Once Bitten Twice Shy Chapter 3/?
Author: Lifelesslyndsey
Category: Twilight
Pairing: Bella x Peter
Summary: Clinging to Angel ideals, trapped in a vampire body, with very human urges. He was very confused. Peter was an indecisive vampire with an identity crisis. Bella was jaded and self-isolated. In short they were perfect for each other.
Rating: Mature audiences only for Language & Lemons
Word Count: 3,897
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Te amo mi Beta, Magos186
A/N Keep the reviews coming and I shall post as soon as I can!
Bella POV
"Is it okay if we take my car? I've never been one for riding vampires. I like a smooth ride."
The look on his face when that little gem slipped my verbal filter was priceless. Peter stopped in his tracks, causing me to slam full force into his back. I stepped around him, catching his face in a frozen state of shock. Great, he was an Edward. I idly wondered if he's be as anal retentive as the last sexually repressed Vampire I had come across. I fucking hoped not.
"Good lord, that wasn't what I meant. I meant like...being carried by a vampire as he sprinted through the forest like woodland fairy. It always made me sick."
"Why would a vampire need to carry you anywhere?" Peter inquired, lingering hesitantly at the passenger door.
"I'm a slow ass human; they got sick of waiting me to walk at my slow ass human pace. Peter, get in the fucking car." I said forcefully as his hand lingered near the door knob, dilemma flaring behind his arms. "If you feel like eating me, I'll roll the windows down."
He opened his door, and I walked at my slow ass human pace to mine, climbing in rather ungracefully. "It isn't the scent. I've just...well I don't normally talk to humans, or get in there cars and share life stories."
"We've hardly shared life stories, Peter. If you'd rather not come with, that's fine. But I want you to know that you don't need to lurk in trees, you can knock on my door any time you feel like watching me eat my breakfast or check my e-mail."
"Your going to keep bringing that up, aren't you? Look, it's not my proudest moment, but as a Vampire, I'm obligated to protect the secret." Peter huffed, smoothing down his hair nervously. "Of course I would be curious about a human who knew."
I chuckled, "You were thinking about eating me, weren't you? Before I called your sparkly ass out?"
He glared at me, "Yes." He said, rather indignantly, "I hadn't made up my mind yet."
"Have you come to your conclusion yet?" I asked him with a wide grin. He looked at me with a furrowed brow, before returning my grin.
"No, I still haven't made up my mind." He laughed, "I'll let you know."
"Thanks for the heads up." I said, casting him a wry grin, which he slowly returned. He was such a strange Manpire.
"So, tell me about yourself." I said, as I pulled out of my drive way and onto the little private drive that poured out into sprawling city suburbs.
He sighed, "What do you want to know?"
I paused, considering the question. I wasn't looking for specifics. I wasn't looking for anything really. Against my better judgment I had invited a vampire into my home, into my car, and into my life. Apparently I was hard up for a new face. A human drinker at that. I briefly wondered if lack of judgment was a side effect of one of my many medications. Would this bother me if not for the pills? Wouldn't I be scared shitless?
No. No, because death didn't scare me. It hadn't in a long time. I welcomed it; I'd hump a Reaper if I saw one. Peter was no different then the cliff, the blade, or the bottle of pills. He was just another cowardly attempt to dive off the deep end. Some sick part of me was hoping he'd kill me. I'd hardly tell him that, though. It was in this moment that I realized I wanted him around. I wanted him to have every little fucking opportunity to eat me. I had no intentions of slicing a main artery or anything; no I was done with suicide. I didn't want to put that kind of effort in. The way I looked at it, this was beneficial for both of us. I got to be dead, he got a meal, and I saved who ever he was going to eat, for now at least. It was good, it worked. I mean, I couldn't be sure that he would eat me, so...really, I was perfectly innocent.
"Anything. Why did you move to Seattle? Why alone?" I asked at random, turning onto the highway. My home was fifteen minutes from town, the farthest I could find that wasn't in complete seclusion. I loved my neighbors. Neighbors meant no sneaky vampires or werewolves would break into my house and watch me while I was sleeping. I had that shit on lock down.
He froze for a moment, the unnatural rigidness I would never obtain. "I had a coven once, but it wasn't for me. I left, and soon after, my brother followed. He and I stayed a together for a while, but he needed more. He found a mate, and she lead him else where. I haven't seen him since the day he left, but I miss him every day. I've been alone since."
"No mate?" I asked gently, and he shrugged his shoulders.
"No mate."
"Well it seems we have something in common. I too once had a coven, not that I'm a vampire, but I practically lived with them. It was an unusually large coven, I would have made eight. But after an incident on my birthday involving a paper cut, they abandoned me. I wasn't worth the trouble. So, Peter, I too am coven-less, and mate-less."
I caught him eyeing my inner right wrist speculatively. He wanted to know if that's how I obtained such a scar, but wouldn't ask. Or at least, he wasn't sure if he wanted to ask.
"You're very indecisive." I noted, watching his face rage with inner conflict.
"Is it that obvious?" He asked, with a weary sigh.
I laughed, "It was obvious the first time I saw you, muttering to yourself about cat food." I said with a smile. He grimaced, to which I could only respond with a laugh, "What the hell were you doing buying cat food anyway?"
"The lady who owned my house before me fed them, and they won't go away. I didn't...I couldn't let them starve...they were there first. So I fed them. Now they will never leave."
"You could have just eaten them." I noted with a smile. I couldn't imagine any of the Cullens eating a cat. Well, maybe Emmett, that boy would eat anything.
"I don't eat animals." Peter said seriously, his voice low and menacing.
"I am well aware. Hey...weren't you wearing contacts?"
He flipped down the sun visor, popping open the mirror. "Shit. They dissolved." He cast his eyed downwards, staring intently into his lap.
"Peter, I don't care about your eyes."
He looked at me, quirking a thick brow, "You should."
"Your right, I should. But I don't. Maybe I am crazy. It could be the pills. They make me some what...passive." Passive my ass, I could watch a kitten get hit by a truck and thing 'oh sad'. Not to mention the damage my libido took, but that was beside the point.
I rounded the Pharmacy, pulling through the drive through. The eighteen year old pharmacist intern smiled at me with her bubble gum pink gloss smeared across her lips and yellow teeth. Did I look like that six years ago? I fucking hope not.
"Isabella M. Swan." I said, not waiting for her Walgreen Welcome, or her inquiry as to weather I would like to sign up for some shitty discount card or something.
"Isabella?" Peter asks, arching one immaculate brow. Seriously, no amount of tweezing, waxing, man-scaping or threading could bring a human such perfection in the form of brows. I had eyebrow envy.
I sighed, as I often did when my name came into play, "Isabella Maria."
Peter POV
Bella, though surprisingly easy to talk to, was perhaps a little forward in nature. She called me on my shit without preamble, even going so far as to mention my indecisive nature and my inability to choose a fucking cat food. Like I'm not mortified about that shit enough. I don't need her noticing my idiosyncrasies. A vampire with severe OCD is not funny.
And my eyes. For a girl who's been laid out like a $4.99 lunch buffet for not one vampire, but several, she sure has some fucking balls. She was a little to cocky for my taste, she should be afraid. I've eaten bigger things then her.
The girl behind the Pharmacy drive through window gives Bella a half smile half grimace for greeting. . Her name was Erica, and she was rocking a fake tan, dark roots, and a poorly cut asymmetrical bob. And what looks suspiciously like scabby herpes around her mouth, hidden beneath a quarter inch of make up and thick pink lip gloss. I felt the need to wash my hands just looking at her. Seriously, if I were human, the idea of her touching my medication would render me incapable of taking said medication. The bitch was nasty.
"Isabella M. Swan." Bella said before the pretender-blonde can speak. She nods, ducking back beyond the window to gather Bella's things.
"Isabella?" I asked, with a smile. Nothing about the girl beside me said Isabella. Twenty minutes with her, and she screams Bella.
She groaned, clearly displeased with her given name, "Isabella Maria."
"Well Isabella Maria, I'm Peter Micha." I replied, holding out my hand which she shook with a wry smile. I realized I was being a fucking tool earlier, and if shaking her hand made amends and a proper introduction, I'd do it.
Her palms were hot. Like insanely hot. I could feel her pulse beneath my own, and it felt good. It also felt a bit like a dinner bell, but I pushed aside those thoughts. I would not eat my new friend. It seemed rather rude.
She cocked her head, as Erica ran Bella's insurance information "Micha...that's an Angel name." She said, almost as if she was unsure. I stiffened beside her, unable to respond. Does the fucking human miss nothing, seriously?
"Uh, yeah. It was." Was, I said, without thinking. Would she notice? She shook her head, as if to agree with me even though this was her observation.
"My mother got into a big religious kick. She loved reading about Angels. I can't remember Micha's job, but I remember thinking the name was pretty." She laughed, "That's pretty shallow now that I think about it."
She thinks my name is pretty.
Pretty?
I was a little offended. I was a fucking Vampire Assassin for crying out loud. I wasn't pretty.
I was fierce and shit.
Hello, I'm a Vampire. Take this seriously!
"Thank you." Bella said into the filthy microphone thing. I can almost see the saliva from previous customers, sick customers, breathing all over it. She gingerly scooped up her the two white paper bags from the bin, and tossed them promptly into my lap. "Hand sanitizer?" She offers, plucking a tiny clear bottle from her cup holder. The scent is harsh, and chemical, reminiscent of a stage three cancer patient. Purely chemical.
"No thank you."
She grimaces, "I'm sorry, I imagine it smells awful. I have germ...issues."
"That's fine. I'd rather not intrude on your life. I appreciate you taking your time to talk with me, though it calls into question your judgment and self preservation."
Bella laughed a deep throaty laugh that I shouldn't have enjoyed. It's rare I hear laughter, my own or other wise. It's nice, soothing even. She shouldn't be laughing, and yet she was, her brown eyes flashing.
"Self preservation. What's the point? Look, Peter, relax. Your a rigid mother fucker, I'm half tempted to spike your kool-aid with a valium. Maybe I can mix you up a nice Percocet and O positive cocktail when we get back to my house. You're a vampire. Chillax."
"I'm not use to interacting with humans. I hardly interact with Vampires. I'm...reclusive." I frown. Why the fuck am I admitting this to her?
She smiled, "I get that. As you may have observed, I too am a bit of a homebody."
I have to laugh t that, because it's true. "You have some pretty rigid rituals, yourself, Bella. Everything you do is times meticulously. Right down to how long you take to piss."
"Seriously, you are so fucking weird." She snaps, growling at me. She growled at me. It was cute and human, and I wondered if she knew she did that. It made me wonder just how much time she spent in the company of vampire to pick up such a trait. "So, I run a tight ship. It keeps me from getting bored. Boredom leads me down dangerous roads. I have to keep busy."
"You mop your floor every single day." I noted, casting her a wry look.
She shrugged, "I bleach my counters too. I also Lysol my door knobs. I steam my carpets weekly. Sometimes I do it topless, you should stick around. The second window on the bottom should give you a good view."
I gaped, "Bella I never...I didn't try to see you....um...in any state of undress." I finished awkwardly, fidgeting with a torn edge of one prescription bag.
"Naked, Peter." She said flatly, "I think the word you were looking for was naked. Bare. Buff. Nude."
"Yes, that. I've never seen you ...naked." Ain't that the truth.
"Yes well, as I said before, I'd rather you in my house then lurking outside my windows. You've kept your distance, and while I admire that, you're still hanging out in a tree. Can't be much fun."
"What's with the security system?" I asked, furrowing my brow. She hardly seemed like the type to need such a thing.
She laughed, "I like to keep check on unwelcome visitors. As a teenager, certain mythical creatures like to sneak in my room and watch me sleep."
"That is so many kinds of fucked up." I said, making no effort to hide my disgust, "I mean I understand what I was doing was an invasion of your privacy, but in my defense, your knowledge is dangerous for our kind. However I would never ever enter your home uninvited. That's fucking ridiculous."
Bella chuckled beside me, "It is pretty creepy. At the time I thought it was, I don't know, romantic."
"The flour?" I asked, "So you can see if any one managed to get by your cameras?"
"Yep. No one enters without my knowledge."
"Why?" I pressed. After all, if she was familiar with Vampires, as well as Werewolves, and was so comfortable inviting me into her home, what would drive her to such means of security?
"Control." She said, the steel in her voice matching the steel in her eyes, "No one, mythical or not, should be able to welcome themselves into my lives without my consent. It is extremely difficult to contact me. I have an assistant take my calls; she calls me once a day and relays messages. Other then that, I have one private e-mail address, which only one person in the world besides myself knows. And as long as he is the only one, no nosey pixie can see it." She finished with a startling evil smirk. I had no idea what the hell she was talking about, but she kind of creeped me out.
"Nosey Pixie?" I questioned lamely, smoothing creases in my coat. They were driving me fucking nuts. I idly wondered if Bella knew where I could find a decent dry cleaner around here.
"Yep," She popped, "Little Pixiepire, couldn't keep her goddamn nose where it belonged." She seethed, her frail looking fingers locked on the steering wheel in a white knuckle embrace.
"One of the vampires who took a snap at you, I presume?"
She chuckled, the menacing smirk now a full on grin, "Oh no, she never tried to eat me. She can see the future, or options in the future. From what I know, it's fragmented. But she can't see werewolves, so the only person who has my e-mail is Jacob. All my work related e-mails go to him, and he sends them to me, so there is no way she can see them."
"That's rather clever," I noted, itching to pry her dead lock loose, on the steering wheel, "If it isn't too personal, may I inquire as to why you detest her so?"
Bella's face softened, "I don't detest her. I just don't want her to find me. While I do not blame the Coven in itself, I realized that though they posed a danger to me, I posed a greater danger to them."
"May I request further explanation?" I inquired, desperately smoothing the wrinkled edges of the pharmacy bag. There was a pink smear on the bottom corner that made me cringe. Anything that had been near Erica's mouth would not be touching my person. While I was moderately sure Vampires could not develop herpes, I was not risking myself to such disease. The thought alone disgusted me.
Nodding curtly, "It's a fifteen minute drive back to the house. You may ask me what ever you want in those fifteen minutes, but after that, you can never ask about my previous affiliation with vampires. Is that...acceptable?" She asked, not tearing her eyes from the road.
I eyed her nervously, "If you rather I didn't pry...."
Shrugging in such a manner that dissipated all previous tension, she replied easily, "No. If this association...friendship...what ever we will inevitably develop is to continue, questions will be asked. So, fifteen minutes. Ask what you will."
"Why did they leave?" I asked without warning, part of my vampire mind wondering why she would openly pursue a friendship or an association with me having known me all of a half an hour. It was a question that lingered just below 'why the hell did I get in the car?'
"There was an incident. One of the coven, the Pixipire's mate, was not as controlled as the others. I cut myself on wrapping paper and he tried to eat me. Perfectly reasonable response, really. I don't blame him. Though my boyfriend tried to tell me that he was leaving because he no longer found any source of entertainment in me. That I was a burden. It's taken me a few years, but I think he left because he was afraid. Afraid it would be him desperate to tear into me. I was his singer, after all. "
I gasped, audibly, embarrassingly. "And you live to tell the tale."
She smiled serenely, "I live to tell many tales, Peter. Edward, that was his name, abandoned me in the woods. I fell to the ground and did not rise. It was a werewolf who returned me home. Edward...was fuckwit. I know that now. A selfish creature unable to sacrifice anything for that which he deemed his everything. I would have given up my life for him, my existence. But he clung to humanity he had no right to. He'd rather an eternity alone with good conscious, then an eternity with love, and me."
"Tell me of the wolves." I asked lightly, feeling the tension heavy in the air once more. "Did you learn of them through the Vampires?"
"Jacob Black helped me through my post-Vampire depression. He sought a relationship I couldn't give, but was my friend none the less. He phased, as they are like to do. When he started to ignore me, distance himself from me I grew....mentally unstable."
Though her tone was vague, her words challenged me to ask. "How so?"
"I jumped of a cliff into the ocean during a lightning storm." She said without inflection, clicking her blinker to turn onto an exit.
I swallowed. Suicide, I thought, what a tragedy to inflict. "Was it your intention to die?"
"Yes." She said without hesitance, "But a giant fucking dog hauled me out of the water. I was...incoherent. One second there was a dog nuzzling me, the next second it was a big naked Indian. I forgave Jacob, and he forgave me, and we were good. A year later, he imprinted."
"Soul-mates." I said absently, my mind suddenly filled with knowledge not previously there. The act of it was not surprising, and I quickly filed through it, learning all I could, "When a werewolf finds its mate."
"Yes. She's a lovely girl. Recommended a really decent therapist." Bella noted absently.
"Did you want to be changed?" I asked, sensing closure on the discussion of werewolves and the like. "Did you want to become a vampire?"
She smiled lightly, as if revisiting some memory. "Yes. The PixiePire said it would be so, but I learned not to put much stock in her visions beyond predicting the weather."
I was stunned. "I've never met any one who would want to be a vampire. To damn yourself so thoroughly."
"You've never been in love."
I laughed at that, darkly, and quoted, "Love is a bird, a heart with wings. A song in the morning, the bird does sing. Love is a trial, and one we err. Love is a war that is never fair." It was something God once said to me, when I asked about love. Love, he said, was not of his creations, but rather a culmination of free will.
"I have a feeling that those are pretty words meant to cover something sad." Bella noted, "What do they mean?"
I shrugged, "What do they mean to you?" I didn't know what they meant to me, and I'd no desire to attempt it.
She laughed. "Tricky little fucker aren't you? You'll answer my questions Peter, one day, willingly too."
"Perhaps." I noted. I had no intentions of telling her anything really. She already knew way to fucking much.
She was silent for many minutes, and I wished I had more questions. But at the time, I didn't. The past was what it was, the past. If that was where she wished to leave it, I was in no place to fucking argue.
"To me," She began, breaking the silence, "To me they mean that love is flighty, inconsistent. Love is often a painful. Love is often a mistake. And there is no justice to faults, for we put them upon ourselves when we chose to love."
Turning of her car, she snatched up the pharmacy bags. "I'm a bitter little thing aren't I? I'd probably taste like shit."
I nodded absently, "You smell like...floor cleaner. Flowery, but chemical. That would be the medication, then?"
"Yeah. You could probably get a good buzz sucking my blood. You coming in? I need to clean my floors and talk to my agent."
"I..." Don't know if I should. I had my answers, and it would have been better to just return. I wasn't sure what would keep me.
"Don't think on it. You're lonely. Come in." She said firmly, leaving no room for argument. I followed her up the path, wondering what it was I had gotten myself into.
A/N There. I thought I would get some of Bella's back story out of the way. It's mostly the same, a few changes. It will be a while before I can update, but I will update. Ta!