Before you start reading, I would like to point out that reading FanFictions is easier if you change the page to ½. You can do that near the top, above where you change chapters.
Chapter 11: Evermore
ev·er·more [ev-er-mohr] - always; continually; forever.
AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist-AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist
For the first time since she had found her mate in the soul of Edward Cullen, Bella Swan dreamt that night.
She dreamt of purple flowers, blue skies, sunshine, wide-open spaces. She dreamt of Phil and Renee, she dreamt of her bedroom back in Phoenix. She dreamt of the fresh air in the forest, and how the pavement looks after it had rained. She dreamt of being a little girl and getting sick from jumping in puddles.
She dreamt of happiness, and she dreamt of Edward.
He woke in the middle of the night to her whispering his name. At first he thought she had woken, as well, and needed something, and was prepared to do everything in his power to get that something for her. But upon looking down at her face, saw that her breathing was as even as it had ever been, and her eyes were shut tight. He smiled, realizing that his perfect mate had just gotten impossibly better; she talked in her sleep. He would make it a point now to watch her at night, listening for everything she would say. Maybe he would become an insomniac.
But, like everybody, Edward needed his sleep, and so his thoughts of listening to her in her unguarded state were torn away from him as he slipped deeper and deeper into unconsciousness, gripping her to him relentlessly.
Not that she minded.
AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist-AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist
She woke up before Edward this time, turning around to face him. She had expected to be greeted with his beautiful green eyes looking back at her, but was instead greeted with his smooth features resting in the ease of sleep. Upon glancing over at the alarm clock, she realized that they still had over an hour to sleep, but she didn't feel tired anymore. She breathed in his scent, deciding to just watch him. He had never seen him more at peace than when he was holding her in his sleep. The muscles in his arms would twitch ever so often, tightening his hold on her. When she thought his tight grip would crush her, they loosened, beginning the process over again. How cute.
The hour passed all too quickly, and soon his eye lashes were fluttering at the sound of the ringing alarm, alerting him that it was now time to prepare for school. He smiled when he heard it shut off, knowing his mate must already be up, and opened his eyes fully to take her in. She was smiling at him gently, and running her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. Though he usually would have been embarrassed at the fact that he began to purr like the lion he was, he wasn't at all embarrassed while in the presence of his mate. Hearing him make a sound telling her that he was so content warmed her heart, and she smiled brightly when he leaned his head into his fingers.
After five minutes, she pulled her hand away, causing him to growl lowly, and open his eyes – having just realized that he had closed them. She giggled slightly, causing her body to shake against him, and spoke carefully. "We need to go to school today, Edward. We should get up now and get ready."
For that one moment, he almost hated his mate for being right. All he wanted to do was lay there all day, and hold her in his arms. He didn't want to have to deal with all the single males at school looking at his mate, and he didn't want to have to share her with anybody.
But, he also knew that if he wanted her to pass high school so that they no longer needed to go there, he would have to bring her to school: unfortunately. Being in public meant that they couldn't be as close as they wanted to be, for there were certain rules about PDA: you couldn't do whatever you wanted with your mate at any given time. You needed to be in a private place, away from prying and innocent eyes.
Though, no one's eyes could have been more innocent than Bella's.
AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist-AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist
Again, the morning passed quickly, and when Edward and Bella joined their family in the cafeteria, they sat down to hear a conversation about Jasper and Emmett wrestling after school. Rosalie and Alice were talking about some sale at the Mall of America, and when they could make plans to visit there – the sale would presumably last around a month.
Bella, though she wouldn't say anything, found both conversations uncomfortable to listen to. On one hand, being that she was afraid of being harmed, she didn't like anyone talking about violence in her presence. On the other hand, she detested shopping.
Renee had put her through too many shopping sprees as a young child, which had only fuelled her distaste for presents and spending money. It seemed that her new sisters had different ideas about what was fun and what was not fun.
Shopping was definitely under the list of things not fun; at least, it was for Bella.
Edward distracted her when he felt her tension, asking her about her stepfather and her relationship with him. He had almost learned everything he wanted to know about Bella, but he knew he would spend the rest of his life with her thinking of more things to ask her. There was so much about her life that he regretted missing out on, and wished that he had met her when she was younger. Then, he would have had the privilege of watching her grow up: he would be her babysitter, brother, best friend, and eventually lover. It was quite possible for a full-grown person to mate with a newborn child. It would cause them to have to wait until their mate was ready to accept them as their true loves, but still: it would give them the pleasure of learning everything there was to know about their mate, because they would be with them every step of the way.
Full-grown Bella was great to have, as well, though. More than great; Edward loved her, and he always would.
AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist-AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist
Lunch passed, and the two moved onto Biology. Mr. Banner wheeled in an old TV, mentioning to the class that they would be having a movie day. The movie ended up being a documentary on red blood cells – something Edward knew all about – so he took the time to watch his mate's reactions as he did in English class.
While watching her, he caught a glimpse of a spiteful glare that Lauren Mallory was sending to Bella. She was switching between sending lustful glances his way, and burning glares that surely would have killed his mate if such a thing were possible. When she looked over at him next, he showed his teeth to her and glared, warning her not to mess with him or his mate. Lauren flinched, seeming confused for a moment, but than a look of knowing spread over her face.
Bella hadn't noticed.
AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist-AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist
Lauren Mallory could clearly remember the look Edward had given her when he caught her being rude to his mate. His teeth were rather sharp looking, and his bright green eyes had quickly darkened in anger. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought he was either a cannibal, or a vampire.
It was this look that made something in Lauren click. She wanted someone to mate with, to protect her with the same intensity that Edward protected Bella with. It was easy to see that the two belonged to each other now, with just the way he had glared at her.
Lauren wanted to find her soul mate, for she had now realized that Edward Cullen belonged to Bella Swan, just as much as Bella Swan belonged to Edward Cullen.
AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist-AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist
Jessica Stanley was more careful, sending flirtation vibes Edward's way whenever the 'couple' passed. She was sure that with a couple more days of this, Edward would realize that she had feelings for him, and would dump his 'mate' for someone better than her.
For now, she would just have to wait.
AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist-AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist
Angela Webber and Ben Cheney walked slowly out to their car at the end of the day. Their conversation had trickled into silence, having spent all day together and not having anything else they needed to talk about.
Angela stopped walking, suddenly, causing Ben to be tugged back as they were holding hands. He turned towards his mate, and then followed her gaze. She was staring at the newest couple with a look that could rival a mother's gaze when one of her children found their mates. He found how much she cared for Edward and Bella endearing, and wrapped his arms around her waist, gazing at the couple as well.
"They just look so right together, you know?" She spoke softly, watching as Edward gently helped his little lamb into his car, buckling her in. Bella lifted her hand to his cheek, smiling her thanks as he leaned forward and place a soft kiss to her forehead, causing her to blush a beautiful shade of pink.
"Indeed, they do. They belong together, just as much as we belong together." He whispered back, smiling as the couple looked at each other with awe and wonder.
"I know." She said again. After a few more moments of watching, Edward shut the door and made his way into the car, causing movement in Angela again. She grabbed Ben's hand, leading him towards their car, smiling softly as she watched the silver Volvo drive away. "Maybe even more than we belong together."
And, though Ben loved her with everything in his being, he couldn't help but agree with her.
AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist-AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist
Edward had been aware of someone watching them from a distance in the parking lot, but as his instincts weren't going haywire, he was assured that the watchers didn't have any harmful intent. They were most likely still just curious about the strange couple; the stares were starting to die down, but it was still a weird sight to have to put up with; the perfect couple being complete opposites.
He had ignored the stares as much as he could, barely taking notice of anything except his Bella. She was his entire world, and nothing could possibly distract him from her. She had returned the attention, her thoughts constantly returning to him, causing her to look at him in wonder. The both thought that they didn't deserve the other; but this feeling of being undeserving only made them more perfect for each other.
AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist-AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist
-Dad
I promise to visit you soon; sometimes, even though we are in the same town it's as if nobody else exists. Sorry for not contacting you sooner.
I love you.
Bella
Charlie Swan read over the text message he had received from his daughter earlier that day again. It was the first contact he had had from her in almost a week, since the first text message she had sent. He understood, having witnessed many times before how a mated pair could quickly forget about the rest of the world. At least she had gotten back to him eventually; some never return to their parents.
He had kept the house as clean as Bella had kept it for the week she had been there; though, it wasn't hard with all of the extra shifts he had been taking at the station. He felt the same as Bella; though they were still in the same town, less than 15 minutes apart, it's as if Bella had never returned to Forks.
-Bella
I'm looking forward to your visit. I forgive you for not calling sooner.
...I love you, too.
Dad
Hopefully, Bella would understand just how much he loved her, would always love her.
The love of a parent never dies, much like the never-ending love of a mate.
AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist-AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist
Before Edward had found his match in Bella, Rosalie had been the most-looked at person in all of Forks High. The females would look at her in jealousy, and the single males would look at her with lust. Emmett had stopped as many glances as he could, letting everybody know just who her mate was – Emmett was quite the intimidating character, when he wanted to be – but he knew she enjoyed the attention, so reluctantly let the boys continue staring. It wasn't like she was going to leave him, anyway. He had faith in her that she would always stay with him.
And she never would; Emmett was the thing she cared about most, though her beauty and attention were a close second and third. There were not many things Rosalie wanted that she didn't have, except a child; the next birthing season was far off, and so she would have to wait.
Though, her brother's childlike mate seemed like a pretty good substitute for a child. Bella needed just as much taking care of as a little girl; she wondered if Edward would let her get close enough to protect her, as well...
AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist-AnimalInSpirit-TierInGeist
I caught some inspiration bug, I guess. The chapters have just been rolling out, lately. It took me around twenty minutes, tops, to finish this one.
So, Lauren has finally realized that she wants to find her true mate. Wish Jessica felt the same; and aren't Angela and Ben sweet? I think they make a perfect couple. Actually, now that I think about it, I just got an idea for a OneShot about them. Hmm...
Another quote:
"I don't want to be Angelina Jolie. Not that Angelina Jolie is not the most talented, beautiful, successful, amazing, admirable person who does good things for the world, but I don't want to be a movie star like that. I don't think there's anything about being a celebrity that is desirable. I understand that everybody's going to know who you are and what you look like, but why be so obsessive?" –Kristen Stewart
Review, please!