Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Twilight, not I.

Chapter 1 -Modern Vampire Romance

I walked down the street with Bon Jovi's "Always" blaring from my ear buds. I could never tell whether I was supposed to be the singer or the one being sung about. Was it Tanya or Jacob that was the intruder in our relationship? Probably both. We meshed together. Edward and I were interchangeable, even in our separation. Indeed our love would last forever and a day.

I probably should have paid attention to the dark street instead of mulling over our love story. Then maybe I wouldn't have thoughtlessly stepped into the dark alley.

A flash of ivory white teeth. A grinning mouth formed a macabre smile. She bent over a body, so terribly beautiful that I couldn't look away. I knew I was looking my death in the eye.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

I couldn't help but watch as drops of blood glided down her chin and landed on the cold cement below. I knew my body was about to join the one already lying there, abandoned. I backed away slowly, knowing I would never make it out of this alley alive. I prayed to God, to Buddha, to anyone thought to hold vested power. I just wanted to make it out of this alley.

What was that stinging in my neck? Was that my blood?

I could feel it sliding down my neck with the last of my dignity. Tears rolled down my cheeks and a laugh threatened its way out at the irony of all this. Bella Swan, danger magnet extraordinaire. In a way I wondered if this was my punishment for wanting this in the first place. It figures something like this would happen. I hadn't imagined that my life would be ended so easily by a random passing vampire when I'd always planned it to be Edward, my life a fitting bridal exchange for his entirety. I could see, plain as day, I would never open my eyes to see bronze or gold or any of the colors in the spectrum. It was all such a waste. Yet, the steady draining continued on despite any protest I could have made.

What could I have done to prevent this? What can I still do?

There was still a chance for escape. Only I knew of the possibilities that my blood held.

What was it that my grandmother had taught me years ago?

"If you should feel your death drawing near, know that you hold power. How it will come to you even I can't tell you, but you will know."

I thought it strange that in the last moments before my death I wouldn't be thinking of Edward but my grandmother. Moreover, I'd never really believed any of her words but I could feel the stirrings of something. It was hot and aching and it swelled, nearly bursting me at the seams of what was left of my existence. My ears were ringing from the intensity and finally, I stopped fighting it for control. If I was going to be dead either way I mind as well take out this vampire while I dying like a good little human. Strains of Bon Jovi declaring his eternal love wafted through the ear buds, a mockery of the unfolding scene. In the end, this might have been what really saved me. I immersed myself into the memories that the music thankfully brought of Edward and let the power go.

I opened my eyes to blankness. Was that the smell of charred flesh? The vampire woman lay on her side, eyes wide open in horror. The blood still dripping down her chin, she lay there, no longer a conqueror but the conquered. Her dark red hair glinted in the moonlight and her blood red eyes stared accusingly. Victoria. Victoria, in all her glorious beauty and her tormenting presence, was no longer.

A twinge of satisfaction ran through me as I stepped over her defeated body. I gently turned over the abandoned body behind her, hoping against hopes that I would not recognize the now upturned face. Soft brown hair and flat brown eyes stared back at me. I knew this face.

Mike Newton.

I couldn't help but feel horror as I realized he had begun the change. I'd interrupted Victoria at the right moment apparently. Though he would never need to breathe ever again, Mike Newton would live to see another day. I never had a chance to really consider the consequences of this because in that moment I was overtaken with the burning.

I was being torched from within it seemed. Edward wouldn't think I was beautiful now. How could he after my skin burnt away and whatever was underneath cracked as hideously as I could feel happening to me now? I feared to open my mouth, that doing so would allow the fire inside to spread out and consume my outsides as completely as it was already doing inside. I didn't have to worry for long. Soon the fire permeated through all layers of my body, and it was as though each atom of my being was being torn asunder and burnt through and through.

I could hear male screams faintly through my nightmare of pain but I couldn't move. Shackles of pain kept me from moving an inch from my own private hell. Mike would have to survive on his own for the next three days. A brief moment of empathy was all I had before I forgot all about Mike. I had my own pain to suffer through.

Seventy-two hours is a long time. Especially with every moment spent wishing for an end. Death would have been a more welcome visitor. Unfortunately, for us, there was only pain and more pain. Second by second, time passed so slowly. I grew to resent the silence that filled the space between each tick of someone's watch. Was it mine? Was it Mike's? I couldn't tell anymore. The pain was too much.

Ten.

Who was Mike again?

Thirteen hundred.

Surely it'd be over soon?

One hundred thousand.

Only a hundred thousand more. Until what?

Two hundred thousand.

There was only a few left now.

Two hundred fifty-nine thousand and two hundred.

Suddenly there was no pain.

AN: Okay end of Chapter 1. Thank you again for reading! Comments or criticisms both welcome. Fixed some things and realized I am very wacky when I stay awake for long periods of time.