✧

Mia hasn't stopped thinking about Remus' visit.

Knowing any magic usage will lead them to her makes her afraid of making the smallest mistake. It's been hard moving to this small town and even if it's taken her some time, she's starting to get used to this place. She loves the gloomy atmosphere and loves how constant the rain is. Riding her bike to school has been one of her favorite times as it allows her to admire the scenery and take up every breath of fresh air. Forks is growing on her and the thought of moving again if she were to mess it up makes her unwilling to use her magic for anything or for anyone.

She always used to carry her wand everywhere. Whether it'd be hidden in her satchel, on her coat's inner pocket, behind her tall boots, or even in her belt loop, she's never left the house without it. There's all kinds of dangers in this world and not just supernatural wise, so it seemed wise to have it on her at all times, but magic kept calling out to her. It kept begging her to use it at least one time and the temptation was starting to kill her.

If word about her whereabouts became known, temptation would be her greatest enemy, so now Mia's chosen to leave her wand at home and even locked it away in her trunk with the rest of her spell books and Hogwarts' robe. This would be good. This would be helpful and would certainly not be her greatest mistake. Well, that's what she hopes.

Currently, Mia is sitting at the very back of the classroom next to Mike. She's resting her head against her arm as she struggles in keeping her eyelids open. Mr. Berty has put on the most recent reinstallment of Pride and Prejudice and as much as she loves Austen's work, she can't help but start dozing off.

Mike keeps trying to make some conversation and whispers some incoherent things that she can't bother to try to decipher. It's clear she wants to sleep, so why can't he get the hint that she's not in the mood to chat?

She plops her elbows on the table and rests her chin on her hands, not bothering to listen to his words. After a few torturous minutes, she concludes napping isn't possible and watching the film will have to make do. She starts focusing on the screen and starts awakening herself, but that's when the door suddenly bursts open and causes everyone to turn their heads.

Edward walks in with a rather disheveled appearance. His bronzy hair and gray peacoat are dripping wet and he appears to be disgruntled at being here. She gazes over at him and notices his eyes are pitch black. Quite unusual considering she's certain of them being golden yesterday. She knows better than to dwell on her suspicions, so instead, she dismisses it as their color being linked to contacts - even if she's certain that's not really the case.

He hands Mr. Berty a tardy pass and makes his way past the gawking students. His posture is slightly hunched and his expression is filled with uneasiness. He glances in her direction, training his eyes on hers, and Mia swears her heart did a somersault. Despite his distressed expression, he manages to nod in greeting at her with a soft hidden smile tugging at his lips.

Mia smiles at him and watches as he sits himself next to Bella, who's taken by surprise when he says something to her. She narrows her eyes, noticing how tense Bella's become and especially since she's giving him that awkward smile of hers.

"Figures Cullen makes every girl turn their heads," Mike grumbles, evident annoyance in his voice. "I honestly don't get what everyone sees in him."

"Sounds like someone's jealous," Mia points out, earning a scoff from him as he stares at her like she had grown two heads.

"I'm not- who said I-" he stutters through his words, not knowing how to explain the mess he created. "I'm not jealous. Why the hell would I be?"

She stares at him with a deadpan look, her voice stern when she says, "Because he gets girls and you don't."

Mike's eyes widen and his mouth is agape as he turns his head sharply at her, "I do get girls, okay? I have... I have Jess."

"Yeah, 'cause he rejected her," Mia's finding some humor in this for some strange reason. She likes seeing him try to deny the obvious and even more that he keeps shooting daggers at Edward, who's now having a conversation with Bella.

"What's with the attack, little Grey? Didn't get enough sleep or what?" Mike grunts and rolls his eyes in a more playful manner.

"I didn't and you're not letting me nap, so now you're forced to deal with me," she argues as she tries resisting the urge to laugh at his dumbstruck expression.

"That means I'm incredibly lucky then," Mike suddenly scoots himself closer to her and stares at her with a strange look in his eye. She knows what that look beholds and her need in staying out of drama makes her scoot herself away from him with haste.

"Just shut up and let me nap," Mia rests her arms on the table and nuzzles her head deep into them with just her eyes looking out. The film is showing her favorite scene where Elizabeth rejected Mr. Darcy's proposal, but she suddenly finds herself unable to focus on it.

Without realizing it, she had looked over at Edward's table and noticed how much he's smiling and seems to be enjoying his conversation with Bella. Maybe Angela and Jessica were wrong that the Cullens keep to themselves since it's obvious their statement is completely false based on what she's seeing.

And based on yesterday's events, Edward's quite a charismatic guy. He had been kind to her and even joked with her on her first day. Anyone who keeps to himself wouldn't do that, so maybe, there's more than what he lets on.

Mia shakes her thoughts away from him and turns back to the screen. Not bothering to waste time thinking of this any longer - especially now that her mind is more relaxed in finally knowing he's not who she thought he was.

__________________

"So I'm thinking, how about we ditch last period and head over to La Push?" Tyler suggests while all of them are gathered at the lunch table.

This catches Mia's attention. In all honesty, she's actually considering it since biology is her least favorite class. Having to learn about cells and their phases is just not interesting and quite frankly, she knows her material so really, what's the point of even attending?

"I'm so in," Mia declares, making Bella turn to her with a bewildered look.

"You're not being serious, are you?" the Swan girl questions, refusing to believe her friend is actually considering ditching school on their second day.

She lazily shrugs, not sparing her a glance, "Why not? I'd just be missing one class."

Jessica nods in agreement, "Exactly and besides, it's going to be fun. I hear the waves are incredible right now."

"I wish I could, but yearbook is already getting so stressful that I can't imagine how much more it will be if I don't attend," Angela rushes through her words, not looking at any of her friends as she nervously plays with her camera.

Eric groans, not wanting to go to the beach without her, "That's why you should ditch. You need to relax and surf some waves. Maybe loosen up a little bit."

Mia slaps his shoulder, causing him to wince and glare at her in surprise, "Don't pressure her. She has her priorities straight, so if she says no, then it's her choice."

Angela sends her a gratifying smile, thankful she wouldn't need to continue denying or subject herself to peer pressure. Being in yearbook takes a lot of responsibility and if she wants to continue being the school's photographer, letting down her team won't get her anywhere. Sure she wants to go to La Push and spend more time with Eric, but like her mom always says, "Boys come last and you come first."

Raising his hands in surrender, Eric leans back into his chair, "Geesh, alright, Grey. I'll stop insisting."

"What about you, Arizona?" Mike brings the attention to Bella, who's staring down at her plate of salad that looks like edible art. "Are you ditching with us or not?"

Bella's eyes start blinking profusely as she bites her lip nervously, "I don't know. I mean, it's barely my second day and I don't want to fall behind."

"If you're staying, can you show me your notes later then?" Mia's able to prevent the attention heading her friend's way, causing Bella to mouth 'thank you' and smile at her.

"It's a deal."

The bell rings, signaling it's time to head to their next period. Well, actually for Mia and the others, it's the time to meet at the parking lot for their spontaneous beach trip. She maneuvers her way past the crowd and hurries to her locker. The only good thing this school seems to offer is that surprisingly, there's no homework. It will give her some time to study new spells and yes, she might not be permitted to use magic, but no one said anything about not learning new things. That way when she returns back home, she won't be so far behind.

As she tosses her books inside and starts placing her brown jumper on, she looks around to make sure the coast is clear before starting to head to the exit. All the teachers here stand outside their door just to make sure there aren't any students choosing to ditch, so if she wants to make an escape, blending in with the crowd will be a guaranteed ticket to escape.

The last bell rings and the hall is starting to empty out. Mia briskly pushes through the remaining students, her gaze attentive to the glass doors ahead while whipping her head back continuously to make sure no teachers have noticed her. She's never ditched school, well, not on purpose. When it happens, it's always because Harry made some new discoveries and needs help on his expenditures. Not that she complained because while those missions are dangerous, they're also kind of fun.

And anyway, ditching class right now for the beach sounds amazing. It would be nice to visit Jacob and maybe - if she's lucky - she would finally get a chance to cliff jump since Sam just had to stop her yesterday.

Mia turns around one last time and gets one last glimpse of the semi-crowded hallway before facing forward to continue her mission. However, her plans were suddenly interrupted by a body crashing into hers. Her breath is sucked right out at the harsh impact against the person's chest and his chin can be felt bumping into her forehead.

Instinctively, she's about to pester the person to watch where they're going, but when she glances up at them, she realizes it's not someone random. Out of all the people in the world, she just had to bump into him.

Edward's grip on her arms to prevent her fall loosens itself. His expression is serious and something tells her that he's not in the best mood. "You really shouldn't be ditching class for a beach trip. Especially on your second day."

Knitting her brows together in confusion, she's unaware of how he knew that she was leaving school for the beach. He was sitting with his family at their usual table and their table is far enough that there's no way he could have heard their conversation all the way there.

"And you really shouldn't eavesdrop on others' conversations," Mia remarks and quickly moves out of sight from the remaining teachers. "Weren't you taught any manners?"

Her comment is ignored and instead, he says, "We have biology, so come on. Let's not be late."

She scoffs and rolls her eyes, "I don't care if I'm late because I'm not going. Now if you'll excuse me, I have people waiting for me."

Edward blocks her attempt at walking out the doors with a smirk on his face, "Those same people that you were calling out yesterday?"

"Yes," she blurts out too quickly and much louder than before. She internally scolds herself, regretting ever being honest about what she really thought about her new "friends." Well, with the exception of Bella and Angela, and sometimes Eric and Mike. Really, it's just Jessica that she doesn't really trust. "It's none of your business, so just get out of my way."

Refusing to move from the door, he stares down at her with a satisfied look as a wide smile threatens to appear due to her vexed expression. "I heard there's going to be another lab happening, which means there's another onion."

Staring at him with narrowed eyes, Mia's confused on why he believes she cares for that, "And you're telling me this, why?"

"Well, it's your chance to win again. Don't you love winning?" Edward simply says, his voice smooth and velvety that's starting to get under her nerves.

Mia rolls her eyes and shoves past him. She slams the door open and doesn't bother looking back at him. Who does he think he is to try and make her stay? It's ridiculous. That's what this is.

"Wait," Edward trails after her, his feet nearly floating in her direction, as he meets her halfway to the parking lot. He tries tuning out her friend's thoughts, but their loud voices and confused minds are tumbling against the other, making it twice as challenging to ignore them. His irritation returns and all he could hope for is that he doesn't lose his control at this instant.

Reluctantly, she decides to give him the benefit of the doubt and hear him out. She turns to face him with arms folded and expression full of vexation, "What do you want, ghosty?"

She notices a subtle change in the way he's looking at her. Before, his eyes held a natural sparkle that radiated confidence and excelled in being explicitly charming. Now, they're full of unease and emit a downcast mystique. His once strong and assertive posture has transformed into a meek and daunting one. Whatever he's trying to say, he seems hesitant about it and this only worsens her curiosity.

Edward opens his mouth to speak, but the words become trapped in his throat. His mind is running a mile a minute and his once charming abilities have now faded, leaving him completely vulnerable like a fragile human. He averts his gaze from the surrounding trees and turns to her, but it only worsens everything when seeing her patience hanging by a loose thread.

Mia's eyes narrow into slits as she waits for him to say something. She sighs heavily and looks behind her shoulder at the others, asking them to wait with just one look. She figures if she made it this far, she's not about to throw in the towel by heading back inside. "What did you want to tell me?"

"Can I get your number?" Edward blurts out, causing her brows to cinch together in perplexion. When noticing her reaction, he tries playing it off by downgrading his nervous smirk and replacing it with an earnest expression. "Since we're biology partners, I figured it's best to have it just in case we need help with homework or..."

"Or what?"

He remains nonchalant and in a low voice says, "Or discuss more about other classes. Whatever comes up."

His voice trails off into a perfect silence and Mia starts searching into her satchel for a pen. She jots down her number on a small piece of paper and quickly hands it to him. "Here. Now, I have people waiting for me so I'll see you tomorrow."

Before he can even say anything, she's already running towards the van. He waits for her to look back at him one more time, but she never does. Instead of receiving perhaps a smile or a wave, he's only received by the door closing and the vehicle speeding off.

Even as they're halfway out the parking lot, he can still hear everyone's thoughts but hers. It didn't matter if he tried focusing, her mind remained absolutely silent. This was strange considering this has never happened before - especially in this town where it's not just her, but Bella's mind as well.

Something's off about this and he's determined to find out what it is.

__________________

Mia hurries back into her room with her spell books. She had to head to the attic to retrieve them since her impulsivity made her lock anything magic related in a trunk. It was a hassle bringing everything down, but it was worth it when finally getting a chance to learn some magic in this ordinary town.

On her bed, she lays on her stomach and becomes interested in one specific spell. It's the one she had trouble mastering and sure she may have casted it once, but she's pretty certain she must have forgotten by now. Casting a patronus requires a powerful happy memory and even if she does have a few in mind, apparently they're not strong enough.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Mia feels the urge of acquiring her wand getting stronger than ever. It's proving harder than expected, but she reminds herself of the importance of remaining inconspicuous. This move has to be worth something and she'd be damned if she wrecks everything just because of temptation.

As she looks around her room, her gaze starts focusing on a picture where she's with Harry, Hermione, and Ron at the Great Hall. Thanks to Colin Creevey, she has lots of photographs with her friends around every inch of the school. Maybe Harry should consider himself lucky to have a fan that captures fond memories.

She starts wondering what her friends are doing. It's halfway through October and she can't imagine all the fun they must be having.

She should be there. She should be in her common room gossiping about the most random things, she should be annoying Malfoy by threatening to transform him into a ferret, and most importantly, she should be with her friends and learning magic. Not being here learning nothing important because how is the pythagorean theorem going to help her get through life?

Besides, it's not like-

Ring!

The sound of the phone ringing disrupts her thoughts. They don't usually get callers since they hardly know anyone in town and besides, if her mother had met someone, Mia's pretty certain she would have said something. She's tempted to let it ring and just return to her studies, but that's when she remembers having given Edward her phone number. What if it's him calling? What if he's actually putting the number to use?

"I'll get it!" Mia hollers to her mother, hoping she actually heard her and doesn't try to listen in like she's done many times before. She briskly heads over to her desk next to her window and takes a deep breath before answering, "Hello?"

"Just thought I'd call to make sure you didn't give me a wrong number," Edward's voice still sounds so attractive over the phone.

She twirls the cord around her finger and sits herself at the edge of her bed, "I was tempted to, so consider yourself lucky." He laughs at her teasing, making her smile grow wider, "So did you call me just for that reason or are you actually needing help with biology?"

Edward shakes his head, forgetting he's not in her presence, "I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd call you."

Placing her hand over her heart, Mia scrunches her brows and pouts her lips all teasingly, "Aww, that makes me feel special, ghosty. Out of everyone, you chose me."

He softly chuckles, "Well, you're the only one I've spoken to for more than two minutes and have asked for their number so..."

She scoffs, "Way to make a girl feel special."

"It's one of my greatest qualities," he remarks, a playful tone evident in his voice.

Mia's surprised he knew she was being sarcastic. Her friends have always said that her humor is so passive aggressive that the majority of the time, they don't know if she's being serious or not. She's always had to explain herself and confirm if it's a joke, but for the first time, she didn't have to.

"If it's alright to ask, how come you and your family only choose to be around each other?" she breaks their momentary silence, wondering if asking such a question wouldn't be too personal. "From what I've seen, it doesn't look like you guys have any friends."

Edward's unsure how to respond without admitting that the only reason he excludes himself is to avoid hurting anyone because of what he is. It sure doesn't help being able to read minds and knowing that everyone views him as some kind of spectacle. "It's like I said before, being around that sort of crowd isn't appealing to me. My family is all I have and they've been there for me through thick and thin. I don't need anyone else but them."

She understands where he's coming from. Growing up with everyone judging her because of her father made her reluctant to open up to anyone. It's nerve racking pouring your heart out and not knowing if you're going to be accepted for who you are. Sure she might still be afraid, but having met her friends gave her the courage to take a leap of faith. It might take a while to find your people, but it's worth it when you do.

"I get it," she agrees, "But there's people out there that are worth getting to know. It's like when you go shopping and try on various clothes until you find the right one. It takes time, but it's worth it in the end."

He turns quiet for a few seconds and finds himself understanding what she means. It's like Carlisle has told him countless times, putting yourself out there is not the end of the world - especially when you have an eternity of lifetimes to experience everything this world has to offer. "You're probably right, but it's not like I have the best social cues."

"There's always room to improve," Mia nuzzles deep into her pillow, oddly finding herself comfortable in having this conversation with someone she just met. "What do you like? What are some of your strange interests?"

Edward smiles to himself. If she knew his strange interests, she'd be running for the hills without looking back. "80s music has to be the best. My favorite film genre has to be psychological thrillers and maybe a few horror films. Due to my sister, Alice, I've watched more rom-coms than I can count that I've grown to hate that genre."

Mia leans up from her bed. She's surprised at how much they seem to have in common since she also loves 80s music, prefers psychological thrillers and some horror films, and isn't that much of a fan of those cheesy and unrealistic rom-coms.

"Kate Bush or The Cure?"

Edward's appalled that she believes he'd be able to choose between them, "What type of question is that? It's like asking me who's my favorite sibling."

She knits her brows together, "Don't pretend like you don't have one."

He actually starts giving some thought to it. Rosalie isn't exactly easy to get along with, but on those rare occasions, they actually bicker like they're actual siblings. With Jasper and Emmett, it's a completely different story since those two are absolute menaces together and always find ways to tease him about anything. As for Alice, she's the one that isn't afraid of letting him know when he's acting like a complete idiot. Between all of them, he can't imagine choosing only one of them, so in reality, he finds it impossible to respond to this.

Still, he chooses to say, "You know, if I had to choose between Kate Bush or The Cure, then The Cure would be it."

Mia groans, shaking her head in disapproval at him, "Wrong answer. You're supposed to say that you can't choose between them because they're both amazing."

"You told me to choose!" he retorts.

"And you made the mistake of doing so," Mia teases with a wide grin.

He laughs for what seems like the thousandth time, "So tell me, what are your favorite songs from them?"

Oh, now that's a question and a really complicated one. How can he expect her to choose a song out of many wonderful ones?

"You can't ask me that. I have lots of favorites," she complains, finding herself surprised that she's pacing around the room and starting to clean it.

Edward playfully rolls his eyes, "Then name one."

Mia stares pensively ahead and actually gives some thought to it. There's so many to choose from and even if she says one, the next day it might change. "As of right now by The Cure, it's Just Like Heaven. By Kate Bush, it's This Woman's Work. Yours?"

He rests his chin on his hand like Rodin's bronze statue, The Thinker, "By The Cure, it's Burn. Kate Bush..." he trails off, thinking back on that one specific song that resonates with him. Just like the lyrics say, he wishes to make a deal to swap places with someone. That way, he wouldn't be damned to this cursed life, "It's Running up that Hill."

Impressed, she softly smiles at his choice of songs, "Favorite movie?"

"Hmm, maybe Misery or The Crow," he says with haste and is taken off guard when hearing her gasp. "What? What is it?"

She runs her hand through her hair, already starting to like him even more, "Damn, Cullen. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you did research on me."

Edward's lips part slightly, "What? Don't tell me you like those films as well."

"Pssh, of course I do," Mia lays back down on her bed and stares up at the ceiling. "I also happen to love The Crow, Edward Scissorhands, and Beetlejuice."

He smiles and finds himself relieved to have seen the rest of the films she mentioned. At least he won't struggle in keeping up like he does sometimes when others try speaking to him. "My turn to ask the questions."

She turns over to the side and sinks deeper into her cotton sheets, "I'm all ears. Give it to me."

Unsure if asking about this is proper, he becomes hesitant about mentioning it. Some people might think some questions are too intrusive and only meant for close friends. What if she believes this is none of his business? It's only the second day and yes they have joked around, but it's different being friendly and trusting something to the other.

As if they're in the same room, Mia's able to perceive his reluctance, "Edward? Did you die over there?"

Laughing at her choice of words, he's able to shake off his hesitancy, "I'm right here, Mia." His voice is barely a whisper when he says, "What do you hope for? What are your dreams, aspirations, anything your heart desires?"

Mia's unsure how to answer this question. She's been asked this more times than she can count and never once has she been able to provide a response. Her friends all seem to have an idea on what they want. Harry and Ron hope to become Aurors while Hermione plans on working for the Ministry of Magic to bring better treatment to house elves, and then there's Mia. Completely unsure of what she wants and praying for the day where she finally finds some purpose.

But there is one thing she's certain about and it's wanting a life so extravagant that when she gets older, she'd be able to look back and say she lived to the fullest. How will she get there? That's the part that remains pending.

"I don't know," she admits, the disappointment expanding like an infection and threatening to reach the bone.

"I don't think that's true," Edward says, his voice low and assured.

Mia raises a brow, "And what makes you say that?"

He sighs and thinks of the similar circumstance he's in. Between dealing with what he is and focusing on maintaining his thirst under control, he's never given much thought to the future. He's certain his human self must have had lots of hopes and dreams, but having no memories of the person he used to be makes moving forward harder to do. It's such a terrible feeling that he wouldn't wish upon anyone, which is why he's willing to take the liberties of saying this.

"I've experienced things that have taught me a lot," he mutters eventually.

Full of curiosity, she asks, "And based on what you have experienced, what do you think I hope for?"

Edward takes a deep breath, almost like he's gathering the courage, "A life filled with adventure. You hope for a love that's maddening and allows you to be your authentic self without the fear of being judged. You want to find a purpose, a reason for why you're here, and you're not going to stop until you find it."

She doesn't move a muscle as his words sink in. It's strange that he was able to get a read on her this quickly - especially since it's only been two days since meeting each other. He's right that she wants a life filled with adventure and wants to be accepted for who she is. After everything her father left her behind, she really wants to be judged for who she is and not for what her last name holds.

"Mia?" his smooth voice brings her out of her thoughts, "Did you die over there?"

She chuckles, nervousness suddenly seeping through, "No, I'm still very much alive."

Knowing his words caused this rise of tension, he tries switching the topic to hopefully resume their easy going conversation from earlier. "Look, how about-"

"What about you?" she cuts him off, her question catching him off guard. "What are your hopes and dreams?"

There's a silence that lingers between them. The tension is so palpable that it can be cut with a knife. He reconsiders what he's going to say, but when forming his words into a sentence, they don't sound right. They sound forced, like they were rehearsed, and for some reason, he can't bring himself to lie through his teeth.

Edward hesitates, the truth hanging at the tip of his tongue, but after a few minutes, he says, "I want to be accepted. To not be judged at first sight." He feels relieved at being honest for the first time in what he wants, "I'm sure you've heard lots about my family and I."

She nods, forgetting he's unable to see her, "Apparently you rejected Jessica and it's obvious she's not over it."

He laughs, "Well, she asked me out on my first day and not to be rude, but she seemed too desperate."

Mia laughs loudly and finds herself agreeing with him. Jessica does seem to try too hard that anyone with eyes can see it. Just take a look at the way she agrees with Mike on everything. Even on things that are obviously wrong to agree on, but her necessity to get on his good side and hopefully get him to like her clouds her judgment.

"Just don't say it to her face and you'll be fine," she says while staring at her moving pictures and posters hanging on the walls.

"I'll try not to," Edward responds lightheartedly and is about to continue speaking when he suddenly notices Alice standing outside his room. He glares at her intensely and gestures to her to leave him alone. She simply stares at him with a glimmer in her eye and a teasing smile, knowing very well that he's able to read into her mind and see the vision she had. "Anyway, so what else have you heard?"

She manages to rest the phone on her ear to where she's able to lay comfortably on her side, "Just that you're extremely good looking." Now that makes him start laughing. Of course he's heard that part, but it's different hearing it out loud and not on someone's mind. "Interesting reaction to that. I didn't think you were capable of laughing that way."

Edward rolls his eyes at her and shakes his head, "Seems you already have an expectation of me, Grey. Care to tell me what it is?"

Mia debates answering his question since at first glance, she didn't have any expectations of him since he just happens to resemble someone she used to know. Any first impressions had been tossed out the window and replaced by old memories. Not all of them are too great or too terrible, but she has to admit that when realizing he's not him, her mind started creating various notions on the type of person he is.

For starters, she thought he seemed quite snobby and like he believes he thinks he's above it all. With the reputation that precedes him, it's unlikely to believe his ego didn't inflate. He also seemed like the mysterious and brooding type. A person who tries putting on a facade to hide his true self out of fear of being judged (something she can definitely relate to).

Sensing the wheels in her brain are running, he breaks the silence and speaks out, "Don't tell me your first impression of me was terrible."

Mia reconsiders saying anything, but she figures why not tell it straight. It's never been in her nature to stay quiet - especially on subjects like these. "You seem to think too highly of yourself. Knowing that everyone thinks you're extremely good looking, it's unreasonable to believe the praise didn't get to your head. I also thought that you were pretending to be someone you're not just to hide the fact that you're afraid of letting others know the real you."

He freezes and his eyes turn wide as he wonders how to even respond to this. Seems he's not the only one able to read people since she just read him like an open book. He does feel slightly offended that she would believe his opinion of himself is too high because if anything, he thinks the complete opposite.

"Did I leave you speechless?" she teases with a satisfied smirk on her face.

"Honestly, yes," he admits and runs a hand through his hair nervously. "I know it's too soon for your impression of me to change, but... has it?"

Quite frankly, she doesn't want to admit that learning more about him and not just depending on what everyone says has actually started to shift her opinion. He's not just a pretty face to marvel at. He's interesting and surprisingly has impeccable taste in music and films. She hates admitting it, but she's starting to like him.

"It's getting better," she eventually says and is able to hear a relieved sigh from him. "What did you think of me? Did you think I'm such a charm and the best person you could ever meet?"

Edward smiles, finding himself becoming entranced in the memory of when he first met her. She was the first person that didn't become "hypnotized" by his looks. Maybe confusing him for someone else played a factor in this, but it didn't change how after, she didn't view him like he's on a pedestal. To her, he was just an ordinary person, someone like any other, and it brings him comfort in knowing he doesn't have to worry to live up to expectations of being a perfect Cullen.

"You're quite strange," he blurts out, causing Mia to question where he's going with this. She's been called lots of things, but strange, that's a new one. "You're kind to everyone whether you like them or not, but also call them out when needed. Not everyone is honest like you and that makes you one in a million."

Eyes widening and expression astounded, Mia's frazzled at his compliment that she can't bring herself to summon any words. She tries speaking, but despite her mind offering various suggestions, she's left silent with only the tension joining them.

"Say something, peach!"

Mia returns to her senses when hearing her mum on the other side of the line. Seems she was right in believing her mother would listen to their conversation. The thing is, how long has she been listening for?

"Mum! Get off the phone!" she yells while lowering the phone and attempting to prevent him from overhearing. "How many times do I have to ask you to stop snooping?!"

"Just answer him for Merlin's sake! It's not that hard!" Isobel hollers back, willingly choosing to ignore her daughter's words.

"Get off the phone!"

"You're telling me everything later!" Isobel yells back and finally caves in hanging up the phone.

Mia shuts her eyes, embarrassment pumping through her veins. She runs a hand through her hair nervously and despite knowing it's improbable, she could only hope he didn't hear anything. Slowly and hesitantly, she brings the phone back to her ear.

"Sorry about that," she sighs in frustration, feeling her once jolly mood falter into nothing but displeasure.

"It's all good. Don't worry about it," Edward tries incredibly hard not to laugh. "Family can be really annoying sometimes, huh?"

"They really can," she agrees lightheartedly despite still being vexed at her mother. "Sounds like you've also had experience with this."

Edward eagerly nods and glances out his door from hearing Alice having returned. Ever since that vision she had, she's been pestering him nonstop about it. He chooses to ignore it since her visions tend to change and besides, a vision of him and Mia together doesn't mean anything. It's just a fantasy of his sister wanting him to find someone as she doesn't care who it is as long as it happens.

"My sister, Alice, can be a real pain sometimes," he says in a slightly louder voice, earning a sharp glare from Alice. "There's also my brothers, who become much more irritating together. Then there's Rosalie, who always insists on getting on my last nerve for whatever reason. I try to ignore her, but it's hard."

"Yeah, I can't imagine," Mia can't help but to think about the Weasleys and how much the twins loved teasing Ron and Ginny. She can tell how much it annoys Ron, but it doesn't change the fact that seeing their sibling dynamic only made her wish to have some. Being the only child is lonely and yes she gets all the attention, but she would trade that for an opportunity to have a sister or a brother.

"Do you have any siblings?"

Mia's lips curve into a frown, "Oh, uh, I don't." She admits and plops herself on her bed once more, "My theory is that when my mum saw me crawl backwards, she just chose not to have another."

Well, that's what she tries to believe. Being the daughter of a death eater certainly ruins everything.

"You crawled backwards?" Edward laughs in disbelief.

She scoffs like it isn't the most ridiculous thing, "Pssh, who didn't?"

"I'm pretty sure you're the only one," he argues as he tries imagining little Mia crawling backwards and bumping into everything. "Sounds more like it's a Mia thing."

Mia can hear him laughing and damn it, she hates admitting how much she loves the sound of it. "Hey, it's not funny," she chastises, but finds herself unable to prevent from joining in his laughter.

Edward becomes distracted by how much he likes hearing her laugh. He could listen to her for hours and if he were granted the opportunity to, he would do it without questions asked. "You have to admit that it kind of is."

Without intending to, Mia lets out a yawn and glances at the clock. It's nearing one in the morning, but despite being tired, she doesn't want to end the call just yet.

He forgets she needs to get some sleep and as much as he wants to continue talking to her, he knows they'll have tomorrow to chat some more. "It's getting quite late. How about we resume this conversation tomorrow?"

Her eyelids struggle to remain open as her face becomes buried into her pillow. The phone hangs loosely from her hand and barely rests against her ear, "Okay, ghosty. I'll... see you tomorrow..." Her voice fades and her breathing becomes heavier, indicating her exhaustion had won its round.

Edward softly smiles and is overcome by a warm and comforting feeling in his chest. It's been a while since he's enjoyed indulging in conversation with someone that's not his family. A quite unfamiliar feeling that should terrify him, but instead, he wants to continue pursuing.

"Goodnight Mia," he softly whispers and hangs up the phone.

Author's Note

hey, y'all. long time no see
to those that said you were robbed from this scene, this is for you

there's going to be new chapters as I am in the process of rewriting the story, but it will be for the better ☝🏼

Hope you guys liked this bonus chapter!
Don't be ghost reader! Comment & vote!