The Other

I was led into what would probably be the equivalent of a living room, although it was far more luxurious than that. Damon headed straight for a decanter of some sort of alcohol, while the others oriented themselves on the couch. I frowned at the only remaining seat, which happened to be beside where Damon was standing.

No sooner had I sat down did the questions come pouring out. I suppose that they had finally found their voices.

"So, you know our names. What's yours?" the blonde asked. Although I still didn't know her name, I decided not to point that out.

"Bella..." I answered slowly, glancing around to see if my name was familiar to any of them.

I wasn't sure if I was relieved or not by the lack of recognition in their eyes. The fact that they didn't know my name made their involvement in my kidnapping less likely, but that also meant they might not know why I had been taken.

"How did you know Jonas?" Bonnie asked.

I sighed.

"I didn't really."

"Is that so? Because you two seemed to be awfully familiar with each other," Damon interjected dryly.

I turned to glare at him.

"He kidnapped me. Drugged me or used a spell—I don't know. When I woke up, I was chained up in a basement or something. Jonas, Luka, and Elijah were there."

There was a collective gasp at this revelation. I was still unsure about their involvement, but their shock did seem genuine. I wished I had the ability to sense emotions like...Jasper, if only to confirm it.

"Why?"

"Why what?" I asked, sighing.

"Why you? What's so special about you?"

"Nothing," the truth slipped out so easily that it made my chest ache. "There's nothing special about me."

"Then why you?"

"I don't know," I answered honestly, growing annoyed at his persistence.

How many times did he want me to say it?

"Damon, leave the poor girl alone. It's obvious she doesn't know," Elena chastised, casting me a sympathetic look.

I stared at my hands, not really listening as they began to bicker. Admitting that I was nothing aloud hadn't hurt quite as much as it probably should have. It was almost as if my lack of importance had been hanging over my head, just waiting to be addressed. Now that I had, I felt so...empty.

I shook my head, trying to push those thoughts away. I could revisit them later, when I wasn't surrounded by so many watchful eyes. I needed to change the subject, if only for a moment.

"Where am I?" I asked suddenly, interrupting whatever conversation had been carrying on around me.

"The Salvatore Boarding House," Stefan answered helpfully. "My brother, Damon and I live here."

That was nice to know, I suppose, but I shook my head, sighing.

"No, I mean...what state?"

"You don't know?" the blonde asked in disbelief. From the looks of the others, they shared her skepticism.

I rubbed my eyes roughly, feeling drained. What part of kidnapped, did they not understand?

"I was unconscious during the trip, so no. I don't know."

"You're in Mystic Falls, Virginia," Elena answered and I could see the concern in her eyes.

I looked away. I didn't want to see that expression on her face. I didn't want to delude myself into thinking any of them actually cared.

I was surprised by her answer though. Virginia? Although I had figured out that I must've been unconscious for two days, I hadn't thought I would be so far from Forks. Virginia was practically on the other side of the United States. At least, that's what I had always thought.

Maybe I should've paid more attention in geography.

"Where are you from?" Elena asked in a gentle voice that didn't escape my notice.

As if I was fragile. As if I couldn't take answering that question.

"Forks," I answered automatically.

"What's Forks?"Jeremy asked, speaking for the first time.

"It's a small town in Washington."

"No wonder you're so pale," Damon chimed in, taking a generous gulp from his glass. "That town gets about one sunny day a year."

"You've been to Forks?" I asked in surprise, belatedly wondering if I should have lied.

Now that they knew where I lived, would Charlie be in danger? I figured that if Jonas had been able to find me, then my whereabouts couldn't have been that hard to find. Then again, these people didn't seem to have known about me, so who knows?

"I know of it," he rolled his eyes. "Why anyone would choose to live there is beyond me."

Although I agreed with him to an extent, I chose not to comment. He was beginning to annoy me with his cocky attitude.

"So...you don't know why I was taken?" I asked everyone quietly, defeated.

"No, I'm sorry. We don't," Stefan replied sympathetically.

I stared at him as he spoke, glancing over his features. He was paler than Elena, but nowhere near that of the Cullens. His hair, although not styled in disarray, coupled with the serious look on his face reminded me of a particular member of that family.

I swallowed the pain that comparison brought and quickly averted my gaze.

"What are you?" I finally asked the question that had been on my mind since Jonas's death.

They were quiet for far too long to be considered comfortable, before Stefan spoke.

"What do you mean?" he laughed uneasily.

My fists clenched at the sound, as I was reminded of another time someone had tried this. Did they think I was stupid?

They hadn't fooled me last time and these people certainly wouldn't now. Not after everything I had been through. I unconsciously scratched at my scar, which was hidden beneath the old long-sleeved shirt Luka had given me.

The thought of Luka's death made my anger disappear.

Had I really killed him?

I shook the thought away. For now.

"Well, I watched her try to bite Jonas," I pointed to the blonde. "And he...ripped Jonas's throat out," I directed at Damon, who lifted an eyebrow in return.

I heard Jeremy snicker, while the rest seemed to be silently debating who would answer me.

"They're vampires," Bonnie finally replied, leaning toward me. "Stefan, Damon, and Caroline. I'm a witch."

My eyes widened at that and I unintentionally scooted away from her. Was she like Jonas and Luka?

"They won't hurt you...none of us will," Elena was quick to assure me. "In fact, Stefan and Caroline only drink animal blood."

I nodded, but still kept a wary eye on Bonnie. Although she had helped me when I first walked into that bar, I hadn't forgotten her interaction with Jonas and now that I knew what she was, I was definitely suspicious.

Something Elena said finally caught my attention.

"What about him?" I asked, tilting my head toward Damon.

"Mmm. No bunnies for me," Damon smirked in reply.

His gaze lacked any guilt for his diet and I wondered how I could have missed the customary red eyes he should have been sporting.

"Y-You—but your eyes! All of your eyes!"

I looked at each of them, once again noting the distinct lack of red or gold. When my gaze returned to Damon, I leaned closer to see if I could make out whether he was wearing contacts. As I realized earlier, the shade of blue couldn't be artificial—wouldn't the combination of red and blue make his eyes purple?

"You aren't wearing contacts..." I pointed out slowly.

Elena's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would they—"

"Bella," Stefan cut her off.

I glanced at him, suddenly worried that I had said too much. I could see the suspicion in his eyes.

"Yes?" I swallowed when he made no move to continue.

"Have you...met vampires before?" he asked evenly.

My eyes widened and my heartbeat picked up, even as I willed it to remain silent. We both knew he wasn't talking about Elijah.

"I—What?" I stuttered, swallowing.

I began to fidget under his watchful gaze, nervously tucking my hair behind my ear. His eyes narrowed on my arm and my heartbeat picked up as I realized my mistake. While I was wearing a long sleeved shirt, the garment was a tad big on me, so when I reached for my ear, the sleeve had slid down my arm to pool at my elbow, thereby exposing James's bite mark.

I was so focused on Stefan that I didn't notice Damon moving, until his hand had shot out to grasp my wrist.

"What is this?" he demanded, although his tone sounded more incredulous than anything.

I glanced quickly at the mark on my arm before squinting my eyes shut at the memory of how I had gotten it.

"A scar," I answered shakily.

"Obviously," Damon replied, rolling his eyes. "But how did you get it?"

I answered his question with the story I was given, despite knowing how futile lying became when I couldn't manage to keep my heartbeat in check.

"You're lying," Stefan noticed.

"I-I'm not. The glass—" I tried, but was interrupted when a pale hand grabbed me.

All I registered was a flash of color and a whoosh of air before finding myself pinned against the wall.

"What are you?" Damon demanded, pressing his arm into my throat.

"Human," I choked out.

I clawed at his arm, trying to alleviate the pressure, but he was too strong. He pushed harder in response.

"You may look like a human, be weak like a human, and—" he paused, leaning in to skim his nose along my neck, "—smell like a human, but we both know you aren't."

I shook my head as furiously as I could in his grasp, barely able to breathe.

"Please," I gasped as my eyelids grew heavy.

He stared deep into my eyes for a moment, intent on finding whatever he was looking for. His lips curved up in a smirk when he finally replied.

"Well since you asked so nicely..."

He suddenly released his grip on me and without his support, I slid to the ground.

"Damon! What's wrong with you?" Elena demanded, crouching beside me as I gasped for air.

I took a deep breath, trying gather more into my lungs.

"Like you were complaining," Damon pointed out, rolling his eyes.

I shrugged her hands off, angry at Damon, but also mildly annoyed at the rest of them for doing nothing.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," Elena apologized. "Nothing like that will happen again. I promise. You really are safe here," she reassured me.

That's what you said before.

"Sure," I replied sarcastically. "That one," I pointed to Damon, "was just choking me. So forgive me if I don't believe you."

Elena frowned as I shrugged off her help, walking shakily back to my seat. It was true that I had heard a few protests amidst Damon's attack, but they had just been words. None of them had done anything to help me and I now knew that I wouldn't be able to trust them when it counted.

Damon was pacing, while almost everyone else was staring at me, obviously confused about what had just transpired. Damon and Stefan were the only ones who seemed to at least somewhat understand the significance of my scar.

Elena looked between Stefan, Damon, and I, before finally asking the question that was probably on everyone else's minds.

"I don't understand. It's just a scar—"

"No," Damon cut her off. "It isn't. That is an impossible scar."

"What do you mean?" Elena asked curiously.

"It's the bite of a vampire," Stefan answered quietly.

I stiffened at the confirmation, becoming increasingly tense as everyone looked closely at me.

"But... Damon used to bite Caroline all the time. What's so special about this one?" Jeremy asked.

I glanced at the blonde in surprise—who I assumed was Caroline by the way everyone was looking at her now—trying to see if I could make out any scars like mine.

"Don't look at me," Caroline spoke, "I don't have any scars like that."

"That's because Bella was bitten by a different vampire," Stefan continued to explain in that same quiet tone.

"So, what? Every vampire has their own bite? Like a thumbprint?"

"Yes, but that's not quite what I meant. Bella was bitten by a different kind of vampire." Stefan's stare had grown more probing.

"A different kind? There are different kinds?" Caroline asked incredulously.

"A Cold One," Damon finally spoke, halting his pacing. "Bella was bitten by a Cold One."

"What does that mean?" Elena asked.

"It means..." Damon paused, leveling me with his gaze. "It means that Bella should be dead."

...

I sort of lied.
It seems that I'm breaking up the chapter even further.
Though, the rest isn't as close to being finished.
So, it might be a longer wait.

Although I love reading 'explanations'
they're exhausting to write.