Alia left for the bathroom after letting Edward know, once more asking if he wanted anything (which he refused). When she came back, she saw he was looking at the books on her shelf. She froze to see the unopened pink book in his hand, before darting forward and grabbing it. "Uh— I— that's my diary." Thank God he hadn't opened it. She couldn't bear the thought of her innermost ideas being read by someone else.
"I'm sorry." Edward said.
"No harm done." Alia placed it on top of her shelf, the panic dissapaiting from her. "Oh, I have that book of poetry you lent me."
By the time Edward set out, it was near dusk. Her mom had come home by then, and briefly greeted them before disappearing for a shower. Edward was surprisingly old timey, shaking her hand and introducing himself. He didn't need to do that much. Her parents constantly gushed about Dr. Cullen and probably already adored anyone associated.
When she watched him leave, bronze hair rustled by the wind, Alia felt sure of herself and their future for the first time.
This was a friendship she could see surviving into the future.
