Author's Note: Sorry this one took so long! Between vigorously studying for midterms, doing mountains of homework, and suffering through long, rigorous musical rehearsals after school, I haven't had much time to write. Plus, I had written chapter seventeen one way, but then completely scrapped it. It was too boring, and this epic idea randomly popped into my head at like eleven at night after I finished all my homework this week while I was listening to M79 by Vampire Weekend… so here it is! (finally) Thank you (again) for the heaps of support… you have no idea what it means to me. I'd love love LOVE some reviews… they make my day (and make me forget the immense pressure I'm under at school right now…) Please be patient with me during this time! This is my first time suffering through midterms… I hate being a freshman. =[
Love,
Mel =]
17. Masquerade
"Well, here we are." Ronan said, putting me down and beaming at me as I took in our surroundings with a confused expression.
"You do know we're in front of a ball gown shop…" I began quietly, making sure I wasn't hallucinating when I read the elegant neon sign that flashed Belle Boutique at me in the darkening air.
He smirked. "I'm aware of that."
I nodded, the completely perplexed expression still composing my features. "Alrighty then…?"
He laughed and took my hand. "Let's take a look. I have a surprise for you."
He pushed the exponentially clean glass revolving door and pulled me into the posh black and white store. A man with treated, spiked hair, retro-chic black glasses framing his eyes and recently manicured finger nails greeted me as I walked into the sweet smelling shop and offered me bottled water. I accepted it absently with a weak thank you, taking in the store of my dreams. New-age French music played in the background, but that and the small, handcrafted fountain in the middle of the store weren't what caught my attention. It was the delicate, powder blue gown that taunted me on the mannequin in front of me. I slid my finger down the exterior, gawking at the perfect design. The most beautiful dress I had ever laid eyes on.
"You can stop drooling. I have your size right here." I was startled by the high-pitched voice that came from behind me.
"Alice! How…"
She waved my car keys in my face. "The Porsche is fast."
I shook my head and smiled. Alice probably already saw this conversation. "So, what is this all about?"
Alice shook her head. "You know what I want to know, Ava? I want to know how you can love dancing and not know what Giorgio's is."
I shrugged. "Maybe because I just moved here…"
Alice shook her head again. "But Ava, Giorgio's Ball Room is renowned all over the world!"
I gasped. "Oh my God! He's taking me to that Giorgio's?" I asked Alice excitedly.
Alice nodded and chuckled. "What other Giorgio's would he be bringing you to? Now go try on this dress. And quick. I still need to do your hair, Cinderella."
I nodded at Alice, taking my dream dress eagerly and glanced over at the gloating Ronan sitting on the white leather ottoman in the corner, beaming at me. I knew he could tell he hit home with me. And he most definitely did.
***
"Okay, just this last one, some hairspray and you're done." Alice said, concentrating on putting the fiftieth and final pin in the pile of hair on my head in the Porsche. Ronan was waiting outside; Alice refused to let him see me, dress and all, until she was completely satisfied with her work. When she finally put the last pin in the perfect place, with quick hands, she took hairspray and began vigorously spraying the long copper curls hanging around my face, my perfectly side-brushed bangs and the rest of the hair piled up on my head. When she was finished, I coughed as the sweet cloud of hairspray filled my lungs. I went to open the door, but Alice snatched my hand away before I could even get my hand on the button.
She held up her index finger. "There are a few finishing touches." She dug through her purse for a second before she came out with two small, yet exponentially elegant hair combs.
"Oh, Alice, those are beautiful." I said gaping at the glistening sapphire-stoned objects she began setting into my hair.
"They're Bella's. She wanted you to wear them." Alice smiled. "And…" She began digging around her purse again, and pulled out a small black case. She opened it slowly, and a smile formed on her lips as I marveled at the white, gold rimmed mask that had small sapphires lining the right side as well. "You can't go to a masquerade without a mask." She finished.
"Alice…"
"Look, I'll trade you this for my sapphire necklace you found with our stuff. I miss that thing dearly." She smiled at my awe again.
I picked up the delicate, most likely foreign and hundreds of dollars, one-of-a- kind mask and tied the silk ribbon around my head to make it stay. "Any day, Alice." I gave her a hug. "Any day."
She pulled away and opened her large portable compact mirror where she kept her endless amounts of make up that was useless to her flawless complexion. I beamed at us in the mirror. "You look absolutely gorgeous, Ava."
"Thank you so much, Alice." I told her.
"Put these on." She said, handing me long, white silk gloves, and a pair of one inch-heeled, strappy dance shoes. I put both items on happily, and looked at my unbelievable reflection in the mirror again, taking a deep breath. Alice put a hand on my shoulder.
"Go get 'em, Cinderella."
I smiled and nodded, pushing the button for the door of the Porsche to open to Ronan, who was pacing by a bench out side of the bustling ballroom. When I stepped onto the curb in the gown that hugged my curves perfectly, like it was custom made for me, I heard him let out a small gasp, and I smirked. This had to be the first time I surprised him.
He glided over to me and took my hand, twirling me around. "Ava, you look so beautiful."
I would've usually looked down and examined my split ends at the compliment, but I couldn't take my eyes off of his face. He was wearing a gold, Phantom of the Opera style mask that covered the right side of his face to his cheek bone, and the one side of his white face that wasn't covered was glowing in the blaring street lights of the city. I smiled. "You don't clean up too bad yourself." I told him, practically gawking at his perfectly sculpted body in a tux. Too bad was merely an understatement.
He held out his arm for me. "May I have the honor to escort you, Miss Jameson?"
I giggled at his proper manner habitually. "I'd be delighted." I told him in an old-English accent. I contentedly linked my arm with his.
We made our way through the crowd of masked people up the steps to the massive ball room, and stopped at the door where security guards stood with an electronic clipboard.
"Guest or plus one?" The hefty guard asked Ronan politely.
"Plus one." Ronan answered, never unlinking his arm from mine. "We're guests of Carlisle and Esme Swan-Mason?"
Once the familiar names left his tempting lips, I shot him a look of horror. His parents were here? I was about to meet my vampire boyfriend's adoptive parents? My knees suddenly felt weak. By the looks of my relationship with my mother and father, parents obviously weren't my forte.
While the security guard scrolled down his touch-screen clipboard with a shiny metal stylist, Ronan smirked at my expression. Of course he knew I was apprehensive.
The security guard looked up at us suddenly and gave us a smile. "Here we are. Mr. Swan-Mason and Miss Jameson? Welcome to Giorgio's." He pushed the button for the golden-framed door to slide open, and gestured toward the party. Ronan led me in eagerly, and even as nervous as I was, I couldn't deny the jittery excitement building up in me as the loud, nostalgic music enveloped us. Not to mention the exquisite interior of the ballroom. Gold lined the high, intricately designed ceilings and marble floor, and even made up the railings leading down both two curving staircases that circled both sides of the entrance to the dance enormous dance floor below us.
Pulling Ronan along with me, I speed-walked through the crowd in the entrance to look over the balcony at the dance floor. The three large chandeliers that hung on the intricate ceilings dimly illuminated the hundreds of colorful gowns twirling simultaneously to the music in masks on the marble dance floor. There was an orchestra on a stage to the far right of the room, vigorously playing an up-beat ballad from the twentieth century. Around the large dance floor were a sequence of small tables, where I saw waiters and waitresses taking guest's orders in masks as well.
I smiled wide at the sight, the jitters taking over my legs and pulling him down the right staircase with me.
Ronan laughed. "Someone's excited…"
I snapped my head up at him, keeping up the same speed down the stairs through the crowd. "Are you kidding? You brought me to a masquerade!" I squealed over the deafening, yet beautiful music. "This is insane, Ronan. Absolutely out of this world. Excited is only an understatement." I smiled wide, leading us to the packed dance floor.
He stopped me, pulling me towards him when we were off the stairs and only feet away from the dance floor. He gave me a malevolent smirk. "My parents have a table reserved for us over there." He averted his eyes over to the tables in the restaurant surrounding the dance floor and met mine again. I frowned.
"But can't we just have one dance first?" I asked, pouting my lip. I didn't care how childish I seemed. I didn't do well with parents.
Ronan shook his head. "What's the problem, Avs? Carlisle and Esme are going to love you."
I looked down. "You don't know that… I don't do too well when it comes to parents…"
Ronan rolled his eyes. "Look, Ava. The Kimbly's were uppity, filthy-rich, selfish, vain…" His free hand balled up into a fist, and the one side of his face that was not covered by his mask became ferocious. "And that Joseph… he's lucky to still be alive after seeing your memories of him…"
I grabbed his tightly balled hand. "Ronan." I couldn't help but giggle, trying to calm him down. For once, his rage was almost flattering.
He shook his head and smirked. "Anyway, they're probably wondering where we are."
I frowned, but he pulled gently on my hand anyway, pulling me closer to him. "They're going to love you." He reassured me.
I nodded, biting my bottom lip, and he began leading me through the crowd. I glanced at each table we passed at the guests of the party, anticipation and anxiety building up inside of me as we made our way through the large dining area. I spotted his adoptive parents the second I laid eyes on them. Even masked, they were both mesmerizingly beautiful and pale white. They smiled simultaneously when they noticed us approaching them.
When we reached the table, Carlisle nodded at Ronan. "Hello, Ronan. I'm glad you two could make it." He looked over at me and smiled.
Ronan cleared his throat. "Carlisle, Esme, I'd like you to meet Ava Jameson."
Esme smiled at me, and stood up. She had on yet another stunning mask, this one purple with black, floral designs ringing the exterior. Her caramel waves fell perfectly past her shoulders, highlighting her halter top, dark purple gown. It was insane to consider her Ronan's mother. She didn't look a day over twenty-five. She carefully took a piece of the skirt of my dress between her fingers and shook her head. "This dress is exquisite, Ava."
I smiled shyly, and pulled on one of the loose locks of hair hanging by my face. "Thank you, Mrs… er… Swan-Mason." I stuttered stupidly. I had to catch myself before I said Cullen in public.
She laughed lightly. "Esme."
I smiled, the anxiety beginning to wear off. "Nice to meet you."
Carlisle came over to me then, looking almost as charming as Ronan did in his tux, and a classic, black mask. He held out his hand. "It's a pleasure to formally meet you, Ava." He smiled wryly.
I nodded, taking his hand and shaking it. "Same to you. I'm so sorry I scared you the other day. And by the way, thanks for saving my life." I bit my lip, smiling.
He shrugged. "I am an emergency surgeon. That's what I'm trained to do. And, Ava? I wasn't scared of you. I tend to many people with horrific injuries on the job everyday and I'm barely phased. But when I caught a glimpse of you in that car, scared is too light of a word to describe what I was feeling. I was closer to absolutely terrified." He laughed.
I laughed with him. "I can't say I didn't feel the same way."
Esme shook her head at her husband. "I'm sorry I didn't witness this." She looked over at me then. "I'm sorry he gave you such a scare, Ava. Do you happen still have those pictures?"
I nodded. "Of course. They are still in mint condition even after all those years."
She smiled, almost relieved looking. "Oh, really!? Do you think I could have them back? The one of Carlisle, Renesmee and I is my favorite. I miss that one dearly."
I smiled. "I'll give it to Ronan the second we get back."
"Oh thank you, Ava!" She looked over at her husband then. "We'll let you get something to eat now. It was so pleasant to meet you." She embraced me then. "Make sure you get out there soon." She whispered in my ear. "Ronan is the best at the waltz." She pulled away and winked at me.
"Thanks, Esme." I smiled. "It was a pleasure to meet you both."
"See you soon, Ava." Carlisle told me before he and his wife loped to the dance floor.
I smiled at Ronan, who pulled out the high, black wired chair that matched the high table for me and called over a waitress. "Could you get her the filet mignon, well done please? And a club soda?"
The waitress wrote my order down, while I shook my head. "I'll be right back with that, sir."
Ronan noticed me shaking my head. "What?"
I smiled at him. "Show off." I accused.
"Come on, Avs. You know that's what you wanted. It's your favorite." He told me.
I shrugged. "Well, if you would've let me look at the menu, I might have been able to find something more suitable for my apatite at the moment… yeah, I would've picked the steak."
He laughed. "Figures."
"You don't have to do this, you know." I told him. "I know you don't eat and all. We could do other more… um… you know… vampire-like activities."
He shook his head. "Okay, first of all, vampire-like activities usually lean towards hunting and blood. I don't think it would be a good idea for you to even be in the range of that danger. Plus, Edward suggested something like this to me… to make this a very human-like first date."
"Edward suggested this?" I asked.
"Well, yeah. Carlisle was invited to this because he's a very high-ranked surgeon at one of the top ten hospitals in the country at the moment. His hospital's actually a couple streets over; a very popular one in Seattle. So, when Carlisle told us we were welcome to come, I immediately thought of you, and what Edward said about our relationship. He is the one with all the experience of being in love with a human. He gives me a lot of good advice about us. Like… the humming you to sleep in my arms? He did that with Bella all the time while she was human. It helped him tremendously when it came to dealing with the pungent smell of her blood… and it helps me a lot when it comes to the Des memories."
"Hmm." I nodded, rolling my eyes at his unoriginality.
He smiled, oblivious. "So, anymore questions you feel the need to bombard me with?"
I looked past him, racking my brain for more of the outrageous and most likely painful questions I had prepared for Ronan. But when I looked into his joy-filled eyes, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Instead, I had a better idea.
"What video games do you play?" I asked as the waitress put my drink in front of me.
"What?" He asked, raising one eyebrow.
"You want this date to be human-like? Well there's a very human-like first date-worthy question right there. Just answer it."
He averted his eyes upward, thinking. "Mostly the ones that involve sports or violence. The G-Cylinder is probably the best invention that's came out of this age so far." He nodded.
I nodded too, thinking about the new four foot tall, four foot wide cylinder that filled with incredibly sharp pictures of holographic games when flipped on. I didn't personally own one; my sisters despised video games mainly because they were horrible at them, so my parents never bothered to buy one. But I had played one before, and to be honest, it was amazing.
"That thing is awesome. I completely slaughtered some guys in the violence-category games at a party in Honolulu. Their faces were just absolutely…"
"Priceless." Ronan finished for me, probably chuckling at my memory of the defeated teenage boys smashing the controllers onto the carpet and storming away, grunting when I defeated them.
Ronan looked at me then. "I would love to play you sometime. So would Emmett. He seemed pretty excited when I told him you were a gamer."
I smirked, envisioning myself kicking Emmett's butt in Final Destruction 3, the most violet G-Cylinder known to man. "Tell him it's on."
He laughed. "You and Emmett are going to be great friends. Competition is your foreground."
I shrugged. "That's years and years of competing for parts in musicals and plays. It gets to your head after awhile."
He shook his head, laughing. "What?" I asked.
"You think that's competitive? You should've seen some of my surfing competitions. I actually won a championship one time and went to celebrate with some buddies at a restaurant on the beach in Clearwater, and when I was walking home I got jumped by some of my competitors."
My eyes widened. "Talk about sore losers. Were you hurt?"
He shook his head. "No, but they stole my new wallet that had eighty bucks in it. Man, was I pissed."
I nodded. "I'll bet. But I don't think any sore-loser story beats the time that girl Juliet attacked me in second grade."
He laughed. "That little girl was a psycho. I mean, come on, it was over the lead in the second grade musical. And she was horrible! I watched your memory of the auditions… she definitely deserved the crappy part she got. You were Jiminy Cricket."
I smiled at began examining my split-ends. Compliments always got to me. "Um… thanks. But I don't know if it was worth the broken ruler going into my arm 'on accident' after the cast list was posted. I still have the scar." I held out my arm for him to examine the injury.
He raised his eyebrows at the thick, centimeter and a half long scar that remained on my arm and was almost unnoticeable due to the scar treatments I'd been going for since. "Didn't say she didn't have a good arm. I'll have to get Carlisle to take a look at that." He chuckled.
I shook my head. "I spent an entire day in the nurse. She basically globbed on as much Skin Fixture as possible when she saw all the blood and crying and my teacher having a melt down. It took half the day to dry, and I had to miss the first rehearsal. And want to hear the ironic part of this insane story?"
He shook his head and smiled. "Juliet's parents convinced the head master it was an accident, left a stack of money on his desk, and she read for you that day."
I pointed my index finger. "Ding, ding, ding."
He shook his head and rolled his eyes. "The oblivion of some people…"
"More like the power of money." I interjected. He nodded in agreement.
I sighed, and noticed our waitress coming with my meal. My stomach growled right on cue as I sat up and moved my drink out of the way.
"Here you are." She said as she slid the steaming dish in font of me. I chuckled while opening my silverware as Ronan told the waitress he didn't want anything. I began eagerly digging into my steak as the waitress left, and groaned in delight.
"Good?" Ronan asked, amused.
"Delicious." I told him. "Does it completely suck not being able to eat?"
He laughed. "'Suck' is the key word, Avs."
I shrugged. "Yeah, well, what was your favorite food as a human?"
He smiled, closing his eyes. "King crab. Clearwater had this incredible restaurant my parents and I would go to almost every Friday my dad was home, and we'd just eat so much crab…" He shook his head. "I miss those days. Food was my favorite. Now I have a new craving."
I looked down. "Yeah… aren't you… thirsty? Your eyes are darker than usual…"
He shook his head. "I'm going hunting tomorrow. I'll be fine."
"Are you sure?" I asked, skeptical.
He shook his head. "Do you think Edward would ever allow me to come out with you if I couldn't control myself?" He laughed. "I swear, it's like he's more protective over you around vampires than his own blood-filled daughter…"
I was flabbergasted. "Renesmee's… blood-filled? But she hunts!"
"How do you think our self-control is so precise? I've been in the presence of Renesmee bleeding numerous times. I'm pretty much immune to the smell now. Barely phases me now, except when I'm in my hunting mode, as you unfortunately were forced to witness." He looked down before he continued. "And since she's half and half, she can survive on food or blood. She prefers blood, though. Food makes her queasy."
"I see. That's… different." I managed.
He nodded. "She's one of very few of her kind."
I shook my head, more questions immediately evading my mind, but I pushed them away in an instant when I realized where they were leading. "Crap." I muttered.
"What?" He asked, dubious.
"This dinner isn't so human anymore…" I chuckled.
His eyes widened. "Oh! Dammit…" He stopped abruptly, listening to the new song the orchestra started playing, which was one of Coldplay's classic songs. He looked down at my empty plate. "Are you finished?"
I nodded. "Thank you. That was delicious."
He slapped some dollar bills on the table, stood up, and held out his hand to me. "May I have this dance, Ava Jameson?"
I put my hand in his, beaming. "Of course."
I slid out of the high chair, and began walking with Ronan to the packed dance floor. Once we found a small vacant spot on the floor, he pulled me closer than he ever had to him, and put his hand on my lower back. I hesitated. "Are you sure…"
He nodded, took my arm and put it on his shoulder. "Des hated to dance."
I smiled, but was still a little hesitant. I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to keep myself from closing the distance between our lips. I took a deep breath, hoping I could hold onto my sanity for this slow song. His breath was just so sweet…
He began moving us slowly to the tempo of the song around the other couples on the dance floor. I had to distract my urges. "Um… do you like cars?" I asked.
He shook his head. "Name one guy you've met that doesn't." He chuckled.
I nodded. "Okay, what's your favorite model?"
He averted his eyes upward while we twirled to the song. "I'd have to say the Glyd X7554… it's brand new and has amazing features."
I furrowed my eyebrows, seeing if the minuscule amount I knew about cars would help me to figure out what the hell this Glyd X-whatever was. He noticed my perplexed expression, and after a moment of thinking, I gave him a weak smile and shook my head.
He nodded. "I knew you'd have no idea… but you have seen one before."
I shook my head, my confused expression still composing my features.
He laughed. "Carlisle's car. The one he weaved through the traffic with frantically when you spotted him the other day?"
"Hm." I remembered. "My dad likes that one a lot."
He nodded then started again on the car. "Well, anyway, Edward actually got the car as a joke for Bella on there anniversary this year, but Bella didn't find it too funny. She was actually pretty pissed." He chuckled.
"Yeah, I'd probably feel the same way if someone bought me an extravagant car as a joke." I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "What was so funny about this joke anyway?"
"Well, Edward bought Bella a car just like it before they were married. One that was indestructible, had dark tinted windows, and would most likely put a semi in the auto-repair shop if in a collision. He was just so obsessed with keeping her safe during this period when she was still a vulnerable human…"
"Wait." I interjected. "If he wanted to keep her safe so badly, then why didn't he just change her?"
He let out a long, sweet-smelling breath, thinking. I was staring at his lips again as he spoke. "He didn't want to take away her life from her. He wanted to keep her human, he felt like she'd miss human things if he changed her, and he didn't want to do that to her. He didn't want to be the one to turn her into a demon."
I shook my head. "Demon? Are you kidding me?" I said, taking my hand out of his and putting it to his cheek. He flinched away immediately.
"Sorry." He said in a strained voice. "Des… she did that a lot." He took my hand and put it behind his ear. He smiled. "That's better."
I did my best to smile. "Yeah." I said, my voice shaky. "But isn't it worth it, though? To be changed for love?"
He shook his head. "Not in Edward's eyes. He loathed himself, what he was, what he was doing with Bella… he thought of himself as a monster. Bella wanted to be changed for a year before he finally had to do it when she was dying from Ness, but he completely despised the idea. That would be selfish in his eyes. Taking her life for himself, because he loved her. He thought it was selfish just being with her because it put her human life in danger. Plus, even though she was eager to become one of us, she was the tiniest bit hesitant because of what she'd be leaving behind. Her father, her mother, her friends, her personality before it turned into a rabid newborn's…"
I shook my head, trying to figure this irreverence out. "I would happily be changed for you."
"What?" He asked, like he misheard what I said.
"I said, I would happily be changed for you, Ronan." I told him.
"Are you kidding me?" He asked me, aghast.
"Are you kidding me? Of course I would, Ronan. My family probably doesn't even know I'm gone at the moment, let alone do they care. Spending eternity with you… it doesn't sound like a bad trade for my life at all. And I could handle the pain of the venom… I've had every bone in my body broken before and survived, and it'd be worth it. I love you." I stroked his hair.
With his free hand, held my hand to his head and whispered, "Ava." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Avs, I love you too, but neither Edward nor Carlisle would ever stand for it."
"Will you not worry about them? This is your life. They would understand. They love you. Try being a little unorthodox once in a while." I remembered when I stormed through the shallow river to the cottage, enraged, and a small smile formed on my lips. "It feels good, and sometimes even leads to the best thing imaginable." I stroked his hair again. I noticed someone in a clover green gown and white mask waving behind Ronan then from the balcony.
"Alice?" I said, and Ronan spun us around. Alice gave us a thumbs up, and I saw Ronan smile at her.
"She just had a vision. One of my favorite bands is coming on next for the waltz contest they're holding. And from what I've seen from your ball room dancing classes, you are very good at the waltz." A smile formed on his lips.
I smiled back, excitement taking over my system, as the MC announced the contest and song unknown to me. There weren't many songs that caught me off guard.
Ronan smiled at me as the orchestra got into position. "Ready?"
"It's on." I said with a mischievous smile. "Follow my lead."
Suddenly, the upbeat music began to play, but Ronan had already started leading me around the other couples, moving up and down simultaneously with me with the bouncy song. I was completely surprised at how fluidly he moved with the music, and smiled wide at the realization that I had never had a better dance partner.
He suddenly dipped me low, twirling me around while I was down, and picking me up quickly with the song. I noticed as the song went on, we were passing less and less couples, but I couldn't figure out why because my eyes were all for Ronan at that point. I was completely star struck.
Once I began getting the hang of the song, I started to lead him, too, but ultimately, our bodies were almost as one. Like there was some sort of unknown force bounding us together, making my heart swell like it never had before. I thought of his loving family, the one that loved me just as much as he did, aside from the one who only wanted to protect him, which I could understand because of the way I felt about Ronan. We were so attuned to each other, even when the song wasn't playing, and as I couldn't peel my eyes away from his that constantly stayed on me, when I finally realized it. I had found real love with Ronan Cullen.
We were spinning fast as the song came to its climax, and when the song made its final beat, he dipped me low, and my swelled heart instantly stopped cold when I caught a glimpse of my surroundings. The guests had made a circle around us, which was flattering, but what was horrifying were the news cameras. Our eyes instantly got wide, and he lifted me back up straight. My head spun from the fluid movement, but he dragged me out of the ball room anyway through a crowd of very confused people before a photo could be snapped. He lifted me up into his arms as he rushed up the stairs with Alice on our tales.
When we were at the exit, Ronan looked at Alice with a frantic expression, and she shook her head. "I haven't gotten anything yet. You and Ava are going to make it safely home. The car's ready out front." He still didn't look reassured. She put her hand on his shoulder. "They didn't get a picture of you. Let alone do they know who you are. Everything's going to be fine. Gianna won't find us. That vision from the first day of school was probably a mistake, or one of you changed a decision. What ever it was, it hasn't come back."
She let go of his shoulder then, and he looked a bit calmer. He carried me out to my porsche then and set me into the passenger seat, and he took off into the traffic as soon as he started the car. He let out a long breath, and with that, there was a silence.
I was writhing with fear. What vision was Alice talking about? Were the Volturi coming back? I didn't think I changed any of my decisions… or none that I knew of…
I waited for an explanation, but he didn't speak up. I broke the building silence. "What vision." I whispered. He didn't answer, but only kept his eyes on the road.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, angry with the note the magnificent date ended, and frustrated with Ronan neglecting to answer my question. I thought the lies were over with. "What vision." I asked him louder through clenched teeth.
He swallowed hard. "The one where we all get killed." He answered somberly.
Author's note (cont.): The song they were dancing to was M79 by Vampire Weekend, incase you're wondering. Amazing band and CD. You should take a listen. =]
