Disclaimer: The world of Twilight and any publicly recognisable characters are the intellectual property of Stephenie Meyer. I'm just borrowing them and make no money with this fanfiction whatsoever.

I haven't been in this fandom for years but I've read some (a lot of) fanfiction again recently and for some reason this has been ghosting around in my head. I've got plans to make more out of this story. Demetri is such a cool character and I think I've read most stories about him by now. Next chapter will switch to his POV.

"Speech"
'Thoughts'

Happy reading!

Chapter ONE

'I hadn't thought of much when I stepped outside for a few minutes to get some air that night. Just a short walk to clear my head and enjoy the chilly night breeze. I suppose hindsight is always 20/20.'

The air of the small youth hostel room felt humid, stale, and was thick with the smell of sweat and wet beach towels that were flung over the rails of the four bunk beds crammed into the small room. The girl in the bed beneath her was snoring softly. The rustle of a blanket came from somewhere on the other side of the room. She couldn't tell if anyone shared her insomnia. Suppressing a groan she crawled across the bed and climbed down the ladder, careful not to step on any of the phones that were clustered around the power outlets to charge overnight.

She unplugged hers and checked the time. 3:41 am. Brilliant.

This would be a short night indeed, if she'd manage to sleep at all. She tossed her charger and travel plug unceremoniously on the bed and tiptoed to her bag, pulling out a navy, Sherpa lined sweater and slipped on a pair of flip-flops before sneaking out of the room. The drop in temperature was instantaneous and she squinted at the brightly lit hallway. A breath of relief. She'd decided to step outside for a minute for a breeze of fresh air. Not that backpacking and staying at cheap hostels bothered her generally. She was young, fresh out of university, and ready to see the world. Not spending any lengthy amount of time indoors anyway, a thin, worn-out mattress, a shower, and a socket to charge her devices was all she needed from her accommodation.

And Wi-Fi, obviously.

Sharing a room with strangers had been an experience at first, especially since her friend Kate who she'd planned this trip with had to cancel. Her mom's cancer had come back and understandably, Kate had stayed home.

"When things get better again, I'll join you wherever you're at," Kate had said hugging her fiercely before she'd gone through security at Edinburgh Airport. Her friend had been fighting tears, probably at the thought of why she wasn't getting on a flight to Amsterdam with Olivia right now. Or maybe because they'd shared an apartment ever since they moved out of halls after their first year in London and hadn't spent more than two or three weeks apart at a time ever since.

Olivia's heart had fallen at the sight. Her perky roommate slash (study) partner in crime with short, dirty blonde hair and an inappropriate joke up her sleeve at all times was never one for sentimental gestures. Hell, since when did they hug?

"Soon then." Another light squeeze that told Kate the things she hadn't been able to put into words.

Yes, travelling alone across mainland Europe had been an experience, but a surprisingly good one. After the Netherlands, she'd crossed Belgium, France, and Spain. Olivia discovered that she was decent as a hobby photographer and started updating her blog again. That way she'd at least share her impressions. She skyped Kate a few times per week, usually from a Starbucks or her hostel when it had a decent connection. Luckily, her mom's condition seemed stable at least. Three days ago she paid a visit to the Serra da Estrela National Park before stopping at a small Portuguese town called Peniche that was popular with surfers. Kate was from Cornwall and had probably stood on a board before she could walk, winning a few regional contests when she was older. Olivia thought she might give it a shot and had taken some classes in the two days she'd been here. That it was much harder than it looked like was definitely an understatement but she could see why Kate had missed it so much while in London. It felt like the water washed away all the thoughts she preoccupied herself with, while travelling on her own. She still preferred running on dry land, though. Way more stable and predictable.

She made her way down a narrow staircase and through the lobby, unnoticed by the receptionist that had dozed off behind his desk. Outside she pulled her sweater over the loose, heather grey tee she was using as sleepwear along with a pair of black shorts, and zipped it up halfway. The air was chilly here at night, even in summer and she was grateful to have packed some semi-warm pieces.

Crossing her arms she walked briskly across the empty street and a few hundred yards along the pavement before she reached the wooden stairs that would lead her to the deserted beach. It was high tide as far as she could tell and she plopped down on the cool sand, just a few feet away from the water. The sound of the incoming waves allowed her to drift away from the world a little as she gazed up at the clear night sky.

"Com licença, posso fazer-te companhia?" a smooth voice asked softly from just a few feet to her right.

"Bloody he—," Olivia snapped her head around at the source of the voice, trailing off as she took in the figure that had joined her soundlessly. Crap. She hadn't heard anyone coming. Suspiciously, she eyed her new company, a lean, yet muscular man, probably around her age who was clad in a dark grey coat, black jeans and black leather shoes, trying to determine whether he might be a serial killer or sex offender. A girl can't be careful enough. Even from this awkward angle, her perched on the ground taking in his profile, she could tell he was handsome – or perhaps it was just too dark to make out any flaws – his dark-ish hair styled in this messy look that's supposed to seem like he didn't spend any time on it at all but in reality he'd probably stood in front of the mirror for about ten minutes pulling strands into the right place and finishing it off with a generous amount of wax. His eyes were fixed on the invisible horizon and his stance was relaxed, non-threatening, his hands buried in his coat pockets.

The hint of a smirk tucked at his lips, his voice tinted with amusement now, though words were perfectly gentlemanly. "Pardon me. I asked whether you minded if I joined you."

Still wary, Olivia shrugged. "Well, you're already here. Besides, it's a free country." One hand was clutching her phone in her left pocket and she was mentally going over some of the tips her Krav Maga instructor had given them. You know, just in case. She kept staring for a few more seconds before she turned her head to the sky again, yet not without observing him from the corner of her eye. He wasn't moving at all.

"Indeed. Still, the company of a lovely lady should not be taken for granted." She looked at him again, suppressing a dramatic eye roll, and this time he looked back at her, flashing a bright smile. Seriously, he was handsome but did he have to be the type of guy that couldn't have a pleasant conversation without flirting?

"I'm lovely then, huh?" Two could play a game. Given he wasn't the next Ted Bundy that is. At some point during her university career she'd gained the confidence she'd lacked when she was younger. She was happy with her looks – dark brown hair framed her pale, freckled face, falling past her shoulders in waves and contrasting vibrant emerald eyes – and did enjoy a playful flirt. Something about his gaze gave her the chills, however, although she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. His eyes perhaps? In the darkness she couldn't make out their colour but she was pretty sure they were quite dark, a startling contrast his pale skin.

"Exquisite even," he replied. 'Uh, oh..' There was definitely a double meaning in his words this time.

She tensed slightly, not enough to tip him off but just enough so she could jump from her sitting position and break into a run if necessary. He was roughly 8 feet away and the little wooden bridge that led across the slope between the beach and the street was to her left. She could make it.

'Not everyone is a serial killer, Liv.'

"Why are you here? Can't sleep?"

"You could say that." Amusement laced his voice again, but at least his unnerving gaze shifted towards the horizon. "You?"

"Same." After a few minutes of silence I added. "No AC at the hostel I'm staying at. Not exactly comfortable with seven other people in the room. Anyway, are you from here? You spoke Portuguese earlier but you've got no accent." She was rambling now.

"Just passing through, I'm afraid. A meeting for work in the area." His tone was conversational now, a definite improvement on the slightly – read: very – creepy way he'd called her 'exquisite' earlier.

Work. Something she'd have to figure out after she was done travelling. When she'd run out of cash.

"That explains your outfit then," Olivia said. 'Yeah, you really know how to talk to a hot slash creepy guy.' He just pulled his eyebrows together inquisitively. "You don't look like you're here for fun."

His gaze wandered back to her, he seemed to muster her clothes this time. Right, she was in her PJ top, shorts and an old lumpy sweater. Hiding her embarrassment she just stared at the waves that were breaking a little further out now.

"And you are, I take it?" She could practically hear his smirk.

"Yeah, just seeing the world, I guess, after an excessive amount of time cooped up in labs and libraries. I finished my postgrad a couple of weeks ago."

Perhaps out of curiosity or just for the sake to keep the conversation going, he enquired about her studies.

"Master's degree in computer science," she said. Since when did serial killers care about their victims' academic qualifications? He seemed interested, though, so she decided to elaborate on her specialisation in cyber security and how she'd gotten into programming. Her parents had always thought she'd be a lawyer and up until year 11 she thought so, too, but the new kid called Fred, a nerd that mostly kept to himself, quickly became one of her best friends and taught her some of his tricks. Olivia turned out to have a knack for it and spent more and more time behind the screen. At that time, she'd taken up running again, too, to remind herself that there was still an outside world. It was after graduation when Fred had moved to the States and Olivia had been preparing her move to London when a friend confirmed her suspicions that Fred had been madly in love with her for the two years they'd known each other. She'd known but she'd never acted upon it, partly because his feelings were unrequited, partly because she did like him as a friend, and partly because it was fascinating to learn from him and improve in her newfound passion. He'd gone on to MIT and last time she heard was at Silicon Valley now but she still felt awful stringing him along for her own selfish reasons. It was silly in so many ways. Silly because it was so glaringly obvious in hindsight. And silly that she still held on to her guilt after four years when he'd moved on. She shook her head as she finished the story, back in the present again at a deserted beach in Portugal, safe for her strange companion.

"It was not your fault," he said absently and shrugged. "He did not tell you either." He was looking away from her now. Following his gaze she could see that far to their right, the horizon wasn't invisible anymore. The sky was greying. "It's getting late." He was even quieter now, eerily still and solemn for some reason. Was that regret in his voice?

Olivia's reply was caught in her throat. That chill was back along with a nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right about this man. He seemed otherworldly somehow. Part of her wanted to run away screaming, but part of her also wanted to spend more time here with him. He had hardly spoken but she had a hunch that he'd have much more to talk about if he told his life story.

'He's dangerous', a small voice in her mind tried to reason with the rest of her brain and snap her out of her stupor. She could hear her blood rushing in her ears.

Turning around again, his face was an unfathomable mask, almost like carved out of marble. His eyes reflected some inner turmoil, however. Regret like in his voice, and confusion perhaps. Like he tried to silently tell her he was sorry, but didn't quite understand why he was apologising.

'Get the hell out of here!'

He held out a hand for her. It took Olivia a moment to register that he meant to help her up.

'Don't! It's a trap!'

As if on autopilot she took it nonetheless, fully aware that her voice of reason repeatedly banged her head against a wall in frustration. Her breath hitched as she registered the coldness of his hand, glacial was a pretty apt description, but there was more. A subtle tingling sensation crawled over her skin where they touched as he pulled her up with ease, their eyes never leaving each another. He was even more gorgeous up close. She briefly wondered if her face betrayed the chaos inside her.

Confusion, fascination, fear.

Desire.

He seemed equally confused by this silent exchange, albeit for different reasons. She watched how – as if in slow motion – he kept a hold on her hand and brought it up to his face, pressing a kiss on its knuckles like an aristocrat from a past century.

"You should return to your lodging now," he spoke so quietly, she almost thought she'd imagined it.

'Hell yes, you should!' An inexplicable side of her didn't want to part with him, but without saying another word she turned on her heels and walked as fast as she could back to the wooden steps without breaking into a run. As she reached the top of the steps, she stole one last glance in his direction.

He was gone.

For anyone who's curious. The beach I was picturing in this is Praia de Peniche de Cima.

Serra da Estrela National Park is a place I absolutely want to visit. It's the one with a lake that looks like a portal to another world. Look it up if you're unfamiliar with it, it's really cool!

Also, I hope I didn't completely butcher the Portuguese language. I tried my best using example sentences and dictionaries. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

As I was saying in the beginning, I kinda wrote this on a whim. Parts of it just wrote themselves in a way, especially from when she's telling him about herself (I had nothing about this backstory on my character notes, just her subject xD) I can't say that part of me didn't want to go for the surprise and have Demetri actually kill Olivia at the end but then I wouldn't be able to continue this.

Please do let me know what you're thinking, whether you wanna read more etc! As I was saying, I haven't been in the fandom for years, I'm not in any forums, so input is always welcome.

xXx