Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
An hour has passed since Bella and Alice rumbled off in a rusty antique truck headed for the Cullen home by way of Bella's house. For those sixty minutes, Edward has been sitting in Bella's seat at the back of the class trying not to destroy the desk his palms are pressed flat against. The scent of her blood is maddening, stuck to every surface around him. In his mind he can trace the motion of her body during class using just his nose as a guide. He can feel her warmth from the chair heating him so slightly, and he's running his hand over the displacement of warmth on the desk from her arms, elbows. He puts his head down and endeavors to breathe in and out calmly.
The growling started only 5 minutes in, too low a frequency for humans to hear. When it reached a crescendo after about 40 minutes, Edward was surprised there weren't humans crawling all around his classroom demanding to know where the lion is hidden.
Then a mysterious thing happened; his thoughts came into focus, the venom stopped flowing so freely and he could relax his body's cramped and rigid posture. The urge to track and kill fades like a barely-there recollection. Holding a lungful of Bella-filled air, he makes his way home using speeds even he considers unsafe. As the R8 growls into the driveway outside the front door, Edward stops, thereby blocking the rust-red jalopy from leaving without his assistance.
Esme and Alice are making small talk with Bella in the living room, and it seems like they're all waiting for him to arrive. The guarantee of privacy can only be achieved one place in their home; he's already planning to steal Bella away to his music room. As he paws the front door open, he asks, "Bella, do you think we could speak alone?" The scent of her blood surrounds him like a shroud, inciting and enticing him.
"Hello to you, too, Edward." Alice is rolling her eyes.
When Bella hesitates, stutters and looks pointedly at Esme, Edward quickly comes to her rescue, "There are no secrets in this house. Esme already knows what transpired between us yesterday, as well as the rest of my family. Trust me when I say that my family is the least of your worries. We understand the need for privacy and discretion perfectly."
His devilish smile is offered in tandem with his hand. Bella doesn't take it, or respond in any way other than to stand and wait for him to lead the way. Her determined and dark facial expression is causing Edward's nerves to reappear. That they walk down the stairs in silence only serves to accentuate his unease, and his apprehension all but eliminates his bloodlust. Before he moves the sliding door out of their way, Alice shoots him several pieces of advice: Take it slow, Romeo. She's scared and more than a little embarrassed. Let her get to know you.
Bella is watching him intently as he opens the plexiglass with a smooth, measured pull of his arm. He gestures for her to enter the session room, then follows her in pulling the door shut behind him. "Bella." When she turns to him and he sees the fear and uncertainty in her eyes, it completely disarms him. In that moment Edward realizes that he's the cause of her turbulent emotions, and it sickens him; Edward wants to bring her only happiness. For her comfort and piece of mind he'll let her ask the questions, take the lead. He crosses the room and sits on the piano bench with his back to the keys, and silently regards the dark haired girl who's currently wandering the room.
Bella circumnavigates, ghosting her hands over various instruments and musical implements. She looks engrossed in her exploration, but Edward can hear her heart racing, see her chest and back expanding and contracting too quickly. As she examines the evidence of the last 500 years of his hoarding, he catches glimpses of a raw bottom lip caught between teeth and her hand pulling and twisting the fabric of her t-shirt. When she finally speaks Edward's anxiety has reached unprecedented heights; he's been thinking of thousands of scenarios where she tells him she never wants to see him again.
"Who plays all these instruments? Is this room yours?" It's not the question he'd been expecting, but he's glad for the lighter topic.
"I do and yes, this is my recording studio. But every member of the family has played at least one instrument over the years. I've been trying to get Alice to try the tuba for a while now."
Some tension is relieved when Bella lets a small, short laugh out and says, "I'm not sure she could even lift one."
"She's stronger than she looks." The pleading look he's giving her needs no further explanation when he say, "Bella, please."
"What do you want from me, Edward."
Without hesitation, "Anything. Everything. But I'm in no hurry Bella. We've plenty of time."
"Edward! You're my teacher and we can't. We just can't! I'm only seventeen and I have to see you in class almost every day. Oh my God, I can't do this."
He can't help but laugh at her flustered rambling. When she hears his low chuckle, her face flushes, moisture springs into the corner of her eyes and she gives him a look that truly frightens him. "Why are you laughing?"
Sobered by her anger, Edward tries to placate the bipolar beauty before him. "Uh... It's difficult to explain. You're worrying about all the wrongs things in regards to our situation, though."
Still royally pissed, Bella approaches Edward with accusations, "So what should I be worried about, huh? Should I be worried that you grabbed me and kissed my neck? Or that when you kicked me out, only moments later, you looked like you were going to kill me!? What the hell is going on, Edward? Is this a game or something? I just don't understand." By the end of her rant she's crying and looking down at her shoes, defeated. She's made no move to leave though she couldn't get the door open without him, anyway.
When Edward sees her tears he's on his knees and at her feet at vampire speed. She gasps when he delicately cups her face to wipe away her tears and shushes her. "Fear not, 'm cara. I will never play games with you nor hurt you. And I only sent you away to keep us from being discovered in such a compromising position. I promise I have only your best interest in mind. Can you trust me?" She looks so lost, innocent, pure that Edward feels like a demon adopting a puppy.
"That's what Alice said, too."
As Edward moves his hands down her shoulders and arms to grasp each of her hands in his own, Bella shivers. Edward is fairly certain that she's not cold. "Did you have fun with her before? She really wants to be friends."
The tears dry up, "Yeah, she's fun... uh... very high energy." Sharing a laugh relaxes both of them. "Esme is so sweet, too. You and Alice both mentioned that everyone is 'family,' but how are you all related?"
The story they're telling this time is somewhat suspect, and it annoys him to no end. Their living arrangements could pose zoning regulation problems if the wrong people asked the right questions. Furthermore, he takes issue with lying to Bella. "It's complicated."
"I think I can keep up."
Edward laughs, "I have no doubt you can, but let us make my family a story for another time."
"What makes you think there'll be another time?"
For a long moment Edward just stares at her, attempting vainly to try and read her mind. When that fails, he attempts to read her facial expression and body language. What he gleans over the next fifteen seconds is disconcerting and distressing. She's scared and ashamed. If nothing else those are the signs he reads in her posture and countenance, but as he rehashes their conversation he realizes that these emotions in tandem could have caused the majority of her behavior.
Regardless, he's worried that all the years of hearing almost all women want him may have left him overconfident. "I want the two of us to get to know one another, Bella," as the words come out he finds that it's the truth. He would like nothing better to know her completely and solve the mystery of her silent mind. That, and maybe a real kiss.
"Why me?" Bella speaks so softly that Edward wonders whether she meant for him to hear it. But regardless of her intentions, Edward can't let that statement just roll by.
"You're special to me, Bella, but it's not something I can fully explain right now. Beside that, you're easily the most beautiful woman I've seen in well over a thousand years." Edward can't help but smirk at the truth of his statement.
After she scoffs, clearly refusing to accept or believe his compliments, she retorts, "Why would you say that? You don't even know me. And I know I'm just a poor man's substitute for some gorgeous ex-girlfriend. You said it yourself."
Edward is not accustomed to stubbornness at this intensity so his patience is being tried in ways he's entirely unfamiliar with. He drops his hands from Bella's weak grasp to cross his arms over his chest. There's no doubt in Bella's mind that his facially expression is broadcasting annoyance in 1080p.
"Would you like me to address your last statement? Or didn't I already cover that?" Bella rolls her eyes and turns sideways on her stool, shielding her face with the soft, strawberry strands of her hair. "Bella, I may not know you well, but I do know some things about you. I know you're very brave for coming here, for approaching me in class today. Given both of our discussions you obviously have a functioning moral compass. And I saw your transcript, so I know you're smart. Let's recap: courage, integrity, intelligence, and beauty. That would be enough for a better man than me. Bella?"
"Don't you think this is wrong? A little, maybe? Am I the only one who has any reservations about this?"
"Would you like me to quit my job?" He's completely serious.
"What? No! You can't do that! And anyways I'm only seventeen. We're probably breaking laws right now!"
"How old do you think I am, Bella."
"Well, early twenties I guess." He pulls out money clip which holds his driver's license and hands her the piece of plastic. When she reads that he's barely three years older than her, at least according to the state of Washington, he expects to see some sign of relief but doesn't. "It doesn't matter. You're still my teacher."
Edward's desperation, reigned in for the entirety of their conversation, finally leaks into his voice. "Bella, please. I do not care about any of that. I only care about you." Ignoring Alice's advice is usually disastrous, but Edward simply can't help but declare himself to the sweet and distraught girl in front of him. "Someday, I'll be dead." Maybe, he thinks. "And I know that if I didn't try to make you mine, I'd regret it for eternity. You may not see it yourself, but you are everything I want, and more. Even if I were a patient man, I couldn't wait for this. All I'm asking is for a chance to get to know you and let this run it's natural course."
"There's nothing natural about this, Edward. We can't!" He abruptly stands and begins pacing the room, like a poster-child for predation.
"Goddammit! If you don't want me, then what the fuck are you doing here?" The volume of his voice and the expletive cause Bella to whip her had around to where he's standing, clearly tortured by her obstinate refusal to grant any of his dearest wishes. He has his back to her, his hands seemingly working on removing his hair.
He's thinking that while Bella is his only hope for a happy and fulfilling future, she scares him more than anything in his long life. He's also considering that Bella's rejection is his absolution for a thousand years of murder. He flinches, but doesn't move, when he feels a firebrand on his deltoid. Bella's hand finds his and she pulls his stone body around until he's facing her.
"I'm sorry."
"You have nothing to be sorry for."
"Yes, I do, actually." Holding his hand and standing so close, Bella needs two deep breaths to begin the apology properly. "I'm sorry for being so... difficult. And for making you think that I don't want you." Their eyes meet, and despite Bella's face turning bright pink, neither of them look away as she continues, "It's just... you scare me, Edward. This whole situation scares me. I don't know what to do." Edward can tell that she's not frightened by his vampire nature, considering she's willingly touched him twice now. Her fears stem from her insecurity, her belief that she's not enough for him. He has serious plans to disabuse her of that notion.
"I don't have all the answers either and I can't tell you what we're supposed to do. But I'd like it very much if we figured it out together." Edward's smile, to Bella at that moment, was irresistible.
"Okay."
"Okay?" Bella laughs at his childlike enthusiasm. And looses uncontrollable giggles as Edward wraps her in his embrace and spins them both around in tight circles. When he places her squarely back on the floor, Bella snakes her arms around his torso and places her head against his right pectoral. Hugging her back is the closest he's come to rapture.
After what seems like a very short time, she pulls back and asks, "I don't think I can take anymore of that discussion. Will you play for me?" gesturing towards the piano.
"Certainly. Any requests?"
"Do you know any classical?"
With a smirk, "If it's good."
Bella rolls her eyes at his shameless cockiness. "Okay hot shot, what about Chopin, Nocturne, Opus 27, Number 2..."
"...in Db major?" Edward is pleased that she has knowledge of classical music, but not surprised: it's further proof that she was made for him. "I'd be happy to play it for you."
As the music swells and simmers, the last vestiges of Bella's resolve falter and fail. So that by the time Edward has been playing for two minutes, she's seated next to him on the piano bench with her hip and shoulder pressed against him. When the song ends and Edward pulls her into his side they can both feel the gentle barb of their mutual affection and attraction deepening, solidifying, leaving it's indelible mark.
Based on the reviews from the last few chapters, I made the executive decision to push the chapters a little out of order. I hope it's okay if we postpone the meeting with Owain Glyndwr. Thanks for reading and reviewing, as always. You continue to rock soo hard.