Writer in the Dark - J. HALE

52 - ᴡᴇᴅᴅɪɴɢ ɪɴᴠɪᴛᴇ

EVER SINCE the evening in the bar, with that pool table that always made her smile when she looked back at the money, time had been filled with its usual happiness. She and Jasper officially disclosed their relationship to the Cullens - even though most of them knew anyway, he felt it was right to make it more officially so she agreed. But it wasn't a compromising situation, she wanted it just as much as he did - it added to her feeling of belonging in that house. Through all the happiness of cuddling, dates, walks, hunts and all the other things, there had been the first spot of darkness. They had had an argument about something so irrational that if she repeated it to him the two burst out laughing. It had happened after a tense day of wedding planning with Alice, numerous amounts of phone calls and errand running. For her, it had been on a completely empty stomach and for him, it was on a half-empty stomach - given his difficulty with human blood though, he was hungrier than she was. So they had gotten mad about something stupid, due to the hunger, and fought for a good ten minutes. It wasn't a shouting row, where the neighbours would be concerned about the noise, it was more of a discussion that had angered voices that were never raised. Not once did their voices go above their normal volume. But once they had fed, they talked some more and laughed about it.

For the weeks that passed, rain had pelted down on Forks as if it had been in the midst of an eight-year drought. It rained so often that a spot of time where there wasn't any rain was considered weird, like something was missing. Mortals around hated the rain, it hindered their activities and made everything cold. But Athena, and the forest, loved every single droplet that fell from the sky. The greenery blossomed and took over the forest, the leaves dripping water onto the moss-covered ground that did not have a dry spot in sight. It was more alive, healthier and smelled utterly divine.

She dawdled through the forest, watching the wildlife work in overdrive. She smiled at the worms, brave enough to cross the surface of the places where soil was still visible - she of course made a huge effort to avoid them. She smiled at the bark on the trees, now slick with water and shimmering under the ever so slight sunlight that scattered through the heavy clouds above. And she loved the sound of the rain clattering against the leaves made. If she could, she would record it and play it constantly in her home. It was just that comforting.

An hour later than she was supposed to arrive, Athena hurried into Billy's and gently closed the door behind her as she called out, "Sorry I got-"

"Distracted in the woods, like always," he interrupted and she chuckled softly, taking off her dripping coat and sodden boots. Within seconds, Athena had warm, new socks stretched up her feet and had changed into a new pair of jeans that she had bought in a waterproof bag - knowing that her legs would have gotten completely sodden during the walk The socks she had packed were purposely the type that slipped across wooden floors. She slipped across the floor, gliding all the way to the living room as happy laughter escaped her lips. That was until she got a little too much momentum and went shooting into the wall, unable to stop herself in time. Billy's roaring laughter filled the entire house as she picked herself up off the floor, checking to see if there was any damage in the paint job.

"Oh shut up," she sighed as his laughter continued. She flopped down on the sofa next to him and covered her legs over with the nearest blanket, turning her attention to the television."What we watching?"

"Some documentary about Antarctica," he shrugged, not having watched it for longer than five minutes so his understanding of this show was minimal. Though he did think it looked rather interesting.

She sighed, wondering why she had suspected any different. "You watch an unhealthy amount of those things."

"How's your book coming along?"

"Good, I sent it to the publishers a few weeks ago so I should be hearing back from them soon," she replied with a grin threatening to expose her true feelings about the publishing process.  "And amazing subject change right there," she complimented, exhaling sharply as her phone buzzed in her pocket.