AN: I am so sorry! I had my birthday and I got Supernatural and True Blood and they both gave me a big kick of inspiration for some fanfictions and crossovers and I absolutely am in love with Dean, Cas, Sam, Eric and Godric, I could go on and on.
I got hooked so much on both shows its ridiculous. So I had to go buy the Sookie Stackhousenovels as well and got hooked on them. And I also became a Gleek due to my so-called best friend. I'm sorry. I'm weak, I couldn't help myself. :S So, so much has suffered in that time, not just this.
Then I had end of year exams come up and bite me in the ass.
ALWAYS READ THE AUTHORS NOTES. It may contain important information.
(links to outfits will be on my profile under the section labelled Divine Goddess)
No Flames please, only constructive criticism, please.
Chapter 12 – Fairytale of New Forks Part 2
(hermione)
They were everywhere.
Classic witches, warlocks, werewolves, a vampire or two with the fake teeth stained with blood and the long black capes. A boy or two dressed in pirate garb, a girl that even seemed to be in a Hawaiian costume, despite the only lukewarm heat in the room and the blistering cold from the snow that was falling outside.
Ron continued to blink at the bright orange and black decorations, the streamers that fell from the ceilings, the helium balloons floating in between them and the cobwebs decorating the doors.
"It's...bright" he finally said.
"And full" Juno added, and out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw her beginning to edge backwards out of the door, pulling her winter jacket tighter around her.
"Oh no, you don't. You look great" Jessica cried, pushing the reluctant Brit forward. Juno pushed her feet into the floor, but as she was wearing high black heels she ended up tripping and grabbed onto Ron's collar to support herself.
"Stupid heels" Juno cursed, repeatedly under her breath. "Oh, sorry" she added, letting of it, as he began to struggle to breathe with the grip. He adjusted it, muttering about girls and their shoes.
"Did I have to wear-?"
"Yes" Angela interjected, smiling. "They complete your outfit"
"They're a ridiculous piece of material purely created for men to stare out women's arses when they fall onto them 'cause they can't walk"
"I thought they were meant to make you taller" Ron joked, taking Hermione's coat and reaching for Juno to take off hers. The brunette glared at him, but relented and gave him her jacket, revealing the outfit that she had been trying so desperately to hide.
A black velvet dress falling down to mid-thigh, a netted skirt placed on top of it. It had a tight fitted bodice like a corset tied up with black silk ribbons tinged with a dark purple. Fishnet tights and large leather boots with buckles up to over her knee with three inch heels completed the outfit. Her hair had been straightened from its usual untameable tousled state into soft ringletted curls, a few curls pulled back around her head, tied with another purple ribbon. The large purple fairy wings tied to her back fluttered as she squirmed, crossing her arms across her emphasised chest.
"Can't I have put on a jumper or something?" she whispered to Hermione, who gave her a small smile of sympathy: Juno was uncomfortable enough being in public without wearing more revealing clothes.
"No!" Jessica cried. "You look fine. Edward is going to flip when he sees you". Juno's cheeks blushed a bright pink, while Hermione frowned at the thought. Hopefully, he didn't.
"Are you meeting him here?" Angela asked.
Juno shrugged. "I don't know. We didn't really go into the details. I just said that he couldn't pick me up because I was getting ready with you lot. Then he offered to pick me up from yours and I lied and said he couldn't because we had already decided we would drive and I didn't want to let you guys down because it was a supposed to be a girly night...and Ron just happened to be there. What? I panicked!" she added, to Angela and Jessica's disapproving stares. "I don't know how to act on a date. If this is one anyway"
"It's a date" Jessica nodded. "I'm going to go find Mike" she grinned, brightly and walked off, Angela following saying she was going to find Eric.
Ron sighed, glancing around. "Reckon there's food?"
Hermione scoffed, rolling her eyes while Juno shrugged. "Hopefully, I haven't eaten anything yet"
"What is it with you two and food? Especially you, Ron. I'm surprised you are as thin as you are with the amount you eat"
"Oh, I see food table. Come on" Ron said, grabbing Juno's arm and pulling her in the direction of the table beside the wall covered with plates of finger food.
"Honestly, what is it with you two?" Hermione cried, hurrying to catch up with them, her much smaller heels clacking on the wooden floor.
(~~)
"So, where's Edward?" Hermione asked, as Juno took a few tentative sips of the juice Ron had found for her as not to smudge her lipstick. Hermione wondered if she was even aware that she was doing it.
"Ummm..." Juno glanced around, and even stepped on her tiptoes to look over the heads of the crowd upon the dance floor. They could barely hear over the music that had begun to blurt out of the speakers on the makeshift stage. "I'm not actually sure...he only asked me yesterday...and we didn't really talk much about it" she mused to herself. "I figured I'll just go look for him in a second"
"No need" Ron said, swallowing the last of the small cake he had.
"Why not?"
"Because the Cullen's are all coming over" he explained nodding over to the door. Juno turned round and Hermione looked over her shoulder to see all five Cullen's walking towards them, Alice leading the charge, her hand clasped tightly to Jasper's. Edward followed not that much far behind them.
Juno's cheeks began to turn pink and Hermione could see her hands trembling around the glass. Hermione decided to take it away from her quickly before she spilt it everywhere.
(edward)
For the first time in his incredibly long, immortal life, Edward Cullen found himself completely unable to say or think of anything that that precise moment. Others seemed to be doing that for him. All he found himself doing was staring at the ethereal vision in front of him and he was thankful he had had no need to blink for decades, lest the image in front of him faded and disappeared from his sight forever in that split second of darkness. She smiled uncertainly, her cheeks flushing, bewildered as to why the usually articulate vampire could only gaze at her in pure unbridled admiration at her exquisite beauty.
Edward couldn't find it in himself to care, as he heard Emmett's mocking thoughts on how he looked like a goldfish or as Alice giggled from beside him. The few of her peers who had joined the small group as they entered and even those walking around with dates of their own, all seemed to express inappropriate opinions on his mate and he had to fight against his traitorous body, desperately struggling with himself as he fought to keep a hold on his senses and not attack. How he wanted to.
"I know. It isn't really me-" Juno cut in, pulling him out of his thoughts, tugging at the skirt to pull it further down her legs.
"You look beautiful" he said, and he grasped her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. She smiled warmly at him. "A nymph, possibly" he inquired, gesturing to her outfit.
She arched an eyebrow in slight surprise. "I'm impressed. People normally say 'evil angel' or 'little fairy' when they see the wings" she explained, rolling her shoulders to make the wings flutter. "I am sad to say I haven't got a clue what your costume is" she sighed, with an apologetic look.
"Alice insisted, as in forced, me to come dressed as, I think, Mr William Darcy from-"
"Pride and Prejudice. Yeah, I watched the film with Hermione last week and I loved it. It actually really suits you" she complimented with a smile.
Ah. That's the reason Alice forced him into it. It being a long blue buttoned coat, a loose white shirt and grey trousers. He himself didn't really see it as much of an outfit when Alice first showed it to him; it seemed like any normal clothes, albeit a little old in the times.
"You look very nice too, Hermione" Edward added, looking at the curly haired brunette who was frowning at his and Juno's close contact. She blinked in surprise, shocked that he was speaking to her.
"Oh, thank you" she stuttered, smoothing down her costume. Hermione had dressed in a costume much more appropriate for the weather than her sister. It was a long floor length, Edward assumed, priestesses robe, a deep royal blue with golden swirls embroided onto the hood and around the long, gaping sleeves. It was tight around her slim form, and she wore matching eye makeup and lipstick. Like Juno, her hair had been tamed from its almost frizzy state into soft curls around her face, most of it pulled into a loose bun around the back of her head.
"I picked out Ron's outfit" Juno explained to him. "No matter how much I wished to embarrass him, this was the only outfit I assumed he would even consider wearing" Juno admitted, with a nonchalant shrug. Ron copied the shrug with one of his own. Juno obviously couldn't help but adding, "I really believe it shows how bad-ass you are"
Ron rolled his eyes, though the tips of his ears burned red. He was wearing a black pinstriped waistcoat with a red rose pinned to the breast pocket, and a white shirt with silver cufflinks. A hat was perched on top of his bright red hair.
"What are you?"
"He's a gangster. Apparently" Hermione added in an undertone, which only Edward and his siblings could hear.
"I could've ended up like one of these idiots" the red head explained, looking at a boy who was dressed up as George of the Jungle. "So, thank you, June, for taking pity on me"
"You're very welcome" she began to fidget from side to side and Edward realised that every one of his siblings was looking at her. Edward could feel her nervousness; she had only ever talked to Alice, not counting whenever Esme attempted to answer his phone to see if Juno was calling, and his family were intimidating. He gave her wrist a comforting squeeze, which she returned.
"You look really nice, Juno" Alice said with a smile. See, Edward, I can be nice and not overwhelming.
"Thank you, Alice. You look nice too. You all do" she added, with a nervous smile. Emmett grinned at her, while Jasper nodded. "And I mean no offense, but you pull it off, Emmett" she said, smiling at his classic vampire costume, that Edward couldn't help but comment on the irony of it. "You are very pale"
Emmett grinned at her, before sweeping his arm back into a bow. "Thank you" he drawled in the worst Transylvanian accent Edward had ever seen, but it succeeded in making Juno laugh. Edward, I like her, he thought. Edward resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Isn't anyone going to dance then?" Alice asked, practically jumping up and down.
"Oh god, no!" Juno cut in, quickly. "Not to this one, for sure" she muttered, looking to the side of the room where the music was coming from. Edward silently agreed with her. The music had a very fast tempo, one of those pop songs that actually made absolutely no sense when you listened to the lyrics. Not one he would choose himself.
"Ok" Alice nodded. "Let's go sit down for a while and get to know each other, yeah?" she asked everyone, including Jessica, Angela and Lauren who had just joined them. "Wonderful" she said, grabbing Juno's other hand and dragging her towards one of the large circular tables around the edges of the room. Juno grabbed Edward's cold hand in her warm one and dragged him along behind her. The others all followed without much prompting.
Alice led the two into two chairs sitting beside each other and practically shoved the human into it, with a squeak. Edward quickly sat down beside her so he wouldn't feel the overenthusiastic wrath that was his younger sister.
"Great. Just great" Juno muttered, adjusting herself on the rickety chair, which tipped to a side whenever she moved. The others began to take seats around the table themselves, sitting in couples or threes.
Emmett made an exaggerated move, throwing his arms around Rosalie's shoulders, making the blond frown at his exuberance, while Emmett looked directly at the telepath and nodded at Juno, whose face burned with embarrassment when she understood what he was doing. Go on, 'little brother'.
Edward rolled his eyes, but relented. His placed his arm across Juno's shoulders and she unconsciously moved closer to him. It took her a few moments, but she relaxed, melting in his embrace. The monster inside him almost roared with triumph at the signs of submission. Mine.
Emmett really did have the best ideas sometimes.
Though believe him, they were very rare.
(hermione)
No matter what she felt for them, Hermione really had to compliment on the Cullen's outfits. Alice had gone for cute; a blue fairy dress with light wings and black and white striped tights, a pair of very high heels complimenting the outfit. Whilst Alice looked cute Rosalie was obviously playing on her figure, which Alice seemed to lack in comparison. She was wearing a darker fairy outfit than her pixie like sister – a tight bodice of leather with a frayed skirt of thin red and black netting. Her hair hung loose in messy yet somehow controlled waves and her make-up was simple but sexy, smoky eyes and red lips. The only piece of jewellery she wore was a pendant around her throat.
Jasper had worn a Confederate army uniform, and coupled with his slight Southern accent, Hermione couldn't help but wonder if he was actually a part of the confederacy when he was a human. Edward had gone as William Darcy (someone Hermione had to admit Juno slightly drooled over when they watched the movie. Then again she did as well), while Emmett has gone as the classic vampire.
Hermione couldn't help but giggle at the irony that no one else seemed to get. She couldn't believe how dim her boyfriend and best friend were sometimes.
The Cullen's were also different than any other vampires (of course, she had never actually met any, except for Sanguini at Professor Slughorns Christmas party, and he spent most of the time staring possessed at her neck. She had made a very quick exit, feeling foolish for not covering her neck. Juno had even worn a scarf!). Alice was so down-to-earth and hyperactive; Hermione was amazed at everything she did. Rosalie obviously believed she was better than them and only talked to her siblings and glared at any of the human girls who obviously dared look at her boyfriend. Jasper was extremely quiet, and looked so tense whenever one of the humans moved or blushed or anything, Hermione had to wonder how strong his control was; it definitely wasn't very. Emmett was basically a Weasley, decades too old and no red hair. He had a great booming laugh that had everyone who wasn't used to it jumping every time he did so. He was chatting away and joking with Ron, who was bonding with the first person since they had moved there.
Hermione couldn't believe of all creatures, vampires were making her family happy.
She may need to start changing her views on them.
As well as her views on humans, if Lauren continued talking.
Ignoring the Cullen's and even her and her siblings entirely, the blond spent most of the time insulting others outfits. Hermione was becoming very sick of her condescending remarks, and even her annoying laugh, and decided to tell her so.
Lauren gaped at her, her wide mouth wider than normal, while Juno practically cackled.
"Hermione, you dick" she cried, making other members of the group snort. "I love it!" she added in an undertone, and Ron stared at Hermione in near admiration. "Bout bloody time" she heard him mutter under his breath.
"Why you little-"
"Hey, Al. You have these random purse thingies too?" Juno asked out loud, cutting through Lauren's retort before it escalated into an argument. Alice blinked for a second before holding up a little blue purse the same colour as her dress. Juno held up her own sequined black one, her mouth tilting upwards in amusement. "It's stupid really. How small are they? Can't fit a thing in them. Might as well just have pockets in the dressed. I'm sure fairy, nymph, hell pixies don't have purses. What do you guys think?" she asked the other girls, and Hermione had to stop herself from slapping her forehead in exasperation; that definitely wasn't the smart thing to do.
Rosalie remained silent and seemed fascinated with her blood red nails; Angela gave a small nod and smiled; Jessica shrugged with an 'I suppose' while Alice smiled too. The boys chuckled to themselves while Lauren gave her a scathing, sickened glare which Hermione didn't like. At. All.
They don't seem to understand, true they didn't know, that Juno didn't have the usual typical teenage girl upbringing, she thought. She never had the chance to discover fashion or boys or any of those things. She spent the first ten years of her life suffering at the Dursley's, which she didn't even divulge to Ron and Hermione the full extent of what happened to her there, and arrived at Hogwarts, emotionally repressed, undernourished and so much more. From the moment she arrived, she was fighting against Voldemort, in many different forms and appearances. Hell, she'd been fighting him since the moment she was born. She simply didn't have the time to do so many things. She only just had to the chance to now.
And Lauren was extremely getting on Hermione's bad side more than she previously was already by trying to deny the brunette that.
"Way to burst her bubble" Ron commented dryly (he seemed to notice as well) to the blond haired girl upon seeing the forlorn look on Juno's face when she recognised the glare. Hermione frowned at him but chose not to dignify his words with a reply and it seemed neither did Lauren. The green eyed witch shrugged after a second and went back to slurping her drink with a happy grin upon her face. Edward's arm seemed to tighten slightly from where it was wrapped around her shoulders.
He in particular, seemed to glare daggers at Lauren.
(alice)
Alice relaxed against the back of her chair, resting her head against her mates shoulder and her gaze flickered over their little 'group'.
Lauren was adamant on being the centre of attention, succeeding in gaining Tyler's, Eric's, Jessica's and, though she believed it was unwilling, Ron's (Angela had 'saved' herself by 'escaping' to the bathroom about five minutes before and had yet to make an appearance). Ron was trying not to let his irritation show to Edward though he scowled at the couple frequently. Alice really hoped Edward would be able to fix it up with him, no matter what their problems were and at least become friends. Ron was very important to Juno, Juno was important to Edward. Ergo, Ron was important to Edward. The redhead's dazed face indicated that he had long drowned out Lauren's mindless chattering beside him, but seemed attentive when glaring at the brunet vampire and his mate.
From beside him and Rosalie, Hermione was alternating her time from glancing from Edward to Juno and then to Ron and back again and responding automatically to Mike's continuous drabble about La Push and football. Alice actually felt sorry for the poor girl and she shot her a sympathetic smile, which Hermione weakly returned. Rosalie herself, glanced from her nails to rolling her eyes at the humans conversation, and from time to time glared at her mate, Emmett, who was grinning at his youngest 'brother' and his date, and his thoughts were obviously making a mockery of Edward who deviated from talking and smiling at Juno to glaring at the much larger vampire with a silent promise to make him pay later.
Really, it was a group effort of everyone watching the newly established couple (well, they weren't technically established yet, since both their love lives consisted of, well, zilch, neither could really tell they were in a relationship as of yet)
Alice couldn't help but giggle to herself. Juno and Edward looked so cute together. The brunette had turned herself away from the others drowning out the conversations around her entirely after what Lauren had insinuated with her glare, sitting in the crook of Edward's arm that he had wrapped around her after Emmett prompted him, not discreetly of course (much to Alice's enjoyment and the couple's embarrassment). The two were whispering together, even with the loud music and talks of their peers around them, and Alice was saving herself for teasing Edward about it later, as she knew Emmett was doing at the exact same moment
Alice sighed loudly, alerting her blond mate beside her of her boredom. He gave her an amused look before he offered her a hand. She beamed at him, as he brought her to her feet and they moved between the crowded legs of their peers to step closer to the dance floor. She glanced beside her should to Edward and smiled. Well, hurry up and ask her to dance then!
(juno)
I had never been so embarrassed. As if the atmosphere wasn't tense enough already, with Edward and his siblings coming to join us and the tense way Jessica and the others held themselves at the 'intrusion', I had to make a fool of myself by asking things apparently a teenage girl should know when I was trying to make small talk. I hated awkward moments and even babbled when they occurred. I hadn't attended the usual school. I attended a magical boarding school and wizards were very far behind with the times. Hell, they used quills and were amazed by electrical things and the fashion of Muggle society and they didn't look like they were going to change any time soon. Edward was absolutely no hope whatsoever with the situation and just sat there with what I knew was a smirk upon his face.
"You seem subdued" he said now.
"I'm thanking my stars that I had you to back me up when I had that stupid moment earlier" I said, sarcastically, before I glared at him. "You, sir, are no help"
Edward smiled. "I honestly didn't find anything wrong with it"
"Everything was wrong with it. I'm a girl. I should know all these things"
"Alice, Jessica and Angela all agreed with you. If you don't want the bag, just leave it here. It won't go anywhere"
I clutched the bag to my chest. "No" I mumbled, and he laughed that melodic laugh of his. I flushed in embarrassment. "It has my phone in it. And valuable things. I'm not just going to leave it here"
Alice chose that moment to stand up, and she and Jasper led the way onto the dance floor which had begun to play a slow song. Alice glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Edward, encouragingly.
"Do you want to dance, Juno?" he asked. Damn.
"Uh, it's a slow song. I can't, I mean...I really can't. I-I-" I stuttered as he stood and held his hand out to me.
"Are the ends to these sentences good or bad?" he questioned, with a smile.
"I'll let you know when I finish them" I admitted.
"So" Edward said, beginning to pull me to my feet by my hand. I went willingly, though I was still stuttering an excuse to continue to sit for the rest of the night, but not even I could decipher my ramblings.
"You don't mind, do you?" he asked as we reached the dance floor.
"I suppose not" I stammered, and didn't protest as he slipped one strong arm around my waist, and pulled me closer to his chest. I was positive he could feel my trembling and I rested a hand uncertainly on his shoulder. He grasped the other with his own free hand as we began moving slowly to the music.
I would like to think our paths are straight
Disconnected from choices we make
That there is no reason why it can't be like you said
It took a few more moments before I relaxed entirely into his embrace, and drew both hands around his neck. Both of his hands came to rest on my lower back and pulled me closer to his chest.
"And you had such a problem with dancing" he murmured into my curls.
I'll be on your street
But I know one day it's gonna happen
You're gonna be swept off your feet
"I said I didn't really enjoy dancing. And you won't either. Just don't make me move too much on these heels and both of us will be fine" I giggled into his shoulder. I clung tightly to the fabric of the loose white shirt, as if someone was about to rip me away. And I expected it. I had never felt so calm and peaceful...in months.
I would like someone to make a map
Mark my home and draw some lines that match
All of the reasons why
It can be like you said
One day it's gonna happen
I don't know when
I felt more content in Edward's arms in the middle of a strange American high school, with friends and near strangers dancing around us, than I did surrounded by Aurors and shield spells in a heavily protected castle. Edward had changed something in me. For the past two years, it was adamant for me to keep my guard up, to not let anyone close, and keep those who were already close, safe. I had to keep Hermione and Ron safe from any sort of threat, ones both foreign and close to home. Every time I slipped up, something went wrong, somebody always got hurt. It was how I got into so many messes last year. Ron leaving, Dora running off after Bellatrix and me not stopping her, and –
But right now, I felt that I could just close my eyes and everything would be ok.
I'll be on your street
But I know one day it's gonna happen
You're gonna be swept off your feet
I don't know when
I don't know why
I don't know when
I don't know why
Just to my left, Jessica was dancing with Mike. He looked annoyed at me and Edward, but Jessica gave me a knowing smile and a small wave of barely contained excitement. I gave a small wave of acknowledgement back.
But all that I know is it's gonna happen
I don't know when
I'll be on your street
But I know one day it's gonna happen
You're gonna be swept off your feet
(~~)
The slow song had ended leading to a slightly faster, yet just as calming song. Edward and I had pulled away from each other but only slightly. And he was now attempting to lead me into; I think it was a waltz or something? He twirled me around before pulling me back towards him, me giggling. He gave me one of his breathtaking smiles.
"Tell me about your life before you came here"
"I thought we'd been through that many times before" I said, quirking an eyebrow.
He smiled softly. "You're my enigma, remember? Everything always seems to change with you"
I sighed, fiddling with my identity bracelet. "Well, there was boarding school, which is nowhere near as bad as it sounds. It was kinda cool. Made some very close friends that I'm sure will stay there for a long time to come. Umm...it was how I was reunited with Remus as well. He became a teacher there when I was twelve, so I was finally able to get to know him. I also met my dad's best friend that year. He died a couple of years later"
"I'm sorry" Edward said, stroking a curl behind my ear.
I gave an odd jerk of s shrug. "It's ok. I know he's ok now" I literally did. It was a very weird situation when you talked to an apparition of a dead relative who was temporarily bought back with a Deathly Hallows. "He didn't feel pain so I believe he is ok wherever he is now"
"You care so deeply for so many people" Edward mused, almost to himself.
"Yeah. It's my greatest gift, weapon and curse all rolled up into one" I remarked, bitterly, regretting the moment the words fell from my lips.
"Why?"
"Nothing" I said, quickly. Edward raised an eyebrow and sighed. "There are just some things that I don't like talking about. To anyone. That answer is one of them. I shouldn't have mentioned it"
"I understand, Juno. I do. But I want you to know that you can. Talk to me about whatever you want. I would love us to be able to open up to each other in the future" he pleaded, twirling me away and back to him again.
I stopped, rigid as I looked directly into his amber eyes. "I've known you for seven weeks and I already feel I have exposed too much to you about myself" I admitted, shaking my head in disbelief. "After six years, there are still some things Ron and Hermione don't even know about me, because it's me, Edward. It's my business. And the fact you place yourself so high up astounds me."
Edward sighed, almost annoyed himself before closing his eyes. He opened them again, the determination clear. "Tell me something otherwise I'm left with the things everyone else tells me"
"Then why don't you ever do the same?" I snapped back, instantly. We had long stopped dancing to the music and were standing there, no longer touching either and just looking at each other.
Edward was silent, but I had gotten my answer: he wouldn't. I rolled my eyes, and pulled myself away from him. He reached out towards me, his mouth opening as if he wished to say something, but I ignored him and walked in the opposite direction and right off the dance floor, manoeuvring through the happy dancing couples.
God, I hate them all.
(edward)
Alice had commandeered Juno's attention now. The tiny vampire had grabbed the brunette human after she had walked away from Edward during their dancing and pulled her on to the dance floor herself. The much faster songs had started so Juno was looking quite awkward and giggling much more than usual as Alice led her into a butchered version of a waltz mixed with some form of dance he had never seen before. Then again, he was talking about Alice here. Edward sat beside his brothers in their corner, which was now empty apart from them.
"Dude, I can't help you" Emmett confessed when Edward explained what had happened. "All women are different. Look at Alice and Rosalie. Both act very different. You have to approach things to them in certain ways. It's something you will learn while you and Juno are together"
"Sometimes, I don't think Juno even wants to be with me" Edward admitted. It was something that had been going in his head for a while now. There so many times when he and Juno got so close, and then the next minute she was pulling away and things were cold between them for a while. The yo-yoing to and from was beginning to give him a headache.
"Love stinks" Emmett said as a way of answering. "You've known her for two months. It'll take time"
"You and Rosalie were inseparable within a week" Edward pushed. "And Alice and Jasper were the same. Don't even get me started on Carlisle and Esme"
"We were all vampires when we met" Jasper said, speaking for the first time in the entire conversation. "We all recognised each other as our mates. Juno is a human. A strange one, but a human nonetheless. She doesn't feel the vampiric urge to be with you like we all did, but she does feel for you, Edward. Very strongly. Her soul recognises yours but she doesn't know how to act with it. It's rare for me to feel things from her" he admitted. The fact only Alice's power seemed to work on the girl merely increased their interest with her. "Only when she feels very strongly. She feels very strongly for you" he said softly. "She may not love you yet, but she is getting there Edward, trust me. You just have to give her time. She'll come to you"
Rosalie chose that moment to come strutting over. "Is he still crying over his stupid human?"
God, his sister annoyed him.
(juno)
I didn't know what name you would give what I was eating. But it was sweet and had sugar and I was hungry so I didn't really care. I had managed to get away (i.e escape) from Alice who then decided to dance with Rosalie, and snuck over to the food table to get something sugary.
The crowd on the dance floor had begun to disperse; some had been dancing all night and wanted to rest on the tables; others, like me, were hungry and eating whatever looked good. Which wasn't a large variety.
"Hey, Juno". I turned round to see Mike grinning at me. Damn.
"Hey, Mike" I replied, half-heartedly, silently begging for Jessica to come and take him away.
"Do you want to dance?"
"Uh...I'm eating" I said, holding up the piece of food which was really only a bite. "And I danced a lot with Edward...and Alice, so my feet kind of hurt"
"Well, maybe when you rested a bit" mike pressed, seemingly getting desperate. I racked through my brain, trying to think of a way to let him down gently.
"Go away. Shoo with your raging hormones" I laughed as Ron leaned around Mike and grabbed my arm. He pulled me around the blond haired boy and towards the dance floor himself.
"Best timing ever, Ron" I said, pushing the last of the sweet into my mouth.
"You owe me for that one, mate. I don't usually do the whole knight-in-shining armour deal for my best friend, whether you are a girl or not"
"Aw. But you do it so well" I joked, patting his arm. "Are you going to dance with me then?" I asked, as we stopped at a space in the dance floor.
"If it stops other boys groping you, then yes"
"Ok, just don't step on my feet" I asked, taking his hand and moving with him awkwardly to the music. "My feet already ache from these stupid heels"
"Whatever just don't outshine me with your dancing" he said, dipping me and pulling me back up again. I scoffed; Ron as well as all the Weasley siblings, had been forced to take dance lessons by Fleur and Mrs Weasley. If anything, he'd outshine me.
"Anyway…Remember, it's just me, Ron. You're with Juno at a Halloween costume ball in America and I'm in a bloody dress and heels so it should be funny and not intimidating at all" I reminded him, causing him to smile and nod his understanding.
He spun me around again and at that moment, I caught a quick glance of Hermione being pulled onto the floor by Alice, looking as if she was trying to dig her heels into the floor as not to move. Alice was obviously too strong for her to do so. I chuckled under my breath; the pixie-like girl was nothing if not an exuberant dancer. And a very determined person.
As Ron pulled me back, I looked over his shoulder to see one of the boys in Ron's history class gawping at me, running his eyes all over my body. Feeling a little mischievous, I winked flirtatiously at him and ran my tongue over my teeth, a little trick I learnt from Fleur, causing him to pale further and turn away hastily only to be met with the punch glass of his date beside him, successfully splashing himself in the face when she realised what he was doing.
Ron glanced back, rolling his eyes and laughing as he realised what I had done and stepped away from the bickering pair.
I had never worn anything like this before in my entire life and now I was wearing it in front of an entire crowd. At Bill and Fleur's wedding, I had worn a floor length blue dress that I had decided to keep (though I wouldn't disclose that information to Ron, who had said the minute he saw me that seeing me in a dress was the freakiest thing he had ever seen. He learnt from the very hard smack I delivered on the back of his head not to mention it this time) which became nothing but a nuisance when we were running from Death Eaters and down Muggle streets after only wearing it for two hours. More than anything, I felt like running home, throwing on an overlarge t-shirt and shorts and freaking comfortable shoes or even slippers to replace this annoyingly painful heels before racing back here and reclaiming my position dancing with Ron. I wished I was back in Dudley's old hand-me-downs; they were what I was most used to.
My nervousness, however, had slightly diminished the minute I looked up and was met with image of an Edward Cullen staring at me as though he was looking into the very image of a transcendent presence – at least he wasn't undressing me with his eyes.
"June? Are you still pissed because of Lauren bitching about your outfit and Cullen being a dick?" Ron suddenly asked, breaking through my deep thoughts and I looked up at him in surprise and amusement.
"What? Lauren pisses me off, yeah. But it's nothing I can't handle. She's nothing on Parkinson and I never let her get under my skin did I?" he nodded in acknowledgment; however, Hermione did allow Parkinson to get under her skin. "Or Edward" I stressed his name pointedly, but he just shrugged half-heartedly. I rolled my eyes and Ron twirled me around again before responding.
"Good. As a girl you should also know that the main reason girls make fun of each other is because they're jealous. I learned that from my Ginny and mum. And the fact I have older brothers who have made it very clear to me how women can be spiteful in that sense"
"I will still never understand why people can be jealous of me. I have more shit in my life than gold" I admitted.
"Actually, you do have a lot of gold" he joked. I rolled my eyes again. "Well, back home, you were the Golden Girl. You were Dumbledore's favourite; loads of teachers loved you-"
"Except Snape and Trelawney. One hated my entire existence 'cause I was the child of the woman he loved who had a baby with a bastard and the other predicted my death daily" I said with a smirk. "However much I sort of respected Snape in the end and I still sort of do now, I still hate the bastard and am so glad I don't have to deal with Trelawney"
"Luna loves her, according to Neville. Luna has always been barkers though"
"But that's why we love her so much" I said, as he let me go as the song ended and started into a slower one. He gestured his head towards the seats which were now vacant and we walked over to them. "She fits into our dysfunctional group"
"You reckon Neville has asked her out yet?" Ron asked, as he dropped into the seat, me falling into the one beside him, and immediately going to untie my boots.
"He did about two weeks ago to the Hogsmeade weekend, which is actually today. It's about time too. He's been crushing on her for over a year and she had been dropping hints throughout the year according to Gin" I said, kicking off both boots and under my chair. "You know, in that special way of hers"
"You knew..? All this time? H—How?" Ron asked, his voice cracking but I just rolled her eyes at his ignorance.
"Oh please…It was obvious. Those two are meant for each other…I knew it was only a matter of time." I told him. "They will have Herbology obsessed, goofy, blond haired and brown eyes babies within a number of years"
"Bloody hell, I hope not" Ron muttered, running a hand through his hair.
"Juno..." I glanced up to see Edward standing just beside my chair, looking very apologetic
"Well" Ron said, awkwardly. "I'm going to go do...something" he said. He patted my knee, before rising from the chair and wandering off onto the dance floor. He glanced over his shoulder at us a few times, before joining Hermione and pulling her onto the dance floor.
Edward sat down in the chair Ron had just vacated and looked down at his feet and an uncomfortable silence fell between us.
"I hope my family hasn't made you too crazy" he said, tilting his head slightly in the direction of, where Alice was sitting on Jasper's lap and jabbering away into the blond's ear.
"No, Alice was on her best behaviour. And Jasper is really a Southern gentleman, isn't he?" Edward couldn't help but smile, and I gave a goofy grin. "Emmett is a real laugh, though. We should get him to talk to Ron more. I actually think they would get along really well-"
"Juno..." Edward cut in, and I fell silent on explaining on how Ron and Emmett would make really good friends. "I'm sorry"
I didn't need to ask him to explain what for. "I forgive you" I said, holding his hand. "I feel like I will be able to tell you a lot of things. But...I have a lot of secrets. And I have a lot of things to deal with. But I promise to tell you as much as I can. If you promise that you can wait a while"
He played with my fingers, before kissing the back of my hand. "I will wait for you"
I couldn't help the beam that got stuck on my face for the rest of the evening.
(~~)
It had gotten to the last hour of the dance, and I believe the faculty was trying to make it as good as possible. Everyone was now on the dance floor, dancing to the loudest, fastest song I had ever heard. My head was literally pounding along to the bass beat. I winced, rubbing it, before I walked to the table and grabbed my coat. Alice glanced up at me with a frown
"I'm going to go sit outside for a minute" I said as an answer, almost yelling over the music.
"Are you ok?" she asked, obviously worried.
"Yeah, I just have a bit of a headache. I just want to sit in some peace and quiet for a while. I'll be back soon" I said. She opened her mouth as if to say something but I cut across her. "But, Alice, if Edward asks where I am, just tell him, ok?"
"Ok" she said, with a shrug. "Don't be gone long" she added. I strolled around the edge of the room and out the gym doors. I hurried quickly down the corridor leading to the exit. I pushed open the door to the parking lot, and hissed as the cold bit my skin. I pulled the jacket over myself and zipped it up, all the time hopping on my feet to try and keep warm.
During the time from when we arrived to now, it had begun to snow and it had snowed a lot. It was only just hitting November tomorrow, really only in a few hours, but with the incessant cold weather, frequent rain and common fog within Forks, Washington; I wasn't really surprised that snow came early. I stepped over a patch of ice that had formed right beside the door, and with a wave of my hand, it melted with a hiss.
I sat on the railing beside one of the cars and buried my nose into the fur around the collar of my coat. I wished I had brought Ron's one; Mrs. Weasley always made the warmest winter clothes for her children. She had made some for me, but due to the fact I am a complete idiot, I forgot to bring any of mine.
"Juno"
I turned to the door and smiled. "There is my man of the evening" I blushed and giggled at my exuberance, while Edward just shook his head. He hadn't bought a jacket himself and was just wearing his costume. I swear that boy didn't feel cold. He walked over and joined me on the pole.
"Alice said you wanted quiet" he said as a way of answering the unasked question on why he was here.
"Yeah. The music was giving me a bit of a headache" I said, rubbing my hand.
"Would you like me to take you home?" he asked, looking concerned.
"Oh, no. It's ok. The dance is nearly over. Plus, I need to drive home. I don't trust the others with the truck"
"The truck looks like it could break down any day now"
"Ugh, not you too" I whined. "Why does everyone diss the truck? Not everyone can have Volvos you know"
He laughed and I couldn't stop myself from saying, "you should smile and laugh more" he raised his eyebrows in question. "It's an uplifting laugh. It...It's just nice"
It was like something out of a romance movie. The loving calming of winter and a couple sitting in starlight.
But trembling and flushed cheeks and nervous nail biting definitely weren't a part of it.
"Juno?" Edward asked, an amused smile playing upon his lips. "Are you ok?"
"Yep" I replied, my lips popping with the 'p'. I adjusted myself on the pole I was sitting on, making myself do something in my nervousness, squealing as I slipped backwards. Edward reacted instantly and pulled me back on higher and closer towards him. His smile widened as I blushed in embarrassment and he placed a hand onto my knee.
I suddenly found this uncomfortable position much more satisfying.
{edward}
Her hand was soft. Incredibly soft, and so warm against his ice skin. He wondered how she could stand touching him, being touched by him. It never seemed to bother her. He rarely touched humans, and when he did they always flinched away. She seemed to crave his touch. Cold or not
Edward stroked the lone curl that fell into her eyes back behind her ear. She stared almost transfixed as he trailed a finger down her cheek, feeling the blood rise to the surface beneath it. His long pale fingers travelled from her jaw, and down her pulse point, making her shiver and goose bumps to appear upon her pale skin. He kept his eyes locked with hers, gauging her reaction. He saw nothing negative so he continued.
Her breath hitched, as he placed his hand above her heart. They had moved closer together, her body pressed as close to his as she could sitting on the railing, protected by him.
Her hand moved from her own thigh to clutch his face again, her fingers in his hair.
He suppressed a groan. What was she doing to him? His body was begging him to claim...the scent...the -
Her face was so close to his, her lips, that beautiful rose petal lips, tempting him, begging him to pull them between his own teeth. He could feel his breath on her mouth, so warm...so warm.
Suddenly, he felt warm lips being pressed against his own. As abrupt as it was, the lips remained hesitant, unsure. He was confused. He was supposed to initiate the first kiss. She was so awkward and nervous throughout their entire relationship; he needed to initiate it, to show her how much he cared.
He pushed that thought out of his mind as she tried to pull away. He placed a hand underneath her chin and brought their lips together once more.
His body was shocked with such a euphoric rainbow of emotions; he thought his heart would burst if it could still beat. It was so much better than he had ever imagined. He pressed his lips softly against hers again and again, mockery of the previous kiss, and she smiled, before closing her eyes with a sigh that fluttered against his lips.
He gripped her thigh tight in his hands, his other arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer. Always closer. A feral purr sprouted deep within his chest, rumbling, and Juno whimpered, her fists clenching impossibly tight in his hair. The pain was barely there, but who knew he was such a masochist?
Her lips pressed insistently against his, begging, silently pleading for more. Who was he to deny her?
With a soft growl, he felt the material of her tights rip beneath his fingers. She gasped in shock against his lips, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth. It made the kiss so much more better. Infinitely better.
She pulled away with a gasp, and he cursed himself for forgetting she actually needed to breathe. He panted unnecessarily, as she ducked her head and tried to catch her breath.
"Juno?"
She made a soft noise in the back of her throat, as she fiddled with the frayed material of her tights, the hole growing larger by the second.
"This may be long overdue, but...would you do me the honour of being my girlfriend?" he asked, kissing the top of her head. She paused for a moment, silent, before she glanced up to him, beaming. She pressed a soft kiss upon his lips.
"You bet your ass I will after that". He chuckled and brought her back for a second innocent kiss.
(juno)
That's right. Edward Cullen was now officially my boyfriend. I had spent the last half an hour of the dance before everyone was being made to go home, with a stupid little smile on my face and Edward had held my hand the entire time. I could tell from Hermione's raised eyebrows and Alice's little squeal that they knew what had happened.
Though it could be because there was a smudge of my lipstick on Edward's lips. But it was gone before anyone else could see it.
I know boys well enough to know that he would probably never live it down with his brothers.
Hermione held Ron's hand and I followed behind with a goofy grin on my face as we walked towards the truck.
"Juno, at least put on your coat!" Hermione scolded, shoving the coat towards me as Ron opened the passenger door and the driver's door and climbed in himself.
"Fuck that" I shivered, grabbing the coat and throwing it onto the backseat of the truck and I stepped back so Hermione could climb in. "when I turn on the heater it's like the damn Sahara in here. I don't need a winter coat, trust me"
I glanced across the lot, where Edward and his siblings were walking towards the car, the latters talking amongst themselves. Almost as if sensing my gaze, Edward glanced up at me and smiled. I smiled and waved back, before starting up the car, and flicking on the heater.
"I have a boyfriend now" I boasted to Ron, who rolled his eyes excessively.
I'm a good driver, albeit a little speedy...fine, a lot speedy, but the police here were so lax with speeding tickets it never seemed to matter. But I only got my licence when we moved to Forks, so I've never driven in snow and ice before. I definitely shouldn't have driven in such an unstable truck, but on these roads anyone would have a hard time getting anywhere.
The truck twitched and shifted as I pulled out of the school parking lot, causing me to cling to the steering wheel as tight as I could. I saw Ron grab onto the door frame as tight as possible. Bet he's glad me and Hermione always bugger him about his seatbelt, eh? I thought, glancing sideways at it.
Apparently, even after high-jacking a car when we were like eleven and almost crashing it into the train and me almost being thrown out of the passenger door, didn't teach Ron about the importance of road safety.
(edward)
Alice gasped in shock, and doubled over just as she was about to enter the Volvo. Jasper was immediately by his mate's side, hooking an arm around her waist. Their siblings paused by the open doors of the car.
"Alice? What's wrong?" Rosalie asked, frowning in a faint show of concern.
The Seer gasped for another moment or two unnecessarily as the vision, as they could see now, ended. Her hands flew over her mouth, suddenly, and her amber coloured eyes sought out Edwards.
"Juno" was all she whispered, before the brunet vampire was tearing down the streets towards the direction his mate had gone.
Brief glances into Alice's mind had shown him all he had needed to know.
He would not allow anything to happen to his mate.
(juno)
The more confidence I gained as I took control on the icy roads, I inched the speedometer upwards, toward twenty-five. Hermione's hiss of disapproval and admonishment of 'careful!' made me cease attempting to go any higher.
The tiny road that was just a few streets away from ours came up ahead, and Hermione leaned over from the back to fiddle with radio, which had begun to make hissing and static noises.
"This truck is falling apart" she mumbled under her breath.
"No, it's not. You're just being picky because we didn't get a car you approved of" I admonished, slapping her hand away from the dial and just turning it off. "Driver picks music and as there is no music, driver picks off"
"Watch the road" Ron said, gesturing out the windscreen. I rolled my eyes and turned the truck to the right.
I should've watched the road.
I slammed onto the brake as the truck suddenly began to slide haphazardly across the street. "Shit, shit" I cursed under my breath as I turned to control the steering wheel. I smashed down onto the brakes with the full force of my strength. It was the worst mistake I could have made, for the truck began to wiz in a fast and furious spin. Heart hammering faster than the spinning, fear building in a tantamount of pressure, Hermione screaming in the back and Ron cursing beside me; the blur of the houses in the road, the cars, the car that wasn't coming straight towards us and didn't seem able to stop.
I screamed, as the car was pulled upwards instead of forwards and I realised we were flipping as we hit the edge of the curb. Eyes wide, I threw my arms up in a weak attempt to save myself from the collision that followed.
I yelped as with a jerk around my navel, as I was yanked out of my seat. There was a rush of wind in my hair, the burning of the cold on my bare skin, the iron hard grip around my waist. Milliseconds that felt like hours and days and I was gliding seamlessly through the air.
Suddenly, I found myself being slammed down by gravity and suddenly I was on the cold hard pavement. The grip around me tightened, as my head hit the concrete. I hissed as stars burst behind my eyes and black spots began to cloud my vision.
I looked up to see the truck on its side, twenty feet away from me, crushing the front of a parked car. Faintly noticing the hot trail the blood from my new head wound was making down my cheek, I turned round to see what was holding me so tightly.
Eyes wider than ever, I stared straight down into eyes of horrified golden topaz.
"…Edward?"
Let's try and hit 300 reviews, yeah? Hope this chapter was worth it. All pages.
Song is Street Map by Athlete. So obviously I don't own it.
Words: 9380
Date: 03/05/10
Emmett's costume was from 'Hopeless Idiot' who thought Emmett would do something like that. I thought about it and said 'yeah, he would, wouldn't he?' And I thought Jasper would be very patriotic. Edward? Come on, who doesn't love William Darcy?
I wasn't going to put the kiss in there. I thought about interrupting them just before, but with the cliffhanger at the end and the wait, I decided to give you guys a treat. It actually seemed to go to second base. I was aiming for like the little innocent first kiss you have with your boyfriends, most likely your first, but oh well.
The fact I am having three month breaks in between is killing me. So sorry. Please stick with me, I will update and I will finish this story. Hell no am I abandoning it.