Chapter 8
I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR CHARACTERS
Bella understood then how a rabbit caught in a snare must feel.
The utter panic that exploded to life in her chest as Victoria drifted over her and placed one hand on the door above her head had her panting, her overworked heart bursting to life again. She opened her mouth, having no idea what she could possibly say as her throat closed, but Victoria beat her to it.
"Ah ah ah, kitten. Relax," she breathed and pheromones blasted her senseless.
Bella made a choked noise as they flooded the tiny space of the car and settled over her like a thick, lustful blanket, smothering her. "Jesus Christ," she sobbed, shuddering wildly as they lapped over her skin, dipped into her pores and lit up her nervous system. "What-Don't-"
Bella had never known vampires could do this. She had never been forewarned about this particular ability, and so her shock only deepened the strength of the effect Victoria pulled on her. It was worse than what she had done in Biology, and it was not a slow assault, but a fully fledged, no holds barred attack on her body.
Victoria smiled her deadly smile, baring her shiny teeth. Her fangs were fully revealed as she peered down at Bella through her molten eyes, her sweet breath puffing over the human's face.
"Easy, honey. Shh, I'm not going to hurt you…" Victoria murmured as Bella fell unusually still, fear stopping her cold. The redhead delicately lifted the hand not on the door behind her head and cupped her right cheek, the cool skin making Bella blanch and whimper.
Stupid idiot, you stupid fucking idiot, look what you did! Bella mentally mourned, cowering. Now you've gone and done it! Oh god, I'm so screwed! I'm so, so screwed-oh God, she smells even better than sex!
"Mm, you smell divine, kitten. God, I can barely stand it. I don't know how Alice can be so close to you all the time. You always smell fantastic, but oh, darling…" Victoria inhaled deeply, relish on her face that twisted Bella's belly with desire and terror. "You smell even better all worked up. Running around like that, getting your fucking hot, sweet blood pumping, your heart racing…Oh, and if I'm right, running isn't the only thing that gets you worked up…" Victoria sneered when Bella blushed, struggling to swallow as the vampire perched over her, practically straddling her.
She could feel her want pulsating most notably between her thighs, stoked by the woman atop her and all the pheromones she was pumping out, filling the car with her presence, suffocating Bella in it. Mortified by this realization, she sank further back into the seat, trembling.
You idiot, you stupid idiot… She thought. She felt horribly akin to a small child that had been lured into a stranger's van by promises of candy. God, she'd been lured in by something even less tempting than candy, by a freaking coat hanger.
How had she ever thought this was a good idea? Had she really been so naive as to think Victoria was actually just being nice?
Yes. Yes she had. And now she was paying for it.
"Oh, kitten, don't look so scared…I'm so sorry, I told myself I'd behave around you after being so brazen before, told myself I'd back off so as not to frighten you any further but…I just couldn't help myself. You're so vulnerable, Bella, and you don't even realize it…Living with vampires has made you careless. I think you've forgotten how primal we can be…And I'm not used to holding back, so when you wiggled that cute little ass of yours, bent over in my car, I just couldn't resist. Besides, you smell so. Damn. Good," Victoria groaned, the hand caressing her burning cheek sliding down as she spoke, seduced really.
Bella could only stare up at her, panting heavily. The pheromones drowned her brain, made her weak and pliant, confused, wanton.
Oh god, was all she could think as that smooth hand slipped down her neck and rubbed almost lovingly at her throat before it trailed down to her collarbone, tickling the skin there tantalizingly. Everywhere Victoria touched left a path of heat in her wake.
Bella wanted to scream, shove her away, call for help. She wanted to slap the vampire, call her names and scramble out of the car, run for her life, but she couldn't. She physically could not move as Victoria lowered her hips to settle in properly on her lap, the weight of her making Bella mew plaintively against her will. Pheromones glued her to the seat and kept her still.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, she chanted in her head, the only word available to her frying brain. The air in the car seemed to radiate Victoria, closing in on her.
"Mm, I can hear your pulse pounding. Do you like this, Bella? I know you do…You're turned on, aren't you, sweetie?" Victoria taunted, smirking when Bella's lips parted, her heart ricocheting ruthlessly inside her oxygen deprived chest.
She tried to open her mouth and scream Get away from me! But nothing came out but a helpless wheeze that made Victoria giggle.
"Oh, you want more, is that it?" Victoria grinned evilly, her eyes glinting.
No! Bella thought furiously but it was for nothing because a moment later Victoria sat up on her lap and slid both her hands under Bella's t shirt.
The air turned to slurry, a thick, liquefied thing that she couldn't seem to get enough of as cold hands pressed down on her sensitive stomach and slid over her hot skin. Her muscles clenched, all of them, and she cried out fully, her abs crunching as she curved into the movement.
"Fuck," she keened brokenly, clawing the front and back seat with each respective hand, her thighs squeezing as a jolt of pleasure shot straight from her abdominal core to her other core, heat flashing as wetness became a slick reality between them.
Victoria wasn't even doing anything that was particularly erotic or pleasure inducing, and yet it still had such a powerful effect on Bella, who squirmed, her body shaking as the redhead began to knead the tightness of her flat stomach, the softness of her sweaty skin. Icy hot sensation emitted from Victoria's hands, racing across the tender plane of her belly.
"You like that, kitten? Hmm?" Victoria breathed above her, and then with a teasing wink, she began to rock her hips slowly, back and forth, back and forth, riding her.
Bella's head hit the door behind her with a heavy thunk. She arched her back and strained, the rocking motion making her head spin, bearing her throat unintentionally to the vampire before her, who let loose a gut wrenching snarl at the sight.
"Fuck, don't tempt me," Victoria hissed, grinding down on her lap in a way that was undoubtedly obscene, shameless, as was her nature. One hand came back up to Bella's throat in a way that caused fear to pierce the sexual trance the redhead had put her in. She flinched, her chest heaved, but Victoria only made a quiet purring noise and worked her hips faster, still massaging her belly with fervent, teasing movements of her other icy hand.
"God, you're so warm," Victoria moaned into the simmering heat of the car, her hips speeding up. She almost passed out when she felt the woman press down on her lap, clearly enjoying herself.
Bella was ashamed and terrified and beyond aroused as she felt the unbridled need pooled at the apex of her thighs in a way that she had never felt before.
I'm so fucked, was the only thought that twisted out of her swimming skull. The desperation to make Victoria stop, get off of her was giving way to the desire she was invoking in Bella's body, seducing her out of her freaking mind.
"You're so fucking weak and helpless right now, kitten, and you love it, don't you?" Victoria growled as she lowered her face close to Bella's, her mouth an inch away from the brunette's. Her breath smelled like mint and cinnamon and Bella only sobbed in response, her knuckles white against her skin as she clutched each seat tighter. "I told you I'd make you purr, darling," she murmured in a voice that screamed of raw hunger and power.
Bella's eyes widened as Victoria's flashed black.
And then Victoria kissed her.
Bella squeaked into the kiss, her body arching and twisting, torn between trying to get away and getting closer. Those full lips bruised hers in a kiss that was almost painful even as it made her breath blow out of her. Almost immediately Victoria's tongue plunged into her mouth, cool and unbelievably strong as she frenched her and continued to ride her lap mercilessly, building the ache in her gut until Bella wanted to die from the need.
Victoria kissed like she acted; shamelessly, dominantly, ruthlessly. Bella was powerless to resist her, as she had been from the moment the redhead had first blasted her with pheromones.
She was just succumbing to the fact that she was literally doomed, with no one to come and save her, when Alice came and proved her wrong.
"Mmf-" Bella gasped as Victoria was suddenly ripped off of her.
Literally.
Like one second she was there, and then she was just gone.
Bella sucked in air like a jet engine, vacuuming it into her starving lungs as she shot straight up, her heart going harder than it ever had before.
She barely got a second to come back to reality when there came a raucous bang outside the car on the side through which she had been shoved into her cage.
Sensing freedom as she looked out of the now wide open car door –which she had not even heard open in her daze- she scrambled for her escape, desperate to be out of the pheromone saturated car, no matter what might be outside. When her head broke free, she saw none other than her best friend Alice Cullen pinning the predatory redhead to the side of her truck by the front of her blouse.
Alice! She rejoiced.
Oh Alice, her wonderful, sweet Alice. Thank God. Thank God.
"What the hell are you doing?" Alice snarled at Victoria as Bella stumbled out of the car, gulping in a fresh lungful of less tainted air and quivering fearfully as she staggered a few more feet away from them. Her knees did not seem to want to support her eight.
Victoria's hands were held out wide to the sides in a faux sign of innocence. She was smirking despite the furious vampire growling in her face, her eyebrows high over her now oil colored eyes.
"Playing with the human," she said, sounding amused as Alice's hands balled her shirt up further. "Which you so rudely interrupted, by the way. We were just getting to the good part. You didn't even give me a chance to see if she was a good kisser. She was still being passive when you so impolitely pulled me out of the car by my very expensive shirttail…"
At her unbothered response, Alice seemed to become even angrier. Lately, she was seeing what Alice was like when she wasn't in her perpetual state of effervescence. She had seen her hungry, aroused, and even experienced what it must be like to be her prey when the girl was hunting, but Bella had never seen her friend so riled up with that much fury, not even when Cassie and Lauren had called her a dyke. This was something else, the rage radiating off of her in palpable waves.
She was only further stunned when Alice suddenly jerked Victoria up off of her truck and then slammed her back into it, the glass of her window cracking ominously.
Alice, she wondered, throbbing between her legs and panting for fresh air. She had to back away another step when more pheromones came to life due to the agitated state of the vampires before her.
"This was not part of the deal!" Alice yelled, her high voice hard and unrelenting in a way that was entirely opposite to her sweet personality. "I told you she was off limits!"
Victoria seemed to be marginally less apathetic after the second time being shoved up against Bella's truck, her eyes narrowing slightly. Fear for her friend warred with the ache in her belly that the redhead had left her with, but there was nothing Bella could really do to help.
This is my fault, she thought guiltily, watching them with wide, helpless eyes, hating the want slicking her sex as Alice went toe to toe with another vampire to protect her. I'm such an idiot…
"In case you haven't realized it yet, little girl, I don't take orders from you," Victoria said overly sweetly, her tone souring though her smirk stayed in place. Alice's jaw locked at the condescending tone, her shoulder blades tightening.
"I don't care that you're here on their orders," Alice rumbled back, pressing Victoria harder into the car so that the metal groaned in protest. "You don't. Fucking. Touch her."
"Careful, Alice. I can see why you're so jealous, but you'd do well to hold your tongue or I'll be touching her in a much less pleasant way," Victoria warned, still sneering infuriatingly. The undisguised threat made Alice snarl a pure, vampire snarl, and she jerked Victoria forward again before shoving her hard back into the truck for the third time, the glass crackling under the blow.
The sound of it made Bella jolt; it was a sound she had not heard since biting her friend and she remembered just how powerful a noise the tiny girl could let loose when she turned on the animal that lurked in every vampire.
A new respect formed for Alice, her tiny, gentle vampire, who always seemed so harmless and to Bella, -shamefully, she admitted- the physically weakest of the Cullens. She was proving herself to be anything but lately which was unbelievably lucky for Bella. She should have known better than to underestimate a girl like Alice.
Her blood ran cold, however, when Victoria's sneer melted away, being replaced with a daunting, smooth mask. Only her eyes gave any indication of the anger that Alice had finally provoked in her and Bella hissed in a breath as the redhead slowly lifted her hands and grabbed Alice's wrists in them, squeezing tightly.
"You do that again and you might genuinely start to piss me off, little girl," she said, her voice low but clear, the fake sweet tone completely gone now, replaced by a quiet but distinctly threatening one. It raised the hairs on the back of her neck like static electricity. "I suggest you take your hands off of me before you really make me angry."
Alice scowled furiously as Victoria gripped her wrists and they stared at each other down, her friend glaring harshly into the redhead's eyes, who stared calmly back, black eyes glinting. Neither of them moved another muscle and Bella's tension was starting to make her want to puke. She was hot all over despite the cold permeating the air, still aroused despite what was going on. Two angry vampires did not help her predicament.
She wasn't sure just how strong Victoria was, but she was bigger than Alice and had switched from grade A bitch to glowering, dangerous vampire within two seconds, and Bella suddenly wanted to cry out to her friend, tell her to back off.
If Victoria hurt her, if she attacked her, she couldn't stand the thought…
Far away a clap of thunder boomed through the sky and the scent of ozone became clearer on the wind that stirred to life.
At the noise, Alice let go of Victoria's blouse and stepped away from her, her hands flexing at her sides. Relief washed the tension from Bella's shoulders, her fear of the altercation becoming a brawl that would inevitably end in Alice getting hurt keeping her safe dissipating.
"If you ever put your hands on me again, you'll regret it, sweet Alice. Don't forget why I'm here, darling," Victoria spoke first, breaking the tense silence, her voice honey slick again. She smoothed the front of her blouse out and lifted up off of Bella's (damaged) truck, her sneer carefully back in place, not showing any trace of that frightening expressionless mask she had briefly adopted.
"Don't put your hands on her and I won't put mine on you," Alice snapped back, still looking livid. "I mean it. You swore to leave her out of it, so keep it that way."
"I didn't swear to keep her out of it," Victoria rolled her eyes arrogantly. "I swore to keep her out of the loop, as did you, which you are currently treading the line of not doing. Really, Alice, if you want her so much for yourself, put a claim on her. You know I wouldn't touch her if she weren't free game. You don't get to play the jealous girlfriend card if you don't actually have a right to her."
Bella went crimson at that and saw a muscle going in Alice's jaw. Claim her? What did that even mean? It sounded overtly sexual the way Victoria put it, and she could not stop her blush at the thought.
"She's not mine to put a claim on, nor is she anyone else's to claim. Seriously. Just back off of her," Alice asserted, eyes flashing.
Bella had no freakin' clue what they were on about, so she stood there awkwardly, still turned on beyond belief and utterly unsure of what to do besides stew in her own traitorously aroused libido. Her heart seemed unwilling to slow down, either.
"Suit yourself, but don't come crying to me when someone else gets her first. Claim her, or someone else will," Victoria shrugged, unbothered, and with that she turned to Bella.
Oh no, she thought, freezing as Victoria smiled her lethal smile her way.
"It was fun playing with you, kitten, but I do believe your friend here is too possessive to share you. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll find another time to properly, er…Pet you. Preferably uninterrupted," she murmured, winking as she sauntered over and brushed by the statue still human.
Bella thought Alice was going to explode with how hard she twitched and the low growl that rolled out of her throat, echoed faintly by another clap of thunder but Victoria was already floating away, taking her suffocating presence with her as she headed back to the school.
Bella looked to Alice, who stared back at her with her eyes midnight black and her body shaking with barely controlled anger.
"What," Alice ground out through clenched teeth and stalked over to her when Victoria was far away, "the hell were you thinking?"
Bella blushed and shuddered, her insides still aching with what Victoria had left her over with.
Alice's agitation was only making it worse as her pheromones stirred already activated nerves. However, she halted at her words.
"I-" she caught herself, swallowing as Alice looked at her with that fury. She never looked at Bella like that, with anything but kindness or laughter in her eyes. She found it to be an entirely unpleasant sensation.
"What could have possibly possessed you to get in the backseat of a car with her?" Alice snapped and flung the still open back door shut so hard that the noise made her flinch. "Did you forget what we talked about already? And seriously, in the backseat of a car? That's really where you wanted your first time with a girl to be, was it?"
Bella's eyes narrowed at that as a protest bubbled up in her, affronted by Alice's accusations. Why was she going at her like this?
"No," she said, suddenly glaring at her friend. "No, what the hell, Alice? I didn't crawl in there to sleep with her! In case you didn't notice, I couldn't very well get out from under her, could I?"
"Why did you get in there in the first place?" Alice demanded, her voice rising. "I told you she was bad news!"
Bella was stunned silent for a long moment, her lips parted in offense at the way Alice was acting, before everything Victoria had built up inside her broke.
"She was being normal for a minute there!" Bella shouted back, her emotions boiling over at how Alice was jumping down her throat, especially considering how high they were already running. That was the last thing she needed right then. Why was Alice being this way towards her? "My car was locked and she offered to help. She said there was a coat hanger in her car and told me to grab it, and then she jumped me. I didn't even get a chance to tell her to get off before she was dousing me in pheromones! And why did you guys never tell me you could do that shit on purpose? I couldn't even move!"
Alice drew back and scowled as the brunette yelled at her, but Bella did not back down.
"Normal? She's a vampire, Bella! You should have known better!" Alice shook her head, her voice harsh.
Bewildered and rapidly becoming genuinely pissed, Bella balled up her hands.
"Well, I didn't, alright!" she fought, though she hated every second that she did it. She hated the way Alice was looking at her with all that ire and frustration and she hated the way their voices were raised in a way that they had never raised them at each other before. "She was standing here, just texting and acting like a normal human being, and I figured I needed my stuff and I didn't want to run from her and make her think I was afraid of her, so I walked over anyway. I even thought I might tell her I wasn't interested, and she was being cool so I just gave her the benefit of the doubt! Why are you so mad at me?"
Alice threw up her hands in an exasperated manner that only pissed her off further, giving her friend a look of shock at her gall, for acting like Bella were stupid.
She was, but that wasn't the point. Alice was being entirely unfair!
"Stop it! Why are you jumping down my throat? You think I wanted her to trap me in that car? Because I didn't! What is your problem? Why are you so pissed off at me? I mean I get that I fucked up, but I didn't ask her to crawl in after me and I certainly wasn't having fun before you came and pulled her off!" she yelled furiously, gesturing wildly with one hand at the car as she glared at a glowering Alice.
Okay…Fun may not have been the right word for it. Her body was certainly enjoying itself, traitorous thing that it was, but the rest of her?
Not so much.
The vampire bit her lip and shook her head at her again, posture taut. "I'm not mad at you!" Alice suddenly burst out, taking one step forward which caused Bella to straighten warily. "Bella, I was terrified. I still am!" she admitted, her voice straining as the anger melted off her face to be replaced with an expression of pure anxiety that shocked Bella into silence at the switch.
"I was scared out of my mind when I walked into the locker room and realized you still weren't back-and Victoria was nowhere to be found. You were taking way too long in the parking lot, and when I walked into the gym, Victoria wasn't there either. I panicked. I never panic, Bella," Alice told her, her eyes shining with tears she couldn't shed.
As Bella saw them glisten, she realized there were tears quivering at the corners of her eyes too, undoubtedly inspired by their shouting match.
Because fighting with Alice like that hurt. Yet the ache in her voice hurt almost as much. She listened raptly as Alice shrugged one shoulder and gave a soft scoff that the brunette gathered was aimed at the pixie herself.
"She's been watching you. You don't notice it, but I do. I knew it wasn't just a coincidence that you were gone so long and she was nowhere around. I barely got out of the gym without running too fast-and when I did, I never moved faster in my life. I could have easily been wrong and I wanted to be, wanted to believe I was overreacting, but I knew it in my gut that I wasn't. And then I got here, and you were shut up in the car with her, and all I could smell was your fear over everything else. I thought she had bitten you-God, Bella, for a second I thought I was too late," Alice ranted, sounding choked up.
Bella suddenly felt like an asshole for going off on her, despite how justified it might have been. She should have realized that Alice was not the kind of person to have a go at her like that with a sincere sort of anger, no matter what she had done. Alice wasn't angry with her, she was terrified for her, and it was coming out of her all wrong because of the way Victoria had provoked her.
"So-So I'm not mad at you, Bella, not really. I'm mad at her, that stupid, evil woman, not you. I don't mean to yell-I'm sorry for screaming at you but I-I was so scared. You're my best friend and I-" Alice swallowed and shrugged, gave her a weak, watery smile. "And I don't mean to be so harsh, but I was so, so worried…"
Bella's high wired emotions dropped swiftly as she sighed deeply, her hands unclenching. Her shoulders slumped and her face softened.
Oh, Alice…
"It's fine," she said, returning Alice's smile with one that matched her forgiveness. "I get it. I deserve to be yelled at, for being so stupid. You're right you know, I should have known better. Getting into that car was an absolutely idiotic thing to do. I'm sorry too, for yelling and for scaring you like that, and for putting you in that position with her," she apologized as well, now feeling guiltier than anything else.
Really, this was all her fault, and though she didn't appreciate the accusations Alice had slung in her panic, she certainly appreciated the way her friend had come running to her rescue, stood down that bitch for her, and was now demonstrating the depth of her concern for Bella's safety. Affection and shame warmed the chill beginning to coat her buzzing body as the heat in her bones struggled against the chilly weather.
"It's okay," Alice replied softly, her posture loosening along with Bella's. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, or said those things. You know I don't really think you were going to-not with her, and that whole thing about the backseat-You know I didn't mean any of it, right? I know that doesn't excuse it, but I was just upset, and I was saying my fears of what she wanted to do to you-And even if you had wanted that, I mean, it's not my business, but…"
Bella raised one eyebrow at her friend's rambling, which made Alice fall silent with a sheepish grin.
"Forget it," Bella laughed, crossing her arms and rubbing them to keep out the cold. "I know what you mean, Alice. It's fine. We were both pretty fired up…Victoria seems to have a knack for doing that. I just don't get why she's after me so hard…"
Alice's eyes did darken at the mention of the redhead, but then she sighed and rolled her eyes.
"She does. Will you listen to me next time though, honey? Bells, I love you, you know I do, but you have a tendency to want to see the best in people, but I'm telling you, the best of Victoria is the worst in most. She doesn't need a reason to go after you, other than simply because she feels like it," Alice said, taking a step forward and peering into her eyes, not quite pleading, but hinting towards it.
Startled, Bella felt goosebumps erupt all over her freezing arms.
I love you? She tilted her head, a strange sensation settling over her chest. She's never said that before…
She supposed she should not have dwelled on it really. They were best friends; of course they loved each other, but still…Alice had never said it aloud. Hearing it made another burst of affection fill her heart and she was unbelievably grateful then that Alice was her friend. She truly was an amazing person, to stick with Bella through all of her admittedly dumb decisions, and Bella would stick with Alice through any of hers, for it.
"Yeah, definitely. I guess this is like a whole fool me twice kinda thing," she agreed, smiling widely though she wasn't sure why. "I should have known not to give her a chance in the first place, let alone a second one. She won't get me again, not after this shit she pulled. And Alice? I really am sorry for scaring you like that. Thank you…For saving my stupid ass."
Alice's brow furrowed at that, but then she chuckled lightly.
"It's not really your fault, Bells. She's a vampire. You were right before, we should have told you that vampires are capable of forcefully seducing a human into incapacitation. That's what scares me so much about it, Bella. If she gets you alone, and she wants you, she can take you. And there won't be anything you can do to stop her-And if she's really putting on the charm like she did a minute ago, you might not even want to stop her. That's why I warned you off in the first place," Alice said but there was no trace of a reprimand in her voice.
Bella felt one anyway, quietly kicking herself for making this mistake. She also could not deny the chill that ran up her spine at the thought of Victoria getting her alone…And having her, whether she wanted it or not. The thought made her nauseous. Hell, if the pixie had not come looking for her, she might have already done that…
Thank God for Alice. Just…Thank God.
"I promise you though, I won't let her get to you like that again. And I'll always come to your rescue, honey. No doubt about that. No way was I going to miss your damsel in distress face. There's only so much my popping up in your face and shouting 'boo' can do. I'd almost say it was worth it," Alice hummed, her voice becoming playful. She winked when Bella gave her a dropped jaw full of mock offense and lightly shoved her arm, giggling.
"You jerk!" she grinned, relishing the way Alice's eyes twinkled at her, taking the hardness out of the pitch black color they had taken on. The tension faded away at Alice's joke.
"Oh, and speaking of your face," Alice turned to contemplative, eyeing said part of her with a slight scowl that made Bella confused. "That bitch left lipstick all over your mouth. You look like you just walked out of a brothel. C'mere, Bells."
And thus all that tension came surging back with a vengeance when Alice walked right up to her, licked her thumb, and began swiping it over her mouth.
Fu-
Her brain cut off as if someone had pulled the plug. Her mind turned to a fuzzy buzz not unlike the one a TV experiences when it receives no signal.
Alice's digit dragged over her kiss bruised lips, drawing a line of electric tingles down the length of both. It passed back and forth like a pendulum, over her top lip, down over her bottom lip, and then back again in the same trail as Bella stood frozen, eyes locked on her concentrating friend, who stood painfully close to get at her with her other hand perched on the brunette's shoulder. The pressure on her mouth made her reel as she held her breath, the sensation of Alice's thumb tracing over every inch of it with deliberate, soft force making her knees shake.
Jesus H. Christ!
"Alice!" she gasped and her hand flew up, catching a cool, tiny wrist in her hand, effectively stopping the girl's movements.
Alice froze, her lips parting as their eyes locked. Bella's chest heaved and she trembled, not from the cold. All the ache and heat and want that Victoria had given her, that had been dwindling with every second, came roaring back like a dragon breathing fire into her belly.
They stayed that way for a long, silent moment, staring into each other's eyes. Alice gazed at her, her pink, heart shaped lips still parted, and her beautiful eyes lidded slightly, with her cute button nose and her lovely cheekbones, her jet black hair swaying gently against the smooth, pale curve of her jaw line in the rain scented air-
Bella's stomach plummeted at the same time that her heart soared, trapped with her face inches from Alice's, staring intimately at each other, neither speaking, moving, breathing.
Alice was so, so…
"I'm sorry," Alice started, blinking rapidly as she took a quick step back, her hand sliding delicately out of Bella's grasp. Her thumb came away smeared with a red the shade of Victoria's lipstick. "I don't know why I-"
"It's okay," Bella croaked, interrupting her, her trance shattered as she remembered how to breathe.
But it wasn't.
It's not, she thought. It's really not, because…Because…
Because for a second there, Bella had really wanted to kiss her.
Well, that settled it.
She was definitely gay, as if she had not really known that already. This just erased the last of her feeble denial, and a reluctant acknowledgement of her attraction to girls coiled inside of her, making itself a home.
It was a relief at the same time that it became a heavy, hanging weight on her shoulders.
Fine, she could accept that she was attracted to girls.
But she could not accept that she might be attracted to Alice.
Nope.
Not.
Freaking.
Happening.
The wrecking ball made another appearance in her mind's eye as Alice fiddled with her hands, one hip cocked out as she watched Bella uncertainly, both of them knowing that something had just happened but unsure of what, really. Alice really hadn't thought about what she was doing before she did it, Bella knew. Their touching was as naturally a part of their friendship as talking was in other friendships. She clearly hadn't realized it might be kind of weird-She had wiped ketchup and stuff of Bella's chin while she was eating before and neither of them had thought much of it.
But now…Now things were different…
Before either of them could say or do anything, the clouds above shuddered and began to leak the rain that had swollen them darkly, yet still refusing to downright pour.
"Ah, hell," Alice frowned and looked up as rain began to drizzle over them, pattering softly on Bella's heated cheeks.
Faintly and far away, the sound of a bell ringing reached their ears.
"Ah hell!" Bella repeated Alice's words, scowling, but Alice only let out a chiming laugh and wiped at the droplets splattering her face.
"So that would be us skipping the rest of gym," Alice smirked, the corners of her lips quirked up. "Which means-"
"Detention," Bella groaned. "Are you kidding me?" she whined and Alice only laughed again. "Can we really not catch a break?"
"No, sorry, honey. We just skipped the end of gym, and we still haven't showered, so unless you want to skip out on that, we'll probably be pretty late for fifth as well. So that's a guaranteed one detention at least for being late, and probably two when Basselor finds out you never came back from the parking lot," Alice chuckled, clearly unbothered by their new series of detentions they would be receiving.
"No, I'm not skipping the damn shower, or all of this was for nothing," Bella griped and stomped over to the passenger side of her truck door. She hesitated, seeing the extent of the damage. Her window was shattered, half the glass sticking out at lethal angles around a huge hole where Alice had shoved Victoria into it, and the door was heavily dented. "Thanks for getting me into my truck, though. I'm pretty sure that bitch lied about the coat hanger anyway. At least, I never ended up finding it…"
She carefully reached in as Alice winced contritely behind her.
"Hell, Bells, I'm sorry about that. Emmett can fix your truck, I swear. I wasn't thinking, she just made me so mad, the way she was talking about you-"
"Relax, Alice. It's no big deal. My truck's a piece of shit anyway. This just gives it some character," Bella reassured her as she cautiously popped the lock, being extremely certain not to cut herself.
She had tested Alice's control enough lately. No need to go giving herself a sliced vein to complicate things even more than the complexity of which they were reaching.
She pulled her arm back out and yanked the door open with some effort, avoiding the glass that tinkled down, before she reached in and snatched up her gym bag, shaking it a little as if it were the bags fault for getting left behind and getting her into this mess.
"He can fix it," Alice said again when Bella shut her door, which promptly swayed open a few seconds later…
Fuck it, it's not like there was anything in there worth stealing anyway.
"Seriously, Alice, it's cool. Come on, let's go. I'm freezing, and the later we are the more Mr. Gates will yell at me," Bella waved her off, trotting by her friend and glancing over her shoulder.
When Alice continued to pout guiltily as she followed behind, Bella furrowed her brow, before grinning broadly.
"Hey, Alice?"
"Yeah?" Alice cocked her head.
That's not adorable, Bella thought. (It was.)
"Race you!" she cried before bolting, immediately laughing when Alice yelped in protest at the unfair head start. (As if it mattered whether or not Bella had a head start.)
"Hey! Cheater!" she called, then instantly appeared right at Bella's side, making the girl yip in surprise. That made them both laugh as they sprinted back for the school, Alice loping along and pretending to let Bella have the lead before darting ahead of her, teasing her the whole way while Bella swore good naturedly.
By the time they finally reached the locker room –Alice won, of course- Bella was out of breath, gasping for air even as she laughed and laughed and laughed, and for a while, it was easy to forget that she had been assaulted by Victoria, that Victoria and Alice had almost come to blows, that she liked girls, and that yes, she maybe, kinda sorta totally had wanted to kiss Alice…
That is, until Alice stripped unabashedly before her the way she always did when they showered after P.E, except now things were different because they both liked girls, even though Bella had never minded before because she trusted Alice not to be a perv, and she realized as Alice flung off her shirt and began unclipping her bra that she really, really wanted to kiss her.
Again.
Fuck, she thought as Alice smiled her gorgeous smile at her over her shoulder while she gasped for air, hands on knees from the hard run.
When Alice turned back around and dropped her bra on the bench, she quickly looked away, cheeks burning, having decided that she had had quite enough cardio for the day and did not need Alice making her heart beat so fast and hard anymore.
As terrible as the day before had been, when Friday came around, it kicked off on a pretty good note despite the fact that she had to get up at the ass crack of dawn for a morning detention, the one she'd gotten for skipping second period. But it was detention with Alice, so it was actually kind of fun. They amused themselves all morning by waiting for Coach Donnehue, who ran morning detention, to nod off as he frequently tended to do and continuously making loud, obnoxious banging noises when he did that startled him right back awake.
They quit when he finally yelled at them for 'dropping their books so damn much' and 'making a ruckus' every time he tried to 'rest his eyes' for a minute.
Rest his eyes, right. He was passed the fuck out the third time they did it which was probably why he jumped so high when she and Alice simultaneously 'accidentally' dropped their History books for the third time.
They giggled so much that he threatened yet another detention (which would bring Bella up to a resounding three left to go, because yeah, Coach Basselor had noticed that she never came back from the parking lot, and Mr. Gates definitely noticed her walk into fifth period with her hair still sopping wet from her shower, five minutes before the bell), so they cut it out and whispered the rest of the period, but it was enough to take the brunt of the boredom out of the detention.
And yet…
Her good mood was shattered in sixth period, which so happened to be another period she shared with Alice, as well as quite a few of the Cullen family. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper also were in the class with her.
It was History, which was unfathomably boring to Bella, and she never paid much attention to it. She was surrounded by her friends, which didn't help. Thankfully, it was arguably her most friend-heavy class, with Alice, Jessica, Angela, Eric, and Emmett all sitting around her, so it wasn't too bad. Once she would have counted Jasper as a friend, but…She still had not really spoken to him since the incident with Alice. She had thought about it, but something about his manner towards her had become undeniably more reserved, so she gave him his space willingly.
She had already made out with the love of his life twice, and whatever explanation she might have probably wouldn't take much of the sting out of it. Vampires were notoriously possessive creatures anyway, and Jasper still sometimes struggled with his control.
Best not to poke the tiger, so to speak.
Anyway, she was in the middle of doodling a stick figure hanging itself (a portrait of herself, really, because holy fuck she did not care about the French-Indian war) when her phone vibrated in her pocket.
She lifted her head out of her hand and waited until Mr. Gordon turned back to the board before slipping it out of her pocket and holding it low under her desk so she could see who had texted her without getting caught.
She was excited when she saw that it was from Alice. It wasn't unusual for them to text during this class and it was always a lot more interesting when they did. She opened it.
Having fun over there? It said and she glanced up to see Alice grinning at her on her right, looking as bored as Bella felt. Bella could only imagine the depth of I-don't-care Alice must be experiencing. She had been through high school a plethora of times and had probably learned about the French-Indian war enough to teach it better than Mr. Gordon ever could, droning on up there.
She turned back to her phone and quickly typed out a response, careful to make sure he wasn't looking when she did. It was only one word, so it didn't take much time. Oodles, she wrote and sent it, and smirked when Alice casually glanced at her phone a moment later, hidden behind the purse she had plopped down on the top of her desk.
Alice chuckled softly at her reply, and she watched pale fingers tap out a response. Her phone swiftly buzzed when she finished.
I can tell. That's quite the morbid drawing you've got there.
Bella looked at her and shrugged one shoulder in agreement before going to text her back.
I know. But isn't it so pretty? I'm a bit of an artist, really. Look how realistic that noose is.
That noose happened to be a straight line that was actually kind of wobbly protruding from the top of her paper. Alice snickered when she got it.
Oh, I can tell. How come you never told me you were Picasso resurrected?
Bella rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Alice at that, which only made the girl beam and wrinkle her nose at her.
Picasso has nothing on me. I was thinking of framing this and giving it to Mr. Gordon. I'm pretty sure his voice is steadier than a surgeon's hand. He is so monotonous that it hurts.
Alice read that and they shared an understanding look before she replied.
God, tell me about it! I've never met a man who can keep his voice one continuous pitch with no change whatsoever.
Bella had only just finished reading that one and was all set to text her response when her phone buzzed again, interrupting her.
But hey, as much as I love gushing about how boring this godforsaken class is, I wanted to check on you. You've had one hell of a time these past couple of weeks and I want to make sure you're doing okay.
Bella blinked at that but had to hide her phone when Mr. Gordon's eyes wandered over her. They passed over her harmlessly, and she pulled it back up.
I've been doing good, she wrote, then stopped, watching the cursor blink.
It was a lie, she realized. She hadn't really. Her constant anxiety had started making her stomach hurt a lot, and she wasn't eating as much as usual. She was constantly on edge whenever Victoria came around, even though Alice had turned into a virtual watchdog, her bodyguard. She rarely left Bella's side, always warding off the redhead with her presence, but still, Victoria's eyes cut through her anyway. It kept her on edge, and she still pondered over the gay thing, trying to figure out if she liked other girls as well, at least physically, besides Victoria. (And Alice. But she was still refusing to even think about that.)
She figured that she must and had never noticed, because she found herself examining girls closely throughout her day, watching them walk down the hall, musing over their faces, and mostly, thinking about kissing them.
Even though it left her blushing brightly as she did it, she could not deny that she liked the thought of it. She didn't recoil at the thought of pressing her lips to another girl's, and she remembered that she had never felt any true amount of disgust after kissing Alice or Victoria.
In fact, thinking about those kisses did more than actually kissing Edward had ever done for her…
Did that make her a lesbian instead of bisexual? She wasn't sure. She liked kissing him okay. It was nice, and sometimes it made her breath quicken and excited her, but remembering the way Victoria had straddled her, laid her hands on her and kissed her left her dizzier than Edward ever had, which was absolutely mortifying, but the point stood. The woman may have been a conniving bitch with uncertain motives, but there was no denying her beauty and sex appeal.
And kissing Alice…
Kissing Alice had been another thing entirely. Thinking about it always stirred her up to the point that she could not bear to acknowledge it any further and stopped thinking about it.
So did that make her like, sixty percent gay, 40 percent straight? Or was it like 70 to 30? Even more?
She had no. Freaking. Idea. She had spent all the previous night stressing over it, wondering over things she had never expected to have to wonder over.
Like, okay, fine, she liked girls.
Fine, fine, fine.
She could deal with that now; reality had given her no other choice. But when would she tell Charlie? What about her mom? What if it was only a phase spurred on by vampiric aura? What if it went away after awhile and she found herself out and proud but suddenly repulsed by being with another girl?
So no. No, she wasn't really good. She was actually pretty stressed the fuck out, and Alice could surely tell considering how well they knew each other, because she would not have asked if she was not totally sure that Bella was a hundred percent okay.
Bella backspaced what she wrote and then sent a truthful response. If anyone could help her or knew what she was going through, it would be Alice, and she really needed a good friend right now. Who else but Alice could fill those shoes? Who else but Alice really ever had?
I'm okay, but I don't think I'm doing good. Does that make sense?
Alice's eyes flickered up after reading that and when their eyes met she saw infinite compassion and understanding there that made her heart ache curiously. She was not sure why Alice had the capacity to feel for her and relate to her so much that it hurt as much as it soothed.
Her phone buzzed again.
It does, honey. Is it the gay thing?
Bella paused, Mr. Gordon turned away and began gesturing at a diagram on the board, and went back to her phone.
Honestly? Yeah. I can't stop thinking about it. That ginger bitch didn't help at all.
Alice smirked at that, but used vampire speed to reply even faster.
I'm sure she didn't. I swear she won't get near you again, not as long as I'm around. Do you want to talk about it?
Bella wrote back, I wish you could tell me what her deal is, and yeah, kinda, actually. I'm really confused. I'm pretty damn sure I like girls now for sure. You were right about the whole pheromone deal. I'm apparently completely capable of being into chicks…Wow. But I never had any idea. I keep wondering if I ever looked at them like that before but I can't remember if I did. But I…I've been looking recently. And I know that I do now.
Alice's answer was instantaneous.
I wish I could tell you too, but Bella, there's nothing wrong with any of that, so don't sweat it or lose sleep over it. The whole biting thing probably set it off something that was always inside of you. I always figured you might be, at least.
Bella frowned at that and quickly texted, And why would you think that?
Did she come across gay or something?
Cassie and Lauren certainly seemed to think so.
But they were cunts, so their opinions don't count. They called all the boys they didn't like faggots, anyway, so whatever.
I don't know, just a feeling. I think you've got the kind of heart that's too big and open to deny love based on gender. Plus, as far as you checking out other girls goes, I've caught you staring at my ass before.
Spluttering, Bella whipped her head towards Alice who had a shit eating grin on her face when the brunette caught sight of her.
"Ms. Swan, Ms. Cullen, am I interrupting your conversation back there?" Mr. Gordon snapped and Bella quickly faced forward, cheeks flaming at being called out as Alice put a hand over her mouth to hide her laugh.
"No, sir," Alice drawled, and he grudgingly went back to 'teaching.' Angela's brow rose at her and Jessica snickered at the fact that they had gotten in trouble, but they were both yelled at so much for talking to each other in class that it wasn't really a big deal.
Bella texted back so fast it was a wonder she didn't snap her fingers. There were a couple typos in there too, along with some dreadful text slang in her hurry.
when the hel did i stare at ur ass?
Bella glared at her the whole time, affronted and internally panicking.
I've never looked at her ass before, have I? I've never checked her out before! Did I? Was I really that gay without knowing it? Have I been looking at girls like that my whole life and just never knew? Shit! Am I a subconscious pervert?
Her phone vibrated.
Nice spelling, honey. You do it every now and then. You stare at other girls every now and then, too, but you never realize it. That's part of my whole hunch thing. It's mostly in P.E or the locker room. I thought you were just comparing or something, but then you kept doing it and your eyes would get this glossy look, so I figured there might be a different reason.
Her cheeks.
Were on.
Fire.
Bella hissed in a breath and refused to look at Alice to see what expression might be on her face.
Stop freaking out, Bells. It's no big deal. Everyone checks out what they like now and again. I always make the conscious effort not to blatantly stare though because it's kind of rude, so now that you know, you might wanna be a little more subtle, Alice texted her again when all she could do was sit there and silently freak.
Bella sent her a look at that that made Alice raise her hands defensively.
Yes it is a big deal! Jesus Christ, I'm a total lesbo and I never knew! I'm sorry, I never meant to look or anything, I never even noticed I was doing it. I always thought it was for comparison, too, but looking back now I guess I did look a little too long…FUCK.
She put her head down on her desk and groaned softly, ignoring the way Angela and Jess gave her weird looks for it.
Great. So not only was she gayer than a gay pride parade marching down the rainbow road of Mario Kart, but she was also a pervert.
I never knew you were such a drama queen, honey. Then again, I guess this is a big deal for you. Bells, listen, it's natural. You're not a pervert for being attracted to people. You think no one ever looks at you that way? Boys do all the time, Victoria does (bitch), and I'm sure there are some gay girls in this school who do. I have.
Her eyes widened as she reluctantly looked back to her phone again.
Huh?
Boys do not look at me…Do they? She wondered. She never paid attention to any of that crap, really. Sure, she figured she was okay looking, even kinda pretty on her good days, but nothing worth really checking out. Victoria acted otherwise, but Bella still didn't even know why she was here.
Then she read the last line of the text.
Alice had checked her out before? Alice?
You've checked me out? She replied frantically, bewildered, her cheeks warming again…
And did her heart just skip a beat?
Sure. Like I said, it's natural. I like girls, and you're a fairly beautiful girl, Bella. Of course we're only friends, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate that you're an attractive kind of gal. Plus I'm a vampire so sometimes I can't really help it. You know how strong your scent is to us. I hope that doesn't make you uncomfortable?
Bella stared at Alice for the longest moment and all the vampire did was smile serenely back at her.
It doesn't make me uncomfortable, was all she could bare to send as her brain buzzed with the information.
Why did the thought of Alice's eyes on her like that make her squirm in her seat? And why did Alice complimenting her make her feel so warm and fuzzy on the inside?
Good. But hey, I've got a question for you…
Go for it, she replied weakly, head whirling.
Do you think I have a nice ass?
Bella dropped her phone, fumbled with it, and it hit the floor at the same time that somebody sneezed, barely covering the clatter, but nothing could disguise her idiotic scrambling. Thankfully, somebody had just asked a particularly inane question about whether the Indians they were talking about were the ones in India or the Native Americans, so when she leaned down and snatched it back up, pretending she had dropped her book not unlike she had in detention, Mr. Gordon didn't even give her a second glance.
She scooped it up as Mr. Gordon answered. Angela and Jess both snickered at her but she ignored them again and scowled at Alice.
Alice sat there innocently, twiddling her thumbs and whistling softly under her breath. Then she glanced at Bella out of the corner of her eye, and winked.
Little minx.
Before she could continue glaring, or blushing, or mentally shrieking, Alice was texting her again.
Come on, admit it, I have a nice ass. It's fine if you like it. You must since I catch you looking at it so much. Hey, I don't have much in the upper carriage department, but I'm pretty proud of that behind at least.
Bella experienced then what a cartoon character does when their faces turn bright red and steam pours out of their ears in shock and outrage at something.
When she finally found the ability to tap out a response, her thumbs moved with a leaden like quality and she wasn't sure if the room had risen fifty degrees or if she had genuinely spontaneously combusted.
Alice, I don't think acknowledging how nice your ass is has anything to do with me being gay. How the hell did we get on this subject anyway?
She remembered perfectly fine how they had gotten onto this subject, but that was irrelevant, because she wanted swiftly off of it.
Mr. Gordon obliged her.
"Aha! I knew you were texting in my class Ms. Swan!" Mr. Gordon suddenly cried and Bella jolted upright, instinctively trying to shove her phone out of sight.
Too late.
Mr. Gordon was not as oblivious as he seemed, apparently, and he quickly stomped over to her and stuck his hand out.
"I'll have that, thank you. You kids today are entirely rude and disrespectful, disrupting my class with your phones constantly. Give it here," he ordered.
Well, this wasn't embarrassing at all. She groaned and reluctantly handed it over as he ranted at her, sounding more passionate about people interrupting his class than he did when he was actually running it. The classroom devolved into sniggering at her having been caught and she saw Alice looking guilty for having been a part of her getting her phone taken.
"Always doing this to me, making me have to stop and stutter when I look around and see a screen flash or have nobody paying any attention because you're all texting your friends. Well you know what? I've had it. I'm so sick of this. What was so important, huh Isabella? What was so much more interesting and cool than the history of our world that it simply had to be shared with one of your pals? I'm sure the rest of us are dying to know. Well, why don't we find out?"
No.
No.
Bella gasped sharply and had no more time to do anything but freeze in her chair when he began to read her last text.
"Alice-" he paused and sneered at the vampire sitting to the right of her. "Oh, you were texting Ms. Cullen? I'll be having your phone too, Alice. Anyway-"
"Don't!" Bella pleaded, but he did not heed her.
"Mr. Gordon-" Alice's voice rang out, but he did not listen to her either.
"Alice, I don't think acknowledging how nice your ass is has anything to do with me being gay. How the hell did we-"
Mr. Gordon abruptly cut himself off as the class exploded, guffawing as he realized what he had just read aloud, and Bella yelped "Dude!" before sinking so far down into her seat that she was nearly parallel to the floor.
No, no, no! That stupid son of a bitch!
Mr. Gordon cleared his throat and awkwardly readjusted his tie. Everyone in the room was either hissing at the revelation of Bella's text or laughing outright.
He said nothing else, just turned and walked back to his desk as if he had done nothing wrong and pretended like no one in the room was even making a sound.
Bella was dying.
Her face was redder than it had ever been before and that was really saying something. Her stomach twisted in on itself like a great big writhing snake. She did not look up from her desk, could not stand to look up and see Angela or Jessica's expressions, nor could she bear to meet Alice's undoubtedly compassionate eyes.
And that was how her day was ruined, because her History teacher outed her to everyone, and that was why she studied the grain of her desk for the rest of the class period, seething and hurting and fighting off tears until the bell rang. She was the first one out the door, and she did not stop even when she heard Alice desperately calling her name.
She just up and ran for it.