She stared at herself in the mirror in awe. Heidi really had done her best to make sure Cecilia looked as beautiful as possible. She made a little twirl, watching with a smile as the silky red fabric of her dress followed. It hugged her chest tightly and the off-shoulder sleeves left her collar bones and neck exposed. It matched the necklace she'd gotten from Demetri perfectly.
Though the dress made her feel like a princess already, she loved the way Heidi had curled her hair and put the upper half up with clips, leaving the rest of her dark-blonde hair cascading down her back. She'd also done her make-up, though nothing too much out of the ordinary. The mascara and the eyeliner made her eyes appear more blue and bigger and she liked the slightly red tint on her lips.
"Thanks a bunch, Heidi, it looks beautiful," she said enthusiastically, turning around to face the mesmerising vampire herself. Her beauty was almost comparable to Rosalie's, but whereas Rose simply had her looks, Heidi had her luring gift as well.
Heidi smiled gently. "No, you look beautiful."
"Are you absolutely sure it's not over the top?" Cecilia asked, as she looked down on the dress once again. The silky material flowed down her waist nicely, but it looked formal. At least, way too formal for a regular dinner.
"Don't worry about it," Heidi replied.
At first, Cecilia had been a bit suspicious when the woman had come into her room almost two hours ago, more or less ordering her to take a shower, but she soon came to enjoy Heidi's company. Compared to all the other vampires in the castle, she seemed less... ancient. When Cecilia mentioned Instagram, the vampire at least knew what it was, instead of staring at her dumbfounded.
"Alright, Demetri's here," Heidi said as she walked to the door. "Enjoy your date."
Just as she slipped out, Demetri walked in, looking even more handsome than ever. She felt her breath hitch at the sight of him, her heart skipping a single beat and her stomach plummeting in free fall. He was wearing a dark suit, making his sharp features stand out even more. The single thing she missed, and felt slightly sick for missing, were his mesmerising red eyes, which were covered up with brown contacts that didn't honour his face. He wore his dark blonde hair up, framing his face almost like a halo.
"I've never seen a lady fairer, cara mia," Demetri said in awe, his gaze travelling her body.
She felt her cheeks heat up at the compliment and the way he stared at her as though he'd truly never seen a more beautiful woman. She intertwined her fingers in front of her stomach, a nervous smile curling the corners of her mouth up. "You look quite handsome yourself."
"Nothing compared to you," he said, holding his arm out. Her heart skipped another beat at his half smile, half smirk. "Shall we?"
➻
She found dinner with Demetri amusing, if anything. She felt oddly at her place in front of the vampire her family had made out as one of the most dangerous members of the Volturi, as if he could protect her from the dangers of the world. She laughed and smiled a lot, enjoying the pasta he'd chosen out for her. She loved that they were the only one's sitting in the private area of the restaurant, offering them a sense of privacy.
"I don't think I will ever get over the face you make when you eat," she chuckled softly, smiling in amusement.
Demetri looked up at her, his face illuminated by the low lights from the chandeliers above them. "Are you really making fun of me?"
"No," she said, straightening her spine and looking at him innocently. "I'm entertaining myself."
"Is that what they call bullying these days?" he asked, his eyebrows raised in fake wonder.
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.