Bella followed Edward silently, unable to keep the smile off of her face - as completely inappropriate as it was, considering their circumstances - even as they trekked through the unrelenting darkness. Once they hit the stairs, she followed him up -
Only to suddenly be stopped, his fingers touching her face. Shuddering with contentment, she reached out to gently grab onto the vampire's t-shirt, tugging on it gently as he spoke.
Oh, of course. She should have known he was going to freak out.
“Um, I’ve been here since lunch,” she told him, frowning. “And no, calm down I’m not hurt. I’m fine.” His mention of the darkness had her chewing on her lip and turning her eyes away, not wanting to see his expression when she dropped this next bombshell. “I … didn’t have a flashlight? Or at least I don’t know where to get a flashlight. No one told me, and I ran out because my roommate is … well, I think she’s crazy. Legitimately crazy. Not that I’m sure you want to hear that, but anyway ...” she said with a sigh, running her free hand through her hair nervously before speaking once again.
“And yes,” she told him, finally looking him in the eyes before finishing, “I am aware of what happens. In the lunchroom, someone told me. He was an inspector.” She hoped that he would calm slightly at the sound of that; a cop was someone to be able to trust, right? “No, I wasn’t running from anything or anyone. … I think. I came into the hallway and heard something scratching, so I overreacted and just ran for it and ran down the hall … and ran into you. I was hoping to find some kind of weapon to protect myself, since he also told me where to find a weapon …”
Don’t get too into it, Bella, she told herself, gauging his reaction, If he worries too much he’ll never let you do anything.
“Oh, and,” she quickly changed the subject, looking down at the hand that was grasping onto his shirt, “They took your mother’s ring,” her tone became hushed at the next two words, “… my ring. I don’t know where it is. I’m sorry.”
Unfortunately, Edward had too much experience to trust anyone - it wasn't often someone said something and their thoughts backed it up. Fortunately, however, Bella had given him so many things to mull over at once that he was, for the moment, without words.
The feeling didn't pass as three other patients entered the hallway, and he simply watched their path upwards. Once they had exited the stairwell, his eyes flicked back to Bella.
"So," he said, the relief from his voice merely a wisp of what it had previously been, "you knew it was dangerous and went out anyway, in complete darkness. Alone." How can I not be surprised by this? It would be no peculiar event for Bella to be housed with only real insane person here. Shaking his head brusquely, he changed the subject. "Nevermind. The ring... it doesn't matter." Edward was unsure if he would have been able to even see it now without cringing, the green flesh of his mother's collapsed face still achingly fresh. "As long as you're safe."
He stopped every worry he wanted to voice and his inexplicable anger at the sheer unthinking way Bella tended to spring head-first into dangerous situations, merely wrapping his arms around her, pulling himself close enough to bury his face in the hair on her shoulder.
Oh, it hurt. It burned. And he was so thirsty. And he loved it. This was real. This was alive.
“… Well, when you put it that way, of course it sounds bad,” Bella muttered, her eyes darting to the floor. She should have known he was going to take things the absolute worst way possible. “But I had a plan, really.”
She was grateful for the topic change - she didn’t want him to get angry at her, especially in such a place. … And even though she knew his anger was deserved, what did he expect her to do? Sit inside her room with another crazy redhead and wait for her potential demise? That certainly was not sounding at all like a good plan.
Bella opened her mouth to speak, to tell him that she was okay and he didn’t need to worry, but suddenly his arms were around her and his face was pressed into her shoulder, and all of the words she wanted to say faded away, leaving her lightheaded and breathless. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around him, her hands resting gently against his shoulder blades. She said nothing, simply reveling in the feel of his arms around her, reminding herself that he was real, that this wasn’t a dream.
… Even if she wished it was.
After a few moments of silence, Bella sighed, one of her hands slipping down from his back to press against his arm -
But her fingers didn’t touch skin. Instantly, her body became tense, and she swore for a moment that her heart stopped. She instantly drew her fingers away from the bandages that were wrapped around his arm, her eyes falling shut as she composed herself before speaking. “Edward. Give me the flashlight.”
Emmett hadn't been very subtle at all, but Mello hadn't heard or seen anything, and he certainly didn't smell anything. Turning the flashlight back on would've been an excellent way to become conspicuous, so he kept it off. He could see well enough to follow. "What is it?"
He glanced back toward the main hallway as they headed away from it, noting it for future reference as well. It looked more promising than whatever Emmett was chasing, but Mello's curiosity was piqued.
When it turned out to be just another couple of kids (and how unfair was that, that Emmett had found people he obviously knew so quickly?), he kept his distance and eyed the couple dubiously. Sure, there was somewhat more to Emmett than met the eye, but these two didn't impress Mello at first glance. He gave them a nod that was not as curt as it could have been (it could always turn out that they'd be useful), but planned to bail pretty quickly on this school reunion or whatever the hell it was.
Edward successfully slithered out of an unwanted explanation accosting voice of his brother. It was surprising for two reasons: he had not heard nor smelled the approach of the other vampire, which was going to get him seriously injured once more, with his luck; and he had not expected to see any member of his family here. He had rather hoped he wouldn't actually.
It was with unhidden surprise in his voice that he turned away from Bella, saying, "Emmett? No, of course not." Though that was exactly what he was doing (and, for once in his life, Edward was appreciative of it). Also a surprise was the fact that Emmett's silent questions were considerably clear, compared to what Edward had picked up from the rest of the patient body. He supposed a few decades of familiarity had helped overstep the dampening of his abilities.
Since deciding to keep the flashlight down considering the smell of blood that had accompanied his brother's appearance - and to keep Bella's future panic attack to a minimum - he almost had a problem making out the man following Emmett. At least he had noticed; it was better that he hadn't answered his brother's questions out loud. "I'd ask what you were doing here, but I'm going to assume you don't really have an answer for that."
There was some silver lining in that Emmett wasn't alone, but he was covered in blood and that was not a terribly good thing right now. At least he could ignore the clawing thirst for the time being. "You haven't seen anyone else besides us, have you?"
Her glare at Edward was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a familiar voice, and all at once her anger was forgotten, instantly being replaced by surprise and happiness. “Emmett! You’re here too- ”
And upon breathing in, she was suddenly hit with the faint scent of blood. Without even thinking, her hand flew up to cover her nose and mouth, and she shut her eyes as she tried to ignore the nausea that suddenly began bubbling in her stomach. She’d have to get used to it, especially considering where she was and what could potentially happen at any second …
Breathe in, breathe out. Bella focused on that as she breathed in and out through her hand, and she took a step away from Edward, her free hand lifting to point a finger in that “give me a minute” way before opening her eyes and looking from the direction that Emmett’s voice had come from. Under her hand, she spoke, her words muffled. “Edward, give me the flashlight. I can’t see.”
"Hey," Mello said. He couldn't see much either, and they seemed to be safe for the moment, so he switched his flashlight on, keeping the beam aimed low. Good thing it still worked. He had noticed Bella's recoiling, and shrugged his uninjured shoulder, making the weighted pillowcase still wrapped around that hand swing slightly. "Don't worry. He'll live."
He could see now that Edward looked pretty banged up himself. "Ran into some fun of your own, huh?" The fact that Edward's wounds had already been tended to meant either his injuries were less recent than Mello and Emmett's, or he knew his way around better than they did. Given that escaping tonight was becoming ever less likely, information was Mello's first priority for now. "Have you two been here long? I just got dragged here today myself, not long before your friend."
He hadn't believed most of what Sai told him about the Institute, and there had been something wrong with 'Daniel,' so the sense of patient-slash-prisoner solidarity he'd started to get from fighting monsters out there with Emmett was still a new one for Mello. That, and the fact that potential allies were always good, made him decide it couldn't hurt to play nice.
Though Edward handed her the flashlight easily enough, he left his hand out to steady her - there wasn't much else he could do given the situation. He turned back to Emmett, assessing what he could see of the wounds combined with the thoughts accompanying them - dogs. Well, that was only slightly worrying.
He couldn't stop Morgan from mentioning his wounds, so he simply tried to blow past it by shrugging it off. "Just a few burns, a few days old." Speaking of, he was reminded of what he had originally set out to do this night. "This is my third night, so I suppose I'm the veteran. I can't say I've seen any dogs yet, but that's for the best." The vampire pointed past his head to the top of the stairs, hoping at least someone could see it. "There's a pharmacy upstairs. Not any bandages, but we can get some painkillers if you're interested. Keep the wounds from getting infected."
Kill a few birds with one stone: grab the pills he meant to get last night, repay Venom, and get the group out of the stairwell, which probably wasn't the safest area.
Bella took the flashlight with a soft thank you and dropped her hand, allowing the boys to talk amongst themselves while she listened. Intensely.
At the mention of Edward’s wounds, a pained expression crossed her face and she lifted her free hand to cover her eyes for a moment before her fingers moved down her cheek and jaw and finally fell limply back down to her side. Burns. As in fire; As in one of the only things that could kill vampires. She couldn’t even look at him, so afraid she would have a panic attack right there and then.
Her once indestructible boyfriend was now incredibly hurt and burned, and he had tried to hide it from her? She hated second standards so, so much.
And now she had to worry about zombie dogs outside as well. She lifted her flashlight slightly, allowing herself to steal a glance at whatever injuries Emmett was covering - but he was just doing that, covering then. She guessed they were on his chest, but she didn’t know exactly … and honestly, she didn’t want to know. Emmett was the strongest, and if he had been attacked by a dog …
This was some nightmare.
At the mention of upstairs, Bella tilted her head up and pointed her flashlight in that direction, seeing the doorway at the top. Turning back to Edward, she gave him an angry (and tired) glance, her eyebrows lifting slightly. “You? Are in trouble.”
Only to suddenly be stopped, his fingers touching her face. Shuddering with contentment, she reached out to gently grab onto the vampire's t-shirt, tugging on it gently as he spoke.
Oh, of course. She should have known he was going to freak out.
“Um, I’ve been here since lunch,” she told him, frowning. “And no, calm down I’m not hurt. I’m fine.” His mention of the darkness had her chewing on her lip and turning her eyes away, not wanting to see his expression when she dropped this next bombshell. “I … didn’t have a flashlight? Or at least I don’t know where to get a flashlight. No one told me, and I ran out because my roommate is … well, I think she’s crazy. Legitimately crazy. Not that I’m sure you want to hear that, but anyway ...” she said with a sigh, running her free hand through her hair nervously before speaking once again.
“And yes,” she told him, finally looking him in the eyes before finishing, “I am aware of what happens. In the lunchroom, someone told me. He was an inspector.” She hoped that he would calm slightly at the sound of that; a cop was someone to be able to trust, right? “No, I wasn’t running from anything or anyone. … I think. I came into the hallway and heard something scratching, so I overreacted and just ran for it and ran down the hall … and ran into you. I was hoping to find some kind of weapon to protect myself, since he also told me where to find a weapon …”
Don’t get too into it, Bella, she told herself, gauging his reaction, If he worries too much he’ll never let you do anything.
“Oh, and,” she quickly changed the subject, looking down at the hand that was grasping onto his shirt, “They took your mother’s ring,” her tone became hushed at the next two words, “… my ring. I don’t know where it is. I’m sorry.”
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The feeling didn't pass as three other patients entered the hallway, and he simply watched their path upwards. Once they had exited the stairwell, his eyes flicked back to Bella.
"So," he said, the relief from his voice merely a wisp of what it had previously been, "you knew it was dangerous and went out anyway, in complete darkness. Alone." How can I not be surprised by this? It would be no peculiar event for Bella to be housed with only real insane person here. Shaking his head brusquely, he changed the subject. "Nevermind. The ring... it doesn't matter." Edward was unsure if he would have been able to even see it now without cringing, the green flesh of his mother's collapsed face still achingly fresh. "As long as you're safe."
He stopped every worry he wanted to voice and his inexplicable anger at the sheer unthinking way Bella tended to spring head-first into dangerous situations, merely wrapping his arms around her, pulling himself close enough to bury his face in the hair on her shoulder.
Oh, it hurt. It burned. And he was so thirsty. And he loved it. This was real. This was alive.
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She was grateful for the topic change - she didn’t want him to get angry at her, especially in such a place. … And even though she knew his anger was deserved, what did he expect her to do? Sit inside her room with another crazy redhead and wait for her potential demise? That certainly was not sounding at all like a good plan.
Bella opened her mouth to speak, to tell him that she was okay and he didn’t need to worry, but suddenly his arms were around her and his face was pressed into her shoulder, and all of the words she wanted to say faded away, leaving her lightheaded and breathless. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around him, her hands resting gently against his shoulder blades. She said nothing, simply reveling in the feel of his arms around her, reminding herself that he was real, that this wasn’t a dream.
… Even if she wished it was.
After a few moments of silence, Bella sighed, one of her hands slipping down from his back to press against his arm -
But her fingers didn’t touch skin. Instantly, her body became tense, and she swore for a moment that her heart stopped. She instantly drew her fingers away from the bandages that were wrapped around his arm, her eyes falling shut as she composed herself before speaking. “Edward. Give me the flashlight.”
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He glanced back toward the main hallway as they headed away from it, noting it for future reference as well. It looked more promising than whatever Emmett was chasing, but Mello's curiosity was piqued.
When it turned out to be just another couple of kids (and how unfair was that, that Emmett had found people he obviously knew so quickly?), he kept his distance and eyed the couple dubiously. Sure, there was somewhat more to Emmett than met the eye, but these two didn't impress Mello at first glance. He gave them a nod that was not as curt as it could have been (it could always turn out that they'd be useful), but planned to bail pretty quickly on this school reunion or whatever the hell it was.
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Edward successfully slithered out of an unwanted explanation accosting voice of his brother. It was surprising for two reasons: he had not heard nor smelled the approach of the other vampire, which was going to get him seriously injured once more, with his luck; and he had not expected to see any member of his family here. He had rather hoped he wouldn't actually.
It was with unhidden surprise in his voice that he turned away from Bella, saying, "Emmett? No, of course not." Though that was exactly what he was doing (and, for once in his life, Edward was appreciative of it). Also a surprise was the fact that Emmett's silent questions were considerably clear, compared to what Edward had picked up from the rest of the patient body. He supposed a few decades of familiarity had helped overstep the dampening of his abilities.
Since deciding to keep the flashlight down considering the smell of blood that had accompanied his brother's appearance - and to keep Bella's future panic attack to a minimum - he almost had a problem making out the man following Emmett. At least he had noticed; it was better that he hadn't answered his brother's questions out loud. "I'd ask what you were doing here, but I'm going to assume you don't really have an answer for that."
There was some silver lining in that Emmett wasn't alone, but he was covered in blood and that was not a terribly good thing right now. At least he could ignore the clawing thirst for the time being. "You haven't seen anyone else besides us, have you?"
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And upon breathing in, she was suddenly hit with the faint scent of blood. Without even thinking, her hand flew up to cover her nose and mouth, and she shut her eyes as she tried to ignore the nausea that suddenly began bubbling in her stomach. She’d have to get used to it, especially considering where she was and what could potentially happen at any second …
Breathe in, breathe out. Bella focused on that as she breathed in and out through her hand, and she took a step away from Edward, her free hand lifting to point a finger in that “give me a minute” way before opening her eyes and looking from the direction that Emmett’s voice had come from. Under her hand, she spoke, her words muffled. “Edward, give me the flashlight. I can’t see.”
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He could see now that Edward looked pretty banged up himself. "Ran into some fun of your own, huh?" The fact that Edward's wounds had already been tended to meant either his injuries were less recent than Mello and Emmett's, or he knew his way around better than they did. Given that escaping tonight was becoming ever less likely, information was Mello's first priority for now. "Have you two been here long? I just got dragged here today myself, not long before your friend."
He hadn't believed most of what Sai told him about the Institute, and there had been something wrong with 'Daniel,' so the sense of patient-slash-prisoner solidarity he'd started to get from fighting monsters out there with Emmett was still a new one for Mello. That, and the fact that potential allies were always good, made him decide it couldn't hurt to play nice.
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He couldn't stop Morgan from mentioning his wounds, so he simply tried to blow past it by shrugging it off. "Just a few burns, a few days old." Speaking of, he was reminded of what he had originally set out to do this night. "This is my third night, so I suppose I'm the veteran. I can't say I've seen any dogs yet, but that's for the best." The vampire pointed past his head to the top of the stairs, hoping at least someone could see it. "There's a pharmacy upstairs. Not any bandages, but we can get some painkillers if you're interested. Keep the wounds from getting infected."
Kill a few birds with one stone: grab the pills he meant to get last night, repay Venom, and get the group out of the stairwell, which probably wasn't the safest area.
He still couldn't believe that. Zombies. Great.
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At the mention of Edward’s wounds, a pained expression crossed her face and she lifted her free hand to cover her eyes for a moment before her fingers moved down her cheek and jaw and finally fell limply back down to her side. Burns. As in fire; As in one of the only things that could kill vampires. She couldn’t even look at him, so afraid she would have a panic attack right there and then.
Her once indestructible boyfriend was now incredibly hurt and burned, and he had tried to hide it from her? She hated second standards so, so much.
And now she had to worry about zombie dogs outside as well. She lifted her flashlight slightly, allowing herself to steal a glance at whatever injuries Emmett was covering - but he was just doing that, covering then. She guessed they were on his chest, but she didn’t know exactly … and honestly, she didn’t want to know. Emmett was the strongest, and if he had been attacked by a dog …
This was some nightmare.
At the mention of upstairs, Bella tilted her head up and pointed her flashlight in that direction, seeing the doorway at the top. Turning back to Edward, she gave him an angry (and tired) glance, her eyebrows lifting slightly. “You? Are in trouble.”
And then she started up.
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