Quinn O'Connell was the pretty girl in pink, the homecoming queen and all-around straight-A student. Most people saw her as uptight, narcissistic but most importantly... They saw her as a control freak with her perfect blonde hair and patronising sm...
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The green ferns were so beautiful in the moonlight, Quinn thought absentmindedly as she waited in the shadows beside the gates of Hargreaves Hell House, her wet hair hanging loosely and her blue eyes in a daze. She'd been stood waiting for only five minutes when a silver Volvo, shimmering in the moonlight came flashing around the corner, window rolled down, Edward smiled the kind of smile that would make any girls heart flutter but not her, Quinn O'Connell just stared, the kindness in his eyes made her want to break down and sob.
"Do you want to get in Quinn?" his voice was so gentle as if he was speaking to a baby but there was nothing patronising about the way he smiled gently at her, prepared to hear whatever she had to say but not pester her for things she was too scared to mention just yet. She was like a zombie as she slid into the passenger seat, eyes scanning over the interior as if she had never seen anything like it. Quinn O'Connell didn't know that this was the night that would change her life. He drove aimlessly through town, the blonde girl wore a mishmash of things she'd clearly just thrown together but her skin was an eery pale that made her almost glow in the moonlight, lips a dark blue.
"I am not sure why you were the one I messaged. Out of all the people in the world... I chose you" she frowned and looked over at him, only for him to return her gaze steadily. "You're not like most people Edward, you're... smarter. You saved me once already today, I figured you could save me a second time."
"Quinn, all you have to do... and I know that this is harder than it sounds... But all you need to do is tell me the truth about what happened in that house tonight, only tonight. And I can make sure you never have to go back there." it was a stern promise, his voice strong as his car flashed through the midnight light. These two had skipped half the stages of friendship and here they were, putting there full trust in one another. Completely and faithfully.
"Never?" her voice was frail, broken and it chilled his undead heart.
"Never"
"How did you know Edward? That I wasn't okay?" her voice was weak and he smiled gently.
"Quinn, I'm going to tell you my secret because you're telling me yours. It's a secret that I have never told anyone before. But you're putting your trust in me and I'll put mine in you. You're going to be family someday, Quinn. We'll be family." his voice was strong, decisive and she frowned at him.
"How can you know that Edward?"
"Because... Quinn, she's seen it. I know that this doesn't mean anything to you right now, not yet. But it will, soon. All you have to do is tell me what he did to you, Say it out loud Quinn and everything will make a whole lot more sense."
"He...he raped me Edward" hearing her say it only made it a hundred times worse for him, his hands tightening angrily, the desire to turn around and rip the man's head off was strong but he didn't because she needed him and she was family now.
"Quinn... I'm going to save you," he promised strongly. "But first I need to tell you what I am... I'm not human Quinn, I'm a monster... Are you prepared to be friends with a monster? Family with a monster?"
"Edward... You cannot be any more of a monster than the man I just left behind. I know monsters, you've saved me, and I just can't bring myself to see you as anything but the hero of the story." she promised, and he knew that she was telling the truth. Nobody could be as much of a monster to her as Jensen Hargreaves.
"Quinn, I know your secret because... I can read your mind."
"You--You can read my mind?" her eyes were watering slightly because it meant that there was one person who could see everything she had ever experienced. A hundred thoughts and flashes of memory passed through her mind in a minute and he caught it all, smiling sadly. It was never even a consideration to Quinn that he might be lying, because, despite the past three years stripping away all her trust for people, Edward gained her trust in a single second.
"Quinn, Alice can see the future."
"She's seen it" Quinn repeated from a few minutes previously and he nodded.
"I'm so sorry that I allowed for this to happen to you... I didn't know... I couldn't see. It wasn't until today, when I saved you, that I looked into your mind for the very first time and the second I did, I knew that I would do absolutely anything to keep you safe. Because the second I saved you, your future changed. The future isn't set in stone Quinn and so when I saved you, Alice saw your future shift to something with us in it. She saw you become family."
"Edward.. What are you?"
"You said I was smarter Quinn, and that's because...I'm not human. I need you to know that I'm never going to hurt you, none of us will ever hurt you."
"I trust you Edward" she returned.
"Quinn... I'm a vampire... I was born on June 20th...1901. In 1918, I was in Chicago, dying from Spanish Influenza... Carlisle turned me and for that, I am forever indebted to him. Because he saved me, I adopted his lifestyle." Edward told her the story, the thing that made him so special yet so deadly.
"His lifestyle?"
"Carlisle is special, he's compassionate and he's caring. He would never harm anyone or anything intentionally. And so, we drink blood from animals. We don't drink human blood Quinn, I don't want to hurt people."
"I know Edward" she smiled softly. "This doesn't change anything, I hope you know that. You have just become extraordinary to me."
"Quinn, I know the way you feel about Carlisle" she blushed and looked down, disgusted at herself. "No, no, it's not bad Quinn, it's fate."
"Fate?"
"Carlisle is the reason you will become a Cullen," Edward stated sincerely and she frowned. "They're all waiting for you, to meet you. Every question you have will be answered but know this Quinn... You're safe now."
