Hello my wonderful readers! I am here with another triple update of this, Forgetting Franki, and Green Eyed Monster. I hope you enjoy. I have a wonderful shout-out for Angel of the Nightwatchers, the oh-so-amazing Beta who makes this all run smoothly!
Enjoy!
It was just beginning to mist outside by the time Edward pulled onto my street. I noticed that he was driving in a much more reasonable fashion as he drove up to the Police Chief's house - hm, he is wise. Up until then, I had no doubt he would be staying with me while I spent a few necessary hours in the more real world.
Then I saw it, the real reason he'd slowed down. I saw the weathered, black Ford. It was a '92, possibly a '94 and it was parked in our driveway. Edward muttered something that was most likely a curse under his breath.
Trying to get away from the rain by staying on the front porch until the door was opened, Jacob Black stood behind his father's wheelchair. His face mortified as he looked down to his father, whose face was impassive while Edward parked my truck.
Edward's low voice was furious. "This is crossing the line."
"Please don't say that means what I think it means..." Edward just nodded and I felt myself grow a little bit angry with the wise-faced old man, myself. So, he had come to warn Charlie? Ridiculous. And, as Edward so kindly put it, crossing a giant damn line. Kind of like leaping from one side of the Grand Canyon to the other.
I was glad Charlie had yet to be home.
"I'll deal with this." I demanded, and was glad I said it when I saw that Edward's eyes had gone a dark, intimidating black.
To my surprise, he did agree. "That's probably for the best. Be careful, though. The child has no idea."
I snorted, my humour back in tact. "Have you seen the size of Jacob? He is definitely not a child. He looks even older than I do...even if gangly. I could pass as a toddler next to him."
He looked at me, his anger fading with my wit. "I think you look very mature, if silly as you trip."
I sighed and pulled on the handle.
"Get them inside so I can leave. I'll be back around dusk." He instructed me, I nodded tightly.
"Want to take the old girl home?" I pat the dashboard.
"I could walk home faster than this truck moves." He said with a roll of his eyes. I furrowed my brow.
"Then don't leave at all. You don't have to."
"Actually, I do. After you get rid of them," he threw a dark glance towards the Blacks', "you have to prepare Charlie to meet your new boyfriend." He grinned at me widely and I had to narrow my eyes at his tone.
"You're a jerk."
He smiled back at me. "I'll be back soon," he promised. His eyes flickered back to the porch before he quickly kissed me on the edge of my jaw. I bit my lip out of the good feeling that came from it, and the anxiety knowing that Billy saw it. When I looked up, Billy was no longer passive, but gripping the armrests of his wheelchair. I winced.
"Use that super speed, okay?" I whispered, opening the door and stepping out in the rain. I felt his eye on my back as I jogged, and almost tripped, on my way to the porch.
"Hey, Billy. Hi, Jacob." I smiled as much as I could. "Charlie's gone for the day - hopefully you weren't waiting too long?"
"Not long." Billy said with a subdued voice. The bite to his words and piercing eyes made me want to cringe and get back in my truck with Edward. I'd prefer Tyler's van to this glare. "I just wanted to bring this up."
"Thanks," I said, not taking the brown paper bag as he was holding it so protectively. I gave him a painful smile. "Why don't you come in and dry off for a minute?"
I fumbled with my keys, concentrating hard so that I didn't drop them or take too long. I could feel everyone watching me and it was making me anxious - vampires and vampire haters or not, I don't do well under that kind of examination.
"Here, let me take that," I offered, taking the brown sack that Billy had wanted to bring over and letting them in the house before myself. I gave one last look towards Edward, who was still being very watchful.
"Fast." I mouthed to remind him. He nodded before I turned around and went inside the house.
"You'll want to put it in the fridge," Billy noted tightly, gesturing to the sack in my hand. "It's some of Harry Clearwater's homemade fish fry - Charlies favourite. The fridge keeps it drier."
"Thanks," I repeated again. "I'm running out of ways to cook fish - I barely like it and since he's bound to bring some more tonight..."
"Fishing again?" He asked with a subtle gleam in his eye. "Down at the usual spot? Maybe I'll run by and see him."
"I think he may have said something about some place..." I paused, knowing it already sounded like a lie. I hoped that if I broke it up, by putting the fish fry in the refrigerator all the way in the kitchen for instance, it would make it more believable. "...New. No clue where he would fish though."
Not a lie. I couldn't remember where Charlie fished.
"Jake, why don't you go get that new picture of Rebecca out of the car? I'll leave that for Charlie, too."
Jacob sighed. "Where is it?" He was devastated - so, he knew his father's ploy. He knew I was about to get a strip torn off of me because of the Cullen's. Luckily, Jacob didn't believe the rumours - but he knew his father did.
"I think I saw it in the trunk, you may have to dig for it."
Jacob left.
Billy and I faced each other silently, after a few seconds of awkward silence, I headed back for the kitchen. I heard his wet wheels squeak while he followed. I closed my eyes, preparing myself for what I was sure to hear.
"Charlie won't be back for a long while, just to warn." I muttered, trying not to sound too rude but trying to let him know what I meant.
He nodded, but said nothing.
"Thanks for the Fish fry, I'm sure Dad'll love it. You should come over more often, hopefully he'll be here next time." He continued nodding. I crossed my arms over my chest and he sensed my change in direction.
"Vivienne," he did not have an accent to my name and it gave me a reason to remind myself that this man, right now, was not a friend. Maybe not to the extent of being an enemy or anything, but someone who would try and ruin my relationship with Edward through a warning my father wouldn't believe, but be wary of. It would be hard to spend such time with Edward if a seed like how he shouldn't be trusted were implanted into his head.
"Liv," he said again, trying to make it more personal. "Charlie is one of my best friends."
"He is." I agreed.
"I notice you've been spending time with the Cullens." Each word was careful, his eyes waiting to see my reaction - waiting to see if I knew and was a complete fool or if I didn't know and was being led into some sort of deadly trap.
"They're very kind people," I stated.
His eyes narrowed. "Maybe it's none of my business, but I don't think that is such a great idea."
"You're right, it isn't your business." I agreed. "But don't worry, I will make time for Jacob too. That's what I do for friends." The use of the word seemed to make him cringe. He decided to put the conversation into a higher gear.
"You probably don't know this, but the Cullen family has an unpleasant reputation on the reservation." He hoped he had struck in me something that would question it. I shrugged.
"Oh, no, I heard." My voice was hard. "But it can't be deserved by how kind and considerate of a family they are of each other. And everyone else around here. I mean, they can't have deserved something like that. They don't step foot on the reservation, do they?"
It wasn't subtle, but it good my point across.
"That's true," he acceded, his eyes guarded. "You seem...well informed of the Cullens. More informed than I expected."
I nodded, staring him down. "Yes. I know all about how wonderful they can be. They are a very considerate family."
He raised an eyebrow and hummed. "Is Charlie as well informed?"
Ah. Not good. "Charlie really respects the Cullens," I hedged. It was an obvious change in wording.
"It's not my business," he said again, "but it may be Charlie's."
"But obviously it's my business to tell Charlie my business. Which I plan to inform him about my, uh, relationship with Edward Cullen tonight." His eyes hardened. He did not speak as I listened to the rain fall on the roof, it was comforting. I watched his gaze examine the knowledge behind my eyes, trying to see if I was making an informed decision.
"Yes," he surrendered, breaking our staring battle. "I guess that's your business, too."
"Thank you, Billy." The relief and gratitude was genuine.
"Just think about what you're doing, Liv," he urged.
"I have been." I agreed.
He frowned. "What I meant to say was, don't do what you're doing." I looked into his eyes and though I didn't like what he had been planning, the concern in them was fatherly and sweet. I shrugged, looking away from him.
"There's no picture anywhere in that car." Jacob's loud, husky voice reached us before he did. The shoulders of his shirt and hair were dripping with rain.
"Hmm," Billy grunted as he faced towards his son. "I guess I left it at home."
Jacob dramatically rolled his eyes to show me how unimpressed he was, hoping his father wouldn't see. "Great."
"Well, Liv, tell Charlie-" the pause was far too long and I wondered what Jacob caught on to during it. "That we stopped by, I mean."
"I'll tell him you came." I agreed. Jacob was surprised.
"We're leaving already?" Jacob asked, obviously upset.
"Charlie is going to be out late." Billy explained as he rolled past Jacob.
"Oh." Jacob was disappointed, so I put my hand on his shoulder and patted it, then made a show about wiping the dampness over his back. He laughed. "I'll see you later, Liv?"
"Sure," I grinned.
"Take care," Billy warned me. I did not answer. I did not say any sort of goodbye after that except for waving briefly as their truck pulled out of the driveway, where my truck stood empty, before I shut the door on the scenario.
So dramatic! I'm glad not all my boyfriends had this much adventure during the relationships. Now I have it all built up ready for what I'm facing now.
I went upstairs and changed out of my dressy clothes, trying on a few different tops because I wasn't sure what to expect tonight. I realized that if we were in a clearing, in the night, with an oncoming storm that it would be rather cold. I put on my off-the-shoulder black sweater and a pair of normal jeans, I decided to wear one of my many pairs of converse. I had too many shoes. Just as I was finishing putting my hair in a long braid, the phone rang and I straightened immediately. I only wanted to hear one voice and it would make fun for him to call me, right? To make sure that they were gone before popping in early to come see me because that just happened to be how much he missed me? I bounded down the stairs and tackled the phone off of the wall.
"Hello?" I asked, breathlessly.
"Liv? It's me." Jessica said. I felt myself wilt.
"Oh, hey Jess. How was the dance?"
"It was so much fun!" And then with no more invitation than that she gushed and gave me a minute-by-minute replay of every event that happened. It was amazing how detached I was from that side of me - that world of school, normalcy, friendship, and academics. Suddenly, they all seemed very frivolous. Not important. Like they hadn't been real. I couldn't stop staring at the window, where reality would soon be waiting when the sun hit the horizon.
"Did you hear what I said, Liv?" Jessica asked, quickly irritated.
"Sorry, not that last bit." Or the part before that, but I could edit that part out.
"I said, Mike kissed me! Can you believe it?"
"That's awesome. Was he a good kisser?" I grimaced as I said it, I didn't really want to know.
"He was great!" But surprisingly, she gave no more details - of which I was glad. "So what did you do yesterday?"
"Not that much. Soaked in some sun. I'll still be the darkest kid in school." I joked.
I heard Charlie's car pull up and I was instantly sweaty and nervous.
"Did you ever hear anything more from Edward Cullen?"
The front door slammed and I could hear Charlie banging around under the stairs, putting away the fish he had caught and would expect for dinner. I looked at the sun behind the clouds, wanting Edward to be here so I could make my escape. I did not do well with confrontation...
"Uh, yeah."
"Hey there, kiddo!" Charlie called as he walked int the kitchen. I waved.
"Oh, your dad's there. And there was? Why didn't you text me? Next time text! Never mind - we'll talk tomorrow. See you in Trig."
"See ya, Jess." I hung up the phone, glad that she had for once understood my want of silence. Even if she did sound impatient. I took a deep breath and faced him.
"Hey, Dad." I hoped I didn't sound too chipper. "Didn't catch anything?"
He snorted at my humour. "I put it out in the freezer." He turned around to face me and my father suddenly looked intimidating. Like the police officer I knew him to be, but...bigger. I shrank away from him a little.
"I'll just go grab some for the fish fry Billy brought." I mumbled, giving myself reason to get out of that damned kitchen. I heard him mutter that it was his favourite.
While I grabbed it from the kitchen and made sure he was clean enough to eat what I had made. And by me, I mean Harry Clearwater. While he was in the shower and I was adding the fish he'd caught, I was sure to both scold and amp myself up. Right when I heard Charlie turn off the shower upstairs I felt my stomach drop. Any moment now I would have to be out with it.
I glanced out the window to see it was not yet dusk. "Why can't you be here to make this easy?" I asked Edward, even though I knew he wasn't around to hear it. Or perhaps he was and he wanted to watch me suffer. Maybe he thought this was some twisted symbol of me fighting for him.
"Yeah, fighting my fears." I mumbled to myself. "Vivienne, shut up. You can do this. You can do all the talking and Dad won't say a word until you're done and then he'll just say that you're confined to the house for the rest of your adolescence and then you can wither and rot as an old Spinster."
"Is there someone here?" Dad called from upstairs.
"No." I said quickly, my eyes widening.
"Were you talking to someone?"
"Not anyone rational enough to be considered a someone."
By the time he was downstairs and eating, he seemed to really be enjoying the food, for good reason, too. Harry Clearwater's stir fry was probably one of the only ways I liked fish it seemed, because it was the only time I didn't feel I had to grin and bear it, but rather grin and ingest. The problem was that it didn't sit well in my tormented stomach.
Panic attack 101 - Let it out.
"So, this afternoon I hung around the house after Billy and Jacob left." I began slowly, testing the waters, he nodded his head as he chewed, waiting for a clear mouth to speak.
"How were they?"
I winced, remembering the not-so-wise man's warnings. "They were good."
"That's good," he took another mouthful of fish fry.
"Oh, and this morning I was at the Cullen house. When Jacob an-"
Charlie had dropped his fork.
"Dr. Cullen's place?"
"Mm." I mumbled, actually weaving my fingers through my hair as if I were fluffing it. He did not pick up his fork.
"What were you doing there?" He was trying to mask whatever emotion he felt towards this piece of information and for once it was working. My nerves were so shot with worry that I couldn't see past his little mask. In fact, I couldn't see past anything besides my own trembling hand.
"Well, I might have, sort of, definitely, possibly have a date type thing with Edward Cullen tonight, and he wanted to introdu- Dad?" Oh my God, I had given my father an aneurysm! His hand was to his chest and it looked like he was choking but his fork had not been picked up and I knew he had no food in his mouth.
"Dad...you okay?"
"You're going out with Edward Cullen?" That was as close to yelling as Charlie got and I widened my eyes. One part of me, the dominant part, wanted to shoot my eyebrows up my forehead and give my father a piece of my sharp wit and defiance. The other part that reminded me I wasn't just here for two weeks and Edward would most likely not take me out without Charlie's approval made me want to submit.
"You like the Cullens." I pressed.
"He's too old for you," this shocked me and I had to think my words through carefully.
"We're both Juniors." He was also born in 1901, but no big deal, Dad. He's still a good guy even if he is lusting after my blood. Curfew at ten? Great.
Yeah, it sounded easier in my head.
"Wait." He paused. "Which one is Edwin?"
"Edward is the youngest, the one with the reddish brown hair." I was going to add a 'you know, the God?' but realized that it would only give him ammunition and Charlie may not see him that way.
"Oh, well, that's...better, I guess. I don't like the look of that big one. I'm sure he's a nice boy and all, but he looks too...mature for you. Is this Edwin-" he paused, switching from his angry parental mode to his more awkward, quiet role. "Is he your boyfriend?"
"His name's Edward."
"Is he?"
I bit my lip. "I think so."
"You said last night that you weren't interested in any of the boys in town." He picked up his fork. I didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing. It was good because it meant there was less tension in him. It was bad because he now had a weapon.
"Luckily, Edward is not included in that because he lives outside of town." I was given a withering look as he chewed his fish. I smiled guiltily.
"Besides. It's early. Nothing has been proven, there's no...no..." L-bomb? Nope. I found I couldn't say it and not just because it would be a lie on Edward's side, but because it would be something that I had to take hours of time to think about from my side. Suddenly, with the lines of reality being mixed with the lines of fairy tales, magic, and vampires...
Love didn't seem quite so impossible...
"Don't embarrass me, 'kay?" I asked lowly. I stabbed at my fish with my fork. The last thought was not as happy as most people would have thought it would be.
"When is he coming over?"
"Oh uh...probably now." Dad looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged looking at the ceiling with the most innocent expression I could muster.
"Where is he taking you?" My innocent stare up turned into an eye roll back down to him.
"You better be getting this interrogation out of your system, officer, or else I won't bake you sweets tomorrow for when you get back." I smirked slightly as his mouth closed. "We're playing baseball with his family."
"You're playing baseball?" He was both flabbergasted and laughing.
"You're not funny."
"You must really like this guy," he observed, still cracking up. I shrugged.
Then, the engine pulled up in front of the house. I wonder how much of the conversation he had heard. I jumped up and started cleaning my dishes - now I was just in a hurry to save Edward from the barrage of questions he was about to be whipped with.
"Leave the dishes, I can do them tonight. You baby me too much."
"You're too much of a baby." I corrected. The doorbell rang and we looked at each other for a moment, neither of us wanting to get it and neither of us wanting to let the other get it. We rushed, at the same speed-walking pace to get to the door first. His longer legs lucked out.
"Come on in, Edward." Edward looked like an advertisement for raincoats as the light behind him made an innocent and somewhat appropriate halo behind his head. He smiled widely when he saw me and his eyes softened when he saw how nervous I was.
"Thanks, Chief Swan," he smiled, walking in and quickly.
"Go ahead and call me Charlie. Here, I'll take your jacket." He smiled and made sure that my Dad wouldn't notice while he squeezed my hand and shrugged out of his rain coat. He was smart and the effect did it's job. I suddenly felt much better, though my panicked heart rate stayed about the same for giddiness.
"Thanks, sir." Edward said and I was nearly blushing by how polite he was being. Oh, the perfect gentleman.
"Have a seat there, Edward." I winced. Edward sat on the only chair, Charlie's chair, forcing me to sit on the sofa. He winked at me when Charlie wasn't looking and I rolled my eyes. I hope he realized this was not a game. Maybe he wasn't the gentleman he pretended to be.
"So I hear you're getting my girl to watch baseball." Luckily he hadn't paid attention to the fact it was raining cats and dogs - then again, this may be normal for Washington, everything done in the rain. Even things which are optional.
"Yes, sir, that's the plan."
"Well, more power to you, I guess." They both laughed.
"So funny, really, my misfortune and disabilities are hilarious. Can we go now?" I asked with an edge. I walked into the hall and put on my bright yellow jacket. They followed, Edward doing the same.
"Not too late, Viv." Dad reminded me. I nodded, trying to seem like a good little girl who didn't steal a boy into her room at night, no matter what her curfew.
"Don't worry, Charlie, I'll have her home early." Edward promised.
"You take care of my girl, all right?"
"She'll be safe with me, I promise, sir." I could tell that my Dad believed the sincerity behind Edward's words. As did I. There was no question of my safety in his hands - not after everything I'd already witnessed. I wish that Charlie knew just so he would understand that Edward was a good guy.
"Oh my God, I'm right here. I'm not that inept!" They laughed as I huffed and stomped straight into the storm. But I couldn't see an ugly, yet pretty, silver Volvo waiting in my driveway. Instead, there was a monster, a jacked up 2006 Rubicon Jeep. It's tires had to be higher than my waist. Metal guards over the headlights, four spotlights on the crash bar. It was a nice, ruby red. I gasped.
"This is epic."
"This is Emmett's."
"Oh."
Charlie let out a low whistle. "Wear your seat belts."
Edward followed me around to the passenger side door and opened it for me. When I realized I would have to jump into the jeep, I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, hoping he would get my idea. He sighed and lifted me up with one hand. I giggled, making sure Charlie had not observed the scene.
As he went around to get into the drivers seat, at a human pace, I looked at my seat belts in shock.
"What is all of this, a straight-jacket?" There were four of them. They were draping all over every which way and even though I had been on rough terrain in some nice jeeps I had never seen buckling like this.
"It's an off-roading harness." He answered when he got into his side, which would have been strange had anyone else heard because I had whispered the question while the door was shut.
"That sounds fun."
As I tried to figure this out, knowing what it was at least supposed to be and slightly look like now, he sighed and reached over to help me. I'm glad Charlie could not see through the torrential downpour on the windshield.
"So, why'd you bring the Beast?" I asked in reference to the jeep. He smiled.
"I didn't think you'd want to run the whole way."
I was too busy examining it. "Where do you keep it?"
"We remodeled one of the outbuildings into a garage." He explained.
"What about your seat belt?" He threw me a look. Then the statement I interrupted hit me. "Oh no...you said run the whole way, didn't you?"
He grinned tightly. "You're not going to run."
"You're right. I'll just be sick instead." I nodded, looking out the window as he reversed into the night.
"Keep your eyes closed, you'll be fine."
"I want to make sure that while I'm forced to stare at branches, they are whizzing past me, not hitting me." He leaned over to kiss the top of my head and groaned loudly. I looked at him with wide eyes. It was a strange sound.
"You smell so good in the rain," he explained.
"In the 'I want to taste you' way or the 'I want to taste you' way?" The inflections made it clear that one meant kissing me and the other was far more morbid.
"Both, always both."
I don't know how he found his way but we somehow found a side road that was more mountain path than car-trail. For a long while I didn't dare speak because I knew I would bite my tongue thanks to the jackhammer bouncing. He seemed to enjoy the ride, though - he was smiling like a fool the entire way. I wasn't about to interrupt that. It was like seeing a rainbow. When you see something like that you don't complain that it's raining.
When we came to the end of the trail, the trees formed green walls on three sides of the Rubicon. The rain was a mere drizzle again and slowing each second, the sky brighter through the clouds. He was at my door before I had even gotten my harness off.
"Sorry, Liv, we have to go on foot from here."
"You know - I'm sure they won't miss me that much. Leave me a trail and I'll just meet you there."
"What happened to all your courage? You were extraordinary this morning." I looked at him darkly.
"I have pre-existing mental trauma in reference to this. I had no bad experiences going to your house that I could go into regression with." Could the first run really have just been yesterday? How many days passed and how many breaths had been in reference to Edward Cullen?
Too many and not nearly enough.
He was now unbuckling me.
"You know, I'll get these. You start with that trail."
"Hmmm..." he mused as he quickly finished and puled me from the jeep, I let out a sound of protest. "It seems I'm going to have to tamper with your memory."
"Tamper with my memory, huh? Are you in the MIB?"
"Something like that." He was watching me intently, carefully, but there was easy to read mischief in his eyes. He placed his hands against the jeep on either side of my head and leaned forward, forcing me against the door. He crushed me with the aura of his body, but he did not touch me like I really wanted him to. He was close enough to my face that if I puckered my lips, I could get what I wanted.
"Now," he breathed, "what exactly are you worried about?"
"Hitting a tree..." I tried sounding strong. It didn't work out. "Dying...uh...uhm...oh, puking." There was no sarcasm in the statement, just a melted brain. My heart was beating so quickly I was surprised it hadn't given me a heart attack.
He fought back a smile, then bent his head down and touched his cold lips to the hollow of my throat. I stayed perfectly still except for the deep inhale I had to take when all I could smell was him swirling around me.
"Are you still worried now?"
"Yes." I was defiant, but trembling - literally and figuratively. "Trees. Sick. Death."
His nose drew a line up the skin of my throat to my chin, then circled around my jaw. "And now?"
I struggled to find my voice. "Trees. Sick."
"Vivienne, you don't really think I would hit a tree, do you?"
"I might..." there was no concentration. "I'm really not coordinated and you-" his nose started rubbing my jaw again. "-You can't always watch out just for me."
He kissed down my cheek, stopping at the corner of my mouth. His sweet, cold kisses were making me shiver and want to push his face against mine and just let me kiss him so I could smother him. How I could hurt him with the intensity I could kiss him right now...
"Would I let a tree hurt you?" His lips brushed against my lip, it swelled as if he had bitten it - but I know he had not.
"Never," I breathed. What was the second thing besides the trees? Had there even been a third argument that was suddenly forgotten?
"You see," he said, his lips moving against mine so that I mouthed his words. "There's nothing to be afraid of is there?"
"Not with you," it had a double meaning that I'm not sure he caught. Then he took my face in his hands, almost roughly, and kissed me like I wanted to kiss him. I didn't feel bad that I felt like I was mauling him, because I knew it couldn't do anything to him. I wonder if he wished he could maul me like I was mauling him - even though it would certainly end up killing me. I sighed and my lips parted as I welded myself to his stone figure.
He staggered back, breaking my grip effortlessly.
"Damn it, Liv!" he broke off, gasping. He did not seem as mad as I had expected. "You'll be the death of me, I swear you will."
I turned away, ashamed of myself yet again.
"Glad you're indestructible." I told him and in a much smaller voice I added. "Since nothing can hurt you." Of course I was referring to the words that he said and the fact he had to pull away.
The brilliant mindreader did not catch on. "I might have believed that before I met you. Now let's get out of here before I do something really stupid." This time I let him throw me across his back as he had the day before and closed my eyes to ward off the embarrassment I now felt and the arguments that now came rushing back to my mind. Trees. Sick. Death.
I turned my face into his shoulder blade when I caught myself peeking under my own arm and I squeezed my eyes shut. I always did like cheating a little. It was because I could barely tell we were moving through a forest . It was closer to figure skating. I resisted the feeling to peek again, it wasn't worth the fear it instilled. I contented myself with listening to his easy breathing.
I wasn't quite sure whether or not we had stopped until he reached back and touched my hair. "It's over, Liv."
I opened my eyes and sure enough we had stopped. I unlocked my stranglehold and slipped to the ground, losing my footing at once and slipping in the wet grass - hitting my butt hard against the dirt. I winced, resisting the urge to rub it.
He stared at me incredulously, evidently not sure whether he was still too mad to find my disabilities funny. But my awkward and guilty pout pushed him over the edge and he broke into a roar of laughter.
I picked myself up, ignoring him as I brushed the debris off my jacket and my butt. It made him laugh harder. I pushed out my chin - damn you weak chin - and marched toward the forest.
His arm was around my waist in an instant. "Where are you going, Liv?"
"To watch a baseball game. You don't seem to be thinking about important things like that, but I'm sure they'll play without you." I said with the snottiest voice I could muster.
"You're going the wrong way."
I took a shallow breath of anger and turned on my heel, proud I didn't fall when I spun around and began walking in the opposite direction. He caught me again.
"Don't be mad, I couldn't help myself. You should have seen your face." He chuckled again. I narrowed my eyes.
"Oh, I get it. You can be mad, but I have no right to be mad because you're so perfect? Not how it works, buddy."
"I wasn't mad at you."
"Liv, you'll be the death of me?" I repeated with a sneer.
"That was simply a statement of fact."
"Oh, great. Adore knowing where this relationship's headed." I leveled our eyes as best I could. "You were mad."
"Yes."
I widened my eyes, no longer liking this game. "Okay, see you just said-"
"That I wasn't mad at you. Can't you see that, Liv?" Suddenly, he was intense Edward again and I felt all traces of childish Liv disappear with him. "Don't you understand?"
"No."
"I'm never angry with you - how could I be? Brave, trusting...warm as you are."
"Not true. You have been...in the past." I remembered the black moods that pulled us apart, the dark eyes that made him leave the presence of the Black's that very night. Yes, there was something I was doing wrong besides being the best tasting, walking, blood bank that he can't seem to afford.
"I infuriate myself," he explains gently, with intense but soft eyes. "The way I can't seem to keep from putting you in danger. My very existence puts you at risk. Sometimes I truly hate myself. I should be stronger, I should be able to-"
"Stop." I put my finger over his lips, like he had done to me so recently. He took my hand and held it to his face.
"I know you d-" he decided to rephrase. "I love you," I winced. "I know you hate to hear it and it's a poor excuse for what I'm doing, but it's still true."
The statement hit a low vibration deep in my chest, something that made my whole body shiver with the intensity of the blow. For some reason, like when he said my name, when he said the L-word, it sounded different, too. It sounded...what was the word?
Genuine. It sounded genuine.
"Please try to behave yourself," he continued, and bent down to softly brush his lips against mine. I held still like he wanted me to and sighed when he pulled away.
"You promised my Dad you would have me home early, remember? We'd best follow that yellow brick road." He smiled wistfully and took my hand in his, leading me through a few feet of tall, wet ferns and draping moss, around a massive tree - I wonder what kind, briefly, it has to be one of the biggest all around it for miles - and there it was. It was a field twice the size of any baseball stadium.
I could see everyone else there; Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie were closest, maybe only one hundred yards away. Much farther than them were Jasper and Alice, at least a quarter of a mile apart, appearing to throw something back and forth, but I never saw a ball pass between them. It looked like Carlisle was making bases, but they couldn't have been that far apart...boundary lines?
Esme was quick to come towards us, as was Emmett, after Rosalie had risen gracefully from the rock she had been perched on and left toward the field without a glance to me. I felt instantly terrible.
"Was that you we heard, Edward?" Esme asked as she approached us.
"It sounded like a bear choking," Emmett clarified.
I nodded with a grin. "Yeah, that was definitely him."
"Vivienne was being unintentionally funny," Edward explained, giving me a look that told me that if I didn't play nice, he would not either. I stopped nodding.
Alice hurtled to a fluid stop in a beautiful version of Grande Pliée at our feet. "It's time."
As soon as she spoke, a deep rumble of thunder shook the forest beyond us and then crashed westward towards town. Emmett looked at me with a wink.
"Eerie, isn't it?"
"Let's go." Alice reached for Emmett's hand and they sprinted towards the field, she ran like a gazelle and though he was just as graceful, he was not to be compared to one.
"Are you ready for some ball?" Edward asked, his eyes were bright and eager. I smiled.
"Go team Dracula!" I said sarcastically. He snickered, mussed my hair, and bounded off after the other two. But his run was much more aggressive - a cheetah perhaps? He caught up with them quickly.
"Shall we go down?" Esme asked in a soft voice. Esme kept a few feet between us as we started walking and I was wondering if she was still worried that I was frightened of her. I smiled at her warmly and it seemed enough to make her match her stride to mine. Luckily she did not seem impatient by my slow, human pace.
"You don't play?"
"No, I prefer to referee - I like keeping them honest," she explained.
"Ah. So they're cheats." I smiled. "That makes it more fun, so long as it's in good fun."
"Oh yes - you should hear the arguments they get into! Actually, I hope you don't, you would think they were raised by a pack of wolves."
"Ha. My Mom used to say that about my little brother and I." I smiled. "You're a great mother figure." Much better than mine. I thought with fervor, it was the one time I wish Edward could have read my thoughts.
"Well, I do think of them as my children in most ways. I could never get over my mothering instincts - did Edward tell you I had lost a child?"
"No," I breathed and I was kind of glad he hadn't. I didn't want to look at this beautiful woman in pity the first time I would have met her and now I could see her for the mother she really was before it was the mother she had to stop being. I suddenly felt even more disgusted with Jessica for spreading those rumours that Mrs. Cullen couldn't have children.
"Yes, my first and only baby. He died just a few days after he was born, the poor tiny thing," she sighed. "It broke my heart - that's why I jumped off the cliff, you know," she added as a matter of fact. I looked at her with wide eyes.
"Edward said-" I stammered and blushed. "I didn't know you had jumped."
"Always the gentleman." She smiled. "Edward was the first of my new sons. I've always thought of him that way, even though he's older than I, in one way at least." She smiled at me. "That's why I'm so happy she's found you. He's been the odd man out for far too long; it hurt me to see him alone."
"You don't mind, then?" I mumbled. "That he doesn't think it will work out for the better?"
"Oh, I don't know about that," she argued thoughtfully. "You're what he wants. It will work out, somehow," she said, though her forehead creased with worried. Another peel of thunder began.
When we got to the edge of the field, it looked like they had formed teams. Edward was far out in the left field, Carlisle stood between first and second bases, and Alice held the ball, positioned on the spot that must be the pitcher's mound.
Emmett was swinging an aluminum bat; it whistled almost untraceable through the air. I waited for him to approach home plate, but as I watched, I noticed the far distance he stood away was home plate. Jasper stood several feet behind him, catching for the other team. Of course, no one had gloves on.
"All right," Esme called in a clear voice, which I knew even Edward all the way out in left field (really closer to three left fields of a normal diamond) would hear. "Batter up."
Alice stood straight, motionless. Her style seemed to be stealthier than an intimidating windup. She held the ball in both hands at her waist, then, like a cobra striking, her right hand flickered out and the ball smacked into Jasper's hand.
"That's one crazy strike," I muttered, wondering how anyone would be able to hit that.
Jasper hurled the ball back into Alice's hand and I was upset to see that he, too, had such a powerful throw. Perhaps they had actually been throwing a ball back and fourth earlier?
She spun out again.
This time, the bat somehow made it around in time to smash into a ball that I doubted could exist after the crack of impact. It was shattering, thunderous; it echoed off the mountains - I immediately understood the need for thunderstorms.
The ball shot like a bullet deep into the surrounding forest.
"Home run," I murmured, impressed. I wondered how many people would get home runs today because they were all too good to play such a simple game.
"Wait," Esme cautioned, listening intently, one hand raised. Emmett was a blur around the bases, Carlisle shadowing him. I realized Edward was gone.
"Out!" Esme cried in a clear voice. I stared in disbelief as Edward sprang from the fringe of trees, ball in his upraised hand, his wide grin visible even from my flawed eyes way over here.
"Emmett hits the hardest," Esme explained with a smile. "But Edward runs the fastest."
"I believe that." I muttered, but I couldn't at the same time. Was he extra amazing even for vampire standards too? The thought wasn't one I had never had, but it was a little extra now that I knew the extent of it. The most beautiful, the most graceful, the most charming, the fastest, and a mindreader? Was there anything Edward Cullen wasn't perfect with?
The game kept going, I tried to keep up remembering all the tactics like Earl had taught Shawn. Shawn loved to play with his baseball cards and it was hard to remember this from a big person's point of view and not a four-year-old with easy rules. To make things harder, my eyes weren't powerful enough to stay watching them with how fast they were going as their bodies raced back and fourth on the field.
When Jasper hit a ground ball, it was to get it out of Edward's fast hands in the outfield. Carlisle ran into it, so Jasper raced to first base, but Carlisle had stood by then and they collided. It was like the crash of two boulders. I was frozen in shock until I heard the laughter, then I was just frozen in the fishy face.
"Safe," Esme called in a calm voice.
"These boys are insane." I gaped. Esme laughed.
"They have to be so formal around town, here they can be the little boys they didn't get to be. It's sweet," she smiled and looked back to the game and I was glad because my cheeks burned. I hadn't meant it as an insult, it was more just a statement of disbelief.
Emmett's team was up by one when Edward caught the third out. He sprinted to my side, glowing with excitement, a smile on his face that was so wide I was having trouble remembering the brooding Edward from weeks before. This seemed so natural now. He seemed so natural, even despite his abnormal beauty.
"What do you think?" he asked me, I raised my eyebrows.
"I think you're better than most television sports - even WWE, and that's staged."
"And it sounds like you watched so much of it before," he laughed. I raised my eyebrows.
"What if I did? Then I wouldn't be ashamed to tell you how disappointed I am."
"Why?" he asked, puzzled.
"Well, it'd be nice if you couldn't do everything perfectly. I think maybe Emmett wouldn't curse so much if you did." I smiled, which earned me one of his perfect smiles in return.
"I'm up," he said as he gave me a meaningful look, one that subtly said 'watch me!' before he headed to the plate. I had no reason not to.
He was an intelligent player, aiming the ball low and out of Rosalie's always-ready hand in the outfield. He managed to get two bases down before Emmett got the ball into play. I wondered if he had been reading Emmett's mind to see when he had picked it up.
Carlisle knocked one so far out of the field, it sounded much like a sonic boom, that he and Edward both made it in. Alice slapped them dainty high fives. I watched her laugh with them, a light laugh of the bells you rang as a child so an angel would get their wings, my Grandma had lots of them. She seemed so happy. I think I'll like her.
The score changed constantly while the game kept going and the way they insulted each other was in true baseball fashion. There wasn't much difference between them and professional players, except these players didn't spit tobacco and they were much, much more talented.
Just as they were all switching positions, Carlisle going up to bat, Alice gasped. I saw everyone look at her and before I could furrow my eyebrows, they were all surrounding her.
"Alice?" Esme's voice was worried, which made me worried.
"I didn't see - I couldn't tell," she whispered. The others waited.
"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked in a calm, authoritative voice that made me think of how old he was, he was the perfect on to call for a slice of wisdom.
"They were traveling much quicker than I thought. I can see I had the perspective wrong before," she murmured. Jasper leaned over her, his posture protective.
"What changed?" He asked, soothingly.
"They heard us playing and it changed their path," she said, contrite, as if she felt responsible for whatever had frightened her. But what frightened me was the seven pairs of eyes that flashed to my face and back to her. I widened my eyes and stopped walking towards them.
"How soon?" Carlisle asked, turning to Edward.
Edward concentrated, with a hard frown. "Less than five minutes. They're running - they want to play."
"Can you make it?" Carlisle asked him, his eyes flickering to me.
"What's going on?" No one answered me, but I know they all heard.
"No, not carrying - " He cut short. "Besides, the last thing we need is for them to catch the scent and start hunting."
My eyes widened. I caught on. There couldn't really be...human drinking vampires on their way, could there?
"How many?" Emmett asked Alice.
"Three," she answered tersely.
"Three!" he scoffed. "Let them come." His muscles seemed to bulge a bit and I saw Rosalie actually smile at him and elbow him. They weren't worried...but I was beginning to be.
Carlisle had been deliberating during this time and only those two seemed not to watch him.
"Let's just continue the game," Carlisle decided slowly. "Alice said they were simply curious."
I stayed where I was. They were curious. That didn't mean anything dangerous - and they were only three. This group was seven strong. These vampires -
I shivered. That's what they were: vampires. These were vampires who were not like the Cullen's. These were the ones you heard about in movies and books who killed people and fed their dementia by their urge to feed...
"You catch, Esme," Edward said stiffly. "I'll call it now." As he came to stand beside me, Esme muttered some words so softly and so quickly that I had no time to catch them. Edward shook his head and she looked relieved as she walked away. Edward placed himself slightly in front of me.
"Take your hair down." He took the elastic from the end of my braid and flitted it around my face until my hair was down and covering my skin - skin which was too dark.
"I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb - they're coming, right? That's what I caught?"
"Yes, stay very still, keep quiet, and don't move from my side, please." He was trying to hide his panic, but I could hear it, just like I could see it in the tense movements of the people around the field who were no longer having a good time. He pulled my long hair forward to cover my face more than it already was.
"That won't help," Alice said softly, sadly. "I could smell her across the field."
"I know." Edward was upset as he said it, more mad than scared now. Carlisle stood at the plate and began playing again, but the movements were all robotic and there was no more game left in the game; instead it was a show. Something for people to see, but not what was real.
"What did Esme ask?"
He looked at me and hesitated. "Whether they were thirsty," he muttered. I closed my eyes out of stress. I nodded to myself, swallowing quickly. I wish I could act. I wish I could copy the lithe movements and intense glances - but I could not out-act this scenario any more than I could out-run it, even with Edward's help.
"I can do this," I whispered hopelessly. I could do this as easily as I could survive this.
"I'm sorry, Vivienne," Edward muttered fiercely, no longer paying any attention to the apathetic game that dared not leave the in-field. "It was stupid, irresponsible, to expose you like this. I'm so sorry."
"I think it's time for you to play knight in shining armor again, Edward." I whispered. "If you don't win this game, you lose me."
I heard his breath stop, his eyes looking mournfully at me before he took a half step, angling himself between me and what was coming.
Carlisle, Emmett, and the others turned in the same direction, hearing sounds of passage much to faint for my ears.
It's coming, and you all know what it is! How exciting, things are about to get messy. Will she act as Bella did, or will she do differently? Will James want her for the same reasons, will she want to run with our favourite vampire? If you review, I will send you a preview from the next chapter! As for my reviewers from last chapter I need to give a shout-out to
Crystal-Wolf-Guardain-967: Thank you as always for leaving a review, you are fantastic!
Angel of the Night Watchers: Oh, if (most likely when) I write New Moon she will NOT be so kind to him when he asks to take her back. "Uh, screw you random dead guy who left me and then tried to pull a Romeo when you are so playing Tybalt - jerk"...That's pretty much how I see it. It wil be awesome. The upcoming movies, I can't tell. I almost don't want to see them just because of the Jacob/Renesmee thing. I mean, as a fanfiction writer I think I can say that his ending is SO fanfiction and not one of the award winning stories. I mean, I know she wanted to keep everyone happy but not all stories have happy endings. And as terrible as it sounds, I almost wish he would have been left heartbroken. It's realistic. Besides, then he could imprint on me :P and by the way CONGRATULATIONS! Don't even worry about it, I'm just so happy for you, that's amazing news! You'll have to tell me all about it :D
arisa0: I'm so glad that you like it and think it's different, that is the best compliment I recieved! I'm glad you want to see a New Moon rewrite, I have been thinking a lot more on it and thinking that I'll probably end up doing it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Please review, and I'll see you lovelies soon!
-Egypt