"Do you dance, Edward?", she raised a brow, challenging him a bit as the music began to play.

"You dance, too?", he asked, folding his arms, not believing it.

"Always.", she smiled, taking her jacket off, tossing it to the bench beside her.

"Is there anything you don't do?", he asked with a smirk, wanting to see this now.

Smiling more, she said, "Yea. I don't hang out with guys who won't dance with me."

He smiled back, liking her style as she stretched her legs, about to begin.

"Come on baby, dry your eyes.", the man singing the song overhead interrupted, "Wipe your tears."

"Nice song selection.", Edward laughed out loud. Human, the song was called, she is so funny, he chuckled.

"Like it?", she spun into a skilled ballet like curl and ended right in front of him. She gave him a little shove, and added, "Then dance with me, Edward."

"Never want to see you cry…", the voice sang on.

His eyes went darker, then he yanked his jacket off, too, tossing it to the ground, getting a huge smile from her as she ran away a bit, dancing like a graceful angel as she went, doing a little jump into the air, landing with a swirl.

It wasn't going to be hard to follow her steps, he could see into her head and see the dance she was thinking of.

"I wouldn't ever try to hurt you…I just needed someone to hold me…" the song played on as Edward played his role in the dance, the chaser to her runner.

He spun and leapt towards her, taking her wrists in his hands and giving her a twirl, then ended it with her hands behind her back, in his grasp.

She smiled up at him and spun out of his grip, spinning away but he caught her arms and twirled her back a little roughly towards him, feeling her crush against his chest, nose to nose with him. She kept dancing, clutching his t- shirt and leaning her top half back, feeling him hold her securely as she closed her eyes.

"To fill the void while you were gone, to fill this space of emptiness."

He placed a tiny kiss on her neck, lifting her up into his arms, taking her around in a slow circle, hearing her giggle. With a small thrust up in the air, he caught her as she came back down, letting her slide down along him until he let her feet touch the ground.

"I'm only human.", the song went on, "Of flesh and blood I'm made.

I'm only human, born to make mistakes."

She danced around him as he stayed still, trying to hide a smile as she went behind him, touching his shoulders. He made his next move, taking her arm and spinning her around to him again, her back now against his chest. His hand gently took her chin, tipping it up to his face, staring back into her eyes with this sudden intensity that almost scared her.

He was excellent, she had to admit, better than her geeky dance partner in class, Herbie Feinster.

Trying to dance away from him again, he followed her, dancing the exact steps, pursuing her in the dance. She opened a small fence door to a ride and closed it before he got to it.

"So many nights I've longed to hold you…", the song said, "So many times and looked and saw your face. "

He grabbed the bars, staring at her between the metal posts. She backed away, spinning around, seeing Edward land like a cat in front of her, blocking her escape, taking her waist into his hands, rotating her rib cage a bit, shaking her back and forth, dipping her top half back again, then bringing her back to him, her leg pointing straight up alongside his hip.

She felt her back against the metal fence door, trapped now, he tilted his head, looking down into her eyes, pinning her wrists up at the sides of her head, not doing or saying anything.

"Nothing could change the way I feel, no one else could ever take your place.", the song went on, "I'm only human. Of flesh and blood I'm made."

"You're a very good dancer, Sammi.", his voice was too serious and deep in the darkness.

"So are you, Edward.", she shivered, looking up into his red eyes.

"Human.", the singers reminded from above, "Born to make mistakes."

He wanted to kiss her deeply and hard, but she looked so afraid, her body was shaking. Not wanting to force himself in, he took a step back, letting her wrists go, hiding his face in the shadows.

"I think we should talk." Edward said with a husky voice, sounding uncertain as he looked into her eyes.

"Uh oh.", she looked worried, "This sounds serious."

"It is." , he said simply, opening the fence, letting her out, and motioning his head over towards the bench nearby, "Let's sit down over here."

"Okay," she admitted, going with him as he took her by the hand, "You're officially freaking me out now, Edward. What did I do?"

"Nothing, nothing.", he sat down with her, looking down at her hands and taking a deep breath. Then he turned his crimson eyes upon hers and they nearly burned with their intensity.

"I…", he stopped, then looked a little confused, saying, "I have been alone for so long now, I had almost forgotten what it was like, having someone to talk to, to confide in. I like having you around."

She smiled, finding him cute in his nervousness. "I like being around you, too Edward."

"Yes.", he looked away for a second, then continued, "I was thinking about what you said, about how in a few months you'd start to get sick again."

Her eyes took on a sudden sadness and she frowned a little, not sure what he was getting at.

"I don't want you to go.", he finally said the words, "I don't want you to get sick and I don't want you to die."

"That's not in our hands.", she started to say with thick hurt in her voice but Edward interrupted her sharply.

"It is, though.", he quickly said, "I can stop it. I can change you."

"Change me?", she frowned more, staring up at his hopeful face.

"Turn you.", he explained, "Into a…vampire."

Her eyes widened as if to say 'have you lost your mind?!' but she didn't speak.

"Just hear me out a second.", Edward could hear her mind resisting instantly.

"Edward, I don't—" she tried to argue but he wanted her to listen.

"Shh Shhh Shhh Shhh.", he gently shushed her as she tried to speak, "Let me go first this time, please?"

Her eyes looked so defeated as she stopped, letting him talk.

"You will never get sick again.", he promised, holding both her hands in his white ones, "You'll never know pain again. You will have a strength you've never known. And you will never die. And..." he trailed off at the end, looking down again, sadly.

"And what?"

"And I won't have to be alone anymore.", he said, so innocently and looking so fragile, "Neither will you."

"I'm not alone.", she answered, trying not to hurt him. This was going to be so hard. She dreamt of this happening.

"But if we—", Edward tried to speak again, ready to start convincing her but that would be even harder to listen to. He was so alone and sad and beautiful that if she let him talk her into this, she might just say yes. But she couldn't say yes.

Her voice broke as she said with true heartbreak, "Edward, I'm out of time."

She tried not to cry as his gorgeously hypnotic voice encircled her like warm air.

"No you're not.", Edward put his hands on her shoulders, softly, "I can make it so you have forever!"

With a sigh and tears in her eyes, she tried to look away, towards the roller coaster but Edward took her face into his icy palms, making her look at those piercing pleading eyes of his.

"You don't want to die.", he stated plainly, knowing that, reading that from her own mind, "You want to live. You haven't even begun yet, there is so much you haven't done. I could –"

"You said you didn't live, you existed.", she reminded, "You said it's a curse, being you. Remember? And if you change me, I will die. That's like, the pre-requisite to being a vampire, isn't it ?"

His face lost all hope and a serious stone face took its place.

"I thought maybe it wouldn't be such a horrible life – as long as we had each other.", he sounded as if he'd lost something, the dream of his escape from his misery fading, "These last couple of days, with you, have done something to me."

"What about my soul?", she almost whispered, "I don't believe that you would take that away from me. Not the Edward that I've come to know."

"But you're dying.", his eyes looked broken.

"Everyone is dying Edward, you included.", she didn't bother to wipe her eyes, "You have this eternal life but you are suffering so badly. Do you not feel any pain? And I don't know what I'm doing; I don't know how to save you from what's happening to you. I know you're lonely and you want a friend. I do too. And I am so honored that you are asking me. I know this is an incredible gift you're offering me, Edward. But this isn't right. You know that, deep in your heart. If we do this, it is eternal. You don't love me that way."

"I told you I can't feel love.", he breathed, "But maybe this is the closest I can come to it. If I could feel it, I would feel it for you."

He knew how weak this sounded, he wished he could tell her he loved her and mean it with all his heart. But he couldn't. And that killed him. It was going to cost him Sammi. He would lose her.

"Love is friendship on fire. What we have is nice and comfortable and fun.", she explained, "Like a nice old pair of jeans that you wear all the time."

"You're comparing this to a pair of old jeans?"

"Listen.", she tapped his arm, "When you fall in love, it's wild, rushing excitement, passion and fire. That's what you want, not me. We fit together too well, the girl you fall in love with will probably be your exact opposite. You're not mine to have, Edward, you belong to someone else. We are best friends, not lovers."

"Come on Samantha,", he almost growled, not wanting to hear it.

"Besides that," she said, "You need to be free of those demons you are fighting, to be in full control of that dark blood in you. And you can do it, I know you can. But by the time that happens for you, I will be long gone."

"No!", he shouted, in utter pain at what she was saying. He looked as if he might even cry. She prayed for him not to, it would tear her apart.

"Edward.", she cried quietly, saying, "I don't want to be empty. I want to feel love. I don't want to lose this feeling in me, now that I have it."

"It won't be that way for you.", he said, putting his arms around her, "I would do all I could to make you happy. I swear."

"RRRR", she sat up, looking irate, "You're not listening to me at all."

"I am listening.", he informed, "But I—"

"Are you going to teach me how to hunt people when I'm changed?", she showed this problem to him from a different angle, "Will you teach me how to kill and drink blood? How to kill someone, savagely, and love it?"

He recognized his words from his journal, knowing she had seen that passage.

"Or will you just stop drinking human blood right now and start drinking animals again just for me?", she asked, knowing this wasn't an option for him yet either. That was going to take work and effort and time, just like quitting a drug.

No words came to his lips. Torment was the new color of his eyes now.

"I love you Edward.", she kissed his cool cheek tenderly, stroking his hair as she held him, "But I can't be with you. God has other plans for me…and you."

That was it, Edward was now enraged.

"THERE IS NO GOD!", he leapt to his feet, scaring the hell out of her, "IF THERE WAS, SOMETHING LIKE ME WOULDN'T EXIST ! YOU ARE GOING TO DIE AND THERE WILL BE NOTHING AFTER THAT ! NOTHING ! You'll be food for worms and bugs while you rot in the ground! There is no heaven, there is no ---"

At this, he stopped and choked back a sob, a popcorn machine was in his view and he shoved it away hard, knocking it over, pounding it with his fists until it looked like a flat metal disc on the ground.

She wanted to run but stayed where she sat.

"Feel better?", she asked, watching him pace again, fists clenched.

"No." he pouted, putting on his jacket roughly.

"Can you come back here please?" she asked patiently.

Without a word, he made himself come to the bench and sat at it defiantly, looking away from her, his hands in his pockets.

"Don't think I don't want to be with you.", she spoke again, soft as an angel, "Part of me wants to say YES! And go off with you and have this wild adventure. But someday you'd find that girl that you're going to love. And then I'll just be in your way. I'd be alone again, like you are now. And it would be forever. I wouldn't have my family, I wouldn't have God, and I would never know love. Or, you being as noble as you are, would give that girl up because you'd feel you are obligated to stay with me. You'd eventually hate me for that. And that terrifies me, more than death."

He didn't answer or even turn to look at her.

"Please Edward.", she pleaded, trying to make his eyes turn to her, "Don't hate me, you're the truest friend I ever had. This hurts me too. Don't you know that I'm already falling in love with you? You think it's easy for me to say no to you? It's NOT! I want you…so much. But it's not meant to be."

He turned back to her, looking down into her crying face and hugged her, stroking her long hair.

"Okay.", he said in a deep voice, calming her, "It's alright, please don't cry. I'm sorry."

Grabbing his leather jacket, she sunk her wet face into his sweater, inhaling his delicious smell, so glad he still cared for her, wishing he didn't, it would make it easier for her to leave.

"I'm here and I'll stay here with you, then, to the end.", he promised.

"To the end?" she stopped crying but listened harder, not leaving his arms.

"Yes.", Edward said giving her hair a small kiss, "I won't leave you. I'll be with you. Maybe you'll change your mind, later."

God, she cried harder, why are you doing this to me ?, she asked in her mind, clinging to his sweater.

"What's wrong now?", he tried to read her thoughts but saw only sadness there, all kinds, it was jumbled.

"You can't be with me to the end.", she cried, covering her eyes.

"Why?", he felt hurt all over again, being rejected on all sides here.

"It won't be a happy thing, Edward.", she tried to explain, "I'll lose my hair and be throwing up all the time, screaming and hurting…and I'll fast become something so ugly to you—"

"Never!", he argued with a caring voice, "I'll help you, I'll take care of you!"

"No.", she sobbed, hating to even think about it, her hands pushing him away a bit now, "No I want you to remember me this way, with my long pretty hair and bright eyes. I can't watch your face while you watch me die. I want you to smile when you think of me."

"I WILL!", he tried to hold her closer, "I CARE ABOUT YOU AND I WANT TO BE PART OF YOUR LIFE! You can't just leave me, please, I need you Sammi!"

"Let GO!", she yanked away, running from the bench and jogging to the fence, leaning on it, sobbing harder. She wanted to say yes to him so badly. Was this some kind of sick test from God, now at the end of her life, so close to the end? A get out of jail free card? One last temptation…the biggest of her life.

He sat there, staring at the back of her bouncing body as she wept. She looked so small yet she'd become so big in his life in such a short time that it made his bones ache to see her hurt. He was hurting her, like he hurt everything he touched. Once again, his poison was hurting an innocent person. He would forever be alone. Who on earth would want to be with him, even this cute little girl chose death over an eternity with him. Forget it, he said to himself, you're never going to have anyone to care for. Period. Stop trying.

Thinking of not having her around made him want to cry, as much as he hated to admit it. Life would be even darker and emptier now that she had come and was leaving again. What would there be stopping him from lashing out and hurting innocent people? He was finished. It was over.

Slowly, Edward walked over to her, standing close behind, putting his hands into his pockets again, willing them not to grab her as he wanted to. A bad part of him thought for a split second about forcing the gift upon her, making her a vampire now, against her will. But he immediately rejected that idea. He would never do that to anyone. He never got to choose, after receiving his death sentence at the age of 17, and he had never forgiven Carlisle for it. He couldn't bear her looking at him that way. Then he realized the answer for her.

"There is another option.", his voice was empty sounding now.

She didn't respond, still crying a little.

"I can give you to Carlisle Cullen." ,he hated saying the words but knew this might be better for her, not him.

"He would change you, and teach you to live peacefully on animal blood.", Edward informed, "There's family there for you. They also believe in God and you'd be free to worship however you wanted. You could eventually go back to school, college. You could be very happy there Samantha. You would love and be loved in return."

"I know that's a good place and I think you should be there, Edward.", she finally said, the crying almost past her, "You should go home. That's the best place for you to get the help you need. You'll be loved there, you ARE loved there. You need a Mom and Dad, and your brothers and sisters. That's where you belong. Just like I belong with my family, for as long as I can be."

"I'll go if you go with me.", he said in a whisper.

"I can't.", she turned to him, tears strewn over her cheeks, "But you see, you are capable of love. You put me above what you wanted. That's the purest love there is. I am so proud of you. And I do love you, so much."

Her heart might break if he said anything more right now and he felt that too, her mind begged for this conversation to end. He would let it, for her.

"Sammi.", he put his hands on her shoulders.

"What?" she felt afraid he'd say something more to make her cry or to force her to say things that might hurt him even more.

"Can I just…hold you a little while longer?", he asked like a guardian angel.

Smiling up at him, his fingers wiped her tears away, and his arms wrapped around her softly, hiding her little body from view as he closed his eyes, kissing the top of her head. She cried again, for a long time. They just stayed on the bench, silently hanging onto one another, for as long as possible.

See next chapter

Love WinndSinger