NOTE: As you read you might notice some changes to twilight vampire canon. Don't panic! These changes will be explained more thoroughly at a later date, all on par with the plot :)
It had been a while since Edward felt so…human.
There was, after all, little in similarities between his kind and those with a functioning heart, especially once you saw past the human facade of their appearance. It had been years, nearly 50, as his perfect memory recalled, during his second time going through college, only a few short years after Rosalie and Emmett joined them. He was taking a modern music class, something he assumed would be a nice easy credit to fill his schedule. It was there that he was taught that music, the thing he once thought completely unchanging as himself, was not at all what he remembered from the vague human memories he had left. It only took one showcase, a demonstration of the complexity of musical reading and the lost ears of the past, that had him spiral. The rhythm was all wrong, not to mention the technique used was unlike anything he had ever seen before. He could only stare, watching as his Professor butchered one of his favorite pieces in the most elegant ways possible.
In order to truly fit in, or get as close as they could, they had to be more observant than most. Every minute human tick, quirk, and imperfection had to be, ironically, perfectly recreated to put off some of the suspicion their otherworldly beauty unconsciously inflicted. There was an unwarranted feeling of superiority they constantly fought off, some more successfully than others, because of this, and yet, for the first time in many years, Edward felt just as lost and confused as the rest of his classmates. Their similar unfocused thoughts didn't help him much in the manner. For the rest of the week, he felt that unease, like his whole world had been turned upside down, wandering campus in an elegant inhuman glide, feeling so much smaller than the space his body occupied. Carlisle pulled him out as soon as he noticed, taking a long hunting trip in order to talk things out with him.
And now, today, of all days, it was all those human things he hadn't spared a second thought on since then; remorse and compassion for a human you'll never know, the fright of a lifetime that makes you feel like your bones have jumped from your body, and the worst feeling of horror that, if he had any, would have made his blood run cold.
All these things were achievable in an artificial, manageable level by going to the theater. This, however, was very, very real.
There wasn't anything in particular that made his mind scream GHOST. She was probably around Rosalie's height, if not a little shorter, though it was hard to tell as she lowered back onto her heels from the tip-toed perch she had been in. Her dress reminded him of something the more mature women of his childhood wore, high laced neck and soft blue. He could see there was a rather large rip in the side, going from the floor to nearly her hip, giving him flashes of the lace-detailed pantaloons she wore underneath. Her face was soft, rounded in a way no one else in his family was, and slightly flushed with embarrassment. Her full lips parted in a similar embarrassed fashion, matching the wide-eyed look she was giving him, parting her dark lashes from the light brown, nearly golden, color of her eyes.
She couldn't be much older than he was when he was turned.
In fact, now that he was able to look a little closer, despite the rather old-fashioned clothes, there wasn't anything…ghostly about the girl in front of him. That didn't stop something in him, the same way his body knew it craved only blood during his new awakening, that his girl was not of this world.
"Edward!" In less than a second from his initial fright, Jasper was by his side, partially crouched as he surveyed the room. His voice was indistinguishable from his thoughts, both shouting for his younger brother, protecting him from…something. Edward could see the confused lowering of his shoulders, could hear his thoughts as they tried to find whatever was scary enough to frighten a vampire and coming up short. But he couldn't stop staring at the woman in front of him, not even to let Jasper know he was okay. He was barely able to control his strength lest he shattered the delicate box in his hand.
"You…", she started, finger raising, almost hesitantly, to point at him. "Are you able to see me?"
"What's going on?" That was Emmett, bounding up the stairs in lumbering steps much too lightly for a man of his size. Esme and Alice were quick behind him, both covered in spackle, eyes wide. "Jasper, what's going on, man? You just took off running!"
"Oh, my! You must be able to see me, less you frighten so easily from the wind!" Her smile was blinding, he thought, mouth opening slightly in surprise. Her lips spread into a grin so full of innocent happiness, that it lit up her entire being. And then, just as quickly as it came, her smile dropped, and she shook her head. The motion caused her image to waver, just slightly, blurring around her edges. When she started pacing behind Jasper, as if she didn't just watch four people appear in the room faster than any human, it was as if she had a slight mist that followed her every move, as if there was a second where there were two of her, a momentary lingering of her previous position. "No, calm yourself, Lettie. Remember, you mustn't act before you know positively."
"I felt a spike in fear, stronger than I've ever felt from you before." There was a moment of silence. Jasper was speaking to him, he realized with a start, removed from his crouched position and fully facing him. His body effectively acted as a wall between him and the mysterious woman, breaking their eye contact. Edward refocused on his brother, trying to ignore as she peeked her head over either side of Jasper's wide shoulders.
"Are you able to see me, young gentleman?" She switched sides. "I believe I saw your eyes look upon mine."
Jasper was still looking at him with worry. His family's concerned voices were bouncing around in his head, wondering what was wrong, wondering what was wrong with him. He cast a quick glance over at the woman again, Lettie, willing himself to not stare too long. It didn't seem that his tact was that successful. His family looked where he was searching, but their expressions never changed. Lettie, however, did. The second their eyes met, her body shook, almost like she had been electrocuted.
"You can! Oh!" Edward nearly jumped as her excitement forced her hand…through Jasper. Thrust through his stomach, through his chest, and out through his neck, and yet, not a flinch from his golden-haired brother. He felt the box in his hand creak in annoyance at his faltering grip. She brought her clasped hands to her lips, the closest thing to a prayer Edward had seen in years. "You were right. You were right. I'm not alone," she whispered into her hands, her eyebrows bent in a way that could only convey relief. Jasper took a half step closer to him when his fear rose once more.
"You don't…" Edward tried, but without a proper way to describe things, he could only remember what Emmett said earlier, "sense anything?"
"What?" Emmett let out a sharp laugh. Both Esme and Alice gave him a strange look, a look that perfectly matched their confused thoughts, and in that moment, Edward swore they could have been genetically related with the twin way their eyebrows pinched. A dark haired mother and sister looking at him like he had lost his mind.
Maybe I have, he thought bitterly, if I'm thinking Emmett is the smart one for questioning this feeling earlier.
"Sense…?" Jasper raised his brow, but indulged him. "If this is about what Emmett said earlier, I don't have any spooky feelings from the house. Not that I would be able to tell you anyway." He placed a gentle hand on Edward's shoulder. "Are you sure you're alright?"
"...yeah. Yes, sorry." He sheepishly looked to the floor, not daring to meet the woman's eyes again, despite her attempts to lean down and force the contact. He shook his brother's hand off his shoulder, barely catching the fleeting confusion in Jasper's mind as he raised the box in front of him. A physical barrier between him and…what, he couldn't tell. "I think I'm just in my own head up here and it got the best of me."
"Oh, dear." Esme approached him, crossing the room in that inhuman way they did when there were no humans around, gently rubbing his arm in that same Motherly way that always seemed to temporarily soothe his being. Edward nearly flinched before reminding himself that she wasn't, couldn't be, human. "Why don't you take a break? You've been working hard up here for a while now."
"Yeah! Break time!" Trust Emmett to always try and bring the mood up. "I'm starving."
Esme whipped her head around at that, immediately fretting over her other son. Edward shook his head fondly at the display, but he was also keenly aware of the knee jerk reaction to Emmett's statement from the other two. Despite his insistence on trying to get back to normal as fast as possible, both their siblings briefly hesitated to take the joke at a simple surface level. It was the best, for everyone, if Emmett was constantly fed. At least, until he had his control back.
"I think a break is in order too." Alice delicately placed her spackling materials on the floor, mindful of the piles Edward had started. "There is a densely forested area just a few miles away that should be perfect. No expeditions planned for today, and a lot of it is too risky for humans to hike."
"Now that's what I like to hear." Emmett clapped his hands together, rubbing them almost evilly. "I say…20 bucks to whoever can beat me while I got my go-juice." Jasper took the olive branch for what it was.
"You think it's an advantage, I think it's a hindrance. Let's see if you'll be able to keep your teeth clean long enough to catch up." The two immediately darted down the attic stairs, bursting through the back door and into the woods behind the house.
"Oh, those two." Esme shook her head fondly. "Come along now. We don't want them to get too far without us." And she was gone too.
But Alice stayed. Her eyes were searching him, looking for any part of him that would be different, before going unfocused.
"Was that your family?" Edward whipped his head around, locking eyes with the woman once again. She smiled brightly again at his attention. "They seem very lovely."
"Take the main road until you hit the old cobbler's shop." Edward cast another long glance at the woman, before returning his attention to Alice. The images behind his eyes were familiar in the sense that he could tell just from the architecture alone it was nearby, but Alice had taken far more excursions out than he did to know exactly where to go. He didn't even know what street they were on currently. "Turn left, then follow the street until you reach the ivy-covered brick building. They'll make sure the box goes to the appropriate handlers." Edward didn't need her to specify which box she was talking about, as there was only one completely full of salvageable materials. An old brick building was his target apparently, a rusted bronze sign reading 'Wateeridge Historical Society' beside the large front door. Alice blinked back into consciousness, a curly smile spreading on her lips. Edward met her gaze hesitantly.
"And you'll tell Esme I'm sorry for not joining?"
"Yeah, yeah." She waved him off. "Not the first time I'm doing it. Besides, if she needs you, I'll send her to the clearing just west of us. Tell her to try and sneak up on you while you're lounging in the ruins of some house." Edward rolled his eyes, before giving her a soft smile.
"Thank you." She danced off with a salute.
And then it was just the two of them. Faintly, Edward could hear the snores and dreams of their distant neighbors, but the voices were too faint to make out beyond a low hum of trivial things.
Alice's thoughts were a little clearer, though it was hard to distinguish if it was because the vivid image of himself lounging in the sun, skin sparkling in the small patches that made it through the forested canopy, was so strange it played in an endless loop in his own mind rather than her own. It was always a strange experience to see an image of his own future through Alice, and one of the many reasons he was so patient with her. Like Jasper, his own abilities were near crippling at the beginning, hundreds of voices that weren't his own bouncing around his skull as he tried to acclimate to living among humans again. Jasper understood him better than most when it came to this, a silent companionship that allowed a little grace between the two when they first met, and even now after all these years. Alice, however, didn't have the same ability to practice tuning out her ability. It took just as much effort ignoring a vision as it did to search for one, and there was more than one occasion that she went catatonic to the point of collapse. From that first school term on, Edward or Jasper was always by her side in order to protect her from outside forces during her absent visions so she would never have to exert that much energy again.
"Are you…going to the cobbler, as your family suggested?" Her voice brought him back to the present, darting his eyes back to her waiting figure. She was rocking back and forth on her heels, waiting as patiently as it seemed she could while she waited for his response. As soon as she noticed his eyes watching her movements, she quickly righted herself again, her posture going from carefree to carefully poised. He raised an eyebrow at the change. "I apologize. It was rude of me to ask so many questions before introducing myself." He raised both when she curtsied lightly, holding the extra fabric of her skirt to reveal a pointed sock-covered foot. "It is a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, good sir, for it has been a long period since I've had company in this attic."
"Oh." Edward cleared his throat awkwardly, a habit he'd unfortunately picked up from the many students he studied over the years. As hard as he tried, he couldn't remember the proper way to return her curtsy, not in his human memories at least, so he conjured up the image of bowing from the countless times Esme had watched 'Pride and Prejudice' over the years. He crossed one arm over his hips, the other matching along his back, and bent at the waist. When the woman in front of him giggled, he righted himself again. "I'm sorry, it's been a long time since I've had to bow."
"Apologies are my responsibility," she responded, awe on her face at his actions. "I find that my mind does not remember the last instance that I was able to introduce myself. You must have a more appropriate way to greet new people these days."
"I don't know if I would say 'more appropriate', just a little easier and more disconnected." Edward tilted his head softly, a human motion he used to recall a memory. "It's not uncommon for people to shake hands when they meet someone they respect, but most teenagers, that is, people-" Edward paused before he could finish. People our age. "-uh, young adults, simply start with 'hello' or 'nice to meet you'." He watched as she mouthed the words to herself. After a moment, she smiled at him.
"Is this correct?" She stepped forward, hands raised, waiving them back and forth in the most enthusiastic jazz hands he had ever seen. "Hello! Nice to meet you!"
Absurd. She was absurd.
Edward couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled up from some long forgotten spot in his chest.