CHAPTER V ―

HE'S LONELY!

"'𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐈𝐍 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐘? 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐁𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐏𝐔𝐑𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐄? 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐄𝐒𝐓 𝐌𝐀𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐒... 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄?'" Mr. Elrond, the young English teacher, recited the line from memory, the quote that could only belong to Bram Strokers 'Dracula'. Nora stared in awe as she continued to recite the chapter.

The next few weeks had gone by in Forks, and surprisingly Nora and her father were getting used to it. Days at school were long and boring; besides the fact that Candice and her group of friends always made sure to include the small brunette. Occasionally in the afternoons, when Nora's father came home early enough, they'd go down to the diner in town and enjoy a meal, talking about their dad and even running into Chief Swan occasionally.

Weekends were long and often involved with Nora sitting at home in her bedroom and unpacking, or doing homework, something to keep her mind from thinking too much. And sometimes, when Nora knew her father wouldn't be home until late, she'd curl up on the couch and watch soapy shows or sad movies that made her sob her sensitive heart out.

The Cullen's kept their distance and Nora admired that, even if it hurt a little. What surprised her more was the fact that Edward was there one day and gone the next. In fact, Nora noticed that they were gone here and there throughout the month. Candice had explained that Doctor Cullen and his wife liked to pull them out of school to enjoy the great outdoors on the gorgeous days. Nora had thought that was slightly unfair, but oh well, she was just jealous.

Emmett had occasionally talked to her, giving her high-fives or a bright smile, but other than that, he was pretty quiet. It stung Nora slightly to watch their perfect selves, knowing that she was just another student now, nothing special. A week or two had satisfied them and now, she had just been another person infatuated with them.

And then it was the beginning of a new week, Nora found herself watching the English teacher narrating the story of Dracula aloud to them. It absorbed Nora and moved her. In fact, it made her forget about everything around her as she began to read ahead in the copy she had gotten, completely absorbed in the book she had already read before.

"Hey!" Nora jumped, hearing a tiny voice whisper beside her, followed by a chair scraping back. She didn't turn around to look at whose face the voice belonged to; she was still entranced with the reading. "Can I sit here?"

Nora's head finally whipped around, and she looked to see Alice Cullen. Her sudden appearance surprised her and she frowned. "Uh," she licked her lips. "Sure?"

"Great!" she sighed, dropping her bag to the ground and grinning at Nora. "You're Nora, right? I heard you met Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward."

"Uh, yeah." Alice's positive attitude confused Nora and it made her keep staring at her, blankly, Alice's pixie-cut hair flipped out and she looked at it questioningly. Nora felt confused by Alice's forwardness and she didn't really want to talk to her. That was partly because she could hear the teacher gaining on her favorite part in the book.

"What do you think of it?" Alice whispered. "I mean the story of Dracula."

Nora sighed. "I think he's lonely. I think all vampires are lonely in myths. Yes, they're around people, but they're alone at the end of the day, unable to be human again..."

Alice hummed in agreement, nodding her head slightly. And now, Nora understood how everyone thought she was weird. Yet, she didn't. She thought that Alice was very bubbly, open, and honest. And she found herself jealous of her. She wanted to ask why the Cullen's were gone so much last week. She wanted to ask why Rosalie loathed her and Edward had a strong dislike for her. She wanted to ask why Edward had so many fierce mood swings, but she held her tongue.

"Sit by me again tomorrow?" Alice grinned, picking up her back. Nora looked around her, assuming she wasn't speaking directly to Nora. When no one answered, Nora, looked at her in confusion.

"Uh, you're talking to me?"

"Who do you think I'm talking to?!"

"Oh," Nora pursed her lips.

Alice's laugh chimed like bells. "You and I are going to be magnificent friends, Nora." With that note, she left Nora sitting there, waving her small hand and skipping out the door. Nora just frowned. Why had another Cullen noticed her? There had been so many other empty seats in the classroom and Alice chose to sit next to her. Why? Nora wanted answers, but she held her tongue, again. Nora never really had been good with confrontation.

Whether it was good or not, Alice Cullen had noticed her and that means that the other Cullen's noticed her.

...

"Kind," Carlisle spoke from across the room. "I thought she was lovely and very kind." His pale fingers, the ones that made his pale too, flipped through the pages of an old medical book. "Why do I still have this? It's so old," he annoyingly tossed it across the room and into the trashcan with grace.

Edward leaned further back into his chair. She was lovely. For a mortal, Edward found himself thinking about her more than she should. It was wrong, but he wanted to know her. Humans and vampires rarely ever mixed in fear of their secret coming out, but Edward didn't care at this point. It had been several weeks of covertly watching Nora and taking her in, curiosity getting the best of him. She was different... the way she walked, the way she smiled. It was mesmerizing.

She was like this beacon of light shining down on him, something for him to live dangerously for. Someone he could protect. He knew it was wrong to even think about it. Protecting a human? It was such a joke that it made Edward scoff aloud, annoyed with her and himself. What made Nora Elliot so special?

"She's cute," Alice said, walking along a tree branch outside of the window. No one was worried. Of course, she could keep her balance. "I like her. She's in my literature class and we talked about Dracula."

"About our kind? Are you that daft, Alice?!" Edward spat, eyes narrowed.

She smiled and hopped off the branch. "She said that it was complex, but I got the hint that she liked complex," Alice said. "I think you'd hit it off with her very easily.."

"A mortal, perhaps not," Jackson said from the corner of the room, his eyes flickering towards all of his family. He'd been with them since he was turned, thanks to Carlisle saving him from the brink of death off the Titanic. "We shouldn't drag another innocent human into this. One person knowing is too much."

Edward's lip twitched and he clamped his cold hands together. "I guess we could all stay away from her." Jackson was right, he knew that, but why couldn't he just agree?

"I disagree!" Alice squeaked, standing in the middle of the room. "I already told her she'd be my friend! I saw it... she was okay with all of this! I'm not going to be rude again, just because you're all telling me to-"

"Alice, please," Carlisle breathed, calmly. "Jackson is right. We know you saw her in your vision with us, but that doesn't mean it has to be that way." His voice was pleading. "I just don't want anyone to be hurt. The girl has been through enough... losing her family."

No one spoke. And Edward felt secluded like he couldn't move. He didn't want to move. He just wanted to think. What was he doing here? Why were any of them here?

Edward heard someone sigh to his left. An eager voice caught his ear and his head shot up. "I will talk to her," Emmett explained, eagerly. "If Alice saw her with him, what harm is there to be done?" Edward couldn't help but feel jealous at Emmett's eagerness.

Rosalie scoffed and left the room, a concerned Esme rushing after her. Alice frowned and glanced over to Carlisle, who was lost in thought. Emmett leaned against the wall and shrugged. "Alright," Alice spoke after a moment of silence. "I'm talking to her."

...

"You'd make your mother proud," William said to his daughter, stepping into her room as she paused playing her cello. "She'd be so proud, Nora. Just like I am."

Nora smiled gently at her father, letting him kiss the crown of her head in a fatherly gesture. "I hoped she would be," she spoke softly. "It's not completely finished, but I'm getting there."

"We all know you're going to knock those scouts off their feet!" Her father grinned. "It's all your mother and I wanted for you; a good future." Looking at his watch, William's grin faded. "Looks like I'm going to be late if I don't leave now, and Chief Swan won't like that, he's picking up his daughter soon, so I best be off." Kissing his daughter's head again, William rushed off. "Be sure to eat dinner!"

Nora chuckled. "Yes, Dad!"

Watching as her father's car left the driveway, she sat at her window sill, her cello back in its case as she watched the rain fall down to the ground below and trickle down the trees. Her window was open a tad, so she could hear the steady pour of the rain and enjoyed the soothing sound.

The rain was almost like a lullaby, and she always loved it. As a child, she'd risk getting sick on rainy days by running in it. She loved to feel it mess up her hair and attach itself to my skin, as though it needed her... a feeling she yearned for again.

As she let her mind wander, a name struck her suddenly. Edward. He was complicated, complex, a puzzle waiting to be put back together. He held secrets, his entire family did, and all it did was fascinate Nora even more. She had successfully avoided him, but it hadn't been easy with her curiosity yearning to figure him out. Something about him allured her though. What? She didn't know, but Nora planned to find out.

Even if curiosity killed the cat.

─ ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*✧ ─
I thought everyone would
appreciate a little Cullen pov.