I kept thinking about what I got myself into during the meeting. A party. With Alice, a party would mean that we party until the deer come home. There'd be bright lights, drinks, and not to mention, the best clothes known to anyone that has ever lived with a fashion obsessed vampire. But these are not so civilized vampires... Well in a way, they are. They didn't sink their fangs into my neck the first second they got. I was still living, that's ALWAYS a plus. But something bothered me more than getting fanged by anyone in here. Alec. Last night was a new experience; Alec is my first, my last and my only. Hopefully. Even though I tried to play it off, it WAS painful. It was this burn- My thoughts were interrupted by Chelsea's chatter.

"Ok, so I was thinking for costumes for our Halloween party." I groaned at her enthusiasm, this is going to be a long day. Chelsea's positive attitude irritates me more than life itself. She sounds like green paint on a gray wall.

"What do you have in mind, oh brilliant one?" I said with pure sarcasm.

"That's not the polite way to ask a question." Aro chided. I rolled my eyes. He smirked in half amusement and that moment made me realize that I do not give a solid fuck. Why should I? Besides the fact that I was in a city made of vampires did not faze me. They are so fake that it irritates me. I'm sure after another month, they'll show their true colors, but until then why should I respect someone who can't even show me who they really are?

"Pay attention." Alec whispered it lowly, for my ears only. Did I mention how much I didn't care? I'd rather smell the number 27 than sit here.

"Jheneva. Do you have anything to add?" Chelsea smiled at me.

"Not at all Princess." I gave her the eeriest smile I could muster. I leaned back and the sound of metal scraping the chair clearly irritated her.

"Back to what I was saying." I zoned out again. I wondered if would be able to go out again. Probably not, because Alec was sure to be pissed after this meeting. I guess I'm making him look bad by being a bitch, but oh my god. Who the hell cares?

"So what are we doing for food?" I interrupted, somewhat rudely.

"You can't interject like that." Alec eyed me.

"Let her speak." Caius said.

"What do you mean?" Chelsea asked me.

"You expect a castle of vampires to have this giant dance with no refreshments?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"Why don't we have Heidi round up a group of people and invite them. Let the mortals dance and have the time of their lives. Then bar the doors and feast on them? It could be fun chasing people in costume. In fact, it could be a game, just like wink murder. Only instead of it being just a game, really kill them. It will lead to everyone being paranoid and it will be fun for the immortals." I was getting carried away in thought.

"That's sick." Demetri said.

"That's perfect!" Cauis smiled at me. I had a feeling that I could like him. He wasn't fake like the others in this room.

"I knew someone in this room would enjoy it." I beamed back, genuinely.

After the meeting, we were forced to decorate for the event. I was bored out of my damn mind, but I did it anyway. For Alec. Except my love has its limits and I can't suffocate in this steel gray all day.

"Hey Jhene." He kissed my head.

"Hey." I replied and curled a ribbon.

"What are you thinking about?" he asked.

"Nothing at all." I lied. He raised an eyebrow, but I didn't care.

"You're lying."

"Thanks. I try. Hey, I'll be back later." I curled the last ribbon and left. He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing. Leaving the castle was simple. It was 2 in the afternoon. I walked down the streets doing nothing. It might have been selfish of me to request that I come to Italy to meet Alec, but then run away every chance I got. But he wasn't the problem. I expected more danger, and I'm disappointed.

After 5 hours of wandering around, I got my request. I wandered into the wrong neighborhood again. I should have paid attention to where I was going, but I have been having a hard enough time as is with my emotions.

"Where are you going, pretty lady?" some geezer asked.

"Home." I was headed out of the area.

"You should be careful in these parts. A lovely girl like you could wind up missing."

"Thank you." I smiled and headed back to Volterra. I rounded the corner and some guy charged towards me with a gun.

"Give me what I want and no one gets hurt." He threatened. He pressed it right into my temple.

"I suggest you back away while you still are able to walk."

"Shut up you dumb bitch." He tried to shoot me, but the bullet deflected off of my skull.

"My turn." I smiled, knocked him out cold, and threw his body down the alley. I stomped back to the castle. Who the hell did he think I was? No one threatens me. Halfway there, my head started to pound. The bullet must have bruised my temple.

The stone floor was unforgiving, sound wise, to my boots as I wandered into the familiar hallway. Jane and Alec were sitting down playing Scrabble. It looked so weird for them to play, especially since what happened this morning. Jane moved a strand behind her ear as she thought of a word to throw down, I almost felt sorry for her; her letters sucked. They both whipped their heads up at me as I approached.

"Where have you been?" Alec asked.

"Actually- nowhere much." I added the second part quickly. I opened the door to our shared room.

"Trouble in paradise." Jane laughed.

"Fuck you." Alec said. She was awfully cheery for someone who lived in their own personal hell for 3 hours. That's the longest I've been able to prolong it; it's too draining on my soul to do anything else. Much like board games. I hate that shit and I hate Scrabble more than anyone ever created has hated Scrabble. I buried my face in the pillow, inhaling the deep scent of Alec. I suddenly felt a cold hand on the small of my back.

"We need to talk about us." he said. I groaned loudly into the pillow, followed by a string of profanities that I only could've learned from my dad.

"Jhene?" What does he want from me?

I sighed. "I'm tired."

I was trying to avoid the whole discussion. "You wouldn't be tired if I was suggesting sex."

"If we were having sex, we wouldn't be having this discussion," I twisted his words to suit me and I could tell it was angering him.

"So, that's it? We are only good to have sex?"

"Alec, you know that's not true." I tried to sit up, but my migraine killed me and I sagged back into the bed.

"What happened?"

"Some guy fired at my temple, bullet bounced back, left me bruised. Now I have a headache."

"What were you doing in that neighborhood?" he asked.

"I get bored. Everyone acts so fake here, and I cannot take it. But I think I'm keeping my ass here for the rest of the week."

"Good. You are the one that wanted to come here, you shouldn't be leaving." I sighed. He was right. Stupid teenage boy telling me what I should do with my life.

"Kay. Now go play with your sister before she comes and pesters me." I pushed him off of the bed and he left wordlessly. I texted my best friend, and twin, Thalia. She gave me excellent advice about my situation and I remembered to take note. I just feel dirty gray, but if I'm going to be with Alec, I need to learn to tough I out. What's the point of doing all of this arranging just for me to give up on my dreams? If Momma Cat can run these bloodsuckers, then I can run with them. I just have to get my game face on. After wallowing in self-pity for another thirty minutes, I got up finished my costume as a zombie pilgrim. I hung it in the closet and disappeared into the shower.

My hair waved up nicely. I miss when it was curly, but I damaged it from dyeing it so damn often. Stop thinking about trivial shit. It's the only thing that helps get my mind off of the present. My hair smelled like the number four; that was at least one thing that kept a smile on my face.