A/N: Do not think this chapter is at all filler. It is important. I promise.

Chapter Five:

I didn't know where to go from here. It was my senior year in High School, the end of October was coming into view, and I knew there was nothing left to do in my life. Because now with being the slayer, how can I expect to be anything else.

I laid awake in her bed like I usually did. The sun was beginning to rise. I remember loving this time of day, I used to.

Thump!

What was that?

"Who's there?" I called out. I sat up in my bed and covered myself with my covers.

"Just me." said a deep voice.

Mitch?

"Mitch! What are you doing here?" His pale face appeared through my window.

"Well, I wanted to see you." He smiled coyly. "Can I come in?"

"If I say no, will that prevent you from coming in?" I said drowsily.

"Actually, yes."

"Really?" I mused.

"Well, there's no mystical force keeping me out," He said casually. "I'm just a gentleman."

I sighed, "Mitch, what are you really doing here?"

He was quiet for a second, "Just seeing how you're doing."

"No need to worry."

"But I am."

I sat there. Stupid vampires that start caring about me. I hate this. But having people that care about me shouldn't suck and I really need to get a grip. I sighed in defeat.

"Mitch, come in."

I got out of my bed and ran my hands through my hair and pushed it straight back. I straightened my shirt as he stumbled in through my window. He really must be half human. He's definitely missing the grace that the Cullen's had.

"Do you want coffee or something? What time is it anyway?" I turn to my clock. It's 4:56 AM. "Wait, do you eat? Like human food." It just occured to me.

"I'm not all vampire, I can actually sustain myself pretty well on just food. I could never say no to a donut. Especially dumped into so warmed up pigs blood. mmm." He said.

I made a face of pure disgust. "I hope you know because of that image I will never be able to eat a donut again." I don't even know if I was just kidding.

He laughed and we headed out of my bedroom and down stairs.

"So," I say once we reach the kitchen, "Why are you awake at this fine hour?"

"Ehh," He says lounging on one of my bar stools, " I only sleep if I have to."

"Interesting."I say, unknowing of what else could I possibly say to that. I mean, how does one talk to a vampire/human hybrid? What is one significant thing I could say?

I walked toward the container and grabbed the coffee pot, heading over the sink and began filling it with water.

"Bella," He began. "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

The question took me aback. I was just thinking about that before he came here. I hope I'm not dealing with yet another mind reader. "That's a random question."

"I personally have always wanted to be a fireman." He said answering his own question, "I want to help people that are in trouble."

I smile a little smile. "I guess that's what I want to do." I paused, "Not be a fireman, but help people. I suppose that career kind of picked me, though." I begin pouring the water in the back of the coffee maker.

"So what's your plan? Are you going to stay here in the UP?" he questioned.

"Carmen and I don't really have a plan, " I admitted. "I figured we'd stay here until...I don't even know. Once everything starts to feel safe around here again."

"So...you're just moving from school to school fighting off the immediate dangers?"

"That's the plan. But I'm not really sure, actually. I haven't talked about it with Carmen."

"Well," Mitch simply stated. "Carmen is probably not going to want to leave."

I raised my eyebrow. "Really? and why is that?"

"Braxton is here right now. His car is in the driveway. I can only assume that he's with Carmen right now."

My jaw dropped. "What?"

"You heard me."

"You're kidding." I rush to the window overlooking our driveway. And sure enough there was a little white car sitting beside my beast of a truck.

"I am so pissed." I said to myself in awe looking at the car.

Muffled laughter came behind me from the kitchen. Mitch.

I begin my trek back over to the coffee maker which now just seems like it's taking forever to make. "Why are you so angry?" He asked. "It's not like you're her mom."

I rolled my eyes at him. "No. But I am her sister. And I don't want to deal with this dumb love stuff."

"Sounds like you got your heart broken one too many times."

I purse my lips and shake my head at him. I sigh deeply as I look at him. His stupid grin. and his stupid blonde shiny hair falling into his stupid eyes. "Listen, Mitch.." I try to say calmly. Trying not to snap. "This is one of those things that I DO NOT want to talk about. And also, I DO NOT have to talk about. I'd really appreciate if you would stop asking about my past. Okay?"

His grin melted away. "Bella, I'm sorry." I had no doubts that he was being sincere. It's just been such a weird night.

"It's okay. I'm just really trying to recover from all this. And it's hard with constant reminders. I'm just trying to move on." I said with an even tone.

It was quiet in the room for a minute. The coffee maker behind me growled, signalling that it's finished.

"Well, How about that coffee?" I said. "How do you like your coffee?" I took a step toward the fridge and opened the door.

He grinned again, " The same way I like my women, pale and full of liquor."

"I have french vanilla creamer." I said dryly.

"No liquor?"

"Not in this house."

"The creamer will do."

I grabbed the creamer out of the fridge and set it on the counter, then grabbed two mugs out of the cupboard.

"You know what would be funny." Mitch started deviously. " If we woke up Carmen, to invite her to coffee with us."

I grinned, "I'm not that interested in seeing them naked."

"But, Bella,"He said, "Don't you think if the tables were turned…"

"Mitch trust me, she wouldn't do that to me. She knows I would kill her."

"What if you just knocked on her door really loud? And spooked her."

I pondered. I smiled. "Okay, you talked me into it." We began to walk sneakily through the house, heading upstairs to carmen's room.

"And feel special, because I'm normally not the type to pull pranks." I added whispering.

"It's almost halloween, it's time for some hijinks." He responded quietly. "Speaking of halloween, what are the chances that you'll go to the halloween dance with me?"

"Slim to none."

"Why?"

"I'm just now finding out about this dance. And I have nothing to wear. And I can't dance."

We reached Carmen's bedroom door. I turned behind me to see Mitch smiling wildly. He put up his hand and held up three fingers. counting down and putting one finger down as the seconds went by. Three...Two...One…

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK "Carmen, come drink some coffee with me! I can't sleep."

Instantly I heard shuffling around in the room and some hushed stage whispers. and a very distinctive "oh, sh*t," from Braxton.

"Coming!" Carmen practically squealed.

I grinned a toothy grin that matched Mitch's. "Is everything okay?" I said with faux concern.

"Yes! Absolutely! Meet you downstairs!" she said hysterically through the door.

We muffled our laughter and made our way downstairs.

We took opposite seats at the dining table and sipped on our mugs of coffee.

"We did a good thing here." He said smugly.

"I couldn't agree more." I said cutely.

"Now," He started, "About that dance."

"Subtlety is really not your thing is it?" I shot back jokingly.

He laughed. And it almost looked like he blushed. A vampire that blushes? What is this magic? He really is more human than anything. I like the way he looks with some red in his cheeks.

I answered him, "Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"A solid maybe is all I can offer you."

The sound of a herd of elephants came through the stair case. Then before our eyes arrived both Carmen and Braxton.

"So," she announced. "I decided that it would be stupid to try to hide this from you. I may still be seventeen, but I'm turning 18 next month, and that means I'm an adult. And hiding boys in my room is childish. And I'm a consenting adult and I feel no need to feel afraid to tell you that Braxton spent the night here and-" she stopped suddenly in her rant. "Mitch, what are you doing here?"

Braxton just stood there with an awkward grin. "Hey, C, you just said we were all consenting adults here. We don't need to confront Bella and Mitch."

"Ha." I said shortly.

"I'm just here for the coffee." Mitch said plainly.

"Great. Let's drink this coffee. We don't have school for another three hours. I could spend this extra time sleeping. But nah. I'm not tired. I'm wired. Completely wired."

"I can tell." I said to Carmen with a smile.

Eventually Mitch and Braxton parted. Leaving Carmen and I to get ready for school. I hate to admit it, but I was thinking about that lame dance. I hate dances. but as I always ask myself, "What would Buffy do?" Buffy would never turn down a dance! Especially with an attractive guy. Yes...I'm mature enough to admit it.

Carmen walked down the stairs when I was drinking another cup of coffee and eating a grapefruit for breakfast. I could tell she put a lot of effort into her looks today. Her face was flawless, her hair was shiny. She even accessorized. Topping a cute outfit with a colorful scarf. What a diva.

We arrived at school in no time at all. The halls were buzzing. Virginia was let out of the psych ward. And, the even more popular topic, The Halloween Dance tonight. Now that I know it's tonight, I'm definitely not going. There's no way. I have nothing to wear.

I found myself walking in the halls in somewhat of a trance. Watching the students scamper in slow motion. Cue the cheesy background music. Probably something Danny Elfman would come up with. My own imagination can't quite afford Hans Zimmerman.

A boy came in front of me, He was shorter than most of the guys here. About the same height as me, his skin dark like Braxton's. His hair was straight and black. He was holding a small bouquet of flowers.

I raised an eyebrow, "Hi. Are you looking for someone?"

His voice was very soft, "Only you. Bella, will you go to the dance with me?"

I was taken aback. and flattered. Who is this guy? "I'm sorry, I didn't plan on going to the dance. I have nothing to wear." I paused. "I'm sorry, have we met already?"

He cracked a soft smile, and gestured for me to open my locker. I turned slowly to my locker and twisted in my combination. I opened the door and there I saw a beautiful gown. Blue, with gold designs, that sparkled like diamonds. I loved it. I touched it. and felt it between my fingers. So soft. I was mesmerized.

"Come with me to the dance. You're the most beautiful girl in the whole school. I pick you. I want you to be my one."

"Prove it, " I said. I didn't know what I was saying. It was like I had no control over myself. "Take your Canoe to kitch-iti-kipi, I'll jump off the rock, and if you can catch me in your canoe over the water, I'll be yours."

"Bella!" I heard someone calling my name. I broke from my trance. And he was no longer there.

"Bella!" it was Carmen, she laughed, "what are you doing? Are you completely zoning out on your locker or what…?" She stopped. "Wait, where did that dress come from?"

I put my hands over my eyes and shook my head. Ugh, what just happened…. "I guess Mitch put it there? He really wanted me to go to the dance with him tonight. I guess now I have no excuse not to."

"Yeah, I guess I'd space out on that dress too." she commented. "It's gorgeous…" she trailed off. and looked down at the ground sadly.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

She sighed, "Now I have to find a dress and go to that stupid dance." she laughed.

"We'll go shopping after school. It'll be fine. Do you know when the dance starts?"

"It starts at eight." the first bell rang and we departed and went off to our classes.

I stepped into my first period and to my surprise Mitch was in my class and took a seat next to me, he had his little vampire grin on his face.

"Alright," I said, "You win. I have a dress. Meet me at the dance?"

"I thought you said you didn't have one?" he questioned slyly. Pretending he had nothing to do with putting that dress in my locker, I suspect.

"Well, I do now. I hope you don't plan on actually dancing. My expertise is killing vampires, not the Cha Cha Slide." I said jokingly.

"How about I stop by your house and teach you how before the dance? It's easy."

"I'm going to have to turn you down. Carmen still needs a dress and we're going shopping after school."

Right at that moment my phone beeped. I took my phone out of my pocket, a text message, "Skipping school, going dress shopping, see you at home." it said. It was from Carmen. Wow, she must be out to get me.

"What's the sitch, kim possible?" Mitch said jokingly.

"Oh nothing. I actually won't be doing anything after school. It also looks like I'm going to need a ride home from school anyway. Carmen is skipping school. and took the truck with her."

"Dancing lessons?" he asked slyly.

I sighed, "I guess so."

"you're going to be great, don't worry." he assured me.

"Now I don't want you to think of this as dancing." He started.

We arrived at my house shortly after school. We're now standing in the living room facing each other. He was looking at me eagerly while I grimace slightly.

"How am I supposed to think of this?" I asked.

"This is a trust exercise, Slayer. This is going to be tough on you, considering you were born to lead. But if you want to look like you've been dancing your whole life, you need to trust your partner. You need to let go of your instincts. Relax. Maybe we should start out with yoga…" he trailed off.

"Oh be quiet, I know how to relax." I huffed.

He laughed, "Okay, so take my hand," He held out his right hand and I grabbed it with my left. I gasped. His hand was warm.

His eyebrows furrowed together. "What's wrong?"

I smiled lightly, "Your hand was warm. I was surprised. That's all." He made a face that told me he was putting together what I meant by that. He didn't comment on it.

"Okay, continuing the lesson," he said. "Then I put my hand here." He placed his left hand on my waist. "and you place your other hand on my shoulder." I did as I was told. "Okay, now come just a little bit closer to me. Dancing is intimate. You can't be too shy."

"Ah, I left Shy Bella in Washington. This is Timid Bella, or Embarrassed Bella. Because I have no idea what I'm doing." I moved closer to him, we were about 6 inches apart.

He stared at me in the eyes. Ugh, this was intimate. "Okay, now, this is going to be tough. but you need to sort of let go, figuratively. Not literally. Basically, you just need to trust me and my movements. and trust that I know what I'm doing. I know you can do it. " He said encouraging me. "Okay," he said pulling away. "Now we're going to do this for real." He pulled out his phone and put on some music. and stuck his phone back into his pocket. A song began to play and i recognized it immediately.

"Are you serious?" I said shaking my head. "Edwin McCann?

"Edwin McCain," he corrected with a laugh. "Now come on. Dance with me. I know you love this one."

We returned back to our previous pose. His warm hand still a surprise to me. "How do you know I love this song? Is it written on my face?"

"Easy, because you're a lady. And you've probably seen A Cinderella Story a hundred times."

"I may or may not have the soundtrack on my iTunes." I admitted with a laugh. I was starting to relax. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

He took his first move and I followed him. He moved his right foot back, I moved my right foot forward. I let go and was able to actually enjoy this. I listened to the song, and let him take me across the living room floor at ease.

I'll be your crying shoulder,

I'll be love's suicide

I'll be better when I'm older,

I'll be the greatest fan of your life.

"You're doing great! I told you , you could do it. We're going to be the coolest people at the dance, let me tell ya."

"I hate to burst your bubble, but Carmen was in ballet for 6 years. She might upstage you a bit." I laughed.

"Be that as it may, it's you that I want to dance with. Not Carmen." He blushed a little bit. I hate how much I like it seeing him blush.

Before the song was even over Carmen made it home. She ended up buying two dresses leaving me with the ultimate decision to decide for her. Mitch ended up leaving shortly after that. said he'd meet me at the dance.

I have never spent so much time getting ready before. Carmen let me borrow some gold-sparkle eyeshadow and I watched a youtube tutorial trying to learn how to properly apply it. Carmen ended up putting it on for me, then lining my eyes with a thick but precise line of black eyeliner.

I couldn't decide if I liked it or not. I don't even look like myself.

With a spritz of perfume, we were both done. I'm still having second thoughts about this dumb dance that I found out about this very morning. If you told me yesterday that I'd be going to another high school dance I would not believe you. I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror and scowled at the Bella I am today. Get over yourself, Bella. I told myself. Go be normal for a night.