"Mew", the obscure shape said.

"Hello" Edward answered back calmly, though he fought his excitement and the urge to grin so wide his sharp teeth would show. Edward noticed immediately the small note at her neck. She was still wearing her dark blue collar. He imagined it to be rather uncomfortable and he wondered why she had one. Maybe it was to protect her from overly sensitive vegetarian vampires like him.

"You brought a note" he said as the cat approached him slowly.

"How did you find me?" he asked, chuckling lightly when she touched a damp spot in the meadow and hissed at the wet soil under her paw.

"Mew" the cat replied.

"Of course, I should have known. 'Mew' is a good way to find me" he laughed.

The cat gave him a tiny insincere glare.

"Well, if you were human, I'd actually understand you" he said, proposing the obvious.

Edward waited patiently for her to reach him. When she was close enough, he carefully grabbed the note from her neck.

I'm scared, he read. That was it. He turned the note over to see if anything else was written but the paper was otherwise blank. He turned his attention back to the cat and noticed she was avoiding his gaze.

"Afraid?" He asked, contemplating her writing. It was neat; clean with soft-edged letters. "Of what?"

The fluffy chocolate creature didn't answer. Instead, it curled into a ball on the flower bed and closed its eyes. It didn't stay in that position very long. The ground was damp and it seemed to bother the cat a great deal. Edward didn't particularly mind resting in a bed of wet flowers. He didn't get cold and it wasn't unpleasant. But Edward wasn't a cat. His evening companion shook its chocolaty coat to get rid of some of the dampness in her fur.

"If you're afraid I'll hurt you, I would have done that a long time ago if I could. I can't even eat a lion now, thank you very much" he commented, and the cat sneezed in response. Edward hoped he'd figure out her language eventually.

That short thought distracted him enough that the cat managed to suddenly jump on him. Terror froze him in place. He fought his reflex mechanism that wanted nothing but to push the "threat" away.

Bella yawned, stretched and curled into a ball…on his tummy. Edward watched in disbelief as the thing began snoozing away.

"I thought you were afraid…" he whispered after watching the animal sleep for a while. They stayed like that for a good hour, Edward just lying on his back with warm fuzz snuggled into his shirt.

He basked in the warmth of the cat and wondered if people going through pet therapy managed to feel as peaceful as he did in that moment. He was so very tempted to pet the soft coat of his visitor but he fought the impulse. The cat on top of him was a girl after all, a girl with soft brown eyes and long straight hair, as chocolaty brown as the button-nosed purring fest covering him. She looked so peaceful.

He wanted to meet her. Speak with her. See her smile shyly at him, as she had done that afternoon, surrounded by seven cats.

He felt the cat stir awake. It yawned and slowly blinked before meeting his gaze.

"Welcome back" he said with his soft musical voice.

The cat got up and jumped off of him back into the flowerbed. Slowly, it stretched its tiny limbs out.

"Can we play a game?" Edward said when a thought crossed his mind.

The cat's ears perked up and its beady eyes found his.

"Not sure how it would work though" he thought out loud. "I was hoping we could ask each other questions…"

The cat blinked. It didn't seem to understand him at first. It trotted away for a bit, searching for something. It didn't seem to find it because it came back next to him. Edward watched intently has the little creature began clawing at the ground. The poor flowers wouldn't survive. Chunks of grass and dirt were flying, thrown into the air by the cat's frantic scratching. He should have been somewhat miffed that the little cat was destroying part of his meadow, but he could only find amusement in watching.

He then witness its little paws carefully tapping at the grown, trying to even out the dirt area it had uncovered. It was adorable to see it pat the grown so gently, entirely focused on its task as if spreading the earth evenly was a mission of high priority.

He realised it was, when his furry companion extended its claws and started drawing in the dirt. Edward's eyes grew wide in surprise when he read "ok" on the new platform. Excitement grew in him as he realised Bella was communicating with him.

"We'll keep it simple, yes or no questions then?" Edward proposed while trying to contain his delight.

"Mew" Bella said and kindly translated with a tiny nod.

Edward was a gentleman so he proposed she went first. He evened out the dirt patch for her, erasing the letters she had drawn. His strawberry scented friend then proceeded to write out the words "read" and "thoughts".

The attentive vampire smiled as he read them.

"So you noticed? Yes, I can read thoughts. Not yours though" Edward said with a small sigh. "I don't know why, in case that was your next question."

The cat's whiskers twitched in response. Edward wasn't sure what to make of it.

"I've been wondering…some of the things you do as cat; is it instincts or is it an act?" he asked but then he realised the question was too open-ended.

"You're obviously a cat. Do you have cat instincts?"

Bella nodded.

"It's not an act?" Edward confirmed.

Bella shook her head.

"So if I were to drop you in a pond, you wouldn't like it."

The cat hissed.

Edward chuckled before assuring the frightened creature that he'd keep her safe and far from water. He erased the words in the dirt patch and gestured for the cat to write. Slowly, with a long sharp claw, it traced the words "hate" and "me".

Edward's heart broke a little.

"No, I don't hate you" he said, pained by the idea.

He felt a little paw press on his leg and figured it was Bella's way to ask him to elaborate.

"I did at first" he continued, remembering the very first time the cat had been in the tree by his window. "I'm sensitive to smells and you, well…you smell like heaven to me. Actually, hell disguised as heaven" he explained.

"Can you imagine being starved and having the most delicious smelling mouse put right at your nose, but you can't eat it?" he compared.

The cat's ears went flat on its head and it chattered.

Edward laughed. He studied the reactions in the furry face and found them fascinating.

"Am I ever going to get to know you?" He asked as he watched it move around.

Bella the cat stopped picturing the tempting mouse and returned her attention to him. Her eyes met his. Edward noted that the two globes often flashed a greenish-yellow tint as her tapetums reflected the light. He liked the pure brown of her eyes in the daylight more, even if her eyes were quite neat in the dark.

He watched the cat intently as it approached him, closing in on his face. It lowered its head and its small wet nose touched his. The glowing eyes were so very close now. How odd that he was fine with that.

He felt it first before he could see it. A rough little pink tongue swept at his lips once and that was it. The cat was running away before he could react. He let it go because he had no idea what to do once he'd catch up to it.

Later that night he ran back home, dodging the trees in his way without really thinking about it. His mind was entirely focused on Bella.

He couldn't help but worry. Why had the cat left suddenly? Bella had kissed him, albeit with a cat kiss. What if it was a goodbye kiss? Had he let her go only to never see her again?

He kept her little note tight in his fist and he hoped it wouldn't be the last memory of her.

Sunday evening, Edward kept himself from visiting Bella's room. If she was gone, he would not be able to stomach it just yet. Instead, he perused Alice's thoughts for any visions hinting at her location. Nothing of interest crossed her mind.

Monday morning, Edward was in the school's parking lot when he heard the huge roaring of Bella's car. He felt instant relief at the sound. He stayed outside rather than join his siblings into the building.

Bella parked her car, got out and almost tripped but managed to grab the door of her vehicle for support. She saved herself in time, avoiding a bloody scratch. Edward let out a shaky breath, glad that she was okay.

"Clumsy cat" he muttered to himself with a small smile stretching the corner of his lips. He leaned against his Volvo and waited for Bella to notice him.

She straitened herself up, grabbed her school bag from the passenger's seat and shut the heavy orange door closed. She walked around her car and lifted her gaze from the cement. She saw him.

Her warm brown eyes grew impossibly wide and her cheeks turned red in an instant. She didn't avert he gaze though. Soon, her expression of surprise morphed into that of determination. Her blush finally lightened and she took a deep breath.

"Yes" she said, looking straight at him.

Edward was happy to finally hear her voice, but confused.

"Yes?" he repeated with a raised brow. What did she mean?

"Yes, you are going to get to know me" she said, sending him a shy smile. Her eyes stayed filled with unwavering determination. He could tell from her quickening heartbeat that she was nervous.

It was in that moment that Edward's mind was flooded with colorful scenes relayed from Alice's mind. She was suddenly seeing things. A lot of things.

A fast cat running after him.

A creamy white hand holding his shimmering one.

Paws prints on a birthday card.

Esme cooking salmon.

Alice hiding a wedding dress.

Warm pink lips hovering above his.

A little house in the woods.

And somehow, a little brown cat sleeping next to him as he read a new year's card wishing them the best for the year 3018.

Edward left Alice's mind and focused his attention back to Bella. He lifted himself off of the car and walked up to her. He smiled at her as he realised he'd finally found his other half. Before she could get away, Edward quickly leaned in, licked her soft lips in a swift cat-like motion and said:

"I certainly hope so"

The END