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I love this chapter and how it also basically wrote itself! I hope you like it!


The Butterfly Effect.


Chapter 8: Trust.

Two weeks had passed since Bella arrived in Volterra. She finally felt like she belonged. Her relationship with Felix was well known in the Castle but no one commented or cared about it. Fine, that's a lie. Mostly no one cared about what she did or did not do. Said relationship evolved slow but steady, and they were both happy with the pace. Demetri and Heidi were the best friends she ever had. Sometimes she felt guilty thinking of this and Jake, but her relationship with Jake had been different. He understood her without her issuing a word. His feelings for her made a bit difficult their relationship but she wouldn't change a thing about it. She missed him dearly. He wasn't happy when she told him where she was and her new relationship status, but he supported her.

Aro once called her and asked if everything was to her liking. She had the tiny suspicion it was merely a formality; and in case she said something was wrong he probably wouldn't change it. The time for her transformation was quickly approaching, and she felt nervous and excited about the prospect of immortality. She also felt sadness for her parents and her human friends that would receive the news of her unfortunate death. Charlie had met Felix through video chat, and he was happy that she was happy and that they were taking it slow and easy. She wondered what excuse could they come up with to give her family some closure. She shrugged while she showered.

She distantly heard the door of her room opening and knew it was time to finish her shower and start getting ready. She knew Felix would just lie on her bed playing with his phone or rummaging through her books. They were having a date night. She smiled amusedly remembering how that conversation went.

"Do you want to go on a date with me?" Bella blinked surprised at the suddenness of the question.

They had been in the kitchen at the moment, while she prepared something to eat for herself. If the smell disgusted him, he never said. He would sit with her and talk to her while she ate, occasionally making fun of her if she had trouble eating -like she had one time when she ordered sushi-.

"A date?" she stupidly asked. He nodded. "With everything it entails? Dinner, movie…etc?" She teased with a straight face. She knew that even if he never commented on her eating, he would not particularly enjoy sitting in a crowded restaurant while she ate.

"Yes?" He sounded unsure.

"You would endure dinner? Really?"

He sighed and smiled. "Ok, maybe you'll have dinner here and then we'll go out." He offered.

"That sounds better." She giggled. "And yes, a date sounds great." She kissed his cheek and continue her task of making dinner.

So, here they were, on the eve of their first date. Funny enough how many things they've shared and yet this was their first date. She was actually excited about it. He had bought tickets to see Maleficent because he knew how much she had enjoyed the first movie. It brought pleasant memories and he was all in for that. After that, they were open to any options.

She went out of the bathroom wrapped in a big towel and walked towards her closet to retrieve her clothes. She thought while doing that, how different her style was now. She grabbed some stockings and a dress plus her underwear and smiling at her boyfriend she went back into the bathroom leaving the door open. The first time she had done that had been a mistake, but she was surprised when he simply stayed put in her bed. When she told him he shrugged and said that if she had wanted him to come in she would have said so. Ever since, every time she was showering and he was there, she left the door open. She liked to talk with him while getting ready for the day or for sleep.

"How did that meeting with Aro go?" she asked eventually pulling up her stockings.

"We have to go to Romania as soon as possible. Aro suspects there's another newborn situation over there."

She knew this day would come. The day when he would leave for a mission and she would stay frightened and worried. Logically, she knew the chances of him getting hurt were slim to none, but nonetheless she worried.

"Would you be alright?" She asked sticking her head out and staring at him.

She relaxed significantly when he winked. She decided she would not let him know she was worried and instead decided to joke about it. There would be plenty of time to worry after.

"Can I come?" She bit the inside of her cheek to prevent from laughing.

"No."

"Why not? I'll be a great distraction to the newborns." She argued smiling to herself in the mirror. "It worked last time." She mumbled lowly but knowing that he would still hear her. Suddenly he was next to her.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Or did you simply lose your mind?" His intense stare penetrated her. Those red eyes were no longer laughing nor holding mischief. They were dead serious and didn't allow place for questions. He would not risk her life. It was out of the question. Bella stood there stunned. She was expecting some negative but never this seriousness. Of course she didn't want to go and stare into the frightened eyes of yet another innocent person be a pawn in the games of a vampire hunger for power or control. Besides, she did have a sense of self-preservation.

"I was joking. I don't want to go." She whispered feeling trapped in that stare. She wasn't scared but she felt like a deer caught in the lights.

He held his stare for a few more seconds. Then, he rolled his eyes, kissed her softly on the lips and exited the bathroom. Bella stood alone in the bathroom gathering what just happened. She was just joking, she never intended to ruin the mood. Her eyes watered with tears and she tried breathing in and out a few times in order to calm herself and not cry.

Ten minutes later she managed to get herself together and exited the bathroom. She walked with dubious steps towards the bed where Felix was lying with his eyes closed and arms behind his head. He opened his eyes and stared at her not moving. He saw her standing there, unsure but with her head held high. He sat on the bed still eying her. It was a stare contest. He stood up and kissed her, pouring all the passion and anger that he was harvesting towards her at the moment. Anger that she would think he would put her in danger just to get over with one problem.

"You drive me insane sometimes." He mumbled against her lips before kissing her again, softer this time.

Bella left a sigh of relief and smiled against his lips. Crisis averted?

"Are you ready to go?" He asked once they freed themselves from the other. Bella smiled and nodded.

Bella held into his silence on the way to the movies, but after they left the theater, he was still very quiet. She was nervous she had upset him back in the castle. She knew he had a sense of humor, he showed it quite often. Perhaps she went a little beyond the line with her joke. She probably would have reacted the same way if he had joked about putting himself in danger. She sighed defeated.

"I'm sorry."

He turned his head slightly to watch her, surprised for her apology. He quickly turned his attention to the road.

"For what?"

"For joking about my safety. I realize it was in bad taste. I would be upset if you ever joked about risking your life unnecessarily."

"I'm not upset, Bella." He smiled her favorite smile.

"Then why are you so quiet?" she askes confused.

He stretched one of his hands from the wheel and linked his fingers with her. In these few weeks they've been together, he had been the happiest man on earth. She was clever, resourceful, kind, extremely stubborn and shy. Sometimes he drove him crazy. She was too stubborn for her own good. And she didn't take herself too seriously. She was ready to gamble with her life like it was nothing. He wasn't sure if it was a residue from her past relationship, or her unconsciously trying to present a braver façade. An unconscious move rooted in the fact that she was always surrounded by supernatural creatures. He had the suspicion she didn't allow herself to be fragile. It was as if she needed to prove she could be as strong as them, but as she couldn't do it physically, she had to do it other way.

He kissed her knuckles. "I can be quiet sometimes." He deflected.

"But this is a different kind of quiet." She counter-attacked. "You're contemplative, as if you have a thousand things running in your mind."

She was also very observant. "You're right. But I'm not quiet because I'm upset. I will always tell you when I'm upset. I promised that, and I intend to keep it." He parked the car where intended to and got off, walking quickly -but not vampire-quickly- to get her door. She smiled at him when he opened the door. He kissed her gently and helped her get off the truck.

They walked side by side in companionable conversation and easy silences now and then. She was truly and completely happy. She had found her place, finally. Often, she would rest her head on his forearm, barely reaching his shoulder, and smiled happily.

They reached a beautiful square which was miraculously empty save for some pigeons. They sat on one of the benches and let the silence fall. She could tell he was contemplating something he had that kind of look again. The same he had on the car. He was worried about something. Was it the newborn thing they had to attend to tomorrow? She knew him enough to suspect that he wouldn't be nervous about it, he had a lot of experience in being a vampire soldier. She let him ponder his thoughts, he would tell her when he was ready. Instead, she observed the flowers, the clouds, the slightly chilly air of late afternoon, the pigeons flying and walking around the square.

Ten more minutes and he wasn't talking. She was starting to feel uncomfortable. "Are you ok?" She whispered caressing his bicep. He grabbed her hand and held it in place, seeking the comfort her contact gave him.

"Just thinking about my past." He answered softly.

"What about your past?" She wondered out loud, thinking that he was about to tell her some very dark secret he had. Something very bad he had done after he turned.

"I was born around the same time Demetri was born. I was born in 1845 approximately but turned in 1870 when I was 25 years old." He started. She looked at him in surprise. Of course he had wondered a few times what his story was, but she never asked. Everyone was entitled to their own secrets, only releasing them when they were ready to do it. "My family wasn't rich, but we were luckier than most farmers. I was the only son, so the responsibility of the family was pretty much burdened into me by my parents. They were loving parents. They supported all my dreams and my adventures, as long as I worked. I was born and raised in England." She nodded she had noticed the accent but never thought much about it. Many of the vampires in the castle had different accents. Not all of them spoke English with the flourish with which they moved. "When I was 25 my parent's farm and some others were caught on fire. Many people died, my family and I among them." She continued to caress his arm, giving him silent support. It must be hard reliving how your family died, how you died. "Aro found me. He had been monitoring the village for god knows what. But he had spotted me. I was strong. Stronger than other guys my age. Not strong enough to be considered a freak, but still people looked at me and feared me or rejected me. Aro saved me from the fire and turned me. My parents were already dead when he found me." He finished with his stare locked in the statue in front of them.

They remained silent for a few minutes. Bella kissed his bicep and smiled at him. "Thank you for trusting me. I know it's not easy." He turned around and captured her lips with his. Softly and sweetly he kissed her.

"I love you, Bella." He admitted.

She opened her eyes, surprised at the confession. He looked at him in the eyes and answered as honestly as she will ever get. "I love you, too." His smile was worth everything in the world. He smiled so widely that she laughed and blushed. With those three words she had said everything that, ironically, she wasn't ready to say yet out loud.

He made her feel safe. He made her feel it was alright to be fragile and admit that she didn't have to always strong, or that she had to fight always. He gave her the world with his stupid bad jokes, his companionable silences, his stolen glances and winks. He drove her mad. He made her nervous and scared her in the most exciting ways ever. She made her feel things she had never felt before. Things that she had tried to feel with Edward but that just weren't there. Things that Jacob kept telling her he felt towards her, and if he did, she hoped he finds someone that can return those feelings, because there was nothing greater in the world than to feel you belong with someone.


They finally said those three words. They feel the same way. How lucky.

Who doesn't want a relationship like that? I want a Felix in my life!

Leave your comments!

Love!

Paty4Hale.