The Angel
Chapter 1 Change
Summary: In our lives, there comes a time when our lives are put at risk. Bella Swan is no exception to the rule. But what if there was no one around to save her? What will she do? Can a certain dark haired angel save her and offer her salvation? But what if salvation comes with a big price—her own life that is. Is she willing to give up her life for an eternity with a man she barely knew? And what if the people she loved comes back? Who will she choose—the person who stayed with her and saved her or her former family? It all ends with a choice.
Bella's POV
No. She found me. Victoria found me. Has she found Charlie as well? I didn't want him to get involved in this. It is the only thing I could do for him. I have always messed up my father's life. Why couldn't I do something good to him for once?
By having the knowledge of this mythical world filled with vampires and werewolves, the only thing I have ever done was put all the people I love in danger, and now I was going to pay the price. I deserved it. And I am prepared to accept my fate as long as Charlie is safe, as long as my dad is safe.
Victoria's lip curled up into a cruel smile, and then bared her glistening white teeth at me. I felt no fear as she crouched near the ground, preparing herself for the attack that was sure to come. I braced myself and closed my eyes, praying to whoever is in power up there that he would keep Charlie and Jacob safe.
I felt an unnatural breeze whiz by my side then cool breath tickled my face. "You really thought it would be that easy, didn't you?" she whispered, running her fingers along my cheek.
I just kept my mouth shut and did not reply. Because I knew the moment I opened my mouth, a scream will work its way out of my throat. And I did not want to give her the satisfaction of hearing that.
"Still a martyr, I see." she said, yanking my hair. It was painful, but I could still endure it. My eyes remained shut as she threw me on the ground and kicked my stomach. I winced in pain but my resolve was still strong. I will not scream.
She kicked me repeatedly in different parts of my body—my arms, legs, stomach, back, and face. I could feel some blood trickling down my nose and taste the salty flavor of blood in my mouth. And I could sense Victoria's plan on torturing me slowly crumble because of her thirst.
A low growl rose from her chest, making me shiver. My time is near, that I knew. If there is one thing that came to my mind, it was the thought of Edward and his lovely face. But I knew he wouldn't save me this time, because he is gone. He was part of the wonderful dream that is my life, and I was grateful for that.
But somebody stopped Victoria, and whoever it was, I owe my life to him. That was the last thing I thought, and then I blacked out.
Sometime later…
I woke up, feeling weird and strangely energized. Was it all a bizarre dream then? But the fact that I wasn't in a place I recognized convinced me that it wasn't a dream, that it was all real.
I looked around and searched for my savior, hoping to express my gratitude. But then I only found myself alone in this house. My savior couldn't be just some human or mortal. He or she could only be a vampire. But why did he do it?
Suddenly, I heard a beautiful voice from behind me. "It's a good thing you are awake now. I thought you were already dead when I found you in the forest." A handsome man with black hair said, leaning on the counter.
I saw that he was pale, almost as pale as vampires. But he had color in his cheeks, too. How did that happen? I decided to be polite and find out more about this man.
"Who are you?" I asked reluctantly, afraid of what he might do to me.
"I am Damon Salvatore. I saw that woman with red hair nearly kill you. If I arrived a second later you would have been drained dry." he said, with an air of arrogance.
"You are one of them? You're a vampire?" I asked, shocked. He definitely didn't look like one to me.
"So you know then? I am not exactly like them. I am a vampire, too, but not quite the same kind, Isabella." he said nonchalantly, as if it was nothing.
How did he know my name? Did he have the same ability as Ed—his? "Call me Bella. And what did you mean you are not exactly like them?" I asked, baffled.
"What I mean is, I have fangs, a heartbeat, and blood in my veins, and I don't have rock hard skin or any of their red eyes crap." he said tiredly, like he has been repeating this over and over to a five year old kid.
I stuttered, and then tried again. "How did that happen?" I asked again, knowing I had so much to learn.
"We are a different kind of vampire." he started, and explained everything to me.
I listened intently, sucking in a sharp breath once in a while, taking it all in. I guess he expected me to go into shock, and was surprised that I didn't. His face showed a trace of sadness, but composed himself quickly. "Is there something wrong?" I asked, worried.
"No. You just reminded me of a friend of mine that is very dear to me." He replied honestly.
"Was she human, too?" I asked, before I could stop myself.
"How do you know it's a she?" he asked incredulously. He seemed to be searching for something in my eyes, but stopped after a while.
"There was just something that sparked in you when you mentioned her." I stated, looking at my hands.
After a few moments of silence, I decided to break it. "Thank you for saving my life. Although, if you don't mind me asking, why did you save me? I mean, you could have just let me die." I asked quietly.
"I didn't exactly save you. I did quite the opposite. I am killing you already as I speak." he said, gloomily.
My eyebrows shot up in surprise. Why did he say that? Does he plan to prey on me? "In what way are you killing me?" I asked, staring at him.
"I fed you some of my blood to save you. There was just no other way, you had too many injuries. If you don't drink human blood soon, you will slowly die. And judging from your character, you're not one to kill a human." he said, giving me a look of pity.
I froze, letting it all sink in. I need to kill to save myself? "Isn't there any other way? Animal blood, maybe?" I asked, hoping that he would say yes.
"I'm afraid not. But I don't know if you would consider drinking from a pouch that came from the blood bank. You need human blood in your system." he replied, patting my hand.
"It would be such a waste if I let you die. Don't worry, I won't force you to do it if you don't want to." he added.
His eyes were filled with loneliness that he hid so well, but I still saw through them. Could I kill a person willingly? The answer is no. Maybe if I really had no other choice.
"Give me time to think about it." I said suddenly, making up my mind. I will not allow this man who saved me to suffer alone. I f I could ease some of his burden, then I would do it if I can.
A few hours later…
Damon left to steal some blood from the hospital, saying that he didn't have any stock left. He told me not to be conspicuous and to behave. I did my best to follow his instructions. I distracted myself by looking at the things in the house, but there wasn't much. He said he was just staying for a couple of nights.
If he goes, will I go with him as a vampire? My mind still wasn't made up. Suddenly, the doorbell rang and forgetting the last few hours, I automatically opened the door like I always did.
"Hello. There was an ad that said that this house is for rent?" The man asked, stepping through the door. He smelled so…inviting.
He looked around the house and I couldn't take my eyes off the blue veins on his neck and imagined the blood that ran through them. I snapped out of my thoughts and was disgusted with myself for even considering that.
I let the man take a look around and closed the door. As I passed by the mirror, I saw the veins surrounding my eyes protrude and become more prominent than ever. I was horrified and covered my mouth, blocking the scream that was threatening to come out any minute.
My jaws hurt and I felt something sharp growing in my mouth. Fangs, I thought. The man asked if I was alright and once he saw what I looked like, he cowered in fear and backed away. Suddenly, I was in front of him and grabbing his neck, looking at him straight in the eyes.
"You cannot tell anyone, okay? You cannot tell anyone." I forced at him, shaking his body.
"I will not tell anyone." he said, zombie-like.
"Really?" I asked doubtfully.
"Yes." he replied in a dead voice.
My fangs grew loner and I could no longer hold back. "I am so sorry. Please forgive me for doing this to you." I said, biting his neck.
I could feel the blood in my mouth, it tastes wonderful. The sweetest thing I have tasted in my entire life. He didn't fight back, until he was already limp from the loss of blood. Minutes after, he was already dead. I pushed his body away from me.
My conscience was bugging me, and I feel like a monster. That man could have done a lot with his life, and yet I just took it away because of my own selfish reasons.
The door opened and my head snapped to that direction. I saw Damon standing there, looking at the dead body and then at me. "I killed him." I choked, looking at the blood on my face and hands.
He hugged me and rubbed my back comfortingly, hushing me. "Shh, it's alright. It's normal for you to crave a lot of blood." he said.
I cried even more, and I kept on saying, "I killed him." while I held onto him like he was a life support. He didn't push me away or anything. He just held me close until I finally stopped crying.
"You could shut it off like a switch, you know? The pain, the guilt, it will all go away if you want to." he said.
I almost considered doing it, but how could I be sure that there was still some humanity left in me if I did that? And so, I shook my head at him. "Does this mean the Change is complete now?" I asked, already knowing the answer.
"Yes." he replied, carrying the body out and probably going to bury it in the woods.
Trying not to look at the body, I followed him out and walked behind him. "I guess you are stuck with me then." I said, already decided that I will go with him to keep him company.
"Oh, how lucky I am!" he said sarcastically, although I knew he did want me around.
"Hey, don't be too harsh, I have feelings, too. Don't worry; I will try not to be annoying or anything relatively close to it." I promised, raising my hands, palms up.
"Good." he replied, walking past me into the house.
We talked about each other's lives, how he changed, about my childhood, and our families. I was having a good time until he made a mistake to ask about him. Not exactly him but something close. "How did you know about vampires?" he asked, staring at me.
I took a deep breath and prepared myself to tell him. He was like a best friend to me already, even though we just met less than twenty four hours ago. "I fell in love with one." I started, my hands clenching into fists.
"You fell in love with a vampire?" he asked, although not as shocked as he was supposed to be.
"Yes. I thought he loved me back, but in the end he left me. He told me he didn't love me anymore." I replied in a thick voice, my eyes watering.
"Well, he clearly doesn't deserve a girl like you. He must have been a real jerk to let you go." he said, defending me.
"Thank you, for everything. I don't know what would have happened to me if you didn't come into my life." I said honestly, squeezing his hand.
He squeezed mine back and led me to a room where he said I could sleep. The concept was new to me, but I obliged anyway. Before he went away, he told me something. "I am leaving tomorrow. Do you want to come with me or do you wish to stay here in your town?" he asked hopefully.
I didn't have the heart to say no, and there wasn't anything left for me here anyway. Jake would hate me and I will just put Charlie in more danger. "I thought it was clear when I said that you would be stuck with me that I am going with you wherever you go. I just want to leave my dad a letter, if you don't mind." I replied, pleading with him to understand.
"Do whatever you need to finish. Just remember not to give too much away. Goodnight, Bella." he said, walking towards his room.
"Goodnight, Damon." I replied, and went inside my room. I plopped down the bed and after writing the letter, immediately fell asleep.
The next day…
We went to Charlie very early in the morning, and Damon accompanied me just to be sure. I resisted draining my dad and placed the letter on his bedside table, where he will find it when he wakes up. "Goodbye, Dad. I love you." I said, planting a kiss on cheek.
We are now in Damon's Ferrari; driving to…I don't know where. "Where are we going, exactly?" I asked Damon, raising my eyebrow.
"Welcome aboard to Salvatore Airlines. Our destination is Mystical Falls, Virginia. Please turn off your mobile phones and put on your seatbelts. Thank you and enjoy the ride." he said jokingly, in the way a stewardess talks.
I giggled and pondered what he said for a while. "Mystic Falls, Virginia?" I asked. I never heard of that town before.
"It's a small town, just like Forks. We are going to visit my brother there, and maybe a couple of friends." he replied, turning on the radio.
I immediately recognized the song playing—Claire de Lune by Debussy. It brought back memories and my chest was aching. I clutched it and shut off the radio, fighting back the tears.
He looked at me for a second and said. "It's about him, isn't it?" he asked, understanding why I shut off the radio.
I nodded, and surprisingly, he placed a hand on my shoulder. "I know how it feels, loving a person who doesn't love you back. I felt it when I was human, with my brother Stefan and Katherine. I felt it a few years ago, with Stefan again and Elena." he said.
He needn't say more; he already told me the story of him and his brother. The women he loved always chose his brother over him. "His name was Edward." I said, saying his name straight for the first time since he left.
"We don't need to talk about it. We were given another shot at life, that's why we need to enjoy it this time around." he said, cheering me up.
At Mystic Falls, Virginia…
Damon showed me the beautiful and huge Salvatore boarding house. It was old-fashioned, but there was a homey feel in it that made me feel attached to the house. Damon knocked on the wood thrice until finally, a dark-haired woman opened the door.
She looked surprised when she saw Damon, stuttering. "D-Damon? What are you doing here?" she asked, hugging him.
"Don't I have to visit my own house once in a while, Elena?" he joked, smirking at her.
"Of course you do. Who is she?" She asked, finally taking notice of my presence. She was obviously human, and very much alive.
"Elena, meet Bella. Bella, meet Elena." he said, quickly making introductions. She smiled kindly at me and hugged me. "It's nice to meet you, Bella." she said honestly.
I stiffened at the contact, afraid that I might hurt her. Aside from the fact that she smells so good, I still couldn't control my strength yet. I could snap her neck accidentally or something. She instantly felt rejected and withdrew away from me. "Sorry." she mumbled, placing her hands behind her back.
"No, no, really, it's nice to meet you, too. But I don't think I can handle all of this so suddenly." I said, so as not to make her feel bad.
"What do you mean?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Elena, you see, Bella's still new." Damon explained. Understanding quickly dawned on her as she heard his words.
"Oops, sorry. And you Damon, you could have told me earlier!" she chided.
"Well, you didn't give me any chance to talk." he replied, rolling his eyes.
Damon started to walk through the door and I tried to follow, but found that I couldn't get in. There was some sort of barrier that was blocking me. When Elena saw the state I was in, she just said, "Come in." and I was able to get through. Weird.
"You see, vampires cannot get through human dwellings unless they are invited in." Damon explained, leading me to the living room.
Somebody appeared from behind me, and I turned around to see a guy with sort of blonde hair wearing a gray sweater and a pair of jeans. "Damon, you're back." he stated, unsurprised.
"Yes, Captain Obvious, I am." Damon, being Damon, replied.
"Who is this with you? I hope you are not planning another scheme." Stefan said, narrowing his eyes.
"Now, now, little brother, don't be rude. I just came by to introduce Bella to you. Bella, this is my little brother, Stefan. Stefan, this is Bella." Damon said, introducing me to his brother and watching him with his eyes.
"Hello." I mumbled, looking down. I hated being the center of attention. Stefan is looking at me with scrutiny, like I was a Science experiment.
"She is one of us." Stefan stated, glaring at Damon.
"Don't give me that look, Stefan. She was about to be killed by a Cold One." he defended, looking at me.
"A Cold One? Are you sure?" Stefan asked.
"It's true. If it wasn't for Damon, Victoria would have killed me by now." I said, defending him.
"You know her name?" he asked, shocked.
"Yes. She was the mate of the vampire that a…friend of mine killed to save me. She came back looking for me to take revenge." I said, editing some stuff.
"A Cold One killed another vampire just to save you? And you even got my brother to spare you from being his meal? What is it with you anyway?" he asked me, disbelieving.
"Tsk, tsk. Stefan, is that the proper way to treat a lady? I am sure Father will be very disappointed if he is still alive right now." Damon chided, mock punching his brother's shoulder.
"Will the both of you stop it? I can't believe you don't have enough shame to go get a room and do whatever you want to do with each other there." Elena said, glaring at both of them.
"I'm fine, Elena, really. They're brothers, what did you expect? I think it's normal for them to banter with each other once in a while. Have some fun?" I said, trying to lighten the mood.
She just smiled at me and pulled my hand, pushing me down on the sofa. Stefan was about to protest before she raised a finger and stopped him. "You boys go some place and don't bother us. We're going to have girl bonding." Elena instructed, shooing them off.
"I'm not just going to—" Stefan started, and Elena cut him off. "I'm perfectly able to protect myself, Stefan. I have protection with me, just in case. And I think Bella here won't do anything to hurt me." she said, comforting him. He nodded unwillingly, knowing he wouldn't win against her.
"See you in a few, Bella." Damon said, winking at me. I smiled back in response, before turning my torso to face the beautiful girl that treated me like a friend even though she knew I was a new vampire, barely days old.
"Why do you love Stefan? I don't think a human-vampire relationship would ever work. One of you will just end up hurt." I asked, taking the advice from my own experience.
"I love him, Bella, and he loves me, too. I guess people don't see reason when they are in love." she explained, folding her hands together on her lap.
"It's never too late to change your mind, Elena. I know it's not my place to intrude, but you have been so nice to me even if we just met. If he doesn't plan to change you, it's either he would end up getting hurt protecting you or you will die." I said sympathetically. I can clearly see myself in her.
"I would rather die than to be away from him. I just can't, it hurts me to do so." she replied.
"Sometimes, you need to know what's good for you. And you need to learn to love it or at least, accept it because it will be for the best." I told her, tearing up because I know I should have taken up this advice from my father.
"Did you…fall in love with that Cold One you were talking about a while ago?" she asked slowly, reaching for my hand.
A tear fell on the black jeans that I wore, staining it. "Yes. I loved him more than anything, more than life itself. I was prepared to change for him, even though I knew it would be the most painful thing in the world. But he left me, in the woods a couple of weeks after my birthday party. He told me he didn't love me anymore." I choked, my hands clenching into fists.
"He's definitely a jerk if he left a girl like you." she said, hugging me. I immediately stiffened at the contact, feeling the veins around my eyes become prominent once more. I took a deep breath to steady myself, trying to control the urge to kill. My heart was filled with happiness when I was able to resist and I relaxed into her soft embrace and returned it.
It was right there, in that old house, that my friendship with Elena Gilbert was formed, and I knew it was something I would cherish forever.
(A/N: Do you like it? It was just a random thing that popped into my head like some sort of fungus or something. Review if you want more!)
