How It All Goes Down
- Edward and Bella reach their destination – a sunny meadow in the woods. Bella sees Edward in the sun for the first time:
Edward in the sunlight was shocking. I couldn't get used to it, though I'd been staring at him all afternoon. His skin, despite the faint flush from yesterday's hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface. (13.1) - Edward lies down and relaxes, and Bella touches him, stroking his arms and checking out his shining skin. But when Bella gets a bit too close, he's across the meadow from her in the blink of an eye.
- For the first time, Bella is seeing Edward for who he truly is. He shows her his speed, then his super-strength by tearing a thick branch off a tree and tossing it hard against another tree. This all has Bella shocked:
I sat without moving, more frightened of him than I had ever been. I'd never seen him so completely freed of that carefully cultivated façade. He'd never been less human...or more beautiful. (13.38) - Edward calms down and returns to Bella, promising never to hurt her.
- He explains why it's difficult for him to be around her: he's like a recovering heroine addict, and she's like his particular brand of heroine, tempting him.
- Edward confesses what it was like for him to meet her that first day in Biology class:
"To me, it was like you were some kind of demon, summoned straight from my own personal hell to ruin me. The fragrance coming off your skin...I thought it would make me deranged that first day. In that one hour, I thought of a hundred different ways to lure you from the room with me, to get you alone. And I fought them each back, thinking of my family, what I could do to them. I had to run out, to get away before I could speak the words that would make you follow..." (13.102) - But now Edward assures Bella again that he would never hurt her: "You are the most important thing to me now. The most important thing to me ever" (13.124). Bella feels the same way: "I'm here...which, roughly translated, means I would rather die than stay away from you" (13.126).
- After hanging out in the meadow, Edward carries her back to the car – at his super-speed, which makes Bella sick.
- When Edward kisses her, she kind of spazzes out, and has to gently push her off of him before it gets a bit too intense. "Oops," Bella apologizes.