How can I love you? (arranged marriage vampire/human)

How can I love you?

How can I love you?

Chapter 1

I noticed as I began to grow, how more and more people forget themselves. Don't you think that's a little strange? The realisation of this made me become more aware of myself. I didn't want to be like that. I didn't want to change myself to fit into a specific stereotype. I didn't change my hair, my clothes or my music preferences to suit others. I didn't change the way I thought, acted or spoke for them. I would be me, regardless of who liked it. That's how I came to be here.

Standing on the street corner with these people, practically strangers, Penny called 'friends', my annoyance was at its peek.

Penny, my best friend had always been very fond of trusting people right off the bat. People were automatically drawn to her because of the façade she had built up. Her naturally blond hair, tall figure and chocolate brown eyes gave the impression that she oozed confidence. That wasn't the case at all. Knowing Penny a good many years, I was well aware of who she really was. That's why I was still friends with her. Unlike Penny, I didn't change for others.

"Penny?" I asked, my frustration under control... for now. No answer. She continued to giggle with one of the other girls whose name I didn't care to remember. "Penny?" I called again, louder this time. Still no answer. They seemed to be too busy flirting with one of the boys that were standing by the wall. He was smiling crookedly and lighting a cigarette, clearly loving the attention he was getting. His dirty blonde hair was cropped short, his blue eyes taking on a flirtatious glint. I grunted and rolled my eyes to the dark sky above us. "Penny!" I yelled this time, tired of calling her. She turned around and gave me a funny look, as if she was annoyed I had interrupted her 'conversation'. "Everything alright hun?" I sighed and pulled her closer, away from the nosey strangers. "What are we doing here? You said we were going to Katy's party."

Katy was her ex-boyfriend's sister, who she happened to get on really well with. After they broke up, she remained friends with her. I had agreed to go with her because she said she didn't know many people who would be there and she didn't want to bump into John while she was here. John, the cheating ex. It was her seventeenth birthday.

"Georgia, not now!" she said bending her head down to my eye level and speaking through her teeth in an attempt to make her voice lower. I frowned at her. "What do you mean 'not now'? We've been standing on this corner for about twenty minutes now!" I said, my voice getting louder. Two of the guys looked over startled and then one of them smiled at me. He strolled over confidently. "Georgia I just want to..." she began but was interrupted by the guy coming over. "Hey girls," he smiled. Penny turned and smiled at him, but I just glared at him.

I was all up for a party but I wasn't very keen on hanging around street corners with a bunch of randomers, all trying to 'hook up'. It wasn't my thing.

The boy popped a piece of chewing gum into his mouth and offered one to Penny. She smiled again and took it. He offered one to me. I shook my head, on the verge of asking him what the heck he was doing. "You know you want one," he smiled waving the pack in my face. "No thanks." I said, getting really annoyed now. A sudden gust of ice-cold wind blew my hair around my shoulders and bit at my cheeks. I shrugged my shoulders up, in an effort to shield myself from the freezing wind. I folded my arms and looked back at Penny. She knew I wasn't in the humour for this. She opened her mouth to speak but was cut short again by the boy. "You cold baby?" he faked concern and draped his arm around my shoulder. I shrugged him off. "Do you mind?" I looked at him, my eyes wide. "Allen! Come here. I wanna show you something." A girl called, looking at me spitefully. I inhaled loudly, glad of the distraction. He eyed my once before walking back to the whiny girl.

"Georgia I really like Jason. I want him to come with me tonight. Can't you just wait a while? I think Allen likes you." She smiled, as if it was a good thing. I sighed. "I'm not interested in Allen." I said blankly.

"Oh yeah! We gotta try that!" Allen cried enthusiastically. Everybody crowded around him as he began to tell them of his plan to do something stupid and reckless. Penny curiously walked over too and I rolled my eyes again. I grabbed her arm, seeing I wasn't getting anywhere with her and spun her around. "Look I'm just gonna go, but you have fun okay?" I smiled at her, despite the fact that I really wasn't happy about her doing this. I knew she wouldn't let me leave unless she was convinced I was alright. I knew she'd be okay because Leanne was here. She was responsible enough, although she seemed to be stuck into conversation with some girl I didn't know.

Penny looked at me suspiciously. "Are you sure?" She bit her lip and looked back to the gang. "I... could go... if you want me to." I knew she wanted to stay. "No, I'll be fine. Go to the party. I'm pretty tired anyway." I nodded at her. "Okay, bye Georgia." She hugged me excitedly. "Call me if you need me." She went back to the boy and I muttered a "yeah right". She never answers her phone.

I turned on my heel and began walking in the other direction. I didn't really know this place very well but I had good instinct when it came to direction. I could remember the general direction I had come from. I turned the corner and heard Allen shout something that sounded like "Where you goin baby?" in my direction. I made a disgusted noise and sped up a little. I hated walking the streets in heels. It hurt.

I got pretty far when I caught sight of the bus stop. I smiled inwardly, happy with myself for getting here. I walked across the road wincing as my shoes began to cut into the back of my ankle. I didn't wear heels too often. The fact that I was just seventeen made it hard to go out. I obviously had no ID yet. Of course I went to parties though. I made it too the bus stop and slumped onto the bench. There was nobody around and it was kind of eerie. The street glowed orange, because of the lamps that were scattered around. I tucked my chin into my jacket, trying to keep the heat in. It was around twelve o clock. I had checked a few minutes before, while walking. We had spent so long in Penny's house getting ready. I looked up and down the road, willing the bus to arrive ten minutes early. There was one due shortly. I began humming to pass the time.

Something in the air changed and I abruptly stopped. I got a strange feeling that somebody was near and I shivered involuntarily. I stood up and looked up and down the road again. There was nobody there. Sighing, I turned to sit back down, shrugging off the strange feeling. I looked to the bench and then my breath caught in my throat, for I was not prepared for what I saw. I jumped back about a foot and almost fell off the path. There on the bus bench, a pair of dark eyes bore into mine. I couldn't make out the colour because it was so dark and they were tinted by an orange light. A boy, actually more of a man than a boy sat facing me. His face was deadly serious. I knew I should run and yet I couldn't seem to move. My breathing sped up and every muscle in my body ached to move, as my rapidly beating heart pumped adrenaline around my body. My eyes were fixed with his and I quickly found myself lost in them, unable to even think about why.

I noticed when a slow smile spread across his face and it took my breath away. His skin was a pale white and his hair was dark. He possessed the facial features of an eighteen or nineteen year old yet the body of a man. A fully grown man. Although it seemed like forever that all this was went on, it was only a few seconds. I was eventually torn out of my state when he spoke. "Hello." He said, in a deep, seductive voice, the smile still plainly visible across his face.