Chapter 6 - Weekend Plans

Charlotte's P.O.V.

After the strangeness of my first day at Forks High School, I wasn't sure just how to feel or how to respond when Mary, Joe, and Lizzy asked how it was. Offhand, I guess I'd say it was "good", but somehow that doesn't quite cut it. To say that the Cullens were "good" didn't seem right; I can't tell just what word to use to describe them. So, rather than try to attach adjectives to anything, I just went step-by-step through the motions of my day.

"Hmm, the Cullens did? Really?" Lizzy sounds surprised once I finish the lunchtime portion of what happened. After that, there was pretty much nothing of note, so I skipped over any details there.

"Well, Adrian Cullen did, though I got the sense that the rest of them weren't too thrilled to have me there," I reply.

"Don't take it personally, they're all distant that way," Joe says. "Dr. Cullen's a good a man as any"—Joe worked at the hospital as a nurse—"but I wouldn't say that he's particularly friendly or sociable. Polite, yes, a great doctor, professional and helpful, but...yeah, there's a distance there, like he doesn't want anyone to get too close. There's nothing to really say against him, but then..."

"Then there's nothing you can really judge to begin with or put into words, right?" I finish.

"Yeah, that's it. That's why it's surprising to hear that they invited you to sit with them at all, nevermind that you're new in town.

"Maybe the Cullen children are a bit different," Lizzy puts in. "After all, they're not related to Dr. Cullen by blood, right?"

Joe sniffs. "Any time one of them comes to the hospital looking for him, you wouldn't say that. If anything, they all seem to resemble him quite a lot, something I could never put my finger on. Maybe it's something to do with Alaska or how they're raised or something, but if I didn't know for a fact that Dr. Cullen's too young to have fathered any of them, I'd say they were his natural-born children."

"Guys, ease up a little, you're freaking Charlotte out," Mary cuts in. "I bumped into one of them just today at shopping—Bella, I think it was. She also goes to your school, right Charlotte?"

I nod. "Yeah, she was there too."

"Well, anyway, she guessed you were my sister—we probably look alike, I guess—and she mentioned how Adrian seemed to like you a lot and how she hoped that he wouldn't be too 'high speed' for you, whatever that means. Apparently, that kid's some kind of adrenaline junkie and is into really extreme things like free rock climbing and snowboarding, really roughing it. I told her not to worry since you're no pushover, but...come to think of it, I got the sense that she was gently warning me to warn you off of him." Shrugging, Mary continues eating her salad. "I guess the distant part about the Cullens is true, if we're looking for family similarities."

"Dr. Cullen's too good for this town, so offhand I'd say it's snobbery, but working closely with him, I got no sense of that," Joe adds. "I don't know, but the bottom line is that if the Cullens want people to stay away from them and they aren't rude about it, maybe we should respect their wishes."

"But Adrian doesn't seem to want me to stay away, that's just it," I suddenly say. I'm surprised to find myself being so defensive of that point, and everyone around the table's clearly also shocked since they stop chewing. It's not often I get this intense about something, but when I do, everyone takes me seriously. I didn't even know I was serious about this until now, and I don't know how to explain my attraction to the Cullens without seeming self-serving and weird. Whether they were okay with me being there or not, it was Adrian who made the invitation and offered to be my lab partner, so technically it was him that started things and wanted me around, right? Was it so wrong to feel flattered by that and want to take things further, especially if it meant I'd make a real friend who also happened to be very pleasant to listen to? I mean, adrenaline junkie or not, it wasn't in anyone's place to judge that and no one was forcing me to say yes or no unless I wanted to; Adrian might be eager and overly-friendly, but that didn't mean he was forceful or invasive in any way.

These are things I keep in mind as I take my seat in bio the next day. It's my first time talking to Adrian today, but for some reason he picks things up right where we left them off yesterday, as though no time has passed at all.

"You know, even though we were talking about weather and comparing environments and all yesterday, I don't remember you ever saying that you minded the cold," he starts.

"That's because I didn't," I say. This will be the second time that I'm effectively ignoring all the information from the class I should be paying attention to, but this time I'm not even going to try to go against the tide of Adrian's talking. If he keeps finding things to talk about in class, then fine, I'll listen—for a while, anyway. Right now, I'm still feeling a bit peeved and confused at my own reaction from the previous night, and I want to find out just what is it about Adrian that prompted my reaction; it's not something that happens often, so it's suddenly important for me to find out what brought meek-lil-Charlotte out of her shell for a second.

"Well, here's what I was thinking: Forks this time of year usually has cold weather, but if you go where it's sunny, you at least get some relative warmth from that. There are places up the mountain where the morning frost melts faster than it does down here."

"Uh-huh." There's no warmth to his voice, I wouldn't say that, but there's something alluring about it. I once attended an opera with Mary—she went for the costumes and I went for the music—and during an aria by a detached sorprono, I kind of felt the same goosebumps that I do now. The voice was beautiful and had an otherwise inhuman quality to it, the way notes could be stretched and held to compliment the instruments; there was no warmth or personality to it for the most part, but there was something that nevertheless drew me in and made me almost want to reach out and touch that elusive quality, make it my own.

I literally never felt that way just by someone talking.

"What I'm asking is if you'd be up for a hike later on this weekend?"

"What? A hike?"

"Yup. We'll be driving most of the way and there is a marked trail, so it wouldn't be too hard."

Not only have I never been on a hike before, but... "Adrian, I'm not exactly a long-distance um...anything, to be honest."

"Something with your legs I should know about?" he asks.

"No, but I've never been on anything longer than a half-hour walk in the park." I do most of my exercise on treadmills at home, a safe environment with no obstacles; a hiking trail, on the other hand, full of rocks and tree roots and I don't even know what else, is far outside my comfort zone.

And yet why am I already more on the way to a 'yes' than a 'no' answer?

"You'd be with me and I wouldn't let anything happen to you. Heck, if you got tired, I could even carry you."

I've known this guy for two days—less than that in actual time—and already he's offering something that's...profoundly personal. All my alarm bells should be going off, code red, CODE RED, but it would be nice to make friends with Adrian more outside of school and not have to feel like people are staring at us when we're talking (because they are, I've noticed), and besides which...

A hike is something that only Mary's done until now, something only she's been allowed to do. If you managed to do it just once, even with help, you'd know what she's talking about and maybe even stop the babying for a while. If you want to help her with her baby, first you've got to get past being treated like one yourself, my self-serving reasonable voice chips in.

So far, no downsides to the idea of this, but...

"Adrian, I barely know you—"

"I know, and I've thought of that, but think of it this way: if you say no now, I'll only ask again. And again. And again. Fun fact about me: when I get an idea in my head, good luck getting it out." He sounds a bit smug when he says that, almost like he's not really addressing me, but then adds, "Anyway, I'm fast when I make up my mind about things, and I picked up from you yesterday that you're a chill person to be around, my kind of people if you get what I mean. Not a stick in the mud or someone who judges easily."

"Well, I guess not, but—"

"The point is this: if this were a city, literally anywhere else, I'd ask you out to someplace classier, like a movie or something. But the nearest theatre is in Port Angeles, which, just so you know, is much farther than the hiking trail I'm thinking of. Forks is a small, outdoorsy place, so no matter where you go to meet people, it's going to involve secluded outdoor places rather than crowded indoor ones."

"W-wait...ask me out? Um..." I may be jumping ahead here, but—

"Woah, no, not like that, sorry!" To his credit, at least he sounds sheepish. "I'm not trying to push you into anything, but what I'm outright saying is that I'm interested in getting to know you better. No strings attached or anything like that! Besides which, the only people I've hung out with until now is my family, and none of them really 'get' me, you know?"

I kind of got the feeling of that, given how he's the only one who seemed ready to make friends and let anybody else in on whatever exclusive club the Cullens felt they had. Besides which, he was also the only one to be nice to me at Forks High with "no strings attached", and unlike Janice or anyone else I've managed to talk to in class, I don't feel like he's judging me based on my blindness. His statement about getting to know me is the most honest thing out of everything I've heard so far, and I'd be lying if I said that I didn't gravitate towards that like a moth to a flame.

Or like a girl in darkness reaching for the light...

"How long would we be gone for?" I ask.

"Just three hours or so. We'd start in the morning so we can leave time for homework." I can't see, but by his voice I'd guess that he's smiling, relieved like he didn't actually expect me to take him seriously. I guess I'm surprising both of us today. "Wouldn't want to take away from your schooling more than I am already. And on that note, I'll shut up for now and give you time to think about it. At lunch we'll talk some more."

And if I didn't now know that Edward and Bella were right behind us and might overhear, I might suggest to Adrian that maybe we can sit alone or maybe even with Janice—I definitely felt animosity coming off of her this morning when she escorted me to geography, and not to mention that all the cheeriness and chattiness from her yesterday is completely gone—but since they are, I'll just assume that we'll be sitting with Adrian's family again and zip it. Who knows, maybe what I felt yesterday was just my imagination—not likely—and I do want to get to know them better and listen to them some more, until maybe the discomfort will lessen gradually. Or more like...I'm hoping that they'll like me.

What Adrian didn't realize, Edward thought, was that his actions didn't just impact him; they impacted everyone in their family.

He hadn't so much as given a lecture to the young vampire that day so much as...well, announce that they'd be having a friend over that weekend without specifying just who or what that friend was—no need to get Adrian excited about werewolves so that he couldn't sit still for two days. But apparently, that had been the wrong call, as it gave Adrian an excuse to go off on his own, assuming they'd all be busy with the house-guest and therefore ignore his actions. And going off with a human girl of all people was definitely unacceptable.

So, after another borderline-awkward lunch with the girl, Edward cornered Adrian before their next class, leading him out to the edge of the track field for a private talk. "Call it off with Charlotte," he said, getting right to the point.

Adrian's first reaction, despite being a newborn, was almost never offensive, so instead of immediately rejecting the idea, he just stuffed his hands in his pockets and asked, "Why?" But the tone of his voice implied that he didn't plan on doing so, regardless of the reason.

Edward tried appealing to common sense first. "Because while you've been doing excellently being around humans, much better than we could have expected, it's different to be alone with a human out in the wilderness, and especially a blind and thereby accident-prone human at that. A mountain environment will pose risks and involve accidents even for the most experienced of hikers; you realize you're taking a blind girl there on her first time? Best-case scenario she falls and scrapes her knee, worst-case scenario you can't control yourself and you'll end up killing her."

Adrian stepped back, narrowing his eyes. "Okay, first of all, you're paranoid, and second of all, she hasn't said yes yet. You were right there at the lunch table when she said she'd think about it and ask permission like a good girl, and I know you know more than me on what she was thinking. What's she really planning on saying?"

"That's not for you to know," Edward said. "Besides which, I also know what you're thinking"—Adrian scowled, so Edward knew he had made a bad move and really wished he could backtrack what he said—"and so I know that you've also considered what could happen. You're not being careful Adrian, and I don't think I need to remind you of why that's important."

To his surprise, for a minute or two Adrian's mind was almost entirely blank. Then, when he spoke, it was so sudden that even Edward was nearly surprised at what came out of his mouth.

"Our family is important to me, but I'm important to me too," he said, barely louder than a whisper but still crystal-clear to Edward. "Ever since I started this life, it's been nothing but rules and limitations, holding myself back and having to remind myself that I'm not human anymore, that nothing about me can ever be normal again. I understand all that and I don't need reminders, trust me.

"But Charlotte...I know that things can be different with her. And I'm not looking to get close to her and expose myself; in fact, I'm counting on her not being able to see me as the best thing about our relationship, since with the way things are, she'll never have to find out! This way, it's like I can be outside of myself as not just what I am, but who I am. There's none of that feeling of 'prey' with her, which I always used to get whenever I was around humans. Even now, I sometimes have to turn off my own sense of smell so that I don't get weird cravings. But with her, even in the short time I've known her, I get the feeling that I'm just Adrian, and that because of that something can come out of my knowing her, without her getting hurt. Edward, you're a hypocrite if you don't understand what I'm feeling, especially since it was the same with you and Bella. And I'm really not looking for anything else, honest."

Edward knew that Adrian was being honest, but he also knew how one's feelings could get away from them, and how quickly. At first, he hadn't had any romantic interest in Bella or intended to get close enough to reveal himself; it had just happened. And while Charlotte definitely couldn't see how Adrian was different...

"She still senses that something's off about you, you know," he pointed out, just as Adrian was preparing to turn away from him, apparently deciding that the conversation was over. "She can't see how you're different, but just by your voice and our voices, she knows something's special. That's what's drawing her to you, by the way. Just listening to your voice seems to make her happy." And she also liked the way Adrian treated her, almost as if he totally ignored her blindness even though he didn't—but Edward wasn't going to tell Adrian that.

Inhaling deeply, a human reaction he had mastered in order to express his annoyance, Adrian turned around and began to walk away. "Whatever it takes, Edward. I'll think about it and I guess you know that, but...don't ask me for more than that. Please."

And Edward sensed that Adrian might really be nearing a breaking point with this—it had been a long time in coming anyway—so he dropped the subject for now.

But that didn't mean that Adrian's weekend plans would be allowed to come to fruition or anything. And if Adrian didn't know how to say 'no' to a bad thing, then Charlotte should certainly be encouraged to...

A/N: So, a bit of a longer chapter here because there's a lot that I wanted to set up, but essentially I'm trying to get a lot of points of view in here so that I can make a well-rounded story with regards to how Charlotte gets involved with the Cullens. Edward's not essentially the bad guy here in wanting to keep the two apart, because he does have his reasons for everything and it's understandable. Besides which, I kind of wanted to bring out how unreasonably fast things are moving and how, if not Adrian, then Charlotte should at least have her doubts and step back from the situation for a moment. We'll have more of that in the following chapter.

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