Bound: Yay for the positive response so far. I reply to all my signed reviews, so I've already said thanks but let me say it again. Thank you
Disclaimer: Sorry, but in the 30-ish hours since I wrote the first chapter I haven't had the time to seize ownership of Twilight or Kingdom Hearts.
"Edward will be here anytime now, and since when did you jump at the opportunity to socialize?" I winced at my harsh tone. There were probably a lot of times where I gave Charlie attitude he didn't deserve.
"It's not often a new family moves to such a small town, Bella. Even for an old man like me its something to get interested in." There was a knock at the door and I jumped out of my seat. I pretended not to notice Charlie's attitude immediately darken.
"Edward..." I let out a breath as we embraced in front of the door. He brought his lips to my cheek and tightened his hold on my body slightly. It was nice to know that I wasn't the only one affected by having to spend hours apart. Charlie coughed from the kitchen doorway.
"We were just getting ready to head out, Edward. You're welcome to come with us." The invitation was grudgingly offered.
"Thank you, Charlie," Edward was polite towards him as always. "Where are you going?" We both knew his curiosity was feigned. He'd probably heard his thoughts before he had even stepped out of the Volvo.
"Next house down," he huffed, knowing that the offer had been excepted. "Thought we'd meet the new family. That house has been empty for a few years now."
A few minutes later, after an indescribably awkward walk to the next house down, we came across a house that was partially hidden by the trees. It had a familiar feel and when we got to the front door I realized why. This house was identical to Charlie's, right down to the fading color and peeling paint. I felt Edward give a reassuring tug to my hand and realized I had stopped moving. Charlie raised his fist to knock twice. The boy from school answered swiftly.
I can't imagine how weird it must have been to have three strangers on your doorstep. A middle aged man who was starting to bald, a Plain Jane type of girl, and an unearthly beautiful man. The boy took it all in stride lifting one brow and giving a "Hey" in greeting. He leaned casually against the doorway waiting for a response.
"Well hello there, son. I'm Police Chief Swan." I looked at him slightly horrified but I could tell that beside me Edward was amused. Way to scare a kid right when he moves into town. "My daughter, Bella, and I live just the next house down." He conveniently forgot who was standing next to me. " We wanted to welcome you're family to the neighborhood."
"Roxas Scott, pleased to meet you." The spiky haired boy's voice was dull. Obviously he didn't feel the need to try and impress anyone just because of his title. Charlie looked a bit miffed. We all stood there for a few seconds in an uncomfortable silence. Shuffling noises came from behind Roxas and a girl appeared beside him in the door.
The first thought I had is that she was unbelievably tiny. Maybe even smaller than the petite creature known as Alice. She had light blond hair that curled at the ends and a gentle smile on her face that reached her pale blue eyes. It wouldn't be hard to mistake her for a child, but there was something about her that didn't let you.
"Roxas," She scolded lightly, "we have guests, invite them in!" Her voice was as small as she was, but he immediately stepped aside and gestured for us to come in. We followed them into a sparsely filled living room and the girl offered her couch to us. Sitting between Charlie and Edward was not on my top favorite things to do but it was better than the alternative of them next to each other. She sat on a chair just across from us and he took up a position of the wall behind her.
"My names Namine. I'm sorry about him, he must me tired from the move." I could see him shaking his head in an annoyed fashion behind her. "Its so kind of you to come and greet us. I didn't catch your names."
"My names Charlie Swan, this is my daughter Bella." I elbowed him in the side. "And her boyfriend Edward. Are your parents home?"
"It's nice to meet you all. Mr. Swan, I'm sorry if we gave you the wrong idea but it's just Roxas and me who live here." Namine smiled ever so softly. I think the response left him slightly speechless. I don't know what type of thoughts would get into his head after hearing that a boy and girl my age were living alone together.
"So," of course that was my mouth opening to try and cover him and now I had to think of something to say. "How come Edward and I didn't see you at school today?"
"I've already graduated." She giggled at our reactions. "I'm older than I look. Nineteen next month."
"I hope you two like it here in Forks." Charlie was already on his feet. "We should be going home." Edward pulled me to my feet, catching me as I stumbled over some imaginary dust. I gave a weak smile to Namine, my way of apologizing for not saying a word during the brief visit.
"I'm sure we'll see you again." Edward's voice that time, charming and melodic. It was hard not to notice the two sets of eyes that followed him out the door.
Charlie was silent for the rest of the evening, up until the time that Edward 'left' and I changed into raggedy sweats for bed. When I shut the door to my room he was already comfortable on my bed. I easily slipped into his arms and just as easily pressed my lips against his. One cold hand was stroking my collar bone and gently pushed me away seconds later.
"Self control, Bella."
"Mine or yours?" I grumbled unhappily. He laughed into my hair. This was a conversation we'd already had more times than I could count.
"You seem to think it's easy for me to pull myself away from you." Thats exactly what I thought but damned if I let him know it.
"How were things with Carlisle this afternoon? Did Alice see anything else?" A small frown graced his features.
"He's worried too. Whatever this all means it can't be good. None of us have heard of a coven so large except for our own and the Volturi." I shivered lightly at the name and he kissed my temple.
"And Alice?" I prompted.
"Nothing important yet. There's not much she can do until someone makes a decision."
"Did you learn anything useful while we were over there, at least?"
"They recognized right away that I was a vampire. They were both a little surprised but there didn't seem to be any intention to expose me. Roxas in particular was wary. Whatever the reason that he's being chased it wasn't where I could reach."
Namine's face appeared in my mind. It was hard for me to believe that she could be immersed in the world of vampires. She looked so innocent. Being around her reminded me of being around Jasper, I felt almost unnaturally relaxed and calm. Roxas was more of a mystery and I couldn't say the same thing for him. He reminded more of some of the guys in Pheonix. Bored with life and cool in that I'm-more-mature-than-you-and-life-holds-nothing-great sort of way.
"You know your father thinks we're going to run away together." Edward laughed again.
"Oh god," I groaned. "I knew something like that would go through his head when Namine said they lived alone."
"Earlier he was going over speeches in his head."
"Maybe we should run away, anything not to have to sit through another one of those again."
"He's just worried about you, Bella. He thinks that one of these times when you leave you won't come back."
Guilt from the way I left over a year ago while I was being hunted, and then again a few months ago to save Edward washed over me. I wasn't exactly smooth about the way I exited from Forks, either time.
"Go to sleep, Bella." I didn't try to stay awake for once, and drifted to sleep while Edward hummed my lullaby into my ear.
That night I had a weird dream. I was running through the forest, darkness all around me. I could hear wolves howling in the distance as I broke into a clearing. Edward stood there, surrounded by 11 hooded figures looking ready to fight. The tallest figure rushed at him and I opened my mouth to scream...
Bound: Originally I wanted this chapter to be longer but it seemed like a good place to stop. I'm going to try to do the whole story from Bella's eyes but some of that may be difficult so please bear with me. Also I've decided that I should probably buy a thesaurus/dictionary. My vocabulary is sadly lacking. Next chapter I'll try to have some nice new words for you all. Please review, feedback is much appreciated. And don't be too shy to kick my butt over stupid mistakes!