The Twilight Saga has been at the center of many debates, but nobody can dispute its role in bringing on a giant wave of YA adaptations to the mainstream eye. Told from the perspective of 17-year-old Bella Swan, the books chronicle her new life in Forks, Washington, where she meets the broodingly handsome Edward Cullen. As it turns out, he’s a vampire who is almost a century old, and he finds her blood extra tasty, heightening the stakes of their already forbidden romance.

In 2015, Stephenie Meyer released Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined, a gender-bent retelling of the original story, after a long string of companion books over the years, but before any of her supplemental materials came along, twelve chapters of Midnight Sun were leaked on the Internet in 2008. Originally an exercise in character development, Midnight Sun is a version of Twilight written from Edward’s perspective. It fills in the gaps of Bella’s limited point of view, giving fans a taste of how Edward’s mind works. However, Meyer was so distraught over the leak of the unfinished draft that she stopped writing Midnight Sun. As of 2015, Meyer has no intention of finishing the entire manuscript, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of secrets to dig from the initial twelve chapters.

The list below contains spoilers from all twelve chapters of Midnight Sun as well as the original Twilight book. If you’re not up to date, you can find the content on Meyer’s official website.

Here are 20 Wild Revelations From Midnight Sun.

Edward Initially Thinks Bella Is Boring

Robert Pattinson as Edward and Kristen Stewart as Bella Twilight

That’s right, despite obvious comparisons to Romeo and Juliet in the books, Edward doesn’t fall in love with Bella immediately. In fact, he actually finds her quite ordinary and uninteresting. Edward’s first impressions of Bella are through the minds of other students at their high school, and he’s clearly unamused by the chatter. Having been through the “purgatory” of high school— as he calls it— several times over, he knows the "new girl" fascination cycle all too well.

He’s convinced that there’s nothing about the new girl that’s worth all the excitement, other than her novelty. Soon Bella will fade from the spotlight, and Edward can continue his umpteenth stint as a high school student.

Then He Starts Hating Her

Edward’s indifference to Bella soon comes to an end when Bella steps into the biology classroom. Edward notes that he’s the only student with an entire desk to himself while everyone else pairs up, attributing it to the humans’ innate sense of danger. He briefly feels sorry for Bella, whose only seating option is next to him, but his thirst rears its head and changes his outlook.

Over the next few weeks, he’s so tormented by his thirst that he begins to irrationally blame it on Bella, even though he knows that it’s unfair. He’s so terrified of slipping up and attacking a human after years of self-control, and finds it easier to project his self-loathing onto a human.

The School Secretary Creeps On Edward

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in Twilight

After Bella and Edward meet in the original Twilight book, Bella thinks that he hates her guts-- an impression that is bolstered when she walks in on him trying to get out of biology class. From Edward’s perspective, however, he’s desperately trying to save everyone’s life as well as his own morality.

In order to do so, he amps up the charm on the school secretary, Mrs. Cope (also known as Ms. Cope later on). Mrs. Cope is so flustered by Edward’s good looks that she has to repeatedly remind herself that he is too young for her, believing that he’s only 17 years old. Ironically, Edward is actually old enough to be her grandfather.

 He Makes Wicked Plans After Smelling Bella's Blood

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in Twilight

Edward’s whole world turns upside down the moment Bella walks into a stream of hot air in the biology classroom. He’s so affected by the unexpected thirst that he makes wicked plans to take out 20 humans just so he can get a taste of Bella’s blood.

We’ll spare you the vivid details, but suffice it to say that decades of life sure has taught him a thing or two about planning. Edward even anticipates the humans’ responses and devises an alternative plan, all in a matter of moments. Luckily for himself and his classmates, Edward remembers Carlisle and gets a grip on his thirst, not wanting to let his adoptive father down.

Emmett Suggests That Edward End Bella's Life

Twilight's baseball scene with Emmett Cullen played by Kellan Lutz

Emmett, one of Edward’s adopted vampire siblings, fits neatly into the stereotype of a jock. He’s exceptionally strong and has a brash, easy-going nature that sometimes gets on his family’s nerves. That said, he has a good heart and looks out for his loved ones.

It’s this deep love that prompts him to tell Edward to take Bella’s life and get it over with. Sure, it’s a pretty brutal solution, but Emmett is tired of watching Edward struggle with his thirst. It’s disturbing that Emmett sees a human’s life as so disposable and inconsequential, but it’s also a somewhat understandable conclusion to meet after decades as a vampire. In Emmett’s mind, slip-ups happen and that’s totally okay.

Emmett's Last Slip-Up Was 50 Years Ago

Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen in Twilight

To help his brother Edward feel better, Emmett reminds him that he’s also had his fair share of accidents. Emmett’s most recent lapse in self-control was 50 years ago. He was minding his own business at dusk when he came across a middle-aged woman taking down her dried laundry. All of a sudden, a breeze blew the woman’s scent towards Emmett, who couldn’t resist the immediate thirst. The thirst was so overwhelming that he didn’t even last half a second or think about resisting.

Unfortunately, Emmett’s memory doesn’t help Edward that much. In fact, it actually does the opposite, amplifying Edward’s own thirst so that he needs to duck out of class and take time to himself.

The Denalis Are The Original Succubi

You might recall the Denali coven from their appearances in the core Twilight books and their tumultuous relationship with the Cullen coven. Some of the Denalis even appear at Bella and Edward’s wedding later on. As it turns out, the three Denali sisters are the original succubi in human myths. The vampires would have whirlwind flings with human men, and then end the mens’ lives. They eventually grow lonely over the decades, prompting Tanya to give “vegetarianism” a go, and only live on animal blood.

Since Tanya pretty much pioneered this diet, Edward seeks out her coven to escape Bella’s scent and regain his composure. It’s also revealed that Tanya has romantic feelings for him, which he doesn’t reciprocate.

He Feels Thirsty Around Bella No Matter How Much Blood He Drinks

Edward and Bella dance together in Twilight: Breaking Dawn

After returning to Forks, Edward decides to face his demons head-on. He would go on extra hunting trips, gorging himself on animal blood before interacting with Bella in the hopes that it would curb his thirst.

However, his plan doesn’t work at all. No matter how much animal blood he drinks, his thirst flares up as soon as he smells Bella, making him all the more miserable. Considering that Emmett didn’t even last half a second with the middle-aged woman, Edward shows some considerable restraint, especially since his thirst is even more intense than Emmett’s was. His overwhelming thirst doesn’t prompt the Cullens to move, though, since Edward is adamant about not uprooting his family.

Edward Practices Inhaling Bella's Scent

Edward starts out resenting Bella because she smells so appetizing and he can’t hear her thoughts, but his fixation on her quickly becomes infatuation. Since filling himself with animal blood does nothing to help his hunger, he starts to practice inhaling Bella’s scent to get used to the burn.

For example, he closes the windows of his car after giving Bella a lift, and essentially encloses himself in her smell, resisting the urge to bite her. Edward offers his jacket to Bella after he saves her in Port Angeles, and keeps the jacket smelling like Bella on purpose, even putting it on to smell her. The thirst doesn’t actually lessen for him, but he does hone his self-control skills.

Edward Can Eat Human Food, But Can't Digest It

There have been different takes on the vampire myth over the decades, each with its own interpretation of the vampire diet. The vampires in Twilight live on only animal blood, thereby saving them the moral greyness of feasting on humans. However, they can’t forego blood altogether, and can’t live on normal human food. In fact, it actually tastes disgusting to them.

Edward takes a bite of pizza in the cafeteria, noting how greasy and tasteless it is. He’ll have to throw up later to get it out of his system, since he can’t digest anything other than blood. Sure, being immortal and outliving your loved ones is tragic, but not being able to enjoy pizza has got to be a close second.

Edward Can't Hear Charlie's Thoughts Clearly

Charlie Swan

Some vampires develop special gifts when they become immortal. Carlisle is blessed with extraordinary self-restraint, Alice can see visions of the future, and Edward can hear people’s thoughts (although he can’t shut it off, either). The one notable exception is Bella, whose thoughts are inaccessible to Edward. When she becomes a vampire, this mental immunity develops into a sort of psychic shield that protects her and those around her from other vampires' mental powers.

Her mental shield as a human is never fully explained, but perhaps it has something to do with genetics, because Edward can’t hear Charlie’s thoughts very clearly. Edward attributes the relative silence to Charlie’s more subdued nature, and doesn’t think too much about it otherwise.

Edward Falls In Love Like Imprinting

Bella, Renesmee, and Edward standing outside in Twilight

Imprinting is when a werewolf bonds with their soulmate. It’s an instantaneous effect, and the werewolf becomes extremely attached to their soulmate against their own will. Based on Edward’s inner monologue, the way he falls in love sounds very much like imprinting.

The way he describes it, he is frozen in time not only physically but also psychologically. Everything about him is locked into place for eternity the moment he changed into a vampire. Change comes very rarely and is always significant. For Edward, the change comes in the form of Bella. He’s utterly convinced that his love for her will last forever, well after she has passed away, and that she is the only girl he’ll ever love.

Edward Considers Abducting Bella

Bella and Edward play the piano in Twilight.

Edward does some truly alarming things over the course of his relationship with Bella. He sneaks into her room to watch her sleep. He stalks her. He’s so possessive of her that he manipulates her instead of using his words to communicate. It probably comes as no surprise that Edward also considers straight-up abducting her.

The reason? Because Mike is talking to her while Edward is confined to the shadows on a sunny day. Never mind the fact that he’s spying on her again, Edward, a man almost 100 years old, is so jealous of a teen boy talking to his love interest that he entertains the idea of abducting her. It's not exactly an upstanding example of courtesy.

Jessica Is Truly Mean To Bella

Jessica and Bella walking together in Twilight

It’s clear from the get-go that Jessica Stanley isn’t the most cordial person. She’s bratty and loves gossip, craving attention to the point that she’ll do just about anything to get it. Her superficial nature comes to light in Midnight Sun via Edward’s mindreading skills. It’s a wonder Jessica can stand to be around Bella at all, given how judgmental and vicious she is towards Bella.

Jessica routinely puts Bella down in the privacy of her own mind, even as she pretends to like Bella. That said, she does seem to mature as the series continues, since she tries to get Bella out of her post-Edward depression before ultimately giving up due to Bella’s lack of response.

Edward Sets Angela Up With Ben

Eric and Angela from Twilight

Something that doesn’t quite make sense about Bella is how readily she gives up her mortal life, and how inconsequential her human friends seem in comparison to her immortal boyfriend. Sure, they’re not her closest pals, but there’s at least one person who’s been nothing but kind to her— Angela.

In fact, as Edward notes, Angela is pretty much the only person who doesn’t harbor any sort of ulterior motive towards Bella. To repay her for her kindness, Edward enlists Emmett’s help and sets her up with Ben, whom she’d been crushing on for a while. According to Edward, Angela is so selfless and content with her life that a date with Ben is the only thing she wants.

Rosalie And Jasper Plan To End Bella's Life

Rosalie is malicious towards Bella right from the start, fueled by her concern for her family’s secrecy and safety. The Cullens have moved so much that Rosalie doesn’t want to relocate again just because a pesky human is sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.

That’s why Rosalie is more than ready to end Bella’s life when she learns the human girl knows about vampires. Rosalie isn’t the only one, either. At a family meeting, Jasper takes her side, preferring to silence Bella once and for all. The two even have concrete enough plans for Alice to foresee. Of course, Edward also sees those plans since he hears Alice’s thoughts, and comes up with his own plans to intercept his siblings.

Alice Saw Edward End Bella's Life In The Meadow

Edward spends most of Midnight Sun being angsty over his doomed romance with Bella, especially because Alice sees only two outcomes: Bella will either become a vampire or perish entirely. Edward is unhappy about both those options, seeing vampirism as a curse. He eventually decides to give into his emotions, and plans to bring Bella to the meadow where she eventually witnesses his full abilities as a vampire.

As soon as Edward makes the decision, he hears Alice scream at him in horror because she has visions of him ending Bella’s life. Edward is horrified, of course, though Bella survives their outdoor date. It’s a massive shock to both Edward and Alice, who by then had already decided she loves Bella too.

Jacob Violated The Treaty

Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black in Twilight

As part of their rivalry over Bella, Jacob essentially threatens the Cullens with outright war. He warns Edward that the treaty between the werewolves and the vampires prohibit the Cullens from biting humans, so Bella turning into a vampire would be grounds for the Quileute tribe to wage war.

However, in Midnight Sun, Edward muses that the Cullens technically already have the right to attack the Quileutes because Jacob told Bella about vampires. Sure, at that point Jacob doesn’t actually believe in the legends, but he does inadvertently clues Bella in on the Cullen’s secret. Edward doesn’t do anything about it, though, since he’d just started dating Bella for real and believes that they might just have a real shot at happiness.

Carlisle Turns In Bella's Would-Be Assailant

It’s admittedly kind of creepy for Edward to follow Bella and her friends to Port Angeles, but he does save Bella’s life when she’s being harassed by a group of men. In the car, Edward implores Bella to distract him, not trusting himself not to turn around and take her would-be assailants’ lives. Even after they return to Forks and he’s dropped her off at home, Edward is disturbed by the group leader Lonnie’s violent history.

Since he can’t quite justify taking a human’s life, Edward turns to Carlisle for help. Carlisle then knocks Lonnie out and takes him to the police in Portland, Oregon. Edward still hopes that Lonnie will perish one way or another, but is content that he’ll never hurt anyone ever again.

Edward Knows His Actions Are Wrong

Robert Pattinson as Edward and Kristen Stewart as Bella Twilight.jpg

Throughout Midnight Sun, it’s obvious that Edward is fully aware of how unhealthy his actions and attitudes towards Bella are. He’s aware that sneaking into her room makes him a Peeping Tom, even though he tries to justify his actions to himself. He even muses that it’s unfair for him to phrase his requests in ways that leave her no choice.

However, he promises himself that he’ll let Bella make her own choices once he decides to date her. Either he goes back on his word and gives into his possessiveness, or he genuinely believes that he’s respecting Bella’s agency throughout The Twilight Saga after they decide to pursue their relationship.

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What are some other revelations from Twilight: Midnight SunTell us in the comments!