-CHAPTER 11-
"It ain't about how hard you hit.
It's about how hard you can get hit
and keep moving forward."
- Rocky Balboa
"Emmett." Lori jerked away from him.
He cocked his head to the side questioningly, with his arms still loosely wrapped around her.
"You're sparkling." Her words came out dazed, as if she couldn't believe her eyes.
While they sat on the bank of the river, enjoying the breeze and quiet scenery, the clouds had shifted. Rays of sunlight shone through the canopy of the trees. On the spots where the sunlight fell on Emmett, his skin was sparkling, glittering like thousands of small diamonds were embedded in his skin.
"Emmett, you're shiny!" Lori cried out in horror. "What is this?! The sun?! Some sort of weird burning?! You told me you don't burn in the sun! Oh my God, what do we do?!" Hurriedly, she jumped up and grabbed the jacket she had been sitting on, shoving it in his face. "Here, cover up!"
The vampire snorted, and then, failing to control himself, broke out into a roar of laughter.
"Emmett!" Lori hissed, now crouching over him in an attempt to block the sunlight from reaching him with her body. "Emmett, this isn't funny. Stop laughing!"
She was trying to save his life. Emmett had said they don't burn but what kind of reaction to sunlight was this? She'd never heard anything about sparkling in sunlight! Would sunlight turn him into some kind of diamond, like how the dragon in a book she read turned stone to diamond? Yes, it was probably ridiculous to draw conclusions from fantasy novels but really, what else did she have to go on by? It wasn't as if vampires were scientifically proven either.
Yet, while she was freaking out over him, the man, himself, was shaking on the ground in a fit of uncontrollable laughter, totally unconcerned.
"Fine, I'm fine." He wheezed out in between laughs. "Not burning."
"You're fine?" Lori sank back onto the ground too, legs weak from the sudden shock.
Finally, he flopped over onto his back, spread-eagled on the grass, seemingly done laughing. Until one look at her bewildered expression set him off again. "I can't believe you thought I was burning!" He howled with laughter.
She scowled at him, an embarrassed flush heating her cheeks. "Stop it, I think you owe me an explanation."
"Sorry, sorry." He apologized, though it didn't look very remorseful since he was still struggling to contain his amusement. He turned onto his side, facing her as he spoke. "The reason why we don't go out when it's sunny is because of this. Since our skin is like diamond, sort of, it sparkles."
"So, it doesn't hurt you?" Lori breathed out, trailing a finger gently over the sparkling skin of his hand.
"No, it doesn't." He replied gently, catching her hand in his and threading their fingers together.
For a while, Lori allowed herself to be distracted, playing with his fingers and moving them this and that way to see how his hand looked when light fell on it from different angles. It was fascinating, in a way.
"You're weird. You and Bella both."
"Suddenly?" Lori let out a surprised laugh. "How so?"
"Neither of you are afraid. It's that deep survival instinct within humans to be scared of vampires."
"Like a deer and a lion.." Lori mused.
"Right. They mostly run and scream, afraid for their lives."
"Nobody would run away from Aslan. Everyone wants to go into the wardrobe and find Narnia." Lori rolled her eyes, before getting serious. "Is it really that weird? I mean, I've never been the type to be scared of much. After my powers developed, even less scared me."
"I'm not too bothered about it." He grinned lazily, propping himself back up with his hands. "I like that I can still hang out with you. But Edward can't wrap his mind around it."
"Edward wants us to be scared of you guys?" Her mood soured at the thought of Edward and her sister frolicking somewhere in the woods on their picnic date. A clump of grass ripped itself to shreds nearby. "Bella's too worried over him always being hot and cold to be scared of him."
"He's got his reasons." Emmett said placatingly. "I can tell you he won't hurt Bella, though, not willingly, at least."
Lori huffed. She didn't want to talk about Edward and her sister anymore. She hated to admit that Edward wasn't as bad as she liked to think he was. Insufferable dolt.
"Actually, I thought you'd be scarier than this." Her eyes roved over him from head to toe dubiously.
"I'm kind of offended right now."
"Maybe like The Vampire Diaries?" Lori continued on, gesturing at her face vaguely. "Y'know, black and red eyes with veins under them and well, you're kind of missing the pointy fangs too."
"Yeah, the thing is, we 'lure' people in closer with our perfectly sculpted faces." Emmett flashed her a blinding smile. Lori couldn't deny it was sure to reel in the ladies.
"Yup," Lori coughed, willing her blush to recede. "You sparkle. Great job."
Lori didn't share her thoughts with him, but she was well aware that no matter what Emmett did, she would never find him frightening. He was a natural predator; superhuman speed and strength – stronger than even other vampires – along with diamond skin and the dangerous black pupils when he was hungry made him the furthest thing from 'safe'.
Yet, when she looked at him, when she was beside him, all she felt was just that; an all-encompassing feeling of safety.
Her powers had long controlled her and her life, ever since the very first moment it manifested. For the first time, she had begun to hope that she could be the one to control it instead. And it was all because of Emmett.
"I've said it before, and probably will continue to do so many times.." She said after a moment, quiet and sincere. Her eyes shyly flicked up to meet his gaze. "Thank you, Emmett. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't met you."
He didn't say anything to refute her and she was appreciative of it. They both knew clearly that she was heading down a self-destructive path; one that wouldn't allow her to find either peace or happiness.
"When I first met you, you were just one of the popular kids. Someone I thought wouldn't even give me a passing glance, maybe just say hi, and then bye quickly." She let out a light laugh. It was ironic how different it was now, how much they meant to each other now. "I didn't know you would become this important to me, but I'm glad to have met you. Really, really glad."
His fingers weaved in between hers as he murmured quietly. "There are no thanks needed between us."
"I just, I wish I could be of help to you like you are to me."
"You already are." His eyes bored into hers, flickering with an intense emotion.
"..I am?"
Emmett tugged on her hand lightly, pulling her down to lay beside him on the grass. She was close enough that she could feel the cold emanating from his shoulder. The canopy above them swayed with the breeze, blocking the sunlight from falling into their eyes.
"I remember bits and pieces of my human life, mostly of the moments before I nearly died." He started. "Rosalie was the one who saved me. She found me in the woods, bleeding out after I got mauled by a bear while hunting for my family. I thought she was an angel, you know, a beautiful woman appearing at the moment I was standing before Death's door, begging me not to die. Everything went black and then, I woke up craving a new diet."
Lori stroked her thumb over his hand slowly, encouraging him to continue. The mention of blood or vampire stuff wouldn't drive her away.
"I didn't have much difficulty accepting the vampire life. It was cool, still is. And the strength is super awesome but it's not all good. I only realized that later." He got a really far-away look in his eyes and Lori knew Emmett wasn't exactly there with her anymore. He was back wherever the not-good occurred.
Lori didn't know whether she should say or ask anything, whether it would bring him further into those memories. She, of all people, knew how it felt to relive traumatic experiences. Blue eyes blinked slowly, trained unerringly on his face, as she patiently waited for him to come back to her.
Staring at him as she was, it was impossible to miss his amber eyes darkening, gaining a predatory look. He blew out a long breath, and closed his eyes as if to collect himself. "There's this thing called a 'singer'. It's that one person whose blood attracts you. It's irresistible; like a sniff of heroine to a man suffering withdrawal symptoms. I met someone like that twice, and both times, I snapped."
"..What happened?" She prompted, taking care to make her voice neutral. She didn't want him to feel like she was afraid or judging him.
"I killed them. Drained their bodies of blood."
Lori saw him grimace, though he didn't turn to look at her. She squeezed his fingers reassuringly. The expression on his face spoke of the turmoil and remorse he had felt after losing himself to the bloodthirst.
"I nearly exposed our secret, and like you did, I uprooted my family. We packed up and shifted immediately."
Emmett glanced at her, and must have read the question in her eyes because he continued on. "I was down in the dumps for a while but there's no point in moping for too long. You mess up, you man up, and you be better." A spark in his eyes, he grinned at her. "That's how life goes on, yeah?"
His grin faltered when she didn't respond. "..Are you afraid of me now?"
Lori felt her heart twist at how vulnerable he looked. It reminded her of herself, whenever she was afraid of letting someone discover her past, her secret powers. Would they be afraid of me, she always asked herself.
How could she be?
Emmett was so different from her. The man was literally cold, but there was a fire burning inside. Whereas, her fire had long been snuffed out by her years of cowardly denial.
How could she be afraid of this man?
He was what she had been striving for. They had both uprooted their families due to their mistake, but the difference was that he had accepted it and moved on past his guilt, striving to be better. While she had only cursed her circumstances and sunk further into fear and resentment. She was ashamed of herself, staying stuck in the past while he looked forward.
How could she be afraid of this man who drove her to be better?
"You know, when I'm with you, I can be myself." She smiled at him. "I don't have to worry about anything. My powers, or my sister. I don't have to take care of anything. I can relax, be free, childish, or whatever I want to be. Being with you is my guilty pleasure."
She turned to him, grabbing his face in her hands and forcing him to look at her. "That's why, I'm afraid of what you are – I'd be stupid not to be – but I'm not afraid of who you are. You're my bestest bestest friend in the whole wide world, Emmett."
He just stared at her, speechless, and Lori started to worry if she had been too forward or if he was starting to be tempted by her blood. She kind of thought he looked like he about to cry, until he broke out into a bright grin. Easily breaking out of her grip, he leaned forward, their noses brushing, before he whispered teasingly. "Even more bestest bestest than Tiffany?"
"What?" Lori's eyes went wide, suddenly conscious of how close they were. Unknowingly, in her attempt to reach his face, she had clambered onto his lap, her knees on either side of his waist. "Uh, well... yes? Uh, no! Yes, you're not! No, you are! Shut up, you're making me confused! And don't copy me!"
She jerked away, yanking her hands back as though his face had suddenly zapped her with electricity. To her horror, his hands had clamped around her hips, firm and unyielding, preventing her from getting off of him.
"Y-you!" Lori spluttered.
"Lori." He silenced her with a single breath of her name. That one word was full of emotions, so intense her heart clenched.
"Lori." Emmett repeated. He pressed his forehead against hers and she couldn't look anywhere else other than those burning amber eyes. Her heart was thumping so hard she thought it might just burst out of her chest. "You're my anchor."
She peered at him silently, entranced by the way he was looking at her and the feeling of his breath on her skin.
"I don't know how you do it, but you keep me from losing control. Whenever I think of you, everything becomes clear. It's easier for me to think clearly. I don't want to do things that will make you scared of me."
"Two innocents, whose only fault was stumbling upon me in a dark alleyway." His fingers tightened on her hips, golden eyes staring earnestly at her. "By being your friend, spending time with you, it feels like I've got my second chance again. It feels like I can start forgiving myself. You look at me like you admire me, and it makes me feel so unworthy, and at the same time, like I can be better. You help me want to do better."
Lori was speechless. To think she had such an impact on him, she never could have imagined it.
Because of him, she strived to be better.
Because of her, he too..
Hot tears stung as they welled up in her eyes again. "I really am glad to have met you, Emmett."
She wanted to live for the present and future, not the past. The past made her who she was – she didn't have to forget it – but she didn't want it to control her anymore.
It was starting to get dark by the time the two of them finally headed back to the house. They would have stayed there longer, exchanging little titbits about their lives, if it weren't for the growl of her stomach.
"By the way," Emmett started, as they entered the house. He grinned cheekily. "I've got an idea for you to practice your powers. How does sparring sound?"
Lori gaped at him, unsure whether he was joking or not. It totally looked like he meant what he said. It wasn't the first time he brought up sparring either.
"Emmett." Esme chided him, the disapproving look only mothers could have on her face.
While Esme started lecturing Emmett on why they do not spar with humans, Alice flounced up to her and grabbed onto her arm. "Let's go!"
"What? Emmett-"
"He'll be fine! No worries!" Alice chirped, tugging Lori towards the kitchen.
It was an open kitchen, wooden furniture and marble counter tops, along with a marvellous floor-length window showing the forest. Lori was starting to see the pattern.
There was a plate of Aglio Olio pasta sitting on that counter top, looking like it belonged in a high-class restaurant she'd never be able to afford.
Alice sat her down in front of the dish and shoved a fork and knife into her hands. "Here, eat!"
"We didn't know what you liked but Aglio Olio's a pretty safe choice, I think." Esme walked in, and Lori turned to the mother-figure of the younger Cullens, somewhat stunned.
"This is for me?" Lori quickly backtracked, remembering the Cullens didn't eat human food. "I mean, it's for me, but why? You didn't have to go to the trouble.."
"Just eat." Emmett slipped into the seat beside her. "it's been a long time since Esme had the chance to cook."
Esme smiled, looking a little nervous. "I hope it's alright. I couldn't exactly taste-test."
A little apprehensive at all the eyes staring at her, waiting for her reaction, Lori twirled the spaghetti around her fork.
"It's great." Lori was happy to see Esme's eyes twinkle at the praise, as she stuffed another forkful into her mouth. And Lori wasn't lying. Although Esme hadn't cooked for ages, the pasta really was quite delicious. A little too salty, but delicious all the same.
Dinner turned out to be not as awkward as she thought it would be. Despite being the only one eating, with Esme's curious questions, Emmett's jokes and Alice's chattering, it ended up quite a fun affair.
Before long, she was tricked into staying the night at the Cullens' house. Charlie was camping out for his fishing trip, Bella was with Edward and as Alice had put it, no, she didn't want to be the third wheel even in her own house. Apparently, the creep liked to watch her sister sleep through the night. Oh, she sure had some choice words for Edward the next time she saw him.
Emmett had wrangled her into some sort of blanket-quilt-burrito with only her head exposed, pinning her arms to her side, just to stop her from stealing one of their cars and killing herself by trying to drive back home. They wouldn't even let her call home to check. He'd lugged her up the stairs and dumped her on the luxurious couch in his room. Alice followed after, with an armful of movie CDs. The two Cullens quickly set up for a movie marathon, bustling around her while she sulked.
"Aren't you guys going to, I don't know, unwrap me?"
Alice snuggled in beside her and wordlessly pressed 'play'.
"Don't worry too much, munchkin. Despite what it looks like, Edward's a gentleman raised in the 1900s. He won't do anything to Bella." Emmett pressed a kiss to her temple, before settling in on her other side.
Fine. Edward may be a gentleman, but he was a creep too. Sneaking in while Bella was unaware to watch her sleep? If that wasn't a creep, then Lori would eat her hat.
However, sulking proved impossible with the two devils on each side of her. One would make obnoxious jokes about the movie, and the other would keep poking her, so hard that she could feel it through the layers of blankets wrapped around her.
Eventually, she gave up at a particularly horrible imitation Emmett tried to do, mimicking the main male character on screen. She made sure he knew just how pitiful his attempt was.
It was amidst laughter that Lori fell asleep that night, a warm bubble of contentment in her heart.
The next morning, Lori woke up feeling like a python was wrapped around her. She growled, cursing the two devils who didn't bother to unwrap her after she had fallen asleep. It took a while before she was awake enough to realize that she'd been freed from the blanket-burrito prison but had gotten tangled in the blankets while sleeping anyway.
She huffed, blowing a wayward strand of hair out of her face before struggling out of the blankets coiled around her torso and legs. Fortunately, the couch was big enough that she didn't fall off while flailing around to get free.
There was a new toothbrush and a change of clothes left for her. Lori stared at the items, deciding she could forgive Alice now. Emmett, on the other hand, was still not acquitted.
When she was done, Lori headed downstairs to the kitchen. She'd been hearing the clinking of bowls and assumed the Cullens were there. Additionally, she also wanted a cup of coffee.
Lori froze at the sight that greeted her. She resisted the urge to rub her eyes. Esme in the kitchen wasn't unexpected, given that she had cooked that wonderful plate of spaghetti for her last night.
The Cullen family was in the kitchen, except Alice, Jasper and Edward. Esme grating cheese, Carlisle chopping up meat with fancy knife skills, Emmett dicing ingredients. Even Rosalie was mixing vegetables in a glass salad bowl, though she looked like she'd rather murder the lettuce.
"What are you staring at?" Rosalie snarled, feeling Lori's eyes on her.
"Lori!" Esme came over with a beam on her face. "We're making Italian food for breakfast."
"It's a little too much for just me though?" Lori asked, still warily eyeing Rosalie.
"Edward popped by early this morning to say he's bringing Bella over." Carlisle explained, still chopping gracefully away even though his attention was on her.
"Esme's going all out after you praised her cooking last night." Emmett chipped in, dodging Esme's playful nudge.
"Uh-huh. It was delicious." Lori was still quite weirded out by the scene in front of her.
"Are you even Italian?" Rosalie rolled her eyes.
"Don't tell me this is because Bella's name is Bella?" Lori asked dryly, somehow already knowing the culprit.
Emmett grinned roguishly, shooting a wink at Lori.
Rosalie groaned, and for once, Lori agreed with her. "My sister's full name is Isabella, just so you know. We've got nothing to do with Italy."
"I'm sure she'll love it no matter what." Carlisle tried to defuse the tension, sensing Rosalie was close to exploding.
Suddenly, the four Cullens paused, their heads snapping up. Lori blinked in confusion.
"Get a whiff of that." Rosalie smirked. "Here comes the other human."
"Hey." Lori growled, her tolerance for Rosalie slipping away at that comment.
Esme beamed, coming over to the entrance of the kitchen where Lori stood. Lori thought if Esme was human, she might very well be vibrating with excitement.
Edward appeared, rounding the corner with Bella trailing behind him. Lori wondered fleetingly if she had looked like that when she first came to the Cullens' house too, all awkward smiles and twitchy fingers.
"Bella!" Esme welcomed Bella warmly. "We're making Italian for you two."
Bella gave her a small smile, and then, shot a panicked look at Lori. Her hand tucked a lock of hair behind her ear in a nervous tic, as she stuttered out a greeting.
Edward gestured at Esme, introducing her as his mother-figure. She was the only one of the Cullens Bella hadn't met yet.
"I hope you're hungry." Esme chuckled, eager to take the older Swan under her wing as she did the younger twin. "I know Lori is."
"Yep." Lori muttered, nursing a cup of coffee.
"Absolutely." Bella hurriedly agreed, throwing another glance at her sister. Unfortunately, Lori was still too groggy to recognise the plea for help.
"Esme," Edward started. "She already ate."
A loud sound echoed through the kitchen. The glass salad bowl had shattered, crushed in between Rosalie's hands.
Way to throw my sister under the bus, Edstupido. Lori rolled her eyes, pitying her sister. Didn't he know that was a faux pas? So much for living a hundred years, that man had no common sense.
Edward scowled at her but Lori only snorted in response. She didn't say anything wrong. He had just ruined the morning, and Rosalie's somewhat tolerable mood was now downright intolerable. It was too early for Lori to handle all this drama.
"Perfect." Rosalie scoffed. "We just wasted our time and effort."
Lori had a vicious retort on the tip of her tongue, but bit it back in respect for Carlisle and Esme. She was a guest in their house and they had treated her nicely yesterday.
Emmett walked around the counter from where he was preparing the ingredients, over to their side. Whether it was to restrain her or Rosalie, Lori didn't know.
Bella visibly quailed under her ferocious glare and tone. "It's just," She stuttered, trying to find the correct words to salvage the situation. "I know you guys don't eat so I.."
"It's very considerate of you." Esme comforted Bella with a smile.
"Just ignore Rosalie, I do." Edward said dryly.
Lori booed him mentally. Faux pas, again. Rosalie was already on the teetering on the edge. In other cases, Lori would be happy to fight Rosalie, but her older sister was already looking uncomfortable. Making the situation worse right now was not the right choice.
As Lori expected, Rosalie exploded.
"One of them is already more than enough, now there're two!" Rosalie snarled. "Are we just going to pretend that this isn't dangerous for all of us?!"
Emmett clapped a firm hand on Rosalie's shoulder, trying to get her to calm down or at least save it for later. If not, then Lori might just explode too and then there would be a cat fight. He knew Bella didn't know of Lori's telekinesis either, and he didn't want Lori to be exposed in such a way.
"I would never tell anybody anything." Bella said earnestly, gathering the courage to look directly at the blonde.
"Yeah, like that matters shit." Rosalie bit out. "The two of you are hanging out publicly-"
"Rosalie." Esme cut in, a warning in her tone.
"No! She should know." Rosalie stalked forward, glaring down Bella as she spoke. "The entire family will be implicated if this ends badly."
Lori was torn. Should she help Bella fight back, or should she let Bella settle this one herself? Rosalie was the type that would be no holds barred against someone she didn't think would fight back. If Bella continued to be easily talked down to, Rosalie would never stop.
Something nagged at her though. Rosalie's reaction to her being friends with Emmett was never this strong.
"B-badly, as in, like, I would become the meal?" Bella asked, an awkward smile on her lips.
All the Cullens there, except Rosalie, snorted. It was the first time someone made a joke about possibly being their lunch.
"Hey, Bella!" Alice chirped, planting a kiss on Bella's cheek. "Oh wow, you do smell good."
Lori's eyes bugged out when she saw Alice had entered through the window. Jasper followed after her, though he paused a little distance away from Bella. He greeted the older Swan through clenched teeth. "Pleasure to meet you."
Finally, Edward seemed to have enough of his family, leading Bella away for a tour of the house. Lori supposed her sister would be in on the we've gone through high school millions of times we have a collection of graduation caps joke soon.
The moment Bella was out of earshot, Esme squealed with Alice. "She's so cute!"
The sound of Lori's laughter rang through the kitchen, happy that the people she liked could see past Bella's awkwardness.
"I think that went well, didn't it?" Carlisle remarked with a smile, while pouring Lori another cup of coffee.
"Not too bad, I suppose. There's only one casualty." Lori eyed the remnants of the glass salad bowl on the floor.
"Clean this up." Esme pointed at the mess. "Now."
Grudgingly, Rosalie bent down to do as her mother-figure ordered. Esme's motherly tone sure worked wonders. Meanwhile, the other Cullens went back to cooking. With the tv still on the cooking channel, the Cullens quickly finished cooking up the food.
"Hungry?" Esme asked Lori, placing the plate in front of her.
"Very. Thank you, all of you." Lori went to the seat she sat in last night. "You too, Rosalie. For my non-existent salad."
The blonde only rolled her eyes in response, not bothering to answer verbally.
"Though I have to ask," Lori stabbed a piece of meat with her fork. "Do you have a problem with my sister?"
"I have a problem with all of you humans." Rosalie scoffed. Now that she had stood back up from clearing the shards of glass, Rosalie stared down at Lori.
"No, you have more of a problem with her than you do with me." Lori put her fork down, having given up on eating in favour of pinning Rosalie with her best glare. She understood where Rosalie was coming from, but she couldn't just back down either. If only they could agree to disagree, but that was probably highly unlikely with both of their stubborn personalities.
Rosalie glowered mulishly.
Emmett glanced between the two females warily, inching closer to Lori.
"What's your problem with Bella?" Lori continued on. "What's so different between me and Emmett, and Bella and Edward?"
"Because you're not Emmett's singer, but Bella is Edward's singer, and this is going to end badly!" Rosalie snapped.
"Rosalie!" Esme cried out.
Lori spoke clearly and slowly, a dangerous edge to her voice. "You're telling me, that right now, my sister is hanging out alone with a vampire, who is extremely, very very extremely attracted to her blood?"
Honestly, did her sister have no sense of self-preservation?
She herself, was hanging out with a bunch of vampires in their house, but Carlisle, vampire extraordinaire with supreme resistance to blood was here. Even if everything went to shit, Carlisle would be able to keep a level head. Neither Emmett nor Alice had ever shown any signs of being tempted by her blood too.
"He has his reasons?" She hissed, turning on Emmett. "This is it?! Bella's his singer?!"
Emmett could only nod silently in the face of her wrath.
"Bella is insane." Lori spoke through gritted teeth.
"I think Edward is a lunatic too." Emmett chimed in not so helpfully. He shrugged when Esme directed a scolding look at him. "What? It's true."
"Carlisle, Esme, I apologize in advance." Lori's voice was deceptively calm. "I might maul your son later."