Crimson Gold

Part 2: Chapter 10: Complications

3rd Person POV

Mercer House

Ryan blinked once. Then blinked again. "What the heck happened to you?" he asked.

Alex groaned as Dana tried wiping off his jacket again. "One of the Goliaths crashed into a hive," he replied. "Spent the whole day cleaning up the mess. Then some Infected attacked, and we had to fight them off."

Ryan tilted his head. "You know you can just shapeshift your jacket to be clean, right?"

Alex and Dana were silent for a long moment.

Dana facepalmed. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Anyway...." Alex said hurriedly as he shapeshifted his jacket into a cleaner one. "How are things in Forks?"

"Bella's getting better," Ryan replied. "But she's been acting... strange. Well, stranger than normal."

"Everything about that girl is strange," Alex deadpanned.

"What do you mean?" Dana asked, elbowing her brother in the side.

Ryan explained about last week's movie and how Bella had been showing an interest in a 'rush.' "I'm not sure what to make of it," he admitted. "I promised Alice that I'd keep her safe, but I'm starting to think that whatever Bella's doing, she's going to get herself hurt."

Alex thought for a second. "Well, do you think it could have something to do with that Jacob boy?"

"I don't think so," Ryan replied. "He may be a supernatural, but I don't think he'd hurt Bella. In fact, he seems protective of her."

"He seems like a good kid," Alex admitted. "You say that he was friends with her since childhood?"

Ryan nodded.

"Then that rules out him being a vampire," Dana said after some thought. "I'm pretty sure Bella would have noticed if he never aged. Any idea what he could be?"

"I'm not sure," Ryan replied. "But that aside, he seems like he doesn't mean her any harm, but I'll keep an eye on him."

Alex nodded. "Good. How are things with you and Alice?"

"We're still good," Ryan replied. "I visit her every other week."

Dana elbowed Alex. "Told you that they can't live without each other."

Alex rolled his eyes before turning to Ryan. "Well, call us if you need us. We're still holding strong here, so if Greene shows her head, we'll take her down."

Ryan nodded. "Gotcha. Stay safe."

"And I still want grandnieces!" Dana called.

With that, the call ended.

Timeskip

As Ryan walked down the street on his way to grab some more Gnocchi from the restaurant, he spotted a familiar girl walking through the woods. It was Bella.

Glancing around, Ryan walked in after her. As soon as he was out of sight from the town, he jumped up to the top of a tree and started sprinting from branch to branch, following Bella as silently as possible.

What is she up to? he wondered as she walked up the side of a creek.

Leaping across, Ryan landed on a branch high above Bella and crouched down silently before following her.