Chapter 12

"Isabella Swan! Nearly two hours ago you left us in that shop. Two hours! What the hell were you doing all that time?" Jess raged. I had only known her for about a week and a half, but already she reminded me of my mother.

"You could have been killed! Raped! And we wouldn't know it because you seem to have forgotten how to use your god damn phone!"

I cringed. My well thought of speech seemed to have been flung out the window.

"I-I-I," I stammered. Luckily though, my knight in shining armour saved me once again. He climbed out the car and stood there in all his glory. Earlier, I was so relieved to see him, I didn't really take him in. He looked absolutely gorgeous. He was wearing dark blue jeans with red converse. He had a red shirt on and a blazer type jacket over it, the sleeves rolled up. His hair was messy in a really sexy way, and he had a cheeky grin on his face, as though we had been caught doing something we shouldn't have.

"Sorry, Jessica. I met Bella when she came out the shop, and we seemed to have lost track of time chatting. I hope it hasn't caused any inconvenience."

"Oh," Jess said, flustered. "It's really no problem at all! We were just really worried about Bella, as she doesn't know her way around. We thought she got lost. The only problem is that we decided to have dinner without her. We were starving! Sorry." She looked at me apologetically. Angela just nodded in the background.

"Uh, it's ok. I can just go home and grab something." I was flabbergasted at the change of events. As soon as Edward had came out the car, Jess had looked at me knowingly, and all was forgiven. I would never forget this extra use of Edward Cullen, he seemed to woo all the girls. I would try and forget that that's what happened to me.

"No you won't," Edward whirled round to face me. "You were promised a meal when you went out, and a meal you shall get! Would you mind accompanying me to dinner?"

I was reluctant. I mean, he wouldn't eat anything in the restaurant, unless they served pints of blood. Which I highly doubted. He seemed to be urging me with his eyes, so I had no choice but to accept.

"Thank you, Edward, I would be most obliged." He held out his arm and I took it. We walked smartly into the restaurant. I turned my head, laughing, to see the flabbergasted faces of my two friends. "I'll see you two tomorrow!"

"Have fun!" Angela called. Jess seemed to be incapable of speech. Angela grabbed her arm, and they started walking towards the car. Jess kept turning her head back, making sure that this was real. She was a gossiper, and so it was most likely that the whole school would know by tomorrow morning, all three hundred odd pupils.

I turned back to face Edward, smiling and shaking my head. He was grinning and I wondered what was so funny.

We sat down at a table, and I asked him what he found hilarious.

"Well, remember when I said I could read minds?" I nodded vigorously. "Well I was listening to tour friends'."

"Oooh, tell me." I was completely engrossed in what he had to say.

"Well, Angela really did want you to have a good night. But Jess, Jess seemed to be thunderstruck. She didn't understand how you could grab my attention almost straight away, whereas she had been trying for years to get me to notice her. She came to the conclusion it's because you are a celebrity."

"And is that why? Because I'm a celebrity?" I tried not to let the hurt show. Of all the people I knew, I would have thought that Edward would be the one to see past all that. Maybe I was wrong.

"God no, Bella. I didn't even know who you were really until I heard everyone's thoughts. Vampires don't really keep up with the latest famous people, the last celeb that I cared about were the Beatles. They really knew how to sing." I laughed at that.

"What did people think about me then?" This had got my curiosity going.

He looked quite uncomfortable. "Well the girls really just thought that you would be stuck up, but when they found out you weren't they did everything they could to try and be your 'friend'. And the boys, well I don't think I should repeat them. They were far to inappropriate, especially Mike Newton's," he said, his face darkening. I smiled, liking how protective he was.

"So if it wasn't the fame, then what made you like me? I mean, you ran away at the beginning."

He sighed.

"That was really the wrong thing to do. I didn't know what made me do it." I gave him a look to say 'Give it up, tell me'.

"Ok, it was your smell."

This was not the response I was expecting. I was stupid enough to believe that he ran away because he was scared to meet me, but no, I smelled bad to him.

"What's wrong with the way I smell?" I sniffed my hair. "It smells of strawberries. How can that be bad?"

"No, no, you've misunderstood me." He explained. "You don't smell bad at all, quite the opposite actually. You make me want to leap across the table, bite into your neck and savour your taste."

Silence. I had nothing to say. I was gob smacked.

"Maybe that was a bit too graphic," he said cringing. If vampires could blush, he would be the colour of a tomato.

I wanted to say something. But my mouth just kept opening and shutting, no words coming out. Finally, I broke the awkward silence.

"Well. I don't think I fully understand what you are trying to tell me," I said slowly. "Do you not feel that way with any other human?"

"No. To me, you smell as sweet as cupcakes, as tasty as a Sunday roast, as tasty as an apple pie," he started. "I know it sounds cheesy, but that's the way you smell. However if I was to explain her smell," He pointed to the waitress. "It would be different. She smells not as rich, not as tasty, not as appetising as you do to me."

I gulped. So really he was saying that if he lost control, that would be the end of me.

"Say something! I hat not knowing what you are thinking. It drives me mad!"

"Well… I'm thinking that I need to make sure you are well fed before I see you." I smiled, letting him know I was teasing him. "Speaking of being fed, I need to eat something."

I scanned the menu, looking for something appetising. I chose lasagne, and looked up to see Edward staring intently at me.

"What? I'm hungry."

"It's not that. It's just, how on earth can you be so calm about all of this? I told you that I would like more than anything to rip your throat out, and you still want to eat something? That would have made my stomach churn, make me want to run away from you as fast as I could!" he exclaimed.

I leaned over my menu, going closer to him. "Well I'm not you, am I?"

I sat back and scanned the menu once more, making sure I had made the right choice. I nodded my head once I had finished.

The waitress came over to take our order. She looked at me, her eyes widening. But then she looked at Edward, and then forgot all about me. Who could blame her though, he was an amazing sight to behold.

"Can I take your order?" she said, addressing Edward.

"Bella, what would you like?" He smiled at me.

"Umm, can I have the Lasagne, and a glass of lemonade, please." She scribbled down my order, glancing at me briefly before turning back to Edward.

"And anything for you?" She was batting her eyes and flicking her hair, totally unprofessional. But Edward never noticed.

"Yes, I'll have a glass of lemonade as well. But that's all thanks." He passed the menus to her, and then started ignoring her again. I don't think he meant it, although I don't know why he wouldn't look at her. Maybe he was too intent on our conversation and wanted her to leave. Or he was just interested in me.

I really hoped that was the reason.

She turned away, looking slightly miffed. I watched as she kept looking back, and then started talking to another staff member. She looked at us also, staring.

Way to make customers feel uncomfortable, I thought. Again, Edward was oblivious, but I knew he could hear what they were thinking.

"Why do you not want to run away from me?" The question came out of the blue, so I didn't have time to think of an answer.

"Do you want me to run away?"

"No, I'm just… curious," he said, smiling.

I decided not to bother giving him a speech, just a shortened version of why.

"I don't see you as 'Edward the Vampire' or 'Edward the insanely beautiful guy'…"

"Insanely beautiful, huh?" Edward smirked. I continued, ignoring him.

"I see you as 'Edward the nice guy', I see you as a normal person. And you are, before you try and deny it. Sure you need blood to survive, but under that, you are probably just a normal teenage guy," I finished. "This may seem rude, but how old are you?"

"Seventeen," he answered, smugly.

"Oh I see." I decided to play along. " And how long have you been seventeen?"

"A while."

"And how long is a while?" I joked.

"Sometime over one hundred years, I think."

My blood ran cold. It was silly, I knew that he was a vampire, but I hadn't actually thought of how old he could have been. He seemed to sense my sudden hesitation in talking.

"Have you decided to run yet?"

"Never."

My lasagne came, and so did our drinks. I was grateful for a distraction, so I didn't need to talk. Edward decided to tell me about his home life while I was eating.

"Well, you've seen our house. It's amazing. Carlisle is a great role model to me, he was the one that turned me into a vampire, but he also showed me an alternative way to live. I didn't have to be the life-sucking, blood-guzzling vampire I was."

"You're not like that," I said through a mouthful of food.

He smiled. "I was at the beginning. So were all of us. Being a newborn is the hardest part of being a vampire. After a while, you learn to control your need, but during the first six months, it's basically like hell. Your throat is always burning, and sometimes you don't care who or what you feed on, you just want blood."

His usual liquid amber eyes went as hard as stones, and he was looking at me, but not fully seeing me. It was as if he was remembering a time where that happened to him, where he lost control.

He snapped out of his trance and started talking again.

"I was first to join our dysfunctional family, then it was Rosalie. She changed Emmet into a vampire when she found him being mauled by a bear." I winced. That must have been awful. "Then Alice and Jasper came together. They had already met on the road. They are what we vampires call 'mates'. As in, like, soul mates. So are Rosalie and Emmet, and Carlisle and Esme."

"Do you have a mate?" I said, huskily. I have no idea why my voice sounded like that, maybe it was because I was asking him a kind of personal question.

"She has yet to reveal herself to me. But I'm starting to feel like I know who it could be."

He lowered his eyes, so his eyelashes brushed his cheeks. He looked embarrassed, but then his eyes lifted and stared straight into me. It really felt like he was looking into my soul. I understood what he meant then. I was pleased that he wasn't going to stay away from me any more.

I finished my meal and my drink, and it was all delicious. Edward offered me his, as he obviously wouldn't enjoy it.

"I got it for you, so you wouldn't have to order another." He smiled at me again. I had grown to love this smile of his. Edward was so caring and considerate that it was almost unrealistic. I guess boys had to spend over one hundred years in earth before they got some manners.

He paid for the bill, and helped me put my coat on, like a proper gentlemen. He drove me home and dropped me at my house.

"Listen, do you want me to take you to school tomorrow, you know, to cause a scene?" he smirked.

"Sure, why not?" I giggled. I leant looked up into his eyes, willing him to kiss me. But all he done was put his thumb on my lip and stroke my face.

"Goodnight, Bella."

Shocked, and more than slightly confused, I went into my house. I was a little hurt at the rejection, but I didn't let it show as I waved when he drove off.