Chapter 10: Where we are - Westlife

Slowly the world around me returned, but with it came the pain. I faintly heard myself groan. My head felt as if was going to explode or had already done just that. I wanted to go back into unconsciousness. I tried bringing my hands to my head, but only the left one did as I told. The other was restrained. Someone was holding it. I tried sitting up, but felt nauseous. A hand snaked behind the back of my head and another under my knees before I was lifted into the air. The movement made me groan again. I felt as though I could throw up any second. The sweet scent that filled the air like smoke didn't help. Maybe it was smoke, but it was too sweet and nauseating to be real smoke. Or maybe that was just because I was already feeling sick.

"Alec, she is bleeding" someone was saying in a panicking tone. The voice seemed so familiar to me, but I was too nauseous to put a face to it. Alec was here? I had forgotten something. Something bad had happened to him. What was it? He had gotten hurt, hadn't he?

"I know" I knew it was his voice, but I was still feeling woozy and confused.

"Let's get her back to the castle"

"Are you sure you can take her? We just put your arm back on" I wasn't sure who said this, but it made me jump. His arm! That was it! He had gotten hurt! Relief rushed through my clouded mind. At least he was all right now, right? I wanted to open my eyes to make sure myself, but my eyelids felt heavy and my eyes couldn't really focus.

"Be careful"

"Alec, you have to keep talking to her. Make sure she doesn't go unconscious again. Not even for a minute"

"I know, ok!" Alec hissed. He must be the one carrying me. I could feel the vibrations go through his chest when he spoke. My head felt detached from my body and my eyes was swimming, unable to focus properly. I only knew we were moving because my nausea got worse. I hadn't even known it was possible.

"Noel, I'm right here. Stay with me, princess. It won't be long" Alec kept whispering to me as he ran. I felt so sick to my stomach it was proved difficult to utter the words I wanted. I didn't want to throw up on him, but if he didn't stop we would have a mess.

"Stop… sick" I managed to say almost silently, but luckily a vampire had good hearing, because he stopped. My world spun slightly and I felt solid ground under my feet. My head was rolling as if I was a baby that was unable to carry its own head.

"Please don't tell me she is going to puke" someone I guessed was Jane said in disgust. I was still woozy and lightheaded, but I was starting to get more attached to my own mind, though my head still ached painfully.

"Why are we stopping, jerkface?" yes, that was definitely Beth.

"She is feeling sick, Einstein" Alec hissed back at her still holding me to my feet. I bend forward and felt my stomach contract, but nothing came. My eyes welled up and I was starting to break a sweat. My empty stomach protested against my nausea. I was so cold.

"Can she go on?"

"What's the hurry? We burned them all. No one is coming after us"

"I'll go ahead and tell Aro what happened"

"Good. And make sure to get a doctor who can take a look at her"

"Noel, sweetie?" Beth put a hand on my back, where Alec had previously been drawing his hand in calming circles.

"I'm fine" I croaked weakly and moved to stand taller, but my eyes was still swimming and my head throbbed. I staggered backward and found myself in Alec's arms again. He smelled like musk and pine needles, and it was very calming. My head fell back heavily against his shoulder.

"Easy, princess" he breathed and lifted me from the ground. I clung to his shirt, but with an almost ridiculous small amount of strength. I was so tired. I just wanted to sleep. I shivered and my teeth clattered. Why was I so cold? Maybe that was a good thing. It kept me from sleeping for now.

"Let's go" Alec said and off we went. We had to stop regularly when my nausea got too bad, but I never threw up. When we ran, Alec kept talking to me. He muttered sweet nothings or simply just told me to stay with him. I was strangely aware of my fingers that were curled weakly around his shirt. It was weird how little strength I had. I didn't remember anything happening that could cause me this. I only remembered falling. Maybe I had hit my head harder than I thought. It sure felt like it.

Please, let us just get back. I wanted to curl up in my bed and sleep for days.

..:-:..

"Noel, wake up. Noel" the voice was dreamlike, so far away. Someone was trying to pull me out of my sleep. I didn't want that. Waking up would mean feeling my head hurt and being unable to focus on anything around me. I pressed my eyes as close as possible and curled up into a ball. Let me sleep. Please let me sleep. But it was already too late. I could feel myself get more and more conscious by the second. It felt as though a bunch of dwarves was mining in my head with explosives and hatches.

"Noel, I know you're awake" the voice was closer now. It sounded amused. I loved that voice. It was deep, but soft like velvet. I would know that voice from anywhere.

"Alec" I heard myself mutter and tried to reach out after him. I didn't like him being so distant, though I knew he was sitting on the etch of my bed. His fingers intertwined with mine and I suddenly felt as if I had been holding my breath and could finally let it go. My entire body seemed to relax. I pulled at his hand for him to lie down next to me and he complied with a chuckle. Our intertwined hands were between us and he cradled me with his free arm. I snuggled closer to him, trying to focus on his presence rather than my headache – at least it wasn't as bad as before. It was able to almost ignore it now.

"How are you feeling?" he asked and I dared to open my eyes. I found it wasn't as difficult to focus anymore. His face filled my view from those ruby eyes to the slightly full lips. His skin was fair and pale. His dark hair was ruffled as if he had run his hands through it many times.

"I'm fine" I smiled weakly, but we both knew it wasn't true. My voice was hoarse and shaky, and so not convincing.

"Right" he smirked, but the worry was ever presence in his red eyes. My mind kept circling back to my discomfort of feeling so sick. It helped that Alec was gently rubbing my hand with his thump. The touch was featherlike, but still managed to start a fire deep within me. I really should figure out what that meant!

"The doctor said you should take some painkillers when you woke up if the headache was bothering you" he said ready to get up and get said pills if I needed them.

"Can't we just stay like this?" I whispered tiredly, weird considering I'd just woken up.

"Whatever you want, but I have to make your bed soon. You have been sleeping for quite a while and I want you to recover as fast as possible" he caressed my forehead and thimbles. My eyes fluttered close. The cool of his skin was nice against my skin that was suddenly feeling very hot. Weird considering I last remembered feeling rather cold. It wouldn't surprise me if I had a fever after my stay in that cellar for who knows how long.

"I think your fever has gone down. That's good" he muttered almost to himself. I squirmed a bit under his touch. Could he just stop worrying for a moment? I didn't have the energy for it. If I truly had a fever, I wouldn't know. It was enough having to ignore my beaming headache.

"I think you worry too much" I muttered with my eyes still closed and snuggled more into his embrace in the hopes of him letting it go. As if, I would ever be that lucky.

"Don't wiggle your way out of it. A 'I'm fine' is not going to cut it" in one swift motion he was out of the bed, pulled the covers away and took me in his arms as if I actually were a princess. I would have shrieked in surprise if a wave of nausea didn't compel me to cover my mouth with both hands. Just as I was starting to hope, I was over feeling nauseous.

"Scusi, but I do have to change the sheets" he said and slowly put me down on one of my chairs. He draped a blanket from my bed around me. I took the chance to look around while he took care of the bed. If I had just a bit more energy I would've pushed him aside and done it myself, but for once I just felt too weak to even feel guilty about being an inconvenience.

"Where are the others?" I felt weak after this little "ordeal". Alec was moving around as I had spoken, but came back to me with a glass of water that had apparently been standing on my bedside table along with an elegant, glass pitcher with water.

"For once they are not swarming this room" he gave me the glass of water and two pills I assumed was painkillers.

"I said, I didn't need them" I sighed, but took them anyway.

"You don't need them when you can skip and jump around like before" he smirked almost wickedly at me and I pouted. I had to agree with him, I most likely needed the pills and some rest, but…

I put the now half-filled glass of water on the coffee table between the two chairs and looked at my hands, though I did not see them. Two cold hands engulfed my own, sending thrills through my entire being. I smiled at him weakly.

"Mr. Caffarelli died" it felt strange saying it, as if it made it real. I couldn't help but wonder: if I got this emotional about someone dying who I barely knew, but had a fairly good relationship with, then just imagine if I had lost Alec or Beth or one of the others. I didn't think I would be able to take that.

"I know" he said quietly.

"I'm happy you're ok" I brought my hand to his shoulder as I remembered that horrible cracking noise and the look of his arm being torn out of its socket. My eyes welled up at the thought and a single tear escaped my eyes. He gently brushed the tear away with his thump before cupping my face in his hands. My eyes drifted to his as if pulled by some sort of force. My heartbeat sped up. The look in his eyes was so intense, so raw. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted before he even began as the door flung open.

"Why the hell is she out of bed?! She had a fucking concussion, dickhead!" Beth shrieked as soon as she had surveyed the room. Heidi, Demitri and Felix followed her into the room, but with much more grace and far more quietly. Alec let go of my hand only to stand defensively in front of me.

"Don't think you can come in here and lecture me! I'm the one taking care of her, not you" he snapped at her, effectively blocking her when she tried to go to me. I heaved a sigh and found the pills had worked. My headache was nothing more than a dull throb in the back of my head and the short-lived nausea had been replaced by hunger – this I discovered as the scent of soup and freshly baked bread hit my nose. Felix was carrying a tray. He smirked at me when he saw my expression.

"I don't suppose you're hungry?" he said in a teasing note. Alec was still childishly keeping Beth from getting near me and I knew it could quickly erupt into a fight, but in that moment, I didn't care. Felix was bringing me food! I had to hold back in order not to swallow everything before chewing properly. Heidi sat down in the chair next to me and gave me an all-over.

"You need a shower" she stated and I blushed with my mouth full of delicious bread. She didn't mean right now, right?

"Let her eat before you start playing with her" Demitri grinned and Heidi rolled her eyes.

"I'm not stupid. Don't let my hair color fool you" Heidi tossed her hair behind her back for emphasis. Strange how everyone's bickering made me so comfortable. I was happy they weren't fussing openly around me. Yes, they were acting more careful around me than usually, but they were still acting… normal.

"Do you seriously think you know anything about how to take care of a human?" Beth continued somewhere in the background, but I didn't have the energy to bother telling her and Alec to calm down.

"More than you do! She has been sleeping for almost two days" Alec snapped right back at her in a close to childish fashion.

I quietly ate my food while watching my friends. Did they even know how grateful I was for all of them? I was so lucky to be able to call these people my friends.

"Oh, just let me through, moron! What do you think I would do to her?! Corrupt her?! Because that's impossible. Believe me, I've tried" Beth smirked, but still stomped her left foot in frustration making her stiletto click loudly against the wooden floor. Alec hissed at her dangerously, startling me enough to drop the spoon.

"Stop, both of you! Act your age" Felix scolded as he caught the spoon before it hit the floor. They all turned to look at me with worry, making me feel uncomfortable. The normalcy their bickering had created evaporated, but I tried to ignore it. It was a good thing they worried, right? It meant they cared. Caring was good, right? A flash of chaos flew across my mind. Caring was what had gotten them into a dangerous situation they almost didn't make it out of alive.

"Thank you" I blushed and reached for the spoon. My hand was shaking and I was all too aware of everyone staring at me.

"Maybe you should go tell Aro Noel has woken up. And take Beth with you" Alec said to the others.

"Hell to the no. I'm not leaving my homegirl, you pompous little…" Beth began to argue, but Demitri just grabbed her arm and started dragging her along with them. When Alec and I were alone, I put my spoon on the tray besides the half-eaten soup. I sighed heavily. I had completely lost my appetite.

I looked up at Alec. He seemed to be avoiding my gaze. His fists were clenched. I stood up, intending to go to him, but instantly felt dizzy. Before I knew it, he had swept me of my feet – literally – and put me back into chair. He pulled the blanket over me and made sure I was comfortable before gently feeling my forehead. My eyes fluttered shut for just a moment as I reveled in the feel of his skin against mine.

"I guess I am a bit sick after all" I admitted with a sheepish smile.

"Told you" he smirked.

"Yeah" I sighed. My thoughts trailed back to his and Beth's argument and I looked at him in confusion as something finally registered in my head.

"I was asleep for two day?"

"Technically one and a half day. You had taken a pretty bad knock to the head when you fell" he grew silent as he curled his hands into fists yet again. He was almost shaking from the anger he tried not to let me see. I moved to take his hands in mine, but he pulled away. I felt a sudden pang in my heart before it clenched, but I tried to ignore it.

"You must think very badly of us now" he said through gritted teeth bringing both of us back to my brief encounter with the anti-Volturi-club. I shivered unintentionally and Alec, of course, misinterpreted it. He stood and moved a few feet away with a bitter look on his face.

"I don't think you are a bad person. None of you is, not in my eyes. Those vampires wanted to enslave humans and rule in your place. I know you drink human blood and doesn't like my kind in particular, but you still keep balance and a sort of peace. I didn't even know of vampires before I got here" I wanted him to believe me so badly. He couldn't think I hated him after seeing an ugly side to his kind. Just because some of the vampires were power-hungry and driven by revenge, didn't mean everyone single one of them were.

"Well. You create an image of yourself and then you're stuck in that image in everyone's eyes even if you wanted to change it" he said sadly. I felt as though he was so incredibly far away and I wanted nothing more than to reach wherever he was.

"That's so sad" I answered honestly and he finally met my eyes. My heart started pounding.

It knocked on the door and I almost jumped. No one ever knocked on my door. I mean, Alec did when we were going out that one time, but apart from that, people just walked in here. Who could it be?

Alec opened the door and instantly stepped aside to let Aro sweep into the room. Marcus and Caius were right behind him followed by Chelsea, Demitri and Felix.

"How are you feeling, Noel?" Aro asked in that almost airily tone of his. I smiled slightly embarrassed. Here they took the trouble to come and visit me, and I was still a bit sick and not to mention I haven't changed my clothes or showered.

"I'm fine, thank you, Sir" I asked with a blush and fidgeted with the blanket. I wasn't sure if I should stand up. On one hand, it would be rude to sit while they stood, but on the other, I didn't think watching me sway or fall was very pleasurable.

"Would it be alright to take your hand?" he never asked. Why was he asking? I reached my hand out in slight confusion and there was a far more hungry look in his eyes than usually as he grabbed my hand. I looked around to see if one of the others might reveal the reason to this visit. Alec just gave me a reassuring smile. Caius looked as if he was bored beyond belief. Marcus was looking between Alec and me with something that could almost resemble curiosity. The tree guard members seemed neutral as always when their masters were around.

"Oh my" Aro muttered as he let go and I met his slightly milky, red eyes that seemed to sparkle.

"She really did use her power though she was unaware of doing so and it still quite weak. Extraordinary none the less" he said almost to himself and Caius turned to look at his brother by everything but blood.

"Truly? That's great, but you still haven't told any of us what her supposedly power is, brother!" he said impatiently. I started a little. He hadn't? I thought he would at least have discussed it with the two other heads of the Volturi, but I guess not. Curiosity began to grow yet again. I had wondered many times what Aro had seen in me, but I had never dared to ask him.

"All in due time, brother" the black-haired leader gave a secretive smile and Caius rolled his eyes with an annoyed sound. Marcus sighed tiredly, but as always didn't say anything.