Aiyanna
I felt like I was being dragged to reality as I walked to class the next morning.
Spending the day with Edward yesterday was at the same time a good and a bad idea. A bad one because it was the only thing I could think of even while being seated in class. And a good one because I enjoyed every bits of it, whether it was for the discussions we had, the silences during which we just delighted in our surroundings and each other's presence or...the limit check as Edward called it.
I hid my face with my hands just thinking about it.
What had gotten through me ? Why would I torture not only me but Edward as well ? While touching him, I was able to feel his emotions mix with mine, and it took a tremendous strength to stop myself.
Although I could feel a certain sense of completion inside of me for just being in his presence, I was dying to deepen our connexion, but didn't allow myself to. If I did, it would have consumed me to the point where I wasn't sure that I would have had the strength to part ways with him and go back to a somewhat normal life after that.
I remembered how long it took for Sam to be able to think of anything else but Emily. For weeks, I had to take the lead in our pack of four because of his inability to go past his obsession with his imprint.
I couldn't allow myself to fall into that trap when I was so close to finish high school.
When the bell rang, signalling the end of classes for today, I was awaited by Edward who managed to find my classroom as always and wait for me to come out of it.
"Alice has been waiting for you." he announced, smiling.
"It will have to be quick, then. I can't be late." I said.
Thankfully, since it was the last week for senior promotions, our classes only lasted until lunch, which gave us the time for last-minute studies before the finals.
In my case, today, some members of the pack and I were going to attend Paul's, Jared's and Ricky's graduation ceremony. The promotions at the reservation graduated earlier than ours.
Edward and I arrived at the parking lot where our cars were parked beside each other and where Alice and Jasper were waiting for us.
"I thought I gave you my number so we didn't have to be tortured by each other's scent." I reminded her.
"It's okay ! You have Edward, I have Jasper." Alice answered, smiling brightly.
Of course, Jasper would take Alice's disgust away. She was indeed, lucky to have him.
"What is it, Alice ?" I asked.
"I am organizing a slumber party to which you are going to be part of, since Rose and I were supposed to be watching over you tonight and tomorrow. It's better than just sitting on a tree, hearing you talk while you sleep." Alice said.
"You don't have to do it, you know that ?"
Alice rolled her eyes before she pointed at Edward. "Say that to him."
I glanced at Edward who looked back at me with an innocent expression. I knew that this babysitting schedule had been organized by him from the beginning, and my attempts at making him change his mind have never been fruitful so far.
"I was counting on your friends to watch over your parents, since I know for a fact that it would be your first reason to say no. Besides, not to disgust you but your parents might need some time alone if you know what I mean." Alice continued.
"Ew... You saw that ? " I murmured, shivering.
Alice slowly nodded, shivering as well.
I prohibited myself from trying to interpret her words. I never wanted to have these kind of images engraved in my mind. I could only feel bad for her.
I guessed, I would have to warn the boys not to stay too close to the house.
"Carlisle, Jasper, Emmett and I will be running off to the Mt Stasha for a two day hunting trip." Edward informed me.
So it would indeed, just be between the girls and I. Weighing up the pros and cons of Alice's proposal, I was able to remember a con which I hoped she thought of beforehand.
"Your scents will be all over the house, it'll be too painful for me to breathe."
Alice brushed the idea off with her hand. "You'll sleep in Edward's bedroom. And we will keep the windows open. Come on, just say yes !"
She was very lucky that I was exempted from patrol this week, until finals would be over. I was sure though, that the shifts would be more intense once I would be done with school.
"Okay." I finally accepted.
Alice squealed while clapping her hands a little too fast to be done by a human.
"Is there anything you want to eat ?" Alice asked me.
I shook my head. "Snacks is fine. I'll be eating with the boys today." I answered, while walking backwards towards my car.
"I'll pack your bag and bring it home, if you need me to."
"I might actually need you to, to be honest."
I had no intentions to go back home to pack right after the boys' graduation. Besides, I was sure that we would gather together after the ceremony.
"Consider it done ! I'll see you later !"
"Yeah, yeah." I trailed off while hopping in my car.
Alice was ranting excitedly about what we would do to Jasper, while sitting in the backseat of Edward's Volvo. My eyes met Edward's who was still standing outside of his car.
"Good luck" he mouthed, smirking.
Have a nice trip - I thought to which he nodded to, before I turned on the ignition and drove off.
~~
The pack kept on growing bigger and bigger.
We believed firmly that our genes woke up at the presence of vampires in town, which was why the Cullens along with Victoria and the unknown intruder made not only one but two werewolves turn. And the scariest part was that the more transformations there were and the younger the new shapeshifters were.
Collin and Brady were a year younger than Seth only, who was already too young in my point of view. Although they wouldn't like it, there was no way either Sam or I would have them near the front rows in case of hunts such as last weekend.
Both Collin and Brady were being supervised by Sam and Jacob, since their classes ended sooner than ours at Forks High, while Quil, Seth, Embry and I assisted to Paul's, Jared's and Ricky's graduation.
Although this ceremony could seem trivial, I couldn't help but be happy for them. Especially for Paul and Jared who could now rest without having to think about the school they had to be dragged to almost every morning.
After the ceremony, the boys, their parents and I gathered at a restaurant at the reservation where I realized that most families had thought of the same idea. So much, that it seemed like I was in the middle of one big gathering between people who all knew each other. The place was noisy, but lively as people talked over their shoulders with families seated around them.
Knowing that my parents would come home late today, I simply sent them a message to let them know of the sudden two-day slumber party I got myself involved into. Of course, both of them were surprised of the fact that I was sleeping at the Cullens house, what earned me a call from both of them once they read my text.
While making sure to omit the intruder incident, I simply reassured my parents and suggested for them to think of themselves as newlyweds with no child to worry about for the next two days. Of course, out of the two of them, my father didn't fail to share his excitement at the idea, which made me more than happy to hang up on him.
Before driving to the Cullens house, I drove to mine first. I was well aware that my scent was very much disliked by vampires and vice versa. Knowing that I had been around the boys for hours, I was a little bit uncomfortable to walk in the Cullen's house with the boys' scents mixed with mine on me, which was why, when I walked upstairs, I straightly went to the bathroom.
After walking from the bathroom to my bedroom wrapped in my towel, I stood in front of my wardrobe in shock. I had opened both doors only too see that the shelves were almost empty. How much clothes did Alice take with her while packing up my bag ? Why did the amount of remaining clothes seem so small all suddenly ?
I was in charge of doing laundry in our house, which was why I was certain that my clothes wouldn't be in the washing mashine or on the drying racks. To erase all doubts, I still went downstairs and checked the drying racks that we kept in the veranda. However, the clothes I hadn't picked up yet weren't mine.
"What the hell..."
Confused, I walked towards the stairs again, but stopped in my tracks for a second when I caught the scent of a vampire. Thanks to the numerous times when I had to bump into that scent, I was able to recognize it before I even walked into my bedroom.
"How long are you going to take ?" Alice asked, her eyebrows furrowed with her arms crossed over her chest.
"How much clothes did you take with you ?" I asked back.
Alice scoffed. "There wasn't even enough for me to pack. We need to go shopping again. If I had known that your closet was this empty, I would have secretly bought you clothes."
I picked up a grey jogger pants, a plain black teeshirt and the underwear I put on in the bathroom, before I met Alice again, sitting with her legs crossed, on the edge of bed.
"We're running out of time. Edward made me promise to let you sleep for eight to nine hours straight." she hurried me.
I pursed my lips, preventing them from curving upwards in a smile. The simple mention of his name seemed to play a huge role in my moodswings.
"No need for you to take your car keys. I'm parked in front of your house. I'll be driving to school tomorrow." Alice informed me.
I nodded knowing that I didn't have a choice, so it was best to just save my saliva.
Alice and I found our way to her car, and she drove insanely fast to her house. Although I had better reflexes now, which was what the Cullens relied on the most when they drove, I never really wanted to go way over the limits like they did. I actually prefered running on four legs than being seated in a car. I felt more free of my movements.
Alice and I came out of the car once she parked it in the Cullen's garage a little too fast in my opinion. As soon as she did, she breathed in the air in a big inhalation, which was impossible for me to follow. In shock, although I was kind of expecting it, I covered my nose with my hand.
"You underestimated the power of your scents on me. I feel like my nose is burning." I told her.
"It'll be okay. You will spend most of your time in Edward's bedroom. Besides, Rose opened all the windows possible and as you know, we have a lot of them."
It was true that their residence was very open to outside with its multiple windows and balconies that brought a natural light into the house.
As if to prove her point, when we walked upstairs, I realized that even their front door was ajar. Thankfully, the air flowing into the house made it less painful for me to breathe, but it didn't make the pain disappear. Just a little bit more bearable.
From the entrance, I could sense Edward's scent in his bedroom. It was as if an invisible path had been drawn for me, leading me upstairs to his bedroom. His room was at the farthest end of the third floor hallway.
When I saw Esme's face light up at my sight, I decided to ignore my desires to walk upstairs and stopped myself in the living room.
"Oh, Aiyanna, dear ! How are you ?" Esme inquired, walking up to me and wrapping her arms around me in an embrace.
Just like any other vampire, she would be uncomfortable with my scent, but she never made me feel like she did. So, I did the same in return, by returning her hug quite awkwardly.
"I'm great, Esme." I answered once we let go of each other. "Just a little bit impatient to finish school."
"I am certain you will do great." she reassured me, to which I nodded, smiling.
I looked behind, to see Rosalie who was standing at a distance, near the windows. Of course, she wasn't wearing pyjamas, neither did Alice nor Esme, since they had no intentions to really sleep. But it still didn't explain how she could wear a pair of jeans at home. How uncomfortable would that be ?
I walked around Esme to meet Rosalie with my arms wide open.
"I see you want to hug me as well. Come here." I said, playfully trying to reduce the distance with her, but she never allowed me to as she flew up the stairs.
"Do you want to initiate a war in this family by having me kill you ?" she asked. "You better not put your scent on my hair."
I chuckled. "It's funny that you think you can kill me."
"Enough of that !" Alice interrupted us. "We have tons of things to do and talk about."
I had to admit that I didn't expect that we would do much during these two nights together. In fact, I only expected this slumber party to be a way for the Cullens to follow Edward's lead and keep an eye on me.
However, I found myself talking with the three Cullens until I would go to bed while doing cliché activities such as watching movies, painting nails, doing face masks and even receiving a head massage from Esme's gifted hands. Alice also showed me the line of clothes she had been designing during her free time, as a hobby, and I found myself doing a runway in front of the three girls while having them on.
For once, I felt normal. As if, I didn't need to think of anything else than being an 18-year old teenager. There was no intruder, no Victoria, no patrol shifts, it was just me. The Aiyanna that I had kept dormant for almost a year.
Time flew by so quickly, that I thought Edward had already come back from his trip when I felt his scent get stronger. Even stronger that the scent of the pillow I rested my head on and wrapped my arms around while breathing it in.
"I'm here." his voice broke the silence in his bedroom, only lit up by the moon shining brightly from outside the windows.
I turned my head towards the direction of his voice, only to see him sitting next to me, his back pressed against the headboard of his king sized bed, playing with his hands on his thighs.
"It's been two days already ?" I asked, half asleep.
Edward nodded. "I expected you to be in deep sleep by now."
"Last minute study." I answered.
Finals were starting tomorrow, but the day I dreaded the most was Thursday morning with both Calculus and Biology.
"Don't stress too much about it. Have some sleep. You need it." Edward pressed me.
I narrowed my eyes at him, suspiciously. "I am starting to believe you prefer seeing me while I'm asleep than when I'm awake. Why ? Do I talk too much ?"
Edward laughed. "Nonsense. If that was the case, I wouldn't be watching you in your sleep. You talk even in your dreams." he reminded me, which earned him a glare. "I want what's best for you. Sleeping is important for any human, even more to your kind. Besides, I have noticed that you were more...irritable when you do not sleep enough."
This time, I was the one who laughed but bitterly. "Do you think you are any better ? You're more irritable when you're hungry too." I replicated.
Edward sighed, smiling. While doing so, he allowed himself to put his hand on my head, caressing my temple with his thumb.
I could almost hear myself purr at his action, if he had done it while I was changed.
Edward and I rarely touched each other since he came back in town, but whenever we did, it felt a hundred times more powerful than it did before I imprinted on him. It sent sparks in my insides and made my blood pump harder where his skin was in contact with mine.
"How long are you going to keep arguing with me, Aiyanna ?"
I rolled my eyes. "Forever."
Edward's golden eyes got softer, his smile never leaving his face.
Without moving his hand away from my face, Edward changed position and laid on his side, facing me.
"You have no idea how long I have longed to hear someone say this word to me, with such meaning." Edward told me.
I used to think that our story was one of the saddest ones. For him to finally find someone only to lose her because of age. I never really imagined myself turning into a vampire, at least not now while still being a student in high school. Maybe it would have been an option for me, a few years later. That would have allowed him not to live with the constant fear of losing me because I would be aging.
"You don't mind if I watch you sleep, do you ?" Edward asked, hesitant, almost as if he was testing the boundaries of our relationship.
I whined. "This is the creepiest thing you can say to me."
Edward chuckled. "I can still leave, if you want me to."
"This is very low of you. You know very well I wouldn't kick you out of your own room. Besides, you make the air more breathable."
Edward smiled all the more, knowing that he won the fight again. I glared at him before I turned my head to the other side, making him cease all contact with the side of my face.
"I'll win someday." I groaned before I closed my eyes to doze off to sleep.
I heard him slightly chuckle. "I would love to see you try. Goodnight, Aiyanna."
A/N : This is kind of like a filler chapter but a needed one to get back on track with the original storyline. I hope you'll like it anyway.
Next update this Sunday !