try to slip past his defense without granting innocence

[autophoenix]

A couple weeks had passed quietly for Claire since her less-than-venomous conversation with Edward. Between studying, juggling Jessica and Mike and the drama between them, and dealing with the secret that continued to grow increasingly complicated to keep, it was mostly a blur. A really unpleasant, cold and rainy blur

Comments

[likealocalgod]

♪ No one spoke on the way there, no one dared - Jasper was able to pick up exactly how one edge Edward was, whereas Rosalie and Emmett simply noticed none of it, and entertained themselves exchanging lovesick glances that merely made Edward's stomach turned. They were so central to each other's lives - Rose and Emmett, Alice and Jasper, Esme and Carlisle, and so many of their thoughts were wrapped up in each other

[autophoenix]

Hunching her shoulders, Claire hugged herself tightly to try and keep some of the warmth from slipping away. She stood for a moment adjusting while Lyle crossed the parking lot and headed in the direction of his classes or his lame friends or whatever it was that he did to give himself something to do around here. For a brief minute, she watched after him with a guilty look -- it was her fault it was like this, after all. Not that he'd been a social butterfly beforehand, but … that just made it that much harder for him to pick up the pieces. At least Claire had an easy time meeting people

[autophoenix]

The van connected at an angle, the corner of the hood crushing her rib cage and slamming her hard into the car she'd parked beside, denting both of them through the buffer of her body, and then continued to slide a little forward. The way she'd tried to flinch too late had only resulted in worsening the injuries in her ribs, snapping a few of them like twigs and pushing the breaks out through the side of her chest cavity, bone protruding through her shirt as she hit her knees. Ow. It slid far enough forward that the side mirror and the indentations along the side panel kept her pinned to the other car, bent and twisted metal stabbing into her abdomen and back

[likealocalgod]

♪ There was one thought that flashed through Edward's mind, as well, as he realized what was about to occur - one startlingly clear thought that cut through his brain with an intensity that surprised even him, though he had no time to analyze what that meant at the time:

Not her.He felt his unbeating heart relocate itself to somewhere in the vicinity of his throat, and he acted before he could possibly think through the implications of taking action at all, here in such a public view, surrounded by students. He leaped through the air, simply a blur, impossible to be seen by any eyes that registered only a human's wavelength of movement, and as he sailed through the air, he heard her thought sail through the air, clear as a bell. He also saw the succeeding torrent of images that played through her mind, like her own personal horrorshow, that was not, in any way, what he had expected to see, and was honestly closer to his own personal fears about his identity being leaked

[autophoenix]

Somehow, despite how impossible it seemed, she felt the van move away from her before she even really saw Edward. Like in one slamming motion he'd shoved it aside and she wasn't even able to process it right away, coughing a little and choking on what was blood that was slowly creeping up her throat from the wounds in her internal organs. The wounds that, she now realized, weren't hidden by any van. At least not to Edward.

Her eyes slowly widened, brows drawing together in the distinct look of confusion as she forced herself to look away from that terrifying and all the same entrancing look in his eyes to where his hand was planted against the side of the van. To where the dent in the metal, freshly made, now fettered outwards from that point.

It wasn't possible. Simply put, it was absolutely impossible. She distinctly remembered, even in the state she was in (which, honestly, wasn't the worst that it had been, minus the onlookers) she could remember staring at him, watching him from across the lot. It was why she hadn't

[likealocalgod]

Her feeble attempts to conceal what she was doing, as she pressed her protruding bones back into place, were wasted, as Edward's vampiric vision honed in on the spot and saw it all occur in gruesome detail. His eyes flickered from the sealing wounds back to the bruises whose purple hue leaked away, as if through some invisible sieve.

But the blood remained, drenching her now flawlessly healed body, and in some twisted way, it was like looking at his most macabre fantasies brought to life. His throat burned as if an inferno coursed down the entirety of it, as if he'd swallowed hellfire and brimstone. He knew, knew that this entire mask of humanity was slipping through his fingers, as he stared at the stains on skin, her clothes, like a starved animal. His golden eyes gleamed mercilessly, as he felt his lip begin to quiver, curling up for the merest of seconds as he fought the urge to bare his teeth and lunge at her

[autophoenix]

It seemed like forever that she just continued to stare at him, speechlessly transfixed on his strong features and that terrifying look in his bright eyes. For a minute, she was sure there was more loathing and danger in those eyes than she'd ever seen -- more than she'd perceived, even, when first meeting him. As she watched it flicker across his face, for a brief moment, she was sure she should have honestly feared for her life -- more than when the van was hurtling towards her.

But, she didn't. Not even close. He didn't get to pretend to be scary when he'd just thrown himself in the way of a moving vehicle -- okay, belatedly, but still -- in order to save her. He couldn't hate her. Not if he was willing to do that. All of the stupid things she'd done because of her ability, even knowing she was indestructible, there were plenty of people who took it as a free pass to let her get hurt. Her dad being one of them.

Not Edward, though. Even after watching her pop her bones back into place, even with her sitting there

[likealocalgod]

It was easy enough for Edward to register what her plan was the moment she formulated it, thanks to hearing it clearly in her mind. Still, his eyes widened at the realization of what she was asking, because while he didn't have the option of just letting her head crack against the pavement (and he utterly discounted that option, no matter how much she might or might not be able to simply bounce back), he also knew that holding her in her arms like this, soaked in her own blood, was something he wasn't prepared for. Could never be prepared for.

Horror flooded through him as she didn't give him the space of even a moment to argue, but instead moved into action immediately. Instinctively, his arms shot out, a fraction sharper than any human's ever could, to wrap around her, preventing her from slamming into the ground. They were watching now, he knew, they could see all of this... He had to keep that in the back of his mind, absolutely must, because this

[autophoenix]

The lightness that she felt as she realized that he'd caught her in that kind of inhuman reaction time (finding someone who was like her in a town as tiny as Forks - seriously? How did something like that even happen?) was distracted from a little by the noise that came from his throat. They way her head came to rest against him made it loud and clear in her mind and her forehead wrinkled in something like confused disapproval.

Either she was a very heavy one hundred pound cheerleader, or he was taking this gesture as a lot friendlier than she'd meant it

[likealocalgod]

Well, she'd certainly taken the wrong idea either way from his momentary slip - not that he'd expected her to jump to the conclusion that he was a monster thirsting after her blood, really - but still, he couldn't help but feel even more embarrassed when she thought he might be

[autophoenix]

For the most part, her conversation with Tyler kept her preoccupied. Concussion or no concussion, the swirl of people and noises was giving her something of a headache and leaving her overwhelmed and panicked. If Lyle found out about this, he was going to tell their dad, and if their dad found out about it … She couldn't even imagine how bad things were going to get. It wasn't a lecture she was looking forward to, and the repercussions of one tiny accident (okay, one colossally large accident that just seemed tiny considering her aptitude for that kind of thing) were swirling around in her mind and causing her chest to clench up with anxiety.

Despite the clouding in her mind and the fact that her brain was so frazzled that she was trying to focus on everything at once and subsequently found herself unable on anything, she heard one clipped phrase that stood out to her. Her eyes slowly turned away from Tyler onto Edward, wide and just a little betrayed.

Before she could get hit. Too hard, at least.Her instinctive response was

[likealocalgod]

Edward could sense her sudden vehement thoughts of betrayal at his pronouncement, but he reminded himself that she didn't know his father worked at the hospital they'd be going to. She could forgive him later. And even if she didn't, well

[autophoenix]

When Edward tried to demand her trust after that, she couldn't help the way her lower lip jutted out stubbornly, gaze entirely unforgiving as she looked up at him. But, it wasn't because of the lie. She couldn't hold it against him that he'd hidden what he could do from her -- as much as she hated lying, she had to understand that much. She'd done the same thing.

No, it was the fact that he was tossing her under the bus now that she was deciding she was right about him to begin with. And when he started to talk to the paramedics and police, she was doing some mental preparation on how to best express her frustration verbally to him whenever they got some time alone. Her mind skidded to a halt mid-track when she heard the word father.

That's right. Edward's father. He was a doctor -- the doctor was probably a safe bet, judging by the size of forks. Her expression softened into something more surprised, realizing how stupid and bullheaded she'd been and … okay, maybe not feeling guilty for it, but finally understanding why

[likealocalgod]

"No, no trouble at all," Chief Swan said, scratching the back of his head as he looked around. "Just wanna make sure everybody's gonna be fine..." Edward had always found the Chief's thoughts to be difficult to catch, which he tended to write off as him having a mind that moved on a much slower, more shallow level than most. He didn't catch anything now that seemed to speak of suspicion, and the EMTs, who pulled open the back door of the ambulance so that Claire might climb inside, were just as satisfied that everything was following a standard procedure

[autophoenix]

She climbed compliantly into the back of the ambulance and sat in silence while they rode to the hospital, her stomach flopping between something light and relieved that she'd finally found someone who was like her -- who she could talk to and who could understand what it was like to hide all the time like this -- and frustration with the fact that he'd thrown her under the metaphorical van after saving her from the literal one -- trying to, anyway -- and expected her to just trust him off the bat like that.

Shouldn't he know better than anyone how much it was asking to just expect trust? With what they had to go through every day? Even now, in the company of someone who she was trying her hardest to have faith in, her eyes were trained with begrudging suspicion on the third party EMTs who were just trying to be helpful. Her mind continued to race as she offered up her wrists and bicep for basic vital tests. She even managed to keep a straight face when they slipped the stethoscope under her shirt, because she was too

[likealocalgod]

Edward certainly didn't notice any of the awkwardness, so set was he on thoughts of damage control. His jaw stayed locked subtly the entire way, his eyes monitoring everything that occurred with quick, innocuous glances, his mind focused on that of the EMT to ensure there were no suspicious flags being mentally hoisted. What he read there was largely relief that the girl seemed unharmed, and he wished he had Jasper's ability to strengthen that sense of relief and perhaps take them off alert