Note: Enjoy! By the way, the song below is rocking my socks off.

Music: Hellberg - This Is Forever (ft. Danyka Nadeau)

Virulent

Chapter 11

As the days went on, it felt like they were on a holiday, more than a desperate attempt at fleeing and surviving in some dense forest. Their days were filled with laughter and soon, the radio was forgotten. Left on the front seat of Edward's car. It was as if all four of them felt that this place was better than the world they had lived in.

It was just like four friends camping. Apart from the fact that all four of them did not know how the rest of their families were doing. That was the worrying part. On some days, they chose to forget about the external chaos but on other days, they remembered. Those were the sad days.

On many occasions, Bella had found Alice with glassy, red eyes, brimming with tears. She'd hugged her friend and sat with her, just chatting.

"Working your psychologist skills on me, huh?" Alice had said with a watery smile.

On some other days, the four of them spoke very little. Food was dangerously low by now. They managed to only eat two meals a day, meaning that no less than two cans were devoured each day. They did drink plenty of water though. Sometimes, they just didn't feel like having any food. But every time they did drink the water, they kept their fingers crossed, hoping that with each gulp of water they weren't going to be sick the next day. They had no medicine. If someone got sick, they'd have to leave as a group and go find help.

Despite the initial pile of food that had taken up most of Edward's trunk, including ice-cream (Edward thought that every piece of digestible food mattered) and pita bread, the pile had shrunk with only five cans left. Three cans were chicken and bacon bites whereas the other two were filled with beans.

They had to think. Fast.

It was well and truly into November now. The temperature was dropping. Bella found herself trying to put on as many articles of clothing as she could. For the most part, she felt reasonably safe and warm. At night, Edward kept her warm. If she wasn't warm enough, they would do what they were both good at. Being friends with benefits or in other words, just having great sex.

They never talked about what had happened during their 'shower' that day. It was like nobody wanted to acknowledge the intense feelings that had passed through them in that moment. It was like they were staring into each other's eyes. Into each other's souls and seeing themselves inextricably woven together. In the present and in the future.

It was as if they realized something. An epiphany. About themselves and about each other.

An awakening.

"Do you reckon there's any fish in the lake?" Alice asked, out of the blue. They were sitting by the water. If one stood behind the four friends who were staring at the picturesque scenery of the mountains and the water view in front of them, one would say that it was simply a normal outing. Probably a photo on a postcard. No one would have expected the words of a 'virus' or 'apocalypse' to come out.

"Well, unless you can catch fish with your bare hands, we would need fishing rods," Edward said. He was a little bit shocked at not having thought of the idea of fish in the lake earlier.

"If there's fish, that means we've been drinking down all sorts of marine faeces," Alice said.

"You couldn't have possibly thought there were no organisms in there," Jasper said to Alice. "We probably ate bits of underwater plants as well. But what can we do? We've heated up the water to the best of our abilities, till it bubbled. Plus, there's crazy-ass zombies on our backs."

"There is fish in there," Bella quietly said. She remembered Charlie's steadfast passion for fishing. Even though they'd lived in Forks, Charlie definitely knew which neighboring forests and national parks allowed fishing.

She was very sure that Lake Wenatchee had fish in it. Most national parks did. She just totally forgot about it in the haste of all that has happened.

"You can catch Carps and Chinook salmon in there," Bella added. Whenever she thought of fishing, her chest would feel like it shattered a little more. The reminder of her father's smile lines and friendly laughter made tears spring into her eyes. Charlie's mustache, which Bella loved to pull on as a child, and his understanding nature made him a terrific father.

"Why didn't you say so earlier, Bella?" Edward accused. There was an edge to his voice. It sounded like he was blaming her for withholding information from the group. The condescending tone of his voice made the tears that were already threatening to fall finally drop onto her cheekbones.

Abruptly, Bella stood up and ran into the tent. She sat there, desperately wiping at her face. She couldn't hold in the contagious sobs that racked her body for a few minutes. She didn't want to put her tears on public display. But it also wasn't like Bella to run away, crying. She was the person to fight it out on the spot. To Bella, disagreements could be easily resolved when left in the open. Not over the duration of a week and numerous sleepless nights. Sleeping with anger and a grudge to uphold was never healthy for anyone.

But this time, it was all different. She was so taken aback by his acerbity. Her brown curls framed her face as she pulled her legs up, placing her head on top of her knees. She took a few deep breaths. She heard something rustling outside the tent before a cautious voice spoke.

"Can I come in?" Edward asked. She grew quiet, her whimpering ceasing. She didn't know what to do. She wasn't sure why she was even crying in the first place. Perhaps, she was being too sensitive. She was probably just overwhelmed with everything. Emotionally and physically. Edward hadn't meant anything injurious with his words; she knew he wasn't like that. Emotions were a funny thing. It simply couldn't be explained at times.

"Okay," she answered. She saw his bronze hair first before meeting his sad, green eyes. She always commented on how they reminded her of emeralds, as cheesy as it sounded. But this time, they weren't the usual bright color. They were apologetic. Dimmer.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he pleadingly said, rushing to her side and holding her close to him. He couldn't stand the distance between them. He brought her onto his lap as his arms held her securely.

He grew to love holding her in the middle of the night. At times, he wasn't even sure what he felt like when it came to Bella Swan. She was his friend. She was beautiful, kind, patient. She was so many things. Electrifying, incredible. She was just his.

Bella sniffled loudly against Edward's chest. He'd never felt so bad in his life. Penitently kissing her hair, he gently hummed.

To Edward, Bella was bubbly and achingly addictive to be around. Her personality was what drew him in. But now, it was like he was seeing someone different for the first time. Like he was recognizing someone important in his mind and body. Someone who was perfect for him. Someone who he never thought he'd have these deep feelings for. Everything felt strange.

The young woman in his arms wept softly. His heart felt like it was breaking with every teardrop that fell onto his jacket. He kissed her cheek, whispering soothing words to her. She lifted her head and looked up at Edward.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he repeated, sincerely. "I didn't mean to sound so rude. We can stay here longer than expected, which is great news."

He ranted on with an adorable expression on his face. She found herself slowly separating from the darkness in her chest. She found herself being helped and lifted. Like weight was being taken off her shoulders.

"I'm pretty sure you can get roundworms from eating undercooked seafood," Bella said. It wouldn't work out in the long run. At some point they'd have to enter civilization again. They'd have to fight their way through the chaos and survive.

He looked down at her, almost lovingly. She saw something different in his eyes. She knew he had always cared for her but the usual look in his eyes were now replaced with something else. He seemed to be conversing through facial expressions. He was scared to ruin the moment by saying things aloud.

"Bella," he breathed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Her name had never sounded so soft on anyone's tongue.

She found herself arching into him. Their lips, less than an inch apart. His eyes flickered from her hazelnut eyes to her soft, pink lips. It was like he was caught in a dilemma. Not sure about what decision he should be making.

He suddenly came to the conclusion that it was a good idea to kiss Bella Swan. He leaned down and pressed his lips firmly against hers. Her hands held onto the collar of his jacket, never wanting to let go. She suddenly felt too warm, too happy. One of her hands climbed up to play with the hair at the nape of his neck.

Their lips moved in unison. A symphony orchestra could have played next to them and they would not have heard a thing.

She was the first one to pull back. She stared at his eyes. They looked tenderly back at her. His hands glided across her cheeks, wiping the dried tear-marks away. There was nothing but affection in his eyes.

"I don't know why it has taken me so long to realize this," Edward muttered to himself, looking downwards. She lifted his chin up, kissing him again. Telling him with her kisses that she had so much bottled-up adoration for him as well.

They kissed and kissed. Butterflies dancing in their stomachs.

Happiness filling their hearts.

So I guess we're still waiting for the "I love you" but it certainly is progress!

I'm currently on a 'writing spree' and evidently on a high with dramatic plot ideas. I released another story, Opprobrium, and hmm I'm not even sure if I should be irritated with myself or not. I will finish everything that I start- that's a definite. We're looking at weekly updates for all three stories? I think I can manage.

Have a good day, y'all!

Love, perpetually.