Disclaimer: i do not own Twilight and honestly, i don't think i ever will. i do happen to own these amazing carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and roasted walnuts and pecans on top. ohh yummm.

chapter seven

"We can evade reality, but we cannot evade the consequences of evading reality"

~Ayn Rand

Edward

Isabella was avoiding me.

And doing a damn good job at it.

I hadn't seen her in over two weeks but I'd certainly heard of her - whether it was Andre raving about her natural sparring abilities or Jasper telling a story that Alice had told him or even Emmett, who'd become close to her, going on and on about her.

To say I was jealous of the people I considered close friends was an understatement.

In the time that she'd been avoiding me, she captured the hearts of everyone around her, albeit seemingly unwillingly. From what I'd been told, she didn't seem to like attention and had a knack for putting the spotlight on another person.

The ache in my chest that had shown up the last time I saw her - when I was able to lead her away from the classroom and to the courtyard - had been steadily increasing in intensity until it was it's on entity. It was it's own living, pulsing, thought-bearing longing, so real that sometimes it was almost as if I could feel her even when I couldn't see her. I'd surmised that, based on the heat in my chest, I could locate her from a distance; the heating ache would grow and clench when she was near and fade when she wasn't.

I found great comfort in the ache because though I never saw her, I knew that she had to be safe.

Jasper was nearly oblivious to my issues with Isabella because he had finally summed up the courage to take a shot at Alice. In the past, he'd always been fearful of rejection but obviously enough he'd gotten over the one thing that was holding him back.

I was happy to suffer in silence.

I sit in the middle of a sparse room, bare of everything except for a dark wooden floor, blank grey walls, a hanging lantern in the left corner and the pacing form of Rhea, mother of the Gods.

In the human ways, Rhea was my grandmother simply because she is the mother of my father. To Olympus, she is the mother of every full-blooded God or Goddess, her blood and flesh passed down through every generation. There was something ever-changing about Rhea; her eyes would morph from icy blue-grey, to silver, to green-grey, to grey-violet and back, her hair a curious shade of black with silver strands streaking through, her skin similar to the shade of Zeus. Rhea also appeared to be much other than the other Gods by at least fifteen years. The oddest thing though was that she never looked exactly the same twice - it was as if she was an unstable illusion, sometimes slightly shorter or her nose a tad bit different.

It was equally difficult to look at her and to avoid looking at her.

Rhea was also an expert of gifts and her insight rivaled that of the Fates. She took it upon herself to train any Gods that had rare and unique abilities as she had seen nearly every power imaginable.

That is what she was doing now. Training me.

Zeus was the God of the sky, the lord of lightening and thunder and wind, and the controller of weather. Through each of his children, he passed down a bit of his power - my eldest sister was able to control clouds, my elder twin brothers able to dictate storms of thunder and tornados. I, the youngest yet of Zeus' kin, was able to control electricity - which is so far, the closest power to Zeus' that had been seen.

My ability is the reason why I was picked to be his heir. Electricity is lightening, lightening being the most powerful of Zeus' own power - his lightening bolt being his primary weapon.

Lightening is also his most inconsistent and dangerous ability.

Rhea begins to circle me, instructing me to close my eyes; her voice lulls me into a sense of peace and meditation. I know that in a few moments, electricity would filter into that lantern in the corner and Rhea would encourage me to draw the energy out of the lamp.

I had no trouble drawing it out - my biggest problem was controlling the electricity once it was out.

"Slow, Edward," Rhea murmurs. I imagine myself holding the electricity in my hands - just like I'm supposed to - and ever so slowly, let the lamp empty itself. I can feel the crackle of unrestrained electricity in the air but before I am able to call it towards myself, the ions snap against each other and fizz out, creating a thick static in the room. The hair on my arms and neck raises, my body tenses and Rhea sighs. "Too slow, Edward."

"I know," I mutter, my head falling into my hands. I had waited too long to call the electricity, had left it suspended on its own for a second too much. I stand and pop my neck, making eye contact with Rhea. "I'll see you in a few weeks."

"Edward," Rhea calls before I can walk out. I turn to her. "Do not let her avoid you for much longer."

"Who?"

"Isabella," Rhea sighs with a smile. "She's lost right now, but not uneducated."

I'm slightly shocked to hear this. When had Rhea spoken to Isabella?

As if reading my mind, Rhea laughs gently. "There isn't much that happens here that I do not know about."

My talk with Rhea had injected me with a bit of confidence, as if she had given me the green light to pursue Isabella. She was right - I couldn't let this bizarre dance Isabella and I were dancing go on for much longer. Based on the ache in my chest, it truly couldn't keep going without harming either of us - and letting Isabella be hurt was not an option.

Not when I could prevent it.

I stand against the wall of the girl dormitories, waiting for Isabella to walk out. A glance at the large clock on the academic building tells me that class starts in five minuets.

A fission of worry creeps into my head, weighing in my stomach like lead. In all the stories that I'd heard, nobody ever said Isabella was late for anything and since I'd been here for over an hour and a half, I knew I had not missed her.

Alice scurries out of the building and makes her way towards the academic building at a very quick pace. I assume that she is trying to get to class on time. But instead of entering the building, she bangs her hands on Athena's window, calling her name loudly.

At the same moment, the ache in my chest flares, nearly knocking me over. It feels like a fire is burning me from the inside, the warmth uncomfortable and so unlike the other ache.

I feel weak.

Athena rushes out of the building, her hands coming to rest on Alice's shaking shoulders. Alice appears to be sobbing, gesturing wildly towards the building. She and Athena begin to rush towards the girl's dormitory and as they run past me and in through the doors, Isabella's name falls from their lips.

I don't think. I can't - the pain is getting stronger and more unmanageable. My body is on autopilot, acting immediately without my consent.

My mind can only process Isabella's name as I follow closely behind Athena and Alice, as I run up the stairs past their surprised faces, as I let the searing burn in my heart lead me towards a dark room where Isabella is groaning in pain on her bed.

For a moment, all I can do is stare at her. Her beautiful face twisted in agony, hair stuck to her forehead and her back arched as her bare fingers clutch at the dark sheets. Her pink lips open in a silent scream just as quick stabs beat into my chest. I can feel my body heating up - just like hers.

Without waiting any longer, I begin towards Isabella, the pain slowing me, making me slump against the wall and watch with bleary eyes as she thrashes about on her bed.

Behind me, Alice is crying, saying over and over that she can't touch Isabella. Athena is observing the scene before her with the most panicked expression on her face, her eyes moving between Isabella and I.

Isabella's back arches further, completely off the bed, and my hands twitch towards her but I can't move - can't even fathom moving.

I'm entirely consumed by pain.

Athena gives Alice orders I can't comprehend and comes to stand in front of me, blocking the view of Isabella. As my eyes lose sight of her, pricks of anguish filter through my entire body.

Suddenly Jasper is in front of me, helping Athena pick me up. I panic for a second, thinking that they are taking me away from Isabella, but instead they bring me closer until I am laying beside her.

Isabella turns her head towards me, her hot breath panting in my face. Her eyes are bloodshot and glowing silver, the pupil nearly non-existent. I can see that she recognizes me. Her eyes grow soft, her fingers twitching.

I know right when we are feeling the same pain because in a synchronized time, spasms explode through our bodies, groans leaving us. Isabella's back arches again, higher than ever, and without thinking, my arm falls over her ribs and pulls her down.

Her shirt had ridden up, exposing her porcelain skin; as the skin of my forearm touches the skin of her stomach, a cozy warmth spreads through that immediate area, shocking me with it's calm.

Isabella looks at me with wide eyes, her body and mine shifting together ever so slightly. I can feel my lungs burning with every breath I take, my lips tingling as I stare at her.

A flare of pain breaks out again and, before I can stop myself or even think about what is happening, I lean over Isabella, my sweaty forehead touching hers, our eyes locked. We breathe the same hair for a second as the pain in our bodies simmers to a crawling ember, still painful but not as severe.

I lick my lips, wanting for than anything to lean forward and-

I heave out a shuddering breath as my lips graze hers, pleasure shooting through my entire being, my pain all but disappearing and the ache in my chest expanding into a warm feeling running through my veins. I let our lips touch again, reveling in the supple softness of her chaste kiss.

Exhausted, my body relaxes into a state of numbness, my arms moving to wrap around Isabella's shoulders to hold her against me as black begins to swim in front of my vision. I can feel Isabella's slow breaths as her chest expands against mine, one of her tiny hands resting over my heart.

A/N: so...yeah. when i was writing this chapter, i had no idea that this was going to happen. completely unplanned. however, the next chapter is planned and will hopefully answer some of the questions this chapter provided.

anyone want to take a guess as to...why any of this chapter happened?

be brutally honest. i can take it.

~cupcakeriot