Made of Magic | j. hale

12; Bloodsinger

"Ana! Table four please!"

"But my shift ended twenty minutes ago," Ana protested, throwing her head back dramatically. Matt, her boss at the diner, usually asked her to stay over. Normally, working late wasn't a big deal, but Ana knew that Jasper was waiting for her. The two had agreed they would go on their date after Ana's Saturday shift, which was supposed to end at one.

"Just take the order at four and you can go home. Promise. Please, for me?" he begged. Matt was a stocky bald man who always had a five o'clock shadow and deep purple circles around his eyes. Ana liked working with Matt; he was funny and always made the boring shifts during the week go by quickly. However, on the weekend, he usually got stressed out during the lunch rush and his patience became virtually nonexistent.

Ana sighed but finally gave up fighting. "Fine, but you owe me!" Ana grabbed the ticket book from her waist apron and walked through the swinging door into the diner.

"You'll see it on your paycheck!" Matt called back, making Ana chuckle as she walked around the bar to take the order at table four.

There was a beautiful woman sitting in the booth alone. She had wild, bright orange ringlet curls framing her pale face and dark red eyes. If the snow-white pale skin wasn't a dead giveaway, the red eyes definitely were. This woman was a vampire.

Ana took a deep breath to steady herself, repeating over and over in her head that she was safe. "Hi," she began, "How are you toda–?"

"Hello, Analise." The woman flashed Ana a smile, showing off her blinding white teeth.

Ana's eyebrows knitted together. "I'm sorry, who are you?" She hadn't ever seen the woman before, and her nametag very clearly said Ana, not Analise.

"Oh, I'm sorry! How rude of me not to introduce myself. I'm Victoria." She interlocked her fingers together on top of the table nonchalantly.

Ana took slow breaths to study her nerves. "What can I get you today?"

Victoria chuckled darkly. "I'll just take a glass of water. The other thing I want, you can't give me quite yet," she said, a wicked grin tugging at her perfect pink lips.

"And what's that?" Ana quickly realized that she wasn't here as a customer, and shoved her ticket book back into her apron. She crossed her arms over her chest. If her heart could beat any faster, she was sure it would just beat right out of her chest.

Victoria stood up then, her slender figure towering over Ana. She leaned her head down, dangerously close to the veins in Ana's neck, and whispered. "Your life." Victoria twirled a piece of Ana's hair around her finger, before turning on her heels and starting towards the front door of the diner.

Ana's feet were glued to the floor until Victoria had completely disappeared in the distance. She didn't say a word to anyone as she all but ran to the back room. She threw her apron into her locker, grabbed her coat, and clocked out as quickly as she could. As she exited the diner, she ran right into Charlie Swan.

"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," she mumbled, her heart still beating fast.

Charlie shook his head and waved her off. "Are you okay Ana? You look a little shaken up, do you need a ride home?"

She ran her hand through her hair and took a deep breath. "No, I just need some air. Thank you, Charlie. Hey, do you know where Bella's at?"

"With Edward," he answered unenthusiastically. "Carlisle's for dinner."

Ana nodded and thanked him before pulling her cell phone out of her back pocket. She walked down the sidewalk towards the middle of town while she dialed the familiar number. Alice picked up on the first ring.

"Ana? Ana, are you okay?" Her voice sounded anxious over the phone.

"Uhm, I-I'm not sure. Something's happened. Can you come to get me?"

--

Ana was sat on the grey L-shaped sofa at the Cullen house, her knees pulled to her chest. She was nestled next to Jasper, who she knew was washing her with calmness. The rest of the Cullens were scattered around the room. Carlisle was sitting on the opposite end of the sofa, Emmett was leaning against one of the glass window panes, and Edward and Rosalie were standing next to one another with Bella close by. Alice sat just a few inches away from Ana, and Esme had just disappeared into another room a few moments ago.

"Do you think it was just an attempt to send a message?" Emmett asked. The Cullens were all chattering about the visit Victoria had paid to Ana, trying to figure out what reason she had for doing so.

"No," Carlisle said. "I don't think she would have done it if it was just to get under Ana's skin. There has to be more to it."

"Well, it makes perfect sense. No one wants to admit it but Ana is just as much in danger as Bella is. I killed James because of Bella, but Jasper was involved too. I read her thoughts in the field, she doesn't look at humans as people, just a meal," Edward said.

If it hadn't been for Jasper manipulating her mood, Edward's statement would have terrified Ana.

"It makes sense, Ana's Jasper's singer," Alice said.

Ana furrowed her brows and looked to the girl on her right. "Singer? What does that mean?"

"La tua cantante," Carlisle said. "It means bloodsinger; when the blood of a human appeals to a vampire more strongly than any other. We only just learned of the term recently. It happened to Edward with Bella, and then to Jasper, with you."

Ana looked at Jasper, who nodded in confirmation. She knew that Jasper was the newest member of the Cullen family, that he often had to fight to control his thirst for human blood. She wondered if her being so close to him caused pain. She hated the thought of putting Jasper through that.

"It's difficult but manageable," Edward answered her thought. "He cares more about your safety than his own thirst."

"We lost her scent about 20 miles east of Seattle. She's definitely not in Forks anymore," Emmett stated. "Maybe we should just lay low for a while, make sure Tiny has someone with her at all times."

Alice nodded. "If she decides to come back to Forks, I'll see it."

Rosalie scoffed. "Of course. As if protecting one human wasn't already bad enough." She rolled her eyes and sent a glare in Ana's direction.

"Rose, we've been over this," Esme said as she walked back into the room. She was carrying a mug filled with hot cocoa and whipped cream on top. She smiled at Ana as she handed it to her. "Ana is a part of our family now."

Ana thanked Esme graciously. She hadn't realized how cold her hands had gotten holding onto Jasper's arm until she could feel the warmth of the mug thawing her fingers. "I understand the frustration, and I'm sorry."

Rosalie looked at Ana, and her face softened. She sighed and pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear. "Okay," she submitted, "Let's work out a babysitting schedule."

[a.n.]

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