Succubus (Hiatus)

by SavKelly

After her attack in Phoenix at the age of sixteen, and the re-occurring incidents, Bella moved to Forks with Charlie hoping to ascend into this town with a fresh start. All alone Bella has had to endure what she has become, now hoping to regain normalcy again. Though, little did she know that this town would bring out the reminder of what she now was, a life draining demon.

20. Party

All rights to the characters and to the Twilight Saga go to Stephenie Meyer. Enjoy!(:

Chapter 19: Party

Saturday March 5th, 2005

Pulling up to the neighborhood of Ethan's, Mike's suburban was filled with awe as we passed by the multiple large homes. They were all nice and relatively updated which surprised me. I must have passed by this neighborhood many times on the road, but never took the time to notice it. Though, my eyes had been glued to the house that we were slowing down in front of.

The one-story log palace of a home was outstretched and curved horizontally, with gabled roofing that divided different sections of the home. The foundation was lined with stacked clip stone and the front porch held large wooden log columns that created a triangular design that held the front gable. The front facing vertical wood slatted three car garage stretched on the far-right side of the house with a connecting in-law suite above it and four dormers, that showed off the high ceilings of the home, cascaded unevenly along the slanted roof. If you were to see this home, it relatively fit well with the forestry gloom of Forks. In the wealthy kind of way.

Jessica and Lauren were leaning against her mercury on their cellphones as they noticed the van pulling into the driveway behind them. Jess's eyes lifted in our view at our arrival as she pushed the phone into her bag that slung on her arm and walked over to the driver's side in a brisk skip.

"Where have you guys been?" She asked, pulling Mike's door open. "We've been waiting out here for like ten minutes."

Mike pushed himself out of the driver's seat as he turned the key and looked around in awe, adjusting his eyes from the sun that was climbing over the roof of the house.

"Sorry, Jess," I apologized, climbing out of middle row of seats, and pulling my damaged sunglasses onto my rim of my nose. "My fault."

"Bella!" Her eyes glimmered with excitement. Her arms flung over my shoulders, but her head poked up when she noticed the three boys with russet skin climbing out of the van behind Ben. "And you brought some friends."

Her arms dropped from around me as she looked them over, waving idly to Angela who had climbed out from the passenger door and walked around to meet us.

"Guys, this is Jessica and Lauren," I motioned my arm towards the girl who still was leaning against the white mercury on her phone who didn't seem to notice or look up from it. "And this is Jacob, Quil, and Embry."

"I— Hi." She nodded, breaking her eyes from them as she smiled back at me, and linked her arm with mine, tugging me to the house beckoning for the group to follow.

As we walked inside, I wasn't wrong about the high ceilings, but what I didn't expect was how inviting the home was. It was an open floor plan with large windows bringing light in the house from the sunshine alone, and the interior was also lined with logs with a large stone fireplace in the center of the living room. The open kitchen had been the same to be expected. Dark wooden cabinets and kitchen island with granite countertops and a black stoned sink in the center of the island. The large stove had been surrounded with stacked stones and a long horizontal window was placed near the far side of it, bringing in the sun.

The inner of the house was buzzing with music rampaged through the speakers in the living room, causing an excited and feel-good atmosphere to buckle in the confines. I had been curious to see where most of the guests were, which I assumed would be outside.

I had even noticed Jacob, Embry and Quil were struck with the nature of the home. I wondered what kind of parties they have been to because their faces looked like this had been all new to them.

And it was new to me, as well, but that was okay for today. I wanted to try something new that I normally wouldn't have done. Something normal.Maybe for that is why I wanted to come to this party with my friends. Maybe that is why I waned Jacob and his friends to come with me. Normalcy could possibly remove the downfall I had been wreaking myself with. High schoolers enjoyed house parties and I knew so from the tv shows and movies Renee would have Phil and I watch with her, including the rumors from my old school. I just needed an escape. An escape from what I was.

"I honestly can't believe we never knew his family had money," Jessica spurted as she chewed on a baby carrot she grabbed off a tray in the kitchen. "Like, really. If Jenny can hold him down for another couple of years, she'd never have to work a day in her life."

I raised my brow at her. "You do know this is his parents' money. Not Ethan's."

"Well duh," she snorted. "But he will probably work with his father or mother or whoever brings in this motherlode and take over the business."

I pondered the thought. "Ethan doesn't really seem like a businessman to me."

"Really?" she paused mid-chew; her eyes had found a distraction from our conversation. "Maybe not a businessman, but what exactly does that look like to you." She nodded in a direction behind me. I could hear an instant shrill of giggle and laughter as I turned around, seeing an unrecognizable man with his arm wrapped around the small Jenny who looked adoringly up at him. The blonde stranger was talking to Jacob, Quil, and Embry with his knee pressed onto the arm of the couch, laughing as he held a drink in his hand.

"Oh, wow," Lauren chortled.

It took me a moment to adjust my eyes to his appearance considering it wasn't what his normal style would be. His blonde hair blown to the side, wearing an unbuttoned shirt that hung loosely against him with the sleeves rolled up above his elbow and exposing his pale chest. The rest of his attire was a khaki pair of swim shorts and dark aviators covering his face. The bright smile had caught me off guard and I felt slightly embarrassed for staring with a curious eye for far longer than I should have.

This couldn't have been Ethan, could it? His demeanor seemed so unlike him. He resembled a college frat boy.

"Hey, Ethan" Jessica called with a painted smirk. His laugh trailed as he looked in our direction, and his eyes had caught my own stare. His smile faltered until his grin grew brighter back at me, flashing his teeth as he quickly unfolded Jenny from his arm and came towards me in a warm embrace.

"You came!" Ethan exhaled with delight in his voice, breathing in the tendrils of my hair.

"I told you I was coming," I laughed. "And I promised those friends of mine a heated pool." I nodded to my three guests who began their way over towards us. "Seems like you already have met."

"Yeah," Quil flattened his hand on Ethan's shoulder. "He's not too bad, and your place is really great, bro."

"Thanks, man," Ethan turned around, reciprocating Quil's hand with his own. He turned to look back at the rest of us, a smile still bright on his face as Jenny walked back over with annoyance on her expression as she looked back up at him. "How about I show you guys the backyard. That's basically where everyone is anyways."

Through the large glass back doors, we could immediately see the expansive backyard that had been private with the large trees around the property. The weather outside had been warm and inviting with slight cloud shade that could not hold back the streams of light that were desperate to shine through. I smiled as the warmth had hit my face. Farthest towards the back of the yard was mostly a flat piece of grassed land that looked to have been recently mowed. Off the back of the house was a large wooden porch holding an outdoor kitchen and fireplace along with stairs leading down to rectangular pool that was also lined with stone and a connecting hot tub.

"Wow," Angela mouthed silently, walking up towards the porch railing. Crowds of students were stationed along the deck as they enjoyed conversation over the music on the outdoor speakers that played at an equal amount of volume. Several of the girls had decided to sit on the edge of the pool in laughter instead of partaking in the water where most of the male student body were congregated in throwing around a volleyball over a net.

This is how I should interact.

Normalcy, Bella.

"Jacob here told me he is a mechanic," Ethan smiled.

"The best I know," I mused back. "I wouldn't let him into your garage if you plan to host the party."

"Funny," Jake rolled his eyes. "That red truck of hers is actually one that I worked on for a while. My dad gave it to her when she came onto the reservation." He smirked, hinting a wink into my direction. "She said she loved it."

"Oh?" Lauren leaned forward against the railing, raising a calculating eyebrow in his direction. "The same truck she had towed?"

I didn't intentionally mean to glare into her direction, but I just had on instinct. It wasn't that I have willingly withheld this information from him that my truck was no longer running, I just never had gotten around to saying so. I winced before sparing a look into Jacob's direction who held confusion across his expression as he looked back at me.

"What do you mean towed?"

"Yeah," Lauren smirked. "She had Edward tow it for her after it broke down on the side of the road. If you are the best mechanic she knows, I would have thought she would have at least called you for help."

I had almost felt the nails piercing into the palm of my hand as my fingers curled into a fist. I wouldn't consider myself to be a violent person, or aggressive in any sense, but if I didn't know any better, it sounded that Lauren had intentionally been trying to entice a disturbance.

"No, she didn't. Bells, where did you get it towed?"

"I—" My lips parted in a pause. "I'm not sure, honestly. I never asked."

No, I never did ask Edward what had happened to my truck. Recollecting now on the thought, I felt ashamed of myself for just allowing him and Rosalie to just handle my issues that day without checking in on the whereabouts of it or offering to help pay for the services. In fact, I was even more embarrassed of my behavior. Throwing a nonsense tantrum over a boy who had intentionally been trying to torture me that day in the parking lot. There was no need to take my truck out with my rage. It never stood a chance.

Jacob chuckled. "Well, if you find out, Billy and I can go over to wherever it is, and I can look at it. The truck was on its last leg, but I can at least try to get it started for you."

"Yeah," I sheepishly smiled at him. "That would be great, thanks. I had to ask Jessica to pick me up yesterday for school, so it would be nice to get the truck back."

"I really don't mind, Bella." Jessica pushed her hair back over her shoulder as she levitated closer into the sunlight. "Gives me a reason to get to class earlier anyways."

-o-

"You know, I really don't get what Mr. Banner wants from me," Mike said with annoyance as he leaned his head back against the side of the hot tub, soaking up to his neck in the bubbles.

Mike, Jessica, Angela, Embry, Lauren, Samantha and I had found the hot tub to finally had dulled out of the others of the student body and immediately climbed in to take it before others decided to. Not too long ago, Jacob had gotten antsy with an idea in his mind that he couldn't withhold himself from and had taken Ethan's offer to show him the garage. Apparently, he had something in there worth seeing and Quil had followed them there.

It wasn't a long wait for Jessica to show her scrutiny towards my choice of bathing suit attire. I simply had a black and white striped tankini that my mother had packed for me after I protested the idea of bringing any swimwear in the first place because of the constant rain and cloud cover here in Forks. Now, I had been appreciative of Renee's insistence on it because it had gone to good use.

"The antigens and antibodies crap are confusing, and he expects me to understand that B antibodies don't go with a B blood type?"

"Mike," Jessica exhaled. "Just look at it like it's opposite. B antibodies go with A blood types and A antibodies go with B. You're just making it more difficult for yourself."

"Yeah, but don't confuse antibodies with antigens. Because A antigens will go with A blood type and the same for B," Angela countered.

"Yeah, no." Mike huffed. "What about you, Bella? You never did the blood typing lab."

"I already know mine," I said. "I have O-negative."

"Are we really talking about school right now?" Lauren muttered her distain.

"We know you don't have anything to worry about anyways," Mike rolled his eyes. "You practically will have an automatic A in the class by sitting next to Cullen."

"I resent that," I splashed the heated water into his face, causing him to cough as it had gotten into his mouth. He wiped his forearm across his face, grabbing a nearby towel to dry his face off. When he looked back up at me, a smile played in his eyes. "I am perfectly capable of getting an A all on my own."

"Bella was in advanced courses back in Phoenix."

The others muttered, Yeah, we know.

My cheeks warmed as I sworn my appreciation to her. "Just read the textbook and it explains it. Or just memorize the information and it'll get you through the course if you can't actually learn it."

"I'm not dull in the brain, Bella. I just have a harder time with concepts when they are not hands-on work," He chuckled. "Besides, where is Cullen anyways? I thought you two were friends"

"Did you not invite him?" Lauren asked.

I smiled apologetically in his direction for the unintentional insult. "I did invite him," I nodded, sinking lower into the heat of the water, facing my face upwards towards the sun as I adjusted my sunglasses on my face. "But his family went camping this weekend near Goat Rock."

"Goat Rock?" Mike's nose scrunched as his eyebrows pulled together. "Place is full of bears, even on the trails. It's even worse during hunting season because we get hikers coming to the shop all the time telling us that they had to run away once."

I nodded in thought. On Thursday afternoon when Edward had drove me home after taking me to Seattle, he had told me that he and Emmett would be leaving that night to go hunting in Goat Rock. The bears must be an explanation for why they are going there during this time of the year, but I couldn't help wondering myself what this excursion really had been entailed for. Whether it was to hunt or to get away from me.

"I don't think you can run away from a bear," Jessica laughed, sliding herself closer to Mike. "Maybe they are just making it up."

"Doubt it," Mike replied. "Game wardens talked about it in their local paper saying that it's not the brightest idea to go hiking right now because of all the sightings. But maybe the Cullens will get eaten by bears or something and we won't have to be around them anymore," he chuckled a roll in his eyes as they cut to me. "Sorry."

I shook my head offering a softened smile. "I don't think we need to worry about them." I reveled in my silent joke.

"I don't really know why you hang around that guy anyways," Embry commented, leaning back with his arms wrapped behind his neck. "Their family is super weird."

I clicked my tongue as a humorous disbelieving smile tugged on my lips. "Embry I can't believe you," I laughed. "You're one to call weird."

"He's not wrong," Mike grumbled.

"Me?" His eyebrow danced as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. "Weird? Or am I just normal and you are in fact the strange one."

And I had no words as my eyebrows rose at his comment. In light, they were true. Embry was a normal boy who lived in La Push on the reservation achieving everyday as if it's just another. Go to school, go home and do homework, eat dinner with his family, and hangout on the beach with his friends. Then repeat the next day. I was the strange one here, the strange one definitely between the two of us, and the strange one out of the rest.

But I just smiled.

-o-

"How was the garage?" I shouted, leaning against the lounge chair in front of the pool with Angela and Samantha with my leg propped up on a towel. Jacob, Quil and Ethan were walking over towards us from the back door to the garage. Jacob's face held that bright warm smile, pleased with himself and the atmosphere around us. He had a skip in his step as he continued his conversation with words about cars that I didn't understand. I just was happy to see his joy. Their pace slowed as they walked towards us with their jaws slacked and their lips parted as they stared into my direction.

I didn't mean to gloat about knowing that they had been enamored about my appearance, but it had just been a fact at this point that what I am draws attention to myself. My appearance alone always will especially after recent feeding, but I did wonder if the truth was given, if their enamor would change for me. If knowing what I am and what I do to survive could possibly flick a switch in their head that I am not so beautiful as my appearance tells them I am.

My appearance alone was just a mere distraction.

"Want to pick up your jaw from the floor, boys?" Samantha asked, shielding her eyes from the sun.

Quil burst in laughter, shoving Jacob in the shoulder, causing his eye contact to break from me as he wrapped his arm around Quil's, and shoved him into his chest, giving him a noogie to his scalp. I smiled at them as they got nearer.

It wasn't just them though, it had been most of the male student body along with several females that had offered their attention in my direction, but their stares had become a norm at this point. I was used to the strangers I didn't speak to looking in my direction, but it was different when it was Jacob and Quil. Much different.

"You wouldn't believe what they have in there, Bells." Jacob's bright toothy grin grew as he crouched on the stoned ground next to my chair, leaning his arm against me. "His dad has this vintage 1967 Ford Mustang GT fastback that they bought at an auction as a project car."

"Vintage? Wow," I exhaled my sarcasm. Quil snorted an eye roll in my direction.

"You don't know what I just said, huh," Jacob chuckled. "If you came down to see me more in La Push, I could teach you a thing or two."

I held in my wince at his comment.

I leaned my head back, facing it towards the sun. "What would I need to know what a nineteen—whatever GT fastback for anyways?"

"1967," Jacob corrected. "And because…" He walked two fingers up the palm of my hand, playfully. I could tell there was a hint in his tone where he had something in mind for me to consider. "I was hoping that you and I could work on it together."

I lifted myself up on my elbows, taking a better look at him. His eyebrows were raised as he tortured me with that boyish grin that he knew he could use to his advantage on me. Sickening, honestly.

"Come again?"

"Oh, c'mon," he laughed. "It won't be so bad, and it could be fun. You just haven't come down to the reservation in a while. And…" his eyes lowered into a frown as his voice softened to a whisper that he had hoped only I could hear. "I don't know. Maybe it's because there isn't much to do there, and I get that. But this could give us something to pass the time."

And my heart shattered.

"Oh, Jacob…" I frowned, feeling a prick of tears forming on the edges of my eyes.

"My dad and I have been working on it for a couple of years now, but we can't figure out what extra parts we need for it or how to get it to start. It's honestly a piece of junk. Jacob is free to take it off our hands for a while if he can fix it," Ethan said.

"Piece of junk?" Quil chuckled in disbelief. "That car is an absolute classic and companies don't make cars like that anymore. Not to mention that Thunderbird you got in there."

Ethan shrugged. "My dad is a collector."

"Jake, you can't honestly believe I don't come down onto the reservation anymore because you bore me. That's impossible," I whispered, placing my hand on top of his as I shook my head. It was impossible. Jacob had been my favorite person to see. "And Quil seems to have a lot more knowledge on this and probably would do a better job helping you than I ever could do."

"No, Quil's not allowed to touch that car," he said with complete seriousness in his tone. "Besides, I just want you to help. Not him."

"I'm going to go find, Jenny," Ethan muttered, sparing another glance in my direction. "You two figure it out. I'll give my dad a call about it in the morning."

Jacob, Quil and I waved him off.

"That sounds like it would be a lot of fun, Bella," Angela mentioned with noting insinuation in her eyes.

I exhaled a breath. I didn't want to tell Jacob no. Farthest from what I wanted at all. If I was allowed back onto La Push, I would be there in a second and hangout all day in his garage with him if he would have me. But the treaty that I agreed to. The treaty that the Cullens had so generously allowed me to join with them for my protection was intact. What was I supposed to do with that?

I sighed. "Jacob," I began. "Ask Billy if that's fine, okay?"

His eyebrows knit together. "My dad? What for?"

"Just… ask."

Jacob looked at both Quil and Embry who both responded with an answerless shrug.

-o-

The music had been blaring louder on the outdoor speakers as now many of the students were now in the pool after the weather started cooling down in the afternoon where sun was beginning to lose the battle against the cloud shade and the drop in temperature. But the water was warm and inviting, so no one wanted to congregate inside just yet.

"Knock her off, Quil!" Embry gurgled in frustration as his mouth was filling with water, struggling to hold Quil up on his shoulders. The idea before had been humorous when Quil suggested it for a game of chicken fight.

"Just stand up!" Quil grunted in front of me with his fingers intertwined with mine as he tried to shove his weight forward using leverage with the heel of his foot to jab Embry repeatedly in the chest. I noticed the vein popping across his forehead as he struggled. "Looking at her… you wouldn't… think she was… quite this strong! Ugh!"

Some students were shouting my name for the win, while others were shouting Quil's. It had been almost evenly divided around those in the pool. Angela had been cheering me on in the background as she leaned against the wall of the pool.

"Freakishly strong?" Yes, maybe. "Or are you just freakishly weak?" I laughed, pushing my weight forward. Of course, I wouldn't cheat and use all my strength. Normally without what I am, Quil would have been able to use my balance issues and lack of muscle girth to knock me off with one push, but not this time. With only a small portion of strength I was using, I wanted to make this an even match for him.

Jacob's hold tightened on my thighs as his fingers pressed in deeper to take a step forward towards Embry as he was also trying to force my weight onto Quil. Looking down, I could see the determination in his eyes as he glared at Embry with a competitive smile. I wanted to win this for him.

"Shit!" Quil shouted as Embry gave out, collapsing into the water causing Quil to fall forward onto me in surprise and me to fall backwards off Jake's shoulders and into the water. Quil landed on me in the impact, causing me to crash into the water where Simone was hanging out behind.

I kicked off the pool floor to get back to the surface and helped Simone onto her feet who was kicking around the water in her attempts to resurface. Quil had already made it back up, jumping repeatedly in the water with his arms up, pumping his fist into the air.

"I am so sorry," I apologized eagerly to Simone while she pulled her soaked hair out of her face. But my apology must not have been genuine enough when I noticed the glare in her eyes as she looked back at me.

"You. Got. My. Hair. Wet!" Simone shouted at me, enunciating each word with a scratch. Flinging water off her hand, she turned away from me, pushing herself theatrically through the water towards the stairs of the shallow end while the gaggle of students laughed.

"She's in a pool. She knows that, right?" Jacob chortled, whipping his ponytail over his shoulder. "And she was standing directly in the war zone."

"She'll get over it," Quil said before re-tackling me back under the water. I yelped in surprise as I went back under the water, finding the rough surface of the bottom of the pool and using my hands to push myself back up. Quil was laughing back at me as I splashed water into his face seeking for whatever revenge I could get. "Looks like a win to me."

"You didn't win," Jacob countered. "You fell."
"Oh, hell yes I won." He cut his head towards Jacob. "First one into the water, right? And Bella fell in first." Quil looked back at me with a smug quiver in his eyebrow.

"Yeah," I slapped his upper arm. "When you fell on me!"

"Rules still apply. You hit the water first," He went around Jacob to high-five Embry who didn't look at all amused as he held his hand to the red mark on his chest where Quil had dug the foot of his heel into repeatedly.

"We'll get them next time," Jacob moved next to me, holding his hand up in the air for a high five. I nodded at him with an impish grin and had to reach so high in the air to reach his hand that I had to jump in the water to connect it. He laughed.

We both moved away from the center of the pool towards the edge where Angela was mostly enjoying the heat of the water instead of involving herself in conversation with the others. Jacob propped his arms up on the edge of the pool and I leaned against the wall next to Angela while she laughed with me over my near win. I still would count it as one considering I was on my way to victory with Jacob who stood his ground while Embry and Quil were the ones to faulter.

"You should try," I urged Angela.

"Me?" Her voice quaked in surprise. I noticed the worry in her face. "No, no. I wouldn't do well. Besides, I don't know who would let me on their shoulders anyways." I noticed her eyes roamed towards a boy on the far corner of the pool. Directing my eyesight, I noticed it was Ben who in a cordial conversation with Connor, Lee and Samantha.

Well, here is an idea.

"Why not ask Ben?"

Her head whipped back into my direction as her eyes widened.

"Ben?"

"Yeah," I shrugged a nod. "Couldn't hurt to ask. Besides its just one game, right?"

"I—" She frowned, changing the subject. "Eric Yorkie asked me to the Spring Dance."

"He asked you?" I questioned her. "It's girl's choice."

"Yeah," she shrugged, forming a blush on her cheeks. "He asked me Friday after class."

"So, that's a good thing, right?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah. It means I'm going to the dance now," She smiled.

"Well, good. I am happy for you, then!"

Her lips flattened in a line, as she glazed her eyes back towards the corner of the pool where Ben was. She had been looking in his direction repeatedly when he would be distracted in conversation with others which made me wonder if her happiness of going to the dance was mainly having a date and more passively happy about Eric being the one to chaperone her. And I wanted to be happy for her because I knew she wanted to go.

When a plastic colorful beachball hit my forehead, I blinked back into reality, seeing it launch back into Embry's arms who seemed really pleased with himself for making a perfect shot. He must now have gotten over the pain on his torso and now was feeling mischievous. I narrowed my eyes at him in a challenging stare and the edges of his mouth quivered into a snarky smile as he looked back at me.

-o-

The clouds have won the battle over the sun when the rain started drifting into Forks. Ethan had been upset with the plans of the party knowing that with the dropped temperature and the rain, the heated pool still wasn't enough to keep us enjoying the outdoors. The rest of us congregated inside of the house and bundled ourselves into blankets and towels. Ben and Connor had volunteered to move the couches and brought in chairs and love seats from other areas of the house into the living room so that we all would have a chance to sit somewhere.

Pizza had been ordered for the rest of the festivities of the party, where rows of boxes were stacked in the kitchen along with liters of different sodas were filling the fridge. Solo cups had been placed in each hand of the guests as they mingled and listened to the music in the background. There had been a fire going in the living room that filled the house with warmth and others who had felt chilled to be huddled near it.

While the rain may have ended the pool party, the guests were still enjoying themselves inside. I suppose a little bit of rain cannot ruin the fun. Three dogs had rushed into the living room where before they were kept in the left side of the house to avoid bothering the guests, but they didn't seem unwelcomed by the crowd who had enjoyed their attention.

"Your dogs are so cute!" Jenny commented in a baby voice as she spoke directly to Tucker the golden retriever, rubbing his ears greedily as his tongue hung out of his mouth. "You shouldn't have kept them locked up all day."

"I just wanted to be cautious," Ethan retorted, placing his hand on her knee.

Many of us were on the couches and chairs that were placed in a circle in the living room. Jacob, Quil and Embry took up their own couch while Angela and I sat in a love seat together, squishing ourselves into a cushion. We laughed anatomically with each other over random conversation while Jessica and Mike had shared the floor in front of the coffee table.

I apologized to Angela when I got up to move out of the chair. While I had hunted merely two days ago, the crowded heated room filled with laughter and conversation caused the masses of energies to tickle my throat in an uncomfortable pattern. I had tried eagerly to lean closer to Jacob from where I was who I knew would have been my complete safety of relief, but he had too been to occupied with others. It had been a futile attempt, so I had decided to relieve myself from the excitement and went to the kitchen to find some consumption to treat the irritation.

It had been uncomfortable to raid the pantry of another's home, but I knew that my sweet relief would have been a jar of peanut butter which seemed unreasonably no where to be found. I found myself frustrated as I shallowly coughed every few seconds to scratch the epithelial lining of my throat, but luckily someone entered the kitchen to help.

"What are you looking for?" Mike asked, crossing pass the kitchen island towards the pantry near me. I knew he was only trying to lean closer to me because there had been a nearby speaker in the kitchen, creating a deafening effect, but I was reluctant to allow him to.

"Peanut butter," I exhaled my frustration.

"Hmm," Mike's eyebrows pulled together as he slid closer to reach into the pantry to move items around on the higher shelves. "Want some jelly too with that?" He teased.

"No, just peanut butter will suffice," I quipped. It wasn't his fault, but I had been completely over any sort of humor at this moment. "What household does not have peanut butter?" I continued my frustration when he too had trouble looking for it on the taller shelves as he pushed a box of pasta out of the way. His arms dropped in defeat when he too could not find it.

"Maybe they are weird and keep it in the fridge," he offered an idea.

I groaned for not having the same thought and moved my way out of his cage in the pantry and pushed past him to walk to the fridge. When I opened the door, my saving grace had been answered when my eyes scanned the shelves on the doors and found a delicious jar of organic peanut butter.

At an unreasonable pace, I had made due to open the lid of the jar and found a spoon practically out of thin air after I had pulled one of the long horizontal drawers open. Shoving the spoon into the peanut butter, I lifted it straight into my mouth, grazing my tongue over the holy grail and let the creaminess dissolved down my throat.

I've never had organic peanut butter, but this was heavenly. I would have to thank his mother later for such a strange request.

I moaned in satisfaction as the irritation was settling into nothingness and leaned against the counter to clear my head and block the colliding energies of the house from my airways.

"Not a fan of pizza?" Mike chuckled, pulling himself into the bar stools to the island counter as he fumbled with opening the nearby pizza box and pulled out a pepperoni slice.

I looked up at him with a raised eyebrow as I pulled the spoon slowly out of my mouth, suckling whatever was left off it. I couldn't fight the smile on the edges of my lips. I looked adoringly at him for helping me, and practically salivating at the site of the peanut butter.

"I am. I just really was in the mood for peanut butter."

"Clearly," he smiled, leaning against the counter on his elbows. "So," he began.

"So," I fixed my posture from the counter.

A few other students had passed by into the kitchen with us that had caused our conversation to discontinue as they grabbed a slice of pizza and a red solo cup on the counter to fill up with soda from the fridge. They didn't seem to notice us there as they too were enthralled in their own exchange.

"I just don't understand you," Mike said too softly that a human wouldn't have been able to hear over the music.

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking down at the peanut butter and feeling envy for another fill, but noting that I couldn't re-dip the same spoon back into it. Mike looked back up at me, baffled that I had heard his mutter that he had intended to be under his breath.

I ignored his embarrassment that appeared from the redness of his ears and search for another spoon nearby along with a bowl. When I had deliriously spooned a few more scoops into a bowl, Mike had quickly forgotten his embarrassment and his expression had changed from red to white with disgust by my actions.

"What?" I chuckled as I scooped another spoon full of peanut butter from the bowl. "A girl can't have cravings?"

"You say that like you're pregnant," he stiffened, and I stilled. I understood now what Edward had meant when you could almost read someone's mind based on the expressions that are formed on a face. And I had immediately realized what Mike captured in his head. He thinks that Edward and I have—

"Oh, god," My nose wrinkled, and I could feel the heat filling my own face. "No, Mike. I'm not— Edward and I—"

"Oh, I just —"

"No!" I shook my head, placing my palms on the counter. "No."

"I didn't really mean it. I was just musing."

"Well don't," I snapped back, exhaling a breath before pushing the spoon into my mouth. My previous feeling of adoration for him disappeared. I knew the heat was at full force as it had traveled down the tips of my fingers. Never in my life would I have thought I would have to defend myself on this matter, but it was high school, so maybe not unbelievable.

I hadn't wanted to have to think about Edward, where he had been brought up on multiple occasions tonight in passing conversation with others towards me. I had wanted to come to this party to feel human and do normal high school things that otherwise a succubus in different circumstances than I wouldn't have. I didn't want to have to think about energy sucking monsters, vampires or werewolves. I just wanted to enjoy a party with my friends who I once would have had humanely things in common with before the transformation, and I wanted to try. Just an escape for one day. I wanted to feel normal.

But it wasn't just normalcy I craved, but also a distraction from him. I wanted to steer clear of thinking of the events from Thursday and my distasteful behavior.

"I'm sorry," Mike mouthed as he frowned. "That was a dumb thing to say."

"Yes," I agreed. "It was."

"I just don't get it, Bella. Not too long ago you told me that Cullen irritated you, and then you get a ride to school with him and practically fall into his arms to ditch the rest of the day." He huffed, catching his chin into the palm of his hand.

From an outsider point of view, it may look confusing, but I knew what had happened and the rising action that had led up to the climax of that event at the doors of the school. Between my behavior and attitude towards Edward when I spoke of him, it had been a mess. I even wondered myself if my retort to Edward of his whiplash of behavior could have been very well reflected by me to my peers, as well, and clearly so. But there was partial truth.

"I do find him irritating," I unnecessarily explained to him.

I had worried that I completely made a fool of myself on Thursday after I had almost fainted from the searing pain that coursed through my throat when we walked into those doors of the high school building. The passing thought that Edward's deciding to go on a hunting trip with Emmett this weekend could have been his way of avoiding me had caused me discomfort, though I had remembered his eyes. Maybe he needed it.

After I had fed on Mr. Simmons that afternoon in Seattle with the help of Edward's gift, my mind had been clearer from the foggy haze of hunger and desolation. But, with the clearness, it had allowed me to analyze my pattern of behavior from Wednesday night that continued throughout that Thursday morning and afternoon. It occurred to me that my fascination towards Edward had very much been influenced and overly heightened because of my weakened state. After my conversation with Abigail and her warning about what happens to succubus when they are in proximity, I came to understand how fast those draining effects took place.

"You practically sunk into him like he was the most important person in the world," he scoffed. "Like he had somehow gave you this exponential relief from almost nothing. Like a drug." I remember how it had affected me, or better yet, how Edward had affected me. I couldn't help but cringe at the memory of my pathetic nature when I had sulked into his arms, or whenever I would react so knowingly when he would place the slightest touch on my skin. "Didn't really look like you were irritated with him, then."

At the time I needed it. I needed his scent to fill my nostrils to cool me down and send me off into bliss. I needed his cool touch the same way an over exhausted child needed the comfort of their parents. I was powerless just by his presence and I had fallen into a daze by every feature that crossed his face. I must have looked to be an overly infatuated schoolgirl when he would notice. Or high.

But that wasn't me. That was an unstable Bella who was fragile and couldn't hold her own and had irresponsibly ignored Abigail's warning about taking care of myself properly. That Wednesday night after meeting her, I shouldn't have allowed Edward to pick me up. Instead, I should have gone straight to replenish the energy that was lost. I should have given myself up to the greedy nature of the subconscious monster and fed like I was insisted to. I was ashamed of myself. I was ashamed of my behavior and the way that I had forced myself onto him.

"You're becoming nonsensical, Mike," I rolled my eyes, licking the peanut butter off the edges of my lips. "I was feeling ill that morning and since Edward gave me a ride to school after my car had broken down, he knew that."

"So, you ditched school for the rest of the day with him?" He questioned.

"Why does this matter so much to you?" I threw the spoon in my hand into the bowl in frustration and walked backwards into the fridge, crossing my arms over my chest like a pouting child. I knew Mike was trying to get into my head to understand things that weren't any of his business. I like Mike; I really do. I enjoy having him as a friend, but what I don't enjoy is being interrogated over something that he has nothing to do with.

"I don't like him, Bella," he fussed. His eyebrows were pulled, forming a V-shape in between as a snarl was clear on his lips. "I don't like him for you."

"Who said he was for me?" I scoffed. "Mike, you are being utterly ridiculous"

But there were things I couldn't ignore, and those things had me feeling grateful that he went out of town. I wasn't sure if his story of going hunting this weekend was true, or if he had instead needed to get away from me. Though, even in my weakened state where I could have easily misunderstood his meaning behind his caring words, I couldn't help but acknowledge that his reasons behind helping me weren't altruistic or for self-preservation. His feelings did exist, but they weren't his own. It was comprehensible that Edward had been responding to my succubus side in more than subtle ways and I couldn't allow him to succumb to me because of what I am. It was unfair for him to fall for the facade, but it too wasn't something I could prevent. If the hunting trip was his way of getting space from me to clear his head, I would give him that.

"Am I?" Mike stood up, pushing the stool back. "Sometimes he just stares at you, Bella. And I can't help but notice you stare back at him. You said that you weren't interested or looking to date anyone, but it is pretty clear to me and half the school that you both look at each other like an old man looks at a seared steak."

I guffawed at his declaration. "Are you saying that Edward and I look like we want to eat each other?" Was there truth to that before? Sure. Now? I wasn't positive. "Do you even hear what you are saying? That's absurd."

"I'm just saying, Bella," he glowered at me with a roll of his eyes, crossing his own arms across his chest with indignation. "Do you really even know anything about this guy?"

"What are you, my father?" I pushed the bowl into the sink, feeling offended as I fled back into the living room. Through my disenchantment, I didn't take notice of the filling of energies in the feverish room as I slid myself back onto the cushion with Angela.

Even between the conversations Edward and I had, I still hardly knew him. At this moment, what I could understand now was that the subconscious monster no longer registered Edward's energy as a food source. Instead in my weakened state, I found comfort in him and had abused his infatuation for my succubus nature. I was guilty of this and maybe I should let him go. Allow him time to rekindle his own thoughts where they could be completely safe from me. Maybe he would realize what was happening to him and no longer would want to be near me for the sake of his own sanity. Maybe he would make a checklist to recognize when my persona affected him and find ways to move past the attraction. And maybe, just maybe… his family would realize that I was a threat in their lives, and they would leave me behind for the wolves to watch over me instead.

"What's going on out here?" I whispered my question to Angela.

She leaned her mouth towards my ear. "Kaleb is trying to convince Ethan to break into his dad's liquor cabinet." She broke her eyes from the quarrel in the room to look at me. "Where have you been? And why do you smell like peanut butter?"

"Because I was eating some," I responded. "It's pretty good. I can get you some if you like."

"No thanks," she smiled humorously. "I think I'll stick to pizza."

"Your loss," I snickered.

Angela sighed. "I think I'm going to go ahead and call my mom to come pick me up."

I cut my gaze to her with confusion. "Why?"

She shrugged. "Because if Ethan actually manages to get into the liquor cabinet, I don't want my mom to find out and get upset with me."

"Even if you didn't drink?"

She shook her head. "She would be upset I stayed during it."

And I had a thought about the phone call Charlie had with Mr. Campbell about alcohol being an issue at the party. While Mr. Campbell had encouraged Charlie that it would be safely kept away from the hands of influential minds, it seemed that Ethan may know how to access it if he were to be peer pressured. Charlie too would show disappointment in me for participating and for allowing Jacob, his best friend's son, to be around it, as well.

I nodded. "Okay, well I can walk you out whenever you're ready. I should see if the guys are ready to go too."

She pushed herself out of the chair to go into a quieter room to call her mother while I leaned over to Jacob, thumping his ear with my finger to gain his attention. He reacted by clasping his hand to the side of his head with an 'ow' and looked at me with amusement.

"Yes?"

I offered a cheesy grin to plead innocent if I must. "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Are you not having a good time?" His eyebrows furrowed in question as he frowned, shifting his body in my direction.

"Well, if Kaleb ends up successful with his attempts of persuasion, I don't think it would be a good idea for us to stay."

Jacob's eyes darted towards the conversation that Kaleb and Ethan were having over the idea and then a smile full of guilt spread through his lips.

"Actually…"

"Jacob," I interrupted. "You're fifteen."

"And you're seventeen. Perfectly capable of babysitting me," he grinned brilliantly.

"What are you two talking about?" Embry leaned in curiously, looking between the two of us.

"Bella wants to leave."

I gasped, shoving his shoulder. "You make me sound like the bad guy."

"Wait, are we not drinking?" Embry frowned.

"We are—"

"No, I am supposed to be responsible for the three of you tonight. I can't have Charlie picking us up and you three are stumbling over yourselves."

"Booooo," Embry groaned. "C'mon, Bella. You jumped off a cliff, and you're telling me you can't just live a little just one more time? Besides, Chief Swan and his cop friends are going to be watching the basketball game and the sports channel all night anyways. We'd have time to sober up."

"What exactly do you know about sobering up, Call?"

He frowned, looking away after my comment. Jacob looked my way with warning eyes to not push it further or ask about Embry's reaction to the comment. I nodded to him and wondered at Embry who was looking back at the rest of the students who were idly chatting. He changed his glance to Quil who caught his attention by sticking a whole pizza inside of his mouth.

Angela walked back in, her arm resting against her abdomen as it held loosely onto the other. I slid to the side of the cushion to let her sit back down next to me as she squeezed in.

"My mom is on her way to come pick me up," she said, pulling her bag onto her lap and checking to see if she had everything. "Are you four going home, too?"

I shrugged, flattening my lips with uncertainty. "I'll walk you out."

-o-

I had been bundled up in my extra pair of clothes that I had brought with me to change out of. It wasn't much besides my green sweater that fit unflatteringly on me and a pair of gray sweatpants I had picked up not too long ago after the incident in Denali that ruined my previous pair. I knew not to pack of pair of jeans no matter if the water had already been dried off my legs. The chlorine of it with the denim fabric still would have felt uncomfortable against my skin. I took over a seat on the couch next to Jacob and Embry where Quil had been sitting on the arm of the chair next to me, laughing with his face stuffed with a new slice of pizza that grew colder in the next hour.

I hadn't been able to undo my infectious laugh that was brought on by Jacob. It was hard not to smile when being so near him. He was like his own personal sun of warmth and rays of light that casted a good mood on quite literally anyone. That was just Jacob. His arm had been slacked on the back of the couch behind me, and I leaned into it as I bared my face into my knees, trying to hide the open-mouthed guffaw on my face.

Tyler and Eric had been having a beat boxing contest with each other in the middle of the room, but maybe it wasn't the beatboxing that was bringing the room full of laughter but instead it was the tantalizing alcohol that was coaxing our tongues and changing our own perception on humor.

"Sorry to say, Eric," Connor wheezed. "But I think Tyler has you beat."

I hadn't at first been encouraged to try the alcohol that was offered in the solo cups passed around the room. In fact, I was adamantly against the idea. I had tried my best to persuade the boys to not participate but lost when a game of Truth or Dare began, and Lauren had used her dare on me to chug the whole cup. At first, I didn't feel the effects, but had been too enthralled to note all the flavors on my tongue that sparked and sizzled down my throat. The balanced flavor of the natural sweetness and acidity of the added orange juice, along with it's bittered, sharp and zesty background flavors. But then the tequila had found its way to coat over my taste buds. I hadn't expected it's very sugary and rich flavor of citrus that was both light and mild, along with the peppery agave nectar that broke through the sweetness of it.

And then after, I had continued my participation. I noted my earlier reason for wanting to come to the party, which was to participate in normal high school experiences, not that I had to ignore them before or now, but if I could push the thought away that I was a succubus for one night and have fun with my friends in a safe environment, then I would do so… even if Charlie was a cop. And so, I had drunk more than the others, but I noted that my tolerance to the alcohol was higher than an average human, or an average teenager. I had been possibly as intoxicated as the rest of the crowd with three cups more than them.

Tyler had high fived the room for his win after taking another swig of the alcohol in his cup and Eric's beat red face sat down on a fold out chair, hiding his embarrassment of coming out on the losing end of his dare. His efforts did come strong, but his confidence dwindled after Tyler had destroyed Eric's self-proclaimed talent.

Jacob's hands covered over his face as he leaned into my shoulder, cracking up as his foot stomped another time onto the carpet to help control his laughter. The alcohol was consuming him, but I think it had been more of Jacob's easily pleased personality taking over than the alcohol.

"Well, that was comical," Lauren chuckled, sniffing the contents in her drink before taking another sip. "Who's next?"

"Jessica!" Mike shouted, pointing in her direction. "Truth or dare?"

"Dare!" She laughed her excitement, placing her cup on the table next to her.

"I dare you to re-enact your fourth-grade talent show tap number!"

"Fat chance," she gasped. "Absolutely no way!"

"Do you forfeit the dare?" The humor danced on his brow. "Because you know what that means."

"Chug-it, Chug-it!" The room chanted in her direction as they slammed their fists on their knees in beat to the chant.

"Fine, Fine!" She laughed, pushing herself off the couch away from Lauren who had honestly looked entertained. "But I never want to hear a word about this outside of this room!" She began to do a small rendition of her dance, forgetting some of the steps as she went and began free styling it. She seemed to be having fun with it and lost the previous shyness from before when the dare had been placed. Everyone shouted their approval as she took her bow and sat back down on the couch.

"Hey," Jake nudged his nose against my shoulder. I looked over at up, seeing his large dark eyes looking back up at me as he was hiding his face. "Are you feeling, okay?"

I smiled at him. "Yeah, I'm alright. You?"

He nodded, resting his cheek against me. "I am starting to feel a little bad about this. Not letting you call Charlie to pick us up."

"We will worry about that later. Just don't drink anymore and eat some pizza, instead," I replied, brushing the disheveled strands of hair away from his face. "Got to be somewhat coherent when he gets us." Jacob nodded again, directing his attention back to the game where the crowd began to settle down waiting for someone's next turn. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach dancing from the sloshing of liquor as I tried to move around under Jacob's weight.

"I think we should move onto a new game," Kaleb clapped his hands together. "We got several empty bottles lying around, so why don't we make use of them, and play spin the bottle?"

Most of the students laughed and had agreed to the idea, but several others were skeptical about it. I had felt the beat of my heart faulter at the announcement.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Samantha asked. "Most of us are intoxicated. Not really a good mixture, isn't it?"

"Oh c'mon, that's the best reason to play!" Kaleb laughed. "No regrets, just pure fun. Besides, I'm not saying that anyone plans on using the bedrooms, but" he chuckled. "If you do, then let Ethan know."

"Are we allowed to sit out of the game?" Simone asked. "Not really interested in sucking faces with any of you."

"If you are sitting out of the game, then you have to go home," Kaleb said with a devious smile on his lips as his eyes cut into my direction. I noticed his eyes had taken interest as they looked up and down on me, and I couldn't help but silently gag at his look-over. Maybe I wanted to stick him with daggers instead for being disturbing, especially after I had already showed my disinterest in him when I refused his promposal when he threw the basketball at my head.

But it wasn't my disgust with him that caused my glare to change, but instead when Jacob's eyes slightly looked up at me as he was still leaning against my arm. I tried not to notice, but I shifted my body. I sighed. Maybe I no longer feasted for his energy because of my love for him, but even still my appearance pulled him in. I couldn't blame him. It wasn't his fault, but I could get him a glass of water and a cold slice of pizza.

The first few bottles were spun had coincidentally had to be re-spun when it landed on the person of the same sex a few times. That was clear to happen considering that the number of men in the room did outrank the females. But when the girls had their chance to play, they had easily been able to land on one of the guys.

Jessica had been excited surprisingly enough that her bottle did not land on Mike but instead landed on Connor. She leaned forward and knotted her fingers together behind his neck, giving him a slow kiss on the lips that caused his eyebrows to raise and the edges of his ears to redden as he looked over at Mike who hadn't seem very bothered. Mike had been too occupied with his conversation with Tyler to notice, or care. I wasn't sure.

When Tyler got his turn, I smiled when he landed on Lauren, but she had looked bemused and only seemed to kiss him in return because of the game. She quickly sat back on her seat and flattened out the wrinkles on her pants. Quil had been gleeful when he got his chance to kiss a girl named Emma that I only have ever noticed around school. She was pretty with her dark black hair that layered around her chin and her bright gray eyes. She too had seemed to hide her excitement after the kiss ended when it lingered longer than it meant to. Quil's eyes didn't faulter from hers for a long moment after.

Embry had to take several turns as it kept landing on one of the guys, but when the bottle slowed and landed on Quil next to him, the two looked at each other and began to burst into a hardy laugh as they clasped their arms around each other in a bear hug and kissed each other on the cheek. My heart warmed at their close friendship. It was sweet.

Then it became my turn as Jacob slid the bottle closer to me so that I could reach. I knew I shouldn't play and wanted to protest.

"Really, I don't want to play." I shook my head, pushing the bottle away from me. "You guys have fun."

"Awh, Bella." Kaleb said. "You have to play."

"No, I really don't actually," I glared back at him.

"Yeah," he pushed the bottle back. "You do. What? Never had your first kiss before?"

Jessica laughed. "Of course, she has had her first kiss. Right, Bella?" She looked over at me with a nodding expression. I wondered if the idea of me never having had one would be a shock to her based on her assuring tone. But she would be right.

"Would be a real tease if she hasn't given into him yet," someone else muttered.

My cheeks flamed as I looked down at my closed hands, embarrassed by their bickering. I never understood what I have done to get into these situations, but if they were to know the real truth, they'd be appalled.

"Bella's never actually had a boyfriend before," Quil pointed out. "She told us that when she moved here."

Multiple eyes landed on me with astonished expressions. Their mouths parted open as they took in what Quil had said, and then they erupted again.

"Don't pretend you have to have a boyfriend to steal your first kiss," Lauren replied breezily as she flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"She's too hot to have never had a boyfriend."

"I bet her lips taste like cherries."

"I'll be her first kiss if she lets me."

"No, he's right." I said out loud. "I've never had a boyfriend, and I've already had my first kiss." I shuddered at the thought of the night at the hospital. The night of my changing when I had to make the connection with the Lure to the doctor who had only been doing his job that night, just to meet his fatal end when his lips had been pressed to mine. I remember it so clearly and the emotions that I had felt afterwards. I never wanted to hurt that man, or any person for that matter. Just an unfortunate circumstance. "But I don't want to play this game if that is alright with everyone," I sneered sarcasm

"Bells," Jacob whispered. "It's okay if we don't."

"I think I'd like to go home now," I looked at him. "If you guys are ready, I'll call Charlie."

The three boys nodded at me as I stood up to head to the covered back porch near the back door with my purse where my cellphone resided. There had been no notifications on the screen from Edward, except the one from Angela that had notified me that she got home safely and asked if I would be going home soon, too. I replied to her quickly, letting her know I was about to call Charlie.

When he had answered, Charlie had questioned which number I was calling from. I had forgotten that I never used this phone very often and may have left out the detail about it, but the alcohol that was slipping away from my blood stream may have caused me to forget that minute detail. I had told him I used the money from my work and needed a reliable way of communication which he had agreed with and had asked if he would pick us up from the house. I gave him the address and slipped my phone back into my pocket.

I heard the glass door slide open behind me, and I noted the pounding heart that was blistering out loud as the person came up behind me, but the energy coming off of him alerted me that it wasn't Jacob, or anyone that I completely cared for.

I spun around, noticing it was in fact Kaleb, who had walked slowly up behind me. He kept walking forward and mischief was evident in his eyes, but also blazed anger was apparent, as well. It seemed uncalled for, but I also didn't understand if his anger was towards me or if an unfortunate incident happened inside while I was on the phone.

"Hi, Kaleb," I exhaled.

"Hey, party girl." He was holding his cup in his hand that still permeated the scent of alcohol from it, so I knew he was still drinking and was highly intoxicated from his breath. "So, you go around kissing random guys often?" He chuckled, lifting he cup to his lips. "Makes me wonder how I wasn't good enough to go to the Spring Dance with you."

"It's a girls choice dance," I reminded him with innocence playing in my voice.

"Yeah," he chuckled. "Girls never really get around to asking anyways. They normally wait for a guy to sweep them off their feet and be asked instead." The ends of his lips twitched as he was trying to fight back a sardonic smile. "You aren't like most girls though, aren't you?" But his tone wasn't questioning.

I took a step backwards from him. While the alcohol had laced his breath, there was another hint that I had taken familiarity with for a while now. The familiar scents that were laced through the honey scent of energy when my eyes would lock onto my prey for feeding. I never had taken notice of it before, but over time, I had come to familiarize myself with it. It was the scent of a dash of cinnamon that would come through that I have now associated with lust. Kaleb was filled with it, and I never had to make eye contact with him to bring it out.

Est ut velit, Isabella.

"Shut up," I hissed under my breath at the subconscious monster. Now was not the time. I had to remind myself what the voice was. It too was just a youngling. It made mistakes. I needed to silence it before it could promote me to take actions that were unreasonable. Kaleb may be filled with lust from his intoxicated state, but he didn't deserve death. Not right now, at least.

But there it was. Even fed I could feel the film of the contacts wanting to burn away, wanting to make the connection. The subconscious monster didn't seem to be bothered by the audience that was just in another room.

I took a few paces backwards, the rain rushing down the back of my sweater as I kept my distance from him and my eyes towards the ground.

"Did you just tell me to shut up?" Kaleb snickered, taking another step towards me. "That's not very nice you know."

"I think you should rejoin the party," I muttered. "I'm sure your friends are wondering where you are."

"Everyone seems to be preoccupied with the game," he chuckled. "Even your little boyfriend you brought with you."

I looked back up at him in the shadows. "Jacob isn't my boyfriend. He's just a friend." He didn't need to know that. Why would I have said that in the first place? Jacob taking the role as my significant other could give me a way out of this.

"Just a tease," he shook his head. "Friend zoning anyone that thinks they have a chance with you. First Mike, then Ethan, Jacob, and even that Cullen guy. You just want to have them all wrapped around your little finger, don't you?"

"You're speaking nonsense," I spat at him as he stood in front of me. His breath was becoming intoxicating as it filled my senses. I had almost felt my eyes roll back by the scent that permeated through my lungs and could practically feel the subconscious monster purring in satisfaction. Now it was my turn to gravitate towards him as if I no longer had control over my own body. My mind scored with different ideas. Different ways that I could sooth the beast and alleviate myself. Did I burn? No, it wasn't a need for him, but a want. A little fun.

I could make it quick, simple and clean. Kaleb could have common occurrences of heart attacks in his family, so who would question one happening in his early teenage years from poor genetic health? I could easily allow him to go through with this and take one quick connecting glance into his eyes to have him follow me into the dark. I could make the connection. I could seal the kiss that was clear he hungered for in his eyes as his tongue slightly escaped through his tightened lips. He was affected by me; that was clear. He wanted me, and who was I to stop him from catching the bait?

Kaleb's fingers reached to my throat, as they trailed lightly towards the side of it and down to my collar bone. It felt as a dream the closer he became, the more of his energy that spilled through his parted lips as he breathed heavily. It was his own lust that I didn't have to force onto him. It was willing. It was clean.

I could make the connection.

But it was the excitement in the subconscious monster that had distracted me from my murderous thoughts. He was playing his own game in my head, taking advantage of my intoxicated state, though I had wondered if he also had been influenced as he was taking control. Abigail had told me that the subconscious monster would make sure to take a cautious stance when it came to be creating correct decisions when feeding, but maybe it wasn't calculating this rationally. Of course, a heart attack on a teenage boy wasn't normal, nor did I even know his family's medical history. I had to be smarter than that. I should have been smarter before.

I rationalized my thoughts, trying to clear my head as I looked away from him to breath in the scent of the cold rain in the air, but his cup had dropped to the ground as his other hand wrapped around my waste.

"Let go of me," I hissed, grabbing onto his wrist that still held tight fingers against my hips.

"Kiss me," he demanded.

"I said," cleaning my jaw and spitting through my teeth. "Let go—"

But before I could finish and implant my controlling influence and make a possible mistake, a loud crunch had collided with his face, rendering Kaleb to fall unconscious onto the ground. At first, I was frozen, and gasped in an unexpected shock at the scene in front of me. Turning to see who had taken initiative in the situation, the person I could see hovering over Kaleb's body was Quil. He had been breathing heavily, combing his fingers through his hair as his lips curled in disgust. Before Quil turned to look at me, he spit on him.

"Are you okay?" Quil asked in a distressed huff.

I stared blankly at him and nodded my confirmation. I couldn't redirect my stare from the glass windows of the back door where others had also watched what took place outside. I wonder how much they had saw and hoped deeply they hadn't seen what transpired until the very end. Quil then stepped forward, pulling me into his arms in a heavy embrace. I could feel his panicked breathing seeping into the scalp of my hair.

"I'm fine," I insisted.

"I came out here to find you." He gently let go of me, taking a quick assessment of my stature. "You looked…" He trailed off as his face grew pale and transformed into confusion. Through the whites of his eyes, I could see the amethyst reflection of my own irises that must have exposed themselves from the contacts. Between the sinister thoughts and hunger that erupted for Kaleb, I must have been fueled in the moment to take over, causing the lenses to completely burn off.

The subconscious monster definitely was not being rational.

I looked away from him, taking a step farther back into the rain and trying to find another object nearby to give my attention to in order to avoid his own curiosity. Quil pulled up the collar of his shirt, wiping the lids of his eyes before looking back at me. He must not believe what he was seeing in the moment. Maybe he had been accusing the alcohol of his impaired vision.

"Your eyes," he said, trying to recapture my attention. "They're—"

"You came outside to find me?" I interrupted before he could proceed further.

"Oh." He blinked, his lips parting a few times before speaking. "Charlie." He held his hand up in a fist with his thumb pointing behind him. "He's outside waiting for us."

I nodded, stepping forward to take his hand. I turned it over so that I could inspect his knuckles that only were slightly red, but no skin had broken from the impact of the punch.

"You're okay," I nodded my whisper, keeping my eyes trained on his hand. I rubbed my thumb across them to make sure there was no pain, but he only slightly winced. "When we get back to the house, I'll ice it for you."

Quil slowly nodded, letting his hand rest into mine. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," I forced a smile, connecting our fingers together as I pulled him to the front door. "Let's find Jacob and Embry."

-o-

The rest of the weekend I had been grounded under Charlie's orders. I couldn't have expected him to be fine with what had happened, considering I allowed the three underage boys to participate, but I also couldn't find myself to ignore the humor in his eyes during the car ride home. And it was fine that I was grounded, because I knew that I had all the hours of the night to free myself, but instead I had tried to find a distraction with the upcoming Mac Beth paper and thought over Abigail's advice to keep myself fed.

It had been Monday at school when all eyes were directed onto me. I guess I shouldn't be surprised by it considering my dad was a cop in a small town and he had been the one to notify most of the student bodies parents about what had happened. Though, I had to admit. Having everyone stare at me with daggers was a nice change of events compared to the attraction of what I was used to. But my eyes had been glued to the spot in the parking lot that was empty. No Volvo or red BMW was there. All of the Cullens had not shown up for school.

I remembered Rosalie, Alice and Jasper were there at their lunch table Friday and reminded myself that Edward and Emmett's absence was because of their hunting trip, but now the others were gone. When I had made a comment about it, Jessica had reasoned with me that if the weather continued nicely past the weekend, they normally would extend their camping trips.

By the end of the day, I found myself more agitated than ever by the thirst that was searing my throat. I could practically hear the subconscious monster screaming at me to feed into his desires. Though my concentration had been glued on to the empty seats the entirety of the day and the turmoil brewed more when Mike had decided to ask me on a date which I had to decline. Though, I kindly pointed him in the direction to ask Jessica instead because I knew she had found a liking for him.

When I had gotten home that afternoon, Jessica had called me with the news about her upcoming date that night. She was excited by his invitation, and I expressed my interest with her, wondering how their parents allowed them to go when they were grounded. She ended the phone call by wondering if I had time to go to Port Angeles after school tomorrow with her and Angela, but I had told her I wasn't sure about my decision yet. Charlie still was upset, and I believed that the rest of the week would inhabit me in my bedroom. Though, I wondered if I told Charlie that I was going for a Spring Dance related trip, that he would allow me to go, but if I were to choose to go right now, I think I would have possibly become too overwhelmed by my hunger and cause a mistake. I did take note of Abigail's warning, but I also knew that if I did find myself in Port Angeles tomorrow, I could slip away if I needed to.

If I chose to go tomorrow to Port Angeles, I would have more options. At that thought, I had sworn at myself in disgust that I was thinking of the towns people as food instead of what they were. Human. Maybe what I am was now beginning to catch up to me, reminding me that I am not one of them. Reminding me that I was no longer a part of their world. There were predators that were farther up in the food chain than humans were, and that included what I was.

After arranging dinner for Charlie and finishing the paper that was due this week, I had tried to force myself to fall asleep. I had attempted to call Jacob but had been reminded by Billy that he was grounded and couldn't talk on the phone. I pleaded for some kind of social interaction with him, but my attempts were futile.

I continued to grow impatient throughout the night. My paper was almost done, and my e-mails to Renee had already been sent. She too expressed her disappointment in me, but after a parent-like lecture on the phone after my most resent email, she began to express interest on the subject and wanted to know all the details of the party. I should have expected that.

Edward's lack of contact throughout his absence had caused me to find myself dwelling in thoughts of him. I wanted to break the phone he had given me. It seemed to have offered him no use even with his contact in my phone. Why would he have given this to me if he had no reason to ever put it to use? I was finding myself curious as I formed my own images of him in my head. Images of what he could be doing right now on his hunt. I wondered how long a hunting trip normally was for a vampire and how much animal blood he would need to consume to satisfy himself. I'm sure at this point, he had been able to find at least a few bears to quench his thirst considering what Mike had said, but what if that wasn't enough? The thoughts turned further to what it would be like if Edward had taken me and whether he would have to drain my own blood along with multiple other victims to quench his thirst. It would be easy for him. I wasn't an equal opponent against him, except maybe once. But no, he still would have the upper hand. He could take what he wanted, and I wouldn't be able to stop him. But I also did wonder, what would my blood do to him? No. Edward and his family weren't like that. Why was I allowing my beating heart to quicken at this thought?

The more I thought of him, the more I wondered if this distance between us this weekend definitely had been because he had wanted to keep his distance from me. He must have noticed the way I affect him, and he wanted out. His family wanted out.

Charlie had gone to sleep while I stared at the ceiling, contemplating the possibilities. Contemplating the thought of wondering if Edward's family realized it was too much to have me in their lives. My presence alone faltered their thoughts of me. It created a yearning to keep me around, and with the distance, maybe they had noticed they wanted less of it as their minds have cleared. Maybe I was overthinking this. Maybe I was just torturing myself with self-depreciation. But they weren't at school today.

Edward couldn't still be out of town because he had only mentioned the weekend, right? No, he had to be home. I groaned at myself, shoving my face into my pillow for continuing this rampage of thoughts in my mind. I would have to chastise myself later for sounding so desperate. But even that didn't stop me from getting out of my bed.

After changing into my jeans and button up shirt, I headed out the window of my room, taking time to watch out for any onlookers this late at night. If I traveled on the road, I knew it would be faster, but I headed towards the woods instead, making my way towards their home. It hadn't taken long when I had gotten to their winded driveway that I took the time to go at a slower pace as I contemplated what I would do if I found that they were home and already almost finished packing their belongings. I pondered to myself whether I would try to stop them and offer reason. Reason to stay around and not run.

Before I had made it to the end of the driveway, I heard their recognizable voices. First it was Alice's delighted musical laugh that echoed throughout the house, resonating to the outside through their open window on the other side. I recognized Carlisle's tone of interest as he spoke allowed to someone unknown about a journey that I had assumed was meant for a recent hunting trip. I realized both Edward and Emmett must have been home when I heard Edward's voice that sounded rough, almost impatient, but calculated, as well. I walked closer forward, almost hiding behind the trees.

No bags were packed, no furniture was covered in the living room that they were sitting in. The garden in the front of the house still was as well-kept as it was at my last visit. So, they hadn't been ready to take off and leave. No, that was just my own self-imposed anxiety taking over that brought the thought to my mind. They were so welcoming during my last visit, sure enough I had misinterpreted their absence. But my focus landed on the blown bronze haired boy whose fingers were pressed tight on the bridge of his nose as his eyebrows pressed together. He looked irritated in thought. But even as much as I enjoyed his annoyance in his face because of my irritation with him, I couldn't help but still feel angry with him.

Why the hell hadn't he been at school today or even the rest of his family? They all were there in the living room on the couch as if missing a day of school hadn't been bothersome. I knew they didn't technically need the education, but they had appearances to keep up. I frowned at myself for trying to come up with random excuses for why they should have been at school today. They were vampires. Why did it matter…

But why didn't he call?

There was an unfamiliar voice that I had heard. It was smooth and ruptured a resounding southern drawl. It caused my senses to alert and wield the shield that would cover my scent, my tracks. If I came too close, I wasn't sure if they would smell me from inside through the open window on the other side of the house, but I didn't want to take my chances. And with the strange voice, I pinpointed my eyes into the direction of where it had come from. On the left wall, there were two strangers.

One was a male with long lengthy legs and a lean body to match. He had long, white, blonde hair that laid neatly along the pale features of his neck and framed the sharp line of jaw that was arched in Carlisle's direction. Next to him was a very petite woman, much like Alice whose hair had also been a white blonde. The two of them had been utterly beautiful next to each other the way the rest of the Cullens were. Their pale features practically glowed when touched by the light of the moon through the window, and my eyes had hardened on them. The blonde boy looked in the girl's direction with a side smile on his face, but it was his eyes that caught my attention.

They were red.

I found myself stumbling back closer to the trees. The brightness of the eyes alarmed me, for it was something I have ever seen before.

I had tried to remember what Edward had said about the red eyes and why his family's eyes were not that shade, but instead gold. Edward and his family fed on the diet of animal blood, but those with red eyes…

Those who had red eyes fed on human blood.

I silently gasped as I stared when the male turned his gaze back to Carlisle. I no longer could see the crimson of his irises, but they were now engraved into my memory. I couldn't blink away the image. The image of the blood that had been dealt with to produce the color.

Was it fear I felt? Maybe it was fear for the humans that had fallen into their trap. Or was it fear for me? I wasn't sure I could identify the difference, at least not in that moment. But who was I to feel fear for their prey when I also shine danger on those around me? I bring death to what I was before. To humans.

I felt my heart stagger when I noticed Jasper's eyes turning in my direction. His face looked distorted, almost as if he had also been experiencing the same fear I had felt. Were the Cullens in danger between the two individuals I only knew to be strangers? If so, why were they in their home if Jasper too felt this fear? He looked to be fumbling through different emotions of panic, confusion, and interest. But it wasn't just his eyes that were now on me, it had been the others, too when they noticed.

I felt almost vulnerable, looking around me to see if I were still hidden. I was not. I had unconsciously been taking steps forward away from the tree that I found myself previously hiding behind. Now I had been caught like a deer in the headlights. My breath had been hitched in my throat as I watched the crowded room behind the glass windows all staring in my direction, including the two strangers who I had not known of.

I looked up at the house full of vampires with alert in my eyes. Panic still spread over Jasper's features, but if they were in danger, I would do what I could to protect them. I knew that I may not have the strength or speed to challenge these two unknown vampires, but I was sure that with my self-inserted confidence, that the seven Cullens would also take action to attack. There were only two of them. How could they possibly have a chance against all of us?

Maybe it was the human blood in their veins that caused the Cullens to hesitate their attack. Maybe it was different to animal blood. Maybe it made them stronger and the Cullens were unsure of their chances.

I felt my fist tighten with the determination that spread across my features as I began my forward stepping. I hissed in the direction of the two vampires who had looked surprised, but also dumbfounded when they noticed me. Had I caught them in a surprise attack? Were they calculating hundreds of different ways to overpower me and the Cullens in these seconds filled moments? It didn't matter. I had to help, just as they helped me, but my march had halted when the smooth southern drawl voice spoke once more, causing my breathing to cease.

"It appears we have a visitor," the tall male had said with a fascinated quiver on his lips. "One that is very much a sight that I never thought I would lay my eyes on."

"Peter, don't," Edward growled in his direction.

I looked up at him for the first time since he had found me in hiding. I couldn't understand the features that were crossing his face, but was it anger that he felt? Anger with me? No, maybe it was the situation. He was angry that his family had been taken hostage in their own home by these two unwelcomed guests.

"What?" Peter turned towards him in confusion. "So, you know of this creature?"

A disbelieved gasp exhaled from the petite blonde that was standing next to Peter as she held tightly onto his arm. Her eyes held onto me as a flicker of realization crossed them.

"Who is this?" She asked, glancing back at the family with a delighted smile on her lips. "Carlisle, you didn't tell us your family held affiliations with a succubus."

A/N

Translation: "Est ut velit, Isabella." ~ It's so willing, Isabella.

Hello! Sorry for my absence… classes were rough, but I made all A's… and after I came home for the holidays, I got Covid for the first time… It was a lot. My mother contracted it, as well and had to be hospitalized. It's been a hectic Christmas break. She is fine though, thankfully. I hope you are all doing well! I hope this chapter will please you. I changed it multiple times so far already, and this is now my final product. I hope you all had enjoyed the holidays. Please leave reviews if you can! (: And… until next time.