Chapter 2: Edward Cullen Is that You?
Edward Masen was walking with his mother, his hand behind his back against his slate gray jacket, his bronze locks in a bit of a mess, rosy cheeks aglow and deep brown eyes set in narrow concentration. He was a bit annoyed that his mother was dragging him out shopping again, but he enjoyed her company and they were very close. She was always suggesting whom he should find suitable as a wife, and he always just laughed and brushed it off. He was a quiet young man and kept to himself as much as possible.
"I do not see how my actions of procrastination differ on the choices for a wife. With our wealth and the beauty you claim I possess they should be knocking persistently at the door. It is my personality that drives them off, dear Mother."
He smirked, knowing she would counter that because in truth they never ran off, it was just that he had a way of shutting himself in that caused them all to lose interest rather quickly.
Further down that same street, Bella was trying to keep from running, knowing that wherever she was, women did not run. Granted, she may have nodded off more than once in history, but she did have a pretty good idea of how the women of this era acted just based it off the clothing worn around her. Pausing at the corner, Bella raised her eyes just enough to make sure it was safe before crossing the street and lowering her gaze back down to the muddy and uneven ground.
She was finding it quite difficult to walk in whatever shoes she was wearing, but she couldn't see them on account of the horrible dress. As she bit on the corner of her lip, she began to wonder if she had truly lost her mind. Never in her ninety years had she ever heard of something like this happening to a vampire, and she wasn't sure that anyone else would believe something like this. Passing a young man and a slightly older woman, she kept her head down not wanting to draw attention to herself; it was the last thing she needed now.
Elizabeth Masen looked at her son with a slight a smirk upon her full lips. "Sweetheart, you don't drive them away, you push them away by not letting them in," she tried explaining to him. He never really understood that all these young girls fancied him with such enthusiasm. "Take this young very attractive woman sitting over there," she said, pointing to her left at a beautiful maiden sitting cross-legged on a bench across the street with her cross-stitch. "Look at the way she glances up at you quickly then blushes and looks down, hoping you had not noticed her glance." She looked back around to Edward and saw that he was looking in the other direction, seeming to be uninterested. "Edward Masen!" she screamed, and the entire town seemed to turn and look in their direction.
Edward's eyes went wide, he glanced over, smirked, and then blushed. "I'm truly sorry it's just, alright well you caught me, I have no interest in knowing a woman who thinks I'm gorgeous because she is highly mistaken. I am as uncommon as they come. Now can we please find a new jacket for me and be on our way?" Starting down the street again, he could only hope is his mother was still following.
Bella was still on the same street, furiously turning things over in her head, while at the same time trying to focus on walking. Granted, she didn't have to breathe, but had she been alive she might not have been able to considering the tight, restricting dress she was wearing. She sighed and held her hand over her stomach as she walked, still not paying much attention to the uneven road.
Suddenly, the woman she had passed yelled at the tall gentleman she was walking with, and it caused her to trip forward over her dress. Strangely enough, the young man had the same name as Edward, but it couldn't be him because the two that she passed were very much alive, with two very beating hearts. She hit the ground and cursed softly, not wanting to move. Her luck just kept getting better and better.
Elizabeth looked into her beautiful son's eyes and then lay both of her palms on his cheeks, "Edward, you are one of the most handsome young lads around. Any girl would be lucky to be chosen as your wife, and they all know that. Believe me; I'm not just saying that because I am your mother." She looked at him with warm, caring eyes, slowly dropped her hands, and put one arm through his. "Let us go and find you a winter coat, shall we?" She began walking arm and arm with Edward, sweetly greeting people as she passed. She was a very kind woman, with much love in her heart. It was then that she noticed a young girl sitting on the hard ground on her knees not moving. "I wonder if the poor dear is alright," she said as she all but pulled Edward along with her to check on the young woman. "Come along, Edward, pick up your feet."
Edward sighed and glanced down as his mother pulled him forward down the street until they were upon the young woman. Finally noticing the girl on the ground he knelt down beside her and extended his hand to help her stand. "You are quite cold, are you alright, Miss?" he asked questioningly as he pulled off his jacket. He was a proper gentleman, and his mother would have been quite angry with him if he didn't help someone in need. She had raised him well, and pointing out the young girl to him was a little test.
Bella felt like the world was going to open up and eat her when she heard his soft, lilting voice beside her. Now she really felt her grasp on the situation slipping through her fingers. She rested her hand in his without question, stood slowly, and straightened her dress, still refusing to look up at him. "Yes, yes... I just caught my shoe on something and tripped." Finally, after a long moment, she worked up the courage to look at him, biting on the left corner of her lip as she did. It was him… but it couldn't be… he was alive. She shook her head for a moment, trying to find the words to speak. "Thank you E…" she stopped herself suddenly as his name almost slipped past her full red lips.
Elizabeth watched her son with a big smile upon her face. She couldn't hide how happy she was that he seemed interested in the girl. But she could not get over the strange shade of her eyes as she looked over the girl's pretty face. Elizabeth knew almost everyone in town as she was a very social person, but she had never met this girl before. Once Edward had helped her up, Elizabeth reached a hand out in a friendly gesture. "Hello. My name is Elizabeth Masen, and this is my son, Edward. I do not believe we have met before. What is your name, Miss?" she asked in a very kind voice.
Edward gently slid his jacket around the girl's shoulders and gave her a small smile before politely turning his head and bringing his fist to his mouth. He coughed a few times, grimaced, and then cleared his throat. "Pardon me." Smiling again, he looked back down at Bella's eyes, which he found to be the oddest shade of gold; he found himself unable to look away.
Continuing to bite on her lip, Bella looked down at the ground, knowing that she had really lost it. There was no way that she was standing in front of his mother. If she could have passed out, she would have. Forcing a smile upon her face, she looked back up as she thought she would be fitted with a straight jacket if she dared tell anyone about this. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Masen. I am... Isabella Cullen but most just call me Bella." Your son's future wife, she couldn't help but think as she extended her hand to shake Elizabeth's. Looking up at Edward with concerned eyes, she almost fell back down when she realized the timing. Immediately, she began to pull the jacket back off of her shoulders. "It sounds as if you need this more than me."
Elizabeth took Bella's hand gracefully and shook it with a smile. "The pleasure is all ours, my dear," she said as she released Bella's hand to look back up at her son, wanting to slap him across the head as she noticed the appraising looks he was giving the young girl. Keeping quiet for a moment more, she turned her attentions back on Bella. "So, my dear where do you hail from?"
Edward shook his head as he refused the jacket that Bella was trying to give back to him. "You are as cold as death dear, please put the jacket back on." He folded his hands behind his back and sighed deeply before taking a step back. "Excuse me." Coughing into his hand once more, he reached up and pulled at the collar of his suit jacket before stepping back up beside his mother. "You will have to excuse her. She is the social butterfly of this town, and she makes it her business to know everyone." He continued to watch the girl as he smiled his trademark crooked smile.
Bella racked her brain, forming answers and quickly tossing them away, each sounding more ludicrous than the previous. Keeping a smile on her face and her hat at just the right angle to keep the sun off her face, she adjusted the jacket knowing she wouldn't be able to convince him to take it back. "Well it is nice to meet you both. I am from a small town in Washington." She looked at the ground and adjusted the fingers of her gloves, "I haven't been in town long." It was like a bad acid trip from the seventies, the kind you just couldn't seem to wake up from. Smirking to herself, she smiled again as she looked back up, not knowing what else to say.