By the Light of the Moon I Will Always Love You

It soon became clear to locals that the relationship between the newest Cullen girl and the star football player was that of a special one. Though they were not together, they certainly contained the air of togetherness whenever they were with each other. After several months, it was a surprise to see Peter without Ariel, or Ariel without Peter.

It was little signs of affection, that gave their friendship a spark of magic. They would hold hands walking down the street, read each others thoughts and often Peter would stoop down to Ariel’s height and press a short sweet kiss onto her cold forehead. Indeed if Ariel didn’t have an imprint on Jacob, she would have believed she had found her singer in Peter.

Ariel’s heart healed, so only the mention of Jacob’s name sent a small pang through her. Her memories could not disappear however, and she still found herself looking in vain after a tall dark haired man or if on hearing a deep throaty laugh, searched in vain for its owner. But they were never her Jacob. He had disappeared from Forks and Port Angeles, and she did not travel to La Push, afraid of meeting a less than welcome reception. Last time she had been lucky, but next time the pack may not be so lienient.

Ariel’s character began to develop with the help of Peter, and he was a guiding sun to her. She was slowly drawn out of her shell, laughing more, and stuck in deep thought less. It appeared she had a rebellious side, and Carlisle soon realised that Ariel would give him a lot more trouble as a child than the others.

Ariel and Peter had a taste for using her immortal speed in class, feigning innocence one minute, and the next within a blink of the eye, pulling a chair from under a teacher before he could sit down.

The teacher in question Mr. Smyth was knowledgeable in reading the faces of his students and it wasn’t long before he recognised the look of devilry in the youngest Cullen. The family had been surprised and very much amused when Carlisle received a request to meet with the principal.

Nothing could ever be proven, but Carlisle kept a closer watch on his youngest daughter. He began to recognise the signs of trickery and it increased tenfold whenever she was around Emmett or Peter.

So yes, life for Ariel in Washington was certainly improving; and as everything changes, so did her relationship with Peter.

~

Ariel looked across to her best friend at lunch time in the cafeteria. She smiled slightly, noting the deep lines of thoughts on his scrunched up forehead, the cloudiness of day dreaming in his blue eyes. She snapped her fingers, and he jumped, looking at her;

“What is it Peter?” she asked, “You’ve been like this all day.”

Peter shrugged, crumbling up the bread in between in fingers. He was nervous. Finally, he straightened, staring intently at Ariel..

“Ariel…would you like to go out tonight?”

Ariel shrugged, “It’s a Friday, why not?”

Peter sighed, “No…I mean, would you like to go out with me, on a date, a real date…”

Ariel’s body became still as she pondered the question. She looked at him, wondering if it was the right thing to do. Jacob wasn’t coming back for her, that much was clear. He had obviously decided to turn his back on their imprint, to forget about her…and no matter how much it hurt, sooner or later Ariel had to stop waiting.

She nodded her head softly. “Alright,” she whispered, “pick me up at six.”

~

Peter waited nervously in the sitting room of the Cullen household, and though he had been in the room full of vampires before, this time he felt intimidated. It may have been the way Jasper was staring at him intently, “hurt her and you die” written over his face or the way Emmett kept growling in the back of his throat, enjoying watching the human squirm on the couch.

A small girl was watching him with large brown eyes from the corner of the room. Renesmee had taken another surprising growth spurt and now appeared the age of fifteen. Her curls hung to her elbows and her unblinking gaze caused Peter to glance at her several times in nervousness.

Edward smiled as he passed into the kitchen, “Be nice Renesmee” he murmured so only she could hear. Renesmee grinned at her father, not apologising for her natural curiosity in the good looking boy.

Peter was glad when Ariel appeared in the doorway, wearing a pair of black skinny jeans with a soft white jumper. He smiled, she looked lovely as always if not a little scared. This was a jump for them but he believed it was right.

He opened the door to his BMW for her like a gentleman and he glided down the driveway, the road to Port Angeles didn’t seem long and he smiled to Ariel in the passenger seat, “Your family have never seemed so frightening.”

Ariel laughed softly, “They care for me…something I never thought would happen again.”

Peter looked at her but decided not to enquiry, “Don’t you want to know what we’re going to do?”

Ariel smiled at him, “Well, seeing as I don’t eat, you’re not taking me to a restaurant. So…we’re going to the cinema?”

Peter laughed, “Good guess.”

He pulled into the car park of the motorway and held Ariel’s hand as they walked into the theatre. She sat close to him, her head near his face so he could smell the sweet scent coming off her hair, that was not put there by any shampoo. It was simply Ariel.

Ariel watched the movie with a disinterest but couldn’t help but wonder of the strange feeling in her stomach. It was churning with anxiety, of fear or happiness she could not tell. She loved Peter very much but not in the same way she loved Jacob…

No-body could replace her Jacob, not even someone as amazing as Peter.

Peter noticed Ariel’s quietness as he walked her back to the car. They sat on top of the hood for sometime, staring up at the dark sky, littered with stars. Peter stared at Ariel;

“You’re regretting this, aren’t you?” he whispered.

Ariel sat up, looking at him “I don’t know… something’s telling me I should be with you, but something else is telling me I can’t”

Peter brought his hand to her face, rubbing it gently, “Something or someone? He hurt you Ariel, I thought you were healing.”

Ariel pulled her face away, “You don’t know who you’re talking about Peter.”

Peter gripped her by the shoulders, “No…I don’t but I do know, that I can help. I’ll make you better Ariel. Just let me try…”

Ariel looked at him, her voice low like a whispered breeze, “Try what?”

“This,” and Peter placed his lips upon her.

Ariel closed her eyes, allowing him to kiss her and relaxed into the embrace. Peter’s arms wrapped around her body, pulling her close and she allowed him to. His lips were warm on hers, but not hot…hot like…

She pulled away, getting off the car, “I’m sorry Peter. I love you…but not like that.”

She kissed his forehead and then turned, disappearing into the distance before Peter could shout out.

~

She ran for several moments before slowing down on a narrow dark back road of Forks. She had travelled many miles in a matter of seconds.

With a fury, she ripped off the stupid white shoes Alice had insisted she wear and threw them into the forest that surrounded the road. Her breath came in angry huffs and soon she stopped breathing as even that annoyed her.

The night was quiet, only the occasional nocturnal animal making any noise and soon recognising a predator, running away. But Ariel was not hunting, she was simply walking.

She did not turn as she heard a car approach from behind, nor did she slow as it pulled to a crawl beside her. She only flinched when she heard the window being rolled down and a familiar spicy scent hit her nose; and then his voice hit her ears,

“Get in the car Ariel.”

Ariel kept walking, refusing to look at him, “”No.”

“Ariel…get in the car. It’s dangerous at night.”

Ariel stopped then, turning to look at him. He looked back at her from his Rabbit, his dark eyes glinting in the moonlight;

“Jacob…I’m a vampire. What could possibly hurt me! Besides…you’re a werewolf, get off my land.”

Jacob visibly flinched at the emotional blow and then looked again at her, this time his gaze soft, pleading, “Please Ariel.”

Ariel sighed and reluctantly opened the car door, clambering into the vehicle. For a moment, she fought the urge to run away, his scent was so strong she could taste it and it took all her self control not to jump on top of him then and there.

They drove in silence, an awkward silence listening to the soft crooning of Eva Cassidy’s Songbird that was broadcast over the late night radio.

“What are you doing here Jacob?” she finally asked, her voice almost lost behind Eva’s.

Jacob looked at her, “I was on my way to your house…”

“Renesmee will be asleep.”

Jacob sighed, “I didn’t come for Reneesme Ariel.”

The car came to a halt as he pulled in on the side of the road and Ariel knew he did not want of reach the Cullen house as too many ears would be able to listen.

“I can’t do this anymore Ariel…I can’t..I can’t keep fighting us. It’s torturing me, and then I’ve seen you with him. And I just can’t do it Ariel.”

Ariel looked away, “You had the choice Jacob…and you were the one that discarded me. You couldn’t cope with who I am..”

Jacob shook his head, “God Ariel. Don’t you realise, you’re everything…everything to me, everything I need. If you’re a monster so am I…”

They looked at each other in shock for a moment, “Jacob…what are you trying to say?”

“Ariel, you know what I’m trying to say. Come here, his scent’s all over you”

And with that, Jacob grabbed her, lunging across the seats to finally place his lips on hers. They kissed hungrily, fighting their way to the backseats. Jacob groaned as he licked her lips, their bodies melting, hot against cold.

Before it could get too far, Ariel slipped out, leaving a tender kiss on her Jacob’s mouth “I’ll be waiting in the morning Jacob…”

Jacob grinned after her, as finally his heart slipped back into place.