Hello!
Yay, I received the most reviews on the previous chapter than any chapter so far, so thank you my wonderful reviewers. Although, truthfully speaking, I actually like my usual fifteen crowd. I love getting to know all you guys haha! That sounds really corny, but it's true J So you others, keep reviewing and join the crowd!
Thank you for all the story alerts last chapter too, even you silent readers I love! Hahaha!
So, regarding the story. You all seemed to accept Michal relatively well, I thought you would all crucify me or something lol! So there's more of him this chapter, tell me what you think.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.
Chapter 28: Michal
Kate arrived backed shortly with several crystal wine glasses, each filled with a different assortment of animal blood.
I snorted loudly, finding the entire situation highly humorous.
Irina shot my a disgusted look, sipping at her 'wine' elegantly, pinky finger twitching outwards.
This only made me laugh harder, as I forced my face between my thighs -muffling the laughter. Did they not realize how preposterous they looked? Sipping at their blood, attempting to look anything other than what they were.
They were animals. We all were.
Drinking the blood from something other than a corpse made it no more dazzling, no more stylish.
"Bella…" Kate's voice called impatiently, breaking me from my stupor.
I looked up to find her staring intolerantly at me. I took the clear glass from her bony hand and swirled the deep red liquid around slowly. The smell was no-where near as appetizing as a hunt, it was bland and lacked that musty smell I found so appealing.
"Bear, wasn't it?" Kate asked suddenly concerned, worried she'd got the order wrong.
"Oh yes, no it's fine…" I replied quickly, "It's just I'm not use to… well you know, this." I said gesturing to the wine glass.
She smiled tight lipped and sipped her own glass slowly, swirling the liquid in her mouth.
I brought the cold glass to my lips and drank cautiously. The liquid hit my tongue, but there was no fire or surge of energy -it was cold. I swallowed it reluctantly as I felt it trickle down my throat.
Jasper smiled at me coyly, feeling my discomfort. I watched as he skulled his blood quickly, swallowing it in one mouthful.
'Get it over with…' He mouthed slowly.
I nodded stiffly, opening my mouth widely and chucked the cool, thick liquid down.
The clatter of glasses was heard on the glass table, as the many wine glasses were flung onto it.
"How about a tour?" Tanya asked excitedly, standing and swishing her long black dress elegantly. "We've had a few renovations since your last visit and I'd love your advice Esme.."
Esme nodded politely and rose to follow Tanya and the others out of the room. I watched as Alice rose to leave with them and I moved to sit quite casually next to Michal.
Jasper stared at me questionably, so I winked at him, gesturing for him to talk with the others.
Michal stared at me shyly for a minute, before speaking very quietly.
"Bella, isn't it?" He asked, the accent of another country seeping through.
I nodded and smiled warmly, moving to sit more comfortably with my legs underneath me.
"How old are you?" I asked, running a hand through my pampered hair.
He stared at me curiously for a moment before answering, as if questioning my friendly motives.
"I just turned twenty a month ago… my birthday was the reason I was here…"
He stared off glumly behind my shoulder, eyes glazing over with horrid memories.
I watched as his eyebrows pulled together roughly and his emotions cannon balled at me, literally knocking me right off the sofa.
"You okay?" He asked concerned, holding a long pale hand out to me.
"Oh, I'm fine.." I answered dismissively, grabbing his strong hand and hoisting myself back onto the couch. "I'm young… like you, so I'm not really use to the whole 'vampire powers' thing!" I said laughing.
He looked at me curiously for a moment, completely confused.
"…I'm an empath," I further explained, "It's kind of a power I have as a vampire. I can feel and manipulate others' emotions."
His eyebrows shot up so high they were now concealed behind his long, rugged locks.
"Vampire's can do that?" He asked incredulously.
"Well not all of them…" I said slowly, suddenly confused as to why the others hadn't explained it. "It's sort of a rare thing that happens, but when you have a certain strong quality or characteristic in your human life, the venom tends to take that a step more… utilizing the characteristic or ability as a power in this life."
He stared blankly at me.
"…I'm not explaining this very well… The others didn't say anything?"
"…No," He answered simply, though I guessed there was something more to it.
He stared out the window for a minute, lost in his own thoughts, then he turned his head slowly to look at me
"When did you… you know..?"
"Die?" I asked bluntly, laughing at his hesitation.
He nodded shyly, staring down at his hands.
"It's okay to ask!" I said smiling and punching his shoulder lightly. "My change was only a couple of weeks ago, but it was that of a voluntary nature so its refreshing to talk about it.. Sort of invigorating."
"I wouldn't know…" He whispered sadly, cradling his head in his arms.
I moved my arm tentatively around his shoulder so that I was giving him a sort of half man hug.
He smiled warmly at me, clearly appreciating the gesture.
"Would you mind if I asked you about your life?" I asked politely, rubbing my hand over his shoulder. "You don't have to…"
"I'd like to…" He whispered softly, "No one here has actually bothered to ask, they were only interested in my job and my skills as a human… wondering if it could benefit them now."
"And these skills were….?"
"I designed gowns…" He answered indifferently, as if the occupation would not interest me in the slightest.
"You were a fashion designer!?" I asked excitedly, the cogs in my brain turning and creating new plans.
"I guess you might say that… But I never really shipped outside of Greece, it was really just a small boutique… 'Sophronia!'" He said euphorically, living in what was now just a shadow of the past.
"I think you'd get on marvelously with Alice," I answered sweetly, "She loves gowns and fashion, I think you could teach her a lot."
Michal's emotions lifted noticeably, showing me the gateway to something more. But just as quickly as they rose, they fell back down again.
"Alice… That's Jasper's wife isn't it?"
Dammit!
"Well yes… in a matter of words," I said coyly, glancing up to find him staring intently at me.
"What do you mean?" He asked, clearly interested.
I sighed loudly, glancing at the doorway quickly as if to inspect for intruding ears.
"Well…" I began softly, "Jasper and Alice aren't really together anymore…"
"Really?" He asked, a little overly interested and allowing a little of his emotions to rise again.
I nodded slowly, milking this for all it was worth.
"They just didn't want to say anything because you know what a fuss Tanya would make?"
"Oh yeah I do!" Michal said laughing, showing a slightly brighter, more comfortable side of himself than before.
"Spill!" I said excitedly, feeling like a couple of gossipy girls telling secrets.
He turned to face me, sitting Indian style with his hands tucked beneath him.
"Okay!" He whispered softly, barley able to contain his excitement. "I came back from my first hunt with Eleazar and I felt like crap-"
"Isn't the first just the worst!" I interrupted him, laughing.
"I know!" He said smiling and throwing his hands into the air wildly, "Anyway, so I was pretty down and I may have spilled a tiny, tiny drop of blood on the carpet." He pinched his fingers together tightly, trying to emphasize the size of the blood spatter. "So Tanya just flips out! Going on about her recently decorated home and how I've ruined it completely, It was literally the size of a pin head and she's tearing out her hair!"
I burst out laughing, rolling back onto the cream couch and clutching at my sides wildly. Michal joined in, rolling onto his front and kicking his legs into the air laughing.
"..That… Is.. So … what she.. Would do!" I struggled out between laughs, wiping away fake tears from my eyes.
Our laughter slowed to a silent chuckle as we rocked slowly on the plush cream couch.
Michal turned to face me, resting his head on his knees which were tucked beneath his chin.
"Thank you Bella.."
"For what?" I asked curiously.
"For… I don't know.. Making me smile for the first time in like a month, for making me laugh so hard I wanted to cry… you remind me of my sister…"
I caught a sob in my throat, right before it almost escaped from my mouth.
"That's a very sweet thing to say," I said taking his hand. "I've never had a real brother before, but I'd like to think of you how I think about Emmett… If that's okay?"
He smiled warmly, taking my hand and ruffling my hair.
"Newborn siblings then?" He agreed smiling. "God knows I need one know… It's hard living with a bunch of uptight women and only one other male."
An idea slammed into me like a ton of bricks.
"Live with us!" I said excitedly.
He looked at me in disbelief, raising his eyebrows so that they were once again hidden by his hair.
"I can't do that!"
"Why not?" I almost shouted, seeing the whole picture very clearly know. "You could live with all of us, you have to agree it makes sense!"
"How?" He asked skeptically, but I could feel the level of excitement rising.
"Think about it!" I said standing, and circling around the small sofa, "I'm a newborn, you're a newborn. We could hunt together and learn all the hard stuff with another person that knew exactly what we were going through! There'd be no more tiptoeing around for you, I get blood everywhere!" I laughed out, "Nobody minds! Plus you'd have another four guys there to counterbalance the women -It's perfect!"
I was standing right in front of him, leaning in so that we were only a foot apart. I could see his mind running through over what I'd just said as he battled through the pros and cons. He looked up to meet my crazed glance… and smiled.
He didn't have to say anything else, I could see and feel his answer clearly. I stood up straight and smiled largely, nodding my head along to his unspoken answer.
"So what do you say?" I asked, close to hyperventilating with excitement,
"Want to become a Cullen?"
Do we hate it?
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