Murderville Chapter 3: Peter Pan Syndrome, a twilight fanfic

Author's Note: Um, say goodbye right now to any impressions you have of Edward as a great guy in this story. That's all I'm saying. As always I recommend reading/watching something heartwarming after reading this chapter, right after you review, that is. I would say enjoy it, but this isn't overall a happy chapter...then again when are there ever happy chapters in Murderville?

Fair warning: There is disturbing content in the form of sexual assault, and later in the chapter, a brief Dom/Sub part, I reiterate, brief.

Don't kill me because Edward isn't a white knight and paradigm of virtue and sweetness, and he's actually just crazy and jealous on the inside!

Anyway, sorry for taking so long. Dark stories take a lot out of you to write, I'm afraid. And one of my patients died recently, so I was a little sad over that.

Finalement, PLEASE, please take a few seconds to visit this site and vote for PANDAS research, you'll be doing a world of good: www[dot]refresheverything[dot]com/PANDAS

Murderville

Chapter 3:

"Peter Pan Syndrome"

Alice decided right then and there that she hated funerals. She certainly wasn't a big fan of wearing all black, and crying was no fun either. And since she was in the company of both her fathers (of which Aro was her actual sire), she had to pretend to be their perfect little princess. That meant being quiet and still through the whole ceremony, not complaining when her dads decided to sit right next to the Masens on one of the pews, and it also meant that she had to pretend to be sad for the death of a man she hardly even knew.

After the sermon and the laying of the casket into the ground, everyone went up in their family groups to pay respects to the Clearwaters for Harry's loss. Shortly after that came the reception, during which she was standing in the corner. Of course, she couldn't just be left alone. No, someone had to bother her as per usual.

This time though it was kind of a relief. He was watching her like he always did when he was thinking of hurting her. He, her personal demon since a few years ago. But she wouldn't think about that now, she wouldn't. She couldn't let him see he got to her. He was across the room talking to some other adults, but every so often his gaze landed on her. The corner of his smile perked up, and she shivered from where she was in the corner.

No, the person who had come to bother her now was almost like a guardian angel. Because when he came over to talk to her, he stood in front of her, blocking His view. She was able to breath again, so she decided to be nice to Edward despite the fact that on any other day she would try to avoid him like the plague.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm fine, Edward. I didn't really know him," she said truthfully. "But Aro said we had to come to the funeral anyway. Stupid small town obligations and all."

"Same here, but it was my mother that insisted. I guess we both don't really want to be here. Want to go somewhere else?"

She didn't miss the barely-veiled excitement in his voice. Well, she supposed. It's all anyone thinks I'm good for, what did I really expect? No expectations from a boy who practically drools over me when we're in the same room? No. I have this luck. Alice wished she could just go home instead, or better yet, over to Jasper's house. He hadn't attended the funeral, was at work today, but she could wait for him to come home.

Wait for him to come home and be around, just be there. She didn't need anything more than that. He was the only one she could really talk to these days, since her brother Emmett had left for college. And it had been three months since she'd heard from him, so she was worried he'd already forgotten about his little sister in the wake of all that exciting uni life stuff that everyone raved about. He still hadn't written her a single letter.

He hadn't been returning any of hers either...

"Alice, do you?" Edward pressed.

"Sure."

It was raining outside, but they crossed the street over to their old high school anyway. It was always left unlocked in case someone wanted to use the gym or in their case, the music room. Best of all, no one else was there today, so they could have it to themselves. No funeral stuff. No interruptions. She would be kidding herself if she tried to pretend he just wanted to hang out because the funeral reception wasn't very exciting.

No, he clearly wanted something else, and she had a good idea what. It was no secret he was in some sort of puppy love with her. Half the boys in this town seemed that way, but there was something about him in particular that frightened her. Then again, maybe if she gave it to him, he'd leave her alone. Unlikely, but still, she could try. She very much wanted him to leave her alone for good. He was eerie, and that wasn't her type at all.

They went inside, and it was empty as she had expected. Forks wasn't really the cultural center of America, they had just enough kids to form one band class every semester, and half of those kids only stayed in because their friends pressured them to. Edward was one of the few genuinely devoted to music in the town. And probably the only one who would be caught using the music room for practice in the middle of the summer. No one else cared about it as much as him.

Yes, she thought. He definitely is in love with it. That's what I don't like about him. He's obsessive when he's into something, whether it's music, books... or me.

He headed straight for his instrument of choice, beckoning her to sit beside him on the bench. Inside, Edward was nearly crazy with the feeling of success. Finally I can have her to myself for once. He didn't feel confident enough yet to tack on 'forever' to that. He would still have to get rid of her boyfriend somehow, and wasn't sure exactly how he would go about it. But Edward knew that if given the chance, he wouldn't back down.

You're so dead if I ever catch you alone in the dark, Hale, he thought to himself gleefully as he tried to remember the opening bars of his composition. He had written it especially for her in the event that he could coax her into spending time alone with him. It was part of his master plan to win her to him completely. Step one, d-minor.

He began to play, not noticing her faraway expression. He was far too elated for that.

She listened dutifully, feeling rather listless as she mentally prepared herself to get this over with. Come to think of it, maybe Edward wasn't much better than him after all. They both always wanted one thing from her, and one thing only. They both didn't seem to care all that much whether it hurt her, her feelings, self-esteem, anything. No, maybe he was just a younger version of him.

How she wished that wasn't going to turn out true. One is enough.

Too soon it seemed he was finished with his composition, looking to her for approval. She forced a smile and nodded as if she had truly enjoyed it. He grinned crookedly like a pleased little boy, and moved closer to her on the bench. She let him pull her to him, didn't even object--outwardly--as he kissed her hard, probably about dying of a victory high. Maybe if she just went through with this, he would leave her alone.

She didn't even want to think about the fact, but she knew in her heart he wouldn't.

And so he was kissing her. She couldn't say no. He was picking her up now, setting her on top of the piano. She felt like she couldn't say no. It would be too hard. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. But she had feelings of her own. She didn't really want this. Did she? He was trying to take off her dress now. She couldn't say no. She didn't ever say no. 'God...feels good...I won't say no. But I'm just proving Rose right.

'But he'll forgive me. He always does, even though he knows. Jasper understands how hard it is to say no. I can never say it.'

That was always her problem.

Just for the record, she didn't stop him.

It was after, and they had gotten to talking.

"And sometimes, he makes me feel like a darker person. Because well, I always let him down somehow, and I know that makes me a really bad person," she admitted. 'I feel like no one cares enough to make me stay within the rules, be faithful, be a good girl...' she thought to herself. 'Not even the guy I want to be with more than anyone.'

"Then why are you marrying him? It doesn't seem like you're very committed, or even a good match," Edward noted.

"Of course I want to marry him! Don't ever question that." Her face was angry steel.

"I thought it was a reasonable question, given what you had just said," he muttered stubbornly.

"I do want to, and besides, it would be selfish of me not to. I'm having his baby, and I never want my children to have just one parent. They deserve a father," she went on, mostly to herself, while next to her, his face twisted into an expression that channeled her mood just seconds before.

"Are you telling me," he began, his voice belying his ire. His hands clenched into fists, and he didn't even look remotely human any more as his fury grew in time with his raised tone of voice. "Are you telling me that you let me make love to you when you have his child in you right now? Tell me that's a lie Alice, or I swear..." his chest heaved, and she cringed away instinctively. All of her senses were telling her to run.

"Make love? Edward I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself..." she reproved him quietly.

"No I'm not!" he snarled. "I love you, and I meant it. What did you think all this was? I wrote a song for you, I took it slow, and I made love to you on that piano."

"It was just sex," she answered, feeling frightened. This was such a bad idea, she thought to herself. So stupid.

He then moved so quickly that if she'd blinked, she definitely would have missed it. All she knew was that he was on top of her again. He leaned down, not to kiss her, but aimed to the right. Finding her neck, he bit down, hard. She shrieked, and her hands went up to protect herself, to try and get him off of her. It wasn't working.

Another few seconds and he stopped her, grabbing both hands with one of his at the wrist, and pushing them over her head to stay there, against the floor. "Don't run away from me Alice. I love you. That's why this needs to happen. So you can tell the difference next time."

She whimpered, being reminded of a past memory that she didn't like to replay in her mind. She had gotten through that night by just doing what he said. The situation was similar, so she decided what would be best is to submit. No matter how much that hurt her. It would have to be over sometime, she just had to survive until then.

"Are you going to run if I let you go now?"

She shook her head, no.

"Then get on your knees, and bend over," he hissed in her ear. "We're going to do something fun."

She did what he said, guessing what was going to happen. Her body knew from previous experience, however much her mind didn't want to make connections between the two.

She got into position for him, and as expected, he was behind her. His fingers went between her legs, and instead of the gentle touching of earlier, this felt... determined. He was manipulating all the spots he knew would get her excited in a hurry. All too soon she was feeling wound up, and was squirming out of habit, trying to speed towards her release, but then right on the brink, he pulled his fingers out, all wet from her, and instead pushed them inside of her ass.

Her eyes widened, but she didn't say a word. She could hear his heavy breathing, and knew just how impatient he was. Already the tip of his cock was right there, and his other arm went around her waist, holding her in place.

"Now isn't this fun?"

She gasped as he shoved himself inside of her with little warning. He paused for a moment, letting her adjust, but only for a moment.

The rhythm in which he thrust in and out of her was intense, slightly painful, and fast. She hoped that meant it would be over soon. Very, very soon.

"This is sex. This is me fucking you. I'm not looking into your eyes. I don't even seem to care about you. That is sex. What differences do you notice?" he panted as he pushed them both harder, his fingers digging hard into her ribs, and she feared they would bruise. She couldn't go home with unexplained bruises. She couldn't even see Jasper with unexplained marks on her body. She knew it would only prompt him to do something irrational and probably violent. He didn't take well to anyone hurting her.

"Alice, you're not... answering me." His fingers jabbed her, and must of struck a nerve or two, because it was very painful. She bit down on her lip, not wanting to cry, and yet she knew she had to speak, or he would be even angrier with her.

"Lots of differences," she answered finally. He grabbed her by the hips, and slowed suddenly, and she knew he had to be close.

"Name them," he growled fiercely. "Out loud so I can hear them."

"You're not going slow."

"Am I not?" he taunted her, pulling out, and then bringing her hips back against him until he was buried deep inside her. She felt a small tinge of pleasure, and was instantly humiliated. He didn't mean for her to enjoy this. She didn't mean to.

"You're hurting me," she cried.

"There's another difference. Anything else?"

"You're being unkind."

"You made me this way, it's your fault," he told her. She hung her head sadly. He repeated the action, pulling out, and then thrusting back in. He groaned none too quietly, and then suddenly he was spilling into her, holding her hips steady. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'll make the last one easy for you," he said, as he grabbed her, and laid them both down again. He turned on his side so that their faces were about three inches apart, and his eyes bore right into hers.

"If I was just fucking you, I would never bother with this."

He leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers for the briefest of seconds, and then pulled away.

"But because I'm not just fucking you, I'll tell you that I love you, Alice."

He looked calm once more, but she was anything but at peace. Quickly, she stood up, grabbing her purse and her dress, which she slipped on over her head. All the while he watched her as if in shock that she wouldn't want to... cuddle or something with him, after he did that to her.

No, Edward was being just like him, and she hated them both now. Bastards.

"I don't believe you, and I never will," she retorted coldly before collecting herself and walking out of the room.

It didn't matter. She was going to see her fiancé, and if he felt inclined to hurt the little bastard, then she would have no qualms about that. Not after that. He wasn't the first man to try and mess with her mind, but that would be the last time he ever did. He could go to hell.

The Police Station---Forks, Washington.

"It's just so damn frustrating!" he stormed, pacing the front office. Bella noted that though she knew the pacing helped him, it was kind of annoying on a base level. Then again, Jacob had right to be so upset. The trigger that was Harry Clearwater's funeral had made him even more impatient in the Uley case.

She had just briefed him on all they had been able to find so far, which amounted to little.

Toxicology reports from the state crime lab had indicated the exact type of poison, which was arsenic. Good to know, but it was nothing really substantial as far as their investigation was concerned. Probably anyone could get a hold of arsenic; it didn't narrow their suspect field. Worse, they didn't even have a suspect. Bella had checked out the alibi of their only persons of interest---Emily and Leah. They both seemed to hold up.

Bella and Mike had split up interviewing the neighbors, and of course no one had seen hide nor tail of any person entering the Uley house. This left them with two different hypotheses as to how an outside suspect could have pulled it off. One: He/she had come from the woods, ran up and went inside, quickly transferred the poison into the batter and left. Or two: their conclusions were wrong and the would-be Mrs. Uley had committed the act herself. Jacob seemed damned-near determined to discredit the second theory.

Bella knew that in a bigger jurisdiction and had he been a lower ranking officer, Jacob would have been off the case faster than he could open his mouth to object. There was a clear conflict of interest, and though he wasn't doing the legwork, when it came to drawing conclusions, his views were pretty slanted. Still, she was empathetic.

Alas, there was a different sort of thought gnawing at her. It was definitely, entirely a stereotype, but she had once heard from an old detective that the only type of murderer that employs poison is a pissed-off woman. The angry woman in question would seem obvious. Leah Clearwater. But what if it was his fiancee? Had Sam done something to make her angry, to the point of murder? Had he reconciled, considered going back to the woman he had broken up with?

Bella Swan thought it was high time she found out when the last time Leah had talked to Sam was.

Ignoring Jacob's incessant habit, she picked up one of the desk phones and dialed the number to the woman's house. Leah picked up almost right off the bat.

"Yes?"

"Hello, sorry to bother you, but this is Detective Swan. I was wondering if you had spoken to Sam at all recently, before he was killed?"

The other line was silent for a moment.

"To be honest, detective, I haven't exchanged a word with him since we broke up."

"Okay then."

Finding that she had no other questions to ask, Bella decided to skip the awkwardness of remaining on the line. She wrapped up the phone call a minute later, and suddenly noticed that Jacob was standing over her shoulder when just before the call he had been across the room. He was staring at her expectantly, hopefully, as if he thought she had somehow was about to deliver the good news that she had solved the case. No such luck.

Hesitantly she bit her lip, but decided to go with her gut. Looking up at him, she said, "I don't believe Emily did it."

For the first time that day, Jake seemed to be satisfied with something that had come out of her mouth.

A definite conflict of interest indeed.

"But I want to put a watch on Leah. Just for a few days, watch her, see where she goes, who she visits, just in case. If nothing happens, we're back to the drawing board for suspects. I know you don't think she did it either Jake, but this is our job. We have to do it right, for Sam's sake," she told him, trying not to sound like she was reproving him, but they both knew she was for all the show.

He nodded, pacified by the mention of his dead friend. He must do better.

"I'll have Embry do it. He lives near-by anyway, and it won't look suspicious if he's hanging around the rez."

"Mike would seem a bit out of place," Bella added, smiling.

"Only a little, you and him are both palefaces, you'll stick out like a sore thumb in my neighborhood," Jake joked, grabbing the keys to his truck, parked outside. The cruiser was strictly for official business. Bella grabbed her stuff and followed him out of the police station. 'Time to go home,' she thought. 'Maybe read a little or something, call my sister... ugh, am I really that boring? Maybe I am.'

She was standing in front of her own car, and yet she found that she had no desire to get in it if that's all she had to go home for.

"I know you're just getting settled in and all with the new apartment, but have you thought of checking out the Forks nightlife?"

Bella turned her head. Jake was leaning against the side of his truck, smirking at her in a way that might have been annoying if he wasn't so damn attractive, and if he technically wasn't being polite.

"And what does the nightlife around here consist of, exactly? Hay rides and corn mazes?" she bantered.

"Silly Bella, we grow lavender in this area, not corn. The plants don't get tall enough for much of a maze."

"Then what do you do for fun?"

"Oh, just a little this-or-that. Buy a friend a drink at the Woodstack. Interested?"

She sized him up. It was probably against the code of ethics somewhere to go out with your boss, but Bella couldn't seem to care about that right now. All she knew was that he was offering, and she was definitely interested. It had been too long since she'd been out with a man, especially an attractive one like Jacob Black. Perhaps it was time to end that streak, forget about things for a night.

He grinned as if he knew exactly what was going through her head.

"You go ahead and drive your car back to your place, Bella. I'll pick you up in an hour."

The Clearwater House---La Push, Washington.

Immediately after the strange call from the detective, Leah felt anxious, and less composed than she was accustomed to feeling. So she grabbed her cell phone and went out onto the porch to smoke. Her mother frequently chastised her about the habit, but frankly Leah could care less. She lit up and sat on the porch swing, gently rocking back and forth in an effort to sooth herself. It wasn't really working.

She took up the phone and hit speed dial number four.

Finally a man's voice on the other line answered. "I was busy, you know. I'm still at work."

"I'm aware, asshole. But I just wanted to tell you I'm not coming over tonight."

She could hear his aggravated sigh.

"Why is that?"

"I just am. So find something else to do, and don't be asking me stupid questions. Jesus, I didn't think you were that much of a simpleton. I'm simply not in the mood. Thus I am taking a rain-check until next time. Comprendez-vous?"

"If you must. Now I have to go, clients are waiting."

"Fuck you."

She hung up on him, and took a long draw on her cigarette, fuming. Their relation was complicated, that was for damn sure. For once she was even 'the otehr woman', something she had never aspired to be, but it couldn't be helped now. She was too into him. Damn the consequences if his lover ever found out he was boffing her on the side, she would just smile and take it.

Better yet, getting rid of that other lover would be her ideal solution. She didn't care how, whether it was just through a break up or something a bit more sinister. She would have him or die. Leah wasn't interested in letting another man slip through her fingers. Not for the second time, for it would be her last. No, she would have him, or no one at all.

"Can you spare one for me?"

She turned her head and frowned. Seth was home, and heading straight for the porch seat that she thought of as her own personal refuge. Then again, she did have a little something she wished to discuss with the brat, so why not let him get cozy for a moment?

"I might if you're good," she teased, patting the seat next to her. He threw himself down with no play of grace, stretching out his legs to stop the rocking motion of the swing.

"So today has been pretty much the dumps, wouldn't you say? Dad buried, people pretending to be sorry about it?"

He began in his typical 'fuck the world' manner that his sister had become accustomed to. He had been pulling the same crap ever since he hit 15 years old. Seth tended to beat up on himself and others when he wasn't in a good mood, so this outburst wasn't so unusual for him.

"Yes, but I am glad to see him safely buried underground." She puffed on her light a little, then added in with a knowing bent, "You know, hopefully they won't be trying to dig him up again for an autopsy or anything."

Seth glared at her.

"And why would you say that, Leah?"

She glared back, as if to say 'You know damn well why.'

"It's lucky I was able to dissuade her from the autopsy. I'm not stupid, Seth. I knew you had been switching his pills with placebos. Think how much it would have destroyed Mom if she knew it was your fault dad died."

Leah's tone did not sound accusatory, but more like a lecture. She was bringing out her big-sister voice, and it was that more than her words that made him feel the need to explain himself, to justify his actions.

"I hated being poor, Lee! He was going to die eventually, but his medication is so expensive, Mom and you and I all have to work more than we should have to. It doesn't mean I don't love him. It just means I love you, Mom, and myself more."

"Did anyone else know? Your little girlfriend, perhaps?"

"No, I didn't tell her. She wouldn't understand."

"Good."

"Hey wait, sis. If you knew, why didn't you try to stop me?"

"Dad was heading to a better place, Seth. Why would I have any sort of problem with that? I loved him too."

He sat for a moment, looking as ever like a sullen little boy while in contemplation. Finally he cleared his throat and muttered, "You know, I hate being grown-up, Leah."

She smiled sweetly and passed him him a cigarette.

"I believe everyone else in the world does too, Seth."

He was handcuffed to the bed, a blindfold over his eyes, and a gag pressed into his mouth. She was straddling his hips like a professional, taking her sweet time to undo all the buttons on his shirt. He cursed his choice of attire, but at the same time felt a great pleasure at the anticipation of when she would be finished. She knew he was excited, she was probably just milking it like she always did. Making their time together last. She hated to be alone.

"You look so fucking hot tied up for me," she whispered silkily into his ear, and then took the time to nip playfully at his lobe. He mourned the fact that she still hadn't taken off his suddenly much-too-small jeans. His shirt was open in front now.

And then, her weight lifted off of him. He groaned at the loss, but through the gag it was muffled.

Seconds later she trailed something over his abs. To a newbie it might feel just like string, but he knew what it was. He nearly shivered with joy.

"You are not going to move or attempt to resist. You've been a very bad boy, and you deserve punishment. Nod if you understand."

He slowly complied with the request.

This wasn't the first time they had played around like this, and he relished it when they did. Few people would do for him what his best friend would, and he knew he was lucky she was into the same... hobbies he was. Or this relationship wouldn't be that much fun after all.

She was waiting a moment to begin. Damn her, he thought. She knows I hate it when she does that. She just wants to get me all wound up, just like her little toy. Maybe that's what I am, after all. She treats me about as well as one... I will have to talk to her about that, afterwards. Definitely afterwards.

He felt her weight settle on top of him again, and he smirked against the cloth in his mouth. Now we're getting somewhere.

"I know what you did to her," Rose said, her voice with a certain edge to it. He didn't like it at all.

"You can't hide from me."

In his mind, sudden panic brewed. Why did he let her cuff him?

"It's sad, it's pathetic. You sunk down to a whole other level entirely. You raped her, and I don't approve at all, Edward. You shouldn't hurt people, that's my job, sweetheart. She's just a whore, she can't say no ever. She would have gone with it if, would have let you have your way if you had just stayed nice to her. But you're an idiot. You can't even control your petty little jealousy problem, and one day that's going to be your downfall. Nod if you understand, slave."

"I don't like she's with my brother either, but you don't see me going after her with an axe, or anything. There's subtler ways to hurt. I thought I told you that already," she snapped, getting into the stride of her anger.

Stunned, he couldn't even make a response. Turned out she didn't intend to give him room to answer. She cracked the whip against his ribcage with a vicious intensity. He floundered as he tried to move away, then remembering how imprisoned he truly was. He was bleeding, and she went in once more, angling her weapon to strike him across the face. He screamed against his gag, and tried to kick her away, but she was out of reach.

"You shouldn't have done that. You know better. I taught you better."

She removed his blindfold, and he saw her blue eyes, which now seemed to him as foreign. A beautiful Fury with his best friend's face. There was a sinister grin about her, and she continued to smile as she showed him the whip. Running her fingers over the handle, she continued her monologue. "I'm afraid you're too far out of line this time. I can't be fucking some crazy. You understand, don't you?"

Horrified, he shook his head, no.

"You really are slow this evening. I have to do this, it's for everyone's good. Oh, and when you get to the place upstairs, don't let fucking St. Peter try to put me down as some sort of hero. I still hate her guts, but not even a whore deserves that kind of treatment. And besides, I don't want my brother to go to jail for killing you. He's too pretty for prison, and I know how to keep myself out of trouble."

Once again looking pleased with herself, she removed his gag.

"Oh, and don't scream. Too messy."

She leaned down to kiss him once, a final farewell. The next second it was all over.

Handle-first, she shoved the whip down his throat. He was choking, couldn't breathe; it was all going to be over within a minute's time. She watched him fade away, probably relishing the power of it and how the last thing he'd ever see would be her face. She couldn't have have staged it any better if she had tried. Still feeling euphoric, she twisted the handle, watching him struggle to lift up his head, his hands straining to try and pull the whip from its lodging.

He was dying. Couldn't breathe with that there.

Black spots formed in his vision, inking out her image, and there was no cliched light at the end of the tunnel. Only never-ending darkness. He could feel her grinding the handle into his throat, and the pain was so much that he almost couldn't think anymore. Too much.

He wasn't going to live like this, gurgling and throwing up blood, his throat nearly collapsed. She wasn't going to be happy about the stains on her coverlet. Or the splinters of wood lost from her whip. Her whip. Their old toy. Murder weapon.

Some things just weren't meant to fit in certain orifices.

He was dead, and he wasn't going to come back.

Shaking, the library came back into blessed focus as he woke up from what was unarguably, the worst nightmare of his life.

It had been startlingly, horribly real to him. Talk about your conscience coming back with a vengeance. Yet with his foolhardy morality, and despite the gruesome dream, he still did not regret anything he had done. Edward thought it was fine. All he had done was give her an example of how one could be mean, just to show that by comparison, he treated her fine.

Alas, even he wasn't so dumb as to have realized that his demonstration hadn't gone as planned. Alice had stormed off, clearly mad at him. That wasn't what he had planned on, but after some more contemplation, maybe she deserved it.

Wasn't their relationship normal, after all? He thought it must be. Couples have spats all the time. She'll get over it and realise that I love her.

Then again, she refused on labeling him and her as a couple. She had gotten herself engaged to stupid Jasper, which he would never understand.

Any time he talked, she always told him that while she was happy with the prat, he also made her sad for some reason. She wouldn't tell Edward why this was, and he didn't care to speculate. So why would she want to marry him?

Who the fuck knows? Women are complicated.

He shivered as the last part of his dream came back to him. Yeah, he wouldn't be sleeping again for a few more nights.

Not wanting to hang around the library where his mother worked, Edward slipped out the back door and onto one of the main streets in Forks. Being the middle of the day, it wasn't exceptionally busy. Just two or three people milled about, going into various shops. He walked along the main drag until he found a park bench and took a seat. The one bad thing about this town was that there was honestly nothing to do unless you were the bar-going age and type.

He was neither nor did he feel like doing anything else.

Oh yes, it was going to be a long day.

Seth was being admittedly, lazy, leaning against the brick wall of the sporting goods store, but all too soon he thought of a better way to pass his time.

Someone who he was very much interested in talking to was sitting just a few feet away on a bench.

'How wonderfully convenient,' he thought, smirking a little on the inside. Edward Masen and he had not known each other despite attending the same small high school, but they recognized each other in the way that small town folk do with familiar faces. The guy looked bored and perhaps even a tad guilty. But definitely distracted. Perfect.

Seth made his decision, and walked over to greet him.

"I couldn't help but notice you looked bored stiff. Forks-itis getting to you too?" he began conversationally, knowing he could be damn charming if he gave it a go.

"Something like that," Edward muttered.

He eyed the other young man quizzically.

"What are you proposing we do about it?"

"Nothing too exciting, but I thought it might be interesting at least to go for a hike. I found a new trail before... before my father died, and I had meant to explore it further, but then stuff well, you know, happened." Seth let his face go sad for maximum effect. He had to convince the Masen kid to go along with this. Or he'd have to do this the hard way, and to be frank, Seth was a sloth. He didn't like extra effort. Getting the job done quickly was fine with him.

"Oh, well I'm sure I could go tomorrow, if you don't mind waiting till then. It's already kind of late in the day to be starting now."

"That's what I meant, tomorrow," Seth amended quickly, "It's off Highway 101. I think there was a meadow, but I can't remember the exact way to get there. I was hoping to find it again. I can pick you up at your house if you'd like. Hopefully 9:00 isn't too early?"

"No, no that's fine. I look forward to it," Edward replied. 'Bullshit' thought Seth. 'You look as sullen and despicable as you always do.'

Yet he didn't comment on Masen's lack of enthusiasm. Instead he just nodded, and made some more small talk.

It seemed they wouldn't have to do this the hard way after all. 'Awesome,' he thought. 'A hiking trip with my new best friend.'

Author's note: The next chapter is a continuation of this day/night, so don't worry, I haven't forgotten Jake & Bella's hot date, lol.

Ok, so maybe someone might grow corn in the general Forks area, but if you've been to that corner of Washington, you will know that especially in the town of Sequim, lavender growing is the thing to be doing. Exhibit A: Sequim is the "Lavender Capital of North America" and hosts the Lavender Festival in Mid-July. I find it ironic though that they say "The festival in sunny Sequim." Quite the oxymoron there. Sequim is NOT sunny, not in my experience, lol. Very gray and menacing, actually. Sorry, I'm a native Washingtonian. =]

Anyway if you are interested in these things, here's the site: http://www(dot)lavenderfestival(dot)com/

And like always, it would be incredible if you took just a few Seconds to REVIEW. Let me know you're enjoying, any questions you have, etc.