All right, so I have some explaining to do for the big break. Okay, so, first I had extreme writer's block/not feeling like writing. Then my laptop broke -_- Then my mom decided to move, so I had no time to write for awhile. And now, I finally finished this chapter that has been half-written since like...the last update. I know it's small; only 7 pgs, but I hope that updates will come more frequently now. Attempt to enjoy!


Bella tried reigning in the anger that swelled in her. She clenched her fists, staring at Alice with her mouth agape. The aching heartbreak in her chest was overlapped with a wave of betrayal and anger. How could he have done that? If he loved her so much – unconditionally and irrationally as she did – then how could he have left so easily? Bella knew she would never have been able to leave Edward willingly, if she had the choice. What would possess him to do that?

"Why?" Bella whispered almost inaudibly, her eyes still wide and staring at Alice's remorseful face.

"He was trying to protect you, Bella," Alice said in a calm voice, probably trying to keep Bella from going on a rampage.

"Protect me?" Bella said in disbelief. "Leaving me with Laurent and Victoria is protecting me? If it weren't for the werewolves, I'd be dead now, Alice. Laurent tried to kill me! He said Victoria was going to, and he'd kill me quickly before she could get to me." Remembering that moment where she went to what once was her and Edward's meadow, only to be cornered by Laurent, made her want to sob and scream all at once. All of the bad things that happened to her and everyone around her were because Edward left. And now Bella knew it wasn't her fault. It felt as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Alice looked surprised. "He didn't know that, Bella – I swear!" Alice gasped.

Bella looked at the clean floor, not wanting Alice to see her eyes watering. She felt her lip trembling and she bit it to stop the motion. "That doesn't make it better, Alice," she said in as steady of a voice as she could manage.

"He left to protect you from us, Bella. After your birthday, he knew that you being around us was dangerous."

Bella looked up, once again livid. "Then he should have just changed me!" Bella felt Damon put his hand around her wrist, and she realized she was shaking. She also felt her tears gliding down her cheeks. She was embarrassed, but not enough to stop.

"He didn't want this life for you, Bella."

"It wasn't his choice to make!" she screamed as loud as she could.

Alice's eyes widened and she cringed, looking horrified.

"It was my choice! It was what I wanted! So…" Bella felt her badass self take over. She yanked her wrist from Damon and glared at Alice. "Fuck you!" And then she stormed from the room, running blindly back to the front door, and across the gravel pathway. She tripped a few times against the jagged rocks, sobbing as she fell. Her knees and hands stung as the rocks tore through her skin.

Bella didn't hear anyone coming after her, but she knew vampires walked soundlessly. She glanced behind her and saw no one. She sighed in relief. She didn't want to talk anymore; she wanted to be alone. Bella ran the rest of the way through the waist-high field of grass to the river behind the Cullen's new home.

Bella liked the feel of the sunlight on her face. Spring was coming soon. She looked forward to spring. Spring brought light, and she hoped with the light she'd maybe feel happier. Bella felt the smooth grass skimming across her skin. She couldn't help but feel like she just won a race, and now she was running through a crowd with tons of people skimming their hands across her, congratulating her.

She stopped abruptly in front of the water, taking in gulps of air as she stared at her reflection in the water. Tears were pouring from her dark eyes, and she looked like a wreck. However, despite her appearance…the ache was gone. She didn't yearn for Edward. She didn't wish he'd just show up. She was sure if he did she'd set him on fire.

Bella plopped down onto the grass, still breathing heavy. She wasn't a runner, that was for sure. She pulled out a cigarette, and clicked the lighter. She stared at the flame for what could have been seconds or hours, and then threw both the lighter and the pack of cigarettes in the lake. She didn't need to fill the hole anymore.

Damon pursed his lips as he stared after Bella as she ran from the living room, and then he glanced to the small vampire named Alice. Alice glared at Damon, as if it was his fault that Bella found out all the lies the Cullens had been feeding her.

"You sure fucked up," he said matter-of-factly.

Alice's glare deepened, and then she lunged for his neck again. Damon was prepared for it this time and he smirked, grabbing her small body and smashing her against the wall of the living room. Alice's gold eyes widened and she clutched at Damon's iron hand around her neck, her feet twitching below her spasmodically.

"Hey!"

Damon whirled, still clutching Alice to him to see a big, burly man with curly brown hair crouched in the doorway of the living room. In a flash came another boy with blond hair, his gold eyes in slits. He hissed like a wild animal at Damon, his bone white hands going into the shape of a claw. Three other people came in behind the burly man – a blond man who looked the oldest, a woman with caramel colored hair and a shocked look on her face, and a beautiful blond girl who looked not surprised at all.

Damon knew that they were all vampires – they all had the same, odd smell that lurked in Bella's home back in Forks. The smell was icy and sweet…burning slightly with its sweetness.

"May I help you?" Damon said politely, still smiling.

Alice struggled in his arms, scratching at his wrists. The cuts bled and then healed too fast to actually cause pain.

Suddenly the burly vampire lunged for Damon, a growl erupting from his chest. Damon deflected him using Alice as a sort of bat. The burly vampire crashed against the wall, creating a hole. Alice slid across the floor, crashing into a set of doors and breaking them. The blond, lean vampire was suddenly on Damon's back, and Damon ran into the wall, crashing over and over again until the blond boy fell off, like a pesky parasite.

All the vampires charged at once then and Damon jumped into the air, kicking off the wall and landing at the entryway of the living room. All of the Cullens turned in surprise and Damon smirked and did a tipping hat motion. He was about to leave their home when he bumped into Bella.

Bella gasped as she crashed into Damon's chest. She looked up at him with her big, beautiful eyes, and Damon felt a strange flutter in his stomach.

"Bella?" the blond, oldest vampire said in confusion.

Bella's face was unemotional. "Hello, Carlisle."

All of the vampires came into the entryway then, all with wide eyes except Alice. Alice explained why Bella and Damon were there in a clipped voice, keeping her eyes to the floor.

"You're here to help us?" Carlisle asked in surprise, looking at both Damon and Bella.

"Yes," Bella answered in a voice that was not nearly as strong enough as she would have liked. She still viewed the Cullens as her family, as stupid and naïve as that was. The smart thing to do would be to try and shove them away from her, cut all of the ties she had ever thought they had, and could even grow in some cases – like Rosalie. But after Bella found out Edward's true meaning for…well, ruining her whole life and future, she couldn't seem to push them away. They hadn't done anything, besides going along with Edward's stupid plan. Edward's one downfall was that he made decisions for Bella without even consulting her. He treated her like a child, which she definitely knew she wasn't.

"I'm going to help find Edward."

At the mention of Edward's name, Alice was suddenly yanked into the strange psyche world where each of her visions flew through to make it to her open mind. She was hit with this vision like it was a wrecking ball, literally staggering back and falling into Jasper's ready arms. She could hear the bubbling of his voice, as if she was underwater, could feel his hands around her, the same temperature as her own, forever-unchanging skin, but then it was gone. Like the switch of a light, she was completely taken into the psyche world, sucked into this future that would soon happen, revealing her first to the image of Edward.

Edward is being held by Felix, the Volturi guard's strongest living vampire they have encountered thus far. Edward struggles, unable to break free.

"No!" Edward screams so loudly it's as if someone is pulling his toenails out, one by one. "You can't do this to us! Elena!"

Alice didn't have time to ponder over the name. Thoughts of her own choosing would only come after she viewed the entire vision. All she could do, and wanted to do, was watch.

Aro suddenly slithers from the darkness cast by a huge sort of stage. It's not as wide as a stage – it's more of the size of a square.

Alice began drawing, she thought. She knew by now Jasper had set her down and gave her a pencil and paper.

On the stage, a beautiful, brunette girl is tied by her wrists and ankles, wearing nothing but a gauzy, see-through robe. She doesn't struggle, she just stares up at the dome-like ceiling of the Volturi's room that they usually use for deciding on whether to kill people. Tears streak her beautiful face. The girl looks at Edward and takes a deep breath.

"It's okay, Edward," she whispers in such a delicate voice you'd think the voice came from an angel. "Please, for Stefan."

Aro grins and a girl identical to the girl tied up comes to his side, dressed in a long gown.

"Do it, Edward, or we'll kill her, and your Bella," she snarls.

Edward stares at them uncomprehendingly, and suddenly, the vision is over, like a TV that suddenly shuts off.

Alice gasped and she heard the clatter of the pencil falling to the ground. Jasper grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards him.

"What happened, Alice? What did you see?" he asked urgently.

All Alice could do was glance down at the drawing; it was an exact reiteration of the Volturi's room, with Edward and the identical girls, and everything.

Carlisle soundlessly lifted the drawing to his face and looked at it with a stoic expression. "I knew they had something to do with this," he muttered, and handed the picture over to an eager Bella.

Bella quickly grabbed the picture and looked at it. Her heart ached at the sight of Edward, even though she wished it didn't. Damon looked, too, and his eyes widened and the paper was in his hands in a flash.

"Hey!" Bella protested.

"Elena!" he gasped in wonder. "That's Elena."

"The Volturi took them?" Bella asked, looking to Alice.

Alice nodded.

"Why do they have Elena tied up?" Damon hissed, clenching his fists on the drawing.

"I don't know," Alice said honestly. "They're forcing Edward and Elena to do something. Edward wanted them to stop, and Elena said, 'Do it for Stefan.'"

"Stefan, your brother," Bella whispered.

Damon felt his heart fall at the thought of someone killing Stefan. He was Stefan's older brother – the only blood he truly had left. He couldn't imagine not ever seeing him again. He knew Stefan felt the same, despite all of the horror Damon inflicted on Stefan's "life." He didn't know why Stefan even tolerated him, let alone loved him, either.

"We have to find them. Where is this 'Volturi' place?" Damon demanded.

"In Italy," Bella said quickly, recalling her and Edward's conversation about the Volturi guard and how they "preserved the law." Vampires really had only one law, one rule: Don't let humans know of your existence. No one broke that rule, ever-

Unless you want to die.

Edward's voice rang throughout her mind. Had Edward done something? Why did they take him, and Elena and Stefan? The Volturi were like cops, like Charlie, kind of, not really…. They wouldn't take a vampire innocently, would they? Bella wasn't sure about anything anymore.

"Then we're going to Italy," Damon said with finality.

Katherine strutted around the room in a way that made Stefan nervous and excited all at the same time, as it always did. He never knew what Katherine would do next, which he always liked about her – her spontaneity.

"Hmm…" Katherine hummed.

Stefan smacked her hand away from his chest, like a child would do to a pesky fly. "Katherine, please, if you have any kindness in your heart-"

Katherine grinned, stopping Stefan's sentence. He knew that sounded stupid.

"Okay, we both know you lack anything having to do with mercy," he said, his eyes in a glare of old hatred.

Katherine flipped down onto the big bed in the room. "True," she said in a sing-song voice.

Stefan walked over to Katherine, repulsed by her. It wasn't that she wasn't attractive, it was just that her cruelness – her uncaring nature for anything – made him disgusted. He remembered the first time he had ever laid eyes on Katherine; how beautiful she was – is…

Miss. Pierce steps out of her carriage, and Stefan's eyes widen. Stefan knows this feeling – his older brother had explained it to him many times. Sweaty palms, stuttering heart, wide eyes. Stefan has never seen a girl he ever thought was beautiful. He never understood what beauty truly was, until he saw Miss. Pierce.

"Hello, Miss. Pierce," Stefan says as smoothly as he can.

Katherine smiles her ruby red lips at him, and Stefan sees she is even more beautiful when smiling. "Good afternoon, Mr. Salvatore."

Stefan also began to remember the night Katherine took him to her room for the first time. She had kissed him, his first kiss ever, and he had been so happy, until she showed him what she truly was.

Katherine's lips move softly, naturally, against Stefan's. Stefan can't think of a feeling more amazing than being with this angel. Katherine pulls back and smiles that smile Stefan loves, a smile of triumph and courage. Stefan has never met a woman more brave and outgoing than Katherine Pierce.

"Stefan," she murmurs, gliding her hands down his flushed cheeks.

Stefan can't seem to catch his breath; his heart is booming so fast as he makes love to Katherine.

"Katherine," he whispers back.

"I must tell you something," she says, and she burrows her face in his neck, kissing the spot where his pulse is beating wildly.

Stefan grips Katherine's waist, pulling her as close to him as he can, sighing in pleasure at the feeling of being as close to Katherine as humanly possible.

"You can tell me anything," he tells her, and he really means it.

Katherine takes a deep breath – not to prepare to speak, but to inhale Stefan's heady scent. Katherine feels her fangs pop out and she makes a low growl as the enticing smell of Stefan's blood calls to her. Stefan pulls away from Katherine and looks down at her, his green eyes widening.

"Katherine?" he whispers in shock and fear.

Katherine growls and then sinks her teeth into his neck, so deep down inside that Stefan shrieks.

That was the last night Stefan remembered truly loving Katherine on his own. The rest, he realized now, was her compulsion.

"Why are you here, Katherine?" Stefan asked, sitting next to her on the grand bed.

Katherine grinned and fell back on the bed, her arms spread out as if she had wings. "Why must you always ask so many questions? Can't you just enjoy yourself?" she said.

Stefan rolled his eyes. "I can never enjoy myself around you."

Katherine rolled her eyes this time. "Oh, please, Stefan." Katherine jumped up from the bed and was suddenly in only her bra and underwear, jumping up and down on the massive bed. "Elena's not around; enjoy your immortality!" Katherine giggled and laughed, shaking her curly hair this way and that.

Stefan pounced onto Katherine and gripped her throat. They crashed into the wall of the room, creating a dent.

"Stop Aro from doing this to Elena, Katherine, please!" he begged.

Katherine's eyes slid into a glare. "Why? So she doesn't become a vampire?"

"Yes!" Stefan shouted.

"Why, Stefan? You don't want the love of your life to be with you forever?"

Stefan pushed himself away from Katherine and turned away, his fists clenched. He had always dreamt of living forever with Elena, but he knew she didn't want that – immortality. She wanted to be human.

"I would never take her mortality away from her. She doesn't want to be this way."

Katherine smiled wickedly, circling Stefan. "She doesn't want to be a vampire, because she doesn't really love you. If she did, she'd want to be with you forever, don't you think?"

Stefan said nothing, because he had been thinking the exact same thing.

"She doesn't love you, Stefan, face it. She can't love you enough – but I can. I'll love you forever, and I, unlike her, can promise you forever."

Stefan slowly looked at Katherine. "I know Aro wants you to kill me, so just do it."

Katherine wove her fingers through Stefan's hair. "Haven't you been listening to me, dummy? Klaus will come here to get me, and then Aro will kill him before he gets the chance. Elena will be turned into our kind of vampire, and mate with Edward to make Aro's prized, mixed vampires. That leaves Elena and Edward stuck here for eternity, which also leaves me free, and you without your Elena."

Stefan stared at Katherine, not understanding what she was getting at.

Katherine pressed her forehead against Stefan's. "Which means, you and I can finally be together forever."


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