No Need to Say Goodbye

Chapter Seven

Nessie had wandered happily back to her room. Maybe she'd actually gotten somewhere with Alec today... she'd seen him apologize, grin and laugh. She giggled once more at the memory of where her immense laughter had come from today. Hitting Alec in the face with a frying pan... she honestly had no idea that it was Alec at all! She'd gone into the kitchen and run into Heidi who then proceeded to tell her about how she was in a constant game with Felix. Hit and Run, they called it. Heidi had been determined to introduce and include Nessie in the game; unfortunately, it hadn't been Felix that walked through the door. Ah well, the day had served its purpose... night dawned and after changing her attire, Nessie climbed into bed and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

~00oo00oo00~

The sun glittered brilliantly through her blinds and Nessie sat up in bed, rubbing her head and yawned, her arms stretching up instinctively in the processes.

Warmth hit her skin and she shivered in delight. She hadn't remembered the last time that'd happened in Forks... waking up to the sun. In Volterra it was so different, the atmosphere was so different, the climate was so different, and the people were so different.

Climbing out of bed, she blinked a couple times to brush away the tiredness. In the next ten minutes, she's showered, changed in to summer dress with floral patterns, some gladiator sandals and slipped her wrist into a fern-like gold bangle. Nessie dusted on a little makeup before walking out of her room and wandering to the kitchen and then stopped. Furniture might be here and there for decoration and pleasure, but would they have human food about? Looking in the cupboards in the kitchen, she soon found her answer. No human food, or at least, not where she was looking.

Suddenly, the kitchen door opened behind her and she swung around, ready to attack whatever or whoever was behind her. Her eyes focused and she realized that it was just Alec. His eyes were no longer full of the playful behaviour she'd seen yesterday, it was cold once again.

"Hey." Nessie ventured out after a moments silence.

She was answered with a simple nod of the head. Taking a deep breath, she thought she'd strike a conversation with the enigmatic boy.

"So, what'd you do this morning?"

Alec shrugged half-heartedly, "Hunting."

Nessie 'oh-ed' and then turned a deep shade of red as her stomach growled as she thought of the taste of blood. Silently, she cursed her mother for the human attributes she'd so glamorously acquired. Alec's eyebrows rose and he chuckled to himself.

"Hungry?" He asked as he walked over to the steel fridge and opened it.

"Yes." Nessie answered in a small voice.

Alec smiled and opened the fridge, conveniently pulling out a glass of blood. Nessie could feel the saliva pool into her mouth and she swallowed, desperately wanting to just snatch the glass out of his hands. Alec started to chuckle a little bit more at the sight of Nessie's face; she looked like a blind man who'd just seen the sun.

"Geez, you're quite excited for a little blood."

Nessie swallowed again, "You try living off human food then." She spat back.

Alec rolled his eyes, set the glass on the counter and pushed it towards her, "Knock yourself out."

Nessie smiled contently to herself as he walked out and then reached eagerly for the glass and drew it up to her nose, filling her senses with the delighting smell of blood. It didn't matter to her right now if it was cold or warm, human or not, it was blood. Sighing in happiness, she lifted the rim to her lips and let the thick liquid squelch past her lips, fill her mouth and then she swallowed slowly, savouring the delectable taste. Quickly she downed the cup, feeling completely for the first time in days. Smiling to herself, she walked out of the kitchen towards the great hall where she was sure sat three ancient vampires. Passing her room and Alec's, she made a mental note to go the right direction this time, as she turned the corner to the hall and in front of the door, she caught sight of Jane walking towards the door. Her eyes widened and she whimpered very quietly in fear of the ferocious cherubic figure and quietly slipped into the hall, quietly followed by Jane.

As soon as she stepped inside the great hall, all eyes adverted to her and she suddenly felt terribly insecure and frightened. But with her father's genes inside of her, they came roaring into life and she straightened up and walked semi-confidently towards the three vampires. Aro saw her coming almost instantly and he smiled widely.

"Ahh, my little Cullen. What seems to be lingering on your mind?"

Nessie gulped and managed to sliver out a shaky smile, "Um, I was wondering if I needed your permission to go outside and just do some stuff?"

Aro smiled and nodded, "Yes, yes, of course. As long as you take Alec with you..."
Nessie frowned, "But it's quite sunny outside? Won't Alec... sparkle?"

At that, Aro shout of a short burst of laughter, "Sparkle? My, my, what an amusing word for our skin 'condition'... however, all in all, he will go with you, staying in the shadows, but keeping an eye on you."

Another figure slipped into the room and saw his 'guardee' talking to his master; he frowned wandering what the conversation about. As he walked silently towards them, seen by everyone else, unknown by Renesmee, he caught glimpses of what the conversation was about and quickly caught the drift of it, then scowling about the prospect of 'baby-sitting' the half-breed.

"Thankyou Aro, I'll be back before dark."

Aro nodded pleasantly and waved a hand away and Nessie turned around, almost bumping straight into Alec. At the sight of a very close, tall figure, she shrieked as she cursed herself for not noting his entrance.

"Oh, gosh, don't scare me like that." She hissed.

Alec smothered a please grin and shrugged, "You should watch your senses better."

Nessie's muscles tightened as she heard a girlish snicker erupt in the room. No doubt it was the oh-so-angelic girl whom Alec called his sister. Clenching her fingers together, she strode out of the room and crossed a number of halls. Soon, she entered the foyer where a receptionist, obviously human was. It wasn't Gianna though; Nessie had heard that the Volturi had... disposed of her long ago. Now, it was some blonde young lady whom, she might add, was quite voluptuous. Walking towards the elevator, she pushed the bottom to the ground floor and then walked up the stairs and through the hall so that she ended up at the bottom on the bell tower. Looking around, she closed her eyes and sighed at the place. Her father and mother had often told her this story, where Bella first met the Volturi, saved Edward and been a passive accomplice in grand theft auto all in one day! She could imagine her mother pushing her father out of the sunlight and then his face when he realized his love was alive.

"Well, where are we going?" A voice interrupted her joyful daydreaming.

Nessie opened her eyes lazily and threw her head in Alec's direction, "We're going out."

Alec's mouth dropped sarcastically open, "Oh really? Are we going to go out and catch fairies after?"

Nessie rolled her eyes, "Whatever, I'm going to a coffee shop."

With that, she started to walk out of the cover of the bell tower and then weaved through the marketing crowds in the square. At that moment, Nessie decided that she loved it in Volterra. Everyone was so animated and so happy. They were dressed in such bright colours and looked as though they had no busy lives, and were so carefree and just well... free! Something, she realised, that she'd never felt.

The sole of her sandals slapped softly on the cobblestone of the square. The sun pierced her eyes and she squinted, feeling for the sunglasses that were hook through her hair. Pulling them over her eyes, she was able to the scan the square more slowly and in depth. Finally stopping she saw and started to smell the wonders of a coffee shop. Making a mental note for that to be her last stop, she shopped at the little town shops for a few hours, picking up a small pizza to eat and did some more shopping. The day past quickly and she went to the direction of the coffee shop, her curls bouncing to match her buoyant steps, she reached the coffee shop in absolutely no time. Sitting down, she drew her glasses over her head and then picked up the menu and looked unseeingly at the options.

"Hey, what can I get you?" A bored voice sounded.

Nessie blinked to herself, a little amazed about how husky and low the voice was... it sounded quite enticing actually. Maybe if she was lucky, a little romance might strike her up in Italy if the voice had equality to his appearance. Taking a deep breath, she looked up and immediately, her heart caught up in her throat and she expertly hid a gasp. Right in front of her, dressed in all black with a wipe apron tied flimsily around his waist was a handsome young man. His face was quite appealing, consisting of an angular nose, thin lips, dark lashes and brown eyes. His hair stuck straight up and suddenly, his face was animated with a breathtaking smile. His pearly white teeth were practically perfect and took her breath away.

"Hi." Nessie breathed out.

The young man in front of her almost did a double take and Nessie thanked the heavens about for her vampire beauty.

"Oh...hi," He smiled wider and fiddled with the pen in his hands, "Um... so, what would you like?"

You... She thought to herself. Giving her a mental slap she smiled and let her eyes wander at vampire-ish speed over the menu.

"Uh, I'll just have a coffee please? Black, no sugar...please"

The man smiled down and her, jotting it down on the paper and nodded, "Be back in sec."

She nodded and placed the napkin down. Unknown to her, a figure, discreetly hidden in the shadows narrowed his eyes. There was something about the boy he didn't like. He didn't like the way Renesmee's eyes wandering so enchanted over him. He didn't like the boy at all.

In a few minutes, the handsome man returned and he set Nessie's order on the table.

"Here... uh..."

"Renesmee." Nessie smiled. The boy smiled back but his smile faltered at the difficult name, Nessie shrugged, "Or just call me Nessie?"

He grinned, "Yeah, Nessie sounds good. My name's Tristan by the way."

Nessie frowned, "You don't sound Italian?"

Tristan laughed and smoothly slid into the seat across from Nessie, "I'm a transfer from Canada. You're American right? I can tell by your voice."

Nessie laughed, "Yeah, a lot of people can."

Tristan grinned as she sipped her coffee and he leaned forward, his arms on the table, "So... Nessie, what's a pretty girl like you doing in Italy?"

Nessie fought the urge to smile but couldn't stop herself, "Uh, I'm on holidays, staying with some old family friends."

Tristan smiled, "Cool. So... are you here with your boyfriend?"

Nessie grinned, "No, well... I have someone waiting at home, but we're not... I mean..." She trailed off, wondering where she was leading to, "Actually, no. I don't have one."
Tristan's face lit up like a child at Christmas, "Well, Miss Nessie, if you're not doing anything at 6, I'd love to take you out to see Volterra."

Nessie winced, "Six?"

"Yeah, that's when I get off work. Are you otherwise busy?"

Nessie sighed, "I have to get back by then."

"Ah..." He mused, "There's a party after... would you be allowed to go?"

Nessie shrugged, "Possibly, I'll have to see."

Grinning, Tristan took the napkin and the pen in his hand and wrote his name, number and address of the party on it and then slid it back to Nessie.

Out in the distances, the furrowing of brows grew deeper and Alec's mouth clamped tight. He stood in the shadows, a street away, in perfect view of the shop and the little gathering of the human and half breed. For the next few minutes he watched stealthily as the two laughed, talked and finished off the coffee. Suddenly, for some reason, he was unable to stand it no longer and his eyes narrowed in a death glare. Aro had told him that he was responsible for her safety and must be with her at all times.

As Nessie dug in her wallet for a few bills and put them on the table, she smiled at Tristan and brushed her hair behind her ears. The sun was starting to sink and she sighed at Tristan.

"Ugh, I gotta go. But I'll text you if you I can come."

Tristan grinned and stood up as she did, "Sure, I'll be watching out for it."

Nessie smiled and was about to lean in for a small goodbye hug when a loud whistle pierced her ear. Looking for the direction and person, she caught sight of a pale figure in the shadows across from the street. He jerked his head back to the direction of the bell tower making her groan quietly.

"Who's that?" Tristan asked curiously.

Waving a dismissive hand Nessie sighed, "Just a friend, don't worry about him though."

"Oh alright, sure... well, I'll see you later; or tonight if I'm lucky..."

Nessie smiled and then walked off in the direction of the tower. She slipped through the doors to come face to face with Alec.

"Have fun?" He asked.

Nessie grinned grimly to herself, not really hearing his question but wondering how to word her enquiry about the party to Aro.

"Oh yeah, heaps." However, her mind totally drawn away from Alec's question.

Alec himself scowled quietly about how this boy could get so attention from her. All he knew was that he did not like this boy.

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