Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters.
October 1, 1941
Bella
To say that I had fallen madly in love with Hawaii would be putting it lightly. I absolutely adored it. I adored the scenery, the people, the fresh air and the salty beach. I loved sitting outside on our porch swing in the early morning, enjoying the silence as I read one of my many books. I grew to love the hospital I worked at, the staff that welcomed us with open arms, the patients and everything about our job. Hell, I grew to love my roommates more and more. As wild and childish as they were at times, they still brought a smile to my face.
Time trickled by slowly and I found myself missing Forks less and less.
I spent my twenty-second birthday with my sister. We spent the entire day together, going out to eat, taking a walk around town, I even let her buy me a present, and at the end of the day, we met with our roommates at one of the bars where I allowed myself to drink and be free. I had never laughed and danced as I did that night. It was quite possibly one of my best birthdays yet.
In that time, Mr. Cullen and I had little to almost no interaction. It wasn't that he would ignore me as he did before, no. If we did happen to run into each other, or if he was at one of the many outings his friends and mine were at, we'd exchange hellos and perhaps some small talk, but nothing more than that. He never mentioned what happened in my exam room to my relief.
Thanks to Lauren and her know it all way of being, I learned quite a few things about him. Apparently, he was a very well known bachelor in Pearl Harbor. In his time at the harbor, Mr. Cullen had never once been linked to a single woman, not a nurse or civilian, which came to a shock to many. The men in the force were known to indulge as any day could be their last, but not Mr. Cullen. He was isolated from the world willingly, whether it was because he thought of it as too low to his standards or whatever the reason might be, no one knew. His only interest was in himself, his job, and to go back home so he could manage his family's estate. According to Lauren, he never for anyone other than himself.
He was quite the man.
I also didn't get to see Jacob Black as much either. He was involved in other stuff that we hardly ever had a chance to talk, but when we did happen to run across each other, he always greeted me with a smile and a bow.
That night, Alice, I, and the rest of our roommates arrived at Jasper's home for a small barbeque he was hosting. As soon as we got there, we were hit with the overwhelming, delicious smell of roasting meat. My stomach rumbled, I was starving. But that hunger almost quickly faded when I noticed Mr. Cullen sitting by himself on the couch with a notebook and a pen in hand. He did not look up when we entered the room.
"There you are!" Jasper said, standing up from the table where he played poker with Emmett and James Hunter. He ran up to my sister, picking her up and kissing her passionately. I tried my best to hold back my smile as Alice's face turned a deep shade of red when they pulled away. I had to say, if there was one thing I was sure about, it was that Jasper was completely wrapped around my sister's finger. Once he sat her down, he looked at me, wrapping an arm around her and said, "Izzy, I sure do hope you're hungry. We got enough food to feed a whole army."
I noticed out of the corner of my eye how Mr. Cullen looked up. He looked at me for a split second, almost as if taking me in before turning back to his paper.
"You're in luck because I am famished!" I said to Jasper as I took a seat on his couch. Alice skipped over to me, taking my hand on her lap. Unfortunately, our seating arrangement left us across Mr. Cullen, who continued scribbling on his notebook.
"I like the sound of that," Jasper said, rounding the couch to get back to his table. "Please, make yourselves at home and we will eat shortly. James was just done losing."
"That's because you're a cheat," said James, picking up his cards.
Jessica next to Mr. Cullen, leaning in close to him. The poor girl had it bad for him and he never gave her a second glance. He looked up for a moment, surprised by her closeness before going back to his notebook. Rosalie and Angela joined us at the couch we were sitting at, trying to start up a conversation, but my attention was so caught by what was going on across from us that I hardly heard a word they were saying.
"Who are you writing that letter to, Edward?" Jessica asked, trying to peek at his paper.
Mr. Cullen pulled the paper away from her view.
"My sister," he answered.
"Oh! I did not know you had a sister! What are you telling her?" She asked, practically almost climbing on his lap.
"Forgive me, but that's none of your concern," he responded, slightly annoyed.
"Your handwriting is very pretty," she continued, either completely unfaced by his tone or just oblivious.
"It's simply handwriting."
"Yes, but it looks very charming. I bet your sister must smile at the joy of having you write such beautiful letters to her."
"Unfortunately, it's not joy what I feel while writing it right now," he mumbled.
"How do you come up with such lovely words?"
He didn't respond.
"I wish I had a brother who wrote me lovely letters."
"And I'm starting to wish I was deaf," Mr. Cullen said under his breath.
"Jessica, let Mr. Cullen write his letter in peace," I said, taking pity on Mr. Cullen for having to deal with her.
Jessica glared at me as she sat back, but kept close to Mr. Cullen. I noticed Angela looking around, looking rather bored as Rosalie and Alice were in deep conversation, so I pulled her to my side and started telling her my thoughts on The Great Gatsby. She let me borrow the book earlier this week and I hadn't had a chance to tell her what I thought about it.
Soon the men were done with their game of poker, and James left after losing. Food began to flow out of the kitchen as the men they took it upon themselves to serve us ladies. Well, except for Mr. Cullen, who stayed writing his letter to his sister. The food was delicious and conversation flowed easily once the men rejoined us in the living room as we ate. Shortly after we were done, Angela brought out a cake she had brought and we enjoyed dessert together.
Mr. Cullen hardly participated in the conversation, only if he was talked to directly or Jasper or Emmett tried to include him, which they often did. Other than that, he was just a spectator.
"Okay, okay, okay," Emmett said from his spot next to Rosalie. He was leaning back against the couch, his big hand on her leg as he said, "What I want to know, what is everyone looking forward to the most after this war is over? Go."
"Aside from freedom?" Jasper grinned over his cup of brandy. He wrapped an arm around my sister's shoulders and said, "I want to finish school and become a lawyer. I think I'd make a good one," he said.
"I bet you will," Alice said and leaned in to kiss him on the cheek.
"Traveling," Rosalie said. "I want to travel and meet new places, try new food, meet new people. Oh, I cannot wait."
Emmett smiled at her and said, "And travel you shall, princess. I, for one, besides traveling the world with my woman, cannot wait to get back to fixing my cars and opening my own shop. What about you, Angela?"
"Go home," she said, her voice timid. "See my family. My brothers and sisters."
"And leave poor Ben behind?" Rosalie asked, referring to the other Air Corp member Angela has been on several dates with, but still hadn't made it official.
"Well, his hometown isn't actually that far from mine. We could still see each other," Angela said, her cheeks picking up some color.
"I agree," I said, taking her hand in mine. "I cannot wait to go home."
Alice groaned, leaning her head back. "I cannot comprehend what you love so much about Forks, sister. If I were you, I'd stay as far away from it as I could. Especially what's waiting for you when you get there."
"What is waiting for her?" Rosalie asked.
"More like who. A certain gentleman we grew up with and who our father is more than ready to marry her off to."
"He is not," I protested. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and noticed that Mr. Cullen sat forward, his eyes on my sister. I cleared my throat and turned to her as well. "That is just a silly story you made up in your head. There has been no mention of marriage."
"Oh no, just Marcus. Lord, you should read the letters that our mother and father send us. They never fail to slip him in, telling Izzy what he is up to and how terribly he misses her. I've told her that if I were her, I wouldn't show back to Forks unmarried."
"Well, I am not going to marry simply to spite my father, Alice," I said, arching a brow at her. "If I am to marry, I will marry out of love and not with the first brute who shows an interest. No offense."
"None taken," Emmett said, chuckling. "We are brutes."
"I'm with Izzy," Jessica said from her spot next to Mr. Cullen. "If someone is to marry, they should marry someone they love passionately. Don't you agree, Edward?"
Jasper laughed. "That's the last person I would ask if I were you, Jessica."
"Oh, hush you." She waved him off and turned to Mr. Cullen. "What do you think?"
Mr. Cullen took a deep breath and said, "I believe love, much like marriage, is a waste of time."
Jessica frowned as both Jasper and Emmett started chuckling.
"Told ya," Jasper said.
"That is a very strong statement to make, especially at such a young age," I said. "Do you truly believe that?"
His emerald eyes meet mine and without breaking eye contact, he said, "I do. Marriage is and always has been an economic proposition. Most people who marry do so either for economic purposes, to gain social status or obligation. As little as I think of love, I don't believe it has ever been involved in marriages."
"Don't be so pessimistic," Emmett said. "Surely there are plenty of people out there who do marry for love."
"Perhaps, but not many," Mr. Cullen said. "It's not something for me, either of them, so I much rather not waste my time on such silly ideas. Especially at times like these."
I looked at Jasper, waiting for him to say something to his friend, but he didn't. He looked… almost resigned.
"So you will never marry?" Jessica asked, a small hint of disappointment in her voice.
"No."
"Love?" I asked.
"No."
"So what exactly are you looking forward to once this war is over?"
"I'm not looking forward to anything, Miss Swan. I would consider myself lucky to even make it out of this war alive. I don't see a reason as to why I should waste my time falling in love and leaving someone behind when I am deployed, and could more probably die. The less people involved, the better."
Jasper opened his mouth to say something, but I beat him to the punch.
"I'm sorry to say this, Mr. Cullen, but that is perhaps the saddest thing I've ever heard. I don't mean that one should be married in order to feel fulfilled, but I do believe one should love and learn how to be loved in return. If you allow yourself that chance, then perhaps you will find that there are more things in life to look forward to than just surviving.
A silence fell in the room. Mr. Cullen did not take his eyes from me as he took my words in. He nodded, ever so slightly and pursed his lips.
"Very different opinions, I see."
"The world is filled with various opinions, Mr. Cullen, many of which we cannot all agree with, but only listen. That's what keeps an individual from being ignorant."
His eyes were fixed on mine. Just for a moment, it felt as if we were the only people in the room, in the world perhaps. His eyes had softened, only slightly. One had to be very observant of him to even notice the flight change, but I had. It was just him and I at that moment, and my heart began stuttering in my chest.
"Well, the world is at war right now," Jessica said, breaking the silence.
I quickly looked down at my hands, my face burning with embarrassment. Mr. Cullen then cleared his throat and stood up, walking out of the room. Jasper quickly followed behind him.
"What was that?" Alice asked, leaning close to me. Rosalie stood from her spot and kneeled in front of us, the four of us now huddled together on the couch.
"Nothing," I said. "Conversation."
"Oh, that was more than just a conversation, my dear. There was a tension in this room so thin, a knife could cut it, don't you agree, Angela?"
"Don't try to-"
"No, she's right," Angela said. "And the way he looked at you? Izzy, I think he likes you."
"He does not!" I whispered harshly, trying to keep our conversation inside our huddle. "He doesn't like me and I don't like him. It was just a conversation. You all are just reading too much into it."
"Oh, sister, you do not know due to your limited amount of time spent with a man romantically-"
"Neither have you," I pointed out.
"Yes, but I have been in a relationship these past two months and you have not. But, the way he was looking at you, I can tell you, he likes you."
"He does not. We hardly know each other and I could never like him, not someone with such pessimistic views on love and marriage. That is exactly the opposite of what I want."
Rosalie shrugged. "Perhaps you will be the one who will change his mind?"
"Oh, I will leave the dreaded job of forcing him into a marriage to Jessica, thank you very much." I wave them off, done with the conversation and their input. "You have all lost your minds."
They exchanged a look between the three of them and it only served to annoy me further, so I got up and excused myself to the bathroom.
Once in there, I sprayed some cold water on my heated skin, letting it ground me.
They were wrong. They were absolutely wrong. I hardly had any civil interaction with Mr. Cullen for him to like me. The whole idea was ridiculous and simply impossible.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I came up with a plan. I would ignore Mr. Cullen for the rest of the night. I would even bother looking in his direction so I wouldn't fuel my roommates theories. Yes, that was what I was going to do.
Mr. Cullen and Jasper were back in the living room when I stepped out of the bathroom. The conversation had moved on and I was more than relieved. I tried my best to keep myself busy talking to my sister and Angela, though I did notice Mr. Cullen glanced my way from time to time. His glance never lasted more than a second before he looked down, but he did so repeatedly. Did he always do that? Or was it what my sister and friends had said? It had to be that. They planted an idea in my mind and now I was seeing things that clearly weren't there.
He did say I wasn't pretty the night we met. He was probably thinking the worst of me, taking in every flaw in my appearance and judging it the same way he had that first night. There was nothing more in his looks. A man with a belief system like his could never show any true feeling.
At the end of the gathering, Jasper, Emmett, and Mr. Cullen walked us back to our home. Jessica walked with Mr. Cullen, her hand wrapped around his arm as she forced him to endure conversation with her. I walked with Angela several steps behind them and I tried my best to ignore the looks she was giving me.
I was relieved when we got home and eager to get inside and in my bed. So eager, I half shouted my goodbye at the men as I rushed up the porch steps, only to miss the first step completely and tripped forward. I yelped, but an arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back up, steadying me on my feet. My face burned with heat. I didn't have to look back to know it was Mr. Cullen who had caught me. The smell of fresh pine and the strong arm that held me were evidence enough.
I stepped back, trying to put some distance between us as my heart pounded against my chest. His hand never left me, only sliding against my waist, leaving goosebumps in its wake until he took my hand in his. It was warm, but his skin was calloused, although I didn't mind. My eyes met his, our joined hands filling the air between us. He nodded toward the steps and I nodded back. He didn't let go of my hand until I reached the top step.
His hold only tightened slightly when I turned to him and he let me go.
"Have a good night, Isabella," he whispered, low enough for me to hear.
"G-good night, Mr. Cullen."
He nodded curtly before turning over his heel and walked away. Everyone stood in stunned silence, much like me, watching as he walked further away. From the distance, I could see him close his hand in a fist and open it widely, as if it burned where I touched him.
He wasn't the only one.
Because the electricity ran through my fingers as well.
Author's Note:
Happy New Year everyone! Sorry for the slight delay, but now that the holidays are over, I will be back to posting on schedule. Now, does it seem Mr. Cullen might have a little crush? :^
Chapter Six Preview -
"Perhaps you should take your own advice and practice."
