Chapter 10: Sweet Surrender

Joey's POV:

It had been a week since the Cullens first came to town. Ruven had tried to talk to me a few more times, and I'd had to be mean to stop him. I thought resisting him would get easier. But it only got harder. No matter how mean I was to him, he still had that look in his eyes. And he still smiled when he saw me. Why did it have to be so hard? Why did every part of me want to give up and allow myself to be with him? Why did I want to do that when it would hurt Izzy? I felt horrible about it. Izzy and Trent had noticed a change in me, and I hoped they weren't worried about me. That would make me feel even guiltier. I wanted to empty my head of thoughts, but every time I did Ruven's face filled my mind.

I had decided to skip class, and was walking around while I waitied for the bell to ring. I had lunch with Trent and Izzy next, and I was planning on letting them know I was going home. Suddenly, I stopped. I could smell blood nearby. I was old enough that I could easily resist it, but I caught another scent that had me panicking. I rushed around the corner and saw two girls, one kneeling, examining her knee, which was bleeding slightly. And I also saw Ruven, about twenty feet away, frozen. His eyes were black, and I could tell he was struggling with his thirst. I rushed over to his side. I had no choice but to get him out of here.

"Hold your breath. I'm going to pull you away. Please don't fight me. You're stronger than me," I whispered. He nodded. I grabbed his hand, trying to ignore how nice it felt in mine, and pulled him toward my car. I opened the door to the backseat and pushed him in, closing his door before getting into the driver's seat and driving out of the school parking lot. "Um, where are we going?" he asked me. "Hunting. When was the last time you went?" I said, almost hissing. "About a month ago," he said, lowering his head. I paused. "How long have you been a vampire?" I asked him quietly. "About sixty years," he replied.

"Sixty years! That's all? And they sent you off to a school when you hadn't hunted in a month? Are you all stupid?" I growled. "Well, I'm usually able to control myself. I guess I'm lucky you were there," he said grinning. I pressed my lips together. This was too much. We finally reached the forest and I got out of the car, needing to be away from the temptation. "Come on," I said, taking off toward the scent of some deer nearby. He followed. I was a faster runner, but his legs were longer, so he wasn't too far behind.

I hunted at the same time he did. It had been a while for me, too, and I needed my strength. "So I'm stronger than you, am I?" I heard him say, referring to my words at the school. "That much should be obvious. You're about a foot and a half taller than me," I said, trying to let annoyance fill my words. "Hmm, a disadvantage. Or maybe not," he muttered. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

He crossed the distance between us in about three steps. He then picked me up off the ground and kissed me. It felt so nice. But I knew I should be fighting this. I pushed halfheartedly against him, but it was obvious that it was too late. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him back. I should have fought. I should have thought about how I was betraying my family. But it was as if Ruven and I were the only two people in the entire world that existed. After what was both a very long time and not long enough, he put me down. I could see his huge grin, and I smiled too.

Then I thought of Izzy, and my smile vanished. "Oh no," I whispered. I fell to my knees and put my head in my hands. "Joey, what's wrong?" he asked, dropping down beside me and putting a hand on my shoulder. "Izzy. I betrayed her," I muttered. "No, Joey. You didn't betray anybody. You have every right to be happy," he said firmly. "But this will hurt her," I said. "So don't tell her. We can keep it a secret. I think that would be a good idea all around," he told me. I thought about it.

Keep a secret from my family? I had never done that before. I would without a doubt feel guilty about that. But it was better than hurting Izzy, right? I should be able to be happy and keep her from knowing how disloyal I was. Slowly, I nodded. He kissed me again, and I knew there was no point in fighting.

Ruven's POV:

I was the happiest I had ever been. She had finally agreed to be mine. I had to be the luckiest man in the world. The luckiest man and vampire. Nothing in the world could possibly compare to the knowledge that we could be together. The moment was a bit tainted by her guilt, but she had every right to be happy. I hoped her guilt would fade with time. We stayed there for hours, and the sky was darkening overhead when I heard her cell phone ring. "Hello?" she answered. Her voice was so beautiful, like sweet music. "Joey, it's Izzy. Where are you?" the voice on the other end said.

"Izzy, I'm sorry I didn't call you. I was feeling a little weak because I hadn't hunted in a while, and I decided to leave school early and fix that," she explained. I could tell how hard it was for her to lie, but she managed it wonderfully. "Oh, that's okay. Did you hunt?" the person on the other end asked. "Yep, I did. I'm coming home now, okay? I'll see you in a few minutes," she said, and I frowned. She hung up and looked at me. She laughed a little bit at my expression. Her laughter was so pretty. "Don't worry, you'll see me tomorrow. We'll find some way to spend time together after school," she said, putting a hand on my cheek.

I picked her up and kissed her goodbye, and was still grinning when I heard her car drive away. Now I had to work on the problem of keeping her out of my thoughts. I didn't want Edward to see what was going on. I had a feeling it might hurt him a bit too. He'd been really sad lately over this Bella girl, who Joey called Izzy. I spent the next two hours trying to keep my thoughts from drifting to her every few seconds, but it was very, very difficult.

Author's note: So there you have it. A little awww moment. But what problems will this secret relationship bring? Will it be discovered? I know, but you're going to have to wait and find out.