Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1.

Chapter 11: Madness

The song began in a slow repetitive rhythm, a smile graced her lips. It had been ages since she last listened to this song and it was one of her favorite songs. Then again she did love a lot of Muse's songs. But this one, for some reason, always spoke to her. Maybe because it was titled 'Madness', she wasn't sure. The lyrics seemed to reach out and pull her towards them, and the music was calming and exciting at the same time. This was definitely one of her favorite songs.

She slowly lost herself in the song as she pushed the repeat song on her phone and listened to the song over and over on her way home. It wasn't long that she found herself singing along with the song, not caring if she was off-key (there was no one to hear her anyway). As the song progressed the emotions became louder and louder until they reached the top and spilled over the sides, the emotions boiling inside herself. She made little 'dancing' gestures with her arms as the emotions of the song called for them.

Rian's thoughts were on always on one man that occupied her thoughts lately; Emmett and his golden honey eyes. She licked her lips subconsciously as she walked down the street and listening to her song.

Madness was correct, her infatuation for Emmett was madness. Even though she knew he could overpower her easily, she still felt the strong pull to go towards him every time she saw him. She couldn't understand why she felt that way about a vampire when all her life she had been conditioned to fear the creatures. And she did fear them. She had a strong, healthy dose of fear running through her blood whenever she thought about Emmett and his kind. She feared that walking down this street, she could encounter a red-eyed demon. And just because their eyes were gold, didn't mean they couldn't slip off the wagon! Ugh! Just when she thought she was beginning to make progress, she was right back where she started; scared of Emmett. This hadn't started as such, she went to Carlisle to better understand her hallucinations and why she had them. But as she listened to Madness she began to realize that secretly, below all good intentions, she wanted to find her way back to the man she thought he was. She didn't even know him well, but he was consuming her entire being.

The music ended, silence fell for a few moments as the song started again. Silence, she wasn't used to it and it freaked her out. The sound of the ground crunching under her feet was the only thing that reached her ears.

'Wait a minute.' She stopped walking and looked around. 'Where are the cicadas, birds, anything?' She asked herself. Her blood ran cold. As soon as the song started blaring in her earbuds again, Rian wanted to rip the things from her ears. But she was frozen in place as a pair of red-eyes caught her attention. Her breath stilled in her lungs, refusing to escape into the frightening world. The creature slowly from the forest, slowly as to instill more fear into the girl. But he didn't know, that this girl already knew what was coming, she was all too familiar with the pain and death.

This was madness, she wasn't sure if she was hallucinating or if this was reality. And suddenly her body was obeying her again, she did the only thing that she thought might actually detour the creature. Scream! Get attention called to her. She had worked out long ago that if vampires were a secret still, then they had some reason for it. Get enough human spectacles and maybe the creature would be discouraged from biting the red-head.

The piercing scream had barely ripped from her lips when a flash blurred her vision and for a second she thought, 'This is it.' But she was staring at the back of a dark brown jacket instead of the red-eyes of her attacker or feeling the fire spreading through her circulatory system.

She felt the familiar hand protectively on her hip as the man looked in the direction of her attacker. Her fear evaporated, Emmett was protecting her. She stood a chance against the attacker with another vampire on her side, one she didn't fear (at least not as much as she feared the red-eyed one).

Emmett glanced over his shoulder at her. "What is it?"

"I-I." Her face fell, did he not see the red-eyed one? "He had red eyes."

"Who?" Emmett's face was full of concern, the same concern that eat at her heart before.

"He was over there." Rian stepped around the man and pointed in the direction the other was standing moments before. Vampires were fast, the red-eyed one was no longer standing in the place. He hadn't intended to fight for his meal, Rian assumed and booked it as soon as he saw Emmett.

"There was never anyone there."

"Maybe he left before you saw him?" She was desperately grasping at any logical explaination, but the back of her mind kept screaming 'Maybe this would be plausible for a human, but vampires are much faster and have stronger senses than humans. He probably would have noticed the stranger somehow.'

"The only scent for miles are yours and random animals, Ri." Usually only her family members called her that, well her family and Winter. Almost everything was lost from her mind but the honey eyes looking at her. She watched as his eyes darkened, flashes of her nightmares ran through her mind but she wasn't scared. She knew she should have been scared, but she didn't feel threatened like she had in her hallucinations. She just felt the urge to reach around his neck and pull him towards her, she would have to stand on her tip-toes still to meet him because he was about a foot (give or take a few inches) taller than her.

Rian wasn't sure who started the kiss, she suspected it was her seeing as she had thoughts of kissing him just before she felt his cool lips on top of hers. His hands found their way to the lower part of her back, playing at the hem of her shirt. Rian knew what he wanted, she found herself needing him too as she let him lift her up and walk into the woods. She giggled softy, "What is it with you and woods?"

He only responded by claiming her lips once again. She felt peaceful at that moment, as if nothing could touch her. She found her fear of vampires were gone, she felt as if she was ready to fight back against the creatures (or rather that Emmett would fight them for her). She no longer felt helpless.

Suddenly she ripped her lips away from the golden eyed vampire, realization dawning on her expressions. A smile formed on her face and Emmett gave the girl a confused look.

She had her answer to the question that had burned into her mind for days, helplessness. And now, thanks to Emmett she felt slightly less helpless. Emmett opened his mouth to ask her whatever question he had regarding her reaction. But she didn't want to change the subject and talk about her epiphany, so she slammed her lips against his roughly again as her hands tangled in his short curly hair.