The smile took a couple seconds too long. Wasn't natural, wasn't quirky, wasn't easy in the way that so many of Edward's smiles were. Frankly, Faye didn't know full well how to make Edward smile. It was one of those elusive skills that had slipped by her entirely, and most days, she didn't try, because no matter how much she tried to examine it, it seemed that Edward was most happy when Faye was being herself.

And there was such a thing as not reading too far into a good thing.

But this was different. There was something which lingered in the air, probably acknowledged by both inside, but otherwise ignored. "I wanted to tell you, Edward, because I need you to understand that this doesn't change anything," she said. "Us girls still need to stick together. Actually, I might come to need your help even more than I did before."