MANIPULATIVE || Edward Cullen

Falling

I knew what it felt like to move through realities, but I'd never done it this intentionally in a human state.
I closed my eyes and tried to breathe evenly. It proved more difficult than I expected to even quiet my mind enough to see through the mud of it. I focused as intensely as I could on what I wanted: to go home.
Breathe in
I want normalcy back
Breathe out
I want to go home
Breathe in
I want to see my family
Breathe out
My vampire family

I screamed as my stomach dropped abruptly. With my eyes squeezed shut, I could have sworn I was falling through the floor. When I opened my eyes--
I wasn't wrong.

Except I wasn't just falling through the floor; I was... just falling. I could see things floating around me as the white room got further away. I shouldn't have been able to see things so clearly for obvious reasons beside the fact the it should have been dark. Everything beyond whatever objects were floating, and all the spaces in between, were just black. No light or anything else to be taken in. My stomach still felt like it had left itself in the white room, but the further I fell, the less it felt like falling. If things hadn't still been moving upward around me, I would've thought I was just floating after a while. The light of the white room had long disappeared, and I didn't think I had taken a breath since then.

A white grand piano floated by, seemingly heading up-- even though I knew it was really me heading down. There were books and various cassette tapes and cds, and eventually I realized these were things that belonged to Edward. As terrified as I was to move, I turned my head to look better at everything else around me. It became apparent very fast that these were things that belonged to the Cullens-- Alice's vanity where she did my makeup once, Esme's dining table that she loved so dearly despite never using, even Carlisle's white coat flew by.

No-- wait. It wasn't just Carlisle's white coat. I squeezed my eyes shut as I saw what was coming around me. A swarm of white coats and needles. I heard the flapping of fabric and clinking of syringes as it moved around me and couldn't help but scream. Just as quick as they had come, they disappeared, leaving me with immediate silence once again. I let myself take a shaky breath and began to cry. My tears blurred my vision and traveled up my face and into my hair as I fell. There were new objects around me, and for a moment I was too scared to look. I just wanted it to be over. 

I felt something hit my back, like I was falling on top of it and pushing it down with me. I wobbled in the air as I reached around behind me. My hand was met with soft plush. I yanked it around to the front of my body and-- to my surprise-- found myself looking at the teddy bear I'd gotten when I was first diagnosed with schizophrenia. My parents were lost, unsure of anything they should do besides show me some love in that moment. They took me to the store and let me pick anything out. I was 12 at the time and I hardly even noticed the trip or the diagnosis or what I grabbed. I brought the bear close to my chest and let more tears float away.

More things from my childhood began turning up. I tried to think of anything to get myself out of this. I closed my eyes and tried to focus on going anywhere else, but it was so hard to concentrate. My thoughts were racing, I didn't even know what they were saying-- I only knew they were loud. 

I heard a noise and snapped my eyes open again. I gaped at the sight in front of me as I fell.

"Posie?!" I tried to reach out, but she was so far and I was quickly falling further away. She barked once more when she was just almost out of sight, and then she ascended into the darkness like everything else. 

"LET ME OUT!" I screamed. I didn't expect it to be useful, but I didn't know what else to do. 

"PLEASE! LET ME OUT!"

"HELP! LET ME OUT, LET ME OUT PLEA-" My screams turned into a gasp for breath as the wind was knocked out of me. I gasped for air and closed my eyes as a bright light blinded them. I felt a presence just above me and struggled to push myself backward and away from them, my eyes still not adjusted to the bright light. 

"Woah, woah. I'm not gonna hurt you," A voice spoke. My hands were feeling around as I moved away-- sticks and leaves punishing me for disturbing them. I squinted my eyes open as much as I could. The sun was shining brightly. The mysterious figure stepped directly in front of me, successfully blocking the sun from my eyes. I sighed in relief as I was able to open them slightly more, finally seeing who I apparently fell to. 

"Edward?" I breathed out, my eyes wide as I tried to understand what was going on. He looked much younger and he was adorned in black robes with a striped yellow tie. He furrowed his eyebrows at me.

"Edward? No, sorry, love." He spoke with a lovely accent, which made me clench my teeth. Wherever I was, this wasn't Edward. 

"Where am I?" I asked, looking around at my surroundings as I stood up. There was a large lake to the left of us. I turned to the right and gasped at the sight in front of me. It was beautiful, hills rolling over hills and a massive castle at the top. 

"You don't know where you are? Are you alright?" Not Edward asked. He looked down at my clothes as if they were funny to him.

"Did you just find me?" I asked, trying to figure out the situation and what I was going to do next. His head tilted slightly as he answered. 

"Yes, I was just about to go get help to wake you." He explained, gesturing to my right. I looked back toward the castle and bit my lip. 

"Where did you say we are again?" Not Edward looked so confused, yet slightly amused. He chuckled lightly.

"I didn't say. I think we should get you to the headmaster. I'm Cedric, by the way. Cedric Diggory." He laid a hand on my bare arm, as if to guide me. I looked down at the spot our skin touched. I had never felt skin so warm from someone who looked so much like Edward. 

"It's nice to meet you Cedric, I'm Celia." I spoke softly. He stopped abruptly, making me fall still beside him. I looked to his face to see he had somewhat paled and was looking at me with shock. 

"Celia?" He asked.

"Yes, Celia." I confirmed. He took a deep breath and I watched his jaw set. He quickly began looking around at the other students wandering around the property in the distance. 

"Okay, Celia," Cedric chuckled like he couldn't believe what was happening and quickly began slipping his robe off, "change of plans." He pulled the black cloak over his head, leaving him in a white button up and slacks. He held the robe out to me. "Put this on." I scrunched my nose and before I could even question him, he repeated himself, a bit firmer this time. I did as told.

After slipping on the robe-- which was much too large on me-- Cedric looked me over and began adjusting it over my shoulders and chest. 

"What are you doing?" I asked, confused by the very sudden Alice-style makeover. 

"Just trust me, you don't want to stick out too much in there and your shirt is bright." He pulled a handful of safety pins out of his pocket, making me step back with a small gasp. He looked up at me, confused. "What are you doing? Come back, silly." He pulled me gently by the arm until I was close again. I tensed as he began to work over my shoulders, pinning the cloak in several areas around my neck to cover my baby blue shirt. Once he seemed to be satisfied, he stuffed the remaining pins back in his pocket and put an arm on my back, leading me toward the castle once again. There was a sense of urgency in every movement he made.

"I would really like to know what's going on." I stated, not really expecting an answer from Cedric. 

"I'll explain later," He whispered as we neared the doors and more population. There were kids everywhere, ranging from what looked to be 10 or 11 to young adults. "For now, just try to act like you belong here, okay?" He looked into my eyes and even if they weren't golden like Edward's, they were still beautiful and seemed to hold so much kindness in them. I nodded in agreement just as we reached the entrance. Cool air hit my face as we moved through the slightly crowded halls. I kept my head down and walked beside Cedric. His long legs and quick pace made me struggle to keep up, but I managed well enough.

After encountering moving stairs, a loose toad, and what seemed to be an actual ghost flying around, we came to a hall that was nearly empty. 

He abruptly shoved me to the side, into an open room. I gasped out but tried not to yell as I heard him shut the door behind us. I gave him a dirty look before looking around the dark room. He shuffled around for a moment before turning a light on. 

"We've been waiting for you."