Chapter 9 - A Discussion and a Meeting

Charlotte's P.O.V.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say we're not headed for town at all. Maybe I don't know any better though, because apart from the fact that it's taking much longer to get to town than from what I remember when Mary drives me for school, the road is a lot rougher than the highway. I'm pretty sure we left that a couple of minutes back.

I would say something to Adrian, ask him what's going on, but then a huge part of me's afraid of what the answer might be: that he was never serious about the studying at the library thing at all, and that instead he's going to take me on that hike after all. If I'd agreed to it, it would be one thing, but having him trick and then force me to go is another thing entirely.

The red alarm bells are starting to go off in my head, making me wish, among other things, that I actually could see what's going on.

The only good news is that at least he's slowing down, though whether that's to accommodate the road or because we've almost arrived at our destination, I don't know.

"Adrian?" I keep my voice calm, steady. There's nothing to worry about until there's something to worry about, I think, echoing Bill from My Cousin Vinny—he was trying to convince his friend, Stan, that they weren't being followed by cops; I'm trying to convince myself that there's no need to panic and call the cops now. "Where are we going?"

"To study, why?"

He sounds sincere, or casual enough at least, but I'm not letting him off the hook that easily. "We're not going to the library though." I make sure that it's a statement and not a question.

Adrian sighs heavily, to at least to his credit he isn't going to deny it. "No, not the library."

"Why not? And...why didn't you tell me or say anything sooner?" My hand is in my bag, close to my phone.

"I wasn't sure if either you or your family would go for it, but I had to take the chance." I'm almost certain he's looking at me, so I keep still, my face hopefully giving nothing away about how weirded out at am. "I am serious about studying—much as I hate it, I will go through with it—but going to the library, where pretty much it's guaranteed to be hours of silence and focus and..." Again, he sighs. "Charlotte, want me to tell you something?"

"Um...what?"

"One of the reasons that I figured on you being a good friend is because you wouldn't judge me. And believe me, people do judge me, often from how I just look. Even on the best of days, I won't get away with even walking down a street without people staring."

He's more or less stopped the car now, even though the motor's still running, so I feel comfortable enough at least to keep the conversation going. Whether it's smart or not, I feel my defenses going back down, the alarms silent in my mind. Come to think of it, Adrian's had that calming effect on me from the get-go. But...

"Why do they stare, Adrian? What is there about you that makes you and even your family keep your distance from people? And why is it something that I, a blind girl, am an exception to?" Because I'll accept any answer, honestly. He could be hunchbacked or albino or tattooed or whatever else people could visually consider weird; whatever it is, it doesn't stop him from just being Adrian, and if my being blind is a comfort to him because of that, then I'm certainly glad that for the first time in my life it's a good thing.

"It's not something I can talk about," he answers, barely louder than a whisper. "But you're right in saying that it's because you're blind that's one of the reasons I was drawn to you. I hope you don't take that the wrong way though. Knowing you now, even a little, I get the strong feeling that you wouldn't judge me even if you could see me."

That last part sounds more hopeful than sure, so, again, despite the situation in which common sense is pushing at me to get out of the car and call someone, instead I end up reaching out and touching Adrian's arm in what I hope is a comforting gesture. He stiffens at first, but then relaxes, which I guess is a good step in the direction of trust. I can't see his expression, but I hope that my own shows that I'm being sincere.

"I've lived my whole life with being judged quickly and easily just based on appearances. One look at me and people assume things. I never want to do that to anyone, and I definitely wouldn't with you." I smile, hoping it looks nice—hoping that I look nice. "I did get the sense from the get-go that you're different, Adrian. You and your family just have these...things with your voices that make them different from anyone I've ever heard. It's...beautiful, though, so even if I do judge you to be different, it's in a good way. I do extremely appreciate how you don't judge me negatively because I can't see though; and it makes me glad to know that there's a similarity between us."

Then leaning back both literally and in the direction of logic, I add, "That doesn't mean that I'm fine with you lying to me though. For today...we'll see if we can continue going wherever it is we're headed, as long as we're still actually going to be studying, but in the future, please just be honest with me and trust me with the truth, even if you feel that you can't tell my parents or anyone else anything." Because, after all, if we don't at least have truth as a foundation to our friendship, then what can we really go on?

"It's a deal and...I'm sorry."

And, on that sincere (and rather intense) note, I finally ask him where we are going, to which he answers that we're headed for his house. "Don't worry though, my whole family will be there, so you can even meet my parents if you don't mind, but we'll be studying on our own."

"Edward and Bella don't want to join us? If they're home, maybe they could also—"

"Uuuuummmmm, they're kind of show-offs, so for us slow-pokes and our self-esteem, I think it's better if we don't accept their help for tutoring."

"Alright, Einstein," I laugh. "We'll figure it out then."

So, even though it's not on the road I expected to find myself on, we continue towards a study non-date regardless.

Once the jeep pulled in to the large garage, Edward, Bella, and Emmett were already out the door. The smell of Seth was already a dead giveaway to his presence, so he was urged to wait inside; but since Adrian didn't know what to connect the scent to just yet and would most likely be confused, it gave the Cullens an extra space of time in which to explain and even hold Adrian back if necessary.

Before they did anything though, Charlotte's presence there would have to be taken care of. Things were teetering near a very dangerous edge.

"Hey guys," Adrian greeted once he saw them. No sooner did he and Charlotte step out of the jeep though, then he noticed something off about the smell of the place though, and turned up his nose in disgust. "What the—?" he muttered.

Charlotte must have caught something in his tone, because she looked sharply towards him and whispered quietly, "What's wrong."

"Nothing, it's just...there's a stink here, but..."

"Really?" Charlotte sniffed. "Um..."

"Sorry to cut in there, but hey, how's it going!" Emmett said, striding forward and putting himself between the pair and the exit. Adrian noticed, and made a face at him, but his body, though tense, wasn't crouched in either attack or defense just yet.

"Hello! You're...Emmett, right?"

"That's me!" Emmett replied, his tone light enough for her benefit, but otherwise he was fully focused on Adrian, who continued to discretely sniff the air, his expression confused and yet...

...his eyes were starting to darken, the same shift from the usual golden colour of the Cullens to black, the colour for when they were hungry and therefore more prone to aggression. Adrian had fed recently though, so it must be the smell of werewolf setting him off.

Edward spoke up before he sensed things getting to dangerous. "So, good to see you Charlotte, though I'm afraid you've come at a bad time," he said. Adrian was still distracted by the smell, but annoyed enough at what Edward had said to throw him a glare.

"Oh? Well, I'm sorry to hear that, I thought it was fine, but I don't mind, so—"

"Why a bad time, Edward?" Adrian asked, his calm clearly forced.

"You remember: we have our house guest over this weekend." Edward also kept his tone light, much more convincingly. Following Charlotte's thoughts though, she was already well-aware of the tension that had formed around them. Damn.

"Yeah, but that has nothing to do with me," Adrian replied. "You told me you have someone coming, okay, but this house is big enough that I can promise we won't bother you. We'll just be studying and then probably leave early to go get some lunch."

No good. Even if he leaves with her now, he'll still give away too much by his attitude, the way he is. There's no getting around it except to keep them apart for a bit, Edward thought.

"Charlotte, have you had breakfast yet?" he asked, turning to her.

"Who, me? Well, um..." So the answer was no, and Edward read that it was because she had been too nervous about meeting Adrian all morning and had even been convincing herself to not think of it as a date. Another complication, if they let it get that far.

"Bella, why don't you take Charlotte up to the kitchen? Charlotte, you'll love Esme's cooking, I guarantee it, and she'll want your input on a new recipe she's trying out. Do you mind?"

Charlotte turned slightly towards Adrian, smiling a bit, and then she said, "If no one minds, I am a bit hungry and studying on an empty stomach's no good, so..."

"If you're hungry, you should go," Adrian said warmly, but his eyes still rested on Edward, shifting back to Emmett just for a second.

"Sounds great then!" Bella said, coming forward and lightly taking Charlotte by the hand. "I'll bet you can guess what we're having, too..."

"Barbecue, smells like," Charlotte replied, their voices getting softer as they walked away. "But isn't that kind of weird for breakfast...?"

Finally, if was just the three of them in the garage. Three vampire brothers, one openly hostile.

Charlotte's P.O.V.

I go along with Bella outside and up the steps—quite a few steps, it feels like, up onto a patio and then towards a door leading inside—and try to recite my guess of ingredients just by smell alone. It's something she came up with to keep me occupied, much like Edward and Emmett were trying to do back in the garage. I didn't know to expect it, but it's clear—to self-conscious me, anyway—that none of them wanted me there, or maybe they just didn't want me there with Adrian.

They obviously have something to talk about, and it might not even be related to you, I try to encourage myself. No sense putting myself down like that, especially since I am kind of an impromptu guest when they already have someone else over, and the last thing I want is to be any trouble. I was completely serious in saying that I didn't mind it either way though: the library is still an option, and right now I can't imagine that it'd be any more uncomfortable there than it is here. Bella seems friendly enough as she leads me inside and introduces me to Esme and Dr. Carlisle Cullen, but I know a brushoff when I feel one. My instincts of being a nuisance are almost never wrong.

Don't take it personally, don't take it personally.

"It's nice to meet you, Charlotte," Esme says. Again with that tingling bell effect, this one the most maternal-sounding out of any, if that makes sense. It reminds me of warm hugs and singalongs at Disneyland the one time we went years ago. As for Dr. Carlisle, it's almost like I can imagine his life's history just through that voice: paternal, caring, the prefect doctor. Everything Joe's ever said about him, the good things especially, are all contained within that voice.

"We know Adrian's not easy to handle, so we thank you for taking the time to help him study," Carlisle says.

"I should be thanking him, since I'm the one that's technically behind," I say.

"Switching schools in the middle of a semester will do that to you," Bella says. "Believe me, I know."

"Well, you just make yourself comfortable and I'll get you some breakfast," Esme says. "And while you're here, you may as well meet our guest for the weekend. He's just in the bathroom now, but he'll be out in a second."

"Oh, that's alright!" I say, holding up my hands for emphasis. "That is, um, I know I'm just kind of barging in and all, and I don't want to be any trouble, so I'll just step outside and wait for Adrian or something, and—"

"But didn't you say you were hungry?" Esme asks.

"Um..." Not to her, but I guess Bella must've made that pretty clear somehow. Maybe pointed at me and rubbed her belly in a "hungry" gesture or something, since she's let go of me since the second she got me through the door and near the bar. There's a stool over to my right that's been pulled back, but I don't feel like sitting just now.

"It's settled then! What'll you have?"

"Well, you've already started on barbecue, and it smells delicious, so I'll have some of that if you don't mind."

"Wonderful! Any allergies?" Esme starts moving around, shuffling ingredients.

"No."

While she's cooking, everyone else is strangely silent—it's like the lunch table at school all over again—and so it's easy for me to hear a door open from somewhere in the house and then footsteps approaching. When someone speaks up this time, I'm almost surprised to hear none of that same tingling as before in any of the Cullen's voices.

"Esme, got any more of those ribs, cause I could sure go for another—"

But then the footsteps stop and it gets even quieter for the span of a few seconds.

So quiet that I swear I think I hear...Alice, I think...say, "Oh, no."

A/N: I ended up making this chapter a lot longer than I thought I would, considering that it's a lot of build-up and anticipation, but I hope you enjoyed it and like the pacing regardless.

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