SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW ➻ DEMETRI VOLTURI

D I C I A S S E T T E

She took another bite of her pasta, the plate slowly getting empty. "Maybe."

"Well, that's good to know then."

She observed him curiously, not being able to resist the urge to smile as he took another bite of his stake and the way he scrunched up his nose in disgust afterwards. As soon as he caught her staring, she shifted her gaze down at her plate, her cheeks turning a furious red colour.

"I love the way your cheeks turn red," he said.

"You shouldn't say that," she muttered, looking up. "It only makes it worse."

"I know, that's why I do it."

"Now that's bullying," she said, giving his leg a little nudge with her foot to drive the point home.

He smirked, making her stomach summersault. "Only entertaining myself."

"Oh, truly?"

"Yes, truly."

"Well, enjoy it while you can," she said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin so she didn't ruin her make-up. "Soon you'll turn me and I'll move back to Alaska and there will be none of that no more."

Demetri's head snapped up, the expression on his face looking a lot like he'd just been stabbed in his back. He laid his cutlery down rather loudly, causing, in turn, Cecilia to look up as well. As soon as she saw the way his eyes were on her, she knew she'd said something wrong. She laid the napkin down carefully, never losing their eye contact. "What is it?"

"You're going back to Alaska?" he asked. Though vampires didn't need oxygen, it sounded a lot like he was being choked.

She couldn't help but wonder if that was his problem. The smile that came onto her face was particularly crooked and uncertain. "Of course I am," she said, not sure what else the vampire in front of her expected. "That's where my family is."

"What about Volterra?" he said.

"What about Volterra?" she countered. "It's beautiful and so far I love it, but it's not my home."

He looked she'd just punched him right in the gut with vampire strength and with worry clear in her eyes, she bent over the table ever so slightly, not thinking twice and grabbing his hand. She ignored the way her hand just fit perfectly with his. "Are you alright?" she asked. "Is it the food?"

"Yeah," he said, though Cecilia wasn't sure he was speaking the truth exactly. "I think it's best I get rid of it now."

Without another word, he stood up, his hand leaving hers in a rather abrupt manner. She watched him disappear in the directions of the restroom, wondering why he had such a sudden reaction to the food. He'd eaten ice cream with her as well, without so much as a squeak and now he looked like a sick mortal.

She bit her lip nervously, scanning the restaurant. They were still the only ones in the private area of the building, but she could hear the noisy buzz of people on the other side of the curtain. She couldn't help but wonder how Demetri had managed to reserve the place for the two of them, though it wouldn't surprise her if the Volturi had someone on the inside. They always had someone somewhere on the inside.

"You want to go to the park?" a melodic voice asked from behind her.

With a little jolt, she turned around, placing her hand over her hammering heart. All of Demetri's sickness seemed to have disappeared like snow in front of the sun. He was even wearing that infamous smirk he always had when he'd managed to scare or surprise her. She decided it must have been the food after all.

She grabbed his hand, enjoying the little spark that travelled from his skin to hers and let herself lead out of the restaurant, onto the streets of Italy.

The moon was high up the sky already, barely visible, but the streets were alive with laughter and music. There was a late-night market. It reminded her of the rare holidays to Isle Esmee when they made a stop in Rio and with a seemingly permanent smile on her lips, she watched the people, who in turn watched her and Demetri.

She felt a soft squeeze in her hand and she looked up to the said vampire, her smile not faltering. She noticed the brown contacts he was wearing were slowly being broken down, little spots of red already peeking through. At least it was dark enough for it not to be seen by the other people. She felt oddly wrong for the feeling of loving the red more than the brown.

"Is it weird if I say I think red looks better on you than brown?" she said, an amused expression on her face.

He seemed to consider her words for a while. "Yeah, I think it's profoundly disturbing to say such a thing."

She laughed at the serious expression on his face, giving him a little nudge with her elbow and watching his face crack in amusement as well. She felt her heart glow with warmth and she wondered if it was possible to develop a serious crush in ten days. She supposed it was, especially if her suspicions about their so-called bond were true.

"You're staring," Demetri whispered.

A small layer of goosebumps broke out over her skin, but instead of shifting her glance, she stared right back at the vampire. "You're whispering," she countered.

"I like to whisper."

"You like to give me jump scares."

"No, I love to give you jump scares."

"It's unfair."

"Life's unfair."

She shrugged, finally turning her eyes to the street in front of her. "I suppose so."

All of a sudden she remembered Demetri telling her about his gift and how he wasn't able to track her the way he tracked others. Once again he squeezed her hand, this time just a tad harder. "What are you thinking about?"

"Catch me if you can," she said, smiling innocently. She let go of his hand, swiftly disappearing into the masses of the market. Feeling giddy with excitement, she took a peek over her shoulder, seeing Demetri following her not too far away, a concentrated look on his handsome face.

She chuckled and increased her pace, muttering sorry's and excuse me's as she bumped into a couple of people. When she looked over her shoulder again and didn't see Demetri anymore, she slowed, trying to catch her breath again. It was only then that she realised that in her excitement she'd crossed almost the entire market and that at this end. there weren't so many people around.

She looked around, her eyes falling onto a dark alleyway and a shiver crawling down her spine. It was too dark to really see anything, but she thought she could make out the outline of two figures standing near the end of the alley. Just as she was about to turn around to look for Demetri herself, a pair of arms curled around her waist, pulling her gently against a rock-hard chest.

"Caught you," Demetri whispered in her ear, another layer of goosebumps breaking out on her skin.