First Blood | Ed. Cullen & B. Swan

Chapter 6

"I'm just saying! If animals could talk, dolphins would, without a doubt, be the rudest! They're literally the bullies of the sea. Everybody thinks it's the sharks, but hell no! Dolphins are one of the most sadistic animals I've ever seen. They're horrible."

Simon was about ready to bang his head against the dashboard.

It had been a few weeks since he and Bella had started dating in secret after their first kiss, but Jess was too good at nosing her way into other people's business. She found out that they were together, and she made it her goal to drag them out on a triple date. The date itself hadn't been too bad, but their conversations to fight boredom were slowly driving Simon to insanity.

They were in Mike's suburban, and he was taking them all home. Simon and Bella sat up front with him, with Bella stuck in the middle seat. Jess, Angela, and Ben were stuck in the back seat. For the last ten minutes, Mike, Ben, and Jess had been arguing about what animal would be the rudest if they could talk, with Bella throwing in small opinions here and there. Simon and Angela had opted to stay out of the conversation.

Ben thought it was dolphins, Mike thought it would be chimpanzees, Jess thought it would be geese, and Bella thought it would be meerkats.

Simon tried to block out most of their conversation, though he perked up as he saw them close to Bella's house. He got out the second the vehicle came to a stop, and he helped Bella out before telling their friends goodbye. They started to walk to the house as Mike drove away, but Simon's steps faltered as they approached the door. He let his hand drop from hers.

"Someone's here to see you," He mumbled, "Just...head inside. I'm...going to go head up to your room. Call for me if you need me to come down."

Bella stared at him, confusion written across her face. She took out her key, unlocking the door before walking inside. She turned the light on and gasped in shock as she nearly ran into Alice.

"Alice!" She exclaimed, instantly pulling the shorter female into a hug. "I'm sorry, I just—I can't believe you're here!"

"Would you like to explain to me how you're alive?" She continued as she saw Bella's confusion. "I saw a vision of you! You were bitten by a vampire! You told them to! Why the hell would you try and kill yourself? What about Charlie? What do you think he would do if you were turned?"

"I didn't try to kill myself!" Bella rushed out, quickly trying to defend herself. "I wasn't trying to be turned. I was expressing my trust."

***

"I have never met anyone more prone to life-threatening idiocy," Alice said as she sat next to Bella on the couch.

"I...just...did you...did you tell him?" Bella asked as she stared down into her cup of hot cocoa.

"No," Alice said with a small sigh, "He...only calls in once every few months. He said he wants to be alone."

They sat in silence for a moment before Alice broke it after taking a whiff.

"Bella...what smell are you covered in? Are you wearing cologne?"

Bella's face flushed as she glanced back down at herself, setting her mug down on the table. "Um, yeah, I think it might be cologne. Or his scent is just really strong. I'm, um, pretty sure you're smelling my boyfriend," Bella went quiet for a moment, running her hand through her long hair. "He's, um, he's kind of a vampire...too."

"Bella! Vampires aren't good company to keep!"

Bella raised an eyebrow, her gaze flickering down Alice before looking back up at her friend. "Uh, is that supposed to be a joke, or...?"

Alice rolled her eyes. "I mean other vampires, Bella. The human drinking kind. Which he obviously would be, considering 1. The Denali coven and our family are the only vegetarians near here, and 2. I saw him bite you!"

"Speak for yourself." Bella and Alice's attention instantly snapped over to Simon at the sound of his voice. He was standing in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest as he leaned against the door frame. "I've been pretty good company," His gaze moved away from Alice, landing on Bella instead. He flashed her a sheepish smile. "Sorry Izz, I had to see if you were safe."

"Simon?" Alice muttered under her breath, seemingly lost in thought. She snapped out of it, looking back up at the male. "Well, I'm not going to hurt her."

Simon rolled his eyes, scuffing under his breath. "Relax, I wasn't talking about you. You're relatively harmless. I'm talking about the other vamp running loose. Victoria's been around."

"Victoria?" Alice asked, "I didn't...see her. I didn't see you after you were bit, either." Her eyes flickered over to Simon before her gaze hardened to ice. "I can't see past you and your reckless decisions."

Simon scuffed, moving away from the door frame. "You can't see me for the same reason Eddie can't read my thoughts. Because I don't want you to. Hate me all you want, but I've been doing my damnedest to protect her since you all left her here."

"Hey, stop," Bella said, getting up from her seat to stand between the two of them. "Stop. Stop, stop, stop, stop."

Alice sighed, looking between the two of them. "Fine, I'll give you two a minute." She walked out, leaving the two of them alone.

"Is he...?" Simon trailed off, clearing his throat before starting again. "Are the others...how many of the others are here? Are they staying?"

"No," Bella spoke, moving to grab her mug again. "It's just Alice. And she can stay as long as she'd like."

"Of course she can. Are...are the others coming back, though?" He asked as he followed her into the kitchen. He subconsciously crossed his arms over his chest, watching her as she put the mug in the sink.

"No," She snapped, "Not that I know of. Anything else?"

Simon shook his head, looking back down at the ground. "No, sorry," He muttered, "I'm not very good at not being nosy, am I? I can't stop asking about things that have nothing to do with me."

"Let's just...we'll get there, alright? We'll talk about it. We can work it out, I promise."

Simon started to speak, but he was cut off by the phone ringing. He picked it up, speaking absentmindedly.

"Swan residence," His smile dropped off of his face as he listened to the person on the other end. "Charlie's not here right now. He's arranging a funeral for—what? No, I can tell him you called—," He broke off, hesitantly putting the phone back when the other person hung up.

"Who was it?" Bella asked, moving closer and taking Simon's hand into her own.

Simon lightly squeezed her hand in return. "It was Ed–" He was cut off by Alice rushing in.

"Bella," She said, "It's Edward. He thinks you're dead. Rosalie told him why I came here."

Bella ripped her hand away from Simon, shooting him a glare. "Why didn't you let me speak to him?"

Simon's expression flashed with hurt as she moved away from him. He tried to ignore it, answering her question instead. "He asked for Charlie. He asked where he was and what he was doing. I didn't think about it. Izzy, please, you have to believe me. My mind was focused on Harry's funeral, I'm sorry!"

"I don't care!" Bella glared at him before Alice took her attention away from him.

"Bella, he's going to the Volturi. He wants to die, to be with you."