The Forbidden Fruit

By realixweatherfairy

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, though I'm trying to stick to the plot as much as possible

Chapter 3: Feelings

Pulling into her driveway, Bella sighed with relief; she felt incredibly relieved that the truth was out between her and Edward. She'd hated keeping secrets, especially from him, who had deserved to hear it most. Getting out of her car, Bella walked up to the front door of her house to meet with Charlie who had a grim look on his face.

"So Edward knows the truth now," Charlie stated. Though he had no problem with vampires, it didn't mean that he thought that Angels should be interacting with them.

"Yes," Bella replied and walked past him into the house Charlie following her.

"You do know that the Black Angels are watching us, don't you?"

"Of course, I do," Bella scowled.

"Edward will be in danger if you don't stay away from him," Charlie urged.

"Are you saying that I can't protect my own charge, Charlie?" Bella snapped.

"No, what I'm saying is that it's dangerous and to be as careful as you can, Princess," Charlie answered, "They can destroy him just as easily as they can destroy you," and he walked into his room and went to sleep. Bella stood in the threshold of her room for a few minutes, thinking, "Maybe I should stay away from Edward, and just protect him from afar, but I can't bring myself to do it. Just thinking about not talking to him again makes my heart ache." She walked into her room, changed into her pajamas, and went to bed.

The next morning as Edward walked out the door, he was surprised to see Bella leaning against her car, wearing a black sweater that stopped at her shoulders and a white tank top underneath it, and dark blue jeans and black high heeled boots. Her long brown hair was down and it shined as some stray rays of sunlight hit it, making it glow. When she looked at him, the smile she gave him neared blinded him, but he smiled in return and walked toward her.

"Why don't you ride with me today?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. Suddenly dumbfounded, Edward simply nodded before getting the passenger side and she in the driver's side and drove off as his brothers and sisters came out the door and watched them leave while shaking their heads.

As she drove, Bella was very conscious of the fact that Edward was staring at her. Every time that he looked at her, her heart stopped beating and her breathing slowed down. Turning on the radio, she tried to ignore the feeling that she was getting; that she was in love for the first time in 3,000 years. Her eyes widened as she came to a realization: she was in love with Edward Cullen!

"How could I fall in love with my own charge?!" Bella thought as she turned her face away from Edward's view while blushing. Edward looked at her with confusion on his face while cursing the fact that he couldn't read her thoughts like he could with the others.

"Bella?"

"Yes, Edward," Bella replied.

"Are you really going to Seattle on Saturday or was that just an excuse to say no to all of your admirers?"

"I don't know," Bella said, "Why?"

"Well, I thought that maybe we could go somewhere together," Edward replied, "So that we could talk more privately."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Bella answered, keeping her eyes on the road as she pulled into the school's parking lot. After finding a space, Bella parked the car and was about to get out when Edward took her face in his hand and kissed her forehead, making her blush as he whispered, "I wish I could know the real you, Bella," before opening her car door and getting out. Bella couldn't move for the longest time before she could get out of the car and calm her breathing; for some reason, Edward Cullen had the weirdest effect on her.

The next two days went by so fast that Bella didn't know where the time had gone. It was the day that she and Edward were to go somewhere together, and she, despite herself, was incredibly excited. Though she had decided to tell Edward that she couldn't have anything to do with him anymore, besides his protector; no matter how much it broke her heart to do so. Waking up that morning, Bella dressed in a pair of dark blue jeans, a kimono style top that had cherry blossoms on it, and sandals.

Going downstairs, she opened the door and walked out towards her car to be met with the sight of Edward leaning against it, looking as much like a god as ever, wearing a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt. The way he looked at her made her melt, making it impossible for her to form any sort of coherent thought.

"Good morning," he said with a soft voice.

"Morning," Bella replied, getting into the driver's seat as he got into the passenger seat; it had been agreed earlier in the week that Bella would drive. It seemed that Bella had indeed known more about him than he realized. She was able to get them where they were going faster than he normally got there. Coming up to the trail, Bella got out of the car with Edward following her.

"Lead the way, Edward," Bella said as he led her into the forest. It wasn't long until they came into a clearing. They stayed silent for the longest time until Bella said, "Edward."

"Yes," he replied with a soft smile at her that made her regret her decision.

"There's something that I didn't tell you when I told you what I am," Bella continued making him look at her, "For a long time now, I've been sensing tainted auras that can normally be associated with the Black Angels. It's why I was avoiding you. They use the people their targets are close to in order to destroy them, and with an Angel, they destroy said Angel's charge."

"You were worried that they'd come after me," Edward realized, "But, Bella, I'm a lot stronger than they are."

"Edward! Have you forgotten what I said about slightly weakened powers," Bella replied, the stress apparent in her voice, "Yes, indeed, you are stronger … than a regular mortal. An Angel is ten times stronger than you are and a Black Angel is about five times stronger than you," making him raise an eyebrow as she turned around and touched a tree, though it looked like she just poked it with no more force than if she was gently caressing it, the tree fell down to the forest ground, making his eyes go wide as she was by his side in less than half a second.

"Bella?"

"Hm," she replied solemnly.

"There's more to what you wanted to say, isn't there?" Edward asked his eyes covered with his bangs.

"I was going to say that we can't stay together," Bella said sadly.

"Why not? Because you think that you can't protect me? Or is it because you don't trust me?" Edward demanded turning around to face her.

"No, it's just that …" Bella replied, shaking with fear, but not of Edward, that her unspoken feelings for Edward were going to get him killed. Seeing that she couldn't get anything else out, he place his hand against her cheek and rubbed his thumb against the skin underneath her eye, making her look him in the eye.

"Bella, I love you; I couldn't stay away from you if I tried," Edward told her as he gently ran his lips against her cheek, making her blush as she laid her head against his shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her. Edward held her as she whispered, "I love you, too, Edward," making him pull her closer. They stayed like that for a long time till Bella pulled back and said, "Didn't you say that you wanted to know the real me?"

He nodded as the human girl he had come to know as Bella was replaced by a beautiful young woman with silver blond hair, gray eyes, and curvy figure, wearing the same clothes that Bella had been wearing only moments before. A long thin blue bead hung from her bangs in the middle of her forehead and her skin, though it had been beautiful before, was now a porcelain cream color with slightly pink cheeks; her lips as dark as the reddest rose. Placing his hand against her head, Edward noticed that Bella's ears were no longer rounded, but pointed like an elf's.

Suddenly a gust of wind made Bella stiffen as she whipped around to come face to face with a young woman with long black hair and black eyes wearing a black tube top, black dress pants, and black high heels.

"Black Angel," Bella growled narrowing her eyes at the woman.

"Nuisance," the Black Angel answered her eyes blank.

"What do you want, Ebony?" Bella demanded, placing herself between Ebony and Edward.

"My mistress, Kaira, wished me to give you a message," the girl named Ebony replied her eyes as emotionless as before.

"What does that traitor want?" Bella demanded.

"Only to tell you not to get too comfortable," Ebony replied before disappearing. Bella continued growling as she began pacing. Edward was surprised in the change in her; with one word, Bella could be sent into fit of rage.

"Bella?" making her turn to him, her eyes flashing blue in her anger and instantly calmed as she looked at him, her eyes returning to a stormy gray. Sighing she said, "We need to go." Once returning to the car, Edward asked, "Wasn't Kaira the one who destroyed your clan?"

"Yes," she replied as they got into the car and sped away.

"What's wrong?"

"The reason my clan was destroyed was because Kaira was jealous of the power I held, even as a small child," Bella answered, "She was trying to destroy me, but ended up destroying everything that I ever loved instead. For three years after my clan was destroyed, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep; every time I closed my eyes, I saw my friends dying in front of me while I watched, unable to do anything."

"You think it's your fault that they're gone," Edward breathed. Bella couldn't look him in the eye; though she knew what he said was true. Everyone in her clan had been surprised when she showed that she had power not only over air, like all Silver Angels did, but water, fire, and earth as well. They had realized how powerful she was, and had begun her training immediately as soon as she was old enough. Her parents then focused all their attention on her, not on her older sister, Kaira, who she had looked up to. Kaira had hated being shown up by her little sister Isabella (pronounced like the Spanish version, esa-beya) and had turned against them due to jealousy and became a Black Angel.

"It's not your fault, Bella," Edward said as she looked him in the eye and pulled into her driveway. Edward got out of the car and walked up to the house and was about to get the key to unlock the door, but it opened on its own. Watching him stiffen, Bella chuckled, making him look at her with apprehension in his eyes which only served to make her laugh harder. Shaking his head, Edward gently scooped Bella up and carried her into the house while chuckling himself.

"Um, Edward, how did you know that the key was under the rug?" Bella asked breathlessly. He stiffened again; not sure how to answer, but Bella figured it out and blushed as he put her down,

"I was curious about you," he replied.

"You spied on me?" she said raising her eyebrow while trying not to laugh as they walked into the kitchen and he took a seat. "How often?"

"Huh?"

"How often did you come here?" Bella repeated. He looked apprehensive when he replied, "I come here every night."

Why?"

"What else is there to do at night?" Edward said, "And you're interesting when you sleep. You talk." Suddenly self conscious, Bella stopped in her tracks and blushed as she whispered, "No!" and turned away from him; never noticing his expression change as he whispered, "Are you angry with me?" Turning around, Bella's eyes narrowed at him as she replied, "It depends!"

"On?"

"What you heard!" Bella answered, looking fierce with embarrassment. His eyes widened as he was at her side instantly, taking her hands in his and said, "Don't be upset!" Bella found that she couldn't look at him.

"You miss Renee," Edward continued, "You worry about her. When it rains, the sound makes you restless. You also used to talk about home a lot, but it's not so much now. You even said, "It's too green" once." Bella could tell that he was trying not to offend her any further as she demanded, "Anything else that I should know about?"

Knowing what she was getting at Edward said, "You said my name." Suddenly horrified, she asked, "A lot?"

"It depends on your definition of "a lot""

"Oh dear," Bella sighed as she blushed and turned away. Edward pulled her against him until she was flush against his chest and said, "Don't be self conscious; if I could dream at all, it would be about you and I'm not ashamed of it." Bella's heart began pound as they heard Charlie coming up the drive.

"Should Charlie know I'm here?" Edward asked urgently.

"Um, I'm not sure," Bella said uncertain.

"Another time then, but won't he sense me?"

"Not in my room; there's a barrier around it to where no one can sense anything inside the room or out," Bella replied as Edward disappeared. Charlie walked in as Bella fixed up his dinner as they both let down their illusion spells. Charlie had light blue hair, and dark blue eyes, and a muscular build; he looked like he could be in his early twenties. When a chosen one dies and is reborn as an Angel, they grow like any other child until the age that they died as a human, and stop aging at that time; Bella had died at the age of 17 while Charlie had died at the age of 23.

"Thanks, Bells," he said, as she nodded at him, "How was your day? Did you get everything done that you wanted to?"

"No, it was too nice out to stay indoors," she replied, finishing her dinner and Charlie said, "It's Saturday; are you sure you don't have any plans, Bells?"

"No, Charlie, I don't," Bella groaned, why did it have to be his night to pay attention?

"None of the boys in town your type, huh?"

"No, Charlie," Bella said.

"I thought maybe that Mike Newton, you told me that he was friendly."

"He's just a friend, Charlie," Bella griped.

"Well, you're too good for them all, anyway. Good night, Bells."

"Good night, Charlie," Bella said as she ran up the stairs and entered her room which looked empty.

"Edward?" she called. He suddenly appeared behind her and wrapped his arms around her, literally making her jump out of her bones. "Sorry, Bella; didn't mean to scare you."

"Really?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow. Shaking her head and chuckling, Bella continued, "Even though we both know that I'm not human, I'll need a minute," and left the room and went to the bathroom and hurriedly brushed her teeth but the hot water in the shower couldn't be rushed; it relaxed her muscles and leaving her with a very serene feeling. She tried not to think of Edward in her room waiting for her, because then she had to try to calm her heartbeat again. Once she was done, she pulled on a black tank top and a pair of black silk pajama bottoms and headed back to her room where Edward was sitting on the edge of her bed, right where she had left him, looking as much like a god as ever as she smiled at him earning a grin in return.

"Nice pajamas," Edward said with a smirk. Nodding at him, Bella sat next to him on her bed. Edward raised his hand and gently caressed her cheek making her look at him. Trapped in his gaze, it was impossible for Bella to form a coherent question as he laid his head against her neck. It took a few minutes before Bella could collect her thoughts enough to say, "It doesn't seem as hard for you to be near me anymore."

"Does it look that way to you?" he replied moving so that his lips were at the hollow of her ear.

"It does," Bella answered, "I wonder why that is?"

"Mind over matter," Edward said as he laughed, "I almost couldn't stop myself when we first met."

"I remember," Bella replied, "You couldn't have hurt me if you tried, Edward, not because I'm so much stronger than you, but because I'm immune to vampire venom."

"Immune?"

"Though an Angel is not human," Bella explained, "It doesn't mean that we're not unsusceptible to poisons. In fact, our immune system is a lot less tolerant of poison; if an Angel is poisoned, it is almost impossible to save them. The poison travels too quickly through our blood, but if any wounds we have heal before the poison takes full effect, we become immune to that poison."

"You've been bitten by a vampire," Edward breathed.

"Yes, a long time ago, not long after my clan was destroyed," Bella replied, "After my clan was destroyed, I was discovered by a vampire coven and lived with them for the longest time, during that time, the vampire who sort of become my surrogate father bit me so that I could become immune to the venom."

"You let him," Edward growled.

"He asked my permission," Bella said, noticing his obvious anger at this, "He didn't want me to die because I had accidentally been bitten by a member of his coven, even though they all knew that it was forbidden."

"He loved you," Edward realized.

"Yes," Bella replied as she nodded.

"I apologize for the way I was acting when we first met," Edward said, changing the subject, "It was unforgivable for me to behave that way."

Chuckling, Bella replied, "Not unforgivable," making him smile and say, "Thank you. When we first met, though you appealed to me more than any other, even then the thought of what I could have done, it haunted me. I couldn't bear to hurt you. Remember the time in the cafeteria on your first day?" Bella nodded in reply before he continued, "I didn't know why, but I knew you were special; that you would change my life in ways that even I couldn't comprehend, but at the time, I thought you hated me."

"When a charge finds their Angel, they are drawn to them," Bella replied, "and the Angel is drawn to them. Back then I was in denial. As I told you before, relations between my kind and yours aren't exactly pleasant; you've seen that for yourself. I have no problems with vampires, as I told you before I was raised by one, but there has never been one Angel in the history of my race that has had a vampire for a charge; the idea that a vampire would need a body guard of sorts is ridiculous." Edward nodded in understanding before she continued, "But as time went by I remembered something that my adoptive father told me, Expect the unexpected, and you being my charge caught me off guard and I refused to believe it for the longest time. I never hated you, Edward; it was more surprise than anything else."

Edward nodded as he continued, "But still at the time, there was still the possibility that I might be overcome. I was still susceptible; until I made up my mind that I was strong enough; that there was no way that I could ever… that I ever would…"

Seeing struggle for words made Bella smile; it made him seem so human, before she replied, "So there's no possibility then?"

"Mind over matter," Edward repeated with a grin before Bella jokingly said, "Wow; that was easy," mimicking a Staples commercial and making him throw his head back and laugh quietly before saying, "Easy for you," before his face went serious and continued, "I'm trying, Bella; I'm sure that if it gets to be too much, I'll be able leave." Bella's face went cold; she never did like the talk of leaving.

"It will be harder tomorrow; I've had your scent in my head all day and I've grown amazingly desensitized. If I leave you for any amount of time, I might have to start over, not precisely from scratch, I think."

"Don't go then," Bella said, almost not able to hide the hurt in her voice at the thought of Edward leaving her.

Chuckling, Edward replied, "That's fine with me; bring on the shackles, I'm your prisoner," making Bella shake her head as he wrapped his hand around her wrists and laughed, the sound made Bella's heart speed up. In all the time that she had spent with him, Edward had never laughed as much as he had tonight.

"You seem more … optimistic than usual," Bella stated, "I don't think I've ever seen you like this before," making him smile and say, "Isn't this supposed to be like this? The glory of first love and all that; it's incredible, isn't it? There's so much difference between reading about it, seeing it in movies, and actually experiencing it?"

"Yes, very different," Bella agreed, "More forceful than I'd ever imagined," before he continued, "For example, jealousy. I've read about it a thousand times, seen actors portray it in a thousand different play and movies. I thought that I understood that one pretty well, but I was shocked. Do you remember the day that Mike asked you to the dance?" when she nodded he continued, "I was surprised by the flare of resentment, almost anger that I felt. I couldn't recognize what it was at first. It was more aggravating than usual that I couldn't hear your thoughts; why you refused him? Was it simply for your friend's sake or was there someone else? I knew that I had no right to care; I tried not to care. And then the line started forming," making Bella scowl in the darkness, "I waited anxiously to hear what you would say to them, to watch your expressions, and I couldn't deny the relief I felt watching the annoyance on your face, but I couldn't be sure."

"That was the first time I came here. I wrestled all night, while watching you sleep, with the chasm between what I knew was right, moral, and ethical, and what I wanted. I knew that if I continued to ignore you as I knew I should at the time, or if I left for a few years until you were gone, that you would someday say yes to Mike or somebody like him; it made me furious. And then as you were sleeping, you whispered my name. You had spoken so clearly that I had thought that you had woken up, but you rolled over restlessly, and said my name again and sighed. The feeling that ran through me was staggering and unnerving, and I knew that I couldn't ignore you anymore … But jealousy, it's a strange thing. So much more powerful and irrational; just now when Charlie asked you about that vile Mike Newton…" He drifted off as he shook his head angrily.

"I should have known that you would be listening," Bella chuckled.

"Of course."

"And that made you jealous, really?" Bella replied, raising an eyebrow, making him chuckle as he said, "You're resurrecting the human in me, even if you're not human yourself, and it feels so much stronger because it's new to me."

"But seriously," Bella teased, "For that to bother you, when I have to know that Rosalie – Rosalie, the incarnation of pure beauty, Rosalie was meant for you. Emmett or no Emmett, there's no way that I can compete with that."

"There is no competition," Edward said, "Though Rosalie is beautiful in her own way, however, even if she wasn't like a sister to me, even if Emmett didn't belong with her, she couldn't have one tenth, no scratch that, one-one thousandth of the attraction you hold for me. For a little over a hundred years, I've walked among my kind, your kind, and mortals, all the while thinking that I was complete within myself, never realizing what I was looking for, and not finding it because I hadn't met you yet," making Bella chuckle.

"Don't worry; this is as new for me as it is for you," Bella said, "Never once in 3,000 years have I ever felt the way I feel about you, not for anyone," making him smile at her as he pulled her against his chest and held her for a few moments, before pulling her to lay down next to him and he whispered, "Do you want me to sing you to sleep?"

"No, I'm fine," she replied before smirking, "You have more questions," making his eyes widen as he nodded before she continued, "I can answer a few before I fall asleep."

"What was you childhood like? I barely remember mine."

"At first it was very busy, I was pretty much training since before I could walk straight, and after my clan was destroyed, a vampire coven found me alone with dead people surrounding me, with a haunted look on my face. The vampires took pity on me, and brought me home to live with them, but one in particular seemed to like spending time with me; he was the one who sort of became my surrogate father, he raised me until the Red Angels found me and took me to live with another clan across the sea. I was in Europe at the time; when my clan was destroyed, we were living in Japan, and were on our way to visit our European cousins. After that I was moved from home to home until the leader of the Blue Angel clan decided that I should live with Renee and Charlie who were married at the time, though I looked old enough that I could live by myself."

"How old are you?" Edward asked.

"Seventeen."

"How long have you been seventeen exactly?" he urged.

"You know the answer to that," Bella replied, "When a chosen one is reborn, they age as normal children do, until the age they died as a human, then they stop aging completely." Bella yawned involuntarily as he said, "Go to sleep, Bella. I'll be here when you wake up," and she fell asleep with Edward's arms wrapped around her.