Hey, guys and gals! As promised, this chapter is a bit longer than most of the others. I hope you enjoy, and of course all feedback is hugely appreciated! Happy reading~~

Chapter Six: Achievement Unlocked

I opened my eyes to the horrendous, glaring pink that could only belong to The Pastry Palace, a dessert café on Whittleston's main street. I'd appeared here many a time while trying out my newfound abilities. Thankfully, this time, I'd transported the two of us into the building itself, halfway down a little hallway which led to the bathrooms and utility closet, and not in the middle of the sidewalk where just anyone could see me. That would be pretty difficult to explain, if you ask me.

"Well, here we are," I said unnecessarily, gesturing to the suffocating pinkness. "Not my first choice, unfortunately, but you sorta put me on the spot there, and since I've been craving their raspberry-lemon muffins…" I shrugged.

"It's so…ugly," the girl said, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, well…" I didn't know what to say, honestly. After all, the décor of this place hadn't been my decision. "So your name's Jane?"

She cast me a sidelong glance. "Yes. Is that a problem?"

I stared at her, bewildered. "Um, no?"

She nodded, satisfied. "Good."

Uncomfortable now, I turned, left the café (ignoring the startled exclamations of the employees), and started walking in the direction of my street. Wordlessly, Jane followed, falling into step beside me. We didn't say anything until we'd drifted off Main Street and onto Greenview Boulevard, where I lived. My ranch house was a bit shabby, though for some reason I'd never really noticed before. No, that's a lie. Of course I'd noticed, but it had never bothered me before this moment. Now, with Jane at my side, my house's dreary state felt too obvious to ignore.

"Here we are," I said for the second time, and again gestured casually in front of me. I was slightly out of breath. I'd been walking real fast, maybe because I'd wanted to outpace Jane. She, however, looked cool and totally in breath. Asshole.

Grumbling, for I was sweating and she was still, somehow, flawlessly unruffled, I threw my weight against the front door, relieved when it gave. Normally I forgot my key, which wasn't a big deal, but sometimes, when she was feeling particularly paranoid, my mom locked the door. Today was not one of those days. I led the way to the back of my house and into my bedroom.

"This is where you live?" There was no inflection in Jane's voice, no emotion to tell me what she was thinking, if anything. As usual, her expression was difficult to read.

"Yep, the one and only."

She made a noise like she was thinking or something, though I had no idea what she had to think about. Yes, this was my place of residence. What of it?

Not sure why I was feeling so defensive all of a sudden, I sat down on my bed and began taking my shoes off. I didn't say anything. The silence stretched between us.

"What is that?" Jane pointed.

I glanced to my bureau. "A broken Roomba."

"Which is what, precisely?" She seemed tense. Was the girl really that offended by a vacuum?

Sighing, I said, "It's like a mini vacuum that rolls around on the floor and sucks up gross things like dirt and crumbs. They're, like, really expensive," I added confidentially. I was trying to impress her for some reason.

"Why do you have one?"

"Well, I stole it. Accidentally, I'll have you know. It's really an interesting story." She doesn't care about any of this, I thought to myself. But I didn't really care that she didn't care, so I added, "There was this bag, and I'd just bought a crapload of stuff, so I didn't see the Roomba at the very bottom, and I forgot I hadn't paid for it yet, but by the time I realized that, I was out of the store, and if I went back I'd look like a shoplifter and – Yeah," I finished lamely. I was feeling strangely talkative.

She raised an eyebrow but didn't purse the topic. "Do you live with other people?"

"Sometimes I wonder," I joked, then remembered she didn't know me at all. "Oh, uh, yeah, my mother. Renee. When she's not working, she's usually in town…doing stuff." I wasn't a hundred percent sure what it was my mother did, exactly, but I knew that I didn't want to find out.

She nodded thoughtfully, her eyes roving over every inch of my bedroom. "It's a nice room, if a bit untidy. I like the art books."

It took me a second (probably because her compliment of my room was really an insult), but I realized she meant my coloring books, and then I felt absurdly touched. No one ever mentioned my coloring books, and if they did, it was only to ask if they belonged to a six year old.

"They're really fun," I said, smiling, "and people of all ages can do it. It's relaxing."

Jane was staring at me with a funny look on her face. Had I said something bad? This friend thing was not in my area of expertise.

"Anyway," I said, clearing my throat, "um, so, why did you want me to bring you here?"

Jane stepped gracefully over my pile of old flip-flops and perched on the edge of my unmade bed. Her gaze was distant, and since I didn't want to interrupt whatever thoughts were churning inside that mysterious brain of hers, I waited for her to speak first.

"I didn't think it was safe to talk," she said finally. "Not there."

"What, in the Forest of Dupree?" I asked incredulously. "If that place isn't safe, then I have no idea –"

"Nowhere is safe," she interrupted critically. "Not for me, and I am beginning to suspect not for you, either."

"What does that mean? I'm not dangerous or anything," I added hurriedly. "Like, I'm not carrying a bowie knife or a sub-machine gun on me, okay?" Then I laughed, a bit hysterically. This whole conversation was starting to get a little ridiculous. "Honestly now, my life is so boring and uneventful. No one would ever pick me out of a crowd. I'm totally ordinary, trust me, so, uh…why wouldn't I be safe again?" I'd almost lost the thread of the discussion. Typical of me, really.

Jane was watching me with that funny look on her face again. The inscrutability of it was irritating. Say what you're thinking! I wanted to yell. Tell me what's going on inside that head of yours! Not knowing was much scarier than whatever truth she was holding back.

Her eyes were a brilliant scarlet. "There's always a reason for everything. Just because you consider yourself harmless does not mean that is the case."

"You know, being cryptic has never gotten anyone anywhere," I said, glaring. "If anything, being cryptic only makes things more confusing!"

Jane sighed and closed her eyes for a second. She kept them closed even as I stalked toward her and planted my fists on my hips. I wasn't sure if she was pointedly ignoring me or if she genuinely needed a moment to get her thoughts in order, but I'd just about had it up to here with this shady you're-not-safe bullshit.

"Listen," I started imperiously, "if you won't give me any straightforward answers, then I suggest you leave before I do something crazy. I'm not exactly the nicest person around, you know. There's a reason I don't have any friends –"

Jane stood up so fast I didn't see her move. Like, not even a little bit. It was like she'd turned into me for a moment. Like she somehow took control of my power and used it for herself. One second she was sitting rigidly on the edge of my lopsided bed, and then her face was inches from my own, our eyes aligned. The sudden dose of heavy eye-contact sent a bolt of shock through my body, and I nearly stepped back. But I suspected doing so would diminish me in her eyes. It would be like giving up, like showing this freaky girl I really was afraid of her. I wouldn't do that. She could try to intimidate me, but that didn't mean I had to let it show.

"Was it something I said?" I asked mildly. We were apparently having a staring contest now, and it was all I could do not to blink. If I'd known we would be engaging in such a contest, I would've prepped myself. No doubt she'd planned this. Unfair advantage, really.

"It was everything you said," she replied, lips barely moving. She looked star-struck. Was Katniss Everdeen in the vicinity? No, I told myself firmly after a quick scan of the room, she's not real, remember? Oh, right. Duh.

"All of it?" I asked skeptically. I mean, I was a talkative person, and when I didn't know someone it was like I was suddenly competing to be the World's Wordiest Speed-Talker.

She nodded, the tiniest hint of a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. "Yes. What's your name?"

"Amelia," I blurted, startled by this change of topic.

"That's a lovely name," she said, head tilting just the slightest bit, as if she was weighing the pros and cons of something.

"Well, actually –"

She didn't give me a chance to comment. The next thing I knew her lips were on mine.

That super-speed really comes in handy! I thought appreciably, and then my eyes closed. Freaky pixie girl tasted like cinnamon with little traces of coconut, and her lips were the temperature of ice cubes. You'd think such a sensation would be unpleasant, but…it wasn't. I didn't mind it. In fact, my heart beat just a little faster, and I found myself wanting to reach out and take hold of her shoulders to keep her there.

But then Jane pulled away, still unblinking. There was a look in her eyes now – not the indecipherable "funny" one she'd been wearing earlier – but a look I knew too well. Shock. Utter disbelief. And…familiarity? Was Katniss hiding somewhere in my room?!

"Achievement unlocked," I whispered, having no idea what I meant or why I said this. I'd been playing too many rounds of Mario Kart on my Gameboy, I think.

"That's it," Jane said, staring at me with wide, wondrous eyes.

I opened my mouth to question, in exhaustive detail, what she meant by "it," when she raised a hand and touched her palm to my cheek, effectively silencing me.

"You're the one I've been looking for."

My eyes widened. Usually when someone said You're the one I've been looking for it meant either I'm about to murder you to settle a debt or You forgot your wallet on the bus and I vowed to return it to you upon penalty of death.

"You're it," she said again.

Me? I thought, perplexed. Still wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

I didn't dare make any sudden moves but, despite myself, I leaned in to Jane's hand. It was chilly like the rest of her, but soft and yielding, too. Comforting, in a weird way that didn't make any sense unless you were experiencing it. Lucky for me, then.

Her eyes flickered over my face, taking in all my features just like that, and I sensed an emotion that had been buried inside her for a long, long time now rise to the surface. It was light, and hopeful, and…happy.

"You're my soulmate," she said softly, hand on my cheek and eyes on mine. "You have no idea how long I've been looking for you. Centuries. Millennia."

I was speechless. Truly.

The words started to tumble from Jane's mouth, as if something that had been holding them back all this time finally broke. "I am a vampire, Amelia. I was not joking when I said that before. This is something I am sure you know. My teeth, my supernatural senses, even my physical appearance and clothing have given it away. You've noticed these things, I know you have," she insisted, as if I'd disagreed.

"I'm very, very old, and almost from the moment I turned I have been searching for my soulmate. My…family at home do not believe in them, but I knew soulmates had to exist. You cannot live as long as I without believing there is someone special out there, waiting for you, if only you know how to find them." She laughed a little then. "Of course, it was not only a matter of how to find you, but when. Time is a sly creature, but I knew that with a bit of patience I would find you eventually." Here she paused, and her eyes swept over my face again, memorizing every last feature. "And I did."

"Soulmate?" I finally croaked. "I'm your soulmate? B-but how do you know?"

She shrugged, as if it were so obvious. "I tasted it on your lips."

My jaw sagged and hung open. Very attractive, Amelia.

"I'll try to explain it as best I can," she said reluctantly, pulling me down beside her on the bed. "Something in me recognizes you, just as something in you recognizes me. When we met for the first time several weeks ago in the Forest of Dupree, I didn't think much of it. Sure, it was extraordinarily odd that you had appeared out of nowhere, and that should have been my first indication. But I was distracted, and besides, never in my long, long life did I expect my soulmate to find me first," she exclaimed, shaking her head.

"However," she continued, sobering quickly, "once you'd left, I couldn't stop thinking about you. There was something…peculiar about you that spoke to me. I'd just begun to actively search for you when you appeared before me like magic. As if you had sensed what I wanted."

I just stared at her. You see, because I didn't enjoy thinking very hard, I hadn't considered my desire to see her as abnormal or special. I just knew that she'd also struck me as…peculiar, to use Jane's word. But it's clear to me now that I'd desperately wanted to see her again. I just hadn't wanted to acknowledge it.

"The second time we spoke I was more aware of you. Everything you said made me want to laugh. Of course, if you'd appeared earlier in the day I might have. But you just so happened to arrive when I was meeting with my brother, Alec." She paused and broke eye contact for a few seconds. "That was not a good time for you to make your entrance. But you did," she added wearily, as if exhausted by my undependable behavior, "and I shielded you from him. At the time, I wasn't precisely sure you were the person I was looking for, and so I did not want to bring you to Alec's attention. We're twins, you see, and he would have sensed what you meant to me."

Jane licked her lips and seemed to pick her next words carefully. "Alec and the rest of my family aren't exactly…approving of this quest of mine, as I've said before. They believe the idea of soulmates is a myth. They believe I've been wasting my time." She smiled fiercely. "But they were wrong. I knew what I was doing, what I felt. No matter how many years passed, I knew I would find you."

In the brief silence between us, my brain went into overdrive. Mired in my shock, I hadn't really considered who she was to me. This…revelation was earth shattering, and not just for obvious reasons.

"Oh my god," I said slowly.

"What is it?" Instantly, Jane's grip on my hands tightened (We've been holding hands this whole time?!) and her gaze sharpened on my face, searching for signs of distress.

"You're a vampire," I said, slower than before. "You're a vampire, and you're my soulmate."

Jane's grip on my hands loosened, but she didn't break away.

"You're a vampire, and you're my soulmate, and I'm a lesbian!" I said, gasping.

Now, all of these things on their own would be no big deal. As I've said time and again, I was no stranger to the unexpected or unusual. But with these three truths coming at me together, all at once…well, it was a bit of a shock, to be quite frank. A shock on top of my lingering shock from earlier. Double shock. A shock within a shock. Shockception.

I was hyperventilating now. Big, gasping breaths tore in and out of my lungs in a way that almost hurt, and my hands were shaking. Vampires were real. Vampires existed and apparently had existed for centuries. Who knew! Bloodsucking, cold-as-ice, white-as-marble vampires! And soulmates were an actual thing, like, what?! People on earth had one special person they were destined to be with forever, and no, that was not a line from a romance novel. No one would ever be lonely. And I was a lesbian! Holy shit! No wonder boys had never expressed interest in me! They'd somehow intuitively known what I was completely blind to all these years, and it all makes perfect sense now!

"Amelia," Jane said over my loud gasping, "please calm down. I know this is quite a shock for you, especially hearing it in its condensed version, but –"

I would not – could not – calm down. It wasn't happening. If anything, the sound of her voice made my panic even worse.

"Amelia!" she said again, but the sound of my name on her lips drove me further into the land of hysterics. No, sir, she was doing the opposite of helping.

But then.

Jane released my hands and gently, oh-so-gently, grabbed my face and turned my head so that I faced her. Slowly this time, so as not to startle me and accidentally send me into cardiac arrest, she leaned forward and brushed her lips across mine. Without thinking, I surged forward, pressing our lips roughly together, wanting her taste in my mouth, wanting her essence to flood every inch of my body.

Jane moaned a little, but then she pushed me away with just enough force to topple me off the bed.

"Oh!" she said, and immediately knelt by my side. "My apologies, Amelia, truly. I did not mean to use such force. You – you surprised me."

Her hands fluttered helplessly around me, like fragile butterflies, until they finally rested back at her side. I stared at her, not saying a word, still breathless from the kiss. If I hadn't known any better, I would've sworn there was a rosy blush in her cheeks and a swelling in her lips. But that was impossible. (She was dead. Undead. A vampire!)

I sat up on my knees and faced her so that we were mirror images of each other. Well, not really. Her blonde hair was still perfect, and her skin was still flawless. Her breathing – if she breathed at all, I suddenly realized – was steady and her eyes unflinching. My brown hair was tousled, my breathing was heavy and erratic, and I couldn't see straight. My world had been turned upside down, and all I could think was, I need more cinnamon in my life.

"Amelia, I'm –" She paused, wide-eyed, at the sudden wildness in my eyes.

"I think it would be smart to just…stop saying my name. Please avoid saying it until further notice."

Jane blinked twice, her lips puckering into a frown. "But I love your name. It's beautiful."

"I know," I said, although I didn't, and this revelation filled me with a frenzied excitement, "but it's driving me a little crazy right now."

She nodded. "Of course. But Am-" A sheepish look, one that made me dizzy. "I mean, it's dangerous for you to do that. To kiss me. I need some time to adjust to your presence."

All thoughts of desire immediately fled from my mind. "Oh? Why?"

"Well, you're human and I'm not. The smell of you…it attracts and distracts me. Attraction is good. Distraction is not."

"Well, that's good news because the smell of you attracts me, too," I said, thinking, Cinnamon, cinnamon, cinnamon.

She smiled a very small, nearly nonexistent smile. But I saw it, and not only because I was paying such close attention to her every move. When her lips curved, I felt a thrumming down my very spine. "Yes, but it's a bit different for me. You see, your blood…"

"Oh!" The reason for her hesitation finally registered. "Blood…vampire…I understand. Sorry, my head's kinda…loose right now."

"Completely understandable," she said softly. "Just give me some time to adjust to your smell. It's very intoxicating. I fear it could become addictive." The look in her eyes suggested this wouldn't be an entirely terrible thing. "I need to build up some resistance if I'm to retain any control. After that, well…"

With an calculating look, Jane leaned forward and kissed me a third time. The tip of her tongue traced the inside of my lips, and then she tilted her head a fraction to the left to deepen the kiss. It lasted all of six seconds, but I died and was reborn approximately ten thousand times in those six seconds.

Jane was once again the one to pull away first, but she lingered, her eyes on my lips, for an obscenely long time. Finally, after she had her fill of my mouth, she moved off the bed and strode to the center of my room, her back to me.

"Now…I must ask you a question, Am-" She shook her head. "This is going to be more difficult than expected," she muttered.

I waited patiently on my bed, legs swinging just above the floor, eyes dazed.

"Would you…do you think you might want to visit my family?" Jane turned to look at me, an odd expression on her face. (Then again, I suspected all expressions would look odd to me. So far she'd been pretty unreadable, and so any expression that wasn't closed off was new.)

"As I said, they do not believe in the concept of soulmates, but I would like them to meet you regardless. They need to see that my search is complete. Alec will like you, I'm sure, and Aro will be pleased. Caius and the others will just be glad I am no longer wandering the planet on my own. Though I suppose –"

I stood up. "Jane." She stopped mid-sentence, mid-stride. She'd begun to pace. The hem of her impressive dark cloak swirled by her feet. "Of course I'll meet your family. What's the worst they could do to me?"

I'd meant this as a rhetorical question, but then I remembered they were probably all vampires too. Shit, I thought uneasily. One vampire is more than enough. A horde of vampires, though? Or is it a coven? No, that's witches. Maybe –

Jane smiled then. A real smile, not one that merely peeked at the corners of her mouth. This one exploded across her face and brightened my entire room. My heart lifted and took off to disappear into the sky. My brain melted. The sun instantly expanded to twice its size. Everything took on a cheerful, rosy cast.

"Wow," I said, then blushed. Way to be suave, I told myself. You really need to work on your romancing skills, Amelia dear.

Jane extended her hands, and without hesitation I grabbed them in my own. We stood like that, less than a foot apart, hands swinging childishly between us, smiling our faces off. Her eyes are beautiful, I thought then. Red like roses. Red like juicy strawberries and maraschino cherries and red velvet cake. Red like her lips on mine. Red like a gorgeous sunset. Red like love.

"You know," I said suddenly, surprising both of us, "you've told me so much about yourself today. I feel like maybe I should tell you something about me. Something…personal. I mean, you told me you're a vampire. That's intense."

Jane shrugged. "It's true though. And I would now share anything with you. It is not something I have to decide."

"Still." I breathed in deep through my nose and let it out slowly. "So, how about this. My name's Amelia, right?"

She stared at me strangely, but this time it was an actual Are-you-okay stare rather than a stare I personally couldn't identify. "To the best of my knowledge…"

"Okay, well, wrong. Amelia is my middle name. Shocking, right?" I took another deep breath. "My real name, or I guess my first name, is Isabella. Bella, for short. I have two middle names, actually. Amelia Marie." Damnit, I was rambling again.

"Isabella Amelia Marie Swan." Jane's eyes took on a dreamy, faraway look. Then she said it again under her breath, so softly I nearly missed it.

"Um, yeah," I said nervously.

She came back to me then. "My new favorite name. We could erect monuments in that name. Build kingdoms. Entire cities!"

I laughed, then realized she was serious. "Wait…you could do that?"

She cocked an eyebrow and brushed her lips across my cheek slowly, seductively. "You have no idea what I can do, mi amore," she whispered.

She was right. I didn't know. But I sure as heck wanted to find out.

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