Sorry about not updating. At least it wasn't as long as it's been before. I got caught up with a new story, and that's the only story ideas were coming to me for; too bad I haven't posted any of it yet. I won't until I finish the two I'm currently working on. But it's called 1 Dead, 3 Missing. It's a YYH (if you don't know what that means, you wouldn't understand any of it) so that's good. I still don't own any of the characters except Ian (who I can say with one hundred percent certainty will be coming back this chapter).
Edward P.O.V.
Before we left for school I talked to Carlisle again, trying to impress on him what a bad idea I think inviting Jesse and Suze to our house is. "We simply cannot trust them."
"Bella thinks we can."
"I know Bella trusts them. And I trust Bella. But I know nothing about either of them. How do we know they won't blurt this out to the first person they see, before we have a chance to move again?"
"The fact that we don't know anything about them is the reason I'm inviting them over. And tell me; who would believe them?"
"I admit that it isn't likely someone would believe them, but that doesn't mean people would just let us leave."
He looks at me. "I think you need to go to school and act normal. I will invite them over and we can talk to them before determining whether to tell them everything or not. Is that okay with you?"
I nod. Then I grab Bella's hand and we go and wait in the Volvo. Because we are pretending to be sixteen, I get behind the wheel. We really need to get another vehicle. Preferably one that can fit all ten of us, although the amount of hope I have that we can find one, well, it's not that great.
Alice and Jasper join us, Nessie and Jake ride in the back of Rosalie's car.
Bella P.O.V.
Again, nothing happens until lunch. And at lunch, Ian makes it clear that both my threats and Edward's have fallen on deaf ears. He approaches without so much as a single indication that he is even slightly hesitant about what Edward—or any of us for that matter—might do if he tries anything stupid. But try something stupid is exactly what he intends to do. And, as Edward and Alice haven't arrived yet, none of us has any idea what he intends to do. What he does catches all of us by surprise. He walks up and, without an invitation I might add, sits down next to me. Nessie is on my other side, and now there is only one empty seat at our table.
Edward appears a few moments later, along with Alice, who sits down in her seat next to Jasper. The only glares I have seen Edward give someone that were worse than the one he gives Ian now were the ones he reserved for the Volturi. And, had Ian's head had, well, anything, rocks even, in it, he would have known enough to either cower from Edward's wrath or get up and leave as quickly as humanly possible. As it is, he glances up at Edward and makes the comment, "Oh. I'm sorry, Edward. It seems as if there aren't any more seats available."
Before Edward has a chance to do anything—namely attack Ian—the rest of us have stood up and are walking to a still-empty table. Jacob, Jasper, and Emmett each hand their tray to Renesmee, Alice, and Rosalie respectively, and grab hold of Edward. They then drag him off to our new table. We are all probably moving just a little too quickly, because we are all walking away before Ian realizes what we have done. And by then seven senior girls have swooped in and taken our seats. And it isn't like he could just get up and walk away from them.
Edward isn't too happy either.
Later, in Chemistry, Ian ambushes us again. We are sitting in our seats waiting for the bell to ring when Ian comes over. Completely ignoring Edward, he stares at me and asks, "Why won't you go out with me?"
I make the split second decision that the truth is the best option. And I mean the whole truth. "Ian, I won't go out with you because I'm married. To Edward, in fact. And, even if I wasn't—even if we weren't even dating—it just wouldn't work. Wanna know why? It's because I'm a vampire. Your natural predator. If I could avoid crushing you, you would freeze every time we sat close to each other. And on top of all that, I don't age." I looked at him with all apparent sincerity.
Edward and I watch with interest as Ian's face changes from shock for the first moments when he believes me, to suspicion when he doesn't, and then finally to anger as he determines that I was lying to him. Then Edward starts laughing, and I follow suit. "She totally had you going," Edward chuckles. Ian glares and stalks off, back to his seat just as the final bell rings.
"That was brilliant, Bella, Love." Edward whispers to me, grabbing my hand beneath the table.
What we learn today is typically easy for us. I don't think what we had told Ian was that easy for him to understand. Either he is trying to figure out where I had come up with such an outlandish tale, or he is trying to wrap his mind around the fact that I might have been telling the truth.
In precalc, I arrive before Ian, which doesn't help avoid sitting next to him. Because no one else is comfortable sitting near me, he has his choice of desks. And the first thing he does after sitting down is drop his pencil. As he is coming up from leaning down to retrieve it, he lightly brushes his warm, human skin against mine. And promptly freezes. "You weren't lying." He breathes in utter amazement. I smile sweetly, showing just enough of my teeth to make him think I had the fangs of the stereotypical horror movie bloodsucking monster.
I then proceed to listen to the teacher, completely ignoring the whispers Ian sends me, acting as if I don't hear him. Of course, every word he says I understand perfectly, but, let's face it, are not interesting in the slightest. Because they are exactly what I would expect to hear from a normal person. When the bell finally rings, I sweep out of the classroom, leaving Ian staring after me. Edward meets me outside my classroom, and I tell him about what Ian had done.
He raises his eyebrows at me. "You sure it's safe to just let him run around after having touched your skin?"
"Not at all. But it isn't like we couldn't just disappear in the middle of the night if it became necessary. Which it won't, because Ian won't tell anyone."
"And why not?"
"Ian isn't an idiot. He'll realize he'll look like a lunatic, talking about the new kids the way he would have to."
Edward hesitates before nodding to show he believes me. Grabbing his hand, I lead him out to the parking lot, where I then slip into the passenger seat of the Volvo.
When we arrive home, Edward paces back and forth before the door, waiting for Carlisle to come home. When he finally arrives, he says, "Jesse and Suze are coming over tonight. What are you fixing for dinner, Edward?"
"No idea." And with that, because hearing if and when the de Silvas were coming over was his only motive for waiting for Carlisle, Edward slipped off into the kitchen to prepare one of the culinary masterpieces that had made Jake more tolerant of living with us.
I glance at Carlisle and ask, "Would it be possible for us to get another vehicle, one that fits at least eight, preferably ten, people?"
He gazes at me for a moment before saying, "You know, Bella, that's not a bad idea."
Six O'clock p.m.…
Jesse P.O.V.
When we arrive at the Cullens' house, it isn't at all what I expected. I admit that I had let Suze get it into my head that they might be vampires. So when I see the cream colored house with chocolate colored shutters, I am a little surprised. Even more so when Dr. Cullen's wife—Esme, I think—ushers us through the door into a pale blue parlor. The blue paint goes perfectly with the thick, white carpet and navy couches. I look at Suze and raise an eyebrow.
She looks at me in response, her gaze clearly saying, Appearances never tell the whole story. Look at you; no one would ever guess you were born in the eighteen thirties.
I nod, then turn around and am surprised to see Edward glaring suspiciously at both of us. He doesn't trust us. I wonder if he suspects anything; no… impossible. But suddenly he smiles warmly at both of us and says, "You're just in time for dinner."
Carlisle P.O.V.
Edward glances at me and whispers, too quietly for Jesse and Susannah to hear him, "If you're going to tell them, I suggest you tell them now."