A/N: Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. I actually updated this one! Look, I did it! I got up this morning and said to myself, "I will write the next chapter," and I did!
Please review and let me know how I did.
When Gravity Moves
Chapter 13- I kill a thing
I sit up fast in my seat, looking around wildly with eyes stretched wide, surprised that I actually fell asleep.
The car is still, and a quick examination suggests that it had just stopped. My eyes, with out any conscious thought of doing so, meet amused liquid gold.
The burn in my cheeks is automatic as I quickly swipe the drool from my face.
"Sorry," I stammer, utterly embarrassed for falling asleep on my imprint.
She laughs musically and unbuckles.
"I told you that you could sleep in the car; I really didn't mind, except maybe when you started drooling on my seats."
My look of horror causes her to laugh again, and if I weren't so mortified, I would have taken the time to enjoy the sound. Still, even after I realize she was just teasing me, it is hard to cover my embarrassment.
"Come on, Puppy, I promised Esme I would feed you before we went into any store."
I blanch at the nickname, having heard it many times from my pack members. But coming from her, I conclude as I watch her small frame gracefully climb from the expensive car, I wouldn't really mind it.
"Feed me?" I question as the rest of her comment processes in my brain, and scramble out after her. "You really don't have to do that; I'll be fine."
She rounds the car quickly, latching onto my arm in a friendly way that makes me beam.
"Nonsense. Besides, this will give me a chance to ask questions."
"Alright," I relent easily. "Do I get to ask any?"
"Hmm..." She pretends to think, tilting her head in a way that all her spiky hair falls to one side in an adorable way. Her eyes glitter playfully and her lips twist into a teasing smirk. "I suppose," she relents finally.
My smile somehow stretches wider, and only then do I look around to see where I really am.
It's a small, family owned, restaurant that looks almost swallowed by the other buildings near by. I don't pay any attention to the rain that dampens my shoulders; I've been living with it all my life, not to mention, I have a very pretty girl on my arm to distract me.
A little bell above the door chimes as we enter.
Inside is warmer than the weather we just left behind, but with my blood, I wouldn't have been bothered eating in the snow. If anything, I would be more comfortable because I'm always hot now. The stony arm trapping me actually feels nice with its cool temperature.
I reluctantly settle into a booth seat after she releases me, and order a moderate amount of food (I don't want the kind girl to go broke).
"So tell be about your brother and sister?" She asks and I immediately start to smile, because she really does want to get to know me. This isn't a question about my wolf physiology, like I was expecting.
"Well, my brother's name is Seth and he is such a good kid..."
She listens raptly as I tell of my siblings, the things we used to get up to when we were little and how close we actually are, and how I finally ended up waking Seth up and just blurting out what I was before anyone could stop me.
And she laughs and asks follow up questions when something particular has her curiosity peaked; she asks a lot of questions.
"What about you?" I ask when I can't think of another story to tell and there is a pause in her questioning. "I want to know about you too."
She looks uncomfortable for a second, before she smiles softly and nods. "What about me?"
"What are you like around your family? What's it like to have so many siblings?"
And she laughs again and her slight tension completely melts as she launches into her descriptions.
Carlisle's passion for his work, Esme's love for cooking even though none of the vampires need it, Edwards musical talent, Emmet's game addiction, and Rosalie's love of cars and the only person willing to go shopping with her sometimes.
I learn a lot as I listen to her musical voice go on and on and I hardly notice myself eating when the food comes.
Eventually, though, I finish my food and Alice is dragging me down the street to some shops I hadn't taken note of.
Many of the shops are clothing stores, where I struggle to rein my imprint in. The trying on clothes and personal fashions show parts are surprisingly fun, but it's the spending I have a problem with. Not for her- she can buy whatever she wants; it's her wanting to buy me things that I struggle with.
I don't want that to be our relationship: her buying me things and in return I'm just her friend. I don't want to seem like my time is being bought.
Somehow, when I'm not looking, she still buys me one of the outfits she told me I looked 'charming' in.
Clothing stores are not the only places she takes me into- there are Knick-knacks, antiques, and a bookstore. We spend a good hour and a half in that one, looking over books. I even, reluctantly, allow her to buy me a few.
It's after our second trip to put bought items into the car that we come across a store reeking of artificial flowers, fruit, and other smells that someone wants to saturate themselves in. It smells absolutely dreadful, but a wicked smile pulls at my lips.
"Lets go in here," I offer to my date for the day.
She wrinkles her nose and her brows furrow in confusion. "I want to get something for Rose," I admit cheekily, just imagining the scowls and threats and insults she will throw at me if I hand her a bag of perfume from Bath and Bodyworks.
She laughs slightly, but opens the door for me to enter.
I immediately go to one of the shelves to start sniffing at the options. Alice follows at a more sedate and lazy pace.
Straightaway, I find a few that I like and I have a good number cradled in my arms when Alice calls softly to me.
I turn to find her at one of the tables creating an isle between the shelves and the rest of the store. She wiggles one of the scented candles at me and needs no prompting to draw me over.
Her smile is a little two wide and eyes have too much sparkle to go with smelling awful scented things, but I don't think anything of dipping my head to sniff at the fire hydrant red candle she holds out to me.
My eyes water instantly even as I flinch away. A wrenching sneeze has me careening back even further, all the way into the shelves holding the glass bottles of cologne.
There really is no way to stop it, even with super speed, as the shelf gives under my weight. Everything on it tumbles to the ground, shattering. The broken shelf doesn't hold me, and I, too, find myself falling to the ground as the entire wall of scents break over and on me. My nose burns painfully with all the different smells soaking into my clothes and skin. Three more sneezes lurch my body in succession.
The following quiet, except for a steady drip, drip, drip, is deafening.
I look up in horror to Alice, whose hands cover her mouth in sympathy and amusement. She looks ready to laugh.
"Ma'am!" An employee finally comes out of shock and hurries forward to help me to my feet. She doesn't seem to know weather to demand me to leave the store immediately, or apologize for the poor shelving. She ends up excusing herself to retrieve the manager.
To my eternal embarrassment, Alice quickly offers a solution to the manager, to pay for all of the bottles broken. The easy out is taken, gratefully, and then Alice ushers me out of the store before I can destroy any more products.
"Your face!" She breaks down in laughter once the store is far behind us. "Oh god, you should have seen your face!"
My lip juts out into a pout as she leans against a building, gasping for unneeded breath.
"It's not my fault," I defend weakly. "You're the one that made me smell that god awful candle. What was it, cinnamon?"
She nods, righting herself and latching onto my arm. The way she does it seems old fashioned, and it very likely is something did when she was human.
Looking at her, giggling and hanging from my arm, I feel something in me shift- gravity moving once again.
A peace so real and certain settles around my shoulders and I know, like Leah is my sister and Seth is my brother, that Alice will be my best friend for centuries.
Alice quiets when she notices me looking, and pulls us to a stop.
"What?" She asks, tilting her head with a soft smile.
"Nothing," I shake my head, a smile pulling at my lips. "I'm just having fun. I'm glad we can be friends."
"Awe," she grins, squeezing my arm tighter to her chest, "me too…"
"How sweet," a voice drawls.
I suddenly become aware of our surroundings. We had stopped inside an alley. No humans are around at all.
The alley is a very nice one. It's big, clean, and doesn't even have any graffiti on the walls.
A woman drops out of the sky, landing in a crouch in front of us. Flaming red hair, corpse pale skin, and viscous grin. I recognize her even as the sickly sweet bleach smell hits me.
I shake my arm from my imprint's grip, taking a step forward to place myself closer to the human drinker. Another one, with dark skin, drops down and lands next to her.
They both straighten at the same time.
"Victoria," the male says, voice as sooth as any vampire's. "Is this the one that killed James?"
"Yes," she purrs, seeming pleased.
A low growl works it's way to the back of my throat, but I hold it in, watching the enemies with narrowed eyes.
"I can't wait to take her apart limb from limb."
"Ah." The male slowly creeps forward, stepping around a large puddle until he is only a few feet away. "Then, perhaps I can have her little human pet who wears far too much-"
He doesn't get the chance to say anything else. I lunge at him, hands outstretched and maw unfolding wide. I feel every part of me bursting at the seams, pushing past my normal skin as hair erupts from every part of me and my teeth elongate to deadly weapons.
There is a metal screech as they sink into the granite skin and rip the head from its body. All this happens in less than a second without any time for anyone to react.
I stand, snarling, over shredded clothes and the decapitated body. The red-eye, Victoria, takes a step back with crimson orbs going wide in surprise.
I start to advance toward the leech ready to kill her too, but she quickly turns and runs, dodging my snapping teeth.
"Bella!" Alice calls as I move to chase, and my legs lock in response to my imprint's voice.
The feint sound of her quick feet alert me to her approach, and she's then running her hand soothingly over my bristled fur.
I shake my head and snort unhappily not stopping my prey from getting away, but then my imprint is cradling my face and pressing her forehead to mine.
"You can't chase her; people will see you."
I sigh lowly, knowing she's right, and allow the shift to melt away until I feel her cold skin against my hot skin. My hands lift to place over hers and hold her there for just a second longer.
She pulls away first, ushering me away from the opening of the alley.
"Thank you;" she says softly. "I don't know that I could have taken them if I were alone."
"You don't need to thank me," I tell her, going to the headless corpse and ripping his limbs apart. I toss each one into the empty dumpster, grimacing as venom splashes onto my skin. "I'd die for you." A quick search of my tattered jeans finds the lighter I always carry around, which I flick to life. The leech goes up in quick flames.
When I turn to Alice, she's just staring at me with an odd expression.
She shifts, then moves to the end of the alley.
"You stay here. I'll get you some clothes." She disappears before I can blink.