Good day, everyone!

A massive thanks to teambellaedward, mixmatched9, bjelaja, Pianogirl05, shyshy1016, rosaliehale1994, janjan2009, trs1, BellaSand, Cina's and Dulcinea21bella for their reviews. Thanks, guys!

1. Sorry for the lateness of this chapter. Real life has once again decided to intervene, and what real life wants, real life gets!

2. Uni assignments are due to attack me for the next few weeks, so I will get out any chapters I can. Just thought I'd give you all a fair warning. They may be a little slow for a while.

3. My thoughts go out to the victims of the terrible disasters in Japan. My love to any Japanese readers out there.

4. The banner and completed play list for this story are now on my profile. My twitter link is also on there, if anyone cares.

5. I don't claim to be a doctor, so I apologize for any medical inaccuracy in this chapter. Also, I'm from England, so I used whatever knowledge I had on American football for this chapter... which turned out to be not a lot!

On with it…

This chapter is named after "Blood" by the Editors. Amazing song. I saw these guys play in concert a few years back. They were brilliant!

Disclaimer: I don't own it, never have, never will.


Bella Swan's Point of View

"Have you got your jacket?" I asked.

"Yes," replied Edward.

"Got the keys to my truck?"

"Yes."

"Got the banner I made for Emmett's team?"

"Yes." But this answer came with an eye roll. I made a banner. So fucking what? Big whoop. Deal with it, Cullen!

"Then as soon as Jacob arrives, we're ready to go," I grinned, bouncing on my feet in excitement.

Tonight, after a long thought process in which Edward had the nerve to call me a terrible little sister, we had decided we were going to Emmett's football game. Emmett coaches the local kid's team in his spare time. Back during his days at school, Emmett was the best player at Forks High, took them to the championships and everything. It wa safe to say that the team won many times under Emmett's captaincy. He loved the sport so much that, when he left school, he decided to continue with it and teach kids how to play too. His team usually met twice a week, but tonight was their first game of the season, and Edward, Jacob and I were going to cheer them on.

"Do we have to take Jacob?" Edward asked, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Surely the guy can make his own way there. He's not an invalid... although he may look like one." He muttered the last part under his breath.

"Edward!" I exclaimed. How dare he talk of sexy-assed Jacob like that! The guy was my brother's best friend, so of course I was going to take him to Emmett's game...

Plus I'd been dying for an excuse to have his ripped body sat next to mine since I'd met the guy! Trust me, if you saw him you'd understand why.

"What's the problem? We have plenty room in my truck for the three of us and we'd be doing him a favor. Plus, he'd have to take his own car otherwise and another car on the road is bad for the environment. Have you ever heard of global warming? Do you want the planet to die, Edward?"

Edward huffed, stuffing his hands tightly in his pockets. "I just don't see why we have to take him, that's all. He's capable of taking himself."

I just shook my head and ignored him. He was being fucking ridiculous. Seriously, what was the problem? Jacob had merely asked to ride with us; it's hardly a crime to share a car with friends. But Edward had been acting this way since I'd mentioned Jacob. He'd just being sulking and mopping around, muttering utter nonsense under his breath. He'd never had a problem with Jacob before, so I didn't understand the sudden turnaround. I wondered whether his moodiness was to do with his sudden change. Regardless, there was no need to take it out on Jake, or act like a sulking child in the process.

A knock came from the front door.

"Ah, that'll be Jacob," I said. "I think I'll go answer the door and kindly offer him a lift instead of being an idiotic ass-hole." I made extra sure to bob my tongue out at Eddy-Bear as I stepped past him. I opened the door.

"Hey, Bella," smiled Jacob as he stood there leaning against the doorframe, his pearly white teeth on full show. His body was covered in a tight white t-shirt that was covered in a leather jacket. He wore jeans which hung off his hips, completely showing off his perfect physique.

I was ready to swoon!

"Hi, Jacob," I blushed, twirling a strand of hair around my finger. "You, er, ready to go?"

"Sure am," he replied. "Ready when you are." He looked towards my best friend. "Hey, Edward."

"Jacob," he muttered in greeting before he pushed his way past him, out of the front door and round to my truck. Jeez, he needed to lighten up. He was taking this moody, melancholy vampire thing too far. It was getting me down, never mind him. Yeah, I get it, he has pointy teeth now, but did he really need to go all goth and depressing on my ass? Still, Jacob and I followed him and the three of us clambered into my truck. I let Edward drive my baby considering he wouldn't be too pleased being seated next to Jacob. This was fine by me! Let Edward drive whilst I can sit skin on skin with the hottest guy in Forks?

Why, yes. Yes please!

Edward was silent for most of the drive while Jake and I talked about everything and nothing. Considering he had been Emmett's best friend since the beginning of high school, this was probably the most I'd ever spoken to him, partly because Emmett was always around, but mainly because I'd always been too shy and scared to build up the courage to speak one fucking word to him.

Right now, however, you couldn't shut me up. And I didn't want to shut up either. I was in pure heaven.

I really enjoyed his company. Jacob was funny, sweet, kind and he always knew how to fill the silence. He was just generally a great guy… not to mention his hot body. And what I say hot, I mean hot! And not just because he worked out, he actually felt warm, oddly so. The guy was on fucking fire, I tell you. I just put it down to the adrenaline and the heat of the three of us packed together in my truck. Still, he got no complaints from me.

We arrived just as the stands were beginning to fill up with parents and football fans. Forks High School was kind enough to let the league borrow their field to use for games, so many of the kids from the school came too. We quickly found three empty seats about half way up and sat down… me in the middle, of course.

We settled ourselves in as the teams warmed up on the field below. It was quite a cold night considering that it was May, but hey, this is Forks. What else do you expect? I zipped my jacket right up to my chin and hugged myself. Anything to keep in the warmth.

But I was in quite a strange position when I thought about it. Here I was, stuck in the middle to two hot men, one of them ridiculously warm and the other sitting there like an ice cube. My body didn't know which way to turn. I wanted to be warm, not on fire! The cold side wanted to turn to Jacob while the hot side wanted to shift in Edward's direction.

Still, I sat there and bore it. Not a lot else I could fucking do, was there?

"You okay?" I asked Edward. He was being unusually quiet. I knew it was down to Jacob's presence, but I still didn't want my best friend to feel left out.

He was as still as a statue.

He swallowed. "There's a lot of people here tonight. More than I thought there would be. The smell is strong."

My eyebrows furrowed… and then it hit me.

Shit! The blood. With how many people surrounded us, the smell must have hit him hard.

I'd yet to enlighten Edward with my little plan of feeding him… mainly because I knew he'd flat out say no. But despite the fact he'd been hunting animals for the past few days, I could tell it wasn't helping. He was becoming paler by the day and the black circles around his eyes were getting darker and darker. He needed human blood.

Thing is, how do you tell your best friend to take a bite and dig in when the blood source happens to be your own? I had no problem with it, I wouldn't have agreed to it otherwise. And I knew what I was in for, I wasn't fucking stupid. I knew the blood loss was going to send my body to the shits. The problem would be getting Edward to accept my decision and go ahead with it. He wouldn't hurt me for the world, I knew that. He would put me before himself any day, but this was my choice. I was willing to give him the blood. I just prayed that he would take it.

"Do you want to go?" I asked, placing my hand on his arm. "We can go, I don't mind."

He turned to look at me and smiled. "I'll be fine," he said as the teams finally got into position for the game to start. "I have to get used to the scent eventually, right?"

"But I can help you, Edward. I-" but the sound of the whistle indicating the start of the game, and the cheering crowd completely drowned me out. The game had begun.

I turned my body towards the players below, tapping my fingers on my knees, my eyes not really paying attention. I had to get this out into the open; I had to get this off my chest. Emmett's football game probably wasn't the best place in the world to tell Edward everything, especially in front of hundreds of humans who had no idea vampires existed, but I felt it needed to be said now. He had to know that I was going to be his blood source. He was as still as a statue, his teeth gritted and his body tense. He was trying to be strong, I knew that, but the blood was affecting him. He needed help.

Not much happened for the first ten minutes. Both teams came close to scoring and one guy went off injured, but that was about it. Edward seemed to relax a little more too since the crowd has quietened down a little in order to watch the game. Maybe Edward and I could discuss everything later on in the privacy of my room where no unknowing humans could come and interrupt us. If we could just get through this for the next few hours, then everything would be perfectly fine and we could discuss the blood source idea in detail. I felt myself starting to relax too and I actually began to pay attention to the game, and I really began to enjoy myself...

That was until Emmett's team scored.

The crowd went wild, screaming, standing, jumping up and down in celebration. The atmosphere was amazing. Jacob stood up to cheer too and I found myself doing the same. I turned to Edward in order to celebrate but the smile was quickly wiped from my face. He remained seated, his head in his hands, his fingers tugging roughly on his hair, his body trembling.

"Edward?" I cried, placing my hand on his shoulder, bowing down to meet his face. He looked up at me with terrified eyes, and I knew the problem immediately. His fangs were on full show. "Oh god," I whispered.

My heart pounded and my stomach dropped as a sudden feeling of dread coursed through my body. He could smell the blood pumping through everyone's excitable bodies. No, he couldn't be like this, not with all these people here. What if they found out his secret? What if he attacked one of them? Either way, it was bad news for Edward. He needed to move and he needed to move now.

I turned to Jacob. "Be right back," I said, not even waiting around for a reply. Now was not the time for fucking replies! I grabbed Edward's arm, pulled him up, and ushered him through the crowd and down the steps. I stood us under the bleachers and grasped his face in my hands, moving it into the light to get a better view. Yep, they were fangs alright.

They were sharp and protruding and shiny. They sat there in his mouth, teasing me and testing me, giving me a glimpse of them in order to put me off my promise. Well they could fuck off! They didn't scare me, not one bit, and I knew that the moment for my promise to be fulfilled had come. But first I had to calm Edward down.

"Shhh…" I said, brushing his hair from his face as his body trembled. "Eddy-Bear, it's okay."

"The adrenaline… All I could smell was the adrenaline, and then the blood… The fangs just appeared, Bella… I'm hungry… So hungry."

My eyes scanned the ground, quickly landing on a sharp pointed rock. I quickly bent down, grabbed it and shoved it in my pocket. "Come with me," I said, taking Edward's hand and running him into the empty school.

The place was deserted and dark, making it seem almost eerie. The main doors had been left unlocked so that fans could use the school's bathrooms. So that's where I headed, our footsteps echoing throughout the vast corridors. Not many girls had come tonight, so I headed for the girl's bathroom, believing it to be the safest option.

I slammed the door open, pushing it so hard that it ricocheted off the wall behind it, and quickly switched the lights on. They flickered a little before illuminating the room. I got a much better look at Edward in the brighter light. His skin was as white and pale as snow, the rings around his eyes were dark and purple, making him look tired and worn, and his eyes… they were pitch black.

"Oh, Edward," I whispered as tears welled and stung the back of my eyes. I'd never seen him so helpless and so weak before. I thought the night I'd discovered him was bad enough, but now he looked utterly broken. Purely seeing him was enough to kill me. I couldn't let him go on like this. I didn't care what his reaction to my promise was anymore.

He was having my blood whether he wanted it or not.

I literally thrust my arm into his face, making sure the veins in my wrist were pointed directly at his mouth. His weary eyes focused on my wrist, then on my face before going back to my wrist. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as his eyes once again went back to my face. He wasn't fucking getting it!

"Bite… Drink… Take the blood, Edward," I said calmly.

His eyes widened then, his body throwing itself back as far from me as it possible could.

"NO!" he yelled. "Are you fucking insane? What the hell, Bella?"

"Edward, you need it, take it. Please," I pleaded.

"No. Fucking. Way! I can never take blood from you. No, I'd never dream of it."

"Good, because I'm giving it to you. Edward, please."

"No, Bella. No."

I let out an annoyed sigh before approaching him, grabbing his wrist and dragging him into one of the cubicles, locking the door behind me. The smell of my blood would be much stronger in a tiny and confined space.

"Right," I began. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Either you take it from me or I'm going to force the stuff down your throat! It's your choice, Edward."

"Don't you get it?" he asked. "I could kill you, actually kill you. How can I ever think of doing that to you? Do don't understand what you're asking me to do here."

"You won't kill me," I said softly, slowly sliding my hand into my pocket and grasping the rock I'd picked up before. "I trust you, Edward, I always have. And I would happily trust you with my life. No matter how angry or hungry or aggressive you get, you'd never kill me."

"What if I can't stop?" he asked, his voice almost begging with me and pleading with me.

"You will," I said, cupping his cheek with my hand. "You can stop. I trust you. Please… let me help." I pulled the rock from my pocket and drew the sharp point across the skin of my wrist, a slight slit opening in its trail. "Fuck," I whispered as the pain of the open wound hit me. That fucking hurt! Blood began to seep from the cut and I once again raised it to Edward's mouth. "Here."

There was no questioning or debating after that. Now he had no choice. The second Edward smelt the blood, he grabbed my arm and latched his lips to the cut, his mouth sucking and his tongue sliding across the wound. His eyes closed as the blood filled his mouth and a contented sigh left his mouth as he drank. I stood there shocked for a few seconds as he fed. The whole scenario was so surreal. My best friend was drinking my blood. Yeah, this sounded fucking insane. Edward finally pulled away.

"So good... but it's not enough." He looked into my eyes, almost looking for my assent before he dropped my wrist, bent his head down, cradled my head in his hands, and allowed his fangs to pierce the skin on my neck.

I let out a gasp and a pained cry as the sharp pain of his fangs in my neck registered in my head. Fuck, fuck, fuck it hurt. I stiffened immediately and my body tried to pull away, a reflex reaction to the danger I was in. But Edward's grip was tighter than my fighting body's. I closed my eyes as tears began to fall down my cheeks, my legs almost giving way from the sudden bite. But Edward caught me, he held me in his arms, he pressed his chest against mine and stroked my hair as he drank from me. I wrapped my legs around his waist in order to raise my body and give him better access to my neck.

He pressed me up against the wall, trapping me, blocking me in, making escape impossible, causing me to moan as he drank from me. My arms wrapped around his body, holding onto him for dear life as I felt myself get weaker and weaker. My head dropped to rest on top of his as my lips brushed gently against his hair. He pressed into me harder, his hands going everywhere. My arms, my back, my stomach, my ass, my thighs, anywhere to get a tight and secure grip on me. His hands brushed across my breasts, along my collarbone and up into my head, his fingers threading with the strands as the bloodlust took him. I could not help but let out a throaty groan at the feel of his hands on my body. I'd never groaned at Edward before.

This was sorta hot...

He moaned and sighed with each drop of blood he took, my mind wondering whether he felt how hot this was too, and I finally felt the pain subside into contentment and pleasure.

I was helping him, I was aiding him, he was going to be okay. I could already see the paleness of his skin dwindling into something darker and more lifelike. His body had stopped trembling too, his weakness turning into strength as he held my entire weight in his arms. The blood was working… he was getting better… And I was feeling pretty good about all this too.

"Edward…" I sighed as his mouth eventually stopped drinking and pulled away from my skin, his tongue cleaning the bite wounds before he buried his entire face in my neck. His breathing was labored, his body was still, but he never let me go. No. In fact, he held me even tighter, wrapping my body into his, holding me like something breakable and precious... Like a lamb.

My tears slowed as I lowered my head forward and kissed his forehead over and over. I brought my hands into his hair, easing him and calming him, stroking the hair behind his ears where I knew he liked it. "Better?" I asked.

"Bella, are you okay?" he whispered, his voice muffled by my neck. "Please tell me you're okay."

I smiled and rested my cheek on top of his head. "I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine."

"Oh, thank god," he replied, his lips leaving trails of kisses across my sensitive skin. It felt… good. "You screamed… so I thought…"

"I'm fine," I replied. "See? I told you you'd stop. Didn't I tell you?"

"Yeah, you did," he replied gently as he pulled his head back to look at me. His eyes were no longer black, they were a bright red. "I can't believe I just did that."

"Me neither. But I'm glad you did," I said. "You needed the blood. All that I did was encourage you a little."

"Thank you. Thank you so much, Bellsy-Boo." He ran his nose across my cheeks before he rested his forehead on mine, rubbing gentle circles into my back as he held me. "God, you don't know how good that was. You tasted fucking amazing."

Yeah, I blushed at that one! My face felt hot and as red as a tomato. I quickly composed myself. "You're welcome," I answered. "Anytime. And I mean anytime. If you need human blood, just come to me, okay? The Cullens said-"

"The Cullens?" asked Edward, looking at me once again. Yeah… looks like it's time to pull the plan out into the open. He listened intently as I retold the discussion I'd had with Jasper and Rosalie. I told him about the animal blood, the weaning, the fact that I had volunteered. I told him everything.

"But I don't know if I can take blood from you again," Edward argued. "Just drinking from you now was tough enough. What if I don't stop next time?"

"You did it once, so I know you can do it again. Besides, you'll be taking less next time and it will get easier. This has to be done, and taking the blood from me is the only logical way to do it. I want to give it to you."

"Bella... are you a hundred percent sure about this?"

"Yes," I said. "I've never been more sure. I want to help you in any way I can, and if this happenes to be the way, so be it."

He rested his forehead on mine again and let out a breath. "You know I'd be nothing without you, don't you? You're too good to me, Bellsy-Boo."

"I know," I giggled.

"And you know I fucking love you for all this, right?"

"Yeah, I love you too," I replied, kissing the tip of his nose, causing him to chuckle. "But right now, I'd love to go home even more. I'm tired and my head kind of hurts."

I wasn't fucking kidding. It was like a thousand hammers were pounding my head all at once. The blood loss was taking effect already.

"Of course. Do you think you can stand?" he asked as he pulled away. Bad idea. The second Edward let me go, I sunk down. Thank fuck that Edward's quick reactions were able to catch me before I hit the ground. "Hmmm, I guess not," Edward smiled.

"It's not funny," I said, batting his shoulder, but found myself giggling too.

"Come on," he said, picking me up. "I'll text Jacob when we get to your truck. I'm sure he can find his own way home."

"Emmett will take him back," I said as I wrapped my legs around Edward's waist and allowed him to carry me. He unlocked the cubicle door and carried us from the bathroom and into the dark corridors of the school. I felt my head begin to droop in sleep and I rested it upon his shoulder, hugging him to me like a child would its mother.

"Hey, come on, I need you to stay awake. No sleeping," Edward said as he carried us outside.

"I wasn't sleeping… I was merely resting my eyes," I said.

"Bullshit. You were sleeping and you know it. I don't want you sleeping until you've taken something to help you."

"I have some iron tablets in the truck that Rosalie gave me."

"Then you aren't sleeping until you've had them," Edward smiled as we finally reached my truck. I pulled my keys from my purse and he let us both into my baby. He made sure I was fastened in before walking around and getting into the driver's seat. After he quickly messaged Jake, he switched the engine on and we headed home.

I unbuckled my seatbelt and I shuffled up to Edward's side. I wrapped my arms securely around his waist before resting my head on his shoulder.

"It's dangerous to ride without a seatbelt," he said as he put his arm around my shoulder.

"Don't care," I shrugged.

I heard him chuckle. "Where are those iron tablets?"

"In the glove compartment," I answered. I quickly retrieved them and pulled my bottle of water from my bag. I took two tablets and a mouthful of water. I put everything away and resumed my position at Edward's side.

"Comfy?" he asked.

"Very," I said as I allowed my eyes to close.

I felt him kiss the top of my head. "Good."

We stayed in relative silence after that as my body drifted in and out of sleep. It is always hard to sleep when Edward's body is pressed up against you! He held me so tightly, yet so gently at the same time. His lips would occasionally just brush against some part of my head, be it my hair or my face, and my mind could not stop thinking about how good it had felt to have him feeding from me.

He had been so primal as he did it, so passionate and so strong. He was a pure vampire during the feed, but he was also Edward. He touched me, he held me, he took my very life source from me. But it was all so hot! To have him hold me and touch me so intimately was something I'd never experienced with him before. Sure, we hug all the time and we hold hands like it's going out of fashion, but never as close and personal as that.

I liked it… I really liked it.

"We're home," I heard him say as my eyes blinked open. He was right. We were parked in my driveway, the house standing in front of us. All the lights inside were off, so I knew mom, dad and Bree were all asleep. I sat up and stretched as Edward got out the car, ran around to me, and opened my door.

He didn't even give me the chance to try to walk. He picked me up immediately and pressed me to his body. I gave him my front door key and he let us in, running me up to my bedroom, closing the door behind him. He laid me gently on my bed before closing my curtains and switching my lamp on.

"You don't need to do all this you know," I said as he took a seat on my bed and began slipping my shoes off.

"Of course I do," he smiled as he stood up and went to sort some nightclothes out for me. "You helped me tonight so I'm going to help you. And no fucking arguing."

I smiled and rolled my eyes. "Fine."

"Now sit up, I need to get you changed."

"I'm not a vegetable, Edward. I can get dressed."

"Bella, you can barely walk. Now, up."

I did as I was told. I sat up and allowed him to pull my shirt off - he closed his eyes of course. Edward had always been a gentleman - and he quickly slid a tank top over my body. My bottom half was a little more complicated since Edward refused to open his eyes to see what he was doing. Damn idiot! We had seen each other naked before, so what was the problem? Granted, we were like 3 and 4 years old at the time, but the details don't matter. Besides, I was in my underwear right now, he couldn't see anything!

When I was finally changed, I settled in under the quilt and Edward tucked me in, making sure I was warm at all sides. He was like a mother hen! When he knew I was warm, he lay next to me, wrapping his arm around my stomach and pulling me to his chest.

"You don't have to stay if you don't want to," I told him. "You need to go hunt. You need some animal blood in your system."

"Not till you go to sleep," he said, gently brushing his thumb across my cheek. "I'm not leaving you till I know you're alright."

I smiled and rested my head on his chest. "I'm fine. I promise."

"Then prove it by going to sleep," he answered, stroking my hair soothingly and kissing my head softly.

Well, I couldn't very well resist after he did that! I was asleep in seconds.