[Edward] After Dawn [Cullen]

Part 1- Edward

I sighed and looked up at the sky, thinking about what the world was coming to. The influenza had started to take people, and it was horrible. I've never seen so many people cry.

What was worse was that I had absolutely no idea where my parents were, they went on some business trip and hadn't come back yet. And now I didn't have anybody. I was all alone in the empty house I called home and I had absolutely no social life, fearing that getting close to anybody here would be horrible when we moved again if my parents came back and got another lucky break. Then again, defying fate so many times preobably made it mad. I couldn't hide and run forever. Could I?

My head snapped towards the sudden sound. Who would be out here at this time at night? Not to mention it was freezing.

"H-hello?" I called out, trying to hide the fear in my voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," a velvet voice said. The sound of the unfamiliar voice made warmth spread throughout my body and wash away any uneasiness. My reaction made no sense to me, but the voice was waiting.

"Oh, it's alright," I said. There was a chuckle and an angel stepped out of the trees. I gasped.

He had strange bronze hair and milky skin, which made his green eyes stand out like lightning. And the moonlight shone on his chiseled chest, which I could see through his slightly unbuttoned shirt. He was so lovely.

"Hello. What are you doing out here? I've never seen you before," the angel said.

I stood from my comfortable spot on the ground and turned to face him.

"I come out her sometimes to clear my head. You've probably never seen me before because I'm not from town," I explained timidly. He nodded and made his way over to me, extending his hand.

"I'm Edward," he said. I took his hand and shook it. He was surprisingly warm despite the freezing temperature.

"I'm Anabelle," I said.

"Mind if I join you? I need to clear my head too, " he murmurred. I shook my head.

"Sure, I don't mind," I said, sitting back down by the stream. I tried to bury myself deeper in my coat. I couldn't feel my neck anymore. Edward sat down next to me.

"So...What are you thinking about so much that you want to clear your head?" I mumbled the question. He grinned a little.

"I could ask you the same question," he said. I laughed, but ended up coughing from the strain on my throat. He laughed after that happened to me and ended up doing the same thing. That was funny too, so I ended up doing the same thing again unintentionally.

We tried to calm ourselves after our fit of laughter after we basically started choking on air.

"Okay, no more laughing," I said in a raspy voice.

"Agreed."

I sighed and stared at the full moon in the sky. "To answer the question, I'm trying to not worry about my parents. I don't know where they are, they're doctors that move around a lot to treat patients. They left me here because they wanted me to have a normal life, but it's a matter of time until I move again," I explained. He nodded.

"I sort of have the same situation," he said quietly.

"Your parents left you for dead?" I asked sarcastically.

He pursed his lips in amusement, trying not to laugh.

"No, but my father is sick," he said, his small smile disappearing. I frowned and looked away in shame.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean.."

"It's fine, you didn't know," he shrugged. I frowned and looked at my reflection in the small stream.

I looked sickly pale in the moonlight. My black hair fell over my over my shoulders, and I couldn't tell the difference from my hair and my coat. My dull grey eyes sparkled slightly in the water, but I knew they never did that in reality.

Edward shifted in my peripheral and something warm was suddenly on my shoulder. I looked at him, embracing the warmth from his hand. He had an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, it's fine. You didn't know," he said, sounding sincere. He must've noticed how guilty I'd felt after he said his father was sick.

I gave him a small smile and turned to look back at my reflection. The warmth left my shoulder.

"I think it's going to snow," Edward said after a long while. I looked at the sky and frowned.

"I really hope it doesn't," I mumbled.

"Why?" he sounded amused.

"I don't like snow," I told him, scowling.

"Why?"

"I don't know. It just means more people will get sick. Snow is wet," I told him. He was quiet for a moment, then he sighed.

"That's true..."

"So when more people get sick, it adds more to the time my parents are away," I said.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. I turned to look at him in surprise.

"What are you sorry for?"

"For bringing it up," he said, a troubled look on his face. A small line formed in between his brows when he furrowed them.

"Edward, you hardly brought it up. We were talking about snow and how weird I am," I told him. He smiled crookedly.

"You're not weird, Anabelle," he said, my name sounding beautiful when he said it. I scoffed, which wasn't I good idea since I started coughing again.

"Anabelle, it's hard not to laugh when you're being unintentionally funny," he said, holding back his laughter.

"Bleh." He chuckled.

We talked about random things after that, and I got to know Edward a little more. He was such a sweetheart and a gentleman, it made me want to be his little sister after I heard about how he took care of his parents so much. He said that since his father was bed-ridden, he was in charge of the money and things like that.

I told him about myself too, of course, but my life wasn't nearly as interesting as his.
Yet he listened intently to everything I had to say.

This was the start of a beautiful friendship.