True to his word, Sarah did not see Edward again for the rest of the week. Friday's classes came and went without a sign of him, admittedly making rehearsals more difficult, but they'd muddled through. She barely had time to think about Saturday, though, as she found herself piling into Jessica's car with Lauren and Angela on their way to Port Angeles. The drive passed agreeably enough, though Sarah got the impression she was the only one thinking about costumes. The other girls spent most of the time talking about the dance, leaving Sarah little to contribute. She neglected to mention that Edward had invited her out instead, not wanting to cause any more commotion than necessary. Besides, saying it aloud felt like acknowledging again that he had beaten her. He was a master of using her own words against her.
When it became apparent—a few hours later—that the other girls had no interest in helping the costume hunt, Sarah politely excused herself. She liked shopping well enough, but the dresses the girls had chosen for the dance were all in a more modern fashion—short and skimpy—and definitely not Sarah's style. She preferred something a little more elegant… though she supposed others might call it childish. As she wandered down the block, Sarah still held Rosalie's costume designs in one hand. She'd looked through them a hundred times already, wishing she could just pull the clothes straight out of the drawings and make them real. That was impossible, of course, and Sarah certainly couldn't make clothes like this. The best she could manage were some basic alterations, and even those would be challenge. At most she hoped if she wandered through enough shops, she could find something close. She didn't.
It was reaching six in the evening by the time Sarah realized it was getting dark and that she was utterly lost. She spun around in a full circle, but nothing about her surroundings seemed familiar. It was as bad as being trapped in the Labyrinth again. No, it was worse. The Labyrinth was supposed to be confusing; this time she just felt hopeless. The sun was starting to set and, with what little light was left, Sarah picked the direction she thought she'd come from and began to walk.
Nothing looked familiar. Sarah passed by store after store, but she couldn't tell if they looked familiar because she'd originally come this way or if she was going in circles. She fingered the lipstick in her bag, wondering how weird she'd look if she started drawing arrows on the sidewalk every time she reached a corner. That probably wasn't a crime or anything, right?
As she was making up her mind about that, a group of men turned the corner in front of her, laughing raucously and staggering as though they were already drunk just after six. Sarah looked up and made eye contact, but just as quickly ignored them. The audience made her lipstick idea seem sillier, so Sarah dropped it back into her bag. Instead she pulled out her phone, wondering if anyone would answer if she called for help.
"Hey there, babe," called out one of the men, causing Sarah to look up again and roll her eyes. Having lived in safe little neighborhoods her whole life, Sarah felt no sense of danger. Her paranoia and concerns only extended to the supernatural world. Mundane dangers seemed less important.
"Good evening," she replied to them in a politely dismissive way. With a little nod, she walked on by, eyes fixed down the road, trying to tell if anything looked familiar.
"Hey, wait," called a voice behind her, but Sarah thought she recognized the bookstore ahead and she increased speed, hoping she was getting closer to finding her way back.
Of course, by the time she reached the bookstore, Sarah no longer felt so hopeful. Even if it looked somewhat familiar, she had no idea where to go from there. Considering turning around and starting back over again, Sarah turned back only to see that two of the men from before were following behind her. They had definitely been going the opposite direction until now. For the first time Sarah felt a sense of worry about her situation. Without caring if it was familiar or not, she kept walking forward, wanting to put a little distance between the men and herself. She kept walking confidently, telling herself there was nothing to worry about. She'd beaten the Labyrinth, what did she have to fear from the normal world?
Suddenly she saw it: main street! Like a bolt from the blue, Sarah looked down an alley and found herself looking directly at the clothes shop she'd left the other girls at. Her aching feet picked up the pace even more, relief washing through her. Turning down the alley, she forgot all about the men behind her, thinking only of finally getting back to Jessica, Angela and Lauren.
Her relief died and Sarah stopped dead in her tracks as two men peeled away from the sides of the alley in front of her, blocking her path. She looked behind her but the two from behind had closed in and blocked her exit. Uneasy feelings twisted in her stomach. "Where you off to in such a rush?" called one of the men.
"I actually have plans," Sarah said, trying desperately to keep the waver out of her voice. "I'm meeting up with some friends. They're expecting me." Sarah glanced around, but she couldn't find an exit. To either side of her was nothing but solid wall and the men were creeping ever closer, laughing all the while. Sarah was frozen on her feet. She knew how to deal with magical villains, but when it came to human ones, Sarah doubted a few pointed words would be enough to stop them. She backed up, trying to flatten herself against the wall. A hand gripped her arm suddenly and tightly. The costume designs flew out of her hands. Sarah prepared herself to scream.
It was then that both she and the men were blinded by bright lights burning into the alley. The hand let go of her in surprise and Sarah barely made out the figures of the men diving out of the way to avoid being flattened by the car pulling into the alley. Sarah wasted no time in running for it. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, maybe, but she knew nothing good would come out of staying where she was. Better to take a chance with this strangely fortuitous arrival. Besides, even before she heard his voice telling her to get in the car, Sarah somehow knew it was Edward. With the four me left blinded and befuddled in their wake, Sarah felt the car speed off in reverse before she was jolted into the door by a sudden sharp turn. For a sickening second, Sarah could have sworn she nearly felt the door give as though it was about to open. It held and she was left believing it had just been her own panicked imagination. One glance out the window told her they were moving at speeds too fast to be safe, but Edward's face said not to comment. Sarah didn't believe she'd ever seen anyone that angry. Not even Jareth at his most frustrated with her.
The silence was only broken by the soft rumbling of the engine as Sarah tried to think of what she wanted to say. What was he doing here? How did he even know where to find her? Or that she was in trouble at all? Part of her wanted to make an off-hand joke about him stalking her, but it sounded less funny in her head when she realized it might be the truth. The longer she thought about it all, the more questions burned in her mind. How had he managed to maneuver his car both in and out of the alley perfectly? How could he control the car at the speed it was going now? Why didn't he have any questions for her? At long last Sarah knew there was really only one thing she could say in this situation.
"Thank you." Her voice felt so weak that she didn't know if he could hear, but the words were sincere. Though looking no less murderous, Edward's hands loosened their grip slightly on the steering wheel and she watched the speedometer slowly fall until they reached a dead stop on the side of the road. They weren't in Port Angeles anymore. She didn't know where they were, but oddly she didn't feel afraid. She had questions—dear god did she have questions—but she asked none of them as she watched Edward put himself back together. Their game of secrets was on a break now, that much was obvious. Carefully she waited, wondering if there was anything she could do.
"Distract me, please," came the sudden request, throwing Sarah off guard. She waited to see if there was anything more, but he said nothing else.
"Uh… last night I had a nightmare about clocks," she told him, not sure why that was the first thing to come to mind, but she said it anyway. With his head leaning onto his hands still clenched on the steering wheel, Sarah couldn't see his expression to know if it was working.
"Clocks?" he repeated, asking for more information. For the first time Sarah didn't care how much about herself she was giving away. It didn't matter if Edward thought she was crazy or even if he started to put together pieces of her puzzle.
"Yeah, clocks. They were flying and chasing me while chiming over and over again," she explained. "I kept trying to tell them that it wasn't time yet and that I had a few hours left, but they weren't listening. Which is weird because clocks? They're the nicest piece of furniture. You know why?" Her lips quirked slightly as she asked, trying to engage him in the hopes it would help keep his mind off of what was driving him so mad.
"Why?" he asked, sounding tired still, but much less angry. Sarah considered that progress.
"They're always willing to give you the time of day," she finished. It was a bad pun, but given the circumstances Sarah was proud to have thought of one at all. Edward's shoulders shook slightly, leaving Sarah to consider it a success. Not much longer after that and he'd managed to straighten up, expression much less scary than it had been.
"Better?" she asked him after a moment. Edward finally looked at her, his expression more serious than she'd seen in a while. Probably not since the van incident.
"Not really," he replied, making Sarah give him a weak smile.
"Me either." Sarah didn't know if she was trying to reassure him that it was okay he wasn't alright, or if she just needed to admit that out loud to herself. Once she said it, she realized she was shaking. The thought embarrassed her. With all she'd been through, Sarah liked to believe that she was brave. This didn't make her any less brave, she tried to remind herself, anyone would have been scared. Her words hung in the air and the two of them sat in companionable but introspective silence until Sarah's pocket started to buzz. She didn't have to look at her phone to know what the text was.
"I'm late!" she realized, her eyes fixing on the clock. Edward came back to life as she spoke, starting up the car again. "I was supposed to meet Jessica, Angela and Lauren for dinner." She offered the explanation and destination to Edward, but it was hard to tell if he was listening. Even though he'd driven her straight to the restaurant, Sarah wondered if he'd needed her directions or if he'd already known.
The girls were waiting outside when Edward pulled up in front. Sarah was quick to dash over to them and profusely apologize for being late. She didn't say a word about what had happened. Edward had followed her out, but was waiting by the car; either he wanted to give her space or he had yet to fully calm down, Sarah wasn't sure which. She was pretty sure Jessica mumbled something that sounded an awful lot like, "of course she's with Edward," but Sarah pretended not to hear it. Only after the others mentioned they'd eaten without her did Edward step forward.
"In that case, I'd be happy to join you for dinner," he suggested. The comment was said more brightly than she'd expected and she took that to mean their temporary pause was over. In which case dinner might be the perfect opportunity. "And I'll make sure she gets home safely. You don't have to worry." Those words were all the others needed to abandon Sarah to Edward's care. They didn't wait to hear Sarah's opinion on the matter. If she wasn't so interested in having a private conversation with Edward, Sarah might have been offended. As it was, she just waved them off before turning and offering a skeptical look at Edward. With a smile, he pulled the door open for her, gesturing Sarah inside.
"Table for two?" he asked the hostess who was looking far too awestruck at him to do much of anything at first. Edward continued to grin winningly at her, only flustering the poor girl more. Part of Sarah wanted to laugh; he was definitely doing that on purpose. Edward always knew what he was doing.
"Maybe somewhere a little more private, if possible," Sarah suggested with a friendly smile. She shrugged her shoulders at the looks both Edward and the hostess sent her. "I'm pretty sure we have some things we need to discuss." It was then that Edward caught on to what she was saying and found himself nodding.
"Indeed we do," he responded in a way that confirmed Sarah's fear that he knew more about her than she wanted him to, but she kept smiling anyway. After all, he wasn't the only one who knew more than he was supposed to. "If you wouldn't mind." With the dazzling smile turned back to the hostess, she could refuse Edward nothing. Ultimately they were led to a booth in the corner of an almost entirely empty room.
"So," Sarah began as the hostess left. This was it, the moment of truth. Now all that was left was to figure out the way to word her thoughts and suspicions so that he couldn't deny them—a harder task than it sounded. Mostly she was hoping to get him to reveal his hand first so she'd know just how much he had against her. Edward, however, was not on the same page.
"You should eat," he said, holding a menu out to her. When Sarah looked like she was going to argue, he shook his head. "Order first and then we'll talk." His tone brooked no argument, and Sarah supposed it didn't hurt to take a little more time to plan out her moves. After all, if she was wrong—which she was certain she was not—it would be a hard comment to walk back without a lot more explanation than she'd like to give. Lost in thought, Sarah paid little attention to the menu. When the waitress returned with their drinks, Sarah pointed to a dish at random. When Edward declined a meal, she raised her eyebrows.
"Not hungry?" Sarah asked him. Edward looked amused at the question, something she filed away for future reflection. Had she ever seen him eat? In all the time they'd spent together she couldn't remember seeing him so much as chew a stick of gum.
"Not particularly," came Edward's response, one that caused his eyes to twinkle with hidden mirth. Sarah wanted to ask him more, but by now he could read her expressions as well as she read his. He cut her off. "You said you wanted to talk. About what?" Sarah scoffed at the question. He knew as well as she did what they had to talk about. They'd been skirting around the subject for ages, slowly trying to hack away what little information they could in order to get the upper hand.
"As fun as it's been, I'm pretty sure we both have some theories we'd like to get out in the open." Edward stopped pretending not to understand then, looking at her more seriously but with an amused tilt to his mouth.
"You have theories?" he asked. Sarah wanted to slap a hand to her face. What did he think she'd been doing this whole time if it wasn't collecting theories? He grinned at her. "I'd love to hear those."
"I bet you would," Sarah retorted, reaching for her glass of water and doubling down on her goal of making him say it first. They were getting closer now, and she could feel her nerves building. Her mouth was going dry as she waited for the right time. She needed to give her words all the dramatic flair she could in order to make this perfect. "Don't you have some of your own?"
"They're not really theories. They're facts." His smug tone made Sarah all the more determined to get him to be the first to speak. Unless Edward had made his own journey to the Labyrinth, there was no way he knew the things she really wanted to hide. She chose to believe her theory would knock his facts out of the water.
"Oh?" she inquired, taking a sip of her water as she pretended not to be interested or concerned. Edward still looked impossibly smug.
"I know you've been lying to everyone," Edward said as he watched her. Sarah froze for a moment before carefully setting the glass back down on the table. The way he said that filled her with more concern than she'd been expecting.
"You're not really one to talk," Sarah responded. Suddenly, she could feel it. This was her chance. This was the moment she could finally say what she'd been silently thinking all this time. Even with her mounting excitement, she was careful to let Edward go first. It would be oh so much more dramatic that way.
"You're not from Phoenix," he said first, causing Sarah to raise her eyebrows, not even attempting to deny it. But Edward wasn't done. "And you're not Isabella Swan." Those words were really what made her stomach twist unpleasantly, but any cold feelings of dread were blasted away by her own excitement. He'd given her the setup she needed; she didn't have to deny anything. As long as she gave her next words the dramatic punch they needed, there was no way they'd be able to talk about her secrets tonight.
"At least I'm human." The chill that followed those words was sudden. Edward's eyes had lost any trace of amusement at their banter and had returned to that cold, hateful gaze that had frightened Sarah before. If he had denied it, she might have let herself be convinced that she was entirely wrong, but Edward's cold stare and oppressive silence only proved her guess had been dead right. It was this conviction that allowed her to hold his gaze.
The food arrived then, in the middle of their standoff. Sarah only broke off her eye contact to look down at the plate, not remembering what she'd ordered. Lasagna. Not her favorite, but right now it would do. Taking a thoughtful bite, she waited to see if Edward was going to try and deny anything. Still he said nothing.
"I don't know what you actually are, though," Sarah continued conversationally when it became clear he either wasn't interested or capable of starting the conversation back up again. "I hadn't gotten that far. It sort of seemed like it would be impossible to figure out just based on myth and legend. For all I know you could be something no one's even written about." She peeked over at Edward as she took another bite, but still there was nothing. After a few more bites, she prepared herself to try again. Edward's voice surprised her.
"How long have you known?" His tone was quiet, almost deadly so, and Sarah finally felt some concern. Their interactions had led her to believe that—no matter what he was—Edward wasn't a bad person. Now he was reminding her more of that first meeting they'd met.
"After the van incident." Edward's face was awash with defeat. Inwardly Sarah couldn't help but cheer. Their little game was over and she had the definitive victory. For a brief moment, Sarah imagined herself as the champion for the humans, winning victories over magical beings despite having no magical powers of her own. It was energizing. "You really could have hidden it better, you know." Sarah was unable to resist the urge to rub it in. "Speed. Excessive ability. Silent movement. Color-changing eyes. Can stop a moving van without being flattened." Sarah ticked them all off on her fingers, looking up to see Edward's eyes boring into her.
"And this… doesn't bother you?" Edward asked, causing Sarah to tilt her head in confusion. She'd been so focused on being right that she didn't think much about what it would mean if Edward really was magical. Then again, she'd made plenty of friends who weren't human, so she could hardly be discriminating. Hoggle and Ludo may not have been human, but she still considered them to be both kind and trustworthy. She didn't see why she had to consider Edward any differently.
"Not really, no," she answered honestly. Edward's stare grew more intense, looking as though he was trying to get some kind of information out of her. "It doesn't change who you are as a person, does it?" At that comment, Edward's look of concentration faded like a new thought was just occurring to him.
"You're in shock," he said, nodding as though it was the answer to all his questions. He pushed the soda he'd ordered—but never touched—towards her. Sarah looked down at herself and then back up at him.
"I'm pretty sure that's you," she said, snickering a little bit. Picking up a slice of bread from the basket between them, Sarah waited to see if he had anything else to say. It seemed he did not. "Are you planning on telling me what you are?" she wondered aloud. She didn't know if she expected him to tell her or not. He still seemed dumbfounded by her lack of surprise.
"Why do you want to know?" asked Edward, looking more tense by the minute. Clearly he wasn't comfortable talking about this, but they needed to get the elephant out of the room if they were ever going to interact normally again. He needed to know she wasn't bothered. Besides, the more time they focused on his secrets, the less time they had for hers.
"Call it casual curiosity. You don't run into magical creatures every day," Sarah replied, though she realized it had been a very long time since she'd had a day without a magical creature in her life. She laughed a little to herself.
"Magical?" Edward repeated with a snort. "I'm a monster." When Sarah laughed again, Edward's eyes flashed back to her. She could see in his face that he was expecting—even perhaps wanting—to be feared and hated, but Sarah, as always, treated him as nothing special.
"A monster?" she repeated incredulously. "Hardly. I don't know your definition of a monster, but mine doesn't involve having them save my life. Twice, for that matter. Besides, it's not like you're the most frightening thing I've ever seen. Or the most intimidating person." A flash of annoyance rose to his eyes, though an actual smirk appeared on his face, albeit a dark one.
"You shouldn't have said that," he told her. For a moment Sarah was unsettled, but just for a moment.
"So you saved my life twice at the risk of exposing yourself, but you're going to put me in danger to prove a point?" His mouth twitched again, but this time the smile was calmer and more amused.
"Perhaps not," he responded, leaning back in his seat.
The bill arrived before either of them had a chance to say anything more. Sarah let him pay without complaint, thinking she'd messed with him enough for one night. The walk to the car and first half of the drive were completed in silence. Her burning curiosity to find out exactly what type of creature Edward could be filled Sarah's mind, but she struggled to broach the subject again. Somehow she doubted Edward was in the mood to play games, especially with that subject. Eventually she decided to be straight with him; it would drive her mad otherwise.
"What kind of monster?" she said. Edward shifted his gaze from the road to her, his expression hard to read. Sarah couldn't tell if she was crossing some unspoken line by asking. Edward's answer gave her some relief.
"Vampire," he told her. His eyes stayed locked on her as though waiting for her to show some kind of negative reaction. Sarah looked down at her hands as she pondered. Of all the creatures she believed in, vampires had never made it far into her fantasies. Then again, as much as she'd loved the play of the Labyrinth, she hadn't believed in goblins until a few years ago either.
"That explains why you don't eat," was her reply, making Edward's lips pull down into a frown again. He clearly wanted her to show some kind of fear. She didn't think he wanted her to fear him, but he couldn't imagine any alternatives. Because she wasn't afraid, he didn't know what to expect from her. "Can I ask more about vampires?" Seeing how uncomfortable he still was, Sarah made a point to ask for permission, though she was all but bouncing in her seat in anticipation for his answers. His slight nod was enough for questions to start pouring out: questions about everything from crosses and blood to eternal youth and the rest of his family. And, of course, sunlight.
"I've seen you in the day, though. Is that just a myth?" By this point Edward had relaxed enough to chuckle at her inquisitiveness.
"It's hard to explain. Shall I show you?" His suggestion threw Sarah a little as she thought he'd be more reserved about this kind of thing. Besides, one glance out the window confirmed why it was impossible.
"Now?" she asked dubiously, causing Edward to laugh and shake his head.
"We're supposed to get some sun tomorrow," he informed her. Sarah gave him a blank look. Tomorrow? Her thoughts were written on her face, making Edward smirk over at her. "You are still planning on helping me with my lines, aren't you?" That's when Sarah's remembered, and she found herself nodding without realizing. Of course she still didn't want to do the actual line reading, but the added thought of getting to see a bit of magic in action left her too curious to refuse. Her response made him grin as he parked the car. They were already at Charlie's.
"Tomorrow then," she agreed. Before she'd even managed to reach for the door handle, Edward had pulled it open. Sarah had expected him to stay upset about the reveal for longer but, if anything, he just seemed more liberated to use his abilities in front of her.
"Sweet dreams," he said as she unlocked the front door. Sarah smiled and wished him the same, though inwardly she couldn't help but add 'not likely'. It had been a while since she'd had dreams that could be considered sweet. With Edward watching as she opened the door, though, Sarah kept up the smile and cheerfully waved him away. From there she went straight to her room—only pausing to let Charlie know she was home—and dropped heavily into bed.
"From goblins to vampires, huh?" she mumbled, staring up at the ceiling. "Sarah Williams, you sure can pick 'em." She'd come to Forks to escape… at least that's what she'd told herself at the time. But, despite what she'd said to Edward, were vampires really any safer than goblins or their king? The ceiling held no answers for her, but she continued to stare at it for some time, only stopping when she remembered her plans for the next day.
"Well," Sarah remarked to herself, "at least they're not annoyingly glittery." And she left it at that. When it came down to it, vampires were her current concern. Goblins had already become a thing of the past and she doubted she would be seeing them again any time soon.