"Tell me about your brothers." We were sat on the edge of Shark Bay Cliff, somewhere all the locals knew. The sea breeze wasn't harsh today so I felt safe enough with my feet hanging over the edge of the sheer drop, especially with Aro sat by my side, our hands held together firmly as we stared down at the water below. This specific spot had been named because the rocks below jutted out of the grey water like the pointed fins of sharks, circling the bay waiting for victims to plummet to their deaths.

"Marcus is the eldest, he's a smart man, almost too smart," Aro smirks as he thinks about his brother. "He only ever voices his opinion if he deems it necessary, most of our staff and clients think him incompetent but we would all be lost without him."

"Does he look like you?"

"No, you wouldn't believe we were all brothers actually. Marcus has hair like yours," he says and reaches up to curl a few strands around his finger. "Deep brown, like chocolate. And Caius has hair as fine and fair as angels."

"So Marcus is the silent ruler, you're the brains and Caius…is he the pretty face of the company?"

Aro threw his head back and laughed loudly, his voice carrying on the wind. He looked perfect sat next to me on the cliff, his dark hair was tied back today but the soft breeze had caught a few free strands that fluttered around his face. My breath caught at the sound of his laugh, it was so carefree and joyous; it was like a symphony to my ears.

"I will tell him you said that," he smirks. "He'll like it."

"I take it he's not just a pretty face then?"

"Caius is more like the brawn than the beauty," Aro nods. "Not that my brother lacks in the latter department."

"So not only are you all young, successful entrepreneurs, you're also rich and stupidly attractive as well," I roll my eyes as I chuckle. "You are perfect."

"Oh I'm far from perfect, Celestine," he says with a more serious tone. "That's why I strive so much to make what is around me perfect." He slides back from the edge and gets to his feet, keeping hold of my hand to help me up. Once I was on my feet Aro span me around so my back was against his front and we were looking out over the water. "What do you see Celestine?"

I look over the water, the seemingly never ending expanse of grey, odd waves were tipped with white peaks and the sky above mirrored the ocean almost exactly.

"Grey," I reply quietly.

"What can you hear?" he asks.

My ears were met with the soft calls of birds in the distance, the gentle roll of waves below and the steady echo of cool wind rustling the trees not too far behind us.

"Nature," I say.

"What can you smell?"

"Freedom," I answer without hesitation, the fresh scent of the water, the rich earthiness of the forest.

"What can you feel?" Aro asks, his hands clenching at my waist as he nudged my feet forwards until we were standing right at the edge of the cliff, an extra inch and we'd both loose our balance.

"You," I smile and almost scream in shock as he suddenly lurches backwards away from the edge and we fall back onto the floor. "My god, don't scare me like that again!" I sigh, my breathing was slightly laboured from the shock but I could feel the rumbling of Aro's chest beneath me as he laughed.

"I'm sorry," he whispers, still led on his back with me splayed over the top of him. "It was too tempting to resist."

He rolled us over so we were side by side. I'd guessed wrong earlier today when I had been getting ready to leave, I hadn't thought Aro would have owned clothes suitable for hiking but here he was laying in the dirt in a pair of dark brown canvas trousers, hiking boots and a navy fleece. He may not have been his usual smart business man but I think I prefer this more relaxed version of him.

It shocked me in every waking moment that I had only known this man for two weeks; he had taken me to Seattle last Friday night and after a week of meeting after school just to enjoy each other's company I was starting to feel like I had known him for years.

"If you'd asked me that first night I saw you, if I could imagine you covered in mud with pine needles stuck in your hair I would have laughed," I smirked and reached up to pull one of the said pine needles from his silky locks. I allowed my fingers to stroke a few of those stray strands back behind his ear, I wasn't brave enough to ask what shampoo he used but I desperately wanted to know how he made his hair so soft.

"You suit the dirt," he says and runs a muddy finger down the length of my nose. "That was said in the politest possible sense," he recovers, his eyes slightly wide realising his mistake.

"I suit the dirt?" I echo back at him. "Is that implying something?"

"Not at all, I just meant that you seem much happier out here in the raw nature, with the fresh air in your lungs and mud on your face," he chuckles and I wipe my own hand against the mud between us and smear it across his cheek.

"I think you suit dirt too," I grin and lean forwards to press my lips to his. I may have enjoyed nature, I may have loved the smell of the sea breeze, the sound of the waves the image of earthly beauty I lived with every day. But if I could wake up to Aro's face, breathe in his heavenly scent, hear his beautiful laugh and feel his strong arms around me like I felt right in this moment then I would trade everything I enjoyed about nature just to have that.

Aro's lips moved against mine, gone was the gentle tentativeness of our first few kisses, now he kissed me like he knew I liked it. He ran his tongue over my lower lip, seeking, begging for more which I gladly supplied him, opening my mouth for him to explore.

It made me feel more grown up; this wasn't a silly teenage fling. Aro was a man, a grown man with a proper job, a real life, he had so much, everything I wanted to achieve but those things were still years away from me, buried behind time and hard work.

He'd been away from his perfect life for a fortnight now, messing around with me avoiding his responsibilities. I was too afraid to ask how much longer he would be staying but I knew that it would only be a matter of time before he had to return to his reality.

My fingers buried themselves into his hair, pulling it out of his neatly kept ponytail. He grinned against my lips, pulling my leg up over his hips so that I was once again lying on top of him. Aro held me to him, his hands weren't searching they just held me, feeling the soft curve of my hip down to the crease of my knee.

"How did you manage to jump out of my window and not hurt yourself?" I ask. His hair had come completely loose from its bindings, free for me to run my hands through it as I dedicated his face to my memory.

"I am a man of many talents, jumping from high places is just one of them," he smiles, his lips quirking as he tried to remain still under my gaze.

"Well don't do it again, you might break something," I run a finger along his jaw, carefree and just enjoying the feel of his cold but unbelievably smooth skin. I didn't care that I'd only known him a fortnight, I could have known Aro years by the feelings I felt inside for him. I was too scared to admit them to myself properly but I could feel the warmth in my chest every time I thought about him, the feeling only increased when I was with him, when his dark eyes stared into mine.

His eyes were such an odd shade of murky brown, almost black irises. As I looked into them now I could almost make out flecks of red hidden among the darkness.

"Is that an invitation?" his lips lift up at the corners.

"Maybe," I bow my head and roll off him and onto my feet, unable to hide the heated blush that decorated my cheeks.

We walked back having spent hours bathed in the chilly shadow cast by the tall fern trees, we'd talked, laughed, Aro had even seemed interested when I explained the technique of tracking to him.

"You learnt all of this from your father?" he asks.

I nod my head, one hand gripping his as tight as I dared while my other held a long stick I'd picked up from the forest floor, mostly using it to bat away the brambly grasses that blocked our path. "Dad used to hunt; I remember being really young, dressed in camouflage with bright orange tap wrapped around my arms, watching him aim up the deer. But he never actually killed anything, I could never tell if he missed on purpose, but even when I didn't go with him he never came home with anything. Fishing is definitely more his style, a bit more passive."

"Do you think he stopped hunting because of you?"

"Maybe, dad got a little over protective when I was little, mum kinda dumped me on him, I don't think he envisioned raising one of his children all by himself without the aid of Renee."

"Would you have preferred to be raised by your mother?" Aro asks.

I hold back a spindly wayward branch as I mull over my answer. "No, I like it here, being outside, being with dad, he couldn't have done a better job. And from what Bella tells me, mum is a little…scatty. Don't get me wrong, my mum is lovely in her own way but I'm glad I got stuck with my dad."

"He should be incredibly proud of you, you are an incredible young lady," Aro says, his thumb stroking the back of my hand.

I felt so safe with him, walking through the slowly darkening forest hand in hand, nothing could touch us. We were invincible, I felt completely free of worry, fear, anxiety - I could only focus on him. The warmth that spread in my chest, the tingle of my skin where our flesh touched, the odd clash of his cold hand against my warm palm and the building desire to be closer to him.

"Will…do you want to come round tonight?"

Aro turned his head, his eyes meeting mine making my heart skip. How could something as simple as a glance make me feel so breathless?

"I will see if I can slip away," he doesn't make any promises, but we part ways at the edge of the treeline behind my house with another stomach flipping kiss.

~V~

That night the house was silent. Bella and Edward were in Florida and dad had gone fishing with Billy during the day and a football game was on tonight, an excuse for both of them to knock back a few beers and enjoy the evening together cheering on their favoured teams.

Because of the solitude I could have let Aro in through the front door, but his arrival was made all the more entertaining when his head appeared at my window.

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair," he called softly as he pulled the rest of his body into my room, somehow, he'd manage to make the climb wearing a tie.

"My goodness!" I gasp and rush over to the window, once again staring down into the darkness and wondering if I could ever make the leap or the climb. "Are you Spiderman?" I turn; my question had a serious tone.

"Spiderman?" Aro frowns and takes a seat at the foot of my bed. "I can't say I know what you mean?"

"Oh dear, I think we'll have to do some serious film watching," my hair flicks the back of my neck as I shake my head, my ponytail swaying from side to side. "Do you have a favourite film?"

"Films aren't really my scene, in fact I don't watch any television," he admits with a shrug.

"Huh, you really must be busy if you don't even watch TV. Or perhaps it's just an American thing? I do think we have too much tech."

"Technology is indeed a blessing and a curse."

I take a seat next to him, bundling my legs up onto the mattress and thumbing the edge of my kindle. "Sometimes more of a blessing," I can't help the small smile on my lips.

"Electronic books," he hums. "I prefer the feel of the paper against my fingers."

"So do I," I agree. "But it's so much easier to store hundreds of books on one device; I don't think my little room could cope."

Aro eyes the three bookshelves I already have precariously overloaded with paperbacks; they were books from my early teen years, lots of them fluffy romance novels or exciting fiction adventures. However there were a few classic Penguin Collection books thrown in the mix. "We have a library at home, filled with thousands of books; you'd never be short of something to read."

"That must be wonderful," I smile.

"I'll show you one day," he says, a strength to his voice that echoes a promise. I suddenly imagine myself being led blindly into a grand library, like the scene from the Disney film Beauty and the Beast, except Aro wasn't a beast; he was the handsome prince from the very start of the story.

"How long are you going to stay here?" I ask, drawing my knees up to my chest. "When are you going…home?"

Aro smiles knowingly and nudges my leg with the side of his hand, signalling for me to slide over. He pulls himself up the bed so he's sat beside me; he looked so out of place in my bed, his loose hair falling down over my pillows, his trouser clad legs extended out over my duvet. The design of the fabric was quite childish, faded pale blue cartoon clouds on a background of soft yellow, I'd had it for years and the use had made it the softest bedspread of all.

"Two weeks," he says softly and reaches up to cup my cheek in his hand. His palm stays on my cheek as he draws his hand down, gently coaxing my head to follow until it hits the pillow and we were led apposite each other. "Then I'll have to go back to Italy, however much I trust my colleagues, they can't be left alone for too long."

"Oh," the sound only escapes my mouth by accident, something inside me felt like it was starting to get crushed.

"I'm sorry," Aro apologises, his hand was still on my face, his palm searing his coldness into my skin. "I leave the night after your graduation."

A small laugh leaves me. "So you miss all the holidays," I force a smile.

"Don't worry, I'll come back," he says. "I don't think I'll have a choice."

"Why do you keep saying things like that?" I sigh. "You always make it sound like some sort of promise."

"What I feel…" Aro closes his eyes as he thinks for the right words. I didn't think it looked right, the way his face forced itself into a look of confusion, I had a feeling he already knew what he wanted to say but was putting on an act for my benefit. "My feelings for you are difficult to explain," he finally settles on. "I know it's too soon for you, and it has been selfish of me to take up all of your time. However I can't, won't be satisfied until I have made every effort to win your heart."

My heart. The organ in question was thumping frantically in my chest. Had Aro just done what I thought he had? I had never said it to anyone other than my family. But the idea of forming the word made my tongue curl back from my dry lips, it was too soon. Far too soon. It was a strange sensation, my poor little brain was confused and not thinking coherently, it was too distracted by my infatuation with Aro to really decipher my own feelings.

"I can't," my tongue darts out to wet my lips, my mouth was incredibly dry. "I can't promise anything…but maybe with more time…"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Aro's smile returns and some of my nerves disperse. "I still have two weeks, we have two weeks." His fingers stroke my cheek, the feel of his skin left icy-hot trails behind them; I couldn't help the instinctive way my neck elongated to keep the contact of his hand on my face. My knees knocked against his and I felt the cool freshness of his breath on my face, cold and mint like a clean winter breeze.

"Do you want to come to a graduation party with me?" I ask, raising my hand to place over his, holding his palm to my cheek. His skin was helping to soothe the flush that still decorated my red cheeks. "It's only at the Cullen's house; you won't have to travel far."

"As your plus one?"

"I guess," I say with a small smile. "Or…or you could come as something a bit more?" My lip caught between my teeth, and I watched as Aro's eyes honed in on the small movement.

"What is more?" he questions, gently stroking a thumb under my eye and down to the corner of my mouth.

"Well, you don't have to agree obviously," I rush out, the words spilling from my lips before I can change my mind. "But you were just saying how you wanted to earn my heart!" A small laugh leaves me in my nervousness. "You could come as my boyfriend?"

"I would like that," Aro moves closer, I braced a hand against his chest, my fingers curling as he kissed me, his shirt scrunching under my assault. I kissed him back, harder than I have ever done before. I wanted, needed to engrain everything about him into my memory, his touch, his scent, his taste. Even though that thought sounded strange in my mind, my reality proved me wrong, because Aro tasted divine. It was as if everything about him had been made specifically in order to addict me to him, I already knew I was addicted, Aro was my new drug, a strong, powerful, Class A narcotic.

I clutched at him, using his shirt as an anchor to pull me closer, our legs tangled, and his arms moved around my waist. I never wanted him to let go.

"You smell like Glacier mints and liquorice," I mumble into his chest. I'd lost track of time, we'd kissed for what felt like hours, my lips were almost sore the tender flesh slightly puffy. Talking had been on and off, small conversation; it felt more intimate, especially as his fingers played in my hair, calming me half to sleep.

"That's an odd combination," he says, a strange sound rumbled from his chest, a cross between a chuckle and what sounded like a purr.

"Stop pretending to be a cat."

"A cat?" he asks.

"You're purring," I yawn. My head rested just under his arm, my cheek pressed against the material of his shirt, he was too solid to rest against completely.

The sound reverberates through him again, deep and comforting. "Sleep, Celestine."

"No," I rasp through another yawn. "Don't go."

"I won't, I promise."

~V~

Sunday was a near identical repeat of our perfect Saturday. I'd woken up to Aro still next to me in bed, his smile pristine, not a hair out of place or a crease that wasn't made by me on his shirt. My sleepy brain had had trouble convincing myself he'd actually been to sleep at all. Once I had fully woken up and Aro had managed to persuade me that I didn't need to brush my teeth before he gave me a good morning kiss, he left – this time from the front door – for me to get ready while he headed back to the Cullen's house to get changed. It had taken me a good ten minutes after he'd gone to draw myself away from the pillows, they smelt of him, deep and rich but with that cool almost minty freshness.

Dad came home between the times Aro left and when he returned, he seemed happy which was good. His team had won the football and he was quite excited to tell me the details, but his mood soured slightly as the doorbell rang.

"Good morning chief Swan," Aro's voice wafted through the house and I felt myself smile just at the sound. "Excellent game wasn't it!" I bolted to the doorway of the living room, poking my head out into the hall.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess it wasn't too bad," dad grunts with a semblance of a smile. "You want a coffee, Mr Voltaire?"

"Aro, please."

"Charlie." And with that Aro and my dad ended up spending over an hour chatting and sometimes laughing about sport at the kitchen table.

"You do realise that was the weirdest thing I've ever witnessed!" I say, my mouth still open in shock as Aro climbs into the driver's seat of his Audi.

"I wanted to impress your father, he's a good man, and is very fond of you, it took me some time to persuade him last week," he admits.

"Well, I can safely say you're on better footing than Edward, even though he did attempt to woo dad with fishing talk," I roll my eyes at the memory. "How did you know so much about the game anyway, you didn't even watch it?"

"A man of many talents," his soft laugh fills the car and I relax back into the smooth leather seat.

"Where are you taking me today then?" Aro twists his head round and flashes a toothy grin.

We arrived at a beach further up the coast, I'd never been to it before but it was stunning. Silver stained driftwood decorated the edge of the sand for as far as I could see; smooth pebbles and stones were embedded into the finer grey sand and silvery waves rolled up to brush against my bare toes.

"Don't get cold la mia bellezza," Aro breath fanned into my ear making me shiver, and the tiny hairs standing up at the back of my neck had nothing to do with temperature.

"What does that mean?" I quiz, dipping my toes further into the water.

"My beauty," his lips graze my earlobe and arms lace themselves around my waist, locking me into his body.

"I'm still going to support that you need glasses," I breathe and convulse sharply when his fingers dig in to tickle my sides. "Aro no!" laughter spills from my mouth as he continues his attack; my feet completely leave the floor as he supports me with just his hands. I had no way of escape.

The waves washed over my feet as my back hit the sand and Aro's larger body caged me beneath him. "I have no need for glasses, la mia bellezza," the words curl around his tongue, melting out of his mouth deliberately slowly. "I will lavish you with compliments, Celestine you are gorgeous, stunning, beautiful, è bellissima."

"And you, vous êtes parfait." My accent was hideous, and Aro's quirked eyebrow tells me just that. "Sorry, I only know little bits of French," I blush.

His mouth covered mine, cold and hot at the same time, his words soaked into my body, but no matter how much he said it I don't believe I could ever fully accept it.

"Celestine Swan?" the nasally voice cut through my moment of perfection and Aro pulled back enough for me to bolt upright and see Lauren and Tyler standing a few meters away.

"Oh…" I dusted sand out my hair and scrambled to my feet. "Hey, Lauren, Tyler."

"Hey Cel," Tyler smiles but his eyes don't meet mine. He'd never quite managed to look at me properly ever since he'd crushed me almost to death with his van.

"Who's your friend?" Lauren asks acidically, eyeing Aro who was still lounging on the sand, he'd propped himself up onto an elbow and observed the two teenagers with a strange edge to his gaze.

"This is…Aro," I glance down at him, watching his static reaction. He doesn't smile, merely nods a greeting which only Tyler returns, Lauren just scowls and returns her attention to me.

"So he is your new dog?" she glowers at me.

"No," I say strongly, I didn't want to look like a coward in front of Aro, he thought I was beautiful, and that alone was a claim Lauren couldn't dispute. "He's my-"

"-boyfriend," Aro cuts in. An arm comes around my waist as he takes up position beside me. "It's a pleasure to meet you both, Celestine has not introduced me to many of her friends." As he speaks he smiles, a forced friendly one which Lauren returns in full force.

"Boyfriend, Celly, you didn't tell us you had such an attractive man on a leash," Lauren cackles and Tyler scuffles awkwardly beside her. "So he's the reason you've been so distracted lately? I heard some of the maths papers from last week were…disappointing. Let's hope you weren't too distracted?"

"You bitch," I went to take a step forward but Aro held me firmly against his side, his grip becoming almost painfully tight.

"I – I think we should go Lor," Tyler tugs her arm, pulling her backwards. "Sorry to disturb you, um, see you at school Cel."

Aro continued to hold me tight until Lauren and Tyler were nothing but pinpricks in the distance. "I'm sorry, Lauren's a…special case of jealous," I grumble. Aro hadn't moved, and when I tried to squirm away from him, his arms only got tighter. "Ugh, Aro, too tight!"

He released me instantly. "I'm so sorry," he held his hands up as if he was surrendering. "Are you hurt? Did I hurt you?"

"No, no it's fine," I shake my head and reach out for his hands. He let me lower them slowly until our fingers were laced together and I was close enough to make his hair move with my breathing. "Are you okay?" His face relaxes and he moves to look down at me.

"Yes," he nods, reassuring himself as well as me. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," I lie. Lauren's words had hit a soft spot inside me. If she was telling the truth about my maths results being poor then all my effort over the last few years would be wasted, and my dreams of being a lawyer would be over before they'd even started. "Come on, let's go and get a drink, I'm getting chilly."

~V~

"The sun is almost constant, warmth that never fades, the light makes everything more colourful everything taste better, look better, and smell better. I can't wait for you to see the gardens, we spent years designing them. I've collected plants from all over the world; we have greenhouses and hundreds of flowerbeds. There's a maze as well, we could spend hours being lost together," his fingers grazed the top of my hand. "You'll adore it, I'm certain."

"You sound like you're trying to sell me some sort of package holiday," I snort and sip at my hot chocolate.

"It's all inclusive," he winks. "And all tours are conducted by me."

"Hmm, tempting," I smile. "Are there any evening activities? How are the local restaurants?"

"There is a private chef on the site, they can prepare anything a guest desires, and as for evening activities," Aro's smile was sultry, his eyes darker than ever. "They are also, all, run by me."

"You make a very persuasive case," I trace the curve of his nails; I was tempted to ask if he had regular manicures. "I might make a deposit."

"Excellent, I'll make the arrangements myself," he chuckles. "Would you like another drink? You definitely lied to me when you said you weren't cold, one hot chocolate and you've already gained back some colour."

"Maybe one more, but you aren't buying this one!" I rush to me feet and order another drink from the counter. When I return to the table Aro was on the phone, speaking in fluent rapid Italian. He smiled when I sat down, and mouthed "brother" to me. He spoke quickly, I couldn't really make anything out he was saying so I just listened to the tone of his voice. It started off reasonably calm, then spiked to an irritated harsh bark, he avoided raising his voice too loudly but after about three minutes he has to step outside to continue his conversation.

I sipped on my fresh hot chocolate while I waited for him, watching him from the corner of my eye as he stood just the other side of the windows, his phone pressed firmly against his ear. He looked so elegant, dressed in a smart collared polo top, a simple cotton jumper and undoubtedly an expensive pair of dark denim jeans. Everything about him exuded confidence and his movements were so fluid and natural they looked completely effortless.

"Apologies," Aro retakes his seat opposite me and immediately reaches across the table for my hand. "Caius is getting a little tense over my absence."

"It's sweet that he misses you so much," I run my finger around the rim of my mug, swiping up the remaining chocolate sprinkles before sticking the tip of my finger in my mouth and licking the sugary chocolate away. "Sorry," I cringe slightly when I raise my eyes to see Aro staring at me intently, his eyes watching as I removed my finger from my mouth. "Old habits die hard," I apologise and clean my hand with the napkin.

"No, don't be embarrassed, it's little things like that I want to see, I want to know about you. I don't usually have to make much of an effort to get to know people," Aro says, and I didn't blame him. As a successful businessman why would he need to waste time getting to know people too personally? "But I very much want to know everything about you Celestine; you're my own little puzzle to solve."

"Perhaps I should make it more of a challenge?"

"I love challenges," he responds. "And I love solving them even more, something I am rather good at."

"Is there anything you're not good at?" I didn't intend for my question to sound rude, but it met my ears like a jarred note, not quite hitting the mark. "I mean, you're so clever, you can scale walls, jump from two storey windows, hike through forests, collect ancient artefacts, run a multi-million dollar business and in all of that you obviously find time to work out, you're as solid as a brick wall."

"Work out?" he questions and I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

"Of course you hear that bit," a blush floods my cheeks. "Don't try and pretend you aren't hiding a six-pack under all those smart shirts."

Aro raises an eyebrow as he begins to chuckle. "I'm afraid you are going to be sorely disappointed," he laughs.

"I don't think you could disappoint me if you tried," I scoff. "But I'm sure you're supporting more than you let on, not even one little tiny ab?"

"Nothing but smooth flesh," Aro shakes his head. "No chiselled abs," his mouth forms the word but it didn't sound at all right being said by him. "I apologise again."

This time I do roll my eyes. "You definitely don't need to apologise about that, anyway let's move onto a different subject before I faint from blushing too much."

"I remember Esme asking about your wellbeing when I first met you, were you suffering from an illness recently?" he asks.

"Oh, no," I shake my head. "At the beginning of last year Bella and I were in an accident involving a van, she managed to escape with just some shock and a bruised arm, and I ended up in hospital for a few weeks, which was followed by four months of physio to help regain movement in my broken leg. Looking back it could have been much worse; I've only got a few scars to show for it, Carlisle was my doctor, as I'm sure you know he's like some sort of God with a scalpel."

"How did it happen?" his brow was furrowed in a deep frown and he held my hand slightly firmer.

"It was really icy, the guy…You know, Tyler who we met earlier, he lost control over his van in the school carpark and it hit our truck. Edward managed to save Bella. Although no one has ever really managed to figure that one out, I'm pretty sure he wasn't that close but I got concussion so my word doesn't count for anything."

"You'd be surprised, I know Edward is quite fast," Aro murmurs.

"Then maybe he should actually do gym, he's got a medical note about something that gets him out of it, he does extra academic work instead. I've always thought Bella should have something like that, gym isn't her friend."

"I'm sorry you had to go through such trauma, that I wasn't there to race to your rescue either," he ends his sentence with a little chuckle.

"Lots of people say that, they go on about how they could have helped me, but everything moved so fast. I guess the silver lining was that I managed to get a few weeks off school after coming out of hospital and I watched the entire series of The Black List, so it wasn't that bad." I smirk and Aro's strained frown seems to relax at my smile. "Don't worry about it, I'm fit as a fiddle now!"

"That is excellent to hear, while I am here though, I will make sure nothing happens to you," he says firmly.

"Alright, Aro, my guardian angel."