Dopamine High (Carlisle Cullen)

Seven

"She did what?" Lorelai whisper-yelled through her cellphone, listening to Charlie's gruff voice cheering on the other side of the line. She was tucked away in the corner of the break room, the window cracked open to let cool air in while she rested her shoulder to the wall.

"She ditched school, got on a motorcycle, and left with a boy who is not her boyfriend, and you're encouraging this? Charlie, when we discussed this last you just said you wanted her to make connections with people outside of her boyfriend's circle, not that you wanted her to turn into her mother. No offense to Rene, but I think she would agree with me." Lorelai exhaled a deep, calming breath.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah - but Bells is a great student, I doubt she'll make a habit out of it, though I wasn't very pleased to hear about the motorcycle..." He admitted, "But she's hanging out with Jake again, which is great! They actually seemed to be getting close when Edward left -"

"Charlie," Lorelai enunciated his name very clearly, her words slow, "You, a father and a cop, are condoning your daughter to abandon her academics to get on a motorcycle, with a minor, without any word as to where she went, what she was doing, or the natural distrust that would place in anyone other than Edward's sweet little heart!"

Charlie snorted, "You sound biased, Lori." He droned, she rolled her eyes, "That boy has given me no reason to think he's a bad fit for Isabella. He's a polite boy, and very smart. He looks at Isabella like she's the world and even when she makes him upset he still can't be harsh with her." She huffed, taking a long sip of her tea. "Lori -"

"And another thing," Lorelai cut him off, pushing away from the wall to pace towards the fridge, "If anyone here is biased in this situation it's you. I am not saying Isabella is a bad child, she's wonderful compared to others I've met, she's kind, she's smart, even if she's a bit stubborn, but you can't condone this behavior or she could get herself hurt. Motorcycles! This is Isabella we're talking about, the poor girl trips over air. You just don't want to face the fact that she's growing up, Charlie. She's eighteen, she left on her own account, from what you've told me, Edward didn't even know she was leaving to see him and clear whatever complications there were up. Yes, I understand she hurt when he left, but life is like that Charlie, it's not as if he wanted to hurt her, and he did come back." She finally finished her rant as her fingers curled around a cold water bottle in the fridge and she shut the fridge door.

"Yeah, Lori. I guess you're right..." Charlie grumbled, "Of course I'm - oh!" Lorelai jumped in surprise when she noticed Carlisle by the entrance to the break room, he seemed to have entered recently, she flushed a bright pink. He didn't seem upset that she was discussing his son with Charlie, nor did he seem enthralled that she stood up for Edward. That was something odd Lorelai had picked up, Carlisle did seem like a father to Edward, truly, and he showed great pride in his son, but he didn't treat him as if he were a child. He referred to Edward as someone who made himself, not someone that he taught great ideals. They seemed like friends, almost, with a slight hint of paternal love.

"Lori, you there?" Lorelai turned her head, remembering not to swoop off into thought, "What? Oh yes, I'm here." She placed her empty mug in the sink and proceeded to clean it out beneath the warm water, "I guess what I'm trying to tell you is not to overvalue her. She's still a teenager who makes mistakes, and she has to take responsibility for it, if you put so many good images on her it will do one of two things. Make her a narcissist, which is highly unlikely considering this is Isabella, or it's going to put too much pressure on her to be perfect." She said reproachfully.

"Mom and Dad put plenty of pressure on you, you turned out great." Charlie pointed out, Lorelai giggled, cupping a hand over her eyes, "Honestly, you don't remember me from high school very well, but then you were already out by then." She sighed in amusement. "I mean...it's normal for a wild streak as a teen, right?"