Twilight Fan Fiction ❯ In The Shadow Of The Sun ❯ Secrecy ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

The figure staggered forward towards Leina. It sniffed the air and flashed a perfectly white grin. Leina looked down, realizing how much she was bleeding and how weak she probably seemed.

It was about twenty feet away from her when a flash of lightning shot across the sky, illuminating the figure and revealing its face.

Leina's eyes opened wide in surprised horror.

"E... Edward?"

Edward Cullen walked slowly towards Leina. His bronze hair, usually styled in perfect untidiness, was pushed down by the rain, dripping down his immaculate face and flawlessly toned muscles. His eyes were now the darkest black, contrasting his white skin. The perfect-looking mouth was drawn back into a sneer, spots of blood on his lips. His stance was one of a predator, stalking its innocent and helpless prey.

“Edward? What’s wrong?” Leina asked frantically, sensing the danger. “What are you doing here?”

He only smiled, his senses apparently gone.

“Oh my god... you’re... you’re a...”

She couldn’t bring herself to say it. He nodded, still grinning wildly. Then, he was gone. Leina whirled around. Who knew someone could move that fast?

Leina turned away, trying to run. She smacked into his muscled chest. He smirked down at her, taking her hand in his, licking the blood off her arm, the bandage gone from running in the woods.

“Don’t be afraid...” he whispered, his voice not as soft as usual, making her eyes close.

His words had a sudden calming effect on Leina. It was as if he had cast a verbal spell on her, not letting her think clearly of the danger.

His beautiful yet dangerous face came closer, bending down to her neck.

“I guess I really don’t have to be here...”

Leina heard a vicious snarl. Her eyes burst open, and she noticed Edward, growling at the other end of the meadow.

In front of her was a gigantic mountain lion, standing protectively, ready to attack if necessary.

“L... L... Leonna?” Leina was having trouble getting the words out.

The mountain lion turned around, giving her a curt nod. It then returned to the growling match she was having with Edward.

Everything seemed to move far too fast. Leonna sprang forward, chasing Edward. He spun out of the way, slashing at her. For one moment, she could see then fighting near her, then they were on the opposite end of the clearing.

A little blue light weaved through the air, sparkles following it.

“Luna...”

More tears started streaming down her face as Leina watched the battle, sinking to the ground in hopelessness. I can’t loose them... But what can I do?”

A giant boom sounded as the big cat crushed its paws into Edward’s chest, pushing him into a tree near Leina. She hadn’t even noticed that they had been fighting near her; they were too fast. Leonna snarled in his face.

Edward managed to raise his arm, bit the paw restraining him, smacked Leonna. The impact sent her flying a good thirty feet.

“Leonna!” yelled the floating orb.

He materialized again, hovering over her for a minute, grinning until the lion reached over to scratch behind its ear. Suddenly a little white piece of cloth blew away in a sudden gust of wind. Edward glanced back to the lion, but it was gone.

He hastily turned in a 360° motion, not finding a glimpse of the lion anywhere and began to panic. When he stopped turning, he was immediately thrust to the ground, the heavy cat now digging its claws into his back.

The battle went on, each opponent thrusting the other to the other side of the clearing.

Meanwhile, a blue orb flew hastily towards the paralyzed Leina and finally caught her attention away from the battle.

"Leina! Leina! You have to get up, come on!" the blue orb yelled, jerking on Leina's shirt.

"Luna? Hey... man, I'm glad to see you," she said with a despairing smile.

“Hurry, we need to get out of here!!” Luna screamed.

“But Leonna...” Leina looked back to the fight.

“She’ll be fine; she’s been fending off anti-humans for over a hundred years.”

Luna finally got Leina back on her feet, but couldn’t drag her to the woods. Leina followed the fight as it teleported from one corner of the clearing to the other. Leina watched and suddenly, the fight came closer to her and Luna. With every teleportation, Leina’ panic kicked in, slowly numbing her legs.

Suddenly, Edward bit Leonna again. She howled in agony. Edward took advantage of his prey’s moment of weakness and smacked her again, sending her flying.

Edward started walking towards the struggling lion, a bloody smirk on his face.

“No, Edward!”

Leina ran up from behind the two, flinging herself in the air. She wrapped her arms around Edward’s body. She pressed her face into his back, trying to hold him back.

The sudden outburst made Edward stop, confused.

“Edward... please... don’t do this...”

Edward’s shoulders hunched over, shaking. His breath came in ragged gasps, as if in horrible pain, as he fought over his blood-thirsty hunger for Leina.

“Please... don’t...”

Leina’s strength was starting to leave her. She felt lightheaded from the blood loss. She smiled, whispering something, then her eyes closed and she lost consciousness.


Edward’s body shook as he felt her light weight fall limp, resting in a wilting position, still holding him to herself, as if unconsciously looking for support. Finally, the quakes stopped.

He was himself again. Leina’s words had snapped him back to reality. The state that he let himself fall into while hunting was gone now. He managed to catch his breath, wiping away the spot of blood from his mouth. His eyes had returned to their usual honey color.

She seemed to feel his muscles relax and responded by holding on tighter, trying to strap his arms to his sides.

“It’s okay...” he said slowly, not yet wanting to un-strap himself, feeling some comfort and calmness from her touch.

Then, he felt her fall away from him, a wet thud signaling her body hitting the ground.

“Oh god... Leina!”

He spun around. Leina was lying, sprawled out on the soaked ground, her eyes closed, pink lips parted slightly. Her long hair was plastered down on her face, pale from clear fright. Her clothes and limbs were soaked with blood.

Edward shuddered, his eyes wide. He wouldn’t let his urge get the better of him.

He knelt down next to her, laying her cold body in his lap. Her head rolled over to the side, and she sighed in her unconscious state.

“Leina... please, don’t do this to me. Come on, please wake up. I’ll explain everything to you,” he said desperately, “... just don’t go...”

Just then, Leonna burst into a coughing fit, several drops of blood spilling out of her mouth. She was, however, still watching Edward, making sure he wouldn’t turn around and attempt to bleed Leina again.

Edward suddenly turned, seeing the mountain lion he was fighting, switching form from one cat to another to her human form and back into other cat forms. Edward’s breath caught, inhaling quickly, as he figured he wasn’t attacking any normal mountain lion... but one of the few non-vampires who knew his secret. His heart sank as he realized what he’d done.

Leonna growled again at Edward, a painful expression on her face.

Edward turned, hearing Leina moan in pain. He looked down in anguish to see the girl in so much pain.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Luna and Leonna, now in their battered human forms, were standing over the two.

“She better not be-...” The glaring Leonna cut off, unable to finish her sentence the way she had intended. “She better be all right...”

Edward looked down helplessly at the wounded Leina. He tried to control his voice.

“Wh-... what should we do?”

Leonna opened her other hand (the one not on Edward’s shoulder), revealing a white patch. She applied it on her neck, behind her ear. “I suppose we could go back to the house... the new one, of course...”

Edward nodded. He picked Leina up easily, wrapping her in his strong arms. “You both go ahead...”

Leonna nodded in agreement.

Luna turned, a forced smile on her face. “Hey, Leonna? Can I ride with you?”

Leonna nodded as she transformed back into an African lion. Luna switched form into a glowing orb.

“Just check my mind to see where the house is... or just track my scent.”

“That’ll certainly be easy enough. Your blood is easy to sense,” he said dryly.

She only glared, far too angry at him for any kind of humor. Then she disappeared into the woods.

Edward started running. He knew how fast he was running and could barely feel the wind as he moved gracefully through the trees. He looked down at her.

“Stupid... finding me while I was hunting... what was she thinking?” He sighed. “This is all my fault... I shouldn’t have-...”

Edward couldn’t think about what he had said to her. Her reaction, her expression was burnt into his mind vividly. He couldn’t shake that image out.

Why did he have to say all of those things? None of them needed to be said. He just... lost control. Her scent... her blood... is smelled so amazingly alluring. He could barely keep control of himself in that school. History and Gym were absolute torture. Her being so close while she tried to get the ball away from him. When she was bleeding on the track... he had to sprint to the other end of the track just to stay away. Edward hadn’t experienced any kind of torture like that before.

“And now... I might not be able to... she might not... be able to forgive me...”

She had apologized so much. He wasn’t able to read her mind, but he knew how guilty she felt. It was written all over her face; she couldn’t have hidden it if she had wanted to.

He thought about the last thing she had whispered to him before she had fainted.

“Just... please forgive me... if... I hurt you...”

Edward gazed down at her. She looked so calm, even though she was being carried in the arms of a monster like him. A monster who had hurt her so badly.

“You aren’t the one that needs to be forgiven, Leina...”

He tried to look straight ahead as he ran, but his eyes kept going back to her. He was almost waiting for her to wake up, screaming in horror at him and the reality of what he was.

Finally, he neared the house he saw in Leonna’s mind. He walked up to the door, kicking it to cause it to open. He went slowly, making sure he didn’t hit her head on the door frame. He noticed another person in the room.

“Put her over here,” Leonna said, gesturing to one of two black lounge chairs. Her anger showed through her vivid green eyes as she finished bandaging her arms and other numerous wounds from his bites.

Edward noticed her fury and only nodded, so as to not infuriate her further. He placed Leina carefully on the chair, kneeling down next to her.

“I... I’m so sorry...” he whispered, wishing she could hear him.

Leonna stood close, worried and tense. “Edward, I think you should leave.”

“I need to explain-”

“I can explain everything-”

“No,” Edward interrupted, standing up to face her. “I need to tell her myself.”

“Then how about you tell her tomorrow?” Leonna suggested, talking slowly to stay calm. Edward mentally noted that his was a habit of hers.

“I need to explain today,” he sighed, looking helplessly at Leina before turning back and putting his hand to his head in misery. “I want to help her...”

Leonna’s face turned red. “You’ve helped enough all ready!”

“Who... has...?” a weak voice asked.

Leonna and Edward spun to Leina. She was still out cold, murmuring in her sleep.

Leonna sighed, her eagerness shot down.

Leina’s blood had started to bother Edward. Not in the way that it usually would (though he thought he was doing quite well restraining himself now), but by the fact that it was still flowing. It wasn’t spurting or flowing continuously, but he could see it hadn’t clotted quite enough yet to stop it fully.

He turned to Leonna. “Do you have any bandages for her? She’s definitely going to need them.”

Leonna nodded. “I’ll have to go upstairs and find them in our boxes; I used the last ones.” She gave him a warning look before walking away up the silver-steel, spiraled staircase. “I’ll be listening.”

Edward nodded. “Of course... I don’t blame you...” he responded, whispering the last part. He walked back over to the lounge chair with the comatose Leina laying in it. He knelt down again, lying his head down in her lap. He took her hand in his cold one, looking at it. It had dirt, mud, and spots of blood on it. He rubbed circles into the back of it with his thumb, a calming exercise for himself. Closing his luminous eyes.

“Leina... I’m so sorry... What I said about you not having to be here; it wasn’t true and I should not have said it like that. I was afraid of hurting you. I was angry at myself --not you. But... my efforts seemed to be lost... I still hurt you. I’m sorry, Leina... please wake up...”

Leonna walked down the stairs, halting when she saw the two. He looked so honestly repentant, and in so much pain at seeing Leina’s pain, she couldn’t yell at him or tell him to get away from her. She was still angry at him; after what he had done to herself AND Leina? It was going to be hard for her to forgive him for that...

She finally continued down the stairs and walked over to the chair. Edward noticed her there and raised his head, yet still kept holding onto Leina’s hand.

Leonna set their first-aid box down on the floor.

"I'll get her arm if you can get her leg, deal?" she asked testily.

Edward nodded. He grabbed some of the anti-biotic scream and put it on a few gauze pads. He gently laid then over Leina's extensive wound and starte3d wrapping her leg with the roll gauze.

"So," Leonna said, focusing on her own job, "What did Leina say to you? Before she passed out, I mean..."

Edward looked up, his head still bent down, at Leonna. She had a curious expression on her face.

The corner of Edward's mouth crept up as he thought of the words that had snapped him out of his almost psychotic state.

"She asked me... if I would forgive her if she had hurt me," he laughed sadly, turning to look at Leina. "But... she's the one who got hurt... she's not the one that need to be forgiven..."

Edward finished wrapping her leg and pointed to the scratches on her knees. "Would you want me to put bandages on these as well?"

Leonna looked over, still occupied with Leina's left arm. "Um... band-aids would work just fine."

Edward nodded again, putting a band-aid on each of her knees.

Leonna had finished wrapping Leina's arm and was now using an Ace bandage to wrap her twisted left ankle.

Leina winced, in sudden pain, and moaned. A sweat had started to break out on her forehead.

Edward stood up, looking down at the smarting Leina. "I'll be back in a little while..."

Leonna looked up, confused. "Are you actually leaving?"

"Not the property... I just..." He gazed down at Leina. "I can't bear to see her in so much pain..."

Leonna nodded as Edward walked out the door.


"Ugh... what happened?"

Leina's crystal blue eyes blinked open wearily. She tried to move, but realized that her injuries had all been bandaged.

"I feel like a mummy from Egypt..."

She heard three people laugh.

"Trust me, you are much better looking."

Leina looked around the room. She was sitting in a black chair; its twin near her. The white sofa was occupied by Luna, bouncing up and down, grinning. The walls were sheets of (what looked like) glass, allowing one to look into different rooms. An iron staircase spiraled up into the next floor.

Leonna was standing at the foot of her chair, looking relieved.

Then Leina saw the third person. He had a peculiar expression on his face. It was guarded, not sure how Leina would react.

Leina blushed. "Wh-... why is he here?" she asked timidly.

Leonna’s expression changed as she bent down to hug Leina. “He says he needs to talk to you...” She up righted herself, and turned to Edward. “Do you want Luna and myself to leave?”

Edward chuckled wryly. “Well, I don’t see much of the point, considering you’ll be listening to what I say. And I suppose it would be better for you all to hear my explanation.”

Leonna agreed and sat next to Luna on the couch. "All right; start explaining."

Luna grinned. "YAY, story time!"

Edward chuckled. He sat himself a bit away from them on the floor. "Though, I'm not quite sure where to begin..."

Leina looked down at her folded fingers, eyebrows furrowed. "You could explain your weird behavior..."

She looked up to see Edward looking apologetically at her, his golden eyes burning in want of her forgiveness. Her own eyes shot back down in embarrassment.

"Maybe you should explain your kind to Leina..." Leonna suggested, her eyes and voice having a harsh quality as she spoke. "I think she would understand everything much better."

Edward nodded, still facing Leina. "I suppose I'll have to... that way you'll understand me and maybe the reasons for my actions."

Leina looked up expectantly. "Explain away."

Edward cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose you know now what I-... what we are?"

"They are the cold ones!" Luna announced.

Edward turned, eyes inquisitive. "You know that term for us?"

Luna shrugged. "A friend of mine back home taught me it."

Edward shook his head, chuckling.

Leina's head tilted. "Um... are the cold ones-"

"The ancient ones know of them as the cold ones," Leonna explained, eyes remaining harsh, "but people more commonly know them as vampires."

The room fell silent, Leonna's last word almost an echo. Edward's gaze shot over to Leina, judging her reaction.

Leina tried to stay as calm as possible, but her eyes betrayed her. "That explains... so much..." she almost whispered.

Edward stood up. "Leina," he said, her own name said by his angelic voice sending shivers down her spine, "if you don't want to see me again... or want me to leave, I will."

Luna and Leonna looked hastily over to Leina, who's eyes opened wide. "No!" she all but yelled. "I don't blame you. Now that I know what happened..." she shrugged, "I can understand."

Edward stared incredulously at her. “You are absolutely unbelievable... crazy, though. Most normal humans would shy away from the idea of v-... our kind... you are unbelievable.”

Leina frowned, looking away. “Well, sorry for not being a ‘normal human’...”

The other three burst out into peals of laughter, breaking the tension. Edward was the loudest of all. Leina glanced up, surprised at hearing him laugh so hard. He sat back down.

Leina finally got tired of them laughing at her expense. “So, anyway, that’s why you were acting so weird? You were hungry and wanted my blood?”

The chuckles died down. Edward looked guiltily away, like a kid caught in an attempt at avoiding telling their parents something.

Leonna decided to cover for him. “Leina, you don’t realize how vivid, appealing and different your scent is to us.”

Leina’s eyes opened wide. “Huh?”

“Leina looks silly!” Luna laughed. “Basically, they’re saying that your scent is easier to find in a big crowd, ‘cause you smell so good!”

Edward recovered. “Yes. In all my life, I’ve never smelled anything close to how powerful Leina’s scent is.”

The other two nodded their agreement.

“How old are you?” Leina asked.

“I’m seventeen.”

“No, seriously... when were you born?” I’ll calculate it if you don’t want to say.”

Edward chuckled. “I was born in 1901.”

Leina calculated his age in her head. “Dude, you’re, like, over a hundred!”

The room burst into laughter again.

“Anyway,” Leonna continued, “That’s why he is always so fast. It’s just a natural characteristic of vampires.”

“Oh...” Leina turned to Edward again. “So... why didn’t you just try to get me alone on the first day and suck my blood then?” she questioned.

Edward stared, stunned and confused. “How can you say that so calmly...?” he murmured.

Leina shrugged. “I guess I’m immune to the ‘normal human’ reaction... I’ve been around these two far too much.” She grinned, pointing to her friends. “It’s just the way you live.”

Edward grinned. “Well, not quite... I’m, what we jokingly call, a vegetarian vampire.”

Leina’s expression twisted into one of confusion. “I don’t understand...”

He chuckled. “I- well, all of us- only hunt animals. We’ve found that, if we hunt enough, we can get by just as if we had hunted... ‘normally’.”

“Why do you do that?” Leonna asked. “I mean, why not just hunt humans?”

Edward grimaced.

Leonna back-tracked. “I mean, I’m not supporting the idea. I just want to know the reason.”

Edward looked down at the floor. “We don’t want to be monsters.”

His eyes flew up to meet Leina’s, looking up at her from underneath his eyelashes. He was pleading with her, wanting her to understand him. Leina knew that half of him wanted acceptance. But the other half wanted her to go, so she would be safe. Leina knew that feeling of those conflicting emotions.

She smiled kindly. “You aren’t a monster, Edward.”

He cracked a small, crooked smile, full of relieved gratitude.

“So, what happened out there, Edward?” Luna asked.

He turned to Luna, his attention away from Leina. His eyes shifted down.

"I'm not sure... well, I suppose I should start from the beginning." He looked up at Leina again, as if it would strengthen his will to speak. Then he looked back down again. "I was having too many problems at school. I hadn't hunted in a while, and it was making me... irritable. As you've probably suspected, it was hard for me to control myself, considering Leina's unique scent. So, in order to protect her..." he let his voice drop off, his meaning clear to the others. "After school and the gym incident, I realized that if I was going to be around you all so much, I had to go hunt. I figured that, after I had hunted, I could come visit you all and properly apologize to Leina for my actions. So, that's exactly what I did..." His head fell into his hands. "I never thought that you would... be that close..."

Leina slid to the edge of the chair, wincing in pain for only half a second.

Edward noticed this and turned, looking worried.

"It's fine, Edward. It wasn't your fault; I was the one that wandered away like that," she said, defending him from his accusations against himself.

He cracked another tiny, grateful grin, and continued. "I'm sure as Leonna knows, when you're hunting, you give yourself over to your instincts. Reason isn't there unless you make yourself come back. Leina caught me at a point of where I couldn't even bring myself back. I could feel myself trying to bring myself back... I tried..."

Leonna nodded. "I know what you mean; it's hard to control it."

Edward looked up at Leina. "What were you doing out there, anyway, Leina?"

Leina stuck her head down. "I was... well..." She felt uncomfortable talking about everything that had happened because of her horrible day. Making Edward feel worse about this whole thing was not what she wanted right now.

"Just tell me please; or else I'll imagine something worse of why you were driving around that late."

Leina stared hard at one spot on the carpet and tried to sum up everything. "After gym... I started driving and I ended up in La Push." She turned to Leonna and Luna. "I saw Jacob and we talked for a while. No need to tell them about almost driving straight into his truck... And he says hi." She quickly winked at Leonna, who seemed to be trying very hard not to look affected by this. A flicker of a smile appeared on Leina's face, then it disappeared as she continued.

"Then I started driving home... but I got lost on the road. I'd been driving for so long, and then it started raining and-" Leina stopped short as she remembered the car. She had been slipping back... couldn't stop... she had hit-

"My car!"

Leina sprang up from her seat, wincing at the pain in her leg. She started to fall.

Leonna and Luna sprang up from their seats, but Edward was faster. He caught Leina, careful to only touch her upper arms, where she wasn't wounded.

Leina looked up into his scorching eyes, feeling her thoughts getting scrambled as she kept staring.

"Are you all right?"

Leina shook her head, trying to get out of his hold. "Yeah, I'm fine!" She tried to release herself from his grip, but he had his hands securely around her biceps, holding her close.

He pushed her down into a sitting position on the chair. "You shouldn't be standing up so quickly."

"Leina," Leonna inputted, "Your car is fine; it-"

"No! I want to see it for myself!"

She jumped up, side-stepping Edward, and limp-ran to the garage. She flung open the door...

Her fading green Camaro was sitting there in the huge garage, next to Leonna's forest green car, and the farthest away from the door. Leina sprinted (as best the could) to the rear of her car. Edward was close behind, taking long strides but easily keeping pace with her. Leonna and Luna followed behind the two.

Leina stared at the rear bumper.

"I could have sworn... I know I hit something!"

The seven-inch deep dent in the car was absolutely... gone! The bumper seemed to be in almost immaculate condition; better than it had been before...

"I know I hit something!" she screamed, turning to the other three.

"Leina, calm down..." said Leonna. "You see, Edward-"

"I fixed your car."

Leina's cerulean eyes shifted their gaze to Edward's flawless face, his own fair eyes looking up at her.

"So... I'm not crazy?"

He laughed at that, eyes closed, giving her a crooked smile as he replied. "No, Leina, I wouldn't say 'crazy'... maybe unpredictable and accident-prone, but not exactly 'crazy'..."

Leina rolled her eyes. "Oh, thanks, Edward... glad to know I'm not psycho, at least..."

He chuckled again.

"But... why did you go get my car? I could have gone and gotten it later... why would you leave to go do that?" she asked.

His expression darkened a bit as he looked down at the garage floor, looking sort of upset. "I couldn't stand to see you in so much pain..." His eyes flickered up to hers, then back down again. "You couldn't hear yourself, Leina..."

Leina looked up at Leonna and Luna, who were nodding.

"You were moaning, Leina... you looked horrible..." Luna said, almost inaudibly.
"So... I went out, brought your car back, and fixed it while you were still asleep."

Leina patted her pocket. "But, I know I put my keys in my pocket..."

Edward grinned impishly, eyes flashing back up again. "They were," he confirmed.

All three girls gave him a look: Leonna was one of slight alarm mixed with surprise, Luna was one that almost matched Edward's playful expression, Leina was a combo of embarrassment, shock, astonishment, and about four other expressions that even Edward wasn't sure if someone had named yet.

"How-... you know what? I'm not even going to ask..." Leina muttered.

Edward chuckled. "Good; it's probably for the best," he grinned.

"Well," said Leonna, "I think it's time for us all to go to bed."

Leina whipped out her cell phone and read the time, eyes growing wide.

"It's one seventeen in the morning!!!" Leina screamed.

"Alright," announced Leonna, "I think it's definitely time for all non-nocturnal creatures to get to bed... We all deserve a good rest."

"You'll need it, Leonna," said Edward, smirking. "You owe Jasper a tennis match tomorrow... well, I guess today!"

"...right..." she sighed, "I had almost forgotten... so will you be going home now, Edward?"

Edward looked seriously at Leonna. "Actually, I was thinking of staying here."

Leonna gave him a sarcastically amused face. "Oh, really?"

"Yes," Edward explained. "This whole thing was my fault... and I'd feel a bit more... at ease... if I could stay and make sure Leina's still all right. Plus, you all will be sleeping most of the time. I would just like to stay and watch her."

"Uh, do I get a say in this?" Leina asked exasperatedly.

Leonna stared hard at him. Leina figured she was trying to ask him or tell him something. “How do they do that?” Edward nodded to whatever Leonna had said. Leonna shot him another look, which made him chuckle.

“All right,” he replied.

Luna, Leonna and Edward all turned to go back into the house. Leina shrugged and followed them. “Damn magic creatures... I have no idea what’s going on... are they just going to keep me in the da-”

“Leina?”

Leina snapped out of her internal ranting, turning her head to see Edward. She tried to form a coherent sentence. “Uh, yeah?” Apparently, it really didn’t work that well...

“Would you mind if I just sat in your room tonight?”

“Uh... what for? I’m just going to be sleeping...”

He looked down, contemplating a correct phrasing. Leina then noticed that Luna and Leonna were half way up the staircase, staring at her. She blushed crimson.

“I would feel more... comfortable... if I could know that you’re safe. After tonight...” His voice quietly dropped off in grief and remorse. “Well... I keep feeling like you’re going to either run away from knowing my secret... or you’re going to get hurt again...”

Leina quietly gasped. She had never seen him like this. He seemed to be honestly worried about her, and seemed a little embarrassed about his insecurity of her getting hurt or scared of him.

“S-sure, Edward...” she stammered. “I mean, I don’t really care. But, I promise you, I’m fine.”

She walked across the floor, trying to look as strong as her voice hopefully sounded. She started walking up the staircase.

All of a sudden, a couple of steps up, Leina stepped the wrong way. She winced in pain as her ankle twisted, making her loose her balance. She felt herself falling back... and then her body hit something solid and cold.

“Sure, Leina, you’re completely fine.” His voice had a hint of sarcasm. He was holding onto her shoulders, stabilizing her.

“Leina! Are you ok?” Luna called down, voice filled with concern.

Leina tried to shake him off. “I AM fine, Edwa-”

She was hit by a wave a dizziness, dropping off in mid-sentence.

Edward shook his head and swept Leina’s legs out from under her, catching her. He started carrying her up the stairs.

“I don’t think you’re quite telling the truth, Miss Saxen.”

Leina closed her eyes, putting one hand to her aching head. She kept her eyes shut. “This way, he won’t be able to dazzle me into more dizziness...”

Once they had made it up the staircase, Edward set Leina down on her own feet. Luna tackled her in a smothering hug.

“Nightie night, Leina!”

Leina weakly returned the hug.

Leonna grinned at her. “See you in the morning.”

Leina nodded in response, then watched her friends go into their respective rooms.

Leina turned and looked around at the hallways, as if looking for a sign. She opened one door. It was a closet.

“Hmmm...”

“Um, Leina?” Edward asked. “What exactly are you doing?”

“Uh...” Leina scratched her head. “I’m trying to figure out which one is my room...”

That angelic crooked smile appeared on his face. “Oh, it’s over here... and I don’t think looking in the closet will help you any!”

He took Leina’s hand, leading her. Leina blushed, looking down at their hands. It was so cold... yet comforting. Think of running a marathon in extreme heat, and then being able to sit down with a fan in front of you and a glass of cold lemonade. It was a similar effect.

“Here you are.”

Leina looked up as Edward let go of her hand. They were in a sunset orange colored room with a white, sparkling floor. A large white carpet, that matched the hard floor almost exactly, was spread in the middle of the room, taking up a good bit of floor space. A black futon was pushed up against one of the walls. A silver chest of drawers stood next to the wall that was to the right of the door. Beyond that was a door, most likely leading to a bathroom.

Edward sat down on the futon, grinning. "Nice room."

Leina looked around the room, then back at him. "How did you know...?"

He shrugged. "I knew from Leonna."

"Sure... ok..." Leina shook her head. "Now, I'm going to go get a shower, 'kay? You just..." Her voice dropped off at seeing him sit so calmly on the futon. "Just like a puppy waiting for orders..."

"...you just wait here..." she mumbled almost inaudibly, walking over to the door.

He nodded, giving the appearance of an ever-obedient puppy, as she made her way into the bath room.

"You wouldn't guess that only a few hours ago, he was..."

Leina didn't even want to think about it. His beautiful, gold eyes taken over my hunger, made into a merciless black. That perfect face, contorted with the thirst for-

"Crap, I'm thinking about it..."

Leina moped into the bathroom, which happened to separate hers and Luna's rooms. She looked at herself in the mirror.

"Dang... I do look like a mummy..."

Bandages covered her limbs while dirt had taken over the remainder of her body. She had always been fairly tan --not immensely... not like a fake, out-of-the-bottle tan-- but this was just not normal!

Leina started by shedding off her mud-covered clothes, throwing them into a white, mesh hamper.

“How did all of this furniture get set up all ready? Those two must have been busy while I was out...”

Next, she peeled off the gauze wrapped on her arms and legs. She inspected her wounds, satisfied with the knowledge that they weren’t bleeding anymore. But some of them still looked sort of dirty...

“Ew...”

Leina knew what she’d have to do. Too tired to care --or for the thought to completely register-- she forgot her clothes and wrapped a long, white towel around herself.

She crept out the door and into her room again.

“Sorry, forgot somethin’.”

Leina walked across her room and searched her backpack. Finally, she produced a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Then she stood up.

Since the thought of her only being in a towel with a guy in her room didn’t register before, it sure as heck did now! Ok, so he’s a vampire... but he’s still a guy vampire, right?

Leina stood frozen due to shock in the middle of her room, clutching the bottle of peroxide and her towel.

Edward seemed stunned as well, golden eyes boring into her light blue.

“Thought I should... get this...” Leina stammered, as if on automatic. She was gasping for air, as if she had been submerged in water for way longer than one human should be subjected to.

Edward seemed to snap out of his shocked state by the sound of Leina’s voice. “Of course...” Then a smirk crept onto his face. He looked her up and down, seeing her bare knees shaking (and it wasn’t from how cold the room was). “I like the ensemble.”

Red appeared on Leina’s face suddenly, as if it had been splattered there by a painter. “Right... I’ll be back..” she mumbled as she shot out of her room.

She swore she heard his quiet, melodic laugh as she hurried into the other room.


Leina got into the bathroom, shutting the door and collapsing against it.

How could she have been so stupid?! This wasn't like Leina at all... Maybe Leonna had given her some kind of drug to help with the pain and it had made her go crazy...

Leina sighed. "Well... it wasn't like he saw anything..." She pushed herself away from the door and spun the knob to turn on the water. After a few moments, she got into the shower.

"Whoah! WAAAAAAY too cold!" she yelled.

Leina had always been sensitive to water temperature. She had to always have the water up as high as it would go. It could be boiling, fry-an-egg-on-the-sidewalk hot outside and she would still have a hot shower when she got home. The cold water just always seemed even colder to Leina. She wasn't sure why, exactly...

She re-adjusted the temperature of the water, then grabbed the bottle of peroxide. Leina took a deep breath then poured the clear liquid down her legs and over her multiple cuts.

Her eyes scrunched together in pain as the peroxide started doing its job. She grimaced, trying to think that the pain was nothing. Then she looked down at her arm, the worst of her injuries, and took a deep breath.

"Savin' the best for last..." she thought ironically.

Leina poured the peroxide on her injury. She bit her lip to keep from screaming at how intense the pain was. She closed her eyes, counting as the peroxide worked its painful magic. Then she rinsed the cuts off, sighing in relief. She turned on the shower.

Sighing as the steamy water cascaded onto her head and down her back, Leina started to wash her hair, getting the mud and grime out of it. She noticed that only Luna had managed to get her bathroom supplies into the actual bathroom... So the only type of shampoo there was a cutesy strawberry cream-smelling kind. SOOOOOOOOO not what Leina was used to...

Leina shook her head and only took enough to get her hair actually washed, but not too much. She really didn't want to be smelling like strawberries for the rest of the night... It just wasn't her AT ALL. She finally managed to clean away all of the dirt from her skin and restoring her natural skin color.

Leina sat down in the shower, just letting the water fall on top of her. She closed her eyes, finding peace in the rhythmic beating of the water on her head and the tiles of the shower.

She had so many questions to ask him. When did he become a vampire? Was he born a vampire, like in the Van Helsing movies? Or did you have to be 'turned' into a vampire? Which parts of the vampire stories were myth and which were real? Did he truly only feed on animals, or was he just telling her that to trick her... or to make sure not to scare her? Was he only doing all of this to trick her-

"No. He wouldn't do that... would he?"

Leina put her head in her hands, then started massaging her skull. She was so not used to being able to trust people. No one she had ever met had known about... people like her friends. She was used to keeping secrets stored away; not revealing them all to someone they barely knew. Even more questions filled her mind.

What kinds of other powers did Edward and the rest of the Cullens have? She had seen some: the super-speed/strength. But did they have others? Ones of mental manipulation?

“Or is that just my feeble teen hormones liking the perfect, moving statue that is Edward Cullen...?”

Leina felt the blush returning to her face as she sat there, huddled under the stream of water. She was only human; she couldn’t be as good-looking as her friends. They were freaking magical, after all! And the immaculate Edward Cullen had seen her in only a towel...

The blush only grew worse.

“Well... it’s no use hiding in here... I have to face him sometime...”

Leina shut off the water, dried herself off, then wrapped the towel around herself once more. Then she realized her other mistake: in her hurry to get out of there, she had totally forgotten her pajamas!!!

She stared at the door, trying to figure other possible options. None came to her mind, so she slowly opened the door, trying to find him and figure out the best evasive, sneaky, and quickest move she could to get in and out.

Edward was laying on his side on the futon, his back turned away from her.

“Perfect chance!”

She opened the door further, then felt it get stuck from something on the ground. She looked down and saw her folded pajamas partially shoved underneath the door.

“I thought you might need those,” he said, scaring Leina for a moment that he might turn. “You sort of forgot them.”

Leina quickly snatched the bundle and closed the door, not able to hear him softly chuckle to himself.

Everything was there in the pile.

“What did he do; go through my stuff?” Leina shrugged. “I guess it’s less embarrassing than having him see me like this aga-” Leina stopped herself from thinking about it.

She hastily pulled on her night clothes. It felt nice to still have these familiar things in a new house. Her usual toothbrush, her red-plaid cotton pants, the black tank top...

Leina quickly brushed her teeth. Then she bent over, giving her hair another quick dry with the towel. She shook her hair, letting it fall back to its original part. Figuring she couldn’t stall anymore, she went out of the bathroom.

Edward turned tentatively, making sure that she wasn’t in a towel still. Seeing it was all clear, he grinned. “So that’s your natural skin color?”

Leina glared. “Stuff it...”

“No, it’s just I don’t know whether I’ve seen you without a slight layer of dirt covering you... I’m sure it’s hard to shower when you’re on the move... camping, and all...”

Leina tilted her head. “How did you-”

“Leonna.”

Her eyebrows furrowed. “And my room... how did you-”

“Leonna again.”

Leina walked over to the futon (which was in sofa-mode), kneeling down next to it. Edward turned fully over onto his other side, resting his head on his hand. His eyes switched from a playful, care-free manner into a confused one.

“What’s wrong?”

“How did you know? Did Leonna just tell you while I was unconscious? She doesn’t tell others about us... what we do... Why did she tell you?”

Edward’s eyes shot down guiltily. He looked like he was fighting something; whether to tell her or not. Then they came back up to meet hers.

“She didn’t tell me...” he said quietly.

Leina laughed, still confused. “But you just said she told you-”

“No...” he said, as if trying to get to a point. “You asked how, and I told you it was her... but she didn’t tell me... well, at least, not consciously...” He looked extremely guilty right now.

Leina’s eyes opened wide. “Edward, did you hurt her? Did you force her to tell-”

“No, of course not!” he said impatiently. “Why would I hurt Leonna?”

Leina refrained from asking, “Well, what about earlier in the forest? You didn’t seem to have a problem then!” But she knew it would only hurt him; he hadn’t done it on purpose.

“Then... if you found out... and she told you... but you said ‘unconsciously’...”

Edward’s eyes brightened, as if that were the key to the problem.

“Then... it had to do something with her mind?”

He nodded.

“Her mind told you?”

He nodded again, looking more excited.

“So... you can read minds?”

Edward grinned. “You’re quite good at figuring out mysteries when you want to be, Leina.”

A light pink rose to her cheeks, but Leina did her best not to look too affected by the compliment. “So, how does the mind-reading work?” she asked inquisitively.

Edward’s eyes shot to the window, then back again. He sat up suddenly, catching Leina off guard by the abrupt movement.

“Sorry...” he mumbled. “I forget you aren’t used to it yet,” he explained, referring to how fast he could move. “But, in the words of Leonna, I think it’s time for non-nocturnal Leina’s to get to bed.” He stood up.

Leina twisted to look at him, folding herself into an Indian-style sitting position. She folded her arms tightly over her chest, giving him a classic pout-face. “I can be nocturnal if I want to be.”

Edward laughed again, sending chills up Leina’s spine. “Right... sure you can. I might not be human anymore, but I know enough about you all to know you have to get sleep!” he said, teasingly.

Leina’s eyes brightened. “You said ‘anymore’! That means you were human before! Well that throws the ‘Van Helsing-style’ theory...”

Edward’s eyes widened, then closed. “You make me say more than I should...” he sighed.

Then, in a mere second, he had gripped her shoulders in her powerful hands and lifted her up a few inches off the ground. He transferred her a few feet away from where she had previously sat. Then he pulled the futon and fixed it into its bed-version. He walked over, grabbing her pillow and sleeping bag. Throwing the pillow perfectly onto the bed, he unzipped the sleeping bag, making it into a very large blanket, and tossed that onto the bed as well.

“Go on, get in bed.”

Leina’s eyes glittered stubbornly. “You didn’t answer my questions.”

He sighed again. “Do you want me to put you into the bed?”

“Sure you will. Can you just answer my questions?”

Edward smirked. “You don’t think I can?”

“I know you can, I just don’t think you will! Now, that mind thing-”

Leina barely felt herself get lifted up into his arms. She had scarcely seem him even move! Then she felt herself crashing onto the futon.

She opened her eyes --she hadn’t even remembering closing them!-- and saw Edward only two or three inches away from her face. He was still smirking.

“Told you I would.”

“That... was freaky...”

Edward chuckled again. “I’m sorry... did I scare you?”

“If I said yes, would you answer my questions as a consolation prize?”

Edward huffed and pushed himself away from her, letting her sit up. He was at the edge of her bed, attempting to control his breathing.

“What’s wrong?”

Edward looked over at Leina, her eyes looking worriedly at him. He turned away. “Yeah... just getting that close all of a sudden was a brainless thing to do...”

“I-... I’m sorry...”

Edward shook his head. “No, it’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have done that; I let it get the better of me... I should have been more careful.”

Leina grabbed her pillow, hugging it. She stared over at him. He seemed to be in control. She couldn’t sense anything different about him, like he had been back in the clearing in the forest.

“I am SO gonna have nightmares about that...”

Edward got up from the bed and sat down on the floor.

“You don’t have to sit on the floor. You can sit on the bed.”

Edward stared, a hard, do-not-argue-with-me look on his face. “You need to get your sleep.”

“I can sleep while you sit there. It’s more comfortable than the floor!” she said.

Edward seemed torn. Would it be safer for him to just stay on the floor?

“And this section of the futon can be yours for only the mere price of a few questions answered by yourself, folks!” she joked. He smiled, trying not to laugh. Leina took this as a cue to keep going. “Yup, folks, this area of the futon can be yours for that small price! You can even choose which questions you answer! Call in now and we’ll let you have double the area!”

Edward laughed out loud, then got up. “How can I turn down such a reasonable offer?” he said, playing along with her joke. Then he looked down into her eyes. “But only if you lay down and try to sleep, okay? I won’t answer any of them if you don’t try to get to sleep. Leonna will have my head...”

Leina grinned, happy with her win, and complied to his demand. “Fair enough.” She scooted over, closer to the wall, letting him have the complete other half of the futon.

Edward walked over, turned off the light, then cautiously sat down on the futon, crossing his legs.

“Now close your eyes.”

Leina sighed. “Yes, sir...” she said irritably.

He chuckled. “Now, what’s your first question?”

“So... how does the mind-reading work?”

“That’s not a question, that’s an entire topic,” he said, frowning.

Leina grinned, cracking her eyes open a little bit to see his expression. “It’s a question,” she insisted, innocently.

“I can almost always hear them. It’s like... a quiet hum... I just have to focus on which one I want to hear. It doesn’t extend to that big of a distance, unless I’ve heard their thoughts more than most people’s. The longer I’ve heard their ‘voice’, the longer distance I can hear their thoughts.”

“Who’s thoughts can you hear? Everyone’s?”

“Well... I thought so... I can’t hear your’s.”

Leina’s eyes flew open. “Really?! Am I the only one?”

Edward failed at hiding his smile. “Yes, so far, you are the only one. Now close your eyes again.”

Leina shut her eyes again.

“Now... next question.”

“Um... so... you were turned into a vampire?”

“...Yes...” he replied quietly.

Leina sensed that this could be a touchy subject. She tried to figure which of her questions would be the least hurtful for him to answer. “And... you were born in 1901, correct?”

“Correct again...” He wanted to know where she was taking this.

“And you insisted that you’re seventeen... so I’m figuring that your body stops aging once you become a vampire, right?”

“... yes...?”

“So you were turned over when you were seventeen... in 1918, then.”

He seemed to realize why she had asked and confirmed all of that information. “Yes... You’re right... about all of it.”

Leina nodded her head. She cracked open one eye, barely able to see her room. Edward, however, was easy to see. The moonlight from her window shone from behind him, making his pale skin almost glow. His golden eyes glittered in the darkness, looking down at her.

She blushed a little and turned over on her side, her back to him. She knew the red would be visible to him, even in the dark.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

"Uh... I was just wondering who turned you..." Leina said, saying the first thing that came to her mind.

"It was Carlisle." He seemed to hear her sharp intake of breath from the shock, and explained. "I was sick... he was a doctor in Chicago."

Leina remained silent, but turned onto her stomach and slid her head under her pillow.

He seemed to think that this was a silent way of her showing she was upset that it was someone so close to him. "I was dying, Leina... he turned me because I had no other option, and I don't blame him for it."

"It's not that..." Leina mumbled into her pillow. "I was just surprised that..." She dropped off in mid-sentence.

"What is it?"

Silence followed.

Edward sighed in frustration. "This is almost torture, you know... not knowing what you're thinking..."

"Welcome to the real world..."

He chuckled as Leina turned onto her side, now facing him.

"I was just surprised... I wouldn't have thought that you were sick and dying like that when-" She didn't want to think of that image of a human-Edward, laying stone-still, not ever able to grin again --she didn't want to picture it. "I also didn't think that this 'Carlisle'..."

"Right, I almost forgot. You haven't met either Carlisle or Esme yet?"

Leina looked up at him, clearly confused. "Who are-"

"They're the ones who 'adopted' me," he explained.

"So... they're like your parents?"

Edward smiled lovingly at her question. "Yes, I suppose so... but you should know that leaving me in suspense for so long was absolute torture, right?"

Leina smirked, knowing he was talking about not being able to read her mind. "That's how I feel all the time with you guys."

Edward cracked that wonderful, crooked smile, looking very apologetic.

Leina reached out a hand, laying on his. "Don't worry; I'll forgive you for it," she teased.

He seemed shocked for a moment that she had touched him. But he eventually relaxed. His hand turned over, palm up. Leina hesitantly put her hand in his.

"You're not scared? That I might l might loose control again?" he asked quietly.

Leina closed her eyes and smiled. "Nope," she answered simply.

Edward sighed. "But you should be..." he whispered. "Maybe I won't because, subconsciously, I'm afraid of Leonna's threat...?"

"Threat?" Her eyes burst open, puzzled.

"If I hurt you... or 'tried anything', she said she would... oh, what was the phrase she used..." He paused, pretending to have trouble remembering.

"Now you're torturing me!" Leina whined.

Edward laughed. "Oh, how the tables can turn. I believe it was something along the lines of beating me with my own spine...?"

Leina giggled. "That's Leonna for ya... but when did she-" Then she remembered the looks they were sending each other after coming up the stairs. "Oh... dang mind conversations..." she said, yawning. Leina then realized how tired she actually was.

Edward laughed, then laid his hand on Leina's forehead. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face, then rested his hand over her eyes, closing them. He bent down close to her ear.

"Good night, Leina... sleep well."

That was the last thing she heard before falling asleep; Edward's angelic voice.