Chapter 16

A/N: Their first official date :)

"Can you believe I haven't been on a date in decades?" Rosalie stated as they walked down the street to the restaurant, hand in hand.

Bella offered a small laugh at this. "And here I was, thinking that my being single for 16 years before my first date was bad."

"I've got you beat in that category," Rosalie said, laughing a bit too. She was a vampire, after all. What was the point in her dating? There were very slim pickings and until she had run into her mate, she didn't want anyone else. Even what she and Emmett had had, wasn't serious.

"I don't understand how. You're gorgeous."

Rosalie knows she is, but the compliment causes her to flush. Or she would be, if she could. As it is, she merely feels the sensation of flushing. "Thank you. And Bella, you are-"

Bella shakes her head, tossing off Rosalie's words. "I'm just human. It's fine. I don't posses the-"

Rosalie shakes her head now too, gripping Bella by the upper arms. "Bella don't say that. You're my mate, and to me you will be the most beautiful woman in the world, irregardless of anyone else. Because I will only want you."

They've stopped walking, one block from the restaurant, but they can't seem to find dinner all too important now. "Really?" Bella breathes out, because this is the most romantic thing anyone has ever said to her. Edward used to say something similar, but the memory of him is bitter now. She hopes with time it can be fixed, but right now she doesn't want it to be. She wants to be able to indulge in her new relationship with Rosalie. Wants it to be only them. The rest of the world could fall away for now.

"Yes," Rosalie confirms, her golden eyes soft on Bella. She takes the human's hands in hers. "Mate bonds are crazy things. I never thought I could have one, until I met you. Bella, you defy every human expectation, and you've given me such a good thing. I've wanted a mate for a long time. Because having one means never ever having to be alone again. It means being able to love properly. I would do anything for you. I'm not sure how the bond works on the human side of things, but I want you to know that I would never want to hurt you. That I will do everything I can to protect you."

Bella feels dizzy from the sentiments, and her lips are smiling. She can't seem to stop. "I feel the same. Even if I don't have the same ability to protect you, I care for you deeply. It's crazy to think how I never really noticed my feelings for you. But I'm glad I did. I'm glad we're together now, because this feels more right than anything I've ever done before," Bella confesses.

They stand there like morons, oblivious to the world around them, just staring at each other and smiling. Before Rosalie blurts out, "the dinner reservations!" And they rush off to go before they're late.

Dinner is a simple and quick affair. Since Rosalie can't eat the food there, Bella doesn't want to drag the meal out even if she could stare at Rosalie across the table for hours. She eats the food quickly, Rosalie pays for her, and then they go out to the movies. They watch some trashy movie that's out right now, Bella focusing more on the feel of her hand in Rosalie's than on the dialogue or action.

Bella feels like she's floating on cloud nine and the feeling doesn't stop even when Rosalie invites her to her house afterwards. Emmett's in the living room, playing a game when they come in. "So, how was the date?" he wags his brows at them.

"Amazing," Rosalie and Bella say in unison. Then look at each other, shocked that they spoke the same thing at the same time. Alice is down the stairs in a heartbeat, Jasper by her side. "So..." she drawls, "spill the details." She bumps her hip into Bella's. "Was Rosalie romantic? Did she treat you nicely?"

"Yes," Bella smiled.

"Did she give you a kiss?" Alice continued to press.

"Alice," Rosalie huffed, in a manner that denoted this was none of Alice's business.

Bella didn't say anything to this. Alice gasped offended. "Not even a kiss, Rosalie? What are you, five?"

"It was going to be a goodnight kiss," Rosalie admitted through clenched teeth. She was being embarrassed by her family. Bella couldn't help but giggle at this. "And if you don't mind, I'd like to be able to continue my date with Bella. Without interruptions." Rosalie reached for Bella's hand and tugged her up the stairs.

"Ooo, what are the two of you going to do alone in the bedroom?" Emmett called out after them. Alice and Jasper laughed at his insinuations. The door closed, silencing their laughter, and Bella was in Rosalie's room for the first time with explicit permission. Now that she was here, she felt nervous. Rosalie sat down on the windowsill, which she had put a blanket and fluffy pillows on. She held up two books. "I thought we could end this date by reading something together?"

"You are an absolute nerd," Bella stated playfully as she sat down on the windowsill. Rosalie sat behind her, putting a pillow in between them so Bella wouldn't feel the cold of her body. Then Bella settled in, leaning back against her. Rosalie's scent filled the air around her and Bella inhaled it deeply, finding it relaxed and soothed her. She picked up one of the books. Withering Heights. Her favorite.

"But, so are you," Rosalie responded after several beats had passed. Her voice was uncharacteristically soft and she put her chin on Bella's shoulder, hands wrapped around Bella's waist. Bella's cheeks flared red and she focused on the words on the page, as Rosalie silently read behind her. They were like this for only a moment before they were intruded upon.

"Sorry to interrupt," a knock came at the door and Carlisle was there. "I was hoping to borrow Bella for a bit."

"What for?" Rosalie asks, her hold tightening slightly on Bella.

"Just for a quick chat," Carlisle said and waited for Bella to extract herself from Rosalie's hold. She wondered what Carlisle could want to talk to her about. Was it about Edward? She was nervous and hesitant, not wanting to bring up memories of the bronze haired boy, but she followed Carlisle as he lead them both to his room.

"There is nothing to be fearful of," Carlisle said when he noticed Bella's lingering scent of fear. "I merely want to talk to you about mate bonds. I'm sure you don't know much about them and it's important you do so, since you and Rosalie are now sharing one."

Bella sits down on the window seat in his room as he holds his hands behind his back and clears his throat, beginning his speech. "Mate bonds are very important to vampires. Most vampires don't ever meet their mates, and those who are lucky, do. There's never been a case of a human and vampire being mated before, but it seems you are special Bella, so much more than you know. Now, these bonds are strong, and they get stronger with time. Refusing them is hard to do, since they are so strong, and doing so might hurt the mated pair. Similarly, so will death. When one mate from the mated pair dies, the other lives a shell of their own life, never again able to feel joy for their eternal existence. In this case, most vampires choose to kill themselves to spare that anguish."

That didn't sound good. But Bella listened and let Carlisle continue onwards. "However, it's not all doom and gloom. Being mated means you can share emotions on a deeper level, can understand each other better, and can also be fiercely loyal to one another. It means never having to be alone because you will always love one another no matter what, for the rest of eternity." Carlisle cleared his throat, finishing up. "The reason I am telling you all this is because I want you to be prepared. Being mates is a serious thing, especially for vampires, and I don't want Rosalie to be hurt."

"Oh," Bella's brows went up. "You want to know if I am serious about this?" She didn't know whether to be a bit offended by that or not.

"I know you are mates," he said delicately. "But you did recently come out from a relationship with Edward and I don't want you to be rushing into things. Rosalie may seem tough, but she's rather delicate when it comes to matters of love. When she was human...her relationship did not turn out well and it rather scarred her for a long time."

Bella didn't know that, but then again, she didn't know much about Rosalie's past at all. They hadn't really had much of a chance to talk and to get to know each other. Bella would have to rectify that. "I don't intend to hurt her. And this isn't just a rebound relationship for me. Even when I was with Edward I felt drawn to her. I couldn't understand it at first. I thought I just wanted to be her friend, that I admired her. But it turned out I really liked her. And my relationship with Edward really wasn't much of one in the last month we were together," this she added quietly, the wounds still fresh.

"Yes, I am sorry about that," Carlisle said softly. "We should have acted more quickly to protect you. We've never seen him like this before. It was very disconcerting and we hoped for the best, that he would come to his senses. But he didn't. And for that we are sorry."

Bella appreciated the apology, but it didn't erase the fact they hadn't helped her sooner and that it had taken Rosalie beating the shit out of Edward for change to occur.

Carlisle nods his head, letting her know she is released and Bella happily goes back to Rosalie's room where the blonde is waiting for her, not having moved from her spot on the windowsill. She's looking out the window but turns to look at Bella when she comes in. She smiles and Bella's weighted conversation with Carlisle melts from her.

"So, what dd you talk about," Rosalie asks as she opens up her arms to let Bella back into them, into her sweet smelling embrace.

"You," Bella says, with a grin. "We talked shit about you."

"I'm flattered," Rosalie says as they mimic their previous position. She drops a kiss onto Bella's shoulder as they go back to their reading.

Bella goes home, floating on clouds. Rosalie had driven her back home before kissing her goodnight so soundly that Bella wouldn't ever be able to sleep again. At least that's how she feels, full of energy now. She races back up to her room and marks on her calendar the first date that she and Rosalie went on. She write it on the day, circles it, hearts it, and sighs, looking lovingly at it. However, her eye is drawn to a much less appealing date. In two months time, the date the Volturi set for her to become a vampire.

Bella sits down on her bed, calendar in hand. Her happiness leaks away as she glances at this. They haven't discussed this much past what they talked about a while ago. Bella is no more certain on what is going to happen when the day arrives. She knows the Cullens care for her. And she knows they would support her decisions, whether it be to run and hide, or to stay and change. But what would Rosalie think? Bella knew Edward had been against turning her into a vampire because it damned the soul. Rosalie was also against it. Bella didn't know the exact reasons for why, but she feared to ask or bring this topic up.

Would turning into a vampire be such a truly bad thing? Then she'd get to spend eternity with Rosalie. She'd never grow old, and Rosalie wouldn't be pained through the mate bond. Carlisle's earlier words filled Bella's head. When one mate from the mated pair dies, the other lives a shell of their own life, never again able to feel joy for their eternal existence. In this case, most vampires choose to kill themselves to spare that anguish.

Bella shuddered. She would't want Rosalie to kill herself. Despite how strong she was, emotionally and physically, and how much the Cullen family would fight to keep her from doing something reckless, ultimately she might kill herself. And Bella couldn't stand to do something like that to Rosalie.

So then where did that put Bella? Did she accept turning into a vampire? She had heard the process was painful, and once she turned, she would have to give up so many things. Like going out in the sun. Living with Charlie. Food. Sleep. Could she do all that? Could she do it for Rosalie? For the Cullens?

Bella flopped down on the bed sheets, staring up. She wasn't sure what she wanted and two months didn't seem long enough to decide. To truly think things through. She knew Rosalie would run away with her if that was the case, but she didn't want to have to resort to that. She couldn't imagine a life on the run. Where would they even go? Would they live in a cabin in the woods? Would they have to hunt animals and plant their own food? That didn't sound entirely appealing and Bella couldn't imagine either herself or Rosalie in such a situation.

She sighed warily and closed her eyes. She knew her life would get complicated due to knowing vampires. She just hadn't known how much more complicated it would get. But, she didn't regret meeting them, because if she hadn't, she'd never would have met Rosalie, her mate. Her one true love for the rest of her life.

Time would determine Bella's future course. For now, all she could do was live life how she could.

A/N: Updates are moving to Wednesday's for this series.