Chapter 16

"Actually, it's not a gift or anything, I know you want to learn more about us, the vampires," he said as if I didn't understand who 'us' was. "So I was going to, I don't know, demonstrate or something? I don't want to, uh, show off." He looked embarrassed.

"Edward, that is exactly what I want you to," I said sincerely to him. "I want to know everything about your powers." I giggled. It sounded so strange.

We started to walk towards the woods beside the school. It was dark in there and I could hear twigs breaking far away in the woods. I grabbed Edward's arm and held tight, I didn't like this place.

"So you're scared of a dark woods with harmless creatures but not scared of me?" he chuckled.

"Well if I keep myself on your good side then you would be able to protect me from the things in the woods," I told him, showing my logic.

"But what you don't get, Bella," he started. All of a sudden we weren't walking any more. I was pinned against a tree and Edward's lips were at my ear.

"You don't get that you are in a dark woods with a vampire who is lusting for your blood," he whispered. "And no one could hear you scream in here. It would be all too easy." He traced his fingers over my neck.

"Did you bring me out here to scare me?" I asked. "Because it's not working."

Edward lowered his lips onto my neck, and I could feel something sharp sliding along my skin. He lifted his head again.

"Yes," he said. He kissed my neck making me shiver, and then stood up straight. He smiled again. "I know what will scare you."

"Hardly anything does, I'd like to see you try."

"Jump on my back."

I found that order rather peculiar, but I didn't question it. Truth is, I did get a bit worried when his teeth grazed my skin. But he would never know that. I hopped on his back.

"Brace yourself," he told me.

"What?" I managed to get out before I felt myself being lurched forward with rapid speed. I clung to Edward's neck, my nails trying to dig in to his rock solid skin as we flew through the woods.

I opened my mouth to scream with laughter, but some bugs flew into it. I coughed and spluttered, and Edward slowed down.

"Are you ok?" He was just jogging now.

"Yeah, but I think the fly I just swallowed isn't though," I told him.

He laughed and set me down.

"Are we there?" I said as I collapsed into a heap in the ground. My legs were not capable of keeping me standing yet.

"Nope, I just thought I would let you catch your breath."

"I haven't done anything to make me lose it."

"You know what I mean, you were coughing. Were you going to scream?" he teased. "Are you finally scared of something?"

"No, I was going to scream with laughter. I love high speed roller coasters, and you reminded me of one." I stuck my tongue out at him. He huffed a little, pouting.

"I thought I had finally got you."

"It's not going to be that easy," I told him, winking. He grinned and helped me to my feet. I half collapsed again but he held me up right. I clambered onto his back again, and this time, I managed to brace myself. I tucked my head over his shoulder, to try and avoid getting whiplash.

We started off again, the trees around us whizzing by. The wind was whipping through the perfect hair I had this morning. I was now dreading the mess it would be in once we got there. A minute later, Edward started to slow down.

"We are up the top of this hill. It's the only place sunlight has been getting through for while now." He set me down and walked over to a rock and started hunting behind it.

I managed to stay on my feet this time, although I was rocking back and forth.

"Come and sit on this rock over here," he said, looking back at me.

Then he burst out laughing.

"What?" I said, confused.

"Nothing, it's nothing, just…" Then he laughed again. I was getting annoyed so I stared at him impatiently.

"You just look a little shell shocked, that's all." He grinned at me, then turned back towards the rock, shaking his head with laughter.

I walked slowly toward the rock, making sure I could move properly. I stumbled a bit, but Edward caught me before I hit the ground.

"Be careful."

"Sorry, still trying to find my balance," I said, straightening up. "Mind you, I don't think I have ever really had balance."

He smiled at that, then produced a rug and a picnic basket from behind the rock.

"Edward, you didn't!" I said, shocked.

"Well, I've been fed, so I just assumed you were hungry too."

He set the rug on the ground, and I sat down on it. He sat beside me and put the picnic basket in the middle. He opened the lid and I looked in to see all store produced foods.

I gave him a questioning look.

"Well, I haven't made any food for around a century, so forgive me that I'm out of practise." he laughed. I giggled as well.

"Don't worry, I'm fine with this." I leaned in and kissed him. "Thank you," I mumbled against his cold lips.

"Your most welcome," he breathed back.

"Now, I wasn't too sure what you liked in your sandwiches, so I got a collection," he told me, as he scrambled around in the basket.

"What?" I looked in and saw four different sandwich types. I raised my eyebrow at him and he smiled back.

"I figured you could bring some to lunch tomorrow. Or eat them now, whatever you want."

"Edward, I couldn't eat four different sandwiches right now, it would spoil my dinner!" I laughed.

"Ugh, you're right," he said sadly. "I should have just left the sandwiches."

"No, no, no, it's fine!" I said quickly. The last thing I wanted was for Edward to be sad that he bought too much. "I can give some to Charlie for his work tomorrow."

"Yeah!" he said, cheering up. "Great idea. By the way, when do you think I should meet him?"

Meet him? We had been dating for less than a day and Edward already wanted to meet him?

"So soon? Isn't that usually the part the boyfriends hate?" I asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "I haven't done this before. But I want to do it right. If we were back in the years I was actually a seventeen year old boy, then I would have met your father before we started courting."

"Courting?" I burst out laughing. "How far back in time was that?"

"Around a hundred years ago," he laughed, like it was the simplest thing.

My heart tightened. To hear that Edward was over one hundred just scared me a little bit. To even know that immortality was possible was just mind numbing.

"Well, I'm sure Charlie would love you," I reassured him. "but I am quite worried at how overprotective he will be. I've never had a boyfriend yet to find out. And even if someone was interested, it was always my mum who would deal with it."

"Why did you come back here? If you don't mind me asking."

"No, I don't mind." I took a deep breath. "To be perfectly honest, I was missing my dad. It had nothing to do with the movie at all. I was all scheduled to come down here and take a break from everything, try and have a bit of normal time. I told my mum this and she supported me, right up until the week I left to come here. She said I wasn't being 'productive enough'. Then she told me I would be making a movie while I was out here and I didn't get any say in it."

Edward looked at me sympathetically.

"I don't think she gets that I don't care about making movies. I have other stuff I want to do." I traced a pattern on the rug with my fingers. "I want a break. It's not all glamorous this business. It's probably the most spiteful one, but the fans are rewarding. I don't car a lot about money, I'm not really a material person."

"Really? Bella, you are wearing a leather jacket," Edward laughed.

"Ok, so I like clothes, but I could survive without them. Take all my money away and give me enough food and water to survive and I would be happy, as I had the people I love with me."

"Bella, you are actually a really deep person," Edward said, raising his eyebrows.

"Don't sound so surprised," I laughed, punching him on the shoulder, "Ow," I mumbled, shaking away the pain in my hand.

He chuckled, and I continued, "Not all people are complete drones like my mother. I swear she cares more about the films and what she can get from me, than my feelings. I wonder what would happen if I turned round to her and told her I didn't want to be famous anymore?" I mused. "Would she understand where I was coming from, or would she tell me to grow up and deal with the fame?"

Edward looked shocked. "Of course she cares about you more than the films, how could you say that!"

"Trust me with this, you haven't met her yet. And I'm not planning to let her near you."

"I would have to meet her some day."

"Not if I have anything to do with it," I muttered.

He sighed. "When I meet your mother, nothing she could do would make me change the way I feel about you."

"No, when you meet her you would be horrified that you are dating the daughter of someone so vicious and evil. You will be disgusted." I nodded, already confirming his future in my mind.

"I think you will be quite shocked then," he told me. "I have no plans in the near future of letting you go."

"Thanks for reassuring me in that."

I leant against him, and he pulled out a tub of chocolate covered strawberries.

"What's this?" I laughed.

"This is the only recipe I could remember."

I giggled as he fed me one of the strawberries. "God, Edward, these are delicious! But it would have been mush better if I could have fed you them too."

"Well you could," he said, "But they would be disgusting to me, like, uh, eating dirt to you."

"Ew, really?" I laughed.

"Yeah, we can eat it, it's just really horrible." He laughed along with me.

"I'll remember that," I said to him, "So I take it that means that you won't ever come over to dinner to meet Charlie?"

"Nope, don't count on it," he said to me, his eyes sparkling.

We were having so much fun up on the hillside, but I still didn't really know about him.