Chapter Ten: The Good Date

Owls caroled through the trees and crickets serenaded through the night as a lone vampire leaned against the patio railing. Pensive. The sky was the bruise coloured blue of the waiting dawn—a sunny morning perhaps. Rare for Forks. Hopefully it would darken soon, however; he…well he wanted to go to school.

"Penny for your thoughts, sweetie?" Esme's sweet voice cut through the night's ambiance as she joined him by the railing. A violet robe lined with fur was wrapped around her body—an anniversary gift from Carlisle.

Edward drummed his fingers against the wood before giving his mother a sideways glance. "Is…?" the question died on his tongue and he looked away with a heavy sigh. How was he going to put this in a way that didn't sound…insane even to his own ears?

"Is it about that Jessica Stanley?" Esme asked with a dimpled smile and a twinkle in her eyes.

Edward nodded silently.

Esme hummed and slid closer to him with an endeared bumping of his shoulder. "I knew it."

Edward frowned and turned to her. "Knew?"

"Well, I may not be Alice or Jasper or you, but I do think I can tell when someone's in love," Esme said.

The word had Edward shrink in on himself. His shoulders hunched and his brow furrowed as he asked, "…love?"

"What's so wrong with that?" Esme frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder. "There's not a feeling sweeter than love—romantic or platonic it doesn't matter." She shrugged and smiled again. "It was a long time coming, you getting to experience the former."

Edward shook his head and glanced down at his erratically tapping fingers. "I don't know if I'm in love. I don't…think I am. I—" he swallowed and smiled sadly. "I like that she isn't afraid of me, even when she should be because she…she's so utterly stubborn. She treats life like its a beast to conquer. Does and says the silliest of things and it…it is so endearing." He chuckled, only semiconscious that his smile had broadened the more he spoke.

"Mm. She treats you like a human being. She…sees you," Esme summarized and her eyes glowed a warm umber beneath the dying moonlight as her smile became the dreamy parted smile of a lovestruck Old Hollywood star. Edward knew immediately that she was thinking of Carlisle.

He shook his head, smile fading as he said, "She doesn't."

The rose-coloured warmth faded from Esme's face. "What?" she asked in genuine bewilderment and sadness.

"She wants me because I'm 'unattainable'. Not because she 'sees me.'" he smiled ruefully and snorted. "The chase excites her." He was about to compare her to James in that regard but stopped himself—no matter what, she wouldn't be as abhorrent as that murderous low-life.

"Oh, Edward." Esme's face was pinched in grief as she wrapped her arms around his side and lay her cheek on his shoulder. He felt utterly rotten for ruining her mood. "I'm sure that's not all that is."

"I can read her thoughts, Esme."

"And you can't read every single one! Jasper—"

"Senses vivacious obsession from her. That's all."

"Love can be obsessive! And besides, Alice—"

Edward sighed heavily.

"Alice," Esme repeated firmly as she loosened her hold to turn him towards her. "Is rarely wrong." She punctuated rarely with a firm jab at his chest. She gave him a sad, pleading smile as she rubbed his arms up and down. "Trust in her, Edward. You deserve this."

Edward sighed once more and turned his pained expression towards the tree decorated horizon. "Even if she…loved me. Saw me. Wanted me beyond the high of a win…" he took in a shuddering breath and turned back to her. "how could this end in anything but heartache? She's human, Esme."

Esme smiled. "So was I."

Edward pulled away sharply with a rapid shake of his head. "No. No I won't let her become…this." The very thought made him want to vomit—something he wasn't sure he was even capable of anymore. He hugged himself tightly against the nonexistent chill eating at his marble skin, imagining vivacious life filled Jessica turned into a walking corpse akin to himself.

No. Never.

Esme tilted her head to the side and watched him silently for a moment. Then she asked, "Do you hate me?"

"No!" Edward blurted out, startled out of his tense stance. "Why would—?"

"And yet I'm…this," she gestured to herself—the hard corpse pale skin, the golden eyes. Then she opened her mouth, poked at a fang and teasingly said, "ah."

"You—you're you Esme that's different—"

"And you're you, Edward!" Esme said passionately as she cupped his cheeks. "Kind and brave and selfless and handsome; beautiful inside and out. Somebody like you deserves someone who can remind you that."

Edward sighed. "Esme—"

"Just think about it, Edward. Alright?" Esme pulled away from him with a smile as she made her way back towards the house. Just as she'd reached the sliding glass doors she glanced over a slender shoulder to say, "And even if this all ends in heartache one way or another, isn't it better to have loved and lost than to never love at all?"

Edward didn't respond, so Esme smiled sadly again and said, "Goodnight," before disappearing into the house with the whisper of fabric. Edward returned to the railing, staring at the fading stars this time.

What was wrong with him? Just hours ago he'd…accepted the fact that an unattainable goal was all he was and yet…was he really so despondent over such an inevitably? That someone would appreciate him only in the realm of the superficial? How many humans had? How many humans would?

"You're Edward Cullen. You love the outdoors and boring classical music. You're favourite colour is black, you text like a weirdo, and I'd love to know you're favourite book, and movie, and your philosophical views on the meaning of life. Fangs or no. I mean it, okay?"

Did she? Or…perhaps she did but…not in the sense that she wanted to get to know him but more so the fact that it was simply customary to know ice-breaker questions about your partner?

Perhaps she just wanted to make him feel good. Not necessarily out of genuine concern but in the semi-insincere way people donated to children's hospitals to feel better about themselves.

He let out a groan and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. God, why did he care so much? He hadn't wanted any part in this thus far two-month long romance plan.

But once again, and yet…yet, he couldn't shake the sadness at the thought that once—if he fell like she wanted him to, she'd move on to the next attraction within the carnival of her life.

As the sun rose, and its beams proved too bright to hide the Cullens's identities, Edward migrated to the sitting room where he contemplated the piano's ebony and ivory keys. In his mind he began to sketch out a melody.

Bopping her head along to the music blaring from her radio, Jessica added another stake to her digital shopping cart. Ten was more than enough, right? Plus she had the holy water, garlic garlands and anti-vamp lighter—

The window slid open and Jessica jerked her head towards the breech in safety with a shriek before choking on it and blurting out, "Edward?"

"Sorry," he said with a sheepish smile before jumping onto the carpet and shutting the window behind him without even glancing at it. "I…wanted to see you."

Jessica blinked slowly at him as she dazedly turned down Lenny Kravitz's yelling from the speakers. Edward glanced at the sticker covered hello kitty shaped radio playing on her vanity and nodded at it. "I didn't peg you for the rock type."

"I'm…not," she said, still dazed. Edward wanted to see her? Edward wanted to see her? Edward wanted to see her? Oh, she had Operation Heart Clinch in the bag. "Uh," she laughed awkwardly and smiled before gesturing lamely at her (also sticker covered) laptop. "It fit the mood I think. Um, why weren't you at school today?"

"Too sunny," Edward said off-handedly as he strode towards the screen and bent to look at it curiously. Jessica was in the midst of getting flustered by the proximity of his face to her's before scowling at his slowly growing grin.

"What?" she demanded.

Edward laughed and shook his head. "None of that is going to help you against a vampire."

Jessica narrowed her eyes. "You're bluffing."

Edward raised both eyebrows in challenge before blinking out of existence in a strong gust of wind. Jessica spat her hair out of her mouth as the curtains to her window billowed outward, then inwards as Edward rushed back in and shut the window again, this time with a broken branch in hand. "Stab me."

Jessica choked. "Huh?"

He handed her the stick.

Jessica took the offered weapon, paused to check his reaction—a smirk and a nod—before she wound her arm back and paused. "If I kill you do I have permission to inherit your Volvo and Armani watch?"

"Granted."

Jessica stabbed sharply and shrieked as the wood shattered into a million pieces that decorated her carpet in sharp chips. "…okay," she said after a moment of stunned pause. She looked back up at his triumphant face and said "But like…you definitely can't be near garlic, right?"

He scoffed, but Jessica dashed downstairs to the kitchen anyway in search for the thing. The fridge was, unsurprisingly, empty except for a couple of condiments, drinks, a stack of salad in containers and a large pizza box, but she managed to strike gold in the cupboard.

"Eat this," Jessica challenged as she reentered the room and thrusted the bag of Lays chips at her future vampire beau.

Edward barked out a laugh and crossed his arms. "Garlic flavored chips?"

"Eat one or admit that I can and will become the second coming of Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

Edward laughed again before taking out a chip and tossing it into his mouth. He frowned and blinked after not even a single chew, and for a second, Jessica worriedly wondered if she'd just killed him. Then he said, "I'd assumed this would taste like chalk and dust like every other human food but it didn't even last that long in my mouth to register."

Jessica frowned as she took the bag and scanned the vibrant green packaging. "Oh! I forgot I bought the thin ones so there'd be less calories. That's probably why—"

"I have venom in my mouth."

"…oh. Right." Blushing, Jessica retied the bag with its elastic band and tossed it on the bed. Frowning she stepped back and crossed her arms. "So no stakes, no garlic…oh!" Jessica scanned the room before grinning at the water bottle sitting on her dresser. Ah-ha! She thrust the bottle towards Edward and he squinted at the label. "Am I supposed to be scared of the word Aquafina?"

"Ha-ha," Jessica rolled her eyes as she pulled it back and shook it around with a smirk. "You're supposed to be scared of the world Aqua…" she paused in thought. Shit. How did you say "holy" in Spanish? "Um, holiana." Yeah! That sounded right.

"You need a language tutor," Edward said brightly.

"Shut up. Now let me bless this." Jessica closed her eyes and squeezed the bottle between her hands. "Dear, God—"

"Jessica!" Edward suddenly hissed in a scandalized tone. "Don't—that's disrespectful, don't call on Him for this nonsense—"

"—please bless this water so I can prove to my future boyfriend that I can take care of myself sometimes. Amen." She popped an eye open. "Do you think he heard me?" Edward scowled disapprovingly back. With a shrug, Jessica uncapped the bottle and tossed a bit on his shirt. Edward was still looking pissed and there wasn't a single dramatic singe mark on him. Well that was disappointing.

"Man," Jessica sighed as she slammed the bottle back on her dresser unceremoniously and leaned glumly against it. "I'm really a sitting duck, aren't I?"

Edward's gaze softened as he stepped towards her and shook his head. "No. You have me. You have my family. We won't let anything happen to you."

"You guys can't be there 24/7," Jessica said as she sat back at her laptop with a frown. "I mean, you guys are clearly indestructible but plans fail, and don't work out, or die on arrival, even if you're strong." She let a cheek fall atop a clenched fist raised on her elbow. "I figured even Superman had his Kryptonite but…I guess not."

Edward followed her back to the computer, though noticeably stood a bit ways away from before. "If it makes you feel better, the lighter may be a good investment."

Jessica let her arm drop, sat up straighter and hummed. "That does make me feel better." She proceeded to add ten more lighters to her cart before opening her front drawer in search of her wallet.

"Do you not trust me?" Edward asked softly midway through her info typing. She frowned and swiveled in her seat.

"What? Of course I do. It's just…it's like when you trust firefighters to well—fight fires but you keep a fire alarm and an extinguisher just in case." Jessica shrugged helplessly. "I like the guarantee of trusting myself to get in and out of situations but that doesn't mean I won't call 9-1-1 when I need to."

Jessica felt a swell of relief when she saw his morose face lighten up once more. "An apt allegory. Did you pay attention in English today?"

Jessica stuck her tongue out teasingly and was about to turn back around when she paused and said, "I have an idea. For Friday." And the more the idea began to take form the more Jessica began to smile. Oh, date number four would be her best one yet!

"A vampire date?" Edward asked in confusion. How did…? Oh. Mind thing. Duh.

Anyway.

"Yeah!" and Jessica was so excited now that she had to stand up and pace. "All of our dates so far got messed up because of vampire shenanigans so what if we just…embraced it?" She spun towards him dramatically and grinned. "Give me the grand course on vampires, Edward Cullen."

That was a good sign, wasn't it? That she was trying to show she trusted him—fangs and all, as she'd once professed?

Surely, surely.

But. What if he showed her those very fangs and she got scared all over again? Which…which would be good, though. She should run. She should be scared because while he wasn't James he was still a vampire and—ah. But selfishly, so unlike Esme's evaluation of him, he wanted her near, too. He wanted to hear her inane ramblings about anything and everything all the time. Wanted her vivacity to seep into his cold soul and—

"If you're going to play the piano, play," Rosalie sniped from behind him. Edward paused in his mindless abuse of the C minor key to raise his eyebrows at his sister while she passed by.

"You're in a rather sour mood this fine Monday evening."

Rosalie scoffed and spun around to glare at him. "You've been playing discord for hours now; of course I'm in a bad mood."

Edward sighed as he turned back to the piano with one last C minor. "Sorry. I…have a song in my head but—"

"It's about that girl, isn't it?"

Edward tensed immediately. He locked eyes with Rosalie and firmly stated, "She has a name."

Rosalie smiled bitingly. "Of course she does. How many years? And now, just now some run of the mill off-brand Malibu Barbie has you by the neck."

Edward turned on the piano bench to focus on Rosalie fully—the tension in her stance, the sheer bitterness in her expression, the unhappy buzz clogging up her mind, the tight crossing of her arms. Rosalie was annoyed on the best of days, but there were very specific things that could wind her up so tightly.

Slowly, a smirk spread across Edward's lips. "You're jealous."

Rosalie bristled and brought her face towards his with two quick strides and a sharp bend of her waist. "If you honestly think that I secretly want you. My own brother—"

Edward scoffed. "I wasn't insinuating that at all; you've never wanted me, even before we became family." His smirk, though lighter than before, returned as he said, "And that's always bothered you, hasn't it? That the beautiful perfect Rosalie could be unwanted by someone. Surely it meant that I'd never want anyone, yes? But no, that 'run of the mill off-brand Malibu Barbie' came along and shot all those preconceived notions down. Hm?"

Rosalie's lips pursed and her nostrils flared and agitation. Moments later however, her eyes flickered with recognition and her lips created a bitter smirk of their own. "You admit it, then? You want her?"

Edward's smile faded, a slow shaky intake of breath could be heard as he pulled away.

Did he? 'No, of course not,' claimed one half of his being, while the other said, 'Why of course.'

Why of course indeed. Esme had seen it. He was writing her a song for God's sake. When was the last he'd composed anything? When was the last time someone as…bright as Jessica entered his dull, monotonous existence?

Oh.

Oh God. Esme was right.

Jessica Stanley had won.

But…no, no, no wait. Wait. Was he in love? Or was Jessica just as much an attractive, abstract concept to him as he was to her? Yes. Yes If there was nothing but infatuation between the two of them then Jessica hadn't won. She would keep trying to win his heart. There'd be a reason—a non-dangerous reason beyond keeping her away from James—for her to stay in his life just…a little bit longer.

All of this had dashed through Edward's head within the span of a few moments, and when he'd finished his quick mental assessment, he nodded slowly. "I do," he admitted quietly. "But…" he slowly turned away from Rosalie and towards the piano keys. "I wonder now if it's for the right reasons."

His thumb hit C minor once more, and his fingers dropped as well, creating a sad chord. He hummed to himself and lifted his other hand to continue the piece that slowly began to blossom in his mind.

This had been a super, super, super big mistake. God dammit.

"You know," Jessica said with an awkward laugh. "When I asked for the grand vampire tour I was expecting…a vintage coffin haul—"

"Myth."

"Bat transformation demonstration—"

"Also a myth."

"Or like…a dramatic reenactment on how you smuggle O positive from the local hospital."

"My family and I don't do that." Edward turned to her with an impish smile as he pulled an evergreen tree branch out of her path. Jessica picked her feet from within the brambles and vines decorating the forest floor and shot him a glare as she passed by.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Edward grinned. "Immensely." He let go of the branch and it smacked the tree so hard that Jessica jumped with a shriek and slipped backwards on a puddle of mud. She crashed against another tree's trunk and pushed off with an annoyed grunt. She'd never been so embarrassingly ungraceful in her life.

"I told you to wear boots," Edward said as he continued up the path with maddening ease.

"These are boots!" Jessica yelled up at him, using the branches as hand-holds to keep her balance.

"Those are Uggs, Jessica."

"Which. Are. B—"

"Bad for hiking."

"You didn't tell me we were hiking! I thought you were going to show me how to raise an army of the dead!"

Edward began to walk backwards and raised his eyebrows. "That isn't even fake vampire lore. Where did you get that from?'

Jessica groaned. "I don't know can we take a break, please?"

"At the rate you're going we won't get to our destination until sundown."

Jessica hugged a tree trunk and jerked her leg around until the mud that had sucked in her now ruined boot let go. "What's so special about this place anyway?"

"It's somewhere past the usual Forks gloom," Edward said. He offered his elbow and she took it with a grumble. "It may be a bit dead this time of the year but it's relatively secluded so I can demonstrate all my prowess without worry."

Jessica snorted. "'Prowess?' that's not a real word."

"It would be if you payed attention in English. It's fascinating how broadly ones horizons become when you read more than your TV program."

Jessica scowled and harrumphed as she pushed aside another scraggly tree branch. "I read."

"Yes, your TV program," Edward reiterated cheekily as he easily lifted her up and let her back down with the arm she clung to to save her from tripping on any roots.

Jessica was grateful to know that Edward wasn't the spiteful sniping type, but the sniping in question—even if it was just teasing banter—left her scowling and stomping the rest of the way. She almost wailed and fell to her knees in relief once they'd reached a clearing, but her tights were messy enough for her, thank you very much.

"Is this it?" She asked hopefully.

Edward chuckled down at her. "This is it."

Jessica let go of his elbow and twirled around with a dramatic "Yes!" Arms spread wide and hair whipping around and around. She stopped to push away the strands finally and found Edward still shaded beneath a tree bough, smiling.

"I mean it's…it's like a dead flower field with dead ugly brown grass but hey! There's the sun and— what's so funny?" She called, and patted her head to make sure no twigs or mud clumps were in there.

Edward's grin broadened and he shook his head before continuing into the clearing where…

Jessica gasped as he glittered—literally glittered—in the sun. His face, the bare arms revealed by his rolled up blouse, the little pit of chest peeking from below is collar, they ref-ref…refracted(?) the late afternoon light like diamonds. He stopped moving when she gasped and his smile faded as he scanned her own, muddy, sweaty, ugly flushed face until she grinned in awe. "You're a fairy!" she cried, and then slammed a palm atop her mouth.

Edward threw his head back and laughed, and somehow he managed to sound beautiful and elegant while doing it. So unfair. But he sounded so…ugh he sounded so happy it was the best! How could she not giggle with him (she wasn't going to laugh because she knew it wouldn't sound as nice as him)?

"A fairy?" he repeated with another, lighter laugh and shake of his head. He moved towards her and said, "This is the skin of a killer, Jessica."

Jessica snorted. "Yeah, because glitter totally gives off Ted Bundy vibes. Yup."

"Well," he began as he reached her and gently touched her cheek with the back of his fingers. Contrasting the chill of his hands, her insides were on fire. She stared at the glittering, pale appendages with saucer wide eyes and an even deeper red face as Edward continued. "If you pair the glitter with the deathly paleness, the chill, and the marble like hardness then you get a different picture, no?"

Jessica turned from his hand to his face, so, so so close to her's and she smiled. "No," she said. "Truth is, I can't imagine you hurting anyone."

His smile became tight as he let his arm drop, though it became a confused frown when Jessica gasped happily again and said, "Oh! Another thing to add."

"Another thing to…add?"

"To your Reasons why you Rock scrapbook," Jessica explained with a grin and a wag of her finger. "Don't think I forgot about it, Mister."

Edward's face changed again to something she wasn't sure she'd seen before. It was…sad but not sad. There was a little smile there and there was no tension in his face too but…

"What?" Jessica asked with a frown. "What did I say?"

He closed his eyes and shook his yet again. "Nothing. Ah…time me."

Jessica's frown deepened in confusion. "Hm?"

He gave her a face she was familiar with— boyish smugness. "Time me. Care to see why I don't go to gym?"

If Jessica cared for him in the abstract, she wouldn't bother putting so much effort into counting his good traits, no? Unless counting his good traits was just her way of coping with having someone as miserable as he as a boyfriend. But she had said it was for him to feel better about himself, no? Although that did circle back to her wanting someone who was confident by her side…which then circled back to the fact that she didn't have to go through all this effort.

Just like he didn't have to spend his time making her music and yet…

In the darkness of Friday night, the end of he and Jessica's Stanley's fist proper date played in time with the piano keys.

She, in her muddy boots and dark leggings and beige fur jacket and earmuffs and flushed face…she, she, she, all she, as she smiled and laughed and cheered as he flung boulder and bench pressed a log with ease. She as she followed him to the top of a tree and giggled in glee despite being one strong gust of wind away from death. Who watched in awed fascination when she followed him on a brief hunt and fed despite his mouth being covered in blood.

"It's like those National Geographic animals who hunt animals for survival," she'd said simply as she wiped his mouth with a crumpled up paper napkin. "Not that you're an animal. I'm just saying—"

"I get it," Edward assured her with a smile.

Jessica grinned back. "And I get it."

And then, as the sun began to set, he held out his still glittering and monstrously pale hand for her to grasp on to before asking, "Do you trust me?" His heart had swelled when she nodded without hesitation and her mind screeched in giddy agreement as to what fascinating thing he was going to do next. He guided her hand around his neck next, and having gotten his intention, Jessica had leaped upwards and wrapped her legs around his waist, shivering in anticipation.

"How tight do you want me to hold on?" She asked, grinning at his ears.

"Very, very, tightly," he warned with a grin of his own before dashing through the woods with his eager cargo. Beyond the ambient wildlife going to rest, there was one other sound and it was her laughter echoing against the sped by bark. No James at their heels, just the last rays of sun.

Once they'd reached the edge of the forest, Edward skidded to a stop and glanced up at Jessica from over his shoulder. "How was that?" he asked eagerly.

She was grinning widely, face flushed further than before and hair spider-webbed across her face. He could feel her rapid heartbeat against his back and see her blue eyes shimmering brighter than the dying light. "You…" she gasped with a laugh as she slid down his back. "Have ruined roller coasters for me."

Edward chuckled as he turned around to face her. "My apologies."

"Don't. It—" she laughed again. "—that was so much fun." She twisted her body side to side excitedly, but slowly stopped, smile falling and thoughts quieting to a somber murmur.

Edward's smile faded as well. "What's the matter?"

"Oh, um," Jessica laughed awkwardly and scratched at the back of her head. "That…that was our first proper date on attempt number four so…" she looked away, gnawing at her lower lip before turning back to him with worriedly pinched brows. "Are you um…satisfied with the Jessica Stanley charm?" She forced another grin and offered him awkward jazz hands to accompany the question.

Edward finished the piece and stared at the piano keys as his past self's voice entered his head, equally wary.

"What happens…to us if I say yes?"

"We date and go on dates because we want to." Jessica looked marginally more hopeful at the query but still eyed his expression nervously. "And other girlfriend boyfriend stuff, I guess."

"I only have one question, then," he continued. He took a step towards her and heard her heartbeat increase. "When you look at me, what do you see?"

"Boyfriend material," she blurted out immediately in giddy excitement, and her mind screamed 'I WON I WON I WON'. "I know you don't think so but you are literally perfect and you'll only get more perfect and…Edward? Edward, what's wrong?"

…and yet she didn't quite see him as anything beyond a thing to satiate her own desires, did she? Be they lustful or prideful.

He let out a shuddering sigh and shut the key lid.

AN: Hey. Long time no see, huh?

Anyway, I'm very sorry for the lack of updates. I'll be better, I just haven't been feeling very well. I hope you liked this chapter.

Fantasy Fan OUT!