Chapter 4

Baby Steps, Idiot

Scott

There was blood on the floor of the throne room.

Not a lot of it, just specks, invisible to the human eye, but clear as day to his new vampire ones. He didn't quite know how to feel about it. He'd just eaten minutes prior, enjoy it, revelled in it even, but it felt…different, seeing it like that. Knowing that the Volturi fed from humans, even had them brought to the throne room, innocents and that there wasn't any true selection or screening process for them, it caused his stomach to twist.

'Ah, young Scott,' said Aro, holding a papery hand out for his, clasping one between the two. Oh, right, tactile telepathy. Scott wondered if he knew he looked like a Mr Potato Head – Mr Onion Head. – did he need some sun? Would that make him feel better? Shit, should he be saying that in his head? 'Immortality becomes you. How was your first hunt?'

'Exciting.' Scott gave, not quite knowing how to trust what felt like a distasteful echo in Aro's words. But his parents didn't raise a hell child so manners it was. 'The preserve is wonderful, the city even more so. I apologise for the interruption over the past few days though, those probably weren't the nicest sounds to hear.'

Caius gave him a look that set his teeth on edge like he was something less than the first under his patent leather shoe. 'Do not insult us, child. You are not the first to be Turned, and you will not be the last. We would not have built the cells the way we have if sound travelled as far as our dwellings.'

'Peace, brother,' Aro crooned, releasing his hand, red eyes focusing once more, 'he was only being polite. I see you put our Felix and Demetri through their paces with your speed.'

Scott smiled and let his hand fall, wanting nothing more than to shrug but these were the Vampire Royalty and he highly fucking doubted he could do just that. But also, the blood had dried, and he could feel it sticking to his arm hairs and that really was quite distracting. 'Sports, I think, finally paid off.'

He felt off-kilter.

He couldn't really describe it to be anything other than that. Like they had all the knowledge and power and like he had to decipher everything they were saying. But he didn't understand why that was. The Volturi were there for a reason, right, to keep the Vampire world a secret from the humans and kept the Vampire population under control. to uphold the law and deal with justice if necessary. That made sense, he understood that part.

It was the way Aro was almost drinking him in, and Caius was staring him down that had Scott wanting to hunch in on himself or snarl with his teeth, even with Marcus's calm gaze encouraging him from his place on the dais. He didn't like feeling like something in a petri-dish. Was this how women felt walking down the street at night?

Fuck, he had to apologise to the girls somehow, this was horrible.

Demetri stepped up beside him then, smooth and casual, with a graceful dip at the waist, not a hair or hem out of place. 'Masters, now that you've seen Scott for yourselves, may we get him settled?'

Aro nodded rapidly, 'Of course, of course, my dear Demetri. You're all excused. Oh, young Scott, it is delightful to have you with us, I'm sure.'

Scott nodded, wanting to scratch the blood and dirt off his arms, 'I'm excited about what I can learn from you.'

Aro beamed, looking like his skin was going to shatter at a butterfly's touch and waved them to go. Demetri tipped his head to the doors and Felix fell into step as they closed behind them. Scott went to speak when Demetri just touched a finger to his lips with a minute shake of the head.

Oh, right, Scott could still hear them talking in the throne room, clear as day. So, don't talk shit where they can hear, cool, got it.

They made their way to the Guard's quarters and to his room, exactly the way it was before he died. Fuck, he had died three days ago, that was weird. Felix shut the door. 'Now, you can talk.'

'Are they always that intense?' the words fell out of his mouth before he could catch them, staring at the two Guard members in front of him. They had to know what was weird and what wasn't, right?

'Not…always,' Demetri gave, flicking the clasp of the robe but letting it hang there on Scott's shoulders. 'But Aro was wondering if you had a gift, hence how long he was holding your hand, though I don't think he found anything, but it can take a little while, as your instincts and senses settle and acclimate. On a different note, shower or just rinse off for now?'

Scott let his gaze flick to the sink, the shower, 'I don't want to wreck the plumbing.'

Felix snorted gently. 'The amount of times someone has, even as we get older, is exponential. At least five of us have the skills to fix it, you're good, fratello.'

Scott dropped his gaze to his arms, the pink still stained there from where he had given his fingers a tongue bath – oh, that was not a good image, why did he just think that? He shrugged off the robe from his shoulders and let it drop to the ground, mournful at the fact that he had ruined the silk lining. It felt a bit like being in the locker room after practice, standing there in his boxer briefs. Weird but there was still the Bro-Code so as not to completely check out each other's junk.

Scott couldn't give a shit, to be honest, by the end of practice. He wanted to get home to a warm shower because ninety per cent of the time, he was running or playing in the rain and mud. None of that was fun long-term. Sometimes it still felt like he could hear the squelch of his mud-and-rain-soaked socks on his feet because his toes had lost feeling ten minutes into practice.

He stepped into the bathroom and came to a stop when he caught his reflection. He looked like something out of a fucking zombie film, blood streaking all the way down to his collarbone it felt like. 'Fuck, that's still so fucking weird, dude.'

His comment got snickers as he levelled with the sink. Images of that sleek tap mangled beyond repair flashed across his mind and he caught Demetri's eye. 'How do I…'

'I'll show you when you don't want to tear your skin off.' The tracker smiled and with a gentle flick, the water was on, and Scott could get the blood off.

It felt like he could feel every molecule of the water gliding across his skin, every cell of the blood being wiped from his arms, all the way up to his elbows. It ran down his chest as he got the blood off his face and neck, pink drops splashing onto the cement beneath him.

Felix handed him a towel and Scott didn't even think, just took it and then rrrrripp, 'What the fuck, bro?'

The towel was torn nearly all the way down and he hadn't even fucking put strength into it. Scott scowled at his grip, wiped himself dry amidst the laughter of the other two and made his way into the bedroom. His bag was still where he had thrown it before everything, but he knew that there was a specific pair of trousers he wanted.

His black skinnies with the tears in the knees.

'You'll get to the point,' Felix explained, grinning down at him as the male lifted the bag onto the bed with ease, undid the zipper and clincher with a smoothness Scott envied, 'where thinking about the amount of pressure to use in your grip won't even cross your mind. Unless you want to impress someone, that is.'

'But you lot are vampires too. Shouldn't the strength kink thing be none existent? Considering everything?'

Felix tipped his head, 'Yes but things can echo into this life. What you liked before, can bleed into this one and sometimes it's less about impressing and more about indulging or getting clothes off as quickly as possible. Which one?'

Scott felt a bit like a toddler as Felix gathered the cuffs and went to a knee in front of him after he had picked them out. 'This feels weird, dude.'

'That's because you're making it weird.' Felix threw to him as Demetri tucked things in the chest of drawers by another mirror, snickering to himself at their banter. Felix hadn't tugged them up enough, so Scott stood there and baby, baby, baby pinched the hem, not trusting himself with the belt loops, to settle them a little higher. 'Put your tongue away.'

'Shut up.' Scott snipped, concentrating so fucking hard on not ripping these. He would actually cry if he ripped them. If there was one thing Scott hated having to do, it was having to break clothes in. Fuck, he hated it.

'Well done.' Demetri grinned at him, dimpling, as Scott got them to sit comfortably without tearing the fabric, even if he stood for a second like a video game character on pause, waiting to see if he could hear things tear. 'Now, how about a shirt?'

'Are you allergic to sleeves?' Felix looked at him, as he searched through his t-shirts. Most of them 'cut slutty' as Lucy had said when he had started to do it when he reached seventeen. Look, Scott had filled out for baseball, he was proud of his arms and shoulders, like hell, he'd cover them in sleeves. Besides, he was fucking dead, what was he gonna do? Get frostbite? Burn to a crisp? He doubted it.

'No.' He scowled at Felix, before looking to Demetri, 'I don't want to tear them pulling them over my shoulders.'

'Try,' the tracker encouraged, stepping up, 'pick the one you wouldn't be upset to see go.'

Scott stood there, thinking on it and gingerly nabbed his Screams from the Attic one, the shirt soft under his fingers. Daniel hadn't exactly been happy when he'd taken scissors to the sleeves, but Elizabeth had used the scraps to patch projects up, so at least the cabbage got used. 'How the fuck did I forget how to dress myself?'

Felix cackled beside him, the sound warm and bright in the waking sun and Demetri puffed a few himself. Scott carefully – he put more effort into trying not to strain the fabric than he had in all of his years of school, fucking hell – gathered the shirt, got an arm in and ripppp.

'Fuck!

Demetri took the fabric from him with a smile. 'We'll fix it. Pick another, this time, remember that when you go to pull the shirt, the fibres thin as you stretch it so even softer.'

He nodded and took a wash-softened grey one. This time, Scott managed it, the shirt falling down easily, and he whooped when it happened. 'You know, I thought the first time I had sex was the best time in my life. Sorry, Zoe. I got a shirt on by myself as a vampire.'

Felix was nearly on the floor, laughing to himself and Scott ignored him, instead grinning at Demetri, wanting nothing more than to see what he thought. It was weird. Scott had never really noticed guys, not passed the silver screen or tv shows – hello, Ardeth Bay – but his body warmed when Demetri looked at him, red eyes warm like raspberries with amusement. His stomach bubbled when Scott noticed – was that pride?

'Was that so hard?' said Demetri, lightly, eyebrow going up.

'Immensely. I'm never changing now.'

Felix snorted again. 'You forgot shoes.'

'No, I didn't, that was a conscious choice.'

He picked up Scott's slightly battered skate shoes, 'These ones?'

'Do I have to?' that wasn't at all a whine.

Felix gave him a look. 'I will tie them for you.'

'Oh, go ahead then.' said Scott and fell back onto the bed. Demetri was pretty even from this angle, with all warm skin and fantastic hair. 'So, wait, I don't need to worry about socks?'

'We don't sweat. Or cry. Or secrete fluids.' Demetri explained, watching him back.

Scott propped himself up on his elbows, not intentionally tensing his stomach or his arms. '…Wait?'

'None of us wants to know how we can come if we can't cry or whatever,' Felix shook his head, double tying his laces, just like how Scott liked, 'just that we can. Because that would fucking suck.'

Scott fell back onto the bed again, trying to wrap his head around that fact. Demetri snagged his hand to pull him upright, the skins of their palms almost burning him. 'Don't think too hard about it. Most of us don't or at least try not to.'

'I think I gave myself a headache.'

'You're dead, Scott.' Felix gave, 'You can't get them anymore. Now, onto meeting everyone again.'

'Wait, one more thing.' Scott moved over to the bedside table where his necklace was, Willow's daffodil signet ring clinking gently beside the bar and he carefully pulled it over, the bar and ring coming to rest someplace around his sternum. 'Now, we're good.'

'What's the significance?'

'Uh,' Scott had to think about it, trying to find the memory. 'My grandparents are from Scotland, so one's for where they came from and then the other is Forks. My dad gave it to me when I was eighteen.'

'And the ring?'

'Willow's, it was her grandmother's.' he nodded, 'She tucked it into my pocket when she realised what I was going to do.'

Demetri looked at him, and his head tipped, dark hair falling. 'You two are close.'

Scott nodded again. 'Yes,' was all he said.

Because it wasn't any of their business, his relationship with his best friend, not really, they hadn't been around not nearly as long enough to get an understanding of it. So, Scott didn't bother explaining. Eventually, Willow would be all he had left of his human life, so he would cherish what he had with a gossamer grip, lest he destroys it without meaning.

It was a whirlwind, meeting all of the Guard properly for the first time. Santiago, Corin and Alec were all the same, though Jane was a little warmer to greet him. It was Chelsea though, who had Scott on the quiet back foot.

He knew that she had the power to create and destroy bonds and it was like Scott could feel her work, strumming at chords in his chest like a professional guitarist. Something in him had him internally reaching for whatever bonds he had to Willow, the Cullens, his family, the connections to his family, and putting them in a safe surrounded by adamantium walls. The little brunette flinched back in shock. 'I don't like to be rude to people I haven't gotten a chance to meet, that's not who I am but I would appreciate it if you stayed away from whatever bonds I have. Please.'

'Scott is here as a guest of the Volturi,' Demetri declared, staring them all down. 'He's to learn from us, be taught how to defend himself, and if he wants to go back to the Cullens, he is more than welcome to. That means no manipulation of anything, no use of gifts in anything less than a training scenario. He has been given the status of a guest by Master Marcus himself, has been sired by him, and therefore is to be left alone. Understood?'

Scott wasn't gonna lie and say that Demetri giving those orders out wasn't attractive. In fact, maybe Scott wasn't as straight as he initially thought.

Again, it was strange. When he was human, he had been petrified to even acknowledge that he thought that the Cullen males were more than a little attractive and that it wasn't just Alice that had caught his eye. But Forks was so small, so…backwards in their thought process, that even admitting that maybe he liked guys just as much as he liked girls, if not maybe a little more, had Scott breaking into a sweat sometimes when he woke up from a nice dream.

A reason he had wanted to explore and travel by himself was to potentially explore that side of him. With people that didn't know who he was, where he came from or who grew up with him. He wanted to have that safety of anonymity when he figured out who he was without Forks breathing down the back of his neck. He could have come out to the girls and knew that they would accept him even whilst he was figuring things out, but his sister had a big fucking mouth, and he didn't want to give her ammunition in a fight.

That reminded him, Scott should probably send a postcard or something home within the next few weeks. Let his parents know he wasn't in a ditch somewhere. Oh, maybe someone could nab one from Volterra, Elizabeth enjoyed the architecture here. He'd have to scope out who had the best taste in art. Because like hell, he'd send home a shitty one. Willow wouldn't let him live it down if Scott was honest.

'And you've decided on animals?' Jane sneered, cheeks eternally round with youth as they sat in the common area, scattered about on chairs and sofas, even across the ground.

It felt like he was staring at Claudia from Interview with a Vampire. Except instead of a five-year-old, Scott was seeing a girl forever on the cusp of teenagehood. He wondered, softly to himself, if being stuck there was difficult for both her and Alec or if things were just emotionally different, if not physically or mentally.

Scott looked at her, rested his chin on his hand and couldn't help but picture Sophie, and took a page out of how he spoke with her. 'Is it naïve? Probably, but I want to see how long I can last doing this. I know it's possible, shouldn't I be given a choice to face my own hubris? You can laugh at me if I fail, how about that?'

There was a moment in Jane's gaze, he could see, the uncertainty, confusion, the utter bewilderment, and she cocked her hair, blonde bob swinging in a sheet. 'You truly think you'll fail?'

'Isn't that the point of evolution though? See what failed, work out how to improve, and go from there. If I fail then I know what boundary to push, and what to measure my limits off of. I can't trust myself to be around others if I don't know how deep the well goes.'

Jane looked at him then, like he was a species she couldn't identify. 'I still think it's stupid.'

'Probably.' Scott laughed before turning his gaze back to the collective mob around him. 'So, what is it that you lot do around here? Apart from looking like the love children of the Sith and the Godfather trilogy, that is.'

Heidi lounged along one of the chaise lounges, clad in a leather skirt and wrap shirt that made her breasts look spectacular. 'Shop, spar, gossip, fuck, feed. What did you do when you were human?'

'At this time of the morning,' it was around 6 am, 'sleep or go out for a run during the baseball and track seasons.'

Felix slid down beside him, a remote control for the TV in his hand, 'The highlights for the football match is usually on at this time.'

'Soccer.'

'You're in Italia, amico mio, it's football. Now, shush and be educated in true sport.'

'Fucker, did you not just get schooled a handful of hours ago on just how fast I am?' his hand itched for a bat now, to showcase his swing and just how athletic he could be.

'Wait,' Heidi moved then, smooth, and elegant as water, 'did you beat our beloved Felix in a race?'

'Beat?' Demetri drawled, 'Felya was left in the dust, Heidochka, and it was spectacular.'

The remote was thrown onto the table with a clatter, 'He did not.'

'Yes, he did, Felya.' The tracker laughed, and once again, Scott wanted to bottle that sound. If he could sell it, he could make a mint.

Alec sat up from where he had sprawled on his stomach beside Jane's seat on the floor, cloak chucked beside her, and his sleeves rolled up as he played a Gameboy Advance and what Scott thought was Pokémon Emerald. Which made Scott want to get his own handheld to compare each other's Pokédex but he didn't want to break it, that was the last thing he wanted. 'We could wait till the sun goes down and time it? There should be a few maps around here, we could make a track whilst we wait for it to get dark, two of us stand at the end, with a stopwatch for each of them and then we see who's actually fastest.'

'We'd have to do it a few times.' Scott mused, scratching at his head. 'Just to make sure that it's truly scientific.'

'You're going down, Forrester.'

'I've already beaten you before.' Scott tossed a hand, 'But you know, age before beauty and all. Where are the maps?'

Again, a little bit of a short one but this week has been a bit hectic IRL. For those that are interested, the interview went well I think, so hopefully, it goes well with the test piece they wanted. However, this may mean that chapters may be put on the wayside for a few weeks, just so I can get my feet under me but I know not to count my chickens before they hatch, it's just a situation I want you all to be aware of so I don't get the lot of you showing up, wanting chapters like crazy people.

Anyway, the next chapter is Willow once more, with a bit of dress finalising, and mural finishing and then I think we're about ready to go on the wedding prep side of things so we'll be getting on with that side of the plot. I just didn't want to cut and paste again, I know some of you like the moments in between the canon so I want to give a bit of everything for people.

Let me know what you think, and what you want Scott to go through as a newborn, do you think he should fail or prove Jane wrong?

I'll see you next Fine Life Friday,

Enjoy,

K x