~~~Take Me Away~~~
After thirty minutes of cute small talk and joking, Alexis finally pulled into the large parking lot by the open field where the festival was being held. When Edward saw all the people that were already there, he took a deep breath. Okay, you can do this. He could handle all of these people and he could handle integrating himself into a new life.
"You ready?" asked Alexis, looking over at him. Her cornsilk hair shined in the setting sun.
"Yep. Let's go."
They climbed out of the Tracker and Alexis locked it. They walked together towards the large group of people and the stage. They could hear music playing already.
"I've heard that before," Edward said, listening to the song.
"It's Annie Lennox's 'Into The West'. I love that song," she smiled.
They joined the crowd and managed to get into the middle of it. Edward worked to tune out the thoughts of everyone around them and also took a long sniff of Alexis's raspberry shampooed hair before she noticed so he could block out the smells of blood. Hey, whatever works, he thought to himself.
For the next twenty minutes, they listened to really good acoustic music. Alexis considered grabbing Edward's hand and asking him to dance but decided against it. But she watched him get into the music and how at peace he seemed.
She watched his handsome face throughout most of the concert. She knew he knew she was watching him but didn't care.
There was something about this guy that was slowly starting to change. When she first met him, he was cold, angry, and sad. But now, something was different. He seemed to finally be at peace. A little bit of happiness was coming back to him.
She just wondered why that happiness left him in the first place.
"That was absolutely amazing!" Alexis cheered a couple of hours later once the music finally ended for the night. She glanced at the ticket stub in her hand and saw that it was still good for the next day where there would be a whole new group of musicians playing classic songs that she loved.
"You know, I'm going to come back tomorrow night as well. Are you game?" she asked Edward, turning around and walking backwards so she was facing him. She was so graceful that she was able to avoid running into anybody as she walked.
Edward looked down at her with a small smile on his face. He had enjoyed himself immensely. The music had been pretty fantastic and...he really enjoyed spending time with this girl. She was so nice and friendly and...he just couldn't figure her out. But did he want to? He enjoyed his time with her. She made him smile for the first time in months.
He pulled out his ticket stub and looked at the time that the festival was tomorrow. There was a 2:00 playing as well as the 7:00 playing.
"How about the earlier one? I have to get back home around six tomorrow," he said.
In truth, he was going hunting with Emmett, Rosalie, and Carlisle. He could feel himself starting to get a little thirsty. He was sure his eyes were going to start to turn black soon if he didn't drink.
"Oh, sure. You have to drive tomorrow, though. I'm not made of gas money," Alexis said, lightly tapping his jacket covered arm.
And that's when she felt it.
The coolness coming right through the thick cloth.
And the rock-hardness of his skin.
She didn't say a word, though.
Edward knew she felt his arm. He didn't give any inclination that he knew she knew.
"I'll pick you up about 1:15 tomorrow?" he said. "I'll be in my Volvo."
"Sure, rub it in," she smirked, referencing his car.
Edward laughed and opened the driver's door of the Tracker for her. She got inside and he shut it, walking around to the passenger's side.
On the way home, they laughed and joked again. They talked about the concert and how much fun it was and how good the music was. Alexis worked hard to forget what she had felt earlier by tapping Edward's arm. It bugged the hell out of her.
This is stupid, Lex! You're in Alaska!
It's also May, her dumb inner voice answered.
It's still cold.
It's 50 degrees!
Argh!
Alexis dropped Edward off at his driveway again. That was when she saw Alice. She was at the end of the driveway waiting for Edward.
This was the first time that Alice got a close up look at Alexis. She was startled at first at how beautiful this girl was.
And how different she was from Bella.
Alice danced over to the driver's side door after Edward got out of the car. She looked in Alexis's ocean blue eyes and saw true light and happiness there.
Carlisle was right.
This girl was never going to want to become a vampire.
She liked her life too much.
"Hi, you must be the girl that my brother won't shut up about," Alice said warmly. (So to speak) "Alexis, right?"
"Yeah. You must be Alice. Nice to meet you!" Alexis said. She even held out her hand, having a sense that Alice's hand was going to be stone hard and ice cold like Edward's.
Alice didn't even hesitate for one moment as she shook Alexis's hand. "It is so nice to meet you," she said. "It's also really nice to see some light back in my brother's eyes."
If Edward could have blushed, he would have. Alice sure as hell loved to embarrass the heck out of him at times like this.
Alexis didn't really know how to react to that. She knew it was a compliment. She even saw it herself. When she first met Edward, he was crabby and sad and kind of pathetic. But in the last few weeks, she had seen him become more happy, more alive, more at peace then ever.
Alice's mind was going crazy. She was trying desperately to see the future with Alexis but couldn't see past the damn picture of her face. That was all. But from everything she had seen, every time she looked at her brother, she saw peace. That was all she wanted for him.
"Did you guys have a good time?" Alice asked, looking at the expressions on Edward and Alexis's faces.
"We did," Edward cut in before Alexis could even open her mouth. "The music was very good. We are probably going to go again tomorrow."
Alice's gold eyes were alight with happiness. She couldn't be more giddy than normal right then and there.
Edward looked…just so goddamn happy. He was going out again with this girl. He actually had a true friend that was outside of the family. And that made the pain a little bit more bearable.
After Alexis pulled out of the driveway and left, Alice turned to her brother and they began walking down the long driveway together. They walked in silence for a couple of moments.
Alice kept her mind blank until she opened her mouth to speak. "I have never seen you like this before," she started. "Not even when you were with Bella." She didn't care. She spoke the truth.
Edward looked at her for a second. "What do you mean?"
Alice rolled her eyes. "Don't play stupid, Edward. You are really happy, aren't you?"
Edward smiled. A true smile. "Yeah, I am."
Alice reached over and wrapped her arm around Edward's waist. He wrapped his around her shoulders.
"Don't let it go. Be happy," she murmured. "Because she won't want to be a vampire."
Edward froze and released his arm from her. Alice looked up at him with her eyes wide, wondering why he had frozen.
"She won't?" he asked, his voice quivering.
Alice shook her head. "Nope." She didn't have to see the future to know that.
She turned on her heel and continued to head for the house. Edward followed her. No more words were spoken.
Edward was going to have to find out the rest for himself.
So, here we go. Bella had a really low self-esteem and always whined whenever she saw Rosalie, Esme, or Alice, their beauty was better than hers. I really couldn't stand her actually. Alexis has a really good self-esteem. She loves music, like Edward does. She also likes herself a whole bunch. She is beautiful, the way I described her. She's not drop dead like the vampire girls but she is gorgeous in every way. Her kindness, her compassion, and her regular good looks. She is a lot like Esme and Carlisle. I will have her interact with the both of them a lot later in the story.
So, who ever is watching and waiting, I hope you enjoy this story. Don't forget to leave a review.
