Rule Eighteen | Talk It Out

It was the quietest ping of something that woke Bella up. Her eyes shot open and blearily, she glanced to the side to look at her clock and see it was go-fuck-yourself in the morning. It was too goddamn early to be waking up and with her mind less a hive of electrical wonder and, instead, a soupy mess of quietly sparking molasses, Bella couldn't tell if she was on edge and hearing things or if something had actually woken her up. Stilling her breath and listening intently, she noted that she couldn't pick up on her dad wandering about in the middle of the night, nor could she hear anyone outsi-

Another ping, a pebble against her window, and Bella shot out of bed.

The fuck is this, a romcom? Who does this kind of shit? She groused, glaring at the window and ready to curse out whatever Cullen had decided to bother her at… two in the morning, Jesus.

About to give Emmett - because it had to be Emmett - a piece of her mind, Bella threw open the window and stuck her head out, mouth open and yet, no sound came out except a winded sort of strangle. It coiled in her throat and fizzled out in an instant as she made eye contact with a red-eyed vampire sat cross legged on the tree branch in front of her.

Victoria.

With wild, unkempt hair, she wobbled side to side, playfully, and somehow hung onto the branch only through what Bella assumed to be pure luck. And she waved. She waved at her like it was okay to go throwing rocks at strangers' windows at two in the morning.

"Did you enjoy my gift?"

"What the fuck?"

"My gift. Did you enjoy it?"

Bella's eyes shut as she ran her hands across her face, cradling it for a moment and exhaling sharply. Counting to three, she looked up to see Victoria still there, still smiling, and still wobbling back and forth with all the glee of a small child.

"I killed your friend and you gave me a human hand."

"Yes, I did."

The stare Bella wore could shear through metal, yet Victoria was completely unbothered by it. In fact, her little smirk grew into a full-blown grin, and she beamed at Bella with an almost cat-like abandon.

"Go away."

Her grin turned into a pout, and Victoria made a small 'aw' noise as her mouth fell open in playful mockery. "Am I not allowed to say thank you for freeing me from him?" she quietly exclaimed, leaning forward and grasping the branch with both hands, knees bent and feet planted on its sides as she slowly crawled her way forward. "I have so many ways to thank you. I think you'd be quite… pleased with what I have in mind," she continued, reaching forward and ghosting the tip of her finger across Bella's cheekbone.

A startled grunt left Bella as, suddenly, Victoria launched herself into her room, landing silently.

"What the fuck? Go away!" Pointing at the window, Bella almost stamped her foot, and it was only the last few years of habit that kept her voice quiet enough to not wake her father. "Go. Shoo."

Paying no mind to Bella's complaints, Victoria cast her curious gaze around the room before reclining on Bella's bed, propping herself up on one elbow and stretching her neck from side to side, that same coy grin returning. "Whyever would I do that?"

"Because this is my house and it's two in the fucking morning. Also, don't send me body parts. Who the hell sends someone a human hand?"

Real confusion settled across Victoria's face, and her head tilted. "Is that not the norm for your kind? It's been quite a while since I properly interacted with a ghoul, but courting habits can't have changed that much."

"I'm not- I've only been a ghoul for two years."

"...Fascinating. You truly are a wonder, aren't you?" Victoria stood and looked at Bella through half-lidded eyes, tilting her chin ever so slightly as she studied her. "Only two years into this life and you're already such a terror." The way she said the word made Bella shiver, and she tried her best to ignore the way Victoria's teeth clung to her bottom lip.

"Can you just- can you stop? I'm not- I'm not fucking dating you. I don't know what this is but I'm not having any part in it."

"You're grumpy when you're tired. It's cute."

"What the fuck are you doing here, Victoria?"

"You remembered my name?" She pressed her hand against her heart, grinning. "I'm flattered. And I'm here because you, my dear, are a fine specimen who saved me from a… let's say an unwanted suitor."

"You need to leave."

"Your father isn't a ghoul, I take it?" Glancing over her shoulder, Victoria quirked an eyebrow. "I thought he was, but with what you said… well you're terribly interesting aren't you?"

"Why the hell would my dad be a ghoul?"

"One eye?" She pointed at her own, tugging on it and sticking her tongue out. "Only one way to end up like that. Tell me-" Victoria threw herself onto Bella's bed again, hands behind her head and legs folded. "-how exactly does a human become a ghoul."

Gritting her teeth and sucking in a deep breath, Bella composed herself. She'd never been so thankful that Charlie was a heavy sleeper. At least he was at times. Tonight was one of them.

"A psycho doctor who takes advantage of a ghoul and human getting hit by the same truck."

"An organ transplant then? How droll."

"Listen- what the fuck are you doing here? What the fuck are you doing bothering me?"

That same damned grin worked its way across Victoria's face and the instant it did Bella wanted to scream.

"Did I not state my intentions clearly?" She pointed at herself. "I, Victoria-" her wrist turned and that finger was now staring Bella in the face. "Intend to woo you, my dear. Bella, was it?" More teeth shone, unnaturally white as her lips parted. "Or should I call you Mantis?"

"Do you want to die?"

"If I thought you were any danger to me I'd never have shown up. Heavens no. Do you take me for a fool?"

"Sure acting like one."

Scoffing, Victoria rolled her eyes. "Do you read comics, Bella?"

"Do I-" Sputtering, she shook her head, both in denial and in an effort to try and clear out the cobwebs so she could understand what the hell was going on. "No. I don't. What-?"

"Spiderman. Do you know Spiderman?"

"Of course I know Spiderman. What the fuck does that have to do with anything?"

Fingers wiggling, Victoria waved them over her entire body, gesturing to herself as if a burlesque dancer waving a fan. "Spidey senses."

The only noise in the room after that was Bella's quiet, disbelieving stutter, followed by the sound of muted footsteps as she wandered over to her desk and slumped into the chair in front of it. Slowly kicking at the floor she drifted side to side, the chair just beginning to spin before Bella stopped it and toed off the ground in another direction.

"Spidey senses. You have… spidey senses."

"Your own personal alarm, if you will. One hundred percent success rate for four hundred years and counting."

"Christ, you're old."

"Excuse you. I don't look a day over two hundred." The woman scoffed as she studied her nails. "I've been perfectly preserved since… well, before King Charles, that shy little twat."

As she spoke, Bella noticed the strangest accent begin to peek out from beneath what was previously the blandest Americana. It peaked at the end of Victoria's sentence, still somewhat American, but it had a Boston lilt to it that sounded almost maritime, yet English at the tail. She'd never heard Carlisle's old accent slip out and he was the oldest of the Cullens, yet every time he spoke it was the most clear-cut Seattle monotone to ever grace her ears. But here, Victoria, this stranger, still retained some aspect of where she came from so very, very long ago.

It's a bit attra-

Shaking her head and still kicking at the floor, she crossed her arms and glared at Victoria. "If you're so happy to have him gone then why did you try and warn him?"

"James? Because if I killed him the Volturi would come after me. If I ran, he would have tracked me and then the Volturi would come after me. But you? There's nothing concerning about a territory dispute or a hunt gone wrong." Victoria paused, and then eyed Bella. "You have been told about the Volturi by your little friends, yes?"

"They told me all about them."

"Good. That saves me the trouble of explaining it."

Her tone of voice made Bella almost pull back, the speed at which she flipped from playful and flirty to sincere - albeit still somewhat mocking - nearly gave her whiplash. "Seriously, why are you here?" she queried, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. "First you're joking with me, then you're trying to fuck me, then what? We're talking history and vampire royalty? What do you want from me?"

"A date. Isn't that what they call it nowadays?'

"A date. You want… you want a date? That's it?"

"What. Did you take me for a savage? Did you expect me to steal you away in the night and drag you kicking and screaming into the woods?" At Bella's expression Victoria stifled a cackle, slapping her hand over her mouth. They both froze at the sound of Charlie snoring, heads whipping to the wall before they turned back, eyes locked together. "You're delightful," she continued. "Truly delightful."

"Well, excuse me for thinking that. Your friend tried to kill me and then I get this fuckin' hand dlivered to my room with a letter, and- actually, wait, you broke into my home! I'm so fucking tired of people breaking into my-"

"People often break into your home?"

"All the goddamn time!"

Another snort from Charlie and they both froze. Wincing, Bella jerked her head towards the open window. "Outside."

"Ladies first."

Rolling her eyes, Bella slipped on a pair of sneakers and jumped out the window, catching the branch and flinging herself off of it like a gymnast. Victoria followed close behind, and Bella could see her grin clear as day as she twisted on contact with the branch, looping around it once before launching herself across the lawn, landing in a roll before throwing her arms up in the air to silent applause.

"Are you always like this?"

"Only around attractive women."

"Jesus fucking-" Pinching her brow, Bella pointed to the trees. "Move."

"Oh, feisty. I love a woman with some fire in her."

"Can you tone it down for like, five fucking minutes? I need an honest answer from you."

"Honest as can be," Victoria stated, reverting back to that same, serious drawl.

Taking a deep breath, Bella looked up at the clouds above. God, this was just so weird. "Why are you chasing after me?"

"Because I felt it, my dear, right here," she said, patting her chest. "That little twinge that lets you know you met someone who could become so much more. Have your friends told you all there is to know about vampires? Have they told you how fiercely we love, until the end of our days?"

"Yes, they've told me-"

"Did they tell you how it starts? That even a look is enough to know deep down that the person you've just set eyes on could be your undoing?"

"They told me! They told me, okay? Fuck! You don't need to-" Gesturing wildly, Bella huffed in Victoria's general direction. "Wax poetic or something about how great vampires are at shacking up."

Ignoring Bella's complaints, Victoria walked towards her until she was so close that Bella could feel her breath on her face, and she realized how small the other woman was. Barely an inch or two over five feet, she was practically diminutive. It was only in the way that she carried herself, all fireworks and bravado that she made herself look that much larger.

"I will woo you, my dear. Just you wait."

"You can't just-"

"Ta ta!" Victoria cheered, waving goodbye as she stepped into the woods before sprinting off, disappearing into the black.

As she watched her leave Bella bit her lip, holding back the scream that was bubbling in her throat.

This was ridiculous. This was silly. She wasn't going to be pursued by some random, maniacal, devious little temptress- what the fuck? She smacked herself in the head once, trying and failing to shake away the way Victoria's eyes were so bright and tantalizingly red, that crimson that looked as welcoming as a fresh glass of wine. Or the way her hips swayed when she walked, done on purpose of course, but-

"No. Nope. No, no, you're not going there. You are not thinking that," she told herself. "You're not. You're not."

It wasn't going to happen. It simply wasn't. Fuck Victoria. But not like that. Certainly not like that. She could woo Bella all she wanted but that wouldn't amount for much as long as Bella didn't take the bait.

Grumbling, she hoisted herself through her bedroom window, kicked off her shoes, and climbed back into bed.

Sleep did not come easy.

-::-

Bella was exhausted about six hours later when she got to school, and Charlie had commented on the bags under her eyes when she wandered into the kitchen for her first cup of coffee.

"Long night?" he'd asked, lips drawn tight and only evident through the quirk of his moustache.

She'd nodded, and smiled at him reassuringly. "Not what you think. No nightmares. I just have trouble sleeping sometimes."

"I getcha' Bella. I getcha'."

She'd quaffed her coffee and gone for a second mug, filling up a thermos as well, and was now begging for the caffeine to catch up with her tired mind as she slunk out of the jeep Alice picked her up in, having spent the entire ride silent. Alice had given her a strange look upon picking her up, but Bella thought nothing of it. She didn't think much of anything at the moment considering how little sleep she had last night, tossing and turning after that conversation and the frankly childish attempts to hold her attention from Victoria. She hadn't gotten Bella's attention. She really hadn't. Angry attention wasn't the same as positive attention, she told herself, and that was all there was to it. Really, there wasn't even any point in thinking about it because nothing was going to happen and she certainly wasn't going to go on a date with Victoria. That would be stupid.

Waving half-heartedly at the other Cullens, Bella winced at the flare of their nostrils.

Her whole room still smelled like Victoria. Woodsy, floral, and with just the slightest musk to underlay how feral she was. Evidently, Bella smelled like it too.

That explained Alice's look.

"Holy shit!" Emmett whooped, walking over and clasping her shoulders. "Did you bone that chick?"

"No! No I did not! Jesus. We talked last night because she was throwing fuckin' pebbles at my window. Woke me up."

"What is she, John Cusack?"

"I don't fuckin' know. And what are you glaring at me for?" Bella shot, frowning at Rosalie who had locked onto her with black eyes. "I thought we were cool."

Clenching her jaw, Rosalie nodded. "We are. My apologies, I'll see the rest of you inside." With that she was off, marching into the school with a steady click, clack as her boots cracked against the pavement, crushing salt underfoot.

Watching her go and squinting, Bella shrugged. "What crawled up her ass?"

"So you didn't fuck?"

"No! Godamnit, Emmett. I did not fuck Victoria. We talked, that's all we did."

"And what'd she say?" Alice asked, leaning in.

"Said she felt that 'tug,' whatever that means. Vampire shit. She asked me on a date."

"Oh. Oh my. Bella, that's wonderful!"

"How is that wonderful?"

"She could be your mate!"

A strange, breathy sound slipped from Bella's lips and she froze, before frantically twisting the top off her thermos and taking a deep gulp, almost moaning as soon as she tasted coffee. "She's not."

"Why not?"

"Because- because…"

And Bella froze again, because she didn't actually have an excuse. She couldn't date humans but that never meant she couldn't date vampires, right? The thought alone still made her nervous, seeing as dating had never gone well for her in the past. But… but she didn't have to worry about hiding her identity, she didn't have to worry about the whole 'I kill and eat people' drama seeing as Victoria also did the same. She had no excuse to avoid that date other than not feeling like it, which was a fair excuse she would say. The only reason someone needed to say no was 'I don't want to' but now that she'd thought about it… did she?

Victoria was… well, she was frightening and attractive. Frighteningly attractive. She was clever, that Bella knew after only one conversation with her and, looking back, the spidey senses joke was actually pretty good. Which also brought up the fact that damn, a four hundred year old vampire was into comic books and Bella kind of liked comics. She liked reading, drawing, pretty much art in general, which meant comics were an automatic shoe-in. So, if the only reason she was avoiding any flavour of romance was because she was terrified of having her identity revealed and the person interested in her already knew…

"Oh shit."

"There it is."

"Oh shit."

Even Jasper seemed interested, and he quietly shuffled closer, tilting his head. "Are you going to say yes?"

"I don't know, dude. I don't know. I haven't even- I thought I'd just be rolling through the rest of my life living on one night stands but uh- jeez, this shakes things up." Running a hand through her hair, Bella nodded, more to herself than anything. "Okay. Cool. Uh- I might say yes? I have no idea. I have to think about it but… maybe?"

Alice squealed.

Wincing, Bella squinted at her through one eye, as if shutting the other could block out the noise as her friend jumped up and down, kicking up muddy snow. "Ah! This is so exciting! I definitely need to take you down to Port Angeles if you say yes. You are not going out wearing what you usually do."

"The fuck is wrong with my clothes?"

"Nothing! They're just not date-worthy. Good casual wear, actually, I don't have anything to complain about on that end which does not happen often. But you need a little more… what should I say…" Snapping her fingers, Alice scanned Bella up and down, as if she was judging an art piece. "...You need something a little more prep. Vest?" She asked, tilting her head towards Jasper.

"Suit vest?"

"Yep."

"I can see it."

"Good. I'm thinking… suit vest in gray. Textured twill, but subtle. Dress shirt… white, sleeves up, and no tie-"

"Alice-"

"Hush, Bella."

Her jaw snapped shut, and Bella sighed, far too tired to put up a fight. She puffed out her lips and glanced over at Emmett, rolling back and forth on the balls of her feet. "Yo."

He snorted. "Yo."

"How long is this going to take?"

"Not much longer. Once Alice has something in mind she works pretty quickly."

"Thank fuck."

"Bella!"

She looked back down and frowned, seeing as Alice was still standing in front of her with her hip cocked, one finger tapping at her chin. Emmett poked her shoulder, and Bella turned to see-

"Damnit."

Gwen.

Bundled up, a light scarf flying behind her, she skidded across the parking lot as she jogged over to Bella. Her eyes blew wide and her arms flailed, a breathy laugh escaping her as she righted herself and grit her teeth at the sight of what amounted to a Cullen shield wall. Even Edward was there, she finally noticed, sitting on the hood of his car and bobbing along to the classical music that poured out of his earbuds. He nodded at Bella once she made eye contact with him, before going back to his music.

Weird.

"Hey."

"Uh- hey." No avoiding this one, and what a shitty one it was going to be. "Guys? Can I talk to Gwen?"

"Sure. Hey, Alice-" Emmett snapped his fingers. "Think fashion later, Bella's gotta' chat with her friend."

"Hmm? Oh." Looking back and forth, Alice nodded. "Sure thing, and Bella, I've got it figured out and I know exactly what shops we need to hit, so just tell me when you're free alright?"

"Can do. See ya' later." Tired and dreading the coming conversation, Bella waved Alice and the rest of the family away, and the smile she tried to give them came out more as a grimace, which made Alice shrug as if to say, 'what can you do?'

"So…" she started, clicking her tongue. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. You've been avoiding me."

"Yeah, uh- I'm not really good at rejecting people. Sorry about that."

"It's fine. Well-" Gwen shook her head. "It's not fine. That was shitty, but I don't know. I get it? Are you not comfortable with everyone knowing?"

"Everyone knows, Gwen. I'm pretty sure the entire student body knows I'm gay, and anyone who doesn't has been living under a rock."

"Then why not? I mean, I thought we were getting along, weren't we? I know I kind of just threw it at you but you ran out of the room like I told you I fucked your dad or something."

"Okay, okay-" Putting one finger up, Bella had to contain the sick bubbling in her throat. "Never say that again, for one. And two, I just- I don't see you that way, Gwen. I'm sorry, but I don't. You're cool, but you're my… my buddy, right?"

"Then what was that about earlier? I heard you guys talking about a date."

"I might… I might possibly be going on a date sometime soon but I'm still thinking about it."

The expression that worked its way across her face was anything but impressed. "Uh huh."

"Look, Gwen. I said it already but I'm not interested in you that way. Just because we're both gay doesn't mean we have to date, alright? That's not how this works."

"I know, I know!" Throwing her hands up in the air, Gwen sighed. "I know, it just sucks."

"Alright, uh- are we cool then? Because the bell is going to ring in another minute here and I don't want to be late."

"Yeah, yeah. Can we uh- can we still hang out sometime? Is that okay?"

"Gwen…"

"Are we not friends anymore? Is that what this is?"

"We can't, okay? I've got shit going on and- can you respect that? Can you leave it be?"

"Then what about the Cullens? What makes them so great?"

"I don't know! I just get along with them. Am I not allowed to choose who my friends are and aren't? Jesus. Look, look-" Her hand rose and Bella put a stopper in the conversation. "I'm sorry. I know I've hurt you and that was shitty of me, but we can't date and we can't be friends. I won't explain why because that's personal, alright? That's me shit that I have to deal with. So I'll see you around, okay?"

Disappointed and more than a little hurt judging by the look in her eyes, Gwen nodded jerkily. "Sure. Whatever. I'll see you around Bella."

"Okay, uh- yeah. Bye."

Her shoulders rose and fell with a heavy breath and Bella jogged her way into the warmth of Forks High, casting one final glance behind her to see Gwen kicking at the snow and staring up at the sky.

It was rude. It was shitty. It was entirely, one hundred percent necessary, and while Bella didn't enjoy a single moment of telling Gwen to very kindly (at least for her) not bother her, she didn't regret it either.

With another deep breath she pushed through the halls to her first class and, in the back of her mind, a small flicker of dread and optimism made itself known as she thought about Victoria and- hey, she took a chance coming to Forks, why not take a much, much smaller chance going on one measly date? It could be fun, and she'd given Bella a hand after all. A freaky gift no doubt, but apparently normal for ghouls which all things considered was actually quite sweet. Weird, but sweet.

Yeah. Maybe she'd go on a date.