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twispitefic Title: Danger
Author: maeve_issyra
Fandom(s): Twilight
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,027
Inspiration: The constant gushing over how much self-control the Cullen family has.
Warnings: Character death, implied violence
Summary: The Cullens did have a lot of self-control, but not in the way Bella was led to believe.
Author’s notes: I tweaked vampire nature a little, but not in any way that wouldn’t work in canon.
*
They had been grooming her from the very first day.
When the Cullen family walked into the school cafetaria that day, it was Edward who noticed two things about her straight away.
Firstly, he couldn’t read her mind. That had never happened to him before, not once in his one hundred and ten years.
Secondly, she had the sweetest blood he’d ever smelled.
‘I want her,’ he moaned to his brothers and sisters, pointing at the new girl sitting at a table with a number of juniors.
Emmett sniffed the air and grinned.
‘Good choice, bro. We’ll enjoy her.’
‘After school?’ Alice suggested.
‘We should wait,’ Rosalie said, ‘Just imagine what she’ll taste like after...’
‘She won’t want to be around us,’ Alice said.
‘So what? Jasper can fix that.’ Rosalie was sure that they had to wait. The rewards would make everything worthwhile.
‘It’s not just about her flavor,’ Edward whispered, ‘There’s more to her. I can’t hear her.’
A stunned silence fell over the table.
‘Are you sure?’ Jasper said skeptically, ‘That’s never happened to you before. Maybe all the other voices are drowning hers out.’
‘I’m sure,’ Edward said, still in a low voice, trying desperately to break through the walls he felt where her thoughts should be. ‘What if she’s not human? What if she’s something more? Something even we don’t know about?’
‘Come off it,’ Rosalie scoffed, ‘She’s human, alright. We can smell it.’
‘But she does smell sweeter than most,’ Alice chipped in, ‘And if Edward can’t hear her... then maybe there’s something more in it for us.’
It had been a long time since they had come across a human who was this promising.
‘Jasper,’ Emmett said, ‘Do your thing.’
*
Bella Swan was attracted to them like a moth to a flame. It was very easy for the Cullens. Harder than usual, because they had to guess which tactics would work – normally, they relied on Edward’s power to help them – but the girl could be read like a book.
The plan was very simple and went off without a hitch and even with a few unexpected bonuses.
Edward was the bait, because they had heard Jessica and Bella discuss how hot he was. No one ever sat with Edward in Biology, so he was sure that she’d have to sit next to him. After that, it came down to acting like a complete jerk, making her catch him in the act of trying to switch classes to avoid her, and then disappearing for a few days, to ensure maximum interest. All the while, Jasper kept feeding her snippets of emotions – a cocktail of curiosity, attraction, disappointment because Edward seemingly hated her at first sight (that wasn’t true – Edward loved her at first sight) and the occasional dose of pure lust. Bella was a puppet in his capable hands and she did exactly what was expected of her. By the time Edward Cullen deigned to show up in school again, she was literally drooling for him.
That was his cue to start acting friendly and mysterious at the same time. Jasper kicked the curiosity up a notch, and Bella was even more starry-eyed for Edward.
‘Play hard to get,’ Carlisle had advised, and Edward certainly did.
‘And save some for us,’ Esme had added, a malicious glint in her golden eyes.
Edward would later tell Bella that their eyes were golden because they all fed on animals. It was a pack of lies; they had all tried an animal diet for a few weeks and had all rushed back to their intended food source as soon as they could. They forgot nothing, though, so they knew enough about ‘vampire vegetarians’ to fool humans into thinking they were no longer dangerous to them.
What a joke.
Their eyes were golden, though, and there was a reason for that. It had taken them a while to figure it out, but it seemed that their eyes changed color because they had learned to share. Most vampires would hunt a human and then drain it all by themselves, but the Cullens had discovered that feeding, just like eating for humans, was much more pleasant when they did it together. And didn’t humans share the same piece of meat, too, when they ate together? It made sense for them to try this way of hunting, and they liked it, so it became their way of life, accompanied by the golden eyes. That was a fortunate event, as it allowed them to mingle with humans without bothering with contacts or sunglasses.
They had also discovered that if a human was around vampires often, their flavor intensified, matured and developed, like they were a vintage wine.
Together, they had seduced many humans into almost voluntarily becoming dinner. For a minute they had doubted whether Jasper’s power would have an effect on Bella, but soon it transpired that his empathy worked like a charm. Immune to Edward she might be, but there was nothing she could do to fight Jasper.
Not that they needed Jasper. They knew that Edward by himself with no outside help would be able to convince Bella to let him bite her.
Alice had a delicious vision of Bella’s future one day. Rosalie immediately suggested to act mysterious about it, and then modify the vision a little when telling Bella about it – instead of ‘We’re all going to kill Bella,’ it became ‘Edward will kill Bella, or change her into a vampire.’
Edward had reservations about it – wouldn’t the thought of being changed chase her away?
He needn’t have worried. Bella lapped it up like a cat would a saucer of milk.
Saving her life was the first unexpected bonus.
Alice foresaw the accident, and Edward made sure he was in the right spot for Bella to see him. She’d know he wasn’t standing close enough to her to intervene when the van was about to hit her. Jasper would do the rest. He added anger into the mix and left Bella confused and indignated that Edward wouldn’t tell her how he had saved her.
He had her.
She was his now. He knew that. Jasper knew that too. If Edward Cullen snapped his fingers, Bella Swan would jump to it like she had never jumped before.
Jacob Black of the Quileutes was the second unexpected bonus.
If Bella was going to spend a lot of time around them, as was the plan, Edward was going to have to break the ‘I’m a vampire!’ news at some point, and that had been bothering the Cullens for a while.
Jacob Black solved that problem for them without even realizing it. He just told her, very casually, about the legends, and got her thinking. The Cullens silently swore to reward the Quileutes for that at some point.
Under Jasper’s careful guidance, Bella’s curiosity peaked and she figured it out.
Port Angeles was the third unexpected bonus.
That morning, Alice took Edward apart for a moment.
‘Bella’s going to Port Angeles tonight,’ she said, beaming.
‘And?’ Edward frowned slightly. He wasn’t sure what Alice was saying.
‘She’ll wander away from her friends and get lost in the streets... and then I see two courses of action. In the first, we all follow her and find her and...’ Alice shuddered with anticipation and Edward observed the images in her head, trying to shake off the excitement he felt at watching them.
‘And the second course of action?’
‘Slightly less exciting in the short term, but more rewarding eventually. A gang of criminals will follow her and attack her. And then a vampire in a silver Volvo sweeps in and saves her and takes her to dinner.’ Alice grinned. ‘Can you guess who that vampire is, Edward?’
*
Taking Bella to the meadow and bringing her back in one piece was the hardest thing Edward had ever done. There were only a few things that prevented him from attacking her right there and then – what his family would say, for instance, and the thought that while he sat next to her, her blood matured and became more delicious with every passing minute.
And there was one other thing.
Edward had a century of practise with exploring the human mind, and though he had never seen anything like Bella, he could still appreciate the subtle way her mind changed throughout the months he spent in her company. At first, he had felt like he met brick walls when he tried to discern her thoughts. But as time went by, it was like the walls only became stronger. He felt like he was trying to reach through steel, through reinforced concrete, even. By the time he introduced her to his family, using his power on Bella was like trying to break into a nuclear fall-out shelter using a screwdriver.
He shared his concerns with Carlisle, who had never heard of anything like this happening.
‘That’s strange, Edward,’ he mused, ‘Are you saying her power has become stronger, just like her blood has become more potent?’
‘Yes. You don’t think – do you think it’s a result of being close to us? Another effect of vampires spending time with humans?’
Carlisle shrugged. ‘Maybe.’
‘She’ll be amazing,’ Esme said. ‘The best ever.’
*
‘Tonight,’ Edward announced, ‘I’ll come pick you up, and you can watch my family play baseball.’
Jasper had made sure Bella would be especially meek tonight. Not that it was necessary – she had never refused Edward anything and was unlikely to start making trouble now. But nothing could be allowed to go wrong, because all their planning was drawing to a close.
It was dinnertime.
*
‘Hi guys!’ Bella shouted happily, ‘Let’s play baseball!’
‘Not going to happen,’ Esme said. Bella became abruptly aware of a shift in the group of vampires. They were all around her in the empty field, closing in on her, and smiling in a way that was not at all friendly.
Bella just stared at them.
‘Don’t you read horror novels, Bella?’ Jasper asked softly, forcing a little fear into her heart.
‘Never invite a vampire into your house,’ Emmett agreed.
‘Wh-what?’ Bella stuttered.
‘You fell for it hook, line and sinker,’ Edward added.
‘Fell for...?’
‘Our act,’ Alice said. Bella shook her head, trying to clear her mind, trying to understand what was going on.
‘You said you loved me!’ she wailed suddenly, looking at Edward desperately.
‘But I do,’ Edward replied seriously, ‘I do love you. I love your smell. I love it like you love the smell of fresh lasagne. But I’ve never seen you build an emotional relationship with a plate of lasagne.’
‘Shall I tell you something else, Bella?’ said Carlisle, ‘You have a power.’
‘A what?’ Bella asked, prompted by a stab of curiosity coming straight from Jasper.
‘Yes, all that stuff about me not being able to read your mind... It doesn’t mean you’re a freak. You’ll be quite glad to hear that, I’m sure.’ Edward smiled maliciously. ‘It’s a power, a real supernatural power. And the fun bit is...’
‘We’ll take your power from you when we drink your blood,’ Emmett finished.
‘That’s impossible!’ Bella sobbed.
‘Except that it’s not,’ Rosalie cooed, ‘It’s happened to us before. Edward’s not a mindreader by nature. He drank from a human who was exceptionally good at reading people.’
‘I had a fortune teller, a real one. She was so good. And she gave me all she had,’ Alice chirped.
‘Bodybuilder,’ Emmett said.
‘Empath,’ added Jasper.
‘But this time,’ Esme said, ‘this time we’re all going to gain your power. The previous times it happened by accident. We weren’t sure where the powers suddenly came from. But now we know. And we’ll share you, split you evenly.’
‘Can’t wait for the next time Aro visits.’ Carlisle grinned. ‘Can’t wait to see his face when he can’t hear any of us.’
‘Who’s Aro?’ Bella asked, terrified at the turn of events.
‘Don’t worry, Bella Isabella. It’s not your concern.’ Edward’s eyes blazed with desire as he stalked forward and motioned for the others to join him.
As one, they moved in for the kill.
Author: maeve_issyra
Fandom(s): Twilight
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2,027
Inspiration: The constant gushing over how much self-control the Cullen family has.
Warnings: Character death, implied violence
Summary: The Cullens did have a lot of self-control, but not in the way Bella was led to believe.
Author’s notes: I tweaked vampire nature a little, but not in any way that wouldn’t work in canon.
*
They had been grooming her from the very first day.
When the Cullen family walked into the school cafetaria that day, it was Edward who noticed two things about her straight away.
Firstly, he couldn’t read her mind. That had never happened to him before, not once in his one hundred and ten years.
Secondly, she had the sweetest blood he’d ever smelled.
‘I want her,’ he moaned to his brothers and sisters, pointing at the new girl sitting at a table with a number of juniors.
Emmett sniffed the air and grinned.
‘Good choice, bro. We’ll enjoy her.’
‘After school?’ Alice suggested.
‘We should wait,’ Rosalie said, ‘Just imagine what she’ll taste like after...’
‘She won’t want to be around us,’ Alice said.
‘So what? Jasper can fix that.’ Rosalie was sure that they had to wait. The rewards would make everything worthwhile.
‘It’s not just about her flavor,’ Edward whispered, ‘There’s more to her. I can’t hear her.’
A stunned silence fell over the table.
‘Are you sure?’ Jasper said skeptically, ‘That’s never happened to you before. Maybe all the other voices are drowning hers out.’
‘I’m sure,’ Edward said, still in a low voice, trying desperately to break through the walls he felt where her thoughts should be. ‘What if she’s not human? What if she’s something more? Something even we don’t know about?’
‘Come off it,’ Rosalie scoffed, ‘She’s human, alright. We can smell it.’
‘But she does smell sweeter than most,’ Alice chipped in, ‘And if Edward can’t hear her... then maybe there’s something more in it for us.’
It had been a long time since they had come across a human who was this promising.
‘Jasper,’ Emmett said, ‘Do your thing.’
*
Bella Swan was attracted to them like a moth to a flame. It was very easy for the Cullens. Harder than usual, because they had to guess which tactics would work – normally, they relied on Edward’s power to help them – but the girl could be read like a book.
The plan was very simple and went off without a hitch and even with a few unexpected bonuses.
Edward was the bait, because they had heard Jessica and Bella discuss how hot he was. No one ever sat with Edward in Biology, so he was sure that she’d have to sit next to him. After that, it came down to acting like a complete jerk, making her catch him in the act of trying to switch classes to avoid her, and then disappearing for a few days, to ensure maximum interest. All the while, Jasper kept feeding her snippets of emotions – a cocktail of curiosity, attraction, disappointment because Edward seemingly hated her at first sight (that wasn’t true – Edward loved her at first sight) and the occasional dose of pure lust. Bella was a puppet in his capable hands and she did exactly what was expected of her. By the time Edward Cullen deigned to show up in school again, she was literally drooling for him.
That was his cue to start acting friendly and mysterious at the same time. Jasper kicked the curiosity up a notch, and Bella was even more starry-eyed for Edward.
‘Play hard to get,’ Carlisle had advised, and Edward certainly did.
‘And save some for us,’ Esme had added, a malicious glint in her golden eyes.
Edward would later tell Bella that their eyes were golden because they all fed on animals. It was a pack of lies; they had all tried an animal diet for a few weeks and had all rushed back to their intended food source as soon as they could. They forgot nothing, though, so they knew enough about ‘vampire vegetarians’ to fool humans into thinking they were no longer dangerous to them.
What a joke.
Their eyes were golden, though, and there was a reason for that. It had taken them a while to figure it out, but it seemed that their eyes changed color because they had learned to share. Most vampires would hunt a human and then drain it all by themselves, but the Cullens had discovered that feeding, just like eating for humans, was much more pleasant when they did it together. And didn’t humans share the same piece of meat, too, when they ate together? It made sense for them to try this way of hunting, and they liked it, so it became their way of life, accompanied by the golden eyes. That was a fortunate event, as it allowed them to mingle with humans without bothering with contacts or sunglasses.
They had also discovered that if a human was around vampires often, their flavor intensified, matured and developed, like they were a vintage wine.
Together, they had seduced many humans into almost voluntarily becoming dinner. For a minute they had doubted whether Jasper’s power would have an effect on Bella, but soon it transpired that his empathy worked like a charm. Immune to Edward she might be, but there was nothing she could do to fight Jasper.
Not that they needed Jasper. They knew that Edward by himself with no outside help would be able to convince Bella to let him bite her.
Alice had a delicious vision of Bella’s future one day. Rosalie immediately suggested to act mysterious about it, and then modify the vision a little when telling Bella about it – instead of ‘We’re all going to kill Bella,’ it became ‘Edward will kill Bella, or change her into a vampire.’
Edward had reservations about it – wouldn’t the thought of being changed chase her away?
He needn’t have worried. Bella lapped it up like a cat would a saucer of milk.
Saving her life was the first unexpected bonus.
Alice foresaw the accident, and Edward made sure he was in the right spot for Bella to see him. She’d know he wasn’t standing close enough to her to intervene when the van was about to hit her. Jasper would do the rest. He added anger into the mix and left Bella confused and indignated that Edward wouldn’t tell her how he had saved her.
He had her.
She was his now. He knew that. Jasper knew that too. If Edward Cullen snapped his fingers, Bella Swan would jump to it like she had never jumped before.
Jacob Black of the Quileutes was the second unexpected bonus.
If Bella was going to spend a lot of time around them, as was the plan, Edward was going to have to break the ‘I’m a vampire!’ news at some point, and that had been bothering the Cullens for a while.
Jacob Black solved that problem for them without even realizing it. He just told her, very casually, about the legends, and got her thinking. The Cullens silently swore to reward the Quileutes for that at some point.
Under Jasper’s careful guidance, Bella’s curiosity peaked and she figured it out.
Port Angeles was the third unexpected bonus.
That morning, Alice took Edward apart for a moment.
‘Bella’s going to Port Angeles tonight,’ she said, beaming.
‘And?’ Edward frowned slightly. He wasn’t sure what Alice was saying.
‘She’ll wander away from her friends and get lost in the streets... and then I see two courses of action. In the first, we all follow her and find her and...’ Alice shuddered with anticipation and Edward observed the images in her head, trying to shake off the excitement he felt at watching them.
‘And the second course of action?’
‘Slightly less exciting in the short term, but more rewarding eventually. A gang of criminals will follow her and attack her. And then a vampire in a silver Volvo sweeps in and saves her and takes her to dinner.’ Alice grinned. ‘Can you guess who that vampire is, Edward?’
*
Taking Bella to the meadow and bringing her back in one piece was the hardest thing Edward had ever done. There were only a few things that prevented him from attacking her right there and then – what his family would say, for instance, and the thought that while he sat next to her, her blood matured and became more delicious with every passing minute.
And there was one other thing.
Edward had a century of practise with exploring the human mind, and though he had never seen anything like Bella, he could still appreciate the subtle way her mind changed throughout the months he spent in her company. At first, he had felt like he met brick walls when he tried to discern her thoughts. But as time went by, it was like the walls only became stronger. He felt like he was trying to reach through steel, through reinforced concrete, even. By the time he introduced her to his family, using his power on Bella was like trying to break into a nuclear fall-out shelter using a screwdriver.
He shared his concerns with Carlisle, who had never heard of anything like this happening.
‘That’s strange, Edward,’ he mused, ‘Are you saying her power has become stronger, just like her blood has become more potent?’
‘Yes. You don’t think – do you think it’s a result of being close to us? Another effect of vampires spending time with humans?’
Carlisle shrugged. ‘Maybe.’
‘She’ll be amazing,’ Esme said. ‘The best ever.’
*
‘Tonight,’ Edward announced, ‘I’ll come pick you up, and you can watch my family play baseball.’
Jasper had made sure Bella would be especially meek tonight. Not that it was necessary – she had never refused Edward anything and was unlikely to start making trouble now. But nothing could be allowed to go wrong, because all their planning was drawing to a close.
It was dinnertime.
*
‘Hi guys!’ Bella shouted happily, ‘Let’s play baseball!’
‘Not going to happen,’ Esme said. Bella became abruptly aware of a shift in the group of vampires. They were all around her in the empty field, closing in on her, and smiling in a way that was not at all friendly.
Bella just stared at them.
‘Don’t you read horror novels, Bella?’ Jasper asked softly, forcing a little fear into her heart.
‘Never invite a vampire into your house,’ Emmett agreed.
‘Wh-what?’ Bella stuttered.
‘You fell for it hook, line and sinker,’ Edward added.
‘Fell for...?’
‘Our act,’ Alice said. Bella shook her head, trying to clear her mind, trying to understand what was going on.
‘You said you loved me!’ she wailed suddenly, looking at Edward desperately.
‘But I do,’ Edward replied seriously, ‘I do love you. I love your smell. I love it like you love the smell of fresh lasagne. But I’ve never seen you build an emotional relationship with a plate of lasagne.’
‘Shall I tell you something else, Bella?’ said Carlisle, ‘You have a power.’
‘A what?’ Bella asked, prompted by a stab of curiosity coming straight from Jasper.
‘Yes, all that stuff about me not being able to read your mind... It doesn’t mean you’re a freak. You’ll be quite glad to hear that, I’m sure.’ Edward smiled maliciously. ‘It’s a power, a real supernatural power. And the fun bit is...’
‘We’ll take your power from you when we drink your blood,’ Emmett finished.
‘That’s impossible!’ Bella sobbed.
‘Except that it’s not,’ Rosalie cooed, ‘It’s happened to us before. Edward’s not a mindreader by nature. He drank from a human who was exceptionally good at reading people.’
‘I had a fortune teller, a real one. She was so good. And she gave me all she had,’ Alice chirped.
‘Bodybuilder,’ Emmett said.
‘Empath,’ added Jasper.
‘But this time,’ Esme said, ‘this time we’re all going to gain your power. The previous times it happened by accident. We weren’t sure where the powers suddenly came from. But now we know. And we’ll share you, split you evenly.’
‘Can’t wait for the next time Aro visits.’ Carlisle grinned. ‘Can’t wait to see his face when he can’t hear any of us.’
‘Who’s Aro?’ Bella asked, terrified at the turn of events.
‘Don’t worry, Bella Isabella. It’s not your concern.’ Edward’s eyes blazed with desire as he stalked forward and motioned for the others to join him.
As one, they moved in for the kill.
*
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Date: 2011-08-07 09:40 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2011-08-21 11:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-10-29 01:34 pm (UTC)also, you use metaphors and smiles really well here. I'm so jealous of you for that!
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Date: 2011-11-01 11:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-14 12:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-11-22 12:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-08-19 03:11 pm (UTC)I noticed several previous commenters have mentioned that Bella didn't deserve to die in this, but I keep remembering what an awful person she was in cannon and being thrilled that your Cullens actually killed her. I also enjoyed the part where Jasper had to give her artificial fear before they killed her. It makes sense, because cannon!Bella is too much of an idiot to feel fear around vampires even when she should.
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Date: 2012-08-19 05:37 pm (UTC)Very happy you liked it!
Well, if Meyer refuses to actually have bad things happen to her protagonists, I (and all the others who write on this comm) will gladly help her out...
And Jasper is a psychopath. The only way I know how to deal with that is to go ahead and actually write him as such. It rather improves his characterization, I think.
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Date: 2013-08-06 03:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-08-10 06:15 pm (UTC)