CHAPTER ONE: Force of Nature

Schuyler,

My apologies no-one is home to welcome you; we had prior commitments that couldn't be rescheduled. Your room is the fourth guestroom – third floor, first on the right. Place any belongings you have with you there. Our housekeeper will be in today, please address any questions to her.

Charles Force

With a breathy sigh, Schuyler van Alen let her bags fall to the polished floor with an audible thunk. Automatically, she looked around guiltily - this was not the sort of house that made you feel comfortable with loud noises. The 'entrance hall' alone was almost large enough to fit half of the house she used to live in. There was also a conspicuous lack of people in the cavernous space. Schuyler had never realized just how loud silence could be. And that was not good, because she had left the town car outside, so she could get some money to pay the driver.

Never mind, she thought to herself, I'll just use some of mine – I hope I have enough.

With another sigh, she bent down to retrieve her battered - and more importantly - almost empty wallet from her suitcase. Straightening up, she left her bags on the floor and opened the heavy front door. On the few steps down to the pavement she almost slipped, desperately grabbing onto the polished golden handrail. Pulling her self up, she looked around quickly to make sure that no-one was laughing at her; then made her way over to the car, flaming cheeks cast down. She tapped on the window and the man inside lowered it for her.

'So how much exactly…' she asked, to be surprised when he answered her 'Oh, don't worry. The young man over there already paid it. Have a nice day, Miss van Alen.'

With that, he rolled up the window and drove away, leaving her standing on the curb. She turned around to see who the driver was pointing at, and was rewarded with the sight of Jack Force holding open his front door for her – whilst looking slightly uncomfortable.

*****

They hadn't spoken since his father had forcibly moved Schuyler from living with her grandfather, Lawrence (whom Charles heartily disapproved of) to living under his roof – by means of a hasty adoption. This was far less than ideal for both parties; Schuyler just wanted to live at her home, where she had lived for all of her sixteen years. She and Mimi Force (Jack's twin and sometimes girlfriend) weren't exactly best buddies either. Mimi hated Schuyler with all the force of Azrael, the angel of Death. This was mainly because Jack had fallen for someone other than her. Jack (or Abbadon, angel of Destruction, as he was sometimes known) was bonded with Mimi, through generation after generation – or for the Blue Blood vampires, cycle after cycle. For him, Mimi was black, and Schuyler was white. He belonged with the darkness, but was drawn towards the light.

*****

And here Jack was, standing in front of her, acting the perfect gentleman. Although to be fair to him, it wasn't actually an act at all.

Schuyler looked at him, trying to make eye contact, but he avoided her gaze; instead he made a gestured with his hand, indicating she should step inside. She took a deep breath and swept her long blue-black hair over her shoulder, out of the way. She started up the steps.

Her worn out boots had no grip, and the smooth marble caused her to loose her balance on the same step she had the first time. She tumbled backwards, throwing out an arm in an attempt to break her fall. Just as her head was about to crack into the hard stone, Jack let go of the door and grabbed her around the waist, catching her just in time.

'You just can't help yourself, can you? That's twice in almost five minutes', he smirked down at her. 'Well, the good news is, I may have set a record' she huffed at him, hoping her cheeks weren't too red.

'You blush very red, did you know that?' Jack asked her, trying very hard not to laugh. She scowled up at him, forgetting just how bad a move that would be.

His green eyes were just as handsome as the rest of him, and she felt her breath catch, deepening her blush further. At that moment, she wanted nothing more for him to lean down and kiss her. In front of everyone. She didn't care. His hands tightened around her waist, sending bursts of heat up her body. Schuyler could see him hesitating, the indecision clear in his perfect face. He had the face of an angel. Jack leaned down a fraction of an inch, and then tipped his head further, until their face were a breath apart.

At the worst moment possible, a cab screamed down the busy street outside, horn blaring. It made them both jump – even wrapped in their own world as much they were. He instantly released her, taking a step back. He ushered her inside, then closed the door behind him. Schuyler bent down over her luggage, hoisting her duffel bag over her shoulder, and picking up a scuffed suitcase in each hand.

'So,' Jack asked her. 'Where's the rest of your stuff?' she looked at him questioningly. 'This is all I brought with me; why?'

'Wow,' he replied. 'You sure don't have much luggage. My mom and my sister always have more bags than these just for their jewelry. Are you sure this is it?'

'Yes', she smiled. 'I'm positive. Now, your dad's note said something about the fourth guest bedroom? Where's that?'

'Are you sure he said the fourth one? I told him to give you the first one…'

'Well,' she said, handing him the sheet of thick white paper that Charles' note was written on, 'I was definitely told fourth. Could you direct me?'

*****

He had not seen Schuyler for just less than two weeks, but in that time he had forgotten just how tiny and beautiful she was. Standing next to her whilst she tried to lift all three of her bags – it was amusing to see how much effort that took. Jack grabbed her suitcases off her, leaving her with her shoulder bag – it looked easy enough for her to carry. Schuyler opened her mouth, probably to protest she could hold her own luggage; but he brushed past her and headed towards the stairs to the second floor. He could hear her trailing after him, muttering under her breath. The words 'pig-headed' and 'didn't even ask' definitely featured in her little monologue.

'Would you like a tour?' He smiled over his shoulder at the beautiful girl standing behind him. She looked slightly out of place in the oversize house and gilded opulence that the Forces lived in.

'A tour? I don't have a whole week. We go to school, remember?' Schuyler stuck her tongue out at him, and he laughed out loud.

'I'll make it quick, I promise. We can skip all the unimportant rooms…'

'Fine. But make sure it's very short, Mimi could get home any minute, and I'm sure she'll want us to start painting each other's toenails or something. Maybe even watch some movies.' She rolled her eyes, but he was pretty sure she was absolutely dreading his sister coming home. And that was all his fault.

We walked a short way down the hall in silence. He swapped both of her bags to one hand, just to show her how easy it was. She shot me an exasperated look, then sped up to walk a little way in front.

'Hey!' He grabbed her arm, and she turned back to look at him questioningly.

'God! What is it now?'

'You were about to miss the first stop on the tour. Anyway, here it is… the kitchen.' He swung open the double doors in front of them, and held them open for Schuyler.

*****

Finally, they came to her new room. To say it was 'large' would be like saying Mimi was 'scary'. So basically, a massive understatement. All of the furniture was big and white and totally anonymous. The cream carpet stretched out underneath her feet – just the color she would be certain to somehow stain in about five minutes. There was a large gold-framed painting hanging by the door. She stepped in for a closer look, and got the shock of her life. It was Charles Force and her mother. Michael and Gabriel, as they were in their youth, as angels in heaven. Schuyler's mother looked so different, full of life, than she did lying in a hospital bed, comatose and unknowing.

She knew why Charles had given her this room, as opposed to the 'first guest bedroom'. The knowledge made her smile. She had yet to meet Jack's mother, but so far, two out of four not hating her seemed good enough odds.

Jack dumped her bags on the floor at the foot of the bed. 'Do you want some help unpacking?' he asked her, turning around.

'Sure. You'd know where to put stuff, I suppose…' Schuyler smiled at him.

'Yeah, living here would give you a huge tip-off, you'd think. Anyway', he pulled open a plain white door,' here is your bathroom. Do you want to put all your stuff in the cupboards?'

'My own bathroom? Oh. I didn't think to bring anything like shampoo…'

'Do you want me to drive you to the supermarket down the street? It's only about five minutes away…'

'Ooh, what a shock! Jack Force knows where the chemist is!' Even saying his name sent shivers down her spine.

He smiled at her, and headed back downstairs. Schuyler followed after him, softly closing the door behind her.

The sliding doors opened with a low whoosh, blowing a gust of medicine flavored air into their faces. She headed over to the aisle marked 'hair care products' and came face-to-face with a large display of what were labeled as hair masks, shine boosters and 'rejuvenating serums'. Jack appeared behind her, taking in her bemused expression with a smirk. 'Having trouble, Sky? May I assist?'

She didn't even turn around. 'Don't call me that. And what the hell is a hair mask? It sounds gross.'

'Ah, can't help you there. It sounds like a cream that makes your hair shiny to me. Aren't you a girl –'

'Oh, well done. What tipped you off?'

'- so shouldn't you know about things like this? And of course I know you're a girl. But your hair looks fine to me. Perhaps you should stick to normal shampoo or whatever?'

'Well, that's what I was trying to find…' her voice trailed off as she turned around to meet Jacks eyes and saw that directly behind him was a shelf of regular bottles. She sidestepped him and plucked two bottles of a brand she recognized off the shelf. 'Actually, I'm good'.

Schuyler picked up some toothpaste, rose blossom soap, and a small container of Vaseline, which she stepped up to the counter to pay for, Jack in tow.

'Is that all you want?' asked her in a surprised voice. 'Mimi has about a hundred bottles of stuff. I have never met a girl who could walk out of a drugstore without a lip-gloss or something. I don't want you to feel left out.' He snaked an arm around her waist and gently steered her towards a nearby Revlon display.

Schuyler laughed. 'Well, if it will make you happy…' Row upon row of sparkly bottles faced down at her. Pink, beige, pink, red, pink, red, pink, purple, pink… She picked up a tube in front of her. 'Cranberry flavored,' she read off the cap. 'Do you think it really does smell like berries?' She unscrewed the top, and spread a layer of glitter over her lips. She inhaled deeply and grinned. 'Hey! It really does. Here, smell some!'

She waved the wand in front of his face, almost catching the tip of his nose. Jack reached out with his hand, bringing her fist with the lip-gloss down to her side. He leaned in towards her, so close she could see the gold flecks in his bottomless emerald eyes. He brushed his mouth against hers. 'Okay', he whispered, moving his lips against her own.

Schuyler felt as though one hundred thousand live wires had shocked her. There was no feeling in the world, she felt sure, that compared to kissing Jack Force. She wrapped both arms around his neck, pulling him in closer. He opened her mouth with his, and then ran his tongue over her bottom lip. She sighed, and he felt so unlike he did when Mimi kissed him. That felt like duty, or it had done, of late. This felt like a golden, shining privilege. He ran his fingers through her hair, tipping her head back. She broke contact with him, gasping for breath. His own breathing was extremely uneven – but being a full-blood vampire meant that he could go without oxygen than Schuyler (being a half-blood) could.

*****