Twilight (Twilight, #1)

by Stephenie Meyer

Once he’d caught my eye, he raised one hand and motioned with his index finger for me to join him.

He was still smiling. It was hard to believe that someone so beautiful could be real.

“This is different,” I finally managed. “Well…” He paused, and then the rest of the words followed in a rush. “I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly.”

“I always say too much when I’m talking to you—that’s one of the problems.” “Don’t worry—I don’t understand any of it,” I said wryly.

“I’m trying to figure out what you are.” His jaw tightened, but he kept his smile in place with some effort. “Are you having any luck with that?” he asked in an offhand tone. “Not too much,” I admitted. He chuckled. “What are your theories?” I blushed. I had been vacillating during the last month between Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker. There was no way I was going to own up to that.

“I just wondered… if you could warn me beforehand the next time you decide to ignore me for my own good. Just so I’m prepared.”

“What if I’m not a superhero? What if I’m the bad guy?”

“I smelled the blood,” I said, wrinkling my nose. Lee wasn’t sick from watching other people, like me. “People can’t smell blood,” he contradicted. “Well, I can—that’s what makes me sick. It smells like rust… and salt.” He was staring at me with an unfathomable expression.

“My mom always says I was born thirty-five years old and that I get more middle-aged every year.”

“I’m Jacob Black.” He held his hand out in a friendly gesture.

“Another legend claims that we descended from wolves—and that the wolves are our brothers still. It’s against tribal law to kill them. “Then there are the stories about the cold ones.”

“And what are they?” I finally asked. “What are the cold ones?” He smiled darkly. “Blood drinkers,” he replied in a chilling voice. “Your people call them vampires.”

“I guess I just violated the treaty,” he laughed. “I’ll take it to the grave,” I promised, and then I shivered.

“So when I get my license…,” he began. “You should come see me in Forks. We could hang out sometime.” I felt guilty as I said this, knowing that I’d used him. But I really did like Jacob. He was someone I could easily be friends with.

It was a relief, that one small entry, the one myth among hundreds that claimed the existence of good vampires.

Aggravated, I snapped off the computer’s main power switch, not waiting to shut things down properly.

Memories

And then the most important question of all. What was I going to do if it was true? If Edward was a vampire—I could hardly make myself think the words—then what should I do? Involving someone else was definitely out. I couldn’t even believe myself; anyone I told would have me committed.

Because when I thought of him, of his voice, his hypnotic eyes, the magnetic force of his personality, I wanted nothing more than to be with him right now.

That had always been my way, though. Making decisions was the painful part for me, the part I agonized over. But once the decision was made, I simply followed through—usually with relief that the choice was made.

“Wednesday?” He frowned. “That’s not good.… What are you writing yours on?” “Whether Shakespeare’s treatment of the female characters is misogynistic.” He stared at me like I’d just spoken in pig Latin.

“I was going to ask if you wanted to go out.” “Oh.” I was taken off guard. Why couldn’t I ever have a pleasant conversation with Mike anymore without it getting awkward?

My favorites were Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.

It had been a while since I’d had a girls’ night out, and the estrogen rush was invigorating. We listened to whiny rock songs while Jessica jabbered on about the boys we hung out with.

“Do you think that if I ran him over with my truck he would stop feeling guilty about the accident? That he might give up on making amends and call it even?”

Do it.

She didn’t ask one question, let alone the hundreds that Jessica would have unleashed. I was beginning to really like Angela.

I told them I would meet them at the restaurant in an hour—I wanted to look for a bookstore.

Buddy system!!

I realized then that I wasn’t being followed. I was being herded.

He ignored my questions. “Do I dazzle you?” “Frequently,” I admitted.

“Usually you’re in a better mood when your eyes are so light,” I commented, trying to distract him from whatever thought had left him frowning and somber. He stared at me, stunned. “What?” “You’re always crabbier when your eyes are black—I expect it then,” I went on. “I have a theory about that.”

“I was wrong about you on one other thing, as well. You’re not a magnet for accidents—that’s not a broad enough classification. You are a magnet for trouble. If there is anything dangerous within a ten-mile radius, it will invariably find you.” “And you put yourself into that category?” I guessed. His face turned cold, expressionless. “Unequivocally.”

I wondered if it should bother me that he was following me; instead I felt a strange surge of pleasure.

For our dark romance girlies

I had a feeling Edward wasn’t the kind of person anyone got used to.

“My mind doesn’t work right? I’m a freak?” The words bothered me more than they should—probably because his speculation hit home. I’d always suspected as much, and it embarrassed me to have it confirmed. “I hear voices in my mind and you’re worried that you’re the freak,” he laughed.

“We went for a walk”—I edited all my scheming out of the story—“and he was telling me some old legends—trying to scare me, I think. He told me one…” I hesitated. “Go on,” he said. “About vampires.”

“And you accused me of dazzling people—poor Jacob Black.”

“No,” I said softly. “It doesn’t matter to me what you are.” A hard, mocking edge entered his voice. “You don’t care if I’m a monster? If I’m not human?”

We love monsters around here, Edward.

“And how long have you been seventeen?” His lips twitched as he stared at the road. “A while,” he admitted at last.

“I can’t be sure, of course, but I’d compare it to living on tofu and soy milk; we call ourselves vegetarians, our little inside joke. It doesn’t completely satiate the hunger—or rather thirst. But it keeps us strong enough to resist. Most of the time.”

I just listened to the sound of his laugh, committing it to memory.

“I fall down a lot when I run,” I admitted.

Relatable.

About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was part of him—and I didn’t know how potent that part might be—that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

It was foggy and dark outside my window, absolutely perfect.

“Do my questions bother you?” I asked, relieved. “Not as much as your reactions do.”

“Nothing more fun than an irritated grizzly bear,” I agreed, nodding.

He raised his hand, hesitant, conflict raging in his eyes, and then swiftly brushed the length of my cheekbone with his fingertips.

“He looks at you like… like you’re something to eat,” he continued, ignoring me.

“It’s twilight,” Edward murmured, looking at the western horizon, obscured as it was with clouds. His voice was thoughtful, as if his mind were somewhere far away. I stared at him as he gazed unseeingly out the windshield. I was still staring when his eyes suddenly shifted back to mine. “It’s the safest time of day for us,” he said,

“I like the night. Without the dark, we’d never see the stars.”

Jacob’s father, Billy Black. I knew him immediately, though in the more than five years since I’d seen him last I’d managed to forget his name when Charlie had spoken of him my first day here.

Billy made a face at his son. “And, of course, Jacob was anxious to see Bella again,” he added. Jacob scowled and ducked his head while I fought back a surge of remorse. Maybe I’d been too convincing on the beach.