Alice floated into Edward's bedroom, knocking lightly on the open door with a smile. "Hello, lovebirds."

Angela pulled away from Edward in embarrassment, her face bright red. She was mortified. The music was cut off as Edward turned off the record player. He cleared his throat uncomfortably and would be matching her in redness if he could blush. Alice and Jasper stood at the doorway knowing looks on their faces.

"You know, Edward," Jasper almost crooned. "This is the happiest I've ever felt from you. Usually you're a dark cloud of doom and gloom."

Edward gave him a look. Jasper returned it with a wide smile. Angela just realized how handsome Jasper was when he didn't look like he was being tortured. She was used to seeing him at school with a pained grimace like he couldn't stand to be there.

"Jasper can feel emotions," Alice told her. "It's his special vampire ability."

Angela widened her eyes. She swore Jasper winked at her. She started backing away and stood behind Edward as if using him as a shield would stop his brother from feeling every emotion coming from her. This might be worse than the mind reading.

"Still waters do run deep for you, sunshine," His southern drawl became more pronounced. "So much emotion behind all that outward serenity."

"I know, right?" Edward chuckled. "She's a delight."

The brothers laughed. Angela smacked Edward's arm but he didn't even flinch. She looked to Alice for help and the other girl glided towards her. She moved from behind Edward and Alice took her hands in hers. Angela had never felt more like a giant, having to stare down at Alice Cullen who was even shorter than Jessica.

"Thank you for making Edward happy," Alice said. "In the present and so forth."

Angela was about to ask about her strange wording when Edward cut in and explained, "Alice can see the future."

"Oh," She tried to process that. The closest she had to seeing something like that was the fortune teller they met in Port Angeles for Jessica's birthday last year. "Did you see me?"

"Not with Edward for two years," Alice answered. "I used to see you with Ben Chenney."

That surprised her. She never thought Ben even noticed her and apparently there had been a future where they were together. What had changed? And could she not see concrete visions of the future?

"The future is not set in stone," Edward replied. "Alice can only see the future after certain decisions are made."

"And what decision changed my future?"

Alice looked at Edward before answering her with a soft smile. "When you told Eric to stop filming Edward, he finally saw you and I could see a new future."

She tried to process that. One moment had started a daisy chain of events to lead her to this moment instead of another one. She could've been at Ben Chenney's house instead and meeting his parents. Instead she was with Edward because she made one thoughtless action. It was mind-blowing.

"What's in the new future?"

The other girl smiled at her knowingly and shook her head. "That's the fun part. You get to find out on your own."

"The future aside," Jasper cut in. "Your food awaits, madame."

Angela perked up and all her thoughts about the futures and Ben Chenney disappeared as her goal was to get downstairs and to bury her face in a plate of pasta and garlic bread. Jasper visibly swallowed and stepped back several steps as Angela passed by him. Edward raised an eyebrow at him and the blond shook his head. Alice told them to go ahead and they would catch up later.

As they made their way downstairs, Angela resisted from running downstairs in fear of bad manners and asked, "What's wrong with Jasper?"

"He's still struggling with not consuming human blood," Edward responded. "Your single-minded gluttony wasn't helping him."

She felt bad for making things more difficult for Jasper. And she would've normally tried to apologize but she could smell the garlic bread and her stomach was literally growling. She was mortified. Edward snickered and left him at the foot of the stairs as she made her way back to the kitchen.


Thankfully, only Edward was there to watch her eat which was awkward enough on its own. Being watched while the other person didn't eat and stared at her was highly uncomfortable. His family was somewhere else in the house and she just finished demolishing the tiramisu when Edward asked her to follow him. He led them to living room and towards the beautiful grand piano in the corner.

Her mother would've loved it. Old Bess was sturdy and good but this piano was elegant and stunning. She knew it would play like a dream. Edward took a seat on the stool and she followed, her fingers hovering over the keys.

He guessed, "You haven't played in a while?"

"Yes. I got so busy with school and life and I just stopped," That made her sadder than she realized. "I've just realized I have been missing out on things. I'd been taking for granted that time was passing."

"Like you were lost in a daydream?" He supplied. "And now you're finally waking up?"

"A daydream?"

He smiled softly. "Before you, I was just sleepwalking through my life."

She didn't know what to say that. Her throat felt tight and she knew she was going to start crying. He could be so unbearably sweet. It made her question why he wanted to be with her when there were other people in the world that-

"Hush," He tucked her hair behind her ear and rested his fingers rested on her temple. "Your mind can be so cruel to yourself. I can't stand it."

Her eyes were beginning to water. "Play me something."

His cool fingers left her temple and she watched his hands move on the piano keys. He played a song she didn't recognize. It had a soft melody, almost like a lullaby. Simplistic but sweet, it lasted only two minutes. It calmed her and she closed her eyes as he finished the song.

"It's pretty," She whispered, scared to break the spell. "Who wrote it?"

"I did," He smiled as she opened her eyes. "Vampires don't sleep so I have a lot of long nights to fill."

It shouldn't have surprised her. Edward played beautifully, it wasn't a stretch he could be a good composer. She pictured him on this piano playing through the night. There was something strangely lonely about it.

"I wrote it about you."

She couldn't speak. Overwhelmed, she lost the fight with her tear ducts and she cursed as the first tear escaped. She wiped at it and sniffed, hating he could see her cry. He got a handkerchief from his pocket and kept her still with his hand on her chin as he wiped at her face. She was probably getting mascara all over it.

He shook his head, expression soft. "Oh, Angela. Never change."


It was getting dark and she had to get home. She had no reason to skip church two weeks in a row and needed to get up early the next day. She thanked the Cullens for their hospitality and Emmett gave her a bear hug that flustered her. Edward pushed him away with a glare and led Angela out of the house.

Edward drove her home and he stopped the car in her driveway. She didn't immediately get out. The kiss in his bedroom lingered between them. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. She stared at him as he refused to meet her eye.

Wanting to break the silence, she asked, "Does anybody else in your family have a cool superpower?"

"If you consider being incredibly annoying a superpower then Emmett does have one."

She snorted. She thought that was Edward's second superpower. He gave her an annoyed look. She smiled innocently. And it served him right for always prying into her thoughts.

"So, not all vampires have a special ability?"

"No," He shook his head. "Usually they already had it as a human and it got stronger after they were turned."

That meant if she ever became a vampire…

He stared at her in shock. She even shocked herself. She never considered becoming a vampire before. The thought just popped into her head like thinking Emmett was a better choice than Edward. That didn't mean she wanted to ever be with Emmett. He was with Rosalie! And even if he wasn't-

"Okay," He cut through her mental diarrhea. He moved closer to her and cupped her face in his hands. "No more thoughts about Emmett, please."

She sighed, embarrassed and still flustered. His cold fingers caressed the skin of her cheek lightly. She had a feeling he was counting her freckles. She remembered the kiss again and he stiffened. They had to look weird together, a tomato and a snowball.

He snorted. "A snowball?"

She sighed and closed the distance between them. He stiffened again and she cupped his cheek, deepening the kiss. She could feel him swallow nervously. His Adam's apple bobbing in his throat and she ran her fingers through his auburn hair. It was softer than she thought it'd be.

She pulled away and his eyes were still closed. He almost looked afraid. She had never seen Edward like this, awkward and embarrassed but never vulnerable. Her fingers traced the wrinkle between his eyebrows until it disappeared. A breath or two passed before he fully relaxed.

He finally opened his eyes and confessed, "I was afraid I was dreaming again."

His confession made her melt on the inside like snow in the summer. "Oh, Edward. Never change."


The Webers had just arrived at the Prince of Peace Lutheran Church. Her father went to get ready for the service. And after dropping off the twins at the Sunday school classroom, Angela and her mother made their way to greet the other choir members. Most of them were women around her mother's age with the odd teenage or two. They were chatting worriedly among themselves as they made their way to the pews near the altar.

Jessica's mother, Mrs. Stanley, was the first to see them. "Oh, Anna, did you hear about what happened to Paul Simmons? He's the security guard at the Mill."

"No, I haven't heard anything," Anna put down her bag on the pews. "What happened?"

Mrs. Wilkes cut in. "He died. He was attacked by some kind of animal."

Angela froze. She couldn't make herself move or say anything. She was even afraid to breath. The words 'animal attack' kept ringing in her ears.

"Animal attack?" Angela's mother echoed. "We haven't had one in Forks for over fifty years."

"Karen Newton heard about it from her husband," Mrs. Stanley explained. "And Matthew heard about it straight from Sheriff Swan."

"There have been reports of people seeing bears in the area," Mrs. Wilkes added. "Particularly around the reservation. Sheriff Swan and a few volunteers are going to be looking for any signs of them today."

"And how is Paul's wife? Doesn't he have two kids..."

Angela felt like she was underwater. She blurted out some excuse to her mother and practically sprinted to the restroom. She sat on the toilet and fished out her phone from her bag. Finding Edward's number, she pressed call and waited for him to answer but it went straight to voicemail.

She tried calling again but it went to voicemail. Her mind was spinning and she felt like her head was going to crack open. Her mind was going to conclusions that terrified her and she wanted to be wrong. She needed to be wrong.

She called again but there was still no answer.


Angela could barely sleep the previous night. Edward wasn't answering her calls or texts. She and her family had sat in the living room and watched the news report about Paul Simmons and how the medical reports said he was brutally torn apart by what authorities were considering to be a bear. Sheriff Swan along with a group of volunteers had gone to La Push to look for any signs of bears and the expedition was cut short by one of the volunteers getting cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.

"So many terrible things," Angela's mother commented. "One death after another."

"Those poor families. We're working on having a service for them tomorrow," Her husband replied. "In times like these, people need faith more than ever."

Angela pondered faith and whether she trusted the wrong person. She hated herself for thinking that way. She had always wanted to give people the benefit of the doubt but the coincidence was too great. Especially when Edward mentioned how Jasper was still struggling with human blood and how the timing of Jasper leaving the house coincided with the security guard's attack.

Too many coincidences and too many thoughts plagued her through the night. Even until the morning as she went through her classes unable to process anything. All people could talk about were the deaths, especially the animal attack. In a small town, this terrible thing spread fast like a disease. And Angela felt like she was losing her mind.

"Are you okay?" Jessica asked her in the middle of their biology class. "You've been out of it all day."

"I just kept thinking about that poor security guard."

And how he never would've stood a chance against a vampire's speed and strength. She remembered Edward effortlessly destroying a cinder block and moving through her kitchen impossibly fast. He had no fight against a vampire that could control his emotions to make him complacent. He had absolutely no way of surviving against more than one vampire.

"I know. It's terrible," Jessica looked distressed. "I knew him. I babysit his kids. He was really nice."

Angela reached over and took her friend's hand. Jessica sighed and accepted her comfort. The Cullens weren't at school. She tried calling Edward once again during her lunch period and there was still no answer. Please let her be wrong.


I hope you enjoyed the romantic reprieve of the last chapter because things will be moving along from here.

1. The song Edward composed for Angela is the piano only version 'City of Stars' from the movie La La Land. It's a beautiful and simple piece that just reminds me of Angela. I decided against Bella's Lullaby in the films.

2. Chapter title is a lyric from City of Stars, 'Or one more dream that I cannot make true?'

2. The volunteer that died of cardiac arrest is Harry Clearwater. He died in the woods like in the films.