Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

Ch. 1 A Dance

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" Bella struck the camera out of James' hand. He had her pinned against the ballet banister. He moved his body into hers, causing her to lean back, the banister digging into her back as she tried to distance herself. The mirror was cool against the back of her head.

James' red eyes were staring directly into Bella's own eyes. She noticed the different shades of red that shot out from his pupil to the thick dark edge of the iris. His light eyelashes hung heavy as the two of them maintained eye contact.

Bella's breathing became less erratic the longer they stayed like that, until it was practically normal again. She noted that James didn't bother pretending to breathe like some vampires would to appear alive. The thought immediately connected her senses back to a moment in the woods with Edward. He'd had her pinned against a tree, trying to show her that he was dangerous. His breath was a cool wind on her face. Now there was nothing, though, just the still and slightly stale air of the studio hanging between her face and James'.

"I'm going to kill him when he comes, Bella. I'm going to have fun ripping his body apart and watching it burn." There was the breeze, cooling her cheek. Her eyes fluttered.

"You won't get that far, James. Don't be naïve enough to think that he would show up alone. The family will be here with him and you'll have no chance." Bella's eyes kept even with his. A calm resolve was building up inside of her, at her core. The nauseating twirls her stomach was making earlier were settling. Her heartbeat had slowed. Suddenly, she was no longer afraid for her life. She had – faith was the only word for it. Faith that Edward would save her again.

James laughed and the sound startled her a little out of her reserve. He grinned wider when her hands began to shake subtly at her sides. Moving his face just a centimeter closer to hers he whispered, "You underestimate me."

She gasped as he pulled away suddenly and stalked over to the fallen camera. It must have been a sturdy piece of electronics because when he picked it up the red recording light was still on. He pointed the lens at her.

"Now, tell your wonderful Edward that all you wish for, with the end of your ridiculous melodramatic life, is revenge against me."

Bella's jaw clenched as she spat out, "Fuck you."

James just shook his head with half of a grin stretching across his lips, "Oh Bella. When I first laid eyes on you, I never would have imagined you playing this heroine role right down to the last moment. What's it going to take to break you? Hm?"

He gripped the top of her left arm with his non-camera hand and hardly twitched a muscle. A hollow pop echoed through the studio and pain shot suddenly and fiercely into her shoulder. She screamed. He had dislocated her arm.

"Bella," her name came out as a tune from his lips. The lens of the camera was still pointed at her.

"You can kill me and I still won't say what you fucking want me to."

He slapped her across the face.

"Aagh! Fuck you! Fuck you! You need to beat up human girls to feel like a fucking man? Go to hell!" She spat blood into his face.

It was a stupid idea and she knew it the second she had done it. He licked the blood from his lips and his eyes grew darker. Her heartbeat began picking up pace once again. She wished it wouldn't. She knew James could hear the exact time of her bpm as it rose. He let the camera drop to his side and stepped up to Bella again. He pressed the entire front of his body into the entire front of her body. Her eyes grew wide.

His hard body was trembling against her. His non-camera hand was gripping the back of her neck tightly, fingers pressing into the soft flesh at the sides. Goddamn it, goddamn it, she thought.

"I have an idea, Bella," James sigh blew over her eyelids. She realized her eyes were squeezed shut. She opened them.

Any scathing comment she could have released onto him floated away and all that was left was one quivering word – "W-what?"

He chuckled deep in his chest. The vibration rumbled between their bodies. The point in Bella's back where she was forced against the banister was becoming sore. All she wanted to do was shift her position, but she was afraid to move even a millimeter.

"Bella?" James' lips were practically against her own. His face was slowly creeping down as his grip on her neck loosened.

"W-what?" She felt the word come out of her mouth but didn't really feel the act of saying it.

"Kiss me." His lips hovered that last minute distance from hers. She couldn't explain later why she did what she did if asked, but she did it. She closed the distance. Her soft, warm lips met James' cool mouth. It wasn't as though he was made of ice; he was a reflection of his surroundings. It was cool in the ballet studio so his lips were cool. They melded with her lips as she worked against them. She ran her tongue lightly over his top lip and he tasted the blood from her mouth. His fangs fell quickly and he nipped at her bottom lip, opening the tiniest of wounds. He sucked at them, her blood mixing with his saliva. Her discomfort against the banister was becoming apparent as she wriggled her body from side to side, trying to find a new stance. James pulled her away from it and crushed her body to his. She lost breath momentarily and James pulled his lips off of her.

When she brought her eyes back to his they were still dark but held a different sort of look for her. A physical jolt went through her. James wasn't smiling anymore.

Her body fell suddenly to the floor as he dropped her and backed away a couple of feet. She looked down at the smooth wooden floorboards below her. A medley of emotions were fighting through her but not a single thought ran with them. Her breathing was shallow. She was feeling light-headed. She looked back up to James. His face was stoic. It was the face a vampire gave when they were hiding something.

"I-" Bella couldn't run with a thought long enough to say anything to him.

At that moment the door at the other end of the studio burst inward off its hinges. Sound came back into their world. Bella remembered the video of her childhood playing in the background.

"Bella!" Edward was at her side in less than a second. When she looked up in front of her James was gone. Edward cradled her body in his arms. He lifted her up and showered kisses into her hair. Her vocal chords seemed paralyzed. She hadn't even looked into Edward's face yet. He was mumbling apologies against her scalp. Her mouth gaped like words were going to come out. Edward looked down into her eyes. She looked back into the familiar topaz.

"Edward?" Her voice was a hushed whisper.

"Bella. Bella, I'm here. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." Agony was rippling across his perfect features.

"Edward," Her eyebrows were drawn together, a knot in the muscle of her forehead forming into a headache, "where did he go?"

I'm starting this fic because I haven't written fic in a LONG time, and also because there is a severe lack of exploration in the James/Bella category. It's such a fascinating pairing! I'd really love some critiques. I probably won't update often because of school, but maybe I'll get bored over winter break and explore this story a whole bunch. I'm hoping this turns into a larger piece. Let me know what you think!