Author's Note: I know! I am a terrible writer for this story! I am terribly sorry, I was just so busy with school and graduation—just graduated from high school! :D—and lately I have been doing things to get ready for college that I haven't really had time to work on this. But I have, even though I would work on this late at night, but still get it finished! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Took a while to really get into for me to fully enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight Saga or Gemma Doyle Trilogy they are owned and copyrighted by Stephenie Meyer and Libba Bray—respectively.

*~*Chapter Eighteen*~*

"Where were you?" I hear a voice say from behind me. A voice that is smooth as velvet and that I am drawn to every time I hear it.

"Edward!" I jump right into his waiting arms.

He catches and shushes me, "Ally, you have to be quieter, all right? I don't want your grandmother up here and ratting me out to your father."

"I'm so sorry but…I missed you so much. These past two days have felt like two months." Okay, that may be a bit dramatic of me to say but it is true. I hate things here. Kartik. The school. Seeing Edward again is bringing me back to the life I want.

"I know how you feel," he croons as he lightly runs his chilled fingers through my hair. He pauses for a second, carefully feeling the strands between his fingers. He pulls back a bit, taking in my appearance. "You cut your hair."

I let out a small laugh, "Yeah. Carrie did it last night…I thought it would be a nice change to a new place like this."

"I like it. It seems to suit your mild punk side that you enjoy to keep to yourself," he chuckles as he plays with the layers that frame my face.

"I am not a mild punk," I retort, wishing I could playfully shove him like I do with my friends and brother.

He chuckles again and sits on my bed. "I say that you are. You tend to enjoy—on occasion—artificially ripped clothes, black nail polish, and dark eyeliner, and you really dislike wearing the colors pink, orange and yellow."

"That's because those colors don't suit my skin tone at all." I fold my arms in mock offence, making my way toward him. "And I happen to like dark colors—love black nail polish, too."

"And the artificially ripped clothing?" He quirks an eyebrow.

"I haven't worn that in a year."

"You know me: I never forget."

"Of course I know that." Unfolding my arms, I sit on his lap and feel his arms encircle me as I am held close to him.

"It was your first day today, wasn't it?" I nod. "How was it?"

Well, my classes were boring me to death until I make it to the one class I was looking forward to having all year where I discover the boy that I lust over in my dreams—who also happens to be the same boy I made you promise me not to kill. And I just got back from seeing him and discovered that he thinks we are predestined lovers. I'm just glad I don't have homework.

"Ally? Was it that awful?"

I know that I hadn't answered him, so I quickly recover, "Boring. That is the best way I could describe my day."

Edward looks at me skeptically, "Ally, I know you tend to find it boring. But that doesn't mean you have to lie about all of it."

Crap! I hate that he knows me so well; I guess I could tell him a bit of the truth. "All right, fine. There is one class I enjoy the most out of the rest."

"And which class is that?"

"Intro to Equestrian Studies."

He chuckles, "Of course. I heard your father tell Carlisle that your aunt is in charge of that."

I nod, "Yeah, she is. She was really happy to see me in there. I haven't seen her in so long."

"I could imagine. Her and her husband 'left the Other Realm' due to your grandmother disapproving of their marriage."

"And the fact that both her and Uncle Leo were hiding a pregnancy from my grandmother when she clearly wanted Piper to marry that Duke from that country I can't pronounce."

"I know I can but I won't one-up you by saying it," Edward chuckles again.

I roll my eyes and carefully put my face in his cool neck. I slowly inhale his scent, enjoying the smell and always loving that it's him every time I smell it. Just the comfortable silence between us is the most satisfying feeling to have right now. I want nothing more than to take it in as much as possible because I know that he'll have to leave soon. And when he does…I'll start thinking about what happened back at the stables again. Think back to how he held me by my arms, his face so close to mine that I was able to count every eyelash that rimmed his dark eyes.

"What's wrong?" Edward asks, examining what I suppose is a lost look in my eyes.

"I just…don't want you to leave me," I lie, even though there is some hidden truth.

Edward sighs and gets up, keeping a gentle but secure hold of me as he lays us both on my bed—while somehow managing to pull the covers over me. He gently brings me closer to him and wraps his left arm around my waist.

He kisses my forehead and whispers, "I won't be leaving anytime soon. I'll stay here all night and see you off before anyone can notice I was here."

I smile and kiss his neck, "I love that idea very much."

As much as I love having Edward with me, I can't help but to think back to what had happened earlier with Kartik. It is near impossible to not think about him. I should be extremely grateful that Edward can't really read my mind but I know I shouldn't really be thinking about Kartik in anyway at all—even if I am upset with him for what he nearly did in the stable. I just hope that I don't talk in my sleep at all tonight.

*~*Edward POV*~*

Ally almost immediately falls asleep after I begin humming to her. I know that she has a difficult time with it and, usually, her father would think about wanting to slip her some nightshade to help but none of us ever liked the idea of drugging Ally to sleep. Although, there were times where I did notice that whenever I was with Ally in her room and she'd try to nap, she'd fall asleep instantly with me by her side. And that's when the idea of me staying with her for a certain hour in the night was brought on. It did, however, take her father a while to warm up to the idea of me staying with her at night—seeing if my presence can possibly influence sleep for her. I'm not indicating that I am a boring person but it could be possible that maybe with someone she's so relaxed and comfortable with could possibly help her sleep.

Another good thing is that her father trusts me and understands that we'd never had any…physical activities between us. Except for what nearly happened on Ally's grandmother's piano in India. I can't believe what nearly happened there. As much as I wanted to stop, my body wouldn't let me and I'm not sure why. Was it because it was Ally's birthday? Or was I actually willing to give into the…urges I've so carefully been controlling for years? Whatever the reason, I should be thankful of my brother and friends. If it weren't for Emmett dumping that bucket of iced-water on us, I would've lost control and possibly hurt Ally.

I understand that she's a witch and she can't die but the last thing I'd want is to hurt her. I'd kill myself if I caused her any pain. It may sound a bit dramatic, but that's how I feel half of the time with her. She is my only reason for wanting to exist in this world and without her I feel like I have nothing. Of course, there is my family but it doesn't really fill in much of what I've been missing since I've known Ally. But now what really seems to plague my mind is where she was earlier.

Normally when I'd sneak into Ally's room, she'd be in there reading a book, watching a movie on her laptop, or doing her homework. But this time, she wasn't even here. There was a ladder directly under her window—making me almost believe that someone came in here and took her. However, that was near impossible because not many humans are capable of sneaking into a highly secured place such as this. So many things were going through my mind. It was a relief when she climbed in and I smelled the faint scent of hay on her. But now that I think about it, another scent catches my attention. It is a masculine scent that I don't recognize. And there really shouldn't be any male in this school aside from the staff. I sniff around Ally's upper arms—where the scent seems strongest—get up from her bed and walk over to the window. Jumping out, I land on the grass and carefully make my way toward the stables. I am hoping that her aunt doesn't see me, even though she likes me, I don't want her to tell Ally's grandmother that I'm here.

I even have to be extremely careful that none—if possible—of the horses sense my presence. The last thing I'd want is to attract attention thanks to a couple of spooked horses. As I make my way, I catch the scent I found on Ally. The scent seems to have been coming from the other side of the stable; I slowly make my way toward it. When it's stronger, I spot him. The male whose scent was almost all over my Ally. Even though his back is to me, I can tell that he is a seventeen-year-old kid.

I am also able to hear his thoughts loud and clear. He is too busy thinking about his recent encounter with her. And this was something I could not believe that I was hearing. So, he was the reason why Ally wouldn't tell where she was. I let out low growl and saw his head turn in my direction, and jumped.

"Blimey!" he exclaims, his English accent clearly evident. "You nearly frightened me to death!"

I let out a low chuckle. If only he knew how much more I could do to bring that up.

He cocks his head to the side and pulls back his shoulders. "What are you even doing here? There really shouldn't be any male students at this school." He pauses, and smirks. "Unless you feel like you're one of the girls here and wish to be allowed to attend."

I narrow my eyes and slowly make my way toward him. "I was just curious as to why you are here? I am aware that this is an all girls' school but why is there a boy?"

"I'm actually here as an assistant for the Equestrian professor," he responds. "Now, back to my previous question: why are you here?"

Once I was face-to-face with him, I am able to smell Ally's scent on him. Suppressing a growl, I answer, "I'm here visiting my girlfriend."

He quirks a brow, bringing back his smirk, "A late-night romp. Didn't think any bloke could possibly get passed the security here. But then again, you're no ordinary bloke, are you?"

I freeze, hearing from his thoughts that he's aware of what I am. "What do you know about me?"

"I know that you're a vampire who happens to be with a witch, who also happens to be a princess of another realm."

I was shocked. How was it possible that he knew about us? He's a human and someone from this realm! "Who are you?"

He shrugs and folds his arm across his chest, "Just someone who knows a few things. Like, I don't know, that your girl fancies me."

My eyes narrow again. "What are you talking about?"

"Face it, mate. Your girl seems to be more interested in someone who is alive rather than someone as ice-cold as you," he says.

"First: I'm not your 'mate.' And second: Ally would never go for a Mortal," I counter, trying to read more of his thoughts but all I'm getting is images of what recently happened between them. Ally just gazing at him hypnotically as he stared back at her.

He smirks at my growl, "You've witnessed our encounter, I see. I could be right on the idea."

"Listen: you may be working here and closer but I am always with her in many different ways," I threaten and shift until I am directly in his face.

He meets my gaze and narrows his eyes slightly, "I look forward to the next time I see her again."

I growl again, "Watch it," and leave. Rushing away may sound cowardly but it beats killing him. No matter how much I'd like to try.

*~*Kartik POV*~*

Bloody vampire! If I wasn't any more careful, that could have been the end of me. And if it were, then someone else would have to watch over the witch. I lean against the tree next to me and exhale. I'm not sure how Miss Brooks was able to stand being near that creature; just having him three feet away from me was more than enough to make me panic. I am grateful that I kept calm but I hate what I told him about her. I myself am unsure about the situation. I'm not positive if we are meant to continue what our ancestors couldn't accomplish.

No matter how beautiful she is…I doubt she'd want to be with me. I have to make sure that we really are not meant to be together. If we are, then I might end up like my ancestor. Being who I am is really terrible. I'm just glad that nothing happened to my brother and her mother; we're already tied in the history of Gemma and the first Kartik—the last thing we need is a tragedy between us. Which seems to be the reason why I'm acting the way I am.

I need to pass off like an asshole to her so I can't fall for her. But seeing how that's only making her intrigued by my behavior, I must change it. I must change how I am in order to stop this. If it works, then she'll never enter the realms and hopefully there won't be any unfortunate events. If not, then I am meant to go just as my ancestor did.

At least telling the vampire about how she was helped. He'll try to visit her more and that could distract her from asking any more questions. And with that, I might just live to see my nineteenth birthday and deal with the Rakshana for the rest of my days. The rest of my lonely isolated days. Perhaps falling for Alanna might not be such a terrible idea, she could help me escape the life I'm living and feel…normal. I am aware that is also what she desires as well. Normality. The diaries my brother gave me of her reveal how much she wants to ignore her responsibilities to that realm and be like the people she was around. The Mortal humans. Thinking of it, we seem to be alike. We desire something we know we cannot have. Looking in the direction of her room, I think about her. Sleeping peacefully in a warm bed in a room that could be as big as a London flat. She is given so many luxuries in her life that only other people dream about and yet she wants nothing of it. She'd rather deal with the real pressures in this world than have everything.

The idea is incredibly idiotic but that is her desire. A desire I'm sure no one quite understands. Then it hits me: her desire of being "free." If I try to relate to Alanna about her desire maybe I could see if there is anything between us. I may not like the idea of ending her relationship—even if it is with a vampire—but it could be an amazing plan to go with. Maybe this repetition might not seem like such a terrible thing after all.

Yay! I'm so happy to have finally gotten this chapter in! It took me a while to really get into both Edward's and Kartik's "mindset" since I've been so accustomed to making it for a girl. So I really hope you liked this chapter! Please, please, please, please, PLEASE review! I cannot stress how worried I've been about this story lately and I'd really like to know what everyone thinks about this. So, please review and I hope to update soon :)