Aha, not done baking is my absolute hero. You can thank her for the lack of spelling mistakes and terrible grammer that has plagued the rest of my story because she is the BEST BETA in the entire universe :) Seriously, Stephenie Meyer should use her. Anywho... This isn't a new chapter (everyone crys) but it is an update (ish)...
Disclaimer: I don't own Edward (haha, but if i did...) or Bella or any of the Twilight people. I don't own the plot or dialouge or any fun stuff like that either. In my dreams I do, but alas, those are only dreams...very VERY good ones I might add...
Soo, here is where usually yell at you all to REVIEW. Please :( It gives me insentive to continue and you ALL want to read the Meadow scene...right?
- Hayley
I decided to skip my next class and visit Jasper instead. Gym was hard for all of us, particularly him and his less practiced control. When the humans became active, their hearts thumped faster calling to us like a hypnotic drum. It always drove Jasper crazy and this year was especially hard because he had it by himself. One of us usually visited him to make sure his instincts didn't get the best of him.
I walked into the gym just as his class was filing out of the change rooms. He was sulking near the back, trying to avoid the emotions and heartbeats of the humans in front of him.
"Jasper." I muttered low enough for only him to hear. He looked my way and began to walk in my direction.
"Cullen!" Coach Clapp barked from across the gym. Both Jasper and I spun around. Coach Clapp was stomping towards us, his face the ruddy color that was so popular among gym teachers.
"Cullen, what are you doing in my class?" He stormed. I just had to break up a fight last class and I was hit in the head with a racket by his brother before that! It's not even lunch and I'm already fed up with school!
"I'm in your class, sir," Jasper said innocently. I nearly snickered at his sincere tone but I kept my face straight.
"Not you!" He stuttered. "The other Cullen!" His face was taking on an angry hue to rival Bella's embarrassment. I could actually hear the blood throb in his cheeks as his heart drove more to his face. I saw Jasper eyeing the crimson longingly.
"I needed to see my brother." I said, snapping Jasper out of his trance. He looked towards me and then down, ashamed.
"Why?" I could tell that Coach Clapp was struggling to keep his voice level, although the effort was making his eyes bulge out of his head.
"His girlfriend broke up with him." Jasper said quickly, his head snapping up. I could feel the waves of pity and remorse that he was pouring out so that the Coach would believe the story. I nodded and looked down solemnly.
The kid looks down. Maybe I should just let them go for half an hour. It's not like Cullen is anywhere near failing.
"Fine," he said, still under the influence of the fake emotions. "You can have half an hour, but I expect you to be back in class by then!" His flush receded and he made his way back to the class.
"10 laps!" He shouted and blew his whistle. "And so help me, if you even touch the badminton nets, I'll make it 20!" He blew the whistle again and everyone began the running around the gym.
Jasper walked beside me as we exited the gym. His hands were in his pockets and his head was down.
"So, girlfriend, eh?" I asked, raising my eyebrow.
He chuckled and brought his eyes up to meet mine. "I thought it was the best excuse. We've used the excuse 'our dog died' a couple too many times. People are going to think we run a very poorly operated kennel."
I laughed along with him and we headed to the cafeteria. It was empty except for a couple of freshmen skipping class. When we entered, they picked up their books and scrambled out the opposite door. Jasper laughed and went to our customary table.
"Are we really that frightening?" he asked. His voice was light but I could hear the real seriousness beneath the layers.
We sat in silence for a while. I tried hard not to listen to my brother's thoughts but it seemed that he was mulling something over. Preparing to make a very large speech to me. I looked over to him and his eyes were glued on to the table. Any emotions he was feeling, he was keeping locked up. I wondered what he could want to tell me. After a few moments, I couldn't take the silence anymore.
"What is it, Jasper?" I asked.
He looked up from the table, his dark eyes filled with remorse. "Listen, Edward. I wanted to say I was sorry-- about how I acted. I was being selfish. I was worried…" he stopped mid sentence. It was a touchy subject with Jasper and I could tell he preferred not to say whatever he was thinking out loud. I peered into his mind. I'm just so weak. What would happen if she came over and I couldn't control myself? Would you ever forgive me?
He hung his head in shame and I could feel the despair coming in waves from him. I shook my head against the picture that had formed into my mind. Jasper's teeth around Bella's delicate neck, taking her life away drop by drop.
"Jasper, I trust that your control is more refined than that. You're stronger than you think, you just need some confidence," I encouraged. I knew it was dangerous to make him confident to the point of arrogant. He would hunt less and try to live up to Emmett, or my standards, but it was just as dangerous if he had no confidence at all.
He smiled a bit and began to lighten up. "So, a human?" he teased. I glared at him until he looked away.
"I didn't mean it like that, Edward. How do you put up with the smell all the time? And being alone with her in your car, the aroma alone must drive you insane…" his eyes glazed over at even the thought.
"Jasper," I hissed, bringing him out of the trance. I sighed. "It is almost impossible for me to be near her, but it is the one thing I truly want. Her blood…it is like no other I have ever smelt. It is the single most irresistible fragrance that you could possibly imagine multiplied ten fold. Every time I'm near her I want to…" I trailed off and hung my head.
Jasper, sensing my distress, sent a wave of calm over me. Thankful, I lifted my head and met his sympathetic gaze.
"I can't empathize with you, I've never met a human who has ever had a particularly strong essence – they all smell similar to me. But I understand the struggle better than you think."
I smiled. Of course he could understand. He was the one who was newest to our way of life and being in school surrounded by humans must've been torture after the numerous years of instant-gratification.
"I have to go, otherwise Coach may force me to run laps," his voice dripped with sarcasm and mock-horror.
"You'd better get going. I'll survive on my own. I get over break-up's pretty fast," I joked.
Jasper rose from his chair and smiled before running out the door and back to the gym. I sat in the empty cafeteria and stared out the window. The rain was beating down on the glass as per usual and the sky was like a dark gray blanket, draped over the little town of Forks.
I continued to gaze out the window, transfixed by the buckets of water that fell from the sky. There were only five minutes left in the period when I snapped out of my trance. After checking my watch, I swiftly walked to Bella's Spanish class and leaned against the wall, waiting for the final bell to ring. I crossed my arms and concentrated, searching for Bella's voice within the class.
"So you're sure he was showing his teeth when he smiled?" that was Jessica. I could hear her not-so-subtle whispering over the chattering of the rest of the students.
"I don't know, Jess. Does it really matter?" I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. I guess I half expected her to have been kidnapped before lunch. It was highly plausible theory with her being a magnet for danger.
"Of course it does!" Jessica's voice was an octave higher with annoyance and shock. She doesn't even know how to read a boy. I bet that she's getting Edward's signals all wrong. That makes much more sense than him actually liking her! I could almost hear the scoff in her mind.
"Well then, yeah. I'm sure," Bella responded.
The bell finally rang, shrill and loud and I hear the shuffle of the students getting up and putting their books away. Jessica's voice rang through the crowd again.
"You're not sitting with us today, are you?" Jealousy highlighted her words, but Bella, seemingly distracted, ignored it.
"I don't think so." Her voice came again. The contrast between the resentment in Jessica's tone and the sincerity in Bella's was almost comical. I felt a pang of anger from her obvious lack of faith in my promises. But perhaps it was well earned.
She walked out the door and a wave of her fresh scent hit me again, nearly sending me to my knees. It was still stronger than anyone I had ever known, but somehow less potent than the first time I had met her, that fateful day in Biology. The venom still rose in my throat and my eyes darkened with the wild thirst that threatened to overcome me, but it was somehow less powerful.
Jessica walked beside her, books in hand. The moment she saw me her mind – as expected – went completely blank. She turned back to Bella, rolled her eyes and turned away.
"See you later, Bella," she said, waggling her eyebrows. I didn't need to be a mind reader to know what she implied with her comment.
"Hello," I said, smiling slightly at her blush from Jessica's comment. It made things more difficult, of course, but I couldn't help myself in thinking that the red tint made her almost glow.
"Hi," she grinned in response to me.
I didn't say anything as I turned and began to walk towards the cafeteria, knowing she would follow. She walked a few inches behind me, following in my footsteps as I parted the crowd gracefully. People stepped back and starred at us unconsciously, thoughts flying through their head faster than I could read them
No way…
Jessica must've been telling the truth…
Mikes out of luck…
Poor Tyler, he was so excited about Prom…
I did my best to block them out, but the whispers intensified as we entered the cafeteria. I walked to the line, Bella close behind me. I let my eyes wander to her face every once and a while. She looked perfectly at peace; not at all scared she was in the presence of a vampire at lunchtime. I looked away quickly when she caught my eye and I smelt the surge of blood rush to her cheeks. She played nervously with a zipper on her coat.
When we got to the front of the line, the mountains of cafeteria food had me momentarily stumped. What did she like to eat? I hesitated for only a second and I reached to get most of everything. After all, I was getting food for two.
"What are you doing?" she looked at me questioningly when she saw the half-full tray. "You're not getting all that for me?"
I stifled a chuckled and shook my head. I walked to the beginning of the line forming to pay for our food. Bella followed my lead and stood next to me, still staring incredulously at me and my tray of food.
"Half is for me, of course," I said, raising an eyebrow. Hopefully, she was smart enough to catch my underlying meaning with out me having to verbally say it.
She raised an eyebrow in response as comprehension flashed through her brown eyes.
After paying for food, I led the way to the table we had sat at the one time previously. The cafeteria was mysteriously quiet – although Bella seemed to be oblivious to the fact – except for the astounded thoughts racing through everyone's head. I sat down and ignored the comments coming from a group of amazed senior girls at the opposite end of the table.
"Take what ever you want," I said, pushing the tray towards her, after Bella had spent a few moments eyeing the food cautiously.
She picked up an apple and examined it, turning it over in her hands. After several seconds of deep thought, her head snapped up and my eyes were caught in her deep brown ones.
"I'm curious," she began. I concealed a groan. Nothing beginning with those two words could ever be good. "What would you do if someone dared you to eat food?"
I concealed an even louder groan. Of course she would ask me eat the foul human food. "You're always curious," I winced. I stared her down and picked up the closest piece of food. It didn't matter which one it was, they all were like chewing cardboard. I brought the pizza closer to my mouth, inhaling the smell of grease and garlic until it nearly made me gag. I bit off a piece, my razor-sharp teeth slicing through the dough like butter and I began to chew. The venom made quick work of the bread, turning it to paste in my mouth. I swallowed quickly and wrinkled my nose in distaste.
"If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?" I tried to be as patronizing as possible, but the pizza settled in my stomach made it extremely uncomfortable even as I shifted slightly.
She wrinkled her nose and looked down at the table. "I did once…on a dare. It wasn't so bad."
I let out a laugh. "I suppose I'm not surprised."
Look at that, she's totally leaning into him and he is leaning back. She is totally coming on way too strong. He definitely doesn't like her like that. I'll let her down easy after school. I made a deliberate point in leaning it a bit closer at Jessica's comment. Her spiteful thoughts were beginning to get on my nerves and she could do with some deflation. Okay, he just…shifted. It's all okay. I'll break it down for her later and twist it a bit. She won't even know the difference…
I interrupted her thought with my own comment to Bella. "Jessica's analyzing everything I do – she'll break it down for you later." I said, paraphrasing her thoughts. It was best to give Bella some warning. I noticed she hadn't eaten and I pushed the pizza towards her.
She placed the apple back on the table and picked up the pizza. She took a large bite and looked away.
They are sharing food!
I ignored Jessica and looked back to Bella, thinking about her and Jessica's conversation in Trig class earlier that day. There were a few things that stood out to me, but there was one in particular I wanted to get out of the way.
"So the waitress was pretty, was she?" I asked nonchalantly. I personally didn't think so, but if Bella did, there must be a reason for her insecurities.
"You really didn't notice?"
"No, I wasn't paying attention." I reassured her. A smile broke out on Bella's face, only hinting at relief. "I had a lot on my mind."
"Poor girl," she said, somewhat smugly.
I looked down at the table, preparing myself to touch on one of the finer points of their conversations. "Something you said to Jessica…" I hesitated, trying to clear my unusually rough voice. "Well, it bothers me." I looked up at her without moving my head. Her face had automatically turned cautious but also slightly concerned.
"I'm not surprised you heard something you didn't like. You know what they say about eavesdroppers," she told me, her voice guarded.
"I warned you I would be listening."
"And I warned you that you didn't want to know what I was thinking," she countered.
I hung my head slightly in defeat. "You did," I agreed. "You aren't precisely right, though. I do want to know what you're thinking – everything. I just wish…that you wouldn't be thinking something."
She automatically frowned, "That's quite a distinction."
"But that's not really the point at the moment," I said quickly, before she distracted me.
"Then what is?"
She leaned in closer and I responded, carefully. I folded my hands beneath my chin and watched her intently. She looked around warily, making sure we weren't about to be over heard. She placed her hand around her neck – perhaps subconsciously protecting her jugular vein with her hand. I was a bit hurt by the gesture, but it was just as my urge to drink her blood – purely instinct and nothing else. I erased it quickly from my mind and leaned in closer so we wouldn't be over heard.
"Do you truly believe that you care more for me than I do for you?" I whispered, gazing deeply into her eyes.
She seemed to have a bit difficulty breathing, choking on the air that was already in her lungs. She looked away and exhaled rapidly. Her scent rushed to meet me and I leaned back ever so slightly.
"You're doing it again," she accused me.
"What?"
"Dazzling me," she said simply as she turned her head back to meet my eyes.
"Oh." I frowned. I didn't want her to be under the illusion of a spell every time we talked.
"It's not your fault," Bella amended quickly. "You can't help it."
"Are you going to answer the question?" I asked, surprised as she, once again, managed to distract me.
She looked down and the wonderful blush flooded her face. "Yes."
"Yes, you are going to answer, or yes, you really think that?" I hated not being able to simply lift the answer from her mind. I started at her, frustrated once again.
"Yes, I really think that." She looked down once again and the silence enveloped us. The outside world came rushing back and I could hear every one's thoughts again. Most of the ideas centered on the two of us, we were, apparently, staring lovingly into each other's eyes. Many of the guys wanted to kill me and similar thoughts were coming from the girls towards Bella. I turned back to her, unwilling to be distracted – once again – by the melodrama of teenager's and high school.
Bella was staring stubbornly at the plastic table, childishly refusing to even look at me. I tried to catch her eye, my only insight into her mind, but her gaze stayed locked on the table. I hadn't given her any reason to think that, had I? Of course there was the first month of our relationship, but I thought I had banished any doubt in her mind with our conversations.
"You're wrong," I said wanting badly for her to know what she thought was ludicrous. As if there was a way for minute human feeling to compare to the infinite amount that I – as one of the eternally damned – felt.
She looked up at me and stared into my eyes. "You can't know that," she whispered, shaking her head.
I tried, out of habit I suppose, to lift the reason behind her words from her mind. I was met with dead silence. I realized I would have to ask.
"What makes you think so?"
She sat quietly for several seconds, her face twisted into a concentrated mask. I could tell that she was debating if she should tell me the truth or not. I began to scowl as I waited patiently for her answer, which didn't seem to be coming. The suspense was – figuratively – killing me.
She glanced at me and placed a finger in the air. "Let me think," Bella insisted.
I immediately relaxed when I realized that it meant she was going to tell me, it just might take her a minute to find the words. A smile crept on to my face once again and I watched her twist her fingers together, just to unravel them a moment later.
She looked up finally, and spoke. "Well, aside from the obvious, sometimes…" she measured my expression. "I can't be sure – I don't know how to read minds – but sometimes it seems like you're trying to say goodbye when you're saying something else."
"Perceptive," I whispered. A thin coating of pain glazed over her eyes and she averted her eyes. "That's exactly where you're wrong, though." I was about to explain, fully, but something she said caught my attention. "What do you mean, 'the obvious'?"
Red blood flooded her cheeks quickly, but she spoke. "Well, look at me. I'm absolutely ordinary – well, except for bad things like all the near-death experiences and being so clumsy I'm almost disabled. And look at you," she gestured with her hand.
She was referring to my inhuman perfection. I scowled temporarily, trying to decipher her words. She was one of the most exquisite humans I had known, and… Comprehension rushed through my mind. She was insecure. Of all the most ridiculous things…I smoothed my face and continued. "You don't see yourself very clearly, you know. I'll admit, you're dead on about the bad things," I gave a short laugh, "but you didn't hear what every human male in this school was thinking on your first day."
The thoughts running through the adolescent boy's heads was ones I wished I could forget. Some of the ideas were so graphic, I was even shocked – and I lived with Rosalie and Emmett.
"I don't believe it…" she muttered, low enough that a normal human wouldn't have heard it.
"Trust me just this one – you are the opposite of ordinary," I spoke softly, truth ringing through with each word.
Her face flushed with embarrassment. An emotion flashed through her eyes so quickly, I might have missed it, but I could have sworn I saw a bit of pleasure at my comment. I smiled, satisfied by her reaction. She quickly took control over her embarrassed state and looked back up at me.
"But I'm not saying goodbye."
"Don't you see? That's what proves me right. I care the most, because if I can do it" – no matter how badly I wanted to stay – "if leaving is the right thing to do, then I'll hurt myself to keep from hurting you, to keep you safe." My smile had faded with the thought of my conversation with my father the night before. My words almost echoed his concept.
"And you don't think I would do the same?" She glared at me.
"You'd never have to make the choice."
The conversation had taken a turn towards darker topics that I didn't want Bella to be subjected to. I quickly changed the atmosphere with a smile and changed the topic with a – what I hoped to be – light joke. "Of course, keeping you safe is beginning to feel like a fulltime occupation that requires my constant presence." My dead heart lurched with the thought of being around Bella every minute of every day. I scolded myself quickly and reminded myself of Carlisle's words. Don't Push Her.
My jab worked and a smile broke out over Bella's pale face. "No one has tried to do away with me today," she teased.
"Yet," I argued.
"Yet," she agreed, nodding slightly dejected.
Edward…
It took much practice not to snap my head around every time I heard my name in some one's mind but when my siblings called me directly, it took even more effort. My neck twitched, but I resisted the urge to turn and face Alice.
Are you forgetting something?
I shook my head slowly – not enough for Bella to notice, but Alice caught it.
Then why do I still see Bella going to Seattle by herself this weekend?
I smiled gratefully, although she couldn't see my face and nodded – letting her know I got the point.
"I have another question for you." I slipped in casually. Bella was still eating the piece of pizza, seemingly oblivious to my moments of silence.
"Shoot."
"Do you really need to go to Seattle this Saturday, or was that just and excuse to get out of saying no to all your admirers?"
She wrinkled her nose in disgust – presumably at the thought of going to the dance with Newton, or perhaps even just the thought of going to a dance at all. The repulsion sent a surge of satisfaction through my veins.
"You know, I haven't forgiven you for the Tyler thing yet," her calm voice was strangely threatening. Particularly paired with her glaring eyes. "It's your fault that he's deluded himself into thinking I'm going to prom with him."
"Oh, he would have found a chance to ask you without me –I just really wanted to watch your face." I laughed at the memory of her revulsion and anger. "If I'd asked you, would you have turned me down?" I hid behind my laugh, but curiousness was consuming me.
"Probably not." My heart soared. "But I would have cancelled later – faked an illness or a sprained ankle." My flying heart promptly fell and was devastated upon a cold, hard ground.
"Why would you do that?"
She shook her head. "You've never seen me in Gym, I guess, but I would have thought you would understand."
"Are you referring to the fact that you can't walk across a flat, stable surface without finding something to trip over?"
"Obviously."
Relief surged through me and I smiled smugly. "That wouldn't be a problem. It's all in the leading." She scowled, a sure sign she was about to argue with me so I cut her off quickly. "But you never told me – are you resolved on going to Seattle, or do you mind if we do something different?"
Bella stared at me, dumbfounded, for a moment before snapping out of her daze. "I'm open to alternatives," she said casually but her thumping heart gave away her excitement. "But I do have a favor to ask."
Out of habit, I guarded my expression and tread cautiously. "What?"
"Can I drive?"
That threw me for a moment. "Why?"
"Well, mostly because when I told Charlie I was going to Seattle, he specifically asked if I was going alone and, at the time, I was. If he asked again, I probably wouldn't lie, but I don't think he will ask again, and leaving my truck at home would just bring up the subject unnecessarily," she finished. I opened my mouth to agree but she cut me off. "And also, because you're driving frightens me."
I rolled my eyes, completely deterred from my original thought. "Of all the things about me that could frighten you, you worry about my driving." I shook my head in mock abhorrence before I remember what I was about to ask. "Won't you want to tell your father that you're spending the day with me?" I prayed she would. It would at least give me an excuse to tell myself if I became overwhelmed by my impulses.
"With Charlie, less is always more. Where are we going anyway?" Bella asked, changing the subject.
Instead of arguing I went along with it. I didn't know why but I couldn't bare myself to raise my voice around her – something I was prone to doing when arguing. "The weather will be nice, so I'll be staying out of the public eye…and you can stay with me, if you'd like to." Again, I repeated Carlisle's words over in my mind. Don't push her. Give her a choice.
Curiosity flickered in her eyes. "And you'll show me what you meant, about the sun?" Her heart rate increased again, a product of her excitement. I couldn't help but smile.
"Yes." Choice. "But if you don't want to be…alone with me, I'd still rather you didn't go to Seattle by yourself. I shudder to think of the trouble you could find in a city that size."
She was clearly taken aback Her tone became slightly haughty and she jutted her chin out. "Phoenix is three time bigger than Seattle – just in population. In physical size – "
"But apparently," I cut her off, "your number wasn't up in Phoenix. So I'd rather you stayed near me."
"As it happens, I don't mind being alone with you."
"I know. You should tell Charlie, though." Just to give me some motivation. Please.
"Why in the world would I do that?"
"To give me some small incentive to bring you back," I told her bluntly.
She gulped but the terrified look upon her face slowly smoothed into a mask of nonchalance. "I think I'll take my chances."
I exhaled and turned away from her face. I felt the anger bubbling deep within my chest, like it always did when someone said something particularly stupid. If she didn't understand how dangerous I was, then she was clearly not grasping what I could actually do to her.
Calm down Edward. Jasper says you' re even angrier than the time Emmett decided to re-arrange your CD collection in rainbow order.
I took a deep breath at Alice's orders and let the fury simmer down.
"Let's talk about something else," Bella suggested lightly.
"What do you want to talk about?" I tried to keep the annoyance and anger from my tone, but it was still fresh in my mind.
She looked around the cafeteria, trying to locate a good point of conversation. Her eyes drifted over Jessica and Mike. I hoped that she wouldn't start gossiping about the trivial love lives of her friends. Her eyes glided right over them and I felt ashamed for even thinking she would stoop so low as to gossip. Her wandering eyes finally fell on my family who were all sitting silently, not looking at each other, touching their food or even talking. Even I could say that they looked strange and definitely out of place.
"Why did you go to the Goat Rocks place last weekend…to hunt?" Charlie said it wasn't a good place to hike, because of bears."
Her words snapped me out of my thoughts and brought an amused smile to my face. She was intelligent but sometimes very obtuse…
"Bears?" she shrieked quietly. My grin grew more pronounced at her shock. "You know, bears are not in season."
"If you read very carefully, the laws only cover hunting with weapons." I countered.
Bella's eyes went from thoughtfulness, to confusion, back to thoughtfulness and then to comprehension. Her eyes widened and the wonderful intuition sparked behind her brown eyes.
"Bears?" she struggled to get the word out.
"Grizzly is Emmett's favorite." I gauged her reaction and I waited for the running and screaming – yet again. It never came and her face stayed perfectly smooth.
She made a noise of acceptance and took a large bite of pizza. She chewed thoughtfully, her eyes far away; deciding something I couldn't decipher. After a long drink of soda, she returned her eyes to mine.
"So, what's your favorite?" she asked slyly.
Oh course she would want to know that. "Mountain Lion." Disapproval colored my tone.
"Ah," she feigned disinterest.
"Of course, we have to be careful not to impact the environment with injudicious hunting. We try to focus on areas with an overpopulation of predators – ranging as far away as we need. There's always plenty of deer and elk here and they'll do, but where's the fun in that?"
"Where indeed?" she mumbled taking another bite of pizza.
"Early spring is Emmett's favorite bear season – they're just coming out of hibernation, so they're more irritable." My perfect vampire memory flashed back to one of Emmett's first hunts. He had walked into the cave of a sleeping bear during early spring.
"Wake up," Emmett said, poking the bear repeatedly.
"Emmett, that might not be wise." Carlisle cautioned.
I stood at the mouth of the cave, laughing as Emmett began to tickle the bear's nose with a branch from outside. Every time it got too annoyed, it simply huffed and rolled over. Emmett laughed loudly every time the bear growled in its sleep.
"Sounds like my dad when I tried to wake him up when I was a kid!"
"Emmett Cullen, we've wasted enough time. Let's go." Carlisle had said sternly. He turned to walk out of cave and Emmett began to follow.
"Stupid bear." He kicked it in the side gently and walked out.
Unfortunately for Emmett, he hadn't been so used to his newborn strength yet. That, combined with his natural muscles, the bear roared up and snagged his hand in its teeth. Emmett spent a good fifteen minutes jumping around trying to dislodge his arm. The thought of just killing or incapacitating the bear never came to his mind. Carlisle and I spent a good hour after the fact imitating his squeals and jumps. Emmett made us swear that we would never tell anyone.
"Nothing is more fun than an irritated grizzly bear," Bella agreed, bringing me back to reality.
I laughed out loud at the memory and shook my head. Bella remained silent and looked over my shoulder, in quiet contemplation.
"Tell me what you're thinking, please," I asked. Perhaps I had shared too much. Perhaps she was much more afraid than she let on.
"I'm trying to picture it – but I can't. How do you hunt a bear without weapons?"
"Oh we have weapons." I flashed her a humorless smile, showing off the more powerful weapon in my arsenal. She glanced at them and fear came briefly over her eyes. I closed my mouth quickly and continued. "Just not the kind they consider when writing hunting laws. If you've ever seen a bear attack on television, you should be able to visualize Emmett hunting."
I resent that. I am much more graceful than a bear.
I silenced Emmett with a quick, sharp glare. To my surprise Bella was looking at him as well, fear now clearly glazed over her eyes. She shivered involuntarily and looked away.
"Are you like a bear, too?"
"More like the lion, or so they tell me. Perhaps our preferences are indicative."
She attempted a half smile. "Perhaps." She looked confused again before looking back at me. "Is that something I might get to see?"
"Absolutely not!" I shuddered to think what would happen if Bella was even remotely close to me when I lost all control. There was no doubt in my mind about what would most certainly happen. She leaned away, her face composed but afraid nonetheless.
"Too scary for me?" her voice quavered in the middle.
"If that were it, I would take you out tonight. You need a healthy dose a fear. Nothing could be more beneficial for you."
"Then why?" she pushed.
I glanced at the clock quickly and back at her. "Later." I quickly stood up and waited for her to follow. "We're going to be late."
She glanced around the now empty cafeteria and grabbed her book bag and stood up.
"Later, then."
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- Hayley