Disclaimer: These are not Stephanie's vampires.

Chapter Thirteen

Isabella Swan

"You're sure this diner is healthy?"

I glance sideways at Edward, at the skeptical look on his aristocratic face and the slight scrunch of his nose. Before leaving the dorm, he'd been adamant about bundling me up in a scarf, hat and gloves on top of my heavy winter coat – and it wasn't even November yet. He insisted that he would be a bad mate if he let me "catch a chill". I might have thought he was being a bit overbearing but I couldn't deny that I was nice and toasty.

"Yes, Edward," I sigh as I reach to open the door of the diner. His hand flashes before mine, beating me to the door; he opens the door with a slightly roguish grin and I can't help but roll my eyes. "Besides, I don't need to worry about eating healthy."

Edward frowns. "I was under the impression that human females were obsessed with health," he mutters to himself, seemingly getting lost in his thoughts. I pull up a seat at the one of the corner barstools, smiling at Sue as she bustles over, glancing at Edward with great appreciation.

"Well, hello, darling. Didn't think I'd see you here today."

"I was craving a bacon burger," I tell her eagerly, my stomach suddenly growling. Edward is startled by the sudden noise as he eyes my stomach.

Sue glances over me with a critical eye. "How about some chili cheese fries, too? And a milk shake."

I shake my head. "Whatever you want, Sue."

"You hear that, Billy? Whatever I want," Sue calls back towards the kitchen. Thankfully, the diner is fairly empty for a late Sunday night – college students are most likely cramming that last page of the essay before Monday morning's class.

Billy peeks his head out of the kitchen, a smear of flour across his cheek from where he had begun making bread dough for tomorrow's meals. He raises his brows at me. "You sure that's wise, kid?"

"What's the worst she could do?"

Sue merely smiles widely and turns her attention to Edward. "And what will you have, handsome?"

Edward quickly scans over the menu. "What is this chicken fried steak?"

I'm a bit surprised that Edward intends to eat but hadn't his brother done the same? These vampires eat, I remind myself.

"It's the best thing you've ever tasted," Sue says. "There's even my award winning sausage gravy to go with it."

"I'll have that," Edward decides, looking downright thrilled.

Sue hums happily. "Good choice, dear. You could use some fattening up, too," she says, jotting down the order and passing it to Billy. "What's with these kids today, huh? Thin as a rail, all of them!"

Billy laughs but says nothing in response – anyone who came to the diner was used to Sue's ranting over the poor, skinny children. It took me a while to realize that it wasn't anything personal or out of malice; Sue was genuinely concerned about the students at UDub.

A few stragglers stumble in and Sue's attention is drawn to them, leaving Edward and I in our corner.

"So, you're going to eat?"

Edward smiles easily. "The gravy that comes with this dish seems interesting. I look forward to tasting it."

I lean my head against my palm, unable to draw my eyes from him. "You don't mind eating, then?"

"I haven't eaten in a few decades," he shrugs.

My eyes widen. "Decades," I repeat slowly.

Edward leans closer. "My Bella, I am a born vampire. Other vampires, vampires that have been made, cannot consume food. But since I have grown into my current body, I can metabolize food. It is not as sustaining as blood, of course, but I could survive on a few steaks a week indefinitely."

I nod in understanding, absorbing the fact that there were clearly two different types of vampires. I didn't particularly want to get into the logistics of that at the diner but my curiosity was ruthlessly fighting to get out. "How does it happen?"

Edward's hand moves towards the loose ends of my hair, twirling a dark strand around his long, pale fingers. "How does what happen, princess?"

I lean towards him, my elbow sliding across the surface of the bar. "How do you turn into a vampire?" I ask, my voice low.

Edward is careful to keep his face calm and cool – the perfect poker face and one, I assume, that he had been mastering for hundreds of years. "Those who are willing are usually bonded to their makers," he says. His finger tugs at my hair slightly. "The bond before the change is usually a love bond, a bond born from recognizing your mate in a human. These vampires that are made from the love bond actually behave more like the born vampires and their change is more, how shall I say this?" Edward pauses for a moment. "The change is easier on the body, affects less of the organs. Our scientists think this is because vampire blood is introduced into the human body gradually to establish the love bond and that the blood might alter some of the DNA even before the change. There are certain vampires who are made with that love bond that have special privileges."

"Willing?" I question.

Edward grimaces. "A lot of the vampires made in earlier times were not willing," he tells me. "Only a handful survive the change if it is forced and of when they wake to their new life, they are feral. Dangerous. They do not usually last long and the few who do are very strong and capable."

I nod, roving over what he told me, reading between the lines as Sue gleefully sets our plates down before us. I watch with mild amusement as Edward digs into his steaming plate, his eyes wide as the taste hits his tongue.

He looks up at Sue. "This is amazing."

"That's good country cooking, boy," she tells him smugly, shooting me a wink. "You come by anytime you need to fill up."

Edward readily agrees, tucking into his meal. I do the same, relishing the juicy meat and melting cheese. He finishes much quicker than I do and watches as I munch on my cheese fries.

I'm mildly uncomfortable with his eyes on me and the silence as he watches me with clear, unrestrained adoration.

I like the adoration.

I don't like the silence.

"Tell me more," I say after a sip of vanilla milkshake.

"More of what?"

"What are the certain vampires? What are those privileges?"

Edward steals one of my fries and dips it into my milkshake, making an astonished face at the cool and hot and sweet and salty combination. He emits a low hum, close to a purr, and repeats the action twice.

"The females," he finally says.

I furrow my brows.

"The female vampires made from the love bonds," he clarifies. "Only the ones made from a true love bond that transition into this life can have children."

I blink.

So, if I were to change…

Too soon to even think about thinking that.

"So, vampires that are made can have children, too?"

Edward nods. "Only the ones made from a love bond, though. Like I said, our scientists think it must be because the blood altered the female DNA before the change, while the bond was being set up. It's the only plausible theory we have at the moment."

"Fascinating." I pause, measuring him with my eyes. "You're a born vampire, right?"

Edward smiles proudly. "From one of the oldest covens."

"So, born vampires can have children."

He nods.

"What about the male vampires that are made from a love bond? Can they father children?"

Edward frowns. "They could. But it's exceedingly rare for a newly made vampire to leave his maker, let alone seek out another partner - especially in the cases of love bonds. Why would you leave your love?"

"That's a good point," I say slowly, finishing my meal.

Edward examines my plate. "You ate nothing green," he says suddenly. "I read that humans should eat many green things everyday."

I shake my head at the sudden subject change but it was becoming increasingly clear to me that vampires in general were a little bit scatterbrained. I guess when you had eternity to talk about everything, an out-of-the-blue change in subject was nothing to be cross about – you'd eventually get back to the subject.

"Uhm, it's okay, Edward. I'm not on a diet," I tell him, neatly stacking the plates from our meal and setting them between us.

Edward scowls at me. "I'm a horrible mate," he says. "I knew you should eat things that are green and colorful and I did not enforce it."

"Edward, it's okay," I try to tell him, but he shakes his head.

Leaning forward, so close that I can smell his unmistakable, mouthwatering scent, he says, "But you need much iron, Bella. I plan to take your blood as often as you allow it and a meaty red meat meal will not keep your blood rich enough."

I swallow, a sudden shiver racing down my spine.

"Eating green vegetables like spinach are plentiful sources of iron," he continues, his words coming across like something he memorized from a book. His hand ghosts across my thigh. "Please eat many green things."

Helpless to his unintentional – at least, I think it was unintentional – seduction, I nod.

He sits back, grinning. "It will begin tomorrow, then. I will have an iron rich breakfast brought to you," he tells me, whipping out his phone and typing a quick message to someone.

Once he is done with his phone, he stands, holding his hand out to me to help me from the barstool. Edward insists on settling the bill with Sue and it's comical how his eyes bug out at the price. "That food was exquisite but the prices are…common. I do not understand," he says as we leave.

I laugh, rolling my eyes. "Just because it's expensive, doesn't mean it's better."

He frowns. "It defies logic. Something that is expensive should be the very best of the best. Something that is not as costly should not be better than something that is expensive," he mutters to himself, bringing his body close to mine while his free hand fixes the scarf around my neck.

I choose to ignore his confusion, knowing that there's not really anything I can do to make everything logical for him. I had a feeling that it was impossible and that when Edward really put his mind to it, he could be ridiculously stubborn.

As we near my dorm, my name is called out by a male voice.

Edward growls under his breath and possessively wraps his arm around my waist, his hand clamped down on my hip. We turn and watch as an unfamiliar boy, who looked like he might play football with James, runs towards us.

"Hey!" he says again, slowing down and shooting Edward a slightly scared look. I could only imagine the look on Edward's face – not even a day into our first bond and Edward was scaring away people. "You're that Isabella girl, right? The genius? James told me about you."

I nod, shivering since it's gotten a lot colder and the sun had been down for several hours. It was almost too late for people to be roaming around campus.

The guy sighs, relieved. "Thank you, Jesus. I've been looking for you all day."

At this, Edward growls lowly again; I only know that he did growl because of the vibration it sent through my body.

Ignoring him, I raise my brows at the guy. "What can I do for you?"

He grins suddenly, an overconfident, cocky smile. "Oh, baby. What about what I can do for you?"

Edward releases me, stepping forward menacingly.

How this guy forgot that Edward was here was beyond me – his looming, dangerously still stature was hard to miss. Edward was both significantly taller and more handsome than James' buddy and honestly didn't have a chance with me or my little side business now.

The guy swallows, realizing his thoughtless mistake.

Edward grins at his terror.

I yawn, tired from my crappy night of sleep and all the walking I'd done today, not to mention the first blood bond with Edward and my first orgasm. I really just wanted to crash. "Look, guy, I would have been happy to help you but…"

Edward had stepped forward while I was yawning and had apparently said something to the guy because he nods jerkily at Edward and stumbles a few feet back, not sparing either of us a second glance or letting me finish my sentence.

I hum under my breath, shivering again and glancing up at one of the clocks that were scattered around campus, blinking because I didn't realize it was so late and then cursing internally because I knew I had an early class.

As soon as I shiver, Edward moves almost too quickly, wrapping me up in his cool arms that did nothing to warm me and guiding me towards my dorm.

Just as luck would have it, one of the older ladies is sitting behind the desk in the lobby. I'd heard her shrieking at students before over guest and I just knew she would have an issue with Edward. Her old face tightens, her eyes suddenly bright and narrowed as she watches us move towards the elevator.

"Young man," she calls, her voice old and cracking. She struggles to stand and moves beyond the desk, coming towards us.

I hear Edward sigh. "Yes?"

"Do you belong here?"

Edward hesitates for a second, looking down at me, a war waging behind his eyes. He seems to make up his mind and lets out a defeated sigh. "No. I don't," he tells the older woman reluctantly.

I feel my brows furrow – I was sure he would have lied.

It's instantly apparent that he took his promise about keeping secrets very seriously – he wasn't even willing to lie to this old woman. It warmed my chest that he would take an oath to me so seriously – that he would bow to my wishes as his mate before anything else.

But I'd meant him keeping secrets from me. I'd have to clarify that later.

The old woman grins in triumph. "Well then, let me tell you young man, that you can just leave right now. It is strictly forbidden for students to have guests after hours."

I roll my eyes. This lady only worked part time in the lobby and took special pleasure in keeping students away from their significant others; she was bitter and, judging from the amount of cat hair on her sweater, she had nobody to go home to.

Seeing my expression, hers changes to one of challenge and she tries to start in on me. I wish she would just leave everyone alone about his or her personal lives in the dorm – especially Edward and me.

But she wasn't counting on my weird eyes.

Once her eyes connected with mine, she blinks with blank expression, seemingly forgetting what she had just planned to say. Stiffly, she moves back towards the desk and Edward hums in the back of his throat.

In the elevator, he looks down at me. "Does this happen to you often?"

I yawn again. "What?"

Edward gestures towards the elevator door. "What just happened with the elder," he expands. "Do people often look at you and walk away?"

I shrug. "It happens every once in a while."

A contemplative look crosses Edward's face.

"What?" I ask suspiciously, stepping out of the elevator into the mostly empty hallway.

Edward smiles slowly. "Nothing," he insists, following me into my room.

I take off my outerwear, searching for a pair of yoga pants since it was cold and it didn't seem like Edward planned to leave anytime soon, judging by the casual way we slips out of his own shoes and coat. "You know Edward," I start. "I know I was really intense about keeping secrets and lying but I meant it only for me."

Edward sits on my bed. "So I may lie to others if necessary?"

"Yeah. I don't care about that."

Edward nods. "Good. That promise had the potential to get complicated," he says, his brows furrowing when I move towards the door, clothes in my hands. "What are you doing, Bella?"

I clench the yoga pants and my Navy t-shirt. "I'm changing for bed."

"In the hallway?"

"No, in the bathroom."

Genuinely puzzled, Edward blinks at me. "Why would you do that?"

I gesture towards him in silence.

Then, he grins widely, leering at me. "My modest little mate, I will see it all eventually. I don't mind a sneak peek," he winks, his fangs clicking down.

Blood rushes to my face and my heart hammers in my chest. Thinking quickly, I step away from the door; Edward had a point and, really, there wasn't much for him to get excited about. Based on my lack of experience with the opposite sex and their general avoidance of me – save for Paul – I was convinced that boys weren't attracted to me. My face was okay but my body didn't have the curves of Marilyn that I had always craved; surely Edward would prefer to look at someone with more than a handful for a chest or someone with hips that had more of a curve, especially considering his age and the fact that women from the time he grew up in generally were more voluptuous.

I shrug out of my jeans, socks and sweater, leaving me only in panties since I hadn't needed a bra, and just as I am about to pull my shirt on over my bare chest, cool hands stop me.

I glance up, mesmerized by Edward's dark green eyes and his long fangs and the way his hard body brushes up against mine. "Oh, Bella," he murmurs silkily.

And the feel of his very obvious arousal against the top of my hip bone?

It only serves to cement the fact that, while my blood, heart and body call to him with startling urgency, Edward is even more enamored with me.

A/N: Whew. Okay, so, little story; I have a friend, Megan, who is so utterly gorgeous it's sickening but because her body is rather waifish (like this Bella), she has major self esteem issues. Just goes to show that insecurity goes both ways – skinny girls want curves to be attractive and curvy girls want to be skinny to be attractive. Me? I say be comfortable in your body.

Reviews – there shall be a change. I'm all about compromise, so when I get a review that points out how disappointed one of my readers is about the length of the chapters being misleading because of my epically long respond-to-reviews A/N's…well, it starts me thinking. I know the response to this story is triple that of Gods when I was still posting and my system isn't working so much anymore. I don't want to disappoint anyone, so I'm proposing a compromise –

First 10 reviews + any guest reviews will be answered in the A/N from now on. Cool? Okay.

Major shout out to LunaDiSangue85, who will always be my personal champion. She takes the time to rant on my behalf about the shitty reviews I get lol It's awesome and greatly appreciated! And, my dear, you do bring up good points – so what if I have a long A/N? I update regularly, I finish the story and I do respond to every single review. So…ehhh….

Flavia – Doing a little jig because you love this story!

host312 – My dear, I'm glad you think so!

TwilightVirtuosa – Hmmm…Ohh, well, I do believe I answered that particular question! :D

Dinotopian – Getting to know Edward is the best thing ever!

Sadie1787 – LOL Edward is pretty adorable in this one – meek but protective, truthful but a secret keeper, hopelessly devoted but so afraid she'll leave! I love love love him!

vampyregirl86 – He is. I just wanna squish his cheeks together and kiss 'em!

Edward's spouse – Super thrilled that you're getting excited!

mamacat20 – LOL Bella keeps getting distracted. Hmm. Edward might be purposefully doing it?

YesMyRealNameIsBella – LOL Everytime I'm writing this fic, I get hungry. Probably why Bella has such an appetite!

Glitter Poisoned My Blood – Oh, I have several psychics lol At least three of them have been mentioned in this A/N! :D

Pumpkinmykitty – It is a large kingdom – not the largest, but pretty big lol

And super special shout out to the first review of the last chapter, Twilight Rocker 12 – Dude. You have to tell me if the last movie does Breaking Dawn justice!

Alright, I need food! As always, be brutally honest. I can take it!

~cupcakeriot