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Edward's amusement lasted well into the curving roads of the drive back and I was starting to worry he wouldn't let me live it down.

"You still haven't answered a lot of my questions," I warned him but his smile didn't slip. "Does it matter? We have a lot of time to get those out of the way," he said, his fingers swilling the radio knob tuning it – predictably – to some fifties music.

I pressed my lips together, "When were you turned exactly?" I asked. He sighed, twiddling the volume down. "1918, I was born in 1900," I said. "Hmm," I quickly did the math in my head. "So, you're…approximately 115 years old?" I asked.

"Does that upset you?" he asked, quietly, the smile finally slipping from his face. Yap, we're officially in serious zones.

"You were turned by Carlisle?" I asked. "Yes, I had the influenza. It had already taken my parents and Carlisle was…lonely. Maybe that's why he picked me, no one would notice I was gone." He chewed on his lips. Nodding, I was ready to drop the obviously uncomfortable subject but he went on.

"The memory's vague. I remember him stealing me from the hospital, I was half dead already. He brought me to his own house and fed me his blood. That's how we're made, we're drained and re-blooded. He made quick work of it too, feeding me some of the blood he kept handy in his own place." He stopped.

"It must've been hard." I said.

"I can't say. I know I didn't want to die. No eighteen year old wants to give up the world for something like a sickness. Besides, compared to other humans, I would say my kind got the better end of the deal." A slight hint of superiority crept into his tone and I frowned. "Not all of you though," I said stubbornly. "That's true as well; some of my kind does live the life of nomads, sometimes even cannibals, drinking the blood of our own to keep up survival." He mused.

I gulped. Um…gross…

"However, I wouldn't have minded dying. That was then though," he said. "You don't think that now?" I asked, confused. He smiled widely at me, reaching over to take my hand. "If I had; I wouldn't have met you." He said simply. He raised my hand to his mouth and kissed my knuckles.

We were in the city now, driving fast towards Charlie's house.

"How many of you are there?" I asked.

"Quite a few, many of them believe that more of us gives us an edge over your kind since we're not exactly invulnerable. Especially in sunny places we become weak, our powers dull and we can't pull off any defence we might to protect ourselves. In sunlight, we are more or less weaker than humans." He said. "There's a reason the north is so famous with us. They were sunless places." He explained.

He stopped the car in front of the driveway. "Won't you come in?" I asked, politely. "I was hoping to," he admitted. I smiled softly and nodded, opening the door and walking up the path.

"How's your leg?" he asked. "It's completely fine now." I said, unlocking the door and switching on the porch light.

"Bella," I called up the stairs to get back no reply. "No one's home, Tulika," He said and I shrugged. "That Stephen guy had better bring her back safe," I muttered going into the kitchen to fix myself some food. "Or he will suffer your wrath," he said watching me heat up some leftovers.

I bit my lip again as I shovelled the food onto two plates and put them in front of both me and Edward. "You didn't have to." He began but I cut him off. "You brought me back safely; consider it my token of gratitude." I said. He arched an eyebrow but picked up his fork, twirling it as I took a bite.

I had just raised my head to tell him to eat when he stood up quickly. "Charlie's going to be here in a minute," he said, picking up the plate and slipping it into the microwave and vanishing before I even had time to properly stand from the table.

"Where are you?" I hissed but a low thud was all the reply I got. I hoped he didn't go to my room, it was a mess.

"Bella," I heard Charlie call. "No, it's me." I said.

"Tulika, didn't Bella come home?" Charlie asked. "Um, she called said she'd be running a little late," I lied, slipping back into my seat. "I heated up your dinner." I added, thankful now that Edward had superpowers.

Play it cool, Tulika. You don't want Charlie to think something's up and neither do you want Dracula to think you're eager to see him.

"Thanks, sweetie," He pulled out the plate and placed it on the table along with a glass of water.

"How was the fishing trip?" I asked, deliberately taking a slow bite. "Good, got a good deal of them biting. What about yours? Did your friend show up?" he asked.

"Yes, we went out, got a little exercise, not that I'm a fan of that." I smiled. "Whose car is that in the driveway?" he asked. I froze suddenly realising that he was playing it cool too, so as to seem unsuspicious.

"It's my friend's. I drove today and their dad got them. It'll be gone by the time Bella gets back." I said, hoping against hope that Edward was listening. He must've because at that time, the phone rang. "I'll get that." I said, unhooking it and putting it to my ear.

"It's gone," Two words, simple but oh so relieving.

"Yeah, thanks, talk to you later," I said and hung up unceremoniously, smiling at Charlie. "Talk about forecasting, they came and got it." I said, careful not to make any gender known to him.

"Hmm, so no plans for Saturday?" he asked. "I already had my fun; I'm all keyed up for bed. If you want I can stay up for Bella, though," I added.

"No, no, you're right. You look knackered. You go to bed and I'll stay up for her." He said. He took another bite. "So, she's out with one of the new kids' right?" he asked. I nodded. "What about you? No boys to interest you?" he teased.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. There are a few but they're all middle aged and live in Hollywood." I grinned, making him laugh. "You're easy to live with T," he said. "You too, and don't worry, if I find someone, you'll be the first to know." I promised before standing up and taking my stuff to the sink. "You leave that, I'll handle the dishes. Just go to bed." He said.

"Thanks Charlie," I said, making my way up the stairs to my bedroom.

I took care to brush my teeth first and showered before changing into pajama shirt and pants. Ok, they might have been a little girly but hey, I was allowed to indulge in it sometimes.

I closed my door and locked it before quickly hopping to the window to throw it open, peering suspiciously into the trees. "Looking for me?" I whirled around, banging my head on the window and slid to the ground, groaning and clutching my head.

"Ouch," I moaned. "I'm so sorry; I forgot your affinity to be clumsy." He said, still smiling. I looked at him through narrowed eyes. He was sitting on my bed, shoes still on, why did he have on shoes on my bed?

"Edward, get your feet off my bed." I said. "Right," he sat up, giving me a hand. "How's the head?"

"Feels a little bumped off, but it'll survive."

"Good, you can't afford to lose anymore brain cells." He finally chuckled and I rolled my eyes. "Oh, I'm so sorry; I forgot just how good you were at counting brain cells. Did you manage to count all of mine or were you being resisted?" I made a mock show of rubbing my chin thoughtfully.

"Funny," he said.

"Is Charlie going to check on me?" I asked. "I don't know, he hasn't thought about it. Right now…" he tilted his head, "his mind's on the game, he's thinking how late Bella's running." He said.

"I should call her." I reached for my bag but he shook his head. "She's home." He said.

I stiffened. "You can hear her now?" I asked. "No, but I can hear the boy she's with. He's…kissing her goodnight," he smirked, no doubt thinking about my less than glorious moment at the meadow.

"Ok, if you're still on that…" I began when he stiffened before slipping away into the darkness. "Tulika, you asleep…?" I heard Bella call. She was standing in the doorway, while I sat on my bed in the dark blinking up at her like an idiot.

"No…I was…thinking…about…hmm, why are you late?" I asked.

"I got dinner with Stephen, he's…really sweet," she rubbed her mouth. "Um, so, I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep well," she said.

"Bye hen," I called before the door shut.

"God…" I whispered, feeling him join me on the bed again, leaning in close. "She's happy, don't worry about her," I felt him breath against my shoulder.

That was just it though, she shouldn't be happy. The only one who made her happy was supposed to be cold and creepy Cullen. I mean she picked him over warm and cuddly Jacob. Now, she was picking Human Stephen over him?

Oh but he's not Cold and Creepy Cullen is he? He's warm and he's nice and humane. I thought, making sure to mask my mind in the event of the day.

"You're being awfully jumbled." He complained. "While you're being spontaneous, shouldn't you be having trouble with being so close to me?" I said, looking into his luminous eyes.

"Not really, we're comfortable with our years of being near human beings. The blood has lost its appeal." He said, picking up a hand and pressing it to his face. "But Bella…" I began.

"Bella is a special case. I don't mind her though." He said.

"Edward…there is something I wanted to ask you," I said. "Of course," he whispered. "Do you come here? Nightly, you know, to spy – I mean – to watch over Bella – or me," I blurted out, feeling his stare on my face. I reached out to switch on the night light to see clearly. "Why would I spy on you?" he asked.

"I don't know curiosity…?" I shrugged. He returned the shrug. "No matter how much you fascinate me, Tulika, I wouldn't just sneak into a young girl's room." He said, "Besides, like I said, I have to sleep at least 5 hours to function like a human being, or I become hyper sensitive." He added.

"Lord is merciful," I mumbled.

"However, I have visited the neighbourhood, only a couple of times though and I was never in your bedroom." He said hastily, looking away from my severe expression.

"Edward, that is so creepy!" I hissed.

"I'm sorry, I never came into the house, and I just…wanted to check on you after…Port Angeles." His jaw clenched. "Oh," I said sheepishly.

"You can't imagine how…helpless…I felt, watching you curl up and sob into the night. I didn't sleep that day. I was awake, sitting on your porch just…listening. You fell asleep with difficulty. That night was what made me decide that I had to…be near you." He sighed. I turned to look at him as he looked out the window. "I was having trouble keeping up with your emotions even before that. Remember the day at the library, when Mike asked you to the dance?" he asked.

"Oh, I try not to," I said.

"I was with Alice, and she told me exactly what was going to happen. She…saw my attraction towards you and didn't think it would go down too well, if I were…to stake my claim, for less harsh of a word."

"Spoken like a true chauvinistic male," I said, making him chuckle. "Hardly," he said. "I don't need to be chauvinistic to let people know you're unavailable," He brushed my hair back, running his lips over my ear.

"Jealousy is a strange thing," he sighed.

"Shouldn't you be going to sleep?" I asked. "Not yet, if it escaped your notice, I'm a just a tad bit over excited right now. Glory of first love and all that," he said. I cringed. "Has there actually never been any one?" I asked, unable to accept the '100 year old virgin' tag to him.

"There have been a few. Only in the passing though, none of them compared to you," he said as a matter of fact, as if trying to satiate me or something. "So, no sleeping then," I said, huffing.

"You wanted to know how you smelled," he prompted. "Oh right, that's fine, you don't have to answer." I said quickly. "Relax, Lovely," he traced a hand over mine.

Lovely…he called me lovely.

"You have a very…rich smell. It's musky and floral, sometimes like chocolate, or, lemons," he said. "Oh, and that is very appealing to you?" I asked. "Are you offering, Tulika?" he teased. "I wouldn't mind, that is of course, unless it hurts," I said quickly but he was already shaking his head. "Blood sharing is very intimate within vampires, Tulika. We don't do it unless…" he trailed off looking pensive.

Ok, this was new. Vampires in Twilight didn't have blood, so there was no blood sharing in them. This had me curious. "Unless…" I prompted. He didn't answer for a few seconds before looking at me. "Nothing, it's not important. Besides," his voice turned playful. "You shouldn't talk about intimacy when you wouldn't even let me kiss you."

I rolled my eyes. Typical male, "Edward, you can kiss me after the tenth date, or after I say so, ok?" I said. I wasn't foolish enough to let the man kiss me when there might still be a chance he could want Bella. What did he keep from me about the blood sharing?

Involuntarily, a yawn escaped me. "Ok then, I have kept you awake long enough." He said. He moved and pulled me down so I was lying curled on my side with his arm around me. "I don't know if I can sleep with you here." I admitted.

There was a pause.

"Do you want me to leave?"

Again a pause…

No, I didn't want him to leave but I also wasn't going to have him in my bed like this. "Um, you could always come back in the morning right?" I asked, feeling unnaturally shy. "There's a thought," I felt his weight lift off the bed.

"I'll be back in the morning." I felt him bend over me and his lips brushed lightly along my cheek. "Sleep well,"

Then the only sounds were of the flapping curtains.

Well Then...? Did I make this right?

I have another request: How about we make a playlist for this story? If any reader has got some brilliant score for the chapter up till now; PM me and I will have it posted or leave it in the Reviews!

As usual, I would love you all for some lovely Reviews!