Merry Christmas! It's been snowing over here – it would get washed away by rain the day before Christmas. Yeah, just our luck. Aw well, I hate snow :3.

Ok, so I suck at summaries and shit so sorry if the summary sucks… maybe the story even sucks? Ya never know. A big thumbs up to Project Team better who picked up on all the grammatical errors I never even noticed :) thanks! Also, these vampires are sort of a cross between a lot of vampire stories I've read before. Some of you may notice similarities here between these and the 'true blood' vampires – yeah I read the books. Also, I took some of the ideas from this kind of freaky Manga I read once, also a book that I bought my little brother called vampirates that I got bored and read.

Spider's web - Jamie T.

Caught in a Spider's web,
It's not the first time playing dead,
they know something, oh well we're running,
I know they'll catch up in the end.

In the hustle and the bustle I feel
I'm in trouble and I trip and then I stumble,
I feel myself fall in the hustle and the bustle
It's too rough I tumble in the gravel and the rubble can you hear me call?


It was a bright August day as Bella started her own life. She didn't like being around so many strangers, with the staring that seemed to follow her like she had done something wrong.

But nobody could know about her secret.

She tried to smile at her roommate in her new, sparse room. She was a pretty girl of the same age, who was kind to her and hadn't questioned her nocturnal activity.

She was tired and bleary eyed, her sleeping pattern hadn't gotten any better. Three hours of sleep per night was not enough to keep a person awake all day, and the days only seemed to get longer as she slept less. The guilt seemed to be gnawing at her, stopping her from the rest she so desperately needed.

"Bella, you look awful!" Victoria scowled as the tired girl stepped through the door of her old home.

"Hi, Vic. You look gorgeous," she told Victoria, unsurprised about the fact, also noting the cheery Christmas decoration. Victoria took her bags with a sad smile and a pat on her head, carrying them away in strong arms.

"We kept your room just how you like it!" She called from above, and James appeared from the basement.

"Bells, god we've missed you!" he called as he moved fast towards her, arms wide and face smiling as he grabbed the girl in a ferocious grip and hugged her tight to him. Bella smiled wearily, the smile more enthusiastic than before as she returned the hug, her arms reaching around to hold his strong back. She inhaled deeply, smelling the scent of home for the first time in a long while.

"You haven't been sleeping, have you?" Victoria stated, seemingly appearing out of thin air at the bottom of the stairs. Her hand was grasping the white banister as she stepped at a normal speed towards the pair as they disentangled from each other's arms.

"Not very well," She stated, avoiding her theories as to why. James and Victoria were ushering her into the family room, their cold hands seemingly warm on her feverish flesh.

"You're hot."

"I'm always hot to you two," she smirked, the smile again not reaching her drooping eyes, seeming to mirror her stooped posture.

James shook his head, his clammy hand reaching for her forehead. "Bella, you've got a fever."

"Fuck," Bella groaned, annoyed by her ill health at the cheery time of year.

"Language! We taught you better than that. Come on, let mommy look after you." Victoria smiled as James gathered their little girl in their arms and carried her upstairs to her room.

Bella smiled as they produced her pajamas, working quickly as a team, and left her alone to change, before returning and passing her Ibuprofen and a… bucket of water.

She sighed. They never got human portions right. She was cheered by the gesture, showing how much they really cared, even though she never really doubted it. She felt safe, safe from any monsters that may be lurking in the dark night, or even the light.

James stroked her forehead, soothing her skin and tucking her up, like they did when she first came to them, and then sat by her on the bed, keeping a hand on her and keeping her cool.

Bella's breathing deepened, and James left her there, deeply asleep and walked downstairs to Victoria.

"Call him. She's not well." Victoria nodded and picked up the phone.

***

Bella awoke to a gentle shaking. Victoria was sitting at her side, Bella's head in her lap, and her hands on her forehead, stroking her.

"Someone's here to see you, Bella," she whispered, ceasing with the persistent shaking. Bella groaned and sat up, her body soaked in her own sweat. She grimaced and reached down to peel the top away from her hot skin. She felt disgusting, ready to crawl out of her own skin to escape the horrible feeling. She'd slept fitfully, searing in even her dreams.

Her breathing sped up as she noted an impressive figure standing in the doorway, his broad chin and his narrow nose, his Grecian cheek bones and tousled hair that couldn't have been naturally styled. James ushered him in, looking tiny compared to the hulking figure that was her visitor. He looked gorgeous in a professional way, in slacks and shirt, a long dark winter coat, and broad shoulders that tapered down to a slim waist. She was under no illusions that all three of the sharp pairs of eyes in the room noticed her perusal of the beautiful man in front of her, inhumanly beautiful. Bella sighed, a man like that would never be interested in, her. She was Bella Swan, abandoned by even her own parents. She couldn't bring herself to care about how dawn of the dead she invariably looked. She was sick, she was allowed to look like shit.

He smiled gently at her. "I hear you're sick, Bella." Bella's smile dropped as she realized he was talking to her like she was a child.

"Ok, let's check your temperature," he said, his voice slipping like velvet over her skin.

He produced a thermometer from his bag and sat down on the edge of her bed, passing his long coat to Victoria, whose bony hand was already extended. He then proceeded to ask her what was wrong, although she found it hard to answer with a thermometer in her mouth.

"Don't worry, answer me in a minute." He smiled, patting her hand as she nodded slowly, tongue rebelling from the foreign feeling of the thin stick of the thermometer under her tongue. She was scared as to what he was going to find.

It made a sharp beeping noise, startling her from her musings and the doctor swiftly removed it. He checked the temperature and his face frowned.

"You have a bad temperature, Bella. You're going to have to stay in here and sweat it out. Now, have you had any other problems?"

"I've been more tired than usual... but unable to sleep." He nodded, gesturing for her to carry on. "I've had a sore throat for longer than usual, and a bit of a cold I think. I didn't realize it was that bad..."

"No, no, Bella, it's not bad. Were there any times of the month that you were more tired than usual?" He hinted.

She blushed. "I suppose."

"And that would be?"

"Um. When I had my period." She looked away awkwardly, averting her eyes from her adoptive parents who smirked at her.

"Bella, I think you could be anemic. If you've been sick for longer than usual, it could indicate something being wrong with you're immune system. Bella, have you been giving blood?" Bella's eyes shot up to his, who were looking at her expectantly, asking her for more information than she had to give in present company.

James and Victoria were both startled by Edward's words. "Bella wouldn't ever do anything like that, she knows how dangerous it is," James said smoothly, convinced by the truth in his words. Bella closed her eyes guiltily, because she was a disappointment. Would they throw her away? Like the shadowy figures that flitted through her memory, Renee and Charlie Swan, the former inhabitants of Forks, Washington? She remembered her father, Charlie, telling him he loved her. She remembered his silly little moustache that she'd hated as a child, it always tickled when he kissed her cheek as she left for school. Her biological mother had been distant, she'd been there always, but too far away. Bella had always tried to make her happy, but whenever she touched her, Renee's beautiful, youthful face had flinched away from her. Bella was used to being despised by people she loved, but she couldn't be hated by Victoria and James, they had taken her in when she was a lost little girl, clumsy and tripping over her own two feet. She'd grown up already, she was eight when Renee had given her away like a doll she didn't want anymore. She could remember the last look on her angelic face as she'd thrown her away.

Bella's eyes flitted between James and Victoria's still faces. They were too still, frozen and not under the charade of humanity anymore. Their fierce gazes were settled on her. Sad with all the years they'd lived alone, unable to give each other what they'd always wanted in their human life. Edward was shifting uncomfortably to his other foot, as Bella's eyes moved to him, begging him with her eyes wide to not tell them, she wanted them to still love her. Please.

"Bella, I need to know." His face was set strangely, his jaw was clenched and his eyes were tight, he looked at her as if disappointed, as if he was her father. But no, her father didn't want her. Her father lied. Edward kneeled down on the floor beside her bed, his eyes going from fiery to imploring as his knees touched ground. "Listen, Bella. Tell me." His voice was hypnotizing, but she ignored it easily, her face set defiantly.

"Bella. I. Will. Use. Force," He gritted his perfect teeth, nostrils flaring indignantly at her ignoring his answer. His eyes were aflame again with anger and possessiveness that confused Bella. Bella stared into his eyes unwavering, she wasn't scared by him. His hands reached for the collar of her pajama top, pulling it away, revealing too much hot skin. Bella didn't move to stop him because she knew she couldn't. Her eyes were closed in shame; she didn't want to see Victoria and James' faces as they discovered what their only daughter did at night.

Edward's hands moved to pull her arm from under the comforter. He growled as her muscles stiffened unconsciously, giving away it's dark secret. The muscles loosened as Bella noticed the tensing, letting him pull up her top above her elbow forcefully, almost ripping it. Bella held in a cry of pain as he yanked her arm towards him, turning it around as he searched for the telltale marks.

He hissed when he found them.

"Who Bella?" he asked. She didn't open her eyes to see the wounded look, the disappointed little grimace that would sit there on their perfect faces. The same look that they'd had the first time she'd gotten drunk and the first time she'd tried smoking, and every other teenage first she'd had. Their fiercely loyal and protective nature was a curse as much as it was a blessing.

"Fuck. You!" she snarled defiantly, finally opening her eyes to stare unwaveringly into his heated green orbs. His fangs had appeared from their hiding place and she didn't move to look at either of her parents. She didn't need to see their looks of shame as she faced off a beautiful vampire. She didn't need to hear their thoughts to know the many ways they were planning on torturing the poor man who'd showed her things she wouldn't ever wish to forget.

His long fingers grazed the inflamed skin of the puncture wound. She struggled not to flinch, showing a kink in her armor that she didn't want him to see.

"Edward, stop!" James hissed, crossing the room in a single stride. "I think you should leave, we need to speak to Bella alone." Edward dipped his head, breaking my gaze reluctantly before standing, taking his coat and leaving in a swish of cool air and black fabric.

"Why, Bells? Why would you put yourself in danger like that?" she pleaded, looking deep into her daughters eyes. James was pacing the room predatorily, his hand fisted into his short, blonde hair.

"Yeah, Bella, why the fuck would you do something like that? I'm going to kill that fucking piece of dirt, Bella, tell me his fucking name." James shouted, spinning on Bella. A sob burst from her chest. She knew they would be angry at her. James' voice held no inch of love in it, nothing but anger that she'd done this, let some… some man defile her in that way.

"Shh... baby," Victoria cooed, stroking the opposite arm, and whispering sweet nothings into her ear. James and Victoria shared a worried glance, close to tears that they couldn't shed that their only daughter couldn't tell them that this was what she wanted.

"Tell us what happened," James asked in a low, comforting voice, still stroking her long hair, running his long fingers through the dark tresses.

"I... I wanted to try it, so I went... I went and I found one of your friends." Her small voice belied her fear, not for herself, for Jasper. James and Victoria held in their questions of 'who', and let her continue her story. "He said he'd do it... And then I just couldn't stop giving..." Bella looked away, ashamed of her night time habits and looked into the eyes of the parents who had looked cared for her for nine years.

"Come on, baby, who was it?" Bella bit her lip and looked into Victoria's eyes. They were vicious where she was concerned, and she didn't want him to get hurt. She shook her head, eyes closed.

"Tell us!" James commanded, his voice enticing. Bella shook her head again, eyes closed tight. Her hands moved to clamp over her ears. Victoria caught her hands, and whispered the same thing in a soft voice.

They talked in unison, their voices hypnotizing, sweet and tempting.

She opened her eyes and refused to tell them. Victoria and James hissed, disappearing from the room faster than her eyes could see. She shook her head, upset, and sobbing into her little hands.

She fell asleep curled onto her big, double bed, dreaming of the first night of many.

***

"Hi, uh, are you there Jasper? It's Bella." She said into the intercom.

"Come on up, Bella," came the smooth reply from the other end, her heart was beating fast, and her hand was fisted around the silver chain in her hand. There was a buzz as the door clicked open, and she pushed the heavy metal door forward.

She suddenly felt at ease as she approached the door with a number thirteen hanging in scratched gold lettering. She knocked on the door, aware that Jasper was controlling how she felt, and unsure as to how she felt about that. She stifled a little giggle at the irony of that thought, obviously Jasper couldn't control every feeling.

The door was open before her hand had moved further than an inch from the door.

"Come in, Bella," Jasper spoke calmly, gesturing with his hand towards the warm glow emanating from behind him. He looked beautiful, his messy blonde hair shadowing his grey blue eyes. He had on a tight t-shirt which accentuated the tempting planes of his chest (which she definitely appreciated), and a loose checkered shirt over his shoulders. Her eyes wandered appreciatively down his body towards the tight jeans and shoes he wore.

She stepped inside confidently brushing Jasper with the length of her body. She passed Jasper her coat and placed the silver into her jean pocket, sure she wouldn't need it. She entered into a warm feeling hallway, due to the few different light sources, all switched on in an effort to make the house seem less brooding. It was papered in a dark geometric pattern that her eyes found hard to follow. She looked away down the hallway, making sure to only look at the wallpaper from the corner of her eye, there were several dark, wood doors branching off the doorway, and she briefly wondered if he lived alone.

Jasper put a hand on the small of her back to show her the way, daringly familiar, but Bella didn't shy away, feeling strangely seductive as she walked where he guided her.

"Here. Take a seat," Jasper sang, guiding her onto a sofa. "Can I get you anything to eat? Drink?"

"White wine, if you have it, please," Bella smiled, crossing her legs and leaning against the armrest by her side. Jasper nodded and disappeared for a minute. He returned with a wine glass filled with pale liquid. He sat down on the opposite side of the sofa and wrapped his long legs around himself.

"So, Bella, why do you want to do this?" He asked his eyes sharp and looking for any signs of hesitation. Bella could tell he was looking for the truth, so she didn't hesitate before telling him.

"I want to try it,"

"Oh, ok. Why me? What if I suck you dry before you can even scream for help?" He leered, his eyebrow raised. Bella didn't feel a flash of fear like she should have; maybe she had a pathetic sense of self preservation. Maybe there was something wrong with her.

She just smiled and said, "I'm sure James and Victoria would be pissed. You know how they are," Bella stated, cocking her head to the side, making sure he understood her thinly veiled threat. Jasper's seawater eyes glittered with mirth.

"Touché, now… where would you like to do this?" he asked, his hands gesturing as if the world were her oyster. Oh, how she wished it was. "I usually… Well Alice and I usually… in the bedroom," he smirked; Bella just grinned and stood, waiting for him to lead the way. She put the empty wine glass down on the small coffee before she moved fluidly after Jasper, her usual quiet, thoughtful self left somewhere behind before the alcohol and Jasper's charming attributes. She knew that on some level she was doing this for self validation, proving that she was wanted and desirable and she also knew that this was also, on another level a childish act of teenage rebellion, and on every other level, she was just curious as to what this was like.

He opened the door in front of her, and the door opened onto a room seemingly completely filled by the bed against the far wall. Jasper closed the door behind him, and moved towards her in a graceful lope, his blue grey eyes focused on the pulsing just above Bella's left breast. His eyes danced hungrily between her neck and her heart pounding away, her beat getting faster as Jasper imparted his emotional state onto Bella. It was a mixture of want and lust; both completely different things to him. He wanted what only Bella had to give, the completely individual floral musk that her pumping heart sent out, now thickly filling the room, and he lusted after her body, her soft, delicate and fragile body. Bella was lying on the bed now, holding herself up by her dainty elbows, her dark eyes hooded with the feelings Jasper was making her feel.

"Lay down," he breathed, kicking his shoes off as he moved to straddle her. She dropped her elbows, and lay back against the fluffy pillows. Her eyes never once left his, whilst his body moved over her. His long, shaggy blonde hair fell against her face, framing them there, a beautiful picture. They were breathing heavily from each other's mouth's now, vision moving nowhere but the other.

A long finger trailed down her chest, over her shoulder and brushed the crease of her elbow. Bella shivered at the feeling of the beautiful man on top of her touching her so innocently, yet intimately. Her eyes closed as she felt the lust he was feeling reverberate through the room and stroke every part of her body at once. His hands brought her arm to her lips, brushing it softly. His nostrils flared as he breathed in the scent, moving so fast under his fingertips.

"Here?" he whispered, his eyes not moving from watching the blood move through the veins in her arms, tracing its path with dark, lusting eyes. Bella could see his fangs pressing against his bottom lip and moaned, her breath coming in pants as she tried to satisfy all of her body's needs, she tried to push her hips towards his, but his other hand moved to hold onto them.

He gave no warning, other than the uttered question that she never answered, before he bit into the warm flesh at the crease of her elbow.

***

"Happy Christmas, Bells!" Victoria chimed from the kitchen as Bella stepped down the carpeted stairs, her cold nearly completely gone, only leaving her sniffling a little. James was nowhere in sight, probably getting Bella's usual supplies.

Bella was rubbing her dark eyes, unused to this alertness she felt from all the sleep she was getting. Now aware that she needed to feel the safety of home to sleep.

"I'm making you pancakes, how many do you want?" Victoria called as Bella stepped into the living room, sitting down on the sofa and flicking on pointless Christmas television.

"Uhm, four," Bella decided, patting her stomach, enjoying the pampering she got from her parents. Victoria smiled and set to work making the pancakes. Bella was glad they'd left the topic bought up awkwardly by Edward well alone. She could feel something different in the atmosphere; but she didn't care, they still wanted to know her.

"What do you want on them?"

"Sugar and Lemon please!"

"On their way!" Victoria called as she stepped from the kitchen, placing the pancakes on the table in front of her.

James opened the front door just then and stepped in, shaking the snow from his clothes and shoes.

"Got the stuff you needed, Bella!" He called, placing the bag on the counter and rubbing his hands together in front of the open fire, enjoying the warmth from the flames.

"Thanks, Dad! It's snowing? Maybe we should go out later and have a snowball fight," She jumped up and kissed his cheek, whisked into the kitchen and started fiddling around with pots and pans. James and Victoria smiled at each other across the room and called an affirmation to her.

"Bella, come on, presents!" Victoria called. Bella grimaced, hating the amount of money they decided to spend on her, but she indulged them, because, she was, after all their only child.

"Open it!" Victoria thrust a present in front of her.

"Oh, and this!" James said, shoving another neatly wrapped parcel into her lap.

The process went on until the ground was covered in festive wrapping, and beneath the tree was empty of just a few presents for other people, just like when she was a little girl.

She got too many fancy gadgets that nobody could ever possibly need and cute clothes with designer labels that probably cost much more than they were really worth. Although, she opened each one and smiled, giving them a big hug. Bella swapped presents for Victoria and James, and they both opened theirs happily.

Whilst Christmas morning was lovely, Christmas dinner was awkward.

Bella was the only one eating, so she set up her plate and the lentil loaf, chestnut loaf (with which James and Victoria helped greatly by peeling the chestnuts), and some vegetables, the unorthodox Christmas dinner thanks to Bella's vegetarianism. After dinner, they visited friends, swapping presents, and smiling lots. Bella's mouth hurt from the amount of fake smiling she'd done to people she'd met once or twice. The last stop of the night was the good doctor's house. Bella was nervous after his outburst last time they'd met.

He let them in the house with a smile, and a wink at Bella, to which she furiously blushed, her eyes moving away from his pretty face and comely features.

"Merry Christmas!" He clapped Bella on the back, his hand hesitating before moving to hug James and Victoria. Bella barely noticed this as she looked around the small living room with the newly lit fire, the paper still white in some places. Bella smirked as she realized he must have forgotten he would be hosting a human.

"Uh, Bella, what would you like to drink? I have… I think I have some white wine," he worried, fidgeting with his collar as if stifled by the sudden heat.

"I'll take whatever you give," she smiled, feeling self conscious in the new dress that Victoria had insisted she wear. Edward's eyes glinted with something unfathomable as she turned away to sit down politely on the chair.

They sat in the living room, James, Victoria and Edward on the sofa and Bella on the armchair, glass of mulled wine in her petite hand, her legs curled around her little body, conscious of the cold house. The trio seemed to forget Bella was there, finally, after thirty dull minutes of Bella staring into the fire, and fiddling with her brand new phone, Edward turned his eyes towards her, his green orbs dancing with the firelight that lit the room.

"So, Bella, what are you studying?"

"I'm actually studying philosophy and English Lit," She smiled. Her empathy had led her to wanting to learn more about the way other people thought and the actions behind them. Her teenage hideaway had been her mind and her books; her secret world to explore.

"Oh, and any kind of career your looking into?" His curiosity seemed piqued.

"Uh, I was thinking about foreign affairs? Politics and the like… Or journalism, maybe. I like being able to identify what makes people think what they think, and their unconscious assumptions about others," She said, her head bobbing excitedly as she talked about the things that made her love what she learned.

"Ah, I majored in philosophy back in the seventies, and I think I've done English literature three times," he said, smiling. "It's really very interesting. If you ever need help with anything, I'd be happy to give you a hand," He smiled towards her, and they continued talking until it was late and she was yawning.

By the time Bella got home, she was tired, and ready for sleep. But all she could think about was how wonderful it would be for Edward Cullen to suck her dry.

If you review I'll be reallyyyy happy, and may even write faster. Oh, FYI, this story will move POV's a bit. So, who do you want to suck you dry?