Prince Of The Underworld

Chapter Eight

Sorry for the longish wait, I've been wanting to update today but every time I tried it kept saying 'Wattpad is under maintenance please come back later' so I couldn't. It didn't seem to be a problem for anyone else though because I kept getting story update notifications. Grrr. 

There might be some James and Bella fluff scenes in this chapter. I'm not sure yet though...we'll see *grins*

Enjoy!

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When Bella finally pulled up on James's street she was running 15 minutes late. 'Gr thanks, Jacob Black ' she thought as she pulled out the piece of paper James gave her to check the address before she pulled outside a simple two-story house with a beautiful front garden filled with flowers and different garden ornaments. All in all, it looked very welcoming and very homey. She cut the engine, checked her hair and makeup, grabbed her bag and stepped out of the car and ran up the beaten path to his front door. 

She rang the doorbell and stood nervously waiting on the porch for him to answer the door. Not even two minutes later, the door pulled open and there stood James wearing his usual jeans and T-shirt combo, when he saw Bella he smirked and raised his eyebrow in his signature way and ran his tongue over his lips. (Gif attached)

"Ah there you are, I was beginning to think you weren't going to come," He said as he moved to one side. "Come in"

"Thanks" Bella muttered stepping inside his house and looked around. To the right looked to be the kitchen and to the left looked to be the living room. She turned to face him as he was closing the door behind her. "Sorry, I'm late. I ran into a...complication"

"Oh. Nothing you couldn't handle I hope"

Bella nodded. "I handled it the best I could." She took a deep breath. "So, shall we begin?"

"So eager are we?" He did his signature smirk and Bella felt her knees go weak. 

"Well yeah, I really want to know what's happening"

James nodded. "Of course you do. Follow me" 

She followed him into his living room and sat next to him on the surprisingly still white couch. There was another white chair to one side, a coffee table in the middle, a bookshelf that held so many books it would make a library jealous, a flatscreen TV and different pictures dotted around. 

"Where are your parents?"

James suddenly looked uncomfortable.  "Uh...they're away on business," He told her and Bella nodded understanding that it was a difficult topic for them. "Have you brought the symbols with you?"

"Symbol" She corrected pulling out the drawing. James moved closer to her so their knees were touching and Bella tried to ignore the way her heart was speeding up as his knee brushed hers. "I keep drawing this over and over again"

He gently took the drawing, their hands brushing together as he did and observed it. Bella tried to read the expression on his face but it remained expressionless. After looking at it for a couple of seconds, he muttered a 'hold on' and stood up walking over to his bookshelf looking at the titles of the many books before he found the right one and pulled it out. He flipped through a couple of pages before he found the one he was looking for and read what was on the page. Since he didn't tell Bella what was on the page, she started getting uneasy until she couldn't take the silence any longer. 

"What does it mean? Is it bad? Dangerous? Am I going to die?" 

James chuckled and looked up at her. Bella felt butterflies in her stomach when he looked at her with those blue, smouldering eyes. "You're not going to die, Bella, calm down" He then sat next to her book still in his hand. "And it's nothing bad"

"You sure?" She looked surprised. "It looks it"

"Most Sanskrit symbol's do"

Bella raised her eyebrow. "A San-what now?"

" A Sanskrit. The symbol you've drawn represents the Universe functioning as a whole unit.  It's pronounced 'Ah uu mm ' and is normally used in many eastern spiritual practices" He told her. 

Bella let the words he told her sink in. It didn't sound too bad but that still doesn't explain why she drew the thing. "But why I have I drawn it?"

He shrugs. "I have no idea. I've never seen this symbol before and it says here not many people know about it" He looks at her, it was then they both realised how close their faces were. "You must be special, Swan"

"I've been told that before." She giggled. Giggling? Really Bella? Snap out of it! "What shall I do?"

"There's nothing you can do except keep drawing them. There must be a reason why you are drawing them and hopefully, time will soon tell you why" He told her closing the book and placing it on his lap. 

"You'll be there to help me, right?" Bella asked wanting someone to support her. If these symbols, especially this one was going to keep turning up in her life, she wanted someone who knows a little about them to be there. 

"Of course, Swan. You're stuck with me now" He moved closer to her. "Especially since your drawing symbols of protection. You never know when you may need them" He joked.

Bella giggled again and they both leant forward until their lips were just an inch away from touching. Neither of them knew what they were doing, it just seemed the right thing to do and although they may deny it, this is what they wanted. They were just about to kiss when Bella's phone rang causing them to jump apart and blush. James scratched the back of his ear, his cheeks red. What was that? he thought.

Bella answered her phone. "Hello...I'm with a friend why?....I wrote you a note, didn't I?....I must have forgotten, I thought you were working late....he did what?....I never-...dad listen to me I didn't....fine I'm on my way" She hung up and looked at a still blushing James. "I have to go, something came up"

James nodded and stood up, walking her to the door trying to ignore the tension in the air that defiantly wasn't because of the awkwardness. "That's fine. Is everything okay?"

"No but I'll be fine" She smiled weakly and James opened the door. "Thank you, James, really"

"My pleasure. You know where to find me if any more of those symbols show up"

Bella nodded, said her goodbyes and headed to her car. James stared after her for a few moments before shutting the door behind him and leaning against it. He brushed his lips with his fingers as he thinks about the almost kiss, what was the woman doing to him?