Disclaimer: All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer except my OCs

Chapter 9

Serina

Awkward. That was the only way to describe the atmosphere in the room. They couldn't meet each others eyes and Serina's cheeks were bright red. Her hands grasped the hem of her shirt as she tried to build up the courage to talk to him. C'mon Serina, he probably didn't see anything and he was only in for a second. But still!! She had never felt so embarrassed in all her life, not even when she had been 10 in the school play of sleeping beauty and had thrown up all over the prince. It hadn't been pretty, but she'd rather re-live that moment ten times than have Felix walk in on her in the shower.

"I'm sorry." he muttered and she finally looked up. He looked like he expected her to throw him out the window. Nothing came out of her mouth. What did you say to a close male friend, that you start feeling strangely around, when he's just seen you in the shower? Her eyes stared at a spot on the wall behind him, it was a lot easier than looking at him directly.

"It's my fault really. I mean who goes into the shower and doesn't lock the door? Only I'd be stupid enough to do that...Not that I leave the door open all the time! That was just an accident." Oh great, now she was rambling again. Her hands were waving around in a wildly erratic movement and her eyes were wide. But her mouth wouldn't stop spouting gibberish. She looked at him and almost laughed at his expression of pure confusion if she hadn't been making an idiot out of herself.

At least the awkward silence had gone. Her shoulders dropped as a sigh escaped her lips. "What I'm attempting to say (and failing to) is that I don't blame you. It was an embarrassing accident. I should have locked the door. So stop beating yourself up over it." she said and this time she met his eyes. A faint smile was her reward and she beamed. "Good now that that's settled. What on earth are you doing in my room anyway?!" She yelled and stepped forward.

He ran a hand through his hair and she was struck by the stress shown on his face and the tension in his shoulders. He looked a world away from the usual arrogant cocky Felix she knew.

"You heard about the murder?" her back stiffened and she nodded, her earlier fear rising up. "Then you've realised that it wasn't a human who attacked that man." it was a statement not a question. Again she nodded her head bobbing up and down.

Red eyes narrowed on her. "Do you think it was us?" his voice was tinged with incredulity. Her hands clenched and she looked away guiltily. That was all the answer he needed.

"Geez Serina. What's wrong with you? I though you had more trust in me than that." He would be lying if he said he wasn't hurt. She flinched back and some darker part of him was pleased with her pain. "You know we would never risk revealing our kind to the world. It's why the Volturi was formed." At his her eyes flared and she lifted her head.

Felix

"Yes I know full well what you would do to keep your race a secret!" her voice was accusatory and he felt his anger with her swell. They both knew what she was talking about. His fist clenched and he felt betrayed for some reason.

"Do you have any idea what it cost me to keep you safe!" he roared, infuriated with her. She jumped back in shock and her feet got tumbled in one of Sarahs jumpers and she hit the floor with a crash. She whimpered a little as she tried to sit up and her hand was clutching her leg. Worry extinguished his anger, or at least cooled it enough for him to think rationally, and he knelt down to help.

His fingers gently skimmed her leg, searching for where she was injured. It didn't help his imagination that her skin was just as soft as it appeared and he mentally cursed whichever god was laughing at him.

"Ow." she groaned as he pressed the spot on her ankle. He examined the joint.

"It looks like it's just twisted." his voice was soft and she relaxed a little.

"Thank you." she said and he smiled at her. "I'm sorry for what I said...it was uncalled for." her voice was small and he could hear the regret in words. He waved away her words.

"Bah, our kind has impenetrable skin it would take more than a few words to hurt me." he joked her face remained sad. Taking a deep breath he scooped her up, annoying her annoyed meep, and sat her on the bed. She glared at him.

"I'm not a child for you to manhandle." he grinned completely unrepentant.

"Hmm, compared to me you're nothing more than an infant." he was goading her deliberately. He knew it, she knew it but she still reacted.

"Take that back you jerk!" she yelled and tried to hit him with a pathetically weak punch which he dodged easily.

Serina

His laugh was loud and angered her to no end. Knowing that she couldn't harm him physically she settled for calling him names under her breath. This just seemed to amuse him more and he laughed again. Her cheeks reddened with anger and she swivelled around, forgetting that her ankle was injured. She yelped and grabbed it. Instantly he was beside her, checking to see that she hadn't pulled anything else.

"What's wrong?" he asked and she looked up at him. Bad idea. She hadn't realised he was that close. Their faces were inches apart. The beat of her heart seemed to resound in her ears and she felt like she was floating. This whole situation was just unreal. Felix was her friend and protector. These feelings shouldn't exist and what about Demetri? She gulped and tried to back away but her body didn't want to listen and he seemed reluctant to move either.

"Serina?" he said. What was he asking of her? What did he want? Why was this happening now of all times? His hand touched her arm and she shuddered at the contact. Tingles erupted on her skin and it wasn't unpleasant. Slowly, so she could stop him if she wanted to, he moved his hand up her arm and onto her face. She closed her eyes at the contact. His hand was cold but it was comforting. Without realising it she leant into him. His thumb began to rub her cheek and his eyes began to glow with a foreign emotion. She wondered what her own face reflected.

"Am I interrupting something?" A dry voice cut through the atmosphere. As if a spell had been broken she found that she could move again. They sprang apart, well he jumped away, her ankle prevented her from doing anything. She turned to see Demetri crouching on the window. He didn't look pleased. Felix exhaled.

"No you didn't." his voice was bland but she thought she could see irritation in his eyes. Demetri nodded before turning to her.

"Did he tell you about the murder?" she blinked stupidly, before remembering what they had been arguing about to begin with.

"Uhhh.." was her oh so witty answer. He shook his head in exasperation and glared at Felix.

"The idiot should have told you that an unknown vampire killed the human as a challenge to our masters. Aro wants us to return to Volterra and he wants us to bring you with us." he stated in a tone that allowed no arguments. She turned to Felix and he nodded.

"But what about Caius?" she asked. Her fear of the older vampire was as strong as it was back then. Demetri smiled a little.

"Aro has sent him to...relax with some old friends. He won't be back for a couple of weeks." she gave a relieved sigh and leant back on the bed. Part of her knew that she shouldn't go. She had the art exhibition to do, her mum was already worried about her and what would happen if Caius found her still alive. But the bigger more selfish part really wanted to go. The part that wanted to see Jane, Heidi and Aro again, the part that made her draw sketches of them all the time and the part that wanted to stay close to Felix. She looked at Demetri. Plus it would be fun to make a new friend.

"So when do we go?" she asked and Demetri twitched, as if he hadn't been expecting her answer.

"Now." he stated.

"But what about my ankle, and my clothes?"

He sighed "You can get some more clothes at Volterra, I'm sure Jane and Heidi would be more than happy to help. As for your ankle I'll carry you." again his voice remained bland and toneless. Felix turned to stare at his friend. Her mouth dropped open.

"Wha..?" her question was cut short as he picked her up like a child. She struggled a little but his arms didn't let her move.

"Stop struggling if you don't want to hurt your ankle further." she relaxed a little and he turned to Felix. "Let's go."

Felix nodded and they jumped out the window, ignoring her surprised yelp. It was just like she remembered. Travelling at vampire speed caused the world around her to blur into a fantastic spiral of colours and shapes. It was beautiful but dizzying. She gripped Demetri's arm for support and he held her tighter. She closed her eyes listening to the air shoot past her head and her heart drumming in her chest. Time seemed to pass quickly and the next thing she knew they were outside a very familiar city. Her hand reached out and grabbed Felix's arm.

Serina gulped as she saw the familiar buildings loom up ahead. She gripped Felix's hand as they made their way into the city of Volterra and the secret underground palace below.

AN: (Author creeps out from behind wall. Hi. Author runs from barrage of knives and spears thrown by fans) Please don't kill me!!! Other stories will be updated soon promise. Thank you for all the reviews. Exams are over! So sorry for the wait. A little Serinaxfelix fluff for Sans-forever. Now some people tell me they want FelixXSerina others say DemetriXSerina so I'm a little unsure of what to do. I haven't decided the final outcome yet. Hope you enjoy.

Sneak Peak

"Serina" a high pitched squeal hurt her ears and she turned just in time to see a blur of black hair grip her waist in an iron grip and she found herself looking into the red eyes of Jane.