Chapter Four

SHE'S A REAL VAMPIRE NOW

My phone was vibrating in my pocket, and I winced at the drilling noise it made. Bella seemed undisturbed, and I remembered she didn't have my heightened sense of hearing.

She was driving at 30mph, and I could just imagine Edward's frustration at the low speed. I could almost hear his bored voice, see his eyebrow raised in amusement, his crooked smile as he smirked at her cautious driving.

"Penny for them," Bella broke our companionable silence.

I made an unintelligable noise as I reached to check my phone inbox.

"Penny for your thoughts," Bella said again.

My text was from my sister, asking where her belt was.

"Oh. I was just thinking about the Cullens," I replied truthfully.

"Oh." Bella gripped her steering wheel a little tighter.

'Should I tell her about them? It's dangerous for her to hang around with vampires and not know, even if it is the Cullens.'

"How about you?" I asked, not really concentrating.

"Well," Bella started, "I'm not very interesting,"

"Oh, surprise me,"

'Surprise her?' I could hear Bella thinking. 'This will surprise her, alright,'

"You know the Cullens?"

"Yeah."

"This might sound a little crazy," Bella pressed on, the hesitation in her voice.

I could hear her deliberating and hesitating.

"Yes…?"

"The Cullens are vampires," Bella chewed her lip, glancing at me, then fixing her gaze firmly back on the road.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

There was a long, awkward pause in which Bella glanced at me, then the road.

"You don't seem very surprised," she said unhappily.

"I am." I assured her, "I'm in shock."

I hoped she couldn't tell that I was lying through my teeth.

We stayed in silence throughout the long journey to Port Angeles.

We parked beneath a street lamp outside the rustic restaurant. It looked quite fancy, but I wasn't too bothered.

"Right, so, you know that I don't know Port Angeles very well," Bella said, locking up her old truck.

"Yeah," I said, "But I know it even less,"

"Which is why we're just going to eat, then go home, right?" Bella bit her thumb.

"Yes. It'll be great," I promised.

Bella wasn't the kind of person to shop all day and party all night. If you didn't know her, you'd think she was quiet, or even simple, but luckily I could see through that.

The restaurant was very warm and welcoming, and the waiter gave us a dazzling smile as he showed us our seats.

'If the redhead were a little younger...' I could hear him think about me, and for once I didn't mind his vulgar fantasies. I was happy.

"He was almost as pretty as Edward," I joked, instantly feeling Bella's raw jealousy.

We ordered, and talked about mundane things… the weather, our health, the people at school, and the surrounding area. I mentioned the big dance and Bella's cheeks reddened quickly. It surprised me how the rush of blood to her cheeks made me so thirsty, and for the first time in two months I felt like a real vampire, rather than just a girl.

Once I ate, my thirst lessened greatly, and I chatted to a few gentlemen on the table next to ours. They bought us champagne, although Bella only sipped at it carefully.

"Not one for the alcohol, Bella?" I asked.

"I've never tasted champagne before," Bella replied.

Of course. They couldn't drink until 21 in the States.

"Well, back at my old school people came to school drunk," I laughed at the memory, "Get that down your neck, lass!"

Bella looked uncomfortable, then gulped down the champagne and giggled.

The more drunk I got, the thirstier I felt, until eventually I knew I had to stop drinking. Bella, on the other hand, did not.

The point came when I decided I had to take Bella home. She was breathing heavily, switching between being hyperactive and sleepy, and she'd downed four glasses of champagne.

'What have you done to her?' I heard Edward's voice in my head, but I blocked him out and closed my mind off to him. I needed all my concentration to keep my lips clamped, to stop myself from biting Bella's neck as I lifted her up and carried her out of the restaurant, careful to leave a big tip for our gorgeous waiter.

I thanked the gentleman for their bottle of champagne and had to carry Bella from the room, holding my breath so I didn't breathe in the smell of her sweet blood. She was easy to carry, fairly light for a human, and I smiled at her limp wrists around my shoulder. I could snap them with a click of my fingers, I thought, and I almost let curiosity get the better of me.

I drove her home, praying I didn't crash, and Bella slept soundly. I chuckled at the thought of her hangover tomorrow morning. Her father would probably kill her, if he ever found out.

I ran the rest of the way home, dropping her truck off at Charlie's and putting Bella on her bed. I only stopped when I passed the lane to the Cullen household, admiring the beautiful woodland, and thinking only of Edward, and how lucky Bella was.