Not Your Enemy

The room was quiet and, somehow, a lot colder than it usually was. Every inch seemed to grow larger as the clock ticked faintly just several feet above the confused and severely exhausted occupant of the single person hospital room. After Jasper had revealed what he had been, Tobi had kindly asked him, and Paul, to leave her for the night to allow her to clear her head and think things over. Nine hours had passed quickly, the sun was slowly rising outside her window, and the morning shift had already come to deliver Tobi’s daily dose of pain medication; however, Tobi felt as if nothing had changed and time was moving abnormally slow. She ran her shaking fingers through her cropped hair and continued to stare out the window until some sort of revelation occurred and showed her that she was just acting as she usually did when things weren’t that serious.

’You’ve fallen so hard for him, Tobi, why does it matter now if he’s actually a vampire?’

“I know I love him,” Tobi whispered with a sigh, “so much my chest hurts when I think about it, but I don’t get how something so big could be kept from me? Why couldn’t he have told me earlier? I would have accepted him then as I do now...”

’Then call him and ask him yourself. You’ve thought about this too hard, and I bet you’ll end up losing him if you over think this situation. Just tell him you still love him, at least. You saw the look on his face when you asked him to leave. I bet he’s probably dying inside because he thinks you hate him.’

“But I don’t hate him,” Tobi’s voice was a bit stronger than before and her hands balled up into a fist as if to keep the little sanity she had under control, “I love him far too much for the emotion to even come to mind when I see him.”

’Tell him you still love him.’

“That’s the thing; how can I look him in the eyes and reassure him that I’m not a little bit scared of him now that I know he’s been dead for over a century and lives off blood,” Tobi muttered to herself, looking back out her window and pulling her left leg up to her chest to lean on, “I’d be lying.”

’So, youare scared of him now?’

“Of course I feel a little sense of fear, but I’d be a total hypocrite if I said I feared everything about him when I hang out with werewolves and play with fire in my spare time. Not only does the feeling I have make everything feel like shit, but it also shows me that I’m a judgmental bitch who’s fears stand in her way.”

“You’re not a bitch,” a soft voice spoke from the entrance of Tobi’s hospital room. Tobi looked over and smiled as Edward walked over to her side and sat in the chair that was once occupied by Paul. His topaz eyes shined with new found light, and his body language showed that he was a bit cautious around Tobi. Once Jasper explained that he had finally told Tobi about the family secret, Edward got a glimpse of her reaction and couldn’t resist the urge to explain a few things to her. While Jasper decided to go for a run to clear his head, Edward snuck over to the hospital to visit his friend.

“Oh, good morning Edward,” Tobi smiled, her voice was tired from lack of sleep and her eyes fought to stay focused on the scene in front of her, “what’s up? Why aren’t you in school?”

Edward smiled and folded her hands together, “The sun’s shining pretty bright today, so no one in my family is able to go out into public. The only way I was able to make it here was by parking in the little shaded area a few feet from the entrance and wearing my hood.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Tobi felt stupid for forgetting something she had been thinking of for hours, “vampires burn in the sun.”

A low chuckle left Edward’s lips and he shook his head, “Actually, that’s the furthest thing from the facts. We can’t go into the sun because we sparkle…like diamonds.”

“You sparkle?” Tobi was confused, amused, and extremely curious as to what Edward was talking about. The large, skeptical grin on her face couldn’t be removed even if she tried, so she bit her bottom lip in to hide the fact that she was just seconds away from fits of giggles.

“We sparkle,” Edward confirmed his words with a nod, “I just came by to explain what we are so you don’t have to live in fear of us hunting you down and draining you while you sleep.”

“Lovely use of words for a girl in a hospital bed,” Tobi whispered, but for some reason she didn’t feel the fear she expected. As time passed, Edward explained, in detail, everything about vampires and even why there weren’t allowed in La Push. He told Tobi of their diet, abilities, and lack of sleep; however the only thing that seemed to strike Tobi on a bitter note was that woman vampires were unable to bare children.

“So, when Jasper changes me, I’m not going to be able to have the little curly haired boys I want?” Tobi’s voice was a bit hoarse from the in kept tears, “that’s great. First I can’t dance and now I can’t have children.”

Edward listened to her thoughts closely and frowned as soon as he heard that she planned on being changed. He shook his head and shot over to her bed to talk some sense into her petite body, “I don’t think you understand what I mean by being changed. Once you’re a vampire you are damned to a life on this planet without dying, sleeping, dreaming, eating, or doing any normal things you’re use to. Also, three days is a long time when you feel like you’re being consumed by the flame’s of Hell.”

“I’ve experienced that feeling just recently,” Tobi reminded, “besides, isn’t it my call if I want to spend the rest of time with the boy I love? I know you have some restrictions on Bella by how you are acting, but I mean don’t I have some say in what I want?”

The foul smell of wet dog filled the room and a shaking Paul walked through the doors with hate filled glares shooting at Edward. His body was just seconds from changing, but the moment he heard the angelic voice of his goddess he couldn’t help but feel the soothing waves of nurture and comfort of her aura calm him.

“Paul, baby, come here,” Tobi’s soft lips murmured as she beckoned him over with soft eyes and a racing heart, “you don’t want to do that here, do you? A lot of people could get hurt.” As soon as he was in her warm arms and leaning against the soft lift of her breasts, Paul had completely stopped shaking and was listening to the soft humming echoing from Tobi’s lips. After several seconds, Paul’s eyes locked with Edward and he couldn’t help but grunt in distain for the creature.

“You still want to hang out with these ticks?”

Tobi looked down at the boy in her arms and drew her fingers across his jaw line, “So you knew this whole time?”

“The whole pack knows, that’s why we were warning you when you found out.”

“You know,” Edward breathed, looking from Tobi to Paul, “you knew about them?”

“Well, yeah,” Tobi nodded, “We found out the day we went to La Push and Paul imprinted on me.”

“Does Jasper know about this?”

“Does Jasper know about what?” Jasper questioned, coming into view with his hair in every direction as if he had rolled out of bed just seconds before. He locked eyes with Tobi and smiled softly before he found Paul in her arms and his head where only Jasper’s body could come in contact with. Jasper bared his teeth at the young werewolf, but was silenced by Tobi.

“Jasper, I told you what would happen if you guys started fighting again,” Tobi smiled softly, “and I mean what I say.”

Jasper walked over to his girlfriend and touched her cheeks gingerly, “Are you still afraid of me?”

“I never was,” Tobi answered and leaned up so Jasper could capture her lips in his once more. As soon as he did, her heart rate increased and her grips on Paul loosened just enough to earn whines from the werewolf in her arms. Pulling away, Tobi grinned at her boyfriend before looking down at the boy who loved her and hugged him tighter to her body, “you know I love you too, Pup.”

“You’re destined to,” Paul said in a taunting tone while shooting daggers at Jasper, “you are, after all, my imprint.”

Jaspers dead heart dropped and everything around him felt foreign. He looked down at Tobi with questioning eyes and a pleading gaze, but the apologetic glint in her pupils showed him that Paul was being honest.

“Imprints can mean anything,” Edward whispered from behind Jasper, “it doesn’t have to be serious. Can’t you feel the love radiating off of Tobi for you? Don’t you hear how her heart increases in speed whenever you’re around?”

“I love you, Jasper,” Tobi was worried by the fact that Jasper’s eyes looked aloof that he was thinking about ending things because of Paul, “please, don’t think I don’t.”

“You’re destined to love Paul,” Jasper whispered

“But I love you,” Tobi whispered with more force, “don’t you dare think I don’t. You were first, you captured my heart first, you kissed me first, you made me fall for you first, don’t you get it? I want you and only you to be my first at everything.”

“Not for one thing,” Paul whispered, thinking back on what Tobi did two years before.

Tobi looked down at him with hurt eyes, making Paul want to take back every word, and pushed his body away from hers, “Get the fuck out.”

“Tobi, I’-“

“I said get the fuck out and don’t come back,” Tobi’s voice showed all the pain she felt after hearing her dear friend bring up something that still pained her even after she forgave him. She glared hatefully at his back as he walked out of the room and left her with Jasper, who pulled her into a tight hug so she could cry into his shoulders.

Edward tossed a final look at Jasper before walking out the room and leaving his brother and Tobi alone. When Tobi wrapped her arms around Jasper’s waist, Edward knew at once that their relationship was real and would survive anything that stood in their way.