I Don't Need Protection {Tristan Moore}

[Anna Williams]

Anna stuck her head out the open window of her apartment and looked up at the sky. There were dull, gray, clouds scattered across the sky, but they didn’t look they were carrying rain, or like they were ready to dump their rain all over the tiny little town of Forks. She brought her head back inside and grabbed a handful of pencils and her sketching pad. She shoved the pencils into the pockets of her fading denim jeans and tucked her sketching book under her arm.

Anna then walked back over to her window. It wasn’t a very big window, but it was big enough for her to fit through it. Thank god I’m only one floor away from the top. she thought, gratefully, as she climbed out the window and grabbed hold of the side of the building. It wasn’t her first time climbing out the window. And she was sure as hell that it wasn’t going to be the last.

Anna grabbed hold of the ledge of the window above hers and pulled herself up on it. Then she grabbed the hollow peg that was meant for sticking a flag in. She used it to pull herself onto the flat top of the roof. Luckily, her apartment was facing the alleyway, behind the building, so no one could see her climbing to the top and think she was about to commit suicide.

Anna scooted away from the edge of the roof, she had to be cautious, when she was so high up, and took a pencil out of her pocket. She then opened her sketchbook to the page she was trying to draw on in detention. She sighed at her work, she’d only made one line on it. She had been so worried about getting it wrong, again, that she hadn’t really even started, yet.

[Tristan Moore]

Even though she didn't know it, Tristan had followed Anna to her house from the park. He'd seen her climb up to the roof, debating whether or not to go up there with her. He'd practically ruined being with her now. He knew she liked him. He was a vampire. They seemed beautiful to everyone around them. But why had she run off? He guessed it was because he had just flat out told her that he liked her. Bad idea. He began climbing up the window, soon reaching the roof. He smiled slightly when he saw her, pulling himself all the way up, walking up behind her. Hey, Anna.

[Anna Williams]

Anna nearly jumped off the roof; she was so startled by hearing a voice behind her. And it made it even worse when she realized that it was Tristan speaking. She could feel her eyes widen. She was on the edge of her apartments rooftop, but she had no intentions of backing up, if Tristan was behind her. How the hell did he get up here!? she asked herself, furiously. She continued to sit on the edge of the roof. She looked down at the alleyway below her. She’d never realized how high up she really was. It was kind of scary.

Anna didn’t look back at him, either. She didn’t want to face him. How did he even find out where I live? she asked herself, not counting on an answer. Unless, of course she asked the question out loud, then she’d get an answer. But, there was no chance she was going to ask him that. Instead, she didn’t say anything, at all. And she wasn’t planning on acknowledging him at all, it could just be her imagination, or she could be paranoid. He might not be there at all, she could just be delusional, possible, but not probable.

[Tristan Moore]

When she didn't say anything, he moved closer, exhaling sharply. Look. I've tried to be your friend, I've tried to be nice. I've even told you how I felt. And what do I get? Rejection. Distance. And you act like I don't exist. And you know what? I'm done. I give up trying to be with you. Trying to talk to you. Trying to be your friend. With what I'm getting from you, it's not worth it. he said, turning away. He walked over, looking down at how high up they were, wondering if he'd be able to jump or if he'd have to climb.

[Anna Williams]

Anna heard him make a hissing sound, that made her flinch. She closed her eyes, and sighed. Being anti-social wasn’t going to work. Ignoring him, was out of the question, now. She kept her eyes closed as she spoke. “I’m sorry.” She said. “I…you saying that was just…so unexpected.” She tried to explain. “I’m sorry.” She repeated. She opened her eyes, she looked up at him, for a second, and then looked back down. She still had no idea why he liked her, or why he showed any interest in her, at all.

“I know you deserve better,” Anna said, “And I’m sorry I’m being such a jerk.” She added, trying to fit in as many apologies as she could. She looked down at her feet, dangling off the roof, she once again realized how high up they were. She closed her eyes again and took a few deep breaths, she’d never even considered the possibility that she was afraid of heights, she’d never really looked down whenever she was up on the roof, though. She did it so often, it never crossed her mind that she was scared of it.

[Tristan Moore]

Through his thoughts of whether he'd come out unscathed[is that the right word? xD] if he jumped, he heard a voice, realizing it as Anna's. Sighing, he sat down, looking down at the road, watching cars go by. But he didn't go back by her. Just.. forget it. he said, laying back. I realize that when I said I liked you, it probably set you back. But you could have been honest. You didn't have to ignore me. he said, closing his eyes. Just.. he stopped. He didn't know what to say.

[Anna Williams]

Anna sighed, and closed her eyes, again, too. Now what? she asked herself. The silence was long and uncomfortable. It seemed to drag on and on. And she kept her eyes closed; she’d rather look at the back of her eye lids, rather than at Tristan. A million questions started bubbling in her, though. Will it really hurt anything if I ask just a few questions? I might get answers… she trailed off. The first, but not the most important, question she thought she could ask slipped out of her mouth, before she could stop herself. “Were you serious when you said you liked me?” she asked, before she could stop herself.

Damn it! she thought. Although she only half-heartedly regretted it. She wanted to know the answer to the question, and the reasons behind it. It was baffling her, and she really couldn’t stand not knowing the answer. It was getting really close to driving her crazy.

[Tristan Moore]

Hearing her voice, he sighed. Yes, I was. he said, not knowing what else to say. He practically knew what she was thinking. It was a vampire thing. She was most likely regretting her question, maybe glad she answered it. It was obvious she liked him. Either that, or she was always nervous and blushing around everyone. Though, he was a vampire. He was beautiful to every human. He hadn't met a girl that didn't like him. He could remember every year getting asked out by the new students. It got annoying.

[Anna Williams]

Anna opened her eyes. This time she looked up at the clouds, they were starting to get bigger, and it looked like it was going to start raining. But, she was just trying to distract herself again, by paying extra attention to the little things that made no impact on her life. She looked down at the line on her drawing, regretting both her decision to make that drawing and to ask a question that she didn’t really want to know the answer to. She thought of the other question she could now ask because of his answer, though. She picked the one that was nagging at her the most, “Why?” she asked, simply.

Anna knew he would understand enough to answer all the question that broke free, through that one worded question. She knew all the answers she was about to get weren’t going to help her, much. And, most of all, she knew something strange was going on. Something very strange.

[Tristan Moore]

When she asked why, he didn't even think before replying. Why not? he said, only partly a question. I can list things if you want. he suggested, opening his eyes and looking at the sky. He already knew what he liked about her; her. It was simple. He liked her because she was beautiful and for who she was. He wasn't the kind of guy who only went out with girls because they were pretty. No, that was shallow. To him, it was personality that counted.

[Anna Williams]

Anna felt blood rushing to her cheeks. It must’ve been a darker color, with how much and how fast it was flowing in that area. And even though Tristan and her had the backs to each other, she couldn’t help but start feeling embarrassed and self-conscious about it, which made her blush some more. She murmured something like, “That won’t be necessary.” Unintelligibly, and not really caring whether or not he could hear her. “What about when you said you liked me…more than you should? What did you mean by that?” she asked Tristan, having a bit of a hard time remembering and accepting what he’d said to her in the park. She scooted a little bit closer to the edge of her rooftop, at any time Tristan would be able to turn around and see her blushing, which was something she really didn’t want to happen.

[Tristan Moore]

He sighed when she said that it won't be necessary to list things. As she continued he shrugged, not caring that she probably hadn't seen. Because I'm a vampire.. It could be very dangerous.. he thought, but didn't say out loud. Instead, he said, Uh, it was nothing. Just.. forget I said it. he said, his voice somewhat bitter. He regretted telling her that he liked her. It obviously had gotten him nowhere. What was the point? All he'd gotten was rejection and her pretending he didn't exist. It wasn't worth it.

[Anna Williams]

Anna turned her head a little bit to the side. Stupid curiosity! she hissed, angrily, at herself. She opened her mouth about to ask why he wouldn’t tell her, but then snapped it shut. She’d already gotten herself into a enough trouble, she didn’t want to make it worse.

Anna brought her legs up, so they weren’t dangling off the roof anymore, and put them against her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she did so. Then she propped her chin up on her knees. “Are you mad at me?” she asked. She was upset that he wouldn’t talk to her. Or, at least he wasn’t talking to her the way he used to. Now it was all…awkward. And Anna didn’t like it like that…at all.

[Tristan Moore]

He sighed, hearing Anna's voice. I don't know. he said. I'm more of mad at myself than at you. I should've never told you I liked you. Look at what it's got me. he said, still laying down, closing his eyes. He felt it begin to rain. But it wasn't much.. Maybe a light mist. At least that's what it felt like.

[Anna Williams]

Anna realized that it was starting to drizzle, but only because she saw rain drops falling onto her arms, she didn’t really feel them. She quickly closed her sketch pad. No need for that to get ruined. She glanced over at Tristan, from the corner of her eye. He didn’t seem to mind the rain…“Do you regret wasting your time with me?” she asked. Though, she already knew the answer to that question. Of course. Of course, he regretted ever talking to her. He probably hated the fact that they’d ever met each other.

Anna didn’t care, when it started raining harder. This is all your fault. she told herself, as the wind started to blow the rain sideways, also blowing her wet hair into her face. Not that it even mattered, anymore.