Hungry for more? Lets keep it going! (I do not own Twilight)

When we finally reached the woods, I parked the car near the edge, leaving it behind as we ventured onto the narrow dirt path that wound its way through the trees. The forest smelled earthy and wild, nothing like the mouthwatering scent of her blood, though it did nothing to settle the tumult of thoughts swirling in my head.

"Where are we going?" Bella asked, glancing up at me with a curious tilt of her head. She was struggling with every step, almost tripping over every tiny stick that had been on the path.

I gave her a soft, tight smile. Catching her every time. "It's just a little further. Trust me."

She gave a single nod, falling in step beside me as we started down the path. The sun was at its highest, casting the woods in an amber light that felt warm. The trees rose like silent guardians around us, their branches intertwining overhead, blocking out most of the sunlight. I couldn't help but notice how much quieter it was here than it had been in the town…No cars, no people, no distractions. Just us.

I couldn't let myself glance at her too often, though I wanted to. What sane person would agree to go into the woods with a vampire?

I could hear her footsetps beside me, each step light but steady, her presence somehow both grounding and electrifying at the same time. I tried to remind myself of the task at hand, the thing I had promised her. This was important. I needed to show her this place, to make her understand that it was more than just a haven for me, it was where I'd come to feel some semblance of peace, even if it had been a long time since I had been able to truly find it.

With being so far away from civilization, my mind stayed quiet. I usually loved the silence, but today was different. I would give anything to read her thoughts so I wouldn't feel like I was walking into the unknown with her... I wouldn't feel like I was about to lose her to the weight of all my secrets.

Finally, the trees opened up, and I could see my destination.

It was just as beautiful as I remembered, though now it felt more significant, more vulnerable. As I stopped at the edge of the clearing, I stopped and glanced at Bella as she kept walking, watching her reaction. Her face was softened with awe as she looked out over the meadow, the sun casting a golden hue over the wild grass, the quiet murmur of a distant stream adding to the serene atmosphere.

"This is where I come when I need to think. When I need to be alone." The words felt almost unnecessary as they left my mouth, but I couldn't stop myself from saying them.

Bella lingered for a moment, taking in the scene before walking forward, her eyes never leaving the beauty around her. Her footsteps were tentative at first, as if she were entering a sacred space, but then her confidence returned, and she stepped further into the meadow.

It was strange, being here with her. Like this place had never gave me peace before, until now. There was so much I wanted to say, but the weight of the truth was suffocating. I had never been this open with anyone. Yet, somehow, it felt like the right thing to do.

Bella's gaze drifted over to me, and I could see that she was processing everything. The air between us was thick with unspoken words, and I felt my chest tighten. I had been waiting in the shadows, terrified of taking the first step into the sunlight. She had tilted her head, questioning my position. I took a breath and started walking to her, feeling the warmth of the sun hit my skin as I saw the familiar glow. She was looking at me as if she were seeing me for the first time, and I didn't know whether that was a good thing or not. I stopped when I was right in front of her, waiting for her to start running away terrified.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she broke the silence. "You… you're beautiful." she said softly, her voice like a breath of wind.

Her words hit me like a brick. "How could you say things like that…" I drifted my gaze away from hers. "This is the skin of a killer, Bella." I said, slight anger rising in my voice.

"I don't think so…" Her voice soft.

After a moment of silence, she changed the subject. "How did you find this place? Its amazing."

I didn't trust myself to speak just yet, so I nodded. "Yeah. It's peaceful. It's the only place that's been able to calm me for a long time. I found it when I was hunting one day."

I paused, my mind going crazy as I realized what I had just said. She didn't understand the concept of hunting yet, but I said it so causally. I waited… not sure for what. I was expecting at least one human response to this situation. But of course, I was wrong. I kept my gaze off her, avoiding her wondering eyes.

She finally broke the silence, her voice hesitant but steady. "When did you become a vampire, Edward?" Her question caught me off guard as my gaze shifted to hers, and I blinked at her. The simplest question, yet the one I had been least prepared for.

I had been seventeen when I'd been turned, but it felt like a lifetime ago. The memories were old and painful, even after all these years. "I was turned in 1918 when I was 17," I answered, trying to keep my voice calm, distant. "I was dying of the Spanish flu, and Carlisle found me. The rest of my family had already died from the sickness…"

I could tell that she was piecing things together in her mind, but there was something about her expression that kept her from asking more about that particular part of my history. "I'm so sorry…" her voice was quiet. I shrugged my shoulders as she asked her next question.

"How did you stop the van with your hand?" she asked, her voice suddenly sharp with curiosity.

The question sent a flicker of discomfort through me. The van. I had wanted to push that memory out of mind. That was the day she had almost died, that I realized I couldn't just watch her from a distance.

I exhaled slowly, trying to steady myself. "I'm stronger than a human," I said carefully. "My abilities are heightened... my strength, my senses, all of it. I was able to stop the van because of that strength."

She nodded, still taking it in. But her eyes were sharp, probing. She wasn't satisfied yet.

"Can everyone in your family read minds like you can?" she asked next.

I felt my lips twitch into a half-smile at the thought of my family. "No. That's just me. My gift, if you can call it that." I paused, considering. "Jasper is an empath… And Alice, she can see the future."

Bella blinked, her eyes narrowing a little in concentration. "She must have seen me coming."

Her statement made me pause. "The future can always change, but only in a way that's shaped by the choices we make. It's not set in stone, but she has glimpses… Sometimes they're clearer than others." Her visions had been causing me turmoil's lately… They become almost unreliable with how much they changed. But one always staying the same, becoming clearer as each day passes.

Bella, standing beside me, a loving smile on her face with her bright blood red eyes gazing back at me.

I had almost lost it that first day I saw it in Alice's mind. I had been so angry, causing arguments through out the house. My whole family assumed that Bella was heading in that dirrection anyway and didn't see it as a big deal. They didn't understand that I would do anything in my power to keep that from happening... She couldn't become this... A souless monster.

She seemed to be absorbed in her own thoughts but said nothing. She had still not asked the most obvious question.

"You have yet to ask the most basic question." I said, a hint of anger in my voice. She looked at me with a confused gaze. "What do we eat…"

I felt a chill sweep over me after I spoke. For a moment, the world seemed to stop. Of course she wouldn't think of that question, when had she ever had a normal reaction to me. It should have been the first question, the one that defined everything about what I was. Yet somehow, she didn't seem to care.

"Oh… that." She said in a calm voice.

Anger had formed on my face; how could she be so careless?! "Yeah… that. The only thing that has kept you alive thus far." The words had been out of my mouth before I could stop them.

I could see the shock flicker in her eyes, but it wasn't fear, not yet. She wasn't afraid. She kept quiet, waiting for me to continue.

I ran a hand through my hair, frustration building in me. "We feed on animals. It's not particularly pleasant, but it's the only way we can survive without... without giving in to the darker side of what we are."

I could tell by the way she looked at me that she didn't fully understand. She wasn't scared, but the reality was beginning to sink in, and I could see the questions building in her eyes. "What do you mean." she asked.

"Like your blood for instance, just being near you is a struggle for me to control myself. You are the most appetizing smell I have ever encountered." I stated, knowing I needed to be fully honest, no matter the outcome. "The first day in Biology, I wanted to kill you then. I came so close…" My voice quiet as I relived the memory.

"But you didn't." she said confidently, pulling me back.

I could see where this was going, and it made my chest tighten painfully. "It's always a struggle," I said, my voice thick with the weight of my honesty. "It's never easy, Bella. But I do everything I can to control myself. We all do. But their is always a chance..." I trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentance.

She nodded slowly, seeming to understand more than I thought she would, but there was still something hanging in the air between us. Something unresolved. I forced myself to keep my voice steady, despite the mounting guilt. "I've been dreading telling you all this, but I want to be honest with you, Bella."

Her eyes softened then, her expression unguarded. And for the briefest moment, I allowed myself to believe that maybe, just maybe, she might accept all of me.

"Thank you," she said, so quietly I almost didn't hear her. "For telling me."

And in that moment, as we stood in the middle of the meadow, I couldn't help but wonder if I had made a mistake. Despite her reaction, I had just pulled her too far into my world. A world where nothing was ever as simple as it seemed.

But for now, she wasn't running. And for now, that was enough.

She had stepped closer to me, her movements slow and cautious, as if she were waiting for something, an invitation, perhaps, or a sign that it was okay to approach. The light caught the edges of my skin, making it shimmer, and I could feel the subtle shift in the air between us.

She took a tentative step forward, her eyes still locked on me, her face soft, almost in a trance. Then, almost hesitantly, her hand reached out. Her fingers hovered near my cheek for a second, as though she were afraid to touch me, but the curiosity in her eyes overpowered the hesitation. "Can I touch you?" she asks in a soft voice.

I could feel her heart rate quicken as I saw her fingers draw closer to my skin. I was nervous, a feeling so foreign to me that I almost didn't recognize it. I had never allowed anyone to touch me like this, never let anyone get close enough to explore the strange, otherworldly quality of my skin, the one that shimmered under the sunlight like a thousand tiny diamonds embedded in marble. I nodded in response.

There was a vulnerability in her touch, a trust, and it made my chest tighten in a way I didn't know how to handle. She needed to understand me, to truly see me, and in this moment, she was trying to do just that.

I swallowed, fighting the urge to pull back, to stop her before she realized just how impossible I was to touch. But I couldn't. I couldn't pull away from her now, not when I had been craving her touch since we first met.

She gently placed her palm against my cheek, and I froze. Her hand was warm, her touch tentative at first, like she was afraid she might break something, something delicate, fragile. I felt the familiar spark that flowed between us when we accidently touch. Her fingers moved slowly over the sharp angles of my face, the coolness of my skin making her pause every so often, her eyes wide with wonder as they traced over the contours of my features. I could feel the subtle weight of her touch; it was the best feeling I had ever existence.

Her hands continued to explore, running over my jawline, down to the column of my neck, brushing against the skin at the base of my throat. I felt the warmth of her touch seep through the tension in my body, and for a moment, I allowed myself to close my eyes, savoring the sensation. Her hands were light, gentle, as if she were trying to memorize the feel of me, trying to understand the impossibility that was standing before her.

Without thinking, I lowered myself to the grass beside her, my body stretching out under the canopy of trees, and Bella followed, lying down beside me. She didn't stop touching me, though. Her hands moved to my forehead, tracing the line of my hair, then to my temples, her fingers brushing across the smooth, flawless skin of my face as if she were trying to commit every detail to memory.

For a moment, all I could do was focus on the feeling of her hands on me, the rhythm of her touch like a soothing melody I didn't know I needed. It was strange, to feel so connected to another person, to feel so... human, even though I was anything but. Her hands ran through my hair, and I could feel the moan rising in my throat. This must have excited her because she didn't leave my hair for the rest of the time.

When what felt like days had past, the last rays of sunlight began to fade, Bella spoke again, her voice quiet but unwavering.

"How do you become a vampire?" she asked, her question hanging between us like a heavy weight.

My body went stiff at the sound of those words, and I could feel the tension creeping back into my muscles. A flash of Alice's vision running threw my mind. I could feel the panic rising in my chest, an instinct to protect her from this truth, from the reality of what it would mean if she ever considered becoming like me. It was an innocent question, probably with no meaning behind her words but I couldn't bear the thought of her enduring this life, this endless existence.

I opened my mouth, my voice almost too tight to form the words. "Someone can become a vampire if they are dying," I said quickly, my voice rough, too fast. "If they're on the verge of death, we—" I choked on the words, my gaze shifting away from her. I could barely meet her eyes. "we can change a human, but only if they're dying..."

It was a lie. I wanted to explain everything, the truth of it all, the ugly truth, but I couldn't. I couldn't bear the thought of her even considering that as an option. The lie had been the only thing I could offer her in that moment. It might have been something she would never consider but I wanted to make sure. "Once someone becomes a vampire, they have to leave their world and everyone they love behind. We have rules that need to be followed to keep our lives a secret. We live forever so thats why we try not to get too close to humans. Their life is a pssing moment to us. It's not normal for us to befriend humans... the relationship would never work."

It physically hurt me to say those words, to hide the truth of how much her human life meant to me.

She was quiet for a long moment, and I felt the space between us grow heavier. Her fingers paused in their delicate movements in my hair, and I could see the sadness in her eyes, the uncertainty, as if she were trying to make sense of the words I had just told her.

But then, almost as if she were trying to push the thoughts away, she shrugged, her smile still soft, though tinged with something I couldn't quite place.

"Okay," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I guess that makes sense.I guess normality seems to be allergic to me..." She tried to form a smile but it fell short. She had pulled her hands away from my head and brought them to her sides.

As the sun disappeared completely behind the horizon, the air turned colder, the evening settling in around us. I could see Bella shivering slightly, her arms wrapping around herself in an attempt to ward off the chill.

I hesitated, then sat up, my body craving her touch once more. "You're cold," I murmured. "I should take you home."

Bella sat up too, her gaze still distant, as if she was lost in thought. She met my eyes then, her expression a mixture of things I couldn't quite decipher.

"Yeah," she agreed, her voice soft but steady. "Okay."

I helped her to her feet, and together, we walked back to the car, the meadow stretching out behind us, quiet and untouched by anything but the passage of time.

And as we drove back to her house, the silence between us was not uncomfortable. But I couldn't shake the feeling that the distance between us had grown, even though she hadn't said a word.

The lie was still hanging there, and I couldn't help but wonder if, one day, she found out the truth. Would she forgive me? Would she understand my reasonings? Would she even care? I knew in my heart that I was undeniably in love with her. I would do anything to protect her from this world, even if that meant lying. I would push my love aside to appease this friendship, allowing her to grow and make a life for herself. I won't be selfish... Not with her…

Every good friendship is based off a lie, right? ... Hope you enjoyed!