Chapter One. First Sight

A/N: Thanks for reading.

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April 10, 2009

*B*E*L*L*A*

I was having one of those days where I wish I could have just stayed in bed. Which was the case anytime I had to go to work on a Friday night. I woke up fifteen minutes later than I normally would have from my nap, and I was in a bad mood to begin with. Charlie's phone call that morning with news about Jake and Linae was unexpected. It was news had me feeling bitter and jealous, because they were moving forward, headed towards the future. Jake was going to be a daddy.

I knew I was probably just feeling sorry for myself, but it just couldn't be helped.

I looked at the bigger picture. Jake had a child on the way at the ripe old age of nineteen. Between school, work, and a child, he would have his work cut out for him. He would have to drastically cut back on his run around and fuck off time with the pack, not to mention that he wouldn't be spending a lot of time in the shed anymore. His free time would be rare.

He was probably loving every minute of it. It pissed me off.

Of course, I told Charlie to inform Jake that he had given me the news. The last thing I needed was another damn card or letter informing me of their family-in-the-making. Not that it would stop him from still sending one. But I made a vow this time with myself that if he did, I wouldn't open the damn thing at all. It would go straight to the fiery pit of hell that was also known as my backyard fireplace. I knew Jake meant well and I knew he thought he owed me something, but he didn't.

No, he did owe me something. He needed to just leave me alone, and go away. He needed to just forget about trying to fix something he couldn't fix. But he just wouldn't accept the fact that I'd moved on in the only way I could. A couple thousand miles hadn't stopped him from trying, though, and he still thought that I'd make my way back to Forks.

There was only one thing that would ever make me return to Forks, and my return wouldn't be for a good reason.

I didn't have time to spend a lot of time on my appearance. I threw on my face, touching up yesterday's eyeliner that was still faint on my lower lids. A little mascara, and that was it. Wearing makeup to cover up blemishes was a requirement. Vinny and Tony required that 'their girls' look their best.

Our new uniforms were two-piece atrocities that looked like they had been picked right out of a Frederick's of Hollywood catalog. The little skirt had a pair of airy and thin bloomers attached to it that didn't even cover half my ass. I threw on a pair of black underwear to wear underneath. The less free roaming hands could touch, the better.

The top showed plenty of cleavage and it gaped. My back felt naked. If anything, the outfit kind of looked like beachwear. My entire midriff was exposed except where the ring attached the top to the bottom in the front. The low waist of the skirt is what bothered me the most, along with how short it really was. Squatting down just to see how it would ride up, I found that I'd be exposing a little crack if I had to fix my shoes.

We were required to wear heels, and I had a favorite pair of wedges that I would always wear when I worked. They didn't make my feet ache, and they were black, which was required. However, my left strap was becoming worn, and I was constantly squatting down to refasten it when the prong of the clasp would come out of the hole.

Normally I would always get to work a little early. My shift started at six and it took me ten minutes to get to the club, but it was already 5:50PM. Parking would probably be a bitch. The club wasn't far - it was only a little over a mile north of my house and on the other side of the interstate on Cerrillos Road, but traffic was a bitch, too.

I lived in a good area. There was very little crime and I lived close to a junior high school. I lived amongst families, retirees, and it was quiet.

The north side of the interstate on Cerrillos Road was a different matter. The club was located in a not-so-good part of town. Tattoo parlors, bars, used car lots, check cashing stores, a motel you could rent by the hour, and several small grab-and-go eateries labeled it one of worst areas in Santa Fe. The club itself, however, attracted all walks of life. You just had to come in looking your best with a pocket full of money.

I grabbed my keys off the table and walked out the kitchen door to the garage. I was also the proud owner of a black Ford F-150 crew cab that I had won in Vegas on sheer luck. Even though gas cost a fortune to fill the tank, and my insurance was out of this world, I really loved my truck.

I opened the door and slid into the leather seat. My truck was fully loaded with a CD player, but it and the radio never got used much. It wasn't because I didn't like music, but I was forced to hear it on a constant basis at the club.

The club I worked at - Generations - had a lot of regulars, and there were always new faces. The college was nearby, so it was mostly a young crowd on the weekend. Working at the club had given me a new appreciation for silence, but I was also more educated in several different genres of music, even Reggae and Latin. My favorite nights to work just for the music were Wednesdays and Thursdays. Thursdays were dedicated to the seventies and the eighties, which meant a lot of disco and hair bands.

I liked listening to disco through the club's speakers, and one of my bosses, Vinny, had taught me to dance a little bit. Wednesday nights were country music, and this brought in the young as well as the old. It was fun watching them line dance, along with the older couples doing the two step. The only reason I didn't like Wednesdays was because every now and then a few 'outlaws' would tend to get a little frisky with us girls or some of the guests. We had more bar fights on Wednesdays than any other day of the week, even when we were loaded to capacity.

Tonight was Friday night, which meant I would be very busy once I walked in the door. Friday nights were always busy early, and we usually stayed that way until last call at 1:45AM. I'd also be listening to deafening Top 40, dance, pop, and R&B. And even though I didn't care for how loud it was played - because you couldn't understand shit that was being sung or shit that was being said to you - I liked working the weekend because of the money involved, and time always flew by. And since it was busy, being hit on by some jerk was less likely to happen with all the fresh meat that was packed inside the club. The downside with the club being so packed was that it was always too hot, and that just made it worse trying to move around with a fully-loaded tray.

We were supposed to park in the back of the club in a small lot that the employees in the kitchen looked after. The kitchen door was always open to let out some of the heat, and a lot of the staff would stand in the doorway to smoke and shoot the shit. Parking in a space, I quickly headed inside through the kitchen.

The kitchen was white and expansive, with metal counters, cupboards, warming areas, and pots and pans hanging everywhere. The clanging of dishes and utensils filled the room with noise. The smell of marinara sauce and fresh, roasted garlic bread wafted to my nose. Sometimes the smell of garlic was so strong that it would almost trigger my gag reflex. The prep area also served as our locker room. We each had a small locker and I opened mine to throw my keys and purse inside. I grabbed one of the trays sitting on top of the locker cabinet and walked out the kitchen door into the little restaurant off of the club.

"Coming out."

Too many times I had forgotten to utter that phrase and would nearly collide with one of the bus boys bringing dirty dishes and glasses in from the dining area. I wasn't a waitress for the dining portion of the club anymore. Vinny and Tony had the girls who were under twenty one take care of the guests here. The only food allowed outside of this area was strictly the bar snacks. Popcorn, pretzels, pickles, eggs, and nuts occasionally. Once I passed through the dining portion of the club, I reached the other door that lead out into the club, the beat of the music vibrating through the walls.

The music was so loud that my insides vibrated. It would only get louder as the night progressed. The expansive dance floor and the DJ booth were located in the right corner by the door leading to the dining area and the kitchen. From there, the floor was tiered and there were three levels. There were five seating areas that were divvied up for the cocktail waitresses to tend to. We were responsible for our areas and for those who hung out on the rails bordering each tier. The area I would have tonight was located to the right of the main bar. It was spread out along all three tiers and consisted of bar tables that would seat four. It was a favorite spot in the club where people would mingle.

Vern, one of the bouncers, was in his usual spot in front of the illuminated bar. He was very large and intimidating looking, but inside the behemoth of the man was a gentleman. He was tall - about 6'6" - very muscular, and thick. His roaming eyes found me immediately as I made my way up to the top tier. Vern was wearing a black turtleneck that looked like it was cutting off the air supply to his neck and head. He had on his trademark black slacks and his steel-toed loafers, and his large arms were crossed over his chest. He did a quick scan as I walked up to him, looking at me from head to toe and back up again.

Vern had a very rich and deep voice and he practically bellowed when he talked. You rarely had to ask him to speak up. He still leaned down to make sure I would hear him over the music, though. "Bella, Bella, Bella…You are a fine looking woman."

I craned my neck up to look at his face. "Thanks. I already know what you're going to say, so don't even go there."

Vern feigned a look of innocence. "What? I'm just giving you a compliment. Don't get so defensive."

I smiled at him and watched a group of ten walk in the front door. "It's not going to be a quiet night, is it?"

"Nope. Far from it. Tony made my job at keeping you ladies safe a lot harder by dressing you in that. I've already thrown out one motherfucker for trying to lick Jess's tit, so watch yourself tonight."

"Christ, it's only six o'clock."

He threw me a knowing look. "I know. Fucked up, isn't it? I'll be on the floor later, watching all your backs, but I'll be up at the door for a while."

Vern's eyes bore through some guy who walked by, checking out my goods. "Watch yourself, B."

"You, too. I'll see you later." I took a couple of steps to his right when he spoke softly, but he made sure I was still able to hear him.

"Black on white, white on black..."

"Shut up, Vern."

He was chuckling as I made my way over to the bar. The main bar was huge and shaped like an L. It seated eighteen on the main side and eight more on the smaller portion. The bar was well lit. Kurt, who was Vinny's cousin, was one of the bartenders. He suffered from night blindness, so it was always a little brighter when he was working. The corner of the bar was marked off for employees by two chrome bars that ran over the black bar top. The back portion of the wall was mirrored and contained the shelving for all the liquor above and below. There were four drink guns behind the bar, with all our basics at the push of a button. Several daiquiri, margarita, and wine glasses of every size hung from the slotted ceiling along the lighted mirror. Vinny and Tony had pictures of their extended family in Italy hanging up all over the wall, and a few pictures of us girls with certain VIP's.

Debbie was standing by the chrome bar waiting for Ron, one of the other bartenders, to take her order. She looked a little irritated and was trying to put her tits back inside her top. Diane, another one of the waitresses, was standing by the corner of the L. She was a cute girl who was a dead ringer for Valerie Bertinelli in the days of One Day at a Time, but she had slightly shorter, light brown hair. She was married and constantly trying to set me up with one of her husband's friends. Mark, her husband, was in pharmaceuticals and he traveled a lot.

I walked up and sat my tray down. I went through the small door by the corner, lifting up the bar top so I could get to the time clock. Tony was already standing there with my card handy and my till box ready. Tony was older - in his mid-thirties – and his smooth, olive skin made his round face look young. He had a thin mustache and dark brown eyes, gray patches along his temples, and his black hair was thick but short. There was never a hair out of place. He smiled and jutted his chin out to me. That was how he always said 'Hi'.

"Hey, Bell," Debbie yelled out. Britney Spears' new song was blasting down on the floor.

"How's it going?"

She loved to wear glitter. She wore it every night in some form - it was either in her hair or on her face. Tonight her hair sparkled. She loved the club scene, having worked in clubs and bars since she'd graduated high school. Debbie was a beautiful, dark blond with a great set of fake tits, though they were a little too big and hurt her back.

She eyeballed me up and down. "It's going. You look good. Vern's got his work cut out for him tonight."

Diane spoke up as I walked back out to the other side of the bar. "Jess already got accosted when some guy tried to lick her tits. Get ready for, 'Oh, I'm sorry...but was that as good for you as it was for me'? Or, 'Why don't you sit on my face so I can eat my way to your heart?' I can't complain, though, I've already made thirty within the hour. How much have you made, Deb?"

"Uh, sixty-five."

I was getting my cash box in order when Mandy, another one of the girls, walked up and slammed her tray down. Attitude-wise, she just sucked, and she reminded me a lot of Lauren Mallory, only she was nastier. She could be nice enough when she wanted to be, but her whole world revolved around men. And appearance-wise, she thought she was God's gift to them. She was too thin, and she popped diuretics, among other things. She had long, dark blond hair that was thinning out on the top from being colored too much. She had a pointy nose, with a slight bump on the bridge. Six months ago she managed to get it broken by the wife of the man with whom she was screwing.

I felt sorry for her. It was like she was afraid to be alone. She looked at me and eyed me up and down with a slight sneer on her face. According to her, the rest of us needed to lose a little weight. She was obviously not in one of her good moods tonight.

She screamed out. "Hey, Bella... Ron! I need three bottles of Corona!"

Ron, who was standing right in front of her, quickly pulled out three bottles from the cooler behind him, walked over to stand in front of her, popped the tops off, and slammed them down on her tray. She said nothing else, and in a huff she turned around to go deliver her order.

"What's her problem?" I asked Diane. Debbie had left to deliver her order.

Jessie, or Jess as we call her, had walked up to clock in and get her cash box ready. She was fairly new but we all took to her because she was a really nice girl. She just talked too much. She had reddish brown hair that was cropped in the back with longer layers framing her slightly round face. She had a beautiful complexion - her face was flawless.

She yelled out, and her voice had a high edge to it as she walked out of the swinging door. "She's just pissed off because she got caught with Ron by that guy she was seeing. You know...Jack, I think? She's only been seeing him a week. Plus, her warts must have flared up. She's been squeezing her legs and digging at herself when she thinks nobody's watching. Stupid bitch." She giggled and Diane laughed as she walked away to deliver her order.

I tried not to laugh, but sometimes Jess just passed on too much information. "Jess, she's your friend. How can you talk about her like that?"

"Well, she is my friend. But if she doesn't watch it, she's going to catch something a hell of a lot worse. She pissed me off when she told me I needed to lose a little weight. At least I have an ass."

I patted her shoulder as I left the bar and headed to my table grouping for an order. The job was pretty repetitive, but it did require some skill remembering several orders at once. You always had people standing by the rails on the tiers, and we took those orders too. I'd learned a lot about liquor and bartending since I began working at the club, but I wasn't one to drink much. A daiquiri or a margarita occasionally, but alcohol was hard on my stomach.

The night moved along quite smoothly for me, and by midnight I had done quite well as far as tips were concerned. The new uniforms were a hit, and the hands were indeed roaming. Usually it only took one look for an asshole to back off and apologize, but every now and then an intimidating Vern would have to show up out of nowhere to verbally convince the offending party that perhaps it was in their best interest to 'never fucking do that again'.

Exhaustion soon set in, along with being too hot. There were too many bodies packed into the building. Sweat was dripping down my neck, and my hair was feeling damp and looking limp. I was peeing every hour because I would drink a bottle of water every time I got caught up.

The music was loud and the dance floor was packed. Drunk people loved to dance, and that's when things would actually slow down for us. Last call was sent out and I made one last round of my tables. When I had my orders, I made my way back to the bar.

Jess, Mandy, and Diane were already there. Debbie, whose area was up by the front door, was trying to push her way through a horde of people who were standing on the third tier by the stairway.

I chanted the latest drink round in my head. Four bottles of Bud Light, two JCs watered down, a margarita on the rocks, four slips, three long islands, two BMs, and three Jager.

Debbie appeared up on my left side while we waited at the counter for one of the guys to come over. The front of the bar was packed with people trying to get their last drink. I kept repeating my order to myself over and over. Tony was behind the bar now with his sleeves rolled up on his dress shirt, and he started to fill our orders.

"I told you! Just look at him. Have you ever seen anything as hot as that?" Mandy screamed at Jess. The song Poker Face was playing, and the volume was turned up. She had an excited look on her face and she was practically panting. Her eyes flashed between Jess' face and to whatever walking piece of meat she discovered.

Mandy had shitty taste in good looking men. She was always going on about someone, so I paid no attention. I had a nervous habit of nodding my head while keeping my order to memory, and Debbie grabbed my head to hold it still, laughing.Three long islands, two BMs, and three Jager…

"Debbie! Bella! Look up at the guy standing by twenty-two. Mandy actually found a real winner," Jess screamed out. Tony shooed Mandy away when he had her tray loaded. Debbie let go of my head, and she was looking around me to try to see whoever was at twenty-two, I presumed. She grabbed my nodding head again and turned me to the left while she yelled into my ear.

"Oh, shit, Bella! Adonis has entered the building!"

Her statement didn't register until I focused my eyes up to the back wall where I knew table twenty-two was. I couldn't see anything but part of a white, silk shirt that was glowing in the black light because there were three people standing in my line of sight. But all of a sudden one of the men shifted and I found the man they were looking at.

Table twenty-two was a high table with two chairs usually, but they had been taken away and moved somewhere else. He was standing with his back up against the wall and his right arm was resting on the table. It was a darker area that couples usually used to make out or where people would go to get as far away as possible from the noise and crowd, but there were black lights in the ceiling. He had medium length hair, brown and blond. The lights were throwing it off. He was tall, it was the first thing I noticed.

Then I looked at his face.

Margarita on the rocks, four slips, three long...

Three long...three long...

.

.

.

Oh, fuck.

It wasn't just his face. It was his eyes. I couldn't see them well enough to see what color they were, but it looked like he was looking directly at me. His face was chiseled perfection. His pale skin was glowing. Some of the red and blue lighting in the ceiling reflected off of him, making the stone skin of his face and neck react badly.

I just knew. Yet I was in denial. Pure fucking denial. I didn't know him, but I sure as hell knew what he was.

Once I had been introduced to the world of vampires, I didn't need to be a genius to pick one out in a crowd, but I didn't want to accept that I was looking into the eyes of one. I didn't want it to be true, and I certainly didn't want it grinning at me slightly.

Bella.

Run. Run now.

Bella!

"BELLA!"

My eyes only snapped to her face when she gave a stern pull to my arm.

"What the hell is wrong?!" Debbie looked scared. I wondered what I looked like.

At some point my body chose to use the bar rail for life support. I was clinging to it, using it to keep myself upright. I was hot and struggling for air. There was an anvil sitting on my chest. I couldn't even hear the music anymore, just the pounding beat of my own heart.

"Bella, answer me! What's the matter, honey?" Debbie was clearly worried.

I looked away from her and looked quickly back to table twenty-two. He wasn't there. I looked around and through the crowd of bodies in each direction, trying to find him again. Nothing. He was gone.

I shifted my eyes back to Debbie.

"Bella?" The worry was in her brow, and in her eyes.

"I forgot my drink order." But it came out only above a whisper.

She looked at my face for a moment with deep concern, and then put the palm of her hand against my forehead. "Jesus, you're burning up. Tony! Tony, come here!"

I wasn't sure how long I had stood there looking at the vampire, but Diane and Jess were both gone. It was only Debbie and I by the rail, and Tony had been putting Debbie's tray together.

Tony dropped the last drink down on her tray and leaned over the counter top. I could hardly hear his thick accent, because my ears were ringing. "What's a matter with her?"

"She's sick. She forgot her drink order," Debbie answered. But I think even she knew it was something else.

Tony only looked at me for a moment.

"Get the fuck off the floor, Bella. Deb, deliver your shit and meet me in her section."

It was generally a bad idea to argue with Tony, and I wasn't about to. I was hot and almost on the verge of passing out. My stomach was churning, and I only realized I was shaking from head to toe when I took a step. I looked frantically to table twenty-two once again and everywhere else around me. He was gone.

I pushed my way through the people who were standing by the stairway on the first tier, continuing down to the second. I had my legs back, so I practically ran. When I reached the bottom of the second tier, I made the last leap down the stairs to the outer edge of the dance floor.

I had only needed to re-buckle my shoe once, the entire night. When I bent my foot to make that last leap, my strap came completely undone and my foot slipped out. When I landed on the bottom floor, I wasn't prepared for being unbalanced. My foot was all sweaty and the floor was slick, and I slipped on the floor.

I was going down, and I was going to land right on my back. The air left me and I waited for the impact.

It never came.

My eyes had closed reflexively, but in that slight moment of disorientation I felt the hard arms that had stopped my fall. I felt the cold. I felt my stomach pressed up against a part of his torso.

I opened my eyes and turned my head to see the face of the vampire about a foot away from mine. Pale perfection stared back at me with a concerned and excited look. He looked directly into my eyes and I could not move for the life of me.

Those eyes.

They were odd. Brown and just odd. Muddy brown. I also noticed that he was breathing hard and that I was gripping his upper arms with my hands. His arms were wrapped around me, one around my shoulders and the other tightly around my waist.

He was a big one, that vampire.

But his eyes changed as I gazed into them. The brown disintegrated away rather quickly and I stared into the bright red orbs that were, in turn, burning into me. I could feel flames practically licking my head, licking my throat. It might not have actually been fire, but that's what I felt. Heat. Heat all over, and it even had a sound. A hum.

I was absolutely terrified. I couldn't move.

"It might be in your best interest to take your fucking hands off of her. Right. Now."

I recognized Vern's deep voice. I still couldn't look away from his eyes.

He blinked. And then he talked.

"Hi, Bella." A tenor. Rich and smooth.

He stood me up, only letting go when I balanced myself on my legs. I was still unbalanced because I was missing my shoe. I looked away from him and up to Vern, who was standing behind him, glaring at the vampire.

Oh, God. He would fail. He would die.

I had to concentrate just to make my legs work. I turned around and ran for the door that led to the back. My stomach was doing somersaults; my heart was threatening to thump out of my chest. Or my ears.

I pulled the door open quickly and ran through the small eating area. I ran through the door which led into the kitchen and made for the bathroom that was located in a small hall by the lockers. I collided with the door, pushing it open so hard it hit the wall. The commode was in sight and I fell to my knees, grabbing on to the edge of the seat with both of my hands.

I let the heaves take over, and I puked my guts out.

Peter walked out of the club with Bella's shoe tucked under his arm. Vern had not noticed when Peter had retrieved it.

He was worried about Bella, who was currently puking her guts out in the back of the club and sobbing uncontrollably.

Bella would be okay, but it would be days before she would see Peter again. Peter knew how difficult this was for her. Bella had moved on with her life as best as she could have under the circumstances, and this was upsetting as hell for her. She needed the time to get her emotions and feelings in check and prepare herself for the worst.

But she still wouldn't be prepared.

Bella knew what Peter was – a vampire who lived off human blood. She feared the worst, and she really should have. He was a killer. A murderer. He lived off blood, but he lived off her, too. She just didn't know she had nothing to fear. Not when it came to him.

Peter walked through the small parking lot in front of the club and headed north on the sidewalk towards his truck. He had truly enjoyed watching her bust her ass tonight. He loved watching her, period.

The boy who had tried to cop a feel should consider himself lucky that she hadn't turned around and kneed him in the nuts. Peter had enjoyed watching that - watching her on the offense because she was so sure of herself now, and he knew she could handle herself pretty damn well. It came with the job, but he hated the fact that she worked there.

Her eyes always dilated just a little whenever she got angry, and aggressiveness in Bella was a beautiful thing. It took his breath away. It turned him on.

Peter would have liked to have throttled that boy a good one, but the fucker would have probably died horribly and that would have fucked everything up. But the guy apologized sincerely, and figured out right away she was not to be fucked with. If she was good with that then so was he.

Peter smiled to himself as he walked slowly down the sidewalk. Home was on the other side of town, but he had nothing better to do for the moment, so he strolled past his truck and thought of her, her eyes, and the way she smelled. He had always felt the connection, but that moment, he felt the bonds tighten to the point where he felt it like it was the first time he saw her all over again. In his heart, night became day, and touching her skin had sent a shock rippling throughout his body. But it also felt like he left his body, and became one with the universe. The universe was her. It took his sight away, for just an instant.

He paid no attention to the looks that he received from the people who passed him by, and only slight attention was given to the hookers who called after him from across the street. Early morning breakfast material perhaps, but he wasn't thirsty, and they smelled okay.

Peter took Bella's shoe out from under his arm. The strap was worn and looked like it was going to break. The hole for the clasp on the shoe was stretched out. It was no wonder it wouldn't stay fastened anymore.

Peter would cobble it for Bella, along with the other one as soon as she threw it out. He knew how much Bella liked those shoes. He smiled at the thought. She appreciated the little things, and even though this one would cause her pain at first, in the long run it would be worth it. Little steps would be taken to gain her trust. And her love.

Peter couldn't wait.