Edward's POV
Bella and I sit cross-legged in the quad on the grassy area under the cloudy sky. It's just her and I, along with a tray of food that sits between us. This proves to be a much more private setting than the crowded cafeteria since most kids don't eat out here because of the lack of sun. The weather is just right for me, and Bella doesn't seem to mind it either. But of course, Alice 'saw' this when she silently suggested it to me when Bella and I were in the lunch line, and she was sitting at our usual table with the rest of our siblings.
After Bella chose her lunch, I generously paid for it, asking if she wanted to eat outside. She said yes, and before we exited the cafeteria, I dropped a few dollars in the vending machines, choosing a small bag of chips and a blue Powerade I thought she might enjoy.
Now I sit here, running my right hand over the prickly blades of grass as I watch the most beautiful girl in the world grab the bag of puffy orange chips from the tray. A rosy blush lights up her face, and, at the same time, a smile appears on mine. I've never felt happier than I do when I'm with her. It's a different kind of happiness; one I've never known before that's coursing through my body right now. Being around her makes me feel light, carefree, giddy, tongue-tied, and shy all at once.
I like it.
"This is nice," Bella says, pulling a fat chip from the bag and holding it between her thumb and index finger. "We're at school, but eating out here on the grass makes it feel like we're having a picnic."
"I guess so," I say, having no memory of what that would be like.
"Have you ever had a picnic?" She wonders, plopping the chip into her mouth, and chewing it.
Not knowing how to respond, I shrug. She frowns as she crumbles up the now empty chip bag. A worry line above her eyebrows that looks like a V, appears. My eyes don't leave her face while I try to figure out what her facial expression could mean. Is she sad, worried, or upset? Why? I don't know. I have no answers to offer myself. Maybe I've relied on my talent too much throughout the years because I don't seem to be very good at reading facial expressions; I've never had to do that before.
She leans closer to me, her body heat wrapping around the right side of my body, my own personal heat lamp. She scoots closer now, her face inches from mine. A thought creeps into my mind about how easy it would be for me to turn my face and for our lips to meet.
But I don't.
I have no way of knowing if she would want me to kiss her since she knows what I am. Even though she's aware I don't have fangs, it would probably scare her to be that close to my teeth.
Without warning, Bella puts her hand on the side of my face, cupping my ear. Her warmth on my cold skin creates a burn without pain, and I wonder if she feels it too. Suddenly I feel her warm breath on my ear as she opens her mouth, leaning in even closer. I don't move.
"Are vampires allowed to have picnics?" she whispers in my ear.
She pulls back. I laugh.
"Hey," She says, glaring at me. "You promised you wouldn't laugh at anything I asked."
Oops. She's right. I did promise her that, and I should try to stick to it.
"Sorry. It's just a funny question." I laugh, thinking about what Emmett would say about that if he were here.
"What's so funny about it?" She wonders. "You are what you are, and I don't know if the rules are different for you. I'm not sure what you can and can't do. That's all."
I can't help it. Her words make me laugh out loud.
When she first passed me that note in Algebra, after I realized her oddly shaped drawings were bats and not flying butts, it was evident she knew I wasn't human but a vampire. I expected to feel scared and ashamed, but I didn't. Her sweet reassurance about it not mattering to her made me have a euphoric feeling - equivalent to the time I beat Jasper in a wrestling match for the first time three months ago.
Amazingly, she knows so much about the legends of the Cold Ones since she spent a lot of time on the reservation as a child. She admitted she was regularly babysat by close friends of her father, who was the leader along with his wife. They shared their legends with her when they told the same stories to their children, a girl named Leah, who's older, and a little boy named Seth.
My guess is that they wanted Bella to be safe if she ever came across one of us. But instead of her being cautious, she has no fear of my kind or my world. She actually wants to know everything about vampires, or so it seems.
I'm sure the Quileute tribe didn't foresee that with all the knowledge their honorary tribe member has, that she would be curious instead of fearful and want to know more about the vampire she's dating. She knows quite a bit, but at the same time, she doesn't know everything about my kind, especially about whether or not vampires can have picnics. I wonder what else she's going to ask me. I kind of like it that I am not able to guess and never know what she's going to say.
With her silly question fresh in my brain, I laugh again.
She glares at me, and I realize I have offended her.
"I'm sorry." I apologize, ending my laughter. "I wasn't laughing at you. Your question was just silly."
"Edward, that's the same thing as laughing at me." She protests, crossing her arms over her chest.
I roll my eyes.
Girls and mood swings are nothing new to me. I have two sisters, after all. It's not unusual for them to go from a blissful moment to being as temperamental as a feisty Chihuahua who's about to have her nails clipped, in less than 2.5 seconds. Well, Rosalie more than Alice, but even she has her moments.
"If you're going to be rude, you can sit alone." She huffs.
I'm startled by her unhappy words. Even more surprised to see her grab her tray with the empty plate, a crumbled up bag of chips, a whole apple, and a half-empty blue sugary drink. She stands, and the regret for being a bit insensitive weighs me down like a heavy winter coat.
"Bella, wait," I say before she can leave.
"What?" She says through her teeth. "Are you going to laugh at me some more?"
Standing, I shake my head no. Gently I take the tray from her and notice her face softening as I apologize for my behavior.
"Do you forgive me?" I ask.
"Yes." She says, looking at me in a loving way that makes me smile. "On one condition."
I raise one eyebrow. "What's your demand?"
She reaches for the red apple on the tray that I now hold. "Eat this apple and answer my questions without laughing." She says matter-of-factly, placing the apple back on the tray.
I stare at her, expressionless.
Her deep chocolate eyes look back at me so wide and pure. She's waiting for my answer; I know that, yet I say nothing.
The very first question I answered on our way out of the cafeteria while I carried the tray with her lunch and nothing for me was if I could eat food. She knew from the stories she'd been told about what my family and I drank, but she wasn't sure about food. My honest answer was "no", I can't digest food. However, I did tell her that we fake it, often pretending to eat to appear more human even though none of us enjoy it. Though I never told her that when I eat, I have to cough it up later since anything solid I consume will just sit in my stomach with no place to go, making me feel uncomfortable.
I didn't think that information was necessary because I never dreamed she'd want a demonstration.
"Well?" She draws out the word.
"What?" I pretend I don't know what she's talking about.
"Do we have a deal, or will we be walking to class separately?" She asks in a sassy tone.
Oh hell; she drives a hard bargain. But it's not like I haven't had to eat food before. It's an unpleasant part of the charade.
With a shrug of my shoulders, I sit back on the grass, and so does she. Her liquid brown eyes are locked on me, eagerly waiting for me to make my next move.
With the tray on the grass directly in front of me, I reach for the apple that she practically dared me to eat. Her eyes don't leave mine and vice versa as I pick up the smooth round fruit. Without looking at it, I take a bite, trying to have TV commercial grace, but sadly for me - it's a very juicy apple. The juice squirts on my face, running down my lips and chin. I quickly wipe the sticky liquid away with the back of my hand.
I can't hide the grimace on my face any more than she can hide her amusement from my mishap. She lets out a laugh.
Chewing swiftly and swallowing, I do my best not to gag as the firm lump moves slowly and uncomfortably down my throat. I sink my teeth into the apple again and take another bite as part of our deal, and it has nothing to do with me liking the chunky, tasteless, repulsive food because I don't. This is disgusting, but I would do anything for her, even eat a whole apple as I'm doing now. Reluctantly, I might add.
I'm just glad that my brothers aren't around to see this. If they were, they would easily tease me into the next century. Which is properly why my spiky-haired sister planted the suggestion of eating outdoors in my brain. Because she no doubt 'saw' that I would actually be eating.
Taking the last bite of the very juicy apple, I begin to feel a little surprised. I had assumed Bella would ask an assortment of questions, and she hasn't even asked me one while I choked down the horrible fruit. But I'm sure her lack of talking has to do with her giggling uncontrollably at me.
Taking no offense to her tittering, I hold up the apple core by its stem. With the cool self-confidence that I've often seen teenage boys display when they like a girl, I gaze at my girl. She immediately stops her laughter and looks at me with a smitten expression on her beautiful face.
"See? Easy." I say, talking about eating the red apple.
The task of consuming the fruit wasn't difficult, just unpleasant. Unfortunately, regurgitating it will be just as off-putting as eating it was. But that's information I will keep to myself. No need to tell her that.
"Wow." She says, impressed.
I grin my crooked smile as I drop the apple core on the tray; it falls with a barely audible thump. I play it cool, wiping the remaining juice on my face with the sleeve of my hoody.
"I didn't think you'd do it." She admits.
I shrug my shoulders as my only response.
"I could tell you didn't like it." She says, her eyes lock with mine. "What made you eat it all?"
"I don't intend to break a promise to you," I say truthfully.
Bella's face flushes. "Is that a vampire thing? Never break a promise?"
"Is that your first question?" I ask with a teasing grin.
"That depends." She taps her right index finger against her upper lip. "Is there a limit of questions you're willing to answer?"
Without being able to see inside her mind, I can only assume her answering my question with one of her own, means she has many.
"Ask away, my dear." I smile; a hint of my second-hand English accent I picked up long ago from my father, is heard.
Bella giggles and a rosy blush colors her cheeks.
I patiently wait for her to overcome her bashfulness and speak. As I wait, I wonder what has her blushing ... my words or my English accent?
Perhaps it's both.
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