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𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄: Huge thank you and credit to Musicluvs1226 for inspiring me to write this scene with the Nomads. Happy reading, and I hope you enjoy Chapter Twenty-Six of 𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄𝐍 !
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
— 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐒 𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄 quick to react to James' words — hissing and readying into a defensive stance, making sure to block Angela from him.
Laurent and Victoria were back by the blonde vampire's side in an instant, all three of them mirroring the Cullens' positions.
"You won't dare lay a finger on her," Edward growled, a maniacal glint in his eyes at just the mere thought of someone hurting his mate.
"Why don't we all calm down, hm?" Laurent spoke, putting his hands out to show that he wasn't going to try anything.
"We mean no harm to the human. Right, James?" He continued.
James sniffed the air again, before focusing on Angela again. His brows furrowed in confusion, as he stood straight once more. "I mean no harm to the girl." He repeated.
His tone sounded sincere, but the Cullens didn't let up just yet. They all looked to Edward to gauge his reaction.
The rogue vampires didn't know that the bronze-haired vampire could read their minds, which was a good thing — seeing as it meant that they were just assuming the Cullens were waiting for Angela's boyfriend to make a move.
And after a few seconds of Edward reading James' thoughts, he relaxed.
Surprisingly, all he found in James' mind was a harmless curiosity. Similar to the way Angela's scent did not appeal to the Cullens, they didn't appeal to James either. And from his thoughts, Edward knew that James was a tracker. He loved the chase, and his nose was especially sensitive to humans. It made it easier for him to track them down as they ran.
Laurent's thoughts were full of hope that James did not do anything reckless. He did not want a fight with the Cullens.
And lastly, Victoria's thoughts were one of confusion. She too, was thinking about how Angela did not appeal to her. But she was also on edge. Her special ability was enhanced self-preservation, and she was ready to do whatever her mate did. If James wanted a chase or a battle, Victoria was going to be right by his side.
Luckily, James wanted no such thing.
Once the rest of the Cullens were sure Edward was genuine in his sudden lack of protectiveness, the rest of the family followed suit.
And once Victoria and Laurent saw that — they too, relaxed.
"Your scent..." James began, focusing solely on Angela. "It is not- I do not...I am not hungry for your blood." The blonde finally settled on saying, his tone full of poorly concealed awe.
He had never come across a human he did not want to eat before, and his curiosity was absolutely brimming.
Angela shifted a little, moving closer to Edward.
She wasn't necessarily afraid, seeing as Edward and the rest of the Cullens clearly did not see a threat within the three vampires — but she didn't know how to respond to James' words.
She didn't have much of a choice though, judging by the way her boyfriend's family all looked at her expectantly. Except for Rose, of course. The blonde girl didn't move her eyes away from the vampires once, despite her stance having relaxed.
She was not risking a surprise attack on her best friend and future sister-in-law.
Angela cleared her throat, as she looked James in the eyes. "Um...Thank you?" She spoke softly, knowing he could hear her words.
James outright laughed at this, and the sight of the once intimidating vampire suddenly looking so carefree shocked her a little.
She tried not to let it show, however — as she didn't want him to get angry and change his mind about killing her.
She didn't need to worry, however, as James smirked, and turned to look at Carlisle. "So...Are we gonna play baseball, or what?"
— 𝐄𝐃𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐀 ended up staying for the rest of the game — seeing as there was no longer a threat, and it turned out that Victoria, Laurent, and James were actually quite good company.
Each of the newest arrivals had struck out multiple times and ended up talking to Angela as she refereed the game — who did a very good job of keeping things light and casual.
After a few times of this, the Weber girl managed to fully relax. She even took a break from refereeing just to focus entirely on her conversation with Victoria.
"You've been to France? That is so cool!" Angela smiled excitedly, as Victoria nodded her confirmation.
"Is the Eiffel Tower really as cool as it looks in photos?" The brunette asked.
Victoria smiled. "It is. The view is incredible up there. Especially at the very top. Surprisingly easier to climb than one might think." She winked.
Angela laughed. "Okay, I take back what I said about going to France being cool. I think you're just cool, period."
Victoria smirked, before nodding her head in Rosalie's direction — who was glaring at the two of them. "I think she's a little jealous of all the attention you're giving me, Ang."
Sure enough, when Angela turned around to look at Rosalie — the blonde was quick to look away, but not before Angela caught her frown.
The brunette sighed. "I think you might be right, Tori." She tilted her head, before making a decision.
"Rose!" She called out, immediately causing the blonde to snap her head back toward the two of them.
Angela smiled and waved her over, laughing as she watched Rosalie reluctantly make her way toward them.
"What's up, A?" She asked, trying to play it casual.
"I think you should join our conversation! Between you two powerful women, I'm sure you both have lots of stories you can share with me." Angela smiled.
Rosalie paused for a moment, looking shocked — before a small smile began to form on her lips. She tried to hide it of course, but in Angela's opinion — she kind of did a terrible job at it.
Soon enough though, the three women were caught up in a fascinating conversation, the two vampires comparing their experiences of all the places they've been to throughout their many years of existence.
By the time the Cullens were ready to leave, and the three rogue vampires were setting out to make their way to the next place — Angela got a promise from Victoria to buy a phone as soon as possible.
The redhead left with a slip of paper containing Angela's number on it, and if it also had Rosalie's on it — well, the blonde could thank Angela for it later.
The Weber girl knew Rosalie liked the redhead more than she was letting on.
And as Edward drove her back to her house for dinner, Angela smiled to herself.
Despite the storming weather, it had been a beautiful day.
