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WHEN I'M DONE WITH YA, BATS, YOU'RE GONNA LOOK LIKE SOMEBODY STEPPED INNA BLACKBERRY AN' STRAWBERRY PIE
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Chief Swan and his sister's only daughter are holding a light conversation in the Swan residence's dining room as he cleans out his dusty rifle. The two of them sit at the dining table, in front of each other, laughing and joking around with one another.
The blond tosses her head back and laughs at something he said to her. She wears some blue pajamas and her fuzzy, blue slippers, having it only been ten minutes since she woke up from her slumber. A massive plate of syrup-drenched, cinnamon pancakes sit directly in front of her, touched by her knife and fork only once. Today, because it's Friday and she doesn't have to enter work, she woke up later than usual. A week has passed since her mother left to New York, and they've kept in touch ever since. You could even say their nightly talks on the phone is to blame for the nasty eye-bags under her eyes.
The brown-haired man laughs loudly, struggling to catch his breath. "I swear! Your mom and I got so scared! We didn't even know what to tell the doctors," he exclaims, remembering back to the day Bella, Jacob made five-year-old Harleen eat one of their famous mud pies. And, of course, Harley being Harley, she ate it and was immediately rushed to the emergency room. Sharon and Charlie didn't know how to explain to the doctors that she ate the mud willingly.
The two of them laugh loudly, clearly enjoying each other's presence. Their wild laughter tampers down once they hear the front door opening and closing. In comes Bella. She walks into the dining room to find her cousin smiling and her father chuckling at something she said while cleaning his firearm. Harley and Charlie look up to find the brunette standing to the sides with an amused smile playing on her lips.
They quiet down.
Harleen glances at her uncle, then at her cousin as she struggles to contain her laughter. It's silent for a moment, before she cracks under pressure and erupts into wild laughter. Spit escapes her mouth accidentally, flies mid-air and clashes with the wall behind a wide-eyed Bella.
The other two watch her quietly, shocked yet amused at her sudden outburst.
Finally, Harley controls herself. She reaches for Charlie's coffee mug and downs it down, smacking it on the table once she's done. "Woo!" She looks up at Bella with a sweet smile. ".. Ya ready, Pud'?"
Bella smiles, pointing awkwardly to the front door. "Yep. Edward's just outside."
Harleen nods in understanding and stands from her chair, patting Charlie's shoulder as she walks past him. "I'll be ready inna minute," she yells before she disappears up the stairs.
The father-daughter duo watch her climb up the steps and walk into the upstair's hallway. A smile makes its way to their lips as they acknowledge the joy and happiness Sharon's visitation has given her.
Bella takes a seat on Harley's abandoned chair, aware that her immortal boyfriend is waiting for her and her cousin outside. "So, what were you guys talking about?"
Charlie replies with a slight chuckle, "Mud Pie Harleen."
"Oh, God," she laughs. "Yeah, I'm surprised she survived all that."
The day begins to wrinkle as darkening, untamed clouds clutter together in the moistened sky, above Emmett Cullen's massive, white Jeep Rubicon as it pulls up to a clearing in the woods. The driver, Edward Cullen, dressed in gloves and an oversized anorak, parks his brother's ridiculously expensive car a few yards away from a roughly put together baseball diamond. The sandlot is set into an enormous field in the lap of the Olympic peaks.
Parked beside the Jeep, is his silver-colored Volvo and his sister's red convertible car.
Him and his human girlfriend climb down the Jeep's black step sliders, immediately noticing the only two people in the area, Emmett and Rosalie. The rest of his family is across the baseball field, preparing for the game.
Rosalie takes notice of the forbidden couple, clearly annoyed by Bella's presence. She decides to ignore them, while Emmett does the exact opposite. He stands beside her, messing around with a wooden bat. Hearing their footsteps, he looks up from it, and immediately grins and waves at them.
His brother's girlfriend, Bella, looks at him and waves while smiling politely.
Jealousy and rage consumes the female vampire once she sees their interaction. Her eyes narrow on the frightful brunette. In a swift motion, she extends her hand and smacks her husband in the chest.
Bella watches with horror as he grunts and bends over, clutching his chest. She glances at Edward, but sees that he's totally unfazed by this. They walk toward the couple, hand-in-hand.
They finally reach the couple, and so Edward parts his lips to say something, but stops suddenly. He watches his sister's golden eyes widen at something standing behind him.
"What the hell is she wearing," she whispers, transfixed on whatever it is that is standing behind her brother.
Everyone spins to find a slender, blonde girl standing by Emmett's Jeep. She wears white makeup, a black mask around her eyes, and a black and red costume with a mix of hearts, diamonds and other card symbols. Dressed like a jester, nobody needs to be told this is Harleen Quinzel, or Harley Quinn as people in Gotham had been jokingly naming her before it was used as an actual alias.
Harley Quinn looks at them, a wide grin spreading across her face. She giggles and strikes a sexy pose. "I'm a harlequin, duh! Now, let's get this show on the road! It's rah, rah time!"
Edward is unknowingly smiling when he feels something brush up against him. He turns his head and finds his sister strutting toward her friend. He watches her snake her pale arms around Harley's waist and pull her into a strong embrace. Giggling, Harleen leans in, wraps her arms around Rosalie's legs to try and pick her off the ground, but fails at doing so, of course. Rosalie tosses her head back and laughs at her, when suddenly something gets a hold of them.
"Aw," Emmett cries loudly. "You're so cute! You're like a cute, little, evil clown!"
Edward gives him a look. "Emmett."
His brother looks at him and shrugs his shoulders innocently. "What? It's the truth."
Edward chuckles slightly and looks down at the love of his life, only to find her staring back at him with a soft smile. His arms snake around her waist, and he leans in to kiss the top of her head. Their intimate moment is cut short when something suddenly smacks him upside the head. Him and Bella look up and find Emmett smirking with Harley and Rosalie under his arms.
His brother gives him a frisky look, quiet for 'I bet you can't.'
A growl escapes Edward's lips as he distances himself from his girlfriend and strides toward Emmett. Rosalie quickly steps in and covers for Harleen, knowing their 'lighthearted' fights are more than just that, lighthearted. Bella joins the girls and laughs with as they watch the two boys wrestle one another.
"Hey, boys! Stop that, will you," a voice cries out from across the field.
Immediately, the two brothers separate and look up to find their adoptive mother scolding them from afar. Harley smiles at the sight of her, clearly fond of the motherly figure. Edward extends his arm, playfully punches his shoulders and joins the girls. He glances at Harleen for a split second, then quickly looks away as he wraps an arm around Bella's shoulders.
Harleen quietly watches them go.
Bella and Edward head toward the family of immortal vampires, talking quietly.
Suddenly, Harley appears before them. She smirks and speeds up, pacing alongside Bella and Edward as they walk deeper into the field. "So, since when do vampires like baseball?"
Edward glances at her and chuckles softly. "It's the American pastime. Plus, there's a thunderstorm coming. It's the only time we can play. You'll see why."
She silently watches him take her cousin's hand and lead her away, where the rest of his family awaits his arrival. "Your funeral. His dessert."
"Hey, Craziness," a deep voice calls to her. She turns, catching a baseball cap Emmett tosses to her. She laughs as she drops it on her head and thumbs it to a sexy tilt. Like it or not, she's one of the guys.
Her, Emmett and Rosalie join the rest of the family.
Immediately, people come to greet her and Bella.
"Good thing you're here. We need a umpire," Esme says, smiling as she suggestively cocks her head at Emmett.
With a big crooked grin, Emmett adds in, "She thinks we cheat."
"I know you cheat," Esme retorts, reaching to grab a wooden baseball bat off the ground. "Call 'em as you see 'em, girls."
Harleen glances at Bella and laughs after watching her nod her head awkwardly. The brunette shoots her a look and smacks her shoulder, shaking her head as she tries to contain a smile.
"It's time," someone says nearby.
They turn and see Alice Cullen standing by the Pitcher's Mound. And just in time, they hear a deep rumble of thunder crying above their heads. Harley looks up at the sky and grins. No rain, just noise. This is gonna be good. Her grin widens in size as she sees that the thunder's vibrations has the entire forest shaking.
And so the game begins.
It's remarkable, extraordinary even.
The short-haired vampire, Alice, pitches the rubber baseball with tremendous, lightning-fast speed. Her figure is too quick for Harley to hold with her eyes for longer than a second. The two brothers, Edward and Emmett, position out in the outfield, waiting for the ball to come their way. Harley, Rosalie and Jasper switch positions, facing Alice as the hitter.
And surprisingly, Harley is pretty good at it. Knocking people out with her bat has become handy.
Right now, she stands with her cousin, who has remained with the game's catcher, Esme. She watches the immortal blond smash the rubber ball with her aluminum bat, causing it to crack like thunder. It's loud bang is followed directly by real thunder. Still, it hasn't rained.
Alice picked the perfect day to play baseball.
"Now I get why you need the thunder," the brunette says to the motherly figure. Her comment earns a chuckle from Esme and a smirk from her cousin.
"I wonder if you're gonna need thunder, too, once you and Eddie start having se-," Harleen's cunning comment gets cut short by Bella's hand. She laughs, seeing that Edward stopped the game to look at her.
If he had running blood in his veins, he would be beet red right now.
He gets back into action once he sees Rosalie smack the ball. He goes after the ball as it rockets nearly a meteor deep into the forest, flying through the trees. He disappears in the thickness of the woods, causing confusion.
"That has to be a home run," Bella says, unsure.
"Edward's very fast," Esme replies with a proud smile.
They watch as Rosalie dashes around the bases, too blurry for either of them, except for Esme, to catch.
Harley cheers her on with the largest grin in Forks. "Come on, Pud'! You can do it!"
Rosalie looks back at her for a split second, waves and smiles. Her moment of triumph stops once her brother rockets out of the forest with the ball and jerks it to home plate, guaranteeing success. The catcher, Esme, seizes the ball, a millisecond before Rosalie slides in.
"You're out," Bella tells the beaut, fearful of her response.
Esme nods her head in agreement.
Rosalie glares at her brother's girlfriend, but nevertheless stands off the ground and dusts herself off. A giggling Harley comes up to her and pecks her cheek, causing the vampire to smile slightly.
The game continues with Jasper as the hitter.
Bella, Rosalie, Esme and Harley stand to the sides of the field, watching Dr. Cullen hit a powerful line drive. The amazement in Bella's face is evident. The two brothers, Edward and Emmett, dart for the catch. They dive mid-air and end up crashing with one another, their collision sounding like enormous Indiana Jones-style rocks falling from the sky and into the depths of the earth. They miss the ball, meaning Carlisle is safe in the game.
The hitter, Jasper Cullen, strikes the next pitch forcefully, shooting it into the depths of the forest. Edward prepares to run after it, but stops as Alice gets pulled into a vision.
A gasp escapes her lips, and she is gone.
Less than a second later, she returns with worry written on her face. "Stop! I didn't see them.."
Harley's eyes flicker to the mind reader, catching the fret in his expression. Something's not right. Immediately, everyone stops in their tracks, and in the blink of an eye, Edward is by Harley and Bella's side. His family automatically assembles at home plate, gathering around the two mortals.
"Yeah. I sure feel a lot safer surrounded by a bunch of vampires," Harleen mutters sarcastically. Everyone ignores her. Just in case, she bends over and starts to tie her shoelaces, preparing for whatever may come.
"They're traveling so quickly," Alice informs them in the situation.
"You said they left the county," Rosalie retorts.
"They did, but then they heard us..," Alice responds and turns to her brother. "And changed their minds."
Neither of them notice the girl behind them. She snatches Jasper's wooden bat off the ground, stands up and strokes it's smooth head, clearly turned on by the object. "I dunno what the hell is happenin', but my psycho senses are tingling, and they're telling me I should've packed some bug spray. Somethin' smells very mosquito-y," she says, plugging her nose with two fingers as she compares vampires to mosquitos.
Paying no mind to her, Edward spins to face her and Bella. "Put your hair down," he instructs, stern.
Harleen would try to protest if he didn't sound so serious. Pick and choose your battles, Harley, she thinks quietly. Pick and choose. "So much for freaking date night," she mutters under her breath as she slides down the pink and blue hair ties off her different-colored pigtails. This is followed by her cousin, who also lets her hair down.
Then Rosalie snarkily remarks, "Like that'll help. I could smell them from across the field."
Her comment gets disregarded by her brother, who arranges Bella's hair. "I shouldn't have brought you here. I'm so sorry," he whispers regretfully.
The brunette would ask what he means by that, but decides to stay silent, panicking within.
Harley decides to follow in suit and stay quiet, simply hiding in Emmett and Rosalie's shadow. Alice and Bella stand by her sides, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, she catches a faint rustle in the swarm of trees.
Then, three people emerge from the forest.
She carefully takes in their appearance, noticing the bareness of their feet, the burgundy in eyes and the beauty in their appearance. Woah, mega creepy, she thinks. There are two men and one woman. She notices something in the man in the center's hand, a baseball.
The man holds it up with a grin. "I believe this belongs to you," he says to the coven of vampires with a slight French account. He tosses the ball their way casually, his relaxed throw still blindingly fast.
The leader of the coven, Carlisle Cullen, catches the rubber ball and offers the man a polite smile. "Thank you," he replies, civilized and well mannered.
Through a small slit between Emmett and Rosalie, Harleen quietly watches the stranger look around, smile, then look back at the doctor. "Could you use three more players?"
Harley's eyes widen. Please say no. Please say no. Please sa -
"Of course."
Shit.
Carlisle's generous response causes the man's grin to widen in size. "I'm Laurent. This is Victoria. And James." He gestures to himself and the people in his coven as he says his introductions.
Behind him, the man and woman narrow their ruby-colored eyes at the group of vegetarians, feeling uneasy.
"Would you like to bat first," Carlisle digs himself deeper into the hole he dug. He knows he can't back down now. It would seem suspicious.
Laurent, the man, becomes a blurry figure as he bends over and picks up a spare bat off the floor.
Harleen releases a deep breath and grits here teeth as she fights the urge to slam her very own bat into some vampire guts. Her blue eyes flicker over to her cousin, seeing the fear in her expression. Then, she looks up at Edward, who's eyes are furrowed into concentration as he submerges himself into the mind of the other vampire, James. Suddenly, she feels a hand latch itself to her shoulder. Her blonde hair whips her face once she turns to find Jasper signaling her over discreetly with his finger.
Nobody notices the slender figure shifting under the shadows of Rosalie and Emmett. She successfully conceals herself with Jasper's body. Her and Bella shimmy around in their partner's shadows as the other coven and the rest of the family position themselves in the field.
Standing by the Jeep is Bella, Edward, Harley and Jasper. Carlisle plays as the catcher, Edward is on first, with Bella standing behind him and Rosalie is the pitcher. Harleen notices the tension between Edward and James, his bronze-colored eyes locked into his burgundy ones. Her attention shifts to Laurent, who moves around in the field to stand face-to-face with Rosalie.
"I'm afraid your hunting activities have caused something of a mess for us..," the blond doctor informs the new players, sounding casual and unthreatening.
Laurent looks back at James and Victoria, then at him, now wearing a smile. "Our apologies. We didn't realize the territory had been claimed."
"Yes, we maintain a permanent residence."
The three newcomers exchange a look of shock and surprise. It's very uncommon for someone of their kind, nevertheless an entire coven, to stay in one place for very long.
"Really? Well, we won't be a problem any more," Laurent responds to Carlisle's shocking statement with a smile.
Then, the woman with the fiery red hair, Victoria, decides to add into his response, "The humans were tracking us, but we led them East-"
It seems as though Rosalie has had enough, because before the red-head could finish her thought, she pitches the ball and sends it across the field. Her friend, Harley, thanks her mentally. She can't take another minute of this. They watch as Laurent slams the ball with the bat. In a flash, Alice is up a tree and the rubber ball is slamming into the smoothness of her palm. Laurent looks deeply upset by this, though his partner, James, looks genuinely pleased. He smiles ever so slightly, pleased by the discovery of worthy opponents.
He's up next.
The blonde gets into position, replacing Laurent. He takes the bat from his hand and swings it around with a smirk. The woman before him, Rosalie, pitches the ball, her face free from all emotions. The two mortals peak from the shadows of their partners and watch as James slams the ball with such might. Before either of them could blink, he's off and running past them.
Harleen could've sworn everything was happening in slow motion, because as soon as the wind ruffled Bella's hair and he brushed past them, she knew they've been discovered. And just as she predicted, her cousin's overwhelming scent made its way to his nose, causing him to screech to a sudden halt. The grip on the bat in Harley's hand tightens as she watches his head jerk around at Bella. Immediately, he staggers to an animalistic couch. His nostrils flare with excitement as his eyes lock with the two girls.
"You brought a snack," he says, thrilled by their scent, but more so Bella's.
The ink and chemicals in the queen of Gotham's skin makes her blood less appetizing to those of his kind. Whereas, Bella's virgin skin and body is more.. mouthwatering to his people. You could say ACE Chemicals and two years of Harley's reckless tattooing is to thank for that.
Immediately after hearing this, two of Bella's protectors, Harley and Edward spring in front of her, Edward baring his teeth and Harley waving her bat in the air wildly. A feral, threatening snarl rips from his throat, followed by a growl from James himself. Almost immediately, the Cullen family hurry into position, standing behind Bella, Harley and Edward. Meanwhile, Laurent and Victoria move to stand on either side of their partner, James.
In the corner of their eyes, they see a wooden object being waved in the air angrily. "Aye," screams Harley, looking quite threatening herself. For such a little girl, she can really put people in their place. "You three back the fuck up," she extends an arm to protect Bella from the other vampires. "I got a bat, an' I ain't afraid ta use it! Now, I'm sick and tired of yer bullying, mister! Just know li'l ol Harleen's trained in karate, shotokan, wado-ryu an' the good ol art a' kickin' ass!"
Everyone watches as she dips her head and dramatically whiffs the air.
"Vampire butt, my favorite!" She turns her head to spit on the ground. Then a strong, but gentle hand suddenly grabs her by the shoulder and pulls her away from the other three. It's Esme. The motherly figure swathes her into a warm embrace, which she doesn't fight off. She dips her head and snakes her arms around the caramel-haired woman.
Carlisle glances at the mentally ill woman, then at the coven of human-eating vampires. "The girls are with us," he states firmly.
"We won't harm her," Laurent assures him, trying his best to defuse the situation.
Still wrapped in the warm embrace, Harley turns her head to look at him. "No, you'll only have us for breakfast, lunch and dinner," she fires back.
"Hmm. Maybe just a taste." James cunning response is followed by a flirty smirk. It then becomes apparent to both Edward and Victoria that he is infatuated with Harleen. What none of them expect is the inanimate object being thrown their way. The rocketed object, Harley's bat, is snatched by a pale hand. James looks down at the object in his hand and whistles. He slowly looks up at it's thrower with a suggestive smirk. "Oh, my.. You have gone off the rails, Harleen."
This seems to set her off even more. Her feet jump off the ground as she swings her arms at him, still held back by Esme and now Carlisle, her chaotic emotions too strong and wild for Jasper to manipulate. "I'll show you railing, right after I rail you in th' a- !"
Esme's small hand prevents her from continuing her sentence.
James watches from afar with a smirk on his face. "Maybe you should be taught a lesson, wild one," he continues, turned on by Harley's repulsion for him.
His life-partner, Victoria, glances at him, then at the explosive blonde. Edward silently watches her jaw clench with rage and jealousy. His eyes shift from her envious stance to James' lustful one.
"Just try it," Emmett adds, right after hearing James' disgusting comment.
His father decides that enough is enough, and that things are getting out of hand. "I think it best if you leave," he says, holding onto the struggling girl.
The former psychiatrist, continues to struggle in the arms of Esme and Carlisle, yelling, while Alice and Rosalie try and sooth her. "When I'm done with ya, Bats, you're gonna look like somebody stepped inna blackberry an' strawberry pie!"
Bella watches from afar, her eyes wide and doe-like. She's never witnessed her cousin act this out of control. It's foreign to her.
"Yes, I see you have your hands full," Laurent speaks his response, observing the wild girl in the doctor's arms. "We'll go now," he turns to his partner and angles his chin downwards, "James?"
But James's eyes never left Harley's.
The shadow of a woman hovers over the field as Harleen finally breaks free and leaps into the air, her hands bawled up into tight fists. He watches with wide eyes as she prepares herself to strike her hand into his cerebrum. A loud yelp escapes her lips when a cold, muscular arm suddenly snakes itself around her waist. It knocks the air out of her as it pushes her against someone's hard chest. She kicks and screams, wanting to give the man a piece of her mind.
The man, James, looks down at the struggling girl, then back up - at Edward, her restraint. The auburn-haired immortal has a stare-off with him, his hand locked securely around Harley's waist. Laurent puts a hand on his partner's shoulder, and finally James breaks eye-contact. Him and his cohorts back away and disappear in the woods.
Once they're gone, Harley drops to the ground with a thump. Nearby, Esme immediately gathers up the bats, while she rockets through the field, trying to run after the three nomads. "Oh, once I'm done with with you ...," she yells. The coven of nomads get further and further away from her. "I better get a big-ass parade fer what I'm about ta do ta you! With ten tons a' ticker tape, an' Thanksgivin' day-parade-sized balloons an' free friggin' pastrami at Kat's Deli fer life!"
Then, Emmett comes up behind her and pulls her away from the edge of the forest. "Alright. Come on, Crazy." He picks her off the ground and drags her away, leading her to his car, while the rest of his family watches Harley have a complete meltdown.
Her screams and choice of words for Emmett echo within the field as Carlisle turns to his adoptive son, Edward, who watches the girl intently. "Get the girls out of here. We'll follow them."
His children follow his order. Him, Jasper and an aggrieved Rosalie Hale race after the coven. Behind them, Edward scoops Bella into his arms and flashes to the Jeep, her hair flying in the wind.
Harley is already in the Jeep. She sits in the passenger seat with Emmett helping her out with her tangled seatbelt. She's calmed down now, her arms folded over her chest and her face scrunched into a hard expression. Behind her, Edward whips his girlfriend into the backseat and straps her in. Once Emmett clicks the seatbelt, he leans in and taps her nose. He quickly shuts the passenger door before she could swing on him.
Facing the window, Harleen narrows her eyes at him and slowly brings her hand up, showing him her middle finger.
Laughing as he shakes his head, he taps her window and rounds the Jeep to join the rest of his family. Meanwhile, Edward shuts the backseat door and circles around them to get to the driver seat of the car. Immediately after closing his door, he goes into an anxious ramble.
"James is a tracker. I saw his mind. The hunt is his obsession, and my reaction set him off -," he speaks quickly, almost too quick for either Bella or Harley to catch a single word. The tires of the massive Jeep twist and spin as he jerks the car around.
This causes a smirk to overcome Harley's face. The rush and adrenaline arouses her. Oh, those late-night runnings her and her Mista J had with the entire police station. Good times..
She listens as Edward continues to speak, "-- We're a large clan of strong fighters all protecting two vulnerable humans."
She quickly pipes in. "Hey! I ain't no fragile li'l girl, Bats. Trust me. Harleen can handle herself," she shouts over the engine, talking in third person with a huge grin on her face. "There ain't nothin' a li'l garlic an' a stake ta the heart can't handle." She laughs loudly, and as she throws her arms in the air, she notices that the car as a sunroof. "Hey, Eddie. Does the ceiling pop off?"
He ignores the blonde and continues, his voice dark with disgust for the enemy's sick obsession of hunting people. "I just made this his most exciting game ever."
James is currently on their tail, and he just can't seem to shake him off. He glances at his rear view mirror and sees a figure racing after his brother's Jeep. A nasty snarl forms in the back of the throat, followed by the growing pressure of his foot to the gas pedal. So much for date night. He almost lost him a while back, but it seems that no matter what corner he rounds or what twist or turns he makes, there is that shadow chasing after him. It is bad enough hearing the blood flush through Bella with Harley howling over it. She isn't just hollering either; she is laughing! In the middle of being chased by human-eating vampires, she is laughing. She jerks her head back and kicks her feet like if being hunted down by a group of vampires is the funniest thing to ever face the planet. He glances at her, then at the road, his grip on the steering wheel tight and firm. You could even say her obnoxiously loud shrieks of laughter makes him want to kick her out of the car, back it up over her head a few times, then maybe call his family for help, but he doesn't have the opportunity with James barreling down his throat.
He is about to try and see if he can somehow manage to fight him off while driving, when he suddenly sees Emmett's burly figure crash into James'. They're safe. He glances at the passenger in the car and sees his beaut's cousin turn her head around to try and get a look at the action between the two vampires. "Haha! Now that's bad-ass. You go, Emmie," she cheers, her fist bumped into the air. He smiles ever so slightly. No matter how loud and obnoxious she can be sometimes, she can always make him smile.
Behind them, Bella is still in the process of sinking in Edward's words. Her face turns pale as ever as realization finally dawns upon her. She can now see what her forbidden relationship with Edward has wrought up on everyone. Her and Harleen jerk backwards as the Jeep careens down a dirt mountain road. The ride is jolting, death defying even. The Jeep races through creeks on top of creeks, until they finally reach a mountain road. It speeds wildly down the road.
Edward glances at Bella through the rear-view mirror. "Emmett can't hold him back for long, especially if the tracker wasn't alone. I'm afraid the first place he'll go is your house. He'll track your scent there."
Immediately, Harley snaps her head to him. "What?! No, he can't. They can't! My uncle's there."
"He's in danger because of me," Bella whispers to herself the backseat, horrified by today's events. She looks up at her cousin. "Because of us! Harley, we have to do something!"
Harley nods her head in agreement.
Edward glances at the two cousins, then at the road. "Then we'll lead the tracker away from him. Somehow," he responds calmly.
Harleen continues to stares at him, her heart sinking to her feet. This isn't fun anymore, she thinks quietly. Shit just got serious. Aware of the severity of the situation, she slowly turns and sits correctly, having no knowledge of the pair of gold eyes glued to her.
Edward quickly looks away before he gets caught. Mud flies everywhere as the car whips around a bend aggressively.
FIN