Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Of course RC Cullen knew what a party was. Unlike her family members that didn’t understand the joy and entertainment from today’s pop culture, RC loved it. She would binge watch films and TV series about anything and everything. The fact that she didn’t really need sleep really allowed her to just sit down in front of the TV the entire night. It was where she learned about how kids lived. While her family had been trying—and failing, for the most part—to live and be like teenagers from whatever time they were in, they didn’t really engage into that kind of life.

They had parties before, but usually it was just them, with their cousins from Denali every now and then. The last time her Aunt Alice threw a party, where people outside of their family were invited, was after Bella’s graduation, about two or three months before RC was even born. So, yeah, RC knew what a party was supposed to look like, but it was a rare occasion that she went to one. 

She remembered the last time. It was a welcome party in her dorms building, and RC met her best friend there. After that, she never really went into another one. Not because she didn’t get invites, because Rory always asked her to come with her. Always. Usually it was to some parties that Rory’s friends threw. In that moment RC started to realize where Rory was her best friend, her only friend, Rory could not be hers. Because clearly, Rory had a whole bunch of others besides RC.

RC tried to find other friends, but it always fell to ‘we are friends because we have the same class together but we don’t actually know each other’ sort of thing. It sucked, but her family was somewhat relieved and she started to understand why they preferred to keep to themselves rather than to be in a position where RC was in.

It was the last week of October when she was walking across campus with Rory, their arms linked. The air was cool outside and maybe it was for that exact reason that Rory was willing to put on her jacket properly. Usually she didn’t want to, because she said that being in close proximity to RC was enough to get extra heat. If only RC could tell her the reason why that was possible. 

“So, there will be this Halloween party, just outside of campus. I was thinking about going.”

A frown formed on RC’s face. She knew her friend liked to hang out, but the amount of things that came wrong after Rory got back was getting concerning. “Another one?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“Rory, do you really think that I wouldn’t know about how you came back to your dorm drunk almost every night?” 

She felt Rory tensed up beside her as her heart started to beat faster. It was quiet for a while, before Rory said softly, “Laurel told you, didn’t she?”

“She’s worried,” RC answered. “To be honest, so am I. How long has it been, a month?”

“Three weeks, three days.” Rory shoved her hands to her pockets, making RC’s arms around hers pressed tighter between the two of them. “I don’t want to think about it.” 

RC tried to not force her friend to talk, to let Rory tell whatever it was that had been weighing her down at her own time. It was what Rory had been doing from the start of the year. Surely, RC could try to at least do the same. But she also could see how Rory covered up her pain with humor and drinks. How she thought her last happy memories with her uncle were at the end of the laugh or at the bottom of her cheap plastic cups. 

“If you go, will you promise me that you will not drink? At least not as much as you usually do, I don’t want you drunk.”

“I don’t want to make promises I can’t keep,” Rory said under her breath. “But I’ll try, okay? Now, come on. I need my caffeine fix as soon as possible.” She quickened her pace, dragging RC across campus to get to the only decent coffee shop in this part of the country. It wasn’t hard to figure out that nothing could stand in the way between Rory and her caffeine fix.

By her second cup of latte, Rory still wouldn’t talk to RC about anything. Well, they talked about something, but not the important ones that were clearly crushing Rory under its weight. It was like that for the next few days, Rory being dismissive and somewhat blasé about what happened to her. But, she heard from Laurel that Rory hadn’t been coming back drunk like usual. That was a good sign at least. 

 A part of her was worried that Rory would take that Halloween party as a release mechanism, a chance to get black out drunk so she wouldn’t have to think about anything. A part of her doesn’t want Rory to go, but that would mean taking her choices away. She knew better than that. Rosalie taught her better than that. 

That was why RC decided to go with Rory to that party. The urge to make sure her friend would come back alright far surpass her dislike of being in the middle of sweaty college kids, dancing around to music with deafening bass. 

And of course, her aunt Alice was already in her dorm when she came back after her class. There were a few garment bags laying across her twin XL bed. Not a second later, her door opened and Rosalie came in, a familiar hair and makeup bag in hand. 

There wasn’t a vanity in her dorm room, so Alice and Rosalie installed a mirror behind her desk a few days after she moved in. It was a good hack, so RC didn't complain. She sat patiently as Alice put on makeup on her face and Rosalie did her hair. Her mom came in not long after, taking a place on her bed since Alice didn't trust her with a makeup brush. 

When Alice didn't tell her to close her eyes, RC noticed the not so subtle glances that Bella kept throwing to Rosalie from the mirror. At first, she thought she was having some eye trouble, or something else entirely, but it happened again a few times after that.

Okay, what’s going on?

“So, RC, why do you suddenly want to go to this party anyway? It’s not like you,” Alice asked her.

“It’s about Veronica, isn’t it, Lily?” Rosalie prompted. “You said she hasn’t been the same since she got back from home.”

RC nodded slightly, afraid that she would ruin her aunts’ work. “I just want to make sure she will be okay.”

“She lost someone close to her, so it’s probably going to take a while until she feels okay again.” Bella shrugged on the bed when RC gave her a look from the mirror. “It’s different for everybody. There will be days where it’s hard, some where the pain isn’t as agonizing. The best you can do for her is just to be there. Veronica surrounds herself with people, but I have no doubts that it’s you who she’s willing to bear her soul to.”

RC caught Rosalie staring at her as she played with the strands of hair that kept falling to her face. The corners of Rosalie’s lips curled up into an adoring smile. RC’s started to tilt her head to one side before Rosalie caught her chin to stop her. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” 

“I’m just thinking, Lily,” Rosalie answered as she started to gently rub RC’s cheek. "You care about Veronica."

One of RC's eyebrows raised. "Of course I do, she's my friend. Rory lets me be me, on my own terms. She’s supportive of my decisions. I mean, she doesn’t force me to say or do anything. Rory knows there’s something more to me than meets the eyes and she trusts me to tell her about it on my time.”

Three pairs of golden eyes stared at her, in amusement, affection, and something… melancholy. Was it something she said? But what was wrong with acknowledging the fact that there are other people outside her family that RC cared deeply about?

“You should get going. Wouldn’t want to keep your friend waiting," Alice said, ushering her from the desk.

Bella got up from the bed and gave her a sling bag. “Your pepper spray is inside.”

That got her to arch an eyebrow in confusion. RC never really understood her mom’s obsession with pepper spray. Okay, so maybe obsession wasn’t the right word for it, but still. They were supernaturals with basically bulletproof skin, enhanced strength, speed, and senses. Every single one of them was capable of throwing a grown man across the room with one hand without breaking a sweat, and yet, Bella still wanted her to carry around a can of pepper spray at all cost. 

“Humor me, okay? Charlie did this to me too, so I have to pay it forward. It’s a rite of passage, Ren.”

Exhaling a deep breath, RC took the bag from her mom. Rosalie was standing near the door with her jacket, before helping her to put it on. They always did this, pampered her, and a little part of her felt guilty for liking it. The larger part loved every second of it. The three vampires lingered by the door when RC walked down towards the stairs to Rory’s room. She could still feel their gazes once she disappeared around the corner. 

Rory’s room was just one floor above hers, so it didn’t take long for RC to reach her friend’s door. She didn’t tell Rory that she was coming and completely hoping that she’d get to Rory before she left. It was safe to say that RC was cutting it close.

The door swung open before RC got a chance to knock and without her fast reflexes to move, Rory would run (not so) straight into her. Rory was wearing all black—shirt, jacket, pants, boots, and even fingerless gloves. She had a bluetooth headset on her right ear, covered by her hair, and there was a holster around both of her thighs. 

“Fancy seeing you here,” Rory said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “You’re coming with me?”

“Uh…” RC looked down at the outfit her aunts put together for her. “I’m not sure what I’m wearing matches the dress code.”

“What you’re wearing is fine, you look gorgeous. And the dress code just says ‘costume’ without further explanation, so we can just say that you’re a spy, going undercover as a rockstar.”

RC could feel her cheek getting warmer, especially after hearing her friend complimenting her. It was a different feeling, when it wasn’t your family doing it. She didn’t expect that. What did people say to respond to a situation like that? What should she say?

The smile in Rory’s face faltered slightly when RC struggled to come up with words. “Or, if you want, I have some fangs and fake blood. We can turn you into a vampire. A modern one, so you don’t have to change clothes.”

Oh, Rory, if only you realize how on track you actually are. 

“That’s a great idea actually.”

A half-crooked smile formed on Rory’s face before she let RC into her room. It was the first time she set foot in there. While RC got a single room, Rory had a double, but even RC knew that her friend made several adjustments to the room. The most obvious one was that Rory turned the two separate beds into a bunk bed and placed it right in the middle. The bottom bunk had its right side covered by a curtain while the top had it on the left side, creating a barrier and privacy between two sides of the room. Of course Rory would do something like that. 

Rory had the top bunk, so RC couldn’t sit on her bed without having her feet dangling four feet above the ground. It wasn’t hard to put on the fake fangs and to her surprise, they were comfortable, unlike the previous ones she wore for a goof.

“The vampire rockstar and her secret agent,” Rory said as both of them stood side by side in front of the full length mirror in the corner. “We don’t exactly match but we look pretty good together.”

RC didn’t get a chance to process her friend’s choice of words before she got dragged away. The party was supposed to be in an off-campus building owned by one of the departments. It wasn’t supposed to be far, but Rory insisted on driving the car, a blazing red Mazda that she said was sent from Brooklyn the week before. 

Of course her car will be a red crossover.

“I know you don’t really like being at parties, so I just want you to know that I’m really glad you’re here.” 

“It’s the least I can do. My mo—” 

RC bit her tongue on the last second and covered it with a cough. Stupid. She glanced over to the driver side. If Rory was suspicious about RC almost slipping up, she didn’t show it.

“Bella said you might be lonely,” RC continued. “You have a lot of people around you but it’s just a way to cover the fact that you don’t want to process your… trauma.”

Rory’s face was blank as she kept driving and RC was more concerned for her friend’s lack of response than the fact that Rory could cause an accident from being distracted.

“When I’m around people, I don’t have to think. My mind is dangerous when I’m alone.”

“You don’t have to.” She didn’t know what else to say and hoped that short four words were enough. 

Not fifteen minutes after Rory started the car, she parked it on the side of the road. RC could see the building with colorful spotlights coming out of it, along with some music she didn’t recognize. Instinctively, she linked arms with Rory as they both entered the building. 

Most of the campus student body was probably under that roof. RC could see some people from her classes, and Rory’s usual group of friends had been trying to steal her for a dance. Rory said no every time, with her oh so wonderful smile.

It wasn’t long until she started to feel that someone was watching her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up, she knew someone was there, but every time she turned, no one was there. Well, everyone was there, but no one out of the ordinary. 

“Hey, are you okay?”

She turned to see Rory, seeing the smile disappeared as Rory looked at every part of RC’s face. 

“I’m fine,” she lied. One of the easiest lies she had ever told, but unlike the other times she did it, Rory didn’t look convinced. “I’m going to find the bathroom. Go hang out with your friends, I’ll come find you later.” 

Rory didn’t seem sure, one of her eyebrows arched in uncertainty. She shook her head lightly before saying, “Okay. Come get me anytime?”

She nodded in answer as she watched Rory’s disappearing figure among dancing college kids. It didn’t miss her eyes when Rory didn’t take a glass of whatever it was in those cups when her friends offered. Her friend laughed at something they said and when their eyes met, Rory’s smile got bigger, if that was even possible. RC smiled back before leaving the crowded room.

Just outside, behind the building and overlooking the forest, away from the main street, RC sensed it again. A scent reached her nose before she felt a faint chill breeze that wasn’t from the wind.

“So, that’s the eminent Veronica you won’t shut up about.”

Gold stared back at her when she turned around. Rosalie was standing near the exit door, a smirk was on full display. Her fiery golden eyes sparkled. 

“Now,” Rosalie said, stepping closer. “Will you tell me what’s actually going on between you two?”

Her brows furrowed together. “Hold on, I’m confused. What?”

“Lily, you know I believe you when you told us you made a friend. The way to talk to me about her, there’s something more in there. After I see the two of you tonight, it just confirmed my initial thought.”

RC raised an eyebrow and said, “That I care about my friend? Brilliant deduction, Rosalie. You know, I expect this from mom, but not you.” 

What was up with people? Suddenly everyone in her family suspected her of something. RC didn’t even know what she did. Yeah, she almost slipped up when talking to Rory, but other than that, she managed to keep her family’s secret, well, a secret.

“I meant more than a friend.” Rosalie’s voice echoed in her mind. 

More. More than a friend.

Her mind went back to the start.

To the moment when Rory first talked to her and actually listened, when Rory let her open up more at her own pace and didn’t judge her for it. When Rory respected her privacy, about her personal life and her family, which was all the damn time. Rory somehow managed to be gracious and courteous while still letting RC be herself that was away from the family she grew up into. 

“Yeah, I’m not doing this right now.” RC shook her head, passing her aunt Rosalie to get back inside. “Feel free to hang around, I guess. People have to know that I really do have another sister.”

Bella and Alice were dancing on the floor when she got back in. It was weird, to say the least, to see her mom dance. Bella was never one to dance in the first place, or go to parties—back when she was still human or after she was turned. Safe to say that RC inherited the latter. 

She walked further into the room and found Rory leaning on a wall, two cans of soda in her hands. 

“You’re not drinking,” RC said after taking a can offered to her.

“Well, I am drinking…” she held the can in front of her face. “Grape soda. It’s not cheap vodka but it will do. I did promise you, didn’t I?”

They both stood side to side while watching the other kids danced and laughed and got stupid drunk. Rosalie was among those kids, hand in hand with Alice and Bella. In that moment, RC could finally see the three of them as the teenager their bodies stuck in. Just three college kids, having a blast without a care in the world. 

“Hey, can I ask you something? About your sister? Feel free to shut me up anytime.”

“Which one?” RC pointed to Rosalie, Bella, and Alice on the dance floor. “Since my brother got married, I have three now.”

“Bella.” Rory took one large sip of her soda, as if she was chugging down some liquid courage. “She’s dating Edward? The boyfriend that you don’t particularly like?”

A loud laugh escaped her before she could help it. "Sorry, I'm sorry. It's just that, me not liking Edward is like an understatement of the year. Please, carry on."

"Are you sure?"

"About my clear dislike of my sister’s boyfriend being an understatement?"

"No, I mean like the fact that it's Edward that your sister is dating. Because, well, look." Rory nudged her shoulder as she pointed to Bella on the dance floor with Rosalie. Alice was nowhere to be found. As she kept her eyes on them, RC noticed that her mom wasn't so stiff and awkward anymore. Every vampire aspect that she got after turning only could help so much, but right then and there, RC had a hard time believing what she was seeing.

“They’re dancing.”

“Oh my god.” Rory chuckled, shaking her head. “You’re so pure and innocent.” She pat RC’s cheek lightly. The cool feeling from holding the cold soda seeped through her skin and she welcomed it. 

“What? I don’t get it.”

Rory thinned her lips together, trying to hold in a smile. “Bella and Rosalie got chemistry, dude. And they look good together.”

RC’s gaze moved back and forth from her friend to Bella and Rosalie across the room. Was that chemistry Rory talked about always there? What did that mean for Rosalie and Emmett, or no matter how annoying the thought was, Bella and Edward? When she really thought about it, Bella seemed more comfortable when she was with RC and Rosalie. The two women practically raised her together, while her dad was nowhere to be seen. Edward was there of course, but never really did much.

“Is that too weird? Because you guys are siblings. Adopted, yeah, but still and you all basically live together.” Rory ran her hand through hair, before rubbing the back of her neck. A thing that she did when she didn’t know what to say. “You know what? Forget I say anything.”

“No, no, wait, hold on. I was just connecting some dots,” RC said before shifting her gaze back to Bella and Rosalie. Both women were staring right back at her, suddenly a whole lot closer than they were before.

Shit. They could hear us. Did they hear us? 

“Hey. I saw a foosball table back there. You want to play with me?”

RC was taken aback from how quickly Rory could change a conversation. She blinked a few times before managing to let out, “Sure.”

She let Rory drag her away to the other side of the building, a little more quiet area with an empty foosball table in the middle of it.

“I saw them looking at you like they want to throw you across the Atlantic or something,” Rory said. “I thought I’ll be your knight in shining armor.”

“But I thought you’re a secret agent?”

“Well, I can be your knight in CIA standard body armor,” Rory retorted back. “So, are you ready to get your ass kicked?”

“Oh, please. We got one of these in the house for Emmett and he’s the best. It’s you who’s going to get their ass kicked.”

“Dude, you’re on.”

That game of foosball turned from a friendly match to a competitive world cup. While RC proved to be a really good player, Rory also didn’t back down easy. People started to surround the two of them as the game went on, cheering and laughing. She even saw someone place some bets, but the movement was too secretive for just some harmless gamble.

RC didn’t get much time to think about it, because Rory took advantage of her trance to score yet another goal. The room exploded in thunderous roar and RC had to fight off a wince from the damage that it’s probably causing to her hearing. Still high in adrenaline, Rory gulped down another can of soda in one go before taking a cup from one of her friends. 

When she got to her friend, Rory was already holding an empty cup. Some guy was refilling it with a bottle of Coke, but Rory kept laughing and making more drink spilled out. 

“Congratulations.”

Rory threw her arms around RC’s neck triumphantly. “Hell yeah!” she said before taking another sip.

They hung around the foosball table for a few more minutes, watching some blond guy in Rory’s group of friends battle it out with another cocky upperclassmen. Somewhere when the game was still on, Rory got her and RC another can of grape soda. Her friend was really giving an effort to keep her promise. 

If only everyone was like that.

She wasn’t sure how long had passed, but it couldn’t be more than fifteen minutes, when RC noticed something going on with Rory. The other girl seemed out of it, her arm was draped over RC shoulders, unmoving. Her grey eyes were glazed as though she was thinking a billion things at one time. 

“Rory?”

Rory didn’t answer, didn’t move. She blinked slowly, staring at nothing.

“Hey, Rory?” She took Rory’s jaws in her hand so they were face to face. In that close proximity, RC couldn’t smell anything out of the ordinary. Just some grape and Rory’s perfume. 

“Mm f-fine, fine.”

And there was definitely something wrong. 

Rory didn’t drink an ounce of alcohol that night, but her speech was slurring as if all the soda and water she drank was cheap beer and vodka instead. Her hands started to shake lightly and her whole body became more and more dependent on RC. 

“No, you’re not. I’m getting you back home. Maybe the hospital is a better idea?”

RC didn’t wait for an answer before half-dragged her friend out of the room. Technically, she could just carry Rory with one hand that easily, but that would attract too much attention. Rory’s steps were uncoordinated as they were leaving the party and RC had to wrap her arms around Rory’s waist and lift the girl slightly so they could move.

“Hey, you’re leaving?”

Esme would definitely scold her if she ever found out about the words that came out of RC’s mouth in that moment. When she turned around, there was a guy that RC had seen hanging around with Rory’s group. She didn’t know his name, but she never particularly liked him. 

“Come on, stay a little longer.” The guy was smiling brightly. If she didn’t know better, she’d say that he was charming. 

“She doesn’t feel good.”

“Noo, no. I am’s good,” Rory said, or tried to, at least and RC never wanted to shut her up more.

“See?” The guy said. “Veronica said she’s good. Come on, Sweetheart. We’re all friends here, aren’t we?”

“No, we’re not actually,” RC said without missing a beat. The urge to break his neck was getting harder and harder to suppress. 

The smile in his face dropped instantly and quickly was replaced by anger and frustration. “Now, don’t be like that.” 

He walked closer. Too close.

“No, thank you.”

He was within an arm reach and everything went down in slow motion. RC saw his hand outstretched and she moved to the side, effectively dodging him. With the arm that wasn’t holding Rory’s waist, she moved to hit the side of his temple with her palm, careful not to give too much strength to it. He deserved so much more, but extensive damage meant an emergency trip to the hospital. And that was just a mess she had no desire to clean up.

As he was stumbling back, RC kicked the side of his knee, knocking him over. He screamed when RC’s foot hit his leg, and yelped again as his body hit the ground. RC knew several people were staring at her, at that guy on the floor. Not wanting any more attention, she ran off as fast as possible while still looking like she had trouble dragging her nearly unconscious friend.

Just outside, she saw Bella, Rosalie, and Alice in the shadow. Their expressions were hard to read, or maybe because RC was scared—for her friend, of what her family would think. 

“I don’t know what to do,” she finally said. Her heart was always beat faster than average, but that night, it went haywire. 

“Let’s get her to the car,” Rosalie said, already by her niece’s side.

“She drove here.” RC’s voice shook and didn’t sound like her own. 

“Rose, I can take the Audi,” Bella said. “You take Veronica’s car back to the house.”

RC frowned. “Why aren’t we taking her to the hospital?”

“They’ll ask questions about what happened to your friend,” Alice started to explain. “And they will call the cops once they find out about the underage drinking and half a dozen illegal things happened in there. They can come knocking at our door, RC.”

“Oh, yeah, o-okay.”

She didn’t fight it when Rosalie started to take Rory from her, carrying her friend with ease. RC led them to RC’s car, a literal beacon in the dark. The red paint seemed to be glowing under the night sky, or the lights from the buildings, she wasn’t sure. 

Once they both got Rory laying down in the back seat, Rosalie punched the gas. The tires squeaked against the asphalt as her aunt maneuvered in the deserted road. RC wasn’t sure why, but she was still holding Rory’s can of soda. It was still heavy, Rory couldn’t drink more than a few large sips. 

“What happened there, Little Lily?”

Yeah, what happened exactly?

“We were just playing foosball. Rory didn’t drink any alcohol, we just had a few cans of Coke and grape soda, occasionally some ice water. I don’t know what happened but she suddenly went unresponsive.” RC took a glance from the rearview mirror, seeing her struggling to keep her eyes open. “As I carried her out, this guy showed up, telling us to stay.”

In the driver seat, Rosalie’s body went rigid. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened as a growl escaped deep from her chest.

“He called me ‘sweetheart’.” RC shuddered at the memory and she heard another growl from her aunt. “He was getting creepy and menacing, so I hit him in his pressure points like you taught me.”

“Good girl,” Rosalie praised, the corner of her lips curled up slightly, but her grip hadn’t loosen. 

RC let out a few quivering breaths when she finally realized the situation she almost stuck in. The same one that cost her Aunt Rosalie her life. And that made her want to cry. In relief or in frustration, RC didn’t know. Her eyes were getting hotter, starting to burn, and everything was getting warmer. 

What would have happened to Rory if RC decided not to go that night? Or if she decided to not come back in after her talk with Rosalie? RC knew something was wrong in her gut, but she ignored that and this happened to her friend? What if her mom and aunts already left by the time she got Rory out? She couldn’t even drive. 

It wasn’t fair. 

That guy deserved something a lot worse than a headache and a sprained knee. RC didn’t need her father’s telepathy to know what he intended to do to RC and Rory. It was clear, written on his face, his body language, everything about him. 

She was lucky, they both were. RC was lucky that her subconscious knew what to do before she could process what was happening. She saved Rory that way. But how many times that people didn’t get the chance to escape without a scratch?

“Hey, she’s going to be okay, Little Lily.” Rosalie’s cold fingers were on RC’s cheeks, wiping away some tears she didn’t realize had fallen. “It’s going to be okay.”

“You weren’t.”

Rosalie’s hand fell to RC’s lap and the girl played with the rings there. 

“I wasn’t,” Rosalie repeated. “Sometimes I still don’t feel okay.”

“I feel stupid for crying.”

“Now, now, listen to me and listen well,” Rosalie said. “You have every right to be upset, Lily. It’s fine. I didn’t cry, after, but I was angry. I have been angry for a long time. Everyone has their own way to deal with what happened to them, Lily. Don’t feel stupid if you need to cry now.”

So, that was exactly what she did. RC cried, in the passenger seat of her friend’s car while her aunt drove them back home. She was grateful for Rosalie of course, because she taught her how to defend herself, defend her friend. But there was a part of her that hated the idea that such things still happen to this day. Ninety something years after what happened to her aunt. 

RC was pissed and she was angry. It wasn’t fair, to her, to Rory, to Rosalie, to everyone else.

But what could she do, because she realized these types of things were still happening. And her friend was smack dab in the middle of it. 

It was not fair. []

Chapter Text

Time went by so slowly when you waited for good news. It was always like that since as long as her family had lived, and could be even longer. 

She was thankful when she couldn’t find her dad when they arrived back at the house. Jasper and Emmett were nowhere to be found too, so RC guessed that they all went on some hunting trip. She didn’t really think too much about it because her mind was filled with Rory.

Rory. Her friend who suddenly went unresponsive in the middle of a Halloween party they went to. After the Mazda screeched to a stop in the driveway, Rosalie didn’t let her take Rory inside even though she could, technically. But, her aunt had a point, because by then, RC was already shaking too badly, and there was no way she could carry her friend inside without dropping her. 

Esme and Carlisle were already in the foyer when RC barged in with Rosalie behind her, carrying an unconscious Rory in her arms. It had been about five minutes after Rory’s eye closed and she stopped responding to her. No groans or whimpers. Nothing. By then Rosalie had the car going to one-twenty. That was way too fast for any sane person to drive, but she didn’t care and Rosalie got them home in record time.

“What happened?” Esme asked, horror displayed in her eyes. 

RC wanted to answer. She got her mouth opened but no words came spilling out.

“Someone drugged her,” Rosalie said. “We’re not sure what it is.”

“Get her to my office, would you, Rose?”

Rosalie didn’t waste a minute to follow Carlisle inside the house, towards the basically personal doctor’s office. RC never really understood why they needed it. None of them, except for her, really required medical check-ups and examinations. But that night, RC was really glad Esme made the time to make that office.

She was ready to follow suit, but a cold hand wrapped around her arm, stopping her.

“Let them take care of your friend,” Esme said softly. The hold she got on RC wasn’t technically hard, but it was strong enough to mean ‘stay put’. While some part of her didn’t want to listen and to just barge into the other room to see her friend, the larger part of RC knew that she couldn’t do more. It was up to the doctors by that point.

Esme got her some hot cocoa as she waited in the living room. On any other occasion she would enjoy that hot cocoa. She really, really would because for someone who didn’t require to eat, Esme made some pretty good meals that could compete with Michelin chefs. So, who did she think she was for turning down fancy food? 

But the mug of cocoa in RC’s hand didn’t taste the same. She didn’t feel the warmth as the liquid went down to her stomach. She didn’t feel the sweetness or the rich flavors. None of that. RC entirely blamed that on the waiting. 

Her dad stormed in not long after, going straight to Carlisle’s office. Emmett and Jasper had to basically get a hold of him so he wouldn’t do something stupid. They crashed into something before they managed to force him into the living room, where RC and Esme were sitting.

“You brought her here?!” Edward yelled to his daughter. “What were you thinking, Renesmee! Did you not think about the danger you have brought on us?”

RC didn’t miss the slight flinch in Esme’s body language and the hiss that came after. She wanted to fight her dad for that. How could he do that? Did he not have any value at all? The words were swimming in her head, forming some insults and some piece of her mind to shut him up. But her mouth wouldn’t open and she was just tired and drained. 

“Edward, that’s enough.” Esme put her hands on RC’s shoulders and pulled the girl towards her. 

“Why are you so calm, Esme? Renesmee is risking our exposure!”

“Yeah, and your screaming definitely doesn’t help, man,” Emmett commented, still holding his hands around his brother’s body. “Besides, isn’t she passed out? She can’t expose us if she doesn’t know about us. Why are you even acting like the mere presence of her in this house will definitely tell her about what we are?”

Edward growled deep in his chest. “She is a loose end that needs to be tightened up.”

“And how would you propose to do that, Edward? By killing her?” Jasper asked.

“Yes.”

His answer was so simple, as though they wouldn’t have to deal with everything that came after that and all hell broke loose.

Everything that happened in front of her after that looked like a movie trailer. She saw snippets of events but none of them made sense. Her brain didn’t have the capabilities to process what was going on. Her mom and Aunt Alice were back, everyone was arguing. Yelling, something broke, and everything went black.

Vampires didn’t need sleep, so since their last day of being human, they never had a dream again. For RC, being a half vampire, half human and all that jazz, dreaming was a rare occurrence. But she dreamt of something that night, and she didn’t like what she saw.

It was a hospital room, so white and sterile. The air was filled with something stinging and sharp, nothing like the smell she was used to when she visited Carlisle at the hospital. A steady, beeping sound came from the machine beside the bed. When RC finally got a good look at it, she felt her heart drop. 

Rory. She looked so small on that bed, so fragile with medical tubing attached to her arms and to her nose. Her skin was ghostly pale, and not the kind that her family had. Staring at her in that condition was more than terrifying. And then the steady beat stopped, replaced by one long ringing in her ears.

The sky was still dark out when RC awoke, sitting up abruptly. There was a blanket on her lap, one of the many blankets Esme liked to collect. Rosalie and Bella were sitting on the other couch. Their bodies leaned towards each other, talking too quiet for her to hear. When Bella’s eyes caught RC’s, the two vampires immediately moved to her sides. Rosalie took a seat behind her niece, playing with her hair. Bella took a seat and moved RC’s feet to her lap.

“How long was I asleep?”

“A few hours. Five, more or less,” Bella answered.

“What about Rory? Is she okay?” She asked, the image of her friend dying in a hospital bed was still burning in her mind.

“Veronica’s fine.” Rosalie brushed away the hair from RC’s forehead. “She just has to sleep it off. She’s still in Carlisle’s office.”

RC turned her body slightly to face her aunt. “You’re not saying that to make me feel better, are you?”

“No, Little Lily, I’m not Edward. I don’t lie because the truth is inconvenient to me.” Rosalie rolled her eyes before turning to Bella, irritation vanished from her eyes. “No offence to your husband, Bella, but you have to admit how he could be.”

Bella just hummed as she shrugged. “None taken.”

It was such a nonchalant gesture from her mom, but RC couldn’t help but notice the slight change of demeanor. Bella always seemed calm and somewhat guarded, and a literal definition of old habits die hard. And there was always something that indicated when she put her walls up—thinking, contemplating. That moment was one of them. 

“Listen, Lily,” Rosalie said, shifting in her seat. “You know you can talk to me, don’t you? Me and your mom. About anything.”

RC stared at her aunt’s darkened golden eyes. “You want me to talk about Rory.”

“And what happened last night,” Rosalie added. “That guy, who didn’t want you and Veronica to leave. Have you seen him around?”

“Sometimes I see him with some other kids hanging out with Rory. I never really like him. Well, him and also a few others. I don’t know why Rory keeps hanging out with them.” RC leaned back on the couch, playing with the corners of Esme’s blanket.

“Veronica runs around with these people?”

RC looked up to meet her mom’s eyes, her brows furrowed together. “Why are you saying it like that? What, now you think she’s bad news?”

Bella exhaled a breath she didn’t need. “RC, Veronica got drugged, possibly by someone she already knows, and the two of you were harassed after? Can you really blame me for being cautious?”

She scoffed in disbelief, though RC knew, deep down that her mom had a point. While Rory never really associated herself with bad crowds, she started to act less like herself after she got back from her uncle’s funeral. At first, RC thought about Rory coming home drunk as her grieve talking, but then it happened almost every day for the next three weeks. Then, there were the new people that Rory started to be around with. Rory was always outgoing, so having a lot of friends was not that far-reaching and pretty much plausible. But RC couldn’t help but think about all those new faces she saw around her friend. If Bella was right, and the drugging and the drinking came with the package of those new ‘friends’, Rory could bring more trouble for her.

But was she the kind of person who turned her back on a friend who clearly needed a little helping hand?

“Lily, I know you care about Veronica, deeply, but Bella—”

“Shit.” 

It came from the end of the hallway, followed by a pained groan. The voice was so small, so faint, but RC still picked that up. She dashed towards Carlisle’s office, stopping right before she opened the door to make sure that she didn’t give away anything to her friend. RC took one deep breath and rolled her shoulder as though they would make her feel any better. They wouldn’t, not really, because the only thing that could was currently in the other side of that door.

The inside of Carlisle’s office mimicked the usual examination room in a hospital, with addition of a few armchairs, a desk, and floor to ceiling bookshelves. Rory was laying on the bed, no longer wearing the previous get up from earlier in the night. Instead, she had on an oversized t-shirt that just drowned her body, making her so much smaller. There was a blanket up to her abdomen and an IV tube was attached to her right arm. RC shuddered in fear from the similarities between the scenario in front of her and the dream she had before.

But she’s alive. Rory’s alive and she’s okay.

“Hey,” RC said, slowly walking towards the bed.

Rory let out a small smile, her eyes were still half-opened. “Hi,” she croaked.

“How are you feeling?”

“Like I just fell 2,000 feet to a body of water without a parachute,” Rory answered, taking in a deep breath as she rubbed her eyes. “Trust me, I know the feeling.”

“Speaking of water.” RC moved to the desk, where a pitcher full of water was sitting. She poured a glass and gave it to her friend, who took it gratefully. 

RC stood by the right side of the bed, playing with Rory’s fingers. It was weird, seeing her friend’s wrist so bare from the wrist cuffs or half a dozen bracelets that were usually there.

“I won’t lie to you and say that I’m fine, because everything hurts right now,” Rory said, a groan escaped her lips. “Ask me again in a few hours, will you?”

RC nodded. “Okay.”

“And RC?” Rory reached out her hand to grasp RC’s. She forced down a lump in the throat before saying, “Don’t leave me?”

“Yeah, of course. I won’t be far.”

It didn’t take a minute for Rory to fall back into a deep slumber. RC kept her word, she just stayed inside Carlisle’s office the entire time. The sun was almost up and Carlisle didn’t walk in, so that probably meant he was already at the hospital. She felt bad for not really speaking to neither Esme nor Carlisle when she got back last night. Her mind was too all over the place, and to be honest, she hadn’t felt as okay as she hoped. 

When the sky was getting brighter and she could feel the temperature getting warmer, there was a knock on the door and Rosalie popped her head in. She sauntered into the room, approaching RC who was sitting on one of the armchairs facing the bed.

Rosalie took a seat on the arm of the chair and immediately played with the strand of RC’s hair. “Are you going to stay here until she wakes up again?”

“I promised her I would.”

Her aunt only hummed in response. RC was half expecting a lecture from Rosalie, or maybe some kind of pep talk. The silence and her presence were not one of them. While it was no breaking news that Rosalie had a soft spot for RC, she was also not afraid to give her some tough love. She did that a few times before, when not even her mom had the guts to. 

“Do you think I should stay away from her?” RC asked, cutting down the silence in the room.

Rosalie didn’t answer immediately, her face was pensive. In that moment RC was afraid that her aunt would tell her that she was right, and she had to stay away from Rory after that night. Rosalie cared so much about her family’s safety, it was only rational that she told her niece, who was getting too close with Rory, to cut ties with her human friend.

“Lily, you and I both know that you are very much capable of making that decision by yourself,” Rosalie said. “Now, what do you think?”

What do I think? 

RC could feel the gears in her head turning, trying to make sense of the situation she was in. Rosalie waited patiently, offering her an encouraging smile in the process. It took her awhile before she managed to speak her mind.

“I think that Rory helped me a lot. I don’t think I could make it this far without her and I don’t just mean with school stuff, but with everything else,” she said.

Rory was her guiding hand to fit in among the other kids, and taught her the mystery of late teenage years. That everyone had their own way to live and puzzled out their place in the world. Her family had lived a long time amongst the humans, but they never taught her to be one. She didn’t even think that they ever really engaged in one. But Rory did, and at the same time, taught her to be the best version of RC Cullen she could be. 

“Right now, she needs a friend. While she hangs out with an enormous amount of people, they are just that, people she hangs out with. They’re not someone that can understand her in a way that real friends can,” RC added.

Like I can. It remained unsaid, but RC felt that Rosalie had no problem reading between the lines.

“See? There’s your answer.”

But RC felt it wasn’t enough. There was more. More to the reasons, to the purpose. Deep in her inmost heart, she knew there was something more. And her aunt must have known of this, otherwise they wouldn’t be sitting in there.

“Rosalie?”

“Yes, Little Lily?”

RC pulled her aunt’s thighs so she slid down to the seat. It was a tight fit for the both of them, so RC moved, curled up on Rosalie’s lap. Her legs were draped over the chair’s arm as she laid her head on her aunt’s stone hard shoulder.

“I think…” She exhaled a shaky breath. “Rose, I, uh, I think that I like Rory. Like, like her, as more, than a friend.”

Her heart had gone erratic by that point, if that was even possible. She felt like waiting for Rosalie’s answer was more stressful than the actual confession. 

“But you already knew that, didn’t you?” RC added, sinking into her aunt’s embrace.

She felt Rosalie nodded. “Yes, I did. I was just waiting for you to recognize those feelings on your own, and whatever you want to do, I just want you to be careful.”

Rosalie already knew, of course she had, even though she was wary about it. And of course she let her niece to figure that one out. In her mind, the little things that didn’t seem to matter seemed to be a whole much clearer. Why Rosalie never really seemed to mind about RC being in a constant presence of a human. Why talking about Rory was always easy to do. Why Rory was always the first person RC turned to, the one person she could trust that didn’t have the last name Cullen or Hale.

She thought about the possibilities that came with it. If RC was more comfortable around humans, maybe they wouldn’t have to be on guard every second of every day. They could relax, and actually lived. A life after the end of the first one. She couldn’t help the smile that creeped up her face thinking about all that.

But, there was the Jacob thing. How was that for complications?

“I recognize it alright,” RC said. “But I don’t think we can be the way I want us to be. She’s human, Rosalie. You know the trials and tribulations that the family went through the last time it happened. You and Jasper literally were planning on killing my mom.”

Rosalie let out a hiss. “That was not my finest moment but I stand by my choice. It was surely an eventful two years, though.”

“See? And then the imprinting,” RC said, her fingers traced the tips of her aunt’s blonde hair. “How can I be with someone when I’m imprinted to somebody else?”

“I don’t know much about imprinting, Little Lily. Bella could know more, but I think you should talk to Jacob about it. From what I’ve heard, imprinting could mean whatever you need it to be. If you need Jacob to be your brother figure or best friend, and nothing more, he should be just that.”

“What if he insisted that we could be more?”

Rosalie scoffed. "He has to learn to respect your choices one way or another otherwise he wouldn't be a good imprint now, would he?"

RC only shrugged as she kept her head on her aunt’s chest. The absence of heartbeat didn’t throw her off anymore. Instead, she found comfort hearing the steady beat of Rory’s heart across the room. She needed that, a constant when her world was changing too fast for her to process. Ironic wasn’t it?

Her constant was Rory. It had been Rory since she moved to Hanover. She was gambling of course, getting too close to a human. Not because she was worried that she would accidentally kill her, but more like she was afraid to be the one to put her family in the line of danger. A danger that could be prevented if she didn’t get too close.

And if she chose Rory, over everything else, what then? Changed Rory just so the two of them could be together a little longer? What if that happened and they didn’t work out? Or what if Rory didn’t want to be a vampire? Surely, she couldn’t force her to be one and that’d mean Rory would die far sooner than her and the rest of the family. RC would have to live in a world where Rory didn’t exist. Could she handle that when there was an easier answer for her in the form of Jacob Black?

Her imprint. To be honest, she didn’t really understand that concept to begin with. She remembered the perpetual presence of Jacob as she grew up. He was always there, like a bodyguard. RC always saw Jacob as a friend, so she didn't really have a problem digesting the reality when he, along with her family, told her about the imprinting. Why would she? She liked having him around. But as she got older, it started to get real weird, real fast. 

It got even weirder when the family had to move out from Forks. She vaguely remembered it, but she knew there was a fight between Jacob and her family. 

They had to leave before people started to get suspicious about their lack of aging, and the fact that RC was still fast-growing. But Jacob didn't want them to because of 'the pull' that RC had towards him. She didn’t know about this pull that Jacob was talking about. Sure, leaving Forks would sucks. She had grown used to the people and the scenery, hanging out with Seth and Leah—though the latter was never voluntarily. But RC didn’t really feel the pull feeling like Jacob did.

Their options were limited and never satisfactory. The Cullens had to leave before suspicions grew and Jacob had to stay because of the pack. At one point, Jacob offered to go with them, but that’d mean leaving Seth and Leah without their alpha and Billy without his son. If RC stayed in Forks, she’d have to leave her family and there would still be talks around the town about why Dr. and Mrs. Cullen left their youngest member of the family behind.

She didn’t want that. No amount of Jacob could replace her family. Replace the bedtime stories her mom told her, or the dress up with Aunt Alice, or the walks along the river with Aunt Rosalie. No, no way.

So, Jacob visited them in Calgary. Every week, stayed for two days before he had to leave. That once a week turned into once every two weeks, and then a month. The last time he visited was almost two months before. Maybe that was why she couldn’t tell him about Rory. Not really, not in the way she wanted to.

What would I even say? ‘Hey, Jacob, are you sure the imprinting thing is real because there’s this girl I really like.’ Yeah, right. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Rosalie’s voice brought her back to the present.

“I, uh, I was just thinking about the imprinting stuff. What to say to Jacob.” RC sighed deeply, snuggling more into Rosalie. “I don’t know how to approach the subject without him getting all weird. Because this is. Weird, I mean.”

“Hey, you don’t have to sugarcoat it for him. He’s a grown man, he should act like one.” 

RC raised her head and sat up straight, staring at Rosalie dead in her darkened golden eyes. “Why do I have this feeling like you’re on Rory’s side and not Jacob’s in this situation?”

“Lily, you know it’s never a secret that I am not particularly fond of Jacob,” Rosalie said. “I tolerate him. When Bella was still pregnant with you, for her sake. Then he imprinted on you, literally five minutes after you were born. That’s rather…” Rosalie chuckled, shaking her head. “Well, I think you know my opinions on that matter. I tolerate him for you after that, because you seemed to like him. Until something changed.”

She couldn’t help the frown forming on her forehead. She shifted on Rosalie’s lap, unconsciously putting a distance between them. 

A matching frown appeared in her aunt’s face. “Lily, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Something happened all right.

She started to look around. Her eyes went everywhere except to meet Rosalie’s.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Rosalie said, grasping RC’s hands in hers, “but your reaction is enough of an answer. I don’t want you to feel like you have to talk to me, but Lily, I do hope that you talk to someone. Don’t bottle it up inside, okay?”

RC nodded before settling back against Rosalie’s chest. She felt arms engulfing her body, cold but inviting. The cooling ice to her fiery one. She exhaled a deep breath, finding solace in Rory’s steady heartbeat. []

Chapter Text

The sky was already blue—or as blue as it could be over the town of Hanover—when Rory finally woke up. She didn’t look as pale as before. Some colors had returned to her cheeks and her eyes were no longer misty.

Rosalie had left to go hunting a few hours before, after RC noticed her golden eyes got darker and darker. The presence of a human just a few feet away couldn’t really help her thirst. Not that RC thought her aunt would drain someone dry because she was thirsty. No. Rosalie Hale had better self-control than that, but RC knew being hungry wasn’t a nice feeling.

Still, Rosalie refused to go. She was unwilling to leave RC behind in their house. Something deep inside her literally screamed that Rosalie didn’t want to leave Rory. RC’s heart warmed at that. After some persuasion, Rosalie left to hunt just outside the town.

“Did you really stay here the whole time I was asleep?”

RC smiled. She took a seat on the foot of the bed, trying to get as comfortable as she could. “Well, I did promise you.”

Rory hummed and slowly sat up, sitting cross-legged on the bed. When she managed to do so, her eyes squeezed shut, brows furrowed. Other than that, she looked relaxed, as though she didn’t spend the last ten hours passed out.

“How are you feeling? You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rory answered, groaning as she kept blinking rapidly. “I’m just getting used to the light, that’s all.”

“Oh, okay.” RC shifted in her seat, not sure on what to say. “Do you want something to eat? I think Maman just made something.”

Rory nodded before roughly pulling out the IV tube from her arm. She wasn’t even fazed, unlike RC who winced at the display. Rory got off from the bed slowly and they both left the room to the kitchen.

RC had a feeling even Rory wouldn’t have much trouble trying to find the kitchen when Esme was cooking. The smell just enveloped every square inch of the house.

“Damn.” Rory inhaled a deep breath. “I’m starting to believe that your mom really is a great cook,” Rory commented as they strolled down the hall.

Framed photos of her family decorated the space. Some of them were real, some photoshopped. The marvel of the advancement of technology, she always thought.

Looking at those photos, it was easy to imagine that they had a normal life. There was a close-up photo of her and Rosalie, for whatever reason, was bigger than the rest. Rosalie was holding one single purple lily that RC gave her sometime before that picture was taken. She was edited, of course, to make her actually looked like a thirteen years old teenager next to a ten years old looking RC. An ageless vampire and a three years old hybrid. The original photo was in Rosalie’s room, safe from prying eyes.

“Aw, look at that,” Rory cooed as she pointed to a photo of RC when she was a toddler. Well, not really, but she did look like one. “You’re cute since you’re little.”

It was an innocent comment that made RC blushed profoundly. She actually felt warmer. But it soon disappeared when she heard a grunt from somewhere in the house. She restrained herself to yell, though it was no doubt that her dad could hear her thoughts anyway.

Shaking her head, she led Rory towards away. She felt Rory’s warm hand slithered down her arm, before entwined with her fingers. When RC looked to the side, her friend’s gaze was still scouring through the walls of her house.

From all the time RC had spent with Rory, she noticed a few things. The most obvious ones were something Rory always did unconsciously. There were just some little habits that she did—one leg off the ground when she sat on a chair, twirl and play a lock of her hair when she had it down, or this. Her arm always looped through RC’s when they were close.

 In the kitchen, Esme was busy in front of the stove, which had several pans on top of it. The kitchen island was already set up with utensils for two. A jug of orange juice was already there.

“RC, Veronica, I hope you girls are hungry,” Esme said as she turned around to face the two. “I think I cooked too much.”

The smile in Rory’s face was so big and contagious that RC couldn’t help but to grin too. She didn’t know why it was surprising, because it was clear from the start that Rory had a thing with food. Any kind of them. So, hearing Esme said a lot of food definitely took Rory’s happy level through the roof.

“Is that coffee I smell?”

And of course, nothing could stand in the way between Rory and her coffee.

Esme chuckled a little as she pointed to the coffee maker on the counter. “One of the many things RC talked about you is your love of caffeine.”

Rory turned to face her, grinning even more widely. “You talked about me a lot, huh? Good things, I hope.”

RC covered her face in embarrassment. She let out a groan, making Rory and Esme shared a laugh.

“Go sit down, girls. The food is almost ready,” Esme said before directing her words to Rory. “And you, young lady, food first, coffee later. RC also told me about your habit of drinking coffee with an empty stomach.”

Rory opened her mouth, about to protest, but quickly shut it and hastily took a seat on the island stool. “Thank you, Mrs. Cullen, and I’d like to apologize about last night. I didn’t mean to make a poor first impression.”

Esme waved her hand. “Oh, honey, nonsense with Mrs. Cullen. It’s just Esme,” she said, before plating some eggs and roasted sweet potato, and putting them in front of the two girls. “Eat up while they’re still hot. Don’t worry about last night, Veronica, I’m glad you two were together. Who knows what could’ve happened if RC didn’t bring you here?”

Those sentences could have a double meaning, but before she could really process it, Rory’s words surprised her.

“Probably passed out drunk on the floor,” Rory stated as she stabbed a piece of potato forcefully. “Or woke up on the roof and fell down from that said roof, through a tree, and crashed into my friend’s car.”

The smile in Esme’s face was replaced by a frown. “This has happened to you before?”

“Err, I was, I—me in high school was basically a safety hazard.” Rory nodded and rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “I, uh, I got g-grounded, and Mama never let me stay in the house on my own after that.”

RC stared at her friend in disbelief. It was hard to imagine Rory was someone so wild and reckless. What she did in her high school year was a lot of things, but RC was sure legal was rarely it. The way Rory just nonchalantly talked about it made her think that there was something more to the story. Something that Rory hadn’t told her yet.

“Rory, you weren’t passed out drunk. You didn’t touch any alcohol last night, I was there. You were drugged, Rory, but someone. Don’t you remember?”

One of Rory’s legs started to shake and her brows knitted together. She tilted her head to one side in confusion.

“No, I don’t,” she admitted softly, almost embarrassed. “I can’t remember anything. I didn’t do anything stupid, did I?”

She wanted to say that something worse than stupid was about to happened. That Rory’s not so great friend was basically harassing her. Well, both of them, but it was Rory who got drugged first. And it was likely that the person who put something in her drink was also that guy who didn’t want them to leave.

Now, how did someone tell that kind of news to their friend?

“No, you did not, but I did end up dragging you out of there. I mean, literally. You are a lot heavier than you look.”

It wasn’t technically a lie, but not the whole truth either. Telling half a lie to her friend didn’t get any easier like she hoped. But what else could she do?

“Huh, yeah. It’s probably all the weightlifting I did.”

After the somewhat vague confirmation about what happened the night before, Rory put her entire focus on the food in front of her. The whole thing disappeared into her stomach in less than ten minutes. As promised, Esme poured a cup of coffee and slid it beside Rory’s plate, before grabbing a cream and a carton of milk.

Rory absolutely beamed. RC couldn’t remember the last time Rory let out a smile that big. Or the last time she looked carefree and actually like a kid. An eighteen years old, but still a kid. Esme didn’t mind at all, as she kept putting more food onto Rory’s plate. Although, she stopped giving her coffee after the third cup. Rory literally whined when Esme gave her a glass of orange juice instead.

“Enough with the coffee and slow down, honey. The food isn’t going anywhere but your belly,” Esme chuckled, wiping the corner of Rory’s mouth with a napkin.

Rory thinned her lips and her cheeks were getting red. She swallowed down her food quickly before saying, “Sorry, it’s been awhile since I had a real home cooked meal, you know?”

Esme’s expression fell after hearing that. “Oh, honey.”

“Didn’t you always bring out food that you make every time we study?”

“Dude, there’s only so much I can do with an air fryer,” Rory retorted back. “I’d love to eat out for every meal everyday but my Mama would have my head if I ended up in the hospital again. So, I try not to do that.”

“RC Cullen, you have your friend cooking for you?” Esme demanded, hands on her hips.

She froze in her seat. Her mouth went open and close but no words came out. “She, w-wait, she, hold on a minute, I didn’t—”

“It’s really no problem, Esme, I don’t mind sharing,” Rory said before turning to face her. “What’s mine is yours, dude. Don’t worry about it. Except my coffee, I’m not sharing those.”

“You have a problem, Rory.” RC shoved her playfully.

But it seemed like she didn’t take it as a joke. Rory bit her lower lip and said, “Yeah that I do. I’m working on it, I promise.”

Working on what now?

Before she got a chance to ask, she heard a rumble of a car engine. The front door opened a second after. She glanced at Rory warily, but the girl didn’t seem to hear anything out of the ordinary.

“So, this is the famous Veronica I’ve been hearing nonstop.”

Rory jumped in her seat and almost fell over. It looked like the leg she chose to fold on the seat didn’t give quite the balance, but the girl didn’t seem to care about that.

“Dude!” Rory exclaimed, still holding tightly to the edge of the kitchen island. “Give a girl a little warning, would you?”

Emmett laughed as he leaned on the wall of the entryway to the kitchen. Rosalie strolled past him, entering the room to give a kiss on Esme’s cheek.

“Morning Maman, Lily,” Rosalie greeted and received a chorus of ‘mornings’ from her family. She pulled out a glass from the cabinet, filling it with some orange juice. “Hello, Veronica.”

“Hey, Rosalie.”

“How are you feeling?”

Rory shrugged a little too nonchalantly. “Well, I don’t feel like I just fell 2,000 feet anymore, so that’s a good thing.”

Rosalie slightly arched an eyebrow, clearly not fully believing the answer she was given. She turned to RC, who shook her head subtly.

Not really.

“That’s good to hear,” Rosalie replied. “Your car is in the driveway and I put your clothes in there last night.” She reached for something in her pocket and put it on the table—Rory’s car key that RC couldn’t figure out how to operate.

When RC looked up, there was something in Rory’s expression as she played with the car key. She exchanged subtle glances with Esme and Rosalie, but she didn’t get any answer. 

“Thank you for this.” Rory vaguely gestured to her body and the room. “All of this. You really don’t have to—”

“You’re right, we don’t.” Rosalie’s words cut her off like a hot steel blade through a block of butter.

“Rose.” Esme warned her.

If looks could kill, Rosalie would at least be critical from the glaring daggers thrown by RC. She didn’t get it, truly. Just a few hours ago, Rosalie was literally pushing her to acknowledge the undeniable feelings she had for Rory. Sure, she was still speculating on the matter, but Rosalie was acting like her niece was about to propose to Rory, or something equally permanent.

“No, Esme, it’s all right. I kind of deserve it,” Rory said, agreeing. “I haven’t, uh, I haven’t been a good friend to RC lately.”

“That you have not.”

“Rosalie, come on,” RC pleaded, but Rosalie just raised an eyebrow in response.

“RC, your sister got a point. I have a bad coping mechanism, I know that and I am working on it. I promise, I really am. It’s just, it’s hard.” Rory’s voice was strained. “I think I need some professional help. Again.”

RC turned her head too fast to be normal for a human. She internally winced at that. “Again?”

“I did tell you I’ve been working on problems,” Rory answered, “but yeah, I’m sorry I haven’t been a good friend and for the trouble I have caused from my careless and irresponsible behavior last night. Also, the several weeks before that.”

“Hey, Rory.” RC grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly. “Stop beating yourself up. I’m not saying the things you did were okay, because they were not. It’s self-destructive, but you’re working on that, so… We’re fine, Rory, don’t worry.”

Rory gave her a grateful smile. For a second, RC forgot the rest of her family in the room. There were just the two of them. She left warm and fuzzy, the good kind. Like the first time she felt snow or the first time she tried to play the violin.

“O-kay.” Emmett clapped his hand. The sound it made was so loud, there was no way that their residence human friend would think nothing of it. “Since we got that out of the way, allow me for some introduction. Hi, I’m Emmett, the wonderful boyfriend of this wonderful woman right here.” Emmett stood behind Rosalie and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple. “And RC’s favorite person, of course.”

“No, you’re not,” RC denied.

“That’s true, because I am.” Rory smirked triumphantly. She took a sharp intake of breath and the smirk disappeared. “Anyway, I’m Veronica, but I guess you already know that.”

“Yeah, RC won’t shut up about you.”

A crumpled-up napkin flew, hitting Emmett straight in the face. It didn’t stop the laugh from coming out of him.

“She never shut up about you too.” Rory tilted her head to one side, brows furrowed. “On second thought, no actually. RC doesn’t really talk about you guys. I guess she wanted to keep me on edge when I finally met you. Under different circumstances of course. One that doesn’t involve me getting doped up.”

Esme and Rosalie had uneasiness written in their faces, although Rosalie was better at hiding it. RC threw a disapproving glare at her friend, but Rory didn’t notice. What was up with that girl and her off-timing of humor?

“You’re feeling okay now, Veronica?” Emmett asked.

“Rory,” she answered. “After everything you’ve done for me, I think you can call me Rory. And to answer your question, I do feel better, thank you. Although, I still can’t remember anything from last night.” Rory pinched the bridge of her nose before breaking out a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “But hey, at least I don’t forget how to drive, right? Otherwise, I’d have a problem getting back to campus.”

“Wait, you’re going back already? I thought you’re staying longer so we can play Mortal Kombat together.”

“Are you sure, honey?” Esme asked. “Dartmouth isn’t exactly a five minutes’ drive from here.”

“Yeah, sure. I don’t want to intrude on your family’s weekend. Besides, I need to do some check-ins with my Mama. Time difference and all that, you know.”

RC knitted her brows. She heard about these check-ins that Rory had to do and she was pretty sure that they were just phone calls. Nothing more.

“Where’s your mother now, Rory? Maybe you can call her from here?” Esme tried to persuade.

“Barcelona.” Rory nodded, her head movements restrained. “She travels a lot, takes me along when she can.”

Esme was still not convinced. In that moment, RC was sure none of her family actually believed that Rory was fine. The girl was covering it so well, but not well enough to fool them.

“RC, why don’t you take Rory to your room? Let her take a shower and lend her some clothes. I’ll clean up down here.”

Esme’s hands were already reaching from the empty plates in front of the two girls when Rory stopped her.

“Wait, no, I can help,” she offered. “It’s the least I can do.”

“Oh, nonsense. I don’t let guests do the cleaning in this house.”

“No, just her kids,” Emmett mumbled under his breath.

RC held her breath. Emmett couldn’t forget the cover story that the family had agreed on, could he? From the second floor, she heard her dad growled and complained. RC had to restrain herself to roll her eyes.

“And that earned you additional duty of washing Rory’s plates.” Esme had a way too sweet smile, pointing at the plates on the table.

Emmett grumbled and half-heartedly started to put away the plates and mugs into the sink. Rory lingered by her seat, watching the whole interaction with an amused smile.

“Rory, come on.” RC grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled her away from the kitchen. She heard Rory tried to say something to Esme, but the words got caught in her throat. All that came out was some awkward ‘thank you’ and ‘see you later’.

She wasted no time getting upstairs towards her room. She just hoped her dad would be nowhere to be seen. Or, at least, heard her thought about not wanting Rory to meet him. RC knew she shouldn’t expect much when she heard the piano.

In the upstairs lounge, she found Edward on the piano bench. Bella was on the couch near him, her eyes glued to the laptop on her lap. When he turned his head to meet RC’s eyes, she could see the disapproval in his.

Grow up, Edward. RC rolled her eyes.

His lips curled up in a snarl as he shot daggers at Rory behind her. The growl was low—to low for any human to hear—so RC hoped that her friend didn’t hear that. But, when she turned around, Rory was staring back at Edward. Her brows were raised and she had a slight smirk, but all the way tantalizing.

The staring contest between Edward and Rory kept going on for several seconds that felt like eternity. When Bella finally realized what was going on, she moved to the closet part of the couch to Edward and kicked the bench leg. The tension broke. RC placed herself in Rory’s sight line, purposely blocking her view of a scowling Edward.

“Hey, come on. My room’s this way.”

RC’s bedroom was the only one in the house that looked like an actual bedroom. A queen bed on one side, a desk in the other. Shelves filled with little trinkets and Pinterest-y setups. 

She moved to her closet and heard Rory’s light footsteps behind. “I think I have some clothes here that will hopefully fit you. Ah, there we go.” She threw some pants and sleeveless hoodie at Rory, who caught them without effort. 

“Thanks, dude.”

Rory didn’t turn around or wait for RC to leave the room before taking off her shirt. RC let out a choked gasp. A blush creeped up from her neck to her cheek as her gaze was frozen on Rory’s abdomen. She could see the fine abs lines on the skin. 

“Take a picture, dude, it’ll last longer,” Rory said, smirking, before pointing to the door. “Bathroom?”

“First door on your left.” The words came out more of a croak. Emmett’s laugh could be heard, loud in her ears that made her another deeper shade of red.

Rory disappeared in her sport bra. The smirk never left her face. RC didn’t move from her spot until she heard the bathroom door close. She groaned as she rubbed her face furiously. What the hell was that?

Emmett materialized in the doorway to her room, grinning like a maniac. “So, she’s nice. And gorgeous too.”

“What do you want, Emmett?”

“Nothing, I just want to talk to you about your friend.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “She seems fun. Are you planning to bring her over again sometime?”

RC shook her head. “I don’t know. She was throwing daggers with Edward earlier.”

“It’s Edward, are you really that surprised?” Emmett stepped into the room, sitting on the desk chair.

“It’s not Edward that I’m worried about,” she muttered. “Rory seemed to be enjoying it, Emmett. You weren’t there. It was almost like she knew. I’m starting to think that maybe I said something or at least slipped something up without even realizing it while I was with her.”

“Okay, now you’re just being paranoid,” Emmett said. “You’re doing great, RC, and your friend is fine. If you’re worried about Rose not liking her, please don’t, because she already does.”

She couldn’t help but give her uncle a look. Are you serious?

Emmett raised his hands up. “What? It’s true. Do you really think Rose would let some random college kid get into the back seat of her car?”

RC wanted to protest. At the same time, she could see Emmett’s point. Her talk with Rosalie earlier in the morning, and every talk before that told her that Rosalie never had that much of a problem with Rory. But then Rosalie actually met Rory, and she acted so guarded up and somewhat hostile. RC didn’t know what to make of it.

“I don’t know,” RC stated, uncertainty was displayed clearly on her face.

She was already grasping at straws with this whole being human thing—more human than her family managed to do and teach her—and then this came along? Feelings. For a human. And how her family reacted to it. Couldn’t she have a break?

The faint click of the bathroom lock reached her ears. Emmett didn’t make a move to leave. Instead, he just sat there, grinning like a maniac. 

“Oh, hey, Emmett.” Rory stood by the door. Her hair was wet and she already wore the clothes RC got for her. With the sleeveless hoodie, Rory’s arms were on full display. Those well-defined muscles of hers.

“You’re drooling.” Emmett’s mouth didn’t move as he whispered so lowly, making sure only RC could hear. And she heard that all right.

Exhaling a breath, RC got out of the room with her friend in tow. 

Edward was no longer behind the piano. The bench was hidden behind the couch but RC noticed the broken wood and splinters near it. 

Now, when did that happen?

When they both reached the living room, Esme was already there with a canvas bag. “Rory, these are for you.” Esme handed it over and RC peeked inside—a thermos and a food container. 

“Oh, thank you. I hope I didn’t give you guys too much trouble last night,” Rory said gratefully. 

“It’s quite alright, honey.” Esme wrapped her arms loosely around Rory. The girl stiffened a little, before hesitantly returning it. RC couldn’t see her face clearly. From the side, Rory looked… frazzled

“Now, are you sure you feel fine enough to drive?” Esme added after pulling away from the hug. Her hands were still on Rory’s shoulders. “It's going to be a long one. I don’t want something bad to happen on the way back.”

Rory nodded, her smile strained. “It’s all good, Esme.”

RC tilted her head, not sure if that was a concerning thing or not.

“Yeah, before I go.” Rory cleared her throat. “Did any of you see my shoes? And my phone?”

RC face-palmed and shook her head. How could she miss the most basic thing?

“They all are in Carlisle’s office,” Rosalie chimed in before she took a seat by the fireplace, a book in hand.

“I’ll go get them for you.” Esme disappeared before Rory could say anything.

Rosalie cleared her throat. When Rory looked up to meet her gaze, Rosalie pointed to the armchair in front of her. Hastily, Rory took a seat. RC sat down on the ottoman beside her friend.

“I’m going to ask you again, and please, don’t you dare lie to me, Veronica.”

Rory gulped down and nodded.

Satisfied, Rosalie continued. “How are you feeling, really?”

It took a second for Rory to answer. “I feel like hell. Mostly ‘cause I’m disappointed at myself.” Rory let out a shaky breath and her voice lowered. “Some of those people were just a friend of a friend. A few days back some of them talked about planning to spike the party.”

RC furrowed her brows. “Spike, how? There was already alcohol in there.”

“They meant party drugs, RC,” Rory answered. “Meth, ecstasy, rohypnol.”

“Rohypnol?”

“Roofies, or date-rape drugs,” Rory added. “I know what they do. Their immediate effects on your body, the risks on your health and psychology and I still wanted to go. I thought it’d be fine, you know, then you showed up looking gorgeous and I pulled you right into the dark side of my world.”

RC almost missed the slight curl in the corner of Rosalie’s mouth when Rory said ‘gorgeous’. She soon covered it up by pressing her lips together. A storm of emotions were swirling around in Rosalie’s face, threatening to break out.

“You are reckless, Veronica. You know that, don’t you? With the drugs? And the horrible things that could happen—” Rosalie’s voice was laced with venom. A growl slipped through her teeth.

RC moved to sit in the arm of the chair beside her aunt in an instant. She reached out to take Rosalie’s hand. 

Rory furrowed and sat up straight. Realization dawned on her. “Oh. I, uh, I’m—”

Rosalie closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. “Listen. You’re a smart kid, but your carelessness can be your downfall, especially when you roped my sister into it.”

“I’m sorry,” Rory whispered, looking down.

“I know you are. My sister cares a lot about you, do you realize that? She tries her best to help you out and keep you safe. It kills her when you don’t take care of yourself. And when she’s upset, it kills me. So, please, be smarter, Rory.” 

Esme came in right after that. No doubt she heard the whole conversation.

Rory left her boots loosely tied and they walked her out to the driveway. The red Mazda was there, where Rosalie left it the night before.

Esme looked like she wanted to say something to make Rory stay a little while longer. “Drive safely, Rory,” she said, slightly reluctant.

“Oh, she’s not driving.” Rosalie walked past them, snatching the key from Rory’s hand and settled in the driver seat.

“I’m not getting out of this, am I?”

“No,” Rosalie replied. “Get in.”

Rory said goodbye quickly and got into the passenger seat. Rosalie punched the gas a half second after Rory shut the door closed, earning a yell from the girl.

“Holy Had—do you have a death wish?!”

RC and Esme stood by while Rory’s car got smaller and smaller, her yelps disappeared with the wind. Emmett suddenly appeared in front of them, looking at the direction his wife went to.

“See, RC? She likes her.”

Yeah, RC was just convinced. []

Chapter Text

It could be frustrating when someone you cared so deeply, couldn’t see themselves the way you do. It also, oh so frustrating, when they dismissed their feelings. She could be a hypocrite herself, but at least she acknowledged them in the first place. Rory? Not so much.

Over the course of that weekend, the Cullens’ house was filled with mixed feelings. RC was worried about her friend who liked to brush off a trauma as if they weren’t crushing her under its weight. Esme kept thinking about how no one could take care of Rory as she recovered. Rosalie wasn’t sure to encourage RC to chase her feelings for Rory or to hold her back. Bella didn’t want RC to be friends with Rory as long as the human friend kept engaging with shady people. Edward straight up wanted to kill her. Jasper and Alice returned to their own house on Saturday evening. He tried not to show it, but it was clear that the tsunami of emotions was getting to him. 

With everyone being so contradictory with each other and Rory barely talking to her, RC wanted to scream. Emmett was nice enough to let RC use him as a punching bag. Those grievances and irritations needed channeling. Punching a marble-hard vampire would do it absolutely. And it was nice, fighting a punching bag that actually fought back.

When Monday rolled around, RC felt like Rory was avoiding her. Other than a few ‘hello’s and ‘how are you’s, Rory didn’t really talk to her. Bella was somewhat delighted by that. 

She just wanted to talk. Not necessarily for the sake of figuring out her feelings, but for Rory’s. Her friend had a bad habit of brushing off her pain and trauma instead of actually dealing with them. It was getting concerning.

So, RC watched from afar.

She watched as Rory avoided her usual mass of friends, only sticking with one or two. Most of the time, she was alone. RC noticed how Rory kept going out for coffee. Was she eating something with all that caffeine? 

A part of her wanted to just walk over to Rory’s dorm. To confess her feelings and screw with Edward’s disapproval. She was scared of what happened after. Did she tell Rory about her family’s secret? How would she react to that? Did she continue to keep it a secret? Would Rory return her feelings?

It was supposed to be complicated, but not by much, right? Oh, how wrong she could be.

"Hey, Ness."

She froze by the opened door. In front of her, stood a man she hoped she wouldn't have to see in several more days.

"Jacob."

Jacob smiled widely as he stepped inside her dorm and gave a hug. His large arms didn't bring a certain feeling like they used to anymore. In fact, his towering built over her was getting a little unnerving. 

“What? Aren’t you happy to see me?” he asked after pulling away.

RC’s eyes widened as she shook her head. “No, no it’s not that. I just, I, I thought you’re not coming until Friday?”

“I couldn’t wait to see you, Ness,” Jacob replied. “Are you free today?”

She lifted the strap of her bag. “I have school, Jacob. My class schedule isn’t empty until Friday.” 

“Not even after your class? I’d love to catch up.”

“My classes ended at six today. Bella’s off around one.”

“I can do—”

“Hey, RC?”

RC exhaled a breath in relief, even though she wasn’t expecting to hear from her anytime soon. Jacob frowned and he turned around. Just outside her door, Rory was waiting, full lopsided grin and all that.

“Rory, hi.”

“Err, you ready to go?” Rory pointed to the end of the hallway with her thumb. “We have to leave now so we can make it to the administration office before class starts.”

RC tilted her head in confusion. She was pretty sure that she didn’t make any plan with Rory to go anywhere. How could she, when Rory was always eager to leave every time they crossed paths with each other?

“What administration office?” Jacob turned his back on the opened door to face her. His brows furrowed.

Before she could answer, Rory chimed in, “To pick up our new replacement quiz. For Friday evening. To make up the cancelled English class last week?”

“Oh, right. Miss Haynes. I forgot about that.” 

Actually, she didn’t. Because Miss Haynes never cancelled any class since the school year started. Rory was up to something and RC had no problem following her lead.

“I better get going,” she said to Jacob, hoping that her words were enough to send him away. 

Jacob nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you later, Ness.”

“RC,” she corrected, but Jacob didn’t seem to be listening. He gave a tight smile to Rory and left quickly. 

With Jacob gone, the nagging feeling inside her chest disappeared too. She still wasn’t sure what that was all about. How it started and why it bothered her so much. But RC couldn’t think about it further when Rory was standing in front of her. 

Her friend was still looking at the direction Jacob disappeared to after RC was sure that Jacob was no longer in the vicinity. She took the moment to fully look at her. Nothing much had changed, but RC noticed something different about her. Something she couldn’t wrap her head around. 

“Thank you, for that,” RC said, breaking the silence.

“No problem.” Rory tossed her hair to the side, her grin faded from the face. “I was coming here and I heard him. It felt, I don’t know, you sounded uneasy, so I thought I’d make him go away.”

The statement made the gears in her head turn. Were she and Jacob really talking that loud? Or at least, loud enough to attract Rory’s attention and got her in front of her dorm, days after they weren’t ‘not talking’. 

RC had no idea how long she needed to wait to have Rory willingly be around her. So, she did the one thing she could. “Do you want to walk me?”

“Of course,” she said with a smile.

Okay, so, RC did not expect her friend to agree. Rory jumped on the balls of her feet as RC locked the door behind her. 

They walked side by side. It didn’t miss her that Rory was still putting a little distance. Her friend looked… conflicted for the lack of better words. It wasn’t until they got outside the building that Rory slid closer, her arms looped through RC’s like usual. 

RC tried to hide her smile.

“I’m sorry it took a while for me to actually talk to you.” Misty cloud came out of Rory’s mouth as she spoke. “What Rosalie said, back in your house, she had a point. Not gonna lie, it felt like she poured salt on my wounds, but she was right. And I think I needed that. I’m used to having people around me who help me steer myself to the right direction. Then, I moved here and suddenly I’m on my own.”

“You have a hard time adjusting,” RC concluded. 

“It’s a poor excuse, I know.”

“No, it’s not. It’s…” RC took a breath. “It’s human.”

Rory just nodded as they continued walking across campus. 

Human.

Maybe that was it. To be human. To adjust and to adapt to the situations and problems thrown your way. To let yourself make mistakes but not let them define you, but to make them a lesson. 

Rory kept apologizing since last Friday. Could it be a sign that she was learning? Like RC herself. Learning for a different purpose, of course, but learning nonetheless. They both had a little growing up to do, that much was obvious. 

“Besides,” Rory continued, “your sister can be scary when she wants to be.”

“What, Bella?”

“N-no, Rosalie. She looks like, like the type of person you don’t want to be yo-your enemy. So, when she asked, w-why bother lying?” Rory added, her teeth chattered slightly.

Hanover never really had a lot of sun. The days were getting darker and colder nearing the end of the year. While RC had no problem with the weather, Rory did, apparently. She kept pressing closer to RC, her body shook slightly. 

“Okay, let’s get you out of the cold.” RC threw her arm around her friend’s shoulder, hoping her higher body temperature could reach more of Rory’s body. Also, the heeled boots that her aunt Alice forced her to wear really helped with the height difference. 

Once they entered their class building, RC didn’t move her arm. Rory didn’t seem to mind as she held RC’s hand over her shoulder as they walked. 

“Listen, I can’t promise that I have time to talk more now that Jacob’s here.”

“Jacob?” Rory tilted her head. “The guy from earlier?”

RC nodded. “We have a long, complicated history. Me, my family, him. If you ask me, I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“Yeah, I can tell. But, if you don’t mind, I can pick you up after class. Have lunch? And coffee,” Rory chuckled nervously. “Or whatever you want. I just want a chance I guess. To make up for, well, everything.” 

“Lunch sounds great,” she said.

A smile creeped up Rory’s face. “Alright. Uh, still 12:30?” she asked, pointing to the lecture hall behind them. 

“You remembered.”

“I try.” Rory shrugged, stepping back. “I’ll see you later?”

“See you,” she said, smiling a little.

The smile disappeared as she stepped into the room. Careful not to trip to her seat, RC pulled out her phone and texted Bella. 

jacob’s on campus. did he tell u?

RC sat down in the back, still clutching her phone. She stared at the screen as if intensely looking at it would make her mother reply faster. The notification panel slid down, followed by a ping. 

No. I’ll keep him company. Don’t skip class.

She rolled her eyes as she read the response. 

its not really fair that u get to skip and i dont, btw ask what he wants pls? and be discreet istg

She didn’t bother waiting for a text back before putting away her phone. It wasn’t that she didn’t want Jacob around, but the guy really showed up at a bad time. And if he was around, he’d definitely wanted to talk about something that she really had no interest in talking. The last time they tried to have that talk, it didn’t end so great. So, yeah, RC was not eager. 

But at least Rory was starting to open up again. Even though RC knew that there was a slim chance that things would go back to the way it used to. Maybe it was for the better. A change could be a good thing for both of them. 

Her Ethics class started the second her professor came in and immediately wrote something on the board. With her notes in front of her, RC’s thoughts went elsewhere. She kept her head down, pretending to write something. And just like that her class ended.

As promised, Rory was leaning on the opposite wall when RC stepped out of the lecture room. She had her head down to her phone, but after RC took a step closer, Rory looked up. The corner of her lips curled up. Rory hastily shoved the phone into her pocket, standing in front of her friend. 

“Coffee first, but don’t tell Maman about this? I swear she practically adopted you right then and there. She’s going to kill me if she finds out what I’m going to do.”

Rory laughed, the kind that was loud and loose, always brought her eyes clenched shut. RC pulled her into the nearest coffee shop from their building. Not really ‘the best’, according to Rory, but with her body almost freezing, RC would take her complaints happily.

“One latte and one hot cocoa, please,” RC said, placing their orders. She glanced at the glass display case. “Uh, and two ham and cheese croissants and also a macaron. Thank you.” She finished off with a smile.

She pulled out a twenty dollar bill and shoved the change to the tip jar. From the corner of her eyes, Rory’s gaze burned through her. 

“You remember,” she said.

“I try.” RC smiled.

With their drinks and croissants, they settled in a booth in one corner. Rory was already gulping down her coffee a second after she sat down. 

Once she put down the mug, Rory said, “Ask me something? I don’t know where to start.”

RC hummed. She racked her brain, trying to find something that wouldn’t be so hard for her friend to answer. She was about to open up, RC didn’t want to send her heading for the hills. “Tell me about you before Dartmouth.” 

A smile creeped up Rory’s face. In that half an hour, RC Cullen learned a lot about her friend than the few months they knew each other.

She learned that Rory had lived in six different countries by the time she was 7, because her mom had to travel a lot. That she moved to Brooklyn after her sister died and had been living there since. Rory had a large family, some of them lived in New York and the rest scattered around the globe. 

That was why Rory felt so lost when she moved to Dartmouth. She used to have people around her who truly knew her. Being away from them was excruciating and when her uncle passed, she didn’t know how to deal with it.

“You have me, now,” RC said reassuringly, making a hint of blush appeared in Rory’s cheeks. Her friend tried to cover it up with a grin and mostly failed. “And you’ve seen Maman. She likes you. In her eyes she already considers you her daughter. If you call her asking for some food, she’ll probably…”

A scent reached her nose and made her trailed off. The smile on Rory’s face disappeared too and her brows knitted together. Her eyes darted to somewhere near the front door.

RC closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I thought you had class, Ness.”

RC hissed lowly at the name. Rory looked exasperated and RC couldn’t blame her. His footsteps were heavy and loud, stopped right beside their table. 

“I’m on break, Jacob,” RC said, a matter-of-factly. “I think you guys haven't been properly introduced. Jacob, this is my friend, Rory. Rory, this is Jacob.”

“Hey.” Rory held out a hand to Jacob with half a smile. “But, it’s Veronica to you.”

Jacob’s expression was hard, but he took Rory’s hand and shook it. A little too hard, because no matter how hard Rory tried to cover it, the wince was there. “Hey. Do you mind? I need to talk to Ness.”

“Jacob, can’t we do this later? Go find Bella, she’ll take you back to the house.”

“We can, but I prefer we do this now.”

RC had to bite her tongue to stop the growl that was threatening to slip past her mouth. “Jacob, not here. Please.”

“Nessie—”

“Dude, she said she doesn’t want to do this here,” Rory said, cutting him off. “Maybe, I don’t know, listen to her?”

“This doesn’t concern you, Veronica.”

Eyes of the other patrons were starting to fall on the three of them. Things were escalating way too fast and she had to bring it down. Otherwise, it would bring so much trouble for her family. Trouble that RC wasn’t so keen on fixing. 

“Jacob, outside.” RC stood up and grabbed Jacob’s arm. He didn’t budge. His eyes trained on Rory. 

From her seat, Rory raised an eyebrow at Jacob, unimpressed. She just kept staring at him. The whole situation felt like the staring match between Rory and Edward a few days before. 

Rory didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to, because her eyes said it all. 

Jacob broke the contact first, his chest heaving. RC grabbed his arm again and dragged him out of the coffee shop. She didn’t let go until she knew that they were far enough away. 

“What were you thinking?!” she yelled, hoping that the building they’re hiding behind was really empty. 

“You lied, Ness.”

“It’s RC, Jacob. I thought we covered that.” She exhaled a tired breath. “And I didn’t lie. I do have class until six.”

“You can spare a little time for your friend but now for me? You’re my imprint.”

“That doesn’t mean my life revolves around you, Jacob!” RC threw her hands up in frustration. “Can you just listen to me? I can’t just drop everything for you. I have a life outside of you.”

“I dropped everything for you.”

RC scoffed. “You shouldn’t. Jacob, you’re asking me what I can’t give to you.”

“And why is that? Ness, it’s our destiny. It’s profound. You feel that. I know you do.”

Jacob took a step closer to her. She instinctively took one step away. What would it have to take for him to sit down and actually listen? That the imprint bond they had was just that. 

He towered over her. His chest shook, in anger and exasperation. At that moment RC was afraid that he’d phase. 

“Ness, please.” Jacob’s hands held on her shoulders, shaking her as he talked. “Let’s just come back to your house. Talk this out. Come on.”

“Jacob, let go.” Her voice strained in exertion. “Jake—”

Jacob’s grip on her disappeared and she fell back. RC heard his body hit the ground hard. She heard a punch, some bone cracking, and a scream. A scream that was too high to be Jacob’s.

“Holy fucking shit!”

Rory was on her knees, bent over, cradling her hand to her chest. Her face shot up after Jacob started to get back up. She kept her right hand on her chest and her left planted on the ground beside her. Rory swung her leg over Jacob’s, knocking him off his feet. 

“Shit, dude, you really don’t know how to take no for an answer, do you?” Rory said between her breath. She groaned as she stood up. “Damn, what are you made out of? Rocks? Holy Mother of Hera, ugh.”

RC shook her head. Rory’s groans of pain tethered her back to reality. She moved to her friend’s side, helping her stand up. 

“Jacob, just go. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.”

She led Rory away from Jacob, not caring about how he was. Rory had to be away from him first. 

None of them talked as they walked. Rory’s injured hand pressed tightly against her, but the pain was long gone from her face. It was almost like she was used to it, like how she could rip off her IV without flinching with pain. 

“We should get you to a doctor,” RC suggested. 

While she lived with two medical doctors her whole life, RC had zero clue about first aid. Why would she? Until Dartmouth, her family never really participate in the mundane, human lives around them, aside from work and school. So, there was no need for her to actually do that, because only humans got hurt so easily. 

“No, it’s fine. It’s probably just sprained. I just need to ice it and not to move it.”

RC gave her friend a disapproving glare. “Rory.”

“I’m serious. I just need to get some ice and rest it. If it’s not better in the morning, you can take me to see a doctor,” Rory promised. “I swear to gods, RC, it’s not that big of a deal.”

She pulled both of them to a stop. She had this fervent feeling of need to look at Rory. There was no pain displayed in her eyes, her face. Her brows were furrowed, but not from the ache, that much was clear. Rory’s heartbeat was as steady as it could be. No ragged breath. No sweating. Other than the throbbing hand that RC could hear, nothing was really bothering her friend.

“Okay, fine,” RC said, still unconvinced. 

Once they got back into their dormitory building, they—more like RC—raided the communal kitchen for some ice. Rory found a cooler, no doubt intended for some drinks for some party the other students were so fond of throwing. RC knew for sure the cooler weighed quite a bit for a human, even when it’s empty. Rory though, she had no problem picking it up with one hand.

Must be all the weightlifting. 

RC put all the ice she could find inside the cooler and both of them went up to Rory’s room. Thankfully, it was empty. From the massive schedule plastered on one wall, Laurel wouldn’t be back until later in the day. 

“Why do you have to have the top bunk?” 

“It was a good idea at the time,” Rory replied, chuckling softly. “Laurel wouldn’t mind us switching for a while.” 

RC helped her take off her shoes and heavy coats, place them gently over the back of the seat. The pants came off next and RC had to fight off the blush that started to creep up her neck. Luckily, Rory didn’t notice and she quickly made herself comfortable under the blankets.

“I’ll be fine, RC, just go. Don’t you have class?”

She stared at Rory skeptically. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ll call you if something’s wrong.”

RC reluctantly left the room shortly after. Instead of heading to her class, which was about to start in any minute, she lingered in the hallway. She pulled out her phone and opened her contact. 

There was barely half a second before she heard an answer. “Hello?”

“Rose? How soon can you get here?”

“Why? What’s wrong?” RC could hear the worry in her aunt’s voice. “Lily?”

“Jacob’s here,” she said, “and Rory, kinda, err, punch him.”

She heard a rushing in the background and Rosalie’s RS7 roared. “Are you still at school?”

“Yeah. Are we meeting in Brook?”

“Wait in the lot, okay?”

“Okay.”

She disconnected the call and looked around, finding a spot. When she knew no one would see, RC ran.

It took a normal, and sane, human being about half an hour to walk to Mink Brook Nature Reserve and about the same amount of time to drive from the Cullens’ house to the same place. For RC, it took about 15 minutes of running—not at superspeed, because that would be suspicious—and 15 minutes of superfast driving from her aunt.

Rosalie was leaning against her car when RC jogged over. They weren’t exactly dressed for hiking and the weather wasn’t really suitable for it, but they went to the trails instead. When Rosalie was sure they were deep enough, they ran.

The wind hitting her face was a constant she needed. The crunching of the leaves and dirt under her shoes, the rustling from the trees above hid her true nature from the world. 

RC wasn’t the fastest, but she trailed behind Rosalie with no problem. They ended up in the tree, the tallest branches, overlooking the forest. The wind was loud in her ears, but that wasn’t the only thing that was screaming at her. Rosalie sat patiently, staring at the view in front of them.

“Jacob started to talk about the imprinting, how it’s changing both of our lives,” RC started. “He didn’t say it specifically, but it was implied. That we, you know, could.”

“He did something, didn’t he?” Rosalie prompted. “That’s why he left early last time.”

RC gritted her teeth and her eyes started to burn. “It was clear that both of us were getting frustrated. Him, because his words didn’t mean much anymore, and me, because he wouldn’t listen. And he tried to kiss me.”

A growl came deep from Rosalie’s chest. Her lips pulled back in a snarl, gold eyes burned ablaze. “He. Did. What?”

RC gulped down hard before continuing, “This morning, Jacob showed up in my dorm, asking me to spend time with him. He wouldn’t go away until Rory came. He showed up again, like half an hour ago. Rory punched him, I think she broke her hand.” 

When RC turned her head, Rosalie had her eyes closed. Both her hands were clenched in a tight fist. “That hot-headed, thick-skulled wolf,” Rosalie said in a low growl, along with some other curses that RC wouldn’t dare say. 

“Rose, I don’t know how to tell him that I can’t give him what he wants.”

Not now, not ever. But that phrase remained unsaid. 

Jacob was fun to be around when she was little. He was just there. When RC wasn’t with Bella or Rosalie or any other family member, Jacob was there. In fact, she was pretty sure that Jacob was around more than her own father. Jacob literally watched her grow up, in a much shorter time than a typical human, but grew up nonetheless. 

So, it was weird, that several years later, he wanted to have more. 

RC didn’t care about how ‘it was just supposed to be’ with the imprint bond. It was weird and creepy, and she didn’t want it. If imprinting was anything that the imprint wanted it to be, why couldn’t Jacob just listen and accept that they couldn’t be anything more than that. A best friend and a brother to her.

He should learn that soon before he becomes less than a best friend to me.

She stayed on the top of the tree for another hour before Rosalie’s phone rang. Rosalie didn’t answer it, she just stared at the screen after hitting the volume down button. 

“Alice?” RC asked.

“Jacob’s probably in the house,” Rosalie replied, pocketing her phone. “We should go, Little Lily.” 

The drive back up to their house was filled with silence, like it usually did when it was just her and Rosalie. But something else was wreaking havoc in RC’s mind. If Jacob and Bella were back already, and Alice kept calling Rosalie, it could only mean one thing. Another family meeting. One she always dreaded. 

RC could hear the stillness before the car even entered the long driveway. Her stomach twisted and she felt like something was creeping up her throat. She jumped slightly when something cold touched her skin. 

Behind the wheel, Rosalie gave her an encouraging smile. Her eyes said it all. You can do this.

Everybody was already in the living room when RC entered the house. Sitting still and frozen, except for Jacob. 

“You need to put me in front of an audience so I’d be coerced to agree with you?” RC scoffed. “Bravo, Jacob. Some toxic masculinity you got there.”

Jacob grunted. “They need to know.”

“That I don’t want to be with you like that.”

“Renesmee, Jacob imprinted on you,” Edward stated. 

“A shapeshifter will be anything the imprint needs him to be,” RC fired back. “I don’t need him to be my boyfriend.”

Edward growled and dashed to stand in front of her. “Jacob was always there for you. Protected you. Care for you. Now, who is going to love you more than he will?”

Rory.

“I don’t need protecting. I can do that on my own just fine.”

Jacob let out a snigger. A low sinister laugh. “It’s about that girl, isn’t it? Need I remind you that she attacked me?”

“Rory punched your face because you wouldn’t keep your hands off of me!” RC yelled in frustration, earning some surprised gasps and snarls from the room. “You wouldn’t listen. You didn’t respect my choices. You tried to kiss me without my consent, Jacob. From where I’m standing, you deserved that punch and so much worse.” 

She didn’t mean to let that out. She was supposed to tell that privately to her family. Bella and Rose first, then the rest followed. There was something about the atmosphere that Jacob brought to the house that made RC just want to snap.

“You did what to my daughter?” Bella’s voice was deadly sharp, laced in venom. RC jumped slightly at that. She never heard her mom use that kind of voice, not even once. Rosalie told her about how furious Bella was after finding out about the imprinting. Seeing her mom’s reaction just then, this was so much worse.

The expression in Jacob’s face changed instantly, but still he had the audacity to justify what he had done. “It’s not like that, Bella. You know that. Renesmee is just confused about her feelings and I can help her if she just opens her eyes and sees.”

“She sees alright, Jacob, because she knows what you did is a violation to her rights.” Bella was standing in front of Jacob, hitting him in the chest with every word that came out of her mouth.

RC wanted to scream, to drill the words right into Jacob’s thick skull. Most definitely Edward’s too. She just felt enraged inside. She took a deep breath, hoping to calm down so she could gather her mind. The calm came too soon for her liking. RC had to be level-headed, so she embraced it. 

She sat on one of the couches, her head in her hands. Breathed in, breathed out. The arguing and the yelling faded into the background. From one intense ringing to a faint rumble. 

“Shut up, all of you,” she said. 

RC opened her eyes to see her mom, Edward and Jacob an inch away from each other, fuming. Emmett was ready to yank Jacob and Edward away. Jasper not far behind him with Carlisle. Alice stood by Esme in the farthest seat. Rosalie was leaning on the wall behind them, looking ready to burn down the house if that meant Jacob would be going down with it.

“Jacob, you’re walking on thin ice here,” RC reminded him. 

“Renesmee, listen to yourself,” Edward said. “You can’t deny it. You are Jacob’s. Your destiny entwined with his.”

“RC is not some property that someone can own, Edward,” Rosalie remarked. She sounded so drained, like she had this conversation time and again. Knowing Edward, maybe she had. 

“I have read some legends from your tribe, Jacob,” Carlisle put forth. “You may have to correct me if I’m mistaken, but imprints can turn down the imprinting bond.”

“It’s highly unlikely,” Jacob spit back.

“Jacob, I’m not rejecting it. I just don’t see you as a soulmate. I don’t have romantic feelings for you. The sooner you can accept that, the higher chance you get to stay in my life.” RC stood up and tried to ignore the stares she got from her family and Jacob. “I’m done, Jacob. I’m done and I’m tired. Come find me after you grow a brain.”

RC ignored all the calls and pleas from the house. The sky was still bright, as bright as it could be in Hanover. She could make it back to campus, went to class. Maybe she could try to put the catastrophe that just happened in the back of her mind. 

There was some other screaming from inside the house. Bella and Edward were fighting, Jacob chiming in. Even with Jasper in there, RC didn’t think that the fight would end in a compromise anytime soon.

Emmett dashed to Rosalie’s car and opened the passenger door. He turned to RC and bowed like a royal chauffeur. “My Lady.”

RC stared at him in bewilderment. “Rose lets you drive?”

“He wished.” Rosalie appeared at her side, one arm around RC’s shoulder. She kissed her temple before saying, “Let’s go for a ride.”

The three of them drove around aimlessly for hours. The sun already disappeared, the sky blackened. Rosalie set the radio to a pop station, even though pop music wasn’t really her thing. RC appreciated that. 

“RC, I have to ask. How long had Jacob been like this?” Emmett moved in the back seat so his head popped in between the two seats in the front. 

“A while.” 

Rosalie’s grip around the steering wheel tightened and a growl came out deep from her chest. She slammed into the gas pedal, pushing one-twenty, one-forty. Everything they passed blurred in an instant, like a movie in fast forward. RC remembered the first time she got into a car with Rosalie. It was exhilarating and frightening at the same time. 

As she grew up, the drives were no longer frightening—just exciting. 

“I need to beat some senses into that wolf,” Rosalie commented, her eyes closed. It should make anyone nervous, having someone drive the car with their eyes close, but RC trusted her aunt. 

“Please, don’t kill him,” RC said. “That’s just asking for war and I don’t want that. I just want Jacob to stop expecting things I can’t give him.”

“And you want Rory.”

RC hit Emmett in the head half a second after that sentence left his mouth. Emmett laughed hard as he fell back to the seat. 

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Sure, you can,” Emmett said. “You’re not in any romantic relationship with Jacob. That’s not cheating. Besides, I’ve seen the two of you together, RC.”

“She’s human, Emmett. You remember the last time that happened. Rose and Jasper were deadass planning to kill my mom.”

Rosalie cleared her throat. “Some major changes are needed if you choose her, Little Lily.”

“We can make changes,” Emmett replied nonchalantly. “The thing they were talking about, the destiny stuff. Maybe yours is in her, RC, you never know.”

RC just hummed in response. Destiny. What even was that? She wasn’t sure anymore. []

Chapter Text

She was never one to run, normally. Took a step back to think? Sure, but never run. Jacob Black made her break that streak.

While Jacob stayed in the house, catching up with Bella, RC took sanctuary in her dorm room. She helped Rory get a doctor to check up on her hand. If she was being honest, RC was rather nervous. Doctors tended to ask what happened and they called the police or social workers. Those kinds of situations rarely align with her favor. 

“I punched a guy who was harassing this girl. I’ve seen her a few times around my building, but I don’t know her,” Rory answered the doctor without missing a beat. He had just fixed the dislocated bones and put a splint over her wrist, leaving her bruised knuckles visible. 

RC would say Rory’s lie wasn’t all that surprising, but then, she would be the liar. RC didn’t ask her to cover up what happened. They didn’t even talk about what to say when someone asked, but Rory covered for her. Voluntarily. She did that effortlessly too. It made RC think if her friend had thought about making some elaborate lie or she just came up with it on the spot. 

The next few days she spent away from her house, and with that, away from Jacob. RC was attached to Rory’s side. With her right hand in recovery, Rory would need a lot of help, wouldn’t she? Apparently, not really.

Within the next few hours after leaving the hospital, RC found out that Rory could manage just fine. Couldn’t drive? Called an Uber. Couldn’t type her papers? Used speech-to-text feature. Couldn’t write? It turned out, Rory was ambidextrous. 

“All the magic of the 21^st century, baby,” Rory said with a wide smile as RC tried to cover the fact that she might like it when Rory called her with pet names or something. 

For someone who had a problem settling into a college life, Rory was doing a pretty good job at it. But still, RC made it an excuse to stay with her friend longer. 

Rory didn’t know about RC and everything that came with her family. She didn’t know about how vampires didn’t burn under the sunlight or how shape shifters’ bodies were almost rock solid. She didn’t know that Jacob couldn’t physically hurt RC, but she still punched him and almost broke her arm because of it. All of that just because she knew that Jacob was bothering her friend. 

Sometimes, RC thought that Rory was too good for the world. All the people she had lost, all the trials and tribulation she went through. RC knew there were so many more things that Rory hadn’t told her yet. She didn’t have to, because it was written in her eyes, in how she carried herself. Rory deserved the world and so much more. And that scared RC to death.

When Friday rolled around, RC wasn’t sure if she wanted to go home. She missed her family, but she didn’t want to see Jacob anytime soon. And she still didn’t want to leave Rory on her own. Sure, the girl had Laurel but still. 

“You can’t run away forever, you know?”

RC let out a chuckle, stirring her tea. “I’m not running.”

“Uh-huh,” Rory replied, one of her brows was arched. “It’s 2 PM on a Friday. Bella is nowhere to be found and you’re not telling me about your weekend plans with your sisters. Instead, you’re here with me, in a coffee shop you don’t really like because it’s far from our dorm. You’re running, RC. Is it about the Jacob thing?”

Yes, she told Rory about Jacob. No, she didn’t tell everything about him. Just that he was a family friend, they grew up together and Jacob confessed his feelings for RC. That complicated a lot of things, especially when the guy was staying over at her family’s house.

“I told him the other day that I’m not interested. He had a hard time processing that.” RC shrugged as she tilted her head. “His problem.”

Rory hummed before she took a sip of her coffee, her eyes stared right into RC’s. “Not interested? In dating or just him?”

“Just him.”

She didn’t miss how the corner of Rory’s mouth curled up a little. Her gaze went down as her smile got bigger. “Damn, poor guy. Now I feel like I should’ve punched him more.”

“And you would get more injuries.”

“Nah. It’s worth it,” Rory said as she waved around her right hand. 

The words would melt her heart if that was even possible. RC had to fight the blush from creeping up her cheeks. From how warmer she was getting, she was pretty sure she did a terrible job. 

Rory reached across the table to RC’s hand around her cup. The gesture managed to bring RC’s attention back to her friend. Rory pointed to her splint and said, “This is not the worst, you know?”

“I still don’t buy that you have a high pain tolerance.”

Rory threw her an ‘are you serious’ look. “Tell you what. We’re going to your house tonight. You’ll settle any loose end with Jacob and while we’re there and if your dad isn’t busy, you can have him to check up on my hand.”

She wasn’t playing fair and she knew it. Since Rory learned that RC always went back home on Fridays, Rory never made any plans for the two of them that required RC to remain on campus all weekend. RC even tried to invite Rory to her house over the weekend, but no success came out from that.

“You’ve seen me five days of the week, RC. Go home and spend some time with your family while you still can.” Those words echoed in her head days after Rory said it.

RC huffed before leaning back into her seat. Rory had the audacity to look so innocent. She had a fist under her chin, with a smile so enchanting. Her right hand was on the table with her middle finger tapping away.

“You suck,” RC said, narrowing her eyes.

“You like me.”

I do.

RC groaned and put her head on the table while Rory laughed at her antics, thinking that she had won. Well, it was safe to say it wasn’t the end until it was over.

She wasn’t sure what happened, or how she did it, but she and Rory ended up staying on campus that night. More like, Rory was sleeping over at the room one floor down from her own. 

Yeah, RC wasn’t sure how they got there.

By 11 PM, Rory was already fast asleep on the tiny bed. Her back was facing the wall and her head leaned slightly on RC’s right shoulder. She could feel Rory’s slow, steady breathing on her arm. The laptop was on RC’s stomach, playing their second Disney classic of the night. 

Rory had a point. RC knew she couldn’t avoid the problem at hand forever. Eventually, she had to clear things up with Jacob for the millionth time. What would it have to take for that boy to realize that they couldn’t be something more than friends? Siblings at most. 

When RC was told about the imprinting, she had no problem because Jacob was a solid decent guy back then. He was protective but not overbearing. He was always there but not controlling. She was a kid, in a teenager’s body, but a kid nonetheless, so his reactions and behaviors were reasonable. 

Then she turned seven, with a body of a nineteen years old. RC noticed the subtle changes in Jacob’s whole demeanor. He wasn’t looking at her like he looked at Bella or Leah. It was clear he wanted more. What more important was the fact that she was seven years old and Jacob was freaking her out.

Jacob was great and all but RC was not that crazy for him. She didn’t say anything at first because she thought it’d pass or something would change. Nope. It got a whole lot complicated, especially when they had to constantly move around. 

RC heard the stories, read the legends. Shape shifters had an urge to be close with their imprint, so it made sense when Jacob practically attached to her hip. That was exactly the problem. It was like a way the universe told them to be together and the two people had no control over it. That wasn’t really fair. To be frank, she still thought it was stupid, but mostly unfair.

She didn’t want to hurt Jacob. She hated doing it. Then he started to act all crazy and possessive and RC was glad to hurt him. It was oh so delightful when her human friend managed to land a solid punch on his face and handed his ass to him. Still, it didn't make him anymore smarter with the whole situation. 

Ugh, men.

RC let out a sigh as she rubbed her face. I really need to figure out a way to make him accept reality.

She hit pause on her laptop and Rory instantly stirred. Her brows knitted together and RC saw how her eyes moved around while closed. Not wanting her friend to wake up, RC resumed the film and set the volume down a little. Rory exhaled a deep breath, eyes still closed, breaths evened out. 

Background noises help her sleep.

Trying not to wake Rory up, RC carefully got out of bed. She put her laptop on her chair and placed it beside her bed so Rory could have more space. After making sure the auto play was on, RC grabbed a coat and left the room.

The wind was blowing hard when RC settled on the roof. She could feel the crisp air, the kind of chill she was supposed to feel to the bones. Her nose was supposed to hurt when she breathed, her fingers were supposed to stiffen. A few of the perks of having a higher body temperature. 

It was quiet, Hanover always was. She picked up some burble from the Connecticut River, the faint rumble and honks from the nearby highway in Vermont. The silence usually helped her think, but not that night. 

“Do you mind some company?”

RC sighed and shook her head. She heard a subtle gust of wind, not loud enough to be heard by normal people. 

“Jacob left earlier tonight. I told him to come back after he learns to respect your decisions. He and Edward are having a hard time with that.”

“Of course they do,” RC commented, scoffing. 

“You know, after you left the other day, it started to come to me that Edward was never really understanding. Not to me, or to you—his own daughter,” Bella said before chuckling slightly. "I can't believe it took me this long. The more I think about it, the more I realize how controlling he was—he is."

RC turned to face her mother. Unlike her, Bella just wore a simple jacket over a turtleneck. There was no sign of discomfort in her demeanor, just contempt and anger. 

“Maybe you did realize. You just sweep it under the rug every time because you don’t want it to be true,” RC guessed, “because if you acknowledge it, then it will get real, then he won’t like it, won’t approve.”

“I’ve learned that I don’t need his approval to do anything.” Bella bumped her shoulder to RC’s. “You taught me that.”

Her brows furrowed together. “Me? How? When?”

RC didn’t understand how she taught her mom about, well, anything. Sure, she made it crystal clear that she didn’t like Edward. How he acted and how he handled things. Growing up, she couldn’t remember one time Edward was there. To do anything. None. Nada. 

Bedtime stories? Her mom, sometimes Rosalie. Homework? It was always Esme. Bella was smart, but her method of teaching was… Yeah, Esme was the best at that. Learning music? Rosalie, not Edward, the family pianist. Self-defense training? Rosalie would teach a few moves and RC would have Emmett for practice, with Jasper providing some pointers. Dress up? It was always Alice and Rosalie.

No Edward in sight. So, how was it that RC managed to teach something to her mom?

“You do something because you want to, not because he told you to,” Bella started. “You don’t let him push you around, stand up for yourself. I know you don’t get that from me because I could never.” Bella hugged her knees close to her chest, staring at the lights below. “Then you met Veronica, told us about the things she does. How considerate she is, how she doesn’t force you to do anything, say anything. I don’t think Edward ever did that. No, I know he never did that.”

“Do you think you can change him? Back then when you were still human.”

Bella scoffed at the words. “I think a part of me did. He had somewhat good intentions and a messed up way of doing this. As time passed, he had every chance to change, and yet, he didn’t do that. So, I don’t know. All I do know is that I don’t want to be someone beneath him.”

None of them said anything after that, letting the silence fall over them once more. RC scooted over and laid her head on her mom’s shoulder. Bella moved her head over RC’s. 

“You’re not beneath him.”

“But I do feel like that, as his mate.” 

“If he makes you feel like that, maybe he’s not your mate.” RC shrugged. “He doesn’t deserve you. He doesn’t deserve any of us.”

RC felt her mom stiffened at her words. Should she feel guilty, for saying that there was a chance Edward wasn’t her mom’s mate? Considering how awful he treated her? Sure, her mom had flaws, she wasn’t perfect, but Bella did not deserve to be belittled and underappreciated by someone who vowed to love and care for her. Her husband. Her mate, no less. RC was starting to think that Edward had no idea what a mate really meant. 

“Sometimes, I like to imagine what if we just leave. The two of us, with Rose,” RC said softly. “You both practically raised me already.”

“In another life, Ren,” Bella murmured to her hair, caressing it gently. RC eyes were getting heavier with every stroke from her mom’s hand. With the soft wind picking up, and her mom’s touch, RC fell asleep.

Jacob Black didn’t make contact with her for several days. Those days turned to a week, then two. RC took that as a good thing. She just hoped that he was doing some thinking, instead of looking for other ways to coerce her to his side. 

RC had been going back home more often too, spending more time with her family sans Edward. While none of her family blamed her for not telling about what Jacob did, she still felt guilty. Everyone was just mad and disappointed. At Jacob, not RC. 

Bella and Rosalie were especially outraged. Rosalie was even ready to start a war with the Quileute wolves for what Jacob had done. Even though RC had no problem with her aunt rampaging, she knew it wouldn’t be the best way, no matter how much Jacob deserved it. 

“I am hurt and furious,” Rosalie admitted, “about the fact that people still have these behaviors today. After almost a century, I thought people would change. I suppose I put too much faith in humanity.”

RC decided to stay over at Rosalie’s place after that confession from her aunt. Rosalie was still in the bathroom doing… something. She wasn’t sure why her aunt wanted to do all that routine when her skin was basically flawless, but hey, RC valued her life so she would forever keep her mouth shut.

The bedroom in Rosalie’s house was the only bedroom with a bed that looked lived in, besides RC’s herself. She wasn’t sure what the bed was made of but it was always so soft and comfortable. Laying on it was like laying on a marshmallow. Rosalie said that it made her feel like she was actually sleeping and not just deeply meditating. 

As she waited, RC threw herself into the bed and started playing with her phone. Emmett got into the room, grabbed something from one of the many drawers they had in the room. He usually left RC and Rosalie to do their thing, letting his ‘two girls’ enjoy some quality time together. That night, Emmett decided to keep himself in the entertainment room, or what he liked to call it, Em’s Space. 

“Get it? Em’s Space?” Emmett said with a wide grin on his face. He kept nodding and repeating the word like it would make RC understand it any better. He whined when she still didn’t get it after a while. “Seriously? How is it possible that you don’t know MySpace? That’s one of the most popular websites in the early 2000.”

“Oh, now I get it,” RC said, clicking her tongue. “That was the Stone Age, of course you would know about—hey!”

RC rolled over to miss the pillow Emmett threw at her, only to miscalculate and fall off the bed, landed flat on her ass. Emmett broke out in a laugh so hard he fell to his knees. The sound of it roared through the air. 

Rosalie appeared in the doorway a few seconds after. She was wearing button up pajamas under a silk robe, like another human ready for bed, but she was still fashion runway ready. Her eyes scanned the room in barely a millisecond, from Emmett near her feet, to the pillow that didn’t necessarily match the bed sheets, and her niece on the floor.

“Stop throwing stuff around, Emmett.”

“Hey, what about me?” RC whined, still not moving from the floor. “I’m dying over here.”

Rosalie sighed, shaking her head. “And here I thought I was theatrical.” 

“Where do you think I got that from?” She heard steps come closer and Rosalie stood directly above her and effortlessly picked her up. They sat on the bed with RC on her aunt’s lap as Rosalie leaned on the headboard. Emmett was nowhere to be found. 

“To answer your question, I’m not letting you die tonight,” Rosalie murmured as RC settled deeper in her embrace. “I’m not letting you die anytime soon.”

And of course she wouldn’t, RC knew that.

The three of them went back to Esme’s house the next day for breakfast. Edward was nowhere to be found and RC decided it was a really good morning. Esme was the only one home when RC, Rosalie, and Emmett got there. 

RC’s growling stomach urged her and Esme to go straight for the kitchen. As they prepared the utensils and ingredients for their special waffles, RC couldn’t help but snack on the leftover Greek yogurt from the fridge. Esme gave her a look when she realized.

“I can’t help it, I’m hungry, Ma.”

Esme smiled and placed a kiss on RC’s temple. “My sweet little RC.”

The unconditional love Esme had for her, and for the rest of the family was always a blessing. She was pretty sure that Esme was incapable of feeling angry, but she had seen a disappointed Esme. It was so much worse. So, RC never knew how to tell her about things that she knew will end with disappointment in Esme’s eyes.

“Maman?” RC muttered before clearing her throat. “Are you angry that I didn’t tell you about Jacob?”

“Yes, but not at you. I’m angry at myself for not noticing.” Esme had her back to RC and her head was down. 

RC stood awkwardly across the room. The only sound she could hear was her own heartbeat and the fire from the stove, heating the butter for her bacon. 

Nobody in the family really ever told her about their human lives. RC had a guess on the reasons. Part of it was because it was so long ago, they faded and blurred. Part of it was because it was too traumatic to tell. They didn’t have to tell her on the specific, but she could take a guess on the obvious. 

The most apparent ones were Rosalie’s and Esme’s. What happened in their human lives was carried over to their vampire ones. Rosalie taught her how to defend herself just in case ‘someone comes up to you and tries to do something’, because usually men plus drinks plus drunk equals harassment. RC figured out what happened when she was three years old and Rosalie sobbed in front of her. Rosalie never did that.

Esme cared for her and everyone else. For goodness sake, she put up with Edward since 1920 or something. She tended on everyone’s needs without questions, and always taught RC to be good. Although sometimes RC felt that it was just who Esme was, she couldn’t stop thinking of what made her like that. It wasn’t until she learned about Edward’s first kill that she knew what happened to Esme. 

So, of course Esme could see the tiniest detail about a girl with a jackass of a man in her life. 

RC walked over to Esme and gave her a hug. She tried to keep her tears at bay, but her eyes were burning. “It’s not your fault.”

“Thank you, honey.”

RC took a deep breath and frowned. “Ma, I love you, but I think you’re about to burn my breakfast.”

“No, I am not.” Esme dashed to the stove and around the kitchen at vampire speed. 

The rest of the morning was spent in the kitchen. After eating her not-burnt breakfast, RC made some cookies and muffins with Esme’s help. Per usual, they made enough food to feed the local shelter. 

RC tried to sneak a few batch of cookies to give to Rory the next day, but she knew she failed. Of course Esme realized, but RC was thankful that she didn’t get teased to death for it. 

“You know, RC, I think you are brave,” Esme said as she started to put some cookies in boxes. “What Jacob did, there is no excuse to make it alright. Whatever the outcome of this, tribulation, I hope you know that I will support you no matter what.”

She learned from a young age, like young, young age, that everyone in the family except Rosalie, didn’t really have the guts to tell the hard truth. They often also danced around a problem before getting to the point. Years of that made RC learn how to read between the lines. Just because they could live longer than most people, didn’t mean that they could take their sweet time for everything.

“We’re talking about what Jacob said about Rory, aren’t we?” RC guessed. “Well, she’s not sorry for punching him and gladly will do that again. Even though she dislocated her wrist the first time.”

“Oh, that poor child.” Esme shook her head. “But, no, I am not referring to that. I am talking about Rory and your apparent feelings for her.”

RC groaned and dropped her head on the table. “Of course you know.”

Esme let out a small laugh as she walked over to RC. “You’re not making it hard to guess, honey. I take it you haven’t told your father?”

“Why do I have to? He’s going to figure it out soon like everybody else.” RC raised her head. “Rory is also human. While I don’t particularly care about that part, it will bring some complications. Like, I have to tell her about us eventually and if the Volturi finds out, that will be another kind of problem. I’m already dealing with the imprinting thing with Jacob, Maman, but I feel like there’s another thing that’s waiting for me after I deal with this one.”

“Life will do that to you no matter what, RC.”

Living forever also meant an increase of trials and tribulations along the way. Immortality had some perks of course, but it had to be a choice first. If she chose Rory and it didn’t work out because Rory didn’t want to be a vampire, what then? RC couldn’t force her to change. And what if these feelings she had for Rory were only temporarily. Just a mere curiosity.

Rory would end up in a rabbit hole that RC dug up. She didn’t want that.

“Hey, now, honey. Instead of thinking about the bad things that could happen, why don’t you focus on the good things?”

“Like what?”

“Well, call me a traditional woman, but have you asked her out on a date?”

RC felt blood rushing up to her neck and cheeks. Her mouth hung open and no words came out. Esme chuckled before planting a kiss on her head. She returned to her cookies and muffins, stacking the boxes that were ready to be taken to the shelters. 

“There is nothing wrong with taking Rory out on a date, RC. Don’t think about what anyone thinks. Just you,” Esme suggested. “Do something simple, a picnic or go to the arcade. I don’t even mind if you want to take her back here. We can bake something together.”

“Edward won’t like that.”

“Don’t worry about Edward. He just has a hard time adjusting.”

“To what? Things not going the way he wants it to?” RC scoffed. 

Esme smiled sadly and RC’s heart almost broke. 

The two of them continued the cookie packing in silence. The occasional bickering and clanking could be heard from the garage. Emmett kept cracking jokes at Rosalie. Some earned him a laugh, and most of them ended up with him yelping. It felt like a simple situation with them and RC couldn’t help but wanting that too. But when was it that she had anything easy?

Sighing, RC distracted herself by going with Esme to drop off the boxes around town. Putting things on hold wouldn’t magically fix them, but she sure would keep doing it if that meant RC could have time to actually breathe. []

Chapter Text

For the rest of November after Rory’s scare from the Halloween party and the confrontation with Jacob the week after, it had been quiet. Her family never really had that as of late. RC had seen enough movies and read enough books to know that when things got quiet, something big was about to happen.

But everything was running with tranquility. RC was doing really well with school, Edward wasn’t being more than a brooding vampire, and things with Rory were smooth sailing. And Jacob was, well, Jacob. He hadn’t thrown another surprise visit or called her directly, although he did call Bella a few times to check in. Other than that, nothing was out of place. Except for the fact that RC had been listening to Esme’s advice to take Rory out on a date.

Well, not really.

They hung out around campus when they could, much like the usual. They tried out some new places almost every day for dinner. RC had been picking Rory to and from her classes, but not too often to make it look obvious. She liked having Rory around, she didn’t want to drive the girl away because Rory thought she was desperate for her attention.

Please, RC was not trying to be Edward. The memory when she first found out about what he did to her mom was rather disturbing and creepy. She took it out on him when they went on a hunt near the Canadian border, throwing him across the cliff. He went crashing through the trees, to the other side.

If Rory did suspect something, she didn’t show it. In fact, she seemed to like the extra time with RC. She at least liked it enough that she was willing to have the drive up to RC’s house almost every day, including Fridays. RC didn’t mind that her friend started to spend a portion of the weekend with the family.

At first, she was afraid that it would blow their cover, but they played their parts pretty well. Esme fell in love with the idea of another teenager to care for, especially after that morning in the kitchen where Rory mentioned that she didn’t really eat home cooked meals since getting into Dartmouth. Carlisle was always so polite, exchanged greetings here and there when he was in the house when Rory visited. Even Jasper was okay with that, though he and Rory weren’t exactly friends, but at least they were friendly. The rest of her family have no trouble hanging out with another human who wasn’t so prone to accidents. Except for Edward.

On Friday before Thanksgiving, Rory was in the house, trying—and failing—to beat Emmett at Mortal Kombat using one good hand. The splint was still around her right arm, making Rory’s movement more rigid. She only grimaced here and there and RC had a feeling that it couldn’t be comfortable, even though Rory told her otherwise.

The engine of Edward’s Volvo was heard as it went over the gravel in the driveway. He was already arguing with Bella before the car was parked, saying that the human was not supposed to be there, on their couch, playing video games. The worst part was that he still couldn’t read Rory’s thoughts. They were all blurry and dark, unlike Bella’s which was just blank. And that was not acceptable.

Of course, Edward was concluding that when he couldn’t read someone’s mind, they were absolutely dangerous. Except if that person was Bella. In that case, told her the family secrets and everything in between, brought her home for dinner but not really. Oh, the best one, pampered her with gifts she explicitly said she did not want and left her traumatized for several months for no good reason. Oh, one more thing, married her a few months after that.

Yeah, right.

RC saw Emmett’s grin faltered slightly at Edward’s word, but he tried to cover it up for Rory’s sake. Everyone in the living room did. Jasper and Alice exchanged glances over the chessboard between them. Only one look and Jasper started to slightly alter the feelings in the room so Rory wouldn’t suspect anything.

Edward dashed off through the forest a minute later. The argument he had with Bella hung heavily in the air. When her mom walked in, she didn’t say anything other than some greeting and Rory said ‘hello’ with her eyes still glued to the screen. RC threw another glance at Jasper. The latter nodded subtly.

“So, the whole family’s here,” Rory commented, biting her lower lip. Her eyes focused on the game in front of her. “You’re all going to spend Thanksgiving together?”

“Yeah,” Emmett replied while fighting Rory’s character easily. “It’s not often we can get together in one place. What about you? RC said you’re going home?”

A smirk slowly formed on her face. Rory tilted her head and said, “Did she, now? What else did she tell you?”

“A lot of things, actually.” Emmett paused the game and turned on the couch. “That you managed to kick Jacob’s ass with an injured hand. Super badass, by the way. Oh, and that you lied to the doctor when you got your hand checked out. You’re ambidextrous, which is awesome. You can’t sleep without something played in the background—”

“I never told her that.”

RC’s heart accelerated, even more so than usual. She retained herself from lunging to Emmett and made him shut up. She loved her uncle, she really did, but sometimes—more like, most of the time, Emmett was really pushing her buttons.

"It’s more like an observation." The way RC said that was more of a question rather than a statement. Who she was trying to convince, RC had no idea. "Every time you come over, you always sleep faster with a movie on. At first, I thought you were bored, but then I realized that the movies we were watching were from your list, so—what did I say?”

Rory was looking at her, completely ignoring the game she was playing. There was something in her eyes, something that RC was afraid to acknowledge. A soft smile was on her face. No hint of smug or her famous lopsided smirk.

“You are something else, RC, do you know that?” Rory said quietly.

“Emmett is killing you.”

“I’m not winning anyway,” Rory said, waving her hand. She turned back to face the game, but she didn’t even try to win. It looked like she just randomly pressed some buttons together. “But, to answer your question. Yeah, I’m going home. Mama is making us go upstate this year. First Thanksgiving after she got married and all that.”

“You don’t want to go?” RC asked. She didn’t miss the tone of fake enthusiasm in Rory’s voice. Her friend always said that she liked being surrounded by family, so why was she so disinterested in going home?

Rory shrugged. “Upstate New York brings up bad memories to the surface.” The air around her changed drastically after that. Rory’s face hardened, jaws clenched, as if she was physically reliving the pain from the memories she talked about.

The silence was cut when the game ended with Emmett winning. Loud cheers and triumphant music came from the speakers, but Emmett didn’t seem too happy about it.

“This game is making my head hurt,” Rory complained. She threw her controller to the couch and rubbed her temple.

“You think this is painful?” Emmett said. “Try playing chess with Jasper.”

Rory turned her head to Jasper, who was resetting the chessboard. Alice was looking frustrated and moved to sit beside RC and started to play with her niece’s hair.

“May I?”

Jasper looked startled before the expression evaporated a half second after. He gestured to Alice’s previous seat. “By all means.”

Chess was a natural thing for Jasper. He had a knack for strategies and long-term planning. His time fighting wars gave him that. So, it was a rare occurrence that someone beat Jasper Hale at chess, or at least, matched up to him. Even Alice and Edward, with their own advantages—RC liked to call it their cheat sheets—couldn’t have a decent game with Jasper.

Until Rory came along.

The girl managed to stand herself against Jasper’s strategy. It was clear from his face that twenty minutes into the game, Jasper was not holding back. Pieces were moved, pawns were sacrificed. RC didn’t have the ability to read minds, but she knew that Jasper was constantly surprised. When he thought he did a right move, Rory made sure he was mistaken.

From their couch, RC and Alice watched the whole match. Alice kept grinning widely, ecstatic that someone had a chance, a big one, in defeating her husband. She tried seeing what happened next, but Rory’s future was still blurry, like that time when RC had her aunt look into Rory in New York. When Alice peeked at Jasper’s future, Rory had a plan for every decision he made. Every single one of them.

After one long hour that felt like a decade, Rory moved her pawn. “Checkmate.”

The room went quiet. Emmett paused his game and Alice put down her fashion magazine. Everyone was looking at the two players. RC could even hear Rosalie stopped moving upstairs. Jasper intensely glared at the chessboard, his king stuck. Rory was leaning forward, her elbows rested on her knees as she looked at her opponent expectedly.

Jasper was checkmated.

Esme’s steps were heard approaching from her study. She found the living room as loud as a cemetery, everyone fixed on the same thing.

“What’s going on?” Esme asked, her eyes widened.

“Jasper lost to Rory,” RC murmured under her breath.

“Hell yeah!” Emmett raced to Rory’s seat and picked her up. He tossed her in the air to set her on his shoulder. “Who is the champ! Rory is the new champion in the house! Woohoo!” He ran around the room, one hand around Rory’s thigh to make sure she wouldn’t fall, while the other was raised gleefully.

That was the start of a blossoming friendship of Rory and Jasper.

When Thanksgiving break started, Rory already left for New York the day before, missing the entire day of class. While she didn’t particularly love the idea of going to Skaneateles, New York, Rory missed her family. The girl managed to live on her own for months without physical appearance from the people who constantly around her growing up. That was one of the things that RC admired about her friend.

For the first time since... actually, she couldn’t remember the last time, but her family decided on a trip to Alaska. They had relatives living up there, a visit would be nice. It was one of the times that her family let her hunt with all of them.

They split into groups and RC ended up going with Rosalie, Emmett, Carmen, and Eleazar. Emmett, per usual, sensed a grizzly and immediately took off. RC couldn’t run as fast, but Rosalie kept her company.

After the hunt, they stayed up in the mountain above the clouds. Ray of sunlight broke through, shining the trees and the ground. The warmth was a nice feeling. While the sun started to refract on her family’s skin, RC’s started to glow as though the sun shined from under her skin. While sometimes she envied the prism that was a vampire’s skin, she had to admit the glowing skin was much easier to blend around humans.

The five of them were lounging on top of a cliff. Sea of white over greens spread out under them. RC laid on the ground, looking up at the darkened sky. She could feel the air getting colder as the sun started to disappear. Mist came out of her mouth as she breathed. It was nice, quiet, and peaceful.

“Can I ask you something, bebé linda?” Carmen asked as she sat beside RC on the ground. RC nodded and Carmen continued, “When are you going to ask her?”

RC groaned at that. She covered her face with her hand dramatically. “Of course, you know.”

Carmen laughed, light and melodic in her ears. “It’s not every day my bebé linda has a crush! Now, tell me everything about her. I want to know about this Veronica.”

So, she did. RC touched Carmen’s arm and let her aunt see Rory through her memories. How they first met at that welcome party, and how Rory helped her engage in college life. RC actually had friends because of that. Human friends that she spoke to and hung out with between classes. Some people she could exchange notes with and study together for a quiz. They were not best friends or anything, but at least it was an improvement that their old strategy of keeping to themselves.

They were vampires. They were going to stick out like a sore thumb no matter what.

Rory helped her with a lot of things while she was going through a rough patch herself. She actually listened to what people had to say instead of just hearing them. She put trust in people while still being vigilant. She wasn’t nosy, trying to handle everyone’s businesses. All were rare traits to be found in society these days. RC told Carmen about the things Rory did for her. That she was a good person, deep inside. She—

RC’s phone rang. The loud ringtone cut through the air, a soft guitar instrumental. Her ringtone. RC grinned widely and slid the green button.

“Rory?”

“Hey, RC. Happy Thanksgiving,” Rory said over the phone. Her voice was slightly breaking up, but still managed to make RC’s heart beat faster.

RC scrambled to her feet and walked away from prying ears. She knew it was useless with a bunch of vampires but she figured she’d try anyway.

“So, what’s up?” She didn’t know why, but she started to breathe heavily.

“What’s up with me? What’s up with you? Why are you out of breath?”

RC forced down a gulp of air. “I had to run a bit so my family wouldn’t eavesdrop. And I’m in Alaska, the air is thinner.”

“Okay, that’s cool. Awesome.” It was mostly quiet from Rory’s side, but RC could still commotion in the background. “I just, I want to check up on you. I, uh, yeah—”

“Oh, for the love of god, Rory just—”

“Cyrus, shut up! And get the hell out of my room, you weirdo!”

There was some crash and something hit the wall. Rory’s breath was labored and there was a slam from the door.

“Sorry,” Rory chuckled. “That’s my cousin. I’m sorry.”

RC couldn’t help but laugh. “It’s fine, Rory, don’t worry. You were saying something?”

“I, uh, err…”

RC could imagine Rory, sitting on her bed or her chair, with one feet of the ground as she tossed hair back.

“I just want to hear, uh, from you,” Rory said nervously.

Blood rushed up to her cheeks and her heart rate went erratic, if that was even possible. She could actually hear the thumping against her ribs. RC turned around. Rosalie was lounging by the cliff with Emmett by her side. Carmen and Eleazar were nowhere to be found. Although there were only Rose and Emmett nearby, RC had a feeling that all of them heard what just happened.

Rory called just so she could hear my voice.

“H-how are you doing, over there? You said you didn’t like being upstate.”

“It’s okay, I guess. I’m okay.” Rory let out a shaky breath over her phone as her voice started to crack. “Uh, c-can I call you later? After the dinner, I mean. If you’re not—”

“Yeah, yeah of course,” she replied a little too fast. “Call me anytime, don’t worry. Take care of yourself, Rory. I—err, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, bye, RC.”

Beep.

RC stared at her screen with Rory’s contact on display. She had a wide grin on her face, her eyes clenched shut with laughter. RC shot that candid when her friend was cracking up laughing at some random videos. A smile formed on her face before RC walked back to Rosalie and Emmett were.

“Is Rory okay?” Rosalie asked after RC took a seat beside her.

“I don’t know.” RC put her head on her aunt’s shoulder. “She doesn’t seem fine, but I don’t know. She wants to call me later, so I think that’s a good thing.”

“At least that’s a start,” Emmett commented, “she has the intention to talk to you. She doesn’t bottle it up. It’s a good thing. Baby steps.”

Baby steps indeed.

RC took a deep breath in and the crisp cool air pierced her nose. The sky was dark and clear, stars started to twinkle. Wind blew through the trees, biting her hardened skin. It was supposed to feel uncomfortable, but for RC it just tickled.

She could get used to this. The peace and quiet. No trouble or concern. Oh, how the universe loved to prove her wrong. []

Chapter Text

Disaster struck after Thanksgiving break. Or maybe not really, because RC was just being overly dramatic. Those teen dramas she had been binge-watching was getting the better of her. 

School started again, Rory came back, the two of them did some catching up. It turned out, Rory got her splint removed in Brooklyn. Which was a lot sooner than RC thought, but Rory insisted that she did that on doctor’s order.

Oh, also RC finally started on that project she put on hold and met up with some other friends from that class. Things went on pretty well, in her opinion. 

Jacob sent her a text, saying that he’d be visiting on Friday and that they had things to talk and settle. RC was grateful for the heads up. She did not need another surprise visit. But for whatever reason, that text kept bounced around in her head and never got out. His voice rang in her ears. She didn’t know what to make of it. She was supposed to be glad, wasn’t she? Because all of… whatever it was with Jacob was about to come to an end.

“Cullen, you alright?” 

RC blinked repeatedly and brought her focus back to her friend. “Yeah, no, I’m good. It’s just the holiday spirit hasn’t entirely left my mind, you know?”

"I know the feeling." Amy nodded, making some loose stands of dark hair escaped her bun and fell in front of her face. "As much as I want to reminisce about the upcoming holidays, we have to finish this project first. I'm not failing Mass Comm."

“Alright, alright.” RC moved closer to Amy on the desk. In front of them was a glass board with Amy’s neat handwriting on it. “Uh, where is Becker, anyway? I know he said that he’s running late but it’s almost, what, two hours?”

Amy cursed under her breath. “Damn it, Beck—”

The door was slammed open, making Amy jump on her seat. Becker strolled into the room with a grin on his face. He had a large box of pizza and some soda in his hands. 

“I know, I know, I’m late,” he said as he took a seat on Amy’s bed. “I brought pizza because we can’t work on empty stomachs.” His eyes went over the glass board. “We’re still brainstorming?”

“Apparently, Amy thought ‘reach out’ is too broad of a theme.”

“Because it is!” Amy threw her hands up in frustration. She ran her hand through her hair before dropping her head on the table. A loud thud made RC wince. That must hurt a lot.

RC stood over her friend, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. On the glass board were some of the ideas they came up with. ‘Reach out’ displayed on the top. Under it were several points of family, good old days, simple gestures, and some other stuff that RC didn’t really think fit the theme. She kept quiet because Amy can be scary when she’s running low on carbs. That and also, Jacob’s texts.

“Okay, you both need to take a step back and breathe, Supergirl. Eat a slice of pizza first, drink some water. You can’t keep working while running on fumes.”

Amy groaned before reluctantly taking a large bite of a pizza. She finished the first slice in under five minutes and immediately grabbed another, while Becker smiled ever so cockily at her. 

RC opened up a can of soda while staring at the board. The gears in her head turned. “Donation.”

“Huh?” 

“What donation?”

“Homeless shelters, soup kitchens, you know,” RC started to explain. “They need donations. Food, clothes, blankets, stuff like that. It’s winter, there’s a high chance they will be overpacked and run out of things to give out.”

Lines formed between Amy’s eyebrows. “Not that I hate the idea, but how does that ‘reach out’?”

“Well, we will collect some old stuff, some money, make the donations—”

“Make a video about it and post them online!” Becker finished RC’s words. “We will be reaching out to other people to help others in need by targeting the general public.”

RC tilted her head to one side. “That about sums it up, yeah.”

“That’s not a bad idea, actually,” Amy said as she put a lock of hair behind her ear. “Let’s do this then.”

The three of them started to discuss what they needed to donate. Becker called a couple of his friends to help out with the video. He insisted that good video editing and high-quality end product will boost the online rate of engagement. Whatever that supposed to mean. 

While Amy and Becker wanted to focus on their assignments, RC just wanted to do some good for people. She had a lot of jackets and clothes to give, a lot of money to spare. An A on her Mass Communication project wasn’t the main goal. With Amy dead set on not failing the course, and Becker went almost overboard with the video, RC chose to compromise. At least, it took her mind off of things. 

They ended up getting dinner together that night, piled into Becker’s Honda to a diner a few miles down. Becker said they served the best comfort food. Also, the somewhat long drive helped him think. 

There was too much going on inside her head, so RC didn’t really have an appetite. She just ordered a hot chocolate and a double cheeseburger with fries to go. 

RC always found it weird that vampires didn’t really like the taste of human food. They got enhanced senses, so they were supposed to taste the food better, weren’t they? But no, their enhanced sense of smell made the eating experience flavorless. She had to admit, human food wasn't really that good either. They tasted just alright, but not really mind-blowing. Especially milk by-products. It was another story altogether. 

Becker got them a nice booth next to the heater. RC must admit, hanging out with them was not so bad. Sure, Amy often drove herself and RC crazy sometimes, but Becker was a nice addition to the group. He balanced them all. Always made sure to take a breather and calm down. What they were looking for, sometimes, were right there in front of them. Becker helped them see that. 

“Beck, you’re sure your friends can make it Friday? All of the shooting must be done Friday. RC has that family thing on the weekends.”

RC’s jaws dropped before she quickly closed them again. “You remember?”

“Yeah,” Amy replied, shrugging. “I mean, I want the weekends to myself too.”

“I swear, if we’re going to keep talking about that damn project, at least let me eat first.” Becker shook his head disapprovingly before pointing at RC across from him. “Unlike this missy right here, I need a carbo load each night. Who even goes out for dinner but doesn’t order anything?”

“Hey, I have a double cheeseburger to go,” RC said as she gestured at the paper bag on the table. “It’s just, I’m not really hungry tonight.”

“Come on, Cullen. The one time we finally got to hang out, you didn’t eat with us.”

RC frowned. “Amy, we hung out all the time.”

“No, we see each other a lot between classes,” Amy corrected her. “But hang out, hang out like this? Veronica always steals you. What’s up with you two anyway?”

“What’s up with us, what? Rory and I are friends.”

Amy let out a laugh. “Oh, Cullen, Cullen. You and I are friends. Me and Veronica are friends. But you and Veronica? That’s something else entirely.”

Something else entirely, and what even could it be?

The waiter came to their booth with their order. A burger special for Becker, tuna sandwich with pie for Amy, and french fries for RC to snack on. While the burger looked juicy, she knew it would be a mess to eat, but Becker was already drooling at the sight of it. Amy slapped Becker’s arm playfully, before saying a quick thank you.

RC waited for the waiter to leave before replying. “Okay, you need to get your eyes checked out, Amy. You’re starting to see things that aren't there.”

“You’re sure about that?” Amy asked with a full smirk. “Because she’s walking in.”

RC took a sharp intake of breath and a familiar scent reached her nose. A hint of coffee and mint, also light flowery perfume. She was too busy taking them all in, she didn’t realize Amy and Becker had invited Rory over to their booth. 

“Hey, guys, how’s the Mass Comm project going?” Rory said as she took a seat beside RC.

“It’s going,” Becker replied. “We’re making a video to raise awareness to donate to local shelters. RC’s idea.” 

Rory stole a few fries from RC’s plate like she owned it. RC shook her head and chuckled at her antics. Rory swallowed hard before she said, “That’s awesome. You guys need some help? I got a few things I can donate.”

More like a lot of things, but nobody needed to know that. RC never asked, but she had a guess that Rory came from money, much like herself. She didn’t really show it, and RC didn’t really begin to think about it until Rory came back from New York in a private plane. Technically, it was a company’s plane, but it didn’t take a lot for RC to figure out that Rory’s mother had a high up position in the company she worked for. 

It didn’t slip her mind too that Rory always had something. Where to rent a car, where to have a nice dinner, who to call when you need help setting up a bank account. Rory even knew potential clients for Esme, with a newly purchased house and the intent to renovate.

“We’re meeting at my sorority house on Friday,” Amy said. “We will collect the stuff and drive to the shelter. Feel free to come by before two.”

Rory ended up hanging out with them for the rest of the night. Talks of assignments and final projects were forbidden on the table. Fun only per Becker’s word. It was a nice distraction, RC had to admit. It gave her, gave them, a chance to wind down. A reminder that they were just basically kids. Eighteen and nineteen years old, of course, but kids nonetheless, compared to the lives the Cullens’ had lived.

After they were done, Amy went back to campus in Becker’s car, while RC went with Rory. The wind was blowing harder than usual on their walk to Rory’s car. RC kept a close distance with her friend, hoping that her high temperature would radiate. The car heater went on high on the way back to Dartmouth and Rory drove a lot more slowly than usual. 

When RC stared at the driver seat, she noticed that she wasn’t the only one with a storm inside their mind. Rory’s eyes glazed in the low light, like her thought was a million miles away. Her hands hung loosely on the steering wheel with her left elbow leaning on the door panel. 

“Penny for your thoughts?”

“I won’t say anything until you do,” Rory quickly replied. Her voice felt so far away. “A trade, if you will.”

RC let out an exaggerated breath before she held out her hand to the side. Rory took it and rested their joined hands on her thigh as she steered with one hand. 

“Jacob is coming to the house on Friday,” she started. “Said that we need to settle on a few things. I think I’m scared about what will happen after that. Jacob is a family friend, we grew up together. I just, I don’t think I’m going to like the compromise we’re about to do.”

“He’s demanding. You don’t need to compromise for someone like that.”

“Rory, it’s not that simple. There are a lot of variables playing in here,” RC said.

“Yeah, sure.”

RC frowned at the short reply. “Okay, what is up with you?”

Rory’s jaws clenched as she tightened her grip on RC’s hand. “I’m frustrated, I guess. Mama doesn’t let me go home until Christmas break. We’re always together on December 6. Always, no matter what. Now, it feels like she doesn’t even care.”

She wanted to ask Rory about what was so special about the date. It must be a big deal if that made Rory upset so much, so RC just kept quiet. She just hoped Rory will tell her when she was ready.

The silence filled the car on the rest of the way. RC knew that they both needed that, needed to say something and just let it out. Even though they didn’t actually spill everything, it was a nice improvement. 

Sometimes it was all that she wanted. To really tell what was going on to Rory, without the ambiguity. But RC also knew that it would mean another drastic change. Well, changes. She wasn’t sure if her family, or herself, was ready for that.

Rory only let go of RC’s hand after she parked the car, before taking it again as they walked inside their dorm building. 

“You know you don’t have to walk me to my door every time,” RC said once they stopped in front of her room. She let her back lean on the door as she stared at her friend. 

“I know, but I want to.” Rory shoved her free hand into her coat pocket. Her cheeks and nose were reddened, but RC wasn’t sure if that was just the cold or the blush had something to do with them too.

“Do you want to stay over?” RC hand lingered on the door handle, waiting for an answer. 

“No, I feel like going up,” Rory said, pointing to the stairs with her thumb. “I’m hungry, want to do some cooking before bed.”

RC chuckled. “That’s bad for you, but don’t tell Maman that I enable it.” She held up the double cheeseburger in the paper bag. “I actually ordered this for you, so you don’t have to make some other experiment in that air fryer of yours. I know you get hungry sometimes at night.”

“Oh, thank you, RC.” Rory took the bag with a smile. “I guess I better go. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye,” she said before getting inside her room. RC leaned on the closed door and took a breath. In the quietness of her room, on her own, the thoughts came creeping back. It almost felt like whatever relief she felt after that small talk in Rory’s car evaporated with the cold wind. 

Ugh, stupid thoughts .

For the remaining days up to Friday, RC, Amy, and Becker had visited almost every room in every living quarters on campus. Maybe RC was just exaggerating, but they did visit a lot of people and gained a lot of stuff and a pretty decent amount of money to donate. Only one problem, all of those things didn’t fit in Becker’s car. 

As thought she could sense their troubles, Rory came just right after. If RC didn’t know better, she would think that Rory had some kind of superpower to sense these types of things. Her usually packed trunk was empty that day, except for the one duffle bag she always kept in there. Rory just shrugged as she loaded the boxes full of donations.

“It’s not really that hard to take precautions, RC.” Rory’s exact words.

Most of the donations ended up in Rory’s car at the end, because Becker needed the extra space for his ‘ camera crew ’. Apparently, the CX-9 had much larger cargo space than Becker’s Accord. Well, that much was obvious, since Rory had a crossover and Becker had a sedan. 

RC got into Rory’s car with most of the boxes after they shot a little footage for the video. Becker insisted on having a phone recording them in the car while he took the ‘ camera crew ’ with him. So, on the entire way, RC’s phone was sitting snugly on the dashboard. She felt like she was making a vlog or something. 

When they arrived, they wasted no time unloading the cars. RC completely ignored Becker’s friends as they shoved cameras to their faces, while Amy and Becker started dialoguing. What they talked about, RC really gave no crap.

The camera crew, which RC learned that consisted of Emily and Spencer, finished the shooting and would give them the raw footage later in the night. They promised the edited video would be ready by Monday.

They parted ways, with Becker’s car went back to campus and Rory drove up to RC’s house. She had the radio on, playing some dance-pop songs from the 2010s. Simpler times in Rory’s opinion. 

As they got nearer and nearer to her street, RC’s anxiety grew. She tried to put a rein to it, but Rory was already eyeing her from the driver seat. 

“Do you want me to stay?” Rory’s voice was low, like she wasn’t sure if she wanted RC to hear her or not. 

RC could feel the car slowing down just a little and Rory drove just a bit too close to the side, before coming to a full stop. She took a deep breath, balling her fists on her thighs. 

“Yeah, I think that will be great,” RC said finally. “That way you wouldn’t be alone too, for tomorrow.”

Rory’s heartbeat started to pick up. Her eyes glazed over as she gulped down hard. “Alright, then.” Rory stepped on the gas and not five minutes later, they rolled into the driveway. 

Before she even opened the door, RC could sense him inside the house. Rory parked the car in the usual spot in the empty driveway. By the time they got inside, Rory was shaking, her teeth clattering and she kept hugging RC’s arm.

“I hate the cold,” Rory said as she reluctantly took off her heavy coat. 

"Brooklyn isn't this cold?" RC took Rory’s coat and hung it on the rack by the door. 

"I still hate the cold."

Rory clung back to RC side as they walked further inside. RC didn’t hear a lot of noises, didn't smell too many scents, except for Jacob's striking one. She was pretty sure it couldn't be a good thing. Especially when she brought her human friend home. Yeah, she really didn't think this one through.

Jacob was watching a soccer game in the living room. He didn't give out any indication of noticing her and Rory, but she knew that he knew. Rory on the other hand, froze beside her. 

"Oh, you're already here," Rory mumbled under her breath. She wasn't exactly being sarcastic, but she definitely wasn't expecting him.

From the couch, Jacob stood up. Even a few feet apart, he towered over the two girls, but his massive build didn’t seem to intimidate Rory. The good thing was, Jacob didn’t seem mad or annoyed. His stance was relaxed, or as relaxed as he could be. He got his hand on his jacket pocket and didn’t make a move to get closer. He just stood there.

“You’ve brought Veronica.”

RC nodded and bit the inside of her cheek. “She helped me with a project just now.”

The tension was so thick in the atmosphere, RC felt like she was about to suffocate. She knew that she was being ridiculous, but it was what it was. Her chest tightened the same time as her arm around Rory’s. 

“How’s your hand, Veronica?” Jacob asked in a flat voice. He wasn’t interested in any shape and form about Rory and he made that very clear.

Rory held up her splint free right hand to her face and made a show of turning it, like it was a brand new part. “It’s okay now.”

“Do you mind if you leave us alone?”

“Do you mind listening to her and taking no for an answer?” Rory fired back without missing a beat. Her posture wasn’t crouching down, no threat in it. She just stayed composed, albeit shaking slightly from the cold. 

It took a while before Jacob answered. Silence once again engulfed the room.

“No, I don’t,” he finally said. “I just want to talk.”

Rory smacked her lips together and nodded. “That’s what you said last time, but okay.” She tapped her fingers on RC’s arm, and the latter turned to meet her eyes. “I’m going to raid your kitchen, is that alright?”

“Go ahead, you know where everything is.” 

Rory gave a small smile to RC before side-glancing at Jacob. She was wary, that much was obvious. 

Sometimes it was hard to believe. Rory was willing to move mountains and break bones for her friends. Her real friends. And Rory was just a human. No superpower, no supernatural gifts, none of those. It just made her even more extraordinary than the vampires themselves. 

RC didn’t make a move until she was sure that her friend was already in the kitchen, on the other side of the house. She strained her ears, hearing the faint sound of the cabinet opened and closed, some ceramics hitting the marble countertop. 

Taking a deep breath, RC took a seat by the fireplace, on Rosalie’s chair. Jacob, thankfully, didn’t immediately try to get closer. He sat on the nearest couch five feet away.

“I realized that I was out of line,” Jacob started. “I wasn’t being good and fair to you. All I did was the exact opposite of what the imprint should do, and I am sorry for that. I was too wrapped up in the traditional and provincial beliefs of what imprinting bond means, when it can be so much more than what we know now.”

RC hummed, staying put in her seat. Jacob's leg was bouncing and he kept squirming, like he was sitting on a hot seat. 

“All I’m saying is, is that I’m willing to give this a try. To be honest, Ness—uh, RC, I don’t know what I’m doing, but whatever it is that you want, I just want you to know I’m on board.”

“You can’t force love, Jacob,” she muttered. “If you do, then it’s not love. That’s manipulation. No matter how good your intention is.” 

The words felt so bitter on her tongue, since RC knew exactly what they meant. How it worked, the manipulation, the coercion, all of them. How it could kill someone slowly and painfully, without them realizing. The worst part was, they could be blind because of it. 

Oh, how she wished she didn’t have a front row seat of that show. 

Jacob nodded, processing the words. “So, you and Veronica…”

“What’s going on between me and Rory is really none of your business. You lost that right a long time ago.”

“That’s fair, but I swear it, RC, I will make it up to you. I just want things to go back to the way they used to be,” Jacob admitted.

How was that possible exactly? How things used to be, RC couldn’t remember that.

RC tilted her head. “That’s the thing, Jacob. They can’t. Things are changing now, whether we like it or not. We just have to… adapt, I guess.”

“Are we okay?”

“We’re not quite there yet. Ask me again later.” RC cleared her throat before she stood up. “I’m going to check on Rory. Feel free to stay around, Jacob.”

She didn’t wait for an answer before heading to the kitchen, Jacob’s stare burned the back of her head. She took one deep breath in, and another, and another one. 

So that happened.

Pan sizzling and knife meeting wood could be heard before RC got into the kitchen. Esme was cooking something, and it was probably something too much to feed just the ones who actually eat under that roof. Over the stove, two pots were heating up. RC could smell tomato and a hint of salt. With the cooked beef on the counter, empty box of pasta in the trash, and a baking dish prepared, they would feast on Esme’s lasagna. 

A cup was sitting on the kitchen island with steam coming up from it. Rory had her hair up, crouching down in front of the fridge. She pulled out a small bowl, from the smell of chocolate, it was the pudding that RC couldn’t finish the night before. 

“Rory, honey, would you mind checking the sauce?”

“No, of course.” Rory put down the bowl and rolled the sleeves of her sweatshirt to her elbows. She stirred a pot before giving it a taste. “It’s good. Not thick enough though, and needs more pepper. Oh, and sausages.”

Esme chuckled and stopped grating the cheese. “You ate the last sausages.”

“Oh, yeah,” Rory mumbled as she let the sauce shimmered. 

It was nice to see Rory so free, so comfortable, if RC was being honest. And it also helped that RC’s family already liked her. Well, almost all of them. Yeah, RC didn’t really care about them, just the ones who did. Esme loved another child to take care of, Emmett was itching to find a worthy opponent, even Jasper liked having Rory around. Carlisle was surprisingly wary. RC expected that from Rosalie and her mom, but Carlisle?

Where was that wariness last decade? 

“Do I need to punch him again?”

Rory’s slightly muffled words brought RC back to reality. Her friend was standing across the room with her eyebrows raised, expecting an answer. With the spoon in her mouth, Rory didn’t look threatening. Not one, tiny bit . Not even with her rolled sleeve and the fire in her eyes.

“Your hand just healed and you want to break it again?”

“What makes you think I’ll break a bone punching his face the second time?” Rory asked with a smirk on her face. 

“Because you broke your hand the first time.”

The loud sound of a knife hitting the floor cut their conversations. RC knew Esme was just making a show for Rory since everyone already knew what happened with Jacob. Rory on the other hand, didn’t know.

She had her shoulders raised so high, they almost touched her ears. Her eyes were clenched shut and her hands were slightly raised. It was almost like Rory was trying to hide her head. 

A frown formed on RC face. She threw a look at Esme, who slowly had realization dawned on her. Nobody spoke. The only thing RC could hear was Rory’s racing heartbeat. It was probably just two seconds, but it felt a lot longer than that.

“Rory?” Esme called, but made no move to approach. 

“I’m okay.” Rory said too quickly. Her eyes snapped open just as fast. She rolled her shoulders and neck as though nothing happened. A lopsided smile appeared on her face and she said, “Sorry. I don’t know why I’m so jumpy.”

“You sure?” RC asked as she approached her friend slowly. “We can just go up to my room and rest a bit.”

“I’m making dinner.”

“No, Maman is making dinner,” RC said. “You keep trying to eat it.”

Rory opened her mouth with hands on her hips, but she quickly closed them again. She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head side to side, as if she was saying, fair point .

“It’s fine, Rory. You can go ahead and relax for a little bit. I can finish up,” Esme said with a smile.

“If you’re sure…”

RC reached out to grab Rory’s hand. She made sure to make her movement as obvious as possible. Her hand lingered over Rory’s for a while and she exhaled a relief breath. When she looked up, Rory was staring down with a hint of smile on her lips.

They walked hand in hand upstairs. Jacob was no longer in the living room, but his scent remained in the room. He was probably out, with Bella or something. RC wasn’t going to give herself a headache for it.

Like any other sleepover they had, RC and Rory laid down on the massive bed. A laptop was in between them, propped on a square pillow. Star Wars was playing, but RC wasn’t sure what episode they were on. Well, she wasn’t entirely focused on the movie.

Other than the slight sounds from the kitchen, RC couldn’t hear anything else from anywhere in the house. Seeing how early it was, Carlisle was probably still in the hospital and the other couples were in their respective houses. Or cabins, cottages, whatever. 

When RC suggested that they got their own place when they had to move again, Edward was against the idea. He said that they needed to stick together. Screw him and his old-school ideas. They were acting as young adults , it wouldn’t make any suspicions if they lived separately from the parental figures of the family. 

Yeah, stupidity at its best. 

RC turned to Rory. Her friend was already fast asleep with her head dropped to one side, and a slight frown on her forehead. Both of her hands sat on her chest, but not entwined together. There was nothing out of the ordinary about how Rory slept, but that moment earlier in the kitchen made RC think a lot deeper.

Something happened with Rory before she came to Dartmouth. While she portrayed her family as supportive and loving, RC had a feeling that there was something more under all that layers. What made Rory, well, Rory. This Rory who was sleeping beside her but still wasn't relaxed. As though she was waiting for something to happen, and she must be quick to react. 

How did I miss all of this? 

Was there something more to Rory, or was RC just reading the situation too much? How did Rory get to her behind the building, ultimately helping her get away from Jacob the second time that day? And the nonchalant behavior Rory had after the almost disaster at the Halloween party, working on problems . In that moment RC was sure, there was something else under Rory’s charms. []

Chapter Text

It was the smell of lasagna, fresh out of the oven, that woke Rory up from her nap. Either that or the fact that RC’s laptop died so the movie stopped playing.

Carlisle came home a few minutes before and helped to set up the table for dinner. Well, a show of dinner. With RC and Jacob eating, Rory wouldn’t be suspicious if Esme and Carlisle didn’t eat much. That was the goal anyway.

Though, she never really understood why they didn’t want to eat . Sure, vampires couldn’t get what they need from human food. Blood did that for them. But the foods they consume would just disintegrate by the venom in their system. It wouldn’t be a totally wonderful experience but it certainly could be worse. They could have to throw up whatever stuff they eat for the sake of keeping it real. That would be unpleasant.

RC was grateful it was just them instead of the whole family. One, because she didn’t think that their dinner table would fit for eleven people. Two, there would be too many people eating not so much or even not at all to make it believable. Three, RC just didn’t want Edward to be sitting across the table from her and Rory.  She trusted Rory to take care of herself, but knowing her friend, Rory would throw another punch. 

Another punch would mean another trip to the hospital. No matter how high Rory claimed her pain tolerance was, it couldn’t be a nice feeling. RC hated it when she was in pain.

Dinner went as well as she could hope for. If Rory noticed the lack of food on RC’s supposed to be parent’s plate, she didn’t show it. Rory was too busy stuffing her own mouth. ‘Stuffing’ might not be the correct word, because for whatever reason, Rory still looked… well-mannered as she did all that. It was probably the most obvious contrast between Rory and Jacob. And basically every other shapeshifter RC had ever known.

Jacob was surprised to find someone that could match his own appetite. He threw a look at RC, his eyebrows raised, waiting for confirmation. He got a subtle ‘no’ for an answer. From the looks of it, he didn’t like what he got. 

What was up with the paranoia? Just because someone had a bottomless stomach, it didn’t immediately make them a shapeshifter. RC thought the stereotypical nonsense that Jacob had was getting annoying for her liking.

Usually, every meal means a recharge for Rory. Coffee too, of course, couldn’t forget that shot of caffeine. But that night, none of those things made a difference with the human in the house. Rory looked more drained than earlier, as if she was carrying an invisible weight on her shoulders. It was a little after 8 pm on a Friday and Rory looked like she hadn’t slept for days. Her smile was strained and didn’t quite reach her eyes, her eyes were glossy and red, and every once in a while, her breath became shallow and shaky. 

The rest of the family came sometime after dinner, except for Edward. With how he had been acting towards her and Rory, RC couldn’t care less. Screw him. 

Jasper and Emmett asked Rory to play with them, but she refused each time. With no chess and no video games, it was a little unusual for Rory. She just sat on a chair with her legs over the arm, silently watching the TV as Emmett prepared his game with Bella. 

RC tried to not think about what was up with her friend. She really did. She tried to distract herself with a game, but her heart wasn’t in it like usual. No amount of victory against Emmett or any other family member could take her mind off of Rory. And it had a point, at least, that was what she thought when RC picked up Rory’s suddenly rapid heartbeat. 

The girl literally jumped from her seat, eyes glued to her watch. RC could hear the loud thumps in her chest, so loud it must hurt . Her breathing was getting shallow and ragged. Each one slowly turned into a whine. 

“ It’s almost nine. I forgot, I forgot. Shit,” Rory muttered under her breath. The world seemed to fade away around her.

“Rory?” RC called, but her friend didn’t answer. She dropped her controller to the couch and jogged over. Her hand reached out, but froze when her skin came in contact with Rory’s.

It was quick, RC was sure. No more than half a second after she put her hand on Rory, her wrist was caught. Rory’s right hand, which was just healed , was wrapped around RC wrist so hard, she could feel Rory’s nails trying to break the skin. Her eyes widened at the strength her friend was showing and RC let go of the arm immediately. Rory’s grip didn’t loosen, her gaze was still down to her own arm. 

“Rory, it’s me.” RC’s free hand covered her friend’s death grip, which just got more tense. When Rory didn’t respond, she repeated, “Look at me, Rory. It’s me, it’s RC. I’m right here.” 

Slowly, Rory’s grip loosen and she raised her head. In that close proximity, RC could see the turmoil in Rory’s face. Her eyes darkened, like a storm cloud gathering—dangerous and heavy. Rory was too warm, her shirt clung to her skin like she was dipped in water. 

“I forgot,” Rory choked between her breaths. “I forgot to—”

RC frowned. She started to panic too, and wasn't sure what to do. Her hand reached out but froze halfway. “Rory, is it okay if I touch you?”

A nod that Rory gave was barely there. RC just hoped she wouldn’t blow it. She took Rory’s hands, cradling them both in hers. RC had to shoved down a gasp from how much cooler Rory’s hands were. “It will be okay, Rory, but I need you to breathe for me. Can you do that? Just take some deep breaths with me.”

The breaths Rory took was shaky and loud, but it was progress. Her eyes were still glassy, her hair stuck onto the skin on her neck and forehead.  “You’re doing great, Rory, everything will be okay.” RC moved her hand ever so slowly, tucking Rory’s hair behind her ear. She made sure to just barely touch Rory's skin in case that it would make matters worse. “I'm here. It will be okay.”

If she was being honest, RC wasn’t sure exactly what it was that would be okay. She just felt like those were the words Rory had to hear. She had no idea what was going on in her friend's life, but she was sure that she wouldn’t let Rory go through it alone.

As time flew by, Rory’s heart slowed down and her breathing wasn’t hard anymore, though she looked so drained. RC kept drawing circles in the back of Rory’s hand, telling her it would be okay, that she was safe. RC didn’t know if that was enough, but she just hoped it was. 

“Hey, do you know what I think will help?” RC asked softly and earned a light hum from Rory. RC let out a breath. “Croissant sandwich. Or we’re feeling something sweet, we can make some cookies, or cupcakes, or brownies, or all of them. We have what we need, you pick.”

It didn’t take a second before Rory answered, “Cupcake.”

RC nodded. “Okay, cupcake it is.”

Esme did start to stock some baking ingredients in the kitchen, after learning about Rory’s sweet tooth. RC got more involved in the baking process too, for the sheer purpose of telling her friend that she baked those cupcakes . RC prayed, to whoever and whatever vampires and hybrids were supposed to pray to, that she didn’t spend all the ingredients on the last baking. It looked like Rory could use a little pick me up more than ever.

Her family seemed to disappear when RC gently tugged Rory to the kitchen. The only one remained close by was Jasper and Rosalie, both had their intense gazed set on Rory. Confusion or concern, she couldn’t tell. Knowing Rosalie and Jasper, it was probably the latter.

RC never really saw Jasper in the kitchen. Not because the stupid ‘women should cook and men should not’, but more like, Jasper sucked at it. Zero out of five stars. Not recommended. That night, Jasper tagged along in their night snack baking. If she didn’t know better, it was simply because Jasper needed to keep an eye on Rory’s emotions. But Jasper and Rory were actually friends . They might not talk much, but it was clear Jasper had grown to like Rory. 

It was mostly just RC and Rosalie who did the heavy lifting, with Rory occasionally pitching in. Jasper sat quietly in a corner, a book in hand but alert as ever. Rory still looked a little out of it, didn’t talk as much, and kept exhaling shaky breaths. Her eyes were dark and empty, like she was thinking about a billion horrible things at once. And for whatever reason, RC had a feeling that was really the case. 

They said the eyes were the windows to one’s soul. In Rory’s eyes, there were impressions of horror and pain. Her smile hid the darkest of secrets. And Rory managed to cover all of that all this time without nobody realizing. 

It didn’t take too long to make a dozen cupcakes. Once they were out of the oven, RC put them on the kitchen island to be cooled before they could decorate them. She was about to prepare some ingredients for the macaroons when Rosalie stopped her. Her aunt pointed at the clock near the window. It was past ten.

“Hey, Rory?”

Her friend hummed in response, but didn’t say anything else.

RC took that as a sign to continue. “Rory, it’s getting late. What if we let the cupcakes cool down overnight and decorate them in the morning? We can make something else too.”

“Okay,” Rory said quietly. Her voice was raspy, even more so than usual.

“Let’s clean up first, okay?” RC said, reaching out to grab Rory’s hand. She was about an inch away from Rory when her friend jerked back, her heart racing again.

At the same time, Jasper slammed his book to the table. His jaw was clenched tightly as his body went rigid, like he was enduring a series of invisible onslaughts. A low grunt escaped deep from Jasper’s chest and slowly Rory’s tensed posture relaxed, though her eyes were still wild.

RC didn’t know what to do. She didn’t want to make Rory even more uncomfortable than she already was. Jasper made that choice for her, because two seconds later, Rory collapsed.

Jasper admitted that he went a little overboard as he tried to help Rory using his gift. He didn’t mean to knock her out unconscious. Rory’s emotions washed over him like a tsunami, sudden and destructive. While he did it accidentally, it was clear that sedating Rory was the less disastrous way out. Hopefully, the aftermath would stay as expected too.

The mess in the kitchen was soon forgotten, as Rory was carried to RC’s room. She wasn’t quite sure why she was shaking, but she did. Maybe RC was angry at herself for not reacting fast enough, or maybe she was glad that Rosalie caught Rory before she hit the floor. 

RC didn’t want to leave her friend, so she sat beside Rory on the queen bed. It was weird to see Rory asleep without some random films or shows playing in the background. The kind of weird that didn’t feel good. What felt even worse was seeing Rory not being calm while asleep . But RC wasn’t sure what to do about that and Jasper could only do so much. 

So, she just sat there, back against the headboard with Rory sleeping half on top of her. 

The last time RC noticed the time, it was sometime after 1 am. She just closed her eyes for one second. It couldn’t be more than that, so Rory waking up and disappearing would surely be heard. But RC didn’t hear anything. No sound, no movement, nothing. Other than herself, her room was empty. 

RC threw the cover off and ran full speed downstairs. She could still sense Rory in the house, her heartbeat could be heard, slow and steady. She followed the sound, until meeting Rosalie near the sunroom. Her aunt gave her a look and pointed with her head.

Rory was sitting on the floor, wearing one of RC’s hoodies. Her back was towards the entrance. Light smoke came up from in front of her. The faint scent of mint reached her nose as RC walked closer. 

When RC reached her friend, there was a single decorated cupcake sat on the ground in front of Rory. One of Alice’s scented candles lit up beside it. 

“Do you know that it’s my sister’s birthday today?” Rory asked without looking up to meet RC’s eyes. She kept her head down, her gaze focused on the dancing flame. 

“No, I don’t.” RC replied softly as she took a seat beside her friend. Because you never mentioned ever having a sister . But that sentence remained unsaid.

“She was supposed to turn 25 today.”

Was, past tense. Oh.

“Sometimes I feel guilty, you know, because there are more things that I forget about her than the things that I remember. Mama didn’t even seem to remember. We always do this together and now she doesn’t allow me to go home.” Rory hugged her knees tight against her chest, making her as small as possible. Her heart beat slow and steady, her breath was no longer ragged like it was earlier in the night.

The watch Rory was wearing vibrated softly. The bright white of 2:46 am filled the small display. 

“Another year,” Rory whispered before blowing off the candle.

They both sat in the dark with the only light source was faint light from the other room. RC wasn’t sure what to do. Her friend sat quietly, the cupcake in front of her remained untouched. 

With the clear glass for the roof, RC could clearly see the night sky, bright with the stars. She laid on her back, her hand behind her head and just watched. Basically living in the middle of the woods with low light pollution allowed her to stargaze every now and then. She took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. Rustling from the trees outside, soft wind blowing, the faint smell of mint from the scented candle, they could be really relaxing when needed.

RC heard Rory moved to lay down too, pressing tightly to her side. She moved one of her hands from behind her head and Rory immediately scooted closer. RC tried to fight off the smile forming on her face. It was not a good time to be smiling giddily like a high schooler when in close proximity with their crush. Not the time. 

Rory started to shake lightly and RC wasn’t sure if that was from the crying or the cold. It couldn’t be the cold, could it? RC had enough body heat to keep them both warm, especially with physically being so close with each other. She turned her head slightly, but with Rory's head resting on the crook of her neck, RC couldn’t see Rory’s face clearly.

Purple frosting from the cupcake caught her eyes. “Hey, Rory?” she whispered. “I think that your sister would love it.”

“Cass had a sweet tooth,” Rory murmured. “She preferred purple frosting on her cakes. On everything, basically.”

RC got up to take the cupcake. She took a small piece, making sure she got the frosting and offered it to Rory. “Go on,” she said.

A chuckle escaped from Rory’s lips, soft and breathless. She smiled at RC, eyes almost gleaming, before taking a bite from RC’s fingers. 

“H-how’s that?” RC asked as she tried to slow down her heart. 

"Can use a little more frosting, or I don't know, maybe chocolate and blueberries," Rory said. She licked the remaining crumbs and frosting from her lips and RC couldn’t take her eyes off of every movement.

Ugh, not the time!

"Did Cass—" RC cleared her throat. "Did Cass love chocolate and blueberries?"

“Not really on the chocolate, but I do.” Rory finished off with a smile, so contagious that RC couldn’t help but grinned too. 

They sat close to each other as they ate the rest of the cupcake. By the time the only thing left was the wrapper, Rory was almost half sitting on RC’s lap. Well, half laying down on RC’s whole body, more precisely. RC just hoped that the loud thumping of her heart would not be noticeable by her friend.

“Hey, RC?” Rory's voice sounded so far away, but crystal clear in RC’s ears.

"Yeah?" 

"Thank you for this.” Rory nuzzled her head deeper into the crook of RC’s neck. She let out a deep breath, tickling RC’s skin. “I hope you know you’re the best.”

Her breath caught in her throat. Before RC could say something more, she noticed Rory’s even breaths, felt them on her skin. “Thank you for reminding me.” []

Chapter Text

After several days, Emmett still teased the hell out of RC after he found her as Rory’s pillow in the sunroom. More like Rory’s sleeping bag, because she literally slept on top of RC when Emmett found them in the morning.

“At least you were not naked.”

“Emmett, please. I would at least take her out on one date first,” Rory responded to Emmett’s comment, which got him to crack up a laugh and RC’s face turned as red as Rosalie’s car.

It wasn’t like RC intended for it to happen. She just fell asleep and forgot to move back to her bed, or at least the couch. Maybe the fact that there was no space between her and Rory got her brain to be short-circuited. Besides, Rory looked so comfortable and peaceful as she slept, probably the most relaxed she had been since forever. RC didn’t want to disrupt that just so she could be more comfortable with a foamy couch to lay on.

While RC still got flustered every time Emmett, or basically anyone in the family, mentioned about the sunroom, Rory took it like a champ. She was all smirks and all coy as though she had been rehearsing responses to them. Brushed them off like it was nothing.

Was it nothing? Was it just an innocent gesture between two friends? A momentary relapse due to a foggy state of mind. Rory was already a touchy person to begin with, so what was more cuddling and sleeping on top of each other? Personal space didn’t have a place in Rory’s vocabulary.

Sometimes, RC felt like she got stabbed in the gut by Rory’s action. The blade clung to her flesh, twisted as more words and responses came from her friend. It was just how Rory acted and she couldn’t blame her for it. RC just hoped that there was something more to them than just… whatever it was that they already had.

Rory kept on spending more time in RC’s house. She kept offering to drive RC back up after class and would spend the night every now and then. The drive had to be tiring, especially when Rory had to do it almost every day and sometimes in bad weather, but she did it anyway. To make sure RC spent enough time with her family was her main reason. RC knew there was something more.

Their friends from campus backed up RC’s theory. She knew from Laurel that something was up about Rory, but it wasn’t like those times when she would come back to their room stupid drunk every night. This time was probably less destructive but suspicious nonetheless. Amy, well, that girl already thought that something more was going on between RC and Rory since forever. So, when it was clear that Rory kept disappearing on weekdays to drive up a couple dozen miles for RC, well, the answer was pretty obvious.

RC wasn’t sure why she kept acting like Rory was doing a crime. The girl probably just missed her family and being surrounded by RC’s family was the best substitute with her current situation. Besides, RC couldn’t really complain. More Rory in the house meant less Edward. It almost felt like she got her personal Edward Masen repellant.

Esme and Carlisle were sad about the situation, although they both tried to cover it up. They wanted Edward to at least understand where RC was coming from. Rory was her friend, her first true friend and it was clear that Rory cared about RC a lot. Edward, of course, wasn’t having it. He just disappeared and went radio silent every time Rory was around.

Honestly, that boy needed to grow up. How was he someone’s father? Edward was a baby underneath all those moody, self-loathing, toxic bravado that he got going on.

He did the same thing on that Sunday before winter break.

Rory wasn’t planning on visiting, since she was supposed to be resting for the drive to Brooklyn. She was just at the house on Friday after dropping RC off and left the next morning. None of them expected to see Rory on their driveway on Sunday afternoon.

RC shared looks with her family and they confirmed her initial thoughts, no one heard her approaching, no one sensed her. Rory was just suddenly there. The knocks on their front door got RC back to reality, although her mind was still running a mile a minute, trying to make sense of it all.

Edward tried to leave once Rory stepped into the house but Esme blocked his way. He might not like Rory one bit, but he still loved Esme in his own complicated way. So, he stayed. Far away in the corner, but stayed.

Rory only spared a two seconds glance at Edward after she entered the room. Her expression changed when she did. The smile dropped a little, her eyes hardened. Once she turned away, it was like a switch was flicked. Rory was pretty much like her usual self. She played chess with Jasper, beating him again for the dozenth time, though she still couldn’t win a video game with Emmett.

Alice tried to get RC and Rory up to her room to try on a few clothes. RC could never say no, because she liked getting dressed up and got a makeover. That and the fact that it was Alice who asked. Nobody could say no to her. Nobody except Rory, apparently. Quite the shock to everyone in the room.

The game they played changed from Mario Kart to truth or dare from an app in Emmett’s tablet. He had several bottles of alcohol ready under the table. Esme and Carlisle were silent in the other room, but no doubt knew about what Emmett was planning on doing. It wasn’t like they were underage, only RC and Rory were. Besides, it would take a tank for RC to get drunk—not that she ever tried that before, RC didn’t really drink—and Rory was already used to it. Yeah, no one really needed to know about that.

RC and Rosalie were not the biggest fans of Emmett’s version of truth or dare. Well, the proper name of the game would probably be ‘truth or dare or drink two’. Vampires couldn’t really get drunk, but the taste of alcohol was just the same. Emmett found it extraordinary, that he could drink every last drop of alcohol in the world but still wouldn’t get drunk. Tipsy, maybe, but not really drunk.

 Emmett drank a whole bottle of… probably beer, and set it in the middle of the table. The rest of the family circled around it. RC wasn’t sure if Emmett rigged the random dares and truths, because a lot of them were questions about dates and kisses. Describe your first kiss. Which person in the room do you want to sleep with? Wow do you prepare for a date? Those were just the examples that RC dared to think about without getting red in the face.

Bella spun the bottle after answering that sex with a girl was so much better. Edward growled from his seat and RC felt like she was about to die. She did not need that visual in her head. Not now, not ever.

The bottle slowly stopped at Rory's direction. A holler broke out, because it was her fourth time already and Rory chose to drink two for the last three times.

"Aye, Rory," Emmet said as he rubbed his hand together. "Give me a good one."

Rory leaned forward, smirking. Her elbows rested on her knees. "Dare."

The red 'dare' button turned for a second before showing three cards. Rory picked the one in the middle and read the instructions. "Declare something to someone in the room or drink a bottle of vodka in under two minutes. Holy Her—who made this stuff? Were they trying to get people to have alcohol poisoning when they made this? Gods."

"A rule's a rule," Jasper said as he raised a brow. "So, which one, Rory?"

“Declare, duh.” Rory got up from the couch, but froze. Lines formed between her eyebrows as her head was tilted to one side. “O-kay, so, there is something I want to say, but the things related to it aren't done yet, so let me think of something else.”

Amused smiles were plastered on the Cullens’ faces, especially Emmett and Alice. Probably Alice more. She told everyone that being near Rory, while not being able to see her future, was a nice thing. A chance to just breathe and had a little peace and quiet. Bella was a different case, because Alice could still see her possible futures. Rory was just dark. It made Alice nervous sometimes, not being able to see, but it was a price she was willing to pay.

Edward scoffed from his seat in the corner of the room. It was loud enough for everyone to turn to him. Everyone, including Rory.

“Did I do something?” Rory said, but Edward made no indication if he heard her. She waited a second before approaching him. “Did your mom teach you to look someone in the eyes when they’re talking to you? It’s called manners, Edward. Is that really a foreign concept to you?”

RC’s jaws dropped to the floor in delight and Emmett could barely hold in his laugh. Rory was standing in front of Edward. The latter put his book down and slowly met Rory’s eyes. His gold ones darkened, his lips curled up in a scowl.

“Can I help you?” he spitted out.

“Did I do something?” Rory repeated. “What did I do to piss you off so much? We don’t know each other but you’re acting like I killed your puppy. Or is it just your default setting to be an ass?”

A growl came from deep in Edward’s chest. RC gulped hard when Rory’s eyes followed the sound.

“Oh, you’re not used to being called out by someone, are you?” Rory made a show of facing everyone in the room. She twirled ever so dramatically like a showman, uh, show-woman. “Buckle up guys, this is going to be a long ride.”

Rory clapped her hands before pointing at Edward. “You, Edward… whatever your last name is, you are the epitome of red flags in toxic people. I tried not to judge you at first, when RC told me about her sister having a douchebag as a boyfriend. You make decisions regarding your girlfriend’s life for her, without discussing it with her. You hate that Bella has a life outside of you, that you need to be the sun that she orbits around,” Rory said all of that while keeping points with her fingers, adding it more and more.

Edward scoffed and opened his mouth, but Rory cut him off before he could.

“Sit down and listen, Shithead, I’m not done.” Rory clicked her tongue, her jaws tensed. “I was looking forward to meeting you, you know. How much worse could you be, exactly? Then, I had the pleasure of doing that. We barely said a word but you already stamped me as someone below you. You don’t like me hanging out with RC, or Bella, or anybody else. Why is that?”

A condescending sneer was displayed on Edward's face. “How do you know I did all of the things you accused me of? You don’t even know me. You’re just a weak little girl who can’t handle herself, so you just blame everyone else and talk nonsense of them. You need to get help.”

“You do realize what you just said literally confirms my previous statement, don’t you?” Rory took a step back as she shoved her hands into her jeans pocket. She turned back to the game table and said, “So that’s my declaration. I believe it’s my turn to spin?”

Bella and Rosalie had a full blown smile of amusement on their faces. In fact, everybody did. RC knew that Edward rarely got called out. She and Rosalie were the ones who did it the most in the family, but outside of it? Nobody had ever known them enough to do that. Bella was a different case, since she was biased towards him. Rory though, well, Rory would stand toe to toe with anyone else that deserved a piece of her mind.

“Spin away, Rory,” Emmett said, still smiling as he tilted his head to the direction of the table.

Rory took back her seat besides RC. Even up close, RC wasn’t sure how to read her friend’s expressions. But, she felt confident enough to say that Rory seemed a little lighter after that.

In a way, maybe she was. When RC told her about how awful Edward was to Bella, it was clear that the thought disturbed her. She didn’t like it, didn’t like Edward, but still tried to keep it neutral because Rory hadn’t met the guy yet. It wouldn’t be fair to judge someone she didn’t know, would it?

Then, they actually met. Glared at each other was more fitting actually. Everything that Edward did after that proved RC’s words and that made Rory had pent up anger towards him. That much was clear for anyone with eyes to see. Especially when RC had to physically restrain her friend a few times when Edward’s name was mentioned.

For the rest of the day, they played and laughed without a care in the world. Rory switched to water halfway in and it was probably the reason why she wasn’t stupid drunk. That or maybe her high alcohol tolerance got lower with the amount of alcohol she didn’t drink since, what, a few months probably.

Although, it was getting clear that Rory got a little bit touchier. Not sure if it was the alcohol or just Rory. She would rest her head on RC’s shoulder, or simply just play with her fingers without thinking. Rory already had a leg over RC’s thigh on the couch, the warmth radiated through the fabric of their pants.

RC tried to ignore the stares she got from her family, so she focused on Rory instead. How she talked, how she observed the place, how relaxed she was. Her laughs, open and loud and everything else that would make anyone in the 20^th century flabbergasted.

“Damn it.”

Rory’s groan brought her back to reality. RC studied every inch of the room, trying to figure out what was wrong. Until her gaze landed on the bottle, which once again was pointed at her friend.

“Some poor luck you’ve got there, Rory,” Alice commented from her seat. “Sorry I can’t help you with this one.”

Oh, the double meaning in that sentence. Rory of course, didn’t suspect a thing. She gave Alice a look and shook her head playfully. “Truth.”

“Come on, Rory,” Emmett whined. “Be adventurous a little. Pick a dare.”

“Hell no. I am not kissing anyone's ass or drinking any more Vodka of yours.”

“You don’t like vodka?” Jasper asked.

“I’m more of a whiskey kind of gal. Cognac too, sometimes and maybe—”

“She’s stalling,” Alice cut her off. She moved ever so gracefully to the table and pressed the truth button. The question appeared and Alice read it out loud. “Are you a person who asks the other person out on a date? If so, how would you do it?”

Rory didn’t answer it immediately. She leaned back on the couch with her hands over her chest. Her middle finger tapped her skin frequently as the gear in her head turned.

With seconds passed, RC had a feeling in her gut that the answer Rory gave wouldn’t settle well with her. Rory needed this much time to answer a simple question. What was going on in her mind? Did she have too many experiences to choose from? How would RC compete with that then?

“I would ask someone out,” she finally said, “and I don’t know, maybe I would do that spontaneously.”

“Like what?” Emmett asked.

“Like this.”

Rory turned to her right, so she was face to face with RC. They were already sitting so close with each other and with Rory leaning forward, RC couldn’t function. She heard Rory’s increased heart rate, or was it hers? Then it was clear that it was her own breathing that reached her ears. Rory looked as calm as ever, her eyes soothing and bright.

“Do you want to go on a date with me?”

The words rang loudly in her ears, played over and again in her head. Her mouth felt like it wouldn’t open. Say something, RC!

“W-what?”

Rory reached out to grab both of RC’s hands. Her eyes never left RC’s and that made the latter’s heart caught in her throat. “Do you want to go on a date with me? Right now?”

“But we’re playing.”

“They can wait,” Rory answered, shaking her head slightly. A smile formed on her face, waiting for an answer. “So, what do you say? Feel free to say no, by the way. I thought I would be…” Rory shrugged. “Spontaneous, I guess.”

Everyone in the room seemed to disappear when RC stared right into Rory’s eyes. She waited patiently, still drawing light circles on the back of RC’s hand.

“Okay,” RC said, nodding slightly.

The room exploded in a round of claps and screams of excitement. Rory jumped from her seat from the loudness of it, but she quickly covered it with a million watt smile. A string of ‘finally’ and ‘about time’ could probably be heard by someone driving past the main road. In the commotion, Edward dashed out of the room at vampire speed. For someone who kept mandating her about keeping the existence of vampires a secret, Edward ran around doing the opposite of that.

Thankfully, Rory didn’t notice. She was too busy laughing and grinning and trying to get away from Alice and Emmett. With Rory’s hand on RC’s, they both left the room, approaching the front door.

Esme appeared when they were layering up. Well, Rory was layering up. RC just put on a coat and grabbed an extra jacket just in case Rory needed it.

“Take this.” Esme handed out a few containers of food to Rory. “I was planning to give this to you for your drive home, Rory, but this is more of a fitting situation, no?”

From the smell of it, RC could guess that Esme packed some sandwiches, muffins, and chocolate cake. There were probably more in there, enough to feed a baseball team.

“You are amazing, Esme, have I told you that today?” Rory said as she took the containers.

Esme just laughed before opening the door for them. “Be careful, girls. Oh, and don’t stay out too late.”

“I’ll have her home before ten, I promise.”

RC frowned at that. “I don’t have a curfew.”

“RC, I’m trying to be responsible here,” Rory answered as she raised an eyebrow. She put the containers in the back seat of her car and opened the passenger’s door. “My Lady.”

A smile creeped up RC’s face at the gesture. She took Rory’s hand and got into the car.

“Bye Maman,” RC said, waving from the car as Rory drove out their property.

Some random pop songs from the 2010s played on the radio as they drove to… yeah, RC had no idea where they were going. From the looks of it, Rory didn’t either. None of them actually planned about what to do and where to go. It wasn’t like Rory could see what was going to happen that night.

The sky was already dark. Rory was driving fast, the stars above were just a bunch of white dashes. The scenery around them soon became familiar to RC, the thick woods parted, houses started to fill the dark greens. They were nearing campus.

“Okay, so I was thinking,” Rory said, her eyes focused on the road. “Maybe we could stop by a store, pick up some snacks and drinks? Not that I don’t love the foods your mom made for us. I thought, maybe we could stuff up some snacks and soda for our date.”

Our date.

“Yeah, that would be great. Grape soda, maybe cherry?”

A chuckle escaped from Rory’s mouth. “Grape soda it is. And, uh, I guess I want to say sorry. I’m sure this is not what you imagine our first date would be.”

“What? No, Rory.” RC reached out across the console, putting her hand on Rory’s thigh. “I like this. I don’t really care what we do or where we go. I, uh, I just want to spend time with you.”

“Do you mind though, if, I don’t know,” Rory said, chuckling nervously. She moved her hand to lace through RC’s fingers. “Say, I want to redo our first date. To go to a fancy dinner, get all dressed up. You know the works.”

RC’s jaw fell, her eyes widened in surprise. “You want to dress up? To be fancy and all that? Who are you and what have you done to my Rory?”

“My Rory?”

RC could feel herself getting hotter. Her heart thumped loudly inside her chest. She tried to pull back her hand, but Rory’s hold on her tightened.  “W-wait. I don’t, I, I don’t mean to—”

Rory let out a laugh so free, RC’s worry started to melt away. “Well, it’s not my favorite thing in the world, but you love it, don’t you? And you already know that I would do anything for you. Let me prove it.”

I would do anything for you.

Six words. Only six words that were supposed to be so romantic but felt so off in RC’s ears. Rory was right, though, that RC already knew that Rory would move mountains for her. But Rory showed that, with the way she talked and treated her. Hearing those words come flooding out of Rory’s mouth was different. A declaration that made it real. RC wasn’t sure what to make of that.

“Let’s focus on this one first, okay?” RC said as she squeezed Rory’s hand. “We have a lot of time to think about our future dates.”

A lot of time. That was a funny thing, wasn’t it? Sure, RC had more time, but Rory didn’t and saying that they had time to talk about their future was just like pouring salt to her wounds.

Finding a store when it was already dark was harder than she previously thought. Especially when Christmas break was just around the corner. The first convenience store they found which wasn’t closed, was after about thirty minutes of driving around. Rory wasted no time finding a parking spot and dashed inside with RC followed closely behind.

They split up inside the store. RC headed towards the beverage cooler to pick up a few sodas, while Rory went… somewhere. RC could still hear her steps on the tiled floor, somehow lighter than average humans, especially with her boots on. Rory’s scent was still strong and that convinced her about Rory’s whereabouts.

"Hey, you good?"

Rory came approaching with a handful of chips and cheese puffs. RC noticed a few chocolate biscuits sticking up from under her arms.

RC chuckled before offering her basket to Rory. When they were about to pay, RC noticed the keychain stands on the counter. One of them caught her eyes, a purple fabric keychain with R&R stamped on one side.

She didn't notice Rory staring at her and that keychain until Rory grabbed one of them and examined it up close. Rory turned the keychain and cackled with laughter.

“Ha, this is so fitting,” Rory said, still grinning widely.

RC raised an eyebrow, grabbing Rory’s hand so she could see. The back of the keychain was a little cartoon vampire fangs. Two droplets of blood decorated one side of it.

Dread started to pool in her stomach. “How’s this fitting?”

“You were a vampire for Halloween, remember? Impromptu costume, but it worked, my gods.” Rory shook her head, trying to contain her laughter. “I’m getting this for you. A memento of our spur of the moment adventure, if you will.”

RC could take her eyes off of that keychain Rory bought for her. There was nothing fancy about it. No expensive leather for the strap, or complicated embroidery. Just a piece of canvas fabric, with cheap metal and printed pictures. The cashier joked about how he needed an R&R after scanning that keychain and said something about how they should take some too, considering winter break was near. But Rory wasn’t thinking about some rest and relaxation. To her, that R&R meant Rory and RC.

Rory and RC. RC and Rory. The thought brought a soft smile to her lips.

When she was too busy staring at Rory's gift, the car was already zooming through the road. No other vehicle was there as far as RC could see. The only light source came from the car's headlights, but Rory drove like the sun was still shining above.

"Not that I don't trust you or anything, but where are we going?"

"Uh, I am trying to find someplace I discovered," Rory said as she leaned forward to the steering wheel. Her chest was almost touching the horn. "It's not too far from your house, but not too close either. I figured since most of the places in town are closed right now and the only places I could think of, were either on campus or your house, so…"

RC turned in her seat to face Rory, a frown on her face. “You’re not trying to get me to a secluded place only to murder me, are you?”

Rory laughed loudly and shook her head. “I got you to watch too many crime shows. No, RC, no. If something bad happened to you, I’d rather drown myself before your sisters skin me alive.”

“They won’t do that.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Rory cleared her throat. “Although, Rosalie probably will. By the way, we’re here.”

The car stopped by the tree line. RC wasn’t sure when they drove over from asphalt to dirt road, but they were there. In front of them, there was a small lake with a picnic table by the side. Even in the dark, RC could see the slight burnt patch on the ground, probably from a bonfire.

Rory was already getting out of the car and ran over to open RC’s door. With a bright grin on her face, normal people wouldn’t notice something was off. After RC got out of the car, Rory immediately clung to her side, squeezing so tightly that it would hurt her if she wasn’t a hybrid.

“Maybe we should stay in the car, Rory. You’re freezing.”

“I’m not.”

That short reply would definitely be convincing if Rory would stop shaking. Her teeth chattered and RC could feel the coldness of her fingers. Even with the gloves separating their skin.

“You are, Rory.” RC pulled her arms from Rory’s death grip and the girl whined slightly. Too quiet for any human to hear. She took off her gloves and placed her hands on each side of Rory’s neck.

In any other situation, RC would probably panic first and then her brain would short-circuited after seeing Rory’s immediate reaction. The girl melted into the hold, a relieved breath escaped from her lips. Her eyes were closed as she reached up to cover RC’s hands with her own.

“Okay, yeah, maybe staying in the car is a good idea,” Rory said, still holding on to RC’s hand on her face. “There are a few blankets in the trunk. We could fold the backseat and it would give a lot more space to sit and lay down."

They got to work immediately, turning Rory's car into a mobile picnic table. Rory had to move the car closer to the water, so they could see the sky more clearly from the window. She insisted on doing that, because she thought RC would love it after seeing the glass roof in her house.

Nobody had ever thought of that. To think about her like Rory did.

It didn't take them long to set up. With the moving around, RC noticed that Rory was getting warmer, but not warm enough. She felt a little guilty inside. While RC was thrilled to spend time with Rory, to go on a date with her, she had to admit that she was mainly thinking about herself.

How wonderful it would be to go out with Rory. Sure, they went out all the time, to have lunch or coffee, to go to parties or just drive around town to look for a new spot to hang out. But that was just it. To hang out.

Now, they were going on a date. Officially. Something that RC wanted since as long as she could remember, but never really had the courage to ask. Rory did have the guts, proved it while playing truth or dare, knowing that they would be out of the warmth of the house and into the cold.

Yeah, freezing to death was not how RC imagined her first date with Rory would turn out.

Half of the food that Esme packed for them disappeared into Rory’s stomach in less than an hour. Sometimes it still amazed her, knowing that her friend could eat a five course meal and still have room for more.

After they put back the food they didn’t finish, Rory took her seat beside RC, pressing their bodies tight together. RC leaned back on the side of the trunk, her back was propped with a duffle bag filled with Rory’s clothes. She could see the sky clearly from the rear window. On usual nights, RC would definitely choose to stargaze, but not that night. Especially not when Rory was cuddling close to her as she finished off a bag of cheese puffs.

“Rory?”

“Hmm,” Rory answered before quickly swallowing down her food. “What’s up?”

“Did you do all of this because of the game or do you really want to go out on a date with me?”

Rory stopped crunching and sat up. She threw away the bag and stared right into RC’s eyes. “I’m planning on asking. That thing I said about working on something to declare? I have an ongoing plan to ask you out. Some grand gesture or something, I don’t know, I haven’t got to that part yet.”

Rory was planning to ask me out.

“I don’t need some grand gesture, Rory,” RC said, sitting up straighter.

A light laugh came from Rory’s lips, with a smile so bright, her eyes sparkled. “Yeah, yeah I just realized that. I guess a part of me wanted to impress your sisters too.”

RC raised an eyebrow. “My sisters? Not my parents?”

“RC, I’ve met your parents. They wouldn’t hurt a fly,” Rory said. “Rosalie and Bella, on the other hand. I don’t think they will take it lightly about you dating someone. They’ll make sure you have someone worthy of you. I just want to let them know that I am. Hopefully.”

Worthy of me. Rory was going out of her way to prove to Rosalie and Bella that she was good enough. Didn’t she already know that she was? She proved that time and again. With every word and every way, every drive she took to make sure RC got home safe, every promise she kept. Why couldn’t Rory see that?

RC wasn’t sure what to say to answer that. So, she just threw her arms around Rory and hugged her tight. Rory was surprised but quickly melted into it, taking in a deep breath as she buried her face in the crook of RC’s neck.

“You already are, Rory. Don’t forget that.” []

Chapter Text

Never in her life had RC Cullen went out on a date. Everything that was going on with Jacob didn’t necessarily fall into that category. To be honest it would be freaky if it did. It wasn’t like she could help with the dating thing. She felt appropriate to separate her life into two stages, before Dartmouth and during Dartmouth.

Before Dartmouth, RC always posed as the youngest of the Cullens in some random small town high school, with a lot of foster siblings who were so otherworldly and somewhat detached from society. Foster siblings who also dated each other. Kids at school soon stayed away from them.

During Dartmouth, she met Rory. Soon she learned how to blend in better, how to be more involved with her peers while keeping her family secret. For the first time in her life, RC felt like she was actually living, instead of just existing. All because she practically made the whole family let her be on her own, and then she met Rory who helped her with that.

Rory.

After their impromptu date, Rory drove back to New York the next morning. Well, late morning, because for whatever reason, Rory kept snuggling deeper into the comforter when RC tried to wake her up. They weren’t even out that late. Rory kept her words on having RC home before ten and both of them went to sleep right after. RC started to think that going out before Rory had to drive five hours or something the next day might not be such a great idea.

But, she made it. Rory called every two hours or so to check in and after two calls, RC received a text saying that Rory just got home. In the following minutes, RC also got a selfie of Rory in her house, holding up a mug of drink. RC hoped that it was hot chocolate and not coffee.

Emmett and Alice were ganging up on her to try to tell them everything about that date. RC couldn’t blame them really, since it was clear that everyone was expecting it to happen sooner or later. If she did tell everything, it wouldn’t be much, since it was just them hanging out. No different like RC and Rory usually did in front of them. They just stamped a fancy new label on it called ‘a date’.

It went on for days up to Christmas. RC could see it in her family’s faces that they were dying to know. Edward probably had known already, since he was being extra moody and annoying. She tried to see the good thing that came out of it—Edward was not around the house much.

Alice tried to take a glance then, but it was still blurry. She told the family that she could see flashes of Rory and RC. The moment Rory decided to stop by the store and when RC chose to have their picnic inside the car. But that was just it. The only reason Alice was sure that RC and Rory sat together in the car was because she physically saw them together before. While everything looked crystal clear, there was something that made looking at Rory that much harder in Alice's vision.

It was starting to give her a lot of thoughts. Was there something wrong with Rory? Or Alice’s credibility? But Rory was almost always with RC and her family and nothing was pinging red on their radars.

Rosalie and Bella were on the same page. They liked Rory. The girl had some problems but she was working through them, she tried to be better and was actually doing it. So, having Rory around to keep a close eye on her was the better idea they came up with.

Sure, they were still wary about the relationship between RC and Rory. One of them was a human, who had no clue about vampires. There was nothing that could guarantee that things would run out smoothly. At the end of the day, the choices for Rory were the same as Bella’s back then.

Learn about vampires and be one of them, or just leave and never have contact ever again. The more drastic version of the latter was to just flat out kill Rory and make it look like an accident. Oh, and also hope that Rory's family would never find out about the truth.

Yeah, the whole scenario made RC think that going out with Rory might not be a good idea.

But it was so simple though. When it was just the two of them, RC could finally be a kid. A regular, college kid, with simple things and simple problems. She could be selfish for wanting that, but immortal life usually means complicated matters she wasn’t particularly fond of.

Throughout winter break, Rory kept calling her once every couple of days. She would text first, asking if it was okay to call and they would end up talking for hours. It wasn’t until the last few days of December when RC realized that, maybe, Rory was missing her like that time on Thanksgiving. Rory just wanted to hear her voice, that she missed RC the way RC missed her.

The lingering euphoria after their date was still there and when it slowly disappeared, Rosalie and Bella confronted her about it. The three of them went on a hunt up north before that, so it was just them in the middle of the dark, cold forest.

“What’s your plan, Lily?” Rosalie asked as they sat on a large rock, with a huge flat surface that hovered above a pond below.

“My plan?”

“With Rory,” Bella responded. “I’m not saying that you can’t be with her, but RC, you do realize that sooner or later, she will find out and you have to know what you’re going to do when that time comes.”

RC shook her head. “We went on one date.”

“A date that you have spent months waiting for.” Rosalie turned, gently pulling RC’s face so they were face to face. Rosalie’s golden eyes were bright and pierced right through RC’s soul. “Lily, do you really think this will end the way you want it to?”

No.

No, RC didn’t think that it would end the way she hoped.

“I can’t exactly run around turning people into vampires, Rose,” RC muttered before biting her lip. The furrow of her brows felt permanent on her face.

“You can’t,” Rosalie agreed. “You can’t if that is not what Rory wants. You and I both know there is a chance that Rory would have to…”

Die. That word remained unsaid.

Bella moved to Rosalie’s side. The two of them sat close to each other and a slight relief could be seen in Bella’s face, as though Rosalie just gave her a boost to go on. “RC, have you ever thought that maybe, what you and Rory have is just that? No mate bond to tie you two together, no imprint bond, nothing.”

Of course she had. It was one of the things that wreaked havoc in her head around the time when RC was still trying to figure everything out.

“So, what? I can’t be with Rory? Because I’m a hybrid and she’s a human, there’s no way we’re going to last?” RC’s voice was raised with every word that came out of her mouth. “That I can’t be with someone without a stupid mate bond to bind us together, is that what you’re saying?”

“The mate bond isn’t stupid—”

“Our last conversation about your mate bond with Edward proved otherwise, Mom,” RC said sharply, cutting Bella off. “It’s a tool that can be used to control and manipulate you. It’s literally what he has been doing since the start. Mom, you said that yourself.”

Bella was stunned. Her posture went rigid even more than usual, but RC could see in her mom’s eyes that realization started to sink in.

Rosalie turned her head towards Bella, but she didn't meet her eyes. Her gaze was down, brows knitted together. There was something RC couldn’t quite read in her face.  Maybe it was content, because Bella finally started to see things about Edward the way Rosalie did. Maybe it was disgust, over her supposed-to-be brother who did something so terrible for decades and had not changed one bit.

"What's the point of having a mate bond if your mate will not respect you as a person?" RC exhaled a heavy breath as she rubbed her face. Her eyes burned, chest tightened. She forced another breath and said, "He never respects you, Mom. Certainly not us. If he, and Carlisle, and everyone else, claim what you and Edward have as a mate bond, maybe it's wrong. Maybe there's no such thing. It’s just commitment, and it hurts so much more when your mate dies because vampires feel more deeply. Everything dialed up to the roof. But other than that, it's just a commitment."

RC wasn't sure what made her say all of that. Everyone in her family was 'paired' up to another vampire by the so-called mate bond shortly after they turned. What if they misread the situation?

Yeah, she couldn’t deny what Esme had with Carlisle was real love. Also, Rosalie with Emmett, and Alice with Jasper. But what were the chances of what they had, and everything that went on between them for decades, actually had nothing to do with a mate bond?

Conflict raged in Bella’s face. If she had gears and parts in her head, it would already be smoking from the heat.

“You get all of that from one conversation with me on that roof?” Bella asked softly.

RC shook her head. “All the talking I did with Rory helped to understand. And then some ‘what ifs’ came out with it. Yeah, I do know the risk. Sometimes I imagined what would happen if Rory would be like us, and we will be… long-lasting. Other times, I just want us to be kids. Is that too much to ask?”

Rosalie moved on the ground, holding her arms out. RC wasted no time throwing herself to her aunt’s hold. By Rosalie’s side, Bella scooted over so the three of them were sitting closely together. Rosalie’s hand found its way through RC’s locks, cold skin scraping her scalp slightly. RC melted into it, her hand reached out to grab her mom’s.

“We can’t always have good things in life, Little Lily,” Rosalie murmured. RC turned so she could see both women who raised her, but she couldn’t meet their eyes for long. When RC didn't say anything, Rosalie continued. "You and I both know the worst case scenario in this."

"Either we left before she started to notice, before you and Rory became more serious," Bella started.

"Or tell her, change her, and basically condemn her to a future she might not want for herself," RC finished off.

She let out a heavy breath, holding her mom’s hand tightly as she buried her face under her aunt’s chin. Choosing how things would turn out for someone else didn't sit well with RC. Even more so since Rory had been doing the exact opposite of that, to RC and everyone else. It was one of the things she admired about Rory, and hoped to be like that herself. What kind of person would she be if RC made decisions about Rory's life for her?

“Or—”

“I’m not letting her die, Rose.” RC’s voice was tenacious, cutting Rosalie off so swiftly. She sat up straight, her intense gaze burned through Rosalie’s golden eyes. "I would rather have her hate me for all eternity than have her dead for knowing what we are."

Bella tapped the back of RC's hand, gaining her attention. She stared at RC and said, "Are you keeping this a secret then? For as long as possible before we have to move again?"

"For now yes," RC admitted. "I don't know what's going to happen next. It's not like we can ask Alice to take a glimpse of Rory's future when it's all blurry and everything. Just, keep this a secret and let me have this one. Please. We'll cross that bridge when we get there, but for now, I just want to be RC to her.”

For the rest of that night, they just stayed out under the stars until it started to snow. The questions still lingered in the air, RC knew that. Rosalie and Bella wanted a concrete plan, something that RC wasn’t sure she was able to give yet.

It could be a lonely life, immortality. In her family’s case, they had each other and found a lover in one. They were lucky to have that, but they couldn’t really guarantee that the same thing would happen to the others. Would that happen to Rory if she changed? To find something in RC, like the way she felt for her?

She would definitely have to leave her family behind. A family that RC knew had been through so much. A life just disappeared with a bite. Rory would have to stay with them while she was still a newborn. Or at least, with Rosalie and Bella, because RC knew Rory would trust them the most. There were a lot of variables in play, earning an outcome that was no better than the last.

RC tried to put a lid on it and for a few days, and it worked. Rory texted for frequently and RC was glad because she wasn’t sure if she could hide the uneasiness in her voice when she talked. That was one crisis averted.

Until a few days before school started again. Esme received a call from Rory, asking if she could visit right after she got back from Brooklyn. RC tried to listen in, but Rory specifically asked to keep something a secret for her, so Esme immediately went to the basement level of their house. Soundproofing at its best.

Esme came back beaming after that. Alice joined her shortly after and she was practically bouncing on the balls of her heels.

“Rory’s coming back?” RC guessed.

The reaction she got was all the answer she needed. A bright grin formed on her face at the thought, but soon disappeared when she realized the impending talk she kept putting off.

“You’re acting very suspicious,” RC said, narrowing her eyes to Esme and Alice.

“Yes, we are,” Alice said before she disappeared to… somewhere in the house.

Esme laughed a little before kissing RC’s hair and went back to her studio.

RC sat in confusion. She met Rosalie’s darkened gaze from across the room, who tilted her head slightly, gesturing to the forest. RC wasn’t exactly hungry, but she went with Rosalie anyway.

Bella caught up with them not long after while they ran, coming from somewhere on the side. She didn’t look like she needed to hunt, so she stayed with RC as Rosalie chased after a deer.

“What are you doing here?” RC didn’t mean to sound so hostile, but the words came rolling out a lot colder than she intended. She took a sharp breath, wincing internally. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re wound up,” Bella commented as she sat on a log. “But to answer your question, we need to be away from prying ears and not look suspicious.”

RC raised an eyebrow in confusion. She understood the need of privacy, something of a foreign concept in her family. Perhaps foreign wasn’t really a right word, but privacy was definitely a scarcity.

When RC didn’t make any indication to answer, Bella sighed, biting her lip slightly. “What you said, about me and Edward may not be mates, because it couldn’t be real. RC, why would you think that? Don’t you want that with Rory?”

“I do.” RC sat on the ground by her mom’s feet, putting her head on Bella’s leg. She did want to have something with Rory, but she also wanted it to be Rory’s choice too. Being mates was basically just the universe telling them that they meant to be together and there was nothing that could be in the way of that. Much like imprinting, that wasn’t fair at all.

“So why don’t you think it’s real? Mate?”

“Because it’s basically just enhanced feelings,” Rory mumbled. “Emmett found Rose after his transformation. She was the first thing he saw after the change. Same with you, and Esme. Alice found Jasper not long after also. Don’t you feel something off with that? Love at first sight? Come on, this is not a fairytale. Even TV shows don’t do that anymore.”

Bella gently moved RC’s head and slid down so they were sitting side by side. “You think it’s just attractions.”

“Yeah,” RC answered with a nod. She eyed every inch of her mom’s face. Bella's eyes seemed distant, looking at something and nothing on the forest floor, but RC could see the gears turning. “Then again, it’s not really scientifically proven. Nothing about vampires really is, but since we’re throwing ideas out there. Maybe mates are a thing, and maybe you can have more than one. At the same time, or otherwise. I don’t know, I have a million questions and zero resources to answer them.” RC stared at her mom, her brows knitted together. “Why do you ask?”

Bella sat up straighter immediately, her eyes darted around before settling on RC. If Bella still had her heart beating, RC would bet that it was going a mile an hour. “T-there is something. I have been thinking, about…” She took a breath and shrugged. “Possibilities, I guess. Me and your father.”

“Edward is nothing but a sperm donor,” RC blurted out those words faster than sound, earning a light chuckle from her mom. “I think you and I both can agree with that. He has never been a father. For goodness sake, Mom, he was practically forcing you to abort me.”

“Exactly,” Bella said. “With everything that you said, it got me thinking. There’s no science behind mating, but what if it’s a feeling which developed over the time you know someone. Basically like a normal dating, vampire version.”

The word piqued RC’s interest. Her lips curled up in amusement, which only grew by the minute. “You have eyes on someone?”

A familiar scent reached both of them, and Bella’s gaze followed it faster than light. RC needed a little longer to track it. When she did, she sensed someone heading towards them. A second later, Rosalie came into view.

RC turned to face her mom, who had her eyes set on Rosalie. Realization dawned on her as the words Rory said to her in that Halloween party came echoing back in her head.

“Are you sure it’s not Rosalie that Bella is dating? Because, look.”

Rosalie and Bella practically raised her. Even when Bella was still pregnant with her, Rosalie was there to take care of them both when the rest of the family didn’t. After that, it was always her mom, Rose, and the rest of the family sometimes, and never Edward. So, RC had never given much thought about how her mom and her aunt were basically glued to each other and to her. She always knew they cared, she just didn’t realize in what way they care about each other.

Even after Rory literally pointed it out for her, the fact that there was something there between Rosalie and Bella, RC didn’t really put much thought into it. Not until she started to question the purpose of imprinting, and with that, vampire mate.

It was subtle, what her mom did. Bella was a vampire, so it was no surprise that she was aware of her surroundings, even more so than human. But what she did, sensing Rosalie was nearing a lot faster than possible, it made RC think that maybe there was some truth to what Rory told her.

Bella sat up straighter on the ground, if that was even possible. When Rosalie was standing in front of them, she held her hands for Bella and RC to take, promptly helping them up. It was almost like some switch was flicked, because when it was just three of them, Rosalie was not the cold-hearted ice queen and Bella was not the sarcastic family’s shield. They were just Rosalie, Bella, and RC.

“Good hunt?” Bella asked as she dusted the dirt from her pants. A soft smile was plastered on her face, which was slightly tilted up to meet Rosalie’s bright golden eyes.

“Yes, it was, thank you,” Rosalie replied. There was a hint of… something, in her voice. RC always associated it with herself when Rosalie was with her. No snide remarks, no bitchy banter that other people always thought about her aunt Rosalie. “What were you just talking about?”

“What we talked about last time,” Bella answered, “about vampires and mating.”

“Oh.”

RC raised an eyebrow at Rosalie’s response. “You don’t agree?”

“I have Emmett, Little Lily, and he helped me through a lot. Isn’t that what mates are supposed to do?” Rosalie said. “I do understand where you’re coming from. Edward is not the best at being a brother or a husband.”

RC didn’t miss the fact that Rosalie didn’t include ‘father’ in that sentence. Not because he was good at it, more like because they knew that he was never one.

“And you have made yourself crystal clear about where you stand regarding what to do with Rory,” Rosalie added. “I trust you will do the right thing at the end.”

“So, what? This is not the right thing?”

“This is a risky thing.” Rosalie’s voice was sharp and firm. Anybody else would cower under that intensity. “I completely understand that you don’t want to dump all of this on Rory. To let her choose and hope that it’s the right one.”

“You don’t trust her.”

Rosalie gave her a sad smile. “I know a part of you wanted her to be your forever. But Lily, forever isn’t as long as we think it is.”

A storm was brewing inside her head. Loud and daunting. Rosalie once again pointed out all the things RC didn’t like to think about. A part of her wanted vampire mating to be real, so she could have that chance of forever with Rory. The other part of her didn’t want the vampire mating as a real thing for the sole reason to officially brand Edward as a manipulative bastard.

“Hey.” Bella bumped RC’s shoulder lightly. “I thought what I had with Edward is my forever, but now I can definitely see the end of the road. Take it as a good thing, RC. It means nothing is what it seems.”

RC only hummed in response. She took a few deep breaths to try to ease her turmoil. Her eyes darted to every square inch of the forest but the two women who raised her. When she took a step back, Bella and Rosalie didn't hover. They just stood there, unmoving as RC paced on the ground.

"Mom, I thought you don't want me to be with Rory."

Bella raised her shoulder lightly. The movement was so small, even RC almost missed it. “I’m with Rosalie.”

As soon as she said that, Bella went frantic. It was subtle, of course, but RC still noticed. How her mom’s head dropped, brows knitted together. Her eyes were wild. If Bella was still human, RC dared to bet that her mom would be blushing hard and fumbled through her words.

I’m with Rosalie. Maybe Rory had a solid point. Then again, she usually had a lot of solid points.

“I’m with Rosalie with this one,” Bella repeated, slowly taking a step closer to RC. “You do what you need to do. You can tread around the water first before diving right in. Just, be careful, please?”

RC’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why do I have this feeling that you’re not only talking about me and Rory, but you and Edward as well?”

Also, you and Rosalie.

Bella gave RC a look as she tilted her head to one side. Rosalie watched her with a brow raised in intrigue.

“It’s a complicated matter, RC.”

“De-complicate it then!” RC threw her hands up in frustration. “Mom, you’re basically telling me to do what’s best for me, and yet you’re doing the exact opposite of that.”

“What’s going on between me and you father is not that simple,” Bella answered.

“He’s not my father.”

“Edward is no father.”

The words came out at the same time from RC and Rosalie, which made the corner of Bella’s mouth curl up a little. She approached RC and cupped her cheeks.

“You and Rory have taught me a lot, I can promise you that.” Bella rubbed RC’s cheeks softly with her thumbs and RC covered Bella’s hands with her own. “And I also promise you that I am working on it, okay? We can figure this out together. If the rest of the family doesn’t want to help you with that, it will just be the two of us.”

“Three.” Rosalie’s voice made them turn their heads. She dashed so they were standing together, huddled close. “You will always have me. Don’t forget that, Little Lily.”

A wide smile appeared on RC’s face, half a second before she threw herself into their hugs. She found comfort in their cold embraces, a total opposite of her own. RC inhaled a deep breath before letting go, but not completely took her hands off of Rosalie and Bella.

Thank you.

The sky was turning dark by the time RC got back to her family’s property with Rosalie and Bella. They deliberately took a slow pace. Who knew when they would have some more peace and quiet?

It couldn’t be that close from the house when RC sensed it. A familiar feeling in her chest when a hint of peppermint and coffee reached her nose. She felt it tingling under her skin. So, RC ran, full speed, leaving Rosalie and Bella behind.

Not even two minutes later, RC appeared in the tree lines near her house. It must be a record time, running almost two miles in under two minutes. Then again, RC started to do and learn more things after she met Rory.

While Rory’s scent was the first thing she noticed, it was Rory’s red car that caught RC’s eye first. Something was different though, but she couldn’t find out soon enough, because her gaze fell on the figures on the porch.

Esme was facing the forest, and met RC’s eyes with a smile on her face. She was hugging Rory tightly, who was hidden under layers of jackets. When Esme let Rory go, RC noticed the slight movement of Rory’s head. The girl slowly turned around, like the sensor in the back of her head was pinged. A lopsided smirk was on full display when Rory’s eyes met RC’s.

“Go ahead,” Esme said as she nudged Rory to the lawn. “Come inside quickly, alright, honey? You need to be out from the cold.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

Rory stepped off the porch slowly. She kept clenching and unclenching her hands together, trying to fight off the cold seeping through the fabric of her gloves. RC ran towards her and immediately engulfed her in a hug. Rory melted into it, so RC made sure to slither her arm around Rory’s neck.

“Damn, I forgot how hot you are.” Rory buried her face in RC’s shoulder as she took a deep breath.

I forgot how hot you are.

If RC could see herself, she would definitely be blazing red. She hugged Rory tighter and muffled, “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” Rory reluctantly pushed RC at arm’s length. “That’s why I’m about to have a do-over of our first date.”

“Now?” RC’s eyes widened. “In the cold? Do you remember what happened last time?”

“Yes, I do. It’s an almost two hours’ drive and I need you to pack an overnight bag,” Rory said as her eyebrow raised and the words were dragged. “Unless you don’t want to?”

“No, no, I want to. It’s just, I’m not sure if Maman is okay about it,” RC admitted, thinning her lips, but the expression on Rory’s face made her realize. “That’s why you called her earlier and made her and Alice act all suspicious and everything.”

Rory forced a laugh between her chattering teeth.

“Okay, let’s get you warmed up as I pack.” RC grabbed Rory’s hand and tugged her to the house.

Nobody could be heard once RC stepped inside. Well, she could hear Esme in her study, but other than that, nothing. She wasn’t going to lie, it took her a little bit by surprise, especially with her aunt Alice. Usually she would be ready with an empty suitcase so they could pack together, but not then.

After she helped Rory with her jackets, RC put her arm around Rory’s shoulder and had the other hand entwined with Rory’s fingers. Rory was squeezing her hand so hard, it would definitely bruise if RC wasn’t a hybrid.

“Where are we going that needs an overnight bag?”

Rory pulled her so they stopped in the middle of the hallway, only a couple feet away from RC’s room. With RC’s hand around Rory’s shoulder, their faces were only inches apart when Rory turned. RC took a step back, bringing Rory along and her back hit the wall.

“Do you trust me?” Rory asked softly.

RC could feel Rory’s slow breaths on her lips. She gulped down hard and forced out, “Yes.”

“Good.” Rory’s lips slowly curled up before she leaned in. “Because it’s a surprise.” []

Chapter Text

Science and games were always going to be how RC saw Rory. So, RC wasn’t sure why she was surprised when she realized that they drove two hours to a science center and an escape room all the way in Manchester.

“No way,” Rory commented, shaking her head. “ I drove. You just sat over there and looked pretty.”

She didn’t fail to make RC turned red in the face. In fact, RC was starting to think that it became Rory’s personal mission every single time.

Museums were not a foreign place for her. Rosalie loved them, so did Esme and Alice. Emmett found them too boring, and Carlisle preferred to visit libraries instead. But she never did all of that with someone other than her family. The science center was the first one RC ever visited without some watchful eyes tracking her every move, and she loved it.

It was clear that the science center was kid-friendly and in that moment, Rory was nothing but a kid. Every flicking light from some machines, every automatic component, every wire and circuit, brought a permanent grin on Rory’s face. Rory was studying to be an engineer, so she was used to seeing all of the things in there. She made one for an assignment, but the amazement on her face seemed like she was seeing it for the first time again. RC couldn’t help but adore her.

Before the drive back up, Rory stopped in an escape room. RC didn’t see the appeal for purposely locking yourself in a room and had to solve puzzles to get out. Particularly when RC could just literally punch her way out of there. Nevertheless, she started to have fun ten minutes in. RC noticed a few other people in there before she got locked in. A few students, probably high school, or maybe college students. It was a nice feeling, knowing that she could actually do what they were doing.

The drive back to her house didn’t take two hours with all the speeding Rory did. Also, maybe it didn’t help that RC fell asleep almost the entire time, leaving Rory on her own. By the time they arrived at the house, Rory spent one second sitting on the couch before falling asleep. Her head leaned back on the backrest, her hoodie hung loosely from her shoulder.

Guilt rolled and twisted in RC’s stomach. While she was thrilled to spend some time with Rory before school started again, RC didn’t mean to work her to a point of exhaustion. She should’ve said no when Rory came the other day, to let her take a break before driving to the other side of the state and back.

Esme didn’t let Rory drive back to Dartmouth after that, even though she claimed that she was well-rested. So, Rory spent the rest of winter break with them. Edward wasn’t too thrilled, but nobody really gave a crap about him.

Nothing was out of the ordinary when Rory was at the house. Jasper and Alice still had to disappear to ‘call it a night’. Rosalie and Emmett too. After they left on Saturday before the end of break, the house felt too quiet for RC. She was used to quiet, living with vampires and all that, with the only sounds she could hear was the wind outside or the trees rustling. She couldn’t help but feel that Rory brought life to the otherwise languid atmosphere.

It was Sunday before school started again when Amy blew up RC’s phone with texts. Rory was busy with the movie playing on the TV, a bag of cheese puffs in her lap.

Yo cullen, ur pitching in?

Helloooo? RC Cullen are u alive over there?

Youre seriously ignoring me. What are u & rory up to right now thats more important?

RC’s brows raised in confusion as she read the onslaught of texts. It took her almost a minute to read the whole thing before she started to type a reply.

movie night w/ fam n rory. what am i pitching in exactly ?

A second after she hit send, Amy’s text bubble appeared with three blinking dots.

Surprise party for rory dude on the 10th. Are u seriously telling me u dont know? The girl spent most of her time glued to ur side & the subject of her birthday never came up?!?

RC threw a watchful eye to Rory across the couch. Why exactly did the birthday subject never come up? And how did Amy find out about it? It wasn’t like Rory told everyone because she expected gifts. Rory didn’t even tell her .

rory never mentioned, i never asked. how do u know abt her birthday anyway

Oh, Cullen, you old soul. RC snickered as she read the reply. The internet has everything if u know what & where to look. searched her name on several platforms, found a date, cross checked it with the other. I’m basically a govt agent

The smirk on RC’s face slowly disappeared as Amy’s words rang inside her head. It was fairly easy to find information about someone on the internet and Amy didn’t seem to find much trouble finding out Rory’s birthday.

Anyway r u pitching in or not? Bcs we still need a cake

RC quickly texted back.

she prefers cupcakes. blue & purple, those stick candles that dont really blow out. text me how much we need for that?

AWESOMEE! No prob. She got some intro class next saturday. distract her, but i guess it wont be much of a problem eh?

RC threw her phone on the couch before sliding over so she sat side by side with Rory. The girl immediately slouched and turned to lay her head on RC’s shoulder. Their fingers slithered their way to find each other. A soft smile creeped on RC’s face at the gesture.

On the other couch, Emmett was giving her a look, wiggling his eyebrows playfully. The smile on his face was so bright that RC couldn’t stare at him for long. He slowly reached out to grab a handful of popcorn, his eyes still on RC. She decided to ignore him entirely when she felt Rory pulling her arm.

“Don’t go.”

RC raised an eyebrow in amusement. “You’re awfully clingy today.”

Rory let out a deep breath, tickled against RC’s skin. She buried her face deeper between RC’s shoulder and the backrest. “I don’t want the break to end. I want time to freeze over for a bit.”

“If time froze and school didn’t start—”

“I will be very happy.”

“No,” RC said. “You won’t have your birthday.”

Rory’s head immediately jerked back and they stared at each other. Rory tilted her head to one side and said, “I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that you know about my birthday.”

“Rory, you’re only turning 19 once in your life.”

Oh, how there was so much wrong in that sentence.

“You only turn every age once,” Rory grumbled. “Besides, I’m turning 20 this year. I graduated a year late from high school.”

“See? That’s a big one. You should celebrate it!”

“I am celebrating it,” Rory insisted with a lopsided smirk, “in my dorm, with you hopefully. Along with pizzas and cupcakes and Black Ivory Coffee. It took me a while to find those and they will finally be here on Monday.”

“You don’t want a party? Alice would gladly do all the planning and everything else for you if you ask,” RC offered as she ran her fingers on the skin of Rory’s forearm. “Or we can do something else, something special.”

“What I have planned is already special,” Rory mumbled as she snuggled back into RC’s side. Not long after that, her breathing evened out and her heartbeat slowed down. When RC turned, Rory was already asleep. She was holding RC’s hand between hers. Every time she exhaled a breath, it tickled RC’s skin.

RC could feel eyes on her, burning the back of her head, but she kept her gaze on Rory. The movie was soon forgotten as she got comfortable and drifted off to sleep as well.

Making Rory oblivious about the surprise party was oddly easy for RC. When she met Amy and Becker on campus, it was clear that they got things under control. Cupcakes were ordered, balloons were waiting to be blown. Becker dedicated the rest of his winter break driving around Boston trying to find magic relighting candles.

It was going so smoothly. Too smoothly . RC couldn’t ignore the feeling in her guts that something bad was going to happen.

On Saturday afternoon, RC leaned on the wall outside Rory’s class. The girl came out of the room a few minutes early. A bright smile was plastered on her face, a complete opposite since earlier in the day when she didn’t want to get out of bed. When Rory noticed RC was waiting for her, her smile got wider if that was even possible.

“Good class?” RC asked after Rory skidded to a stop in front of her.

“Yeah,” Rory answered happily, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “Systems are so awesome. We’re starting MATLAB next week.”

RC had no idea what MATLAB was, or how did it work with the class, but Rory seemed ecstatic for it. That was enough to make RC feel the excitement for her friend.

“So, the smile isn’t because today’s your birthday?” RC said, pointing at Rory’s gleaming smile. “Happy birthday, again. Have a great one.”

Rory thinned her lips to fight off the smile. Her head was down as she ran her hands through her hair, tossing it back. “You said that this morning when you picked me up from my dorm. Thanks for the coffee by the way.”

“Now, come on, let’s get lunch. I’m craving some French.”

“You want to go to another state for French cuisine?” Rory asked in amusement.

RC shrugged as they walked hand in hand to the parking lot. “Vermont is 5 minutes away, Rory. Your drive ten times longer than that to my house almost every day since two months ago.”

She heard Rory’s hiss and her sharp intake of breath. When RC turned to the side, Rory was biting her lower lip. “Look, I didn’t mean to make you worry about me getting exhausted. I just—I want to spend time with you.”

“Listen.” RC pulled them to a halt before getting into Rory’s car. “We can spend time here , on campus. I’m sure Maman won’t mind if I don’t come home every day. She paid for a dorm room for me here, so let’s make sure it’s actually used alright?” She put a finger under Rory’s chin so they were seeing eye to eye. “Rory, you don’t have to sacrifice your well-being to make other people happy.”

There was something flashed in Rory’s eyes like she was about to retort back or something. Instead, Rory bit her lips before exhaling a loud breath. “Okay, okay. I promise. Now, let’s get lunch.”

RC wasn’t actually craving French cuisine. She wasn’t craving any type of food at all, but she needed something to make Rory stay away from her dorm as Amy, Becker, and Laurel finished up the surprise party.

As Rory pulled out of the parking lot, RC kept glancing down to her screen, waiting for updates from Amy. The girl promised to give hourly updates, but she was a few minutes late already. RC just hoped that she stalled enough time for their plan to work.

whats the status over there

amy i need updates !! come on istg

rory drives like a maniac, she eats fast, i need to know if you need more stalling

RC took a deep breath, trying not to crush the table when she still received no response whatsoever from her friends.

When they arrived in the restaurant, RC made sure to order the most complicated meal on the menu that day. Their waiter was a guy named Parker, who immediately brought over a cup of latte and a pitcher of water before they ordered anything else. Rory let out a quick thank you before sipping her coffee. Perks of being a regular.

About fifteen minutes into the main course, RC’s phone let out a soft chime. Too low for anyone to hear in the busy restaurant.

Srry!! A little accident while decorating. All good tho. R u almost done?

RC eyed Rory across from her, too busy with her salmon to pay attention. She quickly typed a reply.

what accident? rory is devouring her steak, do u need more time ??

The text bubble appeared immediately.

Nope. we’re all good over here. Just finish up, pay & get over here. Beckers starting to eye the cupcakes

“Hey, is everything okay?”

Rory’s voice made her jump a little. The phone in her hand almost fell to the floor before RC fumbled, trying to catch it.

“Yes, no. Things are great,” RC said a little too fast. “It’s just Amy. Told me there’s an incident.”

One of Rory’s brow was raised in confusion. “What incident?”

“She didn’t say. Should we get back soon?”

“Yeah, probably.”

RC asked for her leftover food to be wrapped up as Rory paid for their meals. After that, they wasted no time driving back to campus. That was literally, because Rory kept pushing the car almost to ninety. Clearly, the girl had no issue with breaking the laws.

They arrived back at the dorm in record time. RC checked her phone again and felt relieved when she briefly saw the notification panel. A text from Amy just a few minutes before, giving them a go-ahead.

When they were nearing Rory’s room, RC could practically hear the excitement radiating from inside. Three distinct heart beats, faster from the enthusiasm. Rory didn’t seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.

on your floor. ETA 10 secs

RC texted quickly before catching up with Rory. She grabbed a hold of Rory’s fingers and she noticed how the corner of Rory’s mouth curled up.

In the far corner of the hallway, just a feet away from Rory’s room, RC noticed a pile of woods. Broken and covered by a small blanket. She didn’t have the time to think too much about it when Rory pulled her in.

The room was dark once they got inside. RC’s sight was blocked by Rory’s body, but she could clearly see Amy, Becker, and Laurel crouching in the corners.

“Huh, pretty sure I left the lights on this morning,” Rory wondered as she went to the wall to find the switch.

“Surprise!”

The screams were so loud in RC’s ears. Everything was overlapping and it took her a second to realize that while the other exclaimed happily, it was Rory who screamed in fear.

Rory jumped back right after she turned the light on, when their friends shouted ‘surprise’ and blew party horns. Her body was slammed right into RC’s, who curled a protective arm around her waist. Rory’s face was covered by her hair, so other than RC, no one could see how Rory’s eyes clenched shut in fear.

“It’s just our friends, Rory, it’s fine. It’s just our friends,” RC whispered in Rory’s ears, barely moving her mouth.

A second later, Rory stood back, squaring her shoulders. She rubbed her face and said, “I think you gave me a heart attack.”

RC didn’t move her arm from Rory’s shoulder as she stood behind her. Her thumb drew tight circles on Rory’s shoulder blade.

“Verr, I’m sorry. We’re sorry,” Becker said as he walked closer, but not quite touching her. “We didn’t mean to scare you.”

“No, no, it’s fine. Nothing to worry about.”

RC raised an eyebrow at Rory’s response. There was nothing to not worry about. RC knew it. She just hoped that Rory did too, but with how Rory brushed things off for the sole reason that she didn’t want their friends to find out, RC didn’t expect much.

Laurel didn’t seem too convinced with Rory’s words. She shared a look with RC, who slightly shook her head. Laurel frowned, but she nodded and steered the conversation away.

“Hey, Rory. Make a wish.” Laurel pulled Rory gently to the bed, where a small foldable table was set on it. A dozen of blue and purple cupcakes sat on some type of baking sheet. Each of the cupcakes had a single candle sticking out of it.

It didn’t escaped her noticed that there was actually one bed in the room. Laurel and Rory had a DIY bunk bed, courtesy of Rory. The top bunk—Rory’s bed, was nowhere to be seen.

“Aww, you guys are awesome,” Rory said as she took a seat behind the table. “Quick question, where’s my bed ?”

“There was an incident, details to follow,” Amy quickly replied before pointing at the cupcakes. “Make a wish fi—hold on.” She went to the desk and grabbed a paper crown with ‘birthday girl’ written on it in bright golden glitter. Amy put it on Rory’s head and said, “Now make a wish.”

Rory narrowed her eyes but complied regardless. As expected, it took Rory ten minutes of failing to blow the candle before she took every single one of the candles and dumped them in water. They agreed on no happy birthday singing, so it was just candles, cake, and gifts.

Each of them got a present for Rory. Laurel got her a scratch off world map, knowing that Rory had been to a lot of places and planning to go visit more. Amy got her a pack of thick socks and a beanie.

“Gotta make sure you don’t freeze your ass off over here,” Amy commented, as she tried to hold back the laugh. “We all know how you always cling to RC for warmth.”

“Can you blame me? RC’s always running hot,” Rory said with a shrug of her shoulders. She didn’t seem like she thought much about it, but RC could feel herself getting red in the face.

Running hot .

RC knew what Rory meant was in literal sense, but still. The obvious blush on her face didn’t help her case at all.

The smile on Rory’s face didn’t disappear the entire time. Not when she found out the ‘How to Get a Girl' book from Becker as a prank, before he gave the real present. Especially not when she learned how Becker broke her bed frame when they tried to decorate the room. It was still beyond her how he managed to destroy the whole thing.

They ended up spending a couple hours to finish the cupcakes with the pizza that Becker ordered. Card games were played, more coffee was brewed. Laurel was even experimenting with some drinks, resulting in some mocktail which surprisingly, weren’t so bad.

It wasn’t until all the cupcakes were gone when Laurel spoke up. “Hey, RC, you haven’t given your present to Rory yet.”

“It’s at my house,” RC said as she checked the time in her phone. “Which reminds me, Rory, we got to go.”

Rory tilted her head, a curious smile on her face. She stared at their friends in the room, who just shrugged and told her to go. Without wasting any time, Rory followed RC out of the building, back into her car.

The half an hour drive to RC’s house was a lot shorter lately, with Rory kept on breaking all the speed limit. RC was sure, in no time, Rory would definitely drive as fast and as crazy as Rosalie.

Outside of her house, Rosalie’s Audi and Alice’s Porsche were parked. If her family was putting on a show for Rory, they really went all out.

“Nice rides.” Rory whistled while she got out of her car. 

RC chose not to comment at that, and pulled Rory inside.

Her family was waiting in the foyer when they got in. Esme was the first one to approach, hugging Rory tightly and wishing her a happy birthday. Emmett was next, spinning her around and was about to put her in his shoulder before Esme scolded him. The other just greeted Rory from a distance. Except for Edward, he stood the farthest from the front door with a permanent scowl on his face. Rory seemed thrilled about it.

Alice took Rory to the living room. A very over the top, decorated living room. Paper lanterns hung from the ceilings, casting a soft orange light into the room, because those were not a fire hazard at all. The couches were moved against the walls and the coffee table disappeared. It was replaced by a cocktail table RC that didn’t know they had laying around in the house. On that table, there was a cupcake stand, filled with ornate cupcakes with matching candles.

Rory’s jaw never left the floor once she set eyes on the whole room. She ran her hands through her head in astonishment. The gleam in her eyes was shining bright.

“Go on, Veronica,” Rosalie said with a soft smile. “Make a wish.”

The candles were lit, golden and sparkling as they burn. It was probably too much, or too childish, but since Rory still had on her paper birthday crown, she didn’t seem to care, or mind, in that matter. She spent too much time laughing after failing to blow one of the candles the first time. Emmett ended up helping her, before he threw Rory in the air and settled on his shoulder.

“Emmett Cullen!” Esme exclaimed. “Stop being barbaric and put her down!”

“Emmett, run!” Rory said between her laughs.

“No, presents first!”

“You got me presents?”

Alice skipped to Rory, who was sitting six feet above ground. Emmett had to sit down on the couch so Rory could take the present from Alice.

RC made a deal to not let anyone give some extraordinary gifts for Rory. Bella fully supported the idea, and ended up giving a vintage t-shirt with a band that RC had never heard before.

When RC pulled out her present, Rory already moved from Emmett’s shoulder to the floor. The girl laughed loudly as she held out the gift.

“Is this becoming our inside joke?” Rory asked.

“Probably.”

The snow globe Rory had in her hand was a custom made. RC found a craft store that could do that in town. She made sure that they could make a replica of that vampire keychain Rory got for her on their first date. There were some additions too, like the coffin and some little plastic bats floating around with the glittery snow.

A low growl came from the corner of the room. RC had to fight off the urge to just run over there and threw Edward across the Atlantic. That impulse however, soon disappeared—more like amplified actually—when a familiar scent reached her nose. And no, it wasn’t Rory.

Nobody could do anything with Jacob without breaking their cover in front of Rory. He just strolled into the house like he owned the place. When he reached the living room, a frown appeared on his face the same time as his patronizing smile.

“This isn’t frivolous at all.”

The room fell silent as the glee disappeared from Rory’s face. Instead, it was like looking at a storm of emotion. Impassive, exasperated, ferocious.

“Stupid hats and candles? What are you five? You don’t need all that. Can’t believe RC hangs out with you.”

“And you don’t need to barge into someone’s home unannounced, or to be an asshole, but hey, you still do all of the above,” Rory retorted flatly. "Don't your parents ever teach you not to do that?"

Jacob was already fuming as he took a step closer. "Don't your parents ever teach you to not talk back?"

“Jacob—”

RC’s words were cut off by a sharp laugh, so harsh and sarcastic. If RC wasn’t looking at Rory, she wouldn’t have thought her friend could do that. Her family kept eyeing them, not sure of what to do.

“Oh my gods,” Rory said between her laugh. “Mama taught me to stand up for myself. Even if we were from the 1930s or something, she would always teach that to me, no matter the norms.” She raised to her feet with her shoulder squared. Her face was hard with determination.

Jacob took a step closer, but Emmett stopped him, standing between him and Rory. Jasper moved towards them, but his movement was halted, like he wasn’t quite sure how to handle the situation physically .

“Move over, Bloodsucker.” Jacob’s voice was low and a unison of low hisses and growls followed right after. They were too low for Rory to hear, hopefully.

“Okay, alright, just stop.” Rory came in between the two, shoving them back. “No fighting. Don’t ruin this house and all these decorations. Mama taught me to be appreciative and you’re not helping me one bit.”

Jacob shoved Rory’s arm away from him. He did that so hard that Rory stumbled back over a nearby chair with a loud thud.

“Seriously?” Rory shook her head. Half a second later, Jacob lunged for her.

Rory barely got away as she rolled to the front and landed on her knees in the middle of the room. There was something changed in her expression, something RC had never seen before. It fit so well with Rory, as though it was another side of the girl that RC or anyone had ever seen before.

Jacob turned around amongst the broken woods of the chair. His whole body was shaking in rage and RC wouldn’t be surprised if he phased into a wolf right there and then. Rory, on the other hand.

It almost felt like Rory knew what was about to happen. As if she was expecting it. She had one of her eyebrows raised high, her eyes sharp and dead set on Jacob. When Jacob lunged for her again, Rory rolled to the side with agility, barely missing his fist.

“Jacob, stop it!” Bella dashed towards him, pulling on his arms. Jacob struggled against her grip.

“That girl does not belong here,” Jacob yelled. “She doesn’t deserve RC, or any of you.”

“You don’t get to choose what she deserves.” Rosalie moved in front of him, blocking his way to Rory on the ground.

“Stay out of it, Blondie. I know what RC deserved and it’s not that weakling .”

“What weakling?”

RC was so focused on Jacob that she didn’t realize that Rory was no longer where she saw her last. Rory was in the other corner of the room, holding what looked like one of the metal baseball bats they kept in the house. RC knew it was heavy, the only kinds they could use without breaking it in one single swing. Rory was clearly struggling to hold it high, but then she ran towards Jacob and slid across the floor on her knees, hitting him right in the shin.

Bella let go of her hold of Jacob as he groaned and fell over to his knees. Rosalie stepped back out gracefully before going to RC’s side.

Rory stood over him, the baseball bat perched on her shoulder. The expression on her face was hard to read, but she definitely didn’t look like someone who just broke another’s person bone. And it was terrifying beyond point.

“You little bitch,” Jacob spitted.

Rory scoffed at that. “Thanks, anything else you want to add? Or should I land a few more hits into that thick skull of yours.”

Jacob grumbled before trying to wrestle Rory. The girl just stepped to the side without much effort.

“You know, for someone who’s supposed to keep this big secret,” Rory said with her hand flailed by her face, “you’re not really doing a good job at it.”

“What secret?”

Rory arched an eyebrow, her smile dropped a little. “Are we seriously still pretending we don’t know that you guys know that I pretended to not know that none of you are actually just human?”

Holy fucking hell. [] 

Chapter Text

“Are we seriously still pretending we don’t know that you guys know that I pretended to not know that none of you are actually just human?”

The room fell silent at Rory’s words. Nobody spoke, nobody moved. Everyone was too stunned to do anything. Even Jacob stood still. Well, he stood on his knees but at least he was still. One less problem to deal with.

“You knew?” Edward said from the edge of the room. A growl came from deep in his chest, wild and animalistic. “I should’ve killed you then.”

“Well, I had my suspicion that something is different with you guys, but I can’t exactly wrap my head around it.” Rory thinned her lips as she moved slowly to sit on the couch. The bat dragged over the floor as she walked, before she unceremoniously dropped them. The clanking sound it made sounded oddly loud.

While Edward looked like he was ready to pounce, Rory seemed as relaxed as ever. She put one foot up, resting her chin on her knee. “What you did just now, and what Jacob did ten seconds ago, kind of solidified my belief.”

“Veronica, I think it’s best if we talk about this situation,” Carlisle said softly. “Why don’t you and RC go upstairs?”

RC frowned. Usually, when Carlisle told her to go somewhere, it meant a serious talk with the ‘adults’ in the family was about to happen. RC never liked it. She always thought it was stupid since she was as much of an adult as the rest of them. But that night, looking at Rory still wearing that stupid paper crown on her head, made RC think it was worth everything to stay with her.

“Let’s go, Rory,” she said as she walked closer to the couch.

Rory moved her head a little, looking at RC with curious eyes. She didn’t take RC’s outstretched hand. With a sigh, RC took off the paper crown to run her hand through Rory’s hair. The dark locks framed her face wouldn't stay still behind her ears.

“We can leave if you want to.”

“I don’t think your family will appreciate that very much,” Rory said with a sad smile. “I don’t really have much of a choice, do I?”

RC had to choke back a sob. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Rory said as she got up. “Let’s just go upstairs first, okay?”

They walked hand in hand out of the living room. RC didn’t miss the look Rory gave to Rosalie as they passed her by. Or the fact that Rory took time to grab a few cupcakes from the table.

She smiled sadly, looking down to Rory’s paper crown in her hands. RC was really wishing she had good options laid out for Rory. She didn’t and that pissed her off beyond points.

They stayed in the upstairs lounge for a moment. Even for RC, the rest of the family talked too quietly. She couldn’t hear a thing, and after a minute, she just gave up. Instead, she took Rory to her room. RC turned on the TV to play some random show while Rory took a seat on the bed.

“I gotta say, this is an eventful birthday. Can’t remember the last time that happened,” Rory commented as she took a bite of a cupcake.

RC frowned at her friend’s behavior. Were they still friends? Were they something else entirely? She wasn’t sure anymore.

“Why are you not worried right now? Is this some kind of game to you?”

“Trust me when I say I’m freaking out inside, RC.” Rory put all the cupcakes on the nightstand. She started to pace beside the bed as she rubbed the back of her neck.

After Rory said that, RC noticed how her heart started to speed up at an alarming rate. Every breath that Rory took was getting heavier and more rapid.

“Listen RC, this might as well be the last few moments of my life, are we really going to spend it arguing with each other?”

RC's eyes hardened as she walked closer. She grabbed Rory’s shoulder hard, forcing the two of them to stare into each other’s eyes. RC could see the fear in Rory’s, all the uncertainty and the worst possibilities.

“Nobody is dying. I won’t let them do it. No way."

“Not yet.” Rory shrugged. “Let me have this, right now?”

RC nodded before pulling Rory on her bed. Rory wasted no time cuddling with RC, her head finding its usual place on RC’s shoulder. Even when she wasn’t talking, RC knew a million things were going on inside Rory’s head, a raging storm ricocheting inside the walls. She wasn’t sure what to do to help, so RC just kept running her hand through Rory’s hair, the way Rosalie always did for her.

Rory’s hold around RC’s waist tightened as she let out another shaky breath. “I don’t know when I started to notice things. About you and your family.”

“Yeah?” RC said softly, her hand drawing lines on Rory’s arm. “What did you think at first?”

“I thought it was something about your past or something,” Rory started, “and you would tell me about it when you were ready. I mean, it’s your life, I have no right to intrude in it. To be honest, I haven’t told you everything about my life either.”

“What if I’d... never told you?”

There was a beat before Rory gave her an answer. “Huh, I don’t know. If I’m being honest, I never thought that far ahead.” Rory moved so she was laying on her stomach, her elbows propping her body up on the bed. “I guess I can’t hold that against you.”

“You are too good for this world, do you know that?”

Rory scoffed before dropping her head on RC’s stomach. It was an innocent gesture that never failed to make RC’s heart flutter. She moved Rory’s hair behind her ear and Rory turned her head so they could see each other.

“You have too much faith in me.”

RC knew whatever things she had to say wouldn’t really change how Rory saw herself. So she kept quiet. Rory didn’t seem to mind the newfound silence. She let out a small smile and started playing with the sheets.

With everything that was going on, RC felt the need to make sure that Rory knew she was worth it. Because she was. To RC, Rory was everything. Now, how did she tell that to a girl who didn’t seem to put much faith in herself?

RC started to take in every bit of detail about Rory. How her right eyebrow was the one arched high, how the knit of her brows could form a permanent mark. She saw how Rory always played with her lower lip, but not quite picking the skin until it bled. That, and how she always bit the corner of it.

The things RC would do to see for herself—how those lips would feel against her own.

Sometime in the future.

“Take a picture, it will last longer,” Rory commented without looking up to meet RC’s eyes. Even like that, the smile was visible.

“Pictures don’t do you justice.”

Rory’s lips started to curl up wider, but she tried to fight it off by pressing them tightly together. When Rory realized it didn’t work, she planted her face on the bed instead and groaned, making RC giggle.

Faint steps could be heard from the stairs, nearing her room as time went by. The smile on RC’s face slowly disappeared. She tried to cover it up for Rory’s sake, but the girl saw right through her. Rory took her hand and gave it a kiss before jumping off the bed the exact same time as the knock on the door came.

“Lily? May I come in?”

“It’s open, Rose.”

Rosalie slid into the room, closing the door behind her. “I’m sorry we took so long. This current situation is rather complicated.”

“I can imagine,” Rory said as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Big supernatural secret and then some random kid finding out about it. If I were you, I’d freak out even more.”

“You keep saying supernatural,” Rosalie pointed out.

“Err, are you not? Look, I had a feeling that none of you are human, but I don’t really know what you are.”

One of Rosalie’s eyebrows raised. She crossed her arms in front of her chest. RC knew the gears in her aunt’s head were turning.

“You don’t know what we are.”

Rory shook her head, leaning back on her hands. “From fairies to wizards to super-powered people. I mean the possibilities are endless. And to be honest, I don’t really care. About what you are, I mean.”

Rosalie let out a deep breath before fixing her already perfect hair. “You have no idea what you just signed up for.”

It felt like they were walking to a courtroom for a trial. Not that RC knew how that would feel. She wasn’t going to preach about how she never broke the law. That was because she had. Repeatedly. Every now and then. But RC and her family had the privilege to stay away from law enforcement, so RC had never been inside a courthouse.

Anyway, she could imagine it would feel almost the same. Especially for Rory.

RC threw a side glance towards Rory as they trailed behind Rosalie. If the girl was nervous, she didn’t show it. RC strained her ears, trying to find any rapid breathing or loud thumping of Rory’s heart. Nothing. Nothing was out of the ordinary and that made RC think of how often something like this happened to her. Maybe not the vampire bomb thing, but still something equally crazy and beyond the bounds of normality.

The whole family was waiting for them in the second floor lounge, spread around the various chairs and standing by the windows. It was too still to be human, but RC guessed that they weren’t really trying to hide that fact.

“Rory, why don’t you sit down?” Esme offered as she stepped closer.

Usually, Rory would do anything Esme asked of her immediately. Something changed that day. Rory kept clenching her fists, like she was trying not to grab onto something. Her lips were pressed together tightly, something dark flashed in her eyes.

It took a minute until Rory finally sat down on the arm of a chair, nearest to the stairs. Anybody else would think that Rory was nervous, but RC knew better. She knew Rory. At that moment, Rory wasn’t nervous or scared. She was ready for a fight. 

A losing fight, but still a fight. Sometimes RC wasn’t sure if Rory was brave or just crazy.

“Rory, exactly how long have you known about us?” Carlisle started. “And why didn’t you say anything?”

Rory scoffed. “You mean like saying something to anyone about my friend and her family who could not be human? I don’t know how it works with you, but here, one sentence about that and people will send me to a mental hospital. No, thank you, I’d rather keep it to myself.”

“Carlisle, she’s still a liability,” Edward growled deeply.

“Listen, I’ve known something is up with you all since probably the first time I was here. Yeah, I was wasted as Hell, but I did notice a few things. Do you seriously think that no one will suspect a thing about your eyes? I mean come on, they’re bright gold. If it was only one or two of you, say it’s a hereditary disorder and it would be fine. But it’s literally every single one of you except for RC.”

“She has a point,” Emmett commented.

“Of course I have a point,” Rory said quickly. “I have a functional brain, unlike Hothead over here.” Rory pointed towards Jacob with her thumb.

Jacob jumped from his seat at the words. Bella threw her arm in front of him before he could take another step, stopping him immediately.

Rory backed away almost as fast. One of her hands was reaching back, like it was searching for something that wasn’t there. RC moved to stand beside her friend. Her hand instinctively reached out to grab Rory’s. It was surprisingly colder than usual when RC wrapped her fingers around it.

“Rory maybe you should, uh, tone it down a little?”

RC received a side glance from Rory, before the girl shook her head. Rory bit the inside of her cheek as her hand squeezed RC’s lightly. Okay.

“I must admit, keeping us close together is not the most logical solution.” Carlisle clasped his hands together as he leaned forward on his seat. “Especially with our number, and the technology we have today still isn’t fully a compatible tool to help us hide better.”

“What are you saying?” RC asked nervously.

“That maybe, we all have a part in unintentionally revealing ourselves to Rory,” Esme replied.

Beside her, Rory rubbed her eyes before pinching the bridge of her nose. RC could see the tension radiating off of her. She still didn’t let go of RC’s hand.

“Rory, you can’t ever tell anyone about us,” Rosalie cut to the point. “I understand that you don’t know what we are, but you know enough to realize that we are not human. So, please. Don’t dig your own grave and bury yourself in it.”

“She already has.” Jacob grumbled, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He had his fists clenched tight by his sides, like he was ready to punch.

Rosalie rolled her eyes dramatically. “Don’t dig deeper. I’m not saying that you should leave, or we should leave, because that would mean separating you and RC. No matter how idiotic you can be, you care about RC and she cares about you. I’m not getting in the way of that.”

Her brain was still trying to process her aunt’s words. Rosalie knew what was going on between them and she actually pointed it out. RC wasn’t sure what that would mean for her and Rory. Since the girl was still there in the lounge, holding RC’s hand tightly as if it tethered her to the real world, RC took that as a good thing.

“Besides,” Rosalie added, “you are old enough to make your own decisions and deal with the consequences.”

Rory's head snapped back up. She eyed Rosalie curiously, then Bella, then Jasper. Basically, everyone in the family. It couldn’t be more than just a few seconds, but RC felt like it was so much longer than that.

“Edward and Jacob are itching to chop my head off, aren’t they?” Rory asked. “They wanted to do that since the second they knew about me. And please, if you want to lie, think about it first and make it convincing. You didn’t even look like you were trying.”

“I still believe you deserve it and my family is making a mistake.”

“Okay.”

That made Edward fume even more. He stepped closer a little too fast and two seconds later, he stood towering in front of Rory. “Did you not hear me?”

“I did.” Rory shrugged. “I just don’t care. Edward, since the start, you’ve been telling me what I do and don’t deserve. What gives you the right to do that? I know my value, I do not need you to tell me what it is. And I certainly do not need to have your approval for anything.”

RC had to restrain herself to not hug Rory senseless, but that didn’t stop the smile from blooming on her face. From the corner of her eyes, RC could see a similar expression on Rosalie’s face. Her aunt did an excellent job to not cover it either.

No matter how often Rosalie kept telling RC that she didn’t like how reckless and impulsive Rory could be, Rosalie still liked Rory. Tolerate her at least, even more so than she tolerated Bella when the latter was still human. Rory was the first person outside of the family, human or otherwise, that Rosalie allowed to be inside her car. Rory was the only person who wasn’t Emmett or RC, who Rosalie voluntarily drove around for.

And there were the subtle stares and silent greetings, as if Rory and Rosalie were communicating telepathically. Neither of them would tell RC about it and she didn’t ask. Whatever it was, RC hoped that it was a good sign.

“Okay, I don’t know if it’s going to make you guys feel any better, but.” Rory placed her right hand over her heart. Several of her fingers were bent, as if she was going to rip her own heart out. “I swear on my life that I will not tell anyone about what you really are. And I will not try to find out more than the bare minimum of what I already know about what you really are, unless you explicitly tell me otherwise.”

The words rang throughout the room. Silence followed right after and RC could feel the air was getting heavy. She wasn’t sure if it was just her, but something really did happen. Something she couldn’t really wrap her head around.

Those feelings ended the moment Rory brought her hand down to her side.

“It’s settled then,” Alice said. “Rory won’t tell anybody and we stay here. And it’s not like we broke the law. We didn’t tell Rory about us and she doesn’t actually know about what we are, so…”

Alice squealed and skipped toward Rory. She shoved Edward out of the way and he stumbled on his feet like a newborn deer. He growled as he crouched down, giving no effort of trying to hide his vampirism. While Alice paid no attention to him, Rory threw him a quick glance and gave him a middle finger. He ran out of the house at full speed, sending winds through the room.

“Super speed, check,” Rory commented before giving Alice her full attention. “Remind me to never mess with you guys.”

Alice had to jump so she could wrap her arms around Rory’s neck. She returned the hug with one arm, the other was still holding onto RC. “This is going to be so much fun!”

A small laugh escaped Rory’s lips. Her eyes then focused on Jasper, who was standing near the wall behind Alice. He gave a small nod and a smile before disappearing. The subtle gesture proved that Rory was genuine. That and supported by the fact that Rosalie hadn’t had a plan ready to dispose of Rory yet.

It was always amazing to witness when Rosalie did something that was just spot on. Like she knew exactly what was hidden from her and those she cared about. RC always thought of it as Rose’s truth seeker. The name was a little tacky, but RC was two years old when she first came up with it.

She first heard the story when Bella went hunting with Emmett. They just moved to rural Canada and Rose was tucking her in. That night, their bedtime stories revolved around her aunt Rose. RC learned that Rosalie had every right to be wary of Bella when she first met the family. Every known variable led to danger. Rosalie saw that and the fact that Bella was a teenager in love didn’t help her case. Too bad nobody really listened to her then.

After RC and Rory spent the whole birthday weekend together, Rosalie drove them back to campus at the crack of dawn on Monday. Like usual, Rory didn’t really ask anything about how Rosalie would get back. It made sense when RC really thought about it. If Rory had known since the beginning, or at least, suspected something, maybe that was why she never asked.

That led to more questions that RC had no guts to ask or received the answers to. Why didn’t Rory run for the hills?

“Do you know what I like to read?” Rory moved in the back, so she could pop her head between the two front seats. Her elbows rested on each backrest.

“Fantasy books?” RC tried to guess.

“Eh, those and also mystery, and true crime.” Rory leaned on the driver’s seat so she could look at RC’s face. RC moved a little so the two of them were staring at each other. “I like them because they don’t hide the facts about the real monster. It’s not some evil fairies or some power-hungry titan. The monsters are just people. I met a few of them when I visited Morgan at the precinct. New York City has a lot of them.”

The newfound information threw RC off a bit. RC wasn’t sure if Rosalie was as affected as she was. It was getting a little hard to decipher what Rosalie was thinking.

I met a few of them.

The light squeak from the steering wheel made RC look up. Rosalie was gripping it so tight, RC was sure it would leave a mark. It would definitely give Rory a hard time trying to explain to her mechanic about the hand shaped dent around her steering wheel.

“Why are you telling me this?” RC’s voice was small. She was afraid that Rory wouldn’t hear her.

“Because you’ve been asking.”

“No, I have not.”

“I mean with your eyes,” Rory quickly added, gesturing to RC’s eyes. “You’ve been wondering why I’m so nonchalant about this. About you and your family not being human. The way you said that, the way Edward said that, it gives me the impression that you think you’re a monster. And I couldn’t help but wonder, if it’s your own thoughts or him putting that thought inside your head.”

RC let out a breath. She stared ahead at the road, refusing to look Rory in the eye. She wished that Rosalie would just drive faster, but of all the times her aunt chose to obey the law, it was when RC wanted to run away.

“You’re not a monster, RC,” Rory said firmly. “You still have morals and humanity. Those things make you more human than most people I’ve met. If you don’t believe that, RC, I’m going to remind you every day until you do.”

RC turned away from the window. Rory was still leaning her head on the cushion near Rosalie’s headrest. She bit her lower lip as she stared right in RC’s direction. None of them said anything.

“W-why are you staring at me like that?” RC asked after a minute.

Having Rory’s full attention on her gave butterflies in her stomach usually, and RC didn’t mind that one bit. She might sound a little selfish but she liked having Rory for herself. But that moment in the car, RC couldn’t help but feel something else entirely was happening inside Rory’s head.

Rory moved to lean on RC’s seat. She had her arms wrapped around the seat so she could somewhat hug RC from behind. It didn’t look comfortable but Rory wasn’t complaining.

“It’s hard to imagine you as a monster,” Rory replied quietly. “You too, Rosalie.”

“Wow, so nice to be included.”

RC snickered at Rosalie’s sarcastic remark. At the same time, Rory slapped Rosalie’s arm. It couldn’t have been too hard, but the sound of it was surprisingly loud and rang inside the car.

“Holy Ha—what are you made out of?! Vibranium?! Damn it!” Rory’s groans were muffled by the seat as she buried her face in it.

Rosalie only laughed at that, short and quiet, before she focused back on driving.

The back of Rory’s left hand was already red, especially around the knuckles. Carefully, RC took the injured hand and started to rub it gently. “You have to stop hitting people and hurting yourself.”

“I can’t help it, it’s my default setting,” Rory answered. She looked up with her eyes closed, visibly relaxed. “Keep doing that please.”

“Okay.”

RC kept a hold of Rory’s hand, lightly pressing her palm directly above it. She could hear Rory’s sigh of relief from behind her immediately after, so she kept her palm there. Not long after, she heard Rory’s breathing even out. RC turned carefully to see Rory sleeping with her head uncomfortably perched on the back of RC’s seat.

“That kid can fall asleep anywhere,” Rosalie commented without taking her eyes off the road.

RC hummed. “Yeah, the songs help too,” she said, pointing at the radio playing some classical music. She had no idea people still aired this kind of music these days. “Rory always sleeps better with something going on in the background. I don’t really understand why, it’s like she’s on high alert even when sleeping.”

RC noticed the car was going slower than usual. The trees weren’t passing by like a movie in fast forward, the engine wasn’t roaring like thunder.

“Why are you driving so slowly?”

“So you and Rory could have that talk,” Rosalie replied, “and to figure out more about her. About why she seems like she has no self-preservation, especially when she knew about our non-human status from the start.”

“And what did you find out?” RC didn’t sound as if she was sure she wanted to know. To be honest, she was terrified of the answers she was about to get. Rosalie was a lot of things. Brutal truth was one of her fortes.

“She wasn’t lying when she said she had met monsters. I think it plays a part on why she compartmentalizes so much.”

A frown formed on RC’s face. “Rory doesn’t compartmentalize.”

“Lily, she broke down for almost missing a birthday tradition,” Rosalie said. “There are a lot of things she keeps buried inside.”

“Funny you should say that, considering we’re doing the exact same thing.” RC fired back. Her voice was getting louder and Rory stirred. She held up her head, but her eyes were barely open. Rory stayed like that for a second before she leaned back, curling up in her own seat.

RC didn’t say anything else until she was sure that Rory was still asleep. She threw an angry glare at her aunt. “Why are you acting like she’s going to expose us? I thought the two of you were getting along great. I saw the look she gave you back at the party after the revelation.”

“Lily, I don’t—”

“Don’t bother lying to me,” RC cut off. “You can deceive everyone else, but you can’t do that to me.”

Rosalie exhaled a deep breath. Her grip on the steering wheel got tighter before she said, “Keeping a lot of secrets, especially huge ones, takes a toll on you. Killing you from the inside until you burst. Lily, how many secrets do you think Rory is already hiding? With our secret on top of that? Do you really think she will keep things under wraps?”

“She promised she would.”

“Can you guarantee that?” Rosalie asked her. “All she did was make a swear on her life. What makes you so sure that it’s not just some words?”

RC knew she couldn’t reply. Not really, not with her words. Rosalie took the silence as a good enough answer. RC couldn’t guarantee anything and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

The Cullens had no leverage whatsoever. Nothing to hold over Rory in case the worst happened—Rory threatening their existence. All they had was her words. Her promise that she wouldn’t tell a soul about it. That, and confirmation from Jasper that Rory was genuine about it.

They couldn’t get Edward to sneak inside her head either, because he still couldn’t do that. Alice couldn’t clearly see a future involving Rory and their secret. Add those to the mile-long list of things they didn’t know about Rory.

“Veronica is a good kid,” Rosalie said. “She’s not perfect and she knows it. She has problems and is actually doing something to work through them. She’s good, Little Lily, but that doesn’t dismiss the fact that she has our fate in her hands.”

RC scoffed a little. “You’re being theatrical.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m wrong, though.” Rosalie cleared her throat before punching the gas pedal. The speedometer quickly moved past a hundred, then one-twenty, and then one-forty. “Keep your eyes on her, Little Lily. I like Rory too, but if I had to choose between your safety and hers, I’d choose yours any time.”

“Rory wouldn’t tell anyone,” RC said firmly, clear as ever. No hint of hesitation in her voice.

Rory always held up her end of the bargain. She didn’t make promises that she couldn’t keep. The fact that she actually said ‘I swear on my life’, made it more of a big deal. RC had a feeling that Rory was actually putting her life on the line with this one.

Behind the wheel, Rosalie didn’t say anything else. She just kept pushing the car to maximum speed without actually blowing the engine.

“She promised she wouldn’t tell anyone,” RC said more softly. She glanced at the back seat, watching Rory sleep. She was slouching down, her head hung over one shoulder. “I believe her, Rose. Maybe you should give her a chance too.” []

Chapter Text

Rory stayed true to her words so far.

When she stayed over after taking RC home, she didn’t ask questions about the Cullens. She didn’t ask RC anything either when they were alone. When their friends asked about how the birthday party part two went, Rory told them about everything else.

About the decorated cupcakes, the firework candles, the stupid crown Rory refused to take off, even though Alice kept insisting and pleading how it didn’t go with her outfit at all .

It almost felt like the revelation didn’t happen. Like that part of the night had been safely tucked away, or probably deleted from Rory’s memory. Everything went back the way it was before.

To be honest, the whole thing started to get a little freaky.

Still, RC kept her words to Rosalie. She made sure that Rory wasn’t blabbering about them, not that she didn’t trust Rory to begin with. If Rory noticed what RC was doing, she didn’t show it, didn’t seem to mind. In fact, Rory almost looked… relieved. But other than that, nothing else seemed out of place.

Rory would still be waiting outside RC’s door on mornings when their schedules matched. Coffee first, of course. Hot chocolate or Earl Grey for RC. They had lunch together when they could. Mostly when Rory wasn’t stuck inside the lab for something RC didn’t really understand.

And about whatever it was that went on between the two of them? Yeah, RC had no clue about it either. She felt like everything was the same as it was before. Before RC and her family knew that Rory found out that they were not human. Something she tried so hard to prevent, yet happened anyway.

At the same time, while it was the same, something felt different too. Something more. RC couldn’t figure out what it was exactly, but there was something more in play. She was determined to find out.

It was late, the sun was about to set. The drop of temperature and the colder wind on RC skin made the sky seem a lot darker than it actually was. In any other situation, RC would love to climb to the roof of the dormitory building and just watch, but she couldn’t.

Nobody had seen Rory since noon.

Laurel called when she got back to her empty dorm. Which was weird, because it was freezing, even more than usual and Rory was supposed to be inside, considering how terrible she was in it. Laurel and RC knew that. They also knew that Rory’s last class was done at two.

RC ran one floor up, faster than what seemed to be normal human speed. The thought of other people finding out about her completely escaped her mind.

“Her keys are here,” Laurel said, pointing to a newly moved desk in the corner. “Pretty sure I saw her car in the lot.”

After Becker allegedly destroyed Rory’s DIY bed frame, Rory and Laurel did some major makeovers to their room. Mostly because they had a lot of stuff in there and two beds on the ground was making things tricky. Every other thing Rory owned that didn’t fit in the shelves was thrown under her bed. Her desk was pushed towards the far wall, close to the dresser. Rory always complained about the lack of working space.

Rory’s scent was there, covering every inch of the room, but even RC knew that it had been a while since she was inside.

Something must have come up.

She took a look at Rory's desk. It didn’t surprise her when she saw the clutter, but it was messier than usual. Papers and notes covered the surface, RC couldn’t even see the wood underneath. They were mostly designs and calculations. RC had seen a few of those around her house in the last couple of weeks.

A particular note caught RC’s eyes. She recognized Rory’s fast handwriting—sharp and a little scrawled, unlike her usual round and smooth one. Some notes were covered in another ink, cursive this time. Rosalie’s.

‘It’s good, but can be improved in base material. Try running a simulation again.” 

RC frowned after reading it.

“She has been working her ass off for that stupid class,” Laurel commented from behind RC’s shoulder. “Her professor rejects most models from the students, so she’s been working on her laptop nonstop. Pretty sure it overheats at least once a day. Both the laptop and her head.”

“Where’s her lab?”

Laurel raised an eyebrow. “Which one? She has like, three of them.”

RC pulled the notes with Rosalie’s handwriting in front of her face. “This one.”

“Hmm, materials. Try the ground floor?”

“Of which building?”

“Thayer,” Laurel answered, but it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself and not RC. “I don’t know, RC, how many labs the campus actually owns? Let’s just try Thayer first, alright?”

Finding the lab was not that hard. Probably because only a handful of rooms on the ground floor had their lights on. It also helped that Rory’s scent was so distinct, RC could smell it from the lot.

Like she suspected, Rory was sitting behind a computer. The harsh light painted a blue and white tint on Rory’s face. She had her glasses on and a permanent frown between her brows.

“You want me to come with you?” Laurel prompted as the two of them lingered by the entrance.

“It’s okay, I’ve got this. Thank you, Laurel.”

Laurel put her hand on RC’s shoulder and patted it lightly. “Alright. Take care of her. I’ll see you later.”

RC didn’t step into the room until she was sure that Laurel was far enough away. Usually, Rory would be aware of everything that was going on around her. Her senses were not as sharp as RC’s, but they were impressive for a human. That was not the case tonight.

Rory didn’t even spare her a glance, even though RC walked directly in front of her line of sight. She didn’t say anything when RC stopped beside her desk. The only sounds filling the room were the soft hum from the heater and rapid click from Rory’s mouse.

“Have you seriously been here since this afternoon?”

The clicking stopped as Rory’s fingers hovered over the mouse. “No. I needed the distraction and my software crashed.”

“Have you eaten?” RC asked, knowing full well she knew the answer she was going to get.

“I can’t remember.” The frown lines on Rory’s forehead got deeper if that was even possible.

RC let out a breath and moved behind Rory. She put her hands on Rory’s shoulders and started to massage them, frowning slightly when she actually felt the tension.  Rory melted under her touch in an instant.

“You should get something to eat, Rory,” RC said, not once stopping her hands. “We can try to find a place.”

“I didn’t bring my car.”

“We can take an Uber.”

“Okay.”

RC’s brows raised a little at how easy it was to get Rory to comply. She watched as Rory closed the program and copied the files to her USB. The computer’s screen went dark a second after.

They ended up in a little diner near the school. Rory didn’t say much on the way, but that was to be expected. Exhaustion was radiating off of her. Rory hated wearing her glasses but she wore them because of the headaches from staring at her laptop screen for too long. Even with the glasses, the darkening patches under her eyes were visible.

RC couldn’t help but worry.

Rory had a lot going on in her life. School was already draining her and keeping a secret, especially as big as RC and her family not being human, was surely an additional weight on her shoulders. A little part of RC’s heart was wrenched with guilt because of that.

“We haven’t had a chance to talk after your birthday,” RC said after they placed their orders. “I want to make sure you’re doing alright.”

One of Rory’s eyebrows arched high as she tilted her head. “We talked today.”

“Not about…” RC trailed off, hoping that Rory would understand what she was trying to say. Knowing Rory, she would.

“I swore I wouldn’t try to find out more and I haven’t done anything to break that,” Rory said, playing with the napkin on the table. “To be honest, RC, there’s too much going on inside my head, I don’t even think I could try to do that if I wanted to.”

Rory took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes furiously. Maybe RC was reading too much into it, but Rory didn’t seem to care at all about the vampirism. Or, non-humanism, in Rory’s case. She shoved the thought to the back of her mind, like it was not a big deal when it actually was.

Most people would run for the hills, or do something equally drastic. Rory, on the other hand, managed to somehow forget about it altogether.

There was definitely something Rory hadn’t told RC yet, that much was clear. Something big. Maybe as big as the Cullens’ vampirism. It was the only thing RC could come up with to make sense of it all. On why Rory acted so casually about her friends being not human.

Has Rory met vampires before? Or other supernatural beings?

She wasn’t sure if Rory would ever tell her, but she could only hope. They were making progress, not bottling feelings inside. RC trusted that Rory would tell her. Eventually.

“You don’t have to worry about me.”

Rory’s small voice made RC look up. Across the table, Rory was staring at her. Her eyes however, felt a million miles away. Distant and glassy. RC couldn’t remember the last time Rory looked like that.

“But I do,” RC said. “I care about you and I hate to see you like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

Rory thinned her lips as something flashed in her eyes. “I’m not carrying the weight of the world. I’d know if that happened.”

A frown formed on RC’s face. She reached over to take Rory’s hands, which were a lot colder than usual. “Still, I’m worried.”

“Don’t be. Especially when you’re worried about me talking about the not so secret. Rosalie already reminded me about that.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Rosalie picked me up after my class,” Rory told her. “She’s been helping me with my projects, so I didn’t really read too much into it. But, it was clear that Rosalie suspects something and she wants to know more about her enemy.”

Rose, seriously? You couldn’t be more subtle with that?

“You’re not an enemy.” RC argued.

Rory offered a sad smile. “To some part of her I am, and to be honest, I understand that. I mean, It’s Rosalie. She’d move mountains for you, to make sure you’re safe and happy.” Rory paused slightly and a breathless chuckle escaped her lips. “Rosalie wanted to make sure I won’t do something stupid that would end with you hurting.”

Their waiter came back, placing each plate in front of RC and Rory. It didn’t escape her notice that Rory didn’t immediately dig in. She split her mac and cheese into two portions before taking a bite.

“Why didn’t you come back to the dorm after Rose left?”

“While I feel the reason behind the surprise visit was to basically check if I’m still in line, Rosalie did help me with my projects,” Rory answered as she stabbed some pieces of her macaroni. “She said my work can be improved, so that’s what I’ve been trying to do. I don’t want to give her any more reason to not...hate me.”

RC’s brows furrowed at the information. Rosalie was prying. Her aunt wasn’t a hundred percent trusting about Rory’s ability to keep a secret. Why wouldn’t her family just trust Rory like RC trusted her?

The thought brought out a fire from inside of her. After all this time, they still didn’t trust Rory. This was Rory. Sure, she wasn’t perfect, she made mistakes, but at least she acknowledged that and tried to be better.

And it had been weeks since Rory learned about their non-human status. She hadn’t tried to expose them or done something as equally catastrophic. Actually, Rory acted like nothing happened. As if her birthday party was just that. A party. It wasn’t ideal, but it was basically what RC’s family was hoping for. They already had that, what more did they want from Rory?

Her death, probably.

Rory was a variable they couldn’t control. A loose end. No matter how much RC wanted her to stay, to be a part of her life, it wouldn’t be possible without a sacrifice. No matter the scenarios, it would always be Rory who did the most sacrificing. That wasn’t fair.

“Do you want to stay with me tonight?” RC knew she sounded clingy, but she didn’t care. The thought of her family doing something drastic to Rory was enough to make her want to disappear somewhere. Just her and Rory.

Bella and Rosalie could join them when they had learned to see Rory the way RC saw her. That was, with trust.

“I still have a few assignments I need to finish. I don’t want to keep you up.”

“No, you can do that in my room,” RC offered. “I’m planning to pull an all-nighter too, so we can stay up together. Besides, I miss having you around.”

The corner of Rory’s mouth curled up. “We see each other everyday.”

“Hmm.” RC shrugged. “I still miss you when you’re not here.”

Rory’s eyes narrowed and her face hardened just slightly, but the smile remained on her face. It was clear that Rory was trying to wipe it from her face, but the whole thing was just hilarious.

“You are something else, RC Cullen.”

“Don’t even try to lie. You like it.” RC said, making sure the teasing tone was clear for Rory to hear. What RC wasn’t prepared for, however, was Rory’s reply.

“I do. I love it, actually.”

A blush came creeping up from her neck, up to her cheeks and RC was almost sure she was as red as Rory’s car. There was something about how Rory said those words that made something in her stomach flutter and her heart beat faster. If that was even possible.

Moreover, it was just Rory saying ‘love’. RC was probably reading too much into the situation, but she couldn’t help but imagine the day where Rory said those words directly to—

Not helping! Shut up!

Somehow, RC managed to not embarrass herself more as the two of them went back to RC’s dorm room. Rory dropped her bag by the desk and immediately set up her laptop. RC had to hold back a grimace at Rory’s behavior. She didn’t understand the weight of Rory’s major, but from the looks of things, it was a lot. Add the major secret Rory had to keep, RC wasn’t sure how to help loosen that weight. Especially the one involving her family.

She kept silent. She let Rory finish her work quietly as she pulled out her own laptop and settled on the bed. RC didn’t have assignments due, or the need to stay up, but she figured she’d keep Rory company.

About one hour after they got back, Rory started to roll her neck. She kept her hand on the back of her neck, pressing hard on the spot there.

RC noticed the discomfort from her bed. She moved the laptop from her lap and said, “Don’t you think you should give yourself a break? I know you’re chasing deadlines, Rory, but you’re basically running on fumes.”

“I’m fine,” Rory said a little too quickly.

“But you’re not.” RC’s voice was soft and low. She wasn’t sure why she sounded so defeated, but she did. “Rory, why don’t you take a break for a little while?” RC moved to lean on the headboard and patted the spot beside her.

Rory let out a deep breath. She gave RC a look before moving away from the desk. She took off her jeans and sweatshirt, throwing them hastily over the chair.

It wasn't the first time that RC had seen her friend in tank tops and underwear. With the amount of time Rory had been sleeping over, at the dorm or at the house, RC had plenty of opportunities to see that. It was just, every time always felt like the first time.

Her skin would get warmer, she'd stutter when she tried to speak. And Rory always acted the same when she realized RC's reaction—all smirk and all glory.

That night was the first time Rory didn't react the same.

Rory didn't waste any time before pulling out a pair of shorts before getting on the bed. It was a tight squeeze, so they would have to lay so close with each other. However, Rory always said it was fine when RC offered to get a bigger bed for her dorm room.

Yeah, there was nothing else between those lines.

RC wasn’t sure when she fell asleep, but she did, and woke up with a strained neck that would probably disappear in a few minutes. The scent of mint and coffee reached her nose, so strong that she woke up almost immediately. She was still half sitting up against the headboard, but Rory was laying on top of her, hugging her like a pillow.

Looking down at Rory's face, RC couldn’t remember the last time Rory looked that peaceful. Probably before that birthday party.

Why does it always have to be a birthday party? First mom's and now Rory's? 

She tightened her arm around Rory’s shoulders in reflex and Rory stirred almost instantly.

"Hmm." Rory hummed. Her eyes were squeezed shut before she opened them. “Hey, morning,” she said hoarsely.

RC cleared her throat, not trusting her voice at all. “Good morning. Did you sleep okay?”

“Uh-huh,” Rory said as she snuggled deeper into RC. “Thank you, I needed this. I feel like you know me better than me.”

“I try to.”

Rory rose up. Both of her arms were planted on the bed, on each side of RC’s body. She stared at RC’s eyes, with a fire behind her own. RC couldn’t find a trace of sleep there, not in Rory’s eyes, not in her face. She looked effortlessly beautiful. In a way that nobody usually noticed.

RC had never seen a gaze so intense. Everyone in her family was different. Rosalie was a different kind of intense. Rory’s was… something RC couldn’t describe with words. Which was funny, because she was well-read yet couldn’t form a string of words.

Words wouldn’t do Rory justice. She deserves something more.

At that moment RC started to think if she could be ‘something more’ for Rory. Until she came back to reality and realized Rory’s eyes had shifted down. She gulped down at the scrutiny. Her lips parted to say something, but no words came out.

“You keep saying I deserve the world,” Rory whispered under her breath and their eyes met again. In that close proximity, RC forced herself to really take a look at Rory. The pain and sorrow behind her eyes, hidden behind a curtain of grey. Sometimes it was light, almost blue. Other times it was as dark as a storm.

“I don’t know why I never told you the same,” she continued. “Maybe I should start doing that, huh? Because you do. Deserve the finest from everything.”

RC bit her lower lip and she heard Rory’s breath hitch. She couldn’t move anywhere without shoving Rory off of her, so she stayed put, as still as her family of vampires, when Rory leaned in.

“Do you want me to stop?” Rory asked when they were inches away from each other. Their noses were almost touching.

“I-I don’t... I don’t know.”

Rory let out a small smile, but planted a small kiss on RC’s cheek. “That’ll have to do. Thank you, again. I really appreciate it.”

RC remained in bed as Rory went to the bathroom. She didn’t dare to move. Her hand slowly creeped up and lingered on the spot where Rory’s lips had just been. Her skin was tingling there, foreign, different. The kind of different that felt good.

But having a taste of that felt more and more like tasting a drop of blood in a shortage of animals to hunt. It was addicting and RC wanted more. She wasn’t sure what she’d do if she didn’t get that.

“You’re playing detective,” RC said right after she got into the back seat of Rosalie’s car, her head popping out from between the two front seats. Her aunt punched the gas, throwing RC back, while Bella sat soundly in the front. Somehow, she knew that Rosalie did it on purpose.

“I’m not playing detective,” Rosalie said, “I’m playing chauffeur for you and Bella.”

RC’s eyes narrowed. She couldn’t see Rosalie’s face clearly, but she could see her eyes from the rearview mirror. The eyes—they said a lot of things. “I mean with Rory. She told me you’ve been spending time together.”

One of Rosalie’s eyebrows was raised. “That girl spends her free time at your house so she could be with you, even though she had assignments and projects that require her undivided focus. Rory was struggling, Little Lily, I figured I’d help.”

“Scribbling down some notes and commenting on her work are one thing. Rose, you were prying. You’re looking for any reason to prove that she will break her promise.”

She didn’t get a direct answer, but Rosalie pushed the car even faster. That was enough of an answer

“RC—”

“Rory has one foot out the door, Lily.” Rosalie’s tone was harsh. Harsher than the one she’d use with RC, but her eyes… RC looked into the intense gold from the mirror and she saw the storms of emotions behind them. Sorrow, sadness, worry, sympathy. “She’s scared. She may seem unconcerned and act as though nothing has happened, but she’s scared.”

RC’s brows furrowed together. “Scared of what?”

“I’m not sure. Rory is a hard person to read,” Rosalie answered with a contemplative look.

It never escaped her that Rosalie always prided herself on her people-reading skill. Rosalie just knew. From the slightest movement of someone’s eyes, to the choice of words that came rolling out of their mouth. The smallest hint of a lie and Rosalie would catch it. When Rosalie used that to prove someone wrong, oh, how it was a sight to see. Edward always commented how it was not a ‘real gift’, that it wasn’t true.

For RC, Rosalie’s skill, ability, whatever she wanted to call it, was a gift and so much more. Rosalie was always special in her eyes. But, seeing her aunt so unsure about anything was a rare occurrence.

“There was something in her eyes, when I looked at her,” Rosalie said, her grip on the steering wheel tightened. “Sometimes I see myself. Not long after I was turned.”

Oh.

Bella reached over the console to put her hand on Rosalie’s thigh, her palm was facing up. Rosalie covered Bella’s hand with her own. No words were exchanged, but it seemed like the gesture was louder.

“Do you think she—”

Rosalie squeezed Bella’s hand. “No, I’m not sure, but trauma is trauma. Didn’t Rory say she was seeing a therapist?”

“Back in New York, yeah.” RC nodded, moving to the edge of the seat so she’s closer to the front. “Why? You think there’s something going on with her?”

“There is something going on with her, Lily,” Rosalie said firmly. “Something that has to do with her past, with us. What makes her terrified of who knows what, and goes out of her way to cover it all up.”

The car went faster and that was when RC realized that Rosalie wasn’t driving them home. She had a bad sense of direction, even just the way from Dartmouth to her house. Rory did a better job than her with that. But, with the bare amount of road sense that she already had, RC noticed the unfamiliar roads. She was pretty sure they didn’t need to get on the highway to get home.

“Rosalie, if there’s something up with her, don’t you think Rory will tell me when she’s ready?” RC asked softly. “This is why I don’t really ask. You taught me not to push and only do that when necessary.”

“This is necessary, Lily. Our lives literally depend on it.” Rosalie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It definitely would be a terrifying action if she wasn’t a vampire.

“Rosalie, where are we going?” Bella asked, pulling Rosalie’s hand slightly. A silent nudge to get her to answer.

“Finding out more about Veronica,” Rosalie finally said. “I’m not going to sit around and wait for something to happen. I’m going to make sure it will not come to that.”

It had been a while since Rosalie referred to Rory as Veronica. So, when she finally did, it must mean something. And Rosalie looked so wound up, even more than usual. No matter how okay she was with RC and Rory’s… something, Rosalie still had apprehension.

Bella didn’t look pleased with the answer, so she pushed again. “What do you have in mind, Rosalie?”

“Do you realize how much we don’t know about Rory?”

RC’s face twisted in a frown. She wanted to say she knew a lot of things about Rory. When she really thought about it again, nothing came up. Nothing that matters. RC realized what Rosalie meant was not about how to make Rory sleep better, or how she took her coffee. Rory didn’t talk much about her past. Other than the bare mention of her late sister and her time in New York, Rory hadn’t told them much.

“She was late the last time we were supposed to meet,” Rosalie said. “She said she was running an errand for her friend and she was planning to go back again.”

One of RC’s brows arched up. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Would you drive three hours to ‘help’ a friend?”

“Rory already did that for RC,” Bella chimed in. “That time, around winter break, when she took RC to that science center right after she got back from New York.”

“Lily doesn’t count. We all know Rory would do anything for her. She’s head over heels.”

RC could feel her cheeks heating up. She knew that she shouldn't be surprised that Rosalie would say something like that. She opened her mouth to say something, but her brain short-circuited. Groaning, she buried her face in her hands. Her mom and Rosalie laughed a little at that.  

They stayed on the road for another hour. The sun had already set, a fleck of warm orange danced on the roof of the car when she looked up. RC gave up trying to find out where they were going a few minutes after they got onto the highway. Nothing from the scenery seemed familiar to her. They went from highways to small towns to forests.

It was always forest with them.

Rosalie exited the main road, into a dirt part that looked so much like the entrance to their house. But instead of following it to the end, Rosalie turned halfway, into a much rougher terrain that would probably damage her car. The car stopped behind a bush and Rosalie stepped out immediately.

“Where are we?”

Rosalie looked down on her phone before answering. “Keene Valley, New York.” Rosalie pocketed her phone as she exhaled an unnecessary breath. “Never thought I’d set foot anywhere in Upstate New York voluntarily.”

RC followed behind as the three of them started to run. It could have been minutes, or just seconds, but it felt a lot longer. They jumped over a tall fence, before running off again on the other side of the forest.

They stopped just at the tree line. A huge building was in front of them, just a few hundred yards away. At first glance, it looked like an old castle. A sense of ancientness surrounded the place, like it had been there before the United State was a country. There was a huge sign on the field. It was dark but RC had no problem reading the words.

Pallas-Averyll Academy  It was written in bronze with some foreign script RC couldn’t understand under it.

A million questions were racing inside RC’s head. She didn’t know which one to ask first. “You think Rory’s here? Why are you so strung up with her being in a boarding school?”

“A boarding school with obstacle courses and training grounds? Military grade?” Rosalie said, pointing to the farther part of the field. There were indeed a few things for a course she usually saw on TV. “And I don’t think, Lily. I know.”

As if on cue, someone appeared from the forest on the other side of the field. RC only needed to take one deep breath to know that it was Rory. She had a long pole with a banner flag on one end in her hands. There was something else on Rory, something she was wearing that didn’t look really clear. The more RC tried to make sense of it all, the more messed up the whole thing would be.

She thought she saw Rory wearing something that looked like shoulder pads like a football player. When she blinked, it was just some vest. The same thing happened with the other pole Rory was holding. One blink and it looked like a hockey stick, the other it was just a stick.

So, she stopped. RC just watched as Rory dragged the flag across the field. She stopped before an outdoor hearth, in the middle of stone chairs in circles. Rory dropped something into the fire and went inside.

RC swore the fire moved. Not in the way a fire was supposed to. She didn’t realize her jaw was on the floor until she felt her mom’s cold hand under her chin.

“Did you see that?” RC asked, breathless. She still couldn’t wrap her head around what just happened.

“I did,” Bella answered.

“What was that?” she asked again.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”

RC narrowed her eyes at Rosalie. “And how do you propose to do that? Walk up to Rory and kindly ask everything? Rose, it took her almost a month to admit to me that she's not dealing well with her uncle's death. If what you say is right, about whatever Rory’s dealing with is some kind of repressed childhood trauma, what makes you think she will tell you about it?"

Rosalie didn't answer and RC found that surprising. She just watched as Rosalie’s brows furrowed together, her jaw was tense. When RC really tried, she could hear Rosalie’s teeth grinding.

Never in a million years did RC think she'd see Rosalie like this. Wound up, almost reckless. Rosalie was usually meticulous with her plans, always so precise. The mere existence of Rory somehow erased that.

Bella moved to stand behind Rosalie, grabbing one of her clenched fists. RC's eyebrow arched at the gesture, but she didn't say anything.

"Rose, let's just go back," Bella tried to persuade. "We'll do some more research, and after that, we'll have a talk with Rory.”

“Isn’t that what you did with us? When you start to realize we’re vampires.” Rosalie asked, one of her brows arched up. A hint of smirk was displayed on her face.

“Hey, it worked out great, didn’t it?”

“Come on, let’s go home.” Bella started to tug Rosalie away, back to the car. Her aunt reluctantly let Bella half-drag her.

RC gazed towards the building where Rory disappeared into. She was hoping, somehow, that Rory would just come out of there and tell her everything. How was she supposed to help if she didn’t know what was going on? But, if she pushed Rory to tell her everything, what made her any different than the man she was trying so hard not to be? Despite their shared DNA? 

“Lily?”

RC stared at her mom and her aunt, already a few feet away. She took a deep breath before jogging to catch up to them. She took Rosalie’s other hand and said, “Let’s go home.” []

Chapter Text

There was nothing extra spectacular about the last Thanksgiving, with the exception of Rory. The girl spent some time with RC and the whole family before she had to leave for home. RC remembered the splint Rory had to wear and the argument her mom and Edward had just outside the house. An argument about Rory. How funny was that?

One thing that RC remembered the most was how Rory said she didn’t like going to the house in Upstate New York. She didn’t like it so much that she stalled by stopping by RC's house, which was in the complete opposite direction. Yet, RC found out that Rory had been running off to some school in the middle of the woods in Keene Valley, New York for the last… RC really had no idea how long.

A part of her felt guilty, tailing Rory like that. Rory had been giving RC all the privacy she could ask for and RC couldn’t even return the favor. And the worst part? RC wasn’t sure if she could tell Rory about it.

Rory disappearing from campus was starting to get really obvious too. RC pretended to not be suspicious when Rory had to cancel their plans suddenly and would be gone for the whole day, or sometimes it was longer. But it always ended the same way, Rory would come back in the dead of night and show up in the morning like nothing happened. Then it became more frequent and RC would notice something different about Rory each time.

Sometimes Rory would have a limp, other times she couldn’t even raise her arms. It was always the same outcome, with the discomfort disappearing after a few hours. But still, RC heard the shortness in Rory’s breath, every subtle pained gasp that escaped her lips. And the dried blood.

That was the red flag.

RC wanted to ask, she really did. Even when she didn’t explicitly say the words, her eyes said it all. And every time, Rory would reassure her nothing bad was happening. It didn’t bring RC any comfort at all.

“What did you find out about, you know, her?” RC asked the second her mom turned into that aisle in the library which slowly yet surely became their usual hiding spot. They were in a secluded corner, surrounded by the tall shelves always covered in dust.

“Not much,” Bella said. She fixed the lapels of her leather jacket as she walked closer. “The school she was at? It’s been owned by the Argos family since the 1800s. There are no records before that and as far as I can find out, it’s all legal.”

“And Rory?” RC pressed.

“Witch, alien, ancient supernatural being. She could be anything. We simply don’t know enough.”

RC let out a groan before dropping to sit on the floor. “I don’t like this.”

Bella’s eyebrow arched slightly. She took a seat across from RC in the tight aisle, but didn’t say anything else.

“I hate doing this,” RC started, gesturing vaguely to the room with her hands. “It feels wrong, intruding on her life like this. She hasn’t told me about any of it. Not about the school, or about what’s going on inside that building, or about the bruises she always has lately. So, there’s definitely something going on but I don’t feel good investigating it.”

“It’s for our own good.”

“No, it’s for our peace of mind,” RC fired back. She pinched the bridge of her nose and said, “How did Rose even find out about that school anyway? Did she follow Rory around like he did?”

Bella went rigid after that. A low growl reached RC’s ears. She reached out to grab Bella’s clenched hand.

I’m sorry.

“Rose has been spending a lot of time with Rory lately. It’s not that far of a stretch to assume that Rory told her something about the school. Maybe she went there for high school or something. Didn’t Rory say she’s from New York?” Bella explained.

“New York City,” RC replied. “She went to school in Brooklyn, but she mentioned having a family house in Upstate New York. Never specified wh—great now I’m helping you guys.”

Bella let out a small laugh at her antics. “You pay attention to her in the right way. That’s a good thing, RC.”

“It’s hard to not pay attention to her.” RC’s lips curled up in a soft smile. 

They stayed like that for a little while. Sitting quietly on the floor while hushed talks and paper rustling filled the background.

“Listen, RC, I know this is hard for you,” her mom started, “but it’s okay to push, you know? Just a little bit when the time is right.”

“How will I even know?”

“You will feel it. In your heart, in your guts. You’ll just know.”

RC slid across the aisle to her mom’s side. Her hand played with the zippers of Bella’s jacket sleeve. “Have you felt it? With…”

“No, not with him.” The tone in Bella’s voice was sharp and firm. RC detected some harshness in it, but she knew it wasn’t directed at her.

Not with him. If it’s not him, then could it be...?

“Don’t read too much into it,” Bella said, smirking as she nudged RC’s shoulder lightly. “Seriously, don’t. I can practically hear the gears turning inside your head.”

“One can hope.” RC shrugged.

 A light vibration from her phone made RC reach into her pocket. There was a text from Rory in the notification panel.

do you still want me to pick you up?? I have coffees ☕☕

ooh and dONUTSS

“Better not keep her waiting.”

RC looked up from her screen with a smile. “I’ll see you later.”

She kissed Bella’s cheek before hastily running off towards the exit. Well, power walked. Because the last time she ran, it was around the end of last quarter with Rory, and the librarian wasn’t happy about it.

As she walked, RC quickly typed a response.

strawberry glazed with rainbow sprinkles?

Rory’s text bubble appeared with three blinking dots before her text popped up.

Yes, I know how it’s always rainbows with you :) Don’t worry though, it’s cute

RC sprinted to the front of the building after reading the reply. She didn’t have to wait long to see Rory’s car approaching. The car stopped in front of her and the passenger side window rolled down.

“Donut delivery,” Rory said as she leaned as far as possible over the console.

RC grinned before settling in the passenger seat. She moved carefully so she wouldn’t sit on the box of donuts that was already placed there. Rory didn’t step on the gas like a racecar driver until RC had her seatbelt on and the donuts settled nicely on her lap. After that, RC couldn’t tell the difference between Rory and Rosalie anymore. 

The grin on RC’s face faltered slightly when she noticed the phone on Rory’s thigh. “Were you texting and driving?”

“Technically, yes.”

“Rory!” RC slapped Rory’s arm with the back of her hand. “That’s dangerous!

“Speech-to-text! I was using speech-to-text! Holy Hell, RC, stop beating me up, I’m trying to drive!” Rory exclaimed, laughing as she tried to dodge RC’s hands and failing wonderfully.

They drove up to a small meadow with a pond near one of the student residence buildings at the edge of the campus ground. Even before RC got out of the car, she could tell the tall grass would probably reach her calves, maybe even her knees. It was clear that nobody really came here. RC wasn’t sure if they were even allowed to park the car there.

But no one was in sight to kick them out of there and Rory had already gotten out and opened the trunk. RC rushed to follow.

Not much to her surprise, Rory already set up her trunk with blankets and food. The coffee RC was promised sat nicely in front of the bags of take out. RC just didn’t expect the coffee to be exactly the same size as her water bottle. Which was big. Too big to be healthy to have that much caffeine.

Rory climbed in and immediately reached for her coffee. She took a sip before patting the space beside her, inviting RC to climb back in. The sun was still up and the cold wasn’t much of a bother to Rory, so they kept the trunk door open.

“You know, we should probably do some studying instead of gallivanting around town to find picnic spots,” RC said as she took a bite of her strawberry glazed donut .

“Hey, you’re the one who told me to take more breaks.” Rory leaned back against the interior wall panel. Her shirt rode up a little, showing a patch of skin on her waist. Her bruised patch of skin.

RC diverted her gaze before Rory noticed her staring. The box of donuts on her lap didn’t look so appealing anymore.

“When I told you to take more breaks,” RC said slowly. “I didn’t mean that you should run off somewhere and come back covered in bruises.”

The immediate shift in the atmosphere made RC mentally slap herself. She put the half eaten donut on a napkin, but didn’t dare to look up and meet Rory’s eyes.

It was a painful two minutes that felt more like two decades. RC wasn’t sure about the right thing to say and Rory kept her mouth shut. Not literally though, because RC could still hear Rory finishing her sandwich.

That girl and her food.

“I wasn’t lying when I said that I was helping some friends.” Rory cleared her throat and RC finally met her eyes. “I was. I am.”

“Helping them with what? Being their punching bag?”

“Basically,” Rory answered quickly. “I have been teaching them how to fight. Err, well, how to fight better.”

There was something in Rory’s voice. The way she said it made RC think that the fight Rory mentioned was not some basic self-defense. At least, not the kind Rosalie taught her anyway. RC couldn’t help but think that in Rory’s case, it was so much worse.

RC’s eyebrows furrowed together. She scooted over so she was sitting side by side with Rory. Their shoulders pressed together and Rory immediately slid her arms around RC’s, melting into the embrace.

She wasn’t sure if it was the right time to push, like her mom said. RC figured she’d just try. “What’s going on, Rory?”

“Listen.” The plea sounded so breathless in RC’s ears. “RC, I don’t think it’s fair for me to keep this from you, but I literally don’t know how to tell you this. Because I know something about you and your family that is so dangerous that Rosalie’s eyeing my every move and you have every right to want to know something about me that is equally dangerous—”

 “Rory…” RC tried to cut her off when Rory started to ramble, but the girl didn’t seem to hear her.

“It-it’s just, somebody died, RC. Somebody died after I told her this.”

Her. Died.

The newfound information made RC’s stomach drop. What made something in Rory’s life so dangerous that people actually died because of it? Was she another supernatural being, like Bella said? It was the only reason that RC could think of, but even that didn’t give them a lot of answers.

There was definitely something going on. The mystery school, the flickering objects, the abnormal fire. But RC couldn’t tell Rory that she knew about all of those things now, could she?

“Do you think it would help if we say it at the same time?” RC suggested before clearing her throat. “Me about my family and you about... whatever it is you want to say.”

Rory sat up straighter and turned so they were directly in front of each other. “One?” she started, holding up a finger.

“Two.”

Rory nodded as she took a deep breath. “I’m a half-blood.”

“Vampires,” RC said, clenching her eyes shut as if she was waiting for a blow that never came.

“I knew it.”

When RC opened her eyes, Rory was smiling ear to ear. She wasn’t sure what she expected after the truth came out, but it wasn’t this.

“How did—h-how? Did you—what? What did you do?”

“Nothing!” Rory said, holding her hands up. “I didn’t try to find out more like I swore I wouldn’t. RC, if I broke that, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

RC didn’t like the sound of that at all. She decided to come back to the issue later. “Then how did you find out?” she asked.

Rory shrugged. She ran her hand through her hair, tossing it back. “I just knew, I guess. There was something about you that I can’t really explain. Just like I know that you and your sisters were there in Keene Valley the other night.”

“H-how—”

A small chuckle escaped Rory’s lips before they twisted up in a smirk. “Also, the little things help.”

One of RC’s eyebrows was raised in confusion. The only good thing RC could process at the time was the fact that Rory didn’t seem mad. She didn’t look completely betrayed by the revelation of RC’s own action. Inaction? Whatever. RC was about to say something else before Rory placed a finger over her lips, effectively cutting her off. Her eyes widened as her brain short-circuited.

“I mean like the little things that don’t seem to be important but they’re actually pieces of a bigger puzzle,” Rory started, pulling her hand away from RC. “Touching your skin is like touching stone. Every time I go to your house and the rest of the family is there, you guys do this thing like you have someone telling you stuff directly in your ears. You know, like in those spy movies. And then the way you move, the way your family moves. I can’t quite put it into words but I know something is different.”

 Rory’s words started to sink in her brain. RC couldn’t believe that it wasn’t that hard for Rory to figure out. The fact that it wasn’t the obvious things about RC and her family that gave it away? Not the eyes nor the ethereal beauty.

How long has she known? What else is she hiding?

If Rory was able to process and piece together all that non-seemingly related information, she was too smart for her own good. In that moment, RC didn’t know if she was supposed to be proud or scared of Rory. 

RC inhaled a deep breath. “What about Keene Valley? How did you find out we were there?”

“No matter how okay Rosalie is with me knowing your secret, even when it wasn’t to the full extent, she’s wary. Bella’s on the same page as her. So, I figured that maybe she needed to hold something over my head to make sure I’d shut up.”

A surprised gasp stuck in the back of her throat.

Blackmail, Rosalie? Seriously?

But then it started to come together. Every time Rory would come to the house, she always had assignments with her. Assignments that aligned with Rosalie’s interest. She already knew that RC wanted Rosalie to spend time with her. More time together meant more information.

“You purposely told Rosalie about Keene Valley,” RC concluded. She knew she was on the right track from the smile that was starting to form on Rory’s face.

“In bits and pieces, hoping that she would connect the dots. I don’t think Rosalie would appreciate it much if I just plainly told her. She needed to find out for herself.” Rory tilted her head to one side. “But also, because I really need her help with my projects. She is amazing.” 

RC laughed in disbelief. “So, you’re a half-blood and Keene Valley is like your Hogwarts. What does half-blood even mean? Except the obvious.”

“Pallas-Averyll is just one of many training centers across the globe for demigods and other offspring,” Rory started. She moved so she was leaning back on the side interior, a bundled up blanket propping her back. “Demigods are the children of gods and others. Human, nymph, dryad, you name it. So, yeah, one of my parents is an Olympian. I don’t know which one though, but they always tell us to be ready. We live in a world where there’s always something looming on the horizon.”

With Rory sitting like that, her shirt rode up again, showing the same bruises on her waist. RC’s eyes fixed on that patch of skin. She instinctively reached out, her fingers barely grazed the green-ish purple skin. She heard Rory’s soft gasp when their skin touched.

“Is your training always this brutal?” RC whispered.

“Yes. Most of the time,” Rory replied quietly. “I wasn’t lying when I said somebody died. We are trained for battles. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a big, all-out war, but it’s a fight nonetheless.”

The frown on RC’s face might as well be permanent. Even with her vampire status—half-vampire, but still—RC had never really faced danger head-on. The first and the last one was sometime after she was born, when she was mistaken as an immortal child and not a hybrid. But that was it.

Rory on the other hand. RC didn’t know how these battles were happening, who they were fighting. She didn’t know how often it happened, or how long Rory had been like this. With all the things that were currently happening to Rory and everything that had happened, RC wasn’t sure how Rory was still standing.

 “If you’re worried that you’re bringing danger into my life,” RC said, “don’t. It’s not your job to protect me. I can do that myself.”

Rory hummed in agreement. Her eyes were cast down, fixed on RC’s fingers that were dancing on her own skin.

“I know,” she mumbled. “I’m trusting you with this because I know you don’t need me to protect you. That I know you will be here when I get back.”

RC wasn’t sure when to push. Bella said she would feel it in her heart. Oh, she felt it alright. It was just a feeling she didn’t expect.

She didn’t realize what she was doing until her face was inches away from Rory’s. They were so close that RC could feel Rory’s soft breaths on her lips.

What am I doing?

“What are you waiting for?” Rory asked softl y.

RC didn’t know how to reply, so she leaned in, capturing Rory’s lips on her own. It was light and sweet, and oh so delicate that RC started to wonder why she waited this long. Rory returned the kiss right after. Her hands raised up and held the back of RC’s neck. It wasn’t a possessive grip, no. Rory’s hands on her felt right.

She pulled away slightly when she heard Rory’s gasp of breath, getting shorter with each second. Her forehead was pressed against Rory’s, her eyes were still closed, savoring every moment.

“Thank you for trusting me,” RC said.

“Thank you for not running away.” 

Later in the afternoon, Rory drove up to RC’s house. She purposely took the long way, cutting through the woods and along narrow roads, away from town and people in general. RC took advantage of the time to play twenty questions with Rory.

She learned that the lives of half-bloods and demigods today weren’t that much different from the old stories. About the ancient wars and the heroes. From Jason and the Argonauts to Hercules with his twelve labors. The only difference was the Greeks managed to develop a ward powerful enough to cover their world from the rest. A glamour to deceive the mortal’s sight.

Like the barrier around Themyscira in the DC universe. More or less. Or maybe Percy Jackson’s mist? Why didn’t I think about this sooner? But RC kept the thought to herself.

“Is that why you were flickering?” RC asked. “When I saw you in Keene Valley, you were carrying a flag pole, but it also looked like a hockey stick.”

Rory hummed in response. “That was a spear actually. I also had on armor. We were just finishing up some battle simulations.”

The way those words rolled out of Rory’s mouth was so nonchalant, it made RC shiver in fear. Yeah, sure, Rory looked like she could handle herself. RC could definitely imagine her in a UFC ring or beating up creepy drunk dudes when they bothered her. Even with those visuals in her head, RC couldn’t imagine Rory fighting a war.

And the worst part? It was awfully clear that Rory had been doing this for a long time.

“Are you going to tell Rosalie about this?”

“Let her figure it out on her own,” Rory said. “Rosalie’s smart. I’m sure she’s almost there already.”

RC nodded, settling back into her seat. They were nearing her house, she started to recognize the road and the scenery around her. And then the thoughts came.

“Edward can read minds,” RC blurted out as she sat up straighter. Her hand grabbed Rory’s forearm tightly as her breath started to pick up. “Rory, he could read my mind and find out about you.”

A loud groan filled the car. Rory had her head thrown back when RC looked at her.

“Eyes on the road!”

“Alright, alright! Sorry,” Rory said, rolling her eyes but at least she was starting to drive more safely. “He is already so annoying and he has one of the most intrusive abilities ever known?” Rory shook her head in disbelief.

“Tell me about it. Rosalie has been dealing with his shit since 1933, so she’s excellent at hiding her thoughts. Me? Not so much. I mean, he’s barely around these days with you in the house a lot, but still.”

Rory let out a long groan. Her fingers tapping the steering wheel rapidly.

“Maybe I can try something,” she suggested.

Before RC could ask anything else, the car stopped on the side of the road. There was no other vehicle in sight. Rory took off her seatbelt and pushed her seat all the way back. She maneuvered so she was sitting on her knees. Her arms stretched out in RC’s direction.

“What are you doing?”

“Magic,” Rory deadpanned.  

She beckoned with her fingers and RC unbuckled her own seatbelt so she could lean closer. Her face was cupped in Rory’s hand as their gazes burned into each other’s. Rory’s thumbs gently stroked RC’s skin before moving up to her temple.

RC could feel the blood rushing up with the close proximity to Rory, with her touch and her gaze. Rory’s brows knitted together and her hands hovered, barely in contact with RC’s skin. From the corner of her eyes, RC saw Rory’s wrists flick and she snapped her fingers.

The sound it made was so loud, it almost hurt. It bounced throughout the small space of the car. The ringing didn’t disappear as quickly as RC hoped. At the same time, she felt something. Tingles on her skin, like a soft wind just blew inside the car.

She knew it was impossible because none of the windows were open.

“W-what?”

Rory offered a lopsided smile as she settled back into her seat properly. “I put a spell on you.”

RC’s eyes widened and her heart became erratic. “I beg your pardon?”

“No, I’m just kidding,” Rory chuckled. “I put glamour on your thoughts. I figured, part of the reason Edward doesn’t like me very much is because he can’t read my mind. My theory is that it’s because of the glamour surrounding the Greek mythical world.”

“So, you put it on me so he can’t read my thoughts?”

Rory thinned her lips. “I put it on you in hope that he still can, but not about the whole ‘I’m a half-blood’ thing. If I covered your mind completely, he would know something is up and to be honest, I don’t feel like being interrogated right now.”

RC just nodded while Rory continued the drive. They got into the Cullens’ ridiculously long driveway in less than ten minutes after their stop. About halfway in, RC sensed them. The whole family with several more additions.

She threw a nervous glance at Rory, who didn’t even seem to notice. Considering her background in combat, RC had a feeling that Rory was putting on a brave face for her. That she too, noticed something different.

There was a dark grey SUV in Rory’s usual parking spot in the driveway. One of Rory’s eyebrows raised up, but she didn’t say anything. Rory parked her car behind the SUV and got out.

“Heads up,” RC said, pointing at the car with an Alaska plate. “This is my cousin’s.”

A corner of Rory’s mouth curled up. “So, this is a ‘meeting with the extended family’ then?”

RC’s cheeks flushed and Rory let out a loud laugh. She was frozen in her spot until Rory walked around the car and slid her arm over RC’s shoulders.

Rory didn’t move her arm as the two of them walked inside. RC could hear hushed conversations from the rooms. Suspense or excitement, she didn’t know. So, she tried to focus on something else. Like the steady heartbeat so close to her own body. RC took a deep breath, filling her nose with Rory’s scent. Peppermint and coffee.

“Who do we have here?”

The living room was packed when RC got there. Basically, almost everybody in her family filled every chair, even the floor. Her family and four out of six members of the Denalis.

Kate strolled over towards her and RC felt Rory’s arm disappear. Her shoulders felt uncomfortably light, missing the warmth and touch. It didn’t help her when she felt Rory stepping away, just moments before Kate reached her and gave her a tight hug.

“Oh, I missed you Little Cullen,” Kate mumbled as she rocked RC side to side.

“I missed you too, Kate,” RC said, pulling away from the hug.

“And who is this?” Kate asked, pointing slightly towards Rory with a knowing smile plastered on her face.

RC mentally rolled her eyes. Kate knew exactly who Rory was, the whole Denali coven did. RC wasn’t exactly quiet about it the last time she visited Alaska. “This is Veronica. She’s my—”

“The stranger that has been crashing here since the start of the school year,” Rory said quickly as she held out her hand. RC was grateful at the save, because truly, she wasn’t thinking. The words just flooded out of her mouth.

Kate hummed before taking Rory’s hand, giving it a firm shake. Firm shake as in ‘Kate was trying to break Rory’s hand’. If Rory was in pain, she didn’t show it.

“Have we met before?” Kate asked, her eyes narrowed. “You look oddly familiar.”

One of Rory’s eyebrows raised. “I don’t think so. I mean, I’ve never been to Alaska before.”

“You know where I’m from?”

“Well, yeah.” Rory shrugged. She roughly pulled her hand away from Kate’s grip before shoving it into her jacket pockets. Her expression was hard to read. “RC mentioned visiting relatives in Alaska last Thanksgiving. Also, I saw the Alaska plate on the car outside.”

“Hmm, you’re perceptive.”

The double meaning in that sentence didn’t escape RC’s notice. She shot an angry glare at Kate, who only winked in response before going back to her seat with the rest of the Denalis.

“Anyway.” RC clapped her hands, clearing her throat. “Rory, this is our relatives from Alaska. That’s Kate, Tanya, and Irina,” she introduced them before pointing at another woman standing behind Kate. “That’s Violet, Kate’s girlfriend.”

Rory gave them a small wave and moved closer to RC. Her hand twitched by her side when RC looked down. She instinctively grabbed Rory’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“There’s also Carmen and Eleazar somewhere in the house. Probably with my parents.” RC turned to face her family. “Talk to you later,” she said before quickly pulling Rory to the stairs. “Come on.”

Rory let herself be dragged, saying an awkward goodbye to the family in the living room. They were already on the second floor when Rory pulled them to a stop. “RC, I think I should go back. Don’t you want to spend time with your cousins? They drove all the way here from Alaska.”

“I want to spend time with you.”

Rory smiled. She reached out with her other hand, tucking a strand of hair behind RC’s ear. “Okay. One hour. Homework.”

“Aw, come on! That’s not fair.” RC could only whine as Rory half-dragged her to the bedroom.

“You literally told me to study more. Just a few hours ago.”

“I’m starting to regret it,” RC mumbled. “Can’t we take a drive and have another picnic somewhere?”

“No.”

RC reluctantly started on her homework as Rory settled on the floor. She started to pull out papers and every type of ruler RC could think of. Each of them started to work quietly. The only sound that reached RC’s ears came from the typing from her laptop and the constant graze of Rory’s pencil. After ten minutes, RC abandoned her task completely. She laid on her stomach on her bed, watching Rory working on some drawings.

Rory had her sleeves rolled up to her elbows. Both of her wrists were bare from her watch and bracelets, which were scattered near her bag. Her hair was pulled in a messy bun and a few strands of hair kept falling into her face. Every once in a while Rory would angrily blow at it.

“I would tell you to take a picture, but you wouldn’t do that, would you?” Rory said without taking her eyes off of her work. A hint of smirk displayed on her face.

“I need to take a photography class first.”

“Why?”

“To make sure anyone that sees your photo actually sees you as I do.”

Rory thinned her lips, trying to fight off the smile forming on her face. RC on the other hand, smiled triumphantly.

“You think you’re so smooth, don’t you?”

“I try,” RC said, shrugging. “You deserve it.”

A quiet laugh came from Rory. She shook her head and started to clear up her stuff, putting them inside her bag. When the two of them got back downstairs, nobody was in the living room. RC couldn’t really hear anyone either besides Rosalie in the garage and somebody in the kitchen.

“RC? Rory?” Esme called.

RC didn’t take Rory to the kitchen until Rory gave her a nod. The first one RC saw in the room was Carmen, who approached her and gave kisses on each of RC’s cheeks.

“Ah, Bebé Linda.” Carmen cradled RC’s face in her hands before moving to Rory. “And you must be the famous Veronica I’ve been hearing about.”

“Hola, ¿cómo estás?” Rory said, waving her hand casually. RC was surprised with how fluent and natural the language was on Rory’s tongue.

Carmen of course, absolutely beamed at the greeting. “Estoy bien, gracias. ¿Has comido hoy, reinecita? Esme y yo hacemos—”

“Patatas bravas?” Rory guessed, taking a deep breath. Her eyes followed the smell, originating from a huge bowl on the counter behind Esme. As if on cue, Rory’s stomach rumbled loudly and her face reddened.

“Help yourself, Rory,” Esme said. “Don’t worry, you can have some to take back to your dorm.”

“Wait, no, weren’t you making them for the family? I’ll be alright. I have some food in the car.”

“Nonsense, you will take some for the road.” Carmen and Esme already prepared a container before Rory could even decline. Esme made a show of filling a thermos with coffee and Rory instantly shut her mouth.  

RC jumped to sit on the kitchen island as they waited. Rory immediately walked closer to her. She stood between RC’s dangling legs and RC had to fight off the blush that was trying to creep up to her cheeks.

“So…” RC’s voice was hoarse, for whatever reason, so she had to clear her throat before continuing, “You speak Spanish?”

Rory hummed. She turned her whole body so they were face to face, although Rory had to strain her neck a little bit to meet RC’s eyes. “I do.”

“Since when?”

“Since I spent some time in Barcelona when I was a kid,” Rory replied as she drew circles on RC’s knees unconsciously. “Simple times.”

RC’s breath hitched at the gesture, but Rory moved away too soon. Or maybe, just soon enough with how both Esme and Carmen were literally two feet away.

Once the food was in the container and Rory had enough coffee to last her a week, RC walked her out. She was grateful that Esme and Carmen weren’t pushy about Rory, even though she knew that both of them wanted to. Especially Carmen.

“Your cousins are nice. Kate is something else, but you know,” Rory said after she settled in the driver seat. The engine already rumbled softly. Her window was down and RC leaned on it, not quite ready to be separated from Rory.

“Yeah. I wish you’d stay though.”

“Aw, Sweetheart,” Rory took RC’s hand, giving it a kiss on the knuckles. “I will see you Monday with every question you want to ask me, alright?”

Every question.

RC’s eyes sparked up at that. She had a million questions. About Rory being a half-blood, about what was happening between the two of them, about the kiss. Her first kiss ever.

“Okay.” RC nodded. “Call me after you get back.”

“No problem. I’ll talk to you later, okay? Don’t miss me too much.” Rory gave her a two finger salute as RC stepped away from the car. The tires screeched loudly on the driveway and Rory quickly disappeared from her sight.

“So…” The voice made RC turn quickly to the front door. Esme and Carmen were there, along with Kate and Emmett.

“That’s your girlfriend?” Kate said. She had a huge grin on her face, matching Emmett’s.

“Shut up, she’s not my girlfriend.” RC stared back at the direction Rory disappeared in.

“Not yet,” Emmett said. He and Kate howled in laughter. Esme scolded them both, but even that didn’t do much good.

RC groaned and threw her hands up in frustration. She completely ignored Emmett’s call and Kate’s apologies as she headed towards the garage. She had to restrain herself from giving those two some middle fingers because Esme was there. Yeah, no way.

In the garage, Rosalie’s legs popped out from under one of the cars. RC had no idea what it was other than it was a Black Honda. Her aunt rolled out and wiped her hands on a rag. Rosalie moved to the mini fridge in a flash, pulled out a bottle of apple juice and threw it to RC.

“We’re going hunting later tonight,” Rosalie said, opening the driver door for RC to sit in. “You should get some rest if you want to join us. I will protect you from Emmett and Kate.” 

“I heard that!” Emmett yelled from somewhere inside the house.

“You’re meant to!”

RC smiled at their antics. She ran towards her aunt, giving her a kiss on the cheek before getting comfortable in the back seat of the car Rosalie was working on. []

Chapter Text

RC wasn’t really expecting her cousin to be on her best behavior. Kate and ‘best behavior’ didn’t really have a positive relationship. At least not to RC and probably everyone else too.

Kate just wouldn’t stop interrogating her about Rory when they were hunting that night after Rory left, or when RC was trying to finish her never ending pile of homework. She was curious, RC understood that, but it had come to a point where hiding in the garage with Rosalie was the only way out.

Nobody was allowed in Rosalie’s garage without her verbal permission. The only one with VIP access was RC. But, she also noticed that she had started to share that privilege with her mom since the last couple of months. Not that she was complaining, because there was a more urgent matter to complain about.

“I’m telling you, I’ve seen RC’s little girlfriend before!” Kate exclaimed from Violet’s lap.

They were in the game room, huddling near the pool table where Eleazar was beating Emmett’s ass. The rest of the family scattered around the room. Bella was trying to beat the high score on the pinball machine, hoping to dethrone Emmett and claim back her title. Rosalie was leaning on a machine beside Bella, giving her silent moral support. Little did Bella know that it wasn’t Emmett’s high score she was trying to beat.

“Yeah? Where? When was that?” Violet asked. She bounced her leg a little, making Kate squeal and give her girlfriend a death glare. Violet only smiled ever so sweetly.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out since yesterday,” Kate said before turning to RC. “You should ask Veronica to come visit. I want to interrogate her some more.”

RC rolled her eyes, throwing a half-eaten Snickers bar towards Kate who caught it without a problem. “Haha, very funny,” she said sarcastically. “Now give me back my chocolate.”

Kate flaunted the Snickers bar. “Invite her over first. Come on, RC, don’t you want us to get to know each other?”

“You’re infuriating.”

“You love me, Little Cullen.”

“Unfortunately,” RC mumbled.

Tanya strolled over towards them, giving a hard smack behind Kate’s head. The sound it made was so loud, it almost echoed through the room.

“Shit! Tanya, what was that for?”

“For being a dick.”

“I don’t even have—”

“Children.” Irina shook her head before focusing back to another round of PacMan.

“ Children ?” Kate tried to get up, but Violet immediately wrapped her hands around Kate’s waist. “Irina, we're older than you.”

“Then act your age,” Irina simply said. “Carmen, tell her I’m right.”

“Tanya, Kate, listen to your sister.”

“ What ?!”

RC groaned and put her head in her hands. She loved her family, the Denalis included, but she really did not appreciate the constant headache that came along with it. Kate and Irina continued to bicker, with Emmett and Alice agreeing here and there which just fueled them more.

Sighing, RC pulled out her phone and dialed the number on the top of her favorire contact list. It was almost a full minute before she got an answer.

“Alexandre.”

One of RC’s eyebrows raised up at the greeting. “What’s up with the formality?”

“Wha—” The other line went static for a bit. The sound of the phone fumbling was clear. “Oh, hey RC. What’s up?”

“Do you want to come over tonight?” RC said as she got up from the couch and started to pace around. “And, I don’t know, stay over for the weekend? I’m sure Rosalie wouldn’t mind driving us to campus on Monday if we ask nicely.”

“RC, your cousins are there.”

“I know,” she replied. “That’s one of the reasons, actually. Kate wanted to properly meet you.”

“Kate?” Rory asked. “The same blondie that looked like she was going to use me as target practice?”

“Okay, now you’re just being theatrical.”

Rory hummed from the other line. “Yeah, and I wonder where I got that from.”

RC’s breath caught in her throat as she forced out a light chuckle. “So?”

“Give me an hour?”

“Yea—”

“ We are not done here, Veronica .”

The stranger’s voice made RC frown. She pulled her phone away and looked at her screen to make sure she was still connected to Rory.

“ We are, actually. I’m sure Uncle Robert will be more helpful. ” RC heard Rory’s stern tone. Where was Rory calling from? RC didn’t recognize the man’s voice and it was clear he wasn’t letting Rory leave.

“ Miss Alexandre —”

“ Hmm, we’re done here. Good day, Mr. Dennings. Be sure to call my uncle beforehand. ”

Even from the phone, RC detected the sarcasm dripping over every word that came out of Rory’s mouth. RC couldn’t fight off the smirk that bloomed on her face because of it.

“Sorry about that,” Rory said. “So, an hour?”

There was so much more RC wanted to ask, about who that man was, what Rory was doing with him in the first place. Instead, RC took a deep breath and replied, “I’ll be waiting.”

RC put her phone back into her pocket. When she looked up, every pair of golden eyes were burning into hers. RC’s eyes widened as her head shook in confusion.

“Whipped,” Emmett said with a huge grin on his face. Not even a second later, a cue stick hit the back of his head. A broken part of it at least. He jumped in surprise and looked around the room frantically. Rosalie hovered behind Bella by the pinball machine, the other half of that cue stick was in her hand. RC would swear on her life that both Rosalie and Bella had matching smirks on their faces.

RC left the room and went to the kitchen. She double checked the pantry and fridge, making sure they were stocked. If Rory wasn’t sure about visiting with the Denalis in the house, the least she could do was to make sure there were little things that would make the visit bearable. That entailed food and coffee.

She read somewhere that the quickest way to a girl’s heart was through her stomach. A part of her knew that she didn’t need ‘a way’ into Rory’s heart, because she knew she was already in there. The other part of her just wanted confirmation.

Once RC was satisfied with the kitchen, she went upstairs to take a quick shower. She wasn’t sure what made her want to do all of these things. It was just Rory . Yet every part of her wanted to dress up and make sure everything was perfect. It was a foreign thing for her, really, to act like a high school student with a crush.

It hasn’t even been an hour since the call. Thirty three minutes and fourteen seconds, to be exact. She had counted.  

RC wouldn’t say that she knew what type of car was approaching based on the sound of its engine, but even with her lack of knowledge, she knew Rory’s car was getting off the main road onto the dirt path of the Cullens' long driveway.

RC hurriedly got dressed and went downstairs. Rory was getting out of her car when RC jumped on her back.

“You’re here!” she exclaimed giddily. Her arms were wrapped around Rory’s neck. “I missed you,” she said, burying her face into Rory’s shoulder.

Rory let out a quiet laugh. Her hands held the back of RC’s thighs, keeping her upright. “I was here not twenty-four hours ago.”

“Still.”

RC felt the low rumble in Rory’s chest from the laugh. She heard the beeping sound of the car locking before Rory climbed up the porch.

Once they were inside, RC tried to climb off Rory's back, but she wouldn't let her. Rory's hands tightened around RC’s legs, so RC just stayed there as Rory walked deeper into the house. The sudden commotion from the game room attracted Rory’s attention and she stopped in the hallway.

Emmett’s shouting boomed throughout the house, along with Kate’s cheer and somebody else’s laughter. RC couldn’t see Rory’s face, but she could imagine her brows furrowed together, contemplating where to go.

Maybe she wasn’t ready. Maybe I shouldn’t have invited her here.

A clunking sound from the kitchen almost made Rory jump. She turned her head towards the other part of the house. Her hold of RC’s legs tightened slightly, as though the gesture grounded her to reality.

“Who’s in the kitchen?” she asked.

“I don’t know.” RC admitted. “Papa left earlier this morning to Portsmouth for a conference. Maman is working on a project in her studio. The others are hanging out in the game room.”

“I’ll take the stranger in the kitchen then.”

Rory turned around and headed for the kitchen. She jogged over, making RC bounce up and down on her back. The grin never left RC’s face the entire way.

As it turned out, Rosalie and Bella had abandoned the pinball machine. They were standing behind the fancy new espresso machine they had bought for Rory. The skillet was on the stove, two portions of grilled cheese sandwiches were almost done cooking.

“Done trying to beat that high score I see,” RC said as she jumped off of Rory’s back.

Bella reached out to the stove, flipping the grilled cheese in the air. Rory let out a low whistle as she watched.

“Emmet definitely cheated. There’s no way he made the high score that high on that pinball machine,” Bella said before putting the grilled cheese on two plates. “Eat up, kids.”

“Pinball?” Rory asked. “Emmett beat my high score? Damn, it took me a whole day to get that score.”

“Hold on, that’s your high score?”

Rory smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. “I was bored.”

“Want to play against me?” Bella asked her.

One of Rory’s eyebrows raised. The grilled cheese that was halfway to her mouth went back to the plate. “In the game room, where your cousins are.”

“Here,” Rosalie turned with a tall mug in her hand. She slid it across the kitchen island towards Rory, who caught it without much of a problem. “Liquid courage.”

Rory raised the glass and took a sip. Her eyes widened instantly, making Rosalie and Bella laugh a little. “Wait, what? What is this ? Oh my gods, this is amazing.”

“Secret recipe,” Rosalie replied. Before Rory could say anything, Rosalie quickly added, “And no, you’re not getting it.”

Rory let out a grumble, but she ate her grilled cheese and finished her secret recipe drink. From a whiff, RC would guess it was a few shots of espresso and mint syrup, along with something else she didn’t recognize.

RC eyed her aunt quietly, wondering what in the world she put in Rory’s drink. She trusted Rosalie enough to know that she wouldn’t poison Rory, but still, she was curious.

It didn’t take long for the both of them to finish their food. Rosalie and Bella stayed with them in the kitchen. RC didn’t think that Rory even noticed they were being chaperoned with how quiet Rosalie and Bella were being.

When they finally headed back to the game room, RC knew Rory was a nervous wreck. Her heartbeat was all over the place even though she kept on taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

“Kate is not going to kill you, you know,” Rosalie said.

“No.” Rory agreed. She took RC’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “She’s going to do something though.”

RC turned to Bella and Rosalie, but both of them just shrugged. They were walking closely together though and RC briefly saw the handholding. She wasn’t sure, so she didn’t say anything and kept walking.

The game room fell into a dead silence once Rory stepped in. Kate and Violet stopped their air hockey game and the pool table was occupied by Alice and Edward. RC tilted her head in confusion. When did he get here?

She didn’t have time to deal with his antics and scowl when Kate was right there , smiling like a maniac. RC swore she heard Rory gulp , but when she turned, Rory had on a brave face.

“Veronica, you’re back!” Carmen put down her magazine and approached them. “How are you, reinecita ?”

“I’m as good as I can be, I guess,” Rory said, still not letting go of RC’s hand. “I heard Kate wants to see me? Can’t imagine how that's going to turn out.”

“Why don’t you come here and find out?” Kate said, pointing to the other end of the air hockey table.

Violet stepped away and offered her striker to Rory. “If you want to. Don’t worry, kid, Kate may look like a lion on the outside but she’s a softie at heart.”

“Hey! Whose side are you on?”

“You’re scaring the hell out of the kid, baby. I have to do something.”

Rory let out a nervous chuckle at their antics. She took the striker from Violet and went to the table, taking the opposite end. Violet stood behind her, far enough but still close in case Kate decided to do something stupid. When Violet turned her gaze away from the table, she gave RC a knowing smile and winked.

Knowing Rory was in good hands, RC finally allowed herself to relax. Both Rosalie and Bella planted a kiss on her temple before they ran off somewhere. She let out an exasperated sigh. She loved Rosalie and Bella, she really did. Though,sometimes she just wanted to smack their heads for their lack of subtlety and the fact that neither of them were moving freaking forward.

Maybe she shouldn’t expect her mom and Rosalie to make a move when she wasn’t moving forward like she wanted to with Rory.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

The couch dipped beside her as Tanya took her seat. RC immediately laid her head on Tanya’s lap, her feet dangling over the arm of the chair.

“Don’t worry about your Rory, she’s going to be just fine,” Tanya said, trying to ease some of RC’s tension. “Kate is just curious. She kept saying she had seen her before and I believe that when you have lived as long as we have, there are just some things that stand out from the others.”

RC hummed as she kept an eye on the air hockey table, pretending to completely understand the somewhat cryptic words from her cousin. When Kate said she wanted to interrogate Rory, RC didn’t think that she would actually do it. They were just simple questions though, like where Rory was from, where did she go to school, had she ever been to Central Europe before. The answers to those questions were something RC had heard before. She knew and remembered every story Rory had ever told her.

Yet, Kate still wasn’t having it. The answers she got weren’t the ones she was looking for.

“Tell me, Veronica, why do you look so familiar to me?”

Rory straightened up, her right hand propped her weight on the table as her left counter-striking every shot from the puck. “Why are you asking me? I have never seen you before yesterday.” She took a shot, going straight into Kate’s slot. “Sure, I have seen your photos but I don’t think we’ve met before yesterday.”

Kate rolled her eyes before taking the puck from the slot and playing again. “I asked why, kid, give me a theory.”

“Maybe I look like somebody that you used to know,” Rory said before she chuckled. “Get it? Gotye? No? Alright, anyway it’s either that or how I do stuff, or how I talk reminds you of someone. Probably someone you knew really well, because you don’t get this kind of reaction for some random face you saw crossing the road. I mean, if you have lived a long time the list of people would be extensive I’m sure.”

RC was sure her heart stopped.

“A long time my ass,” Kate said, not once startled by Rory’s choice of words, “You’re what, eighteen? I’m only a few years older than you.”

“Twenty, actually,” Rory corrected before she rolled her shoulder like she was steeling herself. “And if what you mean by a few years is a few centuries? Sure.”

Yeah, RC had decided at that moment, Rory was a dead girl walking.

Everything that happened after that felt like it was in slow motion. Kate picked up the puck and threw it at Rory with full strength. Somehow, Rory managed to see what was happening. She had her striker thrown, hitting the puck before it could hit her in the face. The sound it made was so loud, it was like a hunting rifle was shot somewhere near them. Rory ran towards RC just after Tanya left her side.

And then Kate leaped over the table. Before she could reach Rory, Violet tackled her girlfriend to the ground.

“Katrina! Baby, come on, don’t kill the kid.”

“She knows,” Kate said before turning to Rosalie and Bella who just got back into the room. Bella stood by RC while Rosalie was half crouching, her back towards Rory. “You better have a good reason for keeping her alive. Don’t you remember the last time?”

“I do remember, thank you very much,” Rosalie said sharply, but RC heard the slight uneasiness in her voice. “But we already made a deal. So, there’s no need to concern yourself with this.”

Kate was fuming on the ground. Irina and Tanya were hard to read, but no doubt they had their own apprehension towards the matter. Edward looked like he wanted to just cut Rory’s head clean off, but Emmett put a firm hand on his shoulder.

“What are you, kid?” Kate asked. “What makes you so special that the Cullens are willing to wager leaving their lives in your hands?”

Rory grinded her teeth ever so subtly. Both of her fists kept clenching and unclenching. She was standing on the balls of her feet as if she was ready to flee at any given moment. “I don’t know,” she said.

“Hmm, let me assure you, I will find out, Veronica.”

“Are you a witch?”

“No.”

“Succubus?”

Rory stared at Kate like the vampire had grown another head. “Are they even real?”

“I’ll take that as a no then.” Kate cleared her throat as she scratched another thing off her list. “Demon?”

“Nope, sometimes I hear them, though.” Rory blinked rapidly and shook her head. “Anything else?”

“Mutant.”

“What is this, X-Men?”

It had been like that for hours.

Kate left with Violet after the little debacle in the game room. They didn’t come back until a few hours later, when RC and Rory had gone to bed. The whole thing was a little confusing to RC. One moment Kate was trying to rip Rory’s heart out and then later that night when she came back with Violet, she wanted to play twenty questions with Rory.

The mood swing was giving her whiplash. At least Kate wasted trying to kill her… friend? Not-friend, because RC was hoping what she and Rory had was more than that? Yeah, that.

Rory woke up around 3 AM and couldn't go back to sleep. RC noticed the other side of the bed was cold not long after and found Rory sitting on the floor. She was hugging her knees, facing the floor-to-ceiling window. There was no way Rory could see anything in the dark, but she just stared . They ended up going downstairs to an ongoing poker game with the whole family.

For whatever reason, Kate came to the conclusion that there was no way Rory was just human . RC had to force her heartbeat to remain steady after hearing that. Rory on the other hand, just smirked as she threw herself onto a spot on an armchair. Kate, alongside everyone else, took the gesture as a confirmation. That was the beginning of their guessing game.

“You were injected with foreign metal that fused into your bones,” Irina chimed in after a while, which resulted in the others giving her a look. She shrugged and said, “What? I watch movies too.”

Rory howled with laughter until she almost fell off the chair. She had her hands over her stomach as she tried to compose herself. Emphasis on the ‘tried’. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she said between laughter. “It’s just, it’s so off the rails, but at the same time, not really. With the advancement in technology today, I don’t think I’m going to be surprised if they manage to do all of that superhero stuff.”

“You’re not going to tell us the correct answer, are you?” Tanya asked from the other side of the room. She sat beside Carmen, who put a hand on Tanya’s knee as though it was enough force to hold her down from launching at Rory.

With all the stories that RC had heard about the Denalis, she couldn’t fault them for being wary, even when it’s at a level that was usually displayed in Rosalie and her mom. RC eyed the Denalis, giving them a silent thank you.

“Hell no,” Rory said with a smile. “This is way more fun.”

“You are enjoying this way too much, I don’t even think it’s possible,” Rosalie commented.

“Oh, me?” Rory pointed at herself. “Rosalie, you think you’re so subtle that you think I wouldn’t figure out that you and Bella have actually been keeping a close eye on me? Making sure I wouldn’t tell anyone about your family secret, when I don’t even know exactly what it is!”

Rosalie kept her composure, of course. RC had learned that there was only so much that could surprise Rosalie. Bella, on the other hand, her eyes widened and her mouth was agape. If Bella wasn’t too stunned, she’d probably stammer out words, trying and failing to get her out of the hole she was digging.

“Look, I get it. I’m an inconvenience. It’s been, what, six months? Edward still looks like he wants me dead.”

“Brilliant deduction,” Edward said sarcastically.

Rory chose to ignore his remark entirely. “My point is, figure this out on your own.” She vaguely pointed to the whole room. “Because I am not telling and this is too much fun. I mean come on, Rosalie and Bella have been trying to figure it out for weeks and they still haven’t gotten close to an answer. Watching you guys grasping at straws is oddly entertaining.”

“We haven’t been doing that,” Bella said. RC could hear the hint of nervousness coating her voice.

“Sure, but you’ve been doing something ,” Rory deadpanned, one of her eyebrows arched high.

In any other situation, RC would absolutely cheer and agree with Rory. Because they had. Rosalie and Bella. And RC wasn’t blind .

But the situation didn’t call for it. RC wasn’t sure exactly what was going on with them. Everybody had suspicions about somebody else. Her family with Rory, Rory with Rosalie and Bella. She was getting a headache from it and she didn’t even know that she could get one.

On her armchair, Rory was smiling ever so widely, amused by the reactions she got. She turned, throwing her legs over one side cushion while her back rested on the other one. Her hoodie was pulled to cover her eyes, her arms crossed. “Wake me up in two hours and we’ll try this again, alright? Some of us need our beauty sleep.”

Three seconds later, Rory was out cold.

“What a spunky little thing,” Irina said, shaking her head. “I’m surprised you can put up with her, RC.”

“She’s not always like this, I swear.”

“Isn’t she like this all the time?” Emmett said with a glint in his eyes. “ The only reason why RC can put up with her is because she’s whipped —OW!”

Rosalie moved so fast, all RC could see was a blur. But, she had seen enough to know that Rosalie went from her seat beside Bella to smack Emmett in the back of the head before returning back.

Alice giggled. “I, for one, don’t mind her. Rory is cool, with an okay fashion sense even though I wish she would let me dress her up more.”

“Alice, my darling, you put her in heels and dresses,” Jasper said.

“So?”

“Rory doesn’t like wearing something she can’t run in,” RC answered.

Kate’s brows furrowed instantly at the new information. She paused her pacing and leaned on the back of the couch where Violet was sitting. For a vampire, Kate really couldn’t stay still.

Tanya, noticing the sudden change of body language, leaned forward on her seat. “What is it, Kate?”

“The kid doesn’t like to wear something she can’t run in,” Kate repeated, the gears and cogs in her head were turning. She looked up, meeting Rosalie’s gaze and said, “Do you think Carlisle would mind if I ransack his study? I need to find something.”

Rosalie’s expression didn’t change. “No, I don’t think so.”

Kate left before Rosalie could finish her sentence.

“Why do I even bother?” Rose said, shaking her head.

When Kate said ‘ransack’, the vampire literally meant to hastily grab books from the shelves and throw them on any available surface. It went on for a while. Carmen scolded her for being so childish with her attitude and made her clean up the room, even though she wasn’t done yet. When Kate couldn’t find anything in Carlisle’s study, she went to Esme.

And of course, Esme made her promise to put everything she took back to its proper place. Violet offered to remind her if she forgot and Esme was grateful for that. RC had no clue what her cousin was looking for. From the looks of it, nobody did.

It was about two hours later when Kate came back into the living room. “Okay, tell me everything,” she said to nobody in particular. “Anything you know about the kid.”

“Edward can’t read her mind,” Alice said. “I can’t see her future either. It’s always blurry and dark. When I could finally see, it didn’t look like it was her future.”

“And her emotions are often all over the place,” Jasper added. “They can be intense. Not quite like what I felt from anyone. Rory tried to keep it together of course. She’s an excellent liar. She would say something along the lines of ‘I’m okay’ while being completely destroyed inside and managed to fool everyone else.”

Rosalie came back into the room, walking towards RC. She picked her up and sat down with RC on her lap. “It’s happened a few times too. It’s part of the reason why I spend so much time with her lately.”

“So, you’re not memorizing her schedule so you can plan a murder and stage it like an accident?” Emmett commented.

“There’s no way. Rosalie likes Rory too much and if Rory died, RC would be heartbroken. Rose would never do that to her Little Lily, would you Rose?” 

“Aww, Rosalie is a Mama Bear.”

“Kate, Baby, don’t push it. I can’t help you if Rosalie decides to tear your limbs off.” Violet said as her hands covered Kate’s mouth, effectively shutting her up.

Rosalie hummed in agreement and pointed to Kate. “Listen to your girlfriend. She’s a smart woman.”

Kate only waved her hand in dismissal before getting back to her notes. “You can’t see her mind, or her future. Her emotions are wild, she’s a great liar. Anything else? I don’t only mean the obvious things, but also the ones that don’t seem to be important.”

RC sighed as she leaned back into Rosalie’s chest. She knew the answer to what Kate was asking. Every little piece that she knew about Rory. Rosalie knew about them too, some of it at least. With how observant her aunt was, the things Rosalie probably knew were almost as much as she did.

“It’s easy for Rory to fall asleep with something going on in the background,” RC started before she turned to Rory’s sleeping form in the other armchair. She was so still. If RC couldn’t hear Rory’s breath and heartbeat, she would think that Rory was dead. “I can play a movie and she’d be out the first ten minutes. But it’s not for long. Lately I noticed that she’d sleep for two hours and wake up, do something, and sleep for another couple hours.”

“Nightmares?” Bella asked, concern displayed on her face. “I know she’s not waking up screaming, but…”

“I believe these things are getting us closer to finding out who Rory is, but not what she is.” Violet said. “We need something more like, how she moves, how she thinks—”

“She’s light,” Alice suddenly said. Her voice was uncharacteristically somber and low. “Her steps are strangely light. You guys remember, before that break, Rory showed up on our door and we didn’t hear her until she knocked on the door.”

RC remembered that day. She never really gave it much of a thought about how Rory managed to pop up on the porch without any of them realizing. Maybe it had something to do with Rory and her roots , but there was still so much she didn't understand about it. Especially the little things Rory did and told her.

Kate hummed as she scribbled something on her notes so fast, RC was sure it would catch on fire with all the friction.

“ Mi amor , what is it?” Eleazar asked, approaching Carmen on the couch.

Carmen sighed heavily as she placed her unoccupied hand over Eleazar’s on her shoulder. “I don’t feel comfortable talking about Veronica like she isn’t here.”

“She literally asked us to figure this out.” Kate gestured at Rory’s sleeping form. She thinned her lips, shaking her head. “Someone please get her to RC’s room. That chair can’t be comfortable for her neck.”

Bella moved to pick Rory up. Her arms hovered over Rory for a while before carefully lifting her body. With the hoodie covering half of Rory’s face, RC couldn’t see her clearly and for whatever reason she started to follow her mom to her room.

RC climbed onto her bed after Rory. Bella left a kiss on RC’s forehead before leaving the two. Once the door was closed, Rory’s eyes snapped open. RC almost jumped off the bed, her mouth was open in a silent scream.

Rory held her index finger to her lips. Her other hand reached out blindly on the bed until she pulled something from under the pillow—her phone. She typed something on it before showing it to RC.

Do you want to sneak out? Won't go far

RC’s eyes widened. Her whole family was downstairs. A family with super strength and super hearing and enhanced senses . They would probably have figured out what RC and Rory were planning on doing before they managed to jump off the balcony.

The phone was retracted back from RC’s face as Rory typed something else.

I have a trick up my sleeve. They won’t know what we’re doing until we’re gone .

Before RC could answer, Rory typed something else.

Don't worry we can leave a note. And we’ll have my phone so it’ll be fine

RC didn’t give a direct answer. She went to her desk, grabbed a piece of paper and pen.

Sorry :( we won’t be long. Just a little walk. Call Rory if you need to. -RC

She left the note on the desk. When she turned, Rory was tiptoeing around the room. In that moment RC actually realized that every step Rory made didn’t make any sound. In fact, every movement was dead quiet. And Rory was putting on pants and jackets which should make a bunch of noises. But there was nothing. Well, there was something , but it was so faint and so natural, it was easy to think nothing of it.

From her pocket, Rory pulled out some type of card. It was smaller than the regular cards Emmett used to play poker, maybe half the size of that. Rory held the card between her index and middle finger, up in the air. She flicked her wrist and the card disappeared in a thin smoke.

RC’s mouth hung open and Rory smirked at her expression. What was that?

“Grab a jacket,” Rory said before heading to the desk. She added something to the note. RC barely saw what was on it before Rory dragged her to the balcony.

The air was cold, but not uncomfortably so and Rory wasn’t clinging to her like she used to a few weeks ago. RC knew it was because of the warming weather, but she couldn’t help but miss the feelings when Rory would hug her tight to keep away from the cold.

“What did you just do?” RC asked, pointing to her room. 

“Magic. It’s… hard to explain because to be honest I don’t really understand how that works exactly. I just know how to use it.”

RC opened her mouth to say something, but no word came out. “I-I, what?”

“I promise I will tell you later, but we only have thirty minutes before it wears off.” Rory leaned over the edge, her hands on the railing. “Twenty, twenty-two foot drop. I can jump first. I’ll catch you.”

“Are you insane?” RC whispered-yelled. “You will break your bones!”

“No, I won’t. I did this a few times before, no worries.”

That, in fact, did not make RC any less worried at all. Without much thought, she grabbed Rory’s hands and threw them over her shoulders. Her hands quickly grabbed the back of Rory’s thighs to put around her waist.

“ Whoa .” Rory let out a breathless laugh. Her arms tightened around RC’s shoulders. “What are you doing?”

“Something much easier,” she replied. “Close your eyes, please.”

And then she jumped.

Never in her life had RC Cullen snuck out of the house so fast with someone on her back. Rory’s delighted laughs battled with the sound of the wind in RC’s ears. She wasn’t sure where she was heading, or how long she had been running, but with how happy Rory sounded, RC didn’t want to stop.

She had to, however, when her lungs were burning her from the inside out.

RC wasn’t sure where they were exactly, but she would guess that they were nearing the mountains, if not already on them. The clearing was filled with giant rocks and they were high enough to clearly see a lake down below.

While RC tried to catch her breath, Rory laid on the ground with one of her arms behind her head. She crossed her legs, closing her eyes. RC just sat there beside her, mapping every detail of Rory in her head.

“You’re staring.”

RC blushed profoundly. “I would say I’m sorry, but I would be lying.”

A short, loud laugh escaped Rory’s mouth, echoed in the night sky. “Alright, alright.”

“I do have something to ask you,” RC said as she moved closer to Rory. “A few things actually.”

Rory slowly sat up cross-legged in front of RC. Both of her elbows were resting on her knees. She tilted her head slightly, a silent confirmation for RC to proceed.

“There are a lot of bombs being dropped all around us in the last couple days,” she started. “I just, I-I don’t think we have had the chance to actually process them, you know? Especially with the whole family in the house, we can’t really get a lot of privacy without seeming suspicious. So, I thought, with you wanting to sneak away, We could take advantage of the time to actually talk .” RC gestured to the space between the two of them. “About us. About, you know, t-the…”

“The kiss,” Rory finished off for her.

RC nodded, exhaling a shaky breath. “W-what, what did it mean? What does it mean? For us? Are things going to change between us?”

A soft smile formed on Rory’s face. “RC, things have been changing around us for quite some time now. It’s just a matter of time until you realize it.”

“Realize what ?”

“That I have feelings for you the way you do for me,” Rory said softly. “My life’s a mess, RC, and I don’t know why you haven’t run the other way. But, I really appreciate it, appreciate you , for sticking by my side.”

RC’s brows furrowed. Her head tilted in confusion. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I wasn’t sure about what you wanted. I already knew what I wanted, RC. So, I figured I’d let you decide on your own time. Let you choose what direction you want us to go.” Rory looked down, taking RC’s hand in her own. She drew lines on the back of RC’s hand, the smile never leaving her face. “I’m just waiting for you to say the words.”

It took almost a full minute for RC to process the whole thing. She always imagined how it would be when she would confess her feelings for Rory and they rode off into the sunset together. It was corny, and cheesy, but it was the first real thing RC had, ever . And she never expected this .

She didn’t expect Rory to let her take the wheel.

All the choices available in front of her suddenly gave RC a headache. How was she supposed to know what to do? What if she chose something wrong? What if she did something that made Rory go away? What if—

“Hey.”

RC felt a finger under her chin, forcing her to look up. Even in the dark, she could see Rory so clearly. Especially her eyes. They were calm, soothing, and full of something RC couldn’t really begin to describe.

“It’s okay if you don’t know,” Rory said softly. “We can figure it out together. No label, no anything, just us .”

“How is it possible that you can see right through me?” RC asked, entwining her fingers around Rory’s.

“It’s a gift.”

RC chuckled at that. “But seriously. I have no idea how to do this. Is there a guide book somewhere I can read first?”

“Okay, RC, honey, there are no guidelines for things like this. You just follow your gut instinct and your heart. And if there is a rule somewhere about the correct steps of dating, because you know, society is a bitch, we’re already breaking them anyway,” Rory told her. “I skipped the dates, the hand holding, the kissing, the making things official, and went straight to meeting your parents. We didn’t even go on dates until a couple months back. We’re having this talk now after I met your extended family.”

“Alright, I get it,” RC said laughing, using her hands to cover Rory’s mouth.

The other girl kept saying something else that came out mumbled. But, RC could feel her smiling so big. Or maybe it was her eyes. Her eyes were smiling.

When she was sure Rory wouldn’t blabber anymore stuff to prove her point, RC pulled her hands away. She sat back on the ground, the two of them were just smiling at each other. RC was sure if somebody decided to pop out from the forest, they would think the two girls were crazy. All smiling, no talking. Or maybe they were…

No. Not yet.  

"So… it's okay? You don't mind if we don't make it official yet?" RC asked. "But don't take it as I don't want to be with you, because I do! So much and I'm scared to mess this up. But I still want to do all the stuff we already did and so much more."

“Hey, hey, RC, take a deep breath.” Rory cupped RC’s cheeks between her hands. Their faces were so close together that RC could see the mist coming out of Rory’s mouth as she breathed.

They stayed like that for a moment. With each passing second, they grew closer and closer.

“May I kiss you?” RC breathed out.

Rory only smiled and leaned in. []

Chapter Text

Being a half vampire, RC wasn’t a stranger to blood. She didn’t have it as often as the rest of her family, as it wasn’t her only source of nutrients. Since the Cullens also lived among regular people, RC had to keep up the charade of being human. At least her half human part wasn’t opposed to eating regular food.

 But the sensation was all the same though. The feelings she had as blood went down her throat after weeks of not having them. Like finally having water after being stuck in the desert for so long. The blood—so warm, so heavenly. Every hunt almost felt like her first, with something she couldn’t even begin to describe.

Those feelings were dull compared to the feelings RC felt in her whole body while her lips were kissing Rory softly. She was giddy and warm inside. The smile kept threatening to bloom on her face.  

Other than Rory’s lips on her own, RC didn’t feel anything else. She cupped Rory’s jaw between her hands and pulled away slightly. RC rested her forehead against Rory’s, needing direct contact other than her hands.

“It’s okay,” RC said breathlessly. “You can touch me.”

RC could feel Rory beaming. She felt Rory snake her hands around her waist. The movement was a little halted, rigid, but Rory kept them there.

“It’s okay,” she repeated. “I will tell you when it’s not.”

“Okay.”

Rory moved her hands, holding RC’s arms, her back, her neck. She was everywhere and RC was on fire because of it. The good kind of on fire. It warmed her from the inside, ignited, burned brighter with every touch. RC didn’t want it to stop.

Unfortunately, they had to. Curse her conscience.

The sun was already rising when they headed back to the house. RC had Rory on her back once again, but they moved at a much slower pace. Neither of them were willing to go back to reality anytime soon.

RC realized they left a little longer than expected and there was no way her family hadn’t already figured that out. So, she didn’t bother to jump back to the balcony to her room.

Her family tried, and failed wonderfully, at not acting suspicious when she stepped into the living room. Kate and Emmett had matching mischievous smiles on their faces, while Rosalie and Bella were eyeing her and Rory.  Well, her and a sleeping Rory on her back. None of them really said anything though, so RC just said good morning and went upstairs to get Rory back to bed.

RC couldn’t go back to sleep after that. She wasn’t sure what was keeping her awake. Maybe it was the adrenaline from sneaking out, or the tingling sensations that lingered on her lips.

The note she left on the desk was still there, but not where she left it. Someone already saw it. She noticed the additional line on it, just below her handwriting—Rory’s.

Be back before sunrise. Probably :) I'll take care of us both, I promise.  

The corner of her lips curled up in a soft smile as she read the note. It was safe to say they didn’t manage to do the first part. At least Rory didn’t make it a promise. With how intense everything was with Rory and promises, RC didn’t want to find out what happened if Rory failed to fulfil l those promises.

Rory didn’t look like she was going to wake up anytime soon, so RC left her alone. Kate was waiting for her by the stairs, a full smirk was on display.

“So, where did you run off to with your little girlfriend?”

RC rolled her eyes. “What makes you think I’d tell you before I tell Rose and my mom?” 

Kate only shrugged. “Aren’t I your favorite cousin?”

“Sorry Kate,” RC said, patting Kate’s forearm. “I love you, but Mom and Rose come first.”

Kate let out an overly dramatic gasp and RC couldn’t help but chuckle. Violet came in a blur, planting a kiss on her girlfriend’s cheek.

“Don’t worry, you’re always going to be the first on my list,” Violet said before she swept Kate bridal style and they dashed away as quickly as she came. Their laughter rang in the air, light and mischievous until it faded. RC didn’t need the visual in her head of what would happened after that.

Holding in a shudder, RC rushed downstairs to the kitchen. Carmen was making breakfast with Bella. It was a nice difference to see her mom cooking again. Not just a simple dish either. Pots were boiling, the coffee machine was running, the faint tick from the toaster reached her ears.

“What’s the occasion for the big breakfast?” RC asked as she leaned on the kitchen island. “Not that I’m complaining.”

Carmen only laughed. “With your latest…escapade with Rory earlier and how she came back exhausted, we feel a big breakfast is appropriate.”

Escapade. RC forced down a gulp at that. While Carmen didn’t sound furious at her, RC knew not everyone shared the same feelings. With ‘everyone’, RC meant to say ‘especially Rosalie’ while her mom came close to that.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be gone for so long. We didn’t—”

“Think,” Bella cut her off firmly. “No, I’m sure you didn’t think thoroughly about how your disappearance affected your family’s peace of mind. Especially since your friend was taunting us about our lack of knowledge of her kind not fifteen minutes before.” 

RC held off a wince at her mom’s words. Her right hand held her left arm, rubbing up and down as though it would bring her some form of comfort.

Yeah, RC was starting to realize how brash she was being. How Rory was being with the guessing game with Kate and the sneaking out. This was one of the many reasons why Rosalie always felt so cautious of Rory.

Veronica Alexandre could be so smart yet so stupid at the same time. Her recklessness was proof of the latter.

Yet somehow it was the same thing that made RC draw her attention to Rory. One of many things that RC loved about her. That statement made RC’s brain turn. If that was the case, did that make RC as stupid as Rory? Was that a bad thing?

“Rory has assumptions. She thinks that with the super speed comes super senses too. She figured that you can hear what she says.”

“We can.”

“Exactly,” RC pointed out. “It’s why we snuck out. There were things we needed to discuss.”

Bella’s brows knitted together. “What things?”

“Personal things,” RC answered a little too quickly. She could feel her face getting warm. “About, uh, the both of us.”

“Oh.” Realization fell upon Bella’s face. Her eyes widened as she leaned back on the counter. “While I’m glad you two got a chance to talk, that’s still not an excuse. Something bad could’ve happened to you out there!”

“I feel like you’re a little overreacting, don’t you think?”

Bella scoffed. “We know nothing about Rory and the two of you disappeared in the middle of the night. For all I know she could’ve taken you somewhere to kill you. Do you understand that, RC? I’ve been worrying and you’re running off isn’t helping me.”

RC bit her tongue. Literally, so she wouldn’t blurt out things she didn’t mean. She forced herself to take a breath before saying, “You know Rory would never hurt me. She would never let anything happen to me.”

“Yeah?” Bella said. “What about things coming from her world? Can you guarantee Rory can protect you from whatever danger her world has? You said that you saw her bruises, her scars. You know that part of her life is dangerous.”

“I’m sorry.”

The new voice made everyone in the kitchen turn around. By the entrance, Rory was standing awkwardly. She fiddled with her fingers, but it was clear she was forcing herself to meet Bella’s eyes. For some noble demigod related reason perhaps, RC wasn’t sure. 

“I realized that I shouldn’t have brought RC out last n—er, earlier this morning,” Rory said. Her tone was firm, full of confidence even though she knew she was in the wrong. The rapid beating of her heart was good enough proof.

“Rosalie told me about that night, when you got here passed out drunk.” Bella took a step closer to Rory, who stood still on the spot. “You’re smart, I can tell, but yet for some godforsaken reason you don’t use that big brain of yours to stop and think that maybe, just maybe, what you’re about to do wouldn’t end well for any of us.”

RC stopped listening to her mom’s words after that. She only had eyes for Rory. A nervous looking Rory. Her hands were by her side, clutching the fabric of her pants for dear life, as though it prevented them from grabbing a hold of something.

Bella was still saying something else. RC saw her mouth move and her hands flail in frustration. But Rory just stood there, taking everything in. Eyes forward, hands by her side, she looked like a soldier.

Rory shouldn't have looked like a soldier.

“—m I understood?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Rory’s voice didn’t waver, although RC could see the uneasiness in her eyes.

Bella exhaled a deep breath and fixed a plate of breakfast. She slid it across the kitchen island where Rory stopped it without spilling a thing. “Eat up, Rory. I need to do damage control on RC’s m—”

She stopped suddenly, biting her tongue. Rory’s expression remained tense but her brain was turning. That much was clear, her eyes said it all. And RC shared the same opinion.

What exactly was mom trying to say? 

“Enjoy your breakfast,” Bella said before kissing RC’s temple and leaving the room. “Please, don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.” 

RC had her eyes fixed on her mom until she disappeared deeper into the house. It was bold of Bella to say stuff like that when RC knew her history, but she also knew not to say anything if she didn’t want to be grounded for the rest of her life.

When she turned to Rory, the girl hadn’t moved an inch. She heard the way Rory’s heart was thumping so hard against her chest it must hurt. 

“Tu comida se está enfriando, reinecita ,” Carmen said, pointing at the kitchen island. “Eat up. You too, bebé linda.”

“Está bien, Carmen. Gracias.” Rory sat on one of the bar stools and ate her breakfast quietly.

RC wasted no time climbing onto the seat beside Rory. She threw a look at Carmen and only received a sympathetic smile in return.

The sudden loud clunk coming from somewhere in the house made Rory jump from her stool. Her eyes were frantic yet sharp, dead set on what she thought was the source of the sound.

“Come tu desayuno.” Carmen sighed and shook her head disapprovingly. “I’m going to make sure Esme’s house isn’t turning into ruins.”

Rory only gave a small smile and watched Carmen’s retreating body. She went back to her food, but didn’t continue eating.

“Your family’s really mad at me, aren’t they?” she said softly. “Bella was…well, her reaction is understandable. The others are nowhere to be seen, so I’m guessing they’re either leaving us to really think about what we did or they’re giving us the cold shoulders. And by ‘we’ I mean me.”

“Rory—”

“No matter how much they’re angry with you, they’re not going to hate you, RC. Me on the other hand…” Rory shook her head and let out a bitter chuckle. “What I did basically gave them ammunition to hate me even more.” 

“No, no, hey.” RC put her hand over Rory’s while the other one grabbed Rory’s chin, forcing her to meet RC’s eyes.

Sometimes RC didn’t consider the effect Rory had on her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she stared into Rory’s eyes. All the warmth, the uncertainties, the longing. She moved her hand so she cupped Rory’s cheeks, drawing slow circles with her thumbs. RC didn’t remember what to say until Rory closed her eyes, breathing deeply as she clutched RC’s wrist for dear life.

“They’re worried,” RC said confidently. “A little mad perhaps, but they won’t do anything drastic. It would be stupid to do so.”

“Okay,” Rory whispered.

Rory didn’t look convinced and it killed RC because she didn’t know what to do. She took a deep breath and pulled her hands away from Rory, but the other girl didn’t let go. The corner of RC’s mouth curled up in a smile.

It was probably difficult to hold RC’s hand with her right while trying to eat with her left hand, but Rory had no problem. So the two of them sat side by side on the kitchen island, fingers intertwined with each other.  

As they were eating, RC heard hushed whispers and movement around the house. By the sound of it, the whole family would probably be sitting in the living room, waiting for Rory.

“They’re waiting for me, aren’t they?”

RC’s brows furrowed. “How did you—”

“Your eyes,” Rory replied with half a smile. “Your eyes say it all.”

Sometimes RC was always completely taken by surprise with how well Rory was able to see right through her. To see what she was thinking, to give what she needed. Somehow Rory knew her better than RC knew herself.

Rory's plate was empty long before RC finished hers. Her fingers were tapping the marble of the kitchen island.

"Hey." RC shook her hand that held Rory's. "It will be okay."

Rory nodded before she got off the stool, still holding on to RC. She took RC's other hand as though the direct contact was grounding her to her reality that she thought was about to collapse.

She took a deep breath, bringing their foreheads together. "It will be okay," Rory repeated quietly.

Once again, it felt like that night when they trailed behind Rosalie through the hallways of the house. Tension and anxiety filled the air as they moved. There was no Rosalie to follow, to ask for reassurance.

The whole family, the Denalis included, were in the living room. Carlisle was somehow there, even though the conference he was supposed to be in wouldn’t end until Sunday. Just after RC and Rory got into the room, she heard rustling. Edward stood in the far corner, partially hidden in the shadow. RC didn’t even realize he wasn’t there before her.

“This is the second time, Veronica,” Rosalie said from her armchair. Bella stood beside her with one hand on her shoulder.  “Twice now you have put RC’s life in danger.”

“Rose,” Esme called her. They shared a look before Rosalie shook her head in disagreement. Bella’s hand on her shoulder tightened.

Jasper leaned on the wall by the stairs. Strategically putting himself between a dozen angry, worried vampires and two anxious college students.

“Where did you go?” he asked.

Rory shook her head. “I’m not a hundred percent sure, but we could see a lake from up there. Uh, Armington?”

“You ran there?” Edward glared daggers at RC. “I thought we had a deal!”

“The deal was for me not to do any digging and you not to do anything that can reveal yourself,” Rory’s voice was loud and bold. A complete one-eighty from just a few minutes before in the kitchen. She reached into her pockets, slowly and deliberately, and pulled out a card. The same type of card she used before they snuck off earlier. “No deal was broken because I used one of these.”

She gave the card to Jasper who inspected it thoroughly in an instant.

“What language is this?” Jasper asked before passing the card to Kate’s outstretched hand.

“Ancient Greek.”

“You’re one of them,” Kate declared, still looking at the card.

One of Rory’s eyebrows was raised. She let go of RC’s hand and stepped closer. “Excuse me?”

“You’re one of them,” Kate repeated herself as though it made everything much clearer. She reached out and grabbed something from Violet’s inner pocket. Or, it could be something else entirely, RC wasn’t sure because everything went on too fast. Even for her.

One minute Kate was saying Rory was one of… something. The next, she threw a knife, flying across the room, heading right for Rory’s neck.

Somehow, by a miracle or a different thing entirely, Rory dodged. RC watched as her friend leaned on the left, letting the knife glide along where her neck had been a few milliseconds ago. And then she caught it by the handle.

Rory’s brows knitted together once she really saw the knife Kate used to almost decapitate her. She brought it closer to her face. Her eyes observed every little detail of the blade.

“Where did you get this?” Rory asked as she walked closer to Kate, waving the knife by her face.

“It’s Violet’s,” Kate answered promptly. “You’re one of them. What are you?  

Rory arched an eyebrow and turned her gaze back and forth from Violet to Kate. “Half-blood,” she told them. Rory twirled the knife in her hand without even looking at it before offering it back to Violet, handle first. “I’m a half-blood.”

Kate cackled with laughter. She had her head thrown back as she clapped loudly. "That’s why you look so familiar. It’s so clear now. You have the blood of the ancient gods running through your veins. I’ve lived long enough to learn the difference between your kind and the other mortal men.”

The look on Rory’s face was hard to read. Something between amazement and full confusion blended together.

“And what are those differences?” Eleazar asked, fully engaged in the conversation.

“She radiates power. The god’s,” Kate said. “It’s faint, but it’s there. The aura surrounding her. That’s why Edward can’t read her mind, why Alice can’t see her future. Her kind are hidden from the world in the most subtle way. They’re fighters, warriors. I’ve seen it in the way you move, Veronica. Every step planned, calculated, silent.  

Of course, none of the things Kate told them were breaking news for RC, but she stayed still, stayed quiet with the rest of the family. Even Rory, who just stood there with a calculating look in her eyes.

"I'm guessing dating a legacy has something to do with how much you know about my world?" Rory asked, pointing at Violet with her thumb.

"That and I've met your kind before. When I was still human and after I changed. It's easier to notice half-bloods after...well, you know."

"After you were changed into a vampire?" Rory guessed.  

Gasps and growls filled the room. RC had to bite her lip to fight off the smile threatening to form on her face after she saw Rory rolling her eyes.

“Okay, why are you surprised? You guys already know and that I know. And it’s really not that hard to figure out.” Rory only shrugged.

“We have an ancient being that almost looked like vampires,” Violet cut in before any of them could do any damage. She stood up slowly, approaching Rory. “Dangerous servants of witchcraft. Fortunately, I have never seen one outside of the books and paintings.”

Rory scoffed and shook her head before she approached the only available couch in the room. She had her hand on the back rest and propelled herself up, tucking her knees and landing on the cushion.

RC’s eyebrows raised in amusement. The movement was so clean, so smooth, and RC was convinced that Rory only did that to show off.

“Yeah, I’ve met them in the wars. They’re not a fan of me since I killed two of them,” Rory said nonchalantly like those things happened every day in her life. In her case, maybe they really were.

“You fought monsters like in the stories, cool, but what is this?” Emmett turned the card Rory showed them in his hand. “How did this piece of paper help you sneak out?”

“Magic,” Violet chuckled. “They actually managed to do it.”

Bella frowned. “Do what?”

“Okay, so imagine magic as energy,” Rory started, getting more comfortable on the couch. “The First Law of Thermodynamics says energy is neither created nor destroyed. It’s only transformed. It can also be stored, like in batteries. Magic is around us, magic is us. To use it is to transform it. Those cards contain magic.” Rory pointed at the card Emmett held. “It was first developed around the Second World War. The first hand-held radio was invented, and at the same time, these types of magic. Okay, so every card has different purposes. Since performing magic is an ability that not everyone possesses, the sorceresses created those cards to help people like me use magic.”

RC tilted her head in confusion, because what she interpreted and what Rory showed her kind of contradicted the other. The cards were invented so everyone could do magic, albeit with different techniques. Rory used a card to sneak out, so that meant she couldn’t do magic without it, but didn’t Rory perform magic? A few days before with the glamor or whatever?

RC shook her head once she felt a headache coming and made a mental note to play some more 20-questions with Rory later.

“How does it work exactly?” Emmett asked. “If anyone can use this, isn’t it supposed to be easy?”

A low laugh escaped Rory’s lips. “Not quite and it’s not anyone as in anyone. What I meant by that is, err, mythical people like me who can use those cards. There’s no exact science to do this and to be honest, the cards are only stepping stones. Anyway, that card is a silencer. I used it in RC’s room to make it soundproof so you wouldn’t hear us leaving.”

“But you said you’re not a witch,” Emmett said. “How come?”

Rory groaned a little as she rubbed her face. RC frowned and took a seat on the armrest of the couch, right by Rory’s side. As usual, Rory immediately scooted closer to RC, placing a hand on her thigh. RC patted herself on her back when she noticed her cheeks were no longer getting red every time Rory touched her.

“Violet, can you help me with this one?”

Violet held up her hand in surrender. “Don’t ask me. When I found out I was a legacy and got sent off to train, these things hadn’t even existed yet.”

Rory’s head turned so fast it must be a record. “How old exactly are you?”

“I was eighteen when my family took me to see the dedication ceremony of the Statue of Liberty.”

“That would be October 1886, right?” Rory recalled. She only shrugged when she noticed Emmett was looking at her funny. “What? I’m a New Yorker. And my house is literally thirty minutes away from the island the statue is on.”

“Anyway, shortly after that, I found out I’m a legacy and my father sent me away for training. I didn’t like it, so I left after a little over a year. One of my classmates went with me. We ran north to Canada, always moving to make sure they didn't find us.”

“They?” Kate asked. “Who is ‘they’? The people from training?”

“No. The monsters, giants, titans, whatever you want to call them.” Violet grabbed Rory’s forearm and the girl jumped at the touch. Rory took Violet’s wrist, hoping to pull it away but nothing happened. “They got me because I didn’t know how to fight. You do. One year of training didn’t do me any good, Veronica. You should be grateful you have more. Fighting, magic, any of that. Even though you’re not a witch or a sorceress.”

“Let me go, Violet.”

“I don’t know how you do it. Magic, I mean, if you’re not her heir. Hecate.” Violet kept muttering out words like she didn’t hear Rory who was still struggling to get Violet’s hand off of her. Violet tightened her hold and Rory groaned deeper.

RC wasn’t sure what happened. She didn’t think anyone knew what happened.

Rory twisted her body. It was the only thing RC saw with her eyes. Rory turned and brought Violet’s body along with her and they crashed on the coffee table in front of them. Violet laid on the wreckage, still holding Rory's forearm. But she had a sword to her throat. A sword that Rory grabbed out of thin air.

“Veronica, I died because I couldn’t protect myself from them. You’ve spent more time training, learning to fight, to use magic. You should be grateful.”

Both of Rory’s eyes watered as her breath became harsher. “You have no idea what happens behind those doors since you left. It’s you who should be grateful because you had a choice to leave. I don’t. Now, let me go.”

Violet did and Rory stood up. The sword in Rory’s left hand shrunk. Or maybe it disappeared. Nothing was clear anymore.

What was left of that sword was just a small piece of metal, about the size of a folded pocket knife. Rory held it by her fingers and RC had a feeling it was to make sure everyone saw what it really was. She put it just under her shirt, where RC noticed something Rory was wearing. Some type of belt just under the waistband. An empty sheath.

“You know about the danger back then, Violet.” Rory took a deep breath as a tear fell down her cheek. She offered her hand to Violet and helped the vampire stand up. “Right now it has multiplied. So, will you vouch for me when I say I wouldn’t tell anyone about vampires, or tangle in your business, because I already have a lot to deal with on my plate?”

“I will. I can promise you that.”

Rory gave a stiff nod. “Thank you.”

RC frowned and diverted her gaze across the room, meeting Rosalie’s. As always, her expression was hard to read. Her golden eyes were blazing, calculating.

“She’s not going to say anything,” RC said to nobody in particular, but she had a feeling she needed to say that. “She swore about it, remember?”

“You made an oath on your life?” Violet asked. “You are bolder than I thought.”

“Rory, let’s go.” RC didn’t wait around to see her family’s reaction to the information that the oath Rory made to keep their secret was bigger than what they could understand. She took Rory’s hand and half-dragged her upstairs.

Once they were back in RC’s room, Rory immediately sat on the edge of the bed. She looked so tired. Somehow it was hard to imagine they had run off somewhere, laughing and happy. They had gotten away from the tension and the problem for a bit, only to come home to more complications and bombs that went off.

“What do you need?” she asked, kneeling in front of Rory. She took both of Rory’s hands, drawing circles on the back of them with her thumbs.

“Coffee.”

“No, you don’t.”

Rory let out a chuckle. “No, I don’t. I just need you.” 

“Yeah?” A bright smile displayed on RC’s face. She gazed at Rory's eyes. Bright and clear like they were before on the mountain just a few hours ago, just the two of them.

Rory returned the smile and pressed their foreheads together. “Yeah. You are all I need right now.” []

Chapter Text

It was safe to say that things didn't go back to what was considered as normal for RC after the family learned about Rory. Later in the morning, after the revelation of Rory’s not so human status, they basically interrogated her like there was no tomorrow.

Rory didn’t seem to mind at first, but then three questions in she became bored out of her mind. It was so clear, it was practically written in blinding neon lights just above her head.

RC noticed this, but no matter what she did to try and steal Rory away, there was always someone to pull Rory back in with some questions or stories. Carlisle and Eleazar with their obsessive curiosity—about how demigods lived and how they stayed undetected, and Emmett and Jasper because they were fascinated about the magic behind it all. Everybody pitched in, one way or another.

Except Violet.

“All right, I think that’s enough for one sitting,” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together so hard it made the room fall into silence. Violet went to Rory’s side, who stood up in an instant. “Let the kid take a break, would you?”

“Ah, of course.” Eleazar offered a somewhat nervous smile. “My apologies. It wasn’t our intention to monopolize your time.”

One of Rory’s eyebrows arched high. “Okay,” she replied, but it felt more like a question than a statement.

Seizing the opportunity, RC took Rory’s hand and dragged her upstairs towards her room.

“I’m sorry, I thought they’d be better at handling their nosiness,” RC apologized as she fidgeted with her fingers.

Rory chuckled. She slipped her hand around RC’s, intertwining their fingers as they walked down the hallways. “Can’t blame them for trying to learn something. Though, I’m surprised they don’t already know. At least a little bit, I mean, since Violet’s a legacy and all.”

“They didn’t know because I never told them and they never asked.” Violet appeared on one of the couches in the upstairs lounge. The new bench that didn’t necessarily match the piano propped Violet’s feet up. “I was told it’s a dangerous world out there. For us. Especially the first generations since your scent is relatively stronger. Not gonna lie, it’s a life I’m glad I left behind.”

RC heard Rory force down a gulp. When she looked at her, something RC couldn’t describe plastered in Rory’s eyes, her face and basically her whole body.

“When’s the last time you sparred, kid?” Violet’s sudden question made RC turn her focus back to them.

“A few days ago.” Rory shrugged and shook her head. “Maybe a week.”

The corners of Violet’s mouth curled up in a smirk. “Get off your ass and gear up. We’re sparring.”

RC’s mouth fell open. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah.” Violet stood up and approached them. “You don’t need a battle to do some training. See you outside, kid.”

Violet left them as quickly as she appeared in front of them. RC didn’t realize her mouth was still agape until she felt Rory’s fingers under her chin. She pressed her lips tightly, brows knitted.

Is this a good idea?

“Don’t worry.” Rory put her arm around RC’s shoulders as she steered her away to the bedroom. “I’ll try to not get hurt too badly.”

As Rory changed into something more appropriate than a pair of shorts and loose muscle top, RC laid down on the bed, listening to the stories about the academy. She had heard some of it before, just bits and pieces from earlier with her family. But there was just something enchanting about being the only audience to the storytelling.

RC groaned internally at the thought. I’m turning into a sap. 

Rory walked out of RC’s closet in a pair of jogger pants that never looked good on her, yet looked absolutely amazing on Rory herself. The white dry-fit shirt was thin enough so RC could see the black sports bra that Rory had on. She was also wearing her usual combat boots.

With the whole attire, RC finally understood why the boots never seemed to look right. They were never meant for fashion. They were meant to fight in.

“What is it?” Rory walked closer. Her eyes filled with concern and confusion that made RC’s heart burst.

RC didn’t bother to fight off the smile when Rory put her hand up, rubbing RC’s cheek softly. “It’s nothing,” she replied, chuckling. “It’s just… I never expected your combat gear would be so… like your usual clothes?”

“What? You were expecting more revealing clothes?”

The visual image of Rory showing more skin was enough to make RC blush profoundly. She felt warmer already and RC was sure it had nothing to do with the heater.

“I could, you know,” Rory said in a low voice. The corner of her lips raised up in a smirk. “If you want me to.”

“I, uh, I-I—”

A soft laugh escaped Rory’s lips. She took a step back and RC had to fight off the whine when Rory’s hand left her.

Rory only winked before turning around and strutting out of the room. 

It took RC a full minute to compose herself and go outside. She found Rory in their oversized backyard, doing some stretching. Violet was sitting on the grass as she sanded a long wooden stick. There were several more beside her on the ground, along with real swords and real knives. RC couldn’t even begin to imagine where those came from.

“Are those really necessary?” RC asked, pointing to the stack of blades. “They look dangerous.”

“What’s wrong with a little danger?” Rory arched an eyebrow at RC. “I do this all the time, don’t worry, all right?”

“Without protection?”

Rory shrugged. “I left my armor in New York.”

“Rory, I don’t think this is a good idea.” RC walked closer, tugging at Rory’s arm and forcing the older girl to look at her. “This is a hazard. One little cut and there will be blood, in a house full of vampires.”

“Those are blunt swords.” Violet pointed with the stick she was sanding. “They can’t cut her, RC. If you’re not comfortable with it, we can stick with the wooden sword.”

“We’ll stick with the stick , which is a poor representation of a sword,” Rory answered as she took the one that Violet just finished sanding. She twirled the wooden sword in her hand, probably trying to adjust to its weight and something else that RC didn’t understand.

“You’re forgetting something.” A new voice from behind them made RC turn. Kate waved something in her hand, like some type of fabric belt they used for karate.

Kate approached them at vampire speed. Rory to be exact. She took both of Rory’s hands and quickly wrapped each of them with the fabric.

“The sword handles aren’t padded. You’re going to hurt yourself more,” Kate simply said. She patted Rory’s hands after and took a seat on the ground. Her golden eyes were radiating… something. Mischief or excitement, the possibilities with Kate were endless. She leaned back on her hands and RC immediately took a seat beside her.

Rory took a fighting stance in front of Violet. Neither one of them moved. They just stared at each other. It was almost like when Edward and Alice tried to surprise each other.

And then Violet struck.

It wasn't at full strength. RC knew this because the wooden sword was still intact, but still. The sound of wood meeting wood was loud in RC’s ears. Every swing Violet made managed to be blocked by Rory. She met Violet’s sword with her own, she pushed back, stepped away.

But that was all she did. Block and evade.

“You can’t dodge me forever, kid.” Violet swung and the sword hit Rory’s side. She stumbled and moved away, trying to regain her footing. Violet followed her, not allowing any breaks.

“I don’t plan to.” Rory breathed heavily.

Rory marched forward, leaning to the right, her sword raised up. Violet saw this and tried to block, but then Rory spun. Her movement was so fluid, it looked like a dance. The sword switched to her left hand and she elbowed Violet’s back with her right. And then she swung her sword around.

If Violet didn’t have vampire senses, Rory would have landed that strike. Violet took Rory’s sword in her hand and pushed. It couldn’t be with much force, but it was enough to make Rory crash to the ground.

“Great job,” Violet praised her. She rested her sword on her shoulder. “Why do you take a long time to counter my attacks?”

Rory’s chest still moved rapidly. She gulped down and said, “Gotta learn how my opponent moves.”

“Hmm, smart move,” Kate commented. “You actually use your head when fighting. How about a two-on-one?”

Kate stood up and ran to the forest. She came back not two seconds later with a branch, freshly broken from a tree somewhere. Placing herself beside Violet, Kate twirled her poorly makeshift sword.

"So?"

Her answer was an immediate attack.

They didn’t stop for hours. RC wasn’t the one fighting, but her body ached seeing her cousins beating Rory up. After just a few minutes into their sparring, Rory managed to break the wooden swords in two. So they switched to the bo staff.

Rory broke those as well.

The three of them used the blunt metal sword after that. Rory moved swiftly on her feet. She used just enough strength and power to keep having another round. Her whole body drenched in sweat, making her shirt stick uncomfortably to her skin. Rory didn’t seem to care as she kept thrusting her sword and blocked both Kate’s and Violet’s attacks.

She had received hits to her body, but Rory kept going. Every hit against the metal swords rang louder and louder in the air. It didn’t escape RC’s notice that the vibration from those hits gained a groan and grunt from Rory.

Would they stop already?

Kate stepped forward, her sword swinging a little too hard. Rory saw it coming of course and raised her sword to meet it. The sound they made on impact was nothing compared to Rory’s scream.

“Rory!” RC yelled, hastily approaching her friend.

Rory’s knees hit the ground the same time as her sword, clutching her right shoulder tightly. Her chest heaving with every breath. It could be from the pain or from the sparring, but RC had her focus on something else entirely.

Because Kate didn’t stop. She charged forward towards RC and Rory on the ground. Panicked, RC did what her instincts told her.

She tackled Rory out of Kate’s way, using her own body as a shield as they rolled away. Then there was a crash. Almost like a landslide of boulders came crashing down. RC didn’t see what happened.

“That’s enough, Kate!”

“What on Earth were you thinking? The kid is down, Katrina.”

RC wasn’t sure who was yelling, she wasn’t looking, she didn’t care because Rory was hurt. She didn’t look up until she felt a cool hand on her shoulder.

“Little Lily? ”

RC gasped as she raised her head. Rosalie was crouching over her with a frown before her gaze moved to Rory.

“She doesn’t look great,” Rosalie said under her breath. RC moved away so her aunt could take a better look. Rosalie’s hand hovered above Rory’s shoulder and she said, “Don’t move, alright?”

“I’m fine,” Rory stubbornly said.

Rosalie didn’t look impressed and she moved to touch Rory’s arm. Her hand barely made contact when Rory drew a sharp breath. Beads of sweat rolled down from the forehead.

“I can see you’re perfectly fine. Just don’t move.”

Rosalie slowly put her arms beneath Rory’s body and lifted her up. She ran inside the house and RC trailed behind, not paying attention to anyone else in the backyard with them.

It felt almost like the last time, with Rosalie carrying an injured Rory in her arms. At least Rory was conscious this time, but the dread pooling in RC’s stomach was all the same. And she hated it, extremely.

RC barely took a step into Carlisle’s office when someone grabbed her arm, effectively stopping her.

“W-what?”

“Let Rosalie work on her, RC.” Bella’s brows knitted together in worry.

“But I want to be with her—”

“For Apollo’s sake I’m fucking fine!” Rory’s voice rang out.

“Stop being so barbaric. You’re in a house full of vampires, there’s no need for yelling.”

RC turned to face her mother, searching for an answer about what to do, even though she already knew what her mom wanted her to do. It was written in her eyes, the look that convinced RC to stay back.

She let her mom half drag her away from Carlisle’s office. The house suddenly felt too cramped, like it didn’t have enough air for her to breathe. She walked past the lounge, ignoring the stares thrown her way and headed outside.

From the corner of her eye, RC saw Tanya and Irina talking to Kate. Scolding Kate, more likely. They kept their voices low enough so RC couldn’t hear them. She didn’t know what she had in mind when she approached her cousins.

“What the hell, Kate?” RC growled and shoved Kate’s towering body. She wasn’t sure where the anger came from, but it somehow powered her up to throw Kate a few yards back.

“I’m sorry.”

“Well, I’m not the one you should be apologizing to.” RC closed her eyes and took several breaths in. No, she wouldn’t be crass. “But, still. What were you thinking?”

Kate stood up and brushed the dirt out of her clothes and hair. Violet appeared by her side and helped. The two of them walked slowly towards RC and the other two Denalis.

“I got carried away, alright?” Kate started. “Our families are good fighters. Emmett’s strength is always a good challenge and Jasper’s a great tactician. But, other than Vee, there is no one who can keep up with me in a sword fight and actually best me.”

The corners of Kate’s lips curled up, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes like usual.

“You have to admit, RC. Your friend  is really good,” Tanya commented as she put a hand on RC’s shoulder. “Especially for someone without our speed and strength.”

RC stared at Tanya as if the older vampire grew another head. “You know what? Whatever.” She turned to Kate sharply before she walked closer. “And you owe her an apology,” RC said, jabbing her index finger at Kate’s chest with every word.

“Okay, walk with me RC.” The way Bella said it was clear that she wasn’t asking for an answer. She was demanding action and RC knew it was better to just do what Bella expected her to do when her mom used that tone.

It was hard to find a private place for themselves in the house with almost a dozen other people in it as well. Sometimes RC wondered what made her family want to put up with having so many people around. Especially with Edward in the mix. Sometimes Alice too.

“Be careful, you’re about to cross a line.”

RC raised an eyebrow in confusion as she threw herself on a beanbag in the corner of her bedroom. She shook her head and shrugged, as if those gestures told Bella ‘what line?’

Her mother sighed, biting her lower lip. A habit from Bella’s human life that somehow didn’t disappear after all these years.

Bella sat on her knees in front of the beanbag and cupped RC’s face in her hands. “You’re about to cross a line that separates you and him,” she repeated. “Worrying about Rory is completely understandable, RC, but don’t go overboard with it. You’re not him.”

A frown quickly appeared on RC’s face. “But—”

“Close your eyes, shut your mouth, and listen.”

Grunting quietly, RC did what she was told. They said when you lose one sense, the others you h ad were enhanced. Maybe that was why hearing things was easier with her eyes closed. RC took a deep breath, basking in the peace. She knew it wouldn’t last long.

“Listen,” she heard Bella say. “No screaming or whimpering, she’s not crying, her heart isn’t racing. Rory’s okay, baby.”

“She’s hurt.” RC opened her eyes again, staring right into her mom’s eyes, hoping that her gaze could send a deeper meaning to what she wanted to say.

“Maybe,” Bella replied as her lips formed a sad smile. Her eyes would already be teary if she was still human. “But you can’t protect her from everything, RC. You can’t justify being overprotective and constantly hovering over someone . That would be manipulation and not…”

As Bella trailed off, the gears in RC’s head turned. The corner of her mouth twitched up and she bit her lip, trying to force down the smile.

Love. Oh, how the tables had turned with that one.

“Guess where I learned that one from?” Bella  asked, smirking, and RC rolled her eyes at that. “Rude. Maybe you should stay here and finish your assignments.”

RC’s eyes followed where her mom gestured. Her desk, to be exact, with her books and laptop still open, though the latter was in sleep mode. She groaned as she threw herself back into her seat, realizing how much work she procrastinated on while Rory was sleeping over.

Then guilt started to pool in her stomach when RC realized that the same thing could be happening to Rory. The girl went from falling asleep in between her classes and labs due to all the projects that had to be done, to completely dropping everything after one phone call because Kate wanted to ‘get to know her’ better.

Damn Kate. And also, damn me. Why did I even call Rory in the first place?

Standing up from her seat proved harder than ever, a real battle of willpower. RC felt her mom’s gaze burn the back of her head as she moved to her desk and turned on her laptop. The sudden change in the brightness of the screen made her blink rapidly.

The insertion point just after the last word RC typed was blinking, taunting the lack of ideas that poured out of her head. RC shook her head and reached for her book. She had to be focused for this, had to finish it, so she could help Rory in whatever way she was needed.

Plugging in her headphones, RC started working. Rosalie had put together several playlists that she claimed would help RC in studying. Some classical music that RC wasn’t particularly fond of yet she always found herself playing those playlists everytime she needed a boost in focus.

They were proven to be efficient, but RC wouldn’t admit that out loud. Though the look Rosalie gave her when RC rushed down to Carlisle’s office was enough of a confirmation for her aunt.

Emmett and Esme were sitting by each side of Rory’s bed when RC stepped into the room. Rory was sitting cross-legged with her right arm wrapped in a shoulder sling. The three of them used the empty space on the bed as some kind of table for a pile of cards. RC had to focus her eyes to see the UNO logo on the back of the cards in Rory’s hand.

“UNO guys? Seriously?” RC commented with a smirk on her face.

“Emmett wanted to play, but I can’t exactly play video games with one hand. So, we’re sticking to UNO.”

RC walked to Esme’s side, planting a brief kiss on her cheek before climbing onto the bed behind Rory. The girl immediately made some room in the tight space. With all the time the two of them had spent in the tiny bed in RC’s room, utilizing small spaces had become second nature for them.

From the corner of her eye, RC saw the sly smirk Emmett had. She ignored him completely before leaning forward, careful not to put too much pressure on Rory’s right shoulder.

“I will be okay, you know,” Rory said casually as she pulled a skip card from her stack and put it in the pile. Emmett groaned ever so dramatically when he realized what Rory just did.

“My shoulder doesn’t look as bad as it seems, sweetheart,” Rory continued, throwing RC a reassuring smile. “I will be fine in a few days. Or maybe sooner than that.”

RC couldn’t see Rory’s face, so she searched for confirmation from Esme. A subtle nod was all RC got, but it was enough for her.

“You know, Rory, we all can do some light sparring after you’re all healed and everything,” Emmett suggested, wiggling his eyebrows. Unlike Rory who held her cards in a fan position, Emmett had his cards stacked together, hidden in one hand. His palm was down, so it looked like he didn’t have any cards at all.

“We all? Who is ‘we all’?”

“All of us.” Emmett gestured to the whole room with his unoccupied hand. “Might be good for all of us. We can use the exercise.”

Rory straightened up after hearing Emmett’s words. RC couldn’t see Rory’s face, but she imagined her friend  had a raised eyebrow and a bewildered look. “Vampires exercise?”

Emmett let out a roaring laugh. “Everybody needs exercise! Not all of us are like Kate you know, coming in to beat people to a pulp.”

Still in his laughing fit, Emmett slapped the foam of the bed. It must be that hard because the pile of cards flew in every direction.

“Dude! Come on, I was winning!” Rory groaned as she angrily threw the rest of her cards at Emmett’s face. “You suck.”

“I’m a vampire, I have to.” 

Esme threw a disapproving glare across the bed to Emmett, but he didn’t seem to notice. That, or he just didn’t care.

“Oh my gods,” Rory shook her head as she threw her legs over the side. “I’m out of here. Thank you for everything Esme, but I’m going to seclude myself so I can finish an assignment for tomorrow.”

Esme reached out to help Rory climb down. “Do you need any help?” she asked with her hand holding on to Rory’s. “If you need to make schematics, feel free to use my study.”

“Oh, no it’s okay. It’s just a paper review. Thank you though,” Rory said as she swung her hand side to side. The act made her look younger than she actually was, especially with how Rory still held onto Esme’s hand while doing so.

The slight squint of Esme’s eyes barely escaped RC’s notice. She remembered Esme told her how Rory often refused a little help during the first few times Rory came over. It had lessened over the past months and Esme was glad for that.

Rory offered a wide, thin smile before Esme let go of her hand and she followed RC out of the room.

RC ended up being the one working on the laptop while Rory said the words aloud. The sprained shoulder however, didn’t stop Rory from pacing around the room as she told RC about what to type. She had RC’s tablet in her left hand, reading references as her right one awkwardly scrolled the screen with limited movement.

After Rory broke her hand punching Jacob’s face, RC didn’t really see much of her. The girl turned down every bit of help she was offered and basically acted like one of her hands wasn’t wrapped in a splint. Everything RC knew about how Rory managed her days was from the stories Rory told her.

But RC had a front row seat this time around. She heard the sharp intake of breath from the bathroom when Rory was about to take a shower. Or how Rory kept her shoes untied, resulting in some stiff steps as she tried to keep her feet inside the shoes as she walked.

Rory ended up going barefoot for the rest of the day.

The next morning, RC woke up to the sound of scuffling in her room. From the lack of light through her windows, there was no way it was nearing the time they were supposed to get up and get ready to leave. Rory had a different agenda.

She sat on the floor not far from RC’s side of the bed, already dressed in jeans and a full printed hoodie. Her feet clad in socks, but no shoes. Rory was doing something to her laces before she slipped them on with no problem.

“I clipped them,” Rory said, grinning ear to ear. RC rose, propping her elbow underneath her body. She had to blink away the sleep from her eyes to focus on the bright glitter paper clips securing her shoelaces. No doubt those clips came from Alice’s collection of stationeries.

“Why are you already dressed?” RC asked hoarsely before clearing her throat.

Rory only shrugged. She scooted on her knees to RC’s side, planting her elbows on the bed as she leaned forward. “I woke up less than an hour ago, but didn’t have much will to get off the bed. So, I watched you sleep,” she said, shaking her head. “And then I realized how creepy I was being so I took a shower instead.” 

RC groaned and flopped down on the bed with her arm covering her eyes. “Give me a few more minutes.”

She heard Rory humming in reply before she felt a weight on her right arm. When RC snuck a peak between her eyes and arm, she saw Rory laying her head on top of her hand. The girl was facing RC and smiled a little when she realized RC was staring.

The room filled back to silence for a bit. RC could only hear the insects outside, the soft humming of the heater, and Rory’s heartbeat, the loudest of them all.

“Kate wanted to drive us to campus today.”

It felt like a bucket of ice water was dumped on her head. “W-what? When did that happen?” RC asked. She hastily sat up on the bed before Rory joined her.

“I don’t think Rosalie likes me very much.”

“You said that before and then the two of you were hanging out. Without me.”

Rory shook her head. Her gaze was fixed on the blanket on RC’s lap. “No, yeah, I got that. I mean after I told you guys about me and the stunt that I did after that doesn’t really help my case. Am I the only one who thinks Rosalie’s cold shoulder is way worse than her brutal truth confrontations?”

RC couldn’t fight the smile on her face. “That’s just Rose. Did she say something to you? And how did Kate get roped into this?”

"So, Rosalie was there after I got out of the bathroom, told me she can't drive us," Rory said, shrugging her shoulders. "I told her it's fine, I can drive. And please before you say something, Kate volunteered to be chauffeur and as if Tanya knew her sister is up to no good, she offered to be chaperone."

"You gotta stop doing things by yourself when you can ask for help, Rory."

"Can you blame me? I'm used to taking care of myself."

The thought made RC’s head spin. How was it possible that Rory was always on her own, yet had an ocean of people surrounding her?

“Well, you have me now,” RC shoved her shoulder against Rory lightly. “Get used to it.”

Rory offered a tight smile. She moved her arm around RC’s shoulders, pulling her close. RC remembered a time when the same gesture would make her cheeks heat up profusely, but that was no longer the case. It felt right and safe. Her eyes were getting heavier by the minute before a furious knock startled her.

Tanya poked her head in, giving a warm smile in greeting when she saw the two girls cuddling. “Rosalie told me you have classes at nine? Maybe you should have a raincheck on the snuggle party. We know Veronica isn’t going anywhere.”

“Yeah, you heard Tanya.” Rory tightened her arm around RC and swung the two of them side to side. “Get ready, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.”

It took every bit of willpower in her to detangle herself from Rory and head to the bathroom. When RC stepped out of her room, Tanya walked with her.

“So… you and Veronica.”

RC groaned, trying to fight the blush creeping up her neck. “Would you shut up, please?”

A small laugh escaped Tanya’s lips, soft and melodic. Almost like the rest of their families, but still had a distinct tone that was purely Tanya. “I know it’s not my business, but RC, keep her close. She’s right for you.” 

She’s right for you.

Those words rang inside of RC’s head as she showered. The weight of the realization started to set in. About her, about Rory. About her feelings for Rory. Did she really want to go down that road? With everything that was going on?

At first, RC always thought having Rory in on her secret would make things easier. RC wouldn’t have to keep telling Rory some half truths. Their relationship wouldn’t build up over some sand  of lies.

But then Rory found out the real RC, without the cover stories. Then she brought her own reality into the mix. How Rory was basically living two lives, one separated from the other.

And then everything became a whole lot more complicated than RC had anticipated.

Rory was still sitting on the bed with her back against the headboard. Her eyes were closed, but RC knew she wasn’t sleeping.

RC tightened the towel around her body before she stepped deeper into her room.

“I’ll leave you to get dressed.” Rory’s sudden voice almost made RC jump in surprise. When she turned around, Rory stood behind her. She leaned forward, planting a light kiss on RC’s cheek before grabbing her bag and l eaving the room.

RC didn’t move from her spot for a few seconds. Maybe Tanya was right. Then again, the older vampire was rarely wrong. Rory might have been rough around the edges, but she was good. And for RC, Rory was right. [] 

Chapter Text

To have their friends so unfazed by the fact that Rory once again came back with injuries on her body was becoming their usual form of greeting. Laurel, Amy, and Becker were waiting by their building entrance when Kate dropped them off. And of course, Kate had to put on a show.

“So, those women aren’t Rosalie and Bella,” Laurel commented as she took Rory’s book from her hand. 

“Nope. RC’s cousins from Alaska.”

“And I’m going to take a wild guess and say they have something to do with this,” Amy said, gesturing with her finger to the sling Rory wore.

“Kate kicked my ass in a sparring match yesterday,” Rory answered and her brows furrowed together. “After she jumped over an air hockey table to wrestle me. I still don’t know if she likes me or not.”

Becker whistled loudly. “Meeting the whole family already? Damn, Alexandre, you move fast.”

“More like I move in an entirely messed up order,” Rory grumbled under her breath. 

RC could only smile hearing Rory’s words. From the corner of her eyes, she saw matching smirks on her friends’ faces. She started to think there was no point in denying that there was something brewing between her and Rory. Their friends already had suspicions about them from the very beginning. Maybe the time had come for her to actually do something.

So, that was what RC tried to do.

For the remaining month of March, RC tried to deal and sort through her feelings for Rory. The other girl didn’t make it easier for RC, with all the exams and final project nearing the end of the quarter. 

Rory spent more and more time alone. With Rosalie still being rather hostile with Rory, RC understood Rory’s hesitation to ask for help. Even though Rosalie technically said she’d help with Rory’s project to the end, Rory still wouldn’t give the vampire a call, no matter how many times RC told her that Rosalie didn’t hate her. 

RC tried to help the best she could, but systems and engineering were really not her forte. So, she settled on another way. 

She had Esme build and install a cabinet for snacks and coffee in her dorm for Rory. The french press they had in the house before they switched to a proper coffee machine was sitting nicely on top of the cabinet. Emmett came by a few hours after Esme was done with the installation, each of his huge arms carrying bags of snacks and drinks. 

When Rory came by shortly after, Emmett was just finishing up his own creation of coffee. They both pretended to not notice the tears pooling in Rory’s eyes. Rory was being really subtle about it, but being half-vampires and all, a lot of things caught RC’s attention. Especially the note sticking to the side of the french press. 

Don’t forget to have some food with that coffee, Rory. Real food. 

With love, Esme

“Remind me to give all the love to your mom the next time we go to your house, alright?” Rory said with a deep breath after basically inhaling her coffee. 

And after that, Rory spent more time in RC’s dorm than her own. She only went to her dorm to grab a few things, sometimes to shower. Laurel didn’t seem to mind with the sudden extra living space. In fact, she always gave them some knowing smirks everytime RC accompanied Rory to her room. 

With Rory basically living one floor below, her room she shared with Laurel was almost cleared out of Rory’s stuff. Half of it was already stored in RC’s room. Most of her books and stationeries, her pajamas and a few other clothes. 

“So, you guys are getting serious, huh?” Laurel said from her bed. Her textbook and highlighter scattered all over the sheets. 

Laurel was studying when RC went to their room. She could hear the shower running, heat radiating off of the bathroom door. RC took a seat on Rory’s bed as she waited, pulling out a novel to read. 

“We are…treading water,” RC replied. “I just don’t want to make a mistake that will jeopardize what we already have, you know? By putting a label on it.”

“She cares about you. That much was clear from the start, RC. I don’t think Rory gives a crap about labels.”

RC hummed, placing a bookmark between the pages. “Still, though. Especially with my family, it’s going to be a little complicated. My parents love her, my cousins love her—maybe a little too much. My sister on the other hand...”

“Bella?”

“Rosalie,” RC corrected as she ran her fingers along the book spine. “They were getting close, which I love, but Rory kept insisting something happened and it feels like they’re back to square one.”

Which was weird. RC knew things between Rory and Rosalie started to get tense again after that weekend when the Cullens and the Denalis found out about Rory. Well, Kate got suspicious and figured it out in a day, basically. Meanwhile, Bella and Rosalie had been at it for the past month and still hadn’t come up with anything.

And RC had a feeling it played a part in making Rosalie so irritated. Or maybe it was the fact that Rosalie found out about how Rory knew that they were eyeing her every move.  

Rosalie had several good reasons to be wary of Rory. The girl was just a little kid when compared to Rosalie herself, yet Rory managed to find out about vampires and about them tracking her move and did all of that so subtly. 

RC remembered that time in the car when Rory told her how she connected all the dots, putting all the pieces together. The little things that didn’t mean so much separately, but when they came together, suddenly it was everything. Even RC didn’t put much thought into it until Rory told her. 

That girl thought about everything at the same time. No wonder Rosalie thought Rory could be dangerous. 

“Do you?” Rory asked her, making RC look up from her notes to meet Rory’s eyes. They retreated back to RC’s room right after Rory got out of the shower, with Laurel giving them a playful smirk as a send off. Rory’s damp hair fell in front of her face, almost covering her glasses and RC could see her reflection clearly in the lenses. “Think I’m dangerous, I mean.” 

RC’s brows furrowed together. She wasn’t stupid. All the time her family had spent making sure that they were staying hidden gave her all the information she needed to decide if something, or someone, fell into the category of dangerous. Rory was blazing red in their radar.

“You definitely have the potential,” RC answered, “and you’re definitely dangerous to your enemy. But to me? No way.”

The corner of Rory’s lips curled up, fire dancing in her eyes. “What did I do to deserve your undying trust in me, RC Cullen?” Rory whispered as she leaned forward until their faces were just inches away. 

RC shook her head slowly. She inhaled a deep breath, the scent of mint and coffee and something entirely Rory filled her nose. “Your promises, your actions, and just basically who you are, Veronica Alexandre, pulls me in since the first moment we met at that party.”

“Very smooth, sweetheart. Very smooth indeed,” Rory said, chuckling lightly as she kept her head down. “But I also know you’re dying for something more. Trust can only go so far if you don’t know enough and the last time I checked, I still owe you the answer to all your questions in the world.”

“A lot has happened since that day, hasn’t it?” RC said softly. She took Rory’s hand from the bed and drew circles on the back of it. 

RC’s own list of questions probably was as extensive as Rory’s life as a half-blood. Demigod? Whatever. With everything going on around them in the past couple weeks, RC wouldn’t even know where to start. Their first kiss? About Rory’s life as a half-blood? How would that same life affect their relationship? And how would that affect her family? Surely, Rory didn’t want to advertise her half-blood status, and with the Cullens and the Denalis brought into the fold, Rory’s secret was basically—

“I found out about the half-blood life about six months after Cass died.” Rory’s voice went lower than usual, hoarser, as though she tried to force down a sob. “After we moved to Brooklyn, I started to see… things.” A heavy breath escaped Rory’s lips. “Mama got me a therapist. Said it’s probably just grief, my mind tried to make sense of what I saw back then in Barcelona.”

“Barcelona?”

When their eyes met, RC saw how hard Rory tried to keep her feelings in line. “She died when we were living there.” Rory offered a tight smile that didn’t really reach her eyes before she continued. “Anyway, that’s what happens to us at a certain age. Half-bloods and legacies start to develop the ability to see through the glamour. I started to see all kinds of monsters and unexplainable events.”

RC’s eyes widened in an instant. “Greek monsters? Like in the stories? How do they still exist?”

“Mortals have the power to believe. As long as there are some people believing, the monsters will stay, existing and not dying. The gods too. It’s a little different for the half-bloods because we’re half human, so we’re mortals with divine abilities,” Rory explained. “It’s why they took us to train, you know? As long as the monsters are here, they can get to us. The least we can do to survive is to fight them, send them back to Tartarus, to Hell. If you want to know more, Wikipedia is oddly accurate about the subject.”

“What about Percy Jackson?” RC asked her, not sure if she should be feeling hopeful or embarrassed. 

A wide grin formed on Rory’s face at the mention of the book series. After that day when Rory told her about half-bloods and the quick reviews of the Greek myths that weren't really a myth, RC did some research of her own. The first result that she got was a book series, first published a year before she was born. It took RC a week to finish the whole five books plus The Ultimate Guide. And then she realized the series was actually a part of a trilogy series, each consisting of five books, not including the companion books.

By then RC had decided one series was enough and she should just ask straight to the source.

“Personally, I think that those books are basically the most on point representation of how everything mythical lives in the modern world. Not sure about the Roman ones because I know nothing of their existence.” 

“Aren’t you worried?” The hum RC heard made her continue, “About not knowing I mean. You’ve lived as a half-blood since you were eight, but it seems like you don’t really care.” The way RC said it sounded more like a question than a statement and it just came out wrong . “Wait, hold on. I don’t mean like your apathetic or anything—”

RC’s rambles were soon cut off by Rory’s light laugh. The other girl had her hand over her mouth to keep quiet, but she couldn’t stop. Slowly, a grin broke out on RC’s face too.

“I’ve learned that sometimes there are things better left in the dark,” Rory said after she could hold off her laugh for a few seconds. “It’s why I didn’t press about you being a vampire, you know? Even though I know you can’t be just human.”

“And why is that?”

“You are ethereal,” Rory whispered under her breath, but RC had no problem hearing it. “I still can’t believe you want to put up with me gladly.”

RC chuckled as she put her hands on Rory’s neck, bringing them closer. Their lips were inches away from each other, but Rory didn’t move. She never moved first, only stayed still with a soft smile and adoration in her eyes, waiting. 

“Believe it.” RC pressed her lips against Rory’s. Light and sweet and warm . When Rory parted her lips slightly to deepen the kiss, RC swore she’d be floating on air if she could. 

Rory pulled away slowly and a low whine escaped from RC’s chest as her hold tightened. Soft breaths were felt on her lips, so she knew Rory was still there. RC was still holding onto her and their closeness attested to that. But a part of her was afraid, the irrational, teenage-girl-with-a-crush part of her, that when RC opened her eyes, Rory would be gone and she was only holding onto nothing.

“Rory?” She gasped for breath. Her eyes were still clenched shut and she ran her hands up from Rory’s neck to her jaws. When RC got a deep hum as a response, she felt the vibration, tingling her skin. She swallowed hard, as if it would somehow add some courage to her. “I really, really like you.” 

"I know ." 

When RC opened her eyes, she realized everything she feared was nonsense. Rory smiled so big, so bright. She bit the corner of her lip and RC had to restrain herself from capturing those lips again. 

“Just putting it out there, I really like you too. If I’m being honest, I can’t remember the last time I felt this way. For anyone.” Rory had her own hands over RC’s and she moved her gaze down, taking RC’s hands with her. Her smile however, never faltered. 

The thought of Rory having similar feelings for somebody else, someone that wasn’t RC, made something inside her stirr and burn up. RC knew it was silly. The way Rory said those words implied it happened a while ago. Although RC didn’t know exactly how long ‘a while’ was in Rory’s vocabulary.. 

“Listen, Rory,” she said, suddenly feeling a lot warmer and her heart beat faster. “I- I have never… done this before. You have to tell me if I do something wrong.”

“You’re doing okay, RC. I don’t care if you want to keep, er, doing this,” Rory gestured vaguely to the space between them. “or if you want to put a label on it, or if you want to stop. I would understand, but you have to say something. This can’t work with just you or me calling the shots. It has to be the both of us.”

Both of us. 

“Okay.” RC nodded solemnly. “Both of us are calling the shots. You know, with things that went on with Bella and Edward, at least I know what to not do when I’m in a relationship.”

As soon as she stopped talking, RC felt butterflies in her stomach and her cheeks became warmer. If she took a glance in her phone camera, RC was sure she’d be as red as Rory’s car. 

Relationship. She never said it out loud before. Especially not in front of the girl RC was in a relationship with . It felt… different, made her feel nervous and excited at the same time. Maybe it wasn’t so bad after all.

“You hate Edward that much, huh?”

RC scoffed. “You’ve met the guy.  I can’t believe my mom married him.”

“Wait, what ?” Rory let go of RC’s hand and she sat up straighter. 

In that moment RC could swear her heart stopped beating, and not in a good way. Her stomach twisted in the most unpleasant way. Especially after she saw the look on Rory’s face. RC didn’t have Rosalie’s people reading skill, but from what she did have, RC could see that Rory wasn’t happy.

The room fell into silence after that, making the ticking clock echo throughout the room. Rory shifted on the bed so she had her back against the wall. The girl didn’t meet RC’s gaze and RC tried so hard to ignore the pang in her heart because of that. 

“Esme isn’t your mother, Bella is,” Rory whispered as she ran her hand through her hair. “And Edward’s the dad you hate so much. You guys are vampires so that’s not so far of a stretch.”

“I’m sorry I kept lying to you after all of this.”

Rory bit her lip and turned her head. “I’m guessing your family isn’t what you told me either.”

“They are my family,” she insisted sharply.

“With your birth mom acting like your sister and your sister’s actually what, your aunt?” 

“Rosalie is more like my other mother after Bella,” RC admitted. She didn't know why she felt so… guilty, acknowledging the fact that Rosalie and Bella were both her mothers. The ones who raised her. They raised her better than this though.

"So, all this time I'm not trying to win over your sisters, I'm trying to win over your moms ," Rory said slowly as if she was treading water, and then her eyes widened. "RC, I pissed off your mom."

RC reached out to grab Rory's hand, but she halted her movement and dropped her hand back to the sheets. If Rory noticed, she didn't say anything. "Rose will come around. She just needs a little time." 

The bed shifted and Rory turned her whole body to face RC, putting a distance between them.  “I don’t think that’s true.”

“You don’t know Rose like I do,” RC snapped. Her brows knitted tightly and the sheets crumbled in her fists.

“You’re right, I don’t,” Rory replied. Her voice was oddly exasperated. “Apparently there are still a lot of things about you that I don’t know.”

“I could say the same to you.”

Rory raised an eyebrow and RC had to force herself to not roll her eyes.

“All this half-blood stuff? I understand if there are parts I can’t know, Rory, because it’s the same with me and my family. Tell me something, how is it going to affect us?”

“In every way.” Rory shook her head, a bitter smile formed on her face. “They can pull me in for, I don’t know, a job? I’d disappear for a few days. We have governments of course, but they can’t deal with everything, so we step in.”

“Did you break any rules? When you told us about being a half-blood?”

“No.”

“Well, I did,” RC retorted back. “My family and I broke the rules when you found out about vampires and we let you live.”

Rory tossed her hair back and kept her hands on the back of her neck like it would ground her to sanity. “What do you want me to do about it, RC?”

The response threw her for a loop. What did she expect from Rory, exactly? RC wasn’t sure where the anger and frustration came from. She didn’t even realize the tension in her whole body until she stopped and took a step back. And breathed .

“Rory, what are we doing?”

“Arguing, apparently,” Rory deadpanned. She got off the bed and fixed her clothes before she started to put her things back into her bag. 

RC just sat there, watching, unsure what to do.

Rory snatched her discarded flannel from the floor and put it on. “I need time to think, is that okay?”

“Of course.” RC gulped nervously. She moved to the end of the bed. Closer, but not close enough to Rory. "Rory, are we going to be okay?" 

A loud sigh escaped from Rory's nose. She dropped the bag from her shoulder and kneeled beside the bed, looking up at RC. “I think we will,” she said, taking one of RC’s hands in her own and bringing it to her lips. “We will.”

She wanted to believe Rory’s words. She really did, but the way Rory said it made RC think that the other girl was trying to convince herself instead of talking to RC. 

“I will see you soon, alright?” Rory rose to her feet, planting a soft kiss on RC’s cheek that felt awfully like a goodbye. She couldn’t stop the tears pooling in her eyes as she watched Rory gather her things and head for the door. Then it clicked shut and her sobs broke. []

Chapter Text

Time stopped after the door closed and Rory left. Or maybe it didn’t, but everything felt like it did.

After she could move from her spot and breathe normally, RC laid on her bed, facing the ceiling. She strained her ears to listen to the room one floor above. The faint sound of rustling and ancient pop rock songs could be heard. Rory was definitely thinking hard.

A few days after that, RC still didn’t get a chance to talk to Rory. She didn’t push, but they exchanged awkward hello’s around campus. It wrecked RC’s heart every time. Even when they weren’t close yet, things were never awkward between them. They both were guarded, telling half-truths and being vague with each other, but never like this. 

It wasn’t until the last day before the break when the two of them talked again. RC heard Rory’s light steps approaching her dorm while she packed her things. 

“You can come in,” she said a little loudly just before the knocking came. Rory always did that, making sure she knocked on RC’s door every time even though RC already gave her a duplicate key to her room. 

The door let out a squeak when Rory pushed it open slowly. “Am I interrupting?” 

“No, not at all.” RC shook her head, throwing her clothes into the suitcase in a way that would definitely make Esme chastise her profusely. She turned to the door, where Rory stood. A good six feet away. “I’m just packing up. Spring break and all that, Bella and Rose wanted to take me somewhere. Some get away, you know.”

“Yeah, uh, Rosalie told me about it.”

“I’m sorry what ?”

Rory let out a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of her neck. “I talked to Rosalie a couple days ago. I know you told me that she didn’t hate me but I needed to see for myself. So, I called her. We talked, sorted things out, and a couple stories got exchanged. I’m surprised you haven’t told her about our argument.”

RC shrugged as she took a seat on the only space on the bed that wasn’t covered in clothes and other stuff. “I’m not in the mood to be scolded. Especially by Rose.”

When Rory didn’t move from her spot, RC gestured to the desk chair. She didn’t want to know what would happen if she invited Rory to sit beside her and the girl rejected. RC wasn’t sure if she could handle that.

“Yeah, Rosalie can be harsh when she wants to be. Even though everything she says is true.” 

RC felt her hands sweating, all clammy and cold. “Uh, what did she say to you?”

“She told me about your laws. How a human is supposed to be killed when they find out about vampires. That I’m supposed to be dead.”

“And what did you tell her?”

A smile slowly formed on Rory’s lips. “I’m not human, so the rules don’t apply to me.”

RC couldn’t help the chuckle coming from her and Rory’s body language visibly relaxed at the sight. It was definitely something Rory would say, some string of words with the sole purpose to antagonize people. It hadn’t been that long, but RC missed hearing that.

“Anyway,” Rory said as she exhaled a breath. “I just wanted to say sorry. About how I acted the other day.” She ran her hand through her hair, trying to set it to the left but it wouldn’t stay still and kept falling in front of her eyes. “I get it, you know, why you can’t tell me the whole truth, and I get how you see Rosalie as your mom. Whatever it is that she does, it’s what she thinks is best for you. ”

Silence filled the room. RC didn’t exactly know how to respond when her friend knew her secret then apologized for not taking the news well. Her family never taught her that.

“I just want to let you know that I understand.” Rory stood up and approached RC slowly, taking a seat beside her. She took RC’s hand as if she was holding delicate glass. “I don’t want you to leave thinking that we’re not okay.”

RC blinked rapidly, taken aback with the revelation. “We are?”

A soft smile formed on Rory’s face. “We are,” she said, bringing RC’s hands to her lips. “I—uh, I just, I’m sorry about before.”

“It’s a lot to take in, I don’t blame you,” RC chuckled and shook her head. “To be honest, I was half-hoping you would run for the hills but then, it’d be the right reason for Edward and the rest of my family to hunt you down. It’s still a grey area about you knowing about us and not having any intention to become one of us.”

“Yeah, it’s complicated and still gives me headaches.”

It felt almost like before. The short time between the moment leading up to Rory finding out about vampires and the moment before she figured out the littlest detail about the Cullens' arrangement. RC remembered the feelings, like the weight of the world was released from her shoulders, but some dread lingered in the pit of her stomach—the anxiousness about how to tell Rory about her family, down to the roots. Should she even tell her feelings to Rory?

“Do you need help packing?” Rory said, giving RC a little whiplash with the sudden change of conversation. “What time are Rosalie and Bella picking you up?”

RC pulled her sleeve up as she wiggled her hands until she could see her watch. “In about an hour I think.” 

When she looked up, Rory was already standing by the foot of the bed with her hands shoved into her pockets. RC’s gaze moved from Rory’s body, up to her face. The look in her eyes twisted RC’s gut. 

Uncertainty. And Rory was ready to bolt.

“I can use the extra hands.”

Rory lit up at the answer. She bounced on the balls of her feet, swinging her hands back and forth. “What can I do?”

For the next hour the two of them spent packing up a lot of stuff. Mostly just clothes, taking out all the heavy coats to replace them with lighter jackets when RC got back. Weather didn’t really affect her, but Alice had taught her enough to dress accordingly, no matter the season. Oh, and it helped with blending in a little bit better.

Rory never complained. RC thought it was because the girl was glad for every minute they spent together, even when they simply went out to get ice cream or do some cleaning. Precisely what they were doing now, to make up for all the time they spent apart.

When they finished packing and the majority of RC’s dresser and wardrobe had gone into her bags, Rory took a seat on the edge of the bed. She leaned back on her elbow so her head didn’t hit the wall. It took everything in RC’s body to not take Rory’s hand and drag her close. 

“Ask me something,” RC said, breaking the silence between the two of them. “I can tell that you’re itching to know more. Not about vampires, though,” she paused and Rory raised an eyebrow while the corner of her lip twitched. “You want to know more about me, about my family.”

Rory bit the corner of her lip as she sat up. “Not gonna lie, I am curious.” She chuckled nervously.

“While my dad lives under the same roof as us, he’s never around,” RC started. “It’s always mo—uh, Bella and Rose who tucked me in every night, stayed with me when I had nightmares. Maman helped me with homework, and Alice helped with my art projects. Papa took me to libraries, Emmett and Jasper made sure I can fight and handle myself.”

“No Edward.”

RC looked up in a flash, meeting Rory’s gaze. “No Edward. I never liked him since the first time I could understand what was going on around me.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t really strike me as a fatherly type.”

“I think that’s why when we move to somewhere new, it’s always Maman and Papa posing as my parents,” RC said before her memory took her to another place, in another time. A simpler time. “There was this one escapade, I guess. Bella had this huge fight with Edward and he ended up running off to Brazil or something. I was three maybe and seeing my mom look so sad and angry was… a lot. Rose ended up taking me and my mom to the Swiss Alps for a couple months. Emmett joined in after three weeks.”

A soft smile formed on Rory’s face as the other girl listened to every word. She scooted closer, pulling one of her legs onto the bed and leaned forward. “You’re close with Rosalie. Is that why she’s the only one who calls you ‘Little Lily’?”

RC chuckled lightly. “Yeah, that’s kind of our thing.”

“Do you mind telling me?”

She moved closer until her legs almost touched Rory’s. “Rose always took me to some fields up in the mountains to pick flowers, or sometimes we would just sit under the sun and be us .” 

The warmth from the sun, the diamond of Rose’s skin, their laughs. When they went in the morning, RC could still feel the dew under her fingers and the crisp air reach her nose. It had been awhile since they did something like that. 

“Rose told me how when she was human, people would try to woo her with bouquets of roses,” RC continued her story. “Get it? Roses for Rose? I racked my brain trying to be different from those people. When you are four years old, no matter if you’re human or vampire, you’d pick the first nicest flower you saw that wasn’t roses.”

“And those were lilies?” Rory guessed.

“Yeah, and Rose said something like me being the lily to her rose.” RC let out a laugh. “It sounded so much better in my head. I swear, Rose said it with more grace than I did.”

“I think that’s sweet.” Rory admitted. “Really sweet. I’m glad you trust me enough to share that.” 

RC reached out and grabbed Rory’s hand. “I always trusted you. From the start. You needed a little time and who am I to deny you that?”

“I don’t think I’ve thanked you enough. What can I do to prove that?”

“Well, the fact that you stuck around is good enough for me, Rory,” she answered. The words rolled out softly, no louder than a whisper, as RC realized how close they were. 

Doubts lingered in Rory’s eyes, like she didn’t know what to do at that moment. So, RC took the lead. She leaned forward until their noses almost touched.

And then the knocks came, making Rory jump away so far she fell out of the bed. 

RC held her laugh as she helped Rory back to her feet before rushing to the door. She could sense her mom and Rosalie on the other side of it and a huge grin was already on her face when she pulled the door open. 

Bella and Rosalie stood in the hallway. Instead of the matching smile RC was hoping for, she was greeted by a frown and a conflicted expression on her mom’s face. 

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s a change of plans,” Rosalie answered. Her piercing golden eyes immediately went from RC to Rory near the bed. 

Rory understood the silent request and hastily went for the door. “Uh, I’m going to  get some coffee and finish my packing,” she said to nobody in particular before grabbing RC’s hand. “Is it okay if I call you later?”

“Yeah, of course.” RC tightened her hold, not wanting the moment to end. Rory gave her a reassuring smile before disappearing down the hallway.

“What’s going on?” RC asked again when neither her mom nor Rosalie told her anything. She walked into the room and flopped on the bed, waiting for an answer. 

Bella came in after Rosalie, shutting the door behind her. It awfully felt like she was stalling, and RC had no idea why.

“Something happened,” Bella started, “with me and you—er, Edward. I have to stay here to handle things, RC.” She took slow steps approaching RC and stopped right in front of the foot of the bed. Both of her hands were clasped and her thumb wouldn’t stop tapping. 

“You’re not going with us.”

“No,” her mom said. “But you’re still going with Rosalie and Emmett will join you. He’s in the parking lot right now. You should hurry.”

Bella took RC’s bags and placed them near the door. 

RC’s brows knitted together seeing her mom’s behavior. She might as well be kicked out of her own dorm room. 

“Okay, what happened with you and Edward? Why are you sending me away like he’s hunting me or something?”

Bella let out a sigh, not that she needed it. In a blink, she stood on her knees in front of RC and took both of her hands. “We got into an argument, you know him. It’s bad, RC. I’m hoping you will be far away from all of this, but I don’t think that will be the case.”

“You’re afraid he’d do something,” RC guessed. 

The only answer she got was a deep growl coming from Rosalie. Her jaw was clenched, her fists tight. 

RC gulped and turned her gaze back to her mom. “Okay,” she croaked out. “Okay, I’ll go, but promise me you’ll be okay?”

Bella smiled sadly before she stood up and planted a kiss on RC’s forehead. “Right now I’m pissed, RC. Pray I won’t do something stupid, will you?”

She heard Rosalie move. When RC looked away from Bella, she saw Rosalie already out the door with each hand carrying RC’s bags. The three of them left the building together, with RC having one of her bags in one hand and holding Bella’s hand tightly in the other. 

The slightly warmer weather hit RC once she stepped into the parking lot. But the first thing that caught her eyes wasn’t the breeze or the sun. It was Rory sitting on the hood of Emmett’s jeep, trying and failing to get Emmett to tell her something.

“Seriously? There’s nothing you can tell me? Nada, nichts, rien?”

Emmett only chuckled as he shook his head. “Doesn’t matter how many languages you can say ‘nothing’, it’s still nothing. Hot tip, Roar, stop talking if you don’t want Bella and Rosalie to haunt you in your sleep.”

RC raised an eyebrow at their interaction. Yes, Rory always had time to play something with Emmett back at the house, but outside of it? RC did not expect Rory being that close with Emmett. She heard Rory's hiss and noticed the grimace on her face.

Rory shook her head and jumped off the hood. “I need a better nickname, Emmett.” 

“Yeah, you do. I’m kind of disappointed in myself. I’ve lost my touch.”

 She tried to hold back a laugh. Her Uncle looked so disappointed in himself, but she had a point because Emmett usually did great on nicknames. Although there were some, if not most of them, that were just incredibly embarrassing. RC didn't even think that she could stomach naming a few.

“Enjoy your trip guys,” Rory said, giving a small wave before walking two spaces away to her car. 

RC didn’t climb into Emmett’s jeep until she saw Rory’s red Mazda pulling out of the parking lot. 

She took a seat in the back with her mom, laying her head on Bella’s shoulder as Emmett started the car. RC met Rosalie’s eyes in the rearview mirror. Her aunt didn’t say anything, but one look was enough to convince RC that her mom would figure things out. 

Emmett drove north towards their house, but instead of turning into the nearly invisible path through the trees, he kept on straight ahead. 

“I have to go,” Bella whispered. Her fingers didn’t stop stroking RC’s hair. She only stopped to hold RC’s face in both of her hands while kissing RC’s forehead softly. “I love you, okay?”

Bella rolled down the window beside her, and in a second she was gone. Cold winds blew inside the car as Emmett kept driving. 

To be honest, RC didn’t know exactly where they were heading. A part of her didn’t really care, because she wanted to spend some time with Rosalie and Emmett. The other part of her wanted to stay back and help with whatever problem her mom had. 

Emmett stopped the jeep after a few hours of driving. RC was pretty sure they were in Canada already. She remembered the place Rosalie had told her about, a place she usually disappeared to when she needed some quiet. 

The cabin was small, a little bit smaller than her cottage back in Forks. RC heard a stream nearby and a faint rumbling of a waterfall when she really strained her ears. 

“This is nice. I didn’t think you prefer something like this though,” RC commented as she jumped off the jeep. Her eyes scanned around the building in front of her, along with the surrounding area. 

“Yeah, I bought the property a few weeks after you got into Dartmouth,” Rosalie said as she wrapped an arm around RC’s shoulders. “With you gone on the weekdays, Emmett could only do so much to rein me in from maiming Edward. So, I figured I needed someplace for myself. Away, but still close in case you need me.”

Happy didn’t even begin to cover what RC was feeling. She knew Rosalie cared about her. When the rest of the family kept saying that Rosalie would move mountains for her, it was hard to not know how much Rosalie cared. 

Emmett left them not long after, saying that he needed to run around and find some bears. They haven’t even settled in yet, but RC figured he did that on purpose, giving RC a chance to ask the one question that had been bugging her since they left Dartmouth. 

“What’s going on between you and Mom?” RC blurted out once she closed the front door. She hadn’t turned to see Rosalie in the room, but RC could imagine the expression plastered on her face.

“I think what you’re trying to ask is what’s going on between your mom and Edward .”

RC turned around, leaning heavily on the door. “Well, what’s going on between them is kinda clear. They have been fighting and arguing since forever. It’s like their… what? Marriage that doesn’t feel like one? It is an on-and-off again relationship. An unhealthy one.”

Rosalie was sitting in the kitchen area. Or at least RC thought it served as a kitchen area. There was a table with four seats around it. On the far wall was some kind of refrigerator. Not exactly the like kind she usually saw in supermarkets, but not exactly like the one in her house too. Beside the refrigerator thing was just a countertop with a few drawers and cupboards that RC was almost sure were empty. 

They were vampires, why would they need a fully functioning kitchen? 

“Do you realize you started to do that after you met Rory?”

Rosalie’s voice brought her back. RC blinked rapidly and pushed herself off of the door with one hand. 

“Do what?”

Her aunt pointed in her direction. “Your hand. I guess it’s one of the things you picked up from her.”

RC stopped in her tracks and suddenly the weight of her hand pressing on the back of her neck felt really heavy. Her brows furrowed together as she dropped her hand. She hastily took a seat beside Rosalie.

“Okay, stop deflecting. Rose, what’s going on?”

She could see Rosalie’s jaw tensing, her whole body went rigid. There was a storm going on inside Rosalie’s head. RC could see it in her eyes, dulled golden but fiery at the same time. Unsure, but angry. At what, RC had no idea, so she just sat there, waiting, and half hoping what to say next would come quickly to her.

“Does this have anything to do with the mating thing the three of us talked about a few weeks back?” RC asked. Her voice was laced with uncertainty. 

“I have Emmett, Little Lily.”

It didn’t escape her notice that those words were the exact same words that left Rosalie lips when they had their conversation about mating. About what Bella and Edward had wasn't about being mates to each other. 

But the way Rosalie said those words again seemed more like a mantra to herself. 

Bella didn’t say it explicitly. Her body language did, telling RC about someone that Bella had her eyes on. Someone that clearly wasn’t Edward. 

The sudden notification ping almost made RC jump from her seat. Rosalie reached into her pocket and took half a second to read the message. 

“Emmett will be back in five minutes. You stay with him, okay?” Rosalie stood up and planted a deep kiss on RC’s temple as though she was savoring every moment. “I’ll be back in an hour. I love you, Lily.”

“I love you too Rose.”

Rosalie left the cabin in one second, leaving RC alone. She started to pace around the room, thinking about the possibilities of what was going on in her family. Between Bella and her soon-to-be ex-husband, between Bella and Rosalie. It was impossible to deny something was going on because when RC really thought about it, the puzzle pieces were all there, laid out on a somewhat silver platter. 

After RC had the talk with her mom and Rosalie about how mating might not be real, she noticed how Bella’s belief about it started to waver. Her somewhat deteriorating relationship with Edward proved that. The fights and arguments got more frequent, and the two of them never really were together in the same room anymore. Unless Esme forced Edward to stay put, like that time with Rory’s birthday.

RC knew the fights weren’t because of her. Bella and Edward just had… problems of their own. But a part of her hated the yelling, the one sided ‘conversations’ which always ended up with Edward leaving and Bella couldn’t get her point across. Thinking back, maybe she shouldn't have said it out loud, or even thought about how her mom’s relationship with Edward moved too fast. Or maybe she should, because Bella deserved so much better than him. 

Him, meaning Edward, and so much better meaning Rosalie. 

It made sense in a way. Even Rory saw it. Rosalie helped Bella raise RC from the very beginning. The two women were almost always at each other’s side with RC tucked safely between the two of them. They watched RC’s first step, first word, first time she played the piano although it was very off-key.

Rosalie was always there . No matter what. No wonder Rory thought it was Rosalie that Bella had a relationship with at the beginning. And RC couldn’t help but think that Rory’s assessment started to become more real as time went by.

“You know, you’re going to make marks on the floor with your pacing.”

The voice made RC stop and reality set in. It took her five seconds to realize what happened. She turned around and slowly pulled her hands down from the back of her neck.

RC almost couldn’t see the door with Emmett standing right in front of it. His clothes were wrinkled and dirty, like he decided to make snow angels on the forest floor. Or was that supposed to be dirt angels?

“Sorry, can’t help it,” she replied weakly before flopping on the couch. “I’m worried about Rose. She’s hiding something from me.” 

Emmett stared at RC for a minute before running somewhere. Not ten seconds later, he was back, with clean clothes and wet hair. He took a seat on the coffee table in front of RC. 

“There is something going on, RC,” Emmett said. “It’s complicated and very hard for Rose to talk about. You know how she is.”

RC sat up straighter. “What is it?”

“RC—”

“Just tell me, Emmett.”

“It’s not that simple—”

“It’s about the mating thing isn’t it?” RC fired back. "Rosalie told you about that."

Emmett let out an exasperated breath before he rubbed his face. "She did."

"And?"

"Convincing Rosalie Hale about it is almost impossible, I swear." Emmett chuckled as he shook his head. "What did you say to Rose when you guys talked about mating?"

RC kept quiet for a moment, not sure if Emmett was serious or just messing with her. She decided it was the former. "Uh, I said that mating might not be real, because it's just feelings. Vampires have heightened senses, so it makes sense to think that vampire mating is a thing when it actually has nothing different than the usual… attraction? I don't know, something like that. Rose kept telling me she has you though."

“That’s what Rose told me, too. Don’t get me wrong, RC. I love Rosalie and she loves me.”

“I’m sensing a ‘but’ coming.”

Emmett offered a smile, the kind that showed off the dimples on his cheeks. “ But , it’s getting clearer and clearer that there are just certain things I can’t give her to make her happy.”

RC’s brows furrowed. “She’s happy with you.”

“Rosalie is happier with you ,” Emmett corrected. “The daughter she always wanted. You are her whole world, RC.”

RC opened her mouth, but no words came out. To be honest, she wasn’t sure about how to respond to Emmett’s words. 

“I told her that, you know. Rosalie deserves the world and for a time I can give her that. Then she has you and I realized I can no longer…” Emmett shook his head. “What Rosalie wants, that can’t happen with me in the picture. Only with you and Bella.”

“Hey, you’re always in the picture,” RC said.

“I know, but that’s not what I mean and you know that, RC.”

Silence engulfed them once more. The only thing RC could hear was her own breathing and the wind outside.

“So,” RC started, “what now?”

“Whatever Rosalie wants.” []

Chapter Text

It took more than an hour for Rosalie to come back to the cabin. RC tried to not worry about that, but Emmett convinced her that Rosalie just needed time to herself. To process things and breathe, he said. So, RC distracted herself with Emmett in the backyard. 

Emmett had run off to the forest before and came back with some logs. He dropped them in the middle of the clearing that served as their backyard before he threw the axe in his hand, embedding it in a tree stump behind him.

“What?” Emmett asked when he noticed RC staring at him, her eyebrows arching high. “It’s not like I need that to chop the wood.”

RC shook her head before she put down the tray of all the ingredients for s’mores on a log nearby. Emmett cut it earlier and actually sanded the surface, getting rid of the splinters so it resembled a functioning table. RC didn’t understand why Emmett wouldn’t just grab a table from the cabin instead of DIY-ing the wood, but he didn’t listen. So, RC returned the favor when her uncle asked for her help with the fire. If Emmett didn’t need the axe, or had no problem coming up with a makeshift table, surely he could set up the bonfire on his own.

When Rosalie joined them later in the evening, RC had already moved to sit on the ground. The fire was burning bright, with Emmett’s contraption of a grill set up on top. It served no purpose whatsoever since Emmett didn’t have a problem holding two steel rods to roast the marshmallows, but her uncle looked so pleased with himself when he managed to get it done so RC just kept quiet. 

As it turned out, Emmett was amazing with everything about grilling. He admitted it was a hobby he picked up since RC started to bring Rory home more and more. Also the fact that Rory could eat anything.  RC jumped onto Emmett’s back after that, hugging him as hard as she could.

For the next couple of days, Emmett showed off his skills to RC. The kitchen always looked like a tornado hit it after they were done experimenting. To her surprise, everything came out pretty decent. Nothing fancy like from a Michelin star restaurant, but considering the circumstances, Emmett did well.

The time RC spent with her uncle made her realize how much she missed the simpler things in life. Food and craft experiments, hiking, recklessly jumping from the top of a waterfall to the lake below.  Rosalie wasn’t really a fan, but she was always there to supervise, making sure they weren’t burning down the cabin or breaking any limbs.

On the third day, they were swimming in the lake. Rosalie made herself comfortable on the shore, wearing sunglasses and a bikini even though the weather was still too cold for anything other than sweatshirts and hoodies. She had a novel in her hands, reading quietly as the sun hit her skin. The colors danced bright and they didn’t have to worry about anyone seeing them. Being so far from socialization had its perks.

“You know, I know at least one more person who would appreciate the view.”

RC turned her head to Emmett. They were sitting on the top of the waterfall, looking down at the shore where Rosalie laid on her stomach. The loud rumbling from the water was enough to cover their whispers so Rosalie wouldn’t hear.

“What?”

“You know what I mean,” Emmett said with a knowing smile on his face. He wiggled his eyebrows and RC’s eyes widened in realization.

“Ew! No! I don’t need that visual in my head!”

Emmett's laugh broke out, loud enough to make Rosalie take off her sunglasses and give them a look. They were nowhere near close, but even from a distance RC knew what that look meant.

Don’t do anything stupid that will make me go up there.

RC waved down with a sheepish smile on her face. Rosalie shook her head before getting back to her book.

“Well?” Emmett prodded, nudging RC’s shoulder. “Your mom and Rose make a great couple, don’t you think? You and Rory too. I wonder where you got that charm from.”

RC let out a breath. “Emmett…”

“What? I’m not blind, RC, and I’m not as dense as people think. I know there’s something going on between Rosalie and Bella. I have known for quite some time. Rosalie is having a hard time accepting it.”

“Do you have a hard time accepting it?” RC asked quietly, not sure if she wanted to know the answer to that. “Accept the fact that your bond with Rosalie isn’t a mating bond but just…a relationship?”

“I did need a little more time to understand it, but after doing some thinking, it clicks. It makes sense. I was attracted to Rosalie since the first time I saw her and now I feel like that was mostly because of the venom in my veins. You know how newborns are unstable, their emotions are all over the place.” Emmett turned his head to where Rosalie sat. “I love her, nothing is going to change that. Even when that means not being with her romantically…”

“You’re still family.”

Emmett gave RC a wide smile, making the dimples on his cheeks show up. “I know, and it’s not like you guys are going away to the end of the world. We’re still going to be in each other’s life.”

“Doesn’t that make it harder for you?”

“I’m okay. I just want Rosalie to be okay with it too.”

RC took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Rosalie isn’t great with changes, is she?”

“She doesn’t like surprises,” Emmett said, shaking his head. “From her experience, surprises mean changes and most of the time, they are the bad kind of surprises. The trauma after her death, the trouble with James and Victoria after Bella started hanging out with us, not to mention the packs. Maybe, the only good thing from it all is you, and Bella too, but after the Volturi thing.”

RC sat up straighter. She had an eyebrow raised, looking back and forth between her uncle beside her and her aunt laying a few feet down on the shore.

“I think it’s safe to say that you are the only surprise that Rosalie welcomed gladly.” Emmett shrugged before adding, “You and Bella.”

They decided to stay out in the sun for another hour, basking in the ability to not cover up and put up a façade of being human. RC didn’t know how it felt for her family, but for her, the way the sunlight hit her skin and made it glow like a prism was…warming, for lack of a better word. She still felt the heat, although it didn’t affect her like it should. Like how the cold never bothered her.

And no, she wasn’t going to blast out ‘Let It Go’ from the top of the waterfall.

RC Cullen had been officially over her Frozen phase.

The sun was still high in the sky when they decided to pack it up and go back to the cabin. RC immediately headed for the bathroom, taking a quick shower to wash away the lake water. She wasn’t sure why, but swimming always left her feeling somewhat sticky. Emmett always joked that they were just in water , so they shouldn’t need to shower afterward. RC never understood that preference.

After RC got out of the shower, the living room was already set up. Blankets and fluffy pillows covered the couch. Emmett’s laptop sat on the coffee table with its keyboard lit up in multicolor. The room was dark and they had a projector showing Emmett’s wallpaper on the wall in front of the couch.

Rosalie came from the kitchen with a bowl and sat on the couch. RC didn’t waste any time before she took a seat beside her aunt and reached into the bowl. To her surprise, it wasn’t popcorn.

“How many stores did you rob to fill this bowl with M&Ms?”

“You don’t want to know,” Rosalie answered without looking at RC. She moved the bowl to RC’s lap and leaned toward the laptop. “What movie do you feel like watching?”

“Disney classic.”

Rosalie let out a chuckle before typing away on the keyboard. “Is Hercules classic enough?”

RC hummed happily as she grabbed a fistful of candy. She threw one in the air and caught it with her mouth.

“I saw that,” Rosalie said, leaning back in her seat and RC immediately scooted closer to her aunt. Emmett joined them a second after, making himself comfortable on a chair next to Rosalie.

“Watch the movie, Rose,” Emmett said, not taking his eyes off the projected screen.

RC felt Rosalie’s body start to move, but she tightened her hold and let out a grunt, “No. Stay.”

Her aunt didn’t move a muscle after that. Rosalie settled back on the couch with her arm around RC as she ran her fingers through RC’s hair.

She didn’t remember when she fell asleep, but she remembered singing along to ‘I Won’t Say (I’m in Love)’ with Rosalie and Emmett, albeit a little bit off-key.

The next morning RC woke up to pancakes. She didn’t want to wake up yet, but her stomach said otherwise. She moved from the couch to the dining table, still half asleep.

Rosalie put a plate in front of her and kissed her temple. “Wake up and eat up, Lily.”

RC groaned as she buried her face in her hand. She heard Rosalie move around the kitchen and sighed dramatically. 

“Rory called earlier.”

That made RC’s head shoot up. The sleep disappeared from her eyes, although her sight was still blurry around the edges. “What? When?”

“About an hour ago,” Emmett turned around in front of the stove. RC didn’t even realize her uncle was cooking, let alone wearing an apron with ‘kiss the cook’ written on the front of it.

It took her almost a minute to process what she saw and heard. “And you answered it?”

“Rosalie did.”

RC threw a nervous glance at her aunt, who just shrugged her shoulders casually.

“I did not threaten her in any kind of way, if that makes you feel any better,” Rosalie said. “I only told her what she asked. Oh, and she wanted me to tell you to call her back.”

The stack of pancakes in front of her were forgotten as RC moved around the room frantically, trying to locate her phone. She threw the blankets and pillows from the couch she previously slept on, but found nothing underneath. One desperate look at Rosalie was all she needed. Rosalie only shook her head and smiled, pointing to the table by the door.

RC quickly grabbed her phone and headed out to the porch before calling Rory.

“Hey,” Rory answered after the first ring.

“Were you waiting for my call? You picked up really fast.”

Rory laughed nervously. “I want to say no but I’d be lying.” There was a beat before Rory added, “I miss you.”

A smile broke out on RC’s face. She was pretty sure the cold morning air had nothing to do with her cheeks turning red. “I miss you too. Like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Glad to know I’m not the only one,” Rory said. “Listen, I was wondering how long your trip is going to be. I don’t know, maybe we can meet up if it’s possible? I’d really love to see you again before I have to go.”

The smile evaporated with the morning dew. RC’s eyes widened in surprise. “Uh, w-what? Go where?”

“Mama wants me to go with her to deal with something in Barcelona. Said I might have to cut the first couple of days of school.”

“Oh, okay.” RC tried to cover the disappointment in her tone. She really did, but it felt like Rory could see right through her even when they weren’t physically in each other’s presence.

“I won’t be gone forever, you know?” RC could almost hear the smirk in Rory’s voice. “And the whole cutting the first couple of days of school is still a maybe. I’ll try to come back to the States as soon as possible. Don’t worry, you’re not going to get rid of me that easily, RC.”

“Y-yeah.” RC said hoarsely before she cleared her throat. “I can, uh, I can get back home later today and we can have the whole day to ourselves tomorrow.”

“Okay, I will see you tomorrow at the house then.”

A beat.

“Alright,” RC said. She mentally hissed at the lame response.

“You don’t want to hang up, do you?” Rory guessed, laughing lightly over the call. From the sound of it, RC knew Rory had her hand covering her mouth to suppress the laugh, but failed miserably.

“Am I that obvious?”

“I think that you want to make up for lost time,” Rory said. “But, I don’t blame you. I want to stay on the phone.”

RC grimaced. “I’m sensing a ‘but’ coming.”

“ But , we’ll see each other tomorrow and I will call again later if that’s what you want.”

“That’s what I want.”

“Okay, then. I’ll call you later. Now, spend some time with your family before I steal you for the whole day.”

Once the call ended, RC stayed outside for another minute.

“So…”

RC jumped and quickly turned around to see Emmett leaning on the doorframe with a wide grin on his face. His huge body basically covered the whole entrance.

“Rory’s stealing you again.”

RC rolled her eyes playfully. “What’s wrong with spending time with my girlfriend?”

A plate inside broke and Emmett let out a laugh, so loud that he threw his head back and basically halfway falling down to his knees.

“About damn time!” Emmett exclaimed.

“What?” RC asked, before realization hit her.

Girlfriend. She called Rory her girlfriend and she said that in front of Emmett and while Rosalie was within hearing range. RC gulped, not sure what to expect after that.

“Emmett, grow up.” Rosalie pushed Emmett out of the way lightly and she stepped onto the porch. Her golden eyes pierced right through her, calculating. “We should go inside, Little Lily.”

Emmett took it as his cue. “I will be around then,” he said before running into the forest.

Rosalie tilted her head towards the door and RC quickly went inside, sitting right back in front of the stack of pancakes that had gone cold. Her aunt sat beside her, giving RC a knowing look. She didn’t waste any time before she started to cut a few pieces and eat her breakfast.

“I know I was out of line,” Rosalie started. “After you and Rory snuck out, I mean. I was—I am worried.”

“I don’t understand, you know Rory will never let anything happen to me. Why don’t you trust me?”

Rosalie shook her head as she reached out to RC, tucking a strand of hair behind her niece’s ear. “A part of me will always worry about you. But you’re right, I should’ve trusted you more. You and Rory. She may be reckless but she has a good heart, good intentions. I think you’re right for each other.”

RC swallowed her food and put down her fork. “You’re not mad, are you? You will let me see her tomorrow? Even though we will have to cut the trip short.”

“I had all the best times with you,” Rosalie said softly. “All the first nineteen years of your life. I think it will be selfish of me to not let you spend some time with Rory.”

“You mean it?”

“I do, and I really think it’s about time you make it official with that girl.” Rosalie stood up and planted a kiss on the top of RC’s head. “I’m going to take a shower. Finish your breakfast, alright? The sooner we’re done, the sooner we can get home and you can prepare for your big date.”

RC’s brows furrowed and she turned in her seat to Rosalie’s retreating direction. “But it’s not until tomorrow.”

Rosalie stopped in her tracks, staring RC right in the eyes. “How much do you want to bet that Rory will be in Hanover tonight?”

What Rosalie said made RC rack her brain. She knew Rory would do anything for her, the older girl made that very obvious and clear from the start. Since the start of the school year, Rory had been doing everything to prove that she cared, down to the simplest things imaginable.

Rory trusted her enough to talk about her demigod life, trusting that RC could take care of herself. She let RC set the pace in their relationship. Rory did that. And RC couldn’t care about her more.

RC kept thinking about it the whole way back home. They left the cabin some time before noon, even though she insisted that they still had the whole day away from the rest of civilization.

When Emmett’s jeep parked in front of the garage, Alice spent about five seconds before getting out of the house to greet them. ‘Greet’, as in, yanked RC out of the car with excitement and jumped on the balls of her feet with her niece in her arms.

“About time!” Alice squealed out. “She’s going to call you any minute now. Are you going to tell her? Please do!”

RC groaned, still trapped in Alice’s embrace. “Alice, I love you but please get off of me.”

Alice whined and reluctantly let go. “I missed you, you know? And I know Bella does too.”

“She’s not here?”

“No,” Alice said, biting her lips. She held her hands behind her back, not meeting RC’s eyes. “She hasn’t been staying here since she went to Dartmouth before you left for the cabin. She visited for a little bit before disappearing again. Edward didn’t even bother to come home.”

RC balled her fist so hard, she could feel her nails digging through her palms. With how on edge her mom was acting back in her dorm, RC had presumed that whatever was happening between Bella and Edward, it was bad. She didn’t even think that the word ‘bad’ could even begin to cover the turmoil in her family.

“You should call her. Bella would love to hear from you,” Alice said right before RC’s phone notification started to ping repeatedly. A smile slowly bloomed on her face. “Right after this, of course. I’ll see you inside.”

sorry cant call you :( too much company right now. are you getting home later today?? [1:12 PM]

mama’s dragging me to a meeting before we’re gone to spain 😭 [1:20 PM]

wait no change of plans. We’re driving mama to JFK now & im going straight to the hotel in Manchester [1:56 PM]

i’ll get a rental and pick u up in the morning [1:57 PM]

i miss youuu !! cant wait to see you x [1:57 PM]

Rory’s texts were time stamped every other five minute or so after that, giving RC updates on where she was and what was happening on her trip. The texts range from ‘ i miss mama already’ to ‘i saw a bunch of dudes partying in the back of a pick-up on the side of road when we stopped at the red light and they offered me beer but we had to drive away before I could grab the bottle’.

RC scrolled down, reading each and every one of them with great care as she leaned on the Jeep beside her. 

The last text Rory sent her was about five minutes ago, saying that she was somewhere near Boston and about to go to sleep, promising she would call when she woke up.

RC couldn’t help the small smile on her face before she typed a reply.

I just got home actually, u seem like ur having a great time. hope u got a good nap, u need the rest

RC pocketed her phone and went inside the house. From the looks of it, Alice already left to her place or hid away in her studio upstairs. With the first floor deserted, RC went to her room and threw herself onto the bed, face first.

Her bags were already there, sitting by her closet door. Emmett or Rosalie must have brought them up, but RC found no energy in her body to unpack. That would have to wait until tomorrow. Or the day after that.

The knocks on her door made RC startle awake. She had her elbows propping her body up while she blinked to adjust to the light. Rosalie stepped into the room slowly, taking a seat on the edge of RC’s bed. RC moved to lay her head on her aunt’s lap.

RC wasn’t sure why but she felt so tired . Maybe from all the thinking—about her mom and Edward, her mom and Rosalie, and Rory, of course. Rory was a constant thought in her head.

Rosalie sensed this. She moved to sit more comfortably on the bed, taking RC with her. Cold arms wrapped around RC’s shoulders, bringing a sense of comfort and familiarity, taking her right back to much, much simpler times when she didn’t have to think about love lives.

An exaggerated deep sigh came from RC’s lips as she buried her face deeper into Rosalie’s chest. “How is it possible that a feeling can turn someone into a non-functional mess?”

Rosalie only hummed before saying, “Young love.”

“Rose…”

“Don’t think about it too much, Little Lily.” Rosalie’s hand never stopped stroking RC’s hair. “You’re meeting Rory tomorrow, aren’t you? Just tell her how you feel and be yourself. I doubt she won’t return those feelings.”

“I know, but—”

“No ‘buts’. You have seen how Rory is around you. She makes time for you, she actually listens to you, and she values you. I admit I was overreacting about her, but it’s clear to anyone who has eyes. Rory cares about you, more than you know.”

“Why don’t you do the same then?” Those words came rolling out of RC’s mouth before she could bite her tongue and stopped herself.

“I beg your pardon?” There was something in Rosalie’s voice, something RC couldn’t really place.

 RC chewed her bottom lip before she slowly sat up to look at her aunt’s eyes. Rosalie tried to maintain her poker face, but RC knew it was just a façade. Something else hid under it. Anxiousness, dilemma, fear, it could be any or none of the above. RC stared her aunt dead in the eyes and she noticed the doubt lingering in them.

“You know mom cares about you,” she whispered. “And I know you’ve been hearing what me and Emmett were talking about up in the cabin. He’s okay, Rose. And mom? I have this feeling that mom already knew for a while, but with him still in the picture… Yeah, well, he’s on the edge of the picture but sooner or later he’s going to disappear. You and I both know the reason why mom didn’t come with you and me. She’s handling him. And I’m willing to bet my life that Edward’s going to be gone when mom comes home. To us.”

 Rosalie kept her silence, her gaze burned, yet felt so far away as though she was trying to imagine how things would be if her mortal dream became a reality. RC knew that she would always have a place in Rosalie’s heart. A huge portion of it in fact. While Emmett was also a part of it, something in RC’s gut told her that maybe, just maybe, Bella already had a much bigger place.

A huge chunk of Rosalie’s heart with a ‘reserved’ sign, only for Bella. A meaningful impression, despite their rocky start.

RC didn’t get a verbal answer. Rosalie only offered a sad smile and tugged RC’s hand slightly. RC settled back down, cuddling into her aunt, feeling the cold kiss on the crown of her head.

Rosalie needs time .

“Did Rory call?”

“Not yet, but she texted a lot to give updates, but I didn’t get it until we got here. I have no idea why though, since we got good cell service at the cabin. Rory said she’d call after she checked into her hotel in Manchester.”

“Let me guess, she will pick you up in the morning?”

RC hummed in agreement.

Rosalie shook her head in amusement. “Veronica Alexandre. Always pull out all the stops for you. She’s smitten, Little Lily.”

“Hey, stop teasing her alright?” RC said, but even she couldn’t fool herself with the smile threatening to bloom on her face.

“Tell Rory that you’ll meet her at the hotel she’s staying at. Don’t let her drive all the way up here when she has a transatlantic flight the next day. She’ll get exhausted.”

“Aw, Rose, you care about Rory. I know you do.”

Rosalie exhaled a deep breath she didn’t need. The corner of her mouth curled up slightly in a smile. “I believe Rory is growing on me.” []

Chapter Text

On that Friday morning, the weather felt  a little bit warmer than the usual late March. RC sat on the passenger seat of Rosalie’s Audi as they drove south to Manchester. Two layers of jackets covered her body even though she didn’t need it. Rory might though and knowing that girl’s habit, RC would probably be giving her jackets to her by the end of the night. 

She called Rory once they got into the parking lot of the hotel and the other girl came out of the lobby not long after. Rory had on loose shorts and she had her hands stuffed into her hoodie’s pocket. Her hair was all messed up, like she had just woken up. By the sound of her voice over the phone a few minutes before—way lower than usual, raspier—RC’s call did a better job waking Rory up than her own alarm.

Rory crossed the parking lot and knocked on the passenger’s window of Rosalie’s car before she opened it. 

“ My Lady.” Rory held up a hand and RC couldn’t help the giggle escaping from her lips at the gesture. 

“Why thank you. Such a gentlewoman.” 

None of them said anything as they stood by the car, staring right into each other’s eyes. RC just drank every bit of detail off Rory's face. The curled lips, the slight arch of her brows, the rosy tint of her cheeks from the cool morning air. 

RC’s surroundings disappeared around her. She didn’t even realize why Rory took her eyes off her and crouched down in front of the opened car door. 

Rory still held onto RC’s hand all the while.

“Be careful.” Rosalie’s voice broke whatever haze RC got pulled under. “Take care of each other, you hear me?”

Rory gave a two finger salute. “Loud and clear, Ma’am,” she said before throwing her arm around RC’s shoulders and guiding her inside the hotel.

RC craned her neck to see Rosalie’s car pull out of the parking lot and disappear. When she turned her gaze back, they were nearing the elevator and she felt a kiss to her temple.

“I missed you.”

The elevator dinged before RC could say anything else. Not that it mattered though, because when she saw her reflection in the elevator mirror, she found no difference between her face and a tomato. RC had to keep biting her lip to stop smiling like a middle school student with a crush. 

There weren't many of Rory’s personal belongings in her hotel room. RC noticed the phone charger sitting on the nightstand, the opened duffle bag on a chair with Rory’s boots under it. One side of the queen sized bed was unmade, with its comforter thrown messily and pillows scattered on top of it. Rory’s laptop sat on the untouched side of the bed. RC carefully moved it to the table before sitting down. 

Rory on the other hand, threw herself onto the bed, making RC squeal as she jumped slightly from the impact.

“Do you feel like breakfast?” Rory suddenly asked as she propped herself up on one elbow. “My favorite part about staying in a hotel is room service and breakfast.”

“Is that okay? I mean, I’m not staying here.”

“I wouldn’t suggest it otherwise.” The corner of Rory’s lips curled up in a crooked smile. It was so contagious that RC let out a small laugh. 

“Were you planning to bring me here in the first place?” RC asked, still smiling. “What do you have planned, Charmer?”

Rory only winked before she raised up and met RC’s lips. It was chaste and sweet, like basically everything Rory had done for her. RC inhaled a deep breath and placed her hands on the back of Rory’s neck, pulling her closer. She heard the rustling of the sheets, the blood rushing in her ears, Rory’s heart which started to beat louder and louder. Or was it hers?

When she pulled away, she didn’t let go of Rory’s neck. They rested their foreheads together, their noses barely touching. 

“Let me shower before we head down?” Rory whispered softly, but RC still could feel the faintest of breaths on her lips.

She let go of Rory’s neck and leaned back on the headboard, biting her lower lip, letting a quiet hum escape. 

Rory took that as an answer. RC made herself comfortable on the bed, trying to not stare at Rory as the other girl took off her hoodie and tossed it to the floor near her bag. To her surprise—or not, depending on her perspective—Rory wasn’t wearing anything but a bra underneath. 

If RC could see herself in the mirror, she would bet that her face had reddened and her eyes widened. The sight wasn’t something she was used to, but RC didn’t mind one bit.

RC would be lying if she said she hadn’t counted the seconds Rory spent in the shower. It was roughly five minutes before she heard the shower turn off. Another two minutes passed before the bathroom door opened and Rory walked out, already dried off and only clad in boy shorts and a bra.

And no, RC didn’t choke on her own saliva.

Rory got dressed quickly, pulling out fresh jeans and a shirt from her bag before letting her hair down and messily tossing it around. RC had to admit, the simple way Rory dressed herself was really attractive. She could be biased, but she didn’t care.

“Take a picture, it will last longer.” Rory’s voice brought RC’s focus back to the present. The older girl had her hoodie back on and a drawstring bag with every color of the rainbow in her hand. Her signature crooked smile was on her face, her eyes shining. 

“I will, would you pose for me?” RC asked as she pulled out the camera in her phone without breaking eye contact. 

A nervous laugh escaped Rory’s lips. “I’m not good at posing.”

“I didn’t ask if you’re good.”

Rory sighed. Her eyes burned softly into RC’s soul. “Anything for you.”

So, she did. Rory threw a couple poses and RC kept clicking her thumb on the shutter button in between, trying to catch every second she could. Rory didn’t do anything extravagant. Just a simple hand in her back pockets, her fingers running through her hair, a thumb caressed her lower lip as Rory stared right into RC’s eyes. 

I am melting and I am not even going to complain about it.

“You look amazing.” RC said once she could find her voice again.

Rory chuckled and rubbed the back of her neck. It had been a few months, yet RC felt like Rory was still getting used to the compliments thrown her way. 

“Thank you,” Rory said softly, extending her free hand in RC’s direction. “Shall we?”

RC looped her arm around Rory’s as they walked, making up for the time they spent away. So she wasn’t really paying attention to where they were going until the strong scent of chlorine hit her nose.

“Good morning, Miss Alexandre.”

RC forced herself to take her attention away from Rory to the person greeting them. The hotel staff stood behind a counter on the poolside with a rack of fresh towels behind him. 

“Morning, Chris,” Rory greeted back, giving him a subtle wave with her other hand. “Doing okay?”

Chris smiled as the two of them approached him. His eyes trailed from Rory to RC and down to their linked arms. If he had a problem with their… relationship, he didn’t show it. 

“I’m well, thank you for asking,” he said. “I hope you both are doing well too, Miss.”

“This is RC, she’s, uh—”

“Her girlfriend.” The words came out faster than what RC could process. She tried to keep her expression as normal as possible, but she felt Rory’s gaze burn her.

“Yes, of course,” he said. “Always wonderful to have young couples stay with us.”

“Y-yeah.” RC chuckled nervously and cleared her throat. “So, the restaurant, is it this way?”

He extended his arm towards a pathway, where RC could see a bar and restaurants peeking out from the tall plants. “Yes, that way. Have a wonderful day, ladies.”

RC quickly pulled Rory in the direction of the restaurant, eager to get herself out of that situation. It wasn’t like the staff was being creepy, but more the fact that she blurted out the word girlfriend. 

At the restaurant, another staff member guided them to a table near the window overlooking the city.

“So, girlfriend, huh?”

RC let out a hiss. “Yeah, about that. That wasn’t the way I expected it to come out. I was planning to talk to you about it though. Yesterday. But you sounded so tired by your text and I wanted to let you rest for a little bit.”

“Yeah?” Rory asked, still smiling. She moved to take the seat on RC’s side instead of across from her. Her elbows were placed on the table, with one of her fists propped under her jaw. “You were thinking about that?”

A waiter came by, placing two cups of tea on the table before leaving them. Rory offered a cup to RC and held her own slightly in the air, 

“I’m trying to be responsible, so this toast will not be using any alcoholic drink whatsoever, so a cup of tea will be used instead,” Rory said and RC couldn’t help giggling. “To my girlfriend, RC Cullen.”

“And to the best girlfriend in the world, Rory Alexandre.” RC clinked her cup to Rory’s. A matching smile never left their faces. “I’m happy to call you mine,” she couldn’t help but say dreamily and Rory had to cover her mouth to contain her laughs. 

They left the hotel right after breakfast, walking down the sidewalk hand in hand. Rory admitted she didn’t really have a plan for them, but RC didn’t mind. The best days they had were usually filled with spontaneous things and walking around a little bit certainly could be healthy for them.

RC couldn’t help pressing her body to Rory’s as they explored the city. They found a cluster of street vendors and Rory immediately got herself a cheap hot coffee and some hot street food. RC could only give a disapproving look to Rory. The other girl shrugged before she asked if RC would like some. 

“I’m hungry.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“I need the coffee to keep warm.”

“I know how to keep you warm another way.”

Rory choked, droplets of the hot liquid went down to her chin as she coughed. RC put a hand under her jaw and cleaned the corner of lips with a handkerchief. 

She knew exactly how her words sounded and she didn’t regret it one bit. Call it payback from all the times Rory had made her flustered with simple words and gestures . 

“You should’ve worn a coat,” RC said. “Not a hoodie, a coat.”

“They’re the same thing!” Rory’s voice raised an octave. Her brows knitted together in realization and she cleared her throat. “They’re the same thing,” she repeated in her normal voice. 

“Hmm.”

Despite Rory’s lack of understanding about the purpose of weather-appropriate attire, they had a good time together. Then again, they always did, even though all they did was just walk around and sightsee. Sometimes they took photos on their phones, mostly candids. RC always thought that Rory looked the best like that. 

Around lunchtime, RC had to drag her girlfriend to the mall. Rory claimed she wasn’t hungry, but with all the caffeine that girl had in her system, she needed food sooner rather than later. At least the mall would have a lot of options and they’d be staying warm. Well, Rory would be staying warm.

Like RC thought, Rory picked a coffee shop that also served a lot of food that wasn’t just pastries. It had a nice atmosphere, warm and cozy. There were a few types of seating arrangements there and Rory chose one with couches, patting the spot beside her after she sat down.

“Where do you want to go next after this?” Rory asked as she took a bite of her sandwich. 

“Do you think you should spend the next couple of hours out?” RC asked, fiddling with her straw. “You have a long day tomorrow.”

Rory thinned her lips, leaning her head back on the couch. “I don’t want to leave you just yet.”

RC laughed when Rory shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. To people around her, Rory was this reckless girl who never thought twice about punching someone, never doing things halfway. They would never have expected Rory to be this old school romantic.

“What time is your flight tomorrow?” 

“I’m not sure.” Rory pulled out her phone and started scrolling. “I was supposed to leave yesterday with Mama, but I wanted to see you first.”

“Rory…”

“I wanted to see you before I leave,” she repeated stubbornly. “Harley, err, that’s Mama’s assistant, just told me I have two options. A thirty something hour flight from Manchester Regional or twenty-seven from Boston Logan.”

RC’s eyes widened right after. “Boston Logan as in Boston, Massachusetts? That’s in another state, Rory! You drove through there yesterday, didn’t you?”

Rory only smiled sheepishly and RC could only look at her as she finished her food quickly.

“You have to stop pulling stunts like this.” RC sighed exasperatedly. “I can meet you halfway, you know.”

“Okay. Okay, I can do that.” Rory went back to her phone. “I’m telling Harley I’m taking the flight from Boston.”

“Do you want me to call Rose? That way I can drop you off at the airport.”

“You’d do that?”

“Hey, you’re not the only one who’s been missing this,” RC said, gesturing to the space between them. “I want to spend time with you too.”

A smirk slowly formed on Rory’s face. “Even if it’s just lounging around in my hotel room, watching movies, snacking on room service, and probably the most boring one hour car ride to the airport?”

RC smiled and leaned forward with her hands on Rory’s knee. “Well, I don’t mind. You always do that too, staying in my house or my dorm with nothing to do. Let me return the favor.”

Rory turned her body around on the couch so she faced RC directly. With how close their faces were, RC tried to move back, but Rory’s hand on her jaw held her there. The older girl planted a quick peck on RC’s lips before leaning away, getting back to the food in front of her. 

She didn’t expect it. 

They kissed before, of course, but it was always when they were alone, in the house or dorm, or somewhere not in public . Hand-holding and arms around the shoulders were different. Forehead kisses were different. A kiss on the lips? Even just a peck? It wasn’t something RC expected, but would gladly get used to. 

Rory’s my girlfriend . 

After they finished with lunch, they went window shopping for a little bit. RC tried to suppress the smile on her face every time she felt Rory’s arm around her as they strolled.

Seeing Bella with the poor excuse of a person that was Edward made RC think the gesture was a ploy to control her, making her go wherever she was guided. RC knew better though, because Rory wasn’t him . She could never be him, in any way possible.

To RC, Rory’s hold felt like a reminder of what she had missed. A chance to be normal. It also served as a constant reminder of what they could be. A future possibility that RC knew she could have with Rory. Together, knowing that they could and would be there for each other, protect each other. And most importantly, respect each other.

Something that Edward Cullen lacked. 

It was a good thing that Bella left him. Even though it wasn’t...official yet, RC knew they were done. A new chapter—wait, no, a whole new book—awaited her mom. Or, moms?

Self reminder, gotta talk to mom and Rose about that.

The two of them ended up getting back to the hotel in the afternoon with extra shopping bags in their hands. RC had wanted to buy a new jacket for Rory to wear, but the older girl somehow managed to steal one of the jackets RC wore and came out of the store with a new pair of boots. 

Not going to lie, they were nice boots. The only kind of heeled shoes that Rory would buy willingly.

After sending a quick text to Rosalie about the slight change in her plan, RC threw her phone somewhere on the bed before settling down to Rory’s side. Rory had changed out of her jeans, getting back into the shorts she wore earlier that morning. She also gave some extra sweatpants and a t-shirt for RC to wear. It was almost like Rory knew RC would stay over. 

Or maybe it was just Rory being Rory. Ready for anything.

They completely ignored the 4K TV provided by the hotel and opted out with Rory’s laptop for entertainment. Even with all that space on the bed, RC couldn’t stay far from Rory. The older girl didn’t seem to mind, since she always tightened her hold around RC’s waist or shoulder everytime she shifted. 

A gesture that easily translated to don’t go . RC smiled every time, burying her face in the crook of Rory’s neck, taking in the scent that purely belonged to Rory . Coffee, mint, and a hint of whatever perfume she wore. 

RC missed the feeling. It hadn’t been that long, but somehow she felt like years had passed. She was addicted, drunk on the euphoria, or whatever it was supposed to be, because RC had never felt something quite like it. 

With her mom and Rosalie, it was different. Almost the same to some extent, but still different. RC loved her parents, her family, there was no denying that. But Rory? 

No matter how many books and thesauruses she read, RC didn’t think words could describe her feelings properly. 

Somewhere during the second movie, they decided to order some dinner. Basically it was just pasta, burgers and some ice cream. The ice cream was the most important. When the knock on the door came, Rory didn’t let the hotel staff in. She pulled a bill out of her pocket and wheeled the tray inside.

“One ice cream sundae of mint chip, cookies and cream, and strawberry, coming right up.” 

RC sat up, pushing the laptop away to make more room on the bed. Rory put the sundae on the bed, which was still on the silver tray. When RC gave her a look, Rory just shrugged.

“Less mess on the bed,” Rory said. “I’m not paying extra for it.”

“But you want to pay extra for room service? We can get pasta and burgers for way less in the city,” RC commented as she took a scoop of the ice cream.

“I thought about what you said.” Rory leaned back on her elbow, opening her mouth when RC offered her spoon. “Netflix and chill doesn’t sound so bad. Besides, it's getting cold outside.”

RC arched an eyebrow. “Rory, you’re eating ice cream for dinner.”

“Yeah, in my room, and I have a heater.”

“Places outside have heaters too.”

“I’m not talking about space heaters, I’m talking about you,” Rory said with a smirk. “I don’t think I ever asked why you are always running so hot.”

Usually, RC would blush profoundly at the words, but not lately. The corners of her mouth curled up in a knowing smile and she tilted her head to one side. “You think I’m hot?”

 Rory scooted closer on the bed and leaned closer. Their faces were inches apart and she whispered, “You, RC Cullen, are blazing. Literally and figuratively.” 

She narrowed her eyes playfully, kissing Rory on the lips softly. “You should thank my genes then.”

“Your genes?”

“I don’t think I told you this yet.” They way RC said that sounded more like a question than a statement. Her eyebrows were knitted together, trying to remember if she did share that part of her life to Rory. “I’m not a vampire like the rest of my family,” she started. “My mom gave birth to me when she was still human. Edward changed her right after that. It was probably the only time Edward did something right, not letting Bella die on that table.”

Rory hummed under her breath, slowly scooping another spoon full of mint chip ice cream. “You’re half-vampire, half-human,” she concluded. “How does that make you hotter than normal though? Logically, if vampires are walking refrigerators, half-vampires are supposed to be between that and average human body temperature, aren’t they?”

RC couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her lips. Soon, the sound of their shared laugh filled the room, the movie playing in Rory’s laptop became a background noise. 

“Truthfully, I have no idea,” RC admitted. “I can count the number of hybrids in the world with one hand. There are only a handful of us, so many things aren’t really clear.”

“What other things distinguish you from vampires?”

“Well, we can survive on both human food and blood when vampires can only survive with the latter. Vampires no longer have functioning organs, because you know, they’re dead, but since I’m half-human, everything that’s going on inside my body is basically the same as yours. Although, my heart rate and body temperature are higher than normal humans. Oh, and the most ridiculous thing of all, in my opinion.”

Rory’s smile widened, reaching her eyes. “What?”

“Vampire’s skin sparkles under the sun, like diamonds,” RC said. “Mine only glows. That’s why we have to stick to a place with constant cloud cover, so people wouldn’t notice. Their golden eyes are already unusual, imagine if people see my family as a walking prism.”

“A walking prism?” Rory said, chuckling. “That’s original.” 

RC just stared at her girlfriend, drinking in how relaxed and content Rory looked. It was so clear, by how the corner of her mouth always twitched before looping into a smile. How RC could see the gleam in the warmth of Rory’s eyes. How she found comfort in physical touch, having Rory’s fingers tracing patterns on the back of RC’s hand.

She never felt like that with anybody else before. RC made a promise to herself to always treasure every minute they spent together. 

Temperature rarely affected RC in any way. Hot or cold didn’t really bother her. Well, cold never bothered her. Heat? RC never really got a chance to experience the sun other than getting the literal ‘glowing skin’.

But the next morning, RC felt warm . She felt the sheet under her body, the soft skin just under her fingertips, something tickling her neck. RC lazily ran her finger up and down, but other than the constant, oddly comfortable weight on top of her, she didn’t feel anything. It wasn’t until she heard a low, hoarse groan that RC’s eyes snapped open. 

RC tried to look around, but she couldn’t move around with Rory laying on top of her. RC’s fingers froze in their tracks and she tried to look down. She couldn’t see much, but she saw Rory’s shirt riding up halfway, showing the skin of her back and waist where RC’s hand was taking place. 

When RC started to remove her hand, Rory’s arm around her body tightened and Rory buried her face deeper into RC’s shirt. Well, the shirt that RC borrowed. 

“Don’t go.”

RC smiled at the roughness of Rory’s morning voice, laced with sleep. “We have to get you to the airport, remember? You’re going to miss your flight.”

“Okay,” Rory said, but she didn’t actually wake up until ten minutes later. She sat up on the bed, rubbing her eyes. RC could see the mark from her shirt on Rory’s cheek. Rory gave her a tired smile, before leaning down and leaving a chaste kiss on RC’s lips. “I’m going to take a shower alright? You can call the restaurant and see if they can bring our breakfast here if you want.”

As it turned out, they could. RC placed an order for two breakfast specials, two lattes and a cup of tea, which came surprisingly fast. The two of them were just finishing getting dressed—separately, because RC wasn’t sure if she could handle being almost naked in a room when Rory stood three feet away—when the staff knocked on the door. 

Usually, Rory would dive right into her food, especially when coffee was involved, but not that morning. She actually sat down and slowly chewed on her food, savoring her coffee while throwing soft smiles and touches to RC. 

RC could be hallucinating but she dared to swear that Rory was stalling because she didn’t want to leave.

The stalling didn’t last long as Rory’s notifications kept going off. With a sigh, Rory checked her phone before she started to pack up the rest of her things. “That’s Harley making sure I actually woke up on time. She thinks that I’ll bail and run off with you or something.”

“Do you?”

Rory’s eyebrows quirked up.

“Want to run off with me,” RC continued. 

“Maybe.” Rory shrugged, smiling coyly. “But then Bella and Rosalie will track us down and make me sorry for taking you away from them.”

They left not long after that. Rosalie’s car was parked in the closest spot to the entrance and RC could make out her aunt’s features in the driver’s seat through the tinted windows. 

“How long do you think Rosalie has been waiting?” Rory asked as they walked to the car hand in hand.

“ A while .” RC heard Rosalie’s voice answer, making her halt just a second before continuing her steps. She just hoped Rory didn’t notice.

“Don’t worry about it,” RC said, giving Rory’s hand a gentle squeeze. 

RC couldn’t help but open the door for Rory and the older girl chuckled at the gesture. 

“You guys seem like you had fun,” Rosalie said once they hit the road. 

It took RC by surprise, she didn’t think Rosalie would be the one breaking the silence in the car. She glanced at the rearview mirror, catching Rory’s eyes. 

“We took a walk, stayed in and ordered room service.” Rory moved closer towards the two front seats. “We didn’t do anything stupid and reckless. I promised, didn’t I?”

“No, you did not.” 

A silence filled the car as Rosalie drove down south. The red line in the speedometer kept rising and rising once they got onto the highway.  For most of the ride, the only sound accompanying them was the radio. Well, if the radio counted as the playlist from RC’s phone that connected to the audio system. 

Somewhere on the way, RC decided to crawl into the back seat, much to Rosalie’s chagrin, saying something about getting dirt all over the interior of her car. The slightest smile on Rosalie’s lips made RC certain that her aunt wasn’t really mad. 

They continued the drive in silence and RC could feel herself falling asleep. She felt Rory’s hand snake around her shoulders and pull her closer. 

“I’ll wake you up.” RC heard the whisper, or maybe she was dreaming with the fingers combing through her hair as she buried herself in Rory’s neck. RC inhaled deeply, trying to savor everything she could. The shampoo Rory used, the faintest smell of perfume, and the coffee and mint that just screamed Rory. Who knew the next time she would have this?

It felt way too soon when Rory woke her up. When RC sat up, she could see they were entering the airport to the drop off area. She might be a little dramatic, but RC felt her stomach drop, her heart cracked with every single passing second. 

Rory didn’t let go of her hold around RC’s shoulders when the car stopped in the drop off area, the farthest part so they wouldn't get in the way of other people. 

Rosalie got out of the car, leaving the two girls behind, giving some kind of privacy for their goodbyes. It wasn’t like she could hear anything, because no words were spoken. Rory turned so she could hug RC properly. Her chin rested comfortably in the crook of RC’s neck. RC could feel the soft breaths hitting it, steady and controlled. Too controlled, as if Rory was trying not to break down. 

“Is it selfish of me for not wanting you to leave?” RC whispered under her breath. Her voice was so quiet, she wouldn’t be surprised if Rory didn’t hear her. 

But of course Rory heard her. 

“No.” Rory tightened her hug and RC welcomed the feeling of being in her girlfriend’s arms. A feeling she just had and wasn’t ready to let go. “A part of me wants to stay, too.” Rory’s hold loosened and she stared right into RC’s warm eyes. “But we can’t always get what we want, can we? We just make the most of what we got.”

When they got out of the car, Rory’s bag was already out of the trunk with Rosalie standing patiently beside it. Rory offered an appreciative nod and moved to grab her bag. A cold hand stopped her.

“Listen, I don’t know your business in Spain, whether it’s really a family matter or just a cover up for your…other affair.”

Rory raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.

“RC cares a lot about you. I don’t think you even realize how much. For her sake, I’m begging you, Veronica, be careful.” Rosalie’s look bored right into Rory, making sure every word was well-understood. “Don’t go gallivanting around Europe and do something so reckless, it ends with RC’s heart broken. You and I both know we don’t want that.”

Rory replied with a short nod before holding her right hand over her heart, her fingers bent slightly. “I will come back, I swear. I hope you don’t mind but I’m not ready to let go of your—uhh, I’m not ready to let go of RC. Not yet.”

“Good.”

Her girlfriend barely spent a second before RC threw her arms around Rory’s neck again. “I’m going to miss you. A lot. Call me okay? I don’t care about the timezone.”

RC felt the vibration from Rory’s muffled laugh and she couldn’t help but let out a teary smile.

“Okay, I promise.” Rory pulled away to plant a soft kiss on the side of RC’s head. “I’ll come back to you, I promise.” []

Chapter Text

Aside from being away on school breaks, RC and Rory were almost always together. When Rory went home to New York, she’d always call, check in, and somehow always managed to get back to New Hampshire early, magically popping up on RC’s doorstep with the trademark lopsided smile of hers.

The recent break felt different somehow. They video called when Rory was on the plane and texted after she landed. Everything seemed okay, but something in RC’s gut told her something else was brewing.

About two days before they were supposed to be back at school, Rory called. RC knew something wasn’t right by the first time Rory said her name. She sounded apologetic and so damn tired . Rory’s voice was breathless, in a bad way, and from the phone, RC wouldn’t be surprised if Rory broke down right then and there.

RC knew not to expect good news, but when Rory said she wouldn’t be back in time for the new quarter, RC couldn’t help the disappointment that brewed inside her. Whatever family thing Rory had to deal with in Spain was finished, something about the business and what-not. Then there was the demigod thing.

Rory didn’t dwell in too much detail, only telling RC about the basics of her...mission? Quest? Which apparently included a security detail, whatever that was supposed to mean. RC had a few ideas of what that mission entailed and every scenario she had in her head, didn’t really end on a good note. 

She didn’t bother to hide her worries from her family. Esme only gave her a sympathetic smile while giving a light kiss on her temple, a silent gesture to give her a little comfort. It didn’t work as well as it usually did, unfortunately. Then again, there wasn’t a lot that could bring the same comfort these days, aside from Rory and her mom. Or, moms?

That part of her life was still complicated beyond belief. As a poor attempt to not overthink every bad what-if that could happen to her girlfriend, RC planned to distract herself with whatever it was that went on between her mom and Rosalie.

Yeah, that would have to do. 

“Still no word from Rory?” Bella asked as they drove down to campus for the first day back. 

“No.” RC sighed, propping her elbow on the door. “She texted yesterday, but that’s about it.”

“Did she tell you what she’s doing?”

“Demigod stuff. I know enough not to ask.”

“Are you not—”

“Can we not talk about Rory right now?” RC said sharply. “I’d rather talk about you.”

Bella hit down harder on the accelerator, making the red lines move farther to the right. RC rolled her eyes mentally at her mom’s behavior. She kept quiet instead, occasionally throwing a glance at her mom in the driver’s seat.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later when Bella broke the silence. “Jasper is helping me to rush the divorce and every legal element that comes with it. You already know I’m moving back to the main house, while he...well, I don’t really give a fuck about where he ended up, but i know he won’t end up back with us.”

RC nodded, mumbling a ‘good’ under her breath. She didn’t even bother to cover the wide smile that bloomed on her face. 

“What Edward and I had, I think that has been over for a while now, RC. The divorce was just a piece of paper to make everything legit. Well, as legit as it can be with our situation. You don’t have to worry about any of this alright?”

RC didn’t say anything, but Bella took it as an answer. 

The rest of the drive to campus was quiet, except for the faint sounds from the radio, tuning to some old school rock station that always played songs RC had never even heard of. Bella had an odd sense of music like that. One minute she could dwell in a pool of classical songs, and the next minute, some grunge-rock songs would blast out of her speaker. 

She had learned that there was no getting in between Bella and her music in the car. Although, Rosalie might have better luck in that department. 

Days went much slower when RC didn’t have anything to look forward to once her classes ended. No one leaned on the wall by her classroom, no one lounged in her bed when she got back to the dorms, no one picked her up with a cup of hot cocoa and a bright smile that always made RC forget how much she hated her assignments. 

And by no one, RC meant Rory.

RC knew she couldn’t exactly ask her friends about Rory. She wasn’t even sure if Rory told them anything. Keeping a secret like her family’s was already hard enough and Rory had been keeping two of those to herself. 

In that moment, RC’s appreciation for the older girl shot through the roof.

There was only so much that RC could tell her friends about why Rory didn’t come back to school with them. Rumors flew around the school like a virus, saying ridiculous things from Rory getting involved with gangs to simply getting bored with school life and just decided to disappear off the face of the earth.

But RC didn’t have to dwell on that subject for too long, because people being people, found another thing to talk about after a few days. That other thing being Rosalie. 

To say that RC was surprised when she saw Rosalie strutting through the campus quad with Bella was an understatement of the century. Sure, Rosalie would come by once in a while, but it was usually to take RC away or when Rory asked for her help—only the latter was only temporarily. 

Rosalie didn’t usually come for Bella. 

She leaned on the wall casually, in the shadow just outside of the library. A pair of sunglasses and a hat covered almost half of her face, especially when Rosalie looked down to scroll through her phone. 

RC knew that Rosalie definitely noticed her staring, but Rosalie only looked up when Bella approached her. The two vampires didn’t even spare a glance to RC across the yard. They talked for a bit before walking away towards Rosalie’s convertible. 

“Damn, I wished I could date somebody as gorgeous as your sisters.”

The words managed to bring RC back to the present. She blinked rapidly as she turned to face her friend, staring at Becker in disbelief.

“What? I’m not blind you know.”

“They’re my sisters , Becker,” RC said, slapping the back of Becker’s head lightly. “Stop making it weird.”

Weirder that it already was , RC wanted to say. Becker was a nice guy, there was no denying that, but the thought of him thinking that RC’s mother and aunt—who she was sure would change status to her other mom—were hot and gorgeous just brought out the worst kind of feelings. 

“But seriously, good genes run in your family. Maybe it’s why your sister doesn’t come here often—to not make us mere commoners feel jealous of your beauty. Just imagine if yours and Rory’s genes mixed together. Supermodels, definitely.”

RC sighed exasperatedly . “Becker?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”

RC was determined to find out why Rosalie came to campus for Bella. Rosalie never really visited, excluding dropping RC and Rory off every Monday or coming after RC asked her. 

Never Bella though. 

The universe agreed with her, because that night after she finished out some notes from her class, Bella and Rosalie came into her dorm. Bella was still dressed as if she just left the library, despite doing just that a few hours before. Her fake glasses perched on the bridge of her nose. She toyed with the strap of her backpack as she kept moving her weight from one foot to another. At that moment, Bella really looked like a college senior—doing student stuff and thinking about what she wanted to do after graduating, instead of dealing with vampire break ups and whatever else was going on in their family.

RC barely opened her mouth before Rosalie told her to get ready. She tried really, to figure out what her...basically two moms, wanted her to do. The two women didn’t give much information to RC other than ‘get your jacket’ and ‘come with us’. 

Bella zoomed into the room and took RC’s jacket from the desk chair, holding it out for her daughter to wear. RC gave them weird looks the entire time, even as they walked out of the building and disappeared into the night. 

It was easy for RC to forget the thoughts weighing in her head as she ran, cutting through the trees of New Hampshire. Or maybe they crossed into Vermont already? 

The wind blew hard on her face, the cold air of the night seeped into her skin. RC ran right behind Bella and Rosalie wasn’t far from them. She still didn’t know where they were going, she was never good with directions anyway. 

When Bella finally stopped, RC was starting to run out of breath. It wasn’t until she stopped moving that RC felt like her limbs were set on fire. Her limbs and her lungs. She didn’t even know hybrids could experience it, being out of breath and utterly exhausted physically. So normal, so human . 

RC groaned as she dropped onto her knees, slowly getting out of her jacket, trying to get as much of the cool air as possible. She heard her mother’s chuckle from somewhere around her before a water bottle was held in front of her face. 

Glancing up, RC’s eyebrows were raised, meeting Bella’s golden eyes which were practically shining under the moonlight. 

“Feeling tired already?” Bella teased as she ruffled RC’s hair. 

“Bella.” Rosalie’s voice laced with a firm warning, but RC detected the playfulness behind it. “Don’t be like that.”

“Yeah, Mom, listen to Rose. Don’t be like that.”

“Oh, shut up you,” Bella said, putting her backpack on the ground and pulling out a blanket for them to sit on. Rosalie quickly got comfortable next to Bella.  RC wasn’t sure if she should feel jealous or happy of the fact that Rose voluntarily chose to be close to Bella instead of her. 

Bella grabbed a few chocolate bars, giving them to RC before she gave a huge thermos to Rosalie, who picked it up gladly. RC only had to wait a second to know the content of said thermos when Rosalie opened the lid. Fresh blood. 

Rosalie took a big gulp, licking the leftover blood off her lips when she was done. It didn’t escape RC’s notice that her mother never really took her eyes off the blonde vampire. 

Ew. Sweet, but ew. 

“Y-you got something.” Bella pointed to her own lips.

“Hmm?” Rosalie bit her lower lip as Bella reached out, cupping Rosalie’s jaw in her hand as she wiped the corner of Rosalie’s lips with her thumb. 

“All gone?” Rose asked again, accompanied with a smile that was previously reserved for RC only. She didn’t even try to move away from Bella’s hold of her face. Rosalie looked at peace, comfortable at a level that RC never realized before. 

“All gone,” Bella repeated before bringing her thumb to her own lips, not breaking eye contact with Rosalie.

RC had to use every bit of will in her body to not vomit at the exchange. She shuddered lightly and said, “Please get a room. I love you two, very very much, but please leave the lovey-dovey thing behind closed doors, okay? I feel like I’m too old to be traumatized by my parents.”

Bella scoffed in response. “Please, it’s not like you and Rory didn’t get handsy with each other in the presence of others. Do you really think it’s easy for me to see my kid acting so grown up?”

“Hey, I am a grown up!”

“Not compared to us, you’re not,” Rosalie fired back, moving closer to RC’s side. “No matter how old you get, you will always be our little RC. My Little Lily.”

No matter how hard she tried, RC couldn’t fight the smile on her face. She picked at the wrapper in her hand, taking a huge bite of the chocolate. “Why are we here anyway?”

“Do I need a reason to spend time with you?” 

RC thinned her lips and shrugged slowly, uncertainty basically surrounded her like a cocoon. As time flew by, RC started to realize her feelings of doubt and hesitancy about things going on around her. 

With Rory for example. At first, she thought her little crush on Rory was just that. The more time they spent together, the more RC learned about her, the more she saw who Rory really was under all that bravado, the harder she fell. And then when RC thought they were going great, Rory had to leave. 

Was staying at Dartmouth, not ending things before they began, really the right thing to do? Because that night, with Bella and Rosalie, sitting in the dark under the moon and stars, away from people, the doubts creeped in. 

“Hey, no, don’t do that. I can practically hear your train of thoughts from over here.” Bella shook her head before moving to sit right in front of RC. “The reason Rose and I brought you here is because we heard the conversation you had with your friend. About the two of us and dating.”

“I can only imagine how awkward it must be, especially when we are posing as your sisters and not your parents.”

RC shrugged it off, not looking Bella and Rosalie in the eyes. “Well, you’re together, aren’t you? It’s bound to happen. I’m just glad you left him.” 

The wind blew a little harder and RC instinctively pulled her knees to her chest. 

“You don’t look so ecstatic, Little Lily.” Rosalie brushed the hair out of RC’s face, tucking them behind her ears. RC leaned in to the touch as she drew a deep breath. 

“RC, the last thing I want to do is make everything harder on you. Yes, Edward is not in the picture anymore, he hasn’t really been in it since the beginning, but I’m starting to realize there are after effects which, well, affects you. Especially when Rose and I, well,” Bella let out a nervous chuckle. “You know.”

“Together?” RC prompted. 

A loud laugh escaped Bella’s lips, a sound so contagious, RC couldn’t help but smile. “My ears are still getting used to hearing that.”

“But we’re not,” Rosalie suddenly said. “Official, I mean. Bella and I are not at the same place as you and Rory yet. We are trying to figure a few things out as well, but we care about each other. That much is true.”

The last chunk of the chocolate bar disappeared into RC’s mouth. She kept playing with the wrapper as the thermos was passed around between Rosalie and Bella. 

“On that note, there is something we want to talk to you about.”

RC’s brows furrowed. She moved on the blanket so she faced Bella and Rosalie. She couldn’t really read Rosalie’s face, but Bella looked somewhat nervous. Her gold eyes kept glancing downwards and her foot shook lightly. RC raised an eyebrow at them and Bella cleared her throat. 

“Well, uh, t-there’s, there—”

Rosalie reached out to cover Bella’s hand with her own. If Bella was still human, the blush would cover her face, up to the tip of her ears. Bella let out a breathless chuckle before intertwining their fingers together.

“A thought came to us while we were talking,” Rosalie started. Her thumb slowly rubbed the back of Bella’s hand. “When we moved here, the story we use is that you and Bella were adopted by my parents, which makes us siblings in people’s eyes. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

RC forced down a gulp. She knew exactly where the talk was going. “Are we moving away?”

Bella smiled sadly. “We’re still not sure. Every scenario isn’t ideal. We’d have to leave eventually, since I’m graduating, but Rose and I don’t want to leave you with everyone.”

“And I don’t want to leave.” RC shook her head, her fists balled. “Rory isn’t back . She promised she’d come back here. I can’t not be here when Rory comes back.” 

“You haven’t heard from her in over a week, Lily.”

“She’s on another continent, Rose. There’s a time difference and she’s busy.” At that point, RC wasn’t sure who she was trying to convince. Rosalie or herself?

“And she is so preoccupied, she can’t give you a call? What if she—”

“Rory will come back. She promised.”

She heard something high pitched and it took a second for RC to realize that it was her own voice cracking with every word. Her eyes burned and her chest tightened. She wanted to be mad. How could they even think about leaving? When Rory was still out there doing heaven knows what? 

Rory could be out there, alone, hoping to come back to something familiar, only to find an empty house with RC nowhere to be found. 

I’m not him. I’m not doing that .

“No,” RC repeated, her voice hardened. “No. H-how are you thinking about moving away right after you break things off with Edward? Aren’t there some legal paperwork things you need to sort out first?”

“Jasper and Alice are helping with that. You know how they are.”

RC let out a scoff. “If you want to leave, go. See if I care, but I’m not coming with you.”

There was something in Rosalie’s eyes. Hurt or disappointment, RC wouldn’t know. It disappeared as quickly as it flashed by.

“Lily, listen, it’s still a plan alright? We’re not going to pack up and leave tomorrow.” Rosalie sighed, sat up straighter if that was even possible. “All we’re saying is that, we will have to move eventually and when that time comes, Bella and I would like it if you came with us. Just the three of us.”

Bella gave Rosalie’s hand a squeeze before saying, “and as for Rosalie and I. We feel like it’s better if we don’t… publicize anything. I don’t want your friends to see you differently if they know.”

“I don’t care what they think.”

“See, I think you do, RC,” Bella replied. “Being like them, to be normal kids doing normal things, it’s what you wanted. It’s the reason you moved to the dorms in Dartmouth, the reason we’re here.”

“Mom—”

“Let us do this for you, Little Lily. You deserve it.”

“Yeah, but you deserve to not hide in the closet either,” RC fired back, making Rosalie chuckled a little.

“We can’t have it all, can we?”

RC bit her lip as her brain failed to come up with something to tell Rosalie that it was okay. That she was okay. So, she settled on the next best thing.

She launched herself between Rosalie and Bella, forcing the two women to make room for her. Bella let out a quiet laugh at her antics and almost didn’t scoot over, only releasing Rosalie’s hand at the last moment possible. 

“I suppose we can have this tonight. Right, Rose?”

An angelic laugh rang through the air. RC buried her head deeper into Rosalie’s shoulder and hugged her mom’s arm to her chest. She felt two cold lips on her skin as she took a deep breath, savoring the moment. 

“Of course we can.” []

The night was getting colder when Rosalie and Bella snuck into RC’s room from the window. Their little girl fell asleep not long after their talk, relaxing in her parents’ embrace. RC didn’t even try to stay awake as Bella put her on her back before running towards the dorm. 

When Bella placed RC gently on her bed, the wind blew in from the opened window, making a few papers on the desk rustle. A particular paper caught Rosalie’s eyes and she walked over.

Rosalie knew that RC was not the messy kind of student. Rory was. So, it was unusual for RC to have so many things littered on the surface of her desk. The paper Rosalie saw was half buried under several notes with a handwriting that was clearly not RC’s.

It looked worn out, yellowing, eaten with time. The uneven edges made it barely resemble a rectangle and more of a ripped out page. Or maybe it was ripped out of some book from ancient times.

There is no excuse I can give you. I know I’ve been gone for a while. Things went south and south-er, but don’t worry, I’m still alive and breathing. I really, really hope I paid the right person to deliver this. I need to wrap things up over here, but I’ll see you soon okay? 

With love, Rory 

The corner of Rosalie’s lips curled up in a smile as she read the note. Of course Rory would do anything to get to RC. 

A pair of arms snaked around Rosalie’s waist and she melted into it. She threw her head back slightly, leaning on Bella’s shoulder. 

“Rory?”

Rosalie hummed in response. “Lily’s in good hands, isn’t she?”

“Yes,” Bella breathed out. “Yes, she is.” []

Chapter Text

RC felt amazing. 

She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so light and cheerful. Actually, she could remember and it was with Rory. Everything always seemed easy when they were together, but then Rory left and RC had to relearn how to be someone without someone holding her hand. 

After the little getaway Bella and Rosalie dragged her through, RC woke up to a note on her desk. Rory’s handwriting filled the old paper, written with something that definitely was not a regular pen. She couldn’t help the smile on her face as she read it. Words after words. RC had to admit, Rory had some talents on making something so dangerous sound so… mundane. 

But, she believed in Rory. 

RC treated herself with a cup of mocha—the only kind of coffee she could handle—before getting to class. She sent some texts to Bella and Rosalie, thanking them for the little distraction. 

Once RC settled in her seat at the back of the class, she heard someone move and take the seat beside her. Laurel was staring with one eyebrow arched, expecting something. 

“Did Rory finally text you?” Laurel asked. “You’re more chipper than usual.”

“Rory checked in,” RC said, leaving out the part where the ‘check in’ part was through a magic old-school letter and not from instant messaging. “She apologized for being off-grid and said that she’d be back soon after finishing…something.”

Laurel hummed before turning away. RC watched as the girl leaned back in her seat and her eyes went elsewhere. It could’ve been either only two seconds, or two minutes of silence between them. RC stayed quiet, because something in her gut told her that Laurel had something to say.

“Is Rory always secretive with you?” Laurel asked, turning to face RC again. She seemed contemplative and RC knew she had to be very careful in answering whatever questions her friend had. 

“It’s just that Rory and I have been roommates for almost a year,” Laurel continued, “and I really don’t know a lot about her? To be honest, I was surprised when she actually got herself a girlfriend because she never seemed to open up to anyone. Ever. Until you.”

Until you. 

The word rang in RC’s ears. She wasn’t sure about how much of Rory’s life that she could tell Laurel. How much Laurel already knew? One wrong word and Rory’s life could be put in the spotlight, her secrets out. It wouldn’t be long until people made the connection between Rory and the Cullens and RC would be forced to move again.

“She’s vague, I’m not gonna lie. There are times when she would drop a bomb and act as though what she just said was completely normal.”

“What did she say?”

RC exhaled a breath. “Something about going through an accident, I think. Falling from, I don’t know, a cliff or some other high place. She completely brushed it off like it wasn’t a big deal. So, I’m thinking that Rory’s been through a lot. She’s afraid to let anyone in, either because she doesn’t want them to see where she has been, or because she doesn’t want to see them leave.”

RC traced the thread in her bag, but she could see Laurel from the corner of her eyes. The girl pinched the bridge of her nose and said, “When you talk to her again, would you tell her to give me a text? Or something, I don’t know. Tell me that she’s alright.”

Laurel’s expression threw RC by surprise, just a little bit. While Rory seemed to really hit it off with a lot of people on the campus, it never crossed her mind that none of those people knew Rory. The real Rory. And it just dawned on her that most students knew Rory as Veronica, because she definitely remembered calling out a random guy who called her Rory. She believed the exact words were ‘ my friends call me Rory. Just because we’re in the same class, doesn’t mean we’re immediately friends. For now you can call me Veronica. Or Alexandre. Whichever you prefer.’

She just never really thought that Laurel was one of those people. It made RC realize how alone Rory was, living in two worlds but having no one to share that with.

“I will talk to her, don’t worry,” RC said, tapping at Laurel’s hand lightly. “Sometimes she needs a reminder.”

“That she actually has people who care about her?”

A small laugh escaped RC’s lips. “Yeah, basically.”

“Alright. Thanks RC.” 

With a tight smile, Laurel moved back to her seat up front and RC could only stare at her friend. 

The rest of the day went by in a blur for RC. In a way, it felt so fast yet so slow at the same time. Maybe it was because the only thing stuck in her thoughts was that Rory would come back sometime soon. Hopefully, very, very soon.

But sometimes RC just loathed the way the universe worked. Because a day turned into two, and then four. Before she realized it, a week passed by since she got the note from Rory and RC had zero information about her girlfriend’s whereabouts. 

Her stomach started to fill with dread that she chose to ignore.

So, that Friday she tagged along when Rosalie came by the campus to pick Bella up. RC was hoping that Alice could see something , even just a tiny bit, about where Rory was. Because the tiny voice in the back of her head started to tell her that something terrible had happened to Rory and RC wasn’t there to help her. 

Rosalie's car barely stopped in the driveway when RC jumped out, earning several scoffs from Rosalie and Bella. RC didn’t really care though, she just needed to get to Alice as soon as possible. 

Alice had her sketchbook in her hands when RC found her and she didn’t even have to stop and breathe before her aunt turned to her. “You want me to try and see where Rory is.”

RC could hear her own breathing as she felt her anxiety creeping in, second by second. Alice noticed this and offered her a sympathetic smile as she patted the spot next to her on the couch. RC reluctantly took a seat, even though every inch of her body wanted to move , wanted to do something . Anything. 

“You know I can’t really see her, RC,” Alice said softly. She wrapped her arm around RC’s shoulders, forcing the hybrid to lean back on the couch to relax. Alice couldn’t achieve the latter though, because RC’s shoulders felt as taut as a pulled bow string, waiting to be released. 

“I know.”

“I did see her mother.”

That little sentence made RC shot up, staring her aunt dead in the eyes. “ What?! ”

“Rory’s mother,” Alice repeated. “I saw her in Rory’s dorm with a man. He looked only a few years older than Rory. They were packing.”

“Packing?” RC’s brows furrowed together. Why the hell were they clearing out Rory’s room? Rory didn’t say anything about dropping out of school or moving dorms. 

Alice thinned her lips, contemplating if she should share the next bit of information with RC. 

“Alice, please, just spit it out.”

“I think something happened to Rory.”

That was the exact moment RC felt her world come crashing down. 

With Rosalie taking the car to...somewhere, RC almost ran back to Dartmouth before Emmett got his Jeep out of the garage. One of these days, she needed to learn to drive. 

Emmett didn’t say much the entire way and RC was grateful for that. RC didn’t think she had it in her to do anything but think about Rory, about every scenario involving her mother packing up her room. 

Rory’s just moving dorms, right? 

Because RC would rather live knowing Rory moved dorms or dropped out of school than knowing Rory didn’t surv— No!  

After Emmett parked his car, RC didn’t get out. Her fingers twitched in her lap, like they wanted to move and open the door in reflex, but RC stayed still. Her body was slowly but surely getting even warmer than usual. 

She gazed at the dormitory building, at the identical windows scattering the outside of the wall. They were tinted windows, but sometimes when RC really tried, she could see brief movement from the other side. Rory’s and Laurel’s to be exact.

It was what she saw again and just for a second, RC pretended it was Rory. That it was just her girlfriend doing mundane stuff in her dorm, instead of venturing to somewhere unknown where RC couldn’t even reach her.

“Do you want me to go with you?”

“Hmm?”

Emmett tapped his fingers on the steering wheel before pointing to the direction of the main entrance. “To go up and check her room.”

“Okay.”

The way from the main entrance to Rory’s dorm was a familiar one, but with every step RC took, the dread and fear came in waves. RC could only take a deep breath and once in a while, she reached out to squeeze Emmett’s hand. 

When they got onto Rory’s floor, RC saw a figure in front of her, walking in the same direction as Rory’s room. For a split second, RC wanted to yell out Rory’s name, to run forward and kiss her senseless. 

But it wasn’t Rory. 

She already knew it wasn’t Rory, but she couldn’t help the disappointment when the figure turned to open the door and caught RC standing in the hallway a few feet away.

“Oh, hi RC,” Laurel said, giving her a little wave before her eyes moved to Emmett and her eyebrow arched. “Who’s this?”

RC scrambled for an answer since she couldn’t exactly tell Laurel that Emmett was her uncle. 

“Emmett.” 

The sound brought RC back to reality. She blinked a few times as Emmett stepped forward, offering his hand for Laurel to shake. 

Thankfully, Laurel didn’t press the matter. She flashed her thousand-watt smile and took Emmett’s hand. “Laurel. I think I’ve seen you around, Emmett.”

“Well, yeah, I drop by sometimes,” Emmett said. “You’re going to your room?”

“Yeah, Rory’s mom called. She should be here any minute now.”

That sentence seemed to restart RC’s brain, making her remember why she went back to campus in the first place. She stepped closer to Laurel and the two of them walked together. 

“Why did Rory’s mom call you?”

From the corner of her eyes, RC saw Laurel shrugging. “Something about getting a few of Rory’s stuff. From the sound of it, I don’t think Rory calls or texts her mom either, so we’re not alone in that department.”

“For some reason, that doesn’t comfort me at all. What’s up with that girl?” RC grumbled under her breath and Laurel chuckled because of it. 

“I don’t know. I’m not the one dating her.”

“But you’re her roommate,” RC said, “and that makes Rory as important to you as she is to me.”

“We haven’t really been roommates since she started sleeping with you.”

A low growl came from behind the two girls. RC knew it was just Emmett, but she just never expected for him, or anyone in her family finding out about her and Rory being at that stage of their relationship. Sometimes, it still felt weird when they were all together and having Rory put her arm around RC’s shoulders, planting sweet kisses on her temple. Sure, they knew about her visiting Rory at her hotel a few weeks back, and Rory practically implied to Rosalie that they slept on the same bed. But it was different. It was Rosalie.

This newest revelation to Emmett? Awkward didn’t even begin to cover it. 

“I, uh, I--”

Laurel laughed at RC’s loss of words. “I’m just teasing. Come on, I’m sure you want to meet Mrs. Alexandre.”

Emmett decided to wait in the hallway as RC and Laurel went into the room. It really had been awhile since the last time RC was there. Everything looked familiar yet different at the same time. She knew though, deep down, it was because Rory wasn’t with them.

They never replaced the bed Rory made for the room, the one Becker broke when decorating for Rory’s last birthday. Rory’s bed was still slightly ruffled, but there were no clothes or random things on it. Mainly because those things had already been moved to RC’s room. 

If only Rory were there when RC went back.

RC wasn’t sure how long she had been waiting, sitting at the edge of Rory’s bed, tracing threads and patterns on the sheets with her fingers. She didn’t pay much attention to Laurel as the girl walked around the room anxiously puttering around. 

Maybe Laurel was as anxious as she was, waiting for Rory’s mom to come. Hopefully with some news about Rory’s whereabouts.

After what felt like years, RC picked up a foreign scent and the series of footsteps that followed. With every step, RC’s heart started to beat louder in her ears. Or maybe it was Laurel’s.

Well, it was definitely Laurel’s erratic heartbeat that RC heard when the knock finally came. 

Laurel sprung up from her desk to open the door and was greeted by the sight of a woman that looked like Rory in every single way, albeit older. 

“You must be Laurel.”

“Uh, yeah, yes, Ma’am.” Laurel stuttered a little as they shook hands, earning a light chuckle from the older woman. 

A chuckle that was almost identical to Rory’s .

“Oh, no need for that, Laurel. People only call me ma’am in the office. Outside of it, I’m just Helena.”

Laurel moved from the door, letting the woman in. Helena approached Rory’s desk, running her fingers on the surface before meeting RC’s eyes. 

“And you must be RC, the girl that stole my Veronica’s heart,” she said with a smile. “I only wish we could have met under better circumstances.”

RC parted her lips to answer, but her throat closed up. Her mouth dried up instantly as she tried to form a sentence. Helena knew though, as she nodded before turning back to Laurel.

From the bed, RC watched the interaction between the two. She was so focused on Helena that she almost missed another person standing just outside the door. He couldn’t be that much older than them, with light brown hair and striking blue eyes that looked like they had seen too much. 

Rory never told her about anyone matching his description, but then again, there were a lot of things RC didn’t know. So, when their eyes met, RC was half-expecting hostility. It took her by surprise when the guy exhaled a deep breath as he leaned on the wall behind him and closed his eyes.

“If I may.” Laurel’s voice brought back RC’s attention. “Why do you need some of Rory’s things?”

RC’s eyes darted towards the opened duffle bag in Helena’s hand. She could see a thin blanket and a hoodie peeking out and when she looked up, meeting Helena’s eyes, RC felt like the air was forced out of her lungs.

“I supposed you haven’t heard,” Helena said, slowly moving to sit on Rory’s chair. The woman kept taking a few deep breaths, as if talking required every bit of energy she had left. All things considered, it must be. “It’s been almost two weeks since the last time we heard anything from Rory.”

“But Rory sent something last week. To RC.”

A tiny gasp escaped Helena’s lips and tears started to pool in her eyes. 

“I-I, yeah, there was a letter in some old paper. She said she’s coming home soon.”

Some light footsteps approached them and RC’s voice started to falter. The guy stood near Helena, putting his hand on her shoulder as she began to cry quietly. 

“The last we heard, there was an explosion on the ship.” He talked slowly, his voice low and a little shaky. He eyed Laurel for a split second before continuing, “An incident like this happened before, so we were not too worried at first. Rory had proven she could take care of herself, that we needed to trust her and believed she would come home. But it’s been two weeks and our people still haven’t found any sign of her. Anywhere we could possibly look. There is a very slim chance anyone can walk away from something like that, let alone after weeks. We’ve had a discussion and we’re holding a funeral—”

“It’s not a funeral , Devin.” Helena looked up and RC could see the redness in her eyes. “There’s, t-no, she is out there . My daughter is still alive. This is not a funeral.”

Devin squeezed Helena’s shoulder lightly in understanding. 

“Excuse me for one moment.” Helena barely finished the sentence before she dashed out the door. 

Devin turned towards the girls before saying, “A memorial, if you will. Her family needs it. We’re looking for something to burn in Rory’s pyre.”

“How is this going to help?” Laurel whispered. 

“Sometimes, this helps with our psyche, helps with acceptance. Sometimes, it helps bring them home.”

Laurel didn’t say anything else and to be honest, RC couldn’t blame her. It didn’t seem real, like a movie she just wanted to fast-forward to the end. 

“I better go check on Helena. It’s been rough for her,” Devin said as he got up. He walked towards Laurel and RC felt a soft wind blow. “You’re going to sleep for a few minutes and you’re not going to remember any words I say after this.”

Right after Devin said that, Laurel dropped on her bed.

“Y-you can do that too.”

Devin hummed before turning to face RC. “About Rory,” he started. “Our people can’t sense her soul in the Underworld and that’s a good thing, a bad thing, and a worse thing.”

“How is that?”

“The good thing is that Rory’s still alive,” Devin said. “The bad thing is that she’s still alive, if you know what I mean.”

Rory’s alive, but hurt badly. Possibly something worse. RC was almost afraid to ask for the next thing. She forced down the fear and asked, “And the worse thing?”

“Rory’s alive and she’s in Hell.” []