Chapter 12: Just Read The Book

-x-x-x-

"Now I live a waking life,

Of looking backwards,

Looking backwards.

A model citizen of doubt."

Sleeping At Last – Pluto

-x-x-x-

On the ride to school the next day, Lexi found her mind wandering to the conversation that she'd had with her mother the night before. Her thoughts were consumed by the insanity of it all, the impossibility of it all.

She couldn't even begin to register what Bella was saying at all from the driver's seat in the truck, unable to absorb any of the actual words that she was trying to say to her best friend.

There was one rule that her mother had made undoubtedly clear to her when she'd explained everything to her.

Lexi can't tell Bella anything.

-x-x-x-

"What is with all the secrecy?" Lex asked as her mother entered her bedroom, holding a large book in her hands. "What is that?"

"I'm going to explain everything, Lex. Just give me a moment to try and remember how my mother told me." She mumbled, sitting down on her daughter's bed, placing the large book onto the bedside table. "It's really hard to explain without sounding crazy. I refused to believe it until I physically couldn't deny it anymore."

Looking around the room awkwardly, Lexi felt the heavy silence in the room, wondering if she'd made the right decision in opening up to her mother. "Maybe you just shouldn't tell m-"

"You're a witch."

Lexi stood frozen, her eyes wide as she stared at the serious face of her mother. After a few seconds, she could feel the laugh starting to bubble up in her throat before it finally escaped and became borderline hysterical. "You can't be serious."

"Alexis, I wouldn't joke about this. You might want to sit down."

Feeling tears start to well up in her eyes, Lexi couldn't tell if it was from laughter or fear. Although, if it was fear then she didn't know which fear it actually was. Was she afraid that her mother was telling her the truth? Or was she afraid that her wonderful mother had gone even more insane than her since moving to the small rainy town they now called home?

Her laughter died down as she realised her mother wasn't going to suddenly yell 'psych' and leave the room.

"Mum, you realise that there is no way that's possible?" She asked, sitting down next to her mother, her eyebrows creasing in confusion.

"It is entirely possible, and it is the truth." Maeve started, grasping hold of one of her daughter's hands. "You are a witch, much like myself and my mother and a lot of the other women in our ancestry."

Shaking her head, the young girl couldn't believe what she was hearing. There was no way this was real, she was debating going to get her father to tell him everything that she was saying… He worked in a hospital, surely he knew where she could get help. But then did that mean the insanity ran in the family? Would Lex's mind deteriorate even further until she couldn't tell fiction from reality?

"Lex, I know this sounds crazy, but it's true." She tried to reason with her. "I refused to believe my mother when she told me, but I came to realise that she was right. Lex, these things you've been seeing, you're seeing them for a reason."

"There is no way that I could possibly be seeing the things that I have been seeing for any kind of reason." Lex quipped, standing up again and pacing the length of her room. "I've seen terrible things that aren't there, there is no way that any of that could possibly mean anything."

Her mother sighed, as she took the book back into her hands. "This book has been passed down through generations. I myself haven't had much use for it, maybe for helping nature around us, but apart from that… I think you might need to read it more than I ever have."

"Helping nature? What do you mean?"

"Witches have a close tie to nature. I do my best to make sure the plant life is always doing well, it's why I love being here, why you no doubt feel more awake and happier here than you did back in Phoenix… Nature is everything to us, Lex. Not just the trees and the ocean, but the animals too." She explained, seeming to get quite excited. "How do you think Pepper has always been able to find you? It's because of this, it's because of what you are."

Shaking her head in disbelief, she looked towards her faithful puppy before roughly dragging her hands through her hair. "Mum, this is insane. There is no way that what you're saying is true. Pepper just happens to find me, it's not a magical thing, it's just coincidence. Or she just has a really good nose. I don't know, but it isn't because I'm a witch."

Maeve looked around the room, trying to find the words to get her daughter to believe what she was saying… But it seemed she was coming up short. "Lex, I don't know what else I can say… Just trust me and read the book."

Lex looked towards the book that was resting on her bed as though it was cursed, feeling slightly repulsed by it. "What about dad and Adam?"

"They don't know…" She sighed, eyes shifting towards the bedroom door. "There hasn't been a record of a male witch in centuries, and we aren't allowed to tell anyone about our kind… Not even the people we love. You realise what this means, don't you, Lex? You can't tell anybody. Not your father, not your brother… Not even Bella."

"I'm meant to just deal with this insanity by myself?"

"Just read the book." Her mother pleaded, rising up to stand beside her daughter, gently resting her hands on her shoulders. "I'm sure you'll figure out a few people you can talk to about this."

Lexi's head started to hurt with all of this new information and she found it hard to concentrate on anything her mother was saying to her. "What? What does that even mean?" She couldn't understand how she could talk to anyone when there was such a strict rule that she's not even allowed to tell Bella.

"Just read the book."

"Fine." Lex sighed, turning away, unable to bring herself to look at her mother just now.

Maeve opened the bedroom door, lingering for a little while. "You can't tell Bella, Lex."

-x-x-x-

"Lex?" Bella's voice brought the redhead back to the present moment.

"Hm?" She asked, turning to look at her for what felt like the first time all day. "What's up?"

"What's up?" She repeated, looking at Lex like she was ridiculous, as though it was obvious what was wrong. "What's wrong with you? It's like you're in another world."

Shaking her head, Lexi looked back out the window. "It's nothing. I think my mother is just losing it a bit… She doesn't seem to make sense anymore, it's kind of worrying."

"Well what has she been saying?"

"Nothing." Lex quickly lied, trying to think of a way to avoid spilling the secret like she knew she would. Lexi always told Bella everything, no exceptions. Well, apart from what she'd experienced since coming to Forks. "Although, Jasper came around when we were having a movie night. When my mum saw him, she looked terrified for a moment."

"Terrified? What did she have to be terrified of? Your brother attacking him?" She laughed, turning into the school parking lot.

Letting out a soft laugh, Lex shook her head once more. "I have no idea, it was really weird. Although, Adam was actually kind of tame, overprotective and ridiculous, but kind of tame."

"Probably because he knows you haven't shown any interest in guys before. He'll expect you to go back to being a hermit."

Giving Bella an incredulous look, Lex scoffed. "Seriously? You're calling me a hermit? The only reason why we became friends was because you were alone when I got to Phoenix."

Rolling her eyes, she pulled into a parking space.

Not long after the truck stopped, Lex was dragged out of the truck and strongly pulled into someone's arms.

"Oh my God, Lex. I am so sorry, I've felt awful all week." She heard Tyler gush as her face was squashed into his chest. "I could have killed you, I feel awful."

"Tyler, I'm fine." Fighting her way out of his arms, she held him slightly away from her. "Bella is fine. We're both fine. Don't worry about it."

He looked like he desperately wanted to pull her back into him, but instead tensed his hands into fists by his sides; the look of guilt in his eyes was almost unbearable.

"Seriously, Tyler, stop feeling guilty, we're both amazing." She tried again, hoping that her new friend would let it go and carry on as usual. "We didn't break anything, hell the only injury was Bella hitting her head and she does that herself every day."

With a brief nudge from Bella, she saw Tyler start to relax slightly.

"I do feel really bad though." He sighed, head down in shame.

Rolling her eyes, the redhead linked her arm through his and laughed. "Everything is fine, Ty. Honestly, I expected your driving to be much worse."

Suddenly she was in a light headlock and lightly wrestling with Tyler in the middle of the parking lot. Apparently all it took to get him back to normal was through playful insults; she'd have to remember that in the future.

"C'mon you guys" Jessica called over. "There's important things for the girls to discuss!"

"There is?" Lex heard Bella ask as they both started to walk over to the other girls. "Like what?"

"Like the Spring Formal, duh. It was just announced that it was going to be girl's choice." Jessica beamed, eyes scouring the lot for who she would ask herself. "We need to discuss who we're all going to ask."

Seeing the immediate look of awkwardness cross Bella's face, Lexi started to drag her away to English. "You know, Jess, you're right that is important, but we should really get to class, so we'll talk about it at lunch, okay?"

"Okay." She squealed, turning to Angela.

"I don't want to talk about some dance." Bella moaned, movements strained at the very idea. "I don't dance, I can't dance. Why does everybody seem to revel in such an awkward tradition."

Sighing, Lex rolled her eyes as they walked into the classroom. "I know that, Bells. But now you have a few hours to figure out what you'll use as an excuse not to go. Also, the only reason you find it an awkward tradition is cause you're awkward, everyone else has a great time."

-x-x-x-

The beginning of the day swept by as normal, giving Lexi a brief relief from the distress of the previous night. She'd just finished getting changed into her sportswear for Gym when she felt someone skip up beside her.

"Hey, Lex." Alice said sweetly, beaming at the girl. "Are you ready for basketball?"

"You mean your family is actually going to be playing?" She asked, thinking about how she'd never seen them join in for a single gym lesson, always lounging about on the grass and ignoring whatever was happening in the lesson.

"Coach doesn't seem to mind us skipping a lot of activities." She smiled, leading the way to the court. "We're pretty good so Coach knows that we'll pass with no problem, I'm pretty sure she was mostly charmed by Jasper though."

A teacher charmed by a student, sounds gross, but not entirely unbelievable. "Sounds kind of weird, no?" The redhead pondered, seeing Tyler waiting on an empty court.

Alice chimed a laugh as she pulled the two of them to a stop. "It's not the weirdest thing, trust me. Hey, are we still okay to go to Seattle next Saturday?"

"Yeah, of course we are. I'm actually really looking forward to it, I could really use some time in the city to be honest."

"I know." She chimed, before skipping off to join the rest of the Cullens.

"I still don't get why the Cullen's are so interested in you." Tyler said, staring over at the pale family as she joined him, scowling at Jasper when he sent Lex a small wave.

Sending a small wave back, she stole the ball of Ty and mocked "It's because I'm just that amazing."

Smirking, he nodded his head. "Okay. If you're so amazing, I think we should not only have our final challenge, horse basketball, against each other right here, right now… But I think we should make a bet."

"You're really that sure you'll win?" She smirked back, intrigued to see where he was going with this. "I think that's very dangerous for you, Ty."

Shrugging as she passed him back the ball, he carried on with his offer. "If I win, you have to ask me to the Spring Formal this year."

Her smile slightly dropped, the corner of her lips tugging down at his proposal. If there was one guy who she didn't want interested in her, it was Tyler. He was one of the people she'd grown closest to since moving to Forks and she really didn't want to ruin that.

"Come on." He pleaded, prodding her arm. "I think you'll be really charmed by me, Lex."

Taking the ball back off him, she sighed. "You realise it's meant to be the girl's choice right? This doesn't sound like I'll have much of a choice."

"So, you know I'll win then?" He smirked.

Lexi's jaw tensed, and even though the more logical side of her mind knew that he was saying that on purpose to get her to agree to the bet… She really couldn't have him think that he would win against her at basketball, or anything for that matter. She had played too many games with her brother to allow the idea. It was purely out of stubborn pride, but it was a deal she'd have to make.

"Fine." Looking around for an idea of what to ask for if she wins, she grinned as her eyes lingered on the Cullens, the perfect idea formulating in her head. "Alright, but if I win… You have to ask Rosalie Hale to the dance."

His face seemed to drain all life as he looked around him, expecting Rosalie to pop out of thin air with the ever-present scowl, sneering at some students who had been standing too close.

"You're joking." He stammered, mouth open wide like a fish. "I'll be killed, she'll kill me."

Shrugging, Lex let an innocent smile play on her lips. "I mean, you sound pretty worried that you'll lose, Ty." As she finished her sentence, she threw the ball through the hoop, smirking towards Tyler as she said "H."

Looking between the smaller girl and the basketball hoop, he looked astonished, cheated. "We didn't start ye-"

He seemed to realise that she was swiftly going for another shot as he quickly intercepted and played against her. After about 10 minutes, it was clear who was going to win. Tyler had managed to get HO, but Lexi had managed to get HORS. He looked like he was starting to get frustrated as she made to play the winning basket. But just as her feet left the ground, she felt his arms wrap around her and pull her in the opposite direction.

"Tyler!" Lexi giggled, desperately trying to break free. "This is so cheating!"

Ty chuckled as he put her down, stealing the ball and putting his own score up to HOR. "I don't know what you're talking about." he smirked.

"I think I should realistically win by default." The girl scoffed, raising an eyebrow, hands on hips as she'd seen her mother do time and time again when scolding somebody.

"Keep talking, I'll just win." He laughed, throwing the ball through the hoop once more. "S."

Before she could say anything more, another ball came flying past Tyler's head. As we both glanced over, Lexi noticed that Jasper had what appeared to be a look of pure rage, Alice speaking to him as she dragged him away.

"Sorry about that." Edward Cullen called over. "My bad, I got cocky."

Using Tyler's distraction of replying to the usually broody Cullen, the redhead quickly made the final basket, calling out "E."

"Dammit." Tyler sighed, looking back at his friend in defeat. "Alright, fair is fair."

"I believe there is a very lucky lady that you need to ask to the dance, friend." She smirked, holding the basketball to her hip. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to speak at your funeral."

Sighing, he looked to the sky in a silent prayer, hoping that when lunch came around Rosalie would be somehow absent.

-x-x-x-

Lex had somehow ended up being late to History, meaning that she had no time to talk to the pair of Cullen's she spent the most time with. She couldn't help but notice the look of disappointment on Jasper's face when she walked in as the bell rang.

Rosalie had reacted as expected and swiftly thrown something at Tyler's head, meaning that Lexi had to hold an ice pack to it for the remainder of lunch whilst apologising profusely. Although, he deserved it for making the bet in the first place.

After dodging Jessica's questions about the dance with Bella's help, she casually made her way towards Chemistry with Eric.

Throughout both History and Chemistry, she'd noticed that Jasper's mood hadn't seemed to lighten since she'd seen him get dragged out of the gym by Alice. It looked as though he just wanted to get out of school quickly today and possibly find a way to never come back.

"Do you think I should ask Bella to ask me to the dance?" Eric asked Lexi as they packed away their things from the lesson, leaving the classroom.

Trying to hide her smirk, she answered. "I think that's a great idea. I'm surprised you haven't asked her out sooner." Lex knew that Bella was going to kill her, but what were friends for if not messing with each other?

"Well, I don't think anyone wants to get rejected." He laughed, looking down the hall. "Speaking of which, I heard what happened with Tyler during gym."

"Tyler was an idiot, in many ways." The redhead rolled her eyes, wishing that the day's events hadn't actually happened. "Did you know he was going to propose that bet?"

Nodding enthusiastically, he smirked. "I figured that either way it was going to end in an amusing way, so I told him it was a great idea."

How ironic that Eric did the same thing to Tyler that she was doing to him with Bella. Well, he can't say he didn't deserve it.

Walking into Biology, Jasper was following closely behind her. As she sat down, she expected the stressed boy to speak to her as he always did. He usually spoke to Lexi as though he had been waiting to do so for an eternity. But today, he just didn't seem interested in the slightest, choosing instead to sit with a dark cloud over his head.

"Jasper?" She spoke softly, not wanting to risk annoying him if he was just having an off day or if she'd done something to offend him. "Are you alright?"

Looking up at her, his angry eyes seemed to soften a touch. "I'm alright, just having a bad day."

"Want to talk about it? It's not like you haven't done the same thing for me before."

Shaking his head, he gave her a smile that was only barely visible. "No, it's alright. How has your day been? I heard you got an offer to the dance."

Sighing, she rested her elbows on the desk in front of her, head in hands as she wondered how many times she'd have to talk about it. "Yeah, I did. Ridiculous really, I don't know why Tyler thought it was a good idea."

"You don't think you're good enough for him?" Jasper questioned, looking at his hands.

"It's not that. I'm just not interested in Tyler that way, at all." Lex explained, running a hand through her hair. "I could never see myself being with him like that. I honestly just hope that our friendship wasn't just an attempt to get into my pants now."

Her words appeared to catch his attention as he sat up straighter. "And what kind of guy do you envision yourself with?"

Lexi felt her heart rate increase as she thought of the best way to answer him. She couldn't say the first thing that popped into her head, it was way too embarrassing. She wouldn't just flat out tell him that the only guy she has been able to see herself with was him; it was laughable. Throw in the weird, potentially witchy, visions of his eyes she'd had for years and he'd run for the hills.

A smirk formed on his face as he leaned in closer. "Is there a specific person who has caught your interest?"

Looking anywhere but him, she prayed for something, anything, to happen to end this conversation. The distance between them paired with the look he was giving her was just too much for her to deal with at the moment and she needed to plan an escape.

As if the universe had shown Lexi mercy for the first time, a small cry of pain was heard from the back of the classroom.

"Mr Grayson." The teacher scolded the student at the back, shaking his head with disapproval. "What have I told you about messing around with the equipment?"

The guy at the back had managed to cut his hand open with something that was out on the far back desk.

As she turned to see what was happening, Jasper was suddenly completely against her, shoulders tense as he faced the opposite direction of the injury at the back.

"Jasper? What's wrong?" Lexi asked, holding onto him to steady herself. He had moved so fast that she had slightly lost her balance on her chair.

"I just don't do so well around that." He stressed, his jaw locked so that the words only just managed to escape.

He wasn't alright around blood? Did he have a weak stomach or something? It wasn't something she had ever considered, but he genuinely looked like he was in excruciating pain.

"Come on Jasper, I'll take you to the nurse." Alice said, appearing beside the pair. "It's okay, let's go."

Jasper seemed to reluctantly move away from Lexi before rushing out of the door, his sister hot on his tail.

"What was that?" Tyler asked, coming up next to the stunned redhead.

"I have no idea…" She answered, eyes still locked on the door the pale pair had left through.

-x-x-x-

Sitting in her bedroom that night, she finally let herself think back to the conversation she'd had with my mother about what she might be.

What had Maeve meant when she told her that if she read the book then she would suddenly have other people to talk to about her apparent magical abilities? Surely it wasn't possible that Lexi was even a witch, never mind anyone else that she knew. And she truly hoped that her mother wasn't hinting to other mythical creatures existing; the last thing she needed was to find out that monsters exist too.

But thinking of the Cullen family, Alexis couldn't help but wonder if her mum was hinting about them. When she had first seen Jasper, she had frozen… Was it because he was something that she recognised? It wasn't possible… Was it?

Just read the book.

Glancing over to her desk, she took a deep breath. The large book was still there, waiting to be opened, waiting to share its knowledge with the young redhead.

"Okay…" Lex muttered to herself, psyching herself up to open the book to the first page.

It seemed to start with a history of their family; a tale on how they were descended from a long line of witches and magic folk.

Skipping through a few pages, she scanned written words about a multitude of creatures that she had always believed to be myths and fiction. As she reached about half way through the book, one page stood out to her amongst the rest.

The golden eyes and pale skin flashed into her mind. The smooth voice and beautiful laugh, the unbelievable feeling of being drawn to someone and yet so afraid of them in the beginning.

Sitting down to read, she traced her finger over the title of the page.

"Vampires…"

-x-x-x-

A/N: We're getting so close to where I was originally up to the first time I wrote this fic, how exciting. I'm sure I'll at least get to that point by the end of the week. We'll see.

Thanks for reading!

~fawningfantasy x