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ARO

THE STREETS WERE LITTERED WITH CIVILIANS ALL WEARING RED CLOAKS, THE FESTIVITIES OF THE SAN MARCOS DAY FESTIVAL RAGING ON.

The festivities would've been enjoyable to stop and observe, if it wasn't for the suffocating tension in the car that Alice rented for them the moment they stepped foot in the country. They essentially went straight from the airport to the streets of Volterra, trying to get to where Edward was causing all this trouble.

Billie was sat in the back, rapidly texting her mother who was confused as to why she was staying with the Stanleys this weekend; but the blonde was just thankful that her friend covered for her. Jessica Stanley was always reliable in that way... plus, she owed Billie for the times that the blonde would vouch on her behalf.

Alice didn't really put up too much of a fight in her tagging along, merely asking the girl if she was positive she wanted to. It was weird, her insistence on getting a "yeah, I'm sure" from the girl, but Billie had always wanted to go to Italy. Only now, that want had turned into a reality.

They sped through the ancient city, the yellow car darting down the cobblestone streets towards the main square.

Then, Alice suddenly pulled over, basically telling Bella that she needed to find Edward— otherwise, he'd heard Alice and Billie's thoughts and would assume it was a trick. Only the brunette could stop him, and once she did, the other two would find them.

When Bella exited the car, Billie switched seats with her and jumped into the passenger side.

"He'll be underneath the clock tower. Go!" Alice urged her, and they both watched how Bella took off into the sea of red, vanishing from eyesight.

If only it had been that easy, because after the stroke of noon sounded throughout the square, Alice had parked the car in an alleyway beside the clock tower.

"Stay here, Billie," she instructed the girl, already unbuckling her seatbelt despite the blonde's babbles of complaint.

"Wait— where are you going?" she asked, leaning forward across the centre console.

"The Volturi are incredibly dangerous," she told her in response, fastening the headscarf around her tighter. "Humans aren't supposed to know about us, so I'm getting them and then we are leaving— alright?"

Billie couldn't argue with that logic. "Okay... I'll wait here."

With that, Alice was gone into the direction of the clock tower, disappearing into the corridor that she knew Bella and Edward would be in. Billie fixed the seat, reclining it so she could rest for a second before they'd hop on another flight.

Surely if she shut her eyes for a moment, nothing would happen— right?

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There was a knocking at the driver's seat window, and it jolted Billie back to life. She wiped at the corner of her mouth, suddenly frazzled, and looking at whoever was knocking.

It was a bronze-haired man wearing expensive looking sunglasses and was also dressed just a little bit oddly. Then again, she was in an ancient city— perhaps he was fitting the usual dress code? She clamoured over to the driver's seat, rolling down the window.

Before she could utter a word out, he spoke first. "Is this your car, signorina?" the man asked in perfect English.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "No, it belongs to my friend," she answered honestly, worried that he was going to give her a parking infraction for the obviously improper parking Alice did. "But she'll be back any moment, I promise."

She tried giving him a tight lipped smile, but it effectively dropped when he took off his sunglasses, a smirk of his own on his face. Suddenly, she was staring at ruby red eyes, and a wave of nausea rolled over her. "You're going to have to come with me."

There was no room for an excuse, as the man forcibly opened the driver's side door like it was nothing. Checking the dash, the light indicating the car was locked was still on, and it further fuelled Billie's working theory on what this man was.

He was a vampire.

The man gave her a deadpan look, gesturing with his head to exit. And when she stumbled out of the yellow car, he began pushing her in the direction of the clock tower.

Well this is just great.

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A few strange hallways and an oddly modern elevator ride later, Billie was practically a teary eyed disaster as the man walked her through an elaborate underground lair of some sort.

She felt like she was going to puke, and the grip he had on her bicep would surely leave a bruise. Something in her mind itched that she was being marched to her death, and not even the comforting smile of the damn receptionist could ease her worries.

"If you let me go right now, I swear I'd never say a word," she pleaded to the man who was holding her, and he didn't even glance down as she talked. "I'd literally sign an NDA, and those are binding. Plus I'd never even come to Europe ever again, and I—"

Her words died in her throat as the double doors before them opened, revealing a frightening scene before her. There were obvious signs of a fight that had previously ensued, and the three others she knew in the room were looking rattled.

And the worst part? Everyone's eyes were trained on her. Usually she thrived under such attention, but under these circumstances? Her stomach rolled, her own brown eyes desperately locking onto Bella's frantic looking face. At this point, it seemed that the Swan girl just couldn't stay out of supernatural trouble— and even Billie, despite her willingness to help, couldn't stop it from happening.

"You were correct; they were hiding another human," the man holding her declared.

As she meekly looked at the dozen other beings with crimson eyes in the room, the situation really settled in: she was surrounded by vampires. Cool. Cool, cool, cool. Her internal freak out began, her shoulders shaking on their own accord.

Many of such vampires were lined around the walls, but the ones dressed oddly like the man at her side were scattered about; one of which had his hand around Edward's neck. Another had a grip on Alice's arm as well, and it was at that moment that Billie realized the Cullen girl had taken a single glove off. Why had she done so?

There was a man at the centre of the room whose very presence commanded attention, and that's exactly what he got when Billie's eyes landed on him. She almost missed the other two older vampires seated upon some thrones when he caught her nervous gaze.

He was undeniably gorgeous, and that was a severe understatement. If it wasn't for the daunting crimson of his eyes, Billie would've definitely jumped into his arms. He looked a bit older with trimmed facial hair, and was surely chiseled by the Gods,

"It appears you have brought me a gift."

A single flick of his hand had the man's grip on her disappearing completely. She was quick to put distance between them, a hand going to grab the sore spot on her bicep gingerly. She looked at the other two vampires in the room, and caught Edward shaking his head sternly.

It was a look that screamed don't do anything stupid, you'll die. And shit, was Billie going to take that advice.

Said gorgeous man then walked up to her at a slowed pace, and her shaking only seemed to amplify, then. He exuded pure power, and now he was looking at her with a softness in his eyes that made Billie's stomach lurch uncomfortably.

"You are as radiant as I imagined," he whispered out to her, eyes unblinking. Billie wasn't that short, but he seemed to tower over her. His eyes flickered to where she was still holding her arm, and then back to her own which were collecting tears. His once soft eyes turned to stone. "Did he hurt you, amore?"

Be cool, be cool. She swallowed around nothing, blinking away the moisture as she looked from the man before her to the one that was just beside her. "A little," she mumbled lowly, though it seemed he easily heard her given that he hummed. The last thing she did was want to lie to this man who seemed like he was the leader around here. "But I'll live." Oh, the irony.

"He'll be dealt with," he pointed out, a sharp look tossed in the other man's direction. Before she could intervene, say that it wasn't really necessary given that she'd most likely be their next meal, he put his hand forward, palm side up. "My name is Aro."

The blonde only looked at his hand, and then at him. "Billie," she introduced, followed by a shake of her head, "and I don't really do handshakes. Too many germs."

Those in the room who knew her best, like Bella Swan, knew that she was lying straight through her teeth; the Burbank girl was never one to shy away from physical affection. But she was so wound up, unwashed by all the pairs of undead eyes trained on her figure, that she was quick to deny even a handshake.

Though, it seemed like this man, Aro, could see right through her now too. He smirked down at her, his head tilted to the side as though he was studying her. "Clever girl," he praised quietly, and it sent something shooting into her chest with a pang. "How have you been enjoying Italy so far?"

What the hell was going on here? Billie was extremely confused, and it was as though half of her being longed to move even closer to him, while the other half was urging her to run. "It's nice," she responded politely. "But I'm eager to go home... I have a history test on Monday and I haven't even studied yet, so..."

Aro nodded, though an unknown emotion flashed through his crimson eyes as quick as lightning. "Very well," he said, then turned one last time to the human in the room. "You all may go— make your preparations."

What, just like that?

And what preparations? she questioned internally, hoping that Mr Mind-Reader would be able to answer her plethora of questions once they got the hell out of this place. Even as the two vampires with amber eyes were let go, everyone's gaze was still zeroed in on Billie.

Seriously, get me the heck out of here.

"Thank you for your visit," an older looking vampire, standing from his throne, said. Though, he was pointedly looking at Billie, and visibly cowered beside the other human in the room as they began shuffling out.

Then, the blond one still seated at his throne spoke. "We will return the favour. I would advise that you follow through on your promises soon; we do not offer second chances."

Billie's nose twitched, not liking the hostile tone coming from the vampire with blond hair. It seemed like the man with dark hair also knew she felt that way, evident from the way his smirk seemed to widen.

Alice was soon leading the four of them back out the door, when Billie felt a set of eyes drilling into the back of her skull. Just as she reached the doors that were opened for them to leave, she turned her head to look back.

It was Aro, the man giving a nod of his head in her direction— no, a bow of his head, paired with his hands clasping behind his back. His eyes were mischievous in a way that had her intrigued.

And the glint in his eye?

We will meet again.

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[ wyn's note ]

AHHHH THEY'VE MET!! AND BILLIE HAS NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!! it's not a typical bronwyn book if the main shawty isn't confusion/left in the dark in some way or another.

till the next one xx