Chapter Four
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight but I do own my OC and her family.
Summary: Gwen has spent all her life being hidden away. Her whole existence has been shrouded in the supernatural community. This was all Gwen had known but her life is shaken up when she moved to the inconspicuous rainy Forks and meet the Cullen's.
Enjoy the story!
TWILIGHT
Bethany sipped her coffee in a little café in Port Angeles. She had told her ward that she was going to do a bit of shopping and also threatened the house that she'd bring back some sage. Tilly had not been amused by this and had hidden Bethany's car keys. That had caused an argument in the house, with the older woman screaming in the open space of the house. In response, Tilly flung open doors and cupboard doors that nearly hit the older woman in protest. Gwen had to mediate between them and managed to convince Tilly to give back the car keys, but even that took nearly fifteen minutes. Bethany thought it amusing how much Tilly only listened to Gwen – but only once the incident had ended, as she had been much too annoyed to be amused then. Even the ghosts in the home had warmed up to Gwen, and they mostly ignored Bethany's existence. That was something Bethany was quite thankful for.
As long as Tilly protected Gwen, Bethany could put up with the house's antics.
Even if they did make her contemplate murder.
Bethany took another sip of her coffee when another person entered the café. She did not need to look at them to know who it was. All she needed to do was look at her watch and know that this person was on time. Within seconds, someone sat down in front of the woman, right on cue. Taking her time, Bethany placed down her mug and looked at Alice, "You got my message?"
Alice nodded her head, "It was very hard to ignore," She had received a text message from an unknown number stating that they wanted to meet. Typically, if Alice received a message like that, she would have ignored it. Though she did not get messages like that often. Alice and her family did not usually give out their numbers, so this raised some suspicion. Only trusted people had these numbers, and Emmett was constantly changing his numbers because he kept breaking his phones. However, it was the follow-up message Bethany sent that referenced her recent vision of Gwen that piqued the Vampire's interest.
"And your Coven Leader raised no issues in you coming here today?" Bethany inquired calmly. She was curious to know what the response had been but stopped herself from asking this question as they had other things to discuss.
"Yes, Carlisle had no objections to this meeting," Alice responded, her tone level and calm, different than how she usually was. When she had got the text messages, she had visited Carlisle in the hospital and informed him of what had happened– and what she had seen. As expected, he had been ecstatic for his son, and also curious about whoever sent this message. Carlisle had cautioned her to be careful but gave his blessing for them to meet up, as he too was curious about what this person wanted. However, what was frustrated Alice was that she could not see an outcome to this meeting to anything to do with it. She had not even seen herself getting this message and it had made her curious as to why.
Bethany hummed in response but said nothing as a staff member walked up to their table and asked if they'd like anything. Alice asked for water, and Bethany asked for another coffee. It was only when the staff member walked away that Bethany started up the conversation, "You and I are quite similar,"
"How so?" Alice asked as she tilted her head.
"I can also see things," Bethany smiled as she watched as Alice's eyes widened at the news. The Vampire's whole body tensed, "I have no intentions of telling people what your family are," Bethany said as she drained the last of her first mug of coffee that was now lukewarm. She had come early on purpose and could not resist getting herself a drink. She was only human after all.
Alice relaxed ever so slightly, but Bethany was not a fool to think she had dropped her guard, "Why?"
Before Bethany could say anything, the staff member came over and dropped off the new steaming mug of coffee and a glass of water. Bethany smiled at the staff member in thanks as they took her old mug away. Once they were out of earshot, she answered the Vampire, "I am Gwen's guardian and have been since she was born. I have watched over her, protected her and shielded her from things she has no idea about."
At the mention of Gwen's name, Alice's golden eyes lit up, but she allowed the aged woman to continue.
"I know you've had some issues with your powers when it comes to her," Bethany said as she smiled knowingly.
"I have," Alice admitted as she saw no reason to lie. It was obvious that this woman knew things, the wisdom and knowledge behind her eyes was too much to ignore. It reminded Alice of her own eyes, minus the colour, "I have never had issues locating people's futures with my visions, but I appear to be hitting a wall when it comes to Gwen," Alice could not hide the tone of frustration in her voice. This did not happen to her, and she did not like this. Her family relied on her power and she did not want to disappoint them, even though she knew they would never be.
Bethany nodded her head in understanding, "That would be because of forces outside your control. However, that block has been lifted, so you will be granted visions of her now,"
Alice sent her a curious expression, but Bethany never answered it.
"I am also going to ask you to not push Edward and Gwen together," Bethany added in. This was the main reason she wanted to speak with Alice because she had seen something and wanted to prevent it.
Alice sent the woman a sharp look, "Why not?"
"Because Gwen is stubborn," Bethany laughed, "If anyone tries to get her to do something, she will do the opposite," Gwen had been like that since she'd been a child, something Bethany was amused by – but also made her want to pull out her own hair.
Disappointment but understanding flashed in the Vampire's eyes, "Oh, that makes sense," Alice muttered softly.
"I don't want her getting freaked out when she finds out either," Bethany said as she sighed, "I want her and Edward to build a relationship organically. Otherwise, Gwen will reject him straight away," In the many visions she had seen about this topic, Gwen never reacted well when the news first dropped, so Bethany wanted to delay it until it was time.
"Edward won't believe it either," Alice agreed with the aged woman, "he would question why he hadn't been able to tell from her scent alone," She could see the woman's reasoning and thought it sound. Not everyone reacted well to finding out about the mate bonding. Alice had been comfortable with this knowledge about Jasper as he'd been the first vision she'd had when she woke up alone as a Vampire – if she'd seen Jasper before she turned, she would never have known as she had no knowledge of her past. However, it was when she actually met him in person that she knew he was her mate. He had smelt like home, like she'd found that person who balanced her out and brought her peace, he was her anchor. Her undead had sung the moment she laid eyes on him. Rosalie has described the same phenomenon when she'd met Emmett, who had been attacked by a bear, his blood had called to her, but had not made her hungry, but rather overcome with a longing to possess and have that person. Edward had not felt that when he'd met Gwen and it was partly due to her scent being covered up. Alice was confident that Edward would reject the Mate bond as he would think it a hoax, and then he would be miserable. He would miss his chance to feel whole.
Bethany smirked, "Well, that may be because of the herbs Gwen wears to mask her scent," She hadn't been completely honest with Gwen about these herbs. They would mask her scent from the creature that wanted to hunt her down, but they would also mask her scent from Edward. Without these herbs, the situation would have gone south twelve months ago and it would have been a disaster.
Alice made a noise of understanding, "That makes sense as to why her scent is weird," It was a scent that bothered none of her family and none of them craved her blood. Alice was aware of how much this had shaken her husband, and it was one of the reasons Emmett was so curious about her. They'd never come across a human like her.
Bethany smiled behind her coffee mug.
"Is Gwen human?" Alice's voice was barely above a whisper as she asked this. She did not want to be overheard by anyone. Bethany had chosen this location wisely, as it was away from Forks and any prying eyes. If anyone in Forks had seen them meeting up, there would be rumours within minutes of leaving the café. Her family and Gwen would know about this meeting within hours and they would both want to avoid raising suspicion.
Taking a sip of her coffee, Bethany continued, "That is not my information to give,"
Alice frowned, this was not the answer she had expected or wanted. She had wanted to ask more similar questions but sensed that she would get the same answer, "You said you have protected Gwen all her life, why is that?" It was the woman's wording that had made her curious, what did Gwen need protecting from?
"Again, that is not my story to share," Bethany answered back as she drank her coffee.
Now, Alice fought back a pout. She was not used to not having all the information, thanks to her power. Usually, she was the one with all the answers and would speak cryptically, but now the tables were turned, Alice did not know how to feel about this.
Bethany laughed, "Don't worry, all will be revealed soon enough, you just have to be patient,"
"My visions could tell me," Alice pointed out.
Bethany arched a brow, "Will they?"
Alice fell silent, not sure how to answer this. Based on the woman's answer, Alice suspected that her visions would not be able to help her in this endeavour. This unnerved Alice but also… excited her? It wasn't often she was caught off guard.
"I would ask that you keep this conversation between us, and your Coven Leader," Bethany advised as she put down her mug. She did not want a certain mind-reader to become aware of things he should not – yet.
"That would be a good idea," Alice said in agreement with the human. Luckily, it was her and Carlisle who were the best in keeping Edward out of their heads. She and Carlisle had come up with a way to make sure Edward couldn't read their minds – Alice would think backwards, often reciting songs in her head backwards. It often annoyed her brother, so he tended to stay away, but when he saw she was having a vision, he would try his luck as that was when her guard was down.
Bethany nodded her head, "Thank you, and thank you for coming to meet me," She was aware that she'd taken a chance by sending that message to the Vampire. However, she'd had a vision where Alice had attempted to meddle and force Edward and Gwen to interact, it would not go well. In fact, Gwen would outright hate the Vampire. It was in Gwen's best interest that Bethany intervene, as it was Gwen who needed to make the first move. She was like a cat, she came to a person in her own time and would not be rushed.
Wordlessly, Alice stood up and left the café, leaving behind her untouched water and some money for the beverage.
TWILIGHT
Gwen sat in her English lesson, feeling weird – a bit more curious and like she had woken up from a long nap. Usually, she liked the subject, found it really easy and found Miss Hall to be very pleasant. However, today, she was not paying as much attention as before. Her mind was elsewhere and her thoughts preoccupied.
More specifically on Edward and Bella.
When she'd got up that morning, she had half suspected that Edward would not be back after the debacle of biology. Gwen had arrived at the school, expecting to see an absence of the Volvo car, but to her surprise, it was there and so was its owner. Edward had strolled in like nothing was wrong with him. This had confused her, and then she cursed mentally. It raised further questions – what was she going to do about Bella's scent? She couldn't exactly allow a hungry Vampire to go around loose in the school, that could end badly for everyone.
It would also end all of Gwen's fun when things were just getting interesting.
Her guard had been raised the rest of the week, which seemed to fly by. Ever since that day, Gwen had felt restless and it had continued on until Friday. Before, she'd been content to continue masquerading as a human, until she'd used her magic out in the open. It had been like opening a can of worms that she did not want to hide or put away. It made her realise the possibilities and it made her want to test how stealthy she could truly be. If she had managed to fool a Vampire, then she could surely fool humans. It also didn't help that Gwen felt as though something was going to happen as the air in Forks had changed.
Gwen suspected it had something to do with Bella Swan.
Miss Hall passed out the books, the red cover to the Lord of the Flies standing out, the bright colour borderline offending the Witch's eyes.
"Now, I want you all to read until chapter three, and then we will discuss. These books are yours for now, but you will be expected to give them back, so please look after them," Miss Hall said as she finished handing out the books. She looked slightly worried that some of the students wouldn't look after the books and wondered how many she'd get back when it was time to collect.
Opening the book, Gwen began to read, as did most of the people in her class. As she sat in the back of the room, Gwen got a great angle of being able to look around and still be inconspicuous. Edward was sat on the other side of the room, on the back row, which made it slightly more awkward, but she managed well enough.
Looking down at the ring on her right hand, Gwen was conflicted. Since she had found out about Edward's mind-reading abilities, she wanted to test them out but was really reluctant. The whole point of moving around and blending in was to keep herself hidden, if she did this, she would proverbially be poking the bear and she did not know if she wanted to do this. Gwen looked down at the silver ring on her finger, the one that had the spell in place to keep Edward out of her mind. She had never been tempted to take off the ring as she hadn't wanted to risk the copper-haired Vampire finding out about her and causing drama.
But a part of her wanted them to know.
She wanted something to happen in this town.
She was bored.
Making her mind up, Gwen reached out and took off the plain silver band from her finger. She placed it beside her and inhaled deeply. She needed to think of something that would not draw immediate attention to her if he managed to read her mind. It had to seem natural, but curious at the same time.
'The Cullen's seem weird,' Gwen thought in her head.
Looking at his reaction, Gwen noticed no change in his expression. Edward was reading the book with a neutral expression on his face. However, she could see that he was bored and it did make her wonder if they often masqueraded as high school kids.
Gwen frowned, and tried again, 'I wonder how they look so perfect?'
No reaction.
A spark of irritation filled her, Gwen mentally wondered whether Edward was ignoring her on purpose. She also wondered if he had an off switch to his powers and that's why he could not hear anything.
'I know you're not human,'
Edward moved slightly.
Gwen's eyes widened as she looked down at her book, her heart rate accelerating. She could feel Edward's gaze on her, but there was no heat behind it. Cautiously, she looked up and found him staring at her, his head tilted slightly. There was a small frown on his face and his brows furrowed together. It was like he was…
'Can you hear me?'
Edward gave no reaction again. After a few more seconds, he turned away from her and began reading the book once more as though nothing had happened.
Blinking slowly, Gwen also returned back to looking at the book, but she was not reading. She was still reeling from that small interaction. Edward had not been able to read her mind, or if he had, was very good at covering it up. Gwen was leaning more towards the fact he could not read her mind as he looked confused – not alarmed, worried or angry. Putting the ring back on made Gwen feel safe, regardless of whether he could read her mind or not. Having that ring there gave her some protection if Edward was lying and was able to hide his expressions well.
However, it made her even more curious to know how they'd react if they knew that Gwen knew the truth.
The rest of English class went by really fast, and before she knew it, the bell sounded loudly. Gwen watched out of the corner of her eyes and saw how Edward was putting away his things, almost as though he was doing it purposely slowly. This made her frown, his actions did not appear authentic, but rather, artificial. This amused her as she wondered how other people hadn't noticed this before, but she almost thought it endearing how much effort they put into act as though they were human – even though they were too gorgeous to be mortal.
Luckily or unluckily, Gwen's next lesson was Spanish and there was no Cullen in that lesson. The reason why she was unlucky was because she also shared that lesson with Jessica, and it turned out that Bella was also in this lesson. Both of them were sat in the front, with Jessica talking up a storm, with Bella nodding her head every so often and saying something.
The moment Gwen entered the room, she could feel Bella's eyes on her, as well as Jessica's. However, they quickly went back to what they were discussing.
Gwen sat down in the back of the room and grabbed her notebook.
"So, I heard you shared a lesson with Edward Cullen," Jessica asked the brunette, her voice low, but not so low no one else could hear.
Gwen's ears perked up at this, especially when she heard the name of the Vampire.
"I-I do yes," Bella muttered, but Gwen was still able to hear.
"So, what do you think?" Jessica asked, a large grin on her face.
Gwen looked through her notebook as she waited for the teacher to arrive for the lesson. She had come early, so it would be at least another ten minutes before Mrs Roberts arrived in the classroom.
"He's… different…." Bella answered back shyly, her head bowed low and her shoulders stiff.
Jessica hummed in agreement, "I know," She sighed deeply in a longing way.
"Does all of his family keep to themselves?" Bella asked curiously.
Jessica nodded her head, "They do, well except Alice. She's the weird and small one I told you about. I haven't seen this, but I've heard from others that Alice is friends with Gwen,"
Gwen tensed in her seat when she heard her name. She couldn't help but feel offended by how they described Alice. She was small, but she was not weird. Alice did things at her own pace and didn't care what people thought about her, that was something Gwen admired about the Vampire. She considered her to be a friend and she did not like it when people insulted her friends. Ever since coming to Forks, she discovered she was protective over her friends.
"Gwen?" Bella repeated confusion in her voice. She'd not heard the name be mentioned before by Jessica.
"The ginger girl in the back," Jessica motioned to where the Witch was sitting, who acted as though she hadn't heard a single thing she said.
Gwen felt eyes on her again, but she refused to look. She pretended to skim her notes and forced her body to relax so no one could tell that something was wrong. The eyes remained on her for a while longer and it started to annoy the Witch – why was she being stared at for so long?
"Who is she?" Bella asked.
The Witch nearly cursed out loud – the last thing she wanted was for Bella to be interested in her.
"She was the new kid before you, she came here around a year ago." Jessica said, her voice lower than before, but Gwen could still hear, "She hangs out with that goth girl," There was a sneer in her tone when she described Caitlin.
Gwen's eye twitched – that was it, she was going to cast a hex on the girl.
"She also thinks she is better than everyone else," Jessica scoffed.
Now this nearly made Gwen smirk and she had to fight the urge. Jessica still did not like how she'd been snubbed when she had attempted to make friends with the Witch when she first came a year ago. Gwen had seen through the nice girl act – especially when Mike started to flirt with her in front of Jessica. Gwen had been able to feel the jealousy from her in waves and Gwen had decided she wanted no part in that teen drama. Mike was not her type anyway – too self-absorbed and had golden retriever energy. When the Witch had refused to be friends with Jessica, the mortal had taken such offence to it and had tried to start some rumours with Lauren, ones that never took off, because Gwen refused to feed into them. The fact she didn't care seemed to set Jessica off more.
"Good to know," Bella said awkwardly.
It was during that lesson that she felt Bella's eyes on her. Even when Mrs Roberts came and started the lesson, Bella's eyes would find the Witch. They would leave Gwen for a moment, but they always came back.
Gwen did not like this – she did not like being watched.
When it had reached the tenth time, Gwen had enough and looked up. She met Bella's brown eyes and watched as the mortification flashed in her eyes that she'd been caught. She turned bright red as she turned away quickly and her head ducked down low. Gwen rolled her eyes and hoped that Bella would stop staring at her now.
The rest of the day went by relatively okay after that – though whenever she shared a lesson with Bella, she would get stared at by the girl.
Gwen walked into her last lesson of the day – art. It was a lesson that she liked and would be away from the prying eyes of Bella. She sat down in her usual space and a few moments later, Alice skipped into the room with a grin on her face.
"Hiya, Gwen," Alice greeted brightly as she sat down beside the Witch.
"You seem happy," Gwen said, amused by her friend's sunny attitude. She wondered what had caused the Vampire to be in such a good mood. Gwen took notice of Alice's golden eyes, they were no brighter than yesterday so she hadn't fed.
Alice nodded her head, "I had a good night last night!" She said with a grin but never elaborated further.
Gwen was used to this and didn't question this. The Witch took this time and looked around and noticed that there were a few people who were watching her and Alice and talking amongst themselves. This made her frown, with Alice's advanced hearing, she would have been able to hear all of this. She wondered if this bothered her, "Hey Alice, does the staring ever bother you?" She asked as she looked at the Vampire.
For a moment Alice looked thoughtful, "Hmm, not really. My family and I have moved a lot, so we're used to people staring at us,"
When Gwen detected no lie in her answer, she nodded her head in understanding, "That makes sense. I remember how annoyed I was when people kept staring at me as though I was alien," That was one thing that had made her regret attending a school. In fact, she had considered asking her Nana to home school her again when she first started but decided against it.
Alice hummed in agreement, "It can be annoying… but I ignore it," Alice flashed her a wide smile, and showed off her perfectly white and straight teeth.
"At least now there is another new girl to take the heat off us," Gwen grinned as she got out of her work. Mrs Davies was always late so she knew it would be a little bit before she would arrive, but she liked to be prepared.
"Very true," Alice agreed, "what are your thoughts on Bella?"
Gwen shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know her, but from what I have seen, I don't get the fuss," While she didn't know Bella, and maybe she could be a nice girl, Gwen did not want to get to know her. Her Nana's words rang in her head, she'd been warned to stay away from the girl and the Witch fully planned to do so.
"I get that," Alice said in agreement as she took out her art supplies. This was done at a human pace as she purposely slowed down her movements, something Gwen took notice of.
"She also seems really interested in Edward," Gwen said as she watched Alice's reaction from the corner of her eyes.
Alice snorted, which would have looked ugly on anyone else, but it didn't on her, "So is pretty much every girl in this school,"
Gwen laughed, not able to stop herself, "That's kind of true," Nearly every girl fawned over the Vampire, even some of the female teachers would look far too long at him. Gwen was pretty sure she'd seen Mrs Cope, the receptionist looking at Edward inappropriately, which was very creepy. Gwen did not doubt for a moment that he was older than everyone in this school, but he had the physical appearance of a seventeen-year-old.
Alice looked at her, "What about you? Do you like him?" She asked with a teasing glint in her eyes, but she was also eager to know.
Gwen blinked slowly, as she'd not expected to be asked this. Did she find Edward physically appealing? Yes, she'd have to be blind and stupid to not, as he was gorgeous. But that was it. His personality was like a wet paper towel. He treated the people around him like dirt – even his sibling. She had watched them for the past year. At first, she had been paranoid that she'd hurt them, but then she got comfortable with them being here and she watched and observed. If Gwen was being honest, Jasper and Emmett were more her type, but she wasn't going to tell Alice that – she didn't want to risk her attempting to scratch her eyes out.
"If he had a different personality, he'd be better," Gwen admitted after a few moments of silence.
Alice looked disappointed, a pout on her face.
"Where are you expecting a different answer?" Gwen asked when she noticed this.
"Kind of," Alice sighed deeply.
Gwen shrugged her shoulders, "I'm a picky person." In all fairness, she had never been in a relationship, her situation never allowed it. She was content in her current relationship status, so it would take a lot for someone to change her mind – even if he was a gorgeous Vampire. But that leads to a whole other issue. Vampires and Witches did not mix romantically – ever. The whole issue of the Witch Trials, and how Witch's and Warlock's blood appeals to Vampires in such a way that it caused issues.
"What is your ideal person?" Alice asked curiously.
Gwen hummed in thought, "Honestly, I am not too sure. I would want someone who would treat me right and not try and control me." Her Nana had told her stories about her ex-husband and she did not want to end up with someone like him. "I don't like liars either,"
Alice frowned as she thought about it, "That makes sense, but why mention the lying?"
"Because I can tell when people lie," Gwen winked at the Vampire.
Alice's eyes widened for a moment before she started to laugh.
That was when Mrs Davies came into the room and the lesson started.
TWILIGHT
Gwen hummed to herself as she walked to her car. School had just been let out and for once, she did not have to drive Caitlin back to her house, as her dad had picked her up that day. The car park was mostly empty, as it was a Friday and everyone had rushed home so they could enjoy the weekend. It was the stragglers that remained behind and Gwen was one of them. Their art teacher, Mrs Davies, had allowed them all to continue drawing as Gwen was one of those people who had taken her up on this as she'd been in a hyper-focus. That was why she liked Mrs Davies, she was interesting – she looked crazy – but she was a kind soul that wouldn't hurt a fly.
Usually, Alice would have stayed behind with her, but the Vampire had said she and Jasper were going on a date and she needed to get ready. Gwen had rolled her eyes, because Alice would look good in anything, but had wished her a good time before she had continued with her artwork.
However, it was when she reached into her coat pocket that she felt someone approach from behind. Her magic hummed as she sensed that this person wasn't human.
It was Edward Cullen.
Gwen turned her head and her eyes met his golden eyes. He stood a few feet from her, his face blank of all emotion – his perfect appearance almost startling. Up close, he was even more beautiful, just like all the other members of his family. Mentally, Gwen snorted, how people hadn't realised there was something supernatural about them baffled her.
"May I help you?" Gwen asked when she noticed he stayed perfectly still. Too still, it was as if he was made of marble.
"I think it would be best if you stopped associating with my sister," Edward said, his voice silky smooth. It was pleasing to the ear – too pleasing.
Gwen arched a brow, "Oh?" This had taken her aback for a moment, but she was really curious as to why. Other than Alice, none of the Cullen family had approached her. Not even Emmett, for all his friendliness, had approached her. It made her interested to know why this had changed all of a sudden now. For a moment, Gwen considered the fact Edward had clicked onto her using magic, or that he had heard what she said mentally, but she doubted it as he would have confronted her beforehand.
Edward nodded his head, "Yes, Alice doesn't want to be friends with you anymore,"
A tingling sensation flared up in her chest.
That was a lie.
"Bullshit," Gwen called out immediately.
Edward's eyes widened, taken aback by her instant response, but he quickly schooled his expression, "I am not lying. Alice wanted me to tell you because she didn't want to hurt your feelings,"
The tingling sensations were back.
Edward was lying.
Gwen snorted, "Now I know you're lying. If Alice had an issue with me, she would have mentioned something by now," Alice was a sweet person, but she was a grown person who voiced her opinions freely. At no point had Alice raised any concerns, and there had been plenty of times as they shared Art together, "Also, how would this not hurt my feelings? Your logic isn't making sense," Gwen added as she looked at Edward with an amused expression.
Edward glared at her, "Listen to me, it is in your best interest to stay away,"
There was no tingling sensation in her chest.
"Why?" Gwen demanded.
"You don't need to know," Edward said as he shook his head.
"Well, I disagree," Gwen shot back with an unimpressed expression. Whatever he was attempting to do, she was unconvinced.
"Just listen to me," Edward pressed further.
"Fuck off," Gwen immediately replied back and nearly laughed at Edward's affronted expression. It was as if no one had spoken to him like that. She did not like being told what to do – if Alice did not want to be friends with her, the Vampire could say it to her face. However, she suspected Alice knew nothing about this, "How about I ring Alice now and ask her?" Gwen asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.
For once, Edward seemed lost for words. Frustration flashed in his eyes, but he quickly schooled it, "She won't want you calling her,"
The tingling sensation on her chest flared up once more.
This made Gwen smirk, which seemed to unnerve the Cullen, "You know, you're not a very good liar," Usually, she did not like being around liars, but there was something about riling up Edward that she found amusing. From what Alice had told her about her family, Edward was uptight. From Gwen's own observations, Edward kept away from everyone, but now he had approached her and lied.
Edward looked slighted, "Excuse me?"
"You've done nothing but lie since you spoke to me," Gwen pointed out, amused when the frustration flashed in his eyes once more, "You could be a bit more creative with your lies, you know,"
"I don't know what you're talking about," Edward instantly denied.
The tingling sensations flared up.
Edward was lying.
He knew exactly what she was talking about.
"I think I am going to start calling you Pinocchio," Gwen said suddenly.
Edward looked at her, confused.
"For the lies," Gwen grinned.
The flat expression that was sent her way made Gwen start laughing. Especially when she thought about casting a spell on Edward where his nose would actually grow with every lie. It was tempting – extremely tempting.
"Can't you be serious for a moment?" Edward demanded.
"I can," Gwen grinned when her laughing subsided, "But I think you're too serious for the both of us,"
Edward rolled his eyes, "I am just trying to take your safety seriously,"
"Am I in danger?" Gwen asked with an arched brow. If she was in danger, her Nana would have contacted her by now. Other than the Cullen's, the Shifters and herself, there was no other supernatural creature in Forks. Gwen was reassured that nothing could physically harm her, so she was not too worried.
For a moment, Edward fell silent, but he stared at the Witch with a blank expression, "You could be,"
Despite his ominous words, Gwen was not scared. She stared at him, fearlessly meeting his gaze. They both stared at one another, neither one willing to back down. Gwen's power had not detected a lie in his words, but she did not believe him. However, her magic did not like the veiled threat and it hummed under her skin and in her fingertips. If she was truly in danger, something would have happened already. She had been in Forks for twelve months, anything could have happened in that time. Also, she knew they couldn't harm her – if anyone touched her with malicious intent, they would pay the price.
"My answer remains the same," Gwen replied back fearlessly.
Edward's golden eyes darkened a touch, "Do you not value your own life?"
"How bold," Gwen mused softly, "To make threats when you too have a secret you want to protect,"
Edward's expression slackened into shock as his whole body tensed. His golden eyes were nearly black at this point but Gwen was not unnerved. When growing up, she had been taught to be careful around Vampires with black eyes as it usually meant one of two things – hunger or anger. Gwen suspected this was more due to the latter than anything.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Edward denied strongly, his voice rough. He tried to give an air of nonchalance, but Gwen could see right through it.
The tingling sensation in her chest roared back to life.
Gwen's mouth twitched as she fought back a smirk, "Lie,"
If possible, Edward tensed further, his whole body coiled tightly. He stared at the Witch as though she was the worst sort of person. Like she had just killed someone in front of him. For a moment, Gwen considered leaving and not making things worse, but she couldn't help herself.
Why not make things more interesting?
After all, it could make things more exciting.
"Let's just say, my being able to tell you're lying isn't because you're a bad liar," Gwen said as she took her keys from her pocket. Without another word, Gwen got into her car drove away, and looked in the rear-view mirror as Edward remained there in shock. However, after a few seconds, he disappeared from view in a blink of an eye.
The drive back to her house was a short one. As she drove, her phone rang, and she looked down to see that it was her Nana calling her. Without hesitation, she answered the phone, "Hi Nana," Gwen said as she continued to drive and she put her phone on loudspeaker.
"You really couldn't help yourself, could you?" Bethany said as she sounded exasperated, but not angry.
That was a good sign.
Gwen grinned, "I couldn't help myself," Thinking back to his facial expressions nearly sent her into another laughing fit. It was like he had never come across a person who had called him out on his antics before.
Bethany sighed on her side, "You do know that this is going to cause you to get more attention?" Instead of sounding upset by this, she sounded more amused.
"I do," Gwen answered back, and was almost surprised she wasn't bothered by this. She and the Cullen's had lived in Forks peacefully for the past year, and she had just rocked the boat. She could only imagine the chaos that would erupt in the Cullen household by her dropping this bomb and knew that they would respond.
It almost made her giddy thinking about it.
"Well, be careful, if there are any issues, stay with Tilly," Bethany warned lovingly, "I have to go now, I am getting my hair done,"
"Okay, see you later Nana," Gwen said before she ended the call. Just as she did this, Tilly came into view. The Witch smiled when she saw the house, and she began to hum as she parked her car, locked it and walked to the porch. The moment she was close enough, the door flung open for her.
"Hello to you too, Tilly," Gwen greeted with a grin. She patted the side of the door frame in affection, she really did love this house.
The lights on the porch flickered to life as she greeted the Witch.
She was about to step into the house when she felt another presence approach the house, coming in at a fast pace.
Too fast to be human.
Within a blink of an eye, Rosalie appeared on the edge of the property lines, a few feet away from her car. There was a blank expression on her face, but there was a burning anger in her eyes, one that almost made Gwen take a step back, but she steeled herself and refused to back down. Gwen knew that she had been messing with fire when she teased Edward and now, she had to deal with it – and she would do so head-on.
She would not run.
"I'm surprised it took you this long," Gwen said with an arched brow. She thought that one of them would have intercepted her before she even made it home. She wondered why it had taken that long – had Edward delayed in telling them? Or had there been a commotion in the house which had caused it? She knew that it was either going to be Rosalie or Jasper that would confront her. While she did not doubt each one of them was deadly in their own right, it was Rosalie and Jasper who gave off the vibes of being the executioners of the family.
Rosalie's eyes narrowed, "You knew someone would come?" Her voice was beautiful, glorious to the ears, but Gwen could hear the deadly notes.
"I knew it wouldn't be long after Edward relayed what was said," Gwen admitted honestly.
Rosalie's golden eyes studied the Witch in front of her as if examining her prey. Gwen knew that the Vampire would be able to pick up the sound of her heartbeat – which was slightly elevated, but calming down – as well as how many breaths she took. Gwen met her eyes fearlessly, as she refused to back down and be intimidated. The Vampire could not physically harm her so Gwen knew she was safe. The Witch could sense that Rosalie wanted her dead, and she did not doubt for a minute she would try something.
"You can't kill me," Gwen said as she stared at Rosalie.
Rosalie's eyebrow arched perfectly, "You want to bet?"
"Well you'd lose that bet," Gwen said, her fingers twitching, something she knew that the Vampire did not miss. Gwen felt her magic surge as it sensed the threat, "I know what you guys are, but you have no idea what I am,"
Rosalie's eyes hardened, but she did not disagree. However, she did not seem to care and took a step closer. The resolve is clear in her body language.
She had come to kill her – to silence her.
Gwen decided that she needed to show her hand. Otherwise, it would escalate and she'd have a Coven of Vampires after her neck for killing off one of their own. That would result in more Vampire deaths, and that would draw the Volturi to question this. If Demetri got a hold of her scent, she would be screwed, royally so. It would also reveal her existence to the Blackthorn Witches – something she would rather avoid. Magic surged through her as she sent a bolt of lightning at the ground as a warning for Rosalie to come any closer. There was a loud screech as the lightning hit the ground, vibrations shook the ground at how powerful it had been.
Gwen mentally cursed, she hadn't meant it to be that powerful.
But she was glad she did not hit her car, otherwise that would have been messy.
Rosalie froze, her body coiled tightly and when she looked down at the scorched earth before her. She knew that Gwen had missed on purpose. Rosalie watched the girl – no, Witch – with cautious eyes. She had not been expecting this development – Alice hadn't warned her. As the realisation hit Rosalie, she let out a loud curse, one that befitted a seasoned sailor. "You're a Witch,"
"And you and your Coven are Vampires," Gwen lamented.
For a moment, indecision flashed in Rosalie's face. She truly did not know what to do next, and this annoyed her. She had come up with one goal – to get rid of the threat to her family. But now she couldn't do that. If she made any move against the Witch that would cause physical harm, she would break the Treaty between them, which would bring the Volturi to their door. Rosalie hissed out loud when she realised that the Witch had been right before – she couldn't kill her.
"I am willing to answer any questions you may have," Gwen said when she saw that Rosalie hadn't moved, "but I know you will need to bring this all back to your Coven Leader,"
At the mention of Carlisle's title, Rosalie's body tensed more. "You're coming over now?"
Gwen shook her head, "No, tomorrow morning I will come over."
Rosalie looked as though she wanted to protest.
"I have not said anything about your family for a year, you can hold off for another day," Gwen argued back when she sensed that Rosalie would not leave without a fight.
Before Rosalie could argue, her phone chimed and so did Gwen's phone. Gwen looked down and saw that there was a text message from Alice.
Tomorrow morning works fine – Alice.
"I will come over around ten," Gwen said to the female Vampire in front of her. She guessed that Rosalie had received the same text message as Rosalie nodded her head, and within a blink of an eye, she was gone, as if she had never been there.
Tilly's floorboards creaked, curious to know if the other person was a threat. The house had watched the entire time and saw no physical threat to Gwen just yet, as the Witch had handled it herself. Gwen patted the wood and smiled, "I'm okay, don't worry,"
Gwen walked back inside and was not surprised when Tilly locked the door behind her.
Now, she just had to prepare for the inquisition.