Thank you SO much to everybody who reviewed and PM'd me- you are AMAZING readers and I can't believe how lucky I am to have you interested in this little fic of mine. You all inspired this quick update.
Oh, you're in my veins and I cannot get you out
Oh, you're all I taste at night inside of my mouth
A few days passed, long, cold days in which I ran through the motions- much less enjoyable now that Emmett and I were avoiding each other. He had stopped coming to school, though I didn't understand why. If he'd had a sudden epiphany about liking Lauren, wouldn't he want to spend time with her? Edward grimaced at that, but I didn't feel like asking him to explain himself, sure I'd just get cryptic responses and vague shrugs. I sat with Alice, Jasper, Edward and Angela at lunch, but food had lost interest for me. I ate to appease Angela's worried looks, and Maureen wouldn't think of letting me leave the dinner table without seconds.
Finally, it was Thursday, and I planned to run, sleep, run, sleep, sleep, run, for the duration of the weekend- it was some such local holiday, and Forks High observed it as did the banks and the post office. I had some homework to finish up, but that, too, was becoming less important to me. I wasn't aware of how much I'd come to depend on Emmett's presence- nor did I know, until he was gone, how much I seemed to have fallen for him. It was pathetic, but I couldn't control how I felt any more than I could control my initial attraction to him.
I sat in a sort of stupor, gazing at the living room wall after school when I should've been doing my Algebra, when there was a staccato knock at the door. Despite the weight I'd been keeping on it, hope surged through me, and I rushed to answer the door, forcing a half-hearted smile when Alice bounded forward and hugged me. Vampire, yes. The one I'd wanted? Not so much. Good thing Alice couldn't read minds like Edward.
"You look as miserable as Emmett. Anyway, this will make you feel better!" She said in one breath, handing me a gold embossed invitation on thick card stock.
"I really am not in the mood to party, if you hadn't noticed." I said, holding it back out for her to take. I tried to ignore what she'd said about Emmett- thinking about him at all sent a sharp pain through my chest.
"Don't listen to her," Angela appeared behind me, swiping the invitation from my hand, "we'll be there. Wow, tomorrow night? You don't waste any time, do you Alice?"
Alice nodded briskly. "Definitely not! Things will work out, Kel. If you can forgive him, that is."
"Hey, he's the one going out with Lauren- what could I do to him that's worse than that?" I said, attempting humor, but Alice and Angela only offered weak grins, glancing at each other in a conspiratorial way- they'd obviously been plotting when I wasn't around. I was sure this was an ambush- surely Alice could've just passed along the message via a phone call or slipped the invitation into my locker.
God, this was always going to happen, wasn't it? Sooner or later, I always knew, Emmett would realize his mistake, would finally understand how broken and damaged and ill-fitting for him I'd been all along. And what was worse, I had known that I was getting in too deep. Surely somebody like Emmett, so funny and kind and strong, would, eventually, see through what little I could offer him. Alice and Edward had both denied Emmett's waning interest in me, but he hadn't even so much as texted me since our talk in the library, so what else could I assume?
"Just be there, okay?" Alice said, squeezing my hand. I shrugged noncommittally. Could I stand to be there, without Emmett? Or would he be there too, avoiding me and counting the seconds until I left? I'd be going alone of course, but would he?
"Is he taking Lauren?" I asked Alice sharply.
"Look, he's just-"
"Answer the question."
Alice sighed. "Yes, he is."
"So you hate me now, too. You want me to be subjected to them crawling all over each other?"
"Emmett doesn't hate you, Kelly." Angela said softly. "The farthest thing from it."
How would she know? "Forget it." I said shaking my head. "No way in hell."
"Okay, I'll make you deal. Just come for a bit- you can see Esme and Carlisle and then if you still want to leave, you can. Esme misses you, you know."
Typical Alice, using the mother guilt. But it did feel like ages since I'd seen Esme and Carlisle, and what harm could it do to stop by? I could always leave before the party started and the two new lovebirds showed up.
"Fine." I said through clenched teeth, Alice and Angela both giving a real smile this time. Oh well. If it made everybody else happy, I could bear it for a while. And, as much as I hated to admit it, just being in the same room with Emmett, even if he was with another girl, was better than not being with him at all.
oooo
Angela POV
Though I knew Kelly wasn't exactly a shopping kind of girl, I figured it couldn't hurt for her to get out of the house and interact with actual people. She'd been reverting to a hermit, it seemed, and while I didn't exactly blame her for being upset about the guy she liked suddenly asking out another girl, she couldn't just mope around in misery, either.
I rapped loudly on her door, and heard a vague response inside the room. I opened the door, and Kelly rolled over to face me, staring strangely at the neat stack of her homework materials on the floor beside her bed.
"Rise and shine dearest cousin," I said, stepping around her bed and puling the curtains to her window open. "Way to leave you window open, no wonder it's freezing in here!"
Kelly rubbed sleep from her eyes and looked at me, still confused. "I know I shut that damn thing." She muttered, and she kicked her notebook and pens across her floor.
"Whoa, chill. It's fine! See?" I latched the window, and pulled the blinds down. "Everything's fine. Now, get ready and let's blow this joint. We can't let a three-day weekend go to waste."
"What you are talking about?" Kelly pulled the duvet around her shoulders, sniffing the edge of it.
"You're clearly still sleep addled, so get showered. We're out of here."
Kelly groaned. "Do we really have to do this now?"
"Yes," I nodded emphatically, "you need it, and I need a new outfit for the party tomorrow. I'll buy lunch."
Kelly sighed deeply. "Since there will be no avoiding the inevitable...okay. Give me twenty minutes." She stood and went to the closet, and I shut her door behind me. I hoped she'd be alright. I hadn't told her, but I'd been over at Edward's house for the last couple of afternoons, and Emmett accosted me with questions about Kelly almost the entire time. Edward usually stepped in and told Emmett to get lost, if he was so worried then he knew Kelly's phone number, but I saw that Emmett was torn in some way, though I wasn't sure how. He was tortured, it seemed to me, but I also sensed that he felt this date with Lauren- for that's all, Alice quietly assured me, was intended- was something Emmett just had to do.
The noises behind Kelly's door stilled, and I was about to open it again when my phone went off in my back pocket, the tragically beautiful tones of Moonlight Sonata putting a massive smile on my face, one that I knew I should feel guilty about given my cousin's current romantic situation.
"Good morning," I answered, sure Edward could feel my idiotic grin through the phone.
"And to you," Edward said with what sounded like a smile of his own. "I was hoping to catch you before you made plans for the day."
"Actually, I thought I'd take Kelly out, you know, get her mingling with people again. She's been shut up for the last week and it can't be healthy for her. Time for her to enter the land of the living again."
Edward hesitated for a single second. "No, she should be out, I agree. Shall I pick you up for the party tomorrow?" Ever gallant, that was Edward for you. It was such a welcome, wonderful trait in him, though.
"That would be perfect, actually."
"It's a date, then." He sounded pleased. "Forgive me if this is...rather old fashioned, but do let me know you get home safe this evening?"
"Of course- it's rather comforting to know you're worried about us Webbers."
"Oh yes, it's a massive job but still, somebody has to do it." He was joking now, an amused hint to his voice.
"Well thank God it's you, then." I said quietly.
"Yes...my thoughts exactly. I won't keep you- have fun, and be safe. I'll talk to you tonight."
I hung up, the butterflies in my stomach still going strong. Edward had always managed to have this effect on me- whatever it was about him that sent my head spinning hadn't dissipated now that we were- well, whatever we were.
Guilt seeped into me- how could I be so happy when Kelly was miserable? And yet, I was sure she wouldn't want me to feel that way. And anyway, after the party, I was sure things would go back to normal between Emmett and Kelly.
At least, I had to selfishly hope so. I wasn't sure that I could give up Edward, not now that he was finally, finally, returning the interest I'd had in him for so long.
So, which was worse? That I didn't want give Edward up despite my cousin's misery, or that I was finding it easier and easier to push that guilt aside?
oooo
Emmett POV
After Edward had talked to Angela on the phone, Alice had given me a small nod- I couldn't help it, I had to see her, had to touch her, even though she'd be none the wiser. It wasn't fair of me, but since when had I cared about fairness?
As usual, I made my way in through the window, though it was firmly shut. Kelly's breathing was slow, deep, the restful coma induced by a sleeping pill, I was sure. She was on top of her bedspread, one hand clutching a pen, the other on top of a notebook. Under her head, I could see, was a copy of the play she so hated. I gently pulled the notebook from under her. She had written a few passages, some other references and footnotes, but the penmanship of a few lines caught my eye- they were more hurried, as though she'd copied them in a rush.
O serpent heart hid with a flowering face!
Did ever a dragon keep so fair a cave?
Beautiful tyrant, fiend angelical, dove feathered raven, wolvish-ravening lamb!
Despised substance of divinest show!
Just opposite to what thou justly seem'st
A damned saint, an honorable villain!
O nature, what hadst thou to do in hell,
When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend
In moral paradise of such sweet flesh?
Was ever a book containing such vile matter
So fairly bound?
O that deceit should dwell in such a gorgeous palace!
A tiny scribbled word was to the side of this- vampire. Of course Kelly would associate vampires- me- with the anger, the heart-wrenching betrayal, that Juliet felt when she found out the man she adored killed the cousin she loved. I stepped back, as though I had been kicked in the chest. Kelly feeling this way about me...like I'd hurt her so deeply I had killed somebody she loved, hit me like a boulder.
How could I have been so fucking stupid? I let Tanya and Rosalie get into my head, let the past of a woman who didn't love me, who left me, overtake the present and the future...both of those with somebody who did want me, who was willing to stick by me even though I couldn't promise her the stability of a human relationship. A vampire, what I was, had slaughtered Kelly's family, and yet she had so trusted me, cared for me, pushed aside the instinctive fear she must've felt around me to see past the monster...see the Emmett I really was. And now...I'd betrayed her, just like Romeo had betrayed Juliet.
But below this, written after it, was another hastily scrawled paragraph.
My only love sprung from my only hate!
Too early seen unknown, and known too late!
Prodigious birth of love it is to me,
That I must love a loathed enemy
And to the side, in the same messy scrawl, two letters- E.C.
oooo
Esme and Carlisle had been nothing but their usual warm selves, kind and concerned, though they kept all topics concerning Emmett and I off the table. Instead they talked about school, the teachers, how I was adjusting to being part of Maureen and Angela's family. I felt a tender connection to these two, and it broke my already shattered heart even further to realize that if Emmett no longer wanted me- even as a friend- I'd lose them, just as I'd lost my own parents.
No, I resolved, I wouldn't let that happen. I would fight for my relationship with the Cullens- Emmett included. If he truly didn't want me any more, then fine, I'd have to learn to live with the constant ache of his absence. But I'd be damned if I'd lose everybody else.
There were already people down on the main floor, music pulsing in the background, a crowd milling around a long table full of party food, bowls of punch, and bottles of water. I should've left, then, should've hit the road and never looked back, but Jessica's shrill laughter and her blinding silver sequence top distracted me for a moment, and then I heard it, heard the deep voice that I'd been longing for for days. Emmett and Lauren were standing in front of the fire place, its flames crackling merrily, casting flattering shadows on the couple.
I looked at Lauren, feminine, filled out Lauren, with long wavy hair and make-up, a skirt that accentuated her hips and legs. Her shirt was form-fitting, breasts poking out of the top. She looked mature and womanly, and I didn't think I could ever compete with that. If I thought about it, Lauren actually reminded me of the descriptions of Rosalie I'd heard. Odd, I thought, as I looked around the sprawling room- there were plenty of pictures of the other Cullens on the walls, but the pictures didn't contain a curvy blonde. Though I had gained weight and had the beginnings of a figure, I couldn't compete with Emmett's ex nor his current date.
Emmett wasn't touching Lauren, his arms kept firmly at his sides, though she was pressed against him as much as she could be. She was pathetic! And then, I wondered, is that how I'd been? For surely I could at least understand her draw to Emmett, what human girl wouldn't want to be so close to him?
My eyes dropped to my own clothes. Loose jeans and a fleece pull over, worn sneakers and underneath those, mismatched socks because I'd lost patience digging through my hamper and had thrown on the first ones I'd come across. My hair was in its usual ponytail, and aside from my chapstick, I had no trace of make-up on. All of this was much to Alice's intense disappointment, but she'd kept her mouth shut after a few sharp glares from myself and Esme.
Was it any wonder that Emmett had asked Lauren out? What was it before that Lauren had said...Emmett wouldn't go for somebody like me. It was true, he deserved somebody better, somebody beautiful and less damaged and-
"Just stop it." I whirled around to see Edward leaning against the wall behind me.
"Sorry?" I said, anger bubbling just under the surface of my surprise.
"What you're thinking. It's absolutely ridiculous."
"If you don't like what I'm thinking, then get out of my head." I shrugged. Anyway, Edward was wrong. Clearly I was right, as Emmett was at this party with Lauren and not me. I gestured toward them, over in the corner, and Edward just looked at me with somber butterscotch eyes.
"You don't understand, is all." He said.
I snorted. "Right. I don't get it it at all. Of course, this is just...what, something he has to do?" I rolled my eyes.
"Yes, actually. Trust me when I say he isn't particularly thrilled that he's here with her."
"Then why did he ask her? God Cullen, follow the logic ball. Stop making excuses for him. I get it, better than you think. Me and him...we never made much sense, did we?"
"Like I said, you just don't understand. Perhaps- "
"Perhaps you should get back to your own date and stop bothering me." I said through gritted teeth, gesturing to where Angela was talking with Alice and Jasper.
"I won't pretend to know how it must feel, but perhaps you could try and see it from his point of view, even if for a moment," Edward said, tilting his head at me, "Rosalie was his whole life, and to move on from her..." Edward trailed off with a shrug.
"I don't- "
"He cares for you, a great deal. I know my brother; he wouldn't do something like this lightly. You'll have to forgive him for pursuing all of his options, as it were. He knows you're special, Kelly, and he just wants to be sure, completely, before he drags you into his world. Don't be too hard on him." Edward's gaze lingered on mine for a second, before he gave a curt nod and turned, making his way back to Angela.
I rubbed my temples, Edward's words buzzing through my mind, anger and confusion battling each other. What I needed was some fresh air, and some time alone, away from anybody and anything. I needed to get out of here, out of this house that was a second home, that exuded Emmett's scent at every turn. I could start walking home- it would give me time to clear my head, to think clearly.
I glanced once more at Emmett and Lauren, blinking in surprise to find Emmett looking at me. Our eyes locked, and I could've sworn he made a move to come toward me, but Lauren, with a not-so-subtle glare my way, pushed herself against Emmett's chest. He broke eye contact with me and looked down at her, and before, it seemed, he could react, she'd stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.
oooo
Alice POV
It was such a split-second decision of hers that none of us had time to react. My vision was almost in real time, and I spun wildly around as Kelly fled the house, and Emmett pushed Lauren, who was smirking victoriously, away. The look on Em's face was one of deep disgust- apparently Lauren's kiss was nothing like Kelly's.
Emmett looked over Lauren's head for Kelly, and his face relaxed a bit- he was happy she hadn't seen, or that's what he assumed had happened. Then his eyes found mine, and the look on my face gave the truth away. He extracted himself from Lauren and rushed over, but Edward quickly blocked his way.
"Just go back to your date. You can fix things later- you have a facade to maintain, Emmett." Edward was saying in a very quiet, hurried voice, too low for those around us to hear.
"Fuck-"
"She needs to cool off, alright? Trust me, brother, she will forgive you, but you need to get back to your date. You started this, now finish it."
Emmett furiously turned away from Edward, but his words must have found their mark because he slowly strode back to where Lauren was waiting.
oooo
I was out the front door and down the steps, out of the drive, at least two blocks down the gravel road, just near the highway, before I realized I had lifted my legs to get away from the scene in front of me. Emmett...and her... Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it have been somebody, anybody, else? I kept walking, the gravel around me as I hit the side of the road crunching under my soles.
I pressed the the heels of my hands against my eyes, trying to force the image of Lauren wrapped around the man... the vampire...I was in love with. I had to run, to keep running, until my lungs ached and I couldn't think or breathe. The Cullen's house had faded into the waxing darkness, out of sight, and I dropped to my knees to tighten my shoe laces.
"It's probably not very safe for you to be out here all alone." I froze. I hadn't heard him, or seen him approach. He was like mist, settling silently in, paralyzing my sight and my ability to know which direction I should be going.
"You recognize me, don't you? You can feel it...you can feel our, to put it lightly, connection." My heart pumped quicker with each step he took, terror coming in quick, shallow gulps along with my breaths.
He was tall, lean, his blond hair pulled back into a rubber band. He had on a scruffy, brown leather jacket, worn jeans and hiking boots. Beneath the jacket I could see he wasn't wearing a shirt, but around his neck hung, on a leather string, a small, empty vial.
"You've really grown...blossomed." He was at my shoulder, his movements graceful and quick and so inhuman that, even though I hadn't wanted to believe it when I first saw him, I couldn't deny that he was a vampire. With the Cullens, it was harder to tell...they were so kind and gentle, even Emmett-
Emmett.
My heart gave a squeeze at the thought of what, exactly, he was doing with Lauren, at this very second.
"No!" He screamed, snapping my head back with a fierce tug on my hair. "No other is your master! Me, me alone! I am your savior!"
"I don't know-" I began frantically, and he pushed me down to the street, completely dark now that the sun had set. Gravel stuck in my forearm, in my cheek. I could feel the scrapes burning, bleeding. It didn't seem to affect him.
"Who I am? Oh, but you will. Your blood will. Even if Victoria doesn't want it...but she's not in charge. I am master here." He looked down at me, his expression softening as he took in the fear in my eyes.
"Shh, shh, you needn't fear me. I would take you now," He stroked my hair tenderly, "but it's too soon. There are preparations...yes, many of them...six, to be precise...to be made. But I will leave a mark...a token, for you, and for all, to remember me." There was a distant noise from the woods on our right, a howl, maybe, that made him stiffen.
"Don't touch me!" I screamed, using this distraction, trying to fling myself away from him. He grabbed a fistful of my hair, and the least thing I felt was the blinding, pounding pain of asphalt as it collided with my head.
Lyrics from In My Veins by Andrew Belle. Play excerpts are, of course, from Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.