Iridescence | Edward x OC

29

"Rule number one." She reminded him, hoping it would be enough to get him to let her go.

"I'd say this touching is pretty necessary." He shrugged. "It's keeping you from throwing me on the floor, and possibly breaking something in the process."

Aris groaned, still trying to wiggle out of his tight hold on her, when a lightbulb went off in her head.

Silence and tension fell between them as she purposefully darted her gaze down from his eyes to his lips, and back up to his eyes again.

It was then that Edward realized the true intimacy of how they were positioned, him hovering over her closely with his knees on either sides of her legs, his hands holding her wrists above her head, and their faces only inches away.

Aris really hoped her plan would work, because otherwise it would just be embarrassing.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she very slowly started to sit up, closing the distance between their faces so their lips were only a centimeter away, and they were practically sharing a breath.

Edward's breath hitched in his chest as all coherent thoughts left his brain, him instinctively loosening his grip around her wrists as her lips almost brushed against his.

Aris smiled cheeky, using the opportunity to whip her hands out of his grasp and push him back, climbing out from under him so she was now standing beside the bed again.

He quickly masked his once lust filled and shocked expression, rearranging his features so they appeared unbothered once again.

"You're so stubborn." She whined, watching him resume his place in laying down on the bed once again. "Fine, I give up. You win. We'll share, but you're not gonna fucking touch me, creep." She grumbled, earning an eye roll from Edward.

Aris took a seat on the other side, leaving several feet of awkward space between them, though the space felt necessary.

"So, what're your plans for us tomorrow? You said before you left that you had everything planned out and that I was "just along for the ride"." He snickered.

"Well, I was thinking that tomorrow we could just drive around town, and get you more comfortable with the area again." She suggested hesitantly. "When we arrived yesterday, you seemed a little unnerved by the city itself, and if we want this trip to go as smoothly as possible, I'd say the first step is no longer seeing this city as a place where a horrific accident took place, but rather, a city that's just a part of your past."

Edward nodded, not entirely opposed to the idea. However, he knew it'd be difficult and nerve wracking to face all of the familiar places again, especially if Aris made them drive to where Bella had lived.

"And I guess, depending on how you're feeling, on Monday I was thinking we could drive down to the police station and see what happened the months afterward." She watched Edward's face for any signs of disapproval. "We could try and find out what happened to her parents after the incident, how they dealt with it, and if they're still around. And I guess on Tuesday we could try and figure out where her friends are now. If any of them still happen to be living here, then we could possibly try to talk with some of them." She continued, twiddling with her fingers. "I know it's all super hypothetical. I mean, who knows if we'll find anything at all, but it's worth a shot, right?"

Edward nodded, his chest warming with the fact that she'd thought through all of this, and brought him here to help get him closure. Of course it was also to help her nightmares, but it was obviously for him as well.

"Thank you Aris." He said softly.

She nodded, standing up and grabbing a t-shirt and shorts, then heading into the bathroom to change and brush her teeth for the night.

"You know how creepy it is that you're just gonna lay there while I sleep? It's like you're a damn peeping tom or something." She chastised, crawling into her side of the bed several minutes later.

"Trust me, I'd sleep if I could." He scoffed. "Seriously though, I know we were just joking around before, but if you're uncomfortable with me being here, please tell me. I don't mind going downstairs and purchasing a separate room. I don't want to invade your privacy." He cautiously stated.

Aris waved her hand to dismiss that.

"It's fine, I'm not uncomfortable at all actually. Besides, if we're going to be around each other forever, we were bound to end up having a "sleepover" at some point, right?"

Edward chuckled, nodding, then putting one of his arms behind his head.

Aris yawned, shutting off her bedside lamp so the only lighting in the room was now coming from the moon shining through the window.

"Goodnight Edward." She whispered, letting her eyes flutter closed.

"Goodnight Aris."

'God, please don't let me have a nightmare tonight.'