I do not own Blood and Chocolate, nor do I own Twilight. I DO own my characters however.

Yay! I'm adding more chapters. This is getting pretty intense.

"Dead Man's Dream" by Procol Harum

"And everywhere light, yet darkness engulfed me

I managed to scream and woke from my slumber

I thought of my dream and lay back and wondered

Where had I been? What could it mean?

It was dark in the deathroom as I slithered under"

Paulette:

Sleep was hard to achieve. I'd become so depressed. I was so let down, by Ben, by Layla, even by Jonas. Ben had grounded me to this city for the rest of my life. Layla had long ago abandoned me for her boyfriend leaving me to feel like I'd lost two sisters instead of one, and Jonas had taken her away with no intent of giving her back. I was utterly alone. In my silence and darkness I choked on a few stubborn sobs, but I grew tired. My mind started to wander back and forth from little things, to huge things

Suddenly a huge golden light flashed, blinding me. And in an instant I was standing upright in a gold dress. It was an older gown with lace underneath to puff out the bottom. I felt my feet in elegant shoes. Yet when I looked down I couldn't help but notice a few designs in glitter. There were roses, exquisite willowy trees and... was that an electric guitar?

I was dreaming, I realized. It was always a weird dream, when you realize that you are dreaming. I began to think about the possibilities. What would you do if this were your dream. But the chill I got was too vivid for a dream sequence.

I heard a few rythmic, echoing footsteps coming up from behind me. I stopped observing the delicate designs in my dress and stood up straight.

"So many problems. Your family can't seem to stay away from the supernatural. Or rather, the supernatural can't help staying away from your family," said a voice. I perked and saw a tall elegant man in an older suit. His eyes were a strange, unique shade of brown somehow mixed in with red fleck in the iris. His coat was red, designed as elegantly as mine. He approached me and touched my hand.

In a flash the dark room sparked gold and bright, Gothic designed panes of glass and tall walls stretched around us. A chandelier appeared on the ceiling, alighting the mural painted across the ceiling. It fell somewhere between the angelic beauty of a church and the powerful stance of a castle. Yes, this definitely was a dream.

"What do you think?" I stumbled over a response as I awed over the beauty of the ballroom. He chuckled. "My God, she can't be speechless now, can she?"

"No, I'm not. It's just that 'cool' doesn't seem like an accurate description," I said. Let it never be said that Paulette Reigh was at a loss for words. The man smiled and his fangs gave him away for what he was. I backed up, but he easily caught my hand. Music began to playing and he glided with me across the floor, moving this way and that. I was never a great dancer, but as long as I kept my eyes locked on his I seemed to be able to keep up with him.

I tried to tug away and he didn't miss a beat dancing in that direction spinning and dipping at an end.

"Let go," I demanded.

"Benjamin is quite a pest," he said.

"Well, aren't you observant?" I said sarcastically. "Now let go." It wasn't Ben's music like I'd been listening to lately. This was the regular stereotypical vampire music. Mozart violins with Debussy piano. It was hauntingly beautiful and gothic. Then I remembered that Ben would probably scoff at it

"And that Jonas has been nothing but trouble ever since the day of the... I think the term you and your sisters came up with was, 'the naughty secretary'," he added thoughtfully. My eyes went wide, I dumbly followed the beats.

"How do you know about the naughty secretary?" I asked.

"I know lots of things," he said. "It's amazing what people leave around the house." He held up a small pink book from his oversized pockets. I gasped. It was my diary. I would have frozen if he hadn't taken me through another flurry of spins across the all but empty dance floor. I was beginning to notice others standing on the sidelines. All of them with uniquely florescent colored eyes.

I gave him an uneasy look. He grinned again.

"And I quote, 'I have no more family. I never had any parents. My friends have abandoned me and now Layla. What does a stranger have over her own sister?'," he said. I stared at his eyes in amazement. "This one is from about six months ago. 'When they asked where she'd been for the last couple days, Layla told the police a lame story about how one second they were at home and the next they woke up in someone's basement in Illinois to find that they'd been asleep for five days. I let it slide, thinking she would tell me the truth. But she's lying to me too. After what I'd been through she didn't get that I was a part of this too. Just like the Gideons and Phoebe.'"

"How did you get my diary?" I asked.

"I have my connections," he said, lips curling with a smile. "My name is Dr. Adam Cudder. But I hate formalities. You may just call me, Adam." I looked at the fancy ballroom. Funny, it seemed pretty formal for a man who didn't like formalities. More vampires began to form at the sidelines watching our dance. None of them were dressed as formally as Adam and I were. They wore modern day attire. All of their brilliant eyes were glued on us as they watched in silence.

"What do you want?" I asked him.

"Your trust," he said. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"I'm done trusting people."

"By lunch tomorrow, you will find that Jonas is planning to propose to your sister," he said. Again my heart stopped. Impossible.

"What? But... They're too young. His family is a bunch of freaks. He lives in some weird commune. He's not even psychologically stable!" I said, horrified to feel tears brim my eyelids. No, it couldn't be true, I decided. He gave a tight lipped sad smile.

"I'm very sorry, my little morsel," he said. This time I did for the waltzing to a stop recognizing the pet name. He stopped with me, tipping my chin up so I could meet his eyes. "There is nothing that I personally can do. Believe me, I would like nothing more than to right these injustices. Benjamin's foolhardy exploitation of your blood, Jonas's lunatic obsession and control of your sister. But I can make things happen. Would you like me to save your sister?"

I glared at him, finally freeing myself of his grip.

"No," I said narrowing my eyes which caused angry tears to fall. He gave a nearly sincere look of sympathy. "You're a blood thirsty vampire. I know you just don't do things for the good of mankind. What is it you really want?" His smile was genuine.

"You want to bargain for your sister's safety?" he laughed.

"I want to know your intentions. I'm not an idiot," I growled ferociously. He was intimidating and tall. His smile, though sincere, was still menacing.

"You're very smart," he said admiringly. I flicked my head at him angrily.

"Cut the crap." His smile overturned to a twitchy frown.

"Very well. I want your blood," he said forgetting his faux, light hearted mood. He nodded to the crowd that had been forming around us. I looked at the men and women vampires that were one by one stepping forward. "So do they. But you're not enough to feed them all. So get Ben's phone and see if you can find Dr. Bloom's phone number. Then text it to me. My name has been entered into your contacts. He was the one who made your blood what it is. I'd like to repeat the process in other humans so that we may all have some. That way, you will not be the only victim to our taste."

I felt my brows go up in concern.

And since I've never been one to keep my words separate from my thoughts I added, "Riiight... Um, no."

"Not even to get Jonas out of the picture? To be rid of Benjamin forever? To have your sister back?" he asked.

"I'm not convinced and besides, I wouldn't make other people go through what I've been through the past couple of days," I said. I looked around for an exit, somehow expecting to see giant double doors with a green lit exit sign over it. "Now how do I get out of this dream? I'm done talking to you."

"Think on it, my little morsel," he said.

A chill hit the air forcing me awake. It was morning and there were a few footsteps thumping toward my window. It was fast, but not fast enough to be vampire. Was some only just standing over me? I looked around me.

Bad dream, it was just a bad dream. It had to be.

"Focus," I told myself. What was I going to do today? Then I remembered I was still furious at Ben.

I hooked up my music to my stereo and dressed while mumbling to myself.

"Stupid vampire. Who the hell does he think he is?" I said to myself. I threw on the closest clothes I could find, not even looking at what I was wearing. In a rage I stomped off to the bathroom just in time to run into Layla. She staggered as we nearly bumped into each other.

"Excuse me," she said light heartedly and tried to squeeze by me. Poor Layla, she'd had no warning that I was NO mood to talk to anyone today.

"No. I was here first," I snapped. She jerked back, startled by my tone.

"All I have to do is put my hair up and brush my teeth," Layla said.

"You don't need a bathroom to do that," I said moodily. I pushed past her and handed her tooth brush and a hairbrush. Layla barely caught the items I practically threw at her.

"What's with you?" she asked slowly getting to my level of irritation.

"Nothing. Leave me alone," I growled.

"What? Are you PMSing?"

"God! Do I have to be freakin' menstruating to be in a bad mood?" Layla narrowed her eyes at me.

"Apparently not," she mumbled. I slammed the bathroom door in her face and angrily started my routine. It wasn't until I caught my reflection I saw what I was wearing. It was a black Led Zeppelin t-shirt over and white thermal and a rugged pair of jeans. How I'd chosen this outfit I had no idea, I normally wore cute sweater tops, some glittery jewelry, and butt enhancing jeans.

"Damn vampire!" I raged, automatically assuming he somehow had something to do with my outfit. I threw off the Led Zeppelin t-shirt I usually only wore as pajamas and threw it on the floor. I went through my routine making myself look presentable for my day. There was a knock on the door.

"WHAT?" I snapped quickly.

"Don't you use that tone with me," my mother immediately responded opening the door. She was the striking blonde like the three of us naturally were, but she had much the same sparkle Phoebe that made her more attractive. However, she was the most frantic woman I'd ever met, who wore a blue tooth like a fashion accessory. "I just wanted to say good bye. I'm going to China."

"China?" Layla and I voiced at once as she'd taken advantage of the open bathroom door to reach in and grab a hair tie.

"Yes. Didn't I tell you the Lei account fell through?" my mom said.

"Even if you did we wouldn't know what it meant," Layla pointed out.

"What it means is I'm going to China for a week and I'm going to count on you two to keep the house from falling apart. That means you, Layla. Also your great aunt Sophie died this morning..."

"Who?" Layla and I chorused in confusion.

"Your father's aunt. He's going to go help Nana with the arrangements in California, poor man," she said.

"Aw. Is Dad taking the death pretty hard?" Layla asked full of sympathy.

"He seems more upset about having to spend that much time with your grandmother, but I'm sure he's devastated about the death too. Anyway, we're going to the airport together. Jonas is going to give you a ride, yes?" she rattled off in her business mode.

"Yes."

"Good. I'm going to head out make a bunch of money. Remember to call your father frequently so his mother doesn't drive him insane. No boys after nine. If there's any problems, you know where the emergency numbers are. If you need anything ask Jonas for a ride. Tell him he's a dear for being a chauffeur for you two. I feel terrible for relying on him so much," my mom said.

"Then why don't you just buy us a car?" I snapped moodily. My comment went ignored.

"It's no big deal, Mom," Layla said momentarily glaring at me.

"Yeah. I'm sure Jonas is grateful for the opportunity to suck up to his girlfriend's parents while also getting the opportunity to have alone time with Layla in the backseat of his truck," I blurted. Layla's eyes went wide.

"Paulette!" she cried horrified. My mother's head snapped in Layla's direction giving her full attention.

"Layla! I understand that you're an adult now, but I hope you're at least using protection," my mom said while messaging her temples to sooth an approaching migraine. It was probably a little evil of me how much I enjoyed Layla's horrified look. I snickered.

"We're not having sex!" she said turning a bright red. I giggled a little harder. She turned around and punched me in the arm. I winced and rubbed the spot she'd hit. Then, I glared at her. Still in my own little mood, I took advantage to try and pounce her when my mom grabbed me by the back of the shirt and pulled me back.

"I do not have time for this! Paulette, stop baiting your sister!"

"She punched me!" I whined pointing in her direction.

"She started it!" Layla immediately retaliated and pointing directly back at me.

"If you girls don't knock it off, so help me-!"my mother started to go off on us when her blue tooth glowed. Instantly my mom turned and touched her ear. Her voice turned to a smooth pleasant tone. "Good morning, this is Marie Reigh," she answered speaking to some person from China.

She walked down the hallway leaving us with unfinished business. We stared one another down with matching brown eyes.

"I don't know what your problem is, but if you're going to be like this in the truck you can walk to school," Layla threatened and turned on her heel. I glared at her until she was out of sight. With that release of angry steam I felt just a tad more relaxed.

I know, I know. I'm being a brat. Don't think I don't know that. But I'm not exactly a perfect patient little maiden, nor do I pretend to be. My dream had rattled my nerves and Ben still had me worked up.What bothered me about Ben was I didn't know what his intentions were. How far was he willing to go to keep my blood? How far was he willing to go to keep me protected from other vampires? Did I have to worry about vampires the rest of my life?

Then of couse there was that dream. I groaned to myself and mumbled something that was barely coherent to even myself.

I was just a little bit stressed.

I went to my room and got changed to something more girly. I donned some cheap jewelry to pretty up the look a little more. There was a knock at the door just as I was finishing up. It was still early and my mom was somehow simultaneously speaking Chinese with whoever was on the phone, and English with whoever was at the door. On my way, I walked past the to get to the kitchen only to see Jonas standing right by the open door.

I stopped to look at him. What did I think about Jonas? Was I angry that he seemed to dominate every second with Layla? Or was I happy that he'd finally given her a reason to put her books down?

"Well, come in. It's freezing out there," my mom said ushering him inside. Jonas smiled reluctantly and winced as he stepped inside. His nose wrinkled and he looked at the floor the second my mother turned her back. Then he picked up his head and noticed me.

"Good morning," he said politely. I snorted and grumbled something that even I couldn't comprehend in my sleepy daze. My mood didn't intimidate him enough to leave me alone. He followed me as I walked into the kitchen. "I came here early for a reason." I looked over my shoulder at him. He was acting so strange. I think I liked it better when he was ignoring me.

My mom left as she yelled something downstairs at my father who yelled back at her in a harsher tone, he was about as much as a morning person as I was.

"Okay," I responded to Jonas as we were obviously alone.

He kept his distance from me and gripped the counter. He looked like he was trying to keep from throwing up.

"Are you okay?" I asked him. His nose twitched before he forced a smile and nodded. I narrowed my eyes at him. "You still think I smell don't you?"

"Well, its not just you anymore. It's this whole place," Jonas responded. I cocked an eyebrow. Jonas seemed to realize what he said and changed the subject. "Don't worry about it. The thing is I really need to talk to you."

"Me?" I said in disbelief that he would want to exchange more than three words with me. He nodded. "Huh... That's weird." I probably should have kept that thought to myself.

"Yeah. I know you and I don't talk much but its about Layla's... Christmas present," he said. I shrugged.

"Just whatever you do, don't get her anything alive," I replied. "She sucks at pets. It never occurs to her to feed them for whatever reason. Then I get stuck taking care of the vermin." Jonas paid no attention to my ranting.

"Well, I wanted to get Layla something and since you two are identical, you're the perfect model," he said. I winced remembering how Phoebe had always been my perfect model.

"Clothes isn't really the way to go," I warned him moodily. "You know Layla used to go to school in pajamas every day until the school changed the dress code?" He shook his head.

"I was thinking of something more like jewelry," he said raising his brow as he was hinting at something. I didn't catch on.

"Jewelry's even worse than clothes. You're spending a ton of money on something she won't appreciate for longer than five minutes. Actually, never mind. Go ahead. She always gives me her discarded jewelry," I said smiling a little bit to myself. Jonas smiled a little bit. Without warning he took my left hand.

"I'm hoping she'll feel differently about this piece of jewelry," he said. With that he took a red small velvet box out of his jacket's pocket. He popped it open with his thumb. My eyes went wide. I couldn't move. I couldn't breath. There was a pain in my chest.

Oh my god! Was I having a heart attack?

I froze in place, my hand still hanging in the air. Jonas slipped the engagement ring onto my finger. The platinum ring with the sapphire stone glistened at me in the light. Jonas had a huge grin on his face.

"She likes blue. So, I thought sapphire was good. How does it fit?" he asked picking up glistening eyes full of hope, almost pleading.

He was going to propose to Layla. Layla, my older sister by two minutes.

My only remaining sister getting married to a freak? To live in some mansion commune with a bunch of other families? To give me freakish nieces and nephews? But she's just a kid! Like me. I'm a kid! Oh my god! I wasn't going to have anymore sisters! I was going to live at home alone! Jonas was going to be my brother-in-law and he thinks I smell so he'll never let her come home!

Wait. His file said he was prone to psychotic breaks. What if he's a serial killer? What if he's killed dozens of other wives? What if he breaks her heart and leaves her with the freak commune at the Carter House with psychotic children?

Oh my god!

Adam was right.

THIS ISN'T HAPPENING!

"Paulette?" Jonas said gently. My eyes met his, but they couldn't connect. "Um... Paulette, I wanted to ask you permission to marry Layla. It's kind of an old fashioned tradition in my family. I figured since you were closest to her, it would mean more to her if I asked you."

I felt myself start to teeter.

"Paulette, are you okay?" Then my my eyes rolled to the back of my head. His voice was fading.

I couldn't respond any other way than fall backwards and faint.

Sorry it took a long time for me to add. I hit a writer's block when it came to Jonas and Layla. Paulette's always been easy for me to write so I continued with her story inside. They'll all collide into a single story soon enough. Don't worry.