The True Meaning of Fidelity.

Edward pulled away, infuriated at himself, as well as quite pleased. Immediately, his thoughts jumped to the consequences that could have been. What if he pounced too quickly? What if he crushed the poor girl's bones? What if he had bruised her or worse?

Of course, she was completely fine. Startled, confused, and slowly gathering an ocean of rage, but fine.

"What was...?" Cadence couldn't even finish her question, instead, she brought her calloused fingertips up to rest on her bottom lip.

"I'm so sorry..." Edward immediately pulled back to the couch, standing like a child who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I-I... I don't know what came over me."

The vampire dared meet the younger girl's eyes. She stared at him through narrowed lids, nearly glaring, her mouth slightly ajar with confusion and disbelief. "I think it's best you leave."

"Cecille, please--"

"Edward." The redhead duly noticed this was the first time she had ever addressed him by his first name. "Just get out."

Again, he argued, "Please, Cecille--"

"Cadence!" She hissed, eyes flashing. "How many times do I have to tell you, it's Cadence!"

Well, this was just great.

They'd been getting along so damn well. Edward had begun breaking down her hard barrier, and now... It was all to waste. All because of his stupid mistake.

Although, he couldn't help but blame her. Now, that might have been his more immature teenager side peeking through, but his mind managed to twist things around, imagining that she tempted him with her music. She rivaled sirens with her sound, for god's sake!

In opposition, the more logical side (the side of him that retained his glowing ninety-some years of knowledge) told him that none of this was true. He was entranced, then distracted, and let his initial urges slip.

Instead of listening to the fuming teen, Edward plopped ungracefully back down onto the couch, nearly squashing poor Erwin. "Cadence," he made sure to use the correct name. "I'm so terribly sorry... I really don't know what... I didn't know what I was thinking." His stone-like hands found their way into his amber tresses, and griped them tightly.

Cecille sighed, "Look," her voice had calmed substantially. "I'm not that mad. It was just a kiss..."

Somehow, that last sentence, those simple five words, cut him deeper than any wound he had yet to receive.

"But, you look like you just need to cool off for a bit, kay?" She continued on as if nothing was amiss. Getting up, she placed the cello back in the case, leaning the case up against the wall again. Turning to him again, she repeated, "You should really get out."

Cecille's eyes were soft, as was her voice. She stood, her height more noticeable today, with her arms crossed over her chest, and hip popped out to the side a bit. When he didn't move, she sighed and walked over to him. Bending a bit to his height, she consoled, "Look, a kiss is a kiss. It's nothing big to me if it's nothing big to you."

What she didn't know, hell if anyone knew... Well, that was Edward's first kiss. In his new life, that is. He faintly recalled a few small romances back when he was human, but they were so far off and blurry, he made very little of them. Besides his sisters, he really hadn't had any intimate contact with any other female. Judging from what he had heard from Zach's thoughts the other night (and how he acted with her today), it wasn't difficult to tell that Cecille had at least some experience with the opposite sex. Edward, on the other hand, despite being much older, had basically none.

Eventually, he pushed all these thoughts away and stood. He wrung his hands once or twice before meeting her eyes. Cecille looked up to him, unsureness evident in her gaze.

"Please," he whispered in desparation. "Just once more... Please?"

She bit her lower lip, but nodded a minute later. Her slim hands traveled up behind his neck, gently guiding him down to her level. This time, he took no hesitation in pushing their lips together. It was much more gratifying having her kiss back. Edward's arms automatically wrapped around her skeletal waist, pulling her as close as he could without hurting her.

It was probably his vampiric presence (though Edward hoped it was something else), but Cecille lost herself at that moment. She adjusted her position, now standing on her toes to gain a better reach. One hand moved from the back of Edward's neck, the other tangling in his hair, fiercely pulling him to her. Her skilled mouth parted his lips, allowing a quick breath to pass between them, before plunging her tongue into his mouth. The teenage girl was pleasantly surprised to find it slightly moist and inviting, much like kissing a normal boy.

All the while, Edward was so tentative and eager at the same time. He had no idea what to do, at least in a way that wouldn't damage her physically. Instead, he did what felt right, and softly rubbed his tongue against her's. The sensual contact lasted a few more eternal moments before Cecille pulled away.

Edward realized she probably needed oxygen... A fact that had temporarily slipped his mind.

Her half-lidded emerald eyes flickered up to his, green meeting gold through her thick lashes. He bathed in her presence, bowing his head to rest on her shoulder, burying his head in the crook of her neck. She mewled a content breath. He did the same.

Big mistake.

He was so focused on her, just Cecille. No distractions, no music, no conversation, and no cat. Before, her blood sent had been a whiff in the distance, that he had successfully ignored for the past few days. But now, at this very moment in time, he inhaled directly what could be called the most intoxicating and addicting substance he has ever encountered during his vampiric life.

He roughly pushed her away, causing her to stumble, and ultimately trip over the coffee table, landing on her bottom with a loud, "Umph!"

Edward was astonished of how ungentlemanly and of how ungracefully he was acting tonight. Flabbergasted, he stuttered (hah! A vampire stuttering...), "I'm so sorry, Cecille!" Quickly, he attempted to fan away the sugary smell of wintergreen mint and roses. "I-I... I'm going now."

Probably even more shocked than he, Cecille rose from the floor, shaking away the disorientation of her tumble. She watched helplessly as Edward rushed out her door in a blur, leaving nothing behind but a startling slam that woke Erwin from his slumber on the couch.

~~~

Edward couldn't muster up the courage to return the following day... Or the following week. By the time he had gotten over the whole incident, his family was already moving to the northwest.

He had left Cecille behind that night. Maybe even for good. This time, in her absence, he thought of her frequently.

At first, it was everyday. He planned ways to win her back, making up for that horrific and awkward night. His planning continued for a few weeks, and before he knew it, a month had passed. Instead of appearing to her in person, as he had planned, he sent a handwritten letter of apology.

It returned a week later, with a stamp that informed him that there was no one who resided at the address he had sent the letter to. He stared at the red ink on the envelope for a straight hour. Eventually, Esme and Alice had to collectively pull him out of his daze.

~~~

The years began to pass, and Edward kept putting off tracking down Cecille. Eventually, he convinced himself it was for the better. In a silent vow to himself, he promised to never become that close to a human again. He was a dangerous being, and he had almost hurt the fragile girl... No one deserved to get that close to peril.

Edward Cullen was too dangerous for humankind.

Unlike the previous years, he found himself reminded of Cecille quite often. It wasn't a constant remind her, where he thought of her constantly. But, there was always something, everywhere he went, that gently tugged at his heartstrings, and bringing images of his darling little Cecille to the front of his mind. In Paris, he saw a bowl of Mandarin Oranges and cherries decorating a window of a department store. In New York, there was a street performer playing violin. Of course, they weren't nearly as talented as Cecille, but still, he was brought back to that New Orleans street corner. Then, once in London, he could have sworn he saw Erwin the cat slinking around the corner of Big Ben.

Of course, he just pushed all thoughts of that girl to the back of his mind, forcing himself to move forward with his life.

Well, that lasted a total of three years. Three entire years of Cecille withdrawal. By the end of it, Edward was basically back to how he had been before he'd ever met the girl at Curtis Institute of Music.

How'd did it all come crashing down again? Well, that's a simple answer...

It was another Cullen Family trip. They all loved traveling, leaving their temporary home in Alaska to vacation in Tokyo, Japan of all places. Their flight had just landed, and now they had to go through a devious torture that not even the best of vampires could avoid...

Baggage claim.

Of course, luck was not on their side that day at three o' clock in the morning. The flight most of their luggage had been on (a majority of it a portion of Rosalie's 46 different bags) had gotten delayed due to severe weather conditions.

Emmett growled as the announcement was made over the Air Port's PA system. He and Rosalie quickly dismissed themselves to search for a food resource. A friend of Carlisle's had agreed to meet them at the hotel with fresh blood bags from a local veterinary hospital (Edward specifically requested that he wouldn't be given cat's blood). And though this subtracted the actual "hunt" from their hunting, it was what had to make due for their first night there. Alice and Jasper seized the opportunity to leave the boring purgatory known as Baggage claim, and quickly escaped with their adopted siblings.

Edward agreed to stay behind with his parents, offering a hand in getting the bags when they finally arrived.

"Edward," his mother addressed, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Perhaps we should sit, blend in a bit."

Nodded, Edward made his way over to the large row of bolted-together plastic chairs. While Carlisle and Esme manage to find two adjoined seats, while Edward was forced to search for a free seat another few rows down.

He sighed, finally spying a small group of free seats in a far corner. Without even thinking about it, he went to sit, but quickly shot up when he realized that those seats were not empty, but in fact occupied by a dozing figure that immediately shouted, "Hey! Orinasai! Fuck off, wakarimasu ka?"

Edward turned, head whipping faster than most humans could do, so he cold look down at the delirious and tired person below. To his utter surprise, he found a young girl, just around his age (or at least the age he should be). She wore a simple yet chic outfit; a short denim skirt that frayed at the edges, over-the-knee black socks, red Converse Chucks, a simple fitted gray tank top, and a stylish red jacket with a lapel collar and decorative zippers. What stuck out most, though, was that this girl had a crop of chin length bright orange hair and stunning minty green eyes.

"Ce--...Cecille?" Edward choked out with wide topaz eyes.

"Holy shit... Cullen?"