All characters from The Vampire Diaries belong to L.J. Smith as well as all characters from Twilight belong to Stephanie Meyer. I own nothing but my version of events.

Chapter 30 Breaking Boundaries

Man this place was huge, I thought to myself as we walked through the long hallways of the castle following Felix as he led us to the kitchen. He had offered to serve us breakfast in bed but I had refused. I wanted to get a good look at the place and so did the rest of the guys… though for two completely different reasons. I knew I could trust the Volturi but the guys didn't have my powers to be sure so they wanted to scope out the place. Felix had told us we had free range of the castle and could roam anywhere we wanted. The kings had warned everyone in the castle that we were important guests and should be treated as one of the kings. The guys enjoyed the treatment but I didn't, I wanted to get to know everyone on a personal level. If I decided to help them I'd do so willingly and not by force, simply because my power told me to.

"Here it is My Lady." Felix announced as he opened the door for us to enter. We all walked in and found a vampire in the kitchen. "This is Claude, our very talented Chef. He used to be a chef as a human and has learned to continue to use his talents after the change." Felix explained, as he saw the confused looks on all of our faces. "He can also provide you with a blood bag if you need one, Jasper." He added.

"Yeah I might actually take you up on that." Jasper replied.

"Welcome!" The vampire cook named Claude said as he came out from behind the kitchen to greet us. "As Felix so kindly introduced me, I am Claude and I will be happy to make you anything your stomach's desire."

I giggled at his words. "I'm good with whatever you feel like making, just no seafood or beans please." He looked at me with shock as I said the no seafood part but before he could protest, Felix coughed to catch his attention.

I laughed at the exchange, "It's ok Felix, let him speak his mind. Unfortunately I'm kind of picky with my foods and I apologize for limiting your talents to adhere to my taste palate." I said apologetically. "Though to make up for it, the other two guys over there will eat just about anything."

He laughed at my words. "Very well Madame, I can still create a delicious meal for you even with the limitation of ingredients." He said happily, as he moved to the back of the kitchen.

I turned my head to look at Felix. "You're being naughty dear Felix." I chastised him. "Don't go reprimanding everyone we meet, as long as they're not being cruel towards us I want everyone to be their true authentic selves."

He nodded at me without a verbal answer and excused himself from the kitchen.

I decided to place a bubble around us so we could talk. "So?" I questioned them.

"So far so good but we've only seen just a spec of the castle and we didn't really pass by anyone on our way here." Paul answered.

"Yeah…. you think they're purposefully avoiding us?" I had a sneaking suspicion that I was right.

"Yes." Jasper answered with certainty. I raised my eyebrow in question. "There are so many vampires in one place that I'm having a bit of a harder time distinguishing between emotions but the consensus is trepidation and fear."

"They should be scared of us." Damon commented.

I rolled my eyes and pouted. "But I don't want them to be scared of us! I need to talk to Aro again, let him know that I don't want him to threaten the vampires away from us. I want to get to know them and if they fear us, that won't happen."

Paul shook his head at my reasoning. "Only you would want to get to know all of these cold red eyed vampires… No offense Jasper. You're different." Paul said quickly to fix his mistake.

"None taken and thanks I guess." Jasper said lightly, not having taken Paul's comment to heart. He then turned to look at me, "Want me to come with?"

"No. I want to talk to them on my own. The rest of you guys need to scope out the place like you said and explore the castle some while I talk to the big guys." I rolled my eyes at Paul's worried expression. "Oh, will you relax?! Nothing bad is going to happen. They won't hurt me and even if they try to they won't be able to get close enough. Like I said last night, you need to be more careful with Damon than with me. He's a giant troublemaker all on his own." I teased.

Damon laughed, not once trying to contradict what I had said. He knew I was completely right. "That's not an invitation to be bad Damon!" I scolded, "Be on your best behavior, no exposing yourself to humans and no death inducing ideas. I can protect you from them but you'll ruin any friendship I could have had with the Volturi because of you… please?" I asked at the end, asking him with my perfected puppy dog look.

"Ugh!" He complained, rolling his eyes. "Fine! I'll be good but a little mischief won't hurt anybody." He added at the end but with one look at my face he changed his tune. "Okay! I promise I won't do anything bad!"

I smiled at him in approval and popped my shield, signaling them we were no longer free to talk and right on time as I saw the cook heading towards us.

After breakfast, we all split up and I asked Felix to guide me to Aro's office. He happily obliged, leading me through the maze of corridors. It's gonna take me forever to memorize this place.

We stopped right in front of a wooden door and Felix knocked as I heard a faint voice say "Come in." Felix opened the door once again for me and introduced me. I walked in and thanked Felix as I waved him away. He wanted to laugh at my dismissal but restrained himself in front of Aro, I rolled my eyes at that.

I strolled casually in and beelined it straight into the chair in front of his desk as I threw my legs over the armrest and puffed out a breath dramatically in exhaustion. "My god this place is huge Aro." I commented as I faked wiping my forehead with sweat. "I know you vampires don't get tired but I'm human. I'm gonna need some of those walking escalators they have at the airports to get around this place." I joked as I looked at his face. He looked amused at my theatrics but did not want to outwardly express it.. "It's ok to laugh Aro…. I'm here to entertain."

He chuckled at my answer. "You are quite unique, My Lady."

I waved away his formal speech. "Oh please call me Bella." I offered. I was debating with myself what tactic to take but I finally decided I didn't have the time nor the energy to do all that, I chose to be blunt instead. "Look Aro," I pronounced as I sat up in my seat and leaned my elbows on his desk. "I know you like the prim and proper here but I'm about to shake your world and I'm going to need you to accept it." He raised an eyebrow at my words, he opened his mouth to speak but I raised my hand to stop him. "I have a strong feeling we have the potential of creating a wonderful friendship. I want that, I just need you to be open to it. I hate all this formality and I want to get to know you, Marcus, Caius, the queens, the guard, and everyone else here in the castle. I'm going to need you to stop threatening everyone to accomplish that. I'm not here to threaten you or to be superior to you. I know you just wanted an alliance but I want something more, I want to be able to trust you and I also want you guys to trust me. If we're going to war, we're going to have to work on that. I simply cannot work with anyone I do not trust, alliance or no alliance. So…" I said, as I extended my hand towards him. "Do we have a deal?"

He looked at my eyes and then looked at my hand, he was debating what his course of action would be and I let him take his time.

My hand was starting to get tired as I waited for him to decide but he finally extended his hand for me to shake. "We have a deal." He vowed.

I smiled widely at him, "Excellent! So what are you working on?" I asked casually.

He smiled at me and turned the papers he was holding towards me as he stood up and moved from behind his desk to sit next to me. I smiled at the action. "I was looking at the number of missing humans, today alone it increased by 5. The numbers are slowly rising and it's worrisome."

I frowned at the sheet he had shown me, it made me sad to think that all of these lives were being lost because of the werewolves need for power, their deaths seemed so useless. I didn't want show my vulnerable side but I was upset about all of this tragedy. "I understand that war means death. I'm not opposed to killing but knowing that these people lost their lives because of the supernatural saddens me." I turned to look at him. "I know you do not understand. I'm sure you've been a vampire for the longest time and have killed thousands of people without a thought… but I want you to think about how it would feel if it were the other way around. What if it were vampires being killed by the thousands, by a superior being stronger than you. Wouldn't you do anything in your power to protect them?" I asked Aro, I was hoping he'd understand but I knew this would be a difficult concept for him to grasp. Well not just him but all vampires alike.

Aro studied my face, "I suppose so." He finally said, frowning down at me.

I didn't know whether he meant what he said or if he just said it to appease me. I did hope that it was in true agreement though. I smiled at him when I received no other response. One step at a time Bella, don't rush him, I thought. "By the way, just to ease your mind. This war won't take place until sometime next year. So don't worry so much until then."

He narrowed his eyes at me and he asked, "How do you know that?"

I smiled at him, like I was trying to hold in a secret. "I'm a lot more powerful than you think Aro… but just so you know. I'm a good friend to have." I said, as I winked at him. I stood up and made my way to the door, "I gotta go, Aro, I've got a couple of other kings to charm." I said cheekily.

He had the most confused expression on his face that made me laugh. "Fear not dear Aro. You will see I will keep them intact when you meet with them next. Now tell me where I can find Caius."

I walked through the long halls led by Felix once again, apparently he had stayed nearby to help guide me through the castle. I could tell he was dying to say something but didn't want to be caught speaking out of turn.

"You can speak freely now Felix, I've placed my shield around us. No one will hear what you say."

He turned to look at me with an amused smile. "That's a handy gift. I'm more than happy with your conversation with Aro, I can tell it went well. You shook him up but I know that's just what he needed."

I giggled, "Yeah well, I hate the mind games. I don't have the time for it and I need to gain mutual trust quickly, I don't plan on staying here for long."

"I will be sad to see you go." Felix said, as he looked down to the ground as we walked.

I hooked my arm around his. "Don't worry Felix. After this trip I'm positive the masters will allow you to visit me. They're tight asses now but once I'm done with them they will be unrecognizable."

He laughed but shook his head. "Let's hope that's true because we have arrived at your greatest obstacle. This one is tougher than nails." He smirked at me. "Good luck!" He said as he stopped in front of a new door and knocked.

I rolled my eyes and removed my shield as Felix opened the door, introducing me. "He knows who I am Felix. Hey Caius!" I greeted him cheerfully as I walked in and waved at him.

I walked around his office and looked at all the beautiful paintings and artifacts in his collection.

"Do you need something?" He asked in an annoyed voice.

I looked at him over my shoulder and smiled. "Nope, nothing. Just here to ruin your perfectly composed life." I said as I kept looking at his stuff, I didn't dare touch anything. Everything looked incredibly organized and in its place. I'm sure I wouldn't be in his good graces if I placed my hands on any item and I also wanted to respect his boundaries.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked angrily.

I shrugged my shoulders without looking at him. "Exactly what I said. I have no ulterior motive Caius. I just think you need to lighten up a little and I'm exactly the right person to help you do that." I said, then saw a little music box sitting atop an ornate stand. "Can I touch this?" I asked him.

I felt a breeze as he moved at vampire speed to my side. "No." He said as he grabbed it away from me. I didn't know why since I hadn't even made an attempt to reach for it.

"Okay." I said simply. "I just thought it was incredibly beautiful. I wanted to see if the music still worked. Can you open it for me?" I asked instead, as I realized he was not going to give in yet.

He narrowed his eyes down at me but I kept my face passive. Trying to convey that I would be okay whether he refused me or not. Slowly he opened the lid and light music trickled out. It was a beautiful tune but one I had never heard before.

"I love it." I said with a smile as I closed my eyes to listen to it better. "It looks so old. How is it possible for it to still work after all this time?" I asked him.

He looked like he didn't want to answer, for a moment I thought he wasn't going to so I just nodded my head in acceptance. I was about to turn away from him when he spoke. "I fix it every time it breaks." He finally said.

"Really?!" I exclaimed. "That's amazing."

He shrugged his shoulders in indifference as he closed the music box and placed it back in its place. "I like to repair things." He said nonchalantly.

"That's awesome. I wish I had that talent but I'm terrible at it, whenever I try to I just end up breaking it even more. It's dreadful." I confessed. I wasn't lying, it was one of the things I was completely awful at. If I needed anything fixed I had to go to Jacob for that, he was amazing.

He had the faintest smile on his face and I smiled to myself. I was making headway with this guy. He really needed to loosen up. "I want to be your friend Caius." I finally admitted.

He looked down at me in confusion. "Why?"

"Why not?"

At my question he didn't know how to answer. "I don't need any friends."

I smiled at his dismissal, he was going to be a tough nut to crack but I was going to enjoy doing so. "Everyone needs friends Caius and I want to be yours."

He didn't take his eyes off of me, I could tell he was trying to analyze me. To figure out what my motive was. I rolled my eyes, "I don't have a secret agenda Caius. I really do just want to be your friend and not just with you but with everyone here. I've already talked to Aro and I will tell you the same thing I told him. I have a strong feeling we have the potential of creating a wonderful friendship. I want that, I just need you to be open to it too. That's really all I'm asking." I said as I made my way towards the door. "I'll leave you be for now to give you time to think. Come find me if you're interested." I said as I opened the door and left. I breezily made my way out of his room and winked at Felix as he matched his steps with mine.

"You are like an earthquake, Bella" He said in an amused tone of voice.

"I know!" I said cheerily. "I'm so going to enjoy this. Now take me to the last one." I instructed as I took his arm once again in mine. This time he led me further up the stairs going up through a tower. I was getting tired so I placed myself in a bubble and floated alongside Felix. He looked at me with a confused expression on his face. "Just one of my many talents, Felix. I got tired of walking, did you forget I am human?"

"Sorry Bella. I've forgotten how much work it is to be a human."

I laughed "Rude!" I exclaimed "but also true."

We'd arrived at the top and Felix opened an ornate glass door, designed with intricate gold leaves and vines inside of the glass. It was a beautiful greenhouse.

"Just follow the stone trail and you'll find Master Marcus." Felix informed me.

I nodded with a smile and stepped into the beautiful open space. I walked slowly on my way there, there was just so much to see. Flowers I had never seen in real life, it almost seemed unreal. I stopped at a huge Venus fly trap as I saw it feed. I was mesmerized at both its beauty and deadliness. I'd never want to get caught in the wilderness near this.

"Boo!" I voice said in my ear, releasing a scream from my throat. I turned around and saw Marcus bent over in half as he laughed at me. His voice sounded deep and rusty with its misuse. I was breathing heavily in fright as well as surprise as I looked at him.

He finally stood upright and chuckled out his apology. "I'm sorry Bella. It just seemed like the perfect opportunity." He laughed again as I remained speechless in front of him. "You don't have to break me like you did my brothers' Bella. I could see your unbreakable bonds with your companions as soon as you entered the meeting room as well as the other bonds you have back in the states. I can only assume someone with such a beautiful heart, such as yours, could create bonds like these in such a short life. I knew it was a matter of time before you'd break my brothers' hard exteriors, including my own. Unlike my brothers, however, I can see our connection already and am completely open to making it even stronger."

I remained mute in front of him, surprised at his words but smiled as they finally registered in my dumbfounded brain. "Oh thank god, I was getting so tired." I said as I released a long breath. "I kind of forgot about your power, even though Jasper debriefed me on you guys."

"Ah yes, the major. He looks a lot different from the last time I saw him."

I frowned, "You mean with the Cullens?"

"Yes, but I am quite happy he has finally found you. I can see you have had a positive effect on him."

"What do you mean finally?" I asked, confused more than ever.

"When the Cullen's came to visit. I could see he had established two strong bonds already but there was a third one that shimmered faintly. I can see now that it was connected straight to you, it has become even stronger now. So incredibly bright it's blue with electricity much like it is with Paul, while Damon's remains a normal friendship line."

"What does the blue with electricity mean?" I asked, incredibly curious.

"They are your mates." Marcus said simply.

"What?!" I exclaimed.

He chuckled at my reaction. "Neither one is your true mate Bella. Do not confuse the two, there is a difference between mates and soulmates. One can find great happiness with a mate but that happiness cannot be compared to one reached with a true soulmate. They both also feel the connection just as much as you do, it flows throughout their being but they both know you are not meant for them. I am assuming you have made it so?" He questioned me.

"Yes." I answered truthfully. "I know my soulmate is out there. I can feel him, though I haven't met him yet. I know I cannot promise anyone an eternity with me when I already have the one person meant solely for me. It would be wrong to give myself away when I already belong to someone else."

He smiled at me in approval. "I see your kind heart extends to every aspect of your life. You could have been selfish and kept them both but instead you decided to set them free to find their own true loves. I have seen many make that selfish mistake and it never ends well for those left without a soulmate. I am glad you have shown to be different from the rest, you truly are extraordinary."

"Thanks?" I said in question.

He chuckled at my response. "I see you do not take compliments graciously, though you should."

I laughed lightly at his observation. "I'll try to work on that."

We spent the rest of our time walking around the garden as Marcus answered all of my questions. There were so many flowers here that I wondered if they were natural or scientifically modified. He laughed at my question but reassured me that they were all taken from real places around the world. It was one of Marcus' hobbies, he strived to keep every single history created by this world. He was saddened to see most of these plants had become instinct outside of this garden due to the increase in human population and technological advances.

He was so knowledgeable in many things and I soaked it all in…. that is until I felt a strong tugging at my heart.

"It's Damon." Marcus quickly informed me.

The panic within me broke and I felt a flicker as I wished with all my might to reach his side.

I suddenly appeared outside and the sight I was met with chilled me to my bones. I instinctively wrapped my shields around my boys. Damon had been lying on the floor screaming in agony as the blonde midget was torturing him with her power. Paul was in wolf form in front of him and Jasper was poised to attack but they were both frozen in the spot. As soon as I'd placed my shield around them, Damon stopped screaming and Jasper and Paul became aware of their surroundings. I had placed myself in front of them, staring down at Jane and her idiot brother. I floated them in separate shields in front of me and cut off their limbs, wanting them to suffer just as much as my boys did.

Paul was growling behind me and so was Jasper. Logically I knew this was probably Damon's own fault but there was no way I was going to let anyone hurt them. Over my dead fucking body.

"Get over here Damon." I said in a calm but deadly voice. I was pissed at him, he made me do something I didn't want to do to protect him from his own idiotic behavior. I wanted to punch him in the face as he stood in front of me, looking ashamed as he saw the look on my face. By now Paul and Jasper had stopped growling when they saw their opponents dangling in the air in front of us without limbs.

"I'm sorry Bella." Damon said automatically.

"For what Damon?" I questioned him, "What did you do?"

I heard a cough on the right side and turned to look in that direction, Marcus was standing there and pointed up at Jane and Alec. At first I didn't understand what he was pointing at, until I looked at Jane closely and realized her blonde hair was gone, replaced with a bright purple color. I internally face palmed. Fucking Damon. Though I had to admit… it was a good prank. The resulting retaliation I was not happy with though.

Just because idiot Damon dyed her hair, it did not warrant her to torture him with her power. Nor for her brother to stop my two other friends from protecting him from her wrath. If she didn't want to get in a fight, then she shouldn't have initiated one. It wasn't our fault she was uptight. I rubbed my face with my hands, completely irritated with the situation.

Just then Aro and Caius burst out of the castle, led by Felix. Of course Felix would try to stop Jane from attacking my friends, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop her himself he resorted to get the kings who no one would ever defy.

"What is going on?" Aro demanded as he took in the sight of everyone around. I followed his eyes and realized there was a crowd of vampires all around us. Most looking on in amusement staring at Jane's limbless body floating in the air with her bright purple hair.

"Speak Damon." I ordered. He created this mess and now he needed to fix it.

"Well," he started scratching his hairline in thought trying to think of how to explain his actions. "I was minding my own business when shorty over here." He said pointing to Jane. "Bumped into me as she walked by me. I of course could not let it stand so I decided to play a prank on her. I'd already done a couple and no one got too angry with me. I mean they weren't that bad and most of them laughed." Seeing my unamused face he continued to speak. "Anyway, I happened to ask Felix to show me to his quarters and he let me know where everyone's rooms were. So I waited for him to leave me in his room and I made my way into Jane's. I made it straight to her bathroom and poured purple semi-permanent hair dye into her shampoo."

I looked at him in disbelief, wondering where the fuck he got the hair dye. I was about to open my mouth to answer when Marcus' booming laughter echoed across the courtyard. Everyone froze in their spots, staring at Marcus incredulously. I was confused at first at everyone's reactions until I remembered that Marcus didn't normally laugh like that. Even Caius and Aro were looking at him in wonder.

I shook my head at the utter absurdity of this whole situation.

Everyone was still staring at Marcus as he left an amused smile on his face, until Aro cleared his throat to get everyone's attention including my own.

"Do you mind kindly dropping my guards from your shields?" He asked me.

I wanted to say no but I didn't want to ruin the tentative friendship we were building. If I said no right now it would ruin all the progress I had made so I begrudgingly popped my shields from around their bodies and let them fall down to the ground like meteors creating craters as they fell onto the ground.

Marcus chuckled at the action.

"I think this is punishment enough, don't you think Bella." Caius asked me looking at the state of the twins. He looked both amused and angered that their two most powerful guards had been left immobile by me.

I was going to say yes but changed my mind. I needed to make myself clear again. "Actually I don't think so. Damon was an idiot and he will apologize to Jane when she recovers but I do not think his prank deserved the punishment she and her brother decided to implement. Which was not their right to do so in the first place. Your guards can help them fuse back together but they will not kill more humans to do so. Instead they will drink out of blood bags to help with their recovery. Don't you agree Aro?" I asked him directly. I knew his word meant more than the rest of the two kings. Especially since I knew they were both two of his favorites, but he needed to know I would not stand for her entitlement. It would not be accepted by me. Everyone in this castle bowed down to her because of her power but I wouldn't and in extension neither would my boys.

He looked at me thoughtfully, debating whether to agree with my decision or not. Seeing the debate in his brother's face, Caius' mouth slightly lifted up in the corners. Was that a smile?

Finally coming to a decision, Aro nodded at me. "You are right Bella. His prank did not warrant such a reaction. I will speak with her when she recovers about accepting a harmless prank." He concluded. Basically letting me know that her haughty attitude would not be welcomed by me and she needed to change it immediately.

I nodded in response Aro dismissed everyone except four other minor guards as he instructed them to help both Alec and Jane fuse their body parts together and then send them to his office once recovered.

The only ones left behind were us, Felix and Marcus. I turned back to my boys and realized that Paul was completely naked. He was covering himself up with his hands and I arched an eyebrow at his predicament. Felix took his robe off and threw it at Paul, "Cover yourself up wolf boy." Which Paul quickly did as he is wrapped it around his body.

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful but man do you smell awful." Paul complained as he wrinkled his nose.

Everyone laughed except for Marcus and me, but he still looked amused at their antics. "Thank you for letting me know Marcus." I said.

He nodded at me. "Anytime Bella. Now if you will excuse me I will head to my room now." He said as he quickly departed and left us alone.

"I'm still not done with you Damon." I reminded him, making sure to let him know he wasn't off the hook yet. He looked like he wanted to say something but he quickly nodded instead as he saw both Japer and Paul shake his head at him telling him it was the wrong thing to do.

"Thanks for getting the Masters for me Felix. I know you did it to protect these idiots from Jane and Alec."

"Hey!" I heard both Paul and Jasper protest at my words.

Felix chuckled but nodded his head. "My pleasure Bella. I'm glad you really are shaking this place up. Don't be too harsh on Damon. That shit was really funny."

"It really was. Everyone in the castle was feeling happy, laughing at Damon's antics." Jasper added.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Do not encourage him Jasper." I warned. I could not let Damon think this was ok, he needed to think before he acted. This could have really gone wrong, he risked not only his life but the lives of both Jasper and Paul. If I would have arrived a second later, who knows what else could have happened. I couldn't just follow them everywhere in this castle, we were here for a purpose and Damon was ruining it.

"Let's go to my room." I said sternly without looking at anyone. Losing all of my sense of relief when I felt the gravity of the situation. I strode purposefully to my room. The guys following silently behind me. Except for Felix who knew it was not the time to join us.

We made it into my room and gestured for them to all sit on the sofa as I paced in front of them. I was getting angrier by the second and I felt Jasper trying to influence me but I blocked his power and looked at him sharply. This was not the time.

"I told you to be careful Damon." I said as I zeroed in on him.

He looked up at me with worry at my tone of voice, he'd never seen me this angry before. He opened his mouth to say something but Paul elbowed him on his side. He knew exactly how upset I was and knew I had to speak my mind before I exploded.

"Do you have any fucking clue what could have happened if I were a single second later?" I asked rhetorically. I didn't need him to answer. I closed my eyes trying to erase my fears. "If it weren't for the tugging in my chest I would have never known you were in trouble. Not only that but you should also be thankful I was with Marcus at the time. As soon as I felt it he told me it was you that needed me, I was so scared I fucking teleported for the first time!" I felt like crying now. There was a giant lump stuck in my throat that prevented me from continuing to speak.

I looked at Paul and he immediately knew what was wrong. He got up and rushed toward me, pulling me into his arms. "Shhhh…" he cajoled.

"I felt it Paul" I said as I squeezed my eyes shut at the pain. "I…" but I couldn't finish what I wanted to say as a tear slid down my face. I was shaking with the intensity of my emotions and I pushed my face into his chest as I squeezed him to me, trying my hardest not to cry. I felt a cold hand touch my back and I nodded at him. Letting Jasper know he could help me control my emotions now. Slowly I came back to myself and my body relaxed into Paul's. I released a long breath that I didn't know I was holding. He continued to stroke my hair until I felt ready to let him go. He unwrapped his arms from around me but he stood next to me and continued to hold my hand.

I was calm enough to look at Damon now and the look on his face was one I had never seen before. I let go of Paul's hand and kneeled in front of him grabbing onto his hands. "I know we haven't known each other for very long Damon and I know you care for me but what you don't understand is how deeply I care about my friends and family. You are so special to me you cannot even understand the depth of my feelings for you. I love you so much Damon and the thought of losing you…" I stopped as my voice cracked, trying to reign in my emotions once again.

Looking down at my face Damon picked me up from the floor and placed me in his lap, squeezing me into him in a fierce hug. "I'm sorry Bella. Fuck I'm so sorry. I didn't know…." But he stopped talking as he changed what he was going to say. "It's not an excuse and I promise from now on I will listen to your words carefully. I love you too Bella, so much. You're the first real friend I've ever had and I'm sorry I put that in jeopardy today." I could tell his words were sincere and it filled me with love. He continued to hug me on his lap until we both calmed down.

Sometime later he picked me up and carried me to my bed and gently lay me down, he then removed my shoes and jeans. He walked to the other side of the bed and pulled me to him. I snuggled into his side feeling exhausted from my emotions. "I promise I'll be a better friend Bella. I swear." He vowed into my ear. I nodded at his promise and closed my eyes wishing this day would come to an end.