XVI. It Is Wednesday, My Dudes

It was when I met Edward at the front door, that I quite suddenly recalled the icy feeling of his lips pressed against mine. Maybe it was the way he was watching me, dark eyes brimming with affection. Or maybe it was the way he gravitated so closely to me the moment I'd stepped out onto the porch. Regardless, the memory caused my heart to do a little tap dance inside my chest and I could feel my ears getting hot.

Flustered, I blurted out, "Penicillin!"

Edward's brow furrowed. "What?"

I cleared my throat and shoving aside my embarrassment, I clarified, "I'm allergic to penicillin."

"Oh, I'll let Carlisle know," Edward nodded, smile gentle. "Are you ready to go?" he asked, lifting my backpack onto his own shoulder.

"Yep," I nodded, shutting the door behind me and pulling my hood up before descending the porch steps alongside him and stepping out into the gentle drizzle. Shoving aside my flustered thoughts, I chattered while we stepped inside his car, "The project I texted you about―I was referring to the amplification of my shield. I only got as far as coming into contact with the shield―"

"Truly?" Edward shot me an astonished look as he turned the ignition on. "That's remarkable!"

I blinked, numbly accepting a sleek coffee tumbler from Edward as the car took off. "Huh? What's this?" I stared down, curiously inhaling the warm aroma. Ooh. Is that mocha?

"Ah, it's from Esme," he revealed, sheepish.

I carefully sipped. "Oh! That's delicious!" I sighed. "Esme needs to be careful, otherwise she's going to spoil me."

"Please, let her spoil you," Edward chuckled, "It's in her nature. And, there's certain things she'll never be able to do for my siblings and I."

"Well, for someone who doesn't actually need to cook for her family, she makes a mean sandwich," I laughed and eagerly sipped the luscious brew. Humming happily, I swallowed and said, "Also, don't sound so proud of me. Finding the shield didn't take as long as I'd thought, but I'm not sure how well I'll succeed with magnifying it." I felt guilty for getting his hopes up. Even if I did make progress, it was likely to be slow-going. Not only had Bella's shield been enhanced by the venom, but she'd had the added pressure of the Volturi coming to kill her family.

"I don't believe you understand, Isabella," Edward disagreed with a shake of his head, hardly paying any attention to the road. "The majority of vampires are not gifted. And of the ones that are―their gifts only manifest until after the venom. People like you and Alice are rare. I've never even heard of other such cases. My perception, Jasper's charisma, Emmett's strength―special for humans, but not uncommon, and certainly not supernatural."

Edward's gaze was so earnest, I had no choice but to agree. "Rare, huh?" I mused and after another sip, I said, "I can think of a few other such cases."

His eyes lit up with interest. "Who?"

Before I could dive in, another vampire crossed my thoughts. "Hey, did Garrett make it to your house yesterday?" Edward stiffened beside me, expression darkening. "It's okay," I reassured him with a sheepish laugh as we pulled into the parking lot. "I won't insist on meeting him. It is a pretty dumb idea." My thoughts drifted to Edward's first encounter with Bella in Midnight Sun. I held back a wince. The insight was, without a doubt, sobering.

Edward parked the car and turned to me, expression mollified. "Yes, Carlisle was enthused to see his old friend," he said. "Unfortunately, he'll be staying for a while longer. He's interested in meeting Alice and Jasper."

"Unfortunately?" I repeated, drinking the last of my coffee and picking up my backpack. "I hope you're not being rude to your guest," I teased.

"I'm not―as long as he stays away from you," Edward bit out, twisting the ignition off and exiting the car. He was helping me out of the passenger seat when Rosalie and Emmett smoothly pulled into the space beside us. The brilliant red BMW was like a beacon in the dreary parking lot filled with old, second-hand cars.

The drizzle had shifted into a light fog, but I pulled my hood up regardless―the water clung to everything.

"Rosalie wants to speak with you," Edward noted, likely picking up on her thoughts. Uh oh.

I hummed, appreciating the warning. Physically, I was no threat. But simply exchanging words with the blonde would be a battle all its own. I had to be on my A-game. I didn't pay much mind as Edward tugged me out of the way―Rosalie and Emmett had barely stepped out and away from the car, when a gaggle of teenage boys clustered around, admiring the convertible with reverence. Meanwhile, my thoughts churned, bracing for the onslaught of Rosalie's disdain. I probably shouldn't start anything I can't finish. But if she starts throwing fighting words, I won't have a choice but to wage war. Bring it on, blondie!

I stopped short when Edward's siblings blocked our path and I was met with the blonde's contrite expression. What the fuck?

Rosalie pursued her lips, before acknowledging me, "Isabella." A trick…? Whatever. If she can be cordial, I can too!

"Rosalie," I smiled carefully. "How can I help you on this fine morning?" Damn, I hope that didn't sound as sarcastic as it did.

Laughter rumbled in Emmett's chest and Rosalie flicked an annoyed glance in his direction before turning back to me, stiffly saying, "Thank you."

Every thought cut short with all the weight and swiftness of a guillotine.

I blinked.

Rosalie blew out a frustrated breath. "For Alice. Thank you."

Coming from Rosalie, it was unbelievably sweet. A grin split my face. "You're so soft," I cooed.

Emmett's laughter thundered through the parking lot―a rich boom brimming with delight. It was so contagious that Rosalie's affronted scowl slowly eased. Despite her neutral expression, I caught the small twitch of her lips.

My grin turned sheepish. "But for what it's worth, you're welcome Rosalie."

She shot me a pointed look. "It does not mean I approve of...this," she directed a careless wave of disgust between Edward and I.

I pouted. "Edward's not that bad."

"Thanks," Edward grumbled, tilting his head down to shoot me a disgruntled look.

Rosalie sneered. "Don't play dumb. You know exactly what the problem is."

I tilted my head, meeting her accusatory gaze with a thoughtful expression. "Do I?" I wondered aloud. "You haven't gone out of your way to share your grievances with me, Rosalie. So, spell it out for me. What is the problem?"

Perhaps I was being a bit more confrontational than necessary, but I wasn't all that concerned with Rosalie's derisive opinions. This wasn't something that could be resolved in one conversation. I was willing to hear her out, but I wasn't willing to allow her to treat me so boorishly.

Rosalie's expression darkened. The curious ears that surrounded us kept her from doing just that. I was sure her current thoughts were quite venomous.

"No? Well, let me know when I can address your concerns," I shrugged. And just to be petty, I turned towards the direction of my building, waving and calling over my shoulder, "See you around, Kitty." The sound of Carlisle's special nickname for her, had Rosalie fuming. I broke my gaze before we could dissolve into another dispute. Class would be starting in five minutes.

Edward remained glued to my side. He heaved a sigh. "Must you?"

"I cannot say or do anything that will ever get her to accept me," I said simply, mentally adding, Except have a creepy, half-vampire baby. "Which is fine. She's entitled to her opinion. But I'm not going to let her walk all over me." I glanced up long enough to catch Edward's fierce eyes. "But that's between her and I," I tacked on, "Don't go feuding with your own sister."

He smirked. "Sorry love, I can't promise that."

"Hey, there's only room enough for one troublemaker in this relationship," I scolded, reaching up and prodding his cheek.

"I'll think about it."

My outrage was, unfortunately, cut short by the bell.

Much to Edward's disappointment, Jessica kidnapped me after school for our long awaited girl-talk. The normalcy was refreshing―the editing, not so much. Anything related to Azmon or vampires was automatically cut out. Fortunately, the little cellphone was a good cover for all those late night conversations.

"And so finally," I continued, eyeing the bright shade of indigo Jess was coating over my nails, "Rosalie approached me this morning to thank me for helping Alice with the whole finding-her-birth-family thing. And then promptly ruined it by reminding me that she still doesn't approve of my relationship with Edward." We sat on the floor of her room, surrounded by bottles of nail polish, nail files, and cotton balls, with Avril Lavign quietly blasting in the background.

Jessica scowled, incensed on my behalf. "Ugh, we get it―no one on earth will ever be as gorgeous and perfect as her. What's her damage?"

I shrugged, careful not to jostle my hand. "She thinks it's a bad idea―assumes it won't work out between the two of us. I think she might be right."

My quiet admittance froze Jessica in place. She then finished off my pinky and capped the bottle, before turning to meet my eyes. "Why?"

"A few reasons," I sighed, carefully splaying my hands against my knees where my wet nails wouldn't accidentally brush against anything. "It's why I didn't want to date him. Sure, I like him. But we want different things in life."

Jessica tilted her head curiously, curls slanting against her shoulder. "What's the other reason?"

"I'm not sure I'm the right person for him," I confessed.

Jess suddenly grinned and pressed a palm to her chest. "Hear it from an outside perspective―you are fantastic for him. I've attended high school with him for three years and I don't think I've ever seen Edward emote as much as he did in the past week. Face it, Isabella, you make him happy."

Her words echoed Esme's.

"As for the other stuff―who cares?" Jess waved it off, "We're teenagers. We can worry about our futures after we graduate. You are totally entitled to having a high school sweetheart!"

Oddly enough, her uncomplicated insight eased a load off my shoulders.

I laughed. "I guess you're right." Quieter, I added, "I guess I'm just afraid to deal with the fall out."

Jessica tweaked my nose and reassured me, "Don't worry! I'll be right there with you!"

"Thanks, Jess," I smiled. "Enough about me! Tell me about your date with Mike!"

Jessica giggled. "Oh, yes! I haven't told you about that―wait, do you want your toenails to match?"

I rolled my eyes. S'not like this is sandal-wearing weather. "Sure, Jess," I conceded, uncrossing my legs and bringing my knees up my chest while she sprawled on her belly and uncapped the bottle of polish again.

Meticulously brushing my toenails, Jessica chattered away, "So...the drive down to Port Angeles was a little awkward. Thankfully, he put on music and we bonded over our love for Green Day!"

"Hey, that's great! So, where did he take you?" I carefully tapped one of my fingernails, testing to see how well it'd dried.

"It was a dinner-and-a-show type thing," she said, "The restaurant was super nice―it had like, wood paneling and the lighting was dim. The food was good too. And they had a couple of standup comedians throughout the night."

I pouted at the faint fingerprint I'd left on my nail before turning to Jess, "Aw, that sounds so fun! Nice going, Mike. I kind of assumed he would've just taken you to a movie."

"I think that was the original plan," she agreed. "But he probably didn't want to get stuck watching a chick flick." Jess pouted.

I gasped, "Wait! Isn't Constantine going to be released soon?"

Jessica glanced up at me oddly. "You're into horror?"

"Not really," I shrugged. It was in fact, one of my mom's favorite movies, and as a result, I'd watched it around a dozen times as a kid. "It looks interesting though. Maybe I'll ask Edward if he wants to go."

"Have you guys even been on a date?" Jess laughed at the realization.

I snickered. "No, I guess not. So, you and Mike are official, right?"

"Uh huh! We made it official at Tyler's bonfire party," she beamed, cheeks pink. "Oh. Speaking of official, Valentine's day is on Monday! Are we still setting up Angie and Ben?"

"Duh," I scoffed, "Is that even a question?"

"We've got to come up with a plan!"

We spent the next few hours gossiping more while we outlined a plan of attack for getting Angela the man of her dreams. She caught me up on everything else, chatting about Lauren's progress with Tyler, Lee and Samantha's latest argument, and Eric's unfortunate fail with one of the Seattle girls.

I didn't realize how late it was until Jessica's mom called her down for dinner.

Jessica turned to me. "Are you staying for dinner?"

I thought about the scheduled call from Renée that awaited me if I went home.

"Definitely!" I agreed.

Dear Ms. White,

I hope this letter finds you well.

My name is Isabella Swan. But this wasn't always my name.

I read your book By Proxy. If it's simply a work of literature, feel free to think of this letter as nonsense and toss it in the bin. I'd rather not be admitted into the psych ward.

Otherwise, I'd like to meet you. Maybe not any time soon, but eventually, I have to face reality―my new reality, that is. I'm like the girl from your story (and maybe like you too.)

So far, I've been able to adjust without drawing too much attention. I haven't told anyone of who I used to be, but I would like to. And I was hoping maybe you could be that person. Because then, I wouldn't have to really talk about it. You would understand without me having to explain anything beyond letting you know that I'm like you.

There's a boy who I've become close with, but every time I remember my last moments, the words get stuck in my throat and I can't find my voice. If it didn't hurt so much, perhaps I would have already told him.

If you could write back, that would be great. If not, that's okay too.

Thank you for your time,

Isabella

A/N: I hope y'all didn't think the book was out of the picture for good lol!

You know, I want for Isabella and Rosalie to become friends so bad, but they're making it so difficult for me! Ugh. I swear, it'll work out...somehow.

Anyway, thanks so much for reading! I'll be sure to update soon! :)