Disclaimer: The characters of Twilight are owned by Stephenie Meyer. The content, ideas and intellectual property of this story and the 'American Vampire Series' in its entirety are owned by Just4ALE.

Chapter 10: The Pond

EPOV

I picked her up on Saturday morning at 10am, as planned. All I'd told her was to dress warmly and wear comfortable shoes. She came out zipping up her coat and holding her scarf and gloves. She was dressed perfectly: black jeans, a thick off-white half zip sweater and casual hiking snow boots. She stopped before me and pointed at her attire. "I hope this is okay for today."

"That's perfect." You're perfect. I helped her into the car and we zipped off.

"So are you going to tell me where we're going?" she asked.

"It is a place I like to go. A favorite park. I hike there." I hunted there as well on occasion, just for some variety, but I didn't bother to mention that.

"We're going hiking? In the snow? Will I need snowshoes?" She seemed excited.

"Your boots are fine. There is a special part of the park that I want to take you to."

She shrugged. "Okee dokee."

I turned on the stereo to a nice soft selection; the sound of acoustic guitars drifted from the speakers.

I asked her more about her childhood, trying to understand all the little things about her that I couldn't read. As per the other night, she answered openly but seemed a little surprised that it mattered to me. The hour drive went quickly.

"I feel like I'm always talking," she said. "You don't give me a chance to ask you anything."

Yes. By design.

"Oh," I said, "what would you like to know?"

"Um, where did you grow up?"

"All over."

"Jeez, you're an open book, aren't you?" she said, rolling her eyes.

I laughed. No harm in telling her at least one thing. "I'm actually from Chicago."

"Really? You don't have a Chicago accent at all."

"Well, I moved around a lot since and I lost the accent. It's easier to travel that way. Sometimes people will incorrectly associate an entire lifestyle or attitude based on where you're from." Okay, I was playing up to her sentiments; I knew that her Ivy League education embarrassed her for this very reason.

"Hmmm… or where you went to school." She grimaced, agreeing.

"Yes, you understand."

A Spanish-themed tune came on.

"Ottmar Liebert?" she asked.

I was surprised. "You know him?"

"Yes. I love his music."

Oh, I love this woman.

It was quiet again. She looked at me and quickly looked away. I could hear her heart beating a little faster. What was she thinking?

I turned into to the dirt road. "We're here," I said softly. She sat up straighter and looked around.

I parked on the side of the road and got out. She quickly got out too. "So this is it?" she looked around.

"No, it's up a bit further."

She pulled her scarf tighter around her neck and put her gloves on. I got a backpack out of the trunk and put it on my back. She noticed the size of the pack and her eyes widened. "How far of a hike are we taking?"

I reached for her hand and laughed. "It's not far… don't worry." She put her hand in mine and we walked carefully along the trail.

We walked about 15 minutes into the park. I didn't need to look around as I knew exactly where I was, so I kept her talking and silently admired her. I could smell the wildlife all around and was thankful I'd fed so well the night before. Her scent compared to theirs was overwhelming.

Then we hit the opening to the pond.

"Here we are." I stopped. She stepped into the clearing beside me to look. Her sudden intake of breath was almost a gasp.

"Oh my God! Is the pond frozen?" Her eyes were excited. I could hear her heart pounding.

"Yes. I thought you might like to try ice skating on it."

She froze suddenly. "Don't tell me you were a hockey player."

What an odd question. I wonder if being a hockey player was a good or bad thing. I couldn't tell by her reaction. "Well, no, I can't say that I've ever played hockey. Why do you ask?"

She breathed deeply again. She looked away and muttered embarrassingly, "I used to have a thing for hockey players. Not that I acted on it. I just knew a few and they were awesome on the ice… and hot."

Crap! I should have lied. Well, no. Honesty, as much as I could be honest, was better.

"Damn," I said, snapping my gloved fingers. "Too bad. No, I'm not a hockey player, but I can skate."

I put the backpack on the ground and knelt before it. Opening it up, I pulled a few skates from the bag. "I guessed you were a size 8. Is that right?"

"Guessed? Seriously man, you're too observant." She smirked and mouthed: vampire.

On the nose. I'm glad she thought it was a joke. Had my heart been beating I would have died from a massive coronary when she came out with all that vampire stuff the other night. She was spot on: one thing after the other… boom, boom, boom! I was shocked and relieved that I'd been able to play it off as easily as I had.

We sat on a log near the pond and put on our skates quickly. She stood and stepped tentatively on to the ice. Her face lit up. I pulled out a portable iPod player and set it up.

I watched her as she started to skate forward and quickly turned backward, criss-crossing her steps.

"You're good!" I exclaimed. "I wasn't sure you'd like this."

"I LOVE ice skating. It reminds me of Dartmouth. I took lessons there as part of the 'Bella gains some balance' kick. In the winter, whenever I could, I skated."

Excellent. So far, so good.

I turned on the iPod and the acoustic music continued softly. I joined her on the ice to 'warm' up. It was difficult to skate slowly, like a human, but I was practiced at it.

After about ten minutes, I moved back to the player. I hope she likes this.

For a moment, I reconsidered what I was about to do. It was wrong of me and dangerous to tempt myself like this. I felt strong and the bond I felt toward her felt stronger. I felt sure I'd be able to resist if her energy bubbled in the way I'd seen it when I watched her walk to school, but now I'd just learned she loved skating also. The two together might cause her to burst. Should I or shouldn't I?

Curiosity got the best of me, and I would die if I hurt her. I vowed it would be fine.

I changed the playlist on the iPod, forwarding to Genesis and then picking her live version of Firth of Fifth. "So I was thinking that your song would be interesting to skate to." I kept the remote in my pocket.

She stopped suddenly on the ice, her eyes wide. "What?"

I stepped onto the ice and pressed play on the remote. "Come skate with me, Bella."

I danced lightly around the ice. Her mouth fell open. "I can't skate like that. You're a professional?"

I snorted. "Nah, I just have good balance… and I have skated quite a bit."

I reached out and grabbed her hand. "I think this part is very light and happy." I pulled her closer to me. "Skate with me, Bella. I won't let you fall."

She was amazed as I spun her around. Every once in a while, I'd let her go and do a very small jump or turn. Then the tune shifted to the stronger, second half… her favorite part.

She watched me in quiet awe as I twisted and turned. I reached for her hand again, spinning her and holding one arm out with the other around her waist from behind.

"Step left, right." I directed as she followed. "Cross-over pattern."

I let her go and I did some more turns. "This second part almost sounds like two people longing for each other, no?"

She just froze again, her eyes watching me. The look was now more than amazement. Her eyes looked stunned and they glistened.

The song was finishing. I stepped into a spread eagle and completed a wide arc. Then I came up behind her again, hand on her waist and the other gently lifting under her right thigh, spinning.

I set her down, giving her a little spin with her right arm above her. I skated around her and turned the sound down a little.

When I turned back to look at her, I saw the disturbed look on her face. Uh, oh. What happened? "Bella, are you okay?"

She bent over, hands on her knees. "No."

I stopped suddenly. "Are you sick?"

"I don't know," she said. "I need to sit." She plopped herself down on the ice.

I didn't know what to do. What do humans need to ease whatever she has? Aspirin? Pepto Bismol? Water? Water sounded like a good start.

"Can I get you something to drink? I have some water in the pack." I skated off to where my bag sat on the shore, got a bottle of water out and started toward her.

She was completely still, looking at the ice. She looked up at me suddenly, bewildered. "What are you?"

A/N: Ruh roh, Edward might be in trouble. Thanks for reading so far. Please review.