Sorry for the prolonged lack of updates! I promise I haven't forgotten this story, and thank you all for your patience.
Chapter 21: Girlfriend
"Elle, I have to go."
They had left the meadow around five o'clock when it began to get dark, and an hour and a half later were sitting in Elle's car, parked outside her apartment, when Edward made this announcement. His companion quit playing with her seatbelt and glanced sharply at him. "Go where?"
"Home, where else? By now my family are probably wondering if I've moved in with you - though Esme wouldn't mind in the least if I did."
Elle raised her eyebrows. "Can't wait to get you out of the house, huh? Nice."
"No, that isn't it. She's just happy that I've found-"
"Don't say 'mate'!" Her almost angry outburst wasn't fair to Edward - it wasn't his fault that vampires were only able to fall in love once, and he'd confessed that he hadn't exactly chosen her as his mate of his own free will - but she couldn't help it. He expected her to love him, possibly to spend the rest of her life with him, and she had no idea how that was going to work out when the Company already owned her or if she even wanted it to. Right now there was nothing she wanted more than Edward but she didn't know if the feeling would last forever; she didn't think that far ahead.
"All right, if you don't like that word we can use a different one. How about 'girlfriend'? Will you be my girlfriend, Elle?"
Her eyes widened. "Be your girlfriend? Are we dating?"
"We've spent the whole day together, and I showed you the one place that, before I took you there, was mine alone - even my room isn't really private, what with Alice coming into it whenever she pleases; I would say that counts as a date."
Elle wasn't sure she agreed; she had imagined her first date dozens of times, just in case she ever got a chance to have one, and none of the scenarios she'd dreamed up involved tramping through a forest. I could count going to the meadow as a date, though…since I was with Edward. The shrinks would probably say that means I like him a lot - enough to try this girlfriend/boyfriend thing for a while, anyway. If it doesn't work out I can always dump him. "Okay then. You can be my boyfriend." She leaned across the seat, gave him a quick kiss, and then got out of the car.
Edward also got out, and a split second later was standing between her and her building even though her side of the car had been closer to the entrance she was heading for. "I'll be here tomorrow morning to pick you up for school. Good night, Elle." He tried to kiss her, intending to make it last longer than the brief peck on the lips she'd given him in the car, but stopped when she took a step backward, just out of his reach.
"You're taking me to school tomorrow?" she asked, frowning. "You want everyone to know we're…together?"
"Yes, I do. Do you have a problem with that?"
Elle thought that yes, she might have a slight problem with him laying claim to her so publicly; on the other hand, if everybody knew she was with Edward, Eric Yorkie would probably leave her alone, and she definitely wouldn't mind if he never hit on her again. Maybe there were advantages to being in an exclusive, committed relationship. "No, no problem. I'll try to remember to wait for you."
"I don't plan on making you wait," Edward retorted. He moved in, too fast for her to put any distance between them this time, and pressed his lips hard against hers, drinking in the sensations that accompanied kissing Elle: her touch, her scent, her warmth, the thrill of knowing that her impulsive, somewhat erratic mind was entirely focused on him for the moment - it would be several hours before he saw her again, and like a drug, prolonged exposure to the girl had only served to intensify his craving for her. He needed one last fix before he could make himself leave.
When Elle opened her eyes again he was gone, and her lips were smarting from the chill of his touch and the almost bruising force he'd applied. Damn vampire. Still, as annoying as his attempts at dominating her were, she couldn't deny that she enjoyed the challenge…just a little.
###
The first thing Elle did after entering her apartment was to turn on her cell phone, which she had left behind at Edward's request and turned off to conserve its charge. The little device immediately began a strident beeping, telling her to check her voicemail. Opening her inbox, she found five messages, all from Thompson, who sounded increasingly irritated with each failed attempt at reaching her. Better call him before he has a cow.
He answered on the first ring; Elle guessed he'd been sitting by the phone, waiting for her to call and stewing. "Where the hell have you been?"
"I was with Edward."
"All day?"
"Yes, all day - you were the one who said I should get close to him, and I told you it wasn't going to be easy. Well, I did it, and now he thinks we're soulmates. He's a little demanding."
"Are you in trouble?"
Elle could picture Thompson's frown; she actually thought he sounded concerned. "No trouble," she hurried to assure him. "Edward wants to date me, but he's not some crazy controlling creep." Not as controlling as you anyway.
"Then you should have checked in with me!" Thompson snapped, his temper rising again. "Whether you're having a problem with your target or not, one of the conditions of this assignment was that you maintain contact with your supervising agent: me. Your lack of professionalism really needs to be addressed."
"I've done everything I'm supposed to!" Elle protested. "I couldn't talk to you with Edward around; Parkman's telepathic protection keeps him from hearing anything he shouldn't in my mind, but it doesn't do anything about his super-hearing."
"Edward Cullen has enhanced hearing as well as telepathy?"
"Yeah, all his senses are off the charts."
"People with more than one ability are rarer than hen's teeth," Thompson said skeptically. "Is your boyfriend an empath, or what?"
"I don't know!" Elle lied. "I just track down, investigate, and capture whoever you tell me to; I don't study them. I'm not a scientist!"
Her voice had risen until Thompson had to hold the phone away from his ear to avoid being deafened. "All right, all right! Cool it."
"Sorry. I'm just tired."
"Then I won't keep you up any longer. Get some sleep."
"Will do. 'Night, Thompson." Elle tossed her phone aside, pleased at having gotten the babysitter off her back. She hadn't planned on lying to him, but he'd put her on the spot, and it wasn't like she could tell him the Cullens were vampires. He would have her sent back to the shrinks, who would say her paranoid delusions had reached a whole new level. If she wanted to get her new secret off her chest, she would have to use her journal, like she always did.
She took her notebook out from where she had stashed it, turned to the pages where her notes on the Cullen assignment began, and drew a big X through her previous observations and conclusions in red felt-tipped pen. Under that she wrote a single sentence: The Cullens are vampires. For a long moment she sat and stared at the words on the page. She had just spilled her biggest secret, even if it was only to an inanimate object. Edward probably wouldn't approve, but it was kind of a relief. She skipped down a line and continued writing.
###
Elle's cell phone rang at six forty-five the next morning, waking her up. Making a mental note to never fall asleep with her phone right next to her ear again, she snatched it up and took the call. "Hello?"
"Did I wake you?" Edward's velvet-smooth voice asked. It was totally unfair that he could stay up all night and still be fresh in the morning while she sounded like a bear just coming out of hibernation.
"Yes, you did," Elle complained. "Why?"
"I just wanted to let you know that I'll be over in a couple of hours to pick you up."
Pick me up? Oh right, he's taking me to school today. Elle grimaced; she really didn't want to go back to Forks High School, especially since she would probably be in trouble for ditching the last three days, but she couldn't argue without making Edward suspicious. After all, as far as he knew she was just a regular girl, albeit one with an extraordinary ability, and school was where she belonged. I'll just have to play my part a little longer, but I need to start working on a way to end this mission. There was nothing left to discover about the Cullens, and therefore no reason for her to stay in Washington; she only had to figure out what to put in her final report, and then Bob would probably want her back in New York.
"Elle?"
She made herself focus. "Sorry, my mind wandered. So you'll be here in a couple hours? That's fine."
"Is everything all right? You seem distracted."
"I must need a shower to wake up all the way. If you wanna come over sooner you could join me."
"In the shower?" Edward sputtered. On the other side of the Cullens' living room Emmett and Jasper were now openly watching him, not even pretending to focus on their game of Halo anymore, and smirking. "I think that would be a very bad idea, Elle."
She snickered. "How did I know you'd say that?"
"I'll pick you up when I said I would, and I trust that when I get there you'll be dressed and ready to go."
"You bet I will," Elle shot back. "I'm not letting you see me naked if you won't return the favor."
Emmett collapsed on the floor, roaring with laughter until Esme lowered her Home & Garden magazine and asked him to keep it down. "And you," she added sharply to Edward, "I expect you to keep your telephone conversations in this house appropriate, young man."
"Sorry, Mom."
"What was that?" Elle asked. "Is your family listening in?"
"Yes, they can hear us both perfectly. You've made Emmett laugh hard enough to shake the house and got me in trouble with Esme."
"You're welcome. Later, babe." She hung up.
"Great-" Rosalie's bitingly sarcastic voice drifted down from upstairs "-you've progressed to the 'pet names' phase of your relationship."
Even Alice decided to have some fun at his expense. If you want to get around Elle's insistence on quid pro quo, I can give you the show you're missing right now. She focused her precognitive talent on Elle just as the human girl went into her bathroom and started undressing, picturing her vision in vivid detail.
Growling angrily under his breath, Edward grabbed the keys to his Volvo and hurried out to the garage. It was too early to go meet Elle, assuming he wasn't going to meet any cops on the road and would be able to make the drive at his usual speed, but he didn't care; right now he just wanted to get away from his incorrigible, insufferable siblings.
###
"We're gonna get put in detention again," Elle said glumly, slumping down in the front passenger seat of the Volvo as Forks High came into view. "You realize we've missed three days, don't you? We're toast."
Edward laughed quietly.
Elle suddenly sat up straighter and leaned over the armrest toward him. "We could still get out of here. Just keep driving. We could find way better stuff to do than sit in class."
"No, Elle. Your education is important."
"Our butts are still toast," she said darkly.
"I had Carlisle write you a note saying you've been out with the flu. You won't be in any trouble."
"Great! What's your excuse?"
"Someone had to take care of you while you were ill," Edward explained with a smirk. "You were too demanding a patient for Carlisle to handle on his own."
"What? I'll get you for that!"
Edward just smiled as if to say, I'm sure you will, turned the Volvo sharply into the nearest available parking space, and got out. Somehow he managed to snag Elle's book bag right out from under her feet, forcing her to stick close to him as they made their way through the rows of parked cars to the cluster of school buildings - he'd obviously known that her method of retaliation would have been to ditch him the instant she was out of his car and decided to prevent her doing it.
They were early enough that there were still more people in the hall than in the classrooms, and they all stared when Elle and Edward came in - just the ones closest to the door at first; then, slowly but surely, every head turned in their direction as the news spread that the two mysteriously absent students had returned. Then Edward slid his arm around Elle's waist, and tongues started wagging.
What the hell are you doing? she thought at him as he shepherded her down the hall. Carrying my books, holding the door for me, and now this? What are you up to?
He lowered his head to whisper in her ear, "I told you I want everyone to know we're together. I'm just letting them know. Am I making you uncomfortable?"
"No."
He didn't let go of her until they reached her desk, and then he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving to go to his own first period class. Eric Yorkie's face fell noticeably when he saw that, and Elle could have sworn Edward shot him a satisfied little smile on his way out. He was enjoying this way too much. Well, if it were Lauren instead of Eric, I'd be doing the exact same thing. In fact, maybe I will when I see her. This could be fun.
###
In Port Angeles, Thompson was on the phone with Primatech's headquarters in New York. He had been suspicious after talking to Elle the night before; he was used to her being overly defensive when scolded, but when she claimed not to understand her boyfriend's abilities she hadn't just sounded defensive - she had sounded like she was lying. So he had waited for her to leave (it didn't escape his notice that she left with Edward Cullen) then poked around her apartment.
He'd stumbled on her notebook, which she had forgotten to put away before getting into the shower, and of course he read it. What he found inside convinced him it was time to call someone higher up the chain of command. He had expected the call to be fast and simple; he would report what he read in Elle's diary and get authorization to bring her back to headquarters for psychiatric evaluation.
Instead his call had been transferred twice, and now he was feeling like an idiot as he explained to Arthur Petrelli himself that Elle Bishop thought the subjects of her investigation were supernatural creatures. "If you don't mind me saying so, sir, I think it was a mistake to give Elle Bishop this assignment. We've always known she was mentally unstable, but now it looks like she's completely lost touch with reality. She believes in vampires, for crying out loud!" There was silence on the other end of the line. "…Sir?"
"Pick the girl up as soon as she gets back from school. I need to speak with her."
Coming up in the next chapter: the baseball game, James and company, and Elle's time in Forks comes to a dramatic end.
Merry Christmas! For those readers who don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you all enjoy your holiday of choice.