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Thank you, know you

Playlist- Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls

Hard to Handle by Black Crows (Beginning tid-bit)

"Baby here I am, I'm the man on the seen. I can give you what you want but you gotta come home with me."

I swayed, singing to the empty space around me. The radio was turned up full blast, and I brushed the broom back and forth in time with the song. Small wisps of dust circled around my dancing feet. I stopped dramatically and pulled the tip of the handle to my lips.

"Hey little thing let me light your candle cause mama I'm sure hard to handle, now, gets around."

It was Sunday, which meant it was cleaning day at the factory. Every Sunday morning I part took in the only routine I kept in my life and moped, swept, and aired out the factory. It was all part of this silly idea I had about maintaining a clean house and living a somewhat normal lifestyle. I valued good habits, and since I so often had to resort to some not-so-good ones in order to survive my sojourns through time, I figured Sunday cleanup was a step towards redemption.

Today, I had few more things on my to-do list. I was getting very short on food supplies and I'd used the last of my toothpaste the night before. I had a bit of shampoo left, but more would be needed soon. Once house cleaning was finished I had to take a trip into town to do some shopping.

I actually preferred to do my shopping in another realm of time for relatively understandable reasons. One, no one knew or recognized me when I was time traveling. I could get all of my errands done hassle free without having to worry about the possibility of being noticed or followed by anyone. Shopping in Forks meant running the risk of becoming familiar and peeking interest. I dreaded the idea of someone becoming curious and investigating. If they ever found out about the factory, I would surely be chased out and would loose the only home I had left. The mere thought was enough to raise panic in my throat. Two, it was harder to shoplift in Forks.

Yes, I had no money so I had to steal. Thank goodness for my redeeming Sunday rituals, right?

Unfortunately for me, I hadn't time traveled in almost a week, about as long as it had taken for me to get the beige paint out of my hair. That had been the last time I'd traveled, and I'd begun to miss it for only one reason.

I wanted to see the boy with the gold eyes again.

After my unwanted return to the present that night he'd saved me and the horrific meltdown I'd had because of it, I'd been careful not to think too much about him and the fact that he obviously knew me more than I'd been led to believe. Despite all my efforts, he remained a constant presence throughout my thoughts, always standing on the periphery of my subconscious where I dared not touch him for fear of another unexpected fit of hysterics. So I pointedly kept busy around the factory, organizing and reorganizing empty boxes and pieces of scrap metal. I would go out during the day and hike the mountains, gather wood for the fires, take excessive cold baths using the old tubs in the back of the factory where they used to pour the wax for the match paper. I read a lot.

I still missed him.

I propped the broom against a nearby machine after I'd swept up the massive pile of dust, the last of many I'd made throughout the morning. I sat down on a tipped over crate and rested my chin on my hand, admiring my work. To anyone else, it probably looked exactly the same as it had when I started. To me, it shone anew.

Across the room, a loud clamor arose as a frantic bird rushed in through one of the broken glass panes of a window, quickly followed by a pursuing cat. I watched as the mangy stray bounded over crates and machines, chasing the panic of flapping feathers before leaping gracefully up in the air to snatch it's prey in it's paws. As quick as it was up, it fell to the ground, wrestling with the bird. It didn't waste time playing with it and in a rather business fashion snapped its neck.

"Bravo," I called to the cat, "Very civil of you. I'm sure he didn't feel a thing."

The cat looked up, then grabbed the bird around the neck between its teeth and dragged it away behind the machines. I smirked and saluted the hunter. Hauling myself up from my sea, I set to gathering my own foraging supplies in preparation for the human hunt.

An hour later, I was walking down the side of the road on my way to the nearest convenience store just outside of Forks. It didn't have much in the way of groceries, but I could suffice with a loaf of bread, peanut butter and some canned peaches for the time being. Right now, toiletries were of the most concern.

It was Forks, so naturally the weather was cold overcast. I zipped my sweatshirt and fastened all the buttons of my cargo jacket, but I could still feel the bitter winds penetrate the fabric and chill my skin. The toes of my boots were permanently wet, and my wool socks only helped to warm the water. I wore leggings under my very worn jeans, but it helped as much as it could. I would never be used to the cold. Ever.

There was one thing I liked about Forks, and that was the landscape. I'd never come across greener, thicker forests. The sky, though constantly gray, was a huge vast sea that swallowed the soul of the person who dared stare up into it too long. It made me feel lonely, but the sensation proved so encompassing that I almost felt whole in my isolation. The strong emotion was a welcome reminder that, degeneration of my past and present aside, I was still very much human.

And then with a shocking sensation up my spine, I very much wasn't.

I dropped out of the air and collided roughly with a thick tree branch, grasping it blindly before I could fall any farther. I coiled my whole body around the branch, gasping for breath. I opened my eyes slowly, afraid to see how high up I was.

My cheek pressed against the mossy wood, and to my side I observed the large mass of surrounding branches jutting out around me at all sides, covered in tiny evergreen needles. A Douglas Fir.

Firs were tall. With sickening dread, I turned my head and looked down. My heart stopped, and I sucked in a sharp, painful breath.

I was at least two hundred and fifty feet from the ground.

As suddenly as my heart had stopped it broke into a race, flooding into my throat and deafening me to anything but its pulse behind my ears. My body began to shake, threatening to break my hold on the branch I was clutching. I pulled my face up and pressed my cheek to the wood again as I struggled for breath. Closing my eyes, I began to cry.

I lay there, suspended and shaking, and waited for time.

I don't know how long I lay there, suspended hundreds of feet above the ground, but after a while my heart quieted and my breathing slowed. Terror turned to numbness, and then to exhaustion. My muscles loosened, and I slumped atop the branch, letting myself dangle. Without realizing the danger I was putting myself into, I drifted into sleep.

It was the crack that woke me. A horrible groaning of rotten wood as it splintered up through the limb, slowly splitting the wood beneath me. I pulled my face up, disoriented, and watched with blurry eyes as the fissure ran the length of the branch. Turning my head, I watched the base of the branch begin to pull away from the trunk. Before I could panic, I was falling.

Screaming with terror, I plummeted towards the ground, the falling branch ahead of me. It collided with a few lower branches on its way down, rebounding back up to hit me. Soon, I found myself bouncing back and forth between the branches too, hitting them with the painful force of my increasing speed as I plunged towards the ground. In the instant that my mind was cleared of horror and my eyes clean of tears, I stared down and watched with a strange calm as I prepared to die. In that instant, I think I actually smiled.

A blur to my side, and I was suddenly sailing to my right as a large object crashed into me, knocking all breath from me. I felt a strong arm wrap around my waist, pulling me close. With sudden abruptness, we stopped, and my whole body jerked with the force of the whiplash. I snapped back, more than dizzy.

"Oh!" I exclaimed as my forehead collide with his chest, rebounding. He didn't even flinch. He was harder than stone.

My vision blurred and blackened for a moment, but as my sight slowly came back to me I found myself staring up, disoriented, at his face, the face of the boy I couldn't stop thinking about. The boy with the bright golden eyes, and through those eyes he was looking back at me with fierce attention and concern.

"Wha-" I sighed, confused.

"Are you alright?" He interrupted, focusing intently on me. I tried to answer, but my breath caught in my throat. He looked me over once, and repeated his question.

"Uhhh," I stammered, overwhelmed. He frowned slightly, waiting.

"Y-yeah," I finally managed, "Yeah, I-I'm fine. Thank you. For, uh, for um-"

I turned my head and looked down over my shoulder. Beneath my dangling feet, the forest floor sat a fifty feet below. I frowned, unable to comprehend what exactly had just happened.

"You're welcome." He concluded. I looked back up to him.

"How? How did you know?"

His expression froze, and I knew he hadn't considered this part. Honestly, I didn't know if there could be any given explanation for what he'd just done, and the gravity of the present state we were in hadn't fully sunk in yet. I hung there, dangling above the ground with his arm pressing me firmly and securely to him, waiting for him to speak.

"I-" He cut off, his voice sticking in his throat, "I just…knew."

I nodded, dropping my chin as I contemplated his answer. I looked up again before I spoke.

"And how were you able to get up here fast enough to catch me?"

Another question he hadn't thought to form an answer for. I scrutinized him with a calm curiosity as he struggle to speak.

"I just…was?"

I nodded again, and after a moment sighed.

"Well then," I said, looking down, "Care to put me down? I'd like to stand on the ground again."

His eyes widened slightly in surprise, but after a moment he nodded, and said, "Do you mind if I put you on my back? I, I kind of need both my hands."

I shook my head and replied, "Nope." He nodded tightly and with surprising ease slung me over onto his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck, trying to be gentle but gripping strong enough to keep me from falling off. He paused a moment to check that I was secure and then looked down, contemplating. I did the same, innocently curious as to how this would be done.

He hesitated, his hands resting on a branch at either side of him with his feet planted on one thick branch beneath him. After a moment, he sighed in what sounded like resignation to something, and jumped. My heart stopped.

But we didn't hit the ground. Instead, just as suddenly as I found us falling through the air again, we were moving through the trees as he swung from branch to branch like a trapeze artist. Crossing from branch to branch, tree to tree, we slowly made our way down till we reached the end of the branches and he jumped swiftly and silently to the ground. Once on the floor, he pulled me gently from his back and set me on my feet. Stable and grounded, I stared up at him in awe.

"Thank you." I breathed in amazement, and smiled. He stared at me for a moment, and nodded. My face fell as he turned to leave.

"Wait!" I cried, reaching out and grabbing his arm urgently. He turned back in surprise, and his arm tensed at my touch. Still, I didn't dare let go.

"What?" He asked, confusing and anxiety in his voice. I stammered for a moment, my voice stuck. Finally, I managed to find the words I was looking for.

"You know my name," I stated, not needing confirmation. His brows rose, but he managed a nod. I smiled slightly and continued.

"I need to know who you are. What's your name?"

His face froze. I stood there, clinging to his arm, desperate and anxious.

"Edward."

Edward. I nodded slowly, and relinquished his arm. He hesitated for a moment, then turned quickly to leave. I watched before realization struck me.

"Wait!" I called again, and when he turned I smiled sheepishly. He stared at me expectantly, and I blushed.

"What's the date?"

For the first time, he didn't seem startled by my question. He knew what I was asking.

"Thursday," He said, smirking slightly, "Two days ago."

I smiled wider and laughed, nodding. He smiled back, and with a quick shake of his head, turned and disappeared into the woods.

Thank you, Edward.

Done! Well, whadya think? Longest chapter so far, but it's still kinda short. I'm still introducing everything and setting everything up cause it's kind of a complex idea and it takes a bit of getting into. But i'm hoping it's worth the time and i won't know unless you tell me, so please, please let me know if you're still liking it! Can't thank you enough for all your support!

Mucho Love,

MynameisWHAT