Countdown to 2012

Category: Fright Night

Title: Kiss of Death

Pairing: Bella/Edward

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, but I do enjoy putting Stephenie Meyer's characters in spooky situations.

BPOV

October 31, 2011

Halloween was never my favorite holiday, and yet somehow I managed to let Jessica and Lauren convince me to go with them to some Halloween party over an hour away from home…in costume no less. I guess I can't complain about the costume though, I managed to find a nifty little retro army girl costume. I figure if I have to go to this party I might as well look cute.

As we continue the drive, I glance at the directions I had printed out on MapQuest and see that we are thankfully only about another twenty five minutes away. We've been driving for almost forty five minutes already and I swear, if I hear Jess and Lauren singing Rebecca Black's song Friday one more time…I don't think they'll be alive to see another Friday themselves.

We pass the welcome sign for a small town, Ashton Springs, population 1439, and seeing the gas station on the corner, figure it's a good time to stop for a bathroom break. I pull my truck up to one of the spots by the station and shut if off before we all hop out and head inside.

Looking around inside the small little station, it seems very quaint. A few shelves of candy and various snacks, a single refrigerator case stocked with soda, and two doors; one which leads presumably to an office and the other which is clearly labeled as the bathroom. The one thing missing from the gas station however is a clerk to man the cash register.

After we finish inside, we load back into my truck. I stick the key into the ignition, but no matter what I do, the damn engine won't turn over.

"Shit," I mutter under my breath.

"Come on Bella…I don't want to be late to the party," whines Jessica.

"We're not going anywhere Jess. My truck won't start."

"Well doesn't this just suck," huffs Lauren as she crosses her arms.

"Look guys I'm sorry. Let me go inside and see if I can find the person who works here. Maybe they can get the mechanic to come and take a look at it." I reply as I get back out of the truck and head back inside the station.

I walk back inside and still the place is basically deserted.

"Hello? Anyone here?" I call out, hoping that there's someone here who could help us out.

Not hearing anyone, I look around for a phone since being stuck in the middle of nowhere means not having any cell service, but don't find one. There isn't even a pay phone outside, at least none that I saw when we pulled in. Walking back towards the girls, I sigh, knowing they aren't going to be happy about our predicament.

Once I reach them, I explain the situation, and as expected they are none too pleased. After a requisite period of time spent bitching and moaning about missing the party, they finally realize that if we can't get to the party that we can't get home either. We toss ideas back and forth for a while, and finally we start to figure some stuff out.

"I think we need to try walking into town a bit. Maybe we'll find a pay phone somewhere or find someone who will let us use their phone so we can at least call someone to pick us up," I say.

The girls nod in agreement and we grab our purses from inside the truck and begin our trek into town to try to find a phone we can use. As we walk we can tell this is one of those small towns that still seems to think it's the 1950s. Every store we pass is already closed and it's only 7:30 at night and there really doesn't seem to be anyone out on the roads.

I don't think we're walking more than ten minutes before we all realize that we probably shouldn't have worn high heels with our costumes, no matter how cute they looked. As we walk, I realize that all the houses are dark, all the shops are closed. It's as if we walked into the middle of a ghost town. The quietness we're surrounded by is just eerie and I can't help but wonder where everyone is.

Suddenly out of nowhere, we hear the sounds of a car approaching. Turning around, the three of us see the approaching headlights and start waving our hands in hopes of getting the car to stop. Luckily it does.

Once the car comes to a stop along the side of the road, I take in the sleek Mercedes and its dark tinted windows. Nervously, I approach the passenger side as the driver lowers the window.

"Um…hi" I manage to stutter out. "My friends and I, we're kind of stuck. Our car broke down back by the gas station and we were hoping to find a pay phone or something so we could call someone to pick us up."

Once I finish talking, I finally look up and make eye contact with the driver, a very handsome man with a headful of blonde hair. He smiles at me and introduces himself.

"Well, if you'd like I could bring you and your friends to my house. You could use the phone there. I live about 3 blocks from here. My name's Carlisle by the way."

I look back at the girls and they nod in agreement, the three of us just happy to not be stranded in the middle of nowhere anymore. Jess and Lauren climb into the back of the car and I take the front passenger seat.

"Thank you." I reply. "I'm Bella, and this is Jessica and Lauren."

"I don't think I've seen you girls around town before. Are you new to the area?"

"Oh, no. We live about forty five minutes away. We were on our way to a party a few towns over," I explain.

Carlisle doesn't say anything, but nods to let me know he hears me. The car is quiet for a moment before I start talking again.

"It's kind of empty here. I mean, it's Halloween and all, you figure you'd at least see kids out trick or treating."

"It does seem a bit deserted doesn't it? The town puts on a big Halloween party every year for the kids, includes a haunted house, and a hayride too. I think it's the town council's way of trying to keep the kids out of too much mischief. They host the party at the local rec center right over there," Carlisle explains as he points towards the one lit up building in town.

A few minutes later, we are driving up a small hill and parking outside of the biggest house I've ever seen.

"Well, this is home. What do you say we get you girls something to eat and a phone to use?" Carlisle asks.

"Sounds great, I'm starving," answers Lauren as she and Jess race towards the front door.

"You'll have to excuse my friends. I think they were dropped on their heads as babies."

"It's perfectly all right my dear," Carlisle chuckles as he leads me up the path to the door.

Just as we climb up the steps, I freeze in my spot as I see the sign that reads Cullen Funeral Home in big gray letters.

"Something wrong Bella?" Carlisle asks once he notices that I've stopped moving.

"You live in a funeral home?"

"Well yes. I'm a mortician dear. We live on the upper floors, with the exception of the kitchen and dining room, but this is also my place of business. Don't worry though, we don't have any…guests at the moment."

I nod in agreement, thankful there aren't any dead bodies lying around and continue to follow Carlisle inside, but stop again when I hear him mutter under his breath "At least not yet anyway…but I'm sure we will soon."

"What did you just say?" I question nervously

"Nothing" Carlisle replies. "I just said we should get inside soon…you know, so you can make that phone call."

"Oh," Is all I can come up with as a response.

Following Carlisle inside, I'm blown away by how gorgeous the house looks. It's warm and inviting and beautifully decorated…nothing like what I was expecting since I found out it was a funeral home. Now that we were in a well-lit area, I notice something about Carlisle. He's quite pale and his eyes are such a strange color.

I'm brought out of my silent observations when I hear other people approaching, all of them just as stunningly beautiful as Carlisle, but one in particular stands out to me…the one with the bronze hair. He seriously looks like he just walked off of a fashion runway.

"Girls, I'd like you to meet my family," Carlisle starts. "This is my wife Esme, my son Emmett and his wife Rosalie, my daughter Alice and her husband Jasper, and my other son Edward."

"Nice too meet you all," Jess, Lauren and I all manage to stutter. I think we're all stunned by how gorgeous these people look, and I don't even bother to question the fact that Carlisle and Esme seem far too young to have children who are married. The one thing that does register with me is the way Jess and Lauren are eyeing Edward like he's something to eat. Clearly we all agree on the fact that he's the hottest guy we've ever seen and the fact that he's single is a plus.

We introduce ourselves to everyone before Esme invites us back to the kitchen to have something to eat. She makes us some sandwiches, and while she does Jessica tries calling her boyfriend Mike, who of course doesn't answer, probably because he's off messing around with Tanya behind Jess's back, but that's another story for another day.

"Well, why don't you all just eat and relax and then you could try calling again in a little bit," Esme suggests.

As soon as she mentions the food again, all three of us realize how hungry we are since we had planned on eating at the party. We head over to the table where Carlisle's family is sitting, take our seats in the extra chairs they've added, and happily start eating the food offered.

I'm about halfway through eating my sandwich when I notice that the Cullens aren't eating.

"Aren't you guys going to eat?" I manage to utter, my mouth still half full of food.

"Oh, um…no. We already ate," explains Esme.

I don't really think anything of it and continue eating.

"So…are you girls in school?" Emmett asks.

Looking him over, I can tell he can be intimidating. Even sitting he seems to be a huge mass of muscle, but his smile and dimples makes him seem like a teddy bear.

"Well, I am. Jess and Lauren already work full time," I explain.

"Yeah, we work at my friend Mike's store. His parents own a sporting goods place back home," chimes in Jessica. It takes everything in me not to laugh as she conveniently forgets to mention that Mike is her boyfriend.

"What are you studying Bella?" Edward asks.

Looking at him, the way he's staring at me, the way my name sounds coming out of his mouth is enough to send a shiver down my spine, a blush to creep up my face and make me falter over my own words.

"I…um, well, books, read," I stutter out, not making any sense at all.

"What was that?"

"Oh, um... library sciences. I'm going to become a librarian."

"Isn't that like, the most boring thing ever Edward?" giggles Lauren as she bats her eyelashes at him. Neither her nor Jess ever understood my love of books, then again, the two of them barely ever opened one during high school, which is why I'm going to Dartmouth on a full scholarship while they are stuck working in a sporting goods store.

"Actually, I find it quite interesting. I love books. What are some of your favorites Bella?"

I can't help but wonder if this guy is too good to be true. He ignores Jess and Lauren's blatantly obvious flirting, seems to enjoy books, and for whatever reason can't seem to keep his eyes off of me.

Little did Edward realize that his one question would completely get me to open up and before I know it, I'm rambling on and on about my favorite books and authors, and I'm loving the fact that Edward seems to know what I'm talking about. Fifteen minutes later, I notice that Lauren, Alice and Jasper are missing from the table.

"Where did Lauren go?"

"Oh, she um…she seemed a bit lost in the conversation so Alice and Jasper offered to show her around the house," explains Esme after giving the rest of her family a knowing look.

Things get a bit awkward after that. They ask me all sorts of questions…how old am I, am I an only child, are my parents still alive, do I have a lot of close friends and family…

They also seem oddly pleased with all of my answers too…I'm 20 years old, yes I'm an only child, no my parents aren't alive – they were killed in a car crash when I was 17, no I don't have any other family, Jess and Lauren are my closest friends and I only have a few other acquaintances at school.

All the while I'm talking with Edward and his family, I hear him muttering words under his breath, and while I can't fully make them out it sounds like he's muttering about perfection and mates. Jessica meanwhile, is huffing and agitated that no one is paying her any attention, and storms off to try calling Mike again, who still doesn't answer.

After she sits back down, everything is quiet for a moment until Rosalie starts asking Jess similar questions about her family and friends. Jess seems pleased that someone is paying her attention, and just as I'm about to ask Edward some questions of my own, and ear piercing scream.

The Cullens act as if they didn't even hear anything.

"Didn't you guys hear that?" I ask.

"What, that yell? That was probably just some of the teenagers from around here playing some pranks. Happens all the time," Carlisle explains.

"Um, it sounded like it came from inside the house," I say, not sure if I buy Carlisle's explanation or not.

A few seconds later, Alice reappears, her eyes seemingly a bit brighter than they were before and a few red spots on her shirt that look like fresh blood.

"Alice did you cut yourself or something? You look like you have blood on your shirt," I point out to her.

As soon as I say it, she gets a nervous look on her face like the kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Oh, it's probably just paint. I was painting earlier and when we were showing Lauren around I accidentally bumped into the painting…it probably was just still wet."

"Oh…ok. Where is Lauren anyway? Maybe I should go check on her…"I begin to say.

"Oh, no no no. She and Jasper are upstairs. She saw I had the Justin Beiber movie on dvd and wanted to watch it. I just came down to grab some drinks and popcorn. You're more than welcome to join us if you want…you too Jess," Alice tells us.

I fight the urge to cringe just from the mention of the spawn of Satan that is Justin Beiber as I shake my head no. Jess on the other hand readily agrees and Rose and Emmett offer to show her the way to the den where Lauren and Jasper are while Alice gets the snacks together.

Shortly after Alice heads off with the snacks, Carlisle and Esme excuse themselves from the kitchen, leaving me and Edward alone.

It's a little awkward, just sitting there with him, but then again, that might just be because I'm fighting the urge to mount him and ride him like Sea Biscuit.

"So um…" Edward begins, suddenly looking very nervous. "Do you have a boyfriend?"

I completely caught off guard by the question. I mean, why would he care? It's not like he'd ever even be remotely interested in me.

"What? No…no boyfriend," I answer.

"That's the best thing I've heard all night," whispers Edward, a dazzling smile spreading across his face.

"Huh?" Is the profound response I come up with.

"Look Bella, I can't explain it, especially since we just met but, I feel drawn to you…like now that I've found you, I'd hate to let you go. Why don't we go upstairs and just hang out…get to know each other better…"

I'm flabbergasted by his admission. I don't know why he would be interested in me. All the guys back home always flocked to Jess and Lauren, not me. Then again I also didn't have the reputation of being a town bicycle either.

"Um…sure," I reply nervously, although I have to admit I'm a bit excited to have time with this delicious specimen of a man all to myself. I'm not slutty by any stretch of the imagination and was never one to do the whole one night stand thing, but with this guy I would totally reconsider that.

Edward leads me up the stairs to the second floor, stopping just outside a set of double doors.

"I think you might like this room in particular," he murmurs in my ear before opening the doors.

Inside is the most gorgeous library. There are shelves of books from floor to ceiling, and a couch along one wall which looks comfy as hell. We walk inside and I don't know where to start looking first. Randomly I pick a spot and read over the books on the shelf. Some of the books are so old that they must be first editions or rare collector's editions of books. All of my favorites are on the shelves…Bronte, Shakespeare, Austin.

I feel him before I see him walk up behind me.

"Do you like the collection?" he whispers softly in my ear. He's so close I can hear his cool breath on my neck.

Turning around, I'm face to face with him, and up close he's even more gorgeous than I thought. His face is perfectly sculpted, his smile radiant, and his eyes…the most unique color, almost like a dark amber.

"It's beautiful," I murmur.

"Not nearly as beautiful as you," he replies, as he leans in and brushes his lips against mine.

I don't even have time to think, my body naturally responds to him…not that I'd fight it anyway.

My lips mold against his as they part, allowing his tongue entrance into my mouth. The kiss is slow and sensual and just about turns me into a pile of goo.

Finally we break apart, the both of us panting, but he continues to pepper me with kisses and he runs his nose along my neck.

"You smell absolutely delicious," he growls. The possessiveness that laces his voice causes my panties to disintegrate and I've never been surer of anything…I want him and I want him now.

"Bella," he says, his voice gravelly. "I want you, more than you could ever know, but you have to understand something. If you let me have you, it's not going to be a one night thing that you can just walk away from…its forever."

My head is too far gone, lost to the lust that is swirling around inside it to even really process what he's saying, I just nod and agree.

Taking my hand he leads me to his room, but as soon as his skin makes contact with mine, I notice that something is off.

"Edward, your hand is so cold."

"It's what I am…you'll get used to it," he explains.

By the time I'm attempting to process the whole "what I am" statement, we're already in his room and his hands, coldness be damned are roaming my body, ripping my clothes off of me, and making me moan like a wanton hussy.

In an attempt to gain back some control, I push him towards the bed, clawing at his shirt and pants along the way. Soon we're both naked and I'm perfectly content in seeing just how well-endowed he is.

He hovers over me, placing kisses all along my body before working his way to my breasts and sucking a nipple into his mouth, causing me to arch my back. His tongue swirls around my nipple as he nips and sucks before showing the same attention to my other breast, the pleasure of it all travelling straight to my core.

Releasing my nipple from his mouth, he kisses his way down my stomach, letting his nose ghost along my inner thighs.

"I can smell you Bella…I can smell how much you want me," he murmurs.

I tilt my head up and watch as his tongue darts out of his mouth and makes contact with my flesh. He licks and sucks and teases me over and over, bringing me to the brink of my release but never pushing me over the edge.

Slowly, he inserts a finger into my dripping pussy, the coldness of his fingers a shock at first, but just like he said, I get used to it.

Pumping his finger in and out of me, he slowly works in a second and then a third finger, curling them up to stroke my g spot as he reattaches his mouth to my clit, sucking and licking again. All of the sensation is too much and I feel the tightening of my belly building before I finally fly off the edge, cumming hard around his fingers and screaming out his name.

My body spasms as aftershocks course through it, all the while Edward remains contently between my legs lapping up all of my juices.

Slowly he kisses his way up to me before kissing me on the mouth. I deepen the kiss, moaning as I taste myself on his tongue.

"I want you inside me Edward," I whisper into his ear.

He's already lying between my legs, but pulls back for a moment.

"Are you sure Bella?" he questions. "Remember what I said, this means forever."

I'm still not sure what he means by the whole forever thing, but right now I can't be bothered to care; I just need to feel him inside me.

"I'm sure Edward," I tell him as I buck my hips up, grazing the head of his cock with my pussy, eliciting a hiss from him.

He nods his head once before grabbing my leg, and hitching it over his hip, and thrusting into me.

The both of us groan as he enters me and I've never felt so full or stretched…it's never felt so perfect before, as though we were made for each other.

Just as he gets ready to move, a blood curdling scream rips throughout the house.

"What the fuck was that Edward?"

"It's nothing, probably just Emmett watching horror movies. He always keeps the surround sound up too high," Edward explains as his fingers find their way back to my core and tease my clit, thoroughly distracting me from whatever it was I was asking him about.

I buck my hips up again, silently letting him know I want him to move. He gets the message and starts thrusting in and out of me. His hands are everywhere and I feel his mouth on my breasts again.

The slapping of skin and our grunts, growls and moans are all that fill the room.

My release comes on fast and out of nowhere and I shatter into a million pieces.

"FUUUUCK, EDDWAAARD!" I scream out.

He turns almost animalistic as his thrusts pick up in pace, his growls turn more into snarls, and his fingers play with my clit again causing another orgasm to start to build within me.

"Shit Bella, I'm going to cum," he grunts. "I need you to cum with me; I want to feel you cum on my cock."

"Fuck…harder Edward. So…shit….so fucking good, so close," I gasp out.

He wraps himself fully around me as he starts fucking me harder, and the stark differences in the feel of his body compared to another human are startling.

His whole body is hard as steel and ice cold. The unnatural pallor of his skin, and the color of his eyes. Suddenly I'm not so sure he's even human, and yet the pleasure he's giving me almost makes me not even want to care.

His gaze is focused on mine, and I barely manage to gasp out the one question I need to.

"Edward, what are you?"

He never even stills his body as he answers.

"I'm a vampire Bella, and you are my mate."

He thrusts in one final time, a snarl pouring out of him. His orgasm triggers my own, and I never even see him bare his teeth or lower them to my neck. By the time I realize what's going on, it's too late.

I feel his teeth slice through my flesh, followed by the feeling of being burned alive before everything fades to black.

EPOV

October 31, 2012

Leaning against the car, I watch my mate as she sits by the two markers. I can't believe it has been a year already. I was so nervous when Alice told me that the one I'd been looking for over the past hundred years was finally coming, and while I was sure that my mate would be gorgeous, I didn't expect her to look like sex on legs.

Of course getting everything to go right took some manipulation on our end. All Alice knew was that she would be driving a truck, would be stopping at the gas station, and she wouldn't be alone. Such a convenient coincidence that Earl, the station owner, won an all-expense paid trip to the Caribbean…and how nice of me and my brother to offer to watch the station for him while he was away.

Some might think it was cruel to manipulate Earl that way, but I think he'd get over it quickly if he found out the other option to get him out of the way was to turn him into Carlisle and Esme's dinner. As soon as Earl left town, we made sure to hide the phone in the station and Carlisle agreed to be the lookout for when the girls showed up.

Once the girls made their appearance and went inside, Carlisle ripped out a few of the cables in the engine to Bella's truck…accidentally of course. Just as we knew they would the girls went in search of a phone once they couldn't get the truck to start, and in all honestly it was just dumb luck that we live somewhere that gets practically no cell service. Ashton Springs gives new meaning to that whole "Can you hear me now" commercial.

After a few minutes of the girls walking, Carlisle hopped into his car and magically appeared to save the day. The rest of what happened is as they say…history.

Bella was understandably confused after she woke up from her transformation, but we all took the time to explain things to her and introduce her carefully and slowly into the world of vampires. At first she was a bit pissed about the whole deception aspect of everything, but a few rounds of make-up sex quickly made up for it. Plus she admitted that she loved me too much to stay angry. Yes, I said loved… she admitted soon after waking up that the whole "mate" thing explained why she felt so drawn to me in the first place, how she had never felt that way towards anyone before she had met me.

Bella also did admit that the whole funeral home thing was a great cover for a family of vampires, especially ones like us. We survive basically off of an animal blood diet, but we do like to indulge ourselves every so often. Since we lived in such a small town, Carlisle is also considered to be the town's coroner, so getting the calls to pick up bodies gives us access to the blood of humans without taking a life. Plus, if any of us slip up, it becomes easier to fudge the cause of death.

As for Jessica and Lauren, Bella wasn't all that sad to see them go. The two girls ended up being a Halloween treat for Rose, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper. The only concern Bella had was whether or not they suffered, which they didn't. After all, Esme raised us right and taught us to never play with our food.

The family faked the death of all three girls, making it seem as though they lost control of the truck, crashing into a tree which caused it to ignite on fire. According to the police reports, Bella was trapped within the car and burned to death, allowing us to not worry about having remains left behind. Since Jessica and Lauren both had families back home, we made it look as though they were ejected from the vehicle and killed instantly.

The one promise Bella asked me to make her was to bring her back to her home on the one year anniversary so she could pay her respects.

I'm brought out of my memories as I feel her arms snake their way around me and I can't help but smile. Gazing back at my mate, I still can't help but get lost in her beauty, which was only magnified by her transformation.

"This year has gone by so fast babe," she whispers as she places a kiss on my cheek.

"I know sweetheart. Do you ever wish it didn't happen?" I ask her, almost a little nervous to hear the answer.

"Never," she replies. "It brought me to you, so how could I ever wish for something else."

"I love you Bella," I whisper before placing a kiss on her lips.

"I love you too, Edward."

The two of us just stand wrapped up in each other, watching the sunset. Just as it finally dips below the horizon, Bella finally breaks the silence.

"You know it is a little funny when you think about it," she says.

"What's funny?" I ask, feeling slightly confused.

"That it would take a kiss of death, to finally bring me to life."