𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐃𝐈𝐄 ➤ 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

𝐱𝐢𝐢. 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

"What got you started - a book? A movie?" he probed.

"No - it was Saturday, at the beach." Bella risked a glance up at his face. He looked puzzled.

"You went to the beach this weekend?"

"Yeah, it was pretty much a last minute decision," she informs him.

He looked at her wanting to continue.

"I met this kid, Jacob Black and his dad is one of the Quileute tribe leaders," she slowly starts off. His eyes immediately froze as his whole body was tensed.

"He started talking about some old legends and one of them being...."

"Go on," he quietly says.

"Vampires."

"And you immediately thought of me?" Still calm.

"Well, one of the older kids was saying how...your family aren't allowed at La Push beach," she explains.

He was silent, staring at the road.

"So I got Jacob alone and I tricked it out of him," Bella admitted.

He startled her by laughing. He was laughing, but his eyes were fierce, staring ahead.

"Tricked him how?" he asked.

"I tried to flirt - it worked better than I thought it would." Disbelief colored her tone as Bella remembered.

"I'd like to have seen that." He chuckled darkly. "And you accused me of dazzling people - poor Jacob Black."

"What did you do then?" he asked after a minute.

"Well....nothing?" It came out as a question which was true. She already knew his secret so there was no action being occurred when Jacob told her the legend.

"Nothing?" he said in an incredulously tone.

"It doesn't matter to me...what you are," she shrugs.

A hard, mocking edge entered his voice. "You don't care if I'm a monster? If I'm not human!"

"No."

He was silent, staring straight ahead again. His face was bleak and cold.

"You're angry," Bella sighed. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"No," he said, but his tone was as hard as his face. "I'd rather know what you're thinking - even if what you're thinking is insane."

"How old are you?" she blurted out.

"Seventeen," he answered promptly.

"And how long have you been seventeen?"

His lips twitched as he stared at the road. "A while," he admitted at last.

This made her even more curious, but she was glad he was being honest. That's more than she can say.

"Does the sun affect you?" Bella asked in wonder as her thoughts drifted to when the Cullens were absent on two sunny days.