First Blood | Ed. Cullen & B. Swan

Chapter 4

Simon sat with his back against the headboard, watching Isabella as she lounged at the foot of her bed. She was writing a new email to her mother, and Simon was stuck in his thoughts.

"Hey Izzy," He murmured, subconsciously raking his fingers through his short hair, "If I were to give you something, would you wear it?"

She nodded her head without looking away from her laptop, briefly brushing a strand of her hair out of her face.

"Of course, I would. What's the occasion? Did I miss something?"

Simon shook his head, dropping it back against the headboard. "Not really, no. I've just been thinking about giving it to you for a while, but I wasn't sure if you'd want it or not. It's not exactly something new."

She sat up after closing her laptop, moving over to sit next to him. She curled up into his side as he wrapped his arm around her. She rested her chin against his shoulder, looking up at him through her lashes.

"That makes it better, then. What is it?"

Simon shifted slightly, digging something out of his pocket before holding it up to her. "It belonged to my mother," He muttered quietly. "It was supposed to be passed down through the family, but Esme didn't have children to pass it down to, so she let me have it. I never wear it, so I thought it might be a good gift for you. It's pretty simple, but you can always hide it under your shirt if you want to."

She sat back up while listening to him, excitement lighting her eyes as she saw the locket he carefully held.

"Can you put it on me?" She found herself quietly asking, her eyes flickering up to meet his. She turned around as he nodded, moving her hair out of the way as he clasped it around her neck. She got up after he put it on, moving over to the mirror in the corner of her room.

Simon followed after her, wrapping his arms loosely around her waist as he stood behind her. "You look beautiful, Izzy," He murmured softly, placing a brief kiss on her cheek.

He watched her reaction in the mirror, smiling to himself as he saw her face alight with blush. A smile soon graced her face as she looked at their reflection in the mirror, placing her hands on top of his. The smile slowly dropped off of her face as she stared at his eyes in the reflection. Suddenly, she turned around to face him, taking his face in her hands.

"When was the last time you fed?" She asked softly, her thumb lightly caressing his cheek.

"Honest answer?" He asked her quietly, continuing when she nodded. "A little over ten years."

Her eyes widened in shock as she stared up at him. "I thought you had to feed to survive? How is that even possible?"

He shifted his weight, his gaze briefly flickering away. He hadn't wanted to approach this topic with her. Especially not so soon. He let out a quiet sigh, allowing his eyes to meet hers again. "It has to do with my 'gift.' I don't like to talk about it much, but it allows me to do certain things. I made it so I cannot feed unless the subject was willing. Animals don't, and humans rarely do, so my body learned to go unfed for a long time."

"Does it hurt?" She asked, brushing his hair out of his face to see him better.

"...Not anymore," He whispered, his gaze dropping away from her. "But I think it's worth it, either way. It makes it easier to be around blood. And around people in general. It dulls my senses a bit, but it's worth it," He looked back at her, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear before he cupped her face gently in his hands. "It makes me able to be this close to you, to hold you, to love and want you as much as I do without being afraid of hurting you. Since I met you, there hasn't been a single day that I've regretted it. You make me feel human, Izzy. You make my life better. You make me feel alive."

"Simon..." She trailed off, looking up at him with uncertainty written clearly in her expression.

"I know," He muttered, resting his head against hers as he continued to hold her face. "God, Izzy, I know. You still love him. I'm okay with that. I've loved him, too. I'm not asking you to give that up. I'm not asking you to give him up. Just please, Izz, can you give me a chance?"

He pulled back when he was met with silence. He watched as she stood there, her gaze dropped to the floor. His expression slowly started to fall the longer he waited. He stepped away from her, swallowing thickly as he walked back over and sat down on the bed.

"I've overstepped," He murmured, "Haven't I?"

He kept his eyes toward the ground as he heard her footsteps approach. He didn't look up when she said his name, but he looked up at her with confusion shining in his eyes as she tilted his chin up toward her.

A gasp ripped from his throat as she smashed her lips to his. The first thing he registered was how soft her lips were. He found his arms snaking around her waist as he kissed her back, and he pulled her down into his lap. Her hands slid into his hair, gripping onto it as she teasingly bit down on his lip.

She pulled back suddenly, surprised by the groan he released from her teasing. Her face was flushed as they stared at each other, and a grin formed on his face as she laughed softly.

"Sorry," She mumbled as she beamed up at him, "I wasn't expecting a reaction quite like that."

They remained silent for a while, staring into each other's eyes before she broke through the quietness.

"You make me feel alive, too."