#the volturi was something i got into behind peoples backs because i was embarrassed and hated myself for it
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. reasons im not apart of the twilight âfandomâ anymore :
  long post. the rest is under the cut â
this is dumb, but im just kind of realizing i dont have to prove myself to any fandom. im not in some little clique where I have to know everyone and vice versa. I don't have to draw characters I hate to "stay relevant".
Gods, I've spent so long thinking my self-worth was linked to how much I could produce to this hivemind of people. The notes, the likes, the reblogs. But... I dont know any of those people.
I know who my friends are and what matters to me is them and my followers. Not some collection of 3k people that I'm supposed to feel 'unified' with because of one vague common interest -- but they're strangers! I dont know or care about them -- and I dont have to!
I dont mean that negatively I just mean its true! A fandom isnt like a community or a family, its just strangers until you decide to make some of them more than that.
Its just that... my god... I've spent so long worrying about what people think of me, what they say about me behind their backs. All these people I tried to impress, put on a show for and act a certain way to maintain a social status -- but none of it was real! It was always fake. Pretending to smile and collaborating with people I disliked despite the anxiety and self-loathing it made me feel, that I was happy and enjoying myself, and that the fandom was this niche part of the internet where everyone knows eachother and we all are a family--- but it was always some stupid game. I put of a facade to hide the lies and the shame and the gut-wrenching depression, because "no one likes a downer, arin."
What I'm trying to say is that... fandom life is not for me. I have anxiety, being in this fandom makes me paranoid and nauseous---and while some people thrive, I don't. Its toxic for me and my mental health.
I don't want to be apart of the fandom anymore. I don't want to be associated with the series anymore---I hate it. I literally loathe Twilight as a series so much, same as its horrible author. I have multiple histories involving forced catholic religious worship growing up, and later involvement with a cult. Itâs too personal and I know the kind of bullshit âholier-than-thouâ hypocrisy that Meyer slips into her narrative because I lived it and I fucking hate it. I dont want to reblog content just because I feel pressured to.
I shouldnt have to silence myself and hide my opinions because they're unpopular and I might be hated. Seeing me or my friends being vagued because of something so petty as not liking certain characters. The raw never-ending paranoia of 'what if they dont like me' 'are they going to make others hate me' 'when am I going to get a callout post.' And I realize I spent all this time trying to get people to like me that I realize some of these people would never return the thought, to worry if they were ever good enough for me.
This is not to shit on the fandom. This is a very personal problem. I've been here since 2011 now and I can't keep playing this game.
My art is my art. I love what I've made the Volturi into like they were my own creations -- and so obviously I am not going to stop uploading them. But I think its also important to differentiate that I am not in the fandom, nor am I a fan. I may have been once, but for my own health I'm cutting my ties.
On a more personal level: my dad almost went to hospital last night and it caused me to have a meltdown, and so ive just been awake all last night thinking about things. And I realized something.Â
I tried to like the cullens for a long time but it just reminds me of being in the closet and all the fear and guilt and shame IÂ felt at the time. Liking the Volturi for me is escapism. It always has been that way.
I was only 13 and it was like my link to things that were out of the norm and a community of people were different. No one said it out loud but there was always this silent solidarity with fans I knew that we were âdifferentâ (ie non cishet) and it was scary. But things like gender and sexuality made sense there. You werenât yelled at for doing things to spite canonâbecause there was never enough given to these side characters that it would matter. You could add whatever and project whatever you wanted onto these characters and for the most part it was accepted.
And then having to come back to friends at school and pretend everything was okay was harmful and damning. Twilight was literally my entire puberty, the transition from child to adult, and the similarities linking my interest with the Volturi is locked tight in my soul. I remember even petty things like seeing my straight friends obsessing over Cullen boys and me having to pretend to agree every time wasn't nice.
I know itâs not really that deep, but the Cullens and seeing it on my dash and people forcing it on me, it feels like some kind of metaphor for be being in the closet again. To conform, to change. To me, the Volturi is a personal metaphor for my growth and straying from normality that was being straight and cisgendered.
And its been many years since then but the ideology is so deeply ingrained within me that even at 22 I canât just unroot that.
And this is all on me. I get that. I know this isnât the universal experience for everyone that liked Twilight, but it is my experience, and that matters for something.
I just... want to do my own thing. Without people yelling at me about canon or my headcanons being gross or wrong or ugly. Its tiring. Iâm tired. I just need a break.
I hope this makes some notion of sense? Im going through a lot of things at the moment and finding out who I am and what I want in the process. And while the fandom has brought me the privilege of meeting and befriending some of the most absolutely wonderful people I've ever met, its also brought me spite and jealousy and rage, and it just feels like im drowning in it.
Its not personal. And you will barely any notice a change in my posts after this, if any. I will still upload and reblog like usual but now hopefully with more confidence and a scar thats begun healing.Â
I just wanted to clear the air and let yall know where I am right now.
Hope yall have a wonderful day. đ¸đ¸
#the volturi was something i got into behind peoples backs because i was embarrassed and hated myself for it#again the metaphors write themselves#i know this is like taking it way too deep but twilight is an important part of my childhood and life and it means a lot to me in many ways#personal
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Aro Volturi N.S.F.W Alphabet
CANON DIVERGENT.
Info on Reader: Reader is an Elemental Gift user like Benjamin
CW/TW: a SLIGHT MENTION of assault but NO DETAIL AT ALL (as a SA survivor I do not use this lightly but I do like representation and not having the survivor be that cliche broken doll we end abusers here thank you)
How you two met:
YouâŚ..oh you. Youâre standing with the Cullens wondering how the FUCK you got here.
Why am I here? Whatâs with this tiny little kid who can touch me and tell me things. Awe but sheâs cute.
Youâre just a bored Vampire who knows Carlisle and is Esmeâs BFF.
Youâre a nomad, and a badass one, see your gift is the Elements like Benjamin, itâs why Amun has his eye on you and is freaked out.
You and Benji are buddies now. Benjamin specializes in Earth and Water. You specialize in Fire and Air.
So now, here you are watching a bunch of cloaked baddies stomping towards you. But Carlisle and you have spoken frequently, the Volturi arenât bad.
However, they are cautious.
And caution bred by fear is something you know to be wary of.
So you keep yourself a bit behind Carly. Waiting and watching.
The leaderâ that must be Aro you think, flings his hood back and suddenly you feel your entire chest clench up and a yank within yourself towards him. âOh what the fuck.â You growl. Glancing UP at the Old Gods you couldnât help but snap at them âARE YOU ALL KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?! HIM?!â
The platinum haired man barked angrily, âwho dares?!â
Aro is too busy glancing at his brother Marcus whoâs smiling. He nods at Aro and huffs a bit of a sigh.
The raven haired man turns ever so slowly, casting his red gaze over the crowd and it falls to Carlisle. âCarly.â
âAro?â
âWho is that behind you.â Aro can feel his chest hurt like a chain is being pulled.
Carlisle looks confused and glances behind him where you are shaking your head face palmingâlooking embarrassed.
Edward and Bella are utterly confused, before Edward listens to Aroâs and your thoughts and gets a look of disgust, âREALLY.â He barks.
You feel the rage of a thousand suns consume you. âI CANâT PICK IT YA KNOW AND HEY WHADDAYA MEAN REALLY âASSHOLE DONâT TALK ABOUT MY MATE LIKE THAT!â
The entire field is utterly still as youâre heaving, standing on your tip toes in front of the bronze haired vampire pointing at Edwards cringing face, âbut itâsââ he starts, you let out a growl and sparks fly off you.
Edward shuts up.
âI will light your ass on fire.â You whisper hiss.
The Volturi are just tilting their heads like WTF.
Marcus is trying not to laugh, Caius has just become stunned glancing between his brother and the woman across the battlefield.
Aro is getting GIDDY.
âAnd who is the girl.â He asks.
You turn, your hips swinging with attitude and your arms crossing as you scoff. âPsh, get a load of this Mother fucker,â you whisper to yourself glaring across the expanse of space. âHEY. I have a name.â
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His First Impression:
Of course my mate swears like a sailor.
Is Aroâs first thought.
His next thought is that youâre awful adorable. Awe so lithe and cute andâ Much too ⌠hm, much too adorable to be mine I would think how In the âa violent wind kicks up and flames burst out from your body enveloping your form as you take a few steps forward.
Ah there it is.
âYou wanna ask me my nameâ darling.â You smile wide at him.
âOf course,â his purr is laced with annoyance, but heâs far too intrigued. âWho might you be?â
âIâm y/n. No last name, my parents were assholes.â You shrug. âSo, we doing this trial or we figuring the wholeââ you wave your hand between the gaping maw of land between you two, âbond thing.â
Aro pauses, a twitch on his lips, âafter the proceedings cara mia.â
âOoo⌠love me a man that speaks Italianââ You smirk, raising a brow and cock your head to the side.
Aro makes a stifled choked off growl as his eyes go blackâ thank God he lost the ability to blush as arousal slammed into him like a freight train.
Youâre obviously annoyed, and have as Caius mutters âmore balls than a Christmas treeâ and you are ready for this trial to be over.
Frankly so is Aro he wants to drag you back to Volterra and bring you to heel.
Not that he thinks thatâs going to happen.
But he loves playing with fire. And youâre full of it.
He watches you glance at the Cullens and the half-breed. âAlright Nessie come on letâs show him what you can do kiddo.â You scoop the girl up and you and the Cullens walk over with Jake behind you.
-----
-----
When does he know of his feelings?
When within reaching distance you set Renessme down and pat her head, âokay tiny Loch Ness, say hello.â
Bella is panicking, but she trusts you it seems, she better, you have no qualms fryingâ sans mateâ every vampire here. They do their little song and dance. Aro tries to talk about the danger and you feel your temper boil over.
âDarling.â You croon taking a step forward with a sharp but soft smile.
You remind him of a lioness, purring softly but ready to tear into him with one movement.
He raises a brow; you are in 6 inch heels putting you nose to nose with him. âYes carissima?â He breathes deep and nearly groans out loud, you smell so good, like spring and a heady feminine scent like perfume edged in lilacs and lavender.
âCould you pretty pretty pretty please just keep an eye on little Nessieâ I hate to tell you but sheâs quite important to me and I can assure you she fits in with humans better than the Cullens do.â
âAnd if I donât.â
You let flames dance in your gaze. âIâll roast everyone here except your brothers and their mates and make you start the fuck over without me.â
Aroâs done.
Cupid has struck him in his dead heart.
Heâs never been more terrified or aroused or enraged at once at your dulcet threat purred from such sweet lips.
He wants to grip you by your hair to him, pick you up and haul you to somewhere private and teach you a lesson.
He wants to fight you. And itâs quite clear youâre ready to rumble, though heâs not sure youâd let him win. Or that it wouldnât end up tangling in a bed somewhere on fire. Thatâs fine too.
A manic grin spreads across his face, eyes going pitch black as he snatches you up by the waist and hauls you closer loving the startled look in your eyes settling into something dark and wanting. âAnd if I agree?â
The brothers roll their eyes.
Go figure youâd be as bat shit as he is.
âIâll leave with you right now.â You give him THAT look matching his almost mad grin.
A low purr echos from him making Bella clap her hands over Nessieâs ears. âUna ragazza cosĂŹ meravigliosa, credo che mi piaccia come funziona la tua mente.â Such a wonderful girl, I think I like how your mind works.
But your plans to drag your mate off end as Alice shows up with her witness right when heâs about to whisk you off for some obvious adult time.
Both of you sigh put out and exasperated.
Yes you just about ended an entire potential threat with batting pretty eyes and coaxing the leader of the Volturi into some fun.
But now thatâs ruined because of the psychic. Alice is looking rather embarrassed as the proceedings go. Given that she probably saw how everything was about to go down.
Aro can sense youâre as annoyed as he is, that and youâre not leaving his side. And you donât mind touching him but youâre not because oh yeah he needs to focus. But oh he can see your hand twitching towards his own.
He can easily turn his gift off and so he does and grips your hand, quickly jerking you to his side.
Electricity lights along your skin at the contact and both of you jolt a moment and glance sideways looking amused.
This was going to be fun.
ââ
ââ
Howâd you end up with the Volturi?
Alice and her witnesses ease their concerns about Nessie. Aro placates the Volturi as you linger back behind him a bit. Everyone just poof! Vanishes.
âSo ah, can we get my stuff first before you whisk me off around the world?â You ask sweetly.
Aroâs a bit startled, âyou wish to leave already?â
You realize he would be willing to stay for a bit and let you acclimate.
âNah where you go I fucking go, come on baby. Letâs get the fuck outta dodge.â You give him a teasing shove as you walk by making Carlisleâs coven silently shake in mirth at his surprised expression.
Carlisle murmurs, âGood luck Aro.â
âFuck off Carly.â The King growls back before following you.
Thatâs all they wrote.
You were in. And you made yourself at home quite easily.
Jane and Alec adore youâ you saw them and just SQUEEd. âOMG theyâre so DEADLY but so CUTE!â
Jane wasnât quite sure what to do with you picking her UP and hugging her nuzzling your nose to her cheek, âsheâs just a tiny tot of doom I adore it! Weâre going to burn the SHIT outta people.â
Alec just sat starry eyed as you ruffled his hair, âI know boys donât like being picked up.â
Jane had become a koala on you. And you didnât mind.
Well. Youâre Mama now. Aro couldnât be more pleased as you continue to help develop their skills trying things outside of the box.
See, thatâs also a sort of talent you haveâ you can help people learn how to use their gifts because of how you think. Not a gift per say, but certainly useful.
Jane it turns out can utilize the fire element.
Alec can utilize air.
With you knowing both youâre easily able to teach Alec how to hone his targets and even allow his gift to POP UP near someone rather than from his hands.
Jane is capable of setting shit on fire now.
Aro isnât sure if heâs proud or worried.
Bit of both. But you are STERN with their use of powers. And when Jane set Felixâs foot on fire she was forced to shine everyoneâs shoes in the Volturi in the afternoon and write 200,000 times at HUMAN PACE. âWe do not light family on fire.â
She never did it again.
The inner coven loves you. Caius and you are besties Marcus is like a big brother always doting on you. Athenadora and Sulpricia are of course still together as companions, and donât worry about his ex wifeâ they were on the rocks sheâs ecstatic someone else can keep him in line.
The coven instantly takes to you, in fact youâre now basically Mother to everyone. Scolding, teaching, comforting, you do it all. But youâre also a leader and a ruthless one at that.
A perfect fit Aro thinks.
ââ
ââ
Howâd he deal with his emotions?
You are driving Aro FUCKING CRAZY.
Literally mad.
You know how to push his buttons and you are not one to do as told. So for him, he who has anyone bending to his will to see you just cock a brow at him and laugh âawe.â
He wants to choke you half to death.
You are a Queen. He tells himself. Itâs to be expected that youâd challenge him.
Sulpricia finds it HILARIOUS and you two are besties. Fuck thatâs all he needs. She is ever so encouraging of your independence.
He often finds himself in Sulpriciaâs study pacing rampantly, âwhat am I going to do with her?â
âYou know you like it.â Sully says lounging back on her couch. âIf you didnât you wouldnât be so utterly ass over tea kettle.â
Aro is not good with his emotions when it comes to jealousy. And he is JEALOUS.
Youâre perfect to him, utterly beautiful, you are the sun and he Icarus stupidly flying as high as he can towards you in hopes to reach the light.
Youâre also inclined to let him touch you whenever you want to express things without using wordsâ and youâve learned to let him speak to you telepathically as well.
So often you just sit with your pinkies touching on a couch and have back and forth silently except for the occasional twitch on your lips at a humorous comment.
Youâve managed to make him huff a laugh occasionally.
But he is utterly posessive. He does not like it when men stare too long, admiring is one thing, but nothing escapes Aro.
So when a lower guard had been in trouble for an infraction and when you had disciplined him the utter disrespect for a concubine replacement was across Aroâs mind andâŚwelllâ
Guard died.
You had just looked startled and gave a âoh wellâ kinda shrug before touching ARoâs hand. Feel better baby?
Yes you called him baby in private, so modern, and he would NEVER admit he loved it. Baby, darling, love, honey, the list went on and each one twisted his insides into ribbons of absolute adoration.
You had actually taken to the bond so well Marcus had informed him that it was practically cemented.
His only hang up was himself.
ââ
ââ
Who does he ask for help?
Didyme is no longer thereâ his dear sister, a deep sorrow as he was accidentally responsible for her death.
Marcus however is always there to be the voice of reason, and he sits Aro down and listens to his brother spill his guts. Aro is terrified, he is well aware he is THE monster that makes OTHER monsters keep in line.
But for you to look at him like that? He could never bear it. His heart would break.
Marcus sighs, âAro come here.â He drags his brother to the training grounds.
Where Aro getâs to see his mate literally tear apart the entire guard with bladesâŚ. Did his eyes deceive himâ were those made from vampire ash and fangs?!
You pause your onslaught, âoh hi darling!â You prance over and smile, âlike them? My witch-smith friend made them for me! Fucking bastards kept coming for me after awhile and ya know I just hate the idea of wasting shit.â
Marcus glanced at Aro and gave him a I told you so.
âEverything okay?â You ask looking concerned. You are dragging him along as he partially willingly letâs you take him to his sisterâs gardens. âWhatâs wrong?â
And so, he exhales and does the one thing heâs never done with his gift.
He touches your hand and shows you his own thoughts.
He expects your recoil. Expects you to shun him. Expects your hatred and braces himself for it.
You gasp and when heâs about to drag his hand away and you grip him tighter. âNo donâtâŚlet meâŚâ and so you watchâ thousands of years of memories over the course of a week or two. Asking silent questions as the images play, getting silent answers in return.
And so, in return, you show him your human lifeâ a life that had been riddled with abusers, torment and lack of love, the iron in your spine that had solidified your creation when you had dragged yourself from an open alley way at dawn into the sewer system after being left to die being drained by a nomad after a brutal assault. You shared with him that it had taken a lot for you to even move after what had happened.
Esme had found you.
And so your friends made sure you were okay even if you didnât follow their diet.
You both spend time going over your pasts, Aro gently asking questions and you doing the same to answer as best you could.
It was why Rosalie and you got along so well, there were some experiences one could only understand by going through it. And you both had learned how to cope with the trauma you had.
Aro is patient, both of you taking time to feel through each others wounds, taking time to rework into each others personal space.
Marcus is stunned to tell Aro that the bond is nigh unbreakable after this exchange.
The Kings magically -coughs- big brother Marcus loses his shit finding out and Caius leads the search party with Demetriâ cough coughâ find the nomad and heâs now in a box limb free 15 feet below the dungeon with a tube connecting him to the surface, his tongue removed and he only gets blood once a year. *Jane lit them on fire multiple times to practice her accuracy and aim*
You find out of course, and smile through the dry sobs as all three embrace you like a big protective group hug. For the first time in a very long time, itâs safe.
Truly safe.
ââ
ââ
What happens when he tells you?
Aro is a man of few words, and honestly not much is needed between you two with the ability to go back and forth with his gift.
So in the middle of a walk in Didymeâs gardens he merely grabs your hand gently and kisses the top of your fingers.
And youâre flooded with his emotions.
The warmth and tenderness and absolute adoration is almost enough to restart your dead heart as venom pools in your eyes. âAroâŚâ
He loves you, loves you more than his own life, would give anything for you to make you smile.
This isnât the love that is complacent, to just sit idle and rust away, he wants to chase you for eternity, whatever it takes to keep you at his side.
And you flood him right backâ lowering the barriers you had and after a moment he merely leans down and presses his forehead to your own, giving the two of you time to just bask in the warmth of affection thatâs swirling back and forth akin to the waves of the tide under the moon and sun at twilight.
ââ
ââ
First Kiss?
The leaders of Volterra were in the throne room, the Queens having their own thrones behind their husbands but visible carved in different woods to represent their personalities with different intricate features much like the brotherâs thrones holding different crowning points but all the same color.
Your own is the same color as Aroâs throne, but mingled with mahogany accents. Ruby red stones slotted at the top with a crescent moon and sun carving emboldened with gold spiked halo.
Caius' mate's throne is a pale color, affixed with branches and beautiful earth like tones, complimenting her grounded nature.
Marcusâ Witch Mate is merely embellished in a ash throne, deep red almost black gems and the symbol for the overall witch and vampire alliance above her throne.
With all three positions of Queen in Volterra taken up by a true mate, it is the most stable the Volturi have been in several millennia.
But that day in particular was rough, there were a few traitors that had been brought forwardâ and one of them had managed to get loose from Felix as Aro had been gaining information lunging for the Kingâs throat.
You moved so fast no one even saw you as you streaked forward like a ghost and lobbed the vampireâs head off holding a blade made of vampire teeth expertly with an animalistic snarl.
You had positioned yourself in front of Aro, crouched, blade poised and your eyes wide and wild, teeth flashing with a dangerous snarl.
Marcusâ witch had already shielded Aro but paused when she saw how enraged you were. Athena and Sulpricia had faltered, Caius looked utterly proud.
You spun round, dropping your bladeâ knowing Felix and the others had everything in hand as Aro had reached for you, the two of you locked in an embrace, his hands holding your face still as your own hands grasped his wrists. Foreheads pressed togetherâ
The coven was used to this, a private conversation but you could feel the utter terror that had gone through him when he saw you out of the corner of his eye. If anything had happened to youâhe was almost angry at you.
But he could easily sense the rage that had consumed you at the thought of someone hurting him. Despite knowing the guard and Jane would Never allow it, your instincts had taken over.
No one would ever take from you again.
And you had been frightened.
Behind that rage when he got past it was utter fear that heâd be gone and youâd be all alone again all the tender memories would be the last youâd have of him as you gave a dry sob before the venom dropped from your eyesâ a true show of vampiric emotion that was a rarity.
âCarissima, no. Iâll not leave you that easily.â He murmured and not giving a flying fuck about anyone in the room kissed you full on the mouth gathering you up in a tight embrace.
âIâm sorry,â you whispered half broken against his mouth. âIâm sorry-â
âI know I know, shhh cara mia shhh,â gathering you up he merely flitted out of the room leaving the others to deal with the issue.
Tons of snuggles. He had bundled you up to him in his private rooms and merely kept your hands together enjoying the shared emotions knowing the other was close and safe.
Aro knew exactly how to calm you, he merely showed you all his favorite memories, of the coven, of his travels, the antics his brotherâs got up to. He replayed the moment he first saw you.
That always made you laugh of course she swears like a sailor.
ââ
ââ
First Time?
Itâs in an elevator.
Okay so hereâs the thing. The Volturi have these massive events, and your official coronation happens at one of these.
Aro is so proud.
And so fucking jealous as you are danced across the floor with other vampiresâ who are oh so respectful and as they should be as Aro watches from the upper floor like an angel of death.
You look stunning, your smile lighting up the entire ballroom, friends from near and far are thereâ even then Cullensâ God bless Carly he even had animal blood brought for him.
Youâre dancing around with Nessie laughing and watching the girl child giggle like a fiend before handing her off to the Shifter Aro hated the smell but it was what it was.
Over the course of the evening he was getting awful tired of sharing you. And as the evening wound down to an end you both were just going to take the elevator back up to the private rooms as the Ballroom was on the top floor of Volterra.
The energy crackled in the small space and you both glanced at one another. It was like a short fuse had been lit on a stick of dynamite.
Weâre so not doing this in an elevator are we?
You didnât realize you had said it out loud even as you both gravitated towards one another and his hands tangled into your hair sending gold pins flying to the ground as his mouth found yours and you let out a deep moan as his tongue swiped your lips before you happily opened them.
âWeâre going to be patient. Cara mia. â He said sternly more to himself than youâ then groaned when your teeth tugged gently on his bottom lip knowing it drove him crazy. âSarai la mia morte. Sulla mia tomba scriveranno 'ha giocato con il fuoco ed è perito felicementeââ his voice became heated as his hands moved over your form, ânon mi importa piĂš, vieni da me mia fiamma, brucia con me.â You will be my death. On my grave they will write 'he played with fire and perished happily'. I don't care anymore, come to me my flame, burn with me.
His hands were gripping your backside and hauling you up, pressing himself firmly between your thighs before grinding against you. But when his teeth scraped your neck your brain shorted outâ
âOh for gods sake Aro just fuck me alreadyââ your hands were scrabbling at his waist coat and shirt pleased how easily the buttons pinged off the walls of the elevator.
Your mate let out a pleased noise, one that was utterly inhuman when your hands tangled into his raven locks and knocked the golden V pin to the floor allowing the ocean and pomegranate scent of his to curtain you from the world as he bent his head down and kissed you as if it were the last thing he would get to do just then. Right before he smacked his hand against the emergency stop button jolting the ride to the private floor still.
If you thought his kisses were something to be swooning overâ because he always knew what you needed.
Well his gift extends to much and he is in tune with it.
Your mind is his favorite place to be, and he brutally uses what he knows to his advantage as his fingers skim up your legs flinging your skirt over your thighs to teasingly grind himself against you till youâre almost clawing at him half feral.
âMy pretty little mateââ he croons at you, âyou looked so beautiful cara mia,â kissing down your throat before biting marks into your flesh licking them before continuing on as his teeth jerk the fabric of your bodice and sleeves off not even bothering with his hands. âE tu sei tutto mio, cazzo.â And youâre all fucking mine.
You were busy molding your hands against his form, loving how it was just ratcheting up his half mad with desire motions, twitchy, greedy, desperate to touch, âWhat was it you joked about that one time?â He was referring to a memory with your best friends over drinks.
You gulped and shivered a bit. âI believe I said sometimes a girl just wants to ahemâ get slammed to a wall and fucked stupid?â
He smirked as his hands tore fabric off you letting his fingers to glide along your skin, allowing your own to do the same and showing you know exactly what he liked through the bond of touch.
If youâd been human the air would have left your lungs as he pressed his body tight to your own, pinning you in place letting you feel what you did to him, the hard length of his cock pressed into your belly. âWhat do you say we take care of that, hm?â
Youâre speaking in tongues before he even takes you fully, and roughly, thereâs no slow tender love making and frankly youâre just glad for it.
His wild smile sliding into a predatory proud smirk when youâre just a mess; whining at him, begging, pleading, twitching against him and oh youâre just so pretty when at his mercy.
He literally has the tongue of the devil.
âDid I finally break you little one?â He croons despite his rough movements sending you into another shockwave of bliss as your nails make claw marks in the wall.
Fuck he hadâ youâll do anything if heâll just continue.
Your submission is like a drug, heâs mad on it, hands digging against you, making small fissures of cracks along your hips that make you groan gleeful as you push closer for more of his touches.
âThatâs right bambi, give me everything.â
Thatâs all you hear before heâs fucking you into the wall of the elevator, sinking his teeth into your shoulder and neck just to relish in the pain and pleasure filled noises that escape from you as you beg for more, more, just please give more itâs all you want.
âMy good bambi.â He growls as he begins it all over again, rumbling in your ear as your try to escape the onslaught of sensationsâ but happy you canât as his grip has you immovable. âYouâre not escaping me just yet.â
Youâre both a mess, not that either of you care. Adjusting yourselves as best you canâ
Youâre lucky his private rooms are close and he simply carries you and flits you both into his rooms; you both end up continuing what was started.
ââ
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A = Aftercare (what theyâre like after sex)
He is a touch telepath, he knows exactly what you need.
But he also surprises you with what you didnât even know you needed.
Snuggles, so many snugglesâ Aro is not a tactile personâ but with you?
Forget it.
Heâs practically melting into your form and trying to fuse himself to you.
Massages, nuzzling your hair, biting.
Lots of bitingâ but not hard bites, love bites. Pressing his teeth to your skin to leave little imprints that he just canât get over. You always poke fun at him for it.
Plus letâs face it.
Bite = Love.
He and Caius are on one mind with that.
He also took a note from Marcus and you both enjoy the heat of the baths together after a particularly long rough romp.
Which turns into a bath romp.
Because ahem *REASONS*
âIâm King I donât need a reason to have youâ now come here.â Heâll huff imperiously when you giggle at him as he drags you close into his embrace kissing you.
Okay he lies.
You looked too pretty in the bath.
Aro canât help himself. Thatâs the reason.
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B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partnerâs)
He is SHOOK when you tell him your favorite thing about him is his hands. You never feel misunderstood.
Even in the rare fights you simply huff and reach out to him, wiggling your fingers with a pleading glance; or if he wonât take your hand youâll walk over sit in his lap and headbutt your forehead to his like an angry cat.
But usually Aro will take your hand and you both have a deep understanding of where youâre both coming from.
After a few moments itâs settled.
You kiss his hands, he knows you love how he plays you like a finely tuned instrument when alone.
Love when he delves his fingers into your hair and cradles you close even if youâre in the throne roomâ heâs the fucking king he can do what he likes damn it.
But Aro is startled by thisâ everyone hates touching him even though he can control his gift, they seem to think thatâ aside from his brothers and sister in lawsâ that he just loves to dive into peopleâs minds for funsies.
No itâs awful. Plain awful. He can barely stand his own mind why would he want to traverse someone elseâs?
But that brings us to what he likes about youâ he LOVES your head space. When heâs stressed itâs his favorite place to be because you have a vivid imagination, as a writer as well you show him stories youâve thought of and worlds youâve created with vivid detail. He finds it quite amusing to use watch your thoughts too on a daily, you like it simply because heâs close.
But aside from that itâs you.
Just You.
Just ALL of you.
He canât pick donât make the man pick, he would just keep you near him for eternity which you seem to have no issues with.
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C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basicallyâŚI am a disgusting personâŚ)
He is quite a posessive person.
Two Words:
Breeding Kink
Youâre his and his alone, so the idea of ahâ claiming you that way just sends him off into the ether.
The fact that you both have a breeding kink and literally canât have kids is a GREAT thing because youâve literally sat there a absolute mess after round five and thought out loud as he tenderly cleans you up, âshit thank god we canât reproduce because I am 100% sure thatâd have knocked my ass upââ which has had him shaking in mirth having to pause to control himself after a few moments.
Beg him for it.
Make that whining needy noise in the back of your throat at him for him to finally give you what you need.
Heâll just lose it, pin you by the throat and wellâ youâve broken a few beds this way.
He has no shame.
Just glances at the bed, hits speed dial to the furniture store and orders a new one.
His only other favorite thing with C as he soon found out from O (youâll see) was he adores when you swallow down everything he gives you. Thatâs got him rumbling in Italian about what a good girl you are and how much you please him.
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D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)
Heâs a MASSIVE Pleasure Dom. And when I say Dom.
HE GOT DOM ENERGY.
With very mild Sadistic tendencies. (Thanks a lot Caius ya pervy fucker)
However he is also a very sincere soft streak when youâre a very good pet.
He picked up pet play from his sadistic brother hearing him call his amore Bunny. One day down the rabbit hole that is Google and he was hooked.
But he calls you Bambi. Itâs an Italian term for baby-girl.
It also works because you become like a damn deer in the headlights when he pulls the Dominant voice on you.
It thrums with a low purr and has the capability to just make your brain go wait what?
HEâS A FUCKING SWITCH.
You had been pissed as shit at him. âI donât know whether I want to strangle you or fuck you to death!â You paused because you had literally throat pinned him to the wall, the stone crumbling beneath him, feeling the muscles of his neck working as he swallowed nervously.
You were about to let go but saw his eyes had gone totally black and expectant and startled but excited.
He was just as fucking confused as you both calculated in a matter of seconds what had happened.
You were first to catch on. âOh?âŚ.OH...âŚ.oooooohhhhhhh âŚ.. youâŚ.you son of aâŚ.â You sputtered as he got a sly grin, âyou canât just look at me likeâ you are so ill behaved!!â
He wasnât far behind and raised a black brow at you looking mischievous, ââŚ..and what are you going to do about it mia regina?â
Next thing he knew he was face planted on his office floor with your boot pressed on his cheek making him groan low. âGonna make you regret mouthing off to me is what Iâm going to do my Aro.â
Edge him. Donât let him touch you all day till he begs. He loves when you exert your authority especially on him? Oh forget it.
Queen Slay.
Literally you are his Queen and you are the only one who getâs to fucking tell him what to do.
And you ruthlessly do so when heâs in the mood. All you hear is âmia regina?â Heâll croon at you, as your hand comes up and drags him to you by his tie.
âwould you like to be of service to me Aro?â
Magic words. Heâs done, let him have you and he will literally just focus on your pleasure.
Worship Kink.
You had dropped to your knees at his desk and laid your head in his lap and he almost lost his god damn mind. You purred at him, âil mio maestroâ.
Aro .exe has stopped fucking working.
âââ
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E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what theyâre doing?)
Thanks to the tactile telepathy as well as the fact that he and his brothers have slept their way through history, Aro is a very mixed lover.
When I say greedy as a lover, he wants your pleasure for himself. And will literally drive you to it till youâre sobbing for mercy.
He has none.
But he does take pity on you when he knows youâre truly at your limit with touch.
You werenât inexperienced but his own experience blew yours out of the damn water. Can literally have you on the edge in mere minuets. And is SMUG about it.
Fucking smug bastard just watching you with that smirk on his face and a âwell?â Kinda expression.
You have to beg if you want it.
You have to plead, you have to let him hear you or heâll just keep going and I quote âhmmm I canât hear you cara mia, youâre being so quiet you know that makes me want to fuck you harder, come now, let me hear youâ donât make me have to drag it from you baby girl. You know I love to hear your sweet sounds.â
Could probably kill you if you werenât already dead with what he can do with his hands.
His tongue is even better.
When asked which you preferred you had just panted desperately after a hard orgasm, âany. All. Both. God justâŚholy fuck.â
He cracked up over that. âMy poor baby I broke her.â
ââââ
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F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)
Loves having you in his lap.
Prefers to see your face and eyes, seems to need it.
But occasionally he just loves gripping your neck from behind and feeling you gasp against his grip as he slams into you roughly.
Adores anything that has you clinging onto him for dear life.
Likes being in a position to mark you. Favorite thing ever.
You had once tested his patience (willfully hoping for this outcome) a bit too much and he had pinned you completely immobile to the desk of his office and fucked you within an inch of your immortal life gagging you with his black tie.
âyou just have to test me donât you mia regina?â He had growled in your ear leaning over you, his hand crunching the ornate wood to splinters as you keened and whined for him to keep going. âSuch a ill behaved thing you are, should just keep you here like this for when I please hm?â
He was not joking, you were kept there quite happily under his desk sitting at his feet your head on his lap waiting and absolutely willing.
He could feel your hands grip his thighs, âquit that I know what youâre trying to do and itâs not going to workââ his voice teetered off in a guttural growl as he looked down.
You were biting his shirt looking up at him already nudging yourself between his thighs your teeth digging into his trouser zipper and tugging down.
his hands were gripping your hair jerking you up to kiss him deep, a growl against your lips, âFucking damn itâ come here.â
When you can get him to swear which is rareâ yeahâŚ
He didnât exactly sound angry.
But he sure fucked you like he was though.
âThis is what you were after hm? You brat!â A harsh laugh as he pinned you down a bit harder, âfine then I should ensure youâre goodâŚ.andâŚ.satedâŚshouldnât I bambi?â
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G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)
Very sincere.
Teasing but only in a very sexual way.
Borders on humiliation but he respects you too much.
Very serious though when he focuses on you.
Heâs focusing on all the sensations youâre sending him, letting you know what heâs feeling as well which just sets you into the damn ether.
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H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)
Itâs ARO.
The man is vain.
The man is neat.
Clean and pristine.
Heâd give a regal huff of annoyance, âI am not a heathen darling.â
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I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)
Ohhh you wouldnât know it but heâs such a god damn romantic.
He is. And he MAKES time for you. The schedules are changed so you have time together more oftenâ something that was never done before.
Operas, romantic walks out in Volterra at night.
Sightseeing.
Your favorite was your trip to Germany in the winter with a big cozy cottage and a big fire and lots of bedding to ahemâ destroy.
Aro has penguin brain.
He brings you small gifts that made him think of youâ you have a bracelet that has special charms he had custom made for you, a lochness monster for when you met, a castle obviously for Volterra, a doe, different tiny items that speckled through your life, each one means somethingâ you hardly ever take it off.
You have a collection of very sparkly stones in many jars that he found on his missions.
They are actually gemstonesâ insert eye rollâ they set off pretty prisms through your shared rooms.
âArenât you going to make jewelry of them?â Aro asks.
âNo darling they are perfect just as they are.â You smile.
Aro actually has the literal voice of a damn angel.
He sings to you in Italian, soft dulcet sweet tones and dances you around your rooms teasing you relentlessly.
Aro writes beautiful poetry. He will at least write one every few months when inspiration comes to him.
You have your own private box at the opera house. As well as being allowed to fund artists across the world, youâve found incredible talent on broadway and other venues.
Flowers. Aro ensures care for a private greenhouse for you on the roof, each flower has a meaning, and they all bloom year round given the proper temperatures on the greenhouse. âWhy would I send you flowers when they die so easily.â He asks kissing your cheek as you smile over the new blooms. âThis is everlasting, much more fitting.â He muses.
All his poetry is in a beautiful book Caius got you for your birthday.
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J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)
Why would he do that when he has you?
He is a patient man.
He can wait.
And he has pristine control over himself.
He is too old for pre-pubescent raging hormone crap.
But he will legit melt for you if you do it for him. Prefers it slow, enjoying your touch and loves to watch as you take instruction.
Youâre such a good girl for him.
ââââ
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K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)
Aro is a kinky bastard.
MASSIVE Pleasure Dom.
Worship Kink.
Edging.
Controlling Orgasms *you donât get to come till he gives permission*
Collaring *your Volturi necklace is LITERALLY on a collar*
Overstimulation. *his gift allows him to know when youâre pushed to hard and when you can take a bit more. When youâre craving that over stimulus, heâll give it happily. Knowing he can turn you into a babbling speaking in tongues, drooling, eyes rolling back mess justâ justâ GAH.*
Breeding Kink *Aro has a true breeding kink, ask him to fill you up beg him for it and heâs going to lose his mind.*
Gagging. *he loves to gag you, but also loves being choked by you or you grabbing onto his tie.
Wax Play *youâre a fire elemental user, bringing candles into play is just oh itâs nice. * Prefers to have it done TO him. Your air element gift also allows you to cool the wax quickly and give new sensations.
ââââ
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L = Location (favorite places to do the do)
Aro is private, he prefers somewhere comfortable to take his sweet time with you.
Rooms Private, hotel, somewhere he can just lavish you and enjoy everything you can give him.
Heâd rather take the time to find a nice comfy setting.
But every blue moonâ heâll just look at you in that specific dress molding to your thighs.
He will drag you into an alley way and just rail the shit out of you keeping you quiet with a firm grip over your mouth as he hisses the dirtiest things in your ear.
You two once had a quick rendezvous in a changing room at a theatre. -shrug- it was empty oh well.
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M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)
âMaster?â You bat your eyes at him
His nostrils flare as he breathes in and just knows exactly what you want and you smell so fucking good.
The tone you use.
He knows. You want him. Thatâs it.
Unless itâs a trialâ and DO NOT DO THIS BEFORE TRIAL.
And if you happen to when he takes your hand send him your fantasies after seeing him standing there all regal and watching his mouth form syllables so well and how much better itâll be with his mouthâ ahemâ busy somewhere else.
He will be so mad at you.
Heâs glaring at you behind a mask of calm and you can feel the fucking tremor in his limbs.
You just bat your eyes innocently at him and smile.
His face: youâre in SO MUCH trouble.
Brat energy??? During Trial?!??! Now is that the time to give brat energy!!???
Oh. Oh. oh you are so in trouble. When he gets done with ripping some poor idiots head offâ okay not really they broke the rulesâ stalks over to you; grabs you by your oh so pretty collar, âcome with me bambi.â
And just pulls you along to your rooms with you giggling the whole way and practically prancing behind him like aâ well like a doe prancing into a lions den.
Heâs tossed you over his shoulder once and just flitted out of the rooms into your private chambers, hurling you onto the bed before ripping into your clothing. âYou best be ready for your punishment.â
âOooohhhhhh absolutly master.â
âthatâs my girl.â
The coven just rolls their eyes. Aro is less manic with you there and you surprisingly bring ease to the covenâ so ya know what if thatâs what does it whatever.
ââââ
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N = No (something they wouldnât do, turn offs)
Humiliation. No.
Impact play is one thing, but to intentionally hurt you no.
If he does impact play one hand is always touching you to ensure youâre okay.
ââââ
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O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)
Giving? The man has a wicked tongue.
His oral game is LEGIT.
Will have you in a puddle of twitching ecstasy in mere moments of teasing because he knows where to touch and thatâs not just his tongue but his hands.
Will kiss you all over before even getting to the ahemâ final destination.
Youâre either ready to combust or ready to strangle him when he finally just begins to devour you.
Eats pussy like a man starved but has all the time to enjoy.
Smug as Fuck.
Expect him to just watch you as youâre coming back down from the absolute height he threw you up to and glaring down at his smug grin as he waits before beginning all over again.
Will go all night if youâve been ill behaved.
Your record is 20 before you BEGGED for a break.
He finally took pity and gave you a warm bubble bath and snuggles and praises.
It wasnât that he didnât like receiving, however it was more just a âhm, thatâs niceââ
But with you.
Especially when you had decided to walk into his office, lay your head in his lap as you had sat yourself under his desk so he could work while he played with your hair (you have a comfy cushion there who was he to argue if that was the best way to be close and he could get work done??!!)
But his work was abruptly halted when you had nuzzled his cock through his trousers dragging your mouth wide as he became painfully hard in record time.
âwhat is it you think youâre doing bambi?â He purred looking oh so curious.
âNothing.â You muffled around him as your teeth found his zipper and trouser buttons with a rather feral sound.
Upon finding out you had no gag reflex and having your nose buried in his pelvis as you moaned around him he was done for and he didnât even care.
Work was forgotten.
Loves when you pleasure him, but of course has to be in control for the most part.
Buries his hands into your hair and loves throat fucking you, praising you the entire time. âWhat a good thing you donât need to breathe dolcezza.â
You had hummed around him ecstatically.
The reward for this is always drool worthy.
Play with yourself as you do and let him see you do so keeping your clothing out of the way and youâll have him break finally, that cool haughty composure cracking as his gaze goes just utterly uncontrollably wild, his hips moving a bit harder.
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P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)
You both fuck rough.
But you both also love the slow and sensual moments too.
Especially if you have the time to just drown in one another.
It just depends on the situation.
Rough And Fast:
Slow and Sensual is how it usually starts off, heâs so attentive, so soft and cherishes you, that is till you growl at him for more and he has of course no other option but to give you what he wants.
Youâre his queen after all what kind of mate would he be if he didnât give in?
But has today been exceedingly trying for either of you?
Or is your mate quite amped up from a particularly rough trial?
Youâve been pestering him havenât you? Hmmm.. yeah buckle up.
Youâre in trouble and therefore need to relearn where your place isâ itâs in your bed, beneath him losing your mind out of pleasure.
And he is all too happy to provide that lesson if you seem to forget.
You try to forget often. You damn brat.
Slow and Sensual
However sometimes he just wants to be gentle. And frankly so do you, you want to just bask in the bond you have and slowly explore all over again despite knowing you have memorized one another to heart by now.
Doesnât matter, you still find things that surprise you, things that make you smile.
Places that when touched cause a joltâ well thatâs new.
âI could spend my entire life mapping out your body carissima.â
âthatâs an awful long time in bed.â
Aro would just smirk kissing down your sternum, âoh what a pityâ I suppose my brothers shall have to cover for me hm?â Bite marks being pressed into your flesh, âI plan on leaving so many of these that I forget where they are so I can find them later.â
âSuch an evil overlord.â But youâre giddy, heâs going to make your entire world tilt again with those slow careful hands of his and youâre going to enjoy every second of it.
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Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)
Youâd be surprised that such a patient man could be so damn impatient for you.
Heâs not as impatient as Caius but not AS patient as Marcus.
So itâs a toss up when heâs twitchy during trials and catches a glimpse of you floating down the hallway in all your grandure and he mentally tosses a coin.
Nope he canât take it that flash of leg just set him off.
âExcuse me I do belive I remembered something that needs my attention.â
The others just inwardly roll their eyes.
Next thing you know youâre gagged by his tie in his office pinned over the desk with his teeth buried in your neck and frankly you expected this you wore that damn skirt with the slit in it to tease him.
Seeing this just makes him let out a feral noise and a laugh at the end, âoh you planned that hm?â He nibbles the outer shell of your ear, âmissed me did you?â
You can only nod as he continues, eyes rolling back as he knows exactly what youâre needing and itâs certainly not gentle right now.
âI have exactly fifteen minutes before my brothers come looking for meâ think you can be a good girl and make me come?â
You smirk against the gag in your mouth before purring at him; and itâs off to the races.
Heâs in trouble quite often for thisâ but whoâs to argue with him.
Heâs king he can do what he wantsâŚ. At timesâŚ.
Okay most of the time.
Plus heâs always in a MUCH better mood.
I wonder Why.
ââââ
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R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)
While Aro does love to experiment your safety is his utmost importance.
But heâs a curious bastard and you are right behind him on that scale so sometimes your games become a bit risky.
Never life threatening but oh boy do you two get a grin and just glance at one another, âyou know we havenât done that yet.â
âNoâŚ. No we havenâtâŚ.â
And thatâs how it usually starts.
The worst thing you two can realize is you both utter âI donât knowâ.
Well now you have to know if either of you are able to ahemâ arriveâ under rather dire circumstances such as utilizing your gift (donât worry your gift doesnât hurt him he knows how to use fire too surprise surprise.).
You almost had a heart attack though and nearly killed him after.
He just cackled that manic laugh that had you joining in after hitting him several times.
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S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)
Need I say more than one word?
Vampire.
Aro takes his time most occasions, his slow, slow sweet time.
Nowâ youâd THINK that the rougher encounters would last a shorter period.
Youâre wrong.
So wrong.
He lives for it youâre going to be so happy youâre a vampire and canât really get sore except for when you both leave cracking handprints on one another.
ââââ
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T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)
Sensory.
Crops, leather gloves, feathers, ben wa balls are huge and he likes that they are silent but give you that teasing sensation. Wax candle play is huge for both of you and you enjoy long luxurious heated baths and sauna sessions with one another.
Ooooo he loves it.
Leather gloves area huge thing for him but not for what youâd thinkâ he likes to challenge himself.
Sure he can know what youâre feeling but he wants to be in tune with your physical responses as well and so occasionally he dons them just to test his knowledge.
Damn smug overlord is just as good and you hate it and now heâs smirking at you while popping his jaw with his hand on his elbow waiting for you to come back into your body.
âShut up.â You rasp as your head spins.
âI didnât say anything.â His raven hair slides across his face as he grins wider.
âYour SMUGNESS IS LOUD ARO.â
âMe?! Smug! Why I neverâŚâ -cue the dark chuckle before he starts it up all over again, âmaybe once more to ensure you remember itâs not just the gifts edge hm?â
âOhhhh Iâm going to die.â But you reach for him biting his leather clad hands.
âNo you wonât.â He hums happily, âI wonât let you. Youâre not allowed to leave me bambi.â
ââââ
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U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)
HE IS SO DAMN UNFAIR.
But so are you.
Heâs not as bad as Caius but he is close, and he only does it with LOOKS.
His eyes are utterly expressive, as is that mouth of his, so when he glances at you in just the right way you can feel it drop down in your gut and sizzle.
And he does it during trial. Oh but when you do it youâre in trouble. Psh.
Heâll tease you and brush your hand as he walks by just to know that youâre basically twitching from frustration at the end of the day and about to boil over as he leans down and licks your neck. âBambi, awe, was I too mean to you? Hmm I should make it up to you shouldnât I?â
He always makes it up to you.
The man has the best ways to use his mouth aside from running the coven and giving orders.
ââââ
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V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)
Aro was quite clear studies, and private rooms were to be soundproofed.
Heâs loud, swearing (which he normally does not do), praising mess of a man, itâs needed.
And you love it.
You can practically feel the vibration in his chest when he purrs at you, less growling, heâs not as violent unless you get him too worked up.
No no no, he loves making you melt, and knows exactly what to croon at you to make your mind go blank.
âââ
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W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)
Heâs more posessive than Marcus. And that bleeds into a protective nature.
A bit controlling, but he knows very well he canât do that to you as he had to Sulprica. BUT it doesnât stop him from trying as gods forbid anything happen to you.
Less Jealous than Caius.
But his ahâ mood swings can cause for quite an interesting feat.
Since Marcus and Caius were always the brunt of the bashing and warfare, and he the brains behind the operation, many seem to think he has no bite marks on his body due to not being in the fray.
No.
The problem is Aro becomes too violent. Especially because of his talent when touching his victims it tends to become a frenzy. Once he had decimated an entire coven single handedly because the rage they had was swamping him.
His brothers had to pin him down and try to relay calm emotionsâ his sister Didyme thankfully had been the one to bring him back.
You yourself are now that calm place.
At one point, a guard had been careless enough to have thought about you in ahâ that wayâ Aro was aware you were quite beautiful, your personality no nonsense and many of the guard and lower guard considered you a maternal figure almost otherwise a very good friend.
But this guard.
Ohhh he coveted. What was not his.
But what was worse, was that on the way to the throne room he had spoken to you rather crassly, you merely ignored him; he wasnât even worth your time. But he had glanced you over as if you were a rather tasty morsel, the imaginings of you spread out beneath him had Aroâs hands cracking his wrists.
You saw the change slightly as you were behind him. His spine went poker straight. âYou dare.â It was worse, the guard had actually tried to think of how to lure you away to himâ you were a queen so surely infidelity was expectedâ
The rumble in his chest was a whole new sound youâd never even heard.
Both Marcus and Caius were sitting straight up and narrowing their gaze at Aro before Marcus flitted over and guided you to Aroâs throne placing you on it and standing protectively in front of you.
âMarcus?â you peered behind the eldest king and he hushed you gently.
The guard was torn apart in mere seconds.
It was utterly ruthless and with no mercy.
âPeople tend to forget Aro is only about a thousand years younger than I.â Marcus muttered.
You blinked. Aro was at least five thousand meaning that Marcus was Six, Caius being the youngest at three.
Aro speared the entire guard with a terrifyingly cold glare before flitting over to you, gripping your head back by your hair and sinking his teeth into your shoulder and neck with a low growl.
The sentiment was well understood as the entire guard backed the fuck away from the daisâ he closed the wound before his head shot up and he snarled at the coven tucking you into his embrace your face buried into his robes. âShe is mine.â It was a quiet, soft voice that spoke.
âAro.â you muffled tugging his sleeve and looking up at him.
He showed you âwhat he had seen and tilted his head. Would you mind cara?â
You lit the bastard on fire with a scowl aimed at the body winding your arms about Aroâs waist and nuzzling into his solid form.
A soft kiss in your hair, his body relaxing. âThatâs my bambi.â
âââ
âââ
X = X-ray (letâs see whatâs going on under those clothes)
Aro although he is lithe and tallâŚ.heâs not exactly easy to handle.
9â decent width, knows how to use it.
Be forewarned, he knows what heâs doing.
Tactile Telepathy, good luck remember to keep your head on straight.
ââââ
âââ
Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)
Itâs less of a wistful like of yearning.
And more a burning bonfire of desire always in the wing of his mind ready to take over the forefront.
One glance at you and he wants youâ granted he thinks it might cool down over the centuries but when you look at him like that and bite your lip and grin.
Nah.
Nope. This isnât going away. Not at all.
He of course has excellent control so he is able to push other desires to the back of his mind, but once finished you are certainly at the front of the line.
Super high.
You both are insane.
You can be sitting reading and next moment with one small brush youâre gone from the library and youâve tackled him through the doors of your rooms and pinned him to the floor.
Insatiable.
Good luck!
ââââ
âââ
Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)
Aro LOVES resting with you.
He likes to just lay with his hands on your body and watching your thoughts, youâre his favorite mind to go through and he just adores it.
You both can spend hours like this if you were allowedâ
He likes when you drag your fingers through his hair.
Makes him melt.
Kiss across his eyes and kiss his hands as he brushes your mouth with his fingers trying to learn you all over again.
âI donât think Iâll ever get enough.â He murmurs to you lazily. He has you nestled in his arms your head tucked under his jaw.
âThatâs fucking fine by me.â You giggle.
He rolls his eyes and huffs a soft laugh kissing the top of your head. âOf course she swears like a sailorâŚâ
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Secrets & Lies
Part 1: The Secret
Part 2: The Secretâs Out
A/N: Thank you all so much for your feedback on part 1 and 2. I see there potentially being one more part to this, if people want it!?
The day had come. The snow was settling and the allies had gathered at the Cullen house, ready to defend their friends against the Volturi.
You felt out of your depth completely. Surrounded by red eyed vampires, reminding you of the crimson eyes of Demetri, his face haunting your thoughts and your dreams.
You hadnât heard from him at all. Nothing.
Bella had decided it was a good thing, that maybe he had a conscience and he had decided the best thing for you was to keep you here, where you were safe. Carlisle wasnât so sure, knowing Aro as he did, he would never forcibly keep you from Demetri, but he had strict rules about newborns in Volterra. He and Edward talked about this at length each evening. Edward feared that Aro had more sinister intentions, and he knew he possibly couldnât save you from that without putting his family at risk. He worried for Bella if his suspicions were true.
You had spent so much time together in these weeks, helping her to gain full control of her thirst and supporting her with your gift (not that you could help her really, but she appreciated your support either way). You knew that Edward was worried about you becoming close when it was inevitable that you would soon be separated, you had overheard him advising her to distance herself, that it would be harder for her and Renesmee the more time you spent together. He quickly changed the conversation when he heard your thoughts on the matter, realising that you were nearby and he hasnât spoken of it since.
Jacob had become distant too, his guard was raised constantly in a household full of red eyed âbloodsuckersâ. He had overheard enough conversations to know that it was inevitable that Demetri would take you, and that you would be turned and be like them. He was saving his heart from being broken again, losing another friend to the other side. Instead, he focused himself on his imprint, trying to keep her happy and distracted from the chaos that was building around her, but that didnât stop him from caring about you, wishfully thinking there was something he could do to save you.
~~~
âY/N should come with us. Either way Demetri will look for her, we just put more people at risk if we try to hide herâ Rosalie says with a sigh.
âYou know I can hear you Rose, you donât need to talk as if Iâm not hereâ she rolls her eyes at you as you turn to Carlisle and Edward.
âYouâll be at risk if you come with us, surrounded by those who donât share the same
âI donât want to put anyone at risk, Iâll come with youâ I want to be with Demetri. Edward looks over at you. Sorry.
He smiles at you, âI already told you, itâs the mate pull, you canât help it. Iâm glad that you are thinking positively about it.â
âI just...I just donât want anyone else to be hurt because theyâre trying to protect me from the inevitableâ you sigh as you look around at your friends.
âBeing part of the Volturi aside, the mate bond is pretty coolâ Emmett says as he pulls Rosalie into his side.
You smiled at Emmett, thinking about Demetri holding you in the same way. Your face flushed with embarrassment as Edward coughed lightly, reminding you he was there. Sorry again.
I suppose weâve just got to wait and see what happens now.
Demetriâs POV
The Masters had landed in Seattle, ready to make the journey into Forks to âspeakâ the Cullens. We were due to meet them, along with our witnesses we had gathered in a clearing outside of Seattle, before moving to the agreed clearing to meet the Cullens.
The anticipation of seeing Y/N was killing me, if I wasnât already dead, of course.
I had been preparing myself to explain what had happened, why I had kept this secret from them. As soon as Aro takes my hand he will know what has happened and what Iâve done, I need it clear in my mind my reasons for it.
I wanted to give her time to say goodbye.
I tapped your foot on the floor in anticipation, Felix glanced at me before growling low. Calm he mouthed to me. I shot him an apologetic look before forcing my foot to stop.
The Masters swept into the field, surrounded by the rest of the upper guard, along with some lower guard and the witnesses they had gathered on the way. We walk towards them, Jane offering her hand to Aro as we get close enough. He glances at me as he searches through Janeâs mind. He turns to look at his brothers.
âIt seems that our dear Demetri has met his mate. And she is a Cullen no less!â
âIs she gifted? Could she be of use to us brother?â Caius asks Aro, seemingly disinterested in the conversation unless it benefits him in some way.
âShe is still human brother, sheâs a human Cullen. Like our dear Bella wasâ Caius growls at this statement.
âWe still do not know if they have kept their word brotherâ Aro snaps his head in Caiusâ direction. âYou think they would lie to to us brother? That they had kept it a secret that she is still human? Fed us lies about her changing? That I am stupid enough to fall for that?â Aro was now inches away from Caiusâ face, his body tense with anger. Marcus breaks the tense silence with a question directed to me.
âWhy did you not inform us of this dear boy? You have waited centuries to find her, I would think you would have shouted this from the rooftops.â
I sensed the hurt in Marcusâ voice. He treated me like family, and I would normally talk to him about most things, it was unusual for me to keep a secret.
âI wanted to give her time. They know what is coming. They know that she will come with us, I just wanted to give her time with them to say goodbye.â I plead with Marcus, hoping he can sense my bond to her, but know that my bond to the Volturi has not wavered.
âWhat do you say brother? These secrets and lies must mean that Demetriâs ties to us are...weakening does it not?â Caius turns to Marcus, expecting him to confirm his suspicions I assume, but he does not.
âOur dear Demetri has strong feelings for this Cullen yes, but his loyalty to us has not changed, he just has additional bonds, that is all.â Aro smiles at this, and clasps his hands together, suggesting he has made a plan.
âY/N will come with us to Volterra following our meeting with the Cullens. As a human, she was not to know of our rules regarding immortal children, she is not to blame here. However, Demetri dear...she will have to be turned. For your loyalty we will allow her to stay in Volterra, but you and Felix will need to train her. She can join the lower guard.â With that, Aro turns and clicks, commanding the guard to follow him towards Forks.
~~~
You stood between Edward and Carlisle, the rest of the Cullens to your left side, except for Alice and Jasper who had still not returned. Bella, Renesme and Jacob stand to your right, with the rest of the wolves and the Cullen allies behind you.
You were very aware of the fact you would be the sole human, in a field full of vampires, and though you attempted to still your heartbeat, it was thumping so hard you could hear it in your ears. âJust breathe Y/N, no one will harm youâ Edward said, glancing at you, having heard your panic. You took a deep breath, before you felt something nudge at your shoulder. You turn to see Jake, looking at you with worry in his eyes, and you reach to stroke the side of his face, letting the softness of his fur calm you. You lean against him as you whisper âIâll be ok Jake. Iâll be okâ he whines softly at this, knowing that this might be the last time he ever sees you. That it will definitely be the last time he sees you human, and he takes the moment to take in every detail he can, before moving back to his place beside his imprint.
You take a sharp intake of breath as you see the Volturi appearing in the distance, it is clear that they outnumber the group standing behind you, and the fear inside you increases.
âAroâs looking for Aliceâ Edward whispers, as you look carefully at the figures in front of you, your human vision not enough for you to be able to identify figures. Your heartbeat rises as your eyes feel drawn towards a figure to the left of the figures in the middle, Demetri.
Demetriâs POV
I canât take my eyes off of her, her hands clenched at her side, eyes darting across the group beside me as she attempts to focus on the figures. Sheâs looking for me.
Carlisle walks forward before speaking, but my eyes canât leave Y/N. âAro, let us discuss things as we used to, in a civilised manner.â
Caius scoffs at his words before Aro replies âFair words, Carlisle. But a little out of place given the battalion you have assembled against usâ.
Carlisle shakes his head, âI can promise you, that was never my intent. No laws have been brokenâ
âWe see the child, do not treat us as foolsâ Caius spits out in reply.
The conversation continues with Carlisle confident of his innocence and Aro confident in his guilt, asking for evidence of his innocence by meeting the supposed immortal child.
âEdward, as the child clings to your newborn mate, I assume you are involvedâ
Edward looks at Bella before walking towards Aro, his hand stretching out as soon as he is close enough. Aro takes the offered hand, enclosing it in his own, he hums with interest.
âIâd like to meet her.â
Edward turns to look at Bella and the immortal child before nodding. Bella, the child, the wolf and the large Cullen begin walking before Aro interrupts.
âBring Y/N with you young Bella, I know dear Demetri is keen to have her safely with him and we are all very keen to meet her.â He smiles before looking towards me, I nod briefly, before walking towards where he is standing with Edward.
I will not harm her.
Edward looks at me in shock, before nodding in understanding, and he looks back towards his mate.
The group continues walking, this time with Y/N in tow. The walk is painfully slow, and I canât stop my foot from tapping impatiently in the snow.
When they finally reach us, I realise that Iâm frowning, and I quickly try to replace this with a natural smile before looking towards Y/N, but she avoids my gaze.
âAh, young Bella. Immortality becomes you.â He turns to Y/N, âand Y/N, you are even more beautiful than Demetri described, we are all looking forward to you joining us in Volterra. You will go to him now yes?â
Y/N looks at me and I smile at her, nodding, before she steps tentatively towards me.
~~~
You walk towards Demetri, his eyes locked on yours, and suddenly you are no longer aware of what is going on around you.
âY/Nâ he breaths out your name, and you realise youâve never heard your name sound so beautiful as it does when it comes from his mouth.
All the weeks youâve been waiting for him have led to this moment, âDemetriâ you reply, and he smiles at the sound of your voice.
He holds out his hand to you and you take it, walking away from the group talking in the middle, you glance back to see Aro leaning forward as Renesmee holds her hand to his cheek.
âY/N I must first apologise, I wanted to contact you, I was desperate to, but, I feared that if I contacted you that this would shorten your time with your family and your friends. I did not wish to take that time from you.â He gently touches his hand to your cheek, and you place your hand on top of his own.
âI donât mind, I keep being reminded that we will have forever together, so Iâm sure you will be able to make it up to meâ you reply with a hint of flirtation to your voice. You cup your hand over your mouth, realising that you were still close enough to be heard by everyone else and your face flushed.
Demetri chuckles at this, before his attention is drawn back to the group standing with Aro. Everyoneâs attention is now far into the distance, with your human vision you have difficulty making out the figures until they are much closer. Alice.
You cannot hear the conversation between Aro and Alice, but can see her stretch out her hand for Aro to take. Demetri tenses at my side, and you sense the conversation is not going as expected. Demetri glances to the tall vampire you saw him with when you first met, who nods briefly and before you can register what is happening you are in Demetriâs arms travelling faster than you thought possible.
Your mind tries to process what you have seen, trying to rationalise the raised voices you briefly heard before you were picked up. What was Alice so angry about? What did Demetri not want you to see?
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Part 4: Sick of Secrets
#demetri x reader#demetri volturi#demetri imagine#volturi#twilight x reader#twilight imagines#twilight
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Blood red mist - Japer x reader
Hello everyone. Sorry for my long absence, life got in the way. But here you go, a jasper hale x reader pic thats been long overdue for @imyourapocalypse, there will be more parts but heres part 1! :)
âGuys, itâs okay, iâll take her.â
The one sentence that you didn't think really meant anything, until it did.Â
ââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââ
Birds. Frikin birds. Normally you were one with nature, but not when it decided to wake you up as soon as the sun rose. You groaned and rolled over in bed mushing your face into the hard lump that was your fiancĂŠ. He snickered under his breath and stretched out next to you, rubbing a hand over your back, playing with your hair. You looked up and smiled at him, taking in his brilliance, his messy blonde hair glimmering in the sunlight, the beams from the early morning catching his face making him shimmer, his skin like diamonds.
âMorning cowboy.â He smiled back and pulled you into him, placing his nose in your hair, breathing in your scent.Â
You had met Jasper a few years ago now. You think back to when you watched the tall, pale, blonde haired man float through the school office while you were there to pick up copies of your recommendation letters. You'd been so startled and taken aback by his beauty and piercing amber eyes that your fingers shook and the manila folder you were holding slipped out of your hand and landed on the tiled floor with a dull thud. A classic scene from every cheesy rom-com you'd ever watched, only you didn't care, because as you leant down to pick up the folder in embarrassment, Jasper helped and as soon as you looked into his glowing eyes, you knew fate was a real thing.Â
Since then you'd been with the Cullenâs through almost everything, well, not with them in person some of the times. You'd been accepted to University across the country and missed most of the recent drama that surrounded the Cullen family and Bella Swan, but having recently graduated you were back now and you couldn't be happier, neither could Jasper.Â
At first you weren't sure if you liked Bella, you were a few years older, and weren't one for drama, in the beginning you didn't click, however, overtime when you had a holiday or came to visit the Cullenâs you grew closer and closer and were practically best friends. You could relate to one another⌠both human (Well, not Bella anymore) both in love with good-looking Vampires.Â
You were still away at University when Bella was changed, due to come back only a few days after. Jasper had been filling you in on everything that had been happening, and you face timed with Bella every day until the change happened. You'd got back and were instantly kept away from your friend, only glimpsing her still, frozen form through the smeared glass of the Cullenâs make shift infirmary. Jasper assured you it was for your own safety, his Major side was out in full force, his mind floating back to the time he trained New Borns with Maria. He knew how destructive they could be, what little willpower and resistance they had and he constantly worried for your safety.
You'd managed though. Survived through it all, somehow unscathed, the meeting with the Volturi, whichâŚ. you weren't actually there for, again. Something you weren't involved in. If it had been Bella she would have been brought along but Jasper was protective on another level, dominant. You could never win a fight with Jas, his need to protect you and your bond too strong to fight.Â
Now it was just another day. The Volturi were gone, the other vamps, the family friend had all gone too, now it was just you and the Cullenâs, you and your mate. You smiled to yourself. Finally, the first day things can start going back to normal.Â
-A few hours later -
You were laughing at something Rosalie had said while cupping a mug of hot coffee in both of your chilly hands. The air outside was frosty, the remnants of winter lingering. Rose had been talking about some girl who'd tried flirting with Emmett in the local convenience store.. lets just say if looks could kill, that poor girl would either be a New Born or dead.
Bella and Edward joined you in the Kitchen, even without vampire hearing you could make out what they were saying. Jacob, as much as he wanted to, couldn't come over to look after Nessie, He had pack duties and so now Bella was saying she couldn't join the family hunt. You smiled and coughed a little. Both looked at you, unaware you and Rose were sitting across the room.Â
âGuys Iâll be here, I can look after Ness.. I know you wanted to get her some school supplies Bells, I know the perfect shop in town I could take her to and then we could get some food! Have a girls date.â You smiled, your teeth sparkling against your slightly chapped, rose red lips.Â
âWhatâs this about a girls date.â The southern accent made your skin tingle and before you could turn around Jasper was already behind you pressing a kiss to the sweet spot on your neck, you sighed and leaned back against him.
âY/N is taking Renesmee into town for some shopping and food while we all go hunting this afternoon.â Bella smiles at you gratefully but you feel Jasper tense behind you. You watched as Edward rolled his eyes and gave you a small smile, obviously listening to Jaspers loud thoughts.Â
âDarlin, I don't know if I like the idea of the two of you being without one of us..â You were next in line to roll your eyes, turning to look at your fiancĂŠ, you took his hand and kissed his knuckles.Â
âJas, were only going to town, we will do a little shopping for school supplies get some food, the human kind, and then before you know it iâll be calling you to come pick us up again!âÂ
You stood up off the stool and kissed his cheek, slipping out of the room away from Jasper before the Major could disagree, It was decided. The vamps would do the vampy hunty stuff, and the Human and hybrid would look for cute fluffy pencils and sparkly backpacks.Â
âââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââââ
It was just after Christmas, the air was frigid and frost still nipped at both your noses as you skipped down the steps of the restaurant. The snow had finally cleared, but still no signs of green life in the town of Port Angeles. Somehow Nessie had persuaded you into getting ice cream even though it was the middle of January. Bags in one hand, Nessieâs gloved hand in the other, you walked side by side back to your car a few streets over from the parlour. It was oddly quiet, but then remembered there was some sort of celebration going on near the dock, the reason you hadn't seen anyone on the walk back to the car park. You had parked where you normally did, the same car park behind the book store Edward had once saved Bella in.Â
You could see it, your silver BMW under the single street light, bathed in a warm glow. A belated graduation present from your family. You smiled and thought of Jasper. Wondering how they were getting on at the hunt. Just as you were about to reach for your phone you heard a twig snap at the edge of the trees. Then a swoosh, something passed your eyes in a flash. Something wasn't right.
Your phone started to buzz in your pocket.Â
You stopped. Nessie stopped. Something didn't feel right. Your smile faded, somewhere in the distance you could hear a scream, but then realised it had come from right beside you, You slowly turned to look at Renesmee, fear on her little face. You were confused, until you felt it. Your stomach felt warm, hot almost, only one part of it, then all of it at once, flashing burning pain.Â
You sank to your knees, the bags in your hands dropped with a dull thud and the contents slipped out onto the wet asphalt. Nessie was staring at you in shock, you looked down and choked as you watched the silver handle of the knife, wedged in your body, bob up and down in time with the rhythm of your laboured breathing. Your phone was still ringing, the sound a fuzzy noise somewhere floating in your scrambled thoughts. In the distance your were sure you heard a howl. They were too far away. You grabbed Renesmeeâs hand, giving it a squeeze, you were crying, a red haze seemed to float around you both, like raw energy flickering in the night sky.Â
âNessie look at m-me, don't be scared.â You sobbed, you were dying, you could feel your energy fading, the red haze around you seemed to get brighter. âNessie, itâs okay, shhh.â You were trying to calm her down, your hand still clutching her small one. Your eyes were flickering.Â
âNessie, my phone, can you get my phone.â You weakly pointed to your blood soaked pocket. She seemed frozen, unable to move, then something clicked inside her. She grabbed it answering the frantic caller on the other end.Â
âUncle Jas, Uncle Jas thereâs so much blood.â Nessie cried. Jasper. Your eyes were getting heavier, you could hear Jaspers frantic voice on the other end. Suddenly you felt the phone pressed against your ear, it felt like your could hear the sound of your blood rushing around your body.Â
âJas-jasper,â You were crying harder, the man you loved frantic on the other end. âI love you Jas, I love yo-you.â You couldn't hear what he was saying, not really, the pain taking over, the darkness creeping closer and closer, the red haze getting brighter. You were dying, and everyone was too far away to save you.Â
Roseâs P.O.V.
The hunt had been a successful one. We hadn't been able to hunt as a family for a long time, always something popping up meaning people would have to stay behind. Jasper was on edge, everyone could tell, obviously thinking too much about Y/N, his mate. We didn't really blame him, we all know how it feels when it comes to the care of your Bloodsinger.Â
We had all finished up, just getting back to our cars when Bellaâs phone rings. Jacobs name flashing across the screen, Bella answered still laughing at something Emmett had said, but her tone changed instantly. Everyone could hear the conversation. Jake sometimes freaked out about the whereabouts of Nessie, but this time it was different. Something was wrong.Â
âBella! Wheres Renesmee and Y/N?! Something is wrong, Nessie is in trouble, our bond, I can feel it she's scared, really scared, I'm going to find them now!âÂ
We all looked at each other and then to Jasper, he was staring at Alice, who had fear and an absent look in her eyes.Â
âY/Nâs hurt.â If i wasn't already dead my heart would have stopped. All of us were at our cars in a flash, quicker to get to Port Angeles by car than running. Jasper had his phone pressed to his ear, no doubt trying frantically to call his mate. She was answering, Jasper was banging his fists against the dashboard, anger and fear radiating off his pale skin.
âCâmon darlin pick up pick up.â Pain and worry in his voice. The phone is answered.Â
âUncle Jas, Uncle Jas, thereâs so much blood!â Everyone could hear Renesmee crying on the other end of the phone, then it seemed like the world stopped. Y/Nâs weak voice whispered through the receiver.Â
âJas-Jasper.â She was crying, if vampires could cry, we all would be too. âJasper, I love you.â The line went dead just as we reached the âWelcome to Port Angeles sign.â Alice had seen where they were and it didn't take a detective to figure out where Y/N would have parked.Â
We just all hoped we would get there before it was too late. Â
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Chapter 26: Heal
Grace woke up to the low, cloudy light of dawn breaking around her. The low light still caused her vision to go in and out of focus as a throbbing headache made its debut. She groaned, raising a sore arm to her face and rubbed it.Â
She had no concept of time or where she was but she felt deep, pulsing pain throughout her body. She tentatively touched at her midsection and sucked in a breath like a hiss as the tender skin felt too hot to touch. Grace slowly stretched the fingers on each of her hands and felt the excruciating pain shoot down her wrist and up her arm. She felt battered, like sheâd been stamped by a thousand hot irons pounding at her body for hours. It probably wasnât the best idea, but Grace tried her best to push her body upright into a sitting position. A painful moan escaped her as her vision went black.
âHey, woah woah woah.â Suddenly there was someone kneeling beside her, bracing her back, their hand hot and firm. She knew that voice.Â
âWhere am I?â Grace said, her voice scratchy and hushed like she had a sore throat.Â
âMy place.â Paul said, his face coming into better focus. âDrink this.â He held a glass of water to her lips and she drank gratefully, draining the glass easily and gasping for air afterward.Â
âWhereâs Jake?â she croaked. Grace was too disorientated to even take in the fact that she was in her ex-boyfriendâs bed in a home that was supposed to be hers. That ache had no room to exist as her body screamed at every move she made.Â
âThey took him home. Heâs okay, heâs healing.â Paul was scanning her body frantically. He didnât know what to do when she had passed out. He just knew he had to get her out of that clearing before the ancient vampires âVolturi the doc had called themâcame into the clearing to kill them all. So he rushed her to his home. She had been out for a solid 18 hours until now.Â
Grace rubbed her eyes and tried to bring more things into focus. She looked down at herself, still wincing at even the slightest movement. She was wearing one of Paulâs shirts and her pants were missing.Â
âMy clothes,â she said groggily, an aching finger pulling at the shirt she had on.Â
âYours were covered in blood,â he breathed. âYou scared the hell out of me. Grace being in that clearing was not part of the plan. You could have gotten killed, why the fuck did you do that?â his voice rose slightly as anger flooded him. Seeing her in the clearing had sent a shock wave through him. One he felt rippled down the pack.Â
But he had to admit that once she was there, they felt renewed, faster, more agile, their adrenaline at seeing her allowed each wolf to tap into a stronger or maybe more panicked version of themselves. Sam had been the most upset. He was trying to keep everyone safe and was pulled in so many directions during the fight, dividing his attention to ensure no one died on his watch. And when Grace came into the clearing, that attention dialed in to just her. It was maddening for him. Paul thought heâd attack Grace instead of the newborns for a second.
Grace looked at the empty glass and said in a hoarse voice: âCan I have some more water?âÂ
Paul nodded, letting out a huff of air and stood up to get her more. When he went into the kitchen there was a soft knock at the front door. He set the glass down and pulled it open.Â
Rachel.Â
âI come bearing gifts.â She said, a small smile on her face. Paul felt his stomach drop. Just seeing her made everything swim in his head. His eyes cast around her face to the beautiful sprinkle of freckles dancing across the bridge of her nose to the strand of hair that fell in front of her perfectly tinted russet skin. Her amber eyes almost glittered and her full, ruby lips pulled open into a welcoming smile.Â
âUm, hey.â Paul mustered. She let out a light laugh and returned a âhey.âÂ
His eyes fell to the stack of clothes in her hands. âI brought some clothes over for her. Thought she might need it, what with all the blood.âÂ
âHowâs Jacob?â Paul said. He could see the pain there on her face.Â
âYeah, heâs okay. Itâs going to take a bit for him to heal, but the doctor has him on a morphine drip to keep him comfortable. My human biology course isnât really coming in handy as much as I thought it would considering the wholeâŚ.wolf...thing.â Rachel paused to look Paul up and down. Sheâd been given a crash course in the packâs secret once Paul had imprinted on her. He had also demanded that Sam let him tell her.
She held out the clothes in Paulâs silence, her warmth never leaving her voice. âHere. Sheâs only a little bit shorter than me, but these should fit.â Paul took the clothes, their hands brushing in the process. Rachel blushed and Paul tried to keep the heat from rising in his body.Â
âThanks.â he said. Wow. So eloquent. Great job, Paul. Real smooth. You have seen a girl before you know? Idiot. The thoughts raced through his head.Â
âOkay, well. See you later!â she trilled before hopping down the steps, stumbling just a little in her overexcitement. Paul automatically took a step forward like he was going to help her but she held a hand up and laughed, heading toward her car.Â
Paul carried the glass of water and clothes back to his bedroom and kneeled by the bed where Grace sat with her head in her hands.Â
âHey.â he gently said holding the glass out. She took it but it started to slip from her fingers. He placed his hand on top of hers and helped tip the glass so she could drink.Â
He set the half empty glass down next to the bed and held out the clothes to her. âSomething to change into.â Grace gently folded her arms around the clothes and gave a soft âThanks.âÂ
Her head was still spinning and showing no signs of stopping. The ache was growing rather than subsiding and she felt an excruciating need to get out of here.Â
âCan you take me to Jake?â she said automatically, trying to listen to her body. Paul hesitated, his eyes staring at Grace, trying not to touch her.Â
âYeah.â he whispered, pain apparent in his voice. Grace tried to focus on his face but he kept disappearing behind a blur making its way across her vision. âCan you stand?â he asked.Â
She hadnât considered this. Her body felt weighted in a pain sheâd never experienced before.Â
âCan you help?â she said as she winced and tried to pull herself up. Paul grabbed her easily, like he was meant for it, and took the weight off of her limbs as he pulled her into a standing position on the floor. He gently placed her on her feet, slowly letting her weight come down. She gripped his forearms for support and felt the blinding pain of standing on her own. Without meaning too, she let out a sharp cry of pain and a pitiful âOw, ow, ow,â that triggered Paul to panic and lift her again.Â
âOkay, thatâs not gonna work.â Paul said, âI donât think we should move you yet.âÂ
âJust help me get dressed,â Grace said, her labored breathing returning. Paul looked at her carefully and then nodded his head. Grace was flushed with embarrassment but didnât see any other way. He gently removed the shirt he had changed her into before putting her and she shivered. Paul tried to keep his face straight. Looking at her now felt different and filled him with guilt. Grace didnât even bother trying to cover her exposed chest before Paul pulled the University of Washington shirt over her head that Rachel had brought. He leaned down and Grace raised her leg to thread through the fitted matching sweats. He pulled them up around her hips and tightened the strings on them, tying it into a loose knot so they stayed put. He picked her up under her knees and took her to the car, stone faced, trying not to think about how warm her body felt in his arms.Â
When he pulled up to the Black residence, he could see some members of the pack filtering out of the house. He popped open his door and they came over to him.
âIs she okay?â Embry asked worried, his eyes pulled to where she sat, eyes closed, in the front seat.Â
âIâm not sure. Is the doc here?â Paul replied. Quil shook his head.Â
âHe just left but we can get him back if you need.âÂ
âYeah, maybe. I need to get her inside, sheâs been asking for Jake.âÂ
Embry and Quil gave him a surprised look. He didnât really want to deal with the barrage of questions. âJust go get the leech.â He said annoyed. They nodded at him wordlessly and were off, slowing to stare at Grace as they went past.Â
Paul grabbed her from the car gently and walked her into the tiny house. He had no idea what he was supposed to do with her, but when she murmured a sign of being awake, he gave an exhausted sigh and walked her toward the back of the house where Jakeâs room was. When he pushed open the door, Sam was there. The tiny room didnât afford for this many people but Grace was already awake and pulling out of his arms, reaching for the bed.Â
âPut me down,â she grumbled. Paul tentatively set her down, holding around her waist in case she fell. Grace looked hypnotized, her body reacting to seeing Jakeâs motionless frame sprawled on the bed. His face was covered in a sheen of sweat and he was pulling in deep labored breaths that were raspy and tight.Â
âDoc said his lung collapsed but that it was healing. He had to reset all of the bones on the right side of his body because he healed too fast and they fused together unevenly.â Samâs voice shot through with pain. Paul saw the guilt thereâSam thought it was his fault that Jake got hurt and thought heâd never forgive himself.
Grace, still entranced, pulled herself onto the bed next to Jake. She shimmied herself into the left side of his body that wasnât wrapped up in gauze and buried her head in the crook of his neck. His left arm automatically circled around her waist and his breathing evened out some, the rasp cooling. Grace immediately felt the relief crash through both of them. Her pain ebbed and she let the gentle rise and fall of his chest lull her to sleep.Â
At some point later in the day Carlisle came in, but Grace floated in and out of consciousness as he took her vitals. He seemed perplexed by her state, muttering something about not being able to get a good read on anything since it was so inconsistent. Since he had limited knowledge on how their wolf bodies healed and even less knowledge on how Graceâs bodies interacted with theirs, he didnât feel confident giving a determination or diagnosis.Â
Jacob was improving quickly and was able to be conscious for longer periods of time over the next day. He wouldnât let anyone take Grace from him though, keeping his arm tightly around her as she struggled to pull in air through her throat. She seemed to be getting worse for some reason.Â
Sam spent most of his time sat in a chair in Jacobâs room or wandering up and down the short hallway, pulling at the nape of his neck. Emily was having a hard time getting him to eat.Â
âShould we get TiâHal?â she asked Sam at one point.Â
âNot yet.â Sam said, afraid of what she might say. But it became apparent that theyâd need to call her in sooner than later when Grace stayed asleep for a solid 24 hours, the sounds in her chest starting to rattle. Jacob's lung was almost healed at this point.Â
When TiâHal shuffled into the small room, Jake was awake, his arm wound around Grace. He had slowly pulled her more and more on top of him in an attempt to bring her closer. Her body was now draped over the left side of his, her head in the center of his chest. TiâHal gave Jake a soft smile and put her hand to his cheek, closing her eyes.Â
âYouâre healing well,â she acknowledged. He nodded but looked down at Grace, concern warping his features. âAh.â she said, âBut youâre not worried about you.â She moved to place her hand on Graceâs forehead and one on her back. TiâHal sat for awhile just listening to Grace.Â
âSheâs healing,â she finally said. A domino of sighs could be heard in the living room where most of the pack had been milling about, listening intently. âBut sheâs healing you first,â TiâHal said definitively.Â
âWhat?â Jacob said surprised. âWhy?â
âSheâs healing him?â Sam said incredulously.Â
âFirst, she heals him and then herself. She protects, heals, defends, and connects. But you havenât made it easy on her.â TiâHal suddenly said looking over her shoulder at Sam and then back to Jacob. She wasnât accusatory, simply stating a fact. Something she understood better than them.Â
âWeâre still figuring it out, TiâHal,â Sam said with some strain in his voice.Â
âFigure it out together. Or youâll end up putting her in more danger,â she said sternly, closing her eyes once more to feel Grace and then taking her leave. âShe should wake soon. I suggest you donât move her and keep her close to Jacob so as not to interfere with the healing.â Sam nodded and helped her to the door where her granddaughter was waiting to ferry her back home.Â
âSo we wait.â Jared said in the living room. Sam turned around and nodded.Â
âWe wait.âÂ
Paul stirred uncomfortably on the couch. Rachel was in the kitchen cooking them some food with the help of Emily. None of the pack wanted to be away from the Black residence or Grace for too long until they knew she was in the clear so they spent their afternoon and evening huddled in the small living room, eating and joking and watching TV or spilling out onto the lawn to kick around the soccer ball.Â
Word got out about âthe accidentâ and the community showed up. Theo Merdra, the local carpenter even stopped by and made it a point to say heâd come and fix their sagging porch and install a proper wheelchair ramp for Billy. He even replaced a rusted rain gutter while he was there and had his son clean the debris from the roof.Â
Bella showed up every few hours to check on Jake and Grace and helped clean and cook. She brought over a duffel bag of clothes, a toothbrush, and toiletries for Grace for when she woke up knowing sheâd need to shower. She asked Rachel to call her as soon as Grace was up so she could come and help.Â
The Black residence was soon overrun with a massive amount of food, some of Sueâs friends came by and cleaned up the house. George Runnings fixed the wiring on the back of their fridge since it kept blinking on and off. Billy was overcome with emotion. Everyone who came through did their best to keep it down to ensure they didnât disturb Jacob or Grace. Jacob was almost fully healed by the second day and only moved from her side to go to the bathroom.Â
Carlisle had stayed away to ensure he didnât overstay his welcome with the community descending on the Black home. But he was itching to get back to monitor Grace. As the sun set on the second day, Graceâs eyes fluttered open.Â
âHey,â Jacob said, cupping a hand to her face.
âI need to sit up,â she croaked.Â
âOkay, okay,â Jake said. He pulled his body up and rested it against the wall and then gently pulled Grace between his legs so her back rested against his chest. He looped his arms around her stomach and she leaned her head back onto his shoulder, winded by the sudden movement but breathing clearly.
âHow do you feel?â Jacob whispered. Grace laid her hands on top of his and looked out the window at the people gathering around a makeshift bonfire in the twilight. Seth was kicking a ball around with Jared and Embry. The sounds of happy voices floated in through the window.Â
âLike shit.â Grace finally breathed. âBut better. You?âÂ
âLike new,â he said, kissing the side of her head. She closed her eyes at the warm feeling.Â
âHow long have I been out?âÂ
âCouple of days.âÂ
âMmm,â she replied, lazily sinking into Jacobâs embrace and turning her head to face into his neck. He rested his head lightly on top of hers and pulled her in a little closer, making sure she was tightly nestled into his body.Â
âGrace?â Jacob said softly.Â
âMmm?â she replied again, starting to drift in and out.Â
âWe really need a shower.â He laughed softly, his body shaking her some and her face cracked into a smile, starting to laugh too.Â
âOh my god,â she mumbled. âGross.â Tears sprang to Jacobâs eyes as he pressed another firm kiss to her forehead. He was so happy she was awake, she was alive, and she was here. The thought of losing her in that clearing suddenly washed over him and he squeezed her ever so slightly.Â
âYou okay?â Grace muttered sleepily, her hand coming to gently rest on his cheek where she felt the clear damp of tears on his face.Â
âFine. You just smell...really really bad. Itâs making my eyes water.â he joked, letting out a choked laugh.Â
âNice one,â she breathed before drifting off to sleep.Â
Late that evening, Grace was feeling good enough to get up. With Jake behind her, she stood on her own two feet and only winced a couple of times before standing upright. She stretched her neck around and shook out the pain in her hands. Rachel was in the doorway of the room supervising.Â
âIâll call Bella,â she said and disappeared into the kitchen. Grace made her way slowly into the hallway toward the living room. Leah was there, biting her thumb and when she saw Grace come into the room and shot to her feet.Â
âGrace, Iâm so so sorry,â she said. Sheâd been holding in her guilt for the past three days. Grace waved her off and said,Â
âLeah, itâs fine. Are you okay?â Leah nearly crumbled at this question and nodded her head quickly. âGood.â Grace paused for a second and then looked dejectedly at her feet, âI really have to pee.â Leah bounded over as an uncertain look crossed Jakeâs face.Â
âI got it.â she said and led Grace to the bathroom.Â
âBella should be here in 15. Leah, fill up the tub while youâre in there.â Rachel called. Total mom-mode. She hugged Jacob and confirmed that he indeed did smell.Â
âIâll wait until Grace is done,â he said. âGot some grub?â Rachel smiled and opened the stuffed fridge. âWoah.â he said.Â
âTake your pick. Or you can wait. Iâm making momâs homemade lasagna,â She smiled at him and he felt so glad that she was home again. Just then the pack spilled through the open door elated and pulled Jacob into a group hug.Â
âYouâre alive!â Seth cried.Â
âThought you were a goner for sure.â Quil said.Â
âYeah, what took you so long?â Embry said.Â
âJeez Jake, way to hog all the healing for yourself,â Jared jabbed. Sam came through the door and looked to Jake.Â
âShe okay?â The worry was still there.Â
âYeah, sheâs in the bathroom with Leah,â Jake said, giving him a reassuring smile. Sam nodded, relief pulling down across his shoulders.Â
âWhoâs hungry?â Rachel said, pulling out some freshly baked lasagna. Bella arrived, taking a second to hug Jake tightly before saying, âWhere is she?âÂ
âBathroom,â multiple voices answered her before Jake could even open his mouth.
âOkay,â she said, her face looked flushed as she headed down the hall. She knocked on the door, announcing her presence before pushing it open. Leah came out a few seconds later and gathered around the table with the others.Â
âGod, I havenât heard someone pee for that long in my entire life.âÂ
There was a chorus of âEwwsâ and âIâm eatingâ and âWhen you gotta go you gotta goâ followed by laughter around the table as the group dug into the food.Â
#twilight fanfiction#twilightfanfic#twilight#new moon#eclipse#jacobblackxoc#jacobblack#jacobxoc#paul lahote#edward cullen#bella swan#the cullens#the pack#chapter 26#a monster lives here
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Riley Biers x Plus-size Reader
Part 3
Part 2 ; Part 1
word count: 2371
Requested by @fyeahtaylorpâ
âCarlisle, let me get this straight, Aro, one of the most dangerous vampires in the world,a maniac who has an obsession with power, recruited Riley Biers into his coven, and now Rileyâs sent to what? Check up on my Daughter?!â
Bella was going off on poor Carlisle, but I didnât blame her, I heard stories of the Volturi and the things theyâve done to people, and recently Iâve heard of the almost brawl between the Olympic coven and said Volturi, and how things had almost gotten messy if Alice and Jasper didnât show up with the other hybrid in time. I hated to think about such terrible things, I never did like fighting of any kind, I tried to avoid it at all costs, I like to think of it as a type of self-preservation, but not completely.
A loud crash rang throughout the room. Great. Bella broke one of Esmeâs vases. Edward promptly escorted Bella from the living room. Everyone else stood around awkwardly for a moment while Esme quickly cleaned the mess. Carlisle cleared his throat but Alice let out a small gasp and stared off into nothing. I was a bit on edge, I felt useless and weird to just stand in the living room waiting for nothing, so I plopped down onto a couch and twiddled my thumbs, âAliceâ Jasperâs soft voice was almost inaudible as he whispered her name, his hand was on her waist where he caressed it gently. âItâs Riley..he left Italyâ, who is Riley? I hadnât heard anything about him, was he a friend of theirs? No, not if I was going off of Bellaâs reaction, Carlisle then asked when heâd be here, âTomorrow morning, just as the sun starts rising...But thatâs allâ she leaned more into Jasper, is Riley dangerous? A threat? I feel so confused. Rosalieâs voice sounded mocking when she spoke, âHeâs just another one of the Volturiâs dirty dogs, why doesnât Aro just come here himself?â, good point, Carlisle gave her an apprehensive look, âYou know why Rosalie, Aro probably doesnât think itâs necessary to come himself, he wonât waste his time with such thingsâ, Rosalie scoffed, rolling her eyes, âYeah right, he seemed pretty interested last time, but thatâs not my businessâ, I knew Carlisle was trying to keep calm, âLast time was a totally different story, I believe you do rememberâ he didnât wait for her to say something else, âNow, I think we should all try to relax a bit before tomorrow, go out, enjoy yourselvesâ with that said, he and Esme left through the balconyâs exit, probably to go hunting. Rosalie went her own way while Jasper and Emmett raced each other outside, most likely for a bear wrestling match again, and Alice, she bounced her way over to me, taking her place on the couch beside me. I raised a curious brow in her direction, âYouâre awfully springy Aliceâ. She smiled, leaning in closer to me, she swept the room with her eyes before whispering, âI saw something else (y/n)â, oh, why would Alice be sharing this with me? She seemed to know what I was thinking, âItâs about youâ âMe?â âLet me finishâ I pouted, fine, Alice gripped my hands gently, her smile widening, âDo you know what a mate is?â, I nodded, Esme had told me not long after I was turned, âWell, your mate just so happens to be Riley...Isnât it great!â.
âWhatâ I didnât believe my ears, I frowned , âAlice are you sure? Riley? RIley is my mate?â, she just simply nodded, âBut donât worry, he wonât hurt you (y/n), Iâve-â âSeen it, yeah, great, just great, my mate, who I know nothing about, just so happens to be working for a bunch of sicko vampire overlords who have a creepy obsession with Bella! Oh how wonderfulâ my head slumped into my hands and I wish I could sigh, my heart would be pounding if it could. I felt Alice rub my back, âHey, itâs going to work out just fine, youâll see, but for nowâ she got up, âI have clothes to re-arrangeâ and she was gone, I stared after her, sheâs just going to leave it there? I get nothing else? No other explanation? Great, yeah, Iâm screwed. As much as I wanted to be happy, I couldnât bring myself to embrace it, Edwardo and Bella are going to rip me a new one, and I didnât even want to imagine Rosalieâs reaction. I hope everything turns out okay tomorrow. I really do.
Morning couldnât have come any slower, I spent the whole night sitting on the couch, wandering about everything, no doubt Edward already knew what I knew, but he hadnât said anything yet, I hope he doesnât. At least not to Bella.
Everyone gathered around outside, it was very misty and no human would be able to see even 10 feet in front of them. Bella held Renesmee protectively behind herself, the scent of wet dog invaded my senses and I pulled my mouth into a sneer, I was familiar with this wolfâs scent, his name was Jacob, he came around nearly every day to spend time with Renesmee and I could see her smile when she noticed him. Jacob was in his wolf form and stood beside Bella, on her other side was Edward. Aliceâs voice broke the silence in the air, âHeâs hereâ , and there, not even 15 feet from me, appeared Riley. I took in Rileyâs appearance, he was very attractive, lean but built, like Jasper. He looked wet, did he swim here? From Italy?Â
âLong time no see, Rileyâ Edward said, he seemed slightly uncomfortable, Bella looked like she was about to attack at any moment and I just stood beside Emmett shuffling my feet. Riley shrugged, his eyes swept over us, lingering on me for a moment, I felt a tug in my mind, I wanted to be near him, Rileyâs face scrunched up in confusion for a moment, he mustâve felt it too, but he shook his head before speaking, âI wonât say Iâm happy about it Cullen, but you know why Iâm here, whereâs the girlâ , Jacob stepped forward with a snarl and a loud hiss was shot at him, everyoneâs heads turned to me, and I knew that sound was created by me, âSorry, I donât know what happenedâ I said it so soft, it wouldâve been missed by any human ears. Emmett let out a whistle but Rosalie shot him a look which shut him up, Carlisle stepped forward and gained everyoneâs attention, I felt stupid and embarrassed, âItâs alright (y/n), Iâll explain later,but for now, Bella, if you pleaseâ Carlisle held out his hand to Renesmee, and Bella grudgingly stepped out of the way to let her daughter pass, Riley caught my eye for a second before he turned his gaze to Renesmee, he walked forward, not at all bothered by Jacobâs low growl, and he knelt down in front of her, he looked her over, she was a head taller than him now, âHow much longer before sheâs fully mature?â, Bella answered, âThree yearsâ, Renesmee looked about fifteen , Riley nodded, âHer diet so far? How has her hunger and thirst been?â, âShe feeds more on animals than human food, sheâs had no problems switching between the two and her thirst is under controlâ another nod from Riley. I watched Renesmee closely, she seemed perfectly comfortable with Riley, I wonder why.Â
I think everyone found it weird when she all of a sudden placed her hand on RIleyâs cheek, Riley flinched back, causing Jacob to become aggrivated and step forward, this caused me step forward as well, âBack off dogâ I let out a growl, even in his wolf form I could notice the sudden taken aback look, âJacob, (y/n), back off and calm downâ Carlisle turned to Riley who was watching me, I huffed and did as I was told, but kept my eyes on Jacob, âRiley, donât worry, itâs how Renesmee communicates, through physical touchâ, Riley gave a slow cautious move forward again, â...Alright...â, Renesmee gave him a small smile before placing her hand on his cheek, Riley froze the instant her hand made contact with his skin, she must be talking to him, or showing him her memories, I donât know how her abilities work honestly, I donât think I ever will. Â
The tension in the air seemed to fade slightly when Renesmee pulled her hand away and Riley stood up and...Laughed? What? Bella shot forward and pinned Riley to a tree by his neck, âWhatâs so funny?!â Riley never got a chance to answer because I tackled Bella to the ground the next instant, âDonât..Touch..himâ I donât know what came over me, was it the pull form earlier? Or was it because Riley is supposed to be my mate? I felt a wave of calm wash over me and two pairs of arms pull me up and away from Bella, I looked at Jasper, who was holding my right arm, he nodded his head, âEasy thereâ , i looked to my left to see Emmett who gave me a knowing smirk, I scoffed, âGo eat shi-â ââThatâs enough, I believe we can discuss this inside, if you wouldâ Carlisle motioned for Riley to follow him into the house, Edward had helped Bella up and they were already inside as well as Alice, Rosalie and Esme. Emmett told Jasper to head on in while he talked to me. Emmett crossed his arms, wiggling his eyebrows, âSo, you found yourself a mateâ I nodded, Emmett let out a laugh and ruffled my hair, âThatâs awesome (y/n)!â I brushed his hands away, âNo, Emmett! Bellaâs going to rip me a new one!â Emmett shrugged, âNah, sheâll get over it, she has to eventuallyâ Emmett pulled me inside, I wish I was as carefree as him.
Inside, Carlisle was already explaining some things to Riley, I held my distance and chose to sit on the kitchen counter instead, everyone was scattered between the living area and the kitchen. â...Weâll give you some privacy, but donât try anythingâ. Riley appeared in the kitchen. It was only the two of us now. Yay. Neither of us said a word, we just stared at each other, we were both probably taking everything in from what happened inside. It was I who broke the sience, âSo,uhm, Riley...You swam here?â Riley raised a brow, âYeah, I guess, itâs the fastest way here from Italyâ I nodded biting my lip, âSo...(y/n)...You liking the weather?â, I chuckled, âYouâre asking me about the weather?â , Riley offered a small smile, âYeah, I guess I amâ, I shake my head and look out the large window before looking back at him, âI prefer the cold rainy days above the heat, of course I canât really be affected by it either way now, but you catch my drift...â I hope., Riley took a tentative step forward and I hopped off the counter, we were two feet apart now, Riley stood a head taller than me, âHow did you end up with the Volturi? If you donât mind me askingâ, he explained that after the battle with Victoria and the newborn Army, Edward had spared his life and Riley spent one year in hiding from anyone, but the Volturi had discovered his scent and had tracked him down, at first they were going to kill him, but Aro was intrigued by his ability to sense whether someone was lying to him, so he asked Riley to join his coven in Italy, and now, a month later, here he was, in the house of his newfly found mate and running errands for the Volturi.
It was long since past noon and the sky was darkening, Riley and I had gotton on great after the initial awkwardness faded, and turns out we had a lot in common. Riley had asked me what it was with the whole golden eye thing and I explained to him that it was as a result of the animal diet we were all on, Riley found it interesting since all heâs known was human blood, but I offered to take him out hunting later that night, and then he could experience it himself, he agreed and we talked some more. I learnt that he was turned at nineteen and he was manipulated by Victoria to create a newborn army, but recently heâs been taking his vampire life easy, he didnât hate anyone, but he did really miss his parents, and he knows he canât visit them because they think heâs dead and Aro would kill them. In turn I shared my story with him, and he was pleased to know I was only a year younger than him, well, used to be a year younger in human terms anyway. We were generally just really enjoying the otherâs company and we never left the each otherâs side at all.Â
But the next morning Riley had to leave, I felt dour, I just met my mate, and now he was already being taken away from me. It seemed unfair, but I didnât let it show on my face, but that didnât keep Edward fro reading my thoughts and shooting me glares which I kindly returned, heâs such a stupid shiny volvo owner.Â
It wasnât raining today, which was great since it wouldnât be intensifying the stench that was Jacob Black, he was in his human form today. I had apologised to him last night about almost attacking him and he was fine with it, I hadnât apologised to Bella yet though.Â
Everyone was once again outside, Carlisle had written a note for Riley to give to Aro, it was details about Renesmee. Bella and Edward didnât really say much, but Bella did say sorry to Riley for basically strangling him which he accepted. I hugged him, we were the perfect fit for each other. âGoodbye for now Riley, I hope we see each other soonâ,Riley held up his hand and stuck out his pinky while he smirked, âPinky promiseâ I grinned, interlocking our pinky fingers, âPinky promiseâÂ
And then he was gone.Â
#Riley biers x reader#riley biers#riley needs more love in twilight#Twilight saga#twilight fanfiction#twilight imagine#twilight x reader#twilight#the twilight saga#twilight renaissance#vampire#twilight requests#plus size reader
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Fated one (Seth x Witch)
WARNING! : In this one Seth is older, and I like witches so I chose that. This is a short story.
Hope you enjoy!
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Lily followed her sister on the way to where their uncle asked them to go. They had teleported to a place called forks to visit their uncleâs friend, Carlisle, and his family. Lily walked behind her sister and her sistersâ mate, Henry. She smiled seeing them holding hands and occasionally Henry would lean down and kiss her sister on her head.
âIt is nice out here huh Lily?â Sarah asked as she stopped to see Lily walking behind them. âMm-hm.â She replied, pulling her hood more down her face. âAw, why would you want to hide your face. It's pretty.â Lily just rolled her eyes at her and nearly walked into Henry.
Sarah continued to look concerned for her sister. âStill not sleeping well?â Choosing to ignore that she walked past them with a mumble. âI'm ok.â Pulling her hoodie closer when a strong breeze went past them. âI haven't been sleeping well per se but you can say that I haven't been having many nightmares as of late.â She walked a few steps ahead before noticing that they weren't following.
Taking a peek back she saw that they weren't there. She jerked around to see them ahead of her. âHey!â She yelled, running over to them as they jumped over a big stream with Henry carrying Sarah.
Not wanting to be left behind she jumped over the gap easily and landed behind them once again only they were met with growls from behind. They turned to see a pack of large wolves, upon second glance Lily saw that they are a wolf pack, and seeing how they weren't immediately attacking meant they weren't feral.
âNice doggie,â Sarah whispered as Henry pulled her behind him, staring down the wolves. The tallest black wolf stepped forward with the others following. Lily dropped her hood and faced them, seeing them starting to growl louder as Henry stood in front of her sister.
Lily got in front of them both, glancing at each of the wolves, not noticing that one froze when their eyes met. They watched as they stopped and backed up a little. âAnyone else confused?â Lily heard Sarah whisper; she didn't want to look away from them but still nodded to her sister.
Taking their distance as a good sign Lily took a breath as she stepped a little closer to them, ignoring her sister calling her name. âUm, You are the Wolf pack that is in a truce with the Cullenâs maybe?â She asked as Sarah grabbed her shoulder stopping her from stepping closer. âIs it a good idea to talk to them like they understand?â She questions, jumping when one growled only to be cut off by a bark from the tall black one.
Hiding a smirk, she turned to her sister to see Henry shaking his head at her as well. âHon, they can understand you very well. They seemed to back because they must have seen we or better yet me wasn't a threat to them.â He walked over and wrapped his colder arms around her and pulling her back a bit.
âJust 'cause you're a vampire?â
âBecause I am one. And they don't seem bothered by that.â
She ignored their chat and turned back to them. âOur uncle told us to meet with them because we weren't able to come when they were asking for witnesses. We had something to do so he asked us to come to explain that to them. We donât mean you or them any harm I promise.â Lily declared when they started to look at each other all but one who hadn't stopped looking at her.
The sandy-colored wolf was only a little taller than the smaller wolves but still bigger than them. Seeing it still staring at her Lily gave a small wave and turned to her sister. âShould we go then? I don't think you want to be late.â She said, walking the way to the Cullenâs home. She tried not to laugh when Sarah's eyes went wide. âYou're right!â Grabbing hold of Henry's hand, she dragged him away and then snapped her fingers.
âHey!â Lily shouted as the hoodie she had on disappeared, only to see it in Sarah's hands. When she would have asked for it back, Henry was already running away carrying her. âJerks.â Hiking through the now colder forest, Lily wrapped her arms around her, not paying attention to the sound of leaves crunching behind her, only when she was by the front door and greeted by the Cullenâs did, she even think to turn around to see the wolf pack had followed them. Shivering a little as a breeze blew around them, she saw them start to look concerned for her.
âDid you follow me?â She wondered, finding it sweet. âThey did, they didn't want to see you freeze.â The red-haired Edward said, coming to stand by her with his wife Bella. âBut why? I thought I would be bothering them.â âWho knows.â He shrugged, eyeing one wolf in particular with a smile.
Seeing her sister there she wanted to give her a piece of her mind but was stopped when Henry wrapped his arm around her shoulders, halting her. She went to confront him but he said something that made her freeze and pale. âYou have the mark on your neck.â He whispered to her, making sure Sarah didn't hear him.
She slowly touched her neck and when she felt the mark her fingertips started to tingle, sending an electric current through her. I have my mark? That means... She looked around confused but a little excited, scoping out who it might be. Giving up after a minute to take her hair out of her ponytail and drape it over her shoulder.
âBetter.â
âSure, but you better hope SHE doesn't try to do anything.â He warned, but she already knew about her sister. How she is if she knows something interesting, she won't stop no matter what until she knows all the details.
âShall we go in?â Carlisle called to them, looking worried for the newest girl that arrived. Lily nodded and wrapped her arms around herself as they headed inside.
They were escorted to the living room and sat down when other people came in. all of them were shirtless, tall, and had a tribal tattoo on their right shoulders. Lily who was sitting by the fireplace to get warm, simply waved her hand when she heard her sister greet people. Feeling warm enough she leaned back and relaxed against the chair as Sarah continued to talk to the people. One of their voices triggering a memory of meeting someone that sounded like that. Jerking her head up she saw him, he was as tall as he was in the realm, she met him in. With his infectious smile and warm brown eyes, remembering the times they talk about anything to get her mind off of her not being able to sleep.
Her heart started to pick up speed when she saw a mark on his hand that she believed was the same as on her neck. Curious she turned to face away from them but could still see him from the corner of her eye and gently brushed her fingers against her mark underneath her hair and was excited to see him look down at his hand in confusion.
She tried to calm down her heart at the fact that he was her soulmate but couldn't. Too excited to finally meet him. Someone clearing their throat brought her out of her head to see them all staring at her. âEverything ok?â She nodded, refusing to lift her head in embarrassment.
âJust a little warm, so I'm going to walk around a bit.â She kept her voice monotone even though she felt like jumping in joy. She made it to the forest when she heard someone come up behind her. Sending a quick wave through the ground, she saw that it was Seth. The instant she knew it was him she stopped and slowly turned around to see him grinning at her.
âSorry, I didn't want to startle you.â Looking away she tried to calm down her heart, knowing he could hear it pick up speed. They were silent as she tried to calm it but when he took a step towards her it picked up speed again. âPlease end me.â She groaned, kneeling while covering her face.
Seth laughed as he kneeled in front of her with a grin, happy to finally meet and was over the moon in finding out that she is his imprint. Taking the risk, Lily looked up at him with a red face and gave a small smile. âHi, Seth.â She watched as he in turn blushed and reached an arm out to pat at her head. âHey, Lily. I think we have some things to talk about.â She nodded. âYes, but first.â Taking a breath, she jumped up and then hugged him as she tackled him to the ground while hiding her face in his neck.
âWow!â
He easily caught her and laid them on the ground as she buried her face in his chest. âI'm glad to finally meet you.â She said, her voice muffled a little. That got him to grin and tighten his hold on her. âLikewise.â He sat up and hugged her tighter then let her go and stood up.
She followed him up and grinned. âAnd you are warm.â Hugging him again she leaned more into him. He laughed at that and they both walked away from the Cullenâs home, holding hands.
They talked for a bit about anything and everything and came back to other people arriving. Lily was confused until she saw that they were there cause the Volturi were coming and they needed witnesses. Thatâs why we were asked to come here. Without thinking she grabbed Seth by the hand and hid behind him as they walked into the house to see others greeting Renesme.
Glimpsing into her mind she was seeing what they were and was amazed to find out how Bella gave birth to her while she was still human. Unconsciously she let go of Sethâs hand and went to stand with her family making sure to smile at Seth.
âSo that is why you have asked me to come here with them.â Her uncleâs hard voice had her looking concerned. He always tried to be calm in every situation and to hear that he might be mad made her worried.
âIâm sorry my friend but we had no other choice.â Carlisle started only to be cut off by her uncle.
âNot even to tell me the truth? Did you think I would abandon you and your family if I knew the reason for you asking me to be here? Do you think I am that shallow Carlisle?â He asked, crossing his arms and waited. Lily walked over to her uncle and lightly touched his shoulder, making the anger he was feeling started to slowly fade.
Hear him out.
Giving his shoulder another pat he stared at her before taking a deep breath and turning to face Carlisle again who tried to smile. âExplain this time then. But please know this Carlisle if you had just told us we would have come to help in any way we can.â The others nodded their agreement.
As he was explaining what was going Lily sat on the arm of the couch while her uncle and sister sat down at the said couch. Keeping her gaze to the floor she never noticed the stares from the other people who have come as witnesses.
Taking a moment to look around she noticed that there were other people in the home so she nodded to them and also saw that Seth wasnât there anymore. She turned back to see her uncle talking with Carlisle more calmly now. Not wanting to get in anyoneâs way she hopped off the arm part and walked outside. taking a breath of the cool air.
âYou are new here.â A voice said to her side. It was a younger guy with light brown hair staring at her intensely with his red eyes. âHello. Me and my family are here to help the Cullenâs, I presume you are too?â She questioned, taking a step back when he took a step towards her.
He grinned at that.
âOh, come on I donât bite . . . Well, unless you want me to.â He winked and Lily, mentally rolled her eyes. âNo thank you I am with someone so I would appreciate it if you didnât try to flirt with me.â Saying her piece she turned and walked away, hearing the guy get laughed at.
She kept her gaze on the ground as she walked towards the trees, only to bump into someone. Jerking her head up she went to apologize but then grinned when she saw it was Seth. âHey, sorry for bumping into you.â He smiled back, looking like he took a run. She went to ask him if he went anywhere but he cut her off by holding out a piece of clothing to her.
âFor me?â
âYeah, I saw your sister take your sweater and I donât need to wear them so I thought you wouldnât mind wearing it.â His voice going quieter at the end, starting to look worried but that went away quickly when she put the sweater on and flipped back the hood to see that it ended at her mid-thigh.
âThanks.â She blushed, stepping forward and softly pulling him down to her height by his arm and giving him a peck on the cheek. âI like it.â Leaning back, she giggled, seeing him blush before someone wrapped their arm around his shoulders and put him in a headlock.
Lily watched as he kind of wrestled with the guy who was soon joined by others. âWell, introduce us Casanova!â one called, stopping by them. Seth finally got free and came to stand next to Lily, holding her hand.
Waving with her other hand, looking at them even a girl was with them, she stared at them for a moment and gave a small smile to Lily who returned it. âThis is Lily.â Seth introduced them, each shaking her hand and when it got to the girl Lily smiled again and held out her hand. âI hope you can take care of my brother.â
âI can,â Lily said, confidently with a nod. âHow?â âCause Iâm a witch. We do hocus pocus.â She whispered, playfully wiggling her fingers.
They all talked more when Lily then got tackled to the ground. The force making her let go of Sethâs hand. âOof!â âWhy didnât you tell me!â Her sisterâs voice rang out in her ear. Oh no. She patted her sister and slowly got up. âCause I knew you would be all too excited to meet him.â She mumbled, trying to get out of her sister's tight grip.
Giving up she teleported herself to be beside Seth who was looking in confusion. âMy sister likes to know every detail of something that catches her interest and me finding you, has got her full attention.â She explained, eyeing her sister who was glaring back before smiling and booking it to them again.
âSo who are you? Name? How old are you? When did you find out you are soulmates? Was it love at first sight?â Sarah began with her questions getting a little closer to them until she was nearly in their faces. Her eyes were full of wonder and glee.
âSarah calm down.â
In her questioning, Lily covered her sisterâs mouth and sighed. âCalm down please, I donât want to have to explain this to uncle yet so be quiet-â As she finished speaking she froze as did Sarah. âExplain what to me?â They heard a chuckle before turning to see him standing there with his partner.
Sarah slowly crept away with a sheepish expression. While Lily just looked at her sister before taking a deep breath and letting go of Sethâs hand. âShall we?â Already walking away with her uncle right behind her.
They got a few feet away when Lily put a barrier around them so no one would be able to hear their conversation. While Sarah stood by a now concerned Seth with his pack. âIs she in trouble?â He asked, not looking away from the pair not that far from them.
âShe is not in that much trouble our uncle just wants to talk to her about stuff.â
âStuff like what?â
She went to answer when Henry propped his arm on her head. âNothing too bad just talking about him.â Nodding to Seth. âIâm sure it will be fine.â His voice was monotone.
They all watched as Lily and her uncle talked before they started heading back to them. Once they reached them, Lily walked over to Seth and quietly held his hand as her uncle eyed them before speaking to him. âYou plan to take care of her?â âYes, sir.â He stared at him for a moment but then grinned and held out his hand to him. âYou better stick to that. My niece is dear to me.â Lily giggled at seeing Sethâs expression only for him to grin as well and shake his hand. âYes, sir.â
Their uncle then walked away with their partner, leaving them alone. âSorry,â Sarah whispered to her. âItâs fine it turned out ok.â Leaning more into Sethâs arm she smiled. âOk. Bye then! Talk to you later!â She cheered, pulling Henry away.
âWell, thatâs one way to meet you,â Lily commented, turning to face Seth. Who in turn smiled at her. âBut, I donât mind it since I still get you.â He winked, Lily got on her tiptoe to kiss his cheek again. âI look forward to being with you.â She smiled, happy to finally meet her fated one.
Fin.
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Hoped you enjoyed it, any feedback is appreciated but be nice I am still trying to be entertaining enough.
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2019 Fic Meme
My end of year fic meme, compiled from some old Livejournal fic memes that I do when I write stuff. I do this for fun, because I like looking back at what I have and havenât written, and what keeps popping up again.
Itâs meant to be silly fun, and if anyone else wants to do it, PLEASE DO. I donât want to tag anyone and put pressure on you in case you donât want to/donât think you have enough fic/hate memes.Â
Twilight
12 Days of Fic-Mas (Twilight, WIP) Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, bonus. Twelve days of fic extracts, previews, and drabbles focusing on Alice Cullen. Encompasses Folie A Deux, The Only Girl in the World, JessaminexAlice, Omens, Asylum, The Long Way Around, The Dark and the Unknown, Hybrid, Runaway, All These Broken Things, & The Unexpected Second Life of Mary Alice BrandonÂ
Shadow to Light  (WIP) (Alice/Jasper, AU Angst, PG) In 1918, Jasper lures the newborn known as Mary-Alice back to Monterrey. He is lost to her before it even begins.
Total number of completed stories: Lol.
Total word count: 33,304 words were posted.Â
Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what youâd predicted? Look, I just... 2019 was a wash in so many ways. I played a lot of Fortnite really badly. I would have loved to be able to say Shadow to Light was finished, or that I was posting Hybrid regularly or something, but I canât. I wish, wish, wish I had posted more but alas.Â
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? Outside of Twilight, I dabbled with some reader/Ben in the Umbrella Academy, and I was messing around with some Janet/Wanda in my personal MCU canon. As for Twilight, I think my stuff got a lot darker? Like, weâre down the rabbit hole here, and somehow Alice ended up being the most feared vampire in the Americas? Yeah.Â
And thereâs the Avengers/Twilight fic that is simultaneously three fics and one fic because I cannot make Executive Decisions and I canât decide if I like 1. Alice knowing Bucky from Before Jasper; 2. Alice knowing Hawkeye from when he was a kid in the circus and being how Natasha and Clint got out of Budapest, or 3. the Volturi hooking up with Hydra and ... yeah, I think this one is legit the most second-most one of the most embarrassing things Iâve ever written. (Iâve been filing today, and boy howdy have I written some actual shit.)
Whatâs your own favourite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest? Thatâs like making me pick a favourite child. Iâm always so, so proud of Shadow to Light, and I love The Dark and the Unknown âverse, and Hybrid is just hanging out there, chilling and ugh. My babies <3Â
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? TwilightFicMas was a huge risk! I wasnât sure anyone cared unless I was posting more Shadow to Light, and people were SO nice and enthusiastic. So I guess the lesson is shut up and share more fic? Get out of your own head and spend time in the community because fandom isnât meant to be lonely?
Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year? Iâm starting a graphic design business AND my masters in design in 2020, so I figure fic is going to be my downtime next year. Ideally, I would love to get STL finished, Memento Vivereâs sequel going, and have a few of my shorter pieces posted. I would really love to get some of my original stuff ready for publication, but Iâd be happy studying, running my business, and doing the fic thing for 2020. Â
My best story of this year: Thatâs up to the readers, I guess. Everyone seemed obscenely enthusiastic about The Unexpected Second Life of Mary Alice Brandon, though, and I was not expecting that at all - I was actually upset that I left the âdudâ fic for the last day of FicMas.Â
My most popular story: Shadow to Light. Everyone is so nice and enthusiastic and polite about that one. Iâm not used to it! Fandom for me is usually me sitting in a corner, doinâ my obscure thing, and maybe one or two people will read what Iâm working on.
Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:Â Â I think everyone was super enthusiastic and nice about everything I posted this year. Maybe Folie A Deux? But like, that reflects more on me and the excerpts that I chose to post rather than the fic or the audience itself.Â
Most fun story to write:Â Â The Unexpected Second Life of Mary Alice Brandon because that Alice is so happy; I have this playlist for it that is super upbeat and funky.Â
Hybrid is fun because that Alice likes to torment Jasper. He understands Edward on a molecular level once Alice arrives.Â
Most Sexy Story: The Dark and the Unknown is the front-runner for that, because most of the sexy goings-on in Shadow to Light is very much focused on the psychological and emotional aspects rather than the physical.
Story with the single sexiest moment:Â The Dark and the Unknown. I am still deeply uncomfortable writing sex scenes, so this may be the only one I ever do. The implication of a blow job in Shadow to Light nearly kill me tbh.
The forest behind the school is silent; just her breathing, and the slight wind. No birds or wildlife, none of the hum of the traffic or of the school.
They donât undress more than necessary, her skirt slid to her hips, and he takes her roughly against a tree, flakes of bark falling into the dirt. She is hot and slick, and silent as he fucks her, his fingers digging into her hips, a growl rising in his chest. She is every bit his fantasy; the smell of damp flowers, the sweetness of her flesh, her willing supplication. His fingers tear through the lace of her tights as he grips her thighs, and the heels of her shoes must be bending, sheâs digging them into the backs of his legs so hard.
Most âholy crap, thatâs wrong, even for youâ story:  The Long Way Around makes Jasper and Aliceâs relationship pretty fucked up, and tbh I look back at it and really struggle with how dark it is and how dark Jasperâs character becomes. Thereâs a reason that Shadow to Light is the âofficialâ version - itâs a better balance, and I actually think Maria is a lot more interesting in Shadow to Light as a villain with complex relationships with both Jasper and Alice to the point where none of them really want to have to kill each other, but there is a lot of hate on both sides.Â
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: Thatâs a hard question. Shadow to Light definitely did that because I had to consider what happened when you took Alice out of the picture, and how that changed what happened, and considered the inter-family relationships. So much of canon relies on Aliceâs visions that things canât just happen the same way.Â
Hardest story to write: Shadow to Light isnât easy because I have such a specific idea of how it plays out, how it âlooksâ in my head, and because Alice is so fundamentally different to canon. More innocent when it comes to normal interactions, and so controlled because it meant life or death - but sheâs still got to be Alice in a way that people can recognize. It also has to sound right? If I canât get the right turn of phrase for one scene, it has to be put aside until I can work it out.Â
 All These Broken Things is hard because I started it back in, like, 2014ish and my writing and understanding of the characters and canon has changed so much - plus there are a few sections that came to me quite early in the writing, and now sound really out of place, but are such a strong linchpin for the story that I have to rework them in. Itâs a good kind of hard, though, because Iâve improved so much, my ideas and goals are more refined.Â
Most disappointing: Omens is a little bitch, honestly. I started it for a fic contest and kept going to explore Aliceâs human life, and it doesnât quite feel like my writing? It needs reworking, and be a little less obvious because I think the âfour horsemen of the apocalypseâ is a good theme for a Human!Alice fic.Â
Easiest story to write: Depends on my mood; Hybrid is great when Iâm in kind of a âgirls kicking assâ mood and boot up my action girls playlist.
Biggest surprise: Hybrid started as a love story that was basically âyeah, letâs make this shit super dramatic and overwroughtâ, and turned into this actual story with a huge focus on family and relationships. I canât remember why I decided Aliceâs father had a husband except that I was thinking about small town âothernessâ, and LGBT+ people can and are still considered âotherâ in these spaces.Â
Then you add in Alice and Cynthia who are basically in the same boat but have been separated for their entire lives. Alice has knowledge in her corner, whilst having to fight through foster care, abuse, and hospital; whilst Cynthia has lived a very normal but privileged life as the daughter of a mixed-race same-sex couple in a very small town. I went full-hog with this, and added in an extended family, because I really hated how canon went balls-to-the-wall to isolate Bella from everyone, including Charlie.Â
Like, this thing is a monster, and whilst I plan to sit down and rewrite the outline (which dates back to 2016, and I hate the ending of), I stopped outlining at 65 freaking chapters.Â
Most unintentionally telling story:Â I think this question that still confuses me finally gets a decent answer in The Dark and the Unknown - Jasper is seeing most of it from his perspective, and there isnât a ton of dialogue. Iâve tried to avoid an info-dump, but itâs meant to be quite supernatural in tone, and focusing on vampire senses and gifts enhances that.Â
Story Iâd like to revise:Â All These Broken Things wins that one. Due to the age of the piece, there are some pacing and tone issues in later chapters that are the reason I havenât formally posted it.Â
Story I didnât write but will at some point, I swear: Oh man, I really want to finish A Thousand Years of Solitude, which is a Tanya fic. Iâm really happy with what Iâve got so far, but it sounds smarter and more layered than it really is, so Iâm kind of stuck.Â
Mad World because Romani!Alice is super sassy and taking 0% of Swan or Cullen bullshit - I think 90% of my fic is just me going, âyeah, thatâs not how normal people react.â And Iâm a sucker for gothic horror.Â
What else? Aww, Against A Wall which is AU Human Jasper coming from the shittiest home, and Alice finding him. Itâs meant to be short, and another one I have a really clear idea of how it needs to work.Â
And the one where Aliceâs gift is a sentient power that pushes her to follow it; that Bad Things happen if she doesnât; that Renesmee was always Endgame for Something, and Alice was a key piece to get that result. Or the one where Aro takes Alice as a âguestâ for a period because of Edward and Bella, and Aliceâs gift is basically broken.Â
Good times. I have like 5 years of fic on this computer, we could be here for awhile.Â
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The Hunted
Itâs not so wise if you try to run.
Yet another #JaliceDisaster fic Rated T for language Chapter 1 of ??? inspired by Gâs demonic ass
Sometimes, even for an immortal, time could pass too slowly.
Twenty minutes slowly ticked down to ten, their flight from Seattle quickly approaching the airport. Even without the arrival board informing her of their proximity, Alice knew that in exactly sixteen minutes and thirty-two seconds Edward, Carlisle, and Emmett would be rushing toward her location as fast as they could. An old woman short on patience would have a few choice words for the trio of men as they brushed by her to exit the plane first, but theyâd be too caught up to pay her any mind.
Her attention flickered toward Jasper and Bella, noting how Bella wasnât deciding on any of the restaurants Jasper proposed. It wasnât surprising. Alice was discovering that Bella wasnât one to actually take the initiative and feed herself. She also didnât seem to be the type to worry about her personal wellbeing to any degree.
Alice had a lecture already mentally prepared to dish out to Bella once the girl was a touch more comfortable around her. And once this entire situation was behind them. As Aliceâs best friendâher future, fragile, accident-prone, human best friendâBella had a responsibility to at least attempt to take care of herself while she was still mortal.
Alice quickly pushed that thought away. It would do no good for Edward to pluck a thought about a potentially immortal Bella out of her head while he was under this much stress. She knew exactly which sharp words he would spit at her in reply. She didnât want to hear it.
In a flash, a vision came over her, and immediately Alice felt every bit of assurance over Edwardâs arrival rip itself from her mind. In its place, acute shock.
Standing up quickly, Alice left her bag in the metal-railed chair, entirely forgotten as she took five brisk steps forward.
She didnât have time to hesitate. And she wouldnât have time to run.
She heard him before she saw him. Heavy, even steps grew closer until his scent fell over her. For a millisecond she realized heâd even found himself a pair of shoes to blend in better amongst the humans. Hearing the hard, brisk clips that she knew belonged to him made a heavy feeling form in her chest.
âYou canât touch me here,â she spoke, seconds before he was in her line of sight. âIf you make a scene, the Volturi will be here faster than you can say âhide and seekâ.â
Alice could hear his amused snort over the airport bustle as he walked toward her. The sound of his voice, even the nonverbal noise, made her freeze up internally. Because instantly, she knew he would grab her there if she didnât cooperate. He didnât care about causing a scene. He didnât think twice about the threat of Volturi interference.
His amount of confidence was astounding. And frankly, a bit terrifiying.
When he walked in front of her, she had to look up to meet his eyes. The red was so dark that it was nearly black. Even his presence in this airport unnerved her. All it would take was one child to slip, fall, and scrape their knee before a massacre could begin.
After a few quick flickers, Alice realized with dread that it wouldnât even take that in order for James to rip into the first human that crossed his path. He would hold all these lives hostage as long as it meant heâd get out of there with her.
There was only one way to prevent the blood-bath that Alice was currently visualizing as their solid, set future.
âGo,â Alice spat coldly, âIâll follow.â
James laughed again, looking down on her with a satisfied smile on his face. He paused for a handful of seconds, his eyes raking over her entire frame, and for the first time since she noted his presence, Alice wanted to run. Reaching forward he grabbed her wrist tightly. âIâm sure you will.â
He began pulling her through the airport with a grip so tight she wasnât entirely sure he wouldnât accidentally rip her arm clean off.
âIâm not going to run,â she spoke quietly as they reached the door to the stairwell. Suddenly, they were flying down the stairs, their feet barely touching the ground.
âOh, donât worry.â She could hear the grin in his voice as his grip tightened and suddenly she was yanked into the air. âI know that.â
With his left arm snaking around her throat and his right gripping her horizontally across her torso, he chuckled again. Alice attempted to swallow, his haunting laugh finally filling her with her first taste of actual fear since they found themselves in this situation, and found her airways cut off. Even an attempt at inhaling would be pointless. Without access to one of her vital senses, Alice's fear compounded.
âFinally.â He exhaled the word, a smile on his lips. Just before his action, Alice watched in her mind as he inhaled deeply, his eyes fluttering closed, grinning wickedly.
Within seconds he was out the door, flying too quickly for human eyes to see. They were hardly a flash of bright, reflected light in the Phoenix sun that humans would merely blink their eyes and shake their head at.
Straight toward the desert, James ran.
The ticking red hand of the clock served no true purpose to Jasper as he stared at it across the corridor. He knew it had only been fourteen minutes since theyâd left to go on this âhuman journeyâ. He didnât need the clock to tell him how much time had passed. Every second was vital today, and he would count down every last one.
He also knew that Bella was running on fumes at this point. Letting her nerves keep her senses alit as they sat around and waited. He also knew that this food run was a pointless trip to burn more time. Bella hardly ate, even when prompted. For eating to be her idea wasnât typical.
He let his eyes flicker toward the letters spelling WOMENâS in big, white print and allowed himself a sigh. He shouldâve volunteered to stay behind and let Alice accompany the human on her errand. Sure, he could keep her calm when she was beside him, but he was not going to be able to fetch her if she had some sort of breakdown in one of the bathroom stalls. He contemplated running back and fetching Alice to swap places with her, and suddenly hated the fact that they only had one phone between them.
A mother guiding a stroller pushed by him, apologizing to him swiftly even as he effortlessly moved out of her way. He watched as she turned around and used her back to push into the bathroom. It took her several seconds to align the large stroller and fully back herself into the roomâan additional, larger child was wailing, yanking at her arm as the woman attempted to push past the door.
It gave him something to watch for a handful of seconds. But beyond the spectacle before him, he let his eyes wander into the large airport bathroom. Almost instantly his eyes found the sign across the room.
CAUTION: STAIRS AHEAD
In seconds, Jasper was moving. He felt like such a fool. Of course Bella didnât want to eat. Of course she wanted Jasper to take her to the bathroom. Aliceâs visions of Bellaâs motherâs house and the old dance studio suddenly all made sense. The girl was making a break for it.
He was confident that she wouldnât get far. She couldnât. It had only been four and a half minutes since sheâd entered the bathroom. There was no way she couldâve gotten very far. Not without tripping over her own two feet and injuring herself.
That thought caused Jasper to slow down, his run slightly more human-like now. It would be just his luck to be left in charge of Bella for twenty minutes and find her, bloodied up from an escape attempt.
It would be even worse if it didnât end up simply being an attempt.
He caught her scent again on the second floor. Heâd been running through the airport for almost two minutes and the second her scent crossed his path he was on her trail.
Unfortunately, the trail led directly out the door and toward the shuttle stop. No busses or vans (or Bella) in sight.
Shit, he thought to himself. Shit shit shit.
âMissed the shuttle by five minutes,â a middle aged man informed him, his voice far too chipper for Jasperâs liking. âAnother one should be here in about fifteen minutes though. Itâs not tooââ
Jasper didnât wait for the man to finish his conversational piece before heâd turned around and was making a beeline for Alice. He wondered if she saw Bella run. Maybe she was tracking the wayward girl already and theyâd be able to stop her before heading wherever it was she was going. It was embarrassing enough that heâd lost the human. It would be asinine if Alice also had let her slip through her sight. There was no way.
Finally, exiting the stairwell onto the level where the arrivals emerged, Jasperâs feet skidded to a complete stop.
Without warning, panic erupted within him, and he was rushing forward again, only barely attempting to move at a human pace. He didnât care that people were staring. He didnât care about the fact that heâd lost the girl. He didnât care about anything except the fact that Aliceâs bag was sitting, all alone, on the chair heâd left her on.
And that Jamesâ scent was everywhere.
Suddenly nothing else mattered. Not the human that got them into this mess. Not the charade that heâd been holding together for decades mainly for her. Nothing mattered except for the fact that James had been here, and now Alice was gone.
âJasper!â It was Edwardâs voice that called out to him across the room, momentarily pulling him out of his disbelief. There was no doubt that heâd also noted Jamesâ scent. With the boy quickly approaching, Jasper turned to look at him. Maybe heâd jumped to conclusions too soon and Alice had went straight to the gateâno doubt she would find a way to do it. It was Alice, after all.
But the redhead was alone. Heâd rushed ahead of both Carlisle and Emmett and was now barreling toward him. Looking every bit as panicked and confused as Jasper could feel off of him. And suddenly, Edward was the absolute last person Jasper wanted to see in that moment.
If you take another step closer, he thought loudly, pointedly, and angrily, this charade is as good as dead.
Edward stopped, eyes wide and taken aback by Jasperâs sudden mental declaration, and within seconds, Jasper watched as he flickered through Jasperâs volatile thoughts. As he reviewed the happenings of the last several minutes, his face fell, and then suddenly he adopted Jasperâs projected fury as his own.
âWhere is Bella?â He snarled, his shaking hands clenching into fists as he took a few deliberate steps forward.
Baring his teeth, Jasper lunged.
Read on AO3 // FF.net
#jalice#Alice cullen#jasper hale#twilight saga#twilight fanfiction#I'm only posting the first chapter on here#every other one will be linked straight to AO3 or FF.net#so go put alerts on there if you want that notification yall!
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An Ogre Love Affair
Here it is! The Shrek/Twilight crossover that absolutely no one asked for! I added in a bunch of bullshit so it would make sense that shrek and edward existed in the same universe. Heavily inspired by all of the twilight fanfiction I read at 14 years old xoxo
Genre:Â fluff
Wordcount: ~1800
Shrek was at another of the Cullenâs infamous parties â the perks of being a non-human creature. Bodies sway in front of him in a variety of clothing â short dresses and bright shirts. The Cullens had just come back from another battle against the newly evil Volturi and were celebrating their victory. Shrek had been part of the mission, in the safety of his own home in Far, Far, Away. The Cullens would often write him to ask about battle strategy, never asking him to actually join the fight. The Volturi had learned of Far, Far, Away, and believed the creatures that lived there would expose the magical realm to humans. Their plan was to eradicate all magic beings other than vampires and werewolves, as they believed the others were too wild to be controlled. The Cullen family fought tirelessly for a little more than a year to protect a land they had never visited, had hardly heard of before the Volturi planned their execution.Â
Shrek stopped dancing with his friends and walked over to the bar for another drink. Leaning on the bar was the amazing Edward Cullen, a glass of whisky in his hand. His eyes have been Shrek all night yet he still hadnât said anything. It wasnât a secret that the relatively young vampire was anxious to date again after his divorce with Bella. She broke his heart, but years had passed and he knew he deserved love again.Â
The bartender hands Shrek another glass of coke â more than one glass of alcohol was not a good idea, especially around Alice Cullen who had been trying to play match maker for him for nearly a year now. Shrek tended to become aggressively flirty when drunk, and really wanted to sleep around less. He was newly divorced, just like the Cullen vampire, and was trying to get out of his phase where he slept with anything that would give him a second glance. Shrek wanted to move on, to have a stable and healthy relationship with another creature. Edward just so happened to catch his eye.
Shrek gives the vampire a smile. âYou gonna stand there staring at me all night, or are you actually going to ask me to dance?â
Edwards cheeks flush red, which should have been impossible considering he was dead and has no blood. âUmmmâŚâ Edward struggled to answer him. He had been intently watching Shrek the entire night, because Shrek was the one person other than Bella whose mind was completely closed off to him. He had to rely on conversation and body language to determine what the ogre was feeling, which was a challenge for him.Â
âCaught red-handed staring Iâm afraid, Cullen,â Shrek laughs, taking a sip of his drink.
âIâm sorry,â Edward murmurs in that frustrating way he does, moving away from Shrek and towards the rest of the party guests. Shrek sighs, staring into his coke. With his large ogre head and inability to talk sweetly to shy vampires, he figured heâd be alone for a long while.Â
âDamn, what did you do this time Shrek?â None other than Shrekâs best friend Donkey stands on his hind legs in the place of the bartender, a furry eyebrow raised. How a creature with hooves was supposed to make drinks no one knew, but would not risk the wrath of his fire-breathing wife by asking questions.
âI asked him if he was going to ask me to dance.â Shrek donât take his eyes of off Edward who was now standing next to his siblings Alice and Jasper across the room. They were whispering furiously, in the way that vampires do. âI must have scared him off, the alcohol must have made me too cocky.â
âYou didnât scare him, you ogre,â Another voice had joined the conversation. Shrek turned and saw Emmet, another vampire of the Cullen clan. Emmet was actually closest to Shrek of the vampires. His large stature and friendly nature reminded him of an oversized Donkey that also wanted to suck his rare, Ogre blood. Â
âEvery time we would write to you in Far, Far, Away he would anxiously wait by the window for your returning carrier pigeon. Whenever we throw an event like this, he pesters Carlisle about whether or not youâve RSVPâd, or if your invitation has even made it to you. He likes you, he just didnât expect someone like you to like him back.â Emmet and Donkey laugh, seeing that Shrek still hasnât stopped looking at Edward.
âLike him back?!â Shrekâs ogre voice feels all too loud over the music as he spins to look at Donkey and Emmet. His glass clinks back aggressively onto the bar surface, often times Shrek forgets his own strength.
 âOf course I like him back! Why wouldnât I? Heâs gorgeous and funny and loyal and has beautiful golden eyes and sparkling skin and-â
âMaybe you should tell him that yourself, you dumb ogre,â Donkey laughs, gesturing behind the ogre with a hoof.
Shrekâs stomach drops. His cow-sized heart began to beat faster, his hands perspiring, and if his skin wasnât green it would be reddening rapidly. He turns on his heel, seeing golden eyes that appear lit from within.Â
âWords. Say something to him!â Shrekâs inner monologue screams. But he canât, heâs uncharacteristically speechless.
Edward smiles, the action lighting up his vampire face. âYou gonna stand there staring at me all night, or actually talk to me, Ogre?â
Shrek take a deep breath, shaking his head. âI believe that was my line, Cullen.â
 From the corner of his eye he can see Donkey and Emmet walking away, giving the two some privacy but staying close enough to hear their conversation.Â
âEdward, call me Edward.â The vampire holds out his hand for the ogre to take as slow song bleeds from the speakers. His smile is now a full-fledged vampire smirk.Â
Shrek nods, letting himself be lead to the dancefloor by the taller creature. He wanted to pull away, to run out the front door all the way back to Far, Far, Away. The last time Shrek had slow danced was at his wedding with Fiona, and even that had been a trainwreck. To slowly dance with his crush in front of all of his friends and allies? A nightmare.Â
Edward watched the emotions run across the ogreâs face.Â
âDo you know how to waltz?â The vampire murmured. Shrek shook his head and looked down at his large ogre feet, embarrassed.Â
âI guess Iâll have to teach you, then,â the old vampire responded, a smirk on his pale face.Â
âRight, you're gonna want to place both of your hands just above my waist.âÂ
Edward instructed the adjacent ogre. âNot that low.â He smirked, pulling up the hands Shrek had wrapped around Edwardâs buttocks. The fire beneath Shrekâs cheeks raged as he cursed his uncoordinated hands for groping the vampire in the middle of the dance floor.
âNow we're just gonna slowly step back and forth within rhythm to the song, okay? Nothing too tricky, youâve got this,â The ogre simply nodded with the same blood rushed cheeks as Edward placed his arms around Shrekâs thick green neck. They swayed together for about two songs before Edward laid his head on Shrekâs shoulder.
âIâm sorry I walked away earlier,â Edward murmurs in the ogreâs ear, gently tightening his hold on him as they continued to waltz.Â
Shrek felt a chill down his fleshy back. Heâd imagined being this close to the vampire before, but he had never thought it would actually happen. âWalked? You ran, Cullen, with full vampire speed. Fled the scene like a criminal.â
âI was asking Carlisle to put on a slow song for us.â Edward lifted his head, staring down at Shrek with his smirk. âBesides, I was a criminal really, after what I heard from Emmet and Donkey it sounds like Iâve stolen your heart.â
âOhâŚâ Shrek struggle to maintain coherent thoughts as Edward led him around the dancefloor. Shrek struggled to think of a clever response, his previous playboy attitude seemed to have disintegrated once the vampireâs arms pulled him close.Â
âNot so cocky now, Ogre?â Edward murmurs again, spinning the couple around with the grace only a vampire could have.
âWhoop! Get in there, Shrek!â Donkey calls from the other side of the dancefloor with his dragon wife. âCareful, Ogre, heâs still a vampire.â Donkey, as per usual, burst the romantic bubble that surrounded the two creatures.Â
Shrek takes Edwardâs hand, leading him onto the balcony. âLetâs leave that ass in here.â âBe safe!â Donkey yells after them both.
Shrek shakes his head, laughing and leaning on the balcony rail. âYou should have told me you liked me sooner, Cullen.âÂ
âWellâŚâ Edward runs a hand through his red-brown hair. His muscles ripple through the thin fabric of his shirt. âI didnât think youâd like me back, Shrek. Youâre amazing.â
Shrek laughs in disbelief, taking Edwardâs hands in his own and staring him deep into his vampire eyes. âEdward Anthon Masen Cullen, Iâve liked you since I first saw you all those years ago.â
âYou first saw me when I was in battle,â Edward sighs. âKilling other vampires.â
âKilling the enemy, Cullen.â Shrek takes a step towards Edward, his confidence slowly returning.Â
âIt was still killing a living creature, Shrek. No matter how many people my actions save, I still mourn the deaths of those I must kill,â Edward shakes his head, eyes clouding over. Shrek knows heâs thinking of the lives heâs ended protecting Bella, the woman who broke his heart and left him.Â
âDonât forget, vampire, you also saved Far, Far, Away, therefore you saved me,â
 Shrek whispers, taking another step towards the vampire and squeezing his hands gently. âI wouldnât be here without you. Do you remember when the Volturi said that all storybook characters were a threat to their way of life? And that all of Far Far Away should be burned in order to keep us from being known by humans? You didnât have to risk your life to battle ancient vampires for a bunch of strangers, but you did. And I tried my hardest to stop myself falling for you afterwards, but it didnât work. So here we are.â
Edward doesnât say anything, holding the ogreâs gaze. Shrekâs gaze falls to the vampireâs lips just as his falls to the ogreâs.
Shrek chortles in his ogre way, a smirk forming on his green lips. âYou gonna stand there staring at me all night, or are you actually going to kiss me, Cullen?â
Edward laughs quietly, as a vampire does, dipping Shrek to the side with his vampire strength. His gold eyes sparkle as he winks. âI thought youâd never ask, Ogre.â Edward places his death cold lips against Shrekâs, the sound of applause sounding from inside Cullen mansion.
fin x
#shrek fanfic#shrek fanfiction#twilight fanfic#twilight fanfiction#twilight imagine#shrek imagine#edward cullen fanfic#edward cullen imagine#edward cullen fanfiction#fluff imagine#twilight fluff#edward cullen fluff#fanfiction#trash#crack fic#romance#shrek#twilight#edward cullen#vampires#ogres#vampire fanfic#vampire imagine#twilight!au#shrek!au#idk fanfiction lingo im trying my best here#twilight one shot#edward cullen one shot#edward one shot#shrek one shot
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Freedom chapter 1
Two Years Later
Aro Volturi tapped his long, pale fingers on the hardwood of the massive table in the room. Of course, being the man that he was, he took the head seat for himself. The eyes of the all the major crime families were staring at him with waiting expressions. Well, almost all of them. One family was purposefully absent from today's festivities.
He looked out of the large window at the January snow that was falling softly around the house. It was just another reminder of the gray days that had become Aro's life.
Things were changing in the underground world of crime. Aro inspected all of the young faces around the table and scratched his jaw. It was easy to see why this generation got so much out of life. They were the 'shoot first, ask questions later' type. It wasn't necessarily Aro's style, but if it got the job doneâŚ
They had the look of youth that Aro envied: the shiny hair, the chiseled faces, the bright eyes, the enthusiasm for life. Those features had long left him. He now had white, ashy hair, a sunken face, and a snappy attitude. He was revered as the older, wise grandfather of the group.
It had been four, hard years for Aro Volturi and on some days, he didn't know how he was still living. He didn't even want to live anymore.
His sons were gone. One of the only things that Aro was proud of was his offspring, Felix and Demetri, and they were erased from this earth like nothing more than dust. They were taken by the cold hands of his enemies and things would never really be the same for him. The Volturi line had ended. Of course, his brothers had sons, but they were worth shit. Who was going to take over the family when Aro passed? It was up in the air and caused massive disputes at every gathering.
Every day for the past four years, Aro had thought about his sons and who was responsible for their demise.
Bieber.
The word had been engrained in his brain since he was born. His father had hated them, his grandfather had hated them, and Aro hated them. He despised them. They caused him so much strife, and it was because of them that he was never truly successfulâas much as he should have been, anyway. This was a race and he always came in second.
The Biebers had taken everything from him and he would never forgot it.
"Why are we here?" Shinobu Moioka asked from down the table.
"I have a proposition for you all," Aro's old voice croaked. He was pushing sixty-five and a lifetime of smoking had definitely taken its toll on him.
"We don't have all day." James Denali impatiently checked his watch. "I have things to do."
Aro sometimes forgot that these guys moved fast in life. In and out; that was the way of the world now.
"I need help," he confessed. "As you know, I'm in a⌠slight predicament."
It was no secret that the Volturis had lost a lot of their standing within this group. Aro hated admitting it, though.
"Help?" Sinhobu asked, obviously irritated that he had been pulled away from his daily dealings with the scum of the earth trafficking drugs, shipping slaves from country to country, disrupting foreign governments; whatever the hell he did.
"Yes." Aro's joints creaked as he stood up from his seat. "Gentlemen, I think that the time has come for a revolution of sorts."
All the men around the table sat up a little more in question.
"The Biebers," he said the name with disdain, "have taken too much. Not just from me, but from all of us. Carlisle has set up a network that's impossible to penetrate and I'm tired of him taking control of what's rightfully ours."
Aro's feet began carrying him around the room, his hands behind his back in an authoritative manner. No one dared speak, because his anger was evident and created a palpable tension in the air.
"We need to hit him where he's weak and I won't stand for failing this time. His reign needs to be ended." Aro decided to keep the details of his plans vague. He wasn't quite sure if they could all be trusted and he was still working things out in his head.
"This doesn't sound good." A short man down the table said quietly.
"I'm not forcing you to join me, but I know most of you want to. He's bulldozed his way over this country and we must be the ones to stop him." Aro continued.
"He's too powerful," James said, almost scared to even talk. "That whole family is too powerful."
"But they're not invincible," Aro concluded. "You, of all people, should want some kind of part in this. Look at you. You can barely walk without that cane and your family has nothing⌠All because of them."
James didn't deny it. How could he? It was true.
"Everyone here should be more than willing to help me. I'm not saying we take them down tomorrow or even destroy what they have completely, becauseâlet's be honestâwe all need Carlisle and his empire. But we can weaken him at least. Weaken him enough so he can't recover."
"So you're proposing a revolution?"
Aro smiled evilly, maliciously, dangerously. Nothing more needed to be said. The grin spoke without words.
"And how do you plan about doing this?" Shinobu crossed his arms. "Seems to me like you've tried for decades and nothing ever seems to get done."
There was a murmur of agreement around the table.
"Gentleman, you let me worry about that. I just need to know that, when the time comes, I will have your backing. I need support."
"What do you have in mind?"a man at the end of the table asked in a thick British accent. Aro couldn't recall his name off the top of his head. "I happen to like the Biebers. Just because they're better than you, I don't think we need to annihilate them."
There were a few snickers around the room. The most distinct one came from the large bodyguard that British Man brought with him. He let out a hearty chuckle that he tried to disguise as a cough.
Aro's body might have been old, but his reflex to pull a gun had never been weakened in all these years.
He quickly withdrew a large 9mm pistol from out of nowhere and without even thinking, shot the bodyguard directly in the shoulder. It was a perfect shot, through and through. Red liquid splattered the dark wall behind the man and he fell to the floor with a whimper of pain. British Man just looked at his bodyguard with disgust and shook his head, letting him roll on the ground in a pool of his blood.
"Does anyone else think this is fucking funny?" Aro asked, furious that someone had dared to laugh at him. "This is not funny!"
No one said anything and just looked at each other with slightly worried eyes. The same thought was going through all of their heads:Â This man had gone crazy.
"We're going to call this a day," Aro said gruffly, slamming the gun down on the table. "I'll be in touch with everyone soon."
There was a butler waiting at the door to escort the patrons of the room out and most definitely clean up the mess left behind by the blood. Aro didn't even feel like bidding anyone a cordial farewell. He climbed the stairs, the wood nearly cracking under his heavy feet, eagerly trying to get into his office and away from the frustrating youth downstairs.
"Who do they think they are?" He slammed the door of his office shut. "Don't they know who I am?"
"What happened, Uncle Aro?" his niece, Vienna, asked from her spot behind his large desk. Her shimmering blond hair shinned off of the lights in the room.
"Oh, Vienna. I didn't know you were here." He calmed down almost instantly.
"Are you okay?" She rushed towards him. "Your face is all flustered and I heard the gun downstairs."
"Everything's fine, dear." He kissed her forehead. "Just a little scuffle."
"Come sit down." She helped him to his seat.
Aro gulped down the glass of water that Vienna handed him. She looked just like him in every way; so much, in fact, that many people thought she was his daughter. She might as well have been. He had raised the girl since she was five, after his youngest sister died from a horrible drug habit.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Aro asked, after taking a minute to calm down.
"I miss you out here in the suburbs," his niece pouted. "The city is getting boring without Demetri and Felix."
A small pang of hurt attacked Aro's chest at the sound of his sons' names. It was quickly replaced by anger for the ones who killed them. That anger would quickly be alleviated.
"I know, sweetheart. Would you like me to buy you another penthouse?" he suggested to ease her pain.
"No, that's okay." Vienna picked at her nails. "I'm occupying myself with the male population of Chicago. They're very generous." She grinned evilly, identically matching her uncle's in the boardroom not five minutes earlier.
Aro shook his head, only slightly embarrassed by his niece's actions in the city. There was a new story every week about her in the society circle. He chose to ignore them.
"I just came by to check on you," she said sweetly. Behind all that sugar was a layer of malice that Aro had purposefully instilled in her. "You're looking sicker every day."
"I know," he sighed. "I'm not cut out for this fast-paced life anymore."
"You and Aunt Athenadora should move to the Bahamas or something. Get away from all this snow." Vienna shivered as she put on her coat. "And don't look so sad all the time."
"I didn't think I was." He shrugged innocently.
"I can see it in your eyes." She came over to his side of the desk and kissed his cheek. "I know that look. You're too old to be running around, planning takeovers. Just rest."
"I will." He smiled. They both knew he was lying.
Her long legs carried her toward the door, "Bye, Uncle Aro."
He was finally alone to drown in his own thoughts"
There were many things that he could be doing, but he purposefully chose not to. Instead, he opened the bottom drawer of his desk and pulled out the three black and white photographs.
His hands were shaking in fury as he reviewed them for what felt like the millionth time. They came from a set of about one hundred, but they were almost the same.
Three peopleâtwo men and a womanâwere playing in the waves on a beautiful beach. If the photographs had color, they would be dominated by sparkling blues, intense greens, and the bright yellow sunlight that illuminated every inch of the sand.
They all had smiles on their faces and didn't have a care in the world. Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched.
The youngest of the men was eighteen. He had a short mop of hair that was styled in that 'childlike, don't care' kind of way. Aro knew that his eyes were blue and his hair, brown. He was very fit for a young adult, obviously taking after everyone else in the family in their race for perfection. His torso was sculpted and his arms were rippled. He was tall, but not too tall; thin, but not too thin.
The sole female in the picture was gorgeous. No matter how much Aro hated her, there was no doubt that she was stunning in every way. From her long, mahogany hair, to her statuesque figure and her delicate facial features, she was incredibly beautiful. Her age was twenty-two, but she looked a lot younger. Her eyes were covered with sunglasses, and a beaming smile was plastered on her face as she watched the men wrestle in the water.
A tiny bikini covered her body. Aro traced the curve of her legs and traveled up her flat stomach, ending at the swell of her round breasts. A familiar hormonal jolt rang through his body at the sight of such a lovely woman. Aro and his wife hadn't been intimate in years, so basically anything turned him on nowadays. Some might call him an "old dirty bastard". He didn't mind that title. This girl especially brought out the physical lust in him that he hadn't felt in a while.
He shook his head, not wanting his true reason for examining these pictures to be lost in a cloud of desire.
Aro put the first picture down and picked up the second one. The woman was now in the arms of the older man, being thrown around like a small ragdoll and completely enjoying herself.
This man was the real reason for Aro's wrath, his hate for basically everyone and everything.
The man was tall, and Aro once again envied the youth of the world as he saw the man's toned body. Aro once had muscles like that. The man's hair was disheveledâas always. His face held a rare smile, his skin was tanned, and the outside world had no effect on him. Aro had never seen the man with such freedom. He was unwound and relaxed. It was slightly unnerving.
"Did you really think you were going to get away with this?" Aro asked huskily, his voice thick with fury. "Your father might be crafty, but you will never beat me, Justin." He took a pencil from his desk and stabbed the man's face through the photograph.
He set the image down and tried to decide on the final aspects of his plans, which was quickly coming together. They needed to be meticulously calculated, and that was going to take time.
There was a sense of freedom amongst all three of them in the picture. That was what made Aro angriest. Why should his sons be buried in the ground when the real criminals were frolicking on some fucking beach? They deserved his pain. All of them deserved to hurt as he did in those dark days.
Aro had made a promise when he received these pictures that he was going to take that freedom away and crush it in his hands if it was the last thing he did.
Justin POV
"Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery."Â Wayne Dyer
All things Twilight related belong to Stephanie Meyer.
The hot sun beat down on me from above as I ran through the sand, barefoot and shirtless. My earbuds played loud , fierce, rock music in my ears and I was able to tune everything out. The picturesque landscape passed me by in a blur as my pace picked up with every step.
This was the time of day that I loved.
Even though it was only eight in the morning, the Brazilian sun was up and ready to greet the world. It was hot, but not unpleasant because the thick sea breeze was wafting around my head like a whirlwind. Even in February, the tropical atmosphere made the temperature a constant seventy.
I pushed myself harder during my run and just like every morning, my lungs burned painfully from the exertion of my body. It felt good, so I went faster. My legs gave out sometime after the fifth mile. It was surprising that I didn't already lap the island by now. It was only but so big.
I collapsed on the hot sand and controlled my breathing, blowing long streams of air into the cloudless sky.
I was going to turn thirty this year, and my body was definitely feeling it.
Thirty!
How did I get so old?
I had heart issues from my poor diet and the drugs, my anxiety issues from my OCD, lung issues from the smoking, and a whole slew of other things that I didn't really care about. One new addition to my ailments was a bad back, which I acquired from a motorcycle accident about a year ago. It wasn't too serious, but it caused me a lot of pain sometimes. The doctor said I wasn't bad off enough for surgery, so I just suffered through it on those rare days when my spine decided to be a bitch.
I guess a bad back was the least of my worries. Technically, I wasn't even alive.
As the rest of the world knew it, I was dead, but of course that was a complete fabrication. It had been three years that I had been living this lie and to be honest, it got better every day. A life without restrictions was one I never thought I would be accustomed to, but it suited me well.
I had to leave my entire life behind. I didn't care about the cars, or the money, or the houses, or anything else. When my father sent me away, what hurt the most was losing Selena. She had become everything to me, and even though I didn't know it then, she was my livelihood. After I left, I had nothing to care for and nothing to care about. It was hell on earth
I guess it was ironic that I had to give my life away in order to get Selena back, though. Looking back on it, I had never really treated Selena nearly as well as I should have.
It hurt every day I had to spend without her. It made me feel so guilty that she lost everything and I was just basically hiding out. I was disgusted with myself. I was a free man, and she had to rot in jail for two years for my mistakes. I pleaded with Carlisle, begged him to let me turn myself in. When we realized that she was actually going to be staying in jail for a while, I couldn't take it. I literally went insane.
I left the bitterly cold mountains of Switzerland with every intention of getting her released. After Carlisle calmed me down, I was shipped here to the humid paradise of Brazil. This island wasn't on any map and specifically bought for its secrecy. It was my prison until Selena got here.
After she arrived, well, that was⌠a rough year. The aftermath of her anger was something I had never experienced. She had so much to say and never stopped saying it. Not that I blamed her.
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
I knew that better than any person on the planet. I didn't think Selena would ever forgive me. How could she? I had left her, abandoned her, when she needed me the most. I was the lowest piece of shit imaginable. But Selena had a good heart. I never thought she would even give me the time of day. Thankfully, I was wrong.
Selena had me by the balls after that first yearâshe still did. I would be forever in her debt, not only for giving me a second chance, but also for keeping our secrets. I joked that she was made to be a mafia wife because even in her darkest hour, she never revealed a thing.
Selena and I fought everything out in those few months after she got here. We screamed and yelled until our lungs throbbed. She never once mentioned leaving the island, though, so I knew she was serious about us. If she wanted to leave then I would let her, but she told me it wasn't even an option.
"We're going to make it until one of us is dead! We've worked too hard to just let everything crumble. I'm not giving up."
Those were her exact words.
Selena told me that after a point, she had to let go of her anger or it would eat her up inside. She lived by the "forgive, but not forget" mentality. She was so mature to be so young and I was fortunate for that.
Our relationship now, two years later, was stronger than I remembered it ever being. I realized that there were few things in this world that could kill me. Living without Selena was one of them. I had to take anything that came with that.
She was feistier than ever and still gave me shit every time I made her mad. I think she was over keeping her emotions in. The time for that had passed. I guessed I rubbed off on her more than I knew. We were both extremely opinionated and that, mixed with our stubbornness, was a recipe for disaster.
Some might ask how the hell we could stand each other or even be in a relationship, let alone a successful one. I didn't question it. I just rolled with everything that came my way because above all else, we loved each other.
We fought like cats, but always made up quickly. I knew that at the end of the day, arguments didn't matter. Who really cared if the toothpaste cap wasn't screwed on or the dishes weren't done? We just argued because it was our strange way of having sex⌠in addition to the physical.
Now, our lives were almost perfect. We didn't have anyone to answer to. That was probably the best part. No ties to the real world so this sense of freedom settled over my life, which was slightly disconcerting at first, but I quickly got used to it.
We lived our lives on and around this island, making trips to Rio whenever we wanted. No one knew the old us, and we had completely new identities. It felt so liberating to be dead.
"Hey, old man!" I heard a deep voice yell from down the beach and even over the music in my ears, it was clear as a bell.
"Urg," I groaned, "leave me alone."
I turned my head to see Alec racing towards me, hands flailing and that damned permanent smile on his face. I spoke too soon with the whole 'no one to answer to' thing. My childâfor lack of a better wordâwas always around.
He was eighteen now and thought he owned the world. He might have grown in size and age, but he was still a kid. He had come with Selena to the island. Before that, I was here by myself.
I made a very dangerous call to him, and only him to get her before Carlisle did. At first, he didn't believe that it was me on the other side of the phone. After all, I was supposed to be dead. I sent a plane for him and he spent about a week down here just looking at me. A couple days after that, he said he wanted to stay. He called Carlisle and told him what was really happening, still keeping the fact that he was going to get Selena, a secret. He came back with her and never looked back. He loved it here just as much as we did. Carlisle told everyone he was away in school in France, I think. He went back to Chicago maybe once a year, usually for Christmas. Only four people on this earth knew what he was really doing.
Selena and I were raising Alec as if he were our own. His physical age might be eighteen, but his mental age was a lot younger. That wasn't his fault, though. He had spent his entire childhood locked up. He never had the chance to grow. He surely was doing a lot of that now.
Almost every day, he was asking me about sex and being ruled by his hormones. On those occasions we traveled to Rio, Alec made use of it, soaking up all the female attention he could. The ladies loved him, and he would smile his bright smile at all of them. He was a seemingly normal teenager. He tried to sneak liquor out of the locked cabinet in the kitchen, took the boats out for joyrides, trashed the house when Selena and I stayed in the city; as normal as can be.
He was like a curious frat boy that I was trying my hardest to raise right. Right, being anything that wasn't me. I hadn't turned out too well. I made a promise to myself that he would be the good Bieber kid. At least Carlisle could be proud of one of us.
"Did you hear me?" Alec panted heavily, his brow drenched in sweat as he plopped down on the sand next to me.
"I heard you, I just chose to ignore you." I shut my eyes, letting the sun soak into my skin.
"You didn't wake me up for our run."
"You were snoring like a bear when I went in to wake you up. Last time I did that, you kicked me in the balls."
"And then you locked me out of the house for a week." He huffed. "I had to sleep outside⌠in the rain!"
"Serves you right." I chuckled at the memory. "Was Selena up when you left?"
"Yeah, she said you have to hurry up and get back because she's making breakfast."
"I'm surprised you left with cooking food in the house."
"I timed it perfectly. When we get back, everything should be ready." Even with my eyes closed, I could almost see the smile on his face at the thought of breakfast.
"You're so fat." I rolled away from him and started stretching my muscles for the run back.
"You're just jealous because my eight pack is coming in. Do know how hard it is to get this?" Alec ran his hand over the lower, sculpted portion of his stomach. "I was doing crunches for a year."
"And you still don't look as good as me," I gloated.
"I bet I could still beat you back to the house." He took off, kicking his feet in the air, leaving a cloud of dust in my direction.
A second was all I need to get myself into high gear and race after him. It didn't take me long to catch up, and even though I was going to be in so much pain when I woke up tomorrow, I would suffer for the bragging rights.
By the time we got back home, we were both gasping for air and clutching at our knees.
"I win," he exclaimed and leaned up against a palm tree. "I win."
"Like hell you did. I smoked your ass."
"Fuck you." He shoved my shoulder. "I was ten steps in front of you by the time we reached the path. Don't lie. It's okay that you lost."
"I didn't lose," I snarled.
"Maybe next time your old legs will work better for you." He patted my back and almost skipped inside. He was always so fucking happy. I didn't understand it.
I jogged to the side of the large beach house, which had been our home for the past two years, and striped out of the shorts I was in. I spent a couple minutes in the outdoor shower, washing the pesky sand from my body and hair.
That was the one bad thing about living on the beach. The sand was everywhere. I had got used to it somewhat, but when it stayed on my skin for too long, I got very antsy.
After I was certain that my body was free from sand, I turned the water off and grabbed a plush towel out of the cupboard near the shower. I dried my hair and wrapped the towel around my waist before heading inside.
"Where's Selena?" I asked Alec who was shoving food into his mouth at the kitchen counter.
"Upstairs," he gurgled through his eggs.
"I hope you choke," I said as I pushed him off of the stool he was sitting on.
"Put on some fucking clothes!" he shouted at me when I climbed the stairs.
I went into the bedroom and didn't see Selena. I got dressed in what I always wore: swim trunks and a tee shirt. That was all I needed when we weren't doing anything, like today.
It took me one guess as to where Selena was. I walked into the largest room in our house, the library.
She was climbing the ladder up onto the bookshelves, which were neatly organized alphabetically. She was in nothing more than a shirt and dark blue boy shorts, which barely covered her plump ass. They were those skimpy kind, that you would get from Victoria Secret or some shit like that. I just stood there and looked at her, unashamed of myself. Sometimes I swear I was looking at a mirage. Could she still be here?
"Stop eye-fucking me," she said without even turning around. "It's not polite."
"Could you blame me?" I went to the ladder and held it steady as she climbed higher.
"Alec spilled orange juice on my pants. They're being washed and I'm too busy looking for this book to get new ones. You can eye-fuck until I get some clothes."
"Thank you," I replied, being completely honest. "What are you searching for?"
"I just remembered that I didn't finish We the Living before you put it away last night."
"You fell asleep when I was reading. I finished it."
"How thoughtful of you." She started her climb back down.
"Careful there, Clumsy Cathy."
"I'm not clumsy. This ladder isn't straight," Selena complained.
"Always with the excuses?"
"Shut up." She hopped down, standing in front of me in all her glory.
Neither of us had changed much in our appearances. Still the same ole Selena and Justin. Her hair was longer and darker; my hair was shorter and lighter. We looked tanned and fit, like something out of a health magazine, but there wasn't much else to do on this island besides run around all day in the sun.
"What?" she asked, self-conscious from my staring.
"Nothing." I shrugged.
She blushed, deep and full just like I liked it. Selena and I were attuned to each other on a level that I had never heard of before. She thought something, and I could almost tell what it was and vice versa. Now, she was thinking that I needed a kiss.
She rose up on her toes, and our lips touched. The electricity was still there, the fire was still there, and the passion was still there. It was always this way.
Selena just went in for a short kiss this morning because she knew that things could quickly spiral out of control in seconds if we let them.
"I have to go to work tonight, so I need the boat. Don't plan any excursions." She bypassed me, carrying her book, and went out of the library.
I followed her into our room where she was putting on a pair of sweatpants, but then took them off. It was going to be hot out today. She settled for shorts.
"You've been working a lot lately," I commented and sat on the bed.
"The bar needs me. Nahuel fired everyone else."
Selena worked at a club in Rio as a bartender, which I didn't like at all. When she first told me that she wanted to get a job, I was adamantly against it. Why would she need one? We had everything we needed here and more than enough money to live for three lifetimes. Selena said she wanted something to do. I let up a little bit and, of course, she had to get the one job I almost forbid her from having.
Rio was not a safe place to be for anyone to work, let alone in a club. Rowdy international college kids got wasted, men pinched her ass, the drug lords held their meetings in seedy corners, and her boss was a complete douche. Of course, she assured me that none of that happened at her club, but I knew better.
"Maybe you should think about getting a job." Selena scaled the tall bed and straddled me, pushing my body back into the covers.
"I don't want one. Taking care of you two is job enough."
"You're bored here." Her finger traced the stubble on my jaw.
"No, I'm not," I sort of lied.
Sure, there were some days when I wished I had something to do, but I wasn't complaining. My old life might be behind me, although, I was never too far away from it. I dabbled in the stock market for something to doâunder an alias of course. I ordered guns and had them shipped to Rio. I even started a drug war last year between two rival gangs. That was fun.
"Idle hands are the devils play things," Selena tsked me.
"My hands are never idle." They traveled over her body, sliding down her back and ending on the ass that I loved so much. I cupped it roughly, and she yelped.
"Oh, Justin. Always looking for a good time." She kissed my chin. "Unfortunately, I'm hungry, so this will have to wait until later."
I almost pouted pitifully at the thought of delayed sexual joy. "You are the worse kind of tease."
"I can't help it." Selena rolled off of me.
I grimaced when the change in position twisted my back into a knot. The base of my spine started to throb, and a pain radiated throughout my lower half. I quickly recovered my face, because Selena would start worrying if she knew.
"Are you coming?" she asked me when she reached the door.
"I'll be down in a second," I said smoothly, not daring to move just yet.
"What's wrong?" Selena questioned anxiously. "Did I hurt you?"
"No." I shook my head.
"You're lying. Oh my God. Is it your back?"
"No," I said stubbornly.
"Turn over," she instructed. "I knew you shouldn't have gone running this morning. You did too much lifting yesterday when you and Alec moved the sofa."
"I'm fine. It's just a little tickle." I rolled over on the bed and felt Selena's warm fingers under my shirt, pressing right where I needed them to.
Selena kneaded my flesh and tenderly released the pressure from my back. I moaned embarrassingly with her touch.
"I told you not to buy that motorcycle, but you just had to beat Alec, didn't you?" she chastised. "This is how people get killed. You are so lucky that it was a minor accident."
"Nothing would have happened if Alec stayed on his side of the road."
"Thank God he didn't get hurt."
"Thank God," I replied sarcastically. "I'm in pain for the rest of my life, but praise the heavens that Alec is okay."
"Serves you right. I told you for months not to ride that thing and you did it anyway. Now, you can barely walk straight." She lightly climbed off of my back and went into the bathroom.
She came back with two little blue pills, and I took them without question, gulping down a bottle of water. I stretched my body back to life and felt incredibly better, just as usual.
"Thank you," I said.
"Old men need their nurses." She grinned as she backed out of the door, pulling me with her.
We separated at the stairs. I went into the library and turned on the computer.
Time to start the day.
I waited for my computer to boot up and put on my glasses, which had become a perpetual fixture on my face anytime I wanted to read something. I flipped through the week's mail on my desk. We never got anything important, because no one knew we were here. Just spam shit and travel brochures but I always checked, anyway.
The only person who knew where exactly we were was Carlisle. I spoke to him for five minutes every other month. That was all the time we got. Basically, I just told him we were alive and well. He said the same and we would hang up. I always had to use a pre-paid phone that I would later throw into the river out back and that was all the communication we had.
I couldn't let myself dwell on the fact that I was lying to my brothers, and worse, my mother. She was never going to forgive me. Alec called her once a month on iChat, under the guise of him being at school. It wasn't going to work forever, but as of now, Esme was none the wiser that Alec was in Brazil. Plus, his Christmas visits seemed to tithe her over throughout the year.
Every day, I wished I could read Selena's mind so that I could see what she was really thinking about her own parents. Did she miss them? Of course she did. She would never tell me and whenever I asked, Selena just ignored it. I was wondering how much longer she would be willing to stay here on this island without seeing Charlie or Renee.
"Yo!" Alec banged through the door of my office, throwing an apple in the air.
"I told you to fucking knock." I tried not to get too annoyed.
"Knocking is overrated," he mocked, sitting in the chair across from me. "Selena said we were going into the city tonight."
"No, we, as in Selena and I, aregoing into the city. She has to work." I was only half talking to him since my computer was up fully and I was now knee deep in stock trading.
"Come on. I want to go too," he groaned.
"The last time we took you with us, you got lost." I took my glasses off with frustration, just remembering the hour we spent roaming the city.
"I forgot what time it was." He shrugged coyly.
"Because you were shitface drunk."
"That wasn't my fault. Someone spiked my drink," he defended.
"Yeah, you." I went back to typing furiously. "Is there anything that you seriously need?"
"No," he rolled his eyes, "but I'm coming. Selena said I could if you said yes."
"The markets are closing in London and opening in New York. I don't have time to deal with you right now."
"PleaseâŚ" he begged.
"Alright, fine!" I shouted. "Just don't run off."
"Sweet." He took a bite of his apple.
"Get out," I said forcefully.
"Okay, okay. Sheesh." Alec left me alone to my numbers on the computer screen.
I spent about an hour switching a couple million around in whatever I was dealing with these days. I never really paid attention unless I was losing money, which hadn't been the case since we got here. Carlisle had set us up with a nice nest egg that was now climbing upwards of fifty million thanks to my skillful management.
Sometime after lunchâor maybe it was closer to dinner, I wasn't sureâthere was a soft knock at my door.
"Come in," I said.
"You've been in here all day." Selena walked into the room and sat on my desk. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Making money."
"Making money that we don't need."
"Everyone needs money, Selena."
"Hmmmm," she dejected.
I continued to focus my attention on my computer. I knew Selena wanted to say something, but it was best to just let her say it when she wanted. If I pushed her, she would never talk.
It took ten minutes of silence before I got another peep out of her. "Um, have you talked to your father this month?"
"No. I haven't had the chance yet," I sighed, not wanted to get into this right now. I never talked to Carlisle on my own volition. Selena literally had to force me to make the call. I was still too pissed at him for some of the things he did. Selena might be able to forgive, but I'd never lived by that philosophy.
The truth was, even though I talked all this shit about love and living a new life here on the island, I was just as bad as I was before. Maybe even worse. There were some days when I thought I was agoraphobic. I hated to be around people because they all annoyed the shit out of me. It was as if people were put on this earth just to piss me off. I had a short temper, which provided me with tons of trouble and my inability to interact with others kind of made living here ideal. Selena was the exception. She was the only woman I would ever love in my own special way. My cold heart hadn't melted for anyone else.
My aggravation with the world unfortunately was sometimes released on my father. It was best if I took medication before calling him.
"It's been a long time," Selena reminded me. "I'm sure he's worried about you."
I nodded. "Which is why he was so quick to ship me off."
"Justin, let it go. He was protecting you and it was for your own good."
"He's weak," I accused. "He has no backbone."
"He saved your life."
"Maybe, but I wouldn't have run away if I had my choice."
"And you would have been dead. You have the stubborn nature of a jackass." She smiled dryly. "I find it cute, but others don't."
"You put up with me because you have to."
"True." Selena hopped off of my desk and headed out of the door. "Call him! And ask how Charlie's doing."
I sighed heavily before reaching into my desk for one of the hundreds of cheap, plastic, pre-paid cell phones. I ripped the package open and put in the battery, waiting for it to power up. I dialed the very familiar number and waited for it to ring.
"Hello,"Â someone answered quickly.
"Hi, Dad."
Rio
SELENA POV
"Man is free at the moment he wishes to be."-Voltaire
All things Twilight related belong to Stephenie Meyer
I shut the door to Justin's office and tried not to listen to his phone conversation with Carlisle. I desperately wanted toâI always did.
I slowly went downstairs and found Alec in front of the TV. I plopped down on the soft green couch next to him.
"What's up, Bug?" he asked me.
"I'm bored and I don't have to be at work for another few hours."
"Go read. Isn't that what you always do?" he snickered.
"No," I said in an annoyed voice, "I have a life."
I actually did like it on this island, even though I wished sometimes that I had more interaction with people. That was what the bar was for though. I could work a couple nights a week and feel like I was important and not just wasting away. The only problem was it could get incredibly boring on long days, such as this, when Justin was busy playing with money of whatever the hell he did. Cabin fever was starting to set in. But I chose to be here. This place was better for Justin and me. Here, on the island, we were free and could just be Selena and Justin.
"We could go for a swim," Alec suggested.
"You look ready." I noticed him in nothing more than swim trunks. That's all he ever wore these days.
"I was planning on it later after my movie goes off."
"I don't want to swim today."
"Let's go shoot something." He got overly excited. "Justin bought me a new gun the other day. I can't wait to try it out."
I didn't really have any choice in the matter. Alec took my hand and pulled me from the couch roughly. We went to Justin's very special 'gun room' and searched through the wide array of options. Everything was ordered and coordinated to Justin's specific guidelines.
"Can you not break anything?" I warned Alec, "You know how he gets."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah."
Over the years, I had become somewhat of an aficionado in things that went 'boom'. Justin called me a small dynamo with a gun. I certainly had more of a love for them than I used to. I knew the makes, models, size, weight; almost everything about every piece of firepower made. That was all thanks to Justin, but I studied hard.
"I love it here," Alec sighed in awe as his hands traveled over the smooth steel of guns.
I tried lifting a large semi-automatic off of the wall, but it was too heavy for me and I stumbled backwards. I was still determined to use it and tried to act like it wasn't a problem for me.
He snatched it from my hands easily. "Silly, Selena. Small girls can't handle big guns."
"I can so. I choose not to," I said stubbornly.
Alec gave me a smaller one. "There you go. A military grade Beretta 7301."
"It's a girl gun." I weighted it in my hand.
"You do have a vagina, don't you?" He smirked at took the larger one for himself.
"I swear, you get more like Emmett every day." I shook my head, grabbing a couple of rounds for later and following Alec out of the room.
I grabbed my sunglasses on the way and put them on as the sticky, humid heat that had become a constant in my new Brazilian home started to make me sweat instantly. Thankfully, the one thing I never had to worry about here was my hair. It didn't frizz for whatever reason.
It was the small pleasures that counted.
"Wow, it's a hot one out today," Alec observed, like I couldn't feel it myself. "Should have brought a bottle of water. Oh and Justin said I could go with you guys into the city. I need a few things."
"Okay, but we'll leave you if you get lost again."
"I didn't get lost. You two left me...I just so happened to find my way into that strip club. It wasn't my fault. I was so torn up that the nice ladies decided to console me." He replied innocently.
"You're worse than Emmett," I grumbled.
Alec was, for all intents and purposes, my child. For the past two years, Justin and I had been raising him and trying to do a good job. We didn't really have a choice, but I didn't mind. I actually enjoyed taking care of someone and Alec made life fun. There were some days when I wanted to rip my hair out, though. He was a handful. I had to remind myself that even though he was legally an adult now, he was still a child mentally, and Justin was determined to make him into a good man. Alec should be a little more mature, but he went from being locked up to being babied by Esme and Carlisle. He never really had a chance to live as an adult or be independent. We were trying to find the balance between letting him go and keeping him safe.
As we made our way through the thick, green foliage of the island, I took in deep breaths of the sea air.
"We're here," Alec announced when we came to a clearing. Swaying palm trees blew in the wind and colorful birds cawed above us.
We were standing in a field on the opposite side of the house with targets set up a couple of yards out. Our weekly ritual of weapons training had become one of my favorite times. It was fun and made me feel powerful, in control and I was actually kind of good at it.
We positioned ourselves in our normal spots and Alec shoved a pair of ear mufflers over my head.
"You're not holding it right," Alec informed me before I could even begin to shoot.
"Why not?" I looked down at the gun in my hands. "This is how Justin told me to hold it."
"Because he has bigger hands than you." Alec repositioned the pistol. "Your hands need to be closer together so you have a better hold on it."
"I've been shooting a gun for years and you've never said anything before."
"I don't think I ever noticed it," he chuckled. "Now we're ready."
The feeling of a gun in my hand had become natural. I wasn't a master like Justin or Alec, but I was getting better. I had spent time in this field, practicing and honing my skills for if I ever had to use them. Justin was convinced that we weren't going anywhere anytime soon. I, on the other hand, was less than convinced. I just⌠had a feeling.
The kickback from the Beretta was powerful and brought me out of my thoughts. I had to steady myself a couple of times before I got the hang of it and unloaded the pistol until the clip was empty. I wiped my sweaty palms on the rough fabric of my shorts and pulled off my sunglasses.
"Nice shots." Alec squinted into the sunlight.
We walked slowly towards the paper bull's-eye targets, which were posted on the trunks of some rather large trees.
"My shooting is so perfect. I need to be in the Olympics."
"What are you talking about? Your grouping is off," I observed and pulled his target from the tree. "What the hell were you doing?"
"I was concentrating." He looked over my shoulder at the paper, "Those are beautiful shots. Don't be jealous."
"You need to get your eyes checked. You have five shots not even on the paper." I ran my hands over the markings on the bark of the poor tree.
"Well, it's hard to control a semi-automatic machine gun, Selena. And yours isn't much better."
"I beg to differ." I pulled my target down. "Fifteen shots all in the red or yellow. That's the best yet." I folded up the paper and put it in my pocket to show Justin later.
"Whatever." Alec put up fresh targets. He replaced his ear mufflers and stomped back over to his spot across the field. Like his brother, Alec was the worst kind of loser.
I rolled my eyes and reclaimed my spot as well. He replaced the cartridge in his gun and I did the same, ready to resume shooting.
I had gotten through about half the rounds when I felt warm hands on my hips and a voice in my ear, "Spread your legs for me."
"What?" I was taken off guard and shot into the air.
"They're too close together. Your stance is a little off."
I did as he said and immediately noticed the difference in my arms, which felt lighter. The bullets seemed to just ease out of the gun, and even though I couldn't see the target all too well because of the distance, I knew they were hitting their mark.
Justin's hands crept up my body and along my arms until they were cupping my own around the gun.
"Take a deep breath, steady your core, and then shoot," Justin instructed. Of course, with him being so close and whispering in my ear, I certainly wasn't thinking about guns anymore. I suddenly wanted to be bent over and had very dirty thoughts going through my head.
Even after all these years, he had the same effect on me.
"I can't concentrate with you here." I nudged him.
"You have to stay focused, Selena." His lips descended on my neck, and he began pulling down one shoulder of my shirt so that the skin was exposed, "Just make sure you keep your eyes on the prize."
The mixture of heat and sexual tension was incredibly stifling.
"Hey, hey, hey! Stop that," Alec ordered. "We didn't come out here for you two to sex it up."
"I fucking hate you. Mind your own business." Justin scowled and slapped the back of his head. "And your shooting sucks."
"You both need to leave me alone. My shooting is perfect." He argued, "I'm a master, damn it!"
"Alright, you two." I stopped them before this turned into a giant fight, which wouldn't have been out of the norm. "I have to get to work."
Justin took the gun out of my hands and put it in the waist of his shorts. I grabbed his hand and hurriedly rushed him away from Alec, who had a murderous look on his face. Justin and I jumped over fallen trees and waded through thick grasses on our way back to the house with Alec clumping behind us.
We were all quiet, just listening to the sounds of the tropical rain forest around us for the fifteen minutes it took to get back home. The sun was beginning to set above the clouds and an almost pink hue was shooting over the sky.
Our beach house was untouched by modernity on the outside and reminded me of something you might see in a travel brochure.
"I'm going to get a shower." I said when I placed the gun back in its spot in the room.
"Alright, I'll have Alec start the boat." Justin replied, moving the pistol two centimeters to the left.
I left the boys downstairs and ran into my bedroom. I stripped out of my sticky clothes and climbed into the shower after I tested the water to make sure it was the way I wanted it.
All the water for our little home was originally salt water that was purified. Justin explained the process to me one time, but I didn't really know the specifics. In any case, it was warm, soothing, and smelled incredibly sweet. The water ran over my body and allowed me to unwind from my not so stressful day. My arms were kind of sore from holding up that gun so I stayed in the shower a little longer than normal.
When I was done, I wrapped a plush white towel around my body and had to wipe the steam from the mirror so that I could see myself.
I hadn't changed at all in what seemed like years. I still had the face of a teenager, which was kind of embarrassing. My hair was fuller and maybe a little longer and I guess I had a slight tan. That was a new look for me. The perpetual pale girl from Washington now looked like a beach bunnyâor so Justin said. I still saw the flaws most of the time.
I started applying makeup, which my boss swore was a part of my "uniform". I never really wore it until about a year ago when I started going into Rio. I worked in a fucking club with pulsing lights and loud music. It wasn't like anyone was looking at the face of one of the bartenders, but Nahuel was convinced that I needed it. I guess I couldn't complain since I made a buttload of tips, but I still found it a little unnecessary.
As I was applying a thin dusting of blush over my cheeks, Justin came into the bathroom with angry growl.
"I can't wait until we ship him off to a fucking college somewhere." He stopped himself from punching the wall.
"What did he do now?"
"We broke my gun⌠My new gun, Selena."
"Sorry?"
"And it's not like I can have it fixed so I have to buy a new one and that was fucking hard to get."
"Alright, well no need in getting stressed over it."
He exhaled, running a hand through his full hair. As was his calming technique, he pinched the bridge of his nose, and then leaned on the counter. I continued to beautify myself while he reduced his heart rate. It was actually kind of interesting to watch with his ticks and mannerisms.
"Are you better?" I asked after five minutes.
"Yes," Justin crossed his arms, "what time do we have to leave?"
"In about an hour. Tonight's my long night too, so we'll be out until probably one."
Justin just sat on the counter, watching me as I continued to get ready. He did that a lot.
The best thing about our relationship was that we didn't have to talk all the time. We could sit for hours and only utter a few words between us and it was still as powerful as if we'd talked each other's ears off.
As I looked at him in the mirror, I asked myself how it was still possible that I loved him as much as I did. Sure, we had hard times after that first year and almost brought the house down with our shouting, but it had to be done. We didn't have any choice but to shout out everything that had built up over our separation.
My main argument was that I lost absolutely everything: my family, friends, my education, and⌠well, everything. What had Justin lost? He argued that being separated from me for two years was enough. I didn't like that excuse and it pissed me off to now end at how quickly he thought we could just go back to being us.
I had too much anger to do that.
With time though, it did happen. I realized that there wasn't much I could do about it. It happened and it was in the past. We both hurt and had both lost. We were working on our future now. That was what was important to me. I shed tears for this man and I wasn't letting him go now. We were in too deep for that. I guess our relationship wasn't what you would expect from a twenty-two and twenty-nine year old. We were like an old couple who had been together since birth.
There had been a lot of trust issues that we had to work through, mainly on my part, but Justin surprisingly had suggested therapy. We both saw someone in Rio separately and then together, under aliases, of course, but it did help.
"I don't like you working in that bar?" Justin voiced his opinion for the hundredth time.
"I know you don't and I'll find a new job soon. Just for now, let me stay there. It's fun."
He grumbled something undistinguishable.
I let my eyes travel sneakily up his body in the mirror until I caught a glimpse of his right shoulder that was barely covered by his shirt. The white angel wings were always there, always a reminder.
Not a day went by that I didn't think about her.
I didn't really know if my baby was a girl or not, but I felt she was. I had named her Elizabeth and it helped me heal to think of my lost child as an actual person, rather than a fetus. It still hurt sometimes, but at least I wasn't crying anymore. Besides Justin, Alec was the only one who even knew I was pregnant. We had told him and he was amazingly comforting when Justin couldn't find the right words.
I didn't really know how Justin felt about her. He never said much, but he always held me when I cried. He knew that Elizabeth meant the world to me and always listened. I talked a lot about it in therapy for that year and I did eventually heal.
Now, we almost never mentioned about her. Justin said he was sad about it, but still found it hard to wrap his mind around being a father. I hadn't even dared to bring up children because I knew Justin wouldn't be too fond of the idea. He claimed that if it was what I wanted, then we could try, but kids weren't on his 'to do' list at the moment. To be honest, they weren't really on mine either. I wasn't ready.
Justin noticed me looking at his tattoo that symbolized our baby girl and quickly covered his shoulder. I averted my eyes.
"You're shaking," he said quietly.
"Am I?" I asked stupidly. "I didn't even notice. I'm fine."
"I can get rid of the tattoo ifâŚ"
"No, don't you dare." I cut him off, "I need it there. It's a good reminder."
Justin pulled me close to his body, wrapping his arms around my hips and kissing my temple. "Are you okay?"
"She would have been four." I exhaled, willing myself not to tear up. I hadn't in a long time and I wasn't going to let myself start now. "I wonder what she would look like."
"Like you," he answered. "Long brown hair, massive brown eyes, a sweet faceâŚ"
"Or like you." I smiled sadly in the mirror. "Can you believe it? Four years old. We wouldn't know what to do with ourselves. A little girl, running around like a crazy person."
"I don't know if we would have made it." He chuckled, kissing me again, "I might have snapped by now."
"Maybe." I started reapplying my makeup. "I'm almost ready."
"Okay." He let me go and went into the bedroom.
I dressed in my jean shorts, a simple white shirt, and white sneakers that would glow in the fluorescent lights of the club. My hair was left down for now, but I made sure to have a band to put it up once we got into the heat of Rio.
"Are you ready?" Justin asked when I came out of the bathroom.
"Yeah, let's go."
We traveled downstairs and I realized I was already running late when the sun started setting completely behind the horizon.
Alec already had the boat untied from the dock and idling in the water. Justin was always concerned with me tripping, so he carried me the five feet to the boat.
"Finally. I was waiting forever." Alec took off once Justin and I were seated, "You two were probably having sex again. Disgusting."
"Just drive the fucking boat." Justin snapped.
I only worked during the weekends so that was usually when we went into the city. While I was at the bar, Justin would usually go grocery shopping or buy whatever we needed for the week. Alec almost never came with us because he was too difficult to keep track of without a cell phone. I was wondering what they were going to do tonight.
"Charlie's fine," Justin said to me over the roar of the engine. "Carlisle's been checking up on him."
"How was his wedding?" I asked, trying not to sound sad that I wasn't able to attend.
"Nice. He's happy."
"That's all I care about then."
After I was released from prison and kidnapped by Justin, I found out that Charlie was looking for me. I sent him a postcard, stamped from Spain when I first got here, that basically said I was fine and he shouldn't worry about me. I told him I would be home sometime, but I didn't know when. It was selfish of me to leave him hanging that way, but what more could I do? It was too risky to keep sending him letters, and I couldn't just call him whenever I wanted.
Justin asked Carlisle to keep tabs on him for me. I think he had someone watching him. I got a report whenever they talked. He was always fine. He missed me, but found solace in the lady who owned the diner in Forks. They had got engaged last year and Charlie finally took the plunge at the beginning of the New Year.
Of course I missed both him and Renee, but I knew I would see them again. It was never our intent to stay on this island forever and we just had to wait out our self-imposed sentence. I didn't know when we would be back, but I knew Charlie would be there to lovingly kick my ass when I got off of the plane. He was not going to be happy with me. I guess that made me more apprehensive to leave the island one day. Who knows what people would have to say when we got back?
I couldn't think too much more about the life I left behind because the blinding lights of Rio were coming into view.
They say that New York is the city that never sleeps, but obviously, whoever crated that maxim hadn't visited Rio. There was some sort of carnival or celebration going on every single day, and it was hard to even imagine a city like this existed. The noise was just unbelievable, and the streets were always packed with people, dancing or drinking in ordered chaos. It was a place filled with such life that you couldn't help but smile.
"Okay, ground rules." Justin spoke mostly to Alec as we pulled into the dock of the harbor. "You stay with me at all times. I won't have you running off again."
"Can't I stay with Selena? Her club is so much cooler than whatever the hell you've got going on," Alec argued.
"No, she can't keep an eye on you like I can. If you get arrested, you're staying in jail because I'm not coming to bail you out."
"Okay, fine."
"We need milk," I informed them both when Justin shut off the engine, "and cereal so make sure to get some. Also, batteries, I think."
"For your vibrator?" Alec asked seriously.
"You're so gross." I pulled at my hair and shuddered.
Justin helped me onto the dock and Alec followed behind us as we made our way into the city. The club was just a few blocks away so we didn't need to take a taxi or anything like that. It was only nine at night, but the streets were already buzzing with the anticipation of a fun night.
"Okay, so I have my emergency cell phone if you need me," Justin said when we got to the club. "Make sure you call."
"I will, Justin. Nothing is going to happen."
He was always so worried about me working here. He said it wasn't the proper place for me. He also hated my boss with a passion. Justin thought he treated me rudely and said so on multiple occasions to his face. It was a wonder that I wasn't fired by now.
"Just make sure you tell that fucking boss of yours to keep himself in line"
I nodded.
"I'll be back later to pick you up." Justin kissed me shortly before being dragged down the street and into the crowd by Alec.
I went inside to an already packed club. It didn't even have a name. Nahuel said that it didn't need one. People just knew about it and came for a good time. The place was huge, with three floors, and it was one of the hotspots for all the college kids who wanted to get completely smashed. I don't think we turned anyone away from a drink.
"Charlotte is here!" a fellow bartender, Zafrina, shouted over the music. "Couldn't come soon enough. I'm bored."
"Yes, I'm here. Let the party begin." I smiled, putting my hair up and going behind the bar on the first floor.
Me, and a couple other people controlled the bar downstairs. We got the people when they were first coming out for a good night, not too drunk yet. To everyone on the mainland, I was known as Charlotte Masen, the new wife of Peter Masen, and we lived somewhere outside of the city; I never said where.
It was amazing how naive people were. When we first started coming to the city and telling people that lie, I was terrified that someone was going to know who we were, but Justin convinced me not to worry. Just like he said, they believed anything I said and why wouldn't they? I wasn't a threat. I was just a young bride from the states who happened to be here on business with her husbandânothing more, nothing less.
"It's been so boring." Jack, another bartender leaned on his elbows. "No one wants drinks this early in the night."
"I see you have a lot of tips in your pockets." I checked our supply of liquor and wrote down anything we needed for when Nahuel made his hourly checks. I was a shift manager, so I was expected to be on top of things on at all times.
"That's because I'm so sexy. Get a little vodka in these ladies and they'd take home the Elephant Man," he replied.
"Too bad you're gay, huh?" Zafrina giggled. She was a massive woman with muscles that made her a very imposing woman. Everyone was scared of her until she actually said something and you realized that she was a sweetheart.
"Yeah, too bad, but if I keep my mouth shut then they'll never know. Just look and don't touch is my motto." Jack wiggled his eyebrows. "Speaking of, where is that fine husband of yours, Marie?"
"Out grocery shopping or whatever the hell he does." I shrugged, still tending to the alcohol supply.
"You two are so cute together," Zafrina sighed, longingly. "I need a man. Find me one, Charlotte."
"I can't help you there. I have enough trouble keeping up with the two I have at home."
"Oh, that's right. I forgot Alex was eighteen. He's legal!" she shouted. Alec, or Alex as he was known, just loved coming in here for the simple reason that everyone fawned over him. Justin could do without the attention, but Alec craved it.
"He's not an option for you," I said, the protective side of me peeking out.
"I think he likes me." She sauntered off, swaying her hips to the beat of the music that was just starting to pump louder as the night really began to pick up.
"Charlotte!" a thunderous voice shouted.
I saw my boss pushing through people to get to the bar.
"Hi, Nauhel. Do you want a drink?" I asked as nice as possible.
"Not right now. What have I told you about wearing your hair up?" he sneered.
"But it's so hot in here."
"I don't care. You don't look good with it up. People don't drink if their servers look like shit."
"Fine." I pulled the band out and pulled my hair over one shoulder so that I would have some sort of ventilation. "Is that better?"
"Eh. It'll do." He shrugged. Nauhel was a small pipsqueak of a man, almost as small as me. He always had a toothpick in his mouth and was a complete miser. He never wasted a cent if he didn't have to. His dark skin looked like leather and had scars over it that suggested he had been through some pretty rough shit, but no one ever asked.
"We need some stuff." I handed him the list I made when I came in and he snatched it from me roughly, reviewing it with quick eyes.
"I just put some Captain Morgan back there an hour before you came."
"Well, it's gone now. And some Grey Goose," I tacked on. "That always goes fast."
"Fine. I'll send someone with it all later. Get to work!" he yelled and stalked away.
"What a bastard." Zafrina stood next to me, shadowing over my tiny frame. "I think we should start a union."
"You can start a union and I'll watch. Besides, that'll just give Peter more of a reason to beat the shit out of him."
"Well he needs his shit kicked. He's so rude." She rolled her eyes, slithering away. "Oh, I think you have your first customer of the night."
A man sat in front of me.
"Hi." I smiled widely, flirting just a little. "What can I get you?"
"Um, I'm not sure. It's my first night here. What's good?" He searched the massive selection of drinks behind me.
"We have a Rio Slammer that everyone loves. Taste good without getting you hammered in three sips."
"What's in it?" he asked, sitting at the bar.
"Sweet and sour mix, orange juice, cranberry juice, gin, peach liquor, and a touch of lime."
"It's not a girly drink is it?" He scrunched his nose up.
"No, it's not." I laughed, "You can have a regular beer."
"No, I think I'll brave the slammer," he said loudly.
"Okay, then." I started mixing easily. After a year at this, I had the menus memorized and could pretty much do it with my eyes closed.
The man was obviously not from around here, as evident from his pale skin and touristy shirt that he probably bought at one of the vendors outside. He had spiky hair and talked with a thick American accent.
"Where are you from?" I asked when I was putting the final touches on his drink.
"Texas." He nodded. "First time in Brazil."
"Are you liking it?"
"Yes, it's a lot, but I've never been to a place like this. Where are you from?"
"California. I'm here with my husband. He does business down here," I lied without hesitation or thought. I almost believed it myself.
"What kind of business does he do?" the man asked when I handed him his drink.
"Import and export. Mostly chocolate and coffee."
"Cool." He grinned and took a sip. "Wow, this is amazing."
"Thank you. I added some sarsaparilla with you being from Texas and all."
"I can taste it." He shook his head to clear it. "That is some strong stuff."
"Glad you're enjoying." I moved onto a new costumer who had just asked me for a simple coke and Bacardi. "So how long are you here?" I asked the same guy sitting in front of me.
"Just for another week," he answered.
I could tell that he was a moneymaker. He was going to give me all the tips I needed tonight if I just kept him talking.
"You should go check out the mango festival they're having next weekend. Free drinks here during happy hour."
"I'll be sure to do that." He shifted on the stool like he was uncomfortable and pulled something dark and metal from under him. He set the gun on the counter, either not caring that it was out in full view or already too drunk to realize it.
I froze when I saw it and tried to regain my composure before he saw me. I went back to making drinks like nothing was wrong. It wasn't like we didn't ever have some seedy shit go down in the bar, but I just didn't expect him to pull that out of his belt.
"Am I allowed to have this in here? It's not loaded or anything," he said, pointing to the impressive gun.
"Uh, no. You can't have that."
"I figured. Well then, I guess I need to go." He downed the rest of his drink and got up from his seat, taking his gun with him. "Oh, I didn't get your name. I think I should know for when I come back next weekend for my free drink."
"Charlotte," I said and felt like I shouldn't even give him that. "I'll be here for that free drink."
"I'm hoping so. I'm Ben, by the way." He smiled and handed me a hundred American dollar bill. "I'll be back."
I took the money and put it in my tip jar as he walked through the crowd.
"You got a hundred bucks?" Jack snuck up behind me, flipping a bottle of vodka over his head. "Did you flash him or something? I can do that."
"No, we just kept talking. I told you to be nicer to your peoples."
"Being nice is overrated."
"You sound like Peter."
"Oh, God. I hope so. I wouldn't mind looking like him too."
I pushed Jack back to work and tried not to think about the creepy man with the gun as I stalked up the length of the bar, looking for someone to serve.
The hours passed on as they normally did with people getting drunker by the second. The music and lights were urging everyone to dance. The leeway of Sunday morning meant that everyone could get shitfaced tonight and not have to worry about their hangovers.
By the time midnight arrived, the scene was frenzied with fist pumping at its fullest and hair swinging, making everyone dizzy. Of course the clubs stayed open until the sun rose in Rio, but I usually only worked until about one.
I was watching the clock closely and just as usual, when the hands struck one, I spotted Justin pushing through people with a glare on his face. He arrived at the bar and plopped down on a stool in front of me.
"Why are there so many people in here?" he shouted. His lip was cracked and red.
"Because it's fun," I replied sarcastically. "Duh. Did you get into a fight."
"Can I have a drink? And yes, I did."
"What was it this time?"
"Someone owed me money, don't ask."
"Your usual, sir?" I flirted. "Or would you like to try something different?"
"The normal will be fine. Do I have to pay extra for the sexy bartender?"
"You're so cheesy." I rolled my eyes and gave Justin his scotch.
"I am not," he argued, gulping his drink easily. "It's called romance, Charlotte."
"Excuse me. I didn't know."
Jack snaked up from nowhere. "Hi, Peter."
"Oh, hello." Justin kind of turned away from him. He was always very uncomfortable when Jack started hitting on him. It was hilarious to watch.
"It's nice to see you again. You haven't visited me in a while." Jack actually batted his eyelashes.
"I've uh⌠been busy."
"Well, don't be such a stranger." Jack winked at me before going back to showing off in front of the ladies for tips.
"Maybe you should stop coming in here." I barely held in my laughter.
"Maybe I should," he agreed. "Isn't there some sort of policy against his shameful behavior?"
"Look around, this is the definition of sleaziness."
Before Justin even had the chance to say anything in response, Nauhel shuffled through the crowd with a purpose. "Charlotte! Get in the back and clean up."
"I'm about to leave. I'm actually already off of the clock."
"Well, some girl took a shit in the ladies' room and missed the toilet, so I need you to go handle it."
"Get someone else to do it." I shuddered.
"Don't you have a cleaning crew for that?" Justin asked him in a strained voice.
"Oh, you're here." Nahuel said with distaste in his voice. "Charlotte, get your ass back there and clean it up."
Justin smashed his glass against the counter, and it shattered in his hand. He started bleeding immediately, but didn't seem to care as he stood up from his seat. Everyone around him kind of backed up in surprise.
"You need to have a little more respect for your employees, especially her." Justin was trying hard not to kill Nauhel. I could see it in his face.
"She works for me and if I need something cleaned, then she'll do it."
"If you ever talk to her like that again, I'll break your jaw."
"I pay her good fucking money and I'm not giving your precious Charlotte preferential treatment just because you threaten me on a daily basis."
"I've held my tongue for too fucking long and I'm tired of hearing you talk to her like she's some kind of barn animal. Apologize," he ordered.
"I'm not apologizing." He laughed. "Come in here again and I'll have you arrested."
"Go ahead and call them because I'm about to kill you," Justin snarled. He took the first step and I wasn't going to make it over the bar in time before he busted my boss' head in.
Thankfully, Alec was there in an instant, whispering in his ear and pulling him backwards. When I saw Justin's hand clasped around the golden gun at his side, I knew it was time to go.
"So fucking hot," Jack muttered as I ran past him and into the crowd.
I pushed Justin out of the crowd but could still hear Nauhel's voice. "Bring him in here again, Charlotte, and you're fired."
Justin was literally shaking when we were in the streets. He punched the wall of a building where Alec took us and ground his teeth together at the pain.
"Stop it." I took his hand, which was still bleeding and wrapped it in a towel that I had grabbed from the bar, making sure that there was no glass in his cuts. "You can't do that to my boss."
"You're not working for that bastard anymore. Fuck him and his shit club."
"Seriously, Selena. Why are you working there?" Alec asked me, peeking around the corner to see if anyone noticed us.
"Nahuel treats everyone that way. I would say something if he just talked to me so nastily, but everyone gets his shit."
I looked to make sure no one was watching us. I could have sworn that I saw Ben from the bar, leaning against a wall against the street and smoking a cigarette, but when I looked again, he was gone.
"I'll burn that place down before you step in there again." Justin was breathing harshly and not showing any signs of calming down.
When I was done tending to his hand, I hugged him close to me. That seemed to be the only thing worked. I could hear his heart thundering in his chest and even in the warm heat of the night, I could feel his skin burning.
"Just breathe," I told him. "Don't think about it."
"You're not going back." He hugged me tightly. "I won't stand for anyone talking to you like that."
"Okay, I won't go back," I said. "If it upsets you too much then I won't."
"I think we should go," Alec said. "I think he called the police."
Justin unwrapped his arms from around me, took my hand with his uninjured one, and rushed into the pulsing crowd of Rio, heading towards the docks to go home.
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