If I Fell

An Encounter

Something feels wrong.

"Oh, Dr. Cullen. I wasn't expecting to see you here!"

I can feel Mrs. Weber trying to subtly push herself past me and properly greet him but I can't move. He smiles a ridiculous million watt smile and returns her greeting, all the while staring at me. Even his voice is beautiful. Like... like big silver church bells vibrate in his chest and ring right into my ear. Who actually has a voice like a bell?

She finally squeezes past me and his eyes move to her for a minute.  A shaky breath escapes that I didn't know I was holding.

"I'm just here to talk to Ms.Taylor about switching my son's schedule. Then we're going on a family camping trip," he says running a smooth hand through his short hair.

I can't see her face but the bronzed back of her neck flushes red as she struggles to continue the conversation.

"S-speaking of family, t-this is Mika the newest member of the Weber Clan," she says enthusiastically and moves to the side.

His eyes are back on me and my breathing stops again. The longer I look at them the more this feeling grows in the pit of my stomach. It's like a gap, an emptiness. Like I'm staring down a dark hole and I can't see the bottom. He steps closer with his hand outstretched for a handshake and that hole expands a little farther. I start breathing again only I'm hyperventilating and my body feels cold everywhere but my chest which is on fire and he's still getting closer and I don't want him to touch me because there are sirens going off in my head telling me that all of this feels so wrong and I need to get out of here butIcan'tmoveIcan't...

"Carlisle we really should get going if we want to make it to the camp grounds before noon."

I don't want to take my eyes off of him but whoever just spoke also has a bell voice. He steps aside and a man with the same paper skin and gold eyes is standing a few feet away from us. He has sort of reddish ruffled hair and he's smiling but I can tell that it is forced.

His appearance causes Dr. Cullen to stop in his approach and turn. Seeing an opportunity, I lurch past him, stumbling and almost falling. I make sure to leave a wide berth between the other man and myself then I set off towards the car that didn't seem so impossibly far away thirty minutes ago. I know Mrs.Weber is probably calling after me but all I hear is blood pumping through my ears and my sneakers slapping on the pavement. My movements are wobbly but the farther I get from them, the more that feeling in me shrinks and the surer my steps are. The whole time I retreat I can feel their eyes piercing the back of my head but I don't turn around, I don't slow down. By the time I reach the car my breathing still isn't normal and my head is spinning. I rest my head against the cold passenger window and try to figure out what the hell just happened.

Those men were not normal. The logical part of me says that they're that pale because they live in this sunless town, that their eyes are gold because they wear contacts, that they have perfectly sculpted faces because they have a plastic surgery addiction, and that the feeling of emptiness I got from Dr.Carlisle was just.... That's where the logic ends because there is no  explanation for it. When you meet attractive people you're supposed to get butterflies in your stomach, not a black hole. Why would I sense something like that from a regular per--

Something grabs my shoulder and I around so fast that I make myself dizzy.

"Mika! You scared the heavens out of me!"

I slump back against the car, this time almost to the ground. It's just Mrs.Weber.

"Are you alright?"

She's kneeling next to me before I can answer, placing the cool back of her hand on my cheeks and forehead. The look in her eyes is one of concern.

"We need to get you home."

I'm pretty sure she came over here ready to question me on my behavior--hell I'm questioning me on my behavior--but all curiosity flew out the window when she realized the state I am in.  She stands me up and helps me into the car which is ridiculous because of the height difference and the fact that I actually need her for support. Once we're both buckled in I press my hot cheek against the window and she starts driving. We pass two cars, a sleek silver family type and an monstrous green jeep. I can't see anyone in the the silver car but when she pauses at the stop sign before turning out if the parking lot, I glimpse five white figures in the jeep. That feeling starts forming for just a second then they're speeding off and I'm left with what has got to be the most disturbing Saturday morning ever.