Iridescence | Edward x OC

32

You're hands are scarred from murder, and yet I trust them completely.

- Unknown
-

"Let's just pretend that that didn't almost happen." Aris suggested awkwardly after a moment, her face flushed crimson with embarrassment.

"Agreed." Edward nodded, somewhat grateful that they were interrupted. He knew that kissing her would've just resulted in an unnecessary amount of pain, causing him to grow even more attached to her than he already was.

The rest of the morning went by in a similar fashion, driving around town and stopping at areas he found familiar, such as his old house. They'd repeat the same thing that they did before, just sitting in the car nearby in silence, waiting for as long as Edward needed until he felt his anxieties settle.

They were now sitting in the parking lot of La Push Beach, and Edward was looking more anxious than usual.

"What's wrong?" Aris asked.

"I'm not technically allowed to be here," he sighed, "it goes against a treaty we made a long, long time ago. However, since we're not currently living here, I don't think it should be too much of a problem. At least if I'm being cautious."

Aris looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean treaty?"

Edward took a deep breath, deciding the best way to explain it.

"Well, this reservation, La Push, is home to the Quileute Tribe. They're shapeshifters, who essentially take the form of wolves when vampires are near." He explained. "We promised to stay of their land, as long as they allowed peace between us. However, no vampires have been around here aside from us, and we were only here for a month or so before I caused us to move." He sighed guiltily. "Since we were here for such a short period of time, I doubt any of the teenage boys had to go through the process of phasing, so I'm pretty confident that there are no shapeshifters around here as of now."

Aris nodded, about to ask more about their phasing, when she was interrupted by her stomach growling.

"Hungry?" Edward chuckled, then going serious. "Shoot, I'm doing a horrible job at making sure you're taken care of too while we're here. I haven't seen you eat anything during the days we've been here, or while we were driving."

Aris waved her hand to dismiss that.

"It's fine. Being iridescent, I don't need to eat nearly as much as a regular human. I can usually go about three days before I start to get hungry." She shrugged.

"Okay, well it seems like you're hungry now, and lucky for us, there's a diner nearby that we probably would've ended up stopping at at some point anyways, since it's a familiar place to me." He smiled.

Aris nodded, starting the car again as she was eager to get some food in her system.

They eventually arrived at the diner, Edward giving her directions along the way, where they then stepped inside, taking an empty booth near the back.

"Edward, please feel free to tell me if it becomes too much at some point. I don't wanna push you too hard with all of this, so that's why I haven't made you stop by the house Bella lived in yet." She explained apprehensively.

He shrugged.

"It hasn't been too bad so far. Of course the guilt doubles itself when I'm in this town, but that was only expected. Plus, I deserve to deal with this guilt. I killed someone for Christ's sake." His voice wavered at the end as he attempted to keep it neutral and light, not wanting to look weak, but also unable to help it as his voice gave him away.