LIMINAL || 𝙅𝙖𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙖𝙡𝙚 [1]

𝟙𝟚.𝟝 | 𝔻𝕒𝕞𝕟 𝕪𝕠𝕦,ℂ𝕠𝕝𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕤 𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕜𝕖𝕣

When Bella stumbled (literally) into Edward's life, into all of our lives, I'd gotten a brief reprieve from being the weakest link in our vegetarian vampire troupe. Suddenly, everyone's attention shifted to making sure that Edward didn't suck her dry in the middle of Biology rather than constantly giving me surreptitious looks of apprehension. It'd been such a relief, emotionally, not to feel the worry, anxiety, and pity from all four of my siblings while I tried to ignore my ever present cravings along with theirs. Until, of course, my slip up at Bella's eighteenth birthday party. That had been...horribly unfortunate, but it did help me reinforce my choice of abstaining from human blood. Since that debacle, I'd found the scent marginally less bothersome during the school day. My throat still burned, my mouth still flooded with venom when walking through the front doors each morning. However, my mind was preoccupied with things other than not accidentally murdering a few teenagers. I'd thought I had finally been able to fully assimilate into the family that Carlisle had built over the last century, enforced by the desire to never feel the horror of nearly killing my brother's girlfriend.

Then Collins Walker arrived, and it all went to shit.

She just had to be in the same Calculus class as me and needed tutoring. We'd always kept a safe distance from humans when attending school to assure our cover wouldn't be blown and to reduce the risk of a slip-up. Edward and Bella's relationship had been the exception to this rule for about a year, but perhaps that was because when he wanted to, he could keep a clean record. How he resisted his blood singer, I have no idea. The feelings that I'd sensed from him early on had been a strain on its own; combined with my own thirst and everyone else's, it was no wonder a papercut had set me off so bad. Thanks to that, I had Edward constantly prying into my mind and Alice's to determine whether a slip up was imminent. He'd always been vigilant, though now it was even more annoying. I hated the ever present invasion into my mind that was worsened by his attempt at rationalizing it. You know your self control isn't as developed. It's only logical that we take the appropriate measures to prevent an unwanted outcome. The Volturi will jump at the slightest infraction. Spending time with Collins, especially alone, would be imprudent. The smug asshole irritated me to no end with the issue, mostly because I knew he wasn't wrong. He had even suggested that I should switch classes to a lower option, like business math, since I didn't need Calculus for the 50th time. Our repetitive arguments were becoming a stick in my craw. Although he had a point, he had no right to boss me around, telling me that I shouldn't get close to a human. I was a major in the army at eighteen, for Christ's sake. And it wasn't like I suggested tutoring in the first place. If he wanted to continue attending school so that Carlisle could practice medicine as he saw fit, then he'd have to suck it up and deal with the normal human interactions as they came.

Edward had always watched the future from Alice's mind, knowing that I did in fact struggle with my bloodlust, but through the last decade of improvement, I'd gotten close to getting him off my back. Then she'd walked into class, bringing with her a potent scent that made my diet of black bear, mountain lion, and moose taste even more like the cheap imitation it was. The worst part was, she wasn't my singer. If she were, there was a slim chance Collins would have survived in Forks this long. No, it wasn't the scent of her blood, despite its rich, sweet smell. It was the proximity. If I were human, an average teenager making their way through their last year of high school, spending hours alone with Collins would've been the highlight of my year. She was witty, intelligent, and easy on the eyes, which is a heavy compliment coming from a vampire with perfect vision. There were some things we shared between the two of us that fostered a sense of familiarity that I lacked with my family. Any guy who didn't find her attractive would be out of his mind. For me, the hours in the library, practically alone since Ms Fields chose to spend her lunch in the teacher's lounge most days, were pure torture. The smell of her blood was impossible to ignore when sitting so close to her, especially since she had the habit of brushing her shiny blonde hair over her shoulder, sending a strong wave of it directly at my face. Showing up at the dance wasn't my wisest move, I can admit. The scent of her blood had been nearly overwhelming then; not even the floral perfume she wore could come close to masking it. I could hear Edward now, lecturing me about "the senseless" of my actions, if the night hadn't ended the way it did. I just couldn't stand by and do nothing when Alice's vision took a risky turn. And now, that same smell was all over my room, my books. My sheets. 

Damn Collins, and her ability to land herself in situations where I couldn't ignore her like any good vampire would. It was getting harder to lie to myself and the others that I was spending time around her only for the purpose of figuring out why my abilities were affected by the touch of her skin. I liked spending time with her aside from the burning in my throat. Anybody would. But I wasn't just anybody; I was a vampire that enjoyed the smell of her blood in particular, and would enjoy the taste even more. Each second with her brought that possibility closer to a dangerous reality. Yet, there was no such thing as just a taste. If my lips got anywhere near the pulse that thrummed at the base of her neck, just under that smooth, olive skin...if I sank my teeth in and felt the warm, delicious liquid spread over my tongue, quenching the burning in my throat...

I clenched my jaw and put the thought out of my mind for what must have been the millionth time, nearly as many as I'd had to ignore the idea of touching her hand or brushing her hair behind an ear.

I needed to hunt. Again.

A/N: I'm experimenting with the idea of having some chapters from different points of view. These chapters would likely be shorter and less frequent. This chapter is mainly because I haven't updated lately (holidays, teaching, etc) and I wanted to post something.

Hope you enjoy; a fuller chapter will be along shortly!