AN1: A bit faster update this time. Enjoy.

AN2: The fic I'm going to recommend this week is Premium Well Redux by Dinas Emrys. It is a RWBY fanfic and if you haven't seen RWBY you should get on that. It's a free to watch anime-style web animation that is simply amazing and has tons of femslash ship potential. This fic has the members of the main cast pairing off into relationships, it has a good plot, and some really amazingly well done smut. I also think the author has a real gift and is always a joy to read. The story exists here on but you really should go read it on AO3. The AO3 version has all the naughty bits uncensored.

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Bodies. Bodies everywhere. It was just starting to sink in that the fight was over and Bella was quickly starting to come down from her adrenaline high. The girl almost instinctively began to breathe through her mouth afraid the smell of everything around her would make her throw up. There were so many dead zombies in the classroom. So many of them. She was literally knee deep in the dead.

"I have no idea where Edward is," Bella heard Alice say distantly. She might have sounded worried. "we'll look for him but… we also need to do something. About all of this," she said vaguely gesturing at the mass of corpses and the school in general.

Bella knew at least some of the students had been attacked. They were most likely dead. Oh earth and stars. It's my fault… isn't it?

"How long until the authorities arrive?" asked Jasper, sounding all business. He looked quite fearsome covered in red gore and still holding a bloody machete. Except for Alice all the vampires looked like someone had thrown a bucket of blood on their clothes.

Alice paused and had a short vision. She closed her eyes and looked around a little frantically. "About five minutes give or take. I think the call was slow to get out thankfully."

"Does that even matter? What can we even do in that amount of time?" asked Emmett, looking worried and unconcerned about the fact he was missing an eye.

There were all these zombies. Did someone kill them just to make disposable troops to come after her? They sure didn't look like they had been dug up from graves. The thought of someone killing as a way to get to her made Bella feel… she didn't have words for it. She just didn't. It was a nightmare.

"The maintenance building behind the school," said Jasper, "they keep a rather oversized tank of gasoline there for the mowers and such. The kitchen also has a lot of flammable things in bulk, oils and chemicals. If we move fast enough we can torch everything."

Rosalie scowled. "That won't get rid of all the evidence."

"No but it's the best that we can do. At the very least anything they find will be called into question, contamination by the fire and such. Any lingering questions can be taken care of later. But if we're going to do this we need to move quick," said Jasper.

Bella's gaze wandered out the window. Out there in the lawn were two corpses. They had been killed brutally and they were wearing school clothes, nicer than the zombies. One girl and one boy that she could see. They had… died quickly and messily. From where she was Bella could see everything.

The room was spinning. Bella closed her eyes and turned away from the sight of the dead teenagers. She was going to be sick. Bella took a couple of shuffling steps towards an empty corner and sank down to her knees, throwing up what was left of her breakfast.

Suddenly hands were there gently keeping her hair out of her face. Someone's fingers ran through her scalp in a soothing fashion. Bella grabbed on to the arm holding her hair, squeezing it in an almost instinctive desire to have something to hold on to.

She felt the person crouch down next to her. Bella turned her head and saw Victoria, her eyes a red so dark they were almost brown. Her expression was a mask but Bella could see the concern that was just under the surface.

Hesitantly Victoria put a hand on her back like she wasn't sure if she was supposed to be doing that or not. "You all right?" she asked in a quiet voice.

Almost imperceptibly Bella shook her head. She tried to think of something to say but nothing appropriate for the situation came to mind. Her thinking was interrupted by voices speaking up.

"What are we going to do about the girl? This is her fault. We can't just let her wander around town inviting another attack like this," she heard Rosalie's voice say.

"You're not going to 'do' anything," said Victoria, turning her head to face the other vampires from where she was crouched next to Bella. "I'm taking her home." Her tone wasn't quite threatening but the warning in it was unmistakable.

Rosalie didn't look happy about that. She opened her mouth to speak before Alice cut her off.

"That's fine, get her out of here," she said quickly, "we've only got about four minutes left. If we're going to do anything about all this it needs to happen now."

Rosalie looked like she wanted to argue before thinking better of it. "Fine. I'll start looking for anything that'll burn in the kitchen," she said. Giving Victoria and Bella another inscrutable look she turned and ran out of the classroom at vampire speed.

If the Cullens said anything further Bella didn't hear it. Still in shock she barely squirmed when Victoria unexpectedly hefted her up bridal style. The vampire took off, going out the broken classroom windows and running towards the back of the school.

Everything was a haze for Bella as Victoria ran into a patch of woods behind the school. Distantly she wondered if anyone she knew had been killed. Had Angela? Mike? Lauren? Jessica? Maybe I don't want to know. But I should know.

It wasn't long before they arrived at a small back road where their car was waiting. Victoria put her down quickly and rushed to open the back door. She pulled out two clean shirts and a packet of baby wipes. When Victoria saw Bella staring uncomprehendingly she made a sound of annoyance deep in her throat.

"Get changed and use the wipes to clean off any visible blood. We can't drive around looking like we just came from a massacre," Victoria said already pulling off her black top. Bella flinched at the word 'massacre' but Victoria didn't seem to notice.

Normally Victoria's chest clad only in a lacy black bra would have been very distracting. As it was Bella still watched as the vampire used the reflection on the window to wipe off the worst of the blood on her arms, face, and what amount had soaked though her shirt but the teenager could feel little else besides numb. Mechanically Bella went to unbutton her own shirt but found her fingers were shaking too badly to make much progress. After finishing wiping off the worst of the gore off her body Victoria turned to look at Bella, sighed, and stepped up to help her unbutton her shirt.

Bella thankfully wasn't much of a mess since she had stayed away from the melee carnage. Victoria finished unbuttoning her shirt and threw it along with her spelled coat in the back seat. Working quickly the vampire grabbed a wipe and cleaned the few spots of blood that had somehow gotten on Bella's face. Bella's body stirred a little when she realized they were standing in front of each other in only their bras but the shock of what they had just left behind was still too much to stoke her flames beyond an ember.

"Here," Victoria said in a surprisingly gentle voice that startled Bella out of her stupor a bit. The teen lifted her arms and allowed Victoria to help her put on a clean shirt. After that the vampire opened the passenger car door and gently pushed Bella inside. The girl went without protest, putting on her seatbelt on autopilot and looking out the window in a daze.

Victoria finished getting dressed and got into the driver seat before starting the car and heading down the road. In the distance Bella thought she could hear sirens… or maybe it was just her imagination playing tricks on her. Bella took a deep shaky breath and wrapped her arms around herself. Suddenly she felt cold and started shaking.

"Hey," came Victoria's voice, "are you all right?"

What could she say to that? 'Yes' would be a humongous lie. The truth then.

"No," she said, surprised at how lost and broken she sounded, "I'm pretty sure I'm not all right."

"Are you hurt?" said the vampire, concern tinging her voice.

Bella shook her head. "They didn't touch me."

Victoria made a humming sound. "So what's wrong?"

"Do you really have to ask?" said Bella.

"Yeah actually," said Victoria sounding a bit annoyed, "I'm not a mind reader. You usually don't get like this after a fight. What's wrong?"

Suddenly Bella felt a flash of annoyance. How could she not get it? "The zombies… they wouldn't have been at the school if it wasn't for me," she said. Tears began to sting at her eyes.

"So?" asked Victoria.

"So? What do you mean 'so'?" demanded Bella, suddenly getting angry. "Students died Tori! A lot of them. There wouldn't have been an attack if I hadn't been there. It's all my fault."

"It really isn't," said Victoria in a calm casual tone.

"Yes it is!" said Bella raising her voice. "I shouldn't have been there. All those students they're just… dead. Gone forever." Bella turned to face Victoria. "I bet you don't even care though, do you?"

The vampire glanced over, her brown eyes filling with irritation and trying to stay patient. "You're right, you shouldn't have been there. I guess for some reason you now think you know better than I do how to keep you safe. Well I've got news for you, you don't, and today is proof of that. As for the rest of it you're right. I don't care that all your little school buddies got dead except for whatever inconvenience this is going to cost us."

Bella just stared at the vampire, shocked and appalled at what had just come out of her mouth. So many teenagers dead, and to treat it so callously… suddenly Bella felt like she was looking at a total stranger. Emotional and angry Bella said the first words that came to her mind.

"You're a monster."

Victoria snorted disdainfully before turning to look at Bella. She grinned, toothy and full of fang and momentarily terrifying. "I suppose you're right. But that's something you've always known about me. If you chose to forget and think otherwise well, that's hardly my problem now is it?"

To Bella that felt like a slap to the face. Suddenly overwhelmed by emotion she turned her whole body away from the vampire and faced towards the window. Almost unconsciously she pulled her knees up and tried to make herself as small as she could against the car door.

Bella knew Victoria killed people. She knew it. She had also known that Victoria didn't put much stock in the lives of people. That was the complete opposite of Bella. The teen cared about people, even total strangers more than was probably healthy or prudent. She'd never felt so alienated from Victoria as she did in that moment. Their values were just so different. Incompatible. Didn't Victoria have an ounce of compassion in her? If she didn't, how was it possible that the vampire care about her after all?

The teen thought back to the school. So many bodies, students and zombies. All those zombies… they had mostly been young men. Had they been killed specifically to come after her and turned into zombies? Bella's magical knowledge made her strongly suspect that the answer was yes. The realization was staggering. Because someone wanted to kill her it seemed that hundreds of people had died because of her. Bella covered her mouth and choked back a sob when it began to hit her.

Suddenly she felt alone and so, so guilty. Could she have prevented this if she had given herself up years ago? Was it really moral to keep running if it meant other people got hurt? Could she really keep on doing this if this was the price?

Bella lost herself in her dark thoughts as she huddled pathetically against the door. She began to sob in earnest, trying her best to keep it quiet but failing miserably. Bella didn't want anyone to get hurt. She just wanted to live in peace. Was that selfish wish too much to ask? Would her life always be filled with suffering and death? Was there even a chance for a happy ending for her or was there truly only one inevitable conclusion?

Bella didn't notice when the car pulled to a stop on the side of the deserted road or when her seat belt was unbuckled. However she did notice a pair of strong arms grab her around the waist and pulled. Instinctively Bella made a sound of protest and tried to pull free. The arms around her though were stronger than iron and Victoria pulled the teen onto her lap almost like she was a child. Still upset at what the vampire had said just minutes before Bella tried half-heartedly to pull herself free but the powerful arms around her refused to let her escape.

Feeling confused and a little miffed Bella tried to pull back and look at Victoria in the face. Instead she felt a hand go to the back of her head push it gently down. Bella tried to resist but her neck muscles would have had better luck pushing down a concrete wall. Reluctantly Bella relaxed and allowed her head to be pulled down to rest against Victoria's neck and chest.

Unlike in the stories real vampires weren't cold blooded and Bella found herself suddenly appreciating that fact. Victoria was warm and the heat seemed to seep into Bella at all points of contact, through her chest, her head and her butt and thighs as she was currently seated on the vampire's lap. Suddenly the fact that Victoria didn't care about all the deaths in the school didn't seem quite so important anymore. Tentatively Bella slid her arms around Victoria's neck. When the vampire didn't make any move to push her away Bella tightened her grip and pulled herself closer, pressing their bodies together as if she were trying to make them into one being.

Bella buried her head in Victoria's shoulder and sobbed, shuddering and wet and hardly dignified. The vampire froze as if unsure what to do, one hand on the back of Bella's head still and another wrapped around her waist. Part of Bella's mind that was still aware of her surroundings noted that Victoria seemed stiff and uncomfortable. However she wasn't making any moves to remove Bella which the girl took as implicit permission to cling to her protector and allow herself to cry.

After a while Victoria removed her hand from the back of Bella's head. Hesitantly she patted Bella's back. It was awkward, more like patting a dog than soothing comforting touches. Victoria's voice was distinctly uncomfortable and hesitant when she spoke. "There, there… uh everything's going to be all right." Her delivery was so wooden it might as well have come from a robot.

Bella couldn't help herself: she snorted and laughed right into Victoria's chest even through the tears. She tried to pull back and Victoria let her, the teen wiping her face with her sleeve before looking at Victoria in the face. The vampire looked vaguely uncomfortable with the whole situation. Bella gave her a watery smile and slipped her arms around the vampire's neck once again.

"You're kind of bad at this comforting thing, you know that?" Bella teased the vampire gently.

Victoria raised an elegant eyebrow at that. "Well I'll admit it's not something I've had any practice in. Gentle has never really been my thing."

Bella nodded solemnly at that, small smile still playing on her lips. "Well you were doing a pretty good job right until the whole 'everything's going to be all right' part."

Victoria's look turned questioning. "Really? Funny because I wasn't really doing anything. All I did was let you ruin my shirt and make sure you didn't slide off my lap."

"Well," Bella said, sniffling and feeling like she was getting her tears under control, "that's really all it takes."

"Just like that?"

"Yeah," said Bella nodding slightly, "just like that. You don't have to say anything. Just holding me and letting me ruin your shirt is more than enough."

Victoria looked a little skeptical but let the subject drop. "I really should be more mad at you you know," said Victoria, eyes moving as she examined every inch of Bella's face, "you've been acting like suicidal lemming the last couple of days. I'd strangle you if it wasn't counterproductive."

The image of dying lemmings brought back the images of death and carnage at the school. She closed her eyes in pain and let her head drop back onto Victoria's shoulder, arms tightening around the vampire.

"What?" asked Victoria, sounding half exasperated and half concerned.

"It's just…" began Bella, "I know it doesn't bother you but it does bother me. It bothers me a lot. Those people at the school they d-… d-died because of me. I should have stayed home like you said. Their death is my fault."

"Hey," said Victoria sternly, almost harshly. Her hands gripped Bella's shoulders. "Listen to me. You didn't raise any zombies. You didn't set them loose on a school. You didn't know that whoever's doing this was already in town looking for you. No one would have guessed they'd do something as stupid and brazen as to stage an all-out assault on a high school. You're not responsible for any of this. None of this is your fault."

"But…"

"But nothing," said Victoria, cutting her off harshly, "you didn't buy the gun, you didn't load the gun, you didn't pull the trigger. That's all that matters. I know you have a tendency to blame yourself for things but don't. If you want to be upset be upset at the ones who did this. Beating yourself up won't be doing anyone any favors."

Bella swallowed and let the words sink in, letting all her weight fall on Victoria. The vampire seemed unsure what to do with her hands and settled for placing them on Bella's hips. The casual intimate touch was somehow reassuring for Bella.

The truth was Bella was too confused and emotional to properly sort out what was her fault and what wasn't and the teen girl realized this. What Victoria said made sense and it helped take the worst edge off the guilt even if she wasn't a hundred percent convinced she was blame free in all this like Victoria insisted. However she couldn't afford to completely fall apart. Not yet. Not when whoever did this was still out there. Anger began to simmer in her chest. Tori was right. While she may have played a role someone out there was to blame for the massacre at the school. A wizard. A wizard Alice had said was named Luke Taylor.

"I want to get that son of a bitch," muttered Bella, voice thick with emotion.

Victoria hesitated before answering. "We'll see. He may not give us much of a choice," she said.

Suddenly Bella realized the intimate position they were in. She was sitting a little awkwardly on Victoria's lap with her arms wrapped around her neck. The redhead had her hands lightly on her hips and Bella could feel her breasts pressed against Victoria's. A little frazzled by that feeling Bella pulled back enough to look at Victoria's face from less than a foot away. Bella's eyes flicked to Victoria's lips against her will. They were full lips, a natural light red as opposed to pink and suddenly those lips looked absolutely kissable.

Near death experiences make you want to affirm life an analytical part of her mind said.

Victoria's face was neutral, guarded and Bella knew she was aware of the sudden turn the witch's thoughts had taken. Bella bit her bottom lip unconsciously and her heart began beating faster. The young witch knew something had changed between them the night before, but was it in the way she wanted? Victoria's neutral mask and suddenly piercing red stare weren't giving Bella much to work with. Still, the vampire hadn't pushed her away yet. Those red eyes never failed to pull her in and scare her a little all at the same time.

Ah, fuck it.

Bella closed the distance between them slowly, giving Victoria plenty of time to say something or pull away. The vampire however had gone still as a statue and even her breathing had stopped. Bella decided that not being pushed away or stopped was a good sign. The teenager closed her eyes and closed the last of the distance between them.

At the very last second Victoria sucked in a sharp breath and turned her head to the side leaving Bella's kiss to land on the corner of her mouth just shy of her full lips. Bella felt a sharp stab of disappointment but let the kiss on the corner of Victoria's mouth linger, making it as tender and loving and charged with as much emotion as she could. The vampire underneath her sat unnaturally still and Bella didn't take that as a particularly auspicious sign.

After the long kiss Bella pulled back enough to look Victoria in the face. Other than a slight clenching of her jaw her face remained maddeningly composed giving nothing away. Her eyes though had darkened considerably to a burgundy red.

Bella swallowed nervously. This probably wasn't the right time. This definitely wasn't the right place. But she had to know. "Don't… don't you want this?" she asked quietly. There was no need to elaborate further. Both of them knew exactly what Bella was talking about.

Victoria looked her right in the eye with an intensity that froze Bella in place. The vampire looked as serious as Bella had ever seen her. "You need to trust me," Victoria said, "you don't want me like that. There is no scenario in which this would end well for you. It would be nothing short of disastrous."

Bella frowned at that, confused and a bit frightened by her words. "Why?"

The vampire didn't answer her question. Instead she looked away and gently started pushing Bella back onto her seat. "We need to get going. Staying here on the side of the road isn't safe."

Feeling rejected and oddly hurt Bella acquiesced that they should probably not hang around there anymore. The teen tied her seatbelt and Victoria got them moving on the road again. Bella kept looking at Victoria who was studiously keeping her eyes firmly on the road.

Bella knew she would be feeling much worse about what was essentially a rejection if not for one thing: Victoria had made it sound like she was trying to protect her. Also Bella knew Victoria well enough to know the redheaded woman wouldn't hesitate to tell Bella if she wasn't interested. It was simply part of her personality. However Victoria had said no such thing.

Do you want something between us? I think maybe… maybe you do, thought Bella as she looked at the vampire's profile. Victoria could be stubborn but then again so could Bella when she felt strongly about something. I don't care if you think you're protecting me somehow. It's sweet but I'm a big girl. I'll get to the bottom of this. There's no way I'm giving up that easily. Not when you couldn't even bring yourself to tell me you didn't want to be with me.

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