As They Kiss, Consume (Alec Volturi)

Book Store

"Seth! I want to go to the book store!" I exclaimed excitedly as we wandered through Port Angeles.

"Willa," he groaned. "We're going to the video game store."

"Leah?" I asked, turning to the grumpy girl walking behind us.

Leah had driven the two of them to Port Angeles for the day. A ruse to keep me out of the way whilst Aro and Alec lingered in Forks.

"I don't care what you two do just stop whining," she muttered.

"Book store," I smirked.

Seth quickly glanced over at Leah before he sighed. "Ok, you go to the book store, and I'll meet you there. I only need one thing and it's just across the street so I'll be quick."

"Ok!" I smiled as I skipped into the bookstore.

As I entered the store, the sales clerk shot me a quick smile, which I returned before I made my way into the aisles. I traced my fingers along the spines of the books as I waited for one to jump out at me.

There's nothing like the smell of a new book. The feel of the crisp paper between your fingers. My father was a collector of antique books. I'd only get to spend my summer and winter holidays with him, but his passion for books spurred in me a subsequent love.

As I gazed through the books, I felt a light tug on my handbag. I immediately placed my hand on it and looked around, thinking someone had tried to take something out of it. Seeing no one there I let out a light breath and turned back to the books.

As soon as a special edition of Romeo and Juliet caught my eye, a wide smile overtook my face. A truly ridiculous story that I couldn't help but adore. Tucking it into the crook of my arm, I took a step forward only for an enchanting voice to speak up from behind me.

"Is this yours?"

The shock immediately sent my heart racing. Both from being startled, and from the spark the sound of his voice triggered in me. Quickly spinning around, I gasped as I took in the boy's figure.

His face was so flawless it could have been carved out of marble, not a hair was out of place on his head. The only part of him that wasn't flawless was his eyes, a dull muddy brown colour that didn't correspond with the beauty of his face.

"Sorry?" I stuttered, not having comprehended what he said.

"Is this yours?" he repeated, holding my phone up in the air.

"What?" I muttered confused as I opened my bag to look inside and see my phone was in fact missing. "Yes, it is. Thank you," I smiled as I took it from him. "How did you know it was mine?"

"I found it on the floor over there, you were the only one in the store," he replied, making direct eye contact with me. As our eyes locked, my entire body tensed up. I felt a pull to him in a way I'd never experienced before. I felt my stomach fill with butterflies, and I held my breath, savouring the moment in which I felt my world freeze.

He seemed unable to tear his eyes from me as well. It felt as though the entire world around us had fallen away, leaving just the two of us standing here.

Alarmed, I finally bit my lip and broke the eye contact, turning back to the bookshelf. "You don't sound like you're from around here," he mused, trying to continue the conversation.

"Neither do you," I quipped. As alluring as I may have found him, I wasn't in the habit of talking to strangers in book shops, but hearing his voice immediately made my heart flutter.

I took a step further down the aisle, and for every single step I took, he took two toward me. It wasn't until he inhaled the scent of my hair that I realised his close proximity to me.

"Are you right?" I asked spinning around. I frowned as I took in his eyes, they looked darker somehow, the brown much murkier than they had previously been. But now I felt something dangerous from the boy. A nefarious undertone to his charming looks.

He wordlessly reached out a hand to brush my hair behind my ear when I sidestepped him, avoiding his touch. Scoffing I marched around him and to the front of the store to pay for my book.

"That'll be $34 please," the shop clerk asked, but her focus was solely on the boy lurking behind me.

"Keep the change," I muttered, laying $35 out. I hurried to the exit of the shop, sneaking a quick glance at the boy only to see him staring at me.

Caught in his gaze once again, I froze. I couldn't reason what it was drawing me to him, but I could feel the logical part of my brain urging me to run. After a moment I shook my head before storming out of the shop.

"Hey, I was just coming to find you," Seth smiled as we met up on the sidewalk.

"Yeah, well, I'm done," I muttered quietly. My heart was still fluttering.

Seth suddenly frowned and took a large step towards me.

"What are you doing?" I frowned as I took half a step back.

"Just... here," Seth muttered as he grabbed me and pulled me towards him before quickly sniffing my hair.

"Oh my god!" I yelled, shoving him off. "People have got to stop doing that to me today," I growled angrily.

Seth's eyes widened. "Who did you talk to in there?"

"What?"

"Willa," he grabbed my shoulders urgently. "This isn't a joke. Who'd you talk to in there?"

"No one," I denied as I tried to shove his hands off of my shoulders.

"Willa! Who was in there with you!" he almost yelled.

"Chill out! People are looking. There was just the sales girl and some creepy boy. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh my god," Seth gasped. "What did he look like? What did the boy look like? What colour were his eyes?"

"Brown," I answered as I finally broke free of his grip. "What the hell is going on?" Before he could even hear the end of my question, Seth was gone as he sprinted into the book shop. "Why are people so weird today," I muttered to myself as I took a seat on the bench outside the shop.

"Where's Seth?" Leah asked as she walked over to me.

I just shrugged. Their clinginess over the past two days was really getting on my nerves now.

"You smell bad," Leah stated, tensing as she got closer to me.

"Seriously?" I asked, grabbing my hair and smelling it. "Is that why everyone's been smelling me today? Is it that bad?"

"Shh," Leah hushed me as she took a tense stance in front of me as she surveyed the area.

"Are you good?" I asked confused. When I got no response, I went to stand up only to be shoved back into my seat. "Hey! What is your problem!" I protested.

"Leah!" Seth called his sister as he ran out of the book store.

"Anything?" she asked him quietly as I strained my ears to listen.

Seth shook his head. "He's gone." He then leant into his sister's ear and whispered, "so's the girl who was working."

Whilst the siblings were quietly muttering amongst themselves, I caught sight of the boy from before, staring at me from the shadows of an alley. Although this time his eyes were different, they were now a vibrant red. As visually stunning as he had been before, his red eyes were utterly mesmerising. Unable to resist the pull I felt, I rose up and took a step towards him, only to lose sight of him as someone walked in between us. As my view of the alley opened up clearly again, he was gone from sight. The only proof he'd even been there was the thumping of my heart.

"What are you looking at?" Leah asked as she got closer, trying to follow my line of sight.

"Hmm?" I asked. "Nothing, nothing. Just thought I saw something," I said quietly.

"Come on, let's go home," Leah said, placing her hands on my forearm and leading me back towards the car.