Colby woke up shortly after my plan was set. At first, his arms only tensed around me, but then he snuggled his face more into my hair and trapped my legs with his own. I smiled to myself, turning my head back so I could see him. He placed a swift kiss on my lips but then hid away again.
I giggled. "Why are you hiding from me?"
"Because," he replied, a smile in his voice.
"Gone shy?" I teased and he slapped my ass. I didn't know how, but he did, and I burst out laughing. I had to put my hand over my mouth to stop myself as I shuffled away from him only to twist around and tuck myself back into his embrace. He couldn't hide now, so he smiled—in that way that made me think he should be blushing—then wrapped his arms around me again.
I kissed his cheek, keeping eye contact with him even as I laid my head down. The flutters in my stomach were almost too much. "You seriously don't think you deserve me?" I asked softly, my voice quiet.
Colby smiled sadly at me now. "No, I don't deserve you yet. I'm changing, definitely, but I'm not there yet. I won't deserve you until I am a good man. I still need some time for that."
"You are a good man," I replied, frowning.
"Not yet," he insisted.
"You're a good man to me."
"But that's not being a good man, Becks. Just because I'm a good man to my One doesn't mean I am a good man—it just means I love my girlfriend." I grinned. "Which is definitely true."
"Mhm." I kissed him before shuffling away just enough to get coherent thoughts. "I don't care what you think of yourself, Colby, because I know you deserve me. You've deserved me ever since the day you came to get me at the office. That was the day you decided to fight for us, and now look what's come of it."
"I'm glad you think so, baby," Colby murmured, closing his eyes. I couldn't help but smile to myself as I watched him rest for a few moments. When he looked at me again, I saw the silver around the blue, and I knew that now, when we were happy and in love, was a good time to make my first next step.
"Colby," I said quietly, "I want to be a vampire." He tensed. "And I know that you won't like it, but I can promise you it's what I want. We both know once I make a decision, I've made a decision. And that's what I want."
"That's not what you want," he replied sharply, catching me off guard. I frowned at him. "That isn't what you want, Rebecca. You- Why would you want to be a vampire?"
"Because I know that's what I'm meant to be, Colby. I'm weak and vulnerable as a human, I don't care if I have a rare defensive gene against vampires. I'm still breakable and bruisable. I don't want that."
"What about when you one day want kids?" He challenged.
I rolled my eyes. "Have you forgotten that I'm with you, a vampire?" I paused. "And besides, that was never something I could have anyways."
He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Ever noticed you've never seen me on my period? That's because I don't get one. I was born infertile." Colby's mouth opened and closed like a fish, but no words came out. I knew I looked hurt because I was. I didn't like to talk about that; I hadn't talked about that. I didn't think even my parents knew.
After a moment, Colby shook his head. "That still doesn't mean you want to be a vampire—or have any reason to be," he insisted.
"I'm going to keep ageing! That's enough for me. What will you do when I'm old, Colby? How old are you?"
"Twenty-"
"What age were you changed?" I corrected, glaring at him. He went silent. "Tell me. I want to know."
"You don't need to know that. The point is, I'm twenty-four now, so why do you care? I seriously think you're just—I don't know, having some kind of-"
"I don't want to hear it, Colby," I scowled. "I want to be a vampire and that's that. It's not because I'm delusional or because I haven't thought it through. I don't want to be human—vulnerable and weak—and I don't want to have to grow older while you're stuck like this. I want to be frozen in time and strong. And I want you."
Colby's breath hitched in his throat. "W-What about your studio? Your designing?" He challenged.
"What about it? Mom is a fashion legend and Angela will be, too, if she gets her shit together. She has Aryia now. I can always design for her if I have to. I don't need to be a designer, I just get inspiration sometimes. So there is no "What about your designing?"."
Colby's jaw clenched now. He didn't like what he was hearing, just like I'd thought. Only, I didn't think he'd hurl reasons to stay human at me in hopes that one of them would change my mind. I supposed I should have expected that.
Finally, with no other excuses to turn to, Colby sighed. "Becks, I don't want to make you into what I am. It pains me to imagine what I'd have to do to make you this way, and then to think you wouldn't have a heartbeat. I won't hear you when you get scared, I won't smell the blood getting faster, I won't get to see you blush." He shook his head. "I want you human; I want you living."
"I will be living, Colby. I just won't be as living as before." Colby shook his head. "Please, if you won't do it then I'll find someone else to do it. I don't want that, but I fight for what I want and you know that."
"Don't say that," Colby whispered. "You don't know how vampires are made."
"Enlighten me," I snapped.
"No."
"Just tell me."
He sighed. "If I were to turn you, I would have to feed you my blood then feed on you until you die. Then you would wake back up as soon as your body is ready—it varies. But I can't... I just can't imagine killing you, Becks. I can't and I won't."
"Colbs," I whispered as I shuffled closer to him, "you won't be killing me. Stop thinking of it like that. I want this."
He didn't reply, he only stared into my eyes. I could see the thoughts going through his head; the denial and the acceptance alike. There was no way that he was going to agree to this today, but I had time. I wanted to kill Julian while I was human, so I could make an impact. I needed it within myself to be alive because then a weak human defeated the guy who had ruined my entire life.
There was nothing more satisfactory than that.
So, reminding myself to convince Colby another time, I sighed and moved on. "I want to know about Ones, Colby. I want to know what I am to you."
"Okay," he agreed softly. "The easiest way to explain it is that a One is a soulmate—a vampire's soulmate, that is. There are certain... rules about it. For example, I can't feed on anyone but you—the thought makes me sick—and I feel very protective over you. I can never hurt you intentionally, and if you were ever to die, I would essentially crumble. Losing your One is one of the most painful things a vampire can ever go through and you're never the same afterwards."
"What are the effects on a human?" I asked.
"Well, whatever you feel when you think of me hurting, times about a hundred. Anyway, I know the whole thing is intense and you fall in love quickly, like we did. I don't think humans like to be healed by anyone but their One, so it's a two-way street. Ones can also never cheat on each other—it's pretty much impossible."
"That's good for my peace of mind," I muttered, smiling. "You do seem like you were a fuckboy."
"First of all, ouch. Second of all, you're totally right. But I don't think I could ever cheat on you anyway, especially if I want to keep my dick." I snorted.
"Hey, I'd never touch that thing." I paused. "Well..." Colby smirked at me and we both started laughing, the tension slowly lifting. I tucked myself up to his chest again, draping my arm over him. He gently ran his fingers up and down on my skin sending tingles all around my body.
"I can't think of much more. I mean, a One makes you want to change for them; makes you want to become the best person you possibly can, for them. Most of the time, you don't even realise that you're changing until one day you just remember how you used to be. I know I've already had that."
"I think you just made me have mine," I admitted, a hundred memories going through my head. Colby smiled and kissed my head.
"You have changed, but it's a good change. We don't fight that often anymore because of it. I don't want to fight, which is weird for me."
"Me too."
"If you're curious, all the couples are Ones. Sam and Katrina, Jake and Tara—all of them."
"Really?" I asked in surprise. He smiled and nodded. "I have to admit, I didn't think that was the case. They aren't as..."
"Intense as us?" I nodded. "I don't know why that is. It might be that gene you have, or maybe because I'm so much more powerful, that the emotions balance with it. Either way, we have it harder than they do."
"It's okay, we make it work."
"We do," he agreed, then paused. "Hey, wanna go for a round?" I burst out laughing. "Listen, I'm full of energy right now and you are very naked—and hot."
Once I'd composed myself, I forced Colby onto his side to face me and looked him right in the eyes. "Promise me you'll think about my request and we can go for as many rounds as you want, horn-boy."
"I will think about it," he said, though I wasn't entirely convinced. Still, I kissed him and he kissed me back. We were bound to be annoying the neighbours again.