A/N: this is the new (and hopefully improved) version of my story of the same name in YouTube. In case anyone is interested, my username on YT is TwilightEpisodes.
For those of you who are already familiar with the story, the main difference between this FF version and the original YT version is that the third main character is introduced right at the beginning, while they only appeared much later on in the original.
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or its characters. If I did, Bella would be a very different person from the fang-loving girl she is (note fanfiction title)!
Chapter 1
Of Fangs and Proposals
People complain about having terrible families, but they don't know how lucky they really are. After all, at least they're still all human. Don't get me wrong, I've always known what I am. How could I not? I grew up with abilities other children didn't have. I won every race when I was little, I could see in the dark better than I should, and by 5th grade I could take on all the high-schoolers in my school - not that I tested that… frequently.
But, like my mother used to tell me, I couldn't just go around flaunting those abilities. After all, humans still thought there were no such thing as vampires. But I knew better than that; I knew those beasts roamed the streets at night, in search of their prey. So I learned to hide my differences, learned to control the beastly part of me I'd inherited from my father.
Now that my mother's gone, only Alice, my older sister, knows what I am. Nobody else even suspects I have vampire in me. Not even those I hunt.
"Beautiful girls should never drink alone," a voice said from beside me.
I turned on my bar stool to face the man who'd spoken to me. He didn't know it, but I had my eye on him since he'd walked through the front door. Dark brown hair framing a classically handsome face, skin as smooth as marble and as pale as snow - almost identical to my own - only accenting his deep dark eyes. Everything about him yelled vampire.
"Are you here all alone?" he continued, inviting himself to the stool beside mine.
"Not anymore." With a half-smile, I arched an eyebrow and twined a finger into a lock of my light brown hair. This one is not getting away. It was a slow night for vampires in this old off-the-road bar, and I was hoping this wouldn't take so long.
"What's your name?" His gaze lingering on my neck and he licked his lips hungrily. I did a mental eye-roll.
"Bella Hunter," I smiled. He didn't get how meaningful my fictional surname was just yet. He would, eventually, but when he did, he wouldn't live long enough to do anything about it. "Yours?"
"Ian McCoy," he smiled back, showing perfectly squared teeth. "So, Bella, aren't you a little young to be drinking?" he asked, eyeing my half-empty glass.
I leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially, "Well, yes, but I borrowed my sister's ID. We look so similar the bouncer didn't notice it."
"Oh…" he grinned. "Don't worry, your secret's safe with me. Another drink to the young lady over here!" he waved the bartender over.
After twenty minutes of meaningless chatter and a few glasses of gin, I told him I'd call a cab and leave. Being the gentleman he wanted me to think he was, he offered me a ride. How considerate. Too bad he'd be dead by the end of this date.
"Thansss…" I slurred. I was far from drunk, thanks to my vampire half, but giving the impression of an easy prey was always good. It gave them the impression they were in control. Ha.
The vampire escorted me outside the bar. I stopped when we got to the small parking lot behind the building where he'd left his shiny Mercedes sedan at. The vampire walked to the driver's side and I to the passenger's. This was my cue, I knew better than to get into a cramped car with a fanged beast. "Ian?"
"Yes?" He raised an eyebrow as I wobbled around the car to where he stood.
"Kiss me." He didn't hesitate, pushing me lightly against the car and lowering his lips to mine. They were all the same, jumping at the chance to take advantage of a drunk girl. I immediately slipped a hand into the purse I was holding and curled my fingers around the stake in there.
He pulled away, his pupils dilating. I knew what he was trying to do: compel me with gaze. I'd seen other vampires do that before, but it never worked on me. Again, thanks to my vampire heritage, I guess.
The vampire's true nature was revealed when his incisors extended into fangs. "This will hurt, but you will not scream," he told me and leaned down again, this time toward my neck.
That's when I struck, the stake I held going through his heart from behind. I outdid it, feeling the point of wood touch my shoulder and hot liquid spill over me. Ignoring it, I twisted the stake in all directions, watching the vampire's jaw drop and the un-life leave his eyes.
The deceased Ian sunk to the ground, decomposing before my very eyes. I almost laughed, remembering how I had freaked out the first time it happened.
Now I idly bent down, wiped the blood from my wooden weapon on his white shirt and shoved it back into my purse. I stripped his rotting corpse and walked out of the lot, not bothering to hide his corpse. Anyone who found it would have trouble identifying it anyway… When vampires die, their bodies decompose - which I assume shows their true age and condition. It seemed like Ian was an old one, because his corpse was almost beyond recognition.
I looked down at my watch. It was still 10 p.m., so I had plenty of time for one more kill. But I wasn't stupid enough to hang by this place any longer than necessary. I walked down the road to where I had parked my beat-up Chevy truck and got in.
I reached for the black trench coat over the passenger's seat and shifted, putting it on to hide my bloodstained white tank top and buttoning it. I usually managed to get the job done without a mark, but I left that coat in my car in case things got messy. With another quick look down at myself in search of another stain - courtesy of Ian - I started the engine and took off.
Now I had to find another vampire hot-spot. I knew from experience that they liked to hang out at nightclubs and bars, probably because the market for blood was larger there. Hunting down these creatures was like my job, something I did every night, and now I took it as my duty. Seattle was a big city though, and these bloodsuckers never seemed to leave. It's as if for every vampire I killed, 3 more popped in its place. But that didn't waver me from my task, it only made me more determined. I knew what vampires had done to my mother, and I'd bring down as many bloodsucking monsters I could, anything to keep someone from suffering at the hands of one like she had.
The Map Quest my sister gave me for my 19th birthday last month proved to be very useful: finding a nearby club was easier than ever. This one I had never been to. I parked my car down the street to the club, which was named 'Bloodlust'. I snorted. Ironically appropriate.
The club was packed and rock music blasted from inside. But just looking at the people in line to get in, I realized the name of the place wasn't a coincidence. Everyone was dressed as vampires: fangs, capes, bloodstained clothes, heavy make-up and all. There were no real vampires out here, however. I knew that because I didn't feel the tingle of inhuman power on my skin, like I always did a vampire was near.
I got in line, deciding there was no harm in it. I mean, these people might think vampires were cool, but they didn't really want to be bitten by one, like many T-shirts suggested.
I eventually got to the end of the line, but when the bouncer looked down at me he shook his shaved head and crossed his arms over his massive chest. "You don't have a costume on. You can't come in without a costume."
But I was not turning back after standing in line for 40 minutes. I had to improvise. "Of course I have a costume on," I reached inside my purse and retrieved my stake, which was conveniently covered in dried blood. "See? This is a stake, I'm a vampire hunter."
People behind me booed, and one person shouted, "Everyone knows stakes don't work! You have to rip them apart and burn the pieces!"
I rolled my eyes, "Look, are you letting me in or not? I don't think there are any rules stating I can't dress like this."
The bouncer unhooked his radio from his black pants and spoke in some weird code, "Fanged Ninja to Poisonous Tiger, call the Master, we have a 901 here."
A short balding man wearing a red cape and plastic fangs too big for his mouth approached us a minute later. "Do we have a problem here, Bruce?"
"Bruce over here won't let me in," I said, more determined than ever to get into this damn club. "And vampire heads will roll if he keeps me waiting for another second." I raised my stake as if to prove a point.
"And who are you?" The short man looked me over, ignoring my stake completely.
"I'm Bella," I pulled my trench coat open, sending the buttons flying in all directions and revealing my bloody white top. "The vampire slayer."
The man's eyes bulged and he looked me over again. I guess my dark skinny jeans, black stiletto-heeled boots and a revealing top gave off a decent vampire-killer vibe, because this time he nodded and Bruce stepped aside, letting me through.
Inside, the club was full of dry-ice smoke. White lights flashed over the dance floor, where all people seemed to be doing was grinding into each other. Everything was red and black, including people's outfits, which seemed to favor leather and lots of bare skin. Overall, this wasn't a club I was used to attending.
At a first glance, the place seemed to be free of undead bloodsuckers, but judging from how many people were here, I probably wouldn't be able to feel a vampire unless it approached me. So I sat down on one of the red couches off the side, where I could scan the crowd at the dance floor.
One specific man caught my eye. He was a white spot in the middle of the red and black chaos. His white T-shirt and faded, worn-out jeans were nothing like the preferred outfit. He was tall, I'd say about 6'2", broad-shouldered, with brown hair in a casual disarray, from what I could see. The white-spot was dancing with three petite women, who were practically groping him. He didn't seem to mind, just looked over people's heads, searching the crowd, much like I was.
His head turned in my direction then, and the lights shown in his eyes. They flashed, like an animal caught in a car's headlights would, reflecting the light. I'd seen that before… in a vampire.
That only lasted a second, the white lights moved away very quickly, and eyes that were so vibrantly green they could've been glowing stared back at me, but it had been enough for my senses.
The vampire started pushing his way out of the dance floor, the women around him whining their protests. He ignored them and stepped free of the crowd. He didn't look at me again, just kept his eyes trained straight ahead. I got up and followed him to the exit of the club.
The cool September air hit my face when a bouncer swung the door open and I stepped outside. I looked around for my target. He was walking down the street, opposite to where I had parked my car. I tugged the flaps of my coat closed, tied the strap around my torso, and started following him, careful to keep some distance between us until we were safely away from Bloodlust.
He was walking south and the wind was blowing the other way, keeping my scent from reaching him. He was surely hearing me, but I knew they were all too arrogant and would never consider a human a threat. Maybe I'd get lucky and strike him while he thought he was making a meal out of me. He turned several corners and I found myself following him on a sidewalk leading past the backs of several warehouses, all of them with large doors for unloading, now padlocked. The other side of the street didn't have a sidewalk, only an endless concrete wall topped with barbed wire and a few scattered street lamps that sent dim light our way.
The light from one of those lamps blinked off as I passed it. I looked over my shoulder to curse at it for darkening my vision further when I realized with shock that another man was walking silently twenty feet behind me. My skin hadn't prickled with awareness of his presence, though, and that meant he wasn't a vampire. I turned my head forward at once and listened intently to the man behind me and the vampire's footsteps, my boot's clanking on the pavement making me feel self-conscious.
The street narrowed and the road came to a halt at a warehouse. Dead end. I saw the vampire turn right and walk straight into the wall. I came closer and realized he hadn't actually walked into the wall, there was a sidewalk in between the buildings. I had two options: let him go and try to find another way around, probably letting him escape, or follow him, blow my cover, and walk into a possible trap. I chose the latter, of course. That's me, always making the smart choices.
I took a deep breath and ran down the alley after him, reaching the other side safely with a relieved sigh. The alley only led to the other side of the buildings, into a street much like the one I was on. I walked down the street looked to the right. Two intersections down, I could see more street lamps, cars, and even some people walking. I gave another sigh of relief and started walking straight ahead.
Only to skid to a stop.
The footsteps behind me had stopped. I looked back. The human man was gone. He hadn't followed me down the alley, but there wasn't anywhere else he could've gone to. I looked forward again. The vampire wasn't there, either. Crap. I couldn't let him escape after going to such lengths. I jogged up the empty street, thinking maybe he had used the man as a distraction to get away to where there were more pedestrians. And then I found him, leaning casually against the eastern wall, watching me with a grin and showing a hint of fang.
I looked back and, sure enough, the man who had been following me was there, standing with his hands on his hips and blocking my exit.
I realized then that I wasn't hunting.
I was being hunted.
I later realized that I should've run like hell then, but my stupid stubbornness got the best of me.
"Hey there, sexy," I purred in my sexy voice, looking at the vampire. "Are you running from me? I just wanted to talk to you."
"Hmm… Is that so, darling?" the vampire replied in a deep voice, that grin still on his face.
"Yes… Wow, your voice is so sexy. Do you work at a radio station?" I slowly walked closer to him, very aware that the human behind me did the same. "That just makes me want you even more."
He laughed and motioned me closer by curling his index finger. "So come get me… Buffy."
The name he called me made me stop in my tracks. "What the hell did you just-"
Before I could finish my sentence, the vampire jumped me. I'm fast, but apparently not fast enough for this one. He managed to get his arms around me and push my hair off my shoulders to expose my neck.
"Ah… I'm disappointed. I thought you'd put up a better fight," he purred, nuzzling my throat with his nose.
"Wh-what?" I shivered, very aware of the danger I was in.
"I watched you kiss and kill that other guy before me. You won't get to do the latter, but do I get a kiss, too?" he continued.
Oh shit oh shit oh shit. He saw me. He knew I'd been out to kill him, and now he had me trapped. "I d-don't know what you're t-talking about," I tried, hating myself for stuttering.
"I think you do…" he breathed directly in my ear, repeating my earlier words at the club, "…Bella the vampire slayer."
He had me. There was no talking myself out of this one. So instead of doing that, I tried to slip my hand in my purse to where my stake was… "Ah, ah, ah," the vampire cooed, wrapping an unusually warm hand around my wrist and stopping my advancing hand. "No toys allowed."
I looked at him - really looked at him - for the first time. This close, the green eyes that had caught my attention back at the club were even more piercing, and his hair was almost bronzish in color. He was handsome. Very handsome. Mind you, if he weren't a disgusting bloodsucker, I would probably drool at having him so close to me. But he was a disgusting bloodsucker, and having his skin on mine made me sick. "What do you want?" I growled, finally dropping my act.
"I want to know why you're killing vampires. Who do you work for?" he asked, his hot breath still on me.
"No one," I told him, trying to come up with an escape plan. The odds weren't in my favor.
"Come on, tell me… Why do you kill vampires?" he purred.
"Because you creatures shouldn't exist," I replied immediately.
"Bella, darling," he started, sounding like he was talking to a stupid child. "We've been watching you for a while now, and there's no way that you are doing all this on your own."
"Well, I am doing it on my own," I bit back. "I'm not a child, I can handle myself just fine."
"You see, you're too quick, know too much, for a human teenager," he replied.
"Okay, first of all, I am not a teenager. I'm 19. An adult. Second, I'm not human. And third, fuck off! It's none of your damn business, so I don't have to stay and put up with your shit," I said, struggling against his hold.
"Not human?" he inquired, ignoring me completely, "Do you claim to have superpowers? Is Buffy actually Wonder Woman?"
Oh God, he was so annoying! I never wanted to kill something as much as I wanted to kill him at that moment. "I'm half vampire," I growled.
"And I sparkle in the sunlight," he laughed. "Yeah, right. You know, I like you, Buffy. I really didn't want to do this the hard way."
"Go to hell," I snapped. I wanted to do something like spit on him, but he was too close, and doing so would probably not be a good idea.
"Jakeeee," the vampire called, letting me go so suddenly I stumbled back. "She's all yours!"
I heard steps behind me, where the human man who'd been following me had been, and immediately spun around. My mind told me it wasn't a good idea to turn my back on a vampire, but instinct made me face the approaching tall figure.
He was just as tall as - if not taller than - the vampire, but had tanned skin instead of the paleness that came with vampirism, and both his eyes and spiky hair were jet black. The dark to the vampire's light, I thought idly.
"Who do you work for?" he asked when he was right in front of me.
"No one," I replied. My head snapped sideways as he slapped me with incredible force for a human.
"Who's your boss? Who are you killing vampires for?" he tried again.
"I don't work for anybody!" I shouted, half-hoping someone would hear and save me, half-hoping I didn't unnecessarily risk innocent lives.
The human raised his hand - to slap me again, I think - but the vampire raised his own to stop him. "Bella, we know you're lying," the vampire murmured, gently running his fingers down my cheek before I shook his hand away. "Your boss feeds you his blood. I can smell it in you. Don't suffer over him, Bella. Tell us who he is…"
"This whole good cop/bad cop role-play isn't doing you any good," I said between clenched teeth, disgusted at being touched by the bloodsucker. "You smell vampire in me because I'm half vampire."
"Liar," the human stated.
"It's the fucking truth!" I yelled, frustrated.
"Liar," the black-haired man repeated, slapping me once again.
Feeling more helpless and defeated than ever, I fought the urge to fall to my weak knees. "Just kill me already," I sighed.
"Not before you give us some answers," the human said. Oh great, so they were going to kill me after all. What did I expect?
"Why would I say anything if I'm just going to die in the end anyways?" I attempted at a confident smirk, but I'm pretty sure I failed.
"If you tell us what we want to know like a good girl, I'll do it myself," the vampire promised. "If you refuse to give us the truth, I'll let Jake over here take care of you. And I promise you'll like it better if it's me…"
I shuddered, my shoulders slumping. "What do you want to know? Other than who my so-called boss is, that is."
"That's my Buffy. How long have you been going at this?" the vampire asked.
"Since my mother was killed. That was 4 years ago," I told them.
"Why?" he pressed.
"Because it was a vampire that murdered her. They told me it was a car accident, but I know better," I said.
"How many have you killed?" the other man asked. I turned my hateful gaze at him, idly wondering why the hell would a human help a monster, but answered anyway.
"I hunt every night, but I'm not always lucky. Average of 3 a week. So do the math."
"Three a week for 4 years?" the vampire repeated in disbelief, then started laughing. "You're really wiping us from the area, aren't you? I'm impressed."
"How can you tell who the vampires are?" the human asked.
"Yeah, I wondered that, too," the vampire added. "It's not like we leave our fangs popping out or something."
"I'm not sure why or how, but I get this shiver, feel a weighted difference in the air whenever one of you beasts are close," I told them. "Is that all?"
"So eager to die by my hands, are we?" the vampire teased. "Yeah, that's all. Thank you for your help." And in a second, he was right there, pushing my hair away from my shoulders and re-exposing my neck. He was fast. Faster than any vampire I had ever had the displeasure of meeting.
I closed my eyes. There was nothing I could do now. I was going to die. God, please let this be quick, please make it as painless as possible, please let there be somewhere nicer wherever I'm… My eyes shot open when I felt the twin needles of the vampire's fangs pierce the sensitive skin of my neck. It was a horrible, horrible feeling. It didn't even hurt, but just the feeling of being invaded, being drained, made me want to rip my attacker to pieces.
"Edward!" I heard a male voice shout somewhere in the distance.
"What in the bloody hell..?" another voice, much closer this time, said. "Are those… fangs?"
My darkened vision slowly cleared up, and I gazed back at both men, who were staring at me like I had grown another head. My mind was too fuzzy to form any coherent explanations as to why I was still alive.
"You're telling the truth," the vampire spoke first. "You have a pulse, but you just grew fangs! And your blood… It's not… human. Not entirely."
"The fangs show up sometimes when I'm upset," I explained dazedly. "I told you I was part vampire. You didn't believe me."
"We didn't, did we?" the vampire started pacing animatedly, like a psycho would. "This is perfect, actually!" he spun to face me again quickly, the soft glow of the street lights casting a low light on his features and making him appear to be ghostly beautiful. In between my foggy mind and his semi-crazed expression, he looked like a fallen angel.
"Can't you just end it already?" I sighed. "I told you all you wanted to know."
"No, hear me out, alright?" the vampire said, still looking too happy and excited than appropriate. "What do you think about working with us, darling? You see, Jake and I hunt vampires, too, only we do it for the money. We came after you for it - you have a huge price on your head, mind you - but you turned out to be something even better than money!"
"What's this nonsense you're spouting, Edward?" the black-haired human asked, looking at the vampire incredulously. "You can't be serious about this."
"Come on, think about it, Jake! She's the perfect wolf in a lamb's clothing!" the vampire enthused, spreading his arms widely in front of him and laughing. "This is so bloody perfect!"
"…You'll let me live if I help you kill vampires?" I asked. "I thought you were killing me for that."
"No, no, I was killing you for the money. I couldn't care less about your killing off random vampires. Although that is kind of immoral." I snorted, and he continued, "Anyhow, we'd only go after vampires who have prices on their heads, not random, sexually frustrated men at bars."
"I'll do it," the words flew out of my mouth before I could give it better thought. I was tired, overwhelmed, and more than a little scared by this all, and the faster I could get away from these men, the better.
"Perfect!" the vampire cheered.
"I can't believe this," the human muttered darkly.
A/N: Reviews/criticism would be greatly appreciated! :)