Silver Nights

The moonlight cast a sheet of silver across the town of Forks. Everybody would be asleep by now. Everybody except them. Charlie was long asleep by now, this was the ideal time.
Our house was old enough that the floorboards creaked when you walked through the hallway or down the stairs. So, the window it was. I zipped up my jacket— on winter days like this, Forks could be freezing— and hauled my black rucksack onto my shoulders by their leather straps. God knows what would happen if Charlie caught me doing this.
Cracking open my bedroom door, I stepped out onto the landing. The bathroom was only about seven paces away— I mentally counted. You can do this, Bella, you can do this. It took all my courage to take that first step. With each step came a different thought. On this first one it was I can totally do this! What if Charlie wakes up and finds me gone? I worried, taking the second step. He's worth the risk. I lifted my foot to take the third step.
Four paces later, I found myself as the bathroom door. Twisting the doorknob, it slid open. We had been planning this for days, I wasn't backing down now. My hands trembled slightly while tying the rope I'd bought around the leg of the chair that sat in the corner, nailed to the floor.
The next step was opening the window and fastening the rope to the holes in my jeans like a belt. Nerves knotted themselves in a thousand different ways in my stomach. Not in a million years would I have ever seen myself doing this. My friends at school always did this, and those that were too afraid to often had siblings that did. This was my first time.
What would be my excuse if I—being ever so graceful— woke up Charlie? Charlie would ground me until I was in the grave, surely. Would he call Renée? Would he stop me from seeing my dark angel altogether?
I looped the thick green rope through my belt loops, then tied it so that I was securely attached in a circle. Charlie's snore staggered a bit in the next room. My heart plummeted. Had I been caught? Had my dad woken up? Was I that loud?
Thankfully, his loud snores returned to their regular pace and my hopes were high again. Before anything else could happen, I sat up on the window and let my legs dangle over the window sill. The moon was right in front of me, big and full. Beautiful. It was almost impossible to pull my gaze away, but I needed to focus on turning myself onto my stomach and getting a hold of the rope, which had large knots going down it to help me walk down the wall. I did so successfully.
My hands found the rope beside me and I eyed the first knot. It was roughly two and a half feet down. I cautiously stepped backwards, clinging to the rope for support. I'd never snook out after curfew before. Beads of hot sweat trickled down my neck.
Knot after knot, I stepped down the side of my house. As soon as I got to the ground, a breath I was unaware I was holding was released. My fingers fumbled at the rope around my waist until I was free. After that, I ran.
I didn't need to run far. I parked my truck a little bit up the road so I wouldn't wake Charlie, claiming my gas ran out just before I could get to the driveway. The seat was cold and unwelcoming as I slid into my old Chevy. The engine roared to life when the key was jammed into the ignition.
The roads were almost completely empty, except for the occasional car here and there. I knew this route all too well- it was only natural to take the right turn after the second exit, then right again into that little back road.
He told me I didn't have to do this. It was true, I didn't, but I wanted to. He was forever coming to me during the night. Would it be so bad for me to go to him for once? A left turn later, the tall trees slipped into view, and I knew I was at the right place.
I used to get lost walking through the trees, but by now, I'd been here so many times that I couldn't possibly lose my way. It wasn't as cold here. The trees were so tall they touched the moon, injecting themselves into the perfect circle.
I began my journey toward the clearing. We hadn't been here in months. It was nice to trace the familiar path worn into the ground— by us only, of course. This place was hidden so far into the woods, it was so hard to find.
Eventually, the trees began thinning out and the meadow became visible. Flowers of blue, yellow and purple filled the glade. It was quite magnificent. It seemed I was alone at the moment. He would be here soon, surely.
Stunned by the beauty our meadow had developed in our absence, I absentmindedly wandered into the centre of the area. My eyes scanned the tree line, the pretty flowers, and finally lifted up to the moon.
A slight breeze swept my hair to one side and it was then that I knew I wasn't alone anymore. He gently caressed my arm before wrapping his arms protectively around my waist from behind. Edward planted gentle kisses down my jawline and continued down my neck. I was grateful it was dark. He couldn't see my bright blush. Or could he?
"Evening, Cullen," I chuckled. My head rested on his while he completed his circuit of kisses. Edward lifted his head only momentarily to say, "Evening, Swan. You're looking fine." "You're not too bad yourself."
My dark angel came to stand in front of me, lifted my chin with his finger and passionately kissed my lips. At that moment, all of my focus was on him. There could have been an explosion going off right beside us and I wouldn't have noticed.
His face was ever so perfect with his golden eyes, pale, ice-cold skin. Any moment with him was perfect. The way our mouths moved in flawless synchronisation confirmed this. He pulled away, staring me in the face. "You didn't have to come out here tonight," Edward said, sternly. I sucked in a breath. "I wanted to."
I shook my rucksack off my back and opened it, taking out the blanket I'd brought. We spread it over the grass and lay down. Edward's body was cool next to mine. The chill radiated off his body, consuming me. The night couldn't be better, though. His arm wrapped around my waist was all but cold- electric shock waves coursed through my system, my blush keeping me warm. We said nothing, staring at the sky.
The two of us gazed at the stars for what felt like forever. Forever was what I wanted with Edward, nothing more, nothing less. Our forever was cut short, unfortunately. The night ended much too quickly. The shining stars became much less visible and dawn began to break.
"Ride home with me?" I pleaded, taking a fistful of my boyfriend's light blue t-shirt and meeting his eyes. He looked at me for a long time, still not saying a word. My immortal's breath, even colder than his skin, was vanilla scented as he exhaled every few seconds.
It was the eyes, his golden eyes that bored into my mahogany ones. Edward stayed silent, but his eyes were saying much, much more. It was that moment that it clicked. Edward didn't need to answer that question. I knew the answer.
I reached up to meet his lips in an instant. It sent chills down my spine, being intimate with him even in the smallest way. It always had. Even years of practice couldn't stop my bright blush. He kissed back.
The two of us strolled hand in hand back to my truck at a slow pace. We didn't want to rush this, we wanted to make our time last. It wasn't long before it came into view. Being the gentleman he was, Edward opened the passenger door for me. "I'll drive," he grinned.
Our hands intertwined for the length of the journey. It felt comforting to have his hand in mine, to be in his presence. The two of us made occasional chat on the way back to mine, making comments about the weather or complaining about the amount of homework we'd been getting lately. We didn't need to say anything more. He knew I loved him and I knew he loved me.