The plane ride was not an easy one.

My neurotic tendencies kicked in and my mind was racing with thoughts, none of which were good.

Of course I had Corey to help me feel better and he seemed to be in a very pleasant mood now since we were back together.

Thankfully the plane ride wasn't a long one to any extent and thanks to the distractions of Corey I made it through the flight without having a meltdown.

Life was pretty good.

Corey and I held hands as we walked out of the airport, following my Dad to the limo waiting for us.

Apparently the word had gotten out that I was arriving in New York and there were paparazzi circling the airport.

I'd almost forgotten what it was like to be the most famous person in this country since I'd been holed up in my house for the past week or so.

I tried to ignore the flashing cameras but they were grinding on my last nerve.

I pulled closer to Corey, gripping his hand tighter.

He looked down at me and grinned. "Not so much fun is it?"

I shook my head, smiling tightly. "Not at all. I'm surprised it doesn't drive you insane."

"It doesn't bother me." He said lightly.

"I wish I could say the same."

With a short ride to the hotel; the paparazzi still following and at the ready with their cameras as soon as we got out of the car, we arrived at one of the best and most expensive hotels in the city.

I gave a sigh of relief when we entered the hotel and I could see my Mother giving me a look I couldn't quite understand.

Then it clicked. She was probably wondering why I was holding hands with Corey.

She pulled me aside while Dad was checking in, asking to talk to me for a second.

"Mom, I already know what you're going to say." I sighed, glancing over at Corey who was standing next to Drake, looking bored and slightly annoyed; not very surprising though.

"I just want to clear some things up, that's all. I'm not going to lecture you." She soothed. "You and...Corey are back together."

I pursed my lips. "Yes."

"Are you sure about this?"

I sighed before she even finished her sentence.

"I just don't want to have a repeat of last time." She explained. "I want you to find someone who you can settle down with and I'm not sure it's him."

"Mom, there is no one else besides him. He's...he's the one for me."

"Well I trust you know what's best for you. And I just wanted to say I'm sorry for not telling you about my parents before. I didn't think that it was possible for you to become a vampire."

"Technically I'm a half-vampire." I pointed out.

"Still, I didn't know. I just hope we can reverse this before it's too late."

"I really don't think it's possible. What's the big deal anyway?"

"Arabelle, you're the Queen. That means that the Queen will be a vampire. I can't imagine people's reactions to this. You may very well end up having to resign from the throne if we can't fix this."

"But...I was going to marry Corey and he's a vampire that means he would've been King so..."

"Right, but I made it pretty clear to the press that he wouldn't be having anything to do with any decisions or anything involving the country. And if you don't remember, people were against you two getting married. No one was happy about it."

I saw my Dad heading over towards us.

"I'm just warning you that you should be prepared for not being Queen for very long."

"But I haven't even been Queen for long; it hasn't even been a month."

"I know but honestly Arabelle, as much as it disappoints me to say this, I don't think you're future is on the throne."

Dad cleared his throat when he approached us. "You two ladies, ready?"

Mom nodded, smiling at him. "Yes, dear."

They headed to the elevators and I followed as Drake, Hazel and Corey caught up to us.

"You don't look very happy." Corey commented as we strayed behind the others.

"I'm just a little frazzled." I responded.

"Something bad?" He wrapped an arm around my waist, glancing down at me.

"I don't know..."

"Well, you wanna share?"

I smiled softly. "Um...I don't think I'm going to be Queen for very long which just kind of overwhelms me."

"Why does it overwhelm you?" He questioned.

"You don't seem surprised." I glanced up at him.

"I'm not. I've had a feeling you weren't going to be."

"Since when?"

"Since I first met you."

I bit my lip, processing that.

"So why does it overwhelm you?" He inquired.

"Well I...I've always thought that was going to be my future, I mean I haven't thought about what it would be like to not be Queen. What would I do?"

"Whatever you wanted."

"I've never known anything but this, in a way being Queen is kind of what I want."

"Yeah but you know that's just because it was forced on you. You've never thought about what you'd do if you just had like, a normal life?"

"Hmm, not really. I mean I can't picture myself having a normal job or a normal life."

"Well maybe you should start thinking about that." He smiled softly at me.

I leaned against him, looking up into his gorgeous eyes. "At least I'll always have you."

He grinned. "Nah, I'm only in it for the money."

We both laughed.

"Well then I'm gonna have to get a really good job." I said.

"You better or I'm going to have to find somebody else. I'll think I'll go after another Princess, they tend to be easy to manipulate."

I shook my head. "You're so lucky you're good-looking or else I would so dump your ass."

He laughed. "I knew you only liked me for my looks, I always knew."

I bit back a smile, wrapping my arms around him in a brief hug before pulling away and taking his hand in mine.

We smiled at each other as we made our way down the hall, behind the others.

After an elevator ride and a short walk down the hall Mom and Dad left to their room.

Drake grinned at me as we continued down to our rooms. "You two seem awfully in love. Is there something I'm missing? Why do I never get told things?"

I breathed a laugh.

"You're back together aren't you?" He questioned, looking at us.

"Is it obvious?" I asked, smiling.

"Uh, Yeah!"

I laughed.

We reached mine and Corey's room and the uniformed man used the key card to unlock the door, setting down the luggage inside.

Drake and Hazel hung out in the room for a minute after the hotel employee left.

"So, there's a bar downstairs." Drake said. "We hittin' that tonight or what?"

I smiled slightly, my hands in my back pockets. "We'll see. You're forgetting I'm not 21."

"No but I can buy the drinks for you."

"We'll see." I repeated.

"Alright, alright. I'll see ya later!" Drake smiled briefly before him and Hazel exited the room, leaving me and Corey alone.

Corey took off his leather jacket, tossing it on one of the chairs.

The room was amazing; it was huge.

There was a kitchen area, a main room that was sort of like a living room and then a room with a queen-sized bed and a bathroom.

The tub looked amazing for bubble baths, just as nice as the one at home.

"I can tell you already want to take a bath." Corey said, walking into the bathroom as I examined it.

I smiled at him. "Yeah..."

He bit his lower lip, glancing at the bathtub.

I'd never really seen him bite his lip before and my god it was adorable and sexy all at the same time.

"That was so cute." I put my hands to my face.

"What was?" He asked with a small smile, sounding a bit confused.

"I've never seen you bite your lip before, at least I've never noticed. I love it."

He laughed. "That's kind of something I've picked up from you. It's even cuter when you do it."

I bit back a smile.

He came up and wrapped his arms around me, giving me a kiss.

"I love you." I told him.

"Wow, that's the first time you've said it first." He acknowledged.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Huh, I haven't realized."

"Well, I love you too." He kissed me again. "And I loved you first."

"What? That is so untrue."

"You wanna bet? When did you first realize you loved me?" He questioned, smirking.

"You first."

"No. You'll lie."

"No, you will." I countered.

"Just tell me." He urged.

"Fine, um...it was that one day..."

He breathed a laugh.

"Hold on," I said. "Um, the day we went to that concert and then my car broke down...ugh, that was not a good night now that I think about it."

"Ha! I knew I loved you first! I realized it at least several days before that." He smiled triumphantly.

"God damn it." I cursed. "I knew I should've made you go first."

He laughed. "This room is really nice by the way. Nicest hotel I've ever stayed at."

I nodded. "It is."

"You wanna take a bath?" He smiled, pulling me against him.

"With you?" I asked skeptically.

"I won't try anything I promise. I'll be good."

I returned his playful smile. "That's impossible for you."

He let go of me and started running the water. "Yeah, you're right. I promise I won't try anything too...risky."

"Risky?" I repeated. "Dude, seriously? I would consider just taking a bath together risky."

He chuckled. "Just wait 'till we're married, honey. This will seem like nothing."

I smiled, leaning against the sinks.

"It's nice they make bathtubs this big. It's like they purposely make them for two people." He noted, skimming his fingers along the rising bubbles at the top.

"They do." I walked over to him, putting my hands on his shoulder.

He looked over at me. "Hmm,"

I leaned down and started tugging at my shoes.

"Arabelle, you're-"

Before he could finish his sentence I lost my balance and stumbled back against the tub paneling, falling into the bathtub.

The tub was deep and I was immediately soaked.

I sat up somewhat, letting out a breath as I surfaced.

"-Going to fall." He finished.

I rubbed the suds from my eyes. "You could've caught me!"

He smiled, laughing under his breath. "Yeah but it's much funnier to let you fall."

My foot slipped against the slick tile and I almost fell back underwater but I caught myself, putting my hand against the bottom to keep myself up.

He took my shoes off for me, which we're the only things sticking out of water then his own, tossing them aside.

He sat down on the edge, putting his legs in the water.

I shook my head and leaned up, grabbing his shirt and pulling him into the water.

He landed on top of me, a very amused expression on his face.

I was completely under the water except for my head.

I scooped up bubbles and placed them on his hair, smiling as I did.

We both laughed lightly and he placed his lips against mine.

The kiss turned from a light, playful one to a passionate, intense one in a matter of moments.

I put my feet in the water, pushing myself up so I was somewhat sitting.

Our bodies tangled together in the water and Corey's hands found my shirt, pulling the wet material off.

He tossed it out of the bath and I wrapped my arms around his neck as our lips moved together.

He broke away to continue kissing down my neck; his hand trailed down my exposed stomach, eagerly unbuttoning my jeans.

"Wait," I said, taking in a breath to steady voice. "Aren't you hurt?"

He stopped what he was doing to look at me. "Yeah, so?"

"Well, aren't you, like, sore?" I sat myself up partially.

"Yeah..." He looked at me as if he was waiting for me to say something that made sense.

"Well don't you think you should be resting?"

He laughed, seeming to get a kick out of that. "Are you afraid I'm going to hurt myself? Am I being too rough?"

"No, just I mean most people rest when they're hurt. It helps you heal faster."

"I already heal fast."

"But wouldn't it still help? You still heal the same way."

"Maybe, probably, sleeping helps everyone heal." He shrugged. "What's your point here, sweetheart?"

"My point is I think you should be resting. We have plenty of time to do this when you're better."

He looked at me skeptically for a moment then gave a small laugh. "Okay...if you say so."

He moved off of me and I thought I noticed a look of hurt on his face.

I reached over and wrapped my arms around his neck, giving him a passionate and deep kiss.

After I pulled away I said; "I love you."

He exhaled shakily. All the usual arrogance, humor and depending on who he was around, annoyance that usually showed on his face and in his eyes was gone and replaced with raw emotion and adoration.

"I love you too."