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There wasn't a warning drop. No change in the wind. Like someone had switched a light switch, the sunny afternoon turned black. A sheet of rain poured down on the unsuspecting students enjoying a rare lunch outside. Bella stood her ground as students pushed past her to reach shelter long enough for Jessica to scurry under her umbrella.

"Ugh!" Jessica growled, squeezing her curls. "Of course, the one day I didn't bring my umbrella."

"Never trust the sun in the Pacific Northwest."

Huddled under Bella's umbrella, the two girls made it into the dining hall with minimal water damage. The rest of their friends were already waiting at the usual table next to the smoothie stand. Only Ben had thought to grab his and Angela's lunch, but the rest of their burritos had become burrito soup.

Without being asked, Mike started their standard smoothie orders. "I see you've come crawling back to me," he grinned as he poured the ingredients for a strawberry banana smoothie into a blender.

"Oh, can it," Jessica snapped, the sharpness of the threat dulled by her chattering teeth. She hugged Bella tighter for warmth. She had dressed for the unseasonably warm day and was now paying the price. "I'm getting soup."

The rest of the group followed Jessica's lead in her quest for warmth. Bella remained with Mike, willing to take the smoothie he had already started so it wouldn't go to waste.

"It was getting lonely," he spoke over the whirl of the blender. "I took up rain dancing just to get you guys back in here."

"You're going to learn very quickly that you will always come second to the sun around here."

"Well, you let Jessica know that I always come second," he said with a wink. Bella forced a polite laugh, missing Edward's sense of humor.

"Where's Tyler today?" she asked, eager to change the subject.

"He switched with someone on the morning shift so he could attend a group project meeting." Mike gave Bella a knowing smile, "I'll tell him you asked. He'll like that."

Bella bit her lip. She only asked to be polite.

"Hello."

Bella whirled. Perfection stood in the middle of the dingy dining hall. Almost a week passed since Bella had seen him last. Though she saw his face in her mind every time she closed her eyes, her memory did not do him justice. Rain-soaked and disheveled, he was beautiful. Bella placed her smoothie on the table before she could do anything embarrassing with it and rushed to his side. "Where have you been?"

Edward's golden eyes raked over Bella's face. "I was sick."

Bella no longer feared to meet his eyes, no longer feared whatever thoughts they carelessly coaxed from her lips. Anything she thought, she wanted him to hear. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

He took her broken arm and cradled it in his hands. His perfect lips puckered. "It seems I wasn't the only one who was indisposed."

"Broken growth plate. I fell while making hot chocolate, if you can believe it."

A small smile touched a corner of his mouth, but the humor did not reach his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't your fault. I'm a menace to myself. Even if you were there, there was nothing you could have done to save me."

"That's not true." His thumb brushed across my cast. "I would never let anything happen to you."

The impossible promise rang with such sincerity, Bella did not doubt him.

"I came here because I wanted to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"I understand that it is horribly last minute. I would have asked for a way to contact you ages ago, but when I'm around you, practical thought seems to slip out of my mind…"

A smile tugged at Bella's lips. She loved it when he rambled.

"Somehow, it seems overdue and premature all at the same time. And please know that you can say no. You won't offend me, I swear."

"Edward…"

He cleared his throat. "Would you accompany me on a date tomorrow evening? One in which I would plan and prepare and pay. And admire you, naturally."

The formality of his request was painfully charming. Bella stuck her chin up, putting on her best impression of Kiera Knightly. "Why, Edward, you must know how I beseech you. An evening in your company would be quite agreeable. My father can chaperone."

He rolled his eyes at her poor acting skills. "No need to mock."

"You just said that I couldn't offend you."

Trapped by his own words, Edward moved on to logistics, "Tomorrow at six? I can pick you up."

"Sure. I can email you all my info later. You have the normal school email, right?"

"I do."

Good. Neither brought any attention to the fact that Edward still held Bella's cast in both his hands. She did not want to remove her hand from where it lay to write something down.

"There's something else…"

"Oh?"

"I wanted to remind you that I spend all my afternoons in that corner of the library. What you want to do with that information is entirely up to you."

"Would you like me to join you?"

"Bella!"

Bella cringed away from the sound of her name. Edward turned his gaze inward, his eyes grew cloudy like the storm that overtook the sunny sky, moments ago. Hearing impossible things, only audible to him.

"Do you know what Jessica wants?"

He blinked. Then, shook his head. "Um…"

The second after Bella spoke, she realized how rude it was to ask Edward to breach someone else's privacy on her behalf. "Never mind. I'll figure it out. If you don't have an email from me in two hours, feel free to hunt me down."

His lips twisted into a wicked grin. "I'll hold you to that."

"Please do."

Edward and Bella watched as he reluctantly released his soft grip on her cast. The freedom stung; Bella gasped. It felt like Edward took a small, fundamental part of her with him. His fingers brushed over hers so lightly, she could barely feel his touch. Still, skin-to-skin contact left her heart racing and head swimming, no matter how brief.

Bella didn't realize he said goodbye until he was a few steps away. Calling out after him came out as a whisper under her breath.

Breathless.

Left utterly dazzled by one, small touch of his fingers.

Bella forced down a few gulps of air before returning to her friends, but no amount of air would make her look less ragged than she probably did. Her cheeks were hot, chest heaving.

"What's up, Jess?" Ben pushed the smoothie Bella had already forgotten about in her direction. She thanked him as she took a sip.

"What were you doing talking to him?"

"You mean Edward?" He was already across the building near the rear exit, talking adamantly with a tall, dark figure she had never seen before.

"Yes, of course, Edward."

"He's my friend. You know that."

Jessica shared a meaningful look with Lauren, and then with Mike. "We've been meaning to talk to you about this for a while, Bella…" She paused and tucked her thick, curly hair behind both ears.

"There's something off about that guy," Mike finished on Jessica's behalf.

Bella placed her smoothie on the table. Her friends hadn't received the best first impression of Edward, so she should have expected this conversation eventually. Especially when Jessica refused to admit she coerced him into a date, which Edward had every right to be upset about.

"Look, I know he can come off as a bit awkward but trust me. He's a really sweet guy."

"It's not that he's awkward—which he is," again, Jessica pushed back her hair. "There's also, like, this weird energy about him."

"I get serial killer vibes," Lauren chimed in.

"What?"

Jessica lowered her voice, "Lauren said that when she looked him in the eyes, a feeling of dread washed over her. Like…" she looked up to Lauren, a furrow in her laminated brows. "…what did you say?"

"He looked me in the eyes and suddenly," she held up her arm, "Goosebumps. My spine tingled."

"But not 'cause he's hot," Jessica clarified with a stern nod. "Edward's not her type."

"I legitimately feared for my life."

The blatant disbelief must have been visible on Bella's face, because Jessica pointed to Mike as he leaned over the low side of the smoothie stand to be in the conversation. "Tyler and Mike felt it too. At the art gala."

Bella remembered that they claimed something along those lines, but both he and Tyler wanted to hate Edward, because he was out on a date with Jessica. There was no merit behind their accusation.

Mike nodded, his face grave. "It was crazy."

"What are you trying to imply here?"

Jessica reached her hand across the table, like she expected Bella to grab it for comfort. There was only one hand she sought for comfort, and it wasn't Jessica's. "We don't think it's safe for you to be around him."

Bella snorted. Every part of her was safe in Edward's perfect, capable hands. Her heart, her body. Everything.

"You think he's going to hurt me?"

Jessica shifted under Bella's harsh stare but stuck to her guns. "I think there's a solid chance he could."

"Jess, if he really wanted to hurt women, why didn't he go after you? He knew you liked him. You would have gone anywhere with him."

"Because on that first day when I tried to talk to him, he probably saw that I was listening to a true crime podcast. He knew if he tried anything with me, I would figure it out because I listen to so much true crime."

Instead of responding to Jessica's ridiculous claim, Bella looked to Angela for support.

She answered Bella's silent plea. "It's much more likely that Edward's simply an awkward guy who feels comfortable around Bella than a serial killer."

"Angela, one percent of the population are serial killers. He has the same chance of being a serial killer as being a redhead," Jessica pointed an accusatory finger in Edward's general direction, "Which he already is."

"No, Angela is exactly right." Bella couldn't exactly tell her friends that Edward first hung around her because of her silent thoughts, but she knew another, honest excuse. "He was adopted as an older child. And he moved around a lot."

Angela nodded in agreement, "Both things that would create a socially awkward person."

"Or a serial killer," Lauren said.

"Bella," Jessica's voice was soft. Genuine concern softened her dark eyes. "Seriously, think about why he only wants to spend time alone with you.

Bella tucked her bottom lip between her teeth.

It was difficult to explain. It was difficult to believe. How long had Bella ignored his subtle signs because she couldn't believe Edward would ever care for her as she wished he would? Naturally, it would be difficult for someone on the outside to believe the truth. They couldn't see the yearning behind his stare, couldn't hear the sugary sweetness in his words.

Even more difficult to explain and believe was why he only wanted to be with Bella, and how his flippant disregard for others was not a mark on his character. His solitude was a burden he bore because of a supernatural gift. Bella's silent mind was the only respite he had against a loud, overwhelming existence.

Unbelievable, impossible, but true.

"He likes me."

"Does he?" Lauren leaned onto the table, so she could get a better look at Bella. "Look at you. Look at him." Despite Lauren's instruction, everyone at the table looked down, suddenly very interested in their lunch. Her blazing blue eyes remained on Bella. "He found a girl that would ignore all his waving red flags, because that's the only way she'd get a chance with a man."

"Lauren," Jessica hissed, "We decided we weren't going to say that part."

"It doesn't matter. He asked me out on a date this weekend, and I intend to go."

Across from Bella, Angela nodded encouragingly. She turned to Jessica to coax the same nod from her, as well.

Jessica did not comply. "Where is he taking you?"

"Oh, um, I don't know."

She shared another look with Lauren, "That's not a good sign."

Lauren shook her head with an exaggerated purse on her lips, "Horrible sign."

Bella rolled her eyes. "He'll tell me. We were going to exchange details later."

"If he takes you off the beaten path, run. Or to an underground place where there's not many people. Somewhere that there's zero chance you might run into anyone either of you would know from school." Jess was right—she had listened to too many true crime podcasts. "And when you arrive, text me the location. Actually, drive yourself! That's way better! Then, he has to tell you where to meet him!" Jessica bounced in her seat. She turned to Mike to make sure he was as pleased with her as she was with herself. "And you can text me the address!"

"Jess and I can be nearby," Mike offered. "If you feel scared, we'll show up at get you out."

Bella frowned.

It was utterly absurd. She had already been alone in a car with Edward, but she figured it wouldn't do anything to point that out. It was simpler to comply with their demands and let them see Edward's good character for himself.

"Fine," she conceded. "I'll let you know where we go. Just promise you'll stay away until I ask for you to come." The last thing she needed on her date with Edward was for it to become a double.

"Deal," Jessica grinned. "Oh! This is going to be so exciting!" She reached for Mike's arm, but wasn't quite able to grab it, "We can come up with code words!"

oOo

Edward paced back and forth across the gravel parking lot, a full hour before Bella would arrive, just in case. Underground, in an unsavory part of town, the club could be difficult to find. Bella asked to drive herself, Edward complied and supplied her with the address to the parking lot around the corner. He did not want Bella stumbling through the gray, dangerous streets alone.

Besides, it only felt right that he, the gentleman, should escort the lady to their date.

Still pacing behind his car, he planned all the things he wanted to say, all the smiles he wanted to earn. He would see the sweet, coy smile that appeared at the start of all their conversations. Eventually, it would grow into something bold and—if he was lucky—a bit salacious. The taunting smile would appear soon after, when her clever mind saw through him. And finally, his favorite smile, the one of awe. It had been coaxed out of her when he played a brief tune for her in class on the harmonica, and then again at the wonders at the antique fair. Edward knew the club would inspire awe from Isabella.

It would earn him a kiss. Or two. Or three.

Edward imagined all the ways Bella might want to thank him until he caught the distinctive sound of her old motor chugging down the street. Again, she parked her behemoth vehicle as far away from the other cars as she could.

As soon as she stopped, Edward went to open her door. Edward arrived a second too late—she nearly whacked him in the face as she used her full weight to heave the door open. She jumped down and her feet slipped on the gravel. The truck door prevented Edward from helping, but she righted herself on her own. Edward frowned at the slippery, wet rocks and added them to his ever-growing list of things to watch for.

Bella flinched away from the light drizzle. As she pulled up her hood and stuffed her long hair into it, Edward noticed she wore two jackets. Under her standard black raincoat was a leather jacket that looked older than she was. Along with both jackets, she wore a navy blue top that wrapped along her middle with a dangerously low cut.

Edward had to remind himself to breathe. And blink. And move.

She spoke first, as Edward was dazzled into silence. "You look great."

The coy smile came out first. As if she worried his feelings could change in their brief time apart. They never would. They never could.

"Thank you." Edward offered his hand. Through the leather of the gloves, he could feel the warmth radiating from her skin. "You look beautiful as well."

"I wasn't sure what the dress code was for this type of thing."

"A date?" he laughed.

"A date where I was kept in the dark."

"Most would refer to it as a surprise."

"Well, I don't like surprises."

Edward stepped down onto the staircase that led to the music hall but stopped and turned back before she could follow. She stood on a step above him, so they were almost face-to-face. Careful to avoid touching her face, he pushed back a thick strand of hair she missed into her hood with the others. Her dark eyes widened and a lovely blush blossomed on her apple cheeks. "You'll like my surprises."

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

Dazzled.

Smiling, Edward pulled his dazed and dazzled date into the venue.

Keeping their hands intertwined, Bella lingered behind as Edward stopped at the ticket window. Vivi smiled at his appearance, as she always did. Every time Edward saw her, she had a different shade of lipstick and different colored hair. Tonight, it was ruby-red lips with gray hair.

"Hey, Edward," she greeted, with a bit more warmth than the other usuals.

"Hello."

"Are you going up there tonight?" she asked, purposely looking up at him through her long, fake eyelashes.

"Not tonight. I have a date. I'll need two tickets, please."

Vivi's long fingernails clicked and clacked the keys on her keyboard. "I think playing a song would impress your date. Where is she?" She looked everywhere around the room, her eyes glossing over the girl who stood at Edward's side.

Edward held up his hand, obviously intertwined with Bella's.

"Oh!" Vivi felt a pang of jealousy, but smiled through it, professional and detached. "Lucky girl."

Bella smiled politely and muttered a quiet response Vivi did not catch, but nodded to anyway.

"Thank you. Have a good night."

Tickets in one hand, Bella in the other, Edward walked past the first bar and through one of many arched doorways that led to the main stage. Carefully, Edward guided Bella around a section of the floor he knew was uneven. He smiled. In a short amount of time, his world already shifted around Bella.

"Careful, now," he muttered when she took her first step down. He reluctantly released his hold so she could use the railing with her good hand. Bella's eyes remained on her feet during the whole descent. When she reached the bottom, she looked up for the first time and gasped.

The club looked exactly as it did back in the Fifties when Edward would come with Esme. Back then, they cleared out the tables and opened the dance floor after eight o'clock. Vivi and her predecessors did a remarkable job with their historical preservation. Edward led Bella to one of the tables that sat on a platform around the dance floor. He took her raincoat and hung it on the pillar that separated the tables. She kept the leather jacket. He slid right beside her into the semi-circle-shaped booth that faced the stage.

"Where are we?" There it was. The beautiful, awestruck smile Edward adored. He watched her chocolate eyes follow the elaborate drapes of the heavy, velvet curtain over the stage.

"At one of my favorite music halls in the city."

"It feels like we stepped back in time."

"I knew you'd like it."

She tore her eyes away from the intricate chandeliers overhead to meet Edward's. The bold smile—the one that should be hidden behind a fluttering fan it was so dangerously alluring—spread across her lips. "I love it."

There was an obvious response to that. One his heart was desperate to say, but his mind knew it was much too soon for her to hear.

"Who's playing?" Bella asked, "Someone good?"

"I don't know," he said, honestly. "Though, I've never seen a bad performance here."

"Very spontaneous," she approved.

A waiter walked over, offering menus. For the first time in several decades of attendance, Edward took one.

Bella flipped through the few pages. "What do you usually get?"

"Nothing. I haven't eaten here."

"Oh," Bella said awkwardly, closing the menu. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have assumed..."

"No, no," Edward opened it back to the page she was on. "We should get something. You should eat."

Bella eyed him curiously, for a moment. Then, shoved the menu back into his hands. "You should pick. After all, you come here more than I do. You have better insight."

Edward truly had no idea what people would want to eat here. "You should pick. I invited you here."

She tucked her perfect bottom lip between her teeth and looked up at his through long eyelashes, the way Vivi always did. Unlike Vivi, Bella softened Edward's marble skin into putty in her hands. "Please, Edward?"

Helpless and hopeless, he did as she asked. When the waiter returned, Edward gestured to the appetizer section and asked for one of each.

"Are you planning on feeding everyone here?" Bella hissed when he walked away.

"I don't know what you like, yet. We'll share—it'll be okay."

Bella played with the ends of her hair, clearly uncomfortable. Edward had done something wrong, and he didn't understand what it was.

Before he could ask, the first act walked on with only a microphone. The house lights remained on, and people continued to talk as he started his act. A comic—Edward's least favorite—and not a very good one, at that. Bella must have felt the same, because after the first two jokes she leaned over. Edward ducked his head so she could whisper in his ear, "You said you never saw a bad act here."

Edward snorted.

He draped his arm across the back of the booth, shamelessly corralling her closer. "This isn't the main act. He's an amateur comedian. There are always amateurs brought in to warm up the audience. It's one of my favorite parts about this venue."

"Really?"

"Yes. They'll get better when we get closer to the main act. Comics are rare, I admit. It's usually other musicians. But there are sometimes poets, contortionists, artists. And on really good nights, magicians." He wiggled his fingers, earning a brief, polite laugh.

"Is that what Vivi meant when she asked if you would be going up on stage?"

"Oh," Edward hoped Bella had been too dazzled to catch that. He should have known better. Nothing passed without her notice. "Yes. I'll sign up for a set every once and a while."

"To play harmonica or do magic?"

Edward laughed. "To play the piano, actually. But you know, maybe I should incorporate magic into my act."

"You can pull the sheet music out of your hat."

"I'll practice right away."

"I'll have to see it." The teasing spark in her eyes smoldered into something deeper. "Seriously though, Edward. I would love to see you play."

Bella inspired all his music those days. It was only fair that the muse herself could enjoy what she inspired.

"Next week. I'll sign up." No one asked Edward to audition anymore. Because of Vivi's preferences, he got a spot when he wanted one.

"I'll be here."

The food arrived. Bella seemed displeased by the amount. The plates were small, there were only three or four bites per appetizer. Despite her displeasure, Bella added a few things to her plate. Edward watched, taking mental notes of her preferences. She eyed his empty plate for a second. Before she could grow suspicious, Edward added a few things to his.

She took a small nibble of something covered in breadcrumbs. "Have you seen anyone famous perform as an amateur before their big break?"

Edward wished he could tell Bella the truth. He spent centuries in hole-in-the-wall venues. Stevie Nicks, Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond. He saw all of them and more as nobodies before they became somebodies. Instead, he had to say, "Probably."

She liked that answer just fine. A spark of wonder gleamed in her big, brown eyes.

The comic's act was pleasantly short. A piano player followed him. These were Edward's favorites. He closed his eyes and lingered in the musician's mind. He listened to him read the sheet music. The song transformed as he lost himself in his music. When he no longer felt the audience or the heat of the stage, his performance improved. The glory of performing

The first song flowed into the next, the bridge he composed on the spot impressed Edward. He didn't expect to do that. He had written down little quips to share between each song. But now that the music had consumed him, he couldn't stop.

The feeling of being watched pulled Edward from his reverie. Bella stared up at him. She didn't blush or look away, which was rare for her. Instead, the corner of her lip pulled up into an alluring half-smile. Edward smiled back. She rested her head against his bicep, draped behind her on the back of the couch. Trying not to jostle her, Edward lowered his hand from the couch to caress her shoulder. When she didn't pull away from his touch, he curled his arm around her tighter, the leather jacket protecting her from the chill of his skin.

Around them, the music swelled at the climax of the performance. Feeling swept up in his own, private moment with a beautiful girl, Edward tightened his arm once more, pulling Bella closer.

This close, he could taste her feelings. Pluck the emotions swirling in the air around them. Desire, passion, trust. The emotions Jasper felt from Bella as she spoke to Edward. Everything he wanted to deserve from her.

Slowly and deliberately, so she could stop him if she wanted to, Edward lowered his lips to hers. Once again, the second their lips touched, Edward's heart warmed and swelled until he swore it beat again. His hand slid down her shoulder towards her waist. Edward deepened the kiss and pulled her closer. Close enough that her soft, warm curves pressed against the hard lines of his body.

Without breaking the kiss, Edward shifted. She moved with him, not allowing their bodies to part.

Drunk off her flavor like the rarest brandy, Edward's movements became less controlled, his body reacted on its own. His other arm wound around her, under her jacket. Right against the thin fabric of her top.

She was so soft, so warm.

His hand squeezed; his lips parted.

Suddenly, it became too much. Her taste in his mouth. Her warmth in his grasp. He wrenched his hand away before he could squeeze too tight and hurt her. He tore his lips away from hers before venom pooled in his mouth. He launched up from the booth, muttered a vague apology he didn't think she could hear. Moving too quickly, he left. Straight into the cool, refreshing air, only to be hit by the sudden downpour.