Paper Faces - 2. Cursory

I feel anxious energy in my fingertips and pull a cigarette from my packet, cupping my hands as I light it. A red glow in my peripheral vision catches my attention.

I inhale deeply as I examine the man half-hidden in shadow – broad and slender and mystery. His mask is a frightening blend of curves and angles, gun metal paint stained with red. The apologies on my lips morph into advances, but he gives me a fleeting glance and puts out his cigarette, jaw clenching as he turns on his heel.

His dismissal is a stinging slap across the face.

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Previous

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Paper Faces - 1. Babble

I down my shot of tequila, my lips pursing as I suck on the lime. Irritably, I tug my half-mask back in place and turn to find the brunette, regrettably, still at my arm.

She's not my type – could never be – but she hasn't let me get a single word in to tell her so.

I decide to be direct.

"Jessica, I hate to interrupt…" She pauses midsentence, one eyebrow arched coolly. "But I'm afraid you're wasting your time."

She gapes as I walk away, striding toward the balcony doors. The night air is crisp and cool, a welcome reprieve.

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Next

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T25 Round 2 - Alone (Marcus)

The voices of my brothers wash over me, a babble of opinions and strategies, arguments and laughter. Aro asks for my input.

I answer.

My stone hands are clasped in my lap, fingers loosely woven in that way that reminds me of her. Her hands...so small, so delicate, so necessary for mine to hold. My sanguine eyes follow the mockery of veins beneath my skin, filled with cold, viscous venom instead of the warmth her love brought.

It is time to feed, to drain fragile humans herded like sheep through the narrow hallways of my tomb.

I am surrounded.

T25 Round 2 - Apathy (Jane)

Pointless.

Utterly pointless, this whole charade. We could burn them all to cinders, end this ridiculous threat in a single beat of that abomination's heart.

She watches me, too-knowing eyes in a too-young face. Her hands are buried in the mangy fur of the beast she rides, the one she has claimed as her own. She should not exist, and yet, I cannot find it in myself to care.

I could incapacitate any one of these fools, including that one. I am sure of it.

But here we stand, enduring Aro's endless machinations, and I await only my next order.

T25 Round 2 - Awe (Seth)

My paws grip the earth, dirt caked between the pads, and I'm running! The whistle of the wind is loud, but my ears pick up other noises, sounds I could never have heard when I was a human boy.

A bird trills a song in a treetop miles away. A fish makes a muted splash above the babble of the river. A horn honks on the highway; the driver yells, "Son of a bitch!"

And I laugh.

It's a barking, raspy sound, but it is my laughter.

I jump, my furry legs propelling me higher than I've ever been before.

T25 Round 2 - Bitter (Leah)

Sweet was the taste of my Sam's lips when his hands were gentle and his eyes watched me. He whispered words of forever, promises I thought he'd always keep.

Salty the taste of his skin as he moved over me, making my eyes roll back into my head as my nails scratched his shoulders.

Sour the day he left me for my best friend, closer than a sister to me.

But there is no way to describe the taste of the bile that rises when I watch his lips against hers, the pieces of my broken heart mending...without me.

T25 Round 2 - Bound (Sam)

Werewolf. Shapeshifter. Spirit Warrior. Freak of nature.

No matter the name I am called, I am born to duty, born to a life I did not choose. I calm arguments, bark orders, lead this small pack of brothers. And our sister.

Leah.

One of our circle, she sits on gray haunches, deep brown eyes glancing over me, unseeing. I hear her pain, hear the echo of bitterness in her panting. I long for the days when I wanted to comfort her, but they are gone. She is an unwelcome reminder of what I lost...and what I have gained.

Emily.

T25 Round 2 - Collide (Felix)

"You have been found guilty of..." Aro's voice drones on, but I don't listen.

I don't give a shit.

To me, it means only one thing: playtime.

I crouch automatically. I glance at Demetri, and he smirks, shaking his head. This one's all mine.

My hands ball into fists and then relax, over and over again, as I wait for that final word.

"Death." Aro's pronouncement is music to my ears.

I spring. The guilty one recoils, but it is too late. I am too fast.

My body crashes into hers, stone crushing stone with the sound of ripping metal.

T25 Round 2 - Comfort (Esme)

The dry, wracking sobs reach my ears. The house is eerily still with the others hunting. She was supposed to be with them, but I would know that sound anywhere.

My daughter.

She sits at the edge of the river. I do not hide the rustle of my footsteps. She stiffens, lowering her hands from her face.

Her cheeks are dry, her eyes clear, but I feel her pain.

I know the agony of wanting so badly to be a mother.

Silently, I put my arm around her shoulders.

"Why doesn't Bella see what she has?"

"She will, Rose… someday."

T25 Round 2 - Dark (Jacob)

Even in the darkness, I can see him there, standing by his car with his hands in fists.

Bloodsucking leech.

My arm tightens around my sleeping Bella in a vain attempt to protect her. It's so damn hard to protect her from something she keeps running to when she should be getting the hell away.

I shake her, reluctantly trying to wake her. If I want more time with her, I have to play nice.

He paces; I know he hears my thoughts. I send another.

One day soon, I will rip your head off and burn your soulless body.

T25 Round 2 - Fragments (Alice)

Pieces are all I ever have.

Little narrows slivers, massive hulking chunks, all run through with fissures and cracks like a shattered mirror reflecting back a million tiny Alices.

I don't know my past, but I see glimpses of so many futures, and I try my best to glue it all together. I have to, for my sanity's sake.

Even so, nothing is stable. Nothing except Jasper and the rest of my family, but even they disappear. They fade in and out until I wonder sometimes what is real.

Will I end up alone?

Can I trust what I see?

T25 Round 2 - Earnest (Garrett)

As the smoke dissipates, the sunlight glints off her golden hair, reflected in her unusual eyes. Even after weeks spent with her, they unnerve and intrigue me. I wonder if I could live as she does.

Would I even want to?

I look down at her anxious, grieving face, seeing so much written there – loss of a dear sister, fear for herself, worry for her friends and family, for me – and I know.

For her, I would.

"If we live through this, I'll follow you anywhere, woman."

Her smile – the first since Irina's death – is all I need to see.

T25 Round 2 - Honest (Maggie)

"Of course I have no desire to harm your loved ones, precious Renesmee."

At the sound Aro's voice, sickeningly sweet and dripping with falsehood the way blood pours from the flesh of my victim, I hiss.

A lie! A bald-faced lie!

My mother's voice, so many years gone now that it is faded and distorted, whispers in my mind, "Where the tongue slips, it speaks the truth."

Something tells me that Aro's tongue has never slipped.

I reach out, taking the hands of both Liam and Siobhan. Their eyes shift to me, and I shake my head.

He means murder.

T25 Round 2 - Languid (Alec)

The marble column to my right is shot through with veins of grey in thirty-seven precise shades with gradients in between. My eyes trace the thickest vein from the top to the base, following each tributary until it fades into white.

"Alec." I hear the reproof in Aro's voice, but I do not care.

He could never touch me, never come close, not even with his shield Renata.

Not that he would try. I am too valuable, one of his crown jewels.

Glancing over, I see the benevolence on his face.

It is a lie.

I anesthetize the guilty one.

T25 Round 2 - Lithe (Victoria)

He is quick, this Edward, but he is no match for me. My body is precision and speed given form, and I revel in the immediate response of my muscles as we dance.

My mind is intent on my options, so many choices I could make, so many ways to go. It is as supple as my limbs, able to bend at will.

Above all, I must keep him from guessing my truth.

His eyes narrow, and I dart to the right. The thought was too close; he wonders what I meant.

He chases. I swerve.

Straight for his lover.

T25 Round 2 - Morose (Alistair)

How did I get myself in this bloody mess?

Standing at the attic window, my eyes narrow as the sunlight glints off his blond head.

Carlisle.

The name is a growl in my mind, and his son – that Edward – raises his head. His strange golden eyes meet mine through the glass, and I know he's listening to me. He knows what I'm thinking.

I can't help it. I shouldn't have to.

If it weren't for Carlisle, I wouldn't be stuck here. What a choice – wait for the Volturi or run away.

Either way, they will know I was here.

Doomed.

T25 Round 2 - Obsession (Rosalie)

I hear him behind me. His footsteps are always so damn loud. He's so… human in some ways that I want to scream sometimes.

I swallow, shifting my weight out of habit.

I feel his strong arms around me, his chin on my shoulder. His lips brush my ear as he whispers, "Are you alright, babe?"

The words are so quiet I can barely hear them; I know they are meant for me alone. I nod.

He sighs. "I wish I could give you what you want."

He kisses my neck, but I feel hollow as I watch Renesmee play.

T25 Round 2 - Patience (Carlisle)

I haven't paced since my heart stopped beating over two centuries ago. I have always been calm, rational… patient.

So why can't I stop my feet now?

Six-and-a-half steps take me from wall to wall, and I have made that journey so many times that I can see where the polish is wearing away.

I force myself to stop, make my eyes look at him, motionless on the bed. Two days with no change, except in the pitch of his screams.

If I can endure eternity resisting human blood, surely I can wait a few hours more.

T25 Round 2 - Prelude (Riley)

I turn up the collar of my coat, hunching my shoulders to keep the rain from running down my neck. A drop makes its way in, sending a shiver through my whole body.

I can't shake the feeling of unseen eyes, even though I know it's just my imagination. Just the rhythm of the rain drowning out everything but the echo of my own footsteps.

It's nothing.

I look over my shoulder anyway.

A flash of red in the corner of my eye, but it's gone.

It's nothing.

Nothing but the fragrance of flowers and a fierce sting.

I'm fading.

T25 Round 2 - Rapacious (Aro)

My eyes pass along the rebels gathered around Carlisle. I see Eleazar's face among them, and I cannot help the tightening of my eyes. To see one who left my guard so readily now standing against me calls for vengeance.

But there is more.

Bella. Edward. But where is Alice?

I want them and more.

Werewolf guards. A few of our kind stand with more confidence than the others, suggesting gifts beyond the ordinary.

And there, in the back, one shields another from my view.

"Ah, Amun, my southern neighbor!"

He tenses.

And I know why.

It must be mine.

T25 Round 2 - Red (Heidi)

Sanguine glitters on my fingernails, bringing out the lighter hues in my eyes as I cover the irises with blue contacts. My lips curl into a secretive smile when I take in the violet eyes now in my reflection.

It's easy to intrigue humans.

I adjust my sweater, my palms smoothing my skirt over my hips, and I am nearly ready.

I stand, pushing my padded bench beneath the vanity, one of many gifts Demetri has lavished upon me. It is unnecessary… that is the appeal.

I plunge into the sea of humans, their cloaks as red as their blood.

T25 Round 2 - Restraint (Edward)

My hips rock against hers, the heat of her legs blazing along my skin as they wrap around my waist. Heat… pressure… bliss…

Her soft hands trail up my back, and I press my body against hers, our lips meeting as I taste the salt of her skin. A light sheen of perspiration makes her face shimmer; her breath is panting.

My own lungs are motionless; still, her scent infuses me, the fragrance of her blood and her arousal driving me mad.

I need to taste her.

I turn my head and bite in frustration, my mouth filling with feathers.

T25 Round 2 - Slip (Jasper)

The fragrance of her blood blooms around me, cloying sweetness that turns my stomach and makes my venom pool.

I must have her.

I hear the rush of ambrosia through her veins, feel seductive warmth from across the room where she stands beside my brother.

For him, I will abstain.

For him, and for my ever hopeful Alice, who places far too much faith in me. She cannot read my thoughts, but he can. His golden eyes flicker to mine, warning and rebuke beneath that mess of auburn hair.

The paper slips. A drop of blood breaks through Bella's skin.

T25 Round 2 - Taut (Paul)

Blunt nails dig into my palms. My fists are as tight as I can make them as I try my best not to hit that bitch.

She is to blame for this.

The elders can say what they will about protecting humans, but she is not my tribe. She puts us in danger, leads the vampires straight to us.

I growl.

I will not hurt her. I must not.

I am not those bloodsucking leeches.

I am better than they are.

Jake senses my rage and steps in front of her.

My shaky hold on my temper snaps.

I explode.

T25 Round 2 - Vibrant (Emmett)

I throw back my head, laughing as I step away from the grizzly in a flash. He's pissed, and that just makes it even better.

I jump behind him and growl. He spins around and lashes out, and this time I let his claws scrape across my chest. The sound of squealing metal makes me grin.

I swing my arm around, clapping him on the ear just hard enough to make him roar.

With a roar of my own, I crouch and leap, knocking him to the ground as my teeth finally find his throat.

I taste energy… and life.

T25 Round 2 - Willing (Bella)

"It… the baby likes the sound of your voice."

Edward had never said the word baby in that tone before, and I felt a fluttering of hope.

Then I realized what he'd said. My outburst caused a chain reaction, a vicious kick followed by soothing words, and this time Edward's hand was the one caressing my belly.

"He's happy." The astonishment I felt was finally in Edward's eyes.

Tears spilled onto my cheeks as I cradled our baby, filled with certainty that I would do anything for our child… even die.

And now I knew Edward would look after him.

T25 Round 2 - Worry (Charlie)

I slam down the phone and shove away from the counter. "'Not letting her talk to anyone,' my ass."

Growling in frustration, I punch the wall and yank my hand back, holding it close to my chest. "God damn it!" I scream to the empty house.

When I look down, my hand is already swelling. I know I should pick up the phone and call Carlisle back, but I'll be damned if that happens.

"Won't let me talk to my own daughter, for Christ's sake…"

My anger leaves me just as quickly as it came, and I sit down hard.