Chapter Three:

A Few "Favors"

Nature Boy still looked miffed as I passed him in the halls, and I was relieved that I didn't come across Ali-Bitch during my ventures. I had to lend her some credit—she was formidable for a fairy. She had impressed me this morning by coming up to me and giving me a piece of her mind. There was nothing I hated more than beating around the bush.

Her brother, however, was just a temperamental little twerp in my eyes—he had no balls to stand up for himself. Given, Ali-Bitch may have attacked me without his knowing, but still.

The day worn on until lunch, without any interaction with Puppy, who had seemed to have learned his lesson. The only unpleasant surprise I had before lunch was that Ali-Bitch happened to be in the same gym class as me. Oh, joy. I was so looking forward to playing sports with her. As if it wasn't enough that I was completely clumsy, she had taken it upon herself to be on the opposite team than me, and had repeatedly hit me with a tennis ball throughout the period.

I had found an old lighter in the kitchen drawer—apparently from Charlie's smoking years—and had nicked it, slipping it into my jacket pocket to use at lunch. This time, I was undisturbed while lighting up and was able to smoke in relative peace before I decided that I might want to get something to eat from the cafeteria. Lunch was almost halfway over, but I still had time before Biology.

I threw open the lunch room doors, hearing them hit the wall with a bang and walked through the middle of the cafeteria. It was utterly silent as the entire school stared at me with varying levels of fear, distrust, and awe.

I paid for an apple and lemonade quickly, turning away from the cashier's window, which promptly closed behind me. All of a sudden Ali-Bitch was in front of me, looking pissed. A tall, blond boy lingered behind her at some distance, obviously with her but not sure if he should get involved. Nature Boy stood beside him, a guarded expression on his face.

"Yes?" I asked snidely, sneering at her.

Ali-Bitch sneered back, taking a step closer. "You watch your fucking step, Swan," she drawled, eyes flashing. "I know that you've been trying to instill yourself into rule here, and it's not gonna fucking happen. This is my school," she added, her voice menacing. Her hair fell into her eyes and she shook it out of the way.

"Oh, yeah?" I asked, looking around. Every person in the lunch room was staring at us, watching as if they were waiting for one of us to blow up. They wanted a fight, and no wonder. They wanted at least one of the bitches out of their school. "What are you going to do about it? Is Nature Boy over there going to help you, or is he too scared?" I goaded, smirking. "It seems to me that if his little fairy sister has to fight his battles, then he's a bit of a pussy."

There was a collective gasp amongst the students, it was rather ridiculous. Ali-Bitch fumed, and I saw Nature Boy grab Blondie's arm as he tried to step forward. They shared a look, and I turned my attention back to Ali-Bitch in time to see her launch at me.

Now, I knew how to fight. Not only did I know how to fight, but I knew every dirty trick in the book and I never hesitated to use them. I wasn't known for my honor in Volterra.

I easily caught her and threw her to the ground, watching as she got up and came at me again. I waited until the last second and side-stepped her, hitting the back of her knees to make her fall again.

Ali-Bitch growled, turning around to glare at me with hate-filled eyes before standing again. This time she actually hit me, causing me to stumble back with the force of her punch. I rubbed my jaw, watching her carefully. She knew how to fight, too, though where she learned I had no idea. It was something you picked up on the streets, and none of these pompous Americans had a hard day in their life.

She charged and tackled me to the ground, straddling my waist and slamming her fist into my face again. By now, the kids were chanting "fight, fight, fight", and I flipped us over so I could get in a few hits. I felt large hands grasping my upper arms and hauling me back as I struggled against them. Ali-Bitch stood with the help of Nature Boy, and then ran at me, managing to graze my chin before her brother got a good hold of her and held her still.

"Alright now, y'all get back to yer food, show's over," a powerful voice said from behind me, nearing deafening me as it was said right into my ear. I realized with a jolt that it was Blondie, who had a strange, foreign accent that made it difficult to understand what he was saying. When no one moved to get back to their tables, he shouted, "Now!" They all scurried away like ants.

"Can I trust you enough to not try to fuck up Alice?" He whispered huskily into my ear. I didn't give him a response, instead jerking my arms out of his grip and he let me. "Edward," he called, and Nature Boy jerked his head up away from an apparently heated argument he was having with Ali-Bitch, "come on, it's almost time fer class."

Nature Boy glanced once at me, and then back to his sister, and Blondie seemed to get the message. Ali-Bitch glanced between the two boys and then huffed, stomping up to me. She leaned in so close that I could smell her perfume. Blondie and Nature Boy grabbed us by the arms again, but didn't attempt to pull us away from each other.

Her eyes were a swirling conundrum of green and grey, angry and bright. I felt myself leaning in; we were almost nose to nose. Her breath fanned across my face, her lips were parted, and suddenly her eyes became lustful, staring at me.

Then she yanked away from Nature Boy and pressed up against me. I could feel her small breasts against mine and it was terrifyingly erotic. This shouldn't feel so good. I hated her guts.

Her lips ghosted across my cheek and then to my ear.

"This means war."

She pulled away and looked up at Blondie. "Jasper, Edward, let's go. We have better things to do than deal with this Spanish bitch."

Then they were walking away, and I hated myself for feeling it, but her comment still stung.

XXX

I had discovered not even five minutes later something very unpleasant. Nature Boy, who had apparently skipped class yesterday, happened to be my lab partner in biology. Throughout the entire arduous ordeal, he sat stiffly, glaring at me every now and then. It was a free period, and I had finally grown tired of his irritating looks—I was never one for patience—and kicked his chair to get his attention.

He jolted up from his slumped position on the desk and glared once again.

"Cut it out," I snapped, annoyed. "I didn't do anything to you, ass."

His green eyes sparked. "Really, now? So, you insulting me yesterday, pulling a knife on me, and attacking my sister is nothing?"

I sighed angrily, running a hand through my hair. He was fixing to get his moody ass kicked. "You're just a little pompous American boy, who had everything handed to you. You don't know what it's like to be me. You know nothing."

He had no idea what it felt like to be on the streets because you had nowhere else to go, because there was nowhere safe.

That was the irony about Volterra, about that house. It was the safest city in Italy, but there was nowhere safe for me to go.

But Aro knew, and I wished I had Aro here with me. He would know what to do about the strange emotions I that was feeling.

He froze, and I knew somewhere in the back of my mind that I had hit a nerve. I just didn't care anymore. I was shutting off the emotional part of my brain again, which had for some reason resurfaced during lunch.

Nature Boy was silent for the rest of class, and when the bell rang he was the first out of the door. I walked out, not caring if his little feelings were hurt.

My art class next period was boring as hell, and the teacher had no idea what she was doing, and neither did the students. What was even worse was that Ali-Bitch was in this class too.

Lucky me.

This time she only glared at me from across the room, and it occurred to me then that it would probably be in my best interests to be on her good side. I hated to admit it, but she had power and could seriously fuck me up if she really wanted to, not to mention that she had sidekicks with her, while mine were in Italy. A lot of good that would do me if she decided she wanted to kick my ass all the way back to Europe.

It pained me to think that I would have to befriend her, an American, but I needed allies and I would get nowhere by myself. Hell, she could probably hook me up with some connections in Port Angeles and Seattle for my…hobbies.

The only problem was that I had done a good fucking job of pissing her off.

However, now that I thought of it, I knew exactly what I could do to remedy, or at least start to solve, that problem. I had seen the looks Nature Boy was giving me before I had managed to piss him off. I could use that to my advantage.

XXX

I approached him a week later, having decided to let the lunch incident fade away. I was quite proud of myself, to tell the truth. I had put up with Ali-Bitch's glares and ball throwing, not to mention the paint "accident" where she spilled paint all down my front and in my hair. That stuff was a bitch to get out.

He was out by his car, smoking (surprise, surprise), and I walked up to him quickly. His green eyes narrowed as I approached and he let out a puff of smoke before addressing me.

"What the hell do you want?"

I knew that as long as I stuck to the script, I would have no problem getting him to do what I wanted.

"Do you have a cigarette?"

His brows furrowed, and I watched as he dug into his jacket pocket and removed a pack, proffering them to me. "I don't know why I'm doing this," he commented as I took one and leaned in so he could light it. Once it was glowing at the end, I leaned against his car and watched as he continued to smoke on the hood of his silver car.

It was a few minutes before either of us spoke. He was gazing at me with suspicious eyes, and I was looking at the trees innocently, trying to seem as if all I wanted was a smoke.

He exhaled sharply and stubbed out his cigarette, only to light another one. "You know, I still haven't forgiven you for attacking my sister."

"That's okay," I said, inhaling. "I still haven't forgiven her for smearing paint in my hair last week." He nodded and neither of us moved for awhile.

My cigarette had died and I had a second one dangling between my lips by the time he spoke again. "What do you want?"

His eyes were trailing along my body, taking in the tight jeans and camisole under my usual leather jacket. I can't say that I didn't dress for the occasion. I had even added in a push-up bra to make my breasts more apparent. He looked conflicted.

"Well," I began, drawing it out, "I think we can find a middle ground, if you know what I mean."

By his expression, he didn't.

I flicked my cigarette onto the wet ground, where it sizzled as I moved forward. When I stood before him, I put my hands on his knees and spread them so that I stood in between his legs. I ran my hands over his chest and then move them down to get under his t-shirt. He tensed at my icy hands before relaxing a bit.

"Let's just say that if you put in a good word with your sister, I could, well, do a few favors for you." My hand found his crotch and felt the erection I knew would be there. "Understand, now?"

He looked more conflicted and confused than ever, which was probably for the best. Nature Boy swallowed hard and I pulled the cigarette from his mouth, lifting it to mine and taking a deep breath. I leaned toward him, pressing against his dick and watching his mouth open in a gasp of pleasure. My eyes never left his as I blew the smoke into his mouth, our lips barely brushing as I did so.

Suddenly his hand was in my hair and pulling me to him, kissing me. I knew I had succeeded when I felt his tongue pushing past my lips, ravaging my mouth. His hands were warm against my skin, it wasn't entirely unpleasant.

It was only lunch, so I knew that the house would be empty. Typically, I preferred to do this at the boy's house, where they felt more comfortable, but I didn't want to risk Ali-Bitch walking in on us. She didn't need to know that I had seduced her brother so that he would influence her to like me.

I broke away, whispering sweet nothings in Spanish to him, telling his to get in the car as I fished in his pocket for his keys. He did as told and soon I was driving to Charlie's house.

When we got there I attacked him, straddling his lap in the passenger's seat and grinding up against him. His hands gripped my hips roughly as he thrust into me and then opened the car door. I climbed off him and took his hand to lead him to the porch, where I looked around to make sure no one was being a peeping tom and then let us in.

Soon we were in my bedroom and I was letting him pin me to the bed as his lips sucked at my breast. I knew his type—the ones who desperately needed some control in their life. He needed domination to be able to pull this off, so I would let him dominate.

It wasn't long before our clothes were scattered across the floor and I was digging through my bedside drawer, pulling out a condom for him to use and he rolled it on before entering me roughly.

If I was telling the truth, I had never liked this, but men wanted me, wanted my body, so I would use that to my advantage. Sex could aid negotiations, especially those where men were involved.

When he was done, Nature Boy collapsed next to me, breathing heavily. I just looked at him, taking the used condom and wrapping it up in toilet paper before disposing of it in the bathroom trash. When I returned to the room, Nature Boy was leaning up against the headboard. He had guilt written all over his face, and I needed to get rid of that if I wanted him to advocate for me.

"What's wrong, mi amor?" Men loved it when girls called them sweet things in other languages.

He looked up at me and grimaced. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Why? Because your sister hates me? Well, everyone hates me. That shouldn't influence your decisions."

"No," he growled, running a hand through his red hair in frustration, "because it was a bad idea. You don't need to know why."

I stalked toward him, flipping my hair over my shoulder. "Well, that's wonderful," I hissed, jabbing a finger in his direction. "I'm not some common slut who fucks anyone who wants to get into her pants. I'm hot, and I know it. You wanted me. I needed something. This may have been just a business transaction, but don't you go about saying that I was a mistake."

He stood up, snatching his pants from the floor and making to put them on. "I don't need this. Forget you."

I hastily calmed myself down. I needed him to leave wanting to assist me. I sighed and pushed my hair out of my face. "Look, I'm sorry," I said with some difficulty. "Maybe I can make it up to you?" I asked in an innocent voice, ripping his clothes from his hands and pushing him against the door. I fell to my knees in front of him and took his rapidly hardening member into my hand, pumping it slowly. "You know, before you leave?"

He left awhile later, much more pliable than before, and I was very satisfied with the work I had done today, despite the aftertaste in the back of my mouth.

XXX

Nature Boy wasn't at school the next day.

I wouldn't have noticed, except I was looking for him in the cafeteria from my table in the back corner. It was clear across the room from Ali-Bitch's table with her cohorts, so she didn't tend to look in my direction often.

I was hoping that Nature Boy would have already starting working on her, which was why I was still watching for him, but he wasn't there. Neither was Jasper, for that matter, but who cared about him. I certainly didn't. He wouldn't do me any good, as I got the vibe from him that my seducing would not work very well on him, for whatever reason.

I sighed to myself and pulled out my cell phone, wanting to talk to Aro.

It rang for awhile before someone answered it, and it certainly was not who I expected to pick up.

"Hello," said a voice in Italian, one that irritated the hell out of me.

"What the fuck are you doing on Aro's phone?" I snarled, grinding my teeth with impatience.

"What a greeting, Bella," he said, his snide tone making me grimace. "No 'good day' for your dearest friend?"

"I don't associate with assholes willingly," I clipped, tugging at my hair. "Now put Aro on."

"I'm afraid he's a little…preoccupied at the moment. You can just talk to me, though. You know I just love your company, even if over the phone." There was a pause while I was trying to figure out a way to make him put Aro on the damn phone when I couldn't actually do anything to him in the near future.

"Fuck you."

"Oh, mio amore, but you wish I could."

Oh, no, but I did wish I could strangle him. Maybe Aro would do it for me if I asked real nice. "I don't fuck spineless pigs."

"Well, you're in luck, then."

"¡Puta madre—!"

I was cut off by a shuffling sound and a loud "Scopata!" before I heard Aro's voice through the speaker.

"I apologize for…that," he said slowly, and I just knew that he was glaring at Caius as he was shoved out the door.

I spoke in Spanish now, relieved to be done with Aro's brother. "Where the fuck were you?"

Aro ignored my question. "The little fucker needs to get a girlfriend."

His non-answer was enough. He had been fucking some girl. Like I would care. "Well, Aro, it seems like he might be over-compensating a bit. Don't you mean boyfriend?"

His laughter was loud enough to attract the attention of the Americans at the table next to mine. They frowned, and then quickly turned away as they realized it was me they were glaring at.

I glanced around the lunch room as I spoke, "Anyway, has the sun stopped rising in my absence?"

Aro chuckled, but the sound was lost as my eyes connected with a set of ghostly green orbs at the other end of the room. It was the first time I had looked at them since the fight, and I couldn't tear myself away. They bored into my own, holding me captive as I forgot where we were.

She wouldn't let me go, but then maybe I just wanted to be her prisoner. I didn't want her to let me go.

And that terrified me.