Midnight

Edward - 2

The thirty minutes before the final bell was my favorite part of the school day. My second favorite was the hour before that when we arrived before anyone else was even crawling out of bed. The dark brown contacts rested safely against my eyes, no more than a strange barrier that hardly did anything to block my sight. Bright red was too noticeable, and I'd already spent enough time in the early 80s amidst the post punk scene when red eyes were in. Though even by then they were on their way out. So until the cycle started up again and strange eye colors were trendy, this dull brown had to do.

Sometimes, if I was bored or lazy, I'd just let them get that way naturally. That usually ended with a lustful binge, and even though it didn't matter much for us since we could up and move, I was strangely possessive of Forks. It was where we'd stayed the longest, and while the rest of the country sprouted up it kept its small town charm. Well, charm probably wasn't the best adjective to describe Forks, but the fact that it remained so tightly compact was a relief. Like having your own personal farm or garden and never getting to reap the fruit.

No blood could be shed within the tribe's territory, but teenagers were wanton enough that eventually they'd leave, needing to see something different than their green alien town if only for an hour. That was when the hunt was best. Their blood raced in excitement, but they became careless. Forks was so safe and calm that it draped the illusion of immorality over its youngest members. From there it was fed by desperation. My mouth watered, already contemplating the next shopping trip to Port Angeles.

"You smell good this morning," a lilting soprano voice sang its way to me. I turned my head to the side, not moving from my comfortable lean on the hood of my car. The windshield was cool against my back, which was saying something since it took a lot to chill me.

Alice leaned forward on folded arms against the metal, but plopped her chin down on my lap. Her too red eyes gazed up at me from under eyelashes made so spiky with mascara that they matched her hair.

I frowned in disapproval, "You need to put your contacts in."

She blew a raspberry at me and halved her eyes.

"I'm serious, janitorial staff will be here any minute," I said.

"I know," she sighed, rolling over so that the back of her head was on my thigh. Her toes had to point against the ground to even be able to reach this way, and I wondered why she didn't just come sit next to me. Alice was Alice and somehow I still hadn't grown used to it. Part of me didn't want to, it was nice having an element of the unexpected constantly tucked into your life.

"Were you priming that girl again?" her eyes fluttered closed with a relaxed hum. Morning dew slowly settled against her skin, making her glisten splendidly as if she were in unfiltered sunlight.

"Yes, she's stubborn," I murmured. Alice giggled below, causing my nose to wrinkle. It was hard enough I couldn't get inside the new girl's head, on top of that she made my veins ache to be filled by her. If it weren't for those damned dogs I could have had her by now. Though I wasn't sure I wanted to devour her all at once. Who knew the next time I'd find someone so delectable?

"Or maybe you're trying too hard," Alice suggested, nibbling at a hangnail. I snorted and rolled my eyes, but I didn't object.

"Maybe she's a demon worse than us," I smirked. "I can't read her, and she disappears like smoke in your visions."

"But she is there," Alice pointed out with more of a stern edge to her voice than usual. Alice worked so hard with her visions, they were difficult enough even when filtered through her diamond sight. Now this Isabella girl was dancing in and out of them. Did that mean I never ate her? Did it mean she left? Or was it something worse?

I moved my hand down and gently traced my fingertips up and down the thin line of her neck. She eased against the car for a moment and then gave up the ghost and wriggled up to sit next to me. Her head rolled to the side and she imitated my grouchy expression. All I did was cock an eyebrow back.

"What did we learn about our cute little snack?" she asked in as deep a voice as she could manage to mock mine. I couldn't help but laugh, some of that helpless frustration melting off with the morning fog. Alice's face broke into a slow and dazzling smile and in that moment there wasn't a single person in the world I loved more than her. There was no way I could have constructed a better sister if I'd been given God's clay.

"We learned that she hates attention," I said, replaying sparse conversations I'd heard through windows or hastily typed up emails to her mother.

"That can work," Alice said with more cheer.

"It's tricky, if I scare her too much she might go back to her mother, and I'm not keen on entering the land of overly bright sun," I pointed out.

"Yes, but she's insecure. Insecure ones are the easiest, especially young girls," Alice was practically giddy. "I love young girls, their hearts always race fastest."

Alice and her lover were the best hunting team: she, able to predict when and where to get them; he, able to subdue their emotions or spike them in whichever fashion suited their pallet for the day.

"I'll keep that in mind," my lips pulled in to keep down the smile trying to creep its way in. Usually I was more than happy to share a hunt with Alice, but this girl was different. If I had her, and I would, she'd be mine and mine alone. Maybe I could save Alice one small taste. Maybe. We'd see.

The dominating purr of the Porsche rolled up into the spot next to mine, followed by doors opening and closing and crunching gravel. Rosalie and Emmett were here. Jasper, however, was still nowhere to be seen. His morning routine was meticulous, and was bordering insanity at this point. At this rate, he wouldn't be here until the first bell.

"You're getting wet," Rosalie said with mild annoyance.

"I like it," Alice retorted with a too wide smile. Our sibling bonding time was over as she gingerly stood up and all but floated down to the ground.

"Yeah, she likes it," Emmett bumped his shoulder playfully against Rosalie's before coming over to the car. As Alice flitted around Rosalie, forcing her statue scowl to ease because no one was immune to Alice for too long, Emmett turned his full attention to me.

"Didn't see you come home last night," he said. The thing about Emmett was he wasn't nearly as dense as so many people seemed to think he was. He was happy, popular, loud, forever boyish, but not dumb. He used those expectations to his advantage, and was one of the most observant people I'd met. So when he said he hadn't seen me come home, I knew that he knew more than he was letting on.

"Spill," I sighed.

"Might wanna spend some time in that Jessica girl's head for a little while," he said with a well meaning smile. The way his unnaturally brown eyes glinted despite the contacts, got my attention.

"Why?" I frowned. Jessica was too easy of a target that I barely even paid her any mind. There was such a thing as junk food, and girls like Jessica were a dime a dozen. Call it picky, call it whatever you wanted, but if you've drained your bank account for filet mignon you're not going to waste it on a burger.

"Come on bro," his smile widened and he tussled through my hair. "Can't make it that easy can I? What fun is the hunt if there's no hunt? Just save me a taste when it's done."

I watched him from the car hood as he casually strolled back over to Rosalie and Alice. What did Jessica have to do with Bella? Sure, she'd all but bullied the girl into being her friend, but how was she going to be a key to her veins?

The silver jingle of keys caught all of our attention, and we turned our heads in accidental synchronization as the janitor walked up to the entrance. It would be another ten minutes before he'd let us inside, but still. He smiled in that unsure way he usually did, raising a hand up in a small wave to us, feeling safe from the other side of the parking lot. Alice waved back vigorously, and his thoughts eased.

Soon the early birds would be there, the over eager students that raised their arms higher with aid from their hands. And we'd be here waiting, picking, grocery shopping.