Finding Fred
Chapter 5 – The Chat
A/N: Please review! I would love to hear both what you like and/or don't like about my writing, story, character development, etc.
Playing in the world of Twilight that (sadly) I don't own…
"The disease control people are coming and they're going to quarantine this park," Alice explained as we got closer to Edward, Jasper, and Fred. "Lots of people called 911 from the edges of the barf zone. We need to move."
I could see that the humans on the outskirts of the 'barf zone' (as Alice so delicately described it) were starting to recover; they struggled to get up and get away. I was trying not to step in what they'd left behind. It was, by far, the most disgusting thing I'd ever witnessed.
Alice walked right up to Fred and extended her hand in greeting. I guess I wasn't the only one who could see him now. "What an interesting smell you've created here! My name is Alice, and this is my husband, Jasper, and my brother, Edward. This is Bella. She and Edward are engaged to be married, so she is neither a pet, nor a snack, and if you value your life, you won't refer to her as either of those things anymore."
Fred's mouth dropped open. "But… she's human. How…?"
"We don't feed from humans," Jasper explained. "But we'll have to carry on this little conversation someplace else. You hear all them sirens?"
"The Botanical Gardens. Good choice, Fred. We can get there easily," Alice responded to an unspoken conversation. "Bella and I have to get the car, and we're barely going to make it as it is, so we'll meet you over there. And don't start talking without me. I'll know if you do!" she said, tapping on her temple.
"How…?" Fred trailed off.
"Close your mouth, son. You're gonna catch flies," Jasper laughed as he and Edward flanked Fred and started the mile or so trek to the gardens. Alice and I headed back to the car.
"You're going to have to hurry a little if we're going to make it before the car gets trapped inside the barricades," Alice lightly admonished me.
"Sorry, but I've had a bit of a rough day, you know," I huffed as I picked up the pace. "A rough few days, actually!"
"Yes, I know, and honestly, I'm not sure what we would have done if you hadn't been there today. I don't say this very often, but I literally didn't see that coming," Alice joked as we reached the car.
"But you knew I needed to be there…" I pondered aloud.
"Yeah, I'm not sure about that, either. Usually I know things because I see them, but this was more like… intuition? Oh well… It worked out," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand.
Once in the car, Alice pulled away from the curb just in the nick of time, which was such an 'Alice' thing to do. To her, getting out by two seconds or two hours was all the same. Sometimes I wondered if she liked to cut it close just for the sake of seeing how close she could come without actually getting herself into trouble. She could easily be described as an adrenaline junkie sans the actual adrenaline.
At the intersection in front of us, two fire engines and a giant disease control van passed with lights and sirens blaring. The police were, indeed, starting to put up barricades. Cutting it close was an understatement. To me, this was becoming a little too much like my whole James Bond fantasy.
It only took a couple of minutes before we pulled over and parked again. Edward was waiting.
"You left Jasper alone with him?" I asked abruptly.
"Hello to you, too," he mused, planting a small kiss on my lips.
"Ummm, Edward, I don't want to second-guess you here, but I saw Fred take all three of you out. I know Jasper has handled newborns before, but this seems entirely different."
"It's true that we didn't know the extent of Fred's gift, did we, Alice?" Edward chuckled.
"It's not my fault that he never decided to do that before! How was I supposed to know? My gift does have some limitations, dear brother."
"Apparently so. We learned a lot through that extremely horrible experience, however," Edward said, shuddering at the memory as he motioned for us to follow him. We walked toward a small equipment shed near some trees where I could see Jasper and Fred sitting on a bench. Jasper had his hand on Fred's shoulder and the closer we got, the more I could feel the calming waves emanating from him.
"Well, now that we're all here, we can talk openly," Edward began. "Fred, I know you're afraid, but if you control yourself, none of us will harm you in any way. Yes, I'm the mind-reader Riley told you about. Jasper here can read and manipulate emotions, and our little Alice sees the future. My Bella has some sort of mind shield that keeps me out of her head," he added, stroking my cheek lovingly. "And it appears your gift does not affect her, either."
Fred eyed Jasper carefully. "So, you're controlling me right now?"
"Yep, pretty much," Jasper answered, then turned to me to explain. "Fred has to get angry or scared or have some other strong emotion to send out that blast of nausea. We figured it out when he had us pinned."
"Yes, but the effects of his gift were so strong, Jasper couldn't do anything," Edward added. "It wasn't until he started thinking about your blood that he was distracted enough for Jasper to calm him down."
"Great," I half joked, "Another win for my tasty, tasty blood."
Fred looked at me with a combination of what seemed to be curiosity, awe, and hunger. "Seriously, Bella. May I call you Bella? Drinking your blood would be…"
Edward interrupted him with a very quiet, very menacing growl. "Remember what I said about controlling yourself? Thoughts like that are going to get you killed. Do not doubt me when I say I'll personally rip you limb from limb and start a vampire barbeque pit right here."
"I'm sorry, man. It's just that I… I don't get it. How can you be that close to her without taking even a little sample?" Fred asked earnestly.
"I won't say it's easy. Her scent is stronger to me than it probably is to you, but I love her and all her little human idiosyncrasies," he answered, burying his nose in my hair and drawing in a long, deep breath. "She's going to be one of us soon enough, alas, although then I'll love her and all her little vampire idiosyncrasies."
So help me I sighed like a teenybopper at a Jonas Brothers concert. So did Alice. That was one of the sweetest things he'd ever said aloud, and was especially heart-warming to me due to my fear of his rejection once I didn't have the heartbeat and the ability to blush, or sleep, or cry. Actually, he might not miss the crying so much, but definitely the blushing and sleeping part.
"Wow," Fred replied unbidden. "You really do love her, don't you. I wouldn't think that was possible if I didn't see it with my own eyes. So, she's your mate? None of us had mates, unless you count Bree and Diego, I suppose."
"I can tell you most assuredly that Bree thought of this Diego as her mate," Edward said, "But we never met him. From what I could gather, Riley and Victoria had already killed him before your coven attacked us."
"Victoria? Are you talking about her?" Fred asked.
Edward nodded, launching into the story of James, Victoria, and Laurent. He stopped just a few minutes in and turned to me. "Bella, dear, I know how much you hate it when we talk at our speed and I answer questions I hear in people's thoughts, but we're going to be here for hours otherwise. Would you mind…?"
My initial reaction was a mixture of anger and hurt, but my practical side overcame it quickly and I resigned myself to the fact that it made more sense. "Yeah, fine. I've heard it all before anyway. Well, actually, I've lived it all before. I really do hate being the odd-human-out… Although I appreciate you asking before just launching into it." I managed a little smile for Edward to reassure him it really was OK.
"Actually," I continued, thinking of something I could do while they talked in bee-buzz, "I'm getting pretty hungry. I can go grab some lunch while you chat."
"I'd feel better if Alice went with you. Is that OK?" Edward asked.
"Believe it or not, I've purchased food in a restaurant before. I don't think I need help," I snarked back.
"Isn't it fascinating how he makes that sound like a request when what he really means to say is I'm going with you?" Alice mused as she got to her feet. Edward glared at her, but she just smiled brightly. "Well, one of us should tell Bella the truth, don't you think, Mr. Overprotective?"
"It's OK," I cut in, ending what was likely to be a sibling squabble. "The company would be nice, even though I don't need a babysitter. Besides," I stood and bent over to whisper in Edward's ear, knowing they would all hear it. "How can Alice and I talk about you behind your back if you're sitting right here?" I turned on my heel and sauntered away, glancing back at Edward and winking.
I could hear both Jasper and Fred laughing as Alice and I made our way to the street in search of food.
A/N: This chapter was a little short. The last was a little long. Maybe like the Three Bears, the next one will be juuuuuust right.
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