I can't thank you enough for the reviews!!! And thank you for the song suggestions - I need them so much, even if I don't use them in the story I need them to get me in the mood for writing this, so keep them coming!!!
Also, if you don't mind, would you let me know your age when you review? If you don't want to say your age it's ok, I'm only asking so I know what age the people I'm writing this for (besides me) are.

Don't own Edward, do own Nora, blah, blah, blah, whatever, now let's get to the story!

8

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All Edward could think of was Nora in the days that followed her visit. He could hardly believe someone had been to his house after having been alone for so long. He tried to remember her face but as hard as he tried he couldn't . He decided he would make a point of trying to memorize it when she returned - if she returned. But she'd said she would. She'd said she would like that and he clung to that as two days then a third passed. The third evening he sat at his window feeling the dreaded loneliness creeping back and trying hard not to let doubts about her returning cloud his mind. He decided to put the chair she had sat in next to him to chase away the doubts - as a way to prove to them that he was sure she would return - so sure that he would have her chair ready next to him. So they could sit together like before. He looked out at the twilight, remembering the feeling of her hand on his wrist. It was then that he saw her car coming up the drive. Excitement swept through him as he watched her get out and walk to the door. He decided to wait at the top of the stairs for her.

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This time Nora knocked before she entered and called out to him once inside, "Edward?"

"Come in."

The minute she heard his voice she knew it had all really happened. She saw his figure dimly at the top of the stairs as she glanced up. She looked down before starting up, as if she were stepping carefully but really because she felt self conscious at the thought of him watching her.

When she reached the second to the top stair she looked up at his face. A slight smile seemed to play about his mouth but she wasn't sure. She, however, couldn't suppress her smile at the sight of him. She smiled rather broadly in the deepening darkness and looked down again, feeling a little embarrassed. He held out one scissor hand and she felt the trembling threatening to return as she pressed her finger to it for balance and ascended the last step.

"Thanks," she said under her breath. Her teeth chattered a bit from nerves.

"I'm glad you could come, Nora." Her heart quickened at his words.

She swallowed and answered, "I'm sorry I couldn't get back any sooner."

She glanced across the room and saw that he had already placed her chair next to his, very closely to his so that they nearly touched. A quiet joy spread through her as she noticed the closeness of the chairs.

Edward turned and she followed him. They both sat down as the night began to deepen. The chairs being so close that their bodies nearly touched as they sat and both of them felt acutely the closeness of the other in the dark - the breathing, the warmth, the solidness of the other. They sat without speaking.

Thoughts of the day and the day to come tried to crowd into Nora's head but she pushed them firmly away. "I'll think about tomorrow in the morning," she thought. The rest of the world seemed to melt away and she felt as if the two of them looked down at the town from another planet. But that thought frightened her and she tried to bring herself back to reality.

She became aware again of Edward's warmth. From the corner of her eye she saw the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed and the wild blackness of his hair. His pale features stood out in th darkness and his scissor hands again caught the moonlight. She would have liked to say something but she couldn't.

Edward too was at a loss for works. She was so close that he breathed in the fragrance of her as she sat next to him. "She smells like the morning when the breeze is warm and beginning to carry the smell of the flowers opening," he thought to himself.

Nora decide she better say something. "The lights are beautiful again tonight," She spoke quietly.

"Yes," he replied in his own quiet voice. There was long pause and then, "you said that was why you came here, to look out at the lights." Edward stared straight out into the night as he talked.

"That's right. And because I wanted to be alone," she said thoughtfully, glancing towards him.

There were a few moment of silence before Edward spoke again, "But I was here so you didn't get to be alone."

"Well that's true, I never expected anyone to be here. I thought the place was empty...but I'm glad you're here," she said quietly, amazed at her own honesty.

/ "...but I'm glad you're here..." / the words fell like rose petals on his heart and he felt a now familiar warmth come over him. He took a deep quiet breath.

"Why did you want to be alone?" his scissors clicked as he asked.

She thought a moment about how much to tell him and then answered, "Well, because I broke up with my boyfriend and sometimes I want to be alone to kind of think about it." Why was he so easy to talk to she wondered?

"Oh." He hadn't expected such an answer and he had to think about it a moment. He couldn't imagine anyone wanting to break up with her, so he reasoned that she must have been the one who broke it off. Maybe she was thinking of getting back together with him and that's why she came here to think. He hoped that wasn't true but he wanted to know. He so much wanted her to like him. "Why did you break up?"

"It's a long story...mainly it was because he didn't treat me very well," she answered softly.

Edward's brow creased ever so slightly at her words. He couldn't understand that. How could anyone not treat her well - she was so kind and lovely. Then he remembered Jim and he knew there were some people who were like that - they just didn't see the kindness and beauty in the people around them.

"Do you mind if we don't talk about it?" she asked. The question had brought unhappy thoughts to mind. Bryan was the last thing she wanted to be thinking about right then.

"I'm sorry. No, I don't mind." He was satisfied with her answer but he also wanted to find out more of what she felt now that she had found him in the mansion instead of the aloneness she had been looking for. He would have to try to find out some other way. He knew he couldn't press the issue now.

Nora, on the other hand wanted to believe that Edward really wanted her there for her, not just because of his loneliness. She wondered if anyone else's company would have been just as welcome to him. Well, he had said he was lonely and maybe she might be some company for him regardless of anything else - at least she hoped so. She did feel badly for him. He was too kind a soul to be treated like this. But beyond all that there was something about him - his gentleness and honesty - that made her like just being near him.

As if Edward read her mind he turned in his chair and looked her full in the face. She was startled but she couldn't take her eyes off his beautiful features. Her breathing became shallow as she looked into his dark eyes. He looked back at her but his eyes darted across all the features of her face - he took in her eyes, her nose, her mouth, the shape of her face and her hair. He wanted so to have real hands at that moment. Of all the hair he'd ever cut or styled none did he want to touch as much as he did hers at that moment - it looked so beautiful in the moonlight.

Slowly he lifted a scissor hand to her head. Now, staring at her hair, he let a scissor slide through a lock of it near her ear. She felt the weight of his scissors in the air near her head and the cool steel slide against her as he touched her hair.

She was mesmerized. His face was so close now. Slowly he patted her hair back into place and turned again to look out at the night. He rested his hands in his lap. Nora was nearly breathless. She bit her lip softly and wondered what to do. They sat silently and she wished he would say something or that she could think of something to say.

"Edward, what do you do here all day?" she asked rather lamely. She had been wondering about that ever since she had found him here and realized how long he had been alone but immediately after she said it she thought it was the wrong thing to have said. "I mean..."

Edward was somewhat relieved that her question broke the awkwardness, but it was an uncomfortable one for him.

"Well, I take care of the yard and the house mostly," his scissors clicked quietly again. He didn't know what else to say. She must think he was terribly pathetic.

"It's too bad you can't fix the hole in the roof," she said nervously as she looked out at the night sky through the gaping hole. / That was a stupid thing to say, it's obviously too big a job for him to do alone. /

"Well, I like to see the stars," he answered cautiously. "I sleep over there most of the time and I like to look out at the stars." He pointed into the darkness of the other side of the large area they sat in. "Unless it's raining too hard. Then I have my room." He hoped he wasn't sounding too pitiful.

Suddenly Nora became aware of the immenseness of the huge house. "This house is so big. How many rooms are there?" she asked, her awe of the house overcoming her discomfort.

"I...I don't know." It had never occurred to him to count them. He didn't like to be in the rest of the house too much. The rooms were cold and empty so he tried to stay where he could feel a connection to the outside - here where they sat or outside on the grounds of the big old house. He used the kitchen when he had to and the bathroom of course but mostly he liked this upstairs area. Especially at night. It felt good to look at the stars as he fell asleep. It was a comfort to know there was much more out there than just the town that had rejected him. It gave him a feeling of hope that there might be something for him again, somehow, in the greatness that stretched beyond. The town surrounded him, holding him captive, standing between him and everything else. He wouldn't allow himself to think about it during the day and if the depressing thoughts threatened to overwhelm him at night as he tried to sleep, he would gaze out at the vastness of the starry night from his bed and set his soul free for awhile by contemplating the possibilities that might exist beyond his prison.

"Really?" There must be a lot then," Nora responded with genuine interest.

"I never counted them. I don't like the rest of the house," his voice was quiet.

Nora realized the empty rooms just added to his loneliness and she understood. She didn't want him to dwell on the fact that he was up in the mansion alone and the townspeople were all down there living their lives as before. She wished she could say something to make him feel better.

"Still, it's so amazing. Even just in here, it's so big. I've never seen anything like it," she answered, sorry if she had talked too much about it.

Edward recognized the interest in her voice, realizing how much the house fascinated her. Suddenly the empty house offered a way for him to invite her back again and he was thankful for that.

"I could show you more of it." At the same moment he offered, he realized she would have to come in the daytime in order to see anything. He used mostly candles at night in order to minimize his use of electricity and she wouldn't be able to see anything of the house by candlelight at night. Even in the daytime he needed candlelight in some of the dark rooms if he needed to go in them. His father had prepaid the electric company long before he died but Edward didn't know how much or for how long that would last so he used very little electricity. "You... you could come in the daytime so you could see it better," he stammered. He had been glad for a chance to invite her back but now he wasn't so sure about it.

"Oh, that would be really great," Nora answered quickly. She had hoped he would ask her back again. She wanted to see more of the house and it would be another chance to see him, and this time not just in the dark. "Today is Thursday. Maybe I could come Saturday in the afternoon," she thought aloud.

"Ok," Edward swallowed. He was a little anxious about her seeing him in the light of day. It also ran through his mind that it would be a day and a half until he saw her again.

They both sat quietly with their own thoughts and anxieties running through their minds. But soon these faded as they sat together. Somehow their closeness transcended anything else and peace descended over them. Nothing mattered except the warm breeze and the night sounds and the comforting darkness. They sat together along time that way until something inside Nora told her it must be time to go.

She would have liked to stay longer. It was difficult to break the silence with goodbye but she had no other choice.

"Edward, I should be going now. But I'll see you on Saturday, Ok?" God, she didn't want to go.

Edward turned to look at her again, his eyes shining in the night. Again he was filled with hope at her words which promised her return though his heart sank at their parting. "Ok, Nora." Their eyes met briefly and Nora thought she had never seen such beautiful dark eyes. How had she never noticed their beauty before? Nearly overwhelmed she looked away quickly.

"Do you want me to put the chair back over there?"

"No," he looked down at the floor.

She stood up and looked down at him as he continued to gaze at the floor. His form was motionless in the dark. She hesitated a moment, then reached her hand toward his hair but stopped just short of touching it. Her hand dropped to her side. "Goodnight, Edward" she said quietly.

Edward rose from his chair and faced her. "Goodnight, Nora," he seemed to have trouble getting the words out clearly. She tried to smile, then turned and walked across the floor to the stairs. She felt him watching her intently as she left. At the top of the stairs she turned and looked back one last time.

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Geez, I hope I'm doing the right thing letting these two see each other in daylight. Oh well, we'll see... Please keep reviewing!

P.S. Does anyone know why italics don't show up when I upload?

Note: I decided to use the slash mark: / , to identify where there should be italics. Thanks.