Iridescence | Edward x OC

36

He wears the smell of blood and death like a perfume.

                                                  - Unknown
-

The energy between the both of them was definitely different on the ride back to Alaska than it had been on the ride to Forks. Whether that was because now there was uncertainty in the air of how this treasure affected their relationship, or whether it was purely just because they were both worn out, neither of them spoke much.

Aris had lost hope for ridding of her nightmares, though she was glad that the trip had at least helped one of them. Edward on the other hand, was miserable that the trip had brought him security, but had done nothing for her. He hated feeling out of control, but he genuinely didn't know what to do. The last string of hope was that maybe the journal would allow Aris to start controlling her dreams, but even that was a stretch.

It was the night of Christmas Eve when they finally arrived back to Talkeetna, and Aris was missing her family dearly. Edward slowed to stop in front of her house, though Aris didn't make a move to get out of the car quite yet.

"Even though it didn't do much for my nightmares, I don't regret this trip at all. I'm glad you finally got the closure you needed." She sighed, her hand resting on the door handle. "I think it was also good for us, you know? It really helped give me clarity on where we stand. I hope it did the same for you."

Edward scoffed, though it wasn't necessarily rude, it was more just exasperated. "Yeah, I'm clear alright. Just friends."

Aris rolled her eyes at his hostility. "For now, Edward." She reminded him. "It's not a definite no for something more in the future, but until we can learn to work well as close friends, I couldn't possibly see a relationship working. We literally just got over the enemy's stage." She said obviously.

"I know, I'm sorry." He relented. "I just hate the thought of you seeing other guys, when I can't even fathom the idea of another girl."

Aris sighed, dropping her hand from the handle and turning to him. "Fine, how about this, let's make a compromise." She suggested. "I won't see other guys, as long as you promise to stay patient and stick to the rules that I put in place."

Edward turned to her with his eyebrows raised, searching for any sign of insincerity behind her tone. "Really? You'd do that?" He asked, to which she nodded. He huffed a sigh of relief, nodding. "Deal."

Aris smiled, waving goodbye as she stepped out of the car and headed towards her house, the smell of him still lingering on her skin.

-

Surprisingly enough, Edward held up his end of the bargain. Throughout the next month or so, he remained patient, and he completely stuck to the rules that Aris had put in place. They hadn't touched since the last time he held her while she fell asleep in the hotel, and he remained patient with their current status as friends. They grew closer by the day, and though their feelings for each other weren't diminishing in any way, they were both growing more comfortable with the idea of their relationship being platonic, at least for the time being.

Surprisingly enough, yet oddly not surprising at all, Giselle and Clay had started dating. After asking Aris about a million times if it was okay, to which she constantly assured her that it was, Giselle finally got the courage to ask Clay on a date, which he gladly accepted.

Edward later on told Aris, thanks to his mind reading, that Clay had only at first accepted Giselle's offer in a feeble attempt to make Aris jealous. Though, it ended up being the case that he really did grow fond of Giselle, to the point where now they had been dating for about a month.