Writer in the Dark - J. HALE

5 - ʀᴀɪɴ

EDWARD HAD returned once, a day after Bella had made an appearance. He only explained where he was going and packed a small bag of things he could not be without for the time that he was gone. Athena had no idea where he had disappeared to and only Carlilse knew where he was. She got more concerned about him the longer he was gone, it seemed Bella had that same growing concern. Each day, starting two days into Edward's little trip, Bella had begun asking her questions about his whereabouts. Athena managed to live with it for a few days, hoping it would end soon enough because she didn't think so many questions could be asked. She was very very wrong.

Athena had made a trip to the library during her break, wanting to see what sort of books they kept in supply. She wandered the aisles for a few minutes, picking up random books that she did not recognise the spines of. She was pleasantly surprised to see that the cover on one of her books had been redesigned, it looked a lot cleaner and prettier than the first leather-bound version that sat on her bookshelf at home. She found a quiet corner and took out a few pieces of paper, crafting an essay for her English class. She wrote quickly, the words flooding out onto the page in semi neat handwriting. Her train of thought stopped when a certain mortal wandered into the library. Athena sighed and retracted herself into the corner further, hoping that she wouldn't be noticed. Just as she planned to escape the library, a shadow began to grow on her page and she knew it to be far too late. Thirst blossomed in her throat and her rapid heartbeat did not help the situation whatsoever, Athena hadn't eaten in a while. She made her own mind go fuzzy, knowing that it helped somewhat with the thirst in the more dire situations.

"Bella," she spoke, keeping the strain that she felt within from showing on her face as she glanced up at her.

"How are you?" Bella asked quietly, running a hand through her hair out of nervousness.

"We both know what you really want to ask me," Athena sighed, already sick of the conversation. She could see why Bella could be a nice person to talk to but the constant asking about Edward during their first-ever conversation drove Athena up the wall.

Her eyes widened momentarily, shocked that she knew exactly what she was thinking. It wasn't hard. Eventually, Bella sighed, giving in to temptation. "Do you know where Edward went?"

"No, I don't."

"Do you know if I did something wrong or?"

Athena didn't know whether she snapped out of pure irritation or hunger, maybe it was a little of both. "Look Bella, Edwards probably just ill or something. I doubt you have anything to do with it," she paused, standing up from the floor. "Now, excuse me," she continued, brushing past a stunned Bella as she quickly made her way out of the library doors. Athena walked to her locker, planning to grab the rest of her things so she could make a quick getaway after lunch - they were doing finger pricking in Biology that day and she did not want to be present for that. Just as she pulled the door open, a figure arrived at the side of her.

He quickly sensed her mood and grew a matching frown. "She's bothering you again."

Athena slammed the locker lost a little too hard, sending Jasper a worried look. No humans seemed to notice. "Is it possible for us to get headaches because I think I'm getting the first headache I've had in centuries," she sighed, leaning her head against the cool metal of the locker.

He chuckled to himself quietly and she turned her head, annoyance creasing the corners of her eyes. Jasper almost looked surprised at how dark her eyes had become. "I think I know what you need," he replied as she brought her head off the locker in intrigue.

"The ability to shut Bella up for once?" she laughed, knowing full well that she had the ability to do so.

"To hunt."