Chapter 10: Don't You Hate Being the Last Person to Find Out a Secret?

Armand and I had met at the soda shop every day that we'd known each other. He always arrived at nine o'clock exactly, while I had a habit of showing up flustered a few minutes late. It was hard to wake up at the same time every day without any sort of alarm clock.

Grudgingly that morning I made my way to the soda shop, wishing I could be certain Armand would show up. I looked towards the sky, noticing that the clouds had turned an unappealing greenish-gray. From the coverage I guessed we had a thunderstorm on the way. Maybe I'd get a room at the hotel tonight after all… It wouldn't hurt not to hear Jacob or Seth while I was this confused anyway.

I was early today, sitting rigidly in my seat by the window as I waited impatiently for my friend. I had to admit, I was afraid he wouldn't show up today after how things had gone over the day before. I was terrified that I would be on my own again.

As if by clockwork though Armand came through the door at two minutes until nine, obviously surprised to see I had beaten him there.

"Good morning Leah," He said cheerfully, no hint of his anger from the day before tainting his words.

"Hey Armand," I said hesitantly, still wondering how best to approach the subject of when we'd last met. "Feeling better?"

He paused, obviously confused for a moment before he seemed to understand. "Leah… I suppose I should explain my actions from yesterday. I acted immaturely and greatly overreacted. I owed you an explanation for my leaving but didn't give it, and I'm sorry."

"It's okay Armand," I said, still relieved he was there talking to me. "Can I ask what upset you so much so I don't say it again?"

Armand hesitated, and part of me hoped it was because Seth had been correct. "I just couldn't stand knowing that someday you're going to fall madly in love with a man you've never met and won't be able to do anything about it… It makes me think of an evil spell in a fairy tale that I should rescue you from." He explained in a rush of words. I blushed, surprised by his logic.

"Imprinting really is a good thing," I said at last. "I just can't seem to explain it correctly."

He shrugged, leaning back easily in his chair. "So what's the plan for today? Are we doing anything exciting?"

"We could race," I suggested, my smile returning. "Though I have to warn you, I've been told I'm a pretty fast runner."

"A race sounds like fun," He agreed with a laugh. "Though I hope you're a gracious loser."

I rolled my eyes good naturedly, glad to notice I had my friend back. Whatever had caused the previous day's sudden shift in mood had vanished for now, and I hoped it didn't return.

"Before we go, I have a question for you." I said slowly. "Can we sit here and have breakfast for once? Or rather can I have breakfast for once?" I asked sweetly. "It seems rude to sit here every day and not eat anything."

Armand shrugged, "Sure, I'm not in any hurry. What would you like?"

I knew it was important that my 'breakfast' last at least two hours in order for the plan to work. This meant I had to order a lot of food, and eat very slowly to avoid suspicion. I had wonder what he'd think of my ordering a buffet for a supposedly light meal, but I pushed it from my mind. He'd find out soon enough my ulterior motive.

When I finished ordering I couldn't miss the confused look the waitress gave me. I knew it was a lot of food for two people, let alone just me. Maybe I wasn't being as inconspicuous as I'd hoped.

"Are you going to be able to eat all that?" Armand said doubtfully.

"I'm really hungry," I lied, realizing in dismay that I honestly was still full from dinner the night before. "Don't worry, I'll hurry to eat it all."

"No, don't rush on my account. Take your time." Armand said quickly. Good, that was exactly what I'd wanted him to say.

"If you're sure…" I said casually. All the while I was careful not to look away from Armand if at all possible. I didn't intend to give him any time to replace his contacts. After a good fifteen minutes the food began arriving one dish at a time, the same waitress looking steadily more confused with each plate she brought.

"Are you expecting anyone else?" She asked at last, the curiosity getting the better of her.

"No, just the two of us," I said simply, not feeling up to explaining to a total stranger why only I would be eating the food.

It was only after an hour and a half had passed that Armand began getting antsy.

"Are you sure you're not full?" He asked at last, "I'd hate for you to make yourself sick…"

The truth was, I was completely stuffed. Even eating only a few bites every five minutes I had filled up after a half hour. Now I was stalling as long as possible, trying to find a new dish to try that wouldn't make me sick.

"Don't worry, its part of the werewolf thing," I said with a smile. "We have huge appetites." That was true at least, though I couldn't help noticing it still wasn't big enough to eat every food they had on the menu single handedly. Where was the rest of my pack when I really did want them to finish my meal in three bites?

Armand accepted my answer, though started fidgeting. This was a little odd in my opinion, as vampires could normally sit still as statues more naturally than moving.

"I'm feeling a little restless," He said off-handedly. "Maybe I'll go stretch my legs really quick."

"Oh, I'm almost done," I lied, taking a very deliberate bite of my cold scrambled eggs.

"I guess I can wait," He replied uneasily. After another moment he tried again. "Bathroom, be right back."

"Vampires don't have human needs," I said suspiciously. "Are you trying to avoid me?" I accused.

"Of course not," Armand chided, sitting still again.

My eyes were fixed on his, waiting patiently. I had started to notice a few moments ago that the muddy brown was already becoming lighter, less of a brown and more of another color.

I was close now, the two hours nearly at it's end. I could see the contacts practically, could imagine them slowly dissolving.

"Leah, if you'll excuse me I really do have to put in new contacts," Armand said at last. It was clear he'd given up all pretenses.

"Wait," I pleaded, "I'm close anyway, let me see your eyes."

He shook his head, smirking a little. "I'm not letting you win the game that easily."

The game… Right… I'd almost forgotten about that. I had been so preoccupied imagining the beautiful amber I'd come to expect that I had forgotten completely about the purpose of waiting two hours.

"Is that why you ordered all this food then?" He asked, unable to help himself.

"Yes," I admitted. "And I forced myself to eat most of it. The least you could do is reward me for it."

"No," Armand said flatly, standing up. "Leah, please… Another time. I like our game… We shouldn't ruin it."

"Fine, it won't count towards the game. Now can I see?" I asked impatiently.

"Absolutely not," He said just as firmly. I had stood too, a little angry now. When he tried to step past me I blocked him, watching his eyes hopefully. Just a few more minutes now…

"Why?" I demanded fiercely. "Why can't I see?"

Armand's shoulders dropped a little, watching me. "You really want to know?"

"Yes."

"You promise not to laugh?"

"Yes."

"It's because…" Armand hesitated, looking for any way of escape. "It's because you said we would only be friends until you found concrete proof I was a vampire." He whispered.

I blinked, completely taken aback by his reply. "Armand, you can't possibly have thought I would just stop being friends when I proved you were a vampire. I know you're a vampire. The game is just something we were having fun doing I thought. I would never stop being your friend." I murmured, putting my hand on his shoulder. Even through his shirt I could feel the icy skin.

"You won't stop being my friend if I show you?" He said doubtfully.

"Of course not," I replied with a sigh. Armand nodded a little, taking the hand that rested on his shoulder and leading me out of the soda shop. He didn't speak, didn't so much as look back at me as we walked. Entering the forest he stopped, turning to look at me solemnly.

Eagerly I looked up at his eyes, watching the last of the contact color dissolve away. My smile vanished, replaced by a surprised, almost fearful look. The eyes that I had imagined many times, had dreamed about with every night since I'd left were nothing like I'd imagined. Rather than the honey colored irises that the bloodsuckers I knew sported Armand's eyes were a deep crimson. His expression was troubled, rather apologetic look as he waited for me to react. Any other time I would have picked up on his upset posture, but right now I was lost in my own thoughts.

Armand's eyes were the thing of my nightmares, the very eyes my entire culture sought out to destroy. He took human life to satisfy his own hunger… It was my job to kill a vampire like that. After all my weeks of ignoring Jacob's warnings, of all my times laughing at Seth's concern it suddenly all made sense. Seth asking 'what if he isn't like the Cullens' seemed more vital a question now. Why had I assumed that just because he was civilized he was a good vampire?

I knew why… It was because in my mind, Armand had to be good. He was my friend and my ally. He had been there when no one else was just because it had looked like I needed a friend. He was all those things I'd told Seth what felt like years ago. He was funny, sweet, nice… How could I ever imagine him hunting a defenseless human? A human like Sue or Charlie… I couldn't even think about it.

But he did. Just because he was civilized did not make him good. The Volturi were civilized, those horrible cloaked vampires who had come to kill the baby bloodsucker. The lead one had wanted 'guard dogs'. Was Armand like him? Was he amused by the idea of taking advantage of a friendless werewolf who happened to put too much trust in him just because he listened?

More than anything I wanted to scream at him. To cry and yell, to accuse him of lying to me, though he never had. I wanted to tell him that he should have mentioned his diet sooner. I wanted to punch him and see if I could break that perfect jaw and cover those frightening red eyes if I threw enough things at him.

There was another feeling there though, that overrode the others. Even knowing he was fed on people like my friends and family, even finding out what he'd kept secret I did not want to hurt Armand. I knew that I would run away… I would go back to La Push and never return to this horrible little town. I would go back to being the angsty wolf girl and would put up with whatever names I was called. I'd deal with Jacob and Seth's eternal happiness rather than go through this misery again.

Just as I had decided to run, to phase immediately and let me legs take me home I felt a new feeling come over me. This one was different from the anger or grief I had felt so far. I felt suddenly light, airy even. It was just as I'd described it to Armand enhanced a million times. It was better than any of my imaginings had been able to come up with. The gravity of my world had shifted dramatically in those few seconds I wanted to run. The earth's gravity no longer had any effect on me. No, it was this lovely, perfect vampire who had terrified me however briefly that now held me captive. There was nothing in the world that mattered as much as staying with Armand did, nothing which mattered more than getting that horribly sad look from his face. For the first time in a seemingly endless amount of time, I was happy.

Though I did not realize it until after I was pulled from my thoughts moments later, I had imprinted.

((Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. This is probably not the best chapter yet, but it's the most important to the plot. Some of you came really close guessing, so I give you Kudos. I feel sort of sorry for Leah, but don't worry, her Happily Every After is practically in sight now. Wish me luck writing her effectively now that she's imprinted though. It'll be more difficult.))