Friday, September 10, 2010

Chapter 2.

CHAPTER 2:

Jacob POV:


I tossed and turned for hours, restless from thinking of the way Bella danced so perfectly and wondered what she thought about me. I listened to the steady beat of my heart as my eyelids fluttered shut and let the soft tune of that beautiful song surround me. I picutured her dancing again. Her legs swirling around her and guiding her body in perfect circles with hands feathered out to balance her. Next thing I knew, I was drifted off into my subconscious.

I was suddenly awoken by tapping on my window. If my drunk ass dad locked himself out of the house again, I was going to be pissed. I shoved the window open and shouted, "The key is under the mat, you alcoholic!"

Then I looked down and noticed it wasn't my dad at all. It was Bella. My heart was racing.

"Bella, what are you doing?" I questioned.

"I couldn't sleep," she replied. "Did I wake you?"

She was wearing a pair of pink shorts she had rolled up to show even more of her perfect dancer legs. Her white tank top showed her collarbones in the sexiest way.

"I'll be right down." I whispered. I walked into the hallway trying to make the least amount of noise as possible. I knew my dad was probably passed out from all the drinking with Charlie but I didn't want to get caught. The floor creaked and I turned to the living room where I could notice my dad passed out with the tv reflecting his aging face. I turned it off and covered him up with a blanket he had bunched up at his feet.

I walked out the front door where Bella waited for me, hands hugging her shoulders trying to keep herself warm.

"Do you know how long it took me to find rocks small enough not to break your window?" She said sarcastically.

I laughed, "Cold are we?"

"Freezing." She replied, folding her lips into a cheshire smile.

"I have a space heater in here when I fix my bike in the winter." The moonlight was reflecting her face so beautifully, until she pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lighter from her pocket.

"Want one?" She asked.

"No," I shrugged, "I don't smoke."

She lit a cigarette and sat on the pile of tires I had stacked up. Bella smokes; I found this a little shocking for a ballet-dancing vegetarian. "Don't look at me like that, Jacob Black." She said while exhaling a cloud of smoke.

"Sorry, I guess I just didn't take you for the smoking type, Bella Swan." I half-smiled.

"Yeah, well I didn't take you for the biker type." Her brow arched as she ashed her cancer stick onto the ground.

"I can fix anything with wheels, but motorcycles are my specialty." I smiled, "It's just my escape from the 'real world'."

"You rebel," she smiled, "So, is your dad in an alcohol-induced sleep, too?"

I watched her lips move with little puffs of smoke escaping them. Smoking looked so stress relieving. As disgusting as I thought the habit was, she still seemed to make it look sexy. Almost like those old Hollywood stars in the 1920's.

"Yeah he is," I snickered, "My liver twitched just seeing him passed out with his mouth open."

"So tell me some more about yourself, Jacob Black." She asked.

"Well, I am pretty much this amazingly hot, single guy. I like to ride my bike..." I trailed off, looking at her smuggishly, "...and I like cute girls riding with me on the back of them."

She laughed. At least she didn't reject my flirting. She finished her cigarette and smashed it into the concrete floor of the garage. She flipped her hair to one side revealing her bare neck. Damn...

"What about you?"

She looked into the distance and squinted her eyes, "Well, I am pretty much this incredibly sexy, single girl. I smoke cigarettes, as you can probably tell. And anybody who can fix a machine without using a manual is a complete turn-on to me."

My face grew hot and she probably saw that. I could feel myself blushing like some stupid, little kid.

"Sit next to me, there's plenty of room." She tapped the small area on the tire at her side. I sat close enough that our bodies touched. By accident, of course. We both looked into each other's eyes and silently stared for a few seconds. I wanted to kiss her, she smelled of summer.

Our faces were so close; I don't know what came over me. I leaned in and kissed her. Her lips were so smooth and tasted like cigarettes and cherry lip balm; an amazingly sexy combination. She grabbed the back of my hair and ran her fingers through it. She didn't pull away, rather pushed me into her more. I grabbed her hip and pulled her body closer to mine, causing her to swing her leg around my hip. I could feel our hearts racing together. Our lips pressed together, transporting us to another world. Ragged breathing and dancing tongues brought fiery heat to the cool fall air. With just the two of us there, the rest of the world disappeared.

As our lips pulled apart, a gentle breeze fluttered over the flame extinguishing the desperate heat of our lust. Our breathing came out in short, desperate gasps. The intensity washed away as the rest of the world abrputly came back into focus.



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Edward POV:

Okay, I may have lied. I do know who Isabella Swan is. I also know what a wreckless trouble maker she is, and as such, do not condone her congregating downstairs with my family. But since nobody in this house really seems to listen to me, I'll sit up here and continue to act like I don't care to know anything about her. As if that would even be difficult.

My free hand lazily grazed across the white keys while the other firmly held my head up at my temple, elbow propped up against the slick-black lid. The mindless stroking gradually turned into a simple rendition of 'Sundial Dreams', composed by Kevin Kern. One of my favorites. It's captivating how somebody who is legally blind can still capture the very beauty and essence of the world around them. It constantly makes me evaluate the honest meaning of love and life, though those treasures aren't really relevant to me.

As the song serenaded the room and drifted into the hallways, I found myself sliding along the keys with both hands now; pressing them a little harder than necessary. Maybe I was trying to drown out everybody's thoughts downstairs. Then again, maybe I was just really into the piece. If it were a little of both, who was there to judge me? Perhaps the uncertainty of my own awareness? I digress.

By that time, I had begun to play the song again.

"Edward?"

I heard a soft voice coo along with the harmony of my outlet. Esme could soften the heart of even the most sadistic killer.

"I'd rather stay up here, if that's alright." I reassured.

She walked over and stood behind me, delicately resting her hands on either of my shoulders.

"I know you are very weary of meeting new people, especially a human coming into our home for the first time. But this is important to Alice and it would mean a lot if you made an effort to at least meet the girl," she continued, "Bella is really anxious to meet you, you know."

"How anxious can she be? I've only seen her in passing."

"You're not curious at all, either?" she teased.

"Hardly..."

She slid her hands from my shoulders, "Well alright, but what would she think if I came downstairs alone after I promised I'd come up and try to bring you down? It'd probably make her feel bad, Edward."

I ceased the music and slumped a little, stroking back my hair as a sign of defeat. Trickery and guilt rolled into one.

"Alright," I sighed and stood up, "Let's go meet the human."

I followed her down the hall, purposely trailing behind. I had only approached the top of the staircase while Esme already joined the family at the bottom.

As I descended the flight of stairs with my hand gliding along the railing, she turned around to officially show her face. She was quite pale and the only thing that could keep you from believing she were a walking zombie were the slight, rose-colored blemishes framing her cheekbones. Despite how ordinary as she was compared to my sisters, she was still relatively attractive. Rosalie definitely didn't feel intimidated though, that's for sure.

"The vampire is finally out of his coffin." Bella sneered, looking at me with her hand on her hip. Playfully, but still very made it awkward.

Carlisle stared me down a bit, hoping I'd introduce myself.

Not happening.

"Bella, this is my son, Edward." he continued, "Edward, this is Bella. She's a friend of Alice. I'm sure you two have probably seen each other at school."

Before I could get the chance to extend a handshake, Bella walked over the the refrigerator and swung it open, "Got anything to drink in here, Carlisle? You know, besides blood."

What does Alice see in this girl?

"There's soda at the bottom, dear." Esme chimed in, "We need to look the part, so you'll find everything you need in there. Help yourself."

She grabbed a can of soda and shut the door.

"Bella, I hear you just moved down from Phoenix."

Carlisle was trying to lighten the tension swelling in the room that came mostly from me. I walked over to the counter and sat on the stool, pretending to listen.

"Yeah," she shrugged, sitting across from me, "My mom died recently, so I had nowhere else to go. To tell you the truth, this isn't the first place I'd move to, had I'd been given a choice."

"The cold weather isn't helping either, is it?" Carlisle smiled.

"It isn't really that," she trailed off.

"The rain?"

"My dad and I just don't get along."

He knew it wasn't the right time to pry and nobody else thought to ask. Instead, they made most of the night telling old stories of their first days of vampire life and why they transcended to feasting only on animals. Of course, these were all blunt answers coming from a human abruptly asking for them. We could only suspect as much, but Bella was a little more crude about the way she requested information. It was nearly as if it fascinated her in some sadistic way.

I stirred away from time to time, staying as far out of the conversation as I could. Speak only when spoken to, I suppose. The night carried along this way until Bella couldn't keep up with the restless vampires any longer. She tried hard to stay awake for as long as she could, but eventually fell asleep at the edge of the couch.

While the couples went off to watch the Northern Lights, I stayed behind to clean up and watch after the human. Our home has become a safe house for travelling vampires and we didn't want to come home to a mangled body and an attached note saying, 'Thanks for the snack!'

So being the gentleman that I am, I covered her in a light blanket, then retired to my room to play a little more until daybreak. I wondered if Charlie knew she was staying over, much less that she was here at all. Or even the fact that she drinks. Or smokes. Or ditches school.

Just as the sun began to peak over the horizon and light cascaded along the hillside, spilling into the cracks of the blinds in my window, I played something a little softer to compliment the changing colors of the sky. 'Twilight' composed by Roy Todd. One of my favorites.

Serenic moments like these are ones I hope to never forget. Welcoming a new day with something both pure and tranquil; almost forgetting I'm no longer alive. I know that my time has exceeded and can no longer allow me to repent my sins. But if God is as forgiving as centuries of man has made him to be, maybe he can see how sympathetic I am for becoming this way. And I would do anything to take it all back...

People are blessed with life, even more so with death. It's tormenting that I have to stay behind and watch everybody I know perish and birth into eternity. This is my eternity; an endless stream of fading memories and dying dreams. An endless stream of fading memories and dying dreams.

"You've been playing all night."

Spoiler alert.

"You do realize it is rude to parade around someone's home without them knowing."

I could've been a little more polite.

"I'm sorry. It woke me up a while ago and I've been listening to it, thinking it was on a CD or something."

I kept playing, turning around and noticed her clinging at the door in the very same way I found Esme, wrapped around the blanket I laid over her. I turned back to the piano and continued to play the same song. Over and over.

"You can come in," I sighed, "Might as well..."

She was awfully bold for sitting right next to me. I thought she'd only stand beside and watch, then leave as quickly as she came in.

"How long have you been playing?"

"A long while."

"Just how long?" she asked delicately, not prying, at all.

"Over seventy years."

I thought that would severely frighten her, but she instead inched against my side and rested her head at the edge of my shoulder; blanket wrapped tightly around her frail body. Before I could make conversation, she was fast asleep.

As the song came to an end, her sleepy body shifted and she lifted her head in response, "Play it again. Please."

I smiled. And I did.

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