As an "I'm sorry for such a long wait time for the last chapter" present, I've decided to give you Chapter 7. This is by far one of my favorite (the other being Chapter 9!). It's a short one...but I thought about it a lot and came to the conclusion that nothing more could be, or should be added. It stands on it's own legs. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

As always, much love to Lil Miss Golden Eyes and the fantastical ecandme

How strong a will
How long to kill
The Vampire's out to play
He's going for his prey
How wise the decisions
How clear of a mind with perfect precision
The aim it will find
Removing a tyrant
The vampire on its track

"Bella? Can you hear me?" a distant voice asked. Though it was far away, the voice was low and velvety. I knew that voice. I would know it anywhere. Blindfold me and put me in a room with a thousand voices and I would recognize that one.

"What….the….fuck?" I moaned. Edward let out a low, throaty chuckle.

"Bella, you passed out."

"I did what?" I yelled, struggling to sit up. I looked around and noticed I was lying across the back seat of my Jeep. I scooted to the end of the seat and hopped out, swaying slightly as I was hit with a sudden wave of vertigo. Edward reached out and grabbed my shoulders to steady me. Once I was stable, he removed his hands, crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the open car door.

"You really need to remember to breathe," he chided, arching up one perfect eyebrow.

"And you really need to learn not to dazzle me," I countered.

"Dazzle?"

"Yes, Edward. Dazzle. It's completely unnecessary and unfair." I pouted. His eyes roamed down my face and lingered on my jutting bottom lip for a few seconds before returning to look me in the eyes.

"So I 'dazzle' you and you faint?" he asked with a wicked glint in his eye.

"Something like that," I mumbled. I held out my hand for my keys.

"You sure you're OK to drive?" he asked, dangling the keys above my palm. I reached up, swiped them from him and stomped over to the driver's side.

"I'm perfectly fine. Now let's go." I slipped into my seat and started the car while Edward closed the back door and slid in next to me.

The ride to Charlie's was uncomfortably silent. Edward stared out the window, seemingly lost in thought, with a small smirk stuck on his face. I was trying to figure out how in the hell he had managed to make me faint. It wasn't fair – the effect he had on me.

I parked the Jeep in the driveway and opened the door.

"Do you want to come in or would you rather stay out here?"

"Do you want me to come in?"

"I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't an option, Edward."

I led him into the house and headed straight for the stairs. I stopped a few steps up, noticing he didn't follow. I turned back around and saw him standing in the doorway looking around curiously.

"There's no need for a grand tour. What you see is what you get." He smiled up at me. "You coming?"

"Where are you going?"

"To my bedroom. To pack." A look of hesitation crossed his face. I smirked and placed my hands on my hips. "You're not afraid of a girl's bedroom are you?

"No. I just wasn't sure if it was appropriate that you and I be in your bedroom without Charlie here."

I snorted. "It's not like I plan to seduce you or anything, Edward. And besides, I wouldn't be a very good hostess if I left my guest unattended now would I?"

"Touché."

"Good. Now get your ass up here and help me pack!" I turned and continued up the stairs, very much aware of Edwards's presence behind me, as if we were polar opposites of a magnet, drawing each one to the other.

"And stop staring at my ass!" I yelled over my shoulder. I heard Edward quietly laugh and a smile tugged at my lips. He had an infections and musical laugh. I would never tire of hearing it. I wished I could make him laugh like that every day. WHOA. Where the hell did that come from?

"Ahh, but what a great view it is," he answered, still laughing. I felt my stomach tighten at his words.

"Now who's seducing who, Mr. Cullen?" I asked as we entered my bedroom. Edward gave me a quick smirk as he passed me to sit in the rocking chair. As he sat down, I was suddenly hit with the memory of my dream the other night. I felt the blood rush and pool in my cheeks.

"Isabella Swan. Why on earth are you blushing?"

"Nothing. It's….nothing. Just…never mind," I stammered, quickly turning away from his questioning look and heading to the closet to fish out my duffle bag. I heard him snicker in the corner and a new wave of blood rushed to my cheeks. I found the duffle bag quickly but pretended to keep searching in an attempt to clear the blush from my face.

I emerged from the closet a few moments later, all traces of embarrassment erased. I walked around the room, grabbing items and stuffing them into the bag, while Edward sat slowly rocking in the chair. He was quietly humming something that seemed oddly familiar, yet I couldn't place it.

"What are you humming?" I asked.

"Just something I wrote," he answered casually. I sucked in my bottom lip and chewed it gently, desperately trying to figure out where I had heard that song before.

"You write music?" I asked, sitting on the edge of my bed.

"Yeah, I write music…and play the piano."

"What type of music do you write?"

"I guess it would be considered classical. My musical tastes are eclectic, but I identify mostly with classical when it comes to composing music to play."

"What exactly constitutes 'eclectic'?"

"Umm…well a little bit of this, a little bit of that. I'm not picky as long as it isn't country. I draw the line there. What about you?"

"I'm a hard rock girl. Slipknot, Sevendust, Mudvayne, Five Finger Death Punch…that type of stuff."

I slipped off the bed and grabbed my overnight bag. "You ready to go? Alice is probably waiting for us." Edward nodded and stood up from the chair, reaching his arm out towards me. I cocked one eyebrow in confusion.

"I'll carry it for you," he said, reaching for the strap of my bag. I slid it off my shoulder and handed it to him.

Once we were settled in the Jeep, I turned on my iPod, backed out of the driveway and based on Edwards's direction, headed away from town.

A few minutes into the drive, one of my favorite songs came on and as I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel to the beat of the song, I caught a glimpse of Edward in the passenger seat. He sat white knuckled staring at the iPod with an almost horrified expression.

"What?" I asked turning to look at him. His eyes darted between my face and the offending silver player.

"What is this?"

I turned my head back to the road and shrugged one shoulder. "Um…it's Rammstein?"

Edward continued to stare at me horrified. I felt the blood flush my face, but this time for a different reason. I was getting pissed. "Look, I'm guessing we don't share the same musical tastes, but they're a really good band, Edward."

"And they're singing about….vampires?"

"Well yeah. The song is called Vampire," I answered. Edward didn't respond. Instead he sat unmoving still staring at the side of my face.

"So what..you're not a fan of vampires?" I questioned. After a few seconds of silence, I stole a glance at him. He seemed to be formulating a response.

"No. They're soulless, vile monsters," he finally answered.

"First off, they're not even real, so they technically can't be soulless. Second, they aren't monsters, Edward. They're kind of….fascinating actually."

"Fascinating? Bella, be serious. They kill people. Suck the life right out of them. How can that be fascinating?"

"I don't know. But they aren't monsters. It's just their nature. They're just doing what comes naturally," I replied.

"You have no idea what you're saying, Bella."

"Oh and what you do? When's the last time you socialized with a fucking vampire, Edward?" I hissed.

"Just…forget it, OK," he answered, turning to stare out his window.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Fine."

We drove in silence for what seemed like hours, driving further and further out of town until there was nothing around but forest. Abruptly, Edward instructed me to turn onto an unmarked, barely visible road hidden among the trees. In actuality, it wasn't even a road, just an unpaved dirt trail that wound its way through the woods for miles. Trees and ferns encroached on either side, casting eerie shadows across the road. As I continued driving, my aggravation grew at the fact that he had gotten his panties in a twist over something as trivial as a mythological creature. We had actually been getting along for once, and he just had to ruin it. Of all the stupid, asinine things to get upset over, this is what he chose? I let out a sigh.

"What?" he asked.

"So I guess I'm going to have to find a new partner to watch my collection of vampire movies with come Halloween, huh?" I smirked.

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You have a vampire movie collection?"

"Yep," I answered, popping the p. "I guess you can just call me 'Queen of the Damned'." Edward sat momentarily stunned. Without giving him a chance to respond, I parked my Jeep in front of his house and got out. I was not about to let an idiotic thing like vampires ruin my weekend.

Chapter title and lyrics by Rammstein, song titled "Vampire".