GLADIOLUS || FELIX VOLTURI

nine - something brewing.

It had been a week since Felix visited Rowan at her job, and two weeks since visiting Volterra, Italy. Rowan still hadn't spoken to Bella much since their confrontation at the Cullen household. A few passing words here and there when needed so Charlie didn't worry, but overall, the two weren't talking. Rowan usually was the bigger person in moments like this and would be the first to forgive and forget, especially since she knew Bella was stubborn enough to not say anything for months if need be. This time though, Rowan was holding her ground and was going to wait for Bella to approach her first.

She was currently sitting on the couch in the living room, Paul sitting to her left, and a movie playing on the television. Rowan was finally able to see him and spend time with him at her own home since Edward and Bella hadn't been around much the past few days, and Paul refused to visit Rowan at the house if Edward was anywhere near the vicinity. Once he finally was able to come over, the two argued over which movie to play – Rowan eventually winning and playing a comfort movie of hers: Pride and Prejudice. Paul fought it for a solid few minutes, but eventually, let her play it as he could tell she was upset about something – though he warned Rowan that he would make obnoxious comments while watching.

It wasn't too long into the film that Rowan became distracted by her own thoughts, her gaze drifting to the window, taking in the outside as she became lost in her thoughts. It wasn't until she heard Paul's comment that she snapped back to reality.

"I mean, come on, he's acting like an ass. Elizabeth deserves better!" Paul exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration. With a huff, he glanced over to Rowan, noticing the distracted look on her face. "Hey, you there?" He asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

Rowan quickly looked over to Paul, blinking a couple of times, trying to figure out where in the movie they were. "Yeah, sorry, was just lost in thought there," Rowan said sheepishly. Paul only shrugged, smiling at his friend, "It's all good. I know you got a lot going on lately." Rowan only nodded, deciding to stay quiet lest she opens up about all the vampire drama she got herself involved with. There was no way Paul would handle that great, that much she was sure about.

The movie continued for another few minutes, the two sitting in silence. Paul's attention had clearly moved to his clearly stressed close friend sitting next to him. "You know, you can talk to me about whatever is going on. Is it the Cullens?"

Rowan sighed, "No. Well, yes, I guess. I mean, kinda? It involves them but not entirely." Paul stared, brows furrowed in confusion, "Wow, that really cleared it up for me," he said sarcastically. Rowan rolled her eyes, groaning while doing so, "Look, I want to tell you, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone."

Paul stared for a moment, nodding slowly, his usual humorous demeanor shifting to a more serious one. "I know you have that whole 'Wolf Telepathy' thing. They can't hear your thoughts right now, right?" Rowan asked anxiously. She had to make absolutely sure no one else would know what she was about to tell Paul. "Uh, doesn't work entirely like that, especially not in this form, so you're good," Paul said, nodding for Rowan to continue.

With a sigh, Rowan rubbed her temples, taking a moment to figure out where to begin. "So, you know how I went to Italy? The whole 'Vampire Supreme Court' bullshit?" Paul silently gave a nod. "Yeah, well, I called you after that and told you everything was fine and to not worry. And while I don't think you need to worry much, I wasn't telling the whole truth about everything being fine."

Paul immediately frowned, worry and frustration coursing through him, "What did those bloodsuckers do?"

Rowan took a deep breath, and then as fast as she could she told Paul everything. She started from the beginning of arriving at Italy and meeting The Volturi – she specified meeting Felix as well due to his importance in her current mess. She then briefly mentioned how that went, deciding to not spend too much time on being tortured by Jane – she assumed that wouldn't go over well. She then went on to talk about Felix following her to Forks. The fight with Bella. Felix and her in the bookstore. She even mentioned how confusing Felix has been making her, due to her enjoying having the man around. Even starting to miss when he's gone.

Once Rowan finished, she took a deep breath. She felt a huge weight lift off her chest after finally telling her best friend everything. Though, as Rowan felt better after revealing everything, Paul's eyes were wide in shock.

"I don't even know where to begin. There's a vampire stalking you?!"

"Oh, I wouldn't call it stalking, that's a bit dramatic!"

"Rowan, how is it not stalking? He is literally stalking you! I'll kill him!"

"You can't kill him! I don't even know what that would start! Nothing good, surely!"

"You're in danger, how can I not kill him!?"

After their quick back and forth argument, Rowan took a moment to breathe. After that moment, Rowan stared at Paul, her mouth turning down into a frown, "I know this is a lot for you to take in, but I need you to stick to your promise of not telling anyone. I can handle this, I promise."

"Okay, I made that promise before I knew you were being stalked by a vampire!" Paul exclaimed, clearly stressed about his friend's wellbeing.

"He isn't going to hurt me. I promise you, I will take care of this. I will even keep you updated. I'm sure he'll leave eventually anyway. He has much more important things to do than sit around Forks, talking about Ancient Rome with me."

Paul's expression shifted from stressed to confused, "I don't know what you guys talked about, but I honestly don't care. He's dangerous and you can't let your guard down around him. I'm shocked to hear you have."

"It's not that simple. I don't know how to explain it, I just have this gut feeling that I'm safe around him, okay? The Cullen's seem to not be bothered by him so-"

"Oh, because they are trustworthy," Paul said with a snort.

"I trust you enough to tell you all this, so please trust me enough to let me handle it. I know that's asking a lot of you, but please, let me handle this. I will ask you and the others for help if I need it," Rowan pleaded, hoping her best friend won't escalate things further.

Paul sighed, clearly exasperated from the entire conversation. "Fine! Fine. I'll let you handle it for now. Just please be smart about this. You can't trust him. And please don't keep me out of the loop. Damn, I feel like I'm breaking out in hives after all that."

Rowan loudly snorted, giving him a playful push on the shoulder, "God, you're so dramatic. And I will keep you updated on everything. Promise."

---

A few weeks passed, and Forks became very quiet – almost too quiet for Rowan's liking. Bella had been grounded, not allowed out after 4 pm. Charlie claimed this was because Bella had "put him through hell" and Rowan couldn't really argue against that. Since Rowan was 19 and his niece, Charlie didn't feel like he had the authority to ground her, but did ask her to make smart choices and be safe. Which was completely fine with Rowan, as she didn't do much other than work, garden, hang out with Paul or Emily, watch games with Charlie, or read. She used to spend more time with Bella, but lately, after the awkward confrontation at the Cullen household, they had barely spoken to each other. Plus, Bella was spending most of her free time with Edward, so Rowan just let her be.

For the most part, Rowan enjoyed the calm that was Forks at the moment, as her life had been anything but calm recently. She felt like it was slowly going back to normal, at least for the time being. She knew in her gut it wouldn't always stay this calm, but for now, she was relishing in the peaceful moment.

It was on the forefront of her mind that Felix had been gone since he showed up at her work a few weeks ago. He had mentioned that he may come and go whenever the Volturi needed him, so she knew he likely wouldn't stay for long, but now that he was away, Rowan almost felt like something was missing in her life – it was a deep gut instinct that she couldn't fully explain. She now considered him a friend at the least, and was even looking forward to surprising him with the fact she had been reading up on Roman history. So, needless to say, she was disappointed by his sudden disappearance.

---

It was 4 pm on the dot when Bella walked through the door. Rowan had been preparing a couple of sandwiches in the kitchen for both her and Charlie as they planned to laze around and watch TV after he got off work. It was clear when her Uncle walked through the door that he was stressed. Rowan had heard about the killings in Seattle, and with the disappearance of a local boy, Charlie was starting to get more stressed by the day.

When she heard Bella walk in and start talking with Charlie, Rowan thought it best to stay out of the conversation and wait in the kitchen.

"4 o'clock on the dot. That kid trying to brown-nose me now or something?"

"That kid has a name."

Yeah, Rowan was definitely staying out of it.

Eventually, Bella went upstairs, and Rowan joined Charlie for their TV marathon. It only took a couple of hours before Charlie fell asleep, the stress of work catching up with him. Rowan threw a blanket over him, and decided to retreat to her room. As she walked upstairs and past Bella's room, she noticed through the crack that Bella was standing in front of her dresser, deep in thought, reading a note in her hand. While Rowan wanted to just ignore her cousin and walk into her own room for the night, there was also a huge part of her that missed having someone to sit in silence and feel comfortable around.

Rowan quietly approached the cracked door and knocked gently to announce her presence. The abrupt sound caused Bella to jump, quickly slipping the note in her back pocket. "Um, one moment," Bella said, as she quickly started cleaning up the few messes in her room. "I can come back later," Rowan finally voiced, making it clear who was on the other side of the door.

The sound of rustling stopped, and Rowan heard footsteps approach the door. She waited as the door slowly moved open, Bella greeting her on the other side. "Sorry, I thought it was Charlie," Bella said with a shrug. Rowan smiled, "Nope, just me. But like I said, I can come back later if-"

Bella quickly cut her off, "No, it's fine. Come in." Bella went to sit on the bed, leaving the door open for Rowan to follow. Rowan stood there a moment, taking a deep breath, before continuing to follow her cousin into the room. She sat across from Bella on the bed, taking in the surroundings of the room. Rowan noticed the pictures of Edward and Bella were back up on the wall and bulletin board. The room looked cleaner too. Rowan was relieved to see Bella seemed happier than before.

"How have you been?" Rowan asked. She wanted to clear the awkward and tense air that existed between the two currently, but didn't fully know where to start. "Oh, uh, fine. Edward and his family would like to formally meet you," Bella said while pushing her hair behind her ears.

This surprised Rowan a great deal. She just assumed the Cullens thought not highly of her after how she met them, and wouldn't want much to do with her. "They do? Even after...?" Bella immediately nodded, cutting Rowan off. "Yeah, they do. And sorry about that, by the way. Looking back, I get why you were upset. It probably wasn't the best time to drop that on you anyway after everything. I just...didn't know how to approach you about everything lately."

"I appreciate it, Bella. It just was a lot to be thrown on me all at once. And I'm sorry for how I reacted. I'm just not fully used to all this yet, and I only want what's best for you. All of this stuff really worries me sometimes."

Bella nodded with a sigh, "I know. I'm sorry about all this."

Rowan shook her head, motioning for her to not worry about it. "It's fine. At this point, a lot of it is out of your hands. Regardless, I just wanted to say I was sorry for my abrupt behavior at their house. And I'd love to meet them and clear the whole matter up."

Rowan's answer seemed to make Bella feel much more relieved, as her posture seemed much less tense, and she sighed a clear breath of relief. "Cool. I'll set something up with them and make sure it works with your schedule?" Rowan nodded with a smile, "Sounds good." Rowan definitely wasn't in love with the idea of meeting the Cullens, especially now with her feeling incredibly embarrassed at the thought of seeing them again. But, she understood how important they are to Bella, and thus she would like to have a friendly relationship with them at the very least.

Rowan was moving to get off the bed, assuming the conversation was over at that point. Bella noticed this, and spoke up to get her attention. "Hey, uh, I wanted to ask. How is it going with Felix?"

Rowan paused on the edge of the bed, glancing over her shoulder. "Uh, fine, I guess. He's a pain sometimes though. I haven't seen him in a while anyway. Why do you ask?" Rowan's expression changed quickly to a confused look. She sensed that Bella knew something she didn't.

"Oh, no reason. I just know he's been around. Edward can tell when he's around sometimes too," Bella said with a shrug, avoiding eye contact. She stood up quickly, walking to the desk to grab her keys.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" Rowan asked point-blank, not one to beat around the bush.

Bella shook her head, still avoiding eye contact, "Nope. I was actually going to head over to Jake's before you came in. Can we talk more later?"

Rowan's brows were furrowed at this point, but she decided it was best to drop it, "Sure. That's fine. Drive safe." Before Bella could leave the room, Rowan beat her to it, and walked straight to her bedroom and shutting the door in frustration. It wasn't the first time Rowan felt like Bella was hiding things from her, and it was starting to feel like it wouldn't be the last either.

---

The weekend was uneventful. Bella left for the entirety of the weekend to visit her mother, and Edward went with her. Charlie was working longer hours each day it seemed, dedicating his time to the missing case of Riley Biers and whatever else called for his attention that day. This meant Rowan was spending more and more time at home alone. Felix still hadn't returned, and Rowan was definitely not concerned, not in the slightest – at least that's what she told herself.

It was another late Saturday night, Charlie had called and let Rowan know he'd be late. She spent most of her night reading and watching whatever was on television. After dinner, she found herself dozing off on the couch, eventually falling asleep. Overall, it was a peaceful night.

That was until Rowan woke abruptly at 1 am to the sound of someone knocking loudly on the front door. The loud pounding caused her to jump harshly, nearly falling off the couch. After taking a minute to collect her thoughts, she walked slowly to the door, trying to figure out who it could be. She knew it wasn't her Uncle since he had a key.

"Rowan! Open up! I know Charlie is working the night shift!" Paul shouted, pounding on the door as loud as he could for the second time. Once hearing who it was, Rowan sighed in relief and quickly continued to the door. Once she got the front door open, she couldn't speak one word before Paul rushed in, shutting it quickly behind him. It was clear to Rowan he was anxious.

"I have neighbors, you know," Rowan said, clearly confused as to why he was there, especially why he was being so loud.

"I don't care about them," Paul said with a scoff. The neighbors were clearly the least of his concern at the moment. "Listen, I came over as soon as I could. You shouldn't be alone here anymore."

"What do you mean? Paul, what's going on? Are you okay?" Paul's anxious state was becoming more apparent to Rowan, as was his frustration. She grabbed his arm, gently pulling him to sit on the couch with her. "Are you okay?" Rowan asked again, her concern growing rapidly.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Paul said, brushing off her concern. "You need to be worrying about yourself. Has Bella told you about Victoria?"

Rowan furrowed her brows, a wave of dread rushing over her. She hadn't heard that name since her encounter with Laurent – since Bella explained why he almost killed both of them. "Yes. I know of her. Why?" Rowan asked.

"She's back, and she clearly wants Bella. I don't know what she's willing to do to get to her, but I'm not willing to lose you or Charlie because of it," Paul said, his anger slowly bubbling up more by the second.

"Woah, woah. Hold on. She's back? Since when?" Rowan asked, a puzzled expression on her face.

"Does it matter? You're staying at Emily's tonight," Paul said, quickly standing up to help Rowan pack. Rowan's puzzled expression grew more confused, "Woah, you need to slow down. I can't just go over to Emily's at 1 am – what will I do when Charlie gets home after his night shift? I can't just disappear on him again for a day, he'll freak out." Rowan followed Paul up the stairs to her room, watching as he immediately searched her room for a bag to pack.

"I'm sure he'll get over it. Just leave a note," Paul said, handing her the backpack he found, implying it was time to start packing for the night.

Rowan stared in annoyance but started to pack her back regardless. "We ran into the Cullen's. They were chasing her too," Paul mentioned while Rowan was packing. This caused Rowan to pause mid-step, "Did it...go okay?"

Paul shrugged, "I got into it with the bigger one. Hopefully he learned his lesson."

Rowan sighed, but continued her packing, "I'm just glad you're okay. Come on, let's go. I'm nearly ready and need to leave a note for Charlie."

As Rowan wrote the note for Charlie, detailing how she would be at Emily Young's house for the night, she couldn't help but feel guilty for how much information she was keeping from him, but hoped it was for the best.