I am so so so sorry it's been so long. I've been sneakily writing this at work because I've had no time! Enjoy! Next one shouldn't be as long a wait.

I tried to clean my room a little before I headed to the shower. Not a real clean, just the kind of clean where things are tucked away under the bed and dirty clothes piled in one spot instead of several. I thought about making my bed, but as I began to approach it I caught a glint of movement outside through the window. I focused on the tree outside of my window and saw a crouched figure on the branch. I flicked off my light, so that the contrast between the outside and inside would disappear and suddenly I could see him perfectly.

Edward Cullen was slouched, lazily, on a large branch that was protruding towards my window. It was still a decent jump to the house, but I figured he'd be able to make it. I shyly walked forward, and then clambered ungracefully onto my bed. I gently pushed my window up, having to struggle with it, as always. When I finally had it wedged open, I crawled back on my bed, heading towards the foot of my bed where my pillow was. I sat cross legged and patted the bed beside me, maintaining eye contact with Edward. He smirked, gently stood up, and leaped in a blur to my window ledge. He gently eased himself through the opening and folded himself into a mirror of my position.

Hello. I signed. I can't see you that well, but I'm supposed to be sleeping.

I motioned idly towards the light. Edward plucked his cell phone out of his pocket, turned on the flashlight and set it face-down on the bed. His face was eerily illuminated in the same way as the night in Port Angeles. The flashlight was angled purely towards him and I scrunched my nose. Right, it was purely for my benefit. He could see in the dark perfectly.

Why do you sleep backwards? He signed, motioning towards the pillow behind me, at the obvious foot of the bed. I began to sign, and then just started whispering instead. I was faster this way, unhindered by my clumsy signing and I knew he'd be able to hear me perfectly.

"I have the room set up so that I can see the door from the desk, or when I lie in bed." I motioned behind him, towards the headboard. "But then I forgot about Forks and the bizarre weather patterns. When I was lying with my head that end, I could feel the window pane shaking with the rain and the wind. It's not conducive to sleep."

Edward nodded carefully.

"So how about you? How do you sleep? Not upside-down, or in a coffin I hope?" I smiled. He frowned, shaking his head.

I don't sleep.

"You don't sleep? Please explain that." I looked intently at him as he began signing, and mouthing:

"Vampires don't need to sleep. I get all twenty four hours in the day to sulk about not being able to read your mind," he looked like he was joking, but that there was a real annoyance behind his inability to hear me. Welcome to my world.

You don't sleep? Ever? I asked, trying to wrap my head around that.

"I don't know why. We just don't need to. A lot of human body functions are lost. My hair doesn't grow, for example. We don't excrete waste products in the form of urine or feces. We obviously don't age. We don't conceive children. We're frozen in time."

I took a minute to process that. I'm sure my silence unnerved him, because he began to raise his hands to sign again and I interrupted him.

"So what would happen if you were to eat food then? If I threw popcorn at you right now?"

"Well first I would wonder where you got the popcorn." I was glad he was signing as an accompaniment, because the grin that stretched across his face made his words harder to read. "And then second... I'd have to deal with it later."

His aversion of the whole answer made me laugh. "You'll talk about feces and hair growth, but not this? How bad could it be?"

Edward grimaced, reclining onto my headboard. "I have to throw it up. It's an unpleasant process."

I wrinkled my nose in a grimace that mirrored his. I suppose I did ask. All of a sudden I realised that Edward was mostly dry, despite the rain outside.

"How are you not soaking wet right now? It's raining outside, but you were waiting…" I trailed off, motioning to the wetness outside and his only sprinkled clothing. He shrugged in a sheepish manner.

"I ran home, got some fresh clothing, returned and waited until you looked like you were ready, and then switched clothing, jumped into the tree, and here we are." He pointed behind him into the darkness. "There's a small bundle of wet clothing stashed in that tree now."

I sat and thought for a few moments.

"Okay two questions. One - how fast exactly can you run?" I asked, pitching him the easier but less distressing question first. He smiled, and frowned, leaving his face a confused but beautiful mess.

"I actually haven't officially clocked it. I suppose I probably could run a series of experiments on how fast I can go under different feeding levels," his eyes glazed over as if he was planning the trials in his head, then he refocused on me. And your second question?

"You were watching me? Just hiding out in the bushes outside the house?" I whispered. It was half flattering and half creepy and I wasn't sure which emotion to feel more strongly. His face became guarded and tense. Under the dim glow of the white phone flashlight he looked startlingly alien.

"I wasn't prying into your affairs. And I wasn't watching so much as listening. I kept circling around, waiting for your guests to leave. I tried to keep my distance. It was only when they did leave that I began actually - in on where you were, and waiting for the right moment to join you."

I had missed the strange word in the middle. I got the context, because his sign had been 'narrow' but I didn't read that from his mouth. It had looked more like 'boring' or even 'only'. My silence and hesitation in response clearly got him anxious, as he started to twine his hands together nervously, waiting. I wondered how my face looked. Probably a mixture of confusion and doubt, which definitely wasn't helping his anxiety.

What word did you say after actually? I asked. He fingerspelled 'honing' in response, still anxious. Ah. Honing in on the house.

What are you thinking? He asked. I held up a single finger in response. A signal to him that I was going to respond, just that I was organising my thoughts. This evening I had been expecting his return after all. I suppose I was just surprised by the method he chose to instigate our conversation continuation. I had half expected a text message again, asking if it was all clear to come over. That would be the expected response of a normal teenage boy. But Edward was anything but that. He had supernatural gifts. Supernatural hearing, thought reading, patience, and I suspected a flair for the dramatic. My heart had pounded with anticipation discovering him on that branch. Would my reaction have been less prominent if he hadn't appeared mysteriously, with perfect timing, in the night? I suspected not. However, if this was his habit we'd have to set up a few ground rules.

"Okay... so first off. Semi-creepy, semi-flattering. I think I'm more flattered than creeped though. You're kind of adorable, even in creepy stalker mode, and there's the supernatural side of you that makes certain things are easier, than say for example, a heads up text. But I digress. Second... I think we need to set some stalking rules."

Now it was his turn to look moderately startled and confused. His eyes squinted as he began to sign and speak again.

"You took that better than I expected. I keep expecting something I do or say to be too much for you. And somehow you seem to rationalize things. Make light of things, even joke about the disturbing realities of my life. I truly don't understand you at all. I'm fascinated, and more than a little concerned about the state of your sanity."

"Ha ha." I muttered sarcastically. "My sanity is fine. I'm just not phased easily. And you've avoided the stalking rules discussion."

"Oh by all means, continue." Edward folded his hands, and raised an eyebrow, waiting expectantly.

"Well, you've admitted to spying on me tonight, and you followed me to Port Angeles - although admittedly to my benefit. And last week you texted me, although I've not actually given you my number. I'm sure there are other instances I'm either not aware of or forgetting."

Edward remained silent, not defending his actions, nor disputing them.

"So, first off. I would like you to give me a heads up if you're going to be following me, or even if you're going to be spying through others. Otherwise I'll just expect you're doing it all the time and I'll start showering in the dark." I pursed my lips as he interjected.

"I am - if nothing else - extremely aware of intruding on your privacy in that respect. If you even begin to take off a sweater I dash away. My brothers have found that an endlessly amusing source of entertainment." He piped down again, signing a 'sorry'.

"That's actually reassuring, so I'm glad you interrupted." I wouldn't have to worry about what scars or body parts he may have spied. The thought made me laugh and blush. "My own personal Peeping Tom, and he's not even spying on me properly." I winked at him. "Are you sure you're a teenage boy?"

"Only in village." Edward said.

"I'm going to assume you said 'visage' but it looked like you said village. I keep telling you to keep your diction simple. I'm not entirely convinced you have that photographic memory you keep claiming." I reclined slightly onto my pillow. Edward ducked his head apologetically again.

"I'm sorry. I've spent a hundred years expanding my vocabulary and language base. It's habit."

"Well I'm not expecting you to change on my account. I am teasing you. You're one of the easiest people to converse with because of your signing, and the accommodations you make for me." I blushed, and then came back to my original train of thought. "Anyway… back to the stalking rules. If you're going to be following me, please let me know. I'd rather not do anything awkward or embarrassing."

"I will try and not to 'stalk' you without your consent." He looked sheepish.

"Can I ask are there any other instances I can know about?"

And suddenly he looked worried again.