1: Skinny Love (Ed. Cullen)

21.

Edward sits in Carlisle's study, one leg crosses over the other, chin in his hand, Bambi's getting stranger, the voices, the healing and now the strength, and it's like she didn't have any idea how hard she was hitting, if Connor had been human, he fears what that would have meant. He turns his head and looks to Carlisle as he turns Connor's chin to look over the crack in his skin.

"Bambi did this?" Emmett asks standing behind Edward who nods. "And all she did was break a finger?"

"Yes" Edward hisses. "Tell me that this isn't weird?" He asks looking to Carlisle who touches the crack in Connor's check.

"She punches with the strength to crack vampire skin, Ed" Connor points out. "It's weird" Edward sighs.

"She's human though, right?" Emmett asks.

"Are we sure of that?" Carlisle asks back, looking to Edward who shrugs. Carlisle sighs. "I'll do some research" he grabs a vial from the side and pours the contents on a gauze pad before pressing it to Connor's cheek.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Connor asks.

"Our venom should heal it"

"And if it doesn't?"

"You'll have a crack in your face" Carlisle answers and pulls the gauze away, the crack almost gone, just a think line, not noticeable to the human eye remains. "There's a scar" Carlisle tells him. "But I can barely see it" Connor touches his face, Edward stands and then smirks.

"To be fair, you did have it coming" Connor looks to him. "You called her freak and you've been treating her twin like...." Connor nods and looks down.

"Yeah, I've be.....it's easier for you"

"No it's not...." Edward tells him. "She confounds me, it's irritating....but she's fascinating, and yes, every time I am near her, I want to tear her throat out" Carlisle looks to him. "That's not very delicate but that's how I feel"

"Why don't you?" Connor asks. "How can you bare to be around her?" Edward smiles and shrugs.

"Because at the same time, being around her, I don't feel like a monster....and if I were to hurt her, to kill her, I would be that monster" Connor looks to Edward, they share a look of understanding, Edward squeezing Connor's shoulder.

................

Edward approaches where Bambi sits setting up her violin for their music class, he takes his seat at her side.

"Hello, Bambi" he greets, she smiles and she glances to him.

"Hey....Sorry I punched your brother" she mumbles, he smirks and nods.

"Yeah, that was...." he looks to her. "Impressive" she shrugs.

"Bella says I may have an issue with my temper"

"Not when it was warranted" he corrects. "I even think he was a little too harsh" she sighs.

"I still shouldn't have punched him" he chuckles.

"I don't think he minds that much, like I said, it was impressive" she looks to him. "How's your hand?" he asks, she holds it up and shrugs.

"Just broke my finger, it's fine, I popped it back in....it's not the first time I've broken a finger punching something" he looks to her and smirks. "Last time it was....a concrete wall.." she frowns. "Your brother must have a really hard face" Edward smiles uneasily at the analogy, he takes her hand and looks over her finger, noting that she doesn't flinch at all at the temperature of his hands, though she should have more so, given her own temperature, higher than it should be, also given that she's a runner, they have slow resting heart rates, and hers is slightly faster than normal. He rubs his thumb over her knuckle and she smiles. "See....it's fine" he turns her hand over and smiles.

"Given your talent with the violin I would be more careful" he scolds softly. "To do irreversible damage and to loose that talent..." she smirks and chuckles.

"With the way I heal...I don't think that's an issue" he shrugs as she pulls her hand back.

"How long have you been able to do that?" Edward asks, she shrugs.

"As long as I can remember" she answers.

"And you're not curious as to why?" he asks, she looks to him.

"You think my....voices and my healing are connected?"

"I don't know" he admits and shrugs. "Maybe" she looks to her music manuscript on the desk.

"You still think they are thoughts?" she whispers.

"I do" he answers, he looks to her. "There is an easy way to test it" he tells her, resting his arm on the back of her chair and leans closer to her.

"How?" she asks looking to him, faces close, he can feel her breath on his face, can smell her, that damn scent.

"Pick someone" he tells her looking around the classroom. "Anyone and concentrate on them" she looks around. "Block out everything else around you and just focus on them...." he tells her, Bambi chooses Angela, sat quietly behind her cello. "That's it, just focus on Angela.....and block out everyone, even me, and let the voices in" Bambi stares at Angela, and tries to do just that, but he's sat so close to her, too close, it's distracting, she looks to him.

"Can you...lean back?" he raises an eyebrow. "You're distracting me" he smirks and leans back a little. She turns back to Angela and takes a deep breath. Concentrate on Angela. She tells herself. All other noise drops out around her and one single voice sounds in her head. Angela's. Going through a list of her assignments. Her homework. A to do list. It's such an Angela thing. Bambi gasps slightly and all noise rushes back, she reaches up and clutches her head. Edward leans closer again.

"Bambi?" he asks, she frowns and rubs her head harder before standing. "Bambi" he calls softly, she makes her escape, Edward watches her go worried, but he knows she'll need her space, he knows she now knows he's right.