Chapter 22: The Game

"Hello? Earth to Elle!"

Elle blinked and turned away from the classroom door through which Edward had just left to find Jessica Stanley's hand flapping in her face. "What?"

"You and Edward! I knew there was something going on with you two! How long have you been together? Did you hook up before the dance, or was that your first date? And where were you the past three days?" Jessica gave an excited little squeal. "You had to have been with him, right? I mean, there's no way you were really sick."

I've been back in school for about five minutes, and she already knows about my doctor's note? Elle was almost impressed by the other girl's knack for gathering information - in another life she could have made a good agent - but also annoyed by the barrage of questions. Wasn't this sort of thing meant to be private? One look at Jessica's face, however, told Elle that she wouldn't give up until she got the scoop on Forks High's new couple to watch, so Elle decided to give it to her. It wasn't like she would tell her the truth anyway…

###

Elle didn't see Edward again until just before lunch, when she dumped her books in her locker before heading to the cafeteria. His approach was silent as usual, but she had been expecting him and was getting used to his way of seemingly appearing out of thin air; it was a vampire thing, and not a reflection on her observational skills that she didn't notice him until he was literally breathing down her neck. "Hey Edward," she greeted him without looking up from her stack of textbooks.

He reached around her and shut her locker, being careful not to close it on her hand, then turned her around to face him. His hands were pressed flat against the row of lockers on either side of her, keeping her boxed in, and their faces were very close; she wondered if he intended to kiss her right there in the middle of the hall. "Aw, did you miss me?"

"I've heard some very interesting accounts of how we spent our short 'vacation' - mostly coming from Jessica, who swears she heard everything from you." Edward's flat tone made it clear he wasn't amused. "What did you tell her, Elle?"

"I basically stuck to the story about me being sick, but I may have…embellished it a little." She lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "I left the V-word out of it, though."

Edward's mouth twitched. "The 'V-word'?"

"Well, I thought maybe I shouldn't talk about that here. But okay, I didn't tell her you're a vampire."

"Thank you. But some of the other things you said-"

Elle snorted. "You've gotta quit worrying about your squeaky clean rep."

"Please; I don't care what these people think of me. You've just given Emmett more ammunition for the next time he feels like teasing me about you, that's all."

Elle gave him a quick, sympathetic hug. "I can shut Emmett up for you."

"That won't be necessary. But no more gossiping with Jessica."

###

Alice was waiting for them in the cafeteria. "You're sitting with us today," she said brightly, taking Elle's arm and pulling her toward the Cullens' table. "I already got your food."

"Oh?" Elle glanced back at Edward, who shrugged as if to say, Just go with it. "Did your visions tell you what I wanted?"

"Of course."

"You have some control over your ability, don't you?"

"I can look for certain things: the weather, the futures of people I know-"

"Me taking a shower?"

Alice glared at Edward. "You told her about that? Look, Elle, I'm sorry for invading your privacy that way; I shouldn't have done it, even if it was just to tease Edward-"

"Right." Elle feigned heavy skepticism. "You know you can just tell me you think I'm hot. I get it."

The vampires' reactions to this statement were mixed: Emmett found it hilarious, Alice was embarrassed, and Jasper, Edward, and Rosalie were all amused but hid it - Jasper didn't like his mate being messed with, Edward wasn't in the habit of showing much emotion at school, and Rosalie was determined not to approve of anything Elle said or did. "You're so modest too," she remarked scathingly.

"Rose," Edward growled.

Elle was genuinely surprised. "No I'm not. Where'd you get that idea?"

"Where have you been all my life?" Emmett asked when he was finally able to stop laughing.

Meanwhile, Alice was telling Edward about her latest vision. "This afternoon looks like perfect weather for a game."

This news obviously excited Edward but meant nothing to Elle. "A game of what?" she demanded, not wanting to be left out of the loop.

"Baseball," Jasper replied.

"Vampires play baseball?"

"It's the American pastime," Edward said seriously.

"I'll have to take your word for it; Daddy likes sports but I never got into them. So what's perfect baseball weather?"

"For us, it's a thunderstorm."

Elle raised her eyebrows quizzically; there must be a joke here that she was missing. "You play baseball during thunderstorms? Why?"

"You've gotta see it to understand. You'll come, won't you?" Emmett asked eagerly.

"Does she have to?" Rosalie whined.

They both looked at Edward to decide whether he would bring Elle to their game. "I'm not sure bringing her is a good idea," he said slowly, raising a hand to forestall Elle's protest. "It's not that I don't want you there, it's just that another of Alice's visions warned us that more of our kind will be passing through this area soon…and they aren't vegetarians. I didn't tell you because they won't go near Port Angeles - there's no reason to think your paths will cross if you stay in town, and I didn't want you to worry. But out in the field where we go to play-"

"Edward," Alice interrupted, "they aren't heading that way. Elle should be perfectly safe."

"You're absolutely sure of that?"

"The vision is clear, yes."

"And I want to go," Elle added, which put an end to the discussion.

###

When school let out she decided to go straight to the Cullens' playing field with Edward - driving to Port Angeles only to turn around and come back after an hour or two seemed like a waste of time. They returned the Volvo to the Cullens' garage, and then Edward carried Elle to the field. The sky overhead was filled with threateningly dark thunderclouds that completely blocked out the sun even though it wasn't even five in the afternoon yet, but Alice had promised that it wouldn't rain here. Still, Elle couldn't help shooting nervous glances up at those clouds.

Jasper, who had just marked out home plate feet from where she stood, sensed her anxiety. He was tempted to try calming her but had a feeling she wouldn't appreciate her emotions being tampered with. Talking to her would have to do instead, although he'd never intended to get any closer to Edward's human than he had to. The knowledge that she wasn't helpless prey made resisting her blood easier, though. "You can relax, you know."

"Easy for you to say - you don't know what water does to me."

"Alice said the rain won't fall here."

"What is she, the pope? Last I heard, he was the infallible guy."

Jasper grinned. "You're funny; I like that. I can see why Edward's so much happier since the two of you got together…and I'm glad he has you."

The baseball diamond had been marked out; Edward sprinted across the field and came to a dead halt right in front of Elle. "It's time." Lightning flashed across the sky, and a clap of thunder nearly drowned out his words.

Elle shivered, excited both by the storm and by her boyfriend's almost contagious exhilaration. "Good luck. I'll be cheering for you." He had already informed her that her role in this game would be limited to spectator. She did however manage to help Edward's team a little by zapping Emmett, keeping him from touching third base just long enough for Carlisle to tag him out.

"Elle!" Esme scolded. "There will be no cheating in this game!"

"You're quite right, dear," Carlisle agreed; then he leaned close to Elle and whispered, "Actually, we cheat all the time - the key is to do it when Esme isn't watching."

"I heard that!" Esme's tone was a mixture of exasperation and affection. "Get back into the field before I make you sit out."

She kept a close watch on Elle after that as well as refereeing the game, so Elle grudgingly went on her best behavior and stuck to applauding Edward's superb fielding, playing the supportive girlfriend. It wasn't a role she'd ever expected to find herself in.

The game progressed with no clear indication of who might come out on top - the score constantly changed as the two teams one-upped each other, and Elle decided that if human sports were like this, then Bob's enthusiasm for watching Friday night football would be almost justified.

Carlisle was up to bat when something grabbed all the vampires' attention. Elle tracked their lines of sight with her own eyes and saw that they were all watching Alice, who had frozen, her eyes unfocused - probably having a vision. From the look on her face, whatever she had seen wasn't good.

Edward picked the contents of her vision out of her mind and ran to Elle's side, practically radiating nervous tension. "What's wrong?" she asked him.

"The other vampires have changed course. They heard us playing-"

"Not surprising." The noise produced when bat and ball connected, or when two vampires collided at the bases, was louder than the thunder.

"-And they want to join in."

"If that's all they want, then what are you worried about?"

Edward's eyes widened incredulously and his mouth opened, but before he could say anything Carlisle approached, looking grim. "Alice says we have only a few minutes until they arrive. Is that time enough for you to get her out of here?"

"No; anyway, the last thing we need is for them to catch her scent and start hunting. She'll be safer staying with the group."

"Wait a minute. You think these other vamps will come after me?" Carlisle and Edward stared silently at Elle - plainly, that was exactly what they were afraid of. "Why would they do that?"

"Because you are human," Carlisle explained as gently as possible. "This group isn't like us - they are predators first and foremost, and you are their natural prey-"

"I'm not anyone's prey," Elle said hotly, "and I'm not scared of them. If they want to hunt me, I say bring it on."

"You're very brave, but you wouldn't stand a chance against one vampire intent on a kill, and Alice said this is a group of three. We're going to keep playing and hope nothing happens to stir up a conflict. Edward, Esme will take your place as pitcher; you'll call it now, and stay close to Elle."

"This is ridiculous," she grumbled as Edward took up Esme's position on the sidelines. He held onto her protectively, his eyes darting over their surroundings, attention obviously not on the game at all.

"I am so sorry for exposing you like this; it has to be one of the most irresponsible, stupidest things I've ever done."

Elle just shook her head and ignored him - there was no getting through to Edward when he was in a mood like this.

The newcomers arrived soon after that. Their leader was a dark-skinned male with long black dreadlocks; the other male had long hair too, but his was blond and pulled back in a simple ponytail. Besides these two there was one female whose wild red locks tumbled chaotically around her pale, pretty face. All three were barefoot, and their clothing looked like it had seen better days.

Noticing Elle's surprise at these vampires' slightly ragged appearance, Edward whispered, "They're nomads - they live in the wild, avoiding people…except when they get thirsty." His voice was so low she read his lips as much as heard him. When the three nomads came closer, she saw that their irises were dark red.

I can see why - they wouldn't have much luck blending in with those eyes.

Edward nodded and moved in front of her, subtly shielding her from view.

"Welcome," Carlisle calmly greeted the nomads.

"Hello," the leader said politely. "I'm Laurent, and this is Victoria and James."

"My name is Carlisle Cullen, and this is my family, Esme and Alice, Rosalie and Jasper, Edward, Elle, and Emmett."

"It is a pleasure to meet you. Do you have room for three more players?"

"Of course; some of us were about to leave anyway. Emmett, why don't you take Edward and Elle back to the Jeep?"

"Sure, Carlisle," Emmett said easily. "C'mon you two." He planted a friendly hand in the middle of Elle's back and gently but firmly pushed her toward the woods.

They didn't get far before a gust of wind swept through the field, blowing Elle's scent straight into Laurent's, Victoria's, and James's noses. Laurent and Victoria were obviously surprised to see that the Cullens had a human in their midst, but James only smiled. "You brought a snack." He slid into a predatory crouch, his red eyes fixed on Elle's throat.