N/A:
Hey lovely reads,
My apologies for this very late chapter. I meant to take only a couple weeks off of writing while my daughter was off of school for winter break. But unfortunately real life got in the way of my hobby of writing Fanfiction. Hopefully, I can get back into the habitat of posting weekly for this story as well as Emerald Eyes.
Now let's see how the rest of lunch break goes for Edward and Bella.
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Bella's POV
"Yes, Bella, witches and warlocks exist." Rosalie turns to me, answering the question I just asked. Her blond hair gently bounces like she's on a shampoo commercial.
Her beauty is breathtaking, and I feel a little envious. I have brown hair and brown eyes, the most boring hair and eye color on the planet. I'm awkward and shy. Compared to her and the rest of Edward's family, I look completely bland and boring where they are all the exact opposite. But I try not to think about that as I sit here with them, in the back of the school library at a long table, in front of the large bookshelf where the non-fiction books are.
It's girls on one side, boys on the other. All of us sit across our significant other like we're playing a dating game or something. It's kind of funny.
I have no idea how we decided to sit across from the one we are with, but we did, and I like it. I'm in the middle of his sisters while Edward's sandwiched between his brothers. He sits across from me while I ask questions that he and his siblings graciously answer. This has proven to be wonderful. I have the perfect view of his beautiful face.
My jaw drops in shock as I peel my eyes away from Edward's angelic face. My brain has just made the connection of what Rosalie had said.
"Witches are real?" I breathe the words. "Really?"
"Yes." Edward and all of his siblings say together.
Right at the same time a boy with a SpongeBob shirt walks by us, looking so bored that he doesn't even acknowledge us. I repeat my words in a whisper about witches being real. It's amazing that mythical creatures actually exist.
"Believe it or not, Baby Sis," Emmett clasps his hands behind his head and leans back on his chair. He calls me by the nickname he came up with after I told him not to call me small potato. "It's totally true. Witches and warlocks exist. Just as the shower ghost was real and hung out in our bathroom in a previous house from long ago."
"Lars was horrible." Rosalie shakes her head. "Why must you bring him up?"
"Don't know." Emmett answers, shrugging his shoulders.
"I would be more than happy if we could go about life without ever speaking of that demon again. I hate Lars." Edward pinches the bridge of his nose.
"Please don't mention Lars." Alice shivers, looking scared.
Without a word, she and Jasper share a look that's very intense and somehow seems private in a way. At once he stands up and walks around the table to Alice. Very protectively he wraps his arms around her shoulders, she lends into his embrace looking more relaxed.
"Who exactly is Lars?" I ask no one in particular, feeling like I'm missing something.
"Lars was a creepy ghost that we had to deal with at the end of 1977." Jasper says in a serious tone. His arms never let go of Alice as he turns to me. "People always say that there's no such thing as ghosts, but that's just the people who haven't met one."
Not knowing how to response, I nod my head. I begin to get the eerie feeling that Lars was very evil, especially when I look at Edward who is as still as a statue with a petrified expression on his face.
"Lars was definitely strange, with some pedophile tendencies." Emmett says in a tone that is very light. "We couldn't drop the soap, right, Eddie boy?"
Edward only blinks his eyes. He doesn't move or speak.
Jasper mumbles something as his eyes lock with Emmett's. Since his words were too low for me to hear I have no idea what he might have said, though whatever it was Emmett laughs it off. He doesn't seem to take anything seriously.
I stop paying attention to the older boys and focus on Edward. He looks very traumatized, and I wonder why. What on Earth happened to Edward with that shower ghost to make him act so scared? Part of me, a very small part, wants to know but another part of me, a bigger part, doesn't. So, I just stay quiet.
"At least that Seance with the Ouija board that Em bought from the toy store, took care of Lars." Jasper says, still hugging Alice. Everyone agrees.
"You guys actually had a real Seance?" I ask with a giggle. The thought of vampires all gathered around a Ouija board, trying to talk to a ghost, strikes me as funny.
"Yes." Alice says, rubbing her hands over Jaspers. "It was the only way we were going to get rid of Lars. I saw that."
"What does that mean?" I raise an eyebrow.
"Some of our kind have special abilities," Alice smiles. "For instance, I can see the future. That's why I was chosen to be the medium during our makeshift Seance."
"You can see the future?" I ask in amazement.
She nods her head matter-of-factly.
My mouth falls open. I had guessed that last night when I bumped into her and Edward at the market. I was right! But if I was right about that, what else am I correct about?
"How many of you guys," I say slowly, looking around the table at everyone. "Have special abilities and what are they?"
"I am able to control and manipulate emotions." Jasper admits with a warm smile. "I also can wrap anyone I choose in an uninteresting haze so they appear as bland and boring, or if I wish. They can be as interesting as I wish. That haze, the uninteresting one, also muffles the words that might be spoken, preventing any eavesdroppers from overhearing things they shouldn't."
"You're doing that to us right now. Aren't you?" My words are more of a guess than a question.
"I am." He answers truthfully, nodding his head.
"I'm super strong. Even stronger than the Incredible Hulk!" Emmett brags, flexing his muscles.
I nod my head. I don't feel that impressed since he looks very strong, and I already guessed that he was.
"I have extreme beauty." Rosalie says with a flick of her hair. "But Emmett's strength and my beauty, isn't really classified as anything out of the ordinary for our kind. However, your little boyfriend," She quickly glances at Edward, then looks back at me. "Has a cool talent. Don't you, little brother?"
She looks at Edward who has a very bashful expression on his face. He doesn't speak.
"What can you do?" I ask Edward.
He shrugs his shoulders. "I can read minds. Well, with one exception," His golden eyes lock with mine as he points his index finger at me. "I can't read your mind. I'm not sure why, I've always been able to read everyone else's mind but not yours."
I let out a sigh of relief. I'm glad he can't read my mind. It would be embarrassing for him to see the inappropriate thoughts I have of him. He doesn't seem the type to think that way about me.
"I had a strong feeling you were telepathic." I say, as I focus on him, forgetting all about his siblings.
"Really?" He wonders, looking amazed. "When did you guess that?"
"This morning. On the way to school." I say thoughtfully.
"Oh." Is the only thing Edward says.
The look on his face is a cross between fascination and stunned. I can't imagine what's going through his mind right now.
All the words and everything else disappears. Edward and are staring at each other the way two lovesick kids might do.
"Well," Emmett begins in a bored tone. His voice breaks the moment for Edward and me. Both of us turned to him. "Alice, the outfit you wore the night of our Seance was absolutely priceless." He cracks up. His laughter bounces off the walls but doesn't disturb the librarian at all.
"Alice, you have to admit, it was a very odd dress and hat you chose to wear. Not at all your usual formal evening wear." Rosalie mutters. Her golden eyes glitter with mischief.
Alice rolls her eyes but doesn't utter a word.
"She was playing the part." Jasper sticks up for Alice as he places his hands on her shoulders. It's obvious just how much he loves her.
"It was a very typical attire for an average cracker jack fortune teller," Edward says to Alice with a teasing smile. "But that makeup you wore that night, still haunts me to this very day." He playfully shivers with a musical laugh. "It was a good thing our parents were out that night. Or they would have definitely thought you lost it."
"It was all part of my vision." Alice points out in a fierce whisper.
Laughter embarks at our table. Alice is the only one who isn't laughing, besides Jasper. Even I am giggling.
I can't really imagine what Alice might have been wearing for the Seance, that would have the others respond in such odd ways. After all, she is always so well dressed for school.
"But one thing was great about Lars," Emmett continues with a wide toothy smile, while Edward looks at him, shaking his head no. "I did learn about anal beads that winter we lived in Sweden. Thank you, Lars!"
Everyone but Rosalie groans.
"Yes, Lars was great at introducing us to new and exciting gems we didn't know about." Rosalie reaches out for Emmett's hand.
Her voice has this sticky sweet edge to it. For some reason it makes me lose all curiosity of what she's talking about.
Emmett gladly grabs a hold of her hand, and they share a smile.
Jasper, Alice, and Edward all show how disgusted they are with their two oldest siblings.
Now I can't help but wonder what anal beads are. I begin to think about how to ask that question as Alice makes a noise that sounds like someone popped a balloon. Immediately everyone turns to her, asking what she's seen. I'm confused by this, but then quickly remember that she can see the future and she must be having one of her visions.
It only takes a couple seconds for her to recover. I watch as she and Edward share a meaningful look.
"Bella," Edward says, his voice sounding a little hoarse.
"Mmm?" I turned to him.
"Trust me," He says this like a plea. "Some things are better left unsaid. For your own sanity, don't ask the question you have in mind. You'll regret it."
I freeze, taken aback by what my boyfriend says. There's no doubt in my mind that Alice saw the question I was planning on asking and she no doubt silently told Edward. This is so embarrassing. I feel my face heat up and Emmett giggles.
Immediately the vibe at our table goes from tents to relax, and I know that Jasper is responsible for that.
"Bella, you've been warned." Alice says in a grave tone, placing her hand on my shoulder.
"There are no secrets in this family," Jasper says as he walks around the table and sits down in his seat. "But there are really some things that are better left unsaid. This is one of them."
"Okay, I won't ask." I promise.
Edward's posture relaxes. He grins at me, making my heartbeat faster.
"Hey, kid," Emmett turns to Edward. "What's the question you're keeping her from asking?" He asks as he finally rests his chair on the carpet and unclasps his hands from behind his head.
"Nothing you need to worry about." Edward answers with a crooked grin.
Raising one eyebrow, Emmett turns to Alice.
"Nope." Is all she says.
"Don't even ask." Jasper says firmly.
Emmett just shrugs his shoulders, not fazed at all by his siblings' reactions.
"Well, I don't suppose you have any more questions for me?" Edward asks me in that smooth voice of his. "I mean, about anything other than ghosts or things related to ghosts."
He grins and I giggle. I don't mean to, but I giggle again.
Smooth talking, so kind, so rocking, great bronze hair that I want so badly to run my fingers through. He's really something special and it's more than just his pretty face, or even him being a vampire that draws me in. He's got a way of making me feel that everything I do is perfectly fine, the way no one else ever has. Every time he looks at me, his eyes twinkle and make me feel like I'm the most interesting person on Earth. That's funny because that's how I feel about him.
Is it obvious that I'm falling for his smile? Or that my knees get all weak, feeling like jell-o when he says my name in that smooth velvety voice of his? I don't know.
Edward's golden eyes lock with my brown ones and sparks fly. Each time he looks at me I get all sentimental and a swarm of butterflies fill my stomach. But as quick as the butterflies come, they disappear, and I'm enveloped with a peaceful feeling that allows me to concentrate for a little while. At least until Edward does something else that is completely adorable, like run his hand through his messy hair, smile his crooked smile, or pinch the bridge of his nose when his brother Emmett says something that's a little crazy.
But it's been a minute or so since I've said anything, though Edward doesn't seem to mind. We stare into each other's eyes, getting lost there.
From what seems like a hundred miles away, someone clears their throat. I don't pay attention to whom it is, though I do hear Rosalie giggle while Alice is making shushing noises. It's obvious that his siblings are staring at us. Feeling a bit self-conscious, I say the first thing that comes to my mind.
"So, vampires, werewolves, witches and warlocks and ghosts are all real." I say and he nods. "I have a question, but I think it's going to sound ridiculous."
"Trust me," Jasper says in a serene tone. "After having this guy for a brother for fifty-three years," He reaches behind Edward, slapping Emmett on the back. "There's really nothing that you can say or do that any of us could possibly consider to be off the wall."
Emmett gasps in a playful way, playfully clutching his hands over his heart. "Dude, you're calling me crazy. Really? I'm hurt."
"Your craziness is what makes our unconventional, dysfunctional family interesting." Jasper chuckles and the rest of them agree.
"You're welcome!" Emmet looks very pleased with himself.
Edward laughs and rolls his eyes at Emmett, who playfully punches him on the arm.
Rosalie says something but I can't focus on what's being said. I now have a new question that wasn't there before. It's something that I haven't thought about until Jasper said Emmett has been his brother for fifty-three years.
"How old are all of you guys?" I blurt out the question.
At once, everyone gets quiet and looks at me.
"Where older than you, in some ways," Rosalie begins truthfully. "But essentially, we are all frozen as late teenagers."
"What do you mean by being frozen?" I wonder.
"We don't age." Edward says.
"Menatlly or physically." Alice says before I can say anything else.
"Once a human is turned into our kind," Rosalie says. Her words sound less casual and more like a warning. "We are frozen as we were with all of our likes and dislikes set in place. A teenager remains a teenager forever because our kind doesn't age, our minds don't grow either." She sadly sighs. "Emmett and I are forever nineteen. We have been like this since the mid 1930's, both of us were born in 1915, by the way."
"Wow." I breathe the word.
"Yup." Emmett agrees with her. "But we all have to pretend to be younger so we can stay in a place longer. So instead of saying we are nineteen, both of us say we're sixteen."
"That makes sense." I put my hand on the table, reaching for Edward's hand. He takes a hold of my hand. "Edward, how old are you really because I'm not buying that you're fifteen. You're too tall."
"I'm not." He admits, sounding shy. "That's just my role this time around. But I do wonder, will my real age bother you?"
I give him a curious look. I wonder why he thinks that. After all, I'm not bothered by Emmett and Rosalie's ages or the time period they were born in. Why would I be bothered by his age?
"Lighten up, Edward," Alice's windchime voice breaks through my thoughts. "Your age won't scare her off, don't be so negative. She just wants to know." She turns to me. "I was born in 1901 and turned in 1919, two weeks before I would have turned eighteen."
"Oh wow." I don't know what else to say.
"My age doesn't bother you. Does it?" She asks, confidently. I'm sure she already knows my answer.
I shake my head no.
"Okay. I was also born in 1901." Edward says in a low, smooth voice. "That makes me hundred-and-two. But let's call it seventeen."
I smile and so does he. I like that he's honest about his age. Though now that I know his real age his name sounds too old fashioned for him. I wonder if he'd be okay if I shortened his first name.
"That leaves me," Jasper says. "Even though Emmett is technically the oldest in human years, I'm the oldest of us kids in vampire years."
"Really? How old are you?" I want to know. Their ages fascinate me.
Jasper smiles a small smile. "I was born in 1844, I've fought in the Civil war. In fact, I was not much older than you when I forged my way into becoming a soldier to find my older brother. He joined the war at the start of it. I moved up the ranks quickly but never saw him again." He pauses for a second, thinking about something sad, I'm sure. "I was eighteen-and-a-half when I was seduced by a female vampire who looked like she ran a brothel. She ended up turning me."
"That's amazing you fought in the Civil War." I say and he smiles. "You guys have been around for a long time and have seen so much. I bet each of you have so many historical stories to share."
A chorus of agreements go around the table. Only Emmett doesn't speak, and I wonder what is going through his mind. I have a feeling that it's not a good sign when he's quiet.
"Not as much as Carlisle has seen." Emmett says a bit too loudly. "Our father was born in the 1640's in London. That makes him three-hundred-and-three-years-old. He's literally been around since the dawn of time. He has been around longer than the invention of the wheel."
Without meaning to, I can't hide my reaction. My mouth falls open. It's unbelievable to know that someone from the 1640's still walks the Earth.
"Carlisle is as old as the dawn of time and our mother, Esme, is older than the dirt she uses to plant her flowers in." Emmett continues. "She's two-hundred-and-eight since she was born in 1895. Both of our parents are so old. Even older since they are both frozen in their early thirties. They're ancient."
The way he does math, makes my brain hurt.
"Try again." Alice says in a bored tone. "Esme is only one-hundred-and-eight. She also wouldn't be pleased to know that you called her old."
"Nope. I did the math, I'm right and she is old." Emmett disagrees.
"Just don't tell her that." Edward warns.
"Yeah, don't." Jasper says.
"I'm telling you guys, I'm right. They are old, they've been around since dinosaurs walked the Earth." Emmett says, ignoring what his siblings are saying.
"I love you, Big Papa Pickle," Rosalie says with a straight face while Edward and I share a look and begin to giggle. "But you're wrong about their ages."
I sit back, quietly watching the four of them interact with each other as Emmett protests about whether he's right or wrong. Despites all of them being around for a long time, they all act like teenagers. They also act like siblings, even though none of them are actually related.
"No." Edward turns to his brother, his voice is kind of high. "Mom's one-hundred-and-eight and dad just celebrated his three-hundred-and-sixtieth birthday."
Emmett shakes his head no.
"Yeah. Get a calculator, Em." Jasper chuckles. "Three-hundred-and-sixty-years is really not the dawn of time. And Esme isn't as old as dirt."
"Whatever." Emmett says with a grin. "I think Carlisle attended the last supper with Jesus Christ. Either that, or he played racquetball with him. I forget which."
The words he spoke are serious and so is the expression on his face. I'm not sure if he actually believes what he is saying or just trying to get a laugh out of someone. But I find myself trying not to laugh at him. He's very silly.
"What?" Edward blankly stares at him.
"Emmett," Alice rubs her forehead. "Carlisle's too young to have met Jesus."
"That's your opinion, my little tangerine." Emmett shrugs his shoulders. "I think he did."
"No." Rosalie sighs. "He didn't."
"Certainly not." Jasper rolls his eyes at Emmett.
"I'm telling you guys that Carlisle is very old. He definitely did." Emmett argues. "I mean, he took down Frankenstein's monster back in the day. So why couldn't he play racquetball with Jesus?"
Giggles and laughter erupt at our table once more.
"Bro, your brain is definitely broken." Jasper shakes his head in disbelief.
Emmett answers with a wide grin.
"So, Frankenstein was real?" I ask, wondering how much of what Emmett said was reality.
"Yes, that was real." Alice answers my questions. "Most of the monster legends that you've read about in books and seen in movies, are real."
"That's so cool." I breathe the words in amazement.
"Yup." Alice says, popping the 'p.'
"So let me guess," I speak. My mind on my earlier question that I planned on asking before we got into their ages. "Bigfoot and Yetis are real too?"
"Yes." Rosalie and Alice say in unison.
"You bet." Jasper agrees.
"Yup." Edward's tone sounds unusually high again.
"Those guys are just as real as turtle penises." Emmett randomly says.
An odd hush envelopes our tables. Everyone, including me, looks at him like he's lost his mind. Nobody was talking about turtles. Where did that come from?
"Maybe the plural is penile. Or is it penises?" Emmett asks no one.
Edward hides his face in his hands. Alice appears stunned and Jasper closes his eyes. Rosalie is the only one that isn't reacting to Emmett's bizarre behavior.
"I have no idea where you're going with this, Em." Jasper's exhales. "But I think you're getting English, and Latin mixed up. It's penises, if you're talking about more than one."
"Oh, don't help him, Jazzy!" Alice shrieks.
"I'm curious to see where he's going with this." Jasper admits.
He's not the only one. I'm curious too. Though Edward was hiding his face a moment ago, he now seems that way too. He's no longer covering his face with his hands but looking at his brother now.
In the midst of everything, Rosalie opens up her backpack that sits on the floor by her feet. She plops a black and white composition book on the table in front of her. I look down at it, it's titled, 'Ideas for Teenage Ninja Mutant Turtle fanfiction'. Immediately she gets out a pink gel pen and opens her book to a page that has the words, 'notes, plot ideas, and Emmett's inspirational quotes.'
I'm guessing she writes Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fanfiction. I'm familiar with superhero fanfiction, but nothing about ninja turtles. I can't imagine what those fics would be about. I also would have never guessed that Rosalie is a fanfiction author. I wonder if she posts anywhere.
"Well, whatever," Emmett shrugs his shoulders. "A turtle's doodle is very freaky. Looked it up on Google for her last chapter that she wrote," He waves his hand towards Rosalie. "Freaked me out. I swear it looked like something right out of science fiction. Don't know how turtles can send out for sushi with a joystick that looks like an alien mushroom. It's crazy. Don't you agree, babe?"
"Dear god, yes." Rosalie looks up from her notebook for a quick minute. Just long enough for her eyes to meet Emmett's, she quickly goes back to what she's writing.
"Rosalie, you write fanfiction?" I can't help but ask.
"Seriously, I need some counseling or intensive therapy after seeing images of turtle penises." Emmett shutters. He's clearly overreacting for laughs.
"Yup." Rosalie says to me, and to Emmett she says. "Yeah, it was very disturbing. But I had to do it for research, I love it when you help me out with my stories." She continues to write in her notebook. "Em, do you have any other euphemisms for penis besides 'doodle' or 'joystick'? That could really help me out."
"Sure thing, Sugar boom." Emmett grins.
Edward and I share a look and a giggle. Those nicknames that Emmett and Rosalie have for one another are just so silly.
Suddenly Alice, Jasper and Edward stand up, pushing their chairs in. I do the same, though Emmett and Rosalie stay put.
"Oh, look at the time. Lunch is almost over," Alice announces in a singsong voice. "We should all get going, don't want to be late for our next classes."
There's a chorus of agreements from the four of us. All the while Emmett spouts weird sayings like, 'silent flute' and 'shaft of delight,' as Rosalie writes down what he says. I get the feeling that Emmett is Rosalie's muse for her writing. They seem to make a good team.
While Emmett says more weird things like 'plum tree shaker', I'm sure he's just making this stuff up now. The four of us walk out of the library. Quickly we part ways as the warning bell rings, signaling the end of our lunch break. Jasper and Alice walk in the direction of the math building while Edward gently grabs my hand, and we go to the Science building. Which is where our next class is.
"Now you met all of my crazy siblings." Edward says as we walk into the building.
"They seem fun and very interesting." I speak honestly.
He scoffs. "Not really the words I'd use to describe them."
"Well, I would." I smile at him. "Maybe we could all do something together sometime. Like hanging out at the mall or something. I'd like that. I like your siblings."
We walk down the hallway, passing kids that are walking too slow, as we make our way to our next class. I can't wait till school ends so it's just Edward and I. I wonder where we will go to hang out since he changed our plans about going to the public Library.
Edward nods his head. "I'm sure my brothers and sisters would like that too. All of them really like you."
"Really?" I squeak. I feel surprised that his family likes me.
"Yes." His words are honest as we come to our classroom. The door is open, our teacher is at her desk and there's two kids already in there.
Both of us stop walking. My heart beats in double time as he brings his hand up to my face. His cold fingers brush against my cheek before he tucks my hair behind my ear.
"But let's make plans with them some other time." He says, dropping his hand. "I'm really looking forward to spending time with you, and you alone after school."
My head spins with delight. With his words I feel very excited. I'm looking forward to spending time alone with him too.
"Me too."
With a flash of his crooked smile, he lets go of my hand, motioning me, to step inside the classroom first. With butterflies in my stomach, I quickly walk in the classroom and take my seat. Edward sits beside me, and I can't help but smile.
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