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Chapter Text

"Are you sure you still want to go?" Tristelianna Haliwell, one of my and Elena's best friends, asked. I look towards her, playing with the ear bud I'd pulled out when she had managed to get my attention. Not that it had taken a whole lot to do so, as she'd followed Logan, mine and Elena's pseudo-guardian, into the room.

"I'm sure," I said, exasperated, my eyes returning to my I-Pod, watching the name of the song I'd just been playing – Black Velvet by Alana Myles – as I waited for...something to happen. Having packed all of my things into my truck earlier – the very truck that Logan was going to drive for me, as I'd agreed to fly out to my father when he suggested that I do so – I was left with nothing to really do, at least, until tonight. My friends and I were going out, a last soiree in a way.

"Besides, I'm not the only one leaving. Almost everyone else is as well," I added.

"I know that. I'm only asking you because you've been...not yourself since you agreed to go there," Tristelianna said. "I mean, I don't blame you. This will be the first time you and Elena have been separated from each other for longer than one day since you've met. And that's not to mention the fact that this will also be the first time your separated from the rest of us as well."

"Well, people are bound to drift apart," I said, though I didn't believe it. The ties between us, all of us, were stronger than most ties between friends. They were my family, had been since I first came here. Elena was, without a doubt, my sister, even with the lack of blood, and the others were those fun-loving cousins that you didn't want to see leave.

"You and I both know that you don't believe that," Tristelianna said, pushing her hair – a brilliant bluish-purple color – behind her ear. Her clear silver-blue eyes surveyed me, seemingly trying to pick me apart. Not that it would be hard for her, but I could tell she was giving me my privacy, something I was thankful for. Of course, I had the feeling that she was only doing this because the last time she hadn't, I'd been rather mad at her.

"I don't want to go," I finally said. "Or, rather, I'd rather go with Elena. However, I owe it to both myself and my father to get to know him." Tristelianna nodded her head, understanding what I was saying. Unlike with my mother, my father, from what I could tell from the few times I'd talked to him on the phone, was different from her. He also, rather desperately, wanted to see me, having not done so since I was a child.

"Besides, just like I need to do this, Elena needs to do what she's going to do," I said. "And, while I would love to be there for her, I think this is something that she needs to do without me, just like I need to visit my father without her."

"Are you bothering her again?" came another voice. Tristelianna and I looked to the doorway of Elena's and my room, discovering that the person who'd just spoken was none of than Elena.

"I'm not bugging her," Tristelianna said. "I'm just talking."

Elena's eyebrow rose. "Is that what you want to call it," she said, walking over to us. I moved over on the window seat, making room for her to sit. "So, what is it that you've been bothering Bella about?" Elena asked, looking over my shoulder to see what I'd been listening too.

"I'm just making sure she still wants to go," Tristelianna said. "Is that a crime?"

"No," Elena said. "However, asking the question repeatedly is rather annoying."

Tristelianna rolled her eyes.

"If she didn't look so miserable, I wouldn't be asking the question repeatedly," she said.

"I'm not miserable, just...apprehensive," I said. "The only time I've met my father, I was too young to remember. Also, I've told you what my mother said about him."

"The fact that it was your mother that said it should tell you not to listen, and that he's most likely the opposite of what she said," Elena said. I looked over to her. My sister in all but blood, we weren't that different. In fact, for not being blood siblings, we looked more alike than one would think, particularly at first glance. We were both dark haired and dark eyed, about the same height and weight, and with the same white streak in our hair. However, that was were our similarities ended, and changed the longer you looked. While dark haired, my hair was slightly lighter and had a more reddish tint to it, while hers was just a shade under black. She was also olive toned, her skin a light tan color, while I was a pale peach color that showed almost no color to it at all.

I shrugged at her, and, wanting to change the subject, said, "What about you? Are you apprehensive about visiting your family?"

"No, not really," she said. "While I haven't seen Jeremy in years, I have seen Aunt Jenna – remember, she came up four years ago. I get along well with her. Plus, based on what she's said, Jeremy is more than interested in getting to know me."

"What about..." I started to say. I didn't need to elaborate; she understood what I was going to mention.

"From what I can tell, Jeremy doesn't know why I never visited, and they never bothered to tell him," Elena said. "As for running into them, that's going to be impossible. Remember, they're dead, have been for a while."

Had anyone else heard the blasé way of how she spoke about her 'parents', they would have been appalled. But then, the fact was that they knew nothing about her parents, and didn't know that her dislike for them, and the fact that she wasn't sad at their deaths, was well warranted, just like my dislike for my mother was warranted. After all, it was hard to really care for someone who'd thrown you out on the streets because of something that you couldn't help, something that spoke of a huge difference between you and them. It was even harder to care for someone who tried to kill you because of that difference.

"Besides, perhaps I'll be able to find out about my biological parents," Elena said. "I mean, I might be able to find out about my mother, and I can't see my father not coming by for a visit. Of course, the fact that I know that he's my father is probably not known to him."

I stifled a laugh, while Tristelianna did no such thing. Elena smiled at Tristelianna, who shrugged and gave a look that suggested that she wasn't going to apologize.

"Well, I guess, if you two are sure of yourselves..." Tristelianna started.

"Then there's nothing to worry about," Elena said.

"Besides, if you wanted us to change our minds, it might have been better to say something earlier, not the day before we're set to leave," I added, conveniently ignoring that she had said something beforehand. She rolled her eyes at my words, but didn't say anything. Instead, she said, "So, how soon do you two think you'll be able to get ready. It's almost time to go, after all."

"We just need some time to get ready, just as you do," Elena said, motioning to the baggy sweatpants and sweater that Tristelianna was wearing.

"Perhaps we should get that done, then," I said, standing up as I turned my I-Pod off, walking towards the door. I didn't have to worry about fighting Elena for the first shower – we could both take a separate shower, thankfully. While we shared the room, the dormitory bathroom was, strangely enough, situated so that the only thing shared was the bathroom mirror and a his and her sink set.

"All right," Tristelianna said, following me to the door as well while Elena headed to take a shower. "See you when you finish." I nodded, closing the door behind her before heading to take my own shower.

It was easy to figure out what to wear. After all, I'd only left one outfit worthy of going out in that wasn't strictly for travel. Though, in truth, it was only the top that I had trouble figuring out, as I'd already decided on wearing a pair of dark wash jeans. I had, before finishing packing, eventually decided to leave out a purple velvet blouse with long, wide sleeves and a lace up front. A necklace that held one half of a pair of dog tags – one of Logan's that he'd given me – a pair of gloves that went to my elbows – though it would only be seen if I lifted my hands above my head – black suede, heeled boots, and a thick black jacket finished the look. I left my hair down after drying it, only grabbing a scrunchy should it prove to be windy outside.

"So, how do I look?" I asked Elena, turning in a circle as if to showcase my outfit. She laughed.

"Nice," she said. "What about me? How do I look?"

Like me, she wore dark wash jeans. Unlike me, she wore a white halter that had a Gothic cross design on it, the words 'True love never dies' wrapped around it. A pair of white gloves that went up to her shoulders graced her hands, a necklace like mine – with the other half of Logan's pair of dog tags – graced her neck, and white leather patent heeled books could be seen peaking out from beneath the hem of her jeans. She wore her hair up in a bun, a pair of dark blue lacquer chopsticks holding it in place.

"Nice," I said, a bit jealous, as I could never pull off the white halter like she did. My skin was too pale for it – wearing white clothes in such a large quantity made me look a bit washed out.

"Thanks," she said, giving me a smile as she slung on her leather jacket. "Shall we head down?"

"Lets," I said, grabbing my purse – in which I threw my I-Pod in – and heading out of the door. Walking down the hall and stairs to the living room, I wasn't surprised to see that Elena and I were the only ones ready. Having been among the first to get ready, it made sense that it would take the others a while to do so. I took a seat on the couch to wait for the others, my ear buds back on as I changed the song, this time to The Blackest Lily by Corinne Bailey Rae.

Tristelianna was the first to come down. Of course, I didn't notice it at first, as I wasn't looking at the stairs, but when she came to sit down, I saw her. I felt my jaw drop when I saw what she was wearing, then I shook my head, a slight smile on my face. I should have realized that she would chose something like she did. She excelled at surprising people.

She was wearing a rather short black dress with a blue design on it. Coupled with this dress was a pair thigh high boots. What I supposed was her sweater – at least, I hoped it was her sweater – was thrown over her arm.

"Your going to freeze," I said, shaking my head. She grinned, her smile unrepenting as she took a seat.

"How long before the others are done?" Elena asked. Before Tristelianna could answer, someone else did.

"Don't know, but I'm ready," was the response. We looked over to see our only close male friend, Harry Potter, standing in the doorway, leaning against the wall as his green eyes looked at us in amusement. I took a glance over him, loving his shirt, upon which the close-up of a vampire and werewolf's faces could be seen. I knew that, on the back, it showed the two in full body, about to attack. I'd stolen the shirt to wear so much that he'd gotten me one of my own, in the largest size he could.

"So are we," someone else said. Harry stepped fully into the room, revealing the twins, Aura and Erika Greenwell. Identical twins who had no problem making themselves look slightly different to each other in the physical sense, the twins both wore the same black dressy pants and same long sleeved,open shoulder shirt. However, where Aura's shirt was light purple with some angel – or fairy, I wasn't sure – standing in front of an orb that was glowing, Erika's shirt was light blue, with two dragons, one a slightly darker blue, the other teal, situated in the shape of a heart.

"Who are we still waiting for, anyway?" Erika asked, looking around, and taking in who was already down there. None of us answered her; there was no need to. It was clear who was still missing. Sighing, she walked over to the couch across from where Elena, Tristelianna, and I were sitting, taking a seat herself. Aura followed, while Harry took one of the armchairs.

It was less than two minutes later – as the song Still Doll by Kanon Wakeshima ended and the song Crucify My Heart by Lullacry began – that those we were waiting for finally showed up. First was Alexandra Haliwell, Tristelianna's 'sister', wearing a white dress that had thin straps, and was the same length as Tristelianna's. A pair of white Mary Jane heels completed the look. She held a thin looking white sweater over her arm. The white wet well with her olive tone skin and dark hair.

Azure Monroe and Hermione Granger-Ravenblood were right behind her. Azure was wearing a long skirt, that was tie-dyed two different shades of purple with hints of blue. A tie died hoodie of blue and brown was worn on top. Hermione a red velvet corset top and dark wash jeans. A sweater with glittering roses kept her arms warm.

Kitty Pryde came down next, wearing a brown skirt with a reddish brown design along the bottom, and a dark green blouse. Less than a minute later, Clarissa Fray walked into the room. She was wearing a pale lavender blouse over a pale pink skirt, her fiery red hair pulled back into a messy updo.

"Are we ready to go yet?" she asked, looking around.

"No, we're still waiting for Morgan," Elena said. Just as she finished saying that, the final member of our group, Morgan Riordan came down the stairs. She was wearing a black halter top and red plaid mini skirt. Black tights covered her legs, and her black heeled boots had red flames on them.

"Sorry for making you wait, I couldn't find my one boot," Morgan said. Those of us who were sitting stood up.

"So, everyone ready to go?" Hermione asked. "And whose all driving, anyway?"

"I am," Harry said.

"So am I," Aura said. "I don't think we'll need more drivers, unless someone wants to take the position of driver who will leave early."

"Well, I'm planning on staying the entire time," I said. "Plus, my truck is on it's way to Washington right now anyway."

"And my truck's too packed to take that position," Elena said. "I'll barely be able to fit myself in it, much less someone else."

"Mine's the same," Morgan said.

"Do any of us actually plan on leaving early?" Kitty asked. Those of us who hadn't said anything yet thought about it.

"I would actually imagine that it would be a good idea for those of us who have an early flight to not stay for long," Harry said slowly. "Unless, of course, the plan has changed." Said plan being where our soiree was.

"We never actually decided on where we were going to begin with," Elena said. Of course, those words caused for another delay as we hashed out were to go. Not that there were a whole lot of options. Our choices were pretty much Pandemonium, a teen club about two hours away from where we lived, that guaranteed loud, pulsing music, a crowded dance floor, and a lot of interruptions from guys and girls wanting to 'be friendly', as well as the choice to stay out till one in the morning; and Transcendence, a karaoke café that was an hour and forty minutes away from where we lived, that guaranteed a bit more privacy than Pandemonium would, as well as having our ears bleed as quite a few people butchered songs and that closed at eleven thirty.

"Look, guys," I finally said after a few rounds of 'lets go here, no lets go there'. "I have an early flight, and I do not want to be tired when I get to Washington, since I know I won't be sleeping on the plane. And I really don't want to bother with the crowds at Pandemonium. Let's just go to Transcendence."

When I mentioned the crowds that were bound to be at Pandemonium, those who wanted to go there conceded not to. I knew that it was mostly because this soiree wasn't going to be like the others, otherwise, I would have suggested Pandemonium. None of us would be seeing each other for who knows how long. Tristelianna had been right when she said that I hadn't really been away from the others for a long time. In fact, if one counted, longest any of us had been out of each others' company was a week at most, and even then, we were usually in the same area.

And with most of us leaving home... Well, it made sense that we'd want the quieter place to go and have fun in each others' company.

"All right then, let's go," Tristelianna said, leading the way out of the house. We headed to cars, splitting up. Elena, Azure, Kitty, and I piled into Harry's car, me sitting up front with him as the other three sat in back. As we pulled out of the garage, Azure noticed that my I-Pod was still in my hand, though I'd paused it after Morgan came down the stairs.

"Why don't you hook that up?" she said, motioning towards the stereo. Doing as she said, I changed it from the song that it was on – Not Big by Lily Allen – to the next one, which ended up being Highway to Hell by AC/DC.

"Nice," Harry said before he began singing along with the lyrics. "At least we'll have some good music for the drive."

"We'll hopefully have some good music at the café as well," I said.

"Knowing you, you'll probably be responsible for some of said good music," Azure said.

"Like your not the same way," I quipped.

The drive seem to pass by quickly, mostly thanks to the fact that we distracted ourselves with singing the songs my I-Pod played. After Highway to Hell, two Joan Jett, one Ozzy Osbourn, and one Lita Ford were among the songs that followed before the first country song on the playlist – Austen by Black Shelton – played, which ended up starting the list for other country songs to play.

When we arrived at Transcendence, Harry parked in a spot as close to the door as he could. Luckily, there weren't that many cars there. Most people probably wanted to stay inside – it was wicked cold outside, and I was thankful that my boots and jacket were insulated. I would wonder how Morgan, Tristelianna, and Alex managed not to feel cold, but I was too used to them, and knew them well enough that being out in this weather worked for them.

Walking in, I immediately winced as someone butchered the song they were singing.

"I don't think you're going to last long before you go up there," Elena said.

"I don't think so either," I said, wincing again. In fact, I only followed them to the table to put my purse down before heading to the table where those who wished to sing signed up at. I decided to do Papa Don't Preach by Madonna first, writing it down on the sign up sheet and taking note of who was before me – there were at least three people ahead of my name, based on which song was being sung at the moment. Walking back to my seat, I passed by Tristelianna and Clarissa, who were going to sign their own names up to sing.

"What do you want to drink?" Harry asked as I rejoined the group. It was his turn to pay for the drinks tonight, though it only applied to drinks.

"Large Root Beer," I answered. It was kind of too late for coffee, and, at the very least, soda came with a free refill, so it was worth getting a soda over something that had coffee in it. He wrote it down on a piece of paper. "Oh, and I'll take one of those strawberry swirl cheese cake slices, as well six pounds of that fudge." I dug into my purse to had him some money for the food.

"That fudge does look good," Morgan said. "I'll take some of it as well, three pounds please."

The others gave him their orders, and those who were getting something to eat as well gave him some money for what they were asking for. Once that was done, he headed to the counter, placing said orders, and nodding to something the cashier said. It looked like she was flirting with him. I didn't really blame her if she was – while not overly handsome, Harry was still quite good looking, and his eyes, an intense emerald green, just drew a person in, the wire rimmed glasses he wore doing nothing to hide them.

Too bad for her that she really didn't have a chance with him. He was way to devoted to his two girlfriends.

"So, Harry, did you get her number?" Aura asked when he got back, the trays in his hands loaded down with our drinks and food. Apparently I wasn't the only one who figured that she was flirting.

"No," Harry said, shaking his head at her. "And I wouldn't want it if she had offered anyway. I'm happy with Katie and Cho."

"And I'm sure that both are really happy with you," Erika said, giving her sister a look that stopped anything that she might have said. Aura rolled her eyes.

"Besides, there didn't seem to be anything about me she was interested in," Harry added, giving Aura a look of his own.

"Oh. Do tell," Aura said, leaning into him. I tuned them out then, not really interested in where they were most likely going. I usually did this when it came to things like this. I was most likely going to be alone – I wasn't really planning on ever dating, much less doing anything else – so listening to people hook up or talk about their relationships tended to bore me.

"So, tell me," Erika said to me. "What are you going to do first when you get to Washington?"

"Not sure," I said. "I looked up the area where my father lives at, and, from what I can tell, there really isn't anything to do, at least, fun-wise. The town's rather small, and, other than hiking and camping, doesn't hold anything of entertainment. If you want that, or to do any type of real shopping, outside of food shopping, that is, then you have to go to Port Angeles or Seattle. However, one small point towards it is that there is a beach nearby, First Beach. It's apparently on an Indian reservation, the Quileutes, I think."

"But you don't like the beach," Erika said.

"No, I don't care for being sun burnt, there's a difference," I said. Forks and most of the places around it, including First Beach, is usually underneath a cover of heavy clouds. In fact, it's usually raining there."

"Thus meaning that you're less likely to get sun burnt," Erika said. I could tell that she wanted to laugh. I didn't blame her. After all, how many other people had the unique talent of being able to get a sun burn when at the beach, no matter how much sun block you put on?

"It also means that people won't expect you to wear a bikini or a bathing suit," Morgan said.

"Exactly," I said. As I heard the music for the next song start, I turned towards the stage. "Oh, I love this song," I said, before wincing. "Don't like the person singing it though."

"I think you're next," Tristelianna said, also wincing as the singer butchered the song. I thought about what the list had said, and nodded my head, realizing that she was right.

"So what song did you chose to do?" I asked.

"You'll find out when I get up on the stage," she said. I turned to look at Clarissa.

"Won't be finding out what I'm singing until I get up there as well," Clarissa said. I pouted.

"So mean," I said, wincing once again.

"You know, I didn't think it would be possible to butcher this song," Tristelianna said.

"I think any song can be butchered," Clarissa said.

"That's true," I said. I took a bite out of my cheesecake as Clarissa and Tristelianna continued their talk, tuning them out after a while. As the song ended and my name was called, I stood up to applause. While usually in the summer time, my friends and I frequented this place enough that we were well known to everyone else who came here even more than we did.

I had to hold back my snort when I heard someone mention that whatever song about to be sung wouldn't be butchered as the last one was. I also heard a small complaint that the person who had been on the stage before me was signing up for another song as well. As the song played, I sang it without having to look at the screen for the lyrics all that much, knowing the words to it pretty well. Once it was done, I went to put myself down for another song, this time Never Let Me Go by Florence and the Machine. As I wrote down the song I was going to sing next – there four others ahead of me, not counting Tristelianna and Clarissa – I saw what songs that they were going to sing.

I should have realized what song was a good possibility for Tristelianna to sing. As a big fan of Miranda Lambert, it made sense that she would chose her second favorite song, Mama's Broken Heart, to sing. I was surprised when I saw what Clarissa had put down, though. In Your Room by the Bangles would have been the last song I would have suspected her to sing. She was more of the type to go for slow songs, after all.

"Cheater," Clarissa said as I sat back down in my seat.

"Like you wouldn't and haven't done the same," I said. She playfully stuck her tongue out at me. I just took another bite of my cheesecake.

The rest of the soiree passed like this, with Tristelianna, Clarissa, and I continuing to do karaoke while talking with the others, who sometimes joined in with the karaoke as well. We even did some duets; said duets the only time Harry willingly graced the stage. The final song that I did was with Tristelianna and Clarissa, a fun song called Takin' Pills by the Pistol Annies.

Of course, when I wasn't on the stage, I listened to all of the conversations around me, joining in when they turned to what everyone was planning when we got to our destinations – for those of us who had them. Kitty mentioned that she and Tristelianna were planning on stopping by her mother's house first before officially starting their road trip. Clarissa, who was actually coming to work here at Transcendence, mentioned that she was still trying to close the deal on getting an apartment that wasn't too far away from here. Harry, Hermione, and Azure said that, once they got to England, they planned on getting together with Harry's godfather, Sirius Black to talk about some things that were going on in the wizarding world at the moment, as well as taking a more active part in everything going on.

Alex simply said that she'd gotten a job at some sub shop in Manhattan's Greenwich Village. I was a bit interested in hearing that, as it was the first time she'd mentioned it – I assumed that she'd either stay at the school with Aura and Erika, or go with Kitty and Tristelianna on their road trip. By the looks on the others' faces, I could tell that I wasn't the only one who this was a surprise for, though it did seem that the one who it mostly concerned already knew about it.

Morgan mentioned that she had already gotten a room at an animal friendly hotel in Widow's Vale. I had to wonder what she'd do if she ended up running into her ex-adopted parents, particularly as she'd most likely be doing something that they hated, since they were very religious and she'd most likely look for a job in something that had to do with wicca. She'd probably ignore them; that's what I plan on doing if I ever ran into my mother. Not that there was a big chance of that; last I heard, she was back in Arizona, and I had no desire to be anywhere near a desert.

Elena's answer, however, troubled me a bit when she mentioned it. I didn't say anything quite yet, though, knowing that the café wasn't the place to talk to he about it. And, by the look on her face, I could see that she knew what I'd be talking to her about once we got home.

The others didn't seem to find any worry about she'd said; that, or they decided to leave it to me to talk to her about. Or, rather, Tristelianna decided to leave it to me to talk to her about, and told the others to do so as well. After all, Tristelianna most likely knew that Elena was considering, without even having to talk to her. Being the mind reader that she was, it wasn't uncommon for her to 'eavesdrop' on our thoughts, unless I was willing to keep her from doing so, for everyone else. It wasn't like she did it consciously, after all; she kind of couldn't help but hear our thoughts. She couldn't turn off her ability, had she wished to do so. In fact, I was really the only one she had to work to read, though I really didn't hide much from her anyway.

"So, are we ready to leave?" Aura asked after a few minutes silence as we finished our drinks or whatever food we got.

"I think so," Morgan said.

"It's about closing time anyway," Clarissa added.

"Let's pick up and go then," Harry said.

"So why didn't you mention something before?" I asked Elena as we got ready for bed, my eyes meeting her in the vanity mirror as she brushed my hair, getting ready to braid it, just as I had braided hers already. She sighed, handing me the brush so that she could begin.

"Well, mostly because, up until I mentioned it, I hadn't actually thought about it," she said, shrugging. "I was fully planning on staying at the house with Aunt Jenna and Jeremy, but, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I just...can't. I can't live in that house again. They may be gone, but that house will hold their essence, no matter what Aunt Jenna may have done with the place, and that's assuming she did anything to being with.

"Plus, even if the house has been rearranged, I'm sure that there are still pictures of them on the walls, and I don't really think that I can handle looking at them. They just...hurt me way too much for me to be comfortable around anything that could remind me of them in a twenty-four-seven way."

"So, what do you plan on doing, then?" I asked.

"There are a few inns around the town," she said. "I also remember there being a boarding house that I'm sure I could stay at, at least until I can somehow get an apartment."

"I take it that Aunt Jenna isn't going to be really receptive to you not living at the house," I said.

"No, more like she won't be receptive to me living alone, with no one else there," she said. "Since she's met the owner of the boarding house a few time, she knows him, and knows that he'd take watch me and make sure I didn't get into trouble. At an apartment building, that little fact wouldn't be there."

"Ah," I murmured. "True. How sure are you that you can get a room at the boarding house?"

"Not sure at all," she said. "Though, not from every being full. From what I remember about it, the place actually never had any boarders. Which is why I'll probably lean towards an inn over it. Still, I really should try and get a room there."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Who knows? The owner may have changed and they'll be more receptive towards having a paying boarder."

"Yeah, maybe..." she trailed off.

"So, you at least have a plan on what you're going to do when you get there?" I asked.

"Yes," she said. "I should arrive there late Sunday, so long as I don't go too slowly, and don't stop too much. I'll take a room at an inn for the night, sleep, call the next morning to have Aunt Jenna meet me for dinner at the Grill, and then go and see if the boarding house is taking any boarders. If not, then I'll just continue to rent the inn for even longer while convincing Aunt Jenna to help get me an apartment."

"Well, I hope that you can convince her or the owner of the boarding house," I said, finally standing up to head to bed. She'd finished braiding my hair awhile ago, our conversation distracting me from noticing it until now.

"Good night," I said, turning off the lamp next to my bed.

"Night," she said, turning off her own lamp. The room was plunged into darkness then, and it only took me a few moments to fall asleep.

The next morning dawned way too early. Or, rather, my alarm clock was set too early, going off before seven. Had I not had to get up by then – I would have to be at the airport at a certain time, after all, and there was a bit of a drive ahead of me – I most likely would not get up in time to have food before I needed to leave. My only consolation was that those flying out as well – namely, Harry, Hermione, and Azure – had to get up this early as well.

I carefully got out of bed, seeing that Elena was still asleep and not wanting to wake her up so soon. Of course, Elena could sleep like the dead at times, not being the easiest person to awaken in the mornings, but, at other times, a single sound could end up causing her to wake up immediately.

Gathering my clothes for the day, and packing up my dirty clothes from yesterday into a bag that I'd take on the plane with me – in a separate pocket than the clean things, of course – I crept out of the room, my bag in hand to put into Alex's car. Alex was the one who offered to take us to the airport on her way to Manhattan's Greenwich Village. Since she was staying in New York, she planned on making a few multiple trips back and forth, instead of bringing everything in one go. Morgan was planning on doing the same thing as well, only she wasn't heading in the same direction as the airport we'd be using.

Heading back inside now that I'd done that, I went to the kitchen, not surprised to see Harry already there, cooking.

"What are you making?" I asked him.

"Just some pancakes, bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs with cheese," he said.

"Sounds good," I said, taking a seat on the bar stool at the counter.

"So, did you talk to Elena?" he asked.

"Yeah. She's got a plan, though, so I'm not all that worried anymore," I told him.

"But why doesn't she actually want to live with her aunt and brother?" he asked.

"Because of the fact that they still live in the same house," I said. "She'd rather not live in the same house that her 'parents' lived in."

"Kind of like how I didn't want anything to do with number four, then," Harry said.

"Yeah, kind of like that," I said. "Only, her problem is a bit less horrifying."

"True," Harry said. "Very true."

Hermione and Azure came downstairs them, drawn by the scent of food that was in the air. Tristelianna followed them, looking like she'd been awake for at least an hour already, which, if I thought about it, was probably true. Her sleeping schedule was strange after all.

"You all ready to go?" she asked. We all nodded our heads. "Okay."

She walked out of the room for a second, coming back in with four book shaped presents. I furrowed my eyes, a bit surprised when she handed one of them to me.

"The others wanted to see you open it, but they're not going to be up in enough time to see you open it and let you leave in time for your planes, so I'm going to 'record' your reactions so that they can see them later," she said.

"Let me finish here first," Harry said.

"I'll help," I said, eager not to be in the spotlight and hoping that I'd be able to open the present somewhere else.

You know that you won't be getting away, right? I heard in my head. I turned towards Tristelianna, sticking my tongue out at her. That was something that I had to admit that I disliked about the rest of her ability. She couldn't just be left with the ability to read minds, no she had to be able to expand it to talking in others minds – among a few other things – and, of course, while my shield blocked her from reading my mind, she could still send messages through it, and talk in my mind, though she couldn't do anything else until I was willing to lower my shield for her. I can block and protect my mind for almost all forms non-physical abilities people might have, but if they wanted to talk to me, I was unable to block it.

At least it wasn't something that would be extremely bad, like being unable to stop someone from controlling my body without my permission.

Helping Harry made the task of cleaning breakfast up go much quicker than it would have been done had he just been doing it alone. All too soon, Harry and I were left with the two wrapped packages, as Hermione and Azure had already open theirs. Frowning as Tristelianna kept her eyes on us, we finally opened our presents.

It was indeed a book, a photo album to be exact. Curious as to what was in it – particularly since any photos I had were already on their way to Washington, and it was too soon to have any pictures from last night developed, despite the lack of pictures taken – I opened it. And stared at what I saw for a second before looking up to Tristelianna.

"Everyone chipped in to get the gifts," she said. Understanding dawned on me as I remembered the shopping spree we'd all gone on several weeks ago. I'd forgotten about it, despite the fact that I had gotten everyone gifts myself. Since I was only looking at pictures, that were undoubtedly taken in the stores the objects came from, I had the feeling that they either had them delivered to my father's house, or Logan was driving them there right now. Considering that Tristelianna most likely dealt with that part – as she did with what I'd gotten everyone – it had most likely been sent to my father's house.

At least, that's what I suspected happened with the larger purchases. For the small ones, they were most likely packed into my truck, under Logan's care right now.

"Thanks, guys," I said, looking at Tristelianna so that she was sure to catch it. I saw her stifle a smile at how...unenthusiastic I sounded. It was well known to my friends that I didn't like to be the center of attention all that much. It's why I really loved the fact that Elena and I shared a birthday – I could hide behind her and let her have all of the attention.

"Okay," Tristelianna said. "I'll go get Alex up."

"No need," Alexandra said as she appeared behind her sister. "I'm already up and ready to go." She walked over to the counter, grabbing a plate and filling it up with some of the food on the counter. "Just let me eat, and we'll go."

"We still have to eat anyway," I said, motioning to mine and Harry's plates while taking a bite of food.

"I'll go get everyone else up as you finish eating," Tristelianna said. "They should be awake and dressed by then."

"Have fun getting Elena up," was my answer, before I took another bite of food.

"Aura's harder to wake," she said as she left the room.

"That is true," Harry said.

"Yeah, remember that time she almost punched Hermione for waking her?" Alexandra asked.

"That was nothing compared to how she was at Hogwarts," Azure said. "Believe me, I know well on how she was like."

"That's cause you had to share a room with her, isn't it?" Hermione said.

"That, and the fact that our roommates didn't seem to learn not to bug her in the mornings," Azure said.

"Wait, is that why..." I started to ask.

"Yes," Azure said.

"And she still didn't learn?" I asked.

"I know. You'd think she would've, at the very least," Azure said. I rolled my eyes. Just when you thought they couldn't get any dumber went through my mind. Harry, Alexandra, and I finished eating rather quickly, and had put the plates in the sink, heading to the hall just as everyone else came downstairs, looking sleepy and grumpy.

I looked at my friends as I gave them each a hug one by one, saying my good-byes, trying not to cry. Pulling on my coat and taking the photo album that I'd forgotten in the kitchen from Tristelianna, I gave everyone one last smile before walking out of the house and hopping into the backseat of Alex's car with Harry and Azure.

My eyes were firmly looking over my shoulder, stuck on the place that had been my home for most of my life, while I thought about the people still inside, the ones that I considered to be a part of my family for the same amount of my life. I didn't turn my eyes away until I could no longer see the place.

Then, and only then, did I look forward, and let a few tears slide down my face as I wondered when I'd see them again. It was an act that I repeated at the airport, when I separated from Alex, Harry, Hermione, and Azure. Boarding my plane, I wondered what would be awaiting me once I got to Washington.

And I also wondered when I'd see my friends again.

Chapter Text

The plane ride to Washington was long and boring. I tried to get some sleep but it wouldn't come. Instead, as I listened to the song Cry Little Sister by Gerard McMann, I thought about what might be waiting for me when I got to Port Angeles, which was where I was going to be meeting Charlie. I had to admit, I was rather nervous about it. This would be the first time I'd meet the man who was my father, a man I'd never seen before, as far as my memory was concerned. After all, I wasn't even a year old when my mother decided that she could no longer handle living with him in 'the gloominess that was the idiotic town he refused to leave', which was a direct quote from her, according to Charlie.

I sighed, making a face as the plane hit some turbulence. I hate planes, and wished that I had been able to take a portkey or even driven. However, I had agreed to fly out by plane, and, while I could have acted taken a portkey and lied to him, I didn't want to do that. He'd gotten hurt from my mother's lies already, plus I was already hiding things from him. I didn't need to have anymore secrets to hide from him. Also, this way, if he asked how the plane ride was, I'd have something to say.

It was raining when I arrived in Port Angeles. I didn't take it as an omen, just unavoidable. As I'd mentioned to my friends, Forks didn't get a lot of sunlight, and, as Port Angeles isn't that far away, it made sense that it wouldn't either. Stepping off of the plane, I was glad that I'd thrown on my water-proof jacket beforehand, as I would have ended up soaked otherwise. As it was, my hair ended up soaked as I hurried through the rain to the awning that protruded from the main building, and my bag ended up partially damp, along with the jeans I was wearing due to the puddles of water that had formed on the ground.

Sighing as I wrung my hair out as best I could, I entered the building. Immediately, my eyes looked over everyone in there, looking for a sign baring my name. Not original, but as I didn't have a clue to what he looked like, it would get the job done of helping me find him while he looked for me. I kind of wished that I had ask for a picture of him when I sent the ones of me and my friends to him.

My eyes spotted the sign with my name on it rather quickly. I didn't move yet, though, choosing to study the mustached man holding it instead. Just looking at him, I could see some similarities that suggested being related. While his hair was a few shades darker than my own, his skin was the same shade of pale, and his eyes were the exact same color as my own. He was wearing a police uniform; it seems that he came here straight from work. I had been a bit impressed when he told me that he was the Chief of Police in Forks. He must do the job well to have that title.

Once my perusal was done, I walked over to him, keeping my eyes on him. I knew immediately when he noticed me.

"Bella?" he questioned. I nodded, coming to a stop in front of him.

"Hey, Ch- Dad," I said, giving him a nervous smile as I stopped myself for calling him by his given name. I stood still in front of him, letting him have his own perusal of me, and I saw his eyes zero in on the pure white streak in my hair. I could see his mouth begin to form the question I'd heard thousands of times before, which caused me to automatically say, "Accident."

A part of me wondered why he seemed so surprised to see it, especially since I sent him pictures of what I looked like, but I had the feeling that he had just thought I had colored my hair.

"Shall we go get the other bags I brought?" I asked after a while. The question seemed to knock some sense into him, for he nodded his head and headed towards the baggage claim area. I quickly found the bags that I had actually brought with me, and grabbed them, only to have Charlie take two of the three. I frowned at his back for a second, wondering if he thought I couldn't carry them by myself, then shrugged, not really caring enough to cause a scene about it.

He handed me an umbrella before we walked out of the building, where I was able to open it without getting wet thanks to another awning. Once I had it over our heads, he led us over to a car that proclaimed itself to be a cruiser of the Forks PD. I frowned, wondering why he had brought it, then remembered that he didn't have much else in the way of transportation, and was glad that Logan was on my way here with my truck. With how fast he drove, as well as the fact that he would most likely only stop when he absolutely needed sleep, he'd be here sometime on Sunday, a mere three days away. This meant that I'd have my truck by Monday, so I wouldn't be forced to accept a ride from Charlie or walk to the school.

My bags fit easily into the trunk, leaving enough room for my carry on as well. I took a second to extract my I-Pod before putting it in as well. I could tell that Charlie was confused at the lack of luggage, which reminded me that I hadn't told him about the fact that Logan was driving my truck here, which also reminded me that I hadn't thought of a way on how he'd get back home. I frowned at the insight as I buckled up and began messing with my I-Pod, changing from the song it was on to the next one. Playing the song on a low setting so that I could talk, I set the I-Pod into my pocket and looked at Charlie.

He seemed a bit nervous as he pulled out of the airport parking lot.

"That was it, right?" he asked. The lack of bags seemed to bother him a bit.

"What I brought straight away, yes," I said. He seemed to deflate a bit. "The rest of my stuff is being driven here with my truck."

Knowing that I had things on the way seemed to calm him.

"Oh, there has been some deliveries for you within the last few weeks," he said. They're in your room right now."

"Okay, cool," I said. There was silence for a few seconds, until what else I had said filtered through his mind.

"Wait, I thought you didn't have a car?" he said.

"No, I do," I answered. "I just, well, I didn't think about how much I had to pack until after I did so, and realized that there were just a bit too many bags for me to be comfortable bringing on a plane. So, I asked Logan if he could drive the rest of my things to me, and that ended up getting me to realize that he could just drive my truck to me so that I'd have it.

"Why do you want to know?" I asked the last bit as I'd noticed that he wince when I mentioned having a truck.

"Well, uh, when you said that you wouldn't have transportation, I kind of... I kind of got a good car for you," he said, blushing slightly. My mind went blank for a moment, then I tried to think of when I said that, only to remember having mumbled it to myself as I wondered how I would get to school if I decided to come live with him for a while when he first asked about it.

"Oh, th-thank you," I said, blushing myself. I felt a bit ashamed that I hadn't told him that I did have a car – hell, I could have gotten out of riding the plane here if I had – and that he had to waste money. "I'm sorry. I should have mentioned it before. In truth, though, I really didn't think about my truck until yesterday, when I wondered how I was going to get all of my bags to me, and I didn't remember mentioning any problems about transportation to you, so I kind of forgot to let you know that I did –"

I was blabbing a bit, something that seemed to amuse him, based on the chuckle he gave. It was that chuckle that made me stop speaking.

"It's okay, Bella," he said. "I just figured that it would be better to make sure that you had a car when you got here after hearing that. And it didn't cost much to get anyway. It was my friend Billy's truck. He's in a wheelchair now, and didn't have a use for it, so he sold it to me pretty cheap. Actually, he wanted to give it to me for free, but I insisted on paying him for it."

It made me feel a little better to know that it hadn't cost that much. I had the feeling that, when Charlie insisted that he pay for it, this Billy most likely went for the cheapest price he could get Charlie to pay. Then, as I was calming down, wondering what to do with the truck, something else he said made it's way into my brain.

"What kind of car?" I asked. His assurance that it would be a 'good car' for me struck me as a bit odd. It also made me a bit suspicious as to why he was say it like that.

"Well, it's a truck. A Chevy, actually," he said, realizing that he had already mentioned it being a truck before. The tone of his voice gave me the feeling that he liked that I seemed to be showing in it. I wondered if he was hoping that I would drive it or something, which also gave me the distinct feeling that he had no desire to do so himself.

"What year is it?" His body language changed, letting me know that this was the last question he wanted me to ask.

"Well, Billy's done a lot of work to the engine – it's only a few years old, really," he said, dodging the actual question. I hope he didn't think I would give up. It wasn't in my nature to give things up so easily. Plus, a car that needed engine work was either a crappy car, or old. I kind of needed to know which if I was to get an idea of what to do with it.

"When did he buy it?" I asked. He thought for a moment.

"He bought it in...nineteen eighty-four, I think," he answered. That didn't sound too bad, but, as a plan began forming in my mind, I decided that I needed at least one more piece of information before I decided on what to do.

"Did he buy it new?" Charlie cringed at the question.

"Well, no. I think it was new in the early sixties, late fifties at the earliest," he admitted sheepishly. Well, if it was that old, then it the work it needed made sense.

"You do know, Dad, that I don't know anything about cars, so I wouldn't be able to fix it up if something went wrong," I said. "Plus, anyone who could do that would be wicked expensive as well."

Charlie looked at me, a bit confused at the way that I phrase it. Then he said, "Really, Bella. The thing runs great. They don't build them like that anymore."

"I'll have to see myself," I muttered to myself, then said louder, "I'll use it for this weekend if I need to go anyway – or just to get the layout of the town. If it works as well as you say it does, I'll see if Logan wants it. He might like a truck like that, and he's a pretty good mechanic, so if it broke down on him, he'd be able to fix it. How much did you pay for it?"

"Around seventy," he said. "Like I said before, Billy was willing to give it to me for free, so he wasn't all that concerned about price."

Wow, that was cheap.

"Well, I'm sure that Logan will be willing to buy it off of you, if it does work well," I told him.

"I'll be willing to sell it if he wants it," he said. I nodded, and that was the end of the conversation. I turned up my I-Pod, enjoying the Vixx song hyde as I studied my new surroundings. It had stopped raining, which let me see what was around me without a blur to it. The place was pretty beautiful, if not extremely foreign. Everything was green: the trees, their trunks covered with moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of leaves, the ground covered with ferns. Even the air seemed to filter down greenly through the leaves.

I'd never seen so much green, and I wasn't sure I actually liked it all that much. I had my reasons for that. Green was the main color for the Slytherin house at Hogwarts, which had been the least liked house there. Considering my interactions with many of it's members, both who were at school with me, and who were alumni, it made sense that I wouldn't be comfortable in a place that reminded me of that house. That little fact made a frown appear on my face as I hoped that the house wasn't painted green.

The Jewel song What's Simple is True was just ending, with the song Brighter by Against the Current beginning to play when we pulled up to the house. The first thing that I saw was the truck that Charlie had gotten me. It was a faded red color, with big, round fenders and a bulbous cab. It had a certain charm about it, and I had the feeling that Logan would like it somewhat, though I doubted it would go very fast, which would irritate him a bit.

I then looked at the house, and was glad to see that it was painted an ivory white with red trim. It stood two stories tall, and had a covered porch framing the doorway, with a few steps leading up to it. It wasn't like the places that I was used to, but it did look nice. I grabbed my carry on bag, as well as the bag that Charlie hadn't, and followed him into the house. The inside was just as nice as the outside, with crème colored walls and medium tinted wood floors. Charlie showed me around the place, showing me the living room and kitchen. I frowned when I saw the kitchen, looking away immediately due to the bright yellow colored cabinets. I would have to see about painting them a better color at some point.

He then led us upstairs, pointing out the door to his room and the only bathroom in the house. I tried not to think about that last bit too much as I looked to the only other door on this landing – which kind of confused me, because he had mentioned that there were three bedrooms in this house. However, I did remember him mentioning that he might make my room bigger for me during our talks, and, after looking at the walls, and seeing the one of them, while expertly dine, was kind of newish compared to the others, figured that he had done so. With a slight hint of excitement, I followed him to the last door on the landing, which he opened to allow me to see my room for the first time.

I smiled lightly as I took in the obvious changes made to it. The walls were a dark purple color, with ebony wood furnishings. The bed was at least a queen sized one, pushed into a little cubby corner next to another door that, when I cracked it open for a quick glance, saw to be the closet, which looked as though it was the perfect size, not taking up too much space. As for the rest of the room, a good portion of the wall space was taken up by bookshelves, and there were boxes everywhere, so I didn't see the full effect, but I looked the best I could, seeing that there were a total of four windows, the largest of which, when I went closer to it, I saw had a window seat. I noticed that there was a desk and a dresser framing the entrance into the room when I turned towards Charlie.

"Wow," I said, placing my bags down where I stood. "Who helped you do this?" I couldn't exactly see Charlie doing this alone.

"I asked Dr. Cullen's wife," he answered, placing the bags just inside of the door.

"Wait, was this why you were pretty specific in asking those questions on what I would like my room to have, and what colors I liked?" I asked. While I had known he was updating my room, it hadn't occurred to me that he would go that far, and had just wanted some ideas of how I would like my room to look like; if I had known the real reason for it, I would have been a little more specific, though I really did like how the room was looking already. Truthfully, there probably wouldn't be any change to it, I just might have put more ideas for colors on it. He nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "I didn't want you to end up with a room you wouldn't like. Though it was a good thing I asked, too. Mrs. Cullen had, at first, agreed to let her one daughter help, and, well, had I not asked, you're closet would probably be bigger than it is right now. As it is, well..."

Those words sounded a bit foreboding to me. They also sparked my curiosity, as I hadn't seen anything about the closet to really spark my interest. Walking over to the closet, I opened the door wider than I had before reaching in to see, and then flicking on the light switch when I found it. And then I stared at the interior, slowly walking in. It was a walk-in, as I requested, but not a normal one. Instead, while there was a small part where I could place my clothes at, I realized that the closet actually made an acute ninety degree turn, showing that it was much larger than it really needed to be. In addition to that, there was plenty of room for me to place things; several rods with a built in shelves-slash-drawers. On one side, there was a single rod; the other held two rods, one underneath the other, most lightly set up for shirts and pants to be hung. At the end, on the opposite wall, was a three tiered mirror, while the wall opposite of the clothing space, held more shelves and places to put my shoes. Not only was I surprised to see it, I was a bit overwhelmed by it, though I could see that, while it didn't look like it, it was surprisingly roomy. I was also of two minds about it.

It wasn't me – I wasn't the type of girl who loved clothes shopping a whole lot. However, on the other hand, it gave me a good amount of room, and allowed me to hang up more things that I was originally expecting to do.

"Well, it's not too bad," I said. "At least it only looks like it doesn't take up a whole lot of room. That would have sucked if it did."

"Yeah. I was surprised when I saw it myself. For what looks like a small space, it's surprisingly roomy inside," Charlie said. I nodded, smiling lightly at the fact that he said the same thing I was thinking.

"Um, are you going to need any help with all this?" he asked. I shook my head. I would be able to get it done faster without him here.

"Okay, then, I'll just leave you to it," he said. "Um, I'll come get you when it's time for dinner. We'll go down to the Lodge, let you meet a few of the townsfolk."

He left me alone then. I was glad that he did. I didn't like people who tended to hover over you when you were doing something. I had a vague memory of Renée having done it herself, which probably explained why I didn't care for it.

One of the first things I did, after closing and locking the door, was find my speakers and hook my I-Pod up to them, setting it on the desk when I was done. Changing to an upbeat playlist, I began to unpack. I did the boxes first, placing everything where I would want it, followed by unpacking the bags I'd brought. I used magic to help me, of course, which made things go faster. While doing all this, I thought about what I'd be facing come Monday, when I started school.

Forks High had a total of three hundred and fifty-seven – soon to be fifty-eight – students. That was definitely more than the Xavier school had, but about a hundred less than Hogwarts. The numbers really didn't frighten me all that much, in truth. What did, though, was the fact that all of these people had known each other since birth; their grandparents had known each other since birth. I was the new girl from the big city, a curiosity, and probably considered a freak in a way, though not the way it usually was. I just knew that I'd be surrounded by people wanting to get to know me. That scared me. I wasn't the type to really care about making new friends – I loved the ones I already had. In truth, I was the type to be a wall flower, happy to have a book and my I-Pod and be left alone with just those two things.

I also doubted that I looked like a girl that they expected to live in a big city as well. I wasn't blonde-haired, tanned, or sporty. In fact, I probably looked like I had lived in a town like this one my entire life. And I definitely was not an athlete. Gym was my worse class, mostly because I could be rather clumsy when it came to that class. My balance had gotten better, particularly when I wore heels, but I usually wasn't allowed to in that class, and I usually had trouble staying vertical. Plus, there was the fact that Hogwarts didn't have a Gym class – though going up and down all those stairs could be considered one – so I had less practice in that class over others.

Once I finished putting away my clothes, I did one more thing. Using an athame to make the rune marks, I warded the hell out of my windows and door, making sure that no one uninvited could get in with permission, and also making the glass less likely to break and wall less likely to catch on fire. I'd have to find a time to do the rest of the house later. Then, I sat down on my bed, and took in the entire room, without the boxes blocking my way. It was around this time that Charlie came up and informed me that it was time to go.

I changed the pants I was wearing once I took everything in, uncomfortable with them due to the fact that they were still slightly wet at the bottoms. I also brushed and pulled my hair back from my face before heading downstairs, my heels clicking on the floor. Charlie was watching some game on the TV in the living room, but he turned towards me when he heard me coming down.

"I'm ready," I said, adjusting the strap of my purse.

"Okay," he said, standing up and turning the TV off. "Do you want to take the truck or the cruiser?"

"Let's take the truck," I said. I was curious to see how well it ran.

"All right," he said. "Do you want to drive?"

"No," I said. "You know where to go better than I do. And I don't take passengers who try to direct me very well."

"Okay then," he said, leading the way out. I grabbed the umbrella by the door, just in case it started raining again. The truck was loud, roaring to life and idling at top level. It didn't surprise me, though, nor did the fact that it couldn't go over fifty-five mph. The fact that the radio was in working condition did surprise me, though. I wouldn't have suspected a truck this old to have a working radio.

The drive to the Lodge, as my father called it, wasn't that long, though it was long enough that he had time to point out a few of the other places around town, like the school and grocery store. Once we got there, I was introduced to several of my father's friends, such as Waylon Forge, and the waitress, Cora.

I wasn't really comfortable with the attention they were giving me all that much, and it showed in my fidgeting. I distracted myself in eating my food, and trying not to be rude while they kept asking me questions. If this was what I would end up having to deal with come Monday, I may just end up figuring out a way not to go to school.

"Are you okay?" Charlie asked me as I drove us back home.

"Yeah," I said. "Why you asking?"

"I don't know. You just seemed so quiet and...tense during dinner," he said.

"That's mostly because I wasn't completely comfortable with the attention," I said. "I know that I'll have to deal with it at school when Monday comes, but I'll have time to get used to the idea with this weekend. I wasn't really expecting it to happen at the diner; I mean, I expected it more from other teens than adults."

"Sorry, I probably should have warned you," Charlie said sheepishly.

"It's okay," I said as we pulled up in front of the house. "Now you know, though."

With that, I headed inside and up the stair, gathering my bathroom necessities for a shower. I took off my boots, setting them next to my dresser, where I grabbed some sleep wear, and heading to the communal bathroom. I tripped at least twice on the way there, not paying attention to my feet as the floor moved on me.

After my quick shower, I studied my left arm with a frown on my face, looking at the scars on it. Madam Pomfrey, the nurse at Hogwarts, had done what she could to heal them, but the fact that most of them had been given by an overly cursed knife meant that the majority would stay. I was glad that I would always make sure that they stayed covered, though. I really didn't want to explain why someone had carved the word 'mudblood' into my skin, particularly since most people wouldn't know what it meant.

Sighing as I began to brush my damp hair, I forced my thoughts away from the scars, choosing instead on wondering just how well I'd fit in here. I doubted it would be that well. It wasn't really in me to fit in with normal people. I was barely able to fit in with mutants and witches and wizards. The only place I really fit in was with my friends, and they weren't here. I might have felt better if they were, though.

I wondered if I would find someone I could relate to here. Not that I expected to find anyone who was on the same page as me, unless there was a mutant or witch/wizard living around here with me. My brain was too glitched to really expect to become friends with normal humans. Still, I'd give it a try. I really didn't want to be friendless while here – bullies tended to go after loners in most places, plus, well, a friend would make things a bit easier with being here in general.

"You done in there, Bella?" Charlie called through the door, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah," I said, putting the brush down, picking up my things, and turning to leave. I tripped over my towel, making me stumble into the door.

"Ow," I said, glaring at my towel as I bent to pick it up. Opening the door, I walked into my room, put my things down, and threw on a movie to watch, not wanting to get lost in my thoughts again. I went to bed right after the movie ended.

The next day, I decided to explore the town. After finding my sunglasses, I headed down into the kitchen to get something to eat, where I discovered Charlie already making food.

"Morning," I said.

"Morning," he answered. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Sure," I said.

He handed me a plate of bacon and eggs, and then sat down at the table, finally looking me in the face. He stared when he saw the sunglasses and gloves that I was wearing.

"Something the matter?" I asked.

"Why do you have..." he started to ask, trailing off.

"I don't the color yellow, particularly in large amounts. It gives me a headache," I said. He made an 'oh' sound.

"And I take it that the glasses dull it a bit," he said.

"Oh, yeah," I said. I took a few bites of my food.

"Hey, dad, do you have any plans for dinner tonight?" I asked. He frowned.

"Well, I figured that we would get some pizza," he said. "Why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if I could cook something tonight, that's all," I said.

"You can cook?" he said, surprised.

"Yeah," I said, not sure if I should feel insulted or not.

"Oh, uh, sorry," he apologized, realizing how he'd sounded. "It's just that, well, I can't cook much more than what we're eating right now, and yo-Renée," he stressed her name, remembering that I didn't have a high opinion of her, and that I no longer considered her to be my mother, "couldn't cook either, though she loved to pretend that she could."

"I remember," I said, thinking about all the 'experiments' that Renee had made before I learned to cook. I really suspected that the only reason why I was still alive was because she always made sure to have fruits and vegetables around. "Well, I can cook. I enjoy cooking, in truth. So, if you'd like to just hand me use of the kitchen and leave me in charge of the food..."

"Yeah, go ahead. Knock yourself out," he said, though he looked slightly worried. I had the feeling that he also remembered Renée's experiments. This time, I really was a little insulted at the fact that he seemed to think I would be anything like her. Still, I didn't say anything, knowing that he didn't quite mean to insult me like that.

Finishing my food, and washing my plate, I looked through the fridge and pantry to see what there was too use. To my dismay, they were pretty much empty save for the things that I suspected he could make without problem.

"Okay," I muttered to myself. "Looks like I'll have to go grocery shopping. I guess it's a good think that he pointed out where the store was."

I knew that I could ask him to come with, as he was staying home this weekend with me, but I kind of wanted to do this myself, so I could familiarize myself with the town a little bit.

Heading upstairs to grab some paper and a pen, I came back down stairs and wrote out a list what we was needed. Then, I went back upstairs, changed into some suitable clothes to go out in, and came back downstairs, my purse slung over my shoulder.

"Hey dad," I said, going through my purse to make sure that I had what I needed. "I'm heading to the store. See you when I get back."

"Okay," I heard him call. "Wait." I paused. "Uh, here." He handed me a card. "For the food."

"Oh, okay," I said, accepting it from him as he told me the pin number. "But I have money for it myself."

He didn't hear, having already headed back to the couch, and distracted by whatever game was on. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at his behavior, but put the card into my purse anyway. I'd split everything between this card and mine, only paying so much on his. I wasn't sure how much he had in his bank account, but I knew I could afford to get pricey food items and not have to worry about the cost.

The shopping took no time at all, and I was back at the house pretty quickly.

"Hey, dad, could you come help me unload the truck," I said as I walked back into the house, putting my purse down, and heading back outside to get some bags.

"Sure," he said, following me. "Wow, how much did you get?"

"Everything needed," I said. He paused when he saw how many bags were in the back. "Particularly for tonight's dinner. Oh, and don't worry, I'll put it all away."

"Okay," he said, still looking wide-eyed at everything I'd gotten. As promised, once all the bags were inside, and I'd put everything away, I pulled out the ingredients for what I was going to make tonight. I decided to start out easy for him, choosing to have stake and potatoes for tonight. Once that was decided, I went back up to my room, not needing to start it for at least another five hours.

So, for those five hours were spent playing a game on the Wii that had been sent here. I was glad to see that they also had the foresight to send some games here for me to do so – particularly games that I would play. I made sure to set an alarm, since I would have forgotten about making dinner otherwise.

I could tell, as we ate, that Charlie liked what I'd made. I was glad to know, particularly since I would be doing a bit more elaborate meals later on. Like the previous night, I watched a movie until I felt tired and went to bed.

Sunday finally arrived. Logan did as well, while I was cutting up the lettuce for tonight's tacos. I finished doing that just as there was a knock on the door. Smiling, for he had sent my a text letting me know when he'd entered town, I put the knife down, turn the heat on the meat down, and hurried to the door, just as Charlie was opening it.

"Logan," I said walking forward. Charlie, who had most likely been about to ask who he was, seemed to get a look on his face that seemed to say 'this is that Logan guy you talked about?'

I didn't blame him for his reaction. I'd never given him a picture of what Logan looked like, and the way I talked about him, I knew my father was thinking he'd be older. And, while Logan was a lot older than Charlie knew, physically, he looks like he's a bit under Charlie's age.

"Dad, I'd like you to meet Logan. Logan, this is my father, Charlie," I said, making the introductions. "Please come in. I'm making tacos."

I hurried back to the kitchen after that, as I didn't want to leave the stove alone while it was on. The meat was done within another few minutes, and I walked back out of the room, not at all surprised to see Logan and Charlie there. I was, however, surprised to see them bringing in bags, and then I remembered that why Logan was driving my truck to me to begin with.

I walked outside to grab a few bags and the few boxes that were there myself, but they'd already brought them all in.

"Here's your keys," Logan said, tossing them to me as he came down the stairs, my father following behind him. I had to stifle a giggle as I noticed that my father seemed to be a bit out of breath from carrying the rest of my things up the stairs.

"Thanks," I said, gifting him with a small smile. "Come, it's time to eat."

The conversation that night was Charlie interrogating Logan, with me trying to stop it. I particularly hated when Logan informed Charlie of how we met. I don't think that Charlie would have ever guessed it, and I had the feeling that, after hearing it, he could understand why I never said anything about it. After all, who would want your cop father to know that you'd been caught stealing from someone. Luckily for me, Charlie didn't reprimand me; instead, he seemed to be slightly glad to know that Logan wasn't a child rapist or serial killer.

Had I been willing to let Charlie know about my mutant abilities, I would have been able to calm and reassure him that nothing would have happened anyway. I would have been able to take care of myself. Not that I said that, and I gave a look towards Logan to let him know not to say anything about it, either.

Once we were all finished eating, I told Logan where to find the bathroom so that he could take a quick shower.

"So that's Logan," Charlie said. "I expected him to be a bit older."

"He's around your age," I lied. He was actually older, but I wasn't about to say that, because of the questions that were sure to follow if I did.

"How much did you get for the truck again?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Around seventy," he said. "Why?"

"Well, knowing Logan as I do, it would probably be best to get him ready to leave after his shower," I said. "Not only do we not really have room for him here, but he's technically the PE teacher at the Xavier school, and I don't think we should keep him here that long. There's also the fact that, knowing myself as I do, I'll end up wanting to talk to him all night, and, well, considering that I start school tomorrow, I don't think that would be a good idea. Plus, where exactly would he sleep. This couch isn't exactly comfortable, and there's no guest room."

I left off the most important part of my reasoning, though. I knew that Logan wouldn't want to stay here, even though he'd be loathed to leaving without spending some more time with me, because Logan had night terrors, ones that I doubted he'd want my father knowing about. I already knew that he hated the fact that I knew about them. But more than that, what he hated the most was that he perceived any being around him as a threat, a fact that could have gotten me killed, had I not 'borrowed' his mutant ability of healing.

"Okay, then I guess..." Charlie started to say, clearly at a loss.

"I'll talk to him, see if he wants to buy the truck from you," I told him. "If he does, you two can haggle out a price for it."

"Actually, you can do the haggling. The truck is yours, after all, so any money you get for it goes to you," he said. His tone brooked no argument.

"All right," I said, though I wasn't exactly happy about it. I decided to make it up in some way.

"Oh, by the way, you didn't mention that you owned a motorcycle," Charlie said. "Now, I would like it to be known that I don't like this fact, and that I would prefer that you not ride it while here."

"So basically I should let it rust," I said, giving him a look that said that wasn't going to happen. My look also said that I wasn't going to sell it either. I may make up for the fact that he needlessly spent seventy bucks for no reason, but that wasn't going to be what I paid for it. Besides, there was some special work done to it that meant I couldn't really sell it, not to any non-magical, anyway.

"No, just...just don't ride it when it's raining, or the roads are icy," he pleaded. I gave him a nod of consent to his conditions. It wasn't like I was planning on doing either of those things anyway, so it wasn't a big deal to me.

"I'll be moving it into the garage while I'm outside," I said.

"You might want to open the door then," he said. I nodded, and headed back into the kitchen, going through the side door that led into the garage. Opening the door, I took a look around, this really being the first time I'd come in here. There was a washing and drying machine in a cubby behind the door, along with the water heater and two freezers. A toolbox and several boxes were also in the room. Other than that, it was pretty empty.

"Hey," Logan said, startling me as I didn't hear him coming over the noise of the garage door opening. "Your father said you wanted to talk to me."

I nodded, leading him out towards the Chevy.

"What do you think of it?" I asked.

"It looks like it needs some work done to it," he said. There was a slight look in his eye that suggested that he would enjoy being the one to do that work, which didn't surprise me too much. I knew that Logan enjoyed working on mechanical things in his spare time.

"It's loud, and doesn't go over fifty-five mph," I said. "However, it runs pretty good, and the radio works. Plus, you need a way home."

"Pawning it off on me," he said, giving me a smirk.

"Pawning, selling, whatever you want to call it," I said. "Dad bought it for me because I didn't mention that I owned a truck, nor did I think to tell him that you were bringing my truck here when the idea came to me. He was offered it for free, but paid around seventy bucks for it."

"For this," he said. "It's a classic; whoever was selling should have tried to get at least a hundred fifty."

"The person who sold it is a friend of my father's," I said.

"Oh, that explains it," he said. Pulling out his wallet, he pulled out and counted several bills.

"Two hundred for it, and don't argue," he said. I frowned at him. "Give your father seventy of that, to repay him for what he paid, and keep the rest."

"He told me to keep it all," I muttered as I looked at the bills he'd given me, frowning some more as I counted that exact amount.

"Then use seventy specifically for him," Logan said.

"Okay," I said, sighing. Folding the bills and sticking them in my pocket, I walked back over to my truck, pulling my bike off of it quite easily, and rolling it into the garage. He followed behind me.

"Well, let's go get the keys to your new ride," I said with false cheer. I didn't want him to leave quite yet, despite the fact that I knew that he should.

"Yeah, let's," he said quietly, probably feeling the same way as I was. Closing the garage door, I let him enter the house first and we headed back to the living room. I handed him the keys to the Chevy, and said bye so that he could get on the road before it got any later. Charlie also said bye as well, and I watched out the window as Logan drove off.

Once I could now longer see the taillights of the Chevy, I headed back to the kitchen, putting away the leftovers and cleaning the dishes. Looking at the clock after that, I figured that, since I had to be up for school the next day, it would probably be a good idea to get ready to do so now.

"I'm going to take a shower and head to bed," I told Charlie as I passed by him. "Night."

"Night," he said.

I headed up the stairs after that, feeling knots forming in my stomach as I thought about school the next day.

Chapter Text

Sleep did not come easily to me. I laid in bed for an hour, hearing when Charlie decided to go to sleep, and still couldn't make myself fall asleep. It got to the point where I was wishing I'd been old enough – or, rather, in a place that wasn't a small town – to get a bottle of Baileys, which had a helpful effect, when mixed with chocolate milk or hot cocoa, to help me sleep when I found myself unable to. It was also helpful in keeping nightmares away as well, when it was needed. I was rather annoyed at my inability to sleep, finally resorting to take a mouthful of Dreamless Sleep potion.

I hated having to take it. Not only did it taste disgusting, but, much like drugs, if I relied on it too much, I'd become addicted to more. It would also lose potency the more I had to use it. At least I didn't have to take too much of it for it to work, since I despised using it so much, and it did what I needed it to do, knocking me out right away.

I awoke to a thick fog outside my windows. I frowned, hating the feeling of claustrophobia that ran through me as the greyness pressed against the glass, giving the feeling that there was nothing but it; I probably shouldn't have watched The Mist last night. I resorted to closing the curtains that I'd accidentally left open, shivering in the cold air of my room. To make up for the lack of light that gave me, I turned on the lights in my room, making a stop at my mini fridge to get a water bottle before heading into my closet. I was careful not to trip over the bags that were brought up the previous day, seeing that I had yet to unpack them.

I wasn't super picky on what I wore – so long as my skin was as covered as possible, I would be fine – so I just grabbed the first long-sleeved blouse and pair of jeans my hands landed on. I decided to wear a pair of my wrist length gloves over my usual elbow and shoulder length ones, since the sleeves of the shirt I got were actually just a tad bit longer on me than needed, and I would need to worry about my sleeves falling down my arms when I lifted them. A pair of five inch heeled oxford shoes on my feet finished my outfit for the day, and I was pretty much ready to go after that. I just needed my jacket and bag. I also threw my ear phones on, seeing no reason not to. A quick fiddle with my I-Pod, and Ali Project's King Knight was the first song that ended up playing.

Charlie wasn't there when I got downstairs, and I figured that he had already left. It was still a little too early for me to leave quite yet, and I was a bit hungry, so I had a bowl of cereal, wondered what color to paint the yellow cabinets, and took an in depth look at the pictures over the fireplace. Most of them were of me, the ones that I'd sent to Charlie, of which a set of my own copies of the same pics sat in a drawer of my desk. There were, however, a few of Charlie, and some people I figured as his friends. I recognized Cora and Waylon, but everyone else in those pictures weren't known to me, and the majority held the same two men, both with heavy darkly tanned skin. I wondered if one of them was this Billy Charlie mentioned before.

The pictures that I hated, though, were the ones that held Renée in them. The first picture was of her holding me. I couldn't see her face, because the camera was more focused on me, and she was looking at me. However, in the second picture, that was of all three of us, Renée looked happy, but her eyes said otherwise. The final picture was of her's and Charlie's wedding. As with the previous family one, her face was lying while her eyes spoke the truth.

I frowned, wondering if Charlie would mind or care if I put those ones out of sight. I eventually decided that it wasn't worth it. They were hidden enough as it was by all of the other pictures, and he only reason I found them was because I had decided to inspect every picture there. So long as I didn't go looking for them, I could just ignore them.

Still, seeing those pictures left me not wanting to stay in the house much longer, so I cleaned the bowl I used and donned my jacket. Grabbing my bag and truck keys, I headed outside, locking the door with the key that Charlie had handed to me the day I arrived. I waited in my truck for a few moments, letting it warm up as I hooked my I-Pod to the radio, letting the song Lost Northern Star by Tarja play before I pulled out of the driveway.

Finding the school wasn't too hard. Even without Charlie having pointing it out to me last Friday, I would have still been able to find it alone. It wasn't obvious that it was a school, though; only the sign, which declared it Forks High School, showed what it was. The school itself looked like a collection of little houses, all with red roofs, that were connected to each other by covered walkways, most likely there to help keep people dry. It was kind of hard to see it's actual size, there were so many trees and shrubs that blocked a good bit of it from my view. As I got closer, I could see more, and noticed that three of the buildings were a bit bigger than the others. I took those ones to be the office, Gym, and cafeteria, along with two separate parking lots and a several more little houses that I hadn't seen before.

It was definitely different compared to my other two schools. The Xavier school was nothing more than a two story mansion where our classes were at and the faculty slept, surrounded by three story dorms that mostly resembled mansions themselves, and a large landscape. It too was surrounded by trees, but not that many.

Hogwarts, however, was a large and rather elaborate looking castle, with many towers and turrets, large grounds area, a lake, and a dark forest surrounding most of it, save for a single road that led to Hogsmeade, a magical only village that one could visit on certain weekends if they had their parents, or guardians, permission.

So, especially compared to the schools that I had attended, this school was indefinitely different from what I was used to.

I parked in front of the first large building I came to; as I had suspected, it was the office according to the sign next to the door. I had the feeling that I wasn't supposed to park here, but I figured that it would be okay while I went into the office and took care of any business I would need to do. I stepped unwillingly from my now toasty truck, heading straight for the door in a quick movement. I paused for a moment to take a deep breath before opening it and stepping inside.

I was a bit surprised at how brightly lit and warm it was inside. The office – at least, the part that I could see – was kind of small. It was had a little waiting area with padded folding chairs, orange-flecked commercial carpet, notices and awards cluttering the walls, and a big clock ticking loudly. Plants grew everywhere in large plastic pots – as if there wasn't enough greenery outside – taking up even more space. An 'L' shaped counter, cluttered with wire baskets full of papers and brightly colored flyers taped to it's front, cut into the room, leading to another door and hallway on the side I was on.

Behind the counter were three closely cramped desks and another hallway. A large, red-haired woman wearing glasses manned one of the desk. She was wearing a purple T-shirt, making me feel a little overdressed. I stepped closer to the counter, looking at the desk she was manning to see if there was a nameplate, and the red-haired woman looked up.

"Can I help you?" she asked. She sounded friendly, which helped make me less nervous.

"I'm Isabella Petrova, Charlie Swan's daughter," I said, adding the last part in case she was confused. While I knew that my father had enrolled me, a part of me had feared that he might have used the last name I was born with instead of the one that was my legal last name. It appeared that he didn't remember that little tidbit; that, or he actually hadn't said my full name, and they just assumed it was be Swan, for, until I mentioned being his daughter, she had looked a little clueless.

A light of awareness flashed through the woman's eyes when I mentioned who my father was. As I had expected, I was a topic of gossip. I wondered what the main thoughts everyone was having about me were, particularly since I didn't know what Charlie had mentioned about my lack of visits. The only think I figured I could assume going through their minds was that the chief's daughter was home at last.

"Um, I actually have you down as Swan," she said. I sighed.

"Can it be fixed quickly?" I asked. "I'd rather not go to jail."

"Of course," she said, nodding her head as she did just that; I saw her even check the papers that I knew must've been what Charlie filled out, wincing lightly as she read them. No doubt my father had filled them out properly, and she had been assuming we'd have the same last name, which was an understandable mistake. Then, she printed out and handed me my new schedule, also giving me a map of the school and another piece of paper. She spent several minutes highlighting the best routes to my classes, as well as explaining that I was to have my teachers sign the piece of paper she gave me, and that I was to bring it back at the end of the day. The only part of that I really listened to was the latter, and that was mostly because I had the feeling that it was how they kept students from skipping out on their first day. It was a pretty smart plan, really, a way of making sure students didn't skip classes that they'd rather not have.

Saying bye to the woman – who mentioned that her name was Mrs. Cope – I stepped outside. It was then that I realized that I didn't ask where students were to park. Luckily for me, the other students had begun to arrive, so I was able to follow them to the student parking lot. As I got there, I immediately knew that my truck was going to stand out. Most of the cars here were older, more like the Chevy that Charlie had gotten me. The only car that could be considered newer was a shiny silver Volvo, and it stood out.

I parked in the first spot available, turning the engine off once I was situated. I didn't immediately get out. Instead, I took a look at my schedule, noticing immediately that, like this school, it would be different from what I was used to. It appeared that I would have every class daily, a new concept for me, as it wasn't like that at either of the other two schools I went to. It left me wondering just how homework was done while here. Then, I took a quick glance at the map, memorizing it as best I could, before throwing it into my bag. I took another deep breath, suddenly nervous. I can do this I thought, trying to dispel the nervousness that gripped me. No one is going to bite me.

With that thought, and after making sure I had everything I would need, I stepped out of my truck. I kept my face down as I walked towards the school, only looking up when necessary, in order to keep from bumping into others. My plain black jacket didn't seem to stand out a whole lot, though I could feel people staring at me, as if immediately realizing that I was a new fixture there. Luckily, I found my first class rather easily, and followed two unisex raincoats through the door.

The room was small, with short bookshelves against the wall under the window, and around thirty desks set in six rows of five, facing a larger desk at the front of the room. A podium stood to the side of that desk. The teacher was sitting at his desk, watching the door. I noticed that the two people I followed in had hung their coats on a long row of hooks. Copying their actions, I studied them for a moment. They were both girls, one a porcelain-colored blonde and the other a pale-skinned brunette. As I had suspected, my skin wouldn't be standing out too much, though, to my dismay, I noticed that it was still slightly lighter than theirs were.

I walked towards the teacher's desk, observing him. He was a tall, balding man whose nameplate identified him as Mr. Mason. He gawked when I introduced myself – not an encouraging response – and stared at the white streak in my hair. However, he signed my slip, handed me a reading list, and sent me to a seat in the back of the room without making me introduce myself, so my opinion of him was raised up just a little bit. Not that it really mattered; the moment I'd walked up to the desk, the other student's attentions had been caught, and they were openly gawking at me as I made my way to the seat I'd been instructed to.

Despite the fact that I was sitting in the back, the other students still found a way to look at me after the class started. I kept my eye on the reading list that he'd given me while listening to him. The list was fairly basic: Brontë, Shakespeare, Chaucer, Faulkner. I'd read all the books before, several years ago when the Xavier class had required it. It was comforting that I knew the books, but boring in that it wouldn't be anything new. I figured that it was a good thing I'd brought all of my old essays with me. It would only take a bit of sprucing up, and I could reuse them, unless Mr. Mason surprised me by asking for something I hadn't encountered before, which I considered to be very unlikely.

The class seemed to go by rather quickly, until the bell rang, signaling that class was over. As I was standing up to leave, an Asian boy with hair as black as an oil slick appeared by my side. I started slightly, not expecting him to move so fast, and held back a frown as I looked him over. He seemed to be like the overly helpful chess club type.

"You're the new girl, Isabella Swan, right?" he asked.

"It's Isabella Petrova, actually," I said. "I prefer to be called Bella though."

Everyone still in the room – which was most of the class, seeing as the majority of them were loitering around – turned towards us. I held back a huff as I hurried out of the room, hoping to get to my next class without delay. Unfortunately, the guy followed me.

"Well, Bella, I'm Eric Yorkie, the eyes and ears of this place," he said. "Um, anything you need: tour guide, lunch date, shoulder to cry on, I'm your man."

I frowned, my nose wrinkling at the mere idea that I would even consider doing the last two.

"I'm more of the suffer in silence type of girl," I said. Like what happened in the classroom, everyone around us in a four-foot radius – as in, those who could hear us speaking – turned towards us. Ignoring them once more, I kept a watch of Eric's face, hoping that I didn't hurt his feelings. I really didn't want to deal with hurt feeling right now.

Strangely enough, however, the smile on Eric's face widened.

"Good headline for the feature," he said.

"Feature?" I asked, completely confused, and a little unhappy. I really didn't like the sound of that...

"I'm the head of the school paper, and you're news, babe," he said. Oh no I'm not I thought to the first part of the last bit. I clenched a fist around the strap of my bag, trying to hold back from hitting him when I heard the second part of that. I wasn't his babe.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said, holding up my hands once I was sure that I wouldn't hit him, and putting a look that seemed to suggest that I was begging a bit, figuring that he'd be a bit more responsive if I did that. "Okay, first off, don't call me babe, and second, please don't put me in the paper. I really don't want any more attention drawn to myself."

Not to mention, I couldn't really tell them anything about myself, not without lying about most of it.

"Whoa, chillax," he said, holding his hands up as if to calm me down, looking a bit panicked. "All right, no feature. Are we cool?"

"Yeah," I said, putting my hands back down and digging into my bag for my schedule. It wasn't that I didn't remember what I had to do next; I just felt the need to busy my hands, and looking at my schedule would give me a way to focus my eyes on something without the risk of meeting someone else's curious eyes.

"So, what's your next class?" he asked.

Government with Jefferson in building six," I recited as I put the schedule back in place without really looking at it, realizing that I could really use it as a distraction as I wished to. Unfortunately, it left me without something to look at, and there was really no safe place to look, for curious eyes were set all around me.

"I'm heading to building four, I could show you the way..." Eric offered. I frowned, not sure if I should accept his help or not, then shrugged, figuring that it wouldn't really matter all that much. While I doubted I would get lost in this school, I really couldn't think of a way to tell Eric no, not without sounding like a bitch about it. Plus, he would be going the same way I was, so it wasn't like him offering was going to cause him trouble.

So, I let him lead me to my next class.

"So, this is probably a lot different than where you lived before, isn't it?" Eric said. I kind of didn't want to answer him; several people were definitely walking close enough that they could eavesdrop on any conversation I had, which was making me very uncomfortable.

"I mean, different from Arizona, anyway," he added. I almost stopped in my tracks, wondering where he got the idea that I was living in Arizona. Then, I realized that I had mentioned to Charlie that was where Renee had first had us living, though only for about a little under half a year, as she was constantly moving us, which did become a bit annoying, especially once I started school. The last place we'd moved to was Richmond, Virginia, which was when I was seven. I didn't have a clue of where she went after that, since it wasn't much longer before she'd thrown me out of the house with the words not to both trying to find her.

"Um, actually, I lived between New York and Scotland," I told him. "While different from New York, it's not that much different from where I lived in Scotland, just a bit more rainy."

"I thought you lived in Arizona?" he said.

"No, not really. I lived there very early on in my life, but I mostly lived in New York," I said.

"Why'd you live between New York and Scotland?" he asked.

"Oh, several of my friends were invited to a boarding school in Scotland," I said. "They refused to go without the rest of us, though, so we were all invited as well, since several of my friends were from a major legacy families to the school as well. Other than summer break, it really wasn't worth coming home for Christmas or Easter holiday, so I stayed there the entire school year. Since the school year is nine months out of the year, I lived there for most of the year, therefore living between Scotland and New York."

"Really," he said. "That sounds interesting."

I could tell that he honestly thought that, and could see that he wished he could put the information in the paper; I could also tell that he wouldn't go back on his word. I was glad to see that I was right in believing him when he said he wouldn't do a feature on me.

"It was," I said.

"Did it rain in Scotland a lot?" he asked.

"No," I said. "It would be cloudy a good portion of the time, and it would snow a lot during the winter months, but, for the rest of the time, it was quite sunny."

We reached building six at this point. I was slightly surprised, as I hadn't expected him to actually walk me all the way to the door, just show me the way once we hit building four. It kind of didn't make sense for him to do so, since he would just have to backtrack to his class again.

"Well, bye," I said, turning towards him a bit. I frowned when I saw that his face adopted a rather familiar look, one that I'd seen on the faces of several make students at Hogwarts. It was the face that suggested that they would love to be something more than friends with me. I held back a grimace. I really didn't want to deal with that. Getting rid of admirers wasn't a task I relished much, mostly because most guys were just too hard headed to understand that I didn't want to date them. As for the small population that weren't, well, they were usually the ones that were nice and made me feel bad about turning them down.

"Yeah, bye," he said. "Oh, good luck with the rest of your classes. Who knows, perhaps we'll have some others together."

He sounded rather hopeful. In all truth, I couldn't see him being really wrong to hope. In a small school like this, it was very likely that we would have some other classes the same. So, I gave him a vague smile, not really wanting to encourage his crush, and walked into the classroom.

Like Mr. Mason's room, this one was set up in the same way. I once again walked up to the teacher – an older grandmotherly type woman – to get my slip signed. Unlike Mr. Mason, she didn't goggle at me; instead, she greeting me warmly and handing me a copy of the book I would need for this class. She also pointed me to a seat in the back of the class. I ended up next to a girl who, a few minutes before the bell rang, ended up introducing herself to me.

The class didn't go by as fast, though that was probably because Government was one of the classes that I'd always been bad in. Thankfully, the class itself wasn't too bad – we just had to read the chapter and answer the questions at the end, as well as some questions on a work sheet that Mrs Jefferson had made, which ended up being our homework to finish when the bell did ring.

There was a ten minute break between my second and third classes. I ended up using that time to talking to the girl who had introduced herself during that time, answering most of the same questions that Eric had ask me. She seemed to be nice, and generally interested in the answers to the questions she asked. However, I didn't trust her a whole lot, since she could be faking being nice. I would see if she stayed that way as the days went by.

My next class was Trigonometry, and I immediately hated Mr. Varner, who was an older teacher who looked like he had a severe scowl permanently fixed to his face. He was, so far, the only teacher who made me stand in front of the class and introduce myself when I went to get my sheet signed, as if this wasn't high school but elementary school. Of course, as I felt his gaze on my arse, it was easy to understand why he did so.

Then, when I did introduce myself, he interrupted me, starting an argument with me about how I shouldn't lie about my name. I just looked at him and told him that he should assume anything is it made him look like an arse, and then pulled out my driver's license, which showed my name being Petrova instead of Swan.

He still argued, saying that my license was a fake, and that I should be ashamed of myself for carrying a fake license around, considering who my father was. He kept going on and on about it, ignoring me when I pointed out every wrong fact he was saying. Finally, I told him to call the office, and he would see that I was right and he was wrong. I even invited him to call my father. He called my father first, a smirk on his face as he expected to be able to yell at me for how I was going to be getting into trouble; he even put the phone on speaker so everyone could hear. However, I had the satisfaction of watching his face going pale as my father – who I could hear on the phone – told him that I wasn't a Swan but a Petrova by law, and that Mr. Varner should already know this without having to be asked. His call to the office explained why he hadn't been aware of it at the moment; said call pretty much consisting of him being berated for not listening when he was told about that little fact this morning when he came in.

Much to his shame, the whole class had stayed quiet during all this, and broke out in quiet laughter when he was defeated.

It was obvious that Mr. Varner wasn't all that popular.

Because of the fact that I had unintentionally humiliated him in front of everyone, I was given a seat in the front of the class, where he could glare and shoot dirty looks at me easily. I got the feeling that I was now on his shit list, a feeling that increased as he purposely kept asking me questions on his subject. I was thankful that I was a bit better at this subject than I was in Government, as I wouldn't have had the pleasure of proving that I knew the answers to his questions and making him grit his teeth when I answered them correctly.

If it wasn't for the fact that my eyes never strayed from his, he probably would have accused me of cheating and try and give me detention. As it was, he tried to refused to sign my sheet, and I finally had to resort to mentioning that him not signing wouldn't go the way he planned, as my father and Mrs Cope knew I'd been in his class, which made him grit his teeth together once again, though it did get him to finally sign as well. It was easy to tell, as I left that class, that he pretty much hated me, and I hoped that I didn't have to deal with his pigheadedness every day.

My next class was History, my second favorite class in general. Unfortunately, like Mr. Varner, this teacher seemed to have a stick up her arse. Miss Lemech was a thin, drab looking woman whose face looked like it never showed a smile in her life; it wouldn't surprise me if she'd never been shagged, either. When I came up and handed her the sheet to sign, she curled her lips in a sneer as she signed her name then also made me introduce myself. Like Mr. Varner, she argued that I shouldn't lie about my name – however, unlike Mr. Varner, though she sneered at me again, she didn't continue to argue after seeing my license, and I was allowed to sit a bit further back from her.

However, other than her general attitude, what made me really dislike her was the condescending way she treated the other students. I particularly hated how she treated the girl two seats to the right of me, implying that she was an idiot for not immediately knowing the answer to something they'd just started working on. I finally ended up snapping, my patience sapped, when this ended up going on for around five minutes. When she asked the girl another question, I answered it, correctly as well.

She sarcastically thanked me, calling me the other girl's name, which pissed me off even more, for she seemed to be implying that I should be ashamed for not letting her continue her bullying. So, because of that, I straight up told her 'your welcome'.

This set off a chain reaction in her, as she seemed to have expected me to be embarrassed for the interruption, and clearly hated that I wasn't. So, like Mr. Varner, she asked me questions of historically important dates, telling me to stick to the year only after I gave the entire date for the first few of them.

This went on for quite a while, with the other students watching like it was a tennis match, until she finally asked about when the Korean war ended. She tried to say that I was wrong, and had one of the other students look it up. I think the girl whom she was purposely bullying was determined to see who won, for she was the first to find it. Miss Lemech was shocked, angry, stumped, and clearly a bit humiliated when, with great relish in her voice, the year I'd told Miss Lemech it had ended, ended up being the correct answer.

The rest of that class was spent with Miss Lemech, who clearly didn't know what else to do, pouting at her desk while glaring daggers at me. The other students were talking amongst themselves, many of them congratulating me me stumping her. It didn't surprise me that she was just as well liked as Mr. Varner was. The girl I'd defended came up to me personally to introduce herself, and talked to me a bit before Eric, who was in this class with me, came to sit next to me. Though he talked to me, I mostly ignored him, choosing instead to look at the faces of the other people. I recognized that most of them were in my previous three classes. I didn't really know any of their their names, though.

For the most part, those whose name's I did were people who had been brave enough to introduce themselves to me, which was a very small amount. In fact, I could count on one had how many people had done so. Everyone else seemed to just eavesdrop on any conversation I had with those who had introduced themselves, and asked me questions they wanted answers to.

"So, Bella, what was that school you went to in Scotland like?" Eric asked. The question pierced itself through my brain, gaining my attention. I thought for a moment, and then, with careful details, told him about it. I didn't hide that it was held in a castle, one that had only been renovated enough to be within building codes and safe for the students and teachers to roam around, but not changed so much from it's original design that it was like you were stepping into another time period the moment you went through the doors. However, when he asked about the classes, I lied, a lot. After all, I couldn't exactly tell him that they were magic classes. So, instead, I used the classes that I had at the Xavier school – the ones that I took during summer so that I didn't fall behind on my non-magical studies – as an idea of what the classes at Hogwarts were like.

I was lucky that he didn't ask about what the Xavier school was like – then again, I hadn't said anything about it being a school, which would explain why he didn't ask. As it was, I simply said that the schools I went to when I was living solely in New York was much like any other elementary school, seeing as I started Hogwarts when I was ten. Because I didn't want it known that I did summer school, I ended lying even more.

At least no one realized it, or called me out on the fact.

My last class before lunch was gym. The teacher – a rather nicely buffed man called Coach Clapp – gave me the option of staying out for today's lesson after he signed my slip. I thought about it, particularly seeing that I wasn't one for sports all that much, but decided to participate instead. After all, the girls half of the class was to do volleyball, which is one of the few sports I didn't mind playing. When I told him that I would participate, he let me, though he did seem a bit doubtful in letting me play in my heels.

And I was right. I did have to hold back a bit so not to send the ball cantering through the wall or into someone's face. In fact, I mostly stayed near the back, helping my team to win the game. Unfortunately, I accidentally hit the ball wrong towards the end of the game – though it didn't make much of a difference, because my team was ahead of the other one by quite a few points. I winced a bit as the ball hit the back of some blond-haired kid.

I saw him flinch as the ball did so, his hand coming up to rub where it hit as he turned towards us. His eyes immediately focused on me, giving me a once over. Like with Eric, I could see that he liked what he saw. Unlike with Eric, his 'appreciation' made me want to go and find the bulkiest jacket I could, and hide within it.

He swaggered over.

"I'm sorry," I said as he got closer. "I didn't mean to hit you with the ball."

"No, no, that's okay," he said, an eager looking smiling crossing his face as he stopped in front of me. "Isabella Swan, right?"

"It's Petrova, not Swan," I said, repeating it for what felt like the fiftieth time today. "And I prefer to be called Bella."

"Yeah," he said. "Hey, I'm Mike Newton."

"Nice to meet you," I said, lying through my teeth once more. While Eric and most of the others were fine to me, Mike wasn't – just looking at him told me that he was full of himself, meaning that even if I was my harshest in turning him down, he'd still try and get with me.

"Yeah, yeah," he said.

Before anything else could be said, a straight haired brunette girl who had been watching as Mike came up to talk to me appeared by us.

"She's got a great spike, huh?" the girl said. The look on her face as she gazed at Mike was slightly pathetic. Clearly, she was an admirer of his, probably one of the ones that had caused his ego to become the reason why he was so full of himself.

"Yeah, it's..." Mike said, looking unhappy at the interruption. The girl turned towards me, and I saw that a look of distaste – probably stemming from jealousy, the way she had been looking at Mike and the way he had reacted to me being a bit of a hint towards that – was on her face before she wiped it away, replacing it with a pleasant expression.

"I'm Jessica, by the way," she said, introducing herself. "Hey, you're from Arizona, right?"

"Uh, no, actually. I lived between New York and Scotland," I said, slightly annoyed, though not really at her; no I was more annoyed with the fact that people were constantly mentioning me living in Arizona. I couldn't help but wonder why they were assuming it; had Charlie said that I was coming from there? I mean, while I did live there at one point, it was for such a short while – and I had told Charlie that. The only other option about it was that Renée had told people she was there – and, strangely enough, I couldn't seen Renée bothering to keep in touch with anyone here in order to do that. Even before she had her giant shift in attitude towards me, she was never really super friendly with anyone. In fact, none of my memories I had of her suggested that she actually had any friends, just acquaintances and people to use.

"Really?" Jessica said, and I could see that she was interested in know what living in New York was like. Thankfully, she chose not to ask what it was like, particularly since I wouldn't have answered her anyways.

"How did you live between them?" she asked instead.

"I lived in New York, but attended an elite boarding school in Scotland," I answered. I saw Mike's eye brow rise in interest.

"Aren't people in New York supposed to be, like, really tan?" she asked, her eyes on the pale skin on my face. I barely kept from rolling my eyes, wondering where she got that idea. After all, that question would have been more suitable if she'd asked it had I lived somewhere in the desert.

"Not really," I said. "Not enough sun can get through the smog and buildings. If you want to be tanned, you either go to a beach, go to a fake tanning salon, or buy some of that fake tanning lotion."

"Oh," she said, frowning. I saw her eyes glance towards the gloves I was still wearing. "Do people from New York always wear gloves?"

"No, not really," I said. "It's probably why they kicked me out."

The last part was said sarcastically, and I was about to mention that, in truth, everyone had their preferences, some that might appear weird to others, but, before I could, Mike started to laugh. After a few moments, Jessica – who had clearly been wondering just what was so funny – joined in herself, the look on her face showing a slight sycophantic feeling towards him.

"You're good," Mike said, confusing me a bit. Jessica's laughter calmed down once she saw he was no longer laughing.

"That's so funny," she said. When she saw that Mike wasn't really paying attention to her, but to me, her smile slid off her face for several seconds, a slight frown crossing her face. Not wanting to be eyed like a piece of meat by this guy any longer, I waved bye towards Mike so that the final game of the class could begin, and I saw him begin to walk backwards towards the basketball game that he was playing. I felt a little sorry for Jessica, who had to be reminded to come back to the court before the next match could begin.

I took a quick shower, and grabbed my things from the girl's locker room when the coach let us all go. Jessica showered and dressed quickly, appearing by my side fast enough to startle me.

"Hey, has anyone invited you to sit with them at lunch?" she asked. I shook my head no. "Would you like to sit with me any my friends?"

I thought about it for a moment, and couldn't really see the harm in it. For one, while I didn't really have a desire to do so, I have the feeling that it would probably be safer for me to so – bullies tend to go for those who prefer to sit alone, and while I could handle myself, I didn't want to set myself so apart right away. This would also give me a chance to find out a bit more about others – I got the sense that Jessica knew enough – and enough about – the other students that I could learn some things about them from her, get a sense about a good number of them, which would only benefit me in figuring out who may be worth speaking to, and who to indefinitely avoid. Plus, though in a very minor way – as it wasn't something that I was really too bothered about doing – was that it would be a bit rude to say reject her offer after I'd already said that I wasn't invited to sit somewhere else.

"Sure," I said with a shrug, accepting her offer. She smiled, and, once we were released to be able to go to lunch, she led me towards the cafeteria, which was, as I suspected, was one of the three big building I'd seen when I first arrived.

The cafeteria was rather blasé. Flags and a few pictures adorned the white walls, and there were plenty of windows with stiff, horizontal blinds covering them. Roundish tables decorated the floor, a long serving area was built along one wall, and another, slightly smaller serving area was a few feet from it.

I took a look around – most of the tables were filled, though there were at least two or three completely empty tables at the far side of the room.

"We're over here," Jessica told me after we'd gotten our food – not feeling too hungry, I'd simply grabbed a bottle or water and one of the fruit bowls. She began leading me to a table that already had a few people sitting at it; I recognized all six of the faces, though the only one whose name I knew was Eric, who was speaking to a girl I'd seen passing by me in the halls a few times.

As we neared the table, Mike started walking with us, which clearly pleased Jessica. As we got closer to the table, I could hear what Eric was saying.

"...like a masterpiece, you know," he was saying, "we'll have, like, this crazy pyramid fall from the sky, and then you guys can..."

Mike, who had rushed a bit ahead of me, pulled out the seat opposite of Eric, indicating for me to sit down; I really didn't need to look over to Jessica to know that she wasn't pleased by this.

I pretended not to see it, letting Jessica take that particular seat, which made her rather happy. I went to take another seat, this one next to Eric, when, before I could pull the chair out myself, he quickly moved and grabbed it, doing so for me. A glance at his face showed that he hadn't realized that I had purposely not sat in the other chair.

"Thanks," I muttered.

"It's my pleasure, Madame," Mike said courtly. Eric stopped speaking, turning towards us for a moment with some sort of look on his face, and then went back to his conversation.

"You guys can give each other high five," he said, though he sounded a bit distracted; I saw, from the corner of my eye, as he tried to inch closer to me.

"Burrito, my friend?" Mike asked him, stopping his progress – clearly, I wasn't the only one to notice his actions – and completely interrupting his conversation. Not that the girl looked as though she minded all that much. In fact, she looked a bit glad for the interruption, quickly getting up to leave before she could be drawn back into a conversation with Eric once again.

"Hey, Mikey," Eric said with false cheer.

"Hey," Mike answered.

"I see you've met my home girl, Bella?" Eric mentioned. I frowned at hearing that.

"Oh, your home girl?" Mike asked, his tone of voice incredulous, obviously showing that he didn't quite believe him.

"Yeah," Eric said.

"Yeah?" Mike questioned. "That's..."

Before anything else could be said between them, though, another boy came up, grabbing the back of Mike's chair and sticking his head between Mike and me. I could only see him from the corner of my eye – he was dark-skinned, with a pleasant face, but that was about it.

"My girl," this new guy said, and, to my extreme aggravation, he attempted to give me a kiss on the cheek; It was only my fast reflexes that kept him from being able to do so. Instead, he ended up kissing the palm of my gloved hand. This didn't seem to bother him much, though; once his lips left my hand, he pulled Mike's chair out from under him and took off running towards the other side of the cafeteria, calling out, "Sorry I had to mess up your game, Mike."

Mike had to grab onto the table to keep from falling completely to the floor, and he stood up as quickly as he could, taking off after the guy who tried to kiss my cheek. I watched as they chased each other around the cafeteria for a while, before growing bored with it.

The girls at the table laughed a bit at Mike's misfortune, while I heard Eric say, "Tyler." I got the feeling that was the name of the guy who had attempted to kiss my cheek. As I turned back to the table, I heard one of them shout out 'Yes,' for some reason, causing me to take a glance in their direction once more, just in time to see them run out the door. As I got myself settled in, three other girls came and took their seats, sitting on the other side of the table, as far away from me as they could without being at another table. Based on the disdained look the girl in the middle gave me, as well as the ones her two cohorts followed up with, she was someone I'd end up ignoring as much as possible.

"Oh, my God," Jessica said as she calmed down – for she'd started laughing at the two boys who were chasing each other – and settled more into her seat, scooting closer to me in the process. "It's like first grade all over again. You're the shiny new toy."

She giggled a bit at that, but I could tell that there was no humor in her tone. If anything, she did seem a little bit jealous over the fact that I was being given so much attention by the others, particularly Mike, which also seemed to make her a bit upset as well. Not that I wanted any of it, especially Mike's attention, which I did hope she got, considering the fact that I had clearly been doing my best to show it. The fact that she wasn't glaring at me when she thought I wasn't looking did, at least, suggest that she knew this fact.

At that moment, another girl – this one with dark hair, olive skin, and darkish eyes – came up, holding a camera in her hands.

"Smile," she said, quickly snapping a picture before I could say anything. The flash blinded me a bit, and I blinked a few times to clear my eyes.

"Okay," I said as I did so, confused as to why she was photographing me.

"Sorry," the new girl said apologetically, and I recognized her as being in at least two of my classes already. "I needed a candid for the feature."

I had the feeling that Eric hadn't told her that the feature of me was canceled, and opened my mouth to inform her, nicely, that it wasn't going to be needed. However, I forgot that Eric was sitting next to me, and he spoke before I could.

"The feature's dead, Angela. Don't bring it up again," he snapped, making her flinch. I frowned at him for his rude behavior, but he didn't seem to notice as he stood up.

"It's okay, I just..." I started to say, trying to explain exactly why it wasn't going to be happening. However, before I could finish, Eric interrupted me.

"I got your back, baby," he said. I was once again struck with the need to hit him. I mean, I told him not to call me 'babe' so why did he think that calling me 'baby' would work? He left before I could say anything, though, much to Jessica's amusement, if her light laugh was anything to go by.

"Guess we'll just run another editorial on teen drinking," Angela said, sounding disappointed. I felt a bit guilty. It seemed that, in a town like this, there really wasn't anything worth writing.

"You know, you could always go for eating disorders," I said. Noticing Jessica looking pointedly in my direction, since not only had I not gotten a lot to eat, but I was rather skinny naturally, so she was probably thinking that my mentions of eating disorders was for a reason, I added, "or you could go with drug abuse, or even speedo padding on the swim team."

The girls at the table laughed, though I could tell that it was for different reasons. Angela's laugh was thoughtful, while Jessica's was...well, I got the feeling that she mostly thought the ideas were funny, but not worth writing an article about. It also seemed that the other girls still at the table agreed with Jessica on that as well, though probably in a bit more of a mean spirited way. The one girl I'd already figured should be ignored had a look on her face that suggested she was about to say something about it as well, and it wasn't going to be anything nice.

"Those are actually some good ideas," Angela said, looking thoughtful. Jessica's laugh stopped, a look of surprise on her face. "Particularly the last idea. That's a good one."

"Kirk. Right?" Jessica piped in, nodding her head like crazy.

"Yeah," Angela said.

"That's exactly what I thought," Jessica said.

"We're talking Olympic-size," Angela said. At that moment, something out of the corner of my eye distracted me – a group of people heading towards the door to come in.

"There's no way. He's so skinny. It doesn't make sense," Jessica continued. I tuned the conversation out completely, looking at the door, my curiosity at who was coming so late making me wonder about them. As it opened, I fought to keep from stiffening as I finally got a good look at them.

The first two to walk in were an extremely beautiful and attractive looking blonde, tall and statuesque, with legs that seemed to go on forever. She was the type you expected to see gracing the cover of Sports, Illustrated, swimsuit edition, while also hoping that she'd also appear as the centerfold of a Playboy Magazine. I had the feeling that she had been the star of many wet dreams for the boys of this school, and, by the look on her face, she either know or suspected that as well.

The guy who'd walked in with her – and was now throwing his arm around her in a polite show of possessiveness – was big, a few inches taller than her, and muscular looking, like a serious weight lifter. His hair was dark colored and cropped closely to his head. As he smiled at the blonde, my sharp eyes noticed that he had dimples in his cheeks.

The next two were also a boy and girl couple. The girl was the opposite of the blonde. She was short, with dark hair cut in a pixie like fashion. However, she wasn't any less beautiful. The male with her looked like he could be related to the blonde girl. His hair was about the same color as her's, and he was just as tall. He was also slightly leaner than the other male, though still muscular enough that it could be seen, even from a distance. He looked tense as he walked behind the other two, though I saw a smile cross his face as he spun the dark haired girl in a circle, the smile disappearing as he tucked her to his side. A look of reassurance crossed the girl's face when she noticed his tenseness.

The final one was male, who was lanky and less bulky than the other two, with untidy bronze-colored hair. He seemed to be a bit more boyish than the other two, who looked as if they belonged at a college instead of a high school cafeteria. He was also the most handsome compared to the other two as well. At least, to me, he was.

However, for all the ways that they were different, they were also the same. All of them had purplish bruises underneath their darkish eyes – the color of which I couldn't actually see from the angle I was at. They were extremely pale, even more so than me, as if they'd never been out in the sun. And they were all unnaturally beautiful, the type that was made to draw people in, to the point of ignoring their natural instincts.

All of those things marked them for what they were, and I only had one thought going through my mind as my eyes stayed on them: What the hell were vampires doing in Forks?

Chapter Text

My eyes stayed on them, watching them as they crossed the cafeteria to an empty table next to one of the windows. It was a good thing that they'd chosen a table somewhere behind Angela, as I couldn't take my eyes off of them, completely tense as I studied them. For some odd reason, the more I looked at them, the less they seemed to be a threat. They hadn't tried to attack anyone, nor did they seem to be considering it. Plus, from the way they'd been ignored, they had been hear for a while, and I hadn't heard of anyone missing or being found dead around the town. Once that thought went through my mind, I finally calmed down. I got the feeling that they were different from other vampires like themselves.

I continued to looked at them to my leisure, as they weren't looking in my direction, or seem inclined to do so. For the first time today, I was free to look in a direction without being worried about meeting a pair of curious eyes. I frowned as I studied them. None of them were moving, which struck me as being sloppy. They could at least make it look like they were eating, even if they couldn't. If I was an actual human, and not a witch or mutant, they'd be in trouble.

I was curious as to who they were, though I kept quiet about my curiosity at the moment.

"Who are they?" I finally asked, turning towards Angela and Jessica. I saw Jessica look towards the table I had been looking at. However, based on the look on her face, I could see that she probably figured who it was that I was talking about. Angela also looked behind her towards the group I was talking about.

As Jessica and Angela looked at the table, I saw the youngest looking one look towards us. He only looked for a second, his dark eyes flickering towards me afterward. I raised my eye brow, not at all feeling guilty for being caught looking at them. He held my gaze for a second, then looked away. Still, in that second, I had seen that his face held nothing of interest. In fact, his actions reminded me forcefully of Tristelianna's actions, mostly those she would make whenever someone thought her name. I had a strong feeling that he was a mind reader, at the very least.

Jessica and Angela both giggled when they saw him look over to us, and I saw that they were embarrassed to have been caught staring.

They're the Cullens," Angela said. The last name sounded rather familiar to me, and I had to work in order not to show a sign that I recognized it. Not that it would have been a bad sign. If they were connected to the very Cullen I was thinking of, it meant that I had even less to worry with them about than I was originally thinking, a good thing, in all honesty.

"They're Alice, Edward, and Emmett Cullen and Jasper and Rosalie Hale," Angela continued. "They kind of keep to themselves."

I didn't doubt it, though I did doubt that everyone else knew that actual reasons for that.

"Yeah, cause they're, like, together, together. I mean, Alice and Jasper and Emmett and Rosalie. And they live together," Jessica piped in. Her voice held all the shock and condemnation of a small town. It wasn't surprising, though. No one here seems to have every attended a boarding school on a long term basis like I have.

"They don't share any blood, do they?" I asked.

"Rosalie and Jasper do; they're twins," Jessica said. "But, other than them, they're unrelated."

"Then it's not too surprising that they would pair up," I said, shrugging. The other two girls stared at me, as did the rest of the table.

"You don't find it...unnatural," Jessica said. I shook my head.

"No, not really," I said. "But then again, I've also spent most of my time at two different co-ed boarding schools. And at the one I went to in Scotland, one of the first things we're told when we arrive is that whatever 'house' you're sorted into is going to be your 'family'. And, since you see your house members pretty much day and night, it's makes it all the more true. And, more often than not, people pair up with others who are in the same house over pairing up with someone whose in a different house."

"Really?" Jessica said, and I could tell that she was surprised to learn that. I nodded, looking back over at the Cullens. I noticed that the bronze-haired one – the one I suspected to be a mind reader – was moving his lips a bit. I got the feeling that he was talking to the others, telling them what we were taking about. After all, that's kind of what we would use Tristelianna for, particularly if she caught someone talking about us. It's a good way of knowing of someone was suspicious or knew about us.

Of course, this time, his ability wouldn't help him with me. I'd automatically block it, after all. I had to wonder what he would do when he realized that he couldn't read my mind. Would he tell his 'siblings' or would he hide it?

"Yeah," I said, in answer to Jessica's question. "Which ones are the Cullens? "They don't look related..." particularly because they are not I finished what I was going to say in my head.

"Oh, they're not," Angela said. "Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties." And that right there was all the proof I needed on who they were. Carlisle Cullen was well known in the wizarding world, because of the fact that, though he was a vampire, he did not follow traditional vampire roads, and, instead, chose to help save lives, something that no other vampire seemed to want to do. He was also famous for choosing to drink animal blood instead of human. However, I didn't, and I don't think that anyone else did, know that he now had a coven of his own. I wondered where he found other like minded individuals.

"They're all adopted," Angela continued.

"They look a little old to be foster children," I commented, curious to know what the story on them was. Or, rather, what everyone else thought the story on them was, since it was doubtful that they'd let the real story out. I don't think they'd be living here if they did.

"They are now," Jessica said, and I clenched my fist in anger at her implication that she thought me an idiot to say that. "Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett are all eighteen, while Edward and Alice are seventeen." Basic translation: three seniors and two juniors. "However, they've all been with Mrs. Cullen since they were, like, seven and eight. From what I know, Mrs. Cullen is, like, Jasper's and Rosalie's aunt or something."

"That's nice of her," I said. "To take care of them all, when she's so young and everything."

The look that passed over Jessica's face suggested that she didn't agree with me.

"I guess so," she admitted reluctantly. I had the impression that she did not care for the doctor and his wife, and, with the looks she kept giving their children, I got he feeling that the reason was because of jealousy. After hearing Jessica give in, one of the other girls at the table snorted. I looked over to her.

It was the only blonde at the table, a girl who, if I was remembering correctly, had been in my history class. I didn't know what her name was, and, based on the disdained look she was giving me, I really didn't seem to care if I ever learned her name.

"What, Lauren?" Jessica asked her.

"Please," Lauren said, looking straight at me. "You really think it's nice of her?"

"Yes, I do," I said, looking Lauren straight in the eye. It seemed to make her uncomfortable, but she plowed on with whatever else she was going to say.

"The only reason why she's doing it is that she can't have kids of her own," Lauren sneered, as if that little fact lessened Mrs. Cullen's kindness.

"So?" I said. "That just makes her an even better person. After all, she could be bitter and hateful towards children, but, instead, she chosen not to , and is caring to those who need it. People could learn from her." My mother could learn from her. I wondered what people would do if I kidnapped her...

I kept eye contact with Lauren, challenging her. Lauren's lips pursed, but she didn't say anything. I could hear everyone around the table gasping at my action, and I got the feeling that Lauren was the undisputed 'queen' of this group. In fact, one could probably say that everyone always backed down to her. I had no intention of doing that, though. I wasn't the type to back down for things I thought and believed in, and every fiber of my being was saying that whoever Mrs. Cullen was, she did not deserve the harsh words spoken by Lauren.

I don't know how long this 'challenge' went on for, but, finally, Lauren looked down, much to the surprise of the others. Red-faced, she stood from her seat and stalked out of the room, tripping over the legs of the chair that Mike had been sitting on earlier.

"Oh, my God," Angela said, looking amazed at me.

"That is the first time I've ever seen Lauren back down," Jessica said, equally amazed. I shrugged, then looked back at the Cullens. My eyes ended up meeting the dark-haired girl's for a moment, and I saw her smile in a sort of thankful way towards me before she looked away again, seeming to ignore everything around her. Still, I knew that she had either heard what I said to Lauren, or the bronze-haired boy had told her.

"Have they always lived here in Forks?" I asked, dismissing Lauren from my mind. This seemed to impress the others as well for some reason, and it took a while before anyone answered me.

"No," Angela said. "They moved down from Alaska two years ago."

I nodded, my eyes still moving on them. As I continued to look, the bronze-haired one looked towards me once again, his face expectant. I had to work hard not to smirk as I realized what he was about to do. Just as I suspected, I felt a slight brush against my mental shield. When he failed at getting into my mind, I wasn't able to hold back my smirk anymore as his face grew frustrated. I felt like opening my mind up for a second, if only to go 'na, na, na, na, you can't read me', but I resisted the urge, figuring that it would be a bit too childish to do. Instead, I decided to 'memorize' what his attempts felt like against my shield, as each attempt was different, even if someone held the same abilities as someone else.

Like Tristelianna and Professor Xavier. Both of them held very similar powers – in fact, I couldn't think of a single difference between what the two could do. However, where as Tristelianna's ability was like warm water and barely discernible – in fact, part of the reason why I didn't mind opening my shield to her was that her ability was down right comfortable to feel brushing up against my mind – Professor Xavier was different. His was a cold, gel-like feeling, which wasn't the most comfortable feeling at all.

The bronze-haired boy's, however, was like a feather, making me feel a bit ticklish as it swept over my shield. Out of the mind readers that I knew, his was the most solid approach to my shield.

"Which one is the bronze-haired one?" I asked, looking at him again. He was pouting at his failed attempts into my mind. He also looked a bit puzzled, and I had the feeling that he didn't know why I had been smirking earlier.

"That's Edward," Jessica said. "He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good enough for him." She sniffed, a clear case of sour grapes. I got the feeling that she'd asked him out and been turned down by him a few times. It wasn't something that surprised me; as a mind reader, he probably heard everything she was thinking, and was probably turned down by it.

However, I believe that it was a good thing. I mean, it not only saved her from being hurt later on when he would break up with her because she was human, but it was a lot safer this way as well – he wouldn't be tempted to drink her blood, particularly if it was the heat of the moment. And she wouldn't be able to fight him off if he tried that, either...

I bit my lips to hide the smile that threatened to show upon the first thought of her being turned down. Looking at him again, I noticed that he was smiling as well, a clear sign that he'd heard what we were talking about. I had to admit, even if only to myself, that he had a nice smile. Once that thought ran through my mind, I looked away, and tried my best not to look at that table again. While I didn't think it was a bad thing that I thought he had a nice smile – as a vampire, I didn't really have to worry about my mutant abilities getting in the way of anything – I didn't really think that it would be a good idea for me to be attracted to him.

After all, he seemed to be happy to be alone, and I doubted I was his mate, and I wasn't willing to attempt to find out, mostly because I didn't want to end up hurt in the end. And, other than his looks, I really knew nothing about him. For all I knew, we would have nothing in common, and if I wanted to be with someone, I would at least like to have some common things with them.

The only time I looked back toward that table for the rest of lunch was when they all left, throwing away their uneaten food. Another frown came to my face at that, since it seemed to be such a waste. They really should come up with a better plan than wasting food like that.

"The bell's going to ring soon," Angela commented as we stood up to throw away our trash. "What class do you have next, Bella?" she asked me as we walked out of the cafeteria. I dug out my schedule.

"Advance French with Beniot," I said.

"Well, I've got History, so I'll see you later," Jessica said, heading in the opposite direction we were. Angela looked at me.

"You managed to get into that class as well?" she asked, adding, "I'm in it, too."

"Shall we head there, then," I said. She nodded, and lead the way to the class.

"By the way, what do you mean, 'You managed to get into that class as well'? I asked.

"Oh, well, there are only three periods of French classes here, because the Spanish ones are considered to be the more popular – or, rather, easier – classes to do. And, in order to get into the class after lunch, you have to have pretty good grades, and be able to speak French a bit already. It's the only advanced class offered here in the school, and it's technically supposed to be an only senior class," she explained. "I'm the only junior in the class right now, in fact, though I guess, if your in it as well, I won't be anymore."

I smiled at her.

"Well, I'm bilingual, so languages come pretty easy to me," I explained. "I also have several friends who live in France, so I tend to be able to practice the language quite a bit as well."

"So you must be really good at speaking it," Angela said.

"oui, je le suis. Et je suis tout aussi bon dans plusieurs autres langues," I said, showing off my French skills.

"Pouvez-vous m'enseigner quelques unes de ces langues ?" she asked, speaking in French as well.

"Certainement, dîtes moi juste quelles langues vous aimeriez apprendre," I said.

"Cool," she said, switching back to English. "I really wanted to learn other languages as well, but they only offer French and Spanish here. And, while I tried to get to take some at the community college, they don't offer online classes for beginners in the other languages."

"Oh, I'd hate it if that happened," I said. "Does the ones that they offer online classes for need those beginner classes?"

"No, it's not required, but you do have to have some kind of knowledge about the language if you want to learn it," she answered.

"That makes sense," I said.

"True," Angela said. As we neared the door to the classroom, Angela suddenly paused, look that suggested she just thought of something important coming over her face.

"Oh, I probably should mention this," she said. "In this class, people are paired up at the beginning of the year. Whoever you're paired up with his your 'partner' for the duration of the year, meaning that you not only work on things with them in class, but you're expected to have conversations with them, as well as work on any project given in class with them," Angela said. "Now, last year, there was an uneven number of people, but now that you're here, well, the person who was left without a partner is going to be use, unless Ms. Beniot decides to put you with me."

She looked a bit apologetic for not having mentioned this before. However, I got the feeling that, based on the look when she mentioned that someone had been left without a partner, it was someone that she thought I'd be uncomfortable around.

"So, who is my possible partner?" I asked.

"Jasper Hale," she said. Of course, I thought. It made sense as to why she thought I'd be uncomfortable. I got the feeling that no one human ever felt comfortable around Jasper.

"Lovely," I said, giving her a small smile. I'd be able to handle it, although...

As an idea struck me, I saw that we were about to pass by the restrooms.

"Can you give me a minute?" I asked, coming to a stop in front of the girls.

"Yeah, sure," Angela said. "I'll wait here for you."

"Thanks," I said, smiling towards her. I walked into the bathroom, glad to discover that it was empty. Heading into a stall and locking the door so that no one saw what I was doing, I fished my wand from where I'd stashed it this morning – in my invisible arm holster.

"Cuero mi olor," I recited, tapping my wand on my head. A wind-like sensation developed around me, before a bodysuit feeling ghosted along my skin. Then, the feeling ended, and I put my wand away, stepping out of the stall and smiling at my reflection. While the spell I used was more for hiding a person's scent from animals, I was sure that it would at least dim down my scent enough that it wouldn't bug Jasper. At least, I hoped it did – this would be the first time I used it around a vampire.

"Okay, ready to go," I said as I rejoined Angela. We continued on to the room, separating after hanging up our coats. She walked to her desk, which was situated in the front, next to a girl with a bad perm. I, on the other hand, walked up to the teacher's desk. Ms. Beniot was a lovely but strict teacher, laying down the rules to me upon being introduced, and after signing my slip. They were rather easy to follow – being a French class, it was expected that everything I did was to be done in French, from talking to doing my work.

As Angela had warned me, my partner was going to be Jasper. While she mentioned that she had originally thought about putting me with Angela – something that she said loud enough for Angela and her partner to hear, which resulted in a smile from them – after seeing my scores in my previous classes, she decided that I could handle being put with a senior. The smile that had been on Angela's partner's face turned into a scowl at that.

I was directed to go sit in the seat next to Jasper, who was in the back of the class. I had the feeling that he hadn't quite been listening to what we were talking about, because he looked vaguely surprised that I was heading towards him. Then, as he seemed to remember how this class worked, several more emotions crossed his face. First, he tensed, panic easy to see. Then, he forced himself to calm down, looking resigned. I saw him stop breathing, and frowned. I wouldn't be able to know if my plan worked if he wasn't breathing, and, while I knew I should be glad that he was taking precautions so that he wasn't tempted to attack me, it did me no good not to know if the spell worked.

So, once I was sitting down, I turned towards him, holding out my and and said, "Salut. Je suis Bella, et je serai ta nouvelle partenaire dans cette classe. Ravie de faire ta connaissance."

He frowned, but answered me back. "Je suis Jasper. Tout le plaisir est pour moi," he said, shaking the hand I held out lightly; I could feel his icy cold skin through my gloves, but didn't flinch. Instead, I gave him a smile, and relaxed, watching out of the corner of my eye as he took another breath, preparing to hold it again, only to pause.

A considering look crossed his face then as he took another breath, and then another. He finally calmed completely after the third breath, and I knew that my plan had worked.

Ms. Beniot called order to the class then, greeting us. She went straight into the lesson, spending the first ten minutes talking before handing out some worksheets. She told us to complete them, and that, once we were finished, to do something quietly. We were allowed to talk to our partners for help, so long as we were quiet about it; I also got the feeling that we would be allowed to talk to our partners after we finished the worksheet as well, though she didn't quite say it.

However, I didn't really need help on the worksheet, finishing it within a few minutes of receiving it. I noticed that Jasper worked just as quickly as I did from the corner of my eye, but he didn't seem to be all that willing to talk to me, so I decided to do my own thing. I dug through my bag, taking out a crossword puzzle, and, after taking a quick glance towards the teacher, snuck one of my ear buds on, turning my I-Pod on. Gone with the Sin by H.I.M. Began to play, at a low volume.

As the song ended, and I finished my puzzle, I noticed that Jasper was looking at me as I put it away. I realized that he must have heard the music begin to play.

"Quoi ?" I asked.

"Je ne pense pas qu'elle voulait dire qu'on était autorisé à écouter de la musique durant le cours.," he said.

"Elle ne l'a pas non plus explicitement interdit," I answered back. He chuckled.

"Qu'es-tu en train d'écouter ?" he asked.

"Un groupe s'appelant H.I.M. Ce sont les initiales pour His Infernal Majesty," I said.

"Quelle chanson écoutes-tu ?" he asked.

"J'écoutais une chanson appelée 'Gone With the Sin' mais maintenant j'écoute 'Love You Like I Do'," I answered.

"Le groupe chante dans quelle langue ? Et dans quelle langue les chansons sont-elles chantées ?" he asked. I frowned at him, unhappy that he would ask the one question I wished he wouldn't.

"Anglais," I said, pouting.

"Je suis certain qu'il serait préférable d'écouter quelque chose en français, non ?" he said. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him. Instead, after another quick look at the teacher, I changed the song to one by a French artist known as Alizee.

"Voilà, maintenant j'écoute une musique appropriée à un cours de français," I said as the song Moi...Lolita began to play. He chuckled, shaking his head, and returning to the book he had been reading. I finished putting my puzzle away, pulling out my own book. I noticed him looking at the title before I did. Looking at it myself, I held back a laugh, choosing instead to wait to see if he would make a comment on it. Actually, I was expecting him to do so, and, just as I figured, it didn't take him long to say something.

"Hungry for You. Est-ce un livre sur les vampires ?" he asked. I couldn't help but chuckle as he realized right away what type of book it was.

"Oui. Mais c'est aussi vraiment très différent de la majorité des livres de vampires, car dans celui-ci la raison de leur existence n'est pas surnaturelle," I said.

"Oh. Alors pour quelle raison sont-ils devenus des vampires ?" he asked.

"Une expérience scientifique ratée," I said. I saw him holding back a laugh as he turned away, leaving me to my reading. I got through two chapters before the bell rang. I put the book away, and switched off my music, pulling the bud from my ear. Putting it away, I grabbed my bag and headed towards the door, grabbing my coat. Angela was waiting for me right outside the door.

"Wow," she said. "You actually managed to get Jasper to talk." I realized that she had been watching me when she said that. I hadn't really noticed.

"If it wasn't for the fact that I saw how he was with his family, and that he keeps to himself, I'd say that you make it sound as if he doesn't talk to people often," I said. Angela laughed a little.

"So, what do you have next?"

"Biology II," I answered, without having to look at my schedule. I studied it in the last look I had done.

Angela laughed, confusing me. I looked at her.

"So, basically, we not only have another class together, but it's also one where an elusive Cullen is partnerless," she said. I laughed once she said that, understanding what she had found funny earlier.

"Which one is it this time?" I asked. I had the feeling that it would probably be one of the ones who were in our year this time, meaning either Alice or Edward. I ended up right when Angela told me that it was Edward. I didn't get to say anything because, at that moment, we'd arrived at the door. Stepping inside, I headed straight for the teacher, though I still noticed who else was in the class. I recognized almost everyone, not seeing a face I hadn't seen before.

As I passed by him, I saw Edward look at me, his eyes – a color that was dark enough to show that he would need to feed soon, but still light enough that there was some color to them, a color that almost looked brown in the light – showing that he had realized that, as I was in the class, I would be end up being seated next to him. He started clearing the table so that I would have room to sit down. Just as I was passing him, I felt a breeze from an air vent hitting me, and I watched as he stiffened, his now completely black eyes turning towards me. He seemed confused and hostile, and I frowned. I couldn't figure out why he was acting like that. The spell to hide my scent should still be in effect, at least until I took it off, so he shouldn't be acting the way he was, as if he had gotten a full dose of it.

Not that I expected him to have any reaction to it, beyond the normal reaction vampires seemed to have. I have been told, by some, that I have a rather nice scent, a floral one, but not one that seemed to attract more attention to me than they already would give me. So I was puzzled over Edward's reaction to it.

Looking away from him and continuing towards the teacher, I pulled down my shield enough so that Edward could 'hear' what I was about to think.

'If you even think of trying to attack me, you will regret it' I thought towards him, my shield going back into place once I was done. Once Mr. Banner had signed my slip, I turned, heading towards the table I would share with Edward. Looking at him again, I could still see the hostility on his face, but his confusion was even stronger. And it was easy to understand why: after all the trouble he had trying to read my mind during lunch, it made sense that he'd be confused about why he was suddenly able to read my mind now.

I felt the light feather touch to my shield once more. I frowned, noticing that it was much more insistent than before. Apparently, the small taste to my mind had him wanting to get into it again.

I didn't introduce my self. He was still tense, and not breathing at the moment. In fact, he hadn't been breathing when I had turned around. The only movement from him was the fact that he was still trying to get into my mind, though one couldn't really call it a movement. He was absolutely, completely still, and I had the feeling that he wouldn't be moving until it was time to leave.

When the bell rang and the class started, I did my best to ignore the male next to me, taking notes on what Mr. Banner said. Still, between his insistent attempts to get into my mind, and his lack of movement, I couldn't help but continually peak at him from the corner of my eye. As I gave him another perusal, I realized that, without his two brothers around, he wasn't as slight as I thought he was.

The entire class went by like that, and as his insistent attempts soon began to irritate me. By the time the bell was going to ring, I'd had enough.

'STOP trying to get into my mind, Edward!' I mentally shouted, removing my shield again so that he would hear. He jumped, surprised, and looked at me again. I was pleased to see that the hostility was gone from his face, though the confusion that took it's place wasn't all that welcome. I really hoped that he didn't try to confront me, and I was given a chance to get away sooner rather than later when the bell did ring. Grabbing my things, I hurried to get away. However, before I could get far, his hand grabbed my wrist far too tight; it would have probably ended up broken had I been a regular human. As it was, I'd probably have a bruise.

"What was..." he started to ask. I put my face into a politely puzzled look, and he stopped whatever he was able to say, shaking his head.

"Nevermind," he muttered, releasing my wrist. I resisted rubbing it, knowing instinctively, that he would feel bad about it.

"Sorry," he added, as if realizing that his behavior was deplorable.

"Are you okay?" I asked, as if I hadn't already been aware of what was wrong. He nodded his head.

"Well that's good," I said. "I'm Bella. It's nice to meet you." I held out my head for him to shake.

"Edward Cullen," he said, shaking my hand lightly before letting go. He seemed to be a bit distracted.

"Okay then," I said, turning to leave the room once again. I got the door this time before he stopped me. Angela, who was waiting for me, looked just as confused as I was.

"So, what class do you have next?" he asked.

"Mythology," I said, curious as to why he was asking. I looked over to Angela, mouthing, 'go on without me' to her so that she wasn't late to her next class. She nodded her head, leaving as I turned back to Edward.

"May I walk you to your next class?" he asked. "As an apology for grabbing you as I did."

"Sure," I said, though it sounded like a question. He smiled, held out his arm, and led the way to my next class. The stares that had been on me all day seemed to double as they realized just who it was that was walking with me. I wondered what would happen when they got over their shock, and just how fast the rumors would flow. I also wondered just what would be said, and how many people would come up with the idea that I had to know the Cullens, especially when the fact that I had been able to converse with Jasper quite easily got out as well.

He seemed to be itching to ask something specific, and seemed to be fighting himself to keep from doing so. I was about to ask if there was something he wanted to know when he spoke.

"So, how as your day been going?" he asked.

"Okay," I said, shrugging. "But that's not what you really want to know, is it?"

"What makes you think I wanted to ask you a specific question?" he asked.

"You weren't hiding it well," I said. We arrived at the classroom at that moment, and paused outside of the room.

"Well, here you go," he said, avoiding answering my question. "It was nice meeting you."

He let go of my arm and hurried away. I watched him leave, a frown on my face at his peculiar behavior. Shaking my head, I entered the class, heading towards the teacher as I'd done in the previous classes. Mr. Molina seemed nice, greeting me as he signed the paper and directed me to my seat for the class. Jessica, who was also in this class and in the seat to my right, leaned over, about to say something when the bell rang, and Mr. Molina stood up, a silent demand for attention. Jessica pouted as she straightened.

Mr. Molina started his class with a welcome, and informed everyone that we'd be starting on Celtic myths for today. He handed a stack of books to each desk, instructing the person in front to take one and pass it back, and then started talking about the subject. After I'd taken a book and passed the stack behind me, I let my mind drift.

I began to wonder about Edward's odd reaction towards me. More than that, I wondered what it was that he was going to originally ask me. A million different questions ran through my mind as I tried to think of which one he might have asked. It wasn't until I thought about him asking me to 'accompany' him to his car – which, after first, amused me slightly – that I froze ever so slightly, an image of how he had acted at the beginning of class running through my mind.

He had become rather hungry – more so than he was before class – once some remnant of my scent floated over him. While I had distracted him with letting him into my mind, a part of him had probably still hungered. While he hadn't gotten a full blast of it, what bit he did had been able to affect him, quite badly in fact. It worried me, and I silently told myself to make sure that I always placed my spell on myself, particularly around him. If only a small bit of my scent affected him like that, I really didn't want to know what it would be like if he got the full blast of it. In fact, I really doubted that it would be a good thing.

With that thought, I tuned back into Mr. Molina, who spoke his lesson with great passion now that he'd gotten off of what to expect from these myths and legends. It wasn't all that boring to sit there and take notes on the subject of some battle known as Moytura. When he looked at the clock and saw there there were only three minutes left of class, he assigned up to read about the battle of Moytura, both parts, as well as to read the chapter before it, which was nothing more than selected information from something called The Book of Invasions.

Jessica all but pounced on me once the bell rang.

"What was that?" she asked, her voice incredulous.

"What was what?" I asked.

"You know, that. Edward Cullen, walking you to this class. Does it ring any bells?" she said.

"He was just being a gentleman," I said, shrugging. "I've got to head to the office, and get this turned in, so I'll see you tomorrow."

I hurried away after that, hearing her unhappy farewell as I walked in the direction of the office. It wasn't a long walk, as the classroom actually wasn't that far from it. I ended up using the back door, the one that I had seen when I had first entered the room before, right next to the one hallway. I glance down it showed that it led to the nurse's office. I heard Mrs. Cope talking to someone, mentioning that something wouldn't be possible. Looking towards her, I was slightly surprised to see Edward standing at the desk. Suddenly, her words made a bit more sense to me, and, when he caught sight of me, I rolled my eyes at him.

'Coward,' I thought towards him. His eyes widened slightly, and he quickly said good-bye to Mrs. Cope, hurrying out of the office my way of the other door. I could tell that Mrs. Cope was taken aback by Edward's quick escape. I stepped up towards the counter, holding out my signed slip.

"Oh, hello dear," she said. "Have any trouble?"

"Other than with Mr. Varner, no, not really," I said.

"Oh yes, sorry about that," Mrs. Cope said. "I managed to let the other teachers know, but he didn't listen when I told him earlier." She sighed. "Perhaps now he'll learn to listen to what I say."

I held back a chuckle at her words.

"Have a nice day," I said, walking back out of the office and heading to my truck. As I got in and backed out, I felt eyes on me again, ones that I hadn't felt before. A look around showed that no one was staring at me with the intensity these eyes were doing so. Shrugging, I joined the line to leave the parking lot, thinking of what would be waiting for me once I got home.

I did my homework first when I got home, despite knowing that there would probably be quite a few e-mails from my friends waiting for me. I hadn't answered any of them, not yet. Since there wasn't really anything to say – at least, I felt that there wasn't anything to say – I hadn't bothered opening them. If there was something really important, I knew that they'd either call or text me.

Once I was done with my homework – which was fairly easy to do – I started dinner, while, at the same time, wondering how to convince Charlie to let me rid of the horrid yellow cabinets. I really didn't want to always have to wear sunglasses if I wanted something from in there. The task of dinner was rather mindless, so I ran up the stairs and grabbed my I-Pod and it's speakers, filling the kitchen with the music of Within Temptation, starting with the the song Utopia.

For dinner, I decided to make something with the fish that Charlie had informed me was in the freezer in the garage. I didn't bother trying to figure out what type it was – I wasn't really all that good doing that. Instead, I pulled out what I would use, and brought it inside with me. After defrosting it in hot water, I removed the head, guts, and scales, then wrapped it up in foil with some seasonings and lemon juice, put it on a tray, and threw it in the oven.

For the side, I made a salad, one that was mostly made up of lettuce, cherry tomatoes, chopped carrot slices, avacado, and cucumber. I left out the blue cheese crumbs, since I wasn't sure that Charlie would like it. However, I did put those, some sunflower seeds, and a few other salad additions to the side, so that Charlie could add what he wanted to it.

I decided to have dessert ready as well. I pulled out a frozen cheesecake I'd gotten, putting it into the fridge to keep cold until it was time to eat it.

With the fish still cooking – and knowing that it would be a while before it was done to perfection – I finally decided to take care of any e-mails I had from my friends. I also planned on letting them all know about the fact that there were vampires here, and that I just might eventually meet Carlisle Cullen – if he was the very Dr. Cullen that they were talking about as the 'kids' father.

As I had known, none of my friends were impatient to know what was going on, nor were they wondering why it was taking me so long to answer. I had the feeling that would change once I gave them my news, but, right now, it was okay, and everything was calm from them. In fact, I didn't even get an e-mail from everyone. I had to admit, I was a bit concerned when I saw that Elena was one of the few who didn't e-mail me, but I figured she was probably thinking like I was, that it would be better to wait until she had some news to tell. That, or at least until she was truly situated. She probably wanted to start her e-mail saying that she was now living wherever she was going to be living.

After sending everyone my news – via mass e-mail – I went back down the stairs, pulling out the fish from the oven, and setting it on the stove to cool off. Charlie arrived home then, coming into the kitchen.

"Smells good, Bells," he said. "What did you make?"

"Fish and salad," I said. He sniffed the air, a look of appreciation on his face.

"Sounds good," he said as I got the salad from the fridge. "You know, you're going to spoil me if you continue to make such good food."

"It's nothing, really," I said as I began to place the food onto the table. "I like cooking, and, at least here, I don't have to share the kitchen."

I grabbed two plates from the cupboard, as well as a fork. Handing one plate and a fork to him, I muttered, "Dig in," as I sat down.

"Who did you have to share the kitchen with before?" he ask as he pulled two of the pieces of fish on his plate and then scooped out some salad, adding some of the sunflower seeds, bacon bits, and ranch dressing to it.

"Harry," I answered, making my own plate. "He loved to cook just as much as I do."

There was silence for a few minutes as we ate a few bites. Then, Charlie asked, "So, how long do you plan on wearing sunglasses in the kitchen?"

"I'll be wearing them for however long those cabinets are painted yellow. No offense Ch-Dad, but it gives me a major migraine looking at it," I said. "Which is why I wanted to ask you if I could paint them over this weekend?"

"Are you willing to do them alone? 'Cause I planned on going fishing this weekend, but if you need the help..." he started.

"No, I can do it alone," I said. I'd actually prefer to do them alone I thought to myself, but didn't voice out loud. I didn't think that saying it would make him feel all that happy – in fact, it would probably hurt his feelings. Still, it was the truth, particularly since I could use magic to speed the whole thing up.

"I can surprise you with what color I do," I continued. "Don't worry, I won't do something you won't like."

He still looked unsure.

"Don't worry, Dad. I can do it, just you wait. When you come back from fishing, it'll be done, and I'll be making something delicious for dinner," I added. That got a smile out of him.

"Well, if your sure," he said.

"I'm sure," I said, and we continued to eat in silence. It was as we were finishing eating – he had another two pieces of fish – that he asked his next question.

"So, how did you like school? Did you make any new friends?" he asked.

"School was...school," I answered. "Um, I have a few classes with a girl named Angela, and most people seem nice. But, other than Angela, I can't exactly say I really made any friends. I just made acquaintances, mostly. A girl named Jessica did invite me to sit at her table at lunch, though, and I met some of her friends."

"Angela...Angela Weber, right?" he asked. "I nodded. "She's a nice girl. Minister's daughter, takes care of her twin brothers from her mother. And the Jessica you met was Jessica Stanley?" Another nod. "She's an okay girl. Doesn't get into too much trouble, but follows the wrong girl around that does. Who else was at the table?"

Um, Eric Yorkie, Mike Newton, and some bi...girl called Lauren," I said, quickly correcting myself on the last bit. "And those are the only names I caught. None of the others were nice enough to give me their names."

"Um, I'm not all that familiar with Eric enough to say that he's a good kid, but his parents are good people. Micheal is a good kid, though. His parents own the sporting good's store just outside of town. They make a good living off of all the backpackers who come through here," he said. I nodded. Once we'd finished eating, I stood and brought out the dessert. Charlie look appreciative at it at as gave him a slice.

"It's still sightly frozen," I told him.

"That's okay," he said, taking a bite.

"So, do you know the Cullen family?" I asked.

"Yes, I do," he said. "Mrs. Cullen was the one who helped do your room with her daughter Alice, and Dr. Cullen is a great man."

"The kids seem nice ,but they don't seem to fit in all that well," I said. Charlie surprised me by being angry.

"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, making ten times the salary he gets here," he continued, getting louder as he spoke. "We're lucky to have him – lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all those kids are well behaved and polite.

"I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them, but they're all very mature. I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them, which is more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should: camping trips every other weekends. Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."

"Whoa, down, down Dad," I said. He looked at me strangely, though he didn't say anything. "I guess I can see where I get my fierce defending people from," I commented.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, during lunch, as Jessica was talking about them, and telling me about Mrs. Cullen, I mentioned that it was nice of her to take care of all the kids when Lauren said something very unkind about her," I said. "I kind of got on her case about it."

"Lauren... do you mean Lauren Mallory?" he asked.

"Not sure, but probably," I said. "Particularly if she seems to be a popular girl who things she's a queen."

"Yeah, Lauren Mallory," he said. "Troublemaker. I got called out to her house three times last year for disturbing the peace."

"And she still didn't learn not to throw a loud party," I said, rolling my eyes. "Like I said, she gave off the impression that she thought of herself as a queen. Not that it worked with me; I made it clear I wasn't going to back down from her. As for why she said it, I get the feeling that she doesn't like the fact that the girls are prettier than her, plus I wouldn't be surprised if she tried with all three guys, and they turned her down. I definitely impressed everyone else, though.

"As for what I thought of them, personally, I found the two I met nice, if not a bit nosy. I just noticed that they kept to themselves for the most part. They're all also very attractive." I added the last part as an after thought.

He laughed. "You should see the doctor. A lot of the nurses have trouble concentrating when he's around," he said, still chuckling. However, when he caught sight of my face, he stopped.

"They have trouble concentrating," I said. "That's not good. They could end up messing something up and causing serious harm or a death to someone."

He frowned. "I never thought about it like that," he admitted.

"It's not your fault," I said. "If this was happening someone other than a hospital, I'd probably think of it as funny as well. However, in a hospital, a single mistake could be dangerous."

Dessert finished rather quickly after that. I put the rest of the cheesecake up into the fridge, cleaned the dishes, and went upstairs, where I took a shower and got ready for bed. I spent the rest of my time waiting until it was worth going to bed letting my hair dry and watching a movie – I chose a horror one. Once it was done, I went to bed, wondering what the next day would bring.

Chapter Text

The next day wasn't too bad, though there were times that I disliked it. I was able to sleep better the night before, without the aid of a potion, so I felt more refreshed when I woke. Plus, the day didn't appear to have any sign of becoming worse, so I was able to ride my bike to school. Unfortunately, this cause people to stare at me again when I arrived – parking next to the silver Volvo – as my leather riding jacket wasn't all that flattering, and I had the feeling that I would be answering questions about it later.

I was mostly left alone, the selected group from the previous day being the ones who hung around me the most. I mostly talked to Angela, who I found worth getting to know over the others. During French, Jasper made a comment on my bike, but didn't pry about it, which had me extremely grateful.

However, what made the next bad was that the two teachers I disliked kept me on my toes, making me exhausted from their petty games. Gym wasn't as good as the previous day, either, for Lauren – who I hadn't even realized was in it – kept trying to trip me. It only stopped after I 'accidentally' elbowed her when she tried it again just when I was about to hit the ball. She was forced to spend the rest of the class sitting on the bleachers, a tissue to her nose that I'd bloodied up.

And it was made all the worse because Edward Cullen wasn't there.

And I even prepared for it, too. I made sure to do my scent spell before I even left the house, waiting until Biology to find out if it worked. But, when lunch came, and I noticed that there were only four Cullens there, I was...unhappy. I thought that, maybe, he had decided to skip pretending to eat, but that thought was shot once it was time for Biology.

I did my best to appear relaxed and unaffected by his absence during lunch. Unlike the previous day, Mike, Eric, and Tyler – who turned out to have been the boy from the previous day that Mike had chased all over the cafeteria – stayed at the table. Mike commandeered the talk, making plans to go to the Indian reservation sometime within the next two weeks, of which I declined giving an answer for, since I wasn't sure if I wanted to go or not. He was also insistent in walking me to my next class, a task he repeated every day for the rest of the week.

I arrived to Biology pretty quickly, as Ms. Beniot let us out earlier than she should have. When Mike saw me sitting alone at the table, he walked towards me, taking a seat at the table and trying to talk to me. I wasn't all that happy at the attention; he didn't seem to get he signs that I wasn't interested. In fact, once class ended, he decided to walk me to my next one, despite the fact that it was unneeded.

He was talking on the qualities of a golden retriever more and more in my presence, for he'd done the same thing after Gym as well. In fact, once we'd gotten to the door of my Mythology class, I could pretty much see him with wagging tail. In order to keep myself from laughing in his face, I hurried into class, choosing, instead, to think about why Edward wasn't here.

It might have seemed egotistic, but I was positive that it had to do with me. It just seemed too much of a coincidence for him to disappear like he has after what happened yesterday, what with his reaction and then his attempt to get changed to a different class that period.

When school ended, an I'd pulled out to leave, I realized that I was being watch, and, unlike the eyes of everyone else, these ones felt...different. I followed them over to the silver Volvo I'd seen yesterday. The four remaining Cullens were standing around it, staring in my direction, probably wanting to see what was so strange about me that their brother had to run away.

I wasn't all that surprised that they were the owners of the Volvo. While not as flashy and expensive and some other cars out there, I knew that it was one of the ones that wasn't cheap to get. It was kind of expected that they'd own it, being as they'd had a lot of time to build up money – years, in fact. Everything about them screamed money, even their clothes. You only needed a glance to know that what they wore was the expensive in season designer clothes, as if they needed to flaunt their wealth.

Not that I could really talk. While I would probably never wear anything like that – I had my likes, and refused to change them for anyone – none of what I owned could be called cheap. Still, it did seem overkill, and, if I hadn't known that they were vampires, I'd wonder why people didn't flock around them because of their wealth.

When I got home, the disappointment of Edward not being there didn't linger long, for Tristelianna called me.

"So, how was your first and second day of school?" she asked, completely forgoing any semblance of a greeting.

"Did you not get my e-mail last night?" I asked her, choosing to ignore her question. If she was so curious to know, she could very well read that over asking me.

"Yes, I just figured I would ask," she said. "Besides, that e-mail didn't hold anything about today, either, so..."

I rolled my eyes.

"School was school," I said, repeating the words I'd told Charlie when he had asked. "Not particularly fun, but necessary."

"Did anything new happen with the Cullen guy?" came Kitty's voice, which got louder as she spoke. I got the feeling that she'd stolen the phone from Tristelianna, something that was confirmed when I heard the sound of the two fighting over it. After laughing at the bickering for a while, I finally suggested, "Why don't you just put it on speaker phone?"

There was a pause on the other side.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Kitty said, grumbling a bit, which became louder as she turned it on. The noise of bad music, clacking utensils, and shouting became apparent.

"Because I was keeping it from your mind," Tristelianna grumbled. "I wanted to talk to her alone, nosy." She sighed. "Anyway, Kitty asked a good question. Did anything new happen with that Cullen guy you mentioned? The one who didn't seem to be able to handle the hint of your scent?"

"Nothing happened," I said. "He wasn't there."

"So he ran away," Tristelianna said.

"Seems so," I said. "After all, it's not like he can get sick."

"No, he can't can he," Kitty said.

"So, where are you two, anyway?" I asked.

"We're stopped at a diner several hours away from where my mother lives," Kitty said. "She was happy to see us, and says hello to everyone. We just left earlier today."

"How did she take to your road trip plans?" I asked.

"Oh, she wasn't surprised, but she did wonder why I was doing them now instead of waiting for summer. I think she suspects that we're doing this to look at colleges," Kitty said.

"Yeah, we kind of kept away from the real reason, and let her think that," Tristelianna said. "Besides, it's not like it's that bad of an idea. I mean, we are going to have schoolwork to do. The professor told us that we are to do two to eight page essays on certain sites that we'll be sure to pass by, which will count towards history and English, while our other work will be e-mailed to us."

"Sounds nice," I said.

"It is, to a point. The essays are to be due a week after we visit said site – and he'll known when we do that – while the e-mailed work is to be due every Friday – and we'll be receiving it every Monday," Kitty said.

"Is it a lot of work?" I asked.

"Yes," the two said.

"Of course, considering how much we've had to do in the past, it's not to surprising that we've got a lot," Kitty added.

"And, with the fact that we get five days to do it all, and that's a lot more time than we're used to for the amount of work, it makes it easier to get it down. What we'll probably have the biggest problem with is the essays. The way that's going to work is that, once we've hit the historical site, we let the the professor know, and he'll assign how long the essay needs to be," Tristelianna said. "He has assured us that they won't need to be longer than eight pages, but that we can make it longer than that if need be. We are also to have the word documentary be in a readable font, and have the font size be either ten or twelve. Oh, and the margins have to be at least half an inch inwards."

"Sounds fun," I said.

"Yeah," Kitty said. "So, have you heard from any of the others yet?"

"No, but I suspect that if something important comes up, I will," I said, going through the fridge to figure out what I was going to make that night. "What about you guys. Have you heard anything yet?"

"No," Kitty said. "Though, Tristelianna did call Hermione to see what was going on over there earlier this morning."

"And, what did she find out?" I asked.

"The trials would be starting the next day," Kitty said.

"Yeah, apparently, they've finally figured out a way to make sure that there's no way for those who are going to be on trial to get away with their crimes," Tristelianna said. "Hermione mentioned that she managed to find a fool proof way of making sure that people didn't walk free, unless they were truly innocent."

"I'm sure that not having Dumbledore, one of his ilk, or a sympathizer to anyone who is going to have a trial, will make that even better," Kitty said. "Hermione mentioned that the only reason why it took so long was picking out the jury for the trials, so to speak."

"Let me guess, most of them are hungry for revenge against the criminals," I said.

"I have the feeling it's either that or letting a sympathizer have a vote," Tristelianna said. "Unfortunately, there really isn't anyone available who wasn't touched by the war. At least having those who want revenge means that they won't be swayed by any lie the criminals attempt, so they manage to convince the Chief Warlock that they don't need to take Veritaserum."

"Wouldn't work anyway," Kitty said. "Harry mentioned that they've managed to make the prisoner stand into a lie detector. Should they not take Veritaserum, they will have a chance to prove that they won't lie, and depending on the result of whatever it is that will show the lie or not, it'll say whether or not they'll be forced to have the truth potion or not."

"Nice," I said. "And I take it that this...ward will let people also know if they somehow managed to get some way to prevent the truth potion from affecting them."

"Yes," Kitty said. The noise that had become background dropped until it was even quieter than before, and I could just vaguely hear Kitty asking for the check.

"Well, we're about to head out. I want to at least make it to state line before stopping for the night," Tristelianna said.

"Okay, then," I said. "Bye."

"Bye," she said, with Kitty calling bye to me as well. I hung up, feeling a bit better instantly now that I'd talk to someone I was familiar with, though it wasn't the one I really wanted to talk to. Looking at the clock, I smiled a bit, realizing that it would be a perfect time to call Elena. Dialing her cell, I waited for her to pick up.

"How has your day been?" Elena asked when she picked up.

"Okay," I said. "However about you?"

"Aunt Jenna wants to bone Jeremy's history teacher," was her answer. I snorted, shaking my head.

"You know, I so did not need to know that," I said.

"Nor did I, but, unfortunately, ended up being forced to know, so I'm letting you know as well," she said.

"Misery love company," I said dryly.

"Exactly," she answered, and I could hear the smile in her voice. I walked over to my bed, sitting down once I reached it.

"So," I said, my voice serious. "Where are you right now?"

"I'm in my room at the inn I'm staying at," she said. "And, before you ask, I will probably be a resident at the Salvatore Boarding House by tomorrow evening, if all goes well."

"I would have thought that you would already be one by now. I mean, it's been about five days already," I said.

"Four days as I had a late start Friday. And, well," Elena started, "apparently, Aunt Jenna wasn't exactly all for having me to stay there like I had originally thought she would. She wanted me at the house, but respected my decision on that matter, and tried to help me get an apartment, but...well, they're weren't many free ones, and those that were free, well, neither of us trust the other tenants, or the doors. I finally got her to agree to give the Boarding House a try...about five minutes ago, in fact, as I just hung up with her. However, it's a bit late, so I'll be going by there tomorrow."

"Why did Jenna take so long to decide?" I asked.

"Oh, apparently the boarding house has changed hands a few times since I...left," Elena said. "The owner I remembered being there died about two years after I left, and left the building to his grandson, who, apparently earlier this year, gave it to his oldest nephew before permanently moving to California. And, well, said nephew isn't much older than I am, plus his younger brother – who is our age – also lives there."

"Ah, it would be the opposite of what we had in New York, only with less people," I said, thinking about how Harry had ended up being the only boy in our group, and dorm house.

"Exactly. However, with the lack of places to live at in town, well, my only real choices are live at the house, get my own house, or continue to live at the motel I'm stationed at. And, well, I don't like any of those three, nor was Jenna for the latter two, so I finally manage to convince her to at least let me ask," Elena said.

"What if you can't get a room there? And what have you been doing about school?" I asked, though I doubted I really needed too. From the sounds of it, she hadn't had time to do anything school-wise.

"Oh, I won't be starting until I have a place to live," Elena said. "That's something that Jenna and I have agreed on, because Jenna doesn't want me to be distracted from my school work, nor does she want me to end up being stuck where I'm staying because I was more concerned for doing school work. And, thankfully, because of my grades, I can afford not to immediately have to deal with school.

"As for what I'll do if I can't get a room there, well, I'm not sure. As I mentioned before, there are not that many places around for me to live at. Of course, I did hear Jenna muttering that, maybe, she could convince someone to take me in as a boarder elsewhere. She has gotten to know some of Jeremy's friends, and she does know the sheriff as well. She thinks that Sheriff Forbes will be willing to let me stay there, and since Sheriff Forbes also has a daughter my age..."

"You might end up making a new friend," I finished. We talked for a few more minutes before she mentioned that she had to go – apparently, she had to get ready for dinner, which was going to be at her aunt's house. After saying bye, I hung up, going down the stairs to prepare dinner for myself and Charlie.

The rest of the week went by in much the same fashion as Tuesday had, though I refrained from riding my bike to school. Charlie had looked as if he wanted to chew me out for it, but the fact that I hadn't actually broken any promise that I'd made him stayed his tongue. Still, in order to keep him from worrying, I didn't ride the bike again, though that was mostly because it was raining on and off the next few days.

Edward was still conspicuously absent from school, though I always made sure my scent was hidden. While I had the feeling that he wasn't coming back for a while, I didn't want to end up blindsiding him when he did. Finally, the weekend arrived, heralding my survival of school, along with bringing light to the promise I'd gotten from Charlie about ridding of the yellow cabinets.

He told me where I would be able to find the the hardware store to get the paint at, then left, planning on fishing with his friends from the Indian Reservation, which he'd called La Push. I wished him luck, telling him that he should bring home some more fish – a joke, as we had plenty of it already – and headed to the hardware store, where I got the paint color I figured would look good with the rest of the house. It was a dark brown color, which would cover the yellow up nicely. I bought a paint brush – not wanting to deal with a roller – and went back. Then, after making sure no one was watching, I cheated, using magic to apply the paint. The cabinets looked a lot better afterward, and I was able to take off my glasses once it was done.

Then, I pulled out a crock pot, filling it with water, cubed slices of meat, carrots, onion, celery, and a few other things, and set it to cook a delicious stew for when Charlie got home. Then, I set about putting safeguards on the house, the same wards I had put around the windows and door of my room. I was going to make sure that this house the most protected house in Forks. Of course, I also had to be careful with these wards. I didn't want Charlie to end up getting hurt because someone he knew wasn't quite 'human'. So I didn't stop supernaturals getting into the house. Instead, I made it so that one of my crystals would glow slightly anytime someone who wasn't completely human entered the house.

The crystal I used was on a thin, long, silver chain that I planned on wearing at all times. I added a slight heating spell to it so that, in case I had to hide it, I'd still know if someone inhuman came into the house. I didn't want people to notice the crystal glowing. It wouldn't be a good thing if they did.

By the time Charlie got back, the stew was about ready to be dished out and eaten. I didn't make anything to go with it, figuring that it would be enough. As we sat to eat, Charlie was silent, but I got the feeling that he wanted to say something, and it didn't have to do with the new cabinet color. This was mostly because he kept glancing at me every few moment, and looking as if he was about to speak. I waited for him to do so, but he kept eating instead.

"What?" I asked him, after another glance. I was getting a bit tired of him waiting to ask, particularly since I had the feeling he'd be finished eating soon, and never end up asking. He was, after all, on his third bowl of stew already.

"Um, well, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind hosting a small gathering," Charlie said, a bit uncomfortable. I had the feeling that he was afraid of my answer. "Billy, Harry, and some of the others would like to come and meet you. I figured that it would probably be better here because you're more familiar with being here, and, if you wanted to disappear, you'd be able to do so more easily."

"Um, when would this be happening?" I asked. "I mean, I won't need a lot of time, and I'm actually not all that good with waiting for things to happen. If this happens, I would prefer it to happen sooner rather than later. And by that, I mean within the next day or two."

"You don't like having a lot of time to plan things out, do you?" he asked, looking a bit amused now that he knew I wasn't shooting it down immediately. I guess he must've wanted me to meet his friends.

"No, I don't," I said. "If I have too much time to plan, then not only will I change my mind at least a dozen times within the first few days, but I'll end up doing so after things have already begun to happen as well. And then, almost always, something will go wrong. I plan better on a short, short term schedule."

"Okay, then," Charlie said, sitting back. "You'd be open to it, though?"

I nodded. "Yes," I said. "Just so long as it happens soon, but I still have time to plan. Oh, and you better let me know just how many people would be coming as well."

"Well, I'll call Billy tonight, and see if we can't have it Monday night," he said.

"Tell me tomorrow what's been decided," I said. "And how many people are coming."

"I will," he said, picking up his bowl and heading to the sink. He rinsed it out, then placed it down with the rest of the things that needed to be washed. Heading to the living room, he grabbed the cordless as he passed it. I heard him turn the television on, the sounds of some ball game coming to my ears, followed by the sound of him talking to someone. Frowning, I pulled my I-pod out of my sweater pocket, putting my ear buds on and finding a song that I wanted to listen too, not feeling up to continuing the play list I'd had going earlier that day. As Marilyn Mason's Coma White played, I finished eating, then set about putting cleaning and putting everything away.

As I cleaned, I wondered how I would take meeting his friends, and how them meeting me would go. I didn't know what, exactly, Charlie may have said about me, and I didn't know how they expected me to act. It was a bit nerve-wracking, not to have any clue on such a matter. I figured, however, that I would do myself no favors acting like someone other than myself.

Once I'd finished cleaning, I turned to head up the stairs. Charlie hung up the phone right then, turning towards me. Pausing the song I was on – Fires at Midnight by Blackmore's Night – I looked at him.

"Billy will get back to me with the number of people who will be willing to come over tomorrow," he said. I nodded.

"Okay, then," I said. "Goodnight."

I wasn't actually planning on going to sleep, but I figured, if I did fall asleep, then I wouldn't feel guilty for not saying it. Especially since, after my shower, I didn't plan on leaving my room.

It wasn't actually until one in the morning that I did fall asleep. I never heard Charlie coming up to bed; I got the feeling that he'd fallen asleep on the couch. Still, there was nothing to tell me that happened for sure, since he, as usual, was awake before I was. It was the phone that woke me up the next morning, ringing shrilly through the house. Groaning as I got out of bed, I was about to head to it, only to stop on the stairs when I heard Charlie answer it. That confused me a bit, seeing that I didn't expect him to still be here.

"Morning, Bells," he said, having looked up and seen me.

"Morning," I said, yawning as I continued walking down the stairs. I took a look at him, seeing that he was in casual clothes. It looked as though he was actually getting ready to leave before the phone rang.

"Who was it on the phone?" I asked.

"Billy," Charlie said. "He was wondering if I was still coming fishing with them today."

"Ah," I said, starting to head into the kitchen.

"Do you mind me going?" he asked. "I probably should have asked you if you -"

I stopped him right there. I didn't want him to feel like he had to stay home with me.

"No, it's alright," I said. "I was just wondering who was on the phone. It woke me up."

"Okay then," he said. "Sorry the phone woke you up."

"It's okay," I said, looking through the fridge to figure out what I'd like to eat. I closed it as another yawn overcame me. "I'll probably go back to sleep once you leave, anyway."

"Try not to sleep the whole day," he said.

"Can't promise I won't," I said, heading back up the stairs. "Have fun. And don't forget to give me a count of how many people are going to be here for that little meet and greet you wanted."

"I won't," he said, grabbing his fishing gear and leaving the house. As I told him, I went straight back to sleep for at least another two hours before getting up for the day. Knowing that we'd probably have company the next day, I made out a list of what I could make for dinner that would be enough to feed a medium to large group. I decided that, while there would be a theme of what could be eaten, I would also leave it to the guest to have a choice of what they wanted. Since sub sandwiches were pretty easy to make, I decided to make a list of meats and cheeses that could be used.

When Charlie came home, I had a simple idea of what would be needed for the little shindig he wanted, and he had the number of those willing to come, which ended up being a grand total of...seven people. I had to admit, when I heard the number, I was a bit shocked – I would have thought it would have been more. However, from what he told me, two of the seven were his closest friends, and the rest was family to them, though he also mentioned that the daughter of his one friend would not be joining.

Nodding my head, I wrote down a note on the paper in front of me of how many people I would be expected to feed, adding up to three more people – in addition to my father and myself – just in case a last minute addition happened.

"Okay, well, tomorrow after school, I'll go to the store and get some more food," I said.

He looked at the kitchen, which was pretty full, as if to ask 'don't we have enough already?'

"I know what I'm going to do tomorrow, and we don't have enough of what's needed," I added on.

"Ah, okay," he said, eating his food in silence. The rest of the evening passed pretty quickly, and, before I knew it, Monday had arrived. It was cold when I woke up, shivering when I pulled myself out of my little cocoon of blankets. Knowing this, I chose one of my long sleeved shirts – a red velvet blouse with Celt inspired swirls on it. I chose a pair of gloves that went to my wrists, along with my usual dark colored jeans, and a pair of black boots. A thick sweater that laced up on the sleeves and hood, and had a silver glitter rose design on the front and back was also thrown on for insurance so that I didn't get too cold. I paused for a moment with my wand in my hand, unsure if I should do the spell or not, then decided to be safe rather than sorry.

I got to school pretty quickly, people greeting me in the parking lot. I didn't know all their names, but I did acknowledge them with a wave. Though it was definitely colder today – I could feel it through my gloves, which were thin due to the need for movement rather than a need for warmth – I didn't hurry to get into a building, because it wasn't raining at the moment.

The day went pretty well at first. We had a pop quiz on Wuthering Heights in English that was pretty straightforward, easy to do. The two classes that had the teachers who didn't like me was spent with me being ignored by them, which was relieving. And, in Gym, the team I was on won every game, with little help from me – truthfully, I stayed in back, not really feeling up to playing.

However, my good mood disappeared when Jessica and I left the Gym.

The air was filled with swirling bits of white, and the wind bit at my cheeks and nose. I could hear others shouting excitedly to each other.

"Wow," Mike said as he rejoined us. "It's snowing."

I looked at the little cotton fluffs that were building up along the sidewalk and swirling erratically past my face. A frown crossed it. This wasn't snow; it was mush.

"Ew," I said, feeling as if my good day was now gone. Mike looked at me, confused at my reaction.

"You don't like snow?" he asked, sounding as if he couldn't imagine someone not liking it.

"Oh, I don't mind snow. However, I do have a problem with mush, and this is mush," I said.

"Are you sure you've seen snow?" Mike asked. I looked at him, an eye-brow raised.

"I lived in both New York and Scotland, both of which get's snow, so yes, I have seen it," I said.

"Right, sorry, forgot," he said. Before he could say anything else, though, a big, drippy ball of mush hit him from behind. I was suspicious about Eric and Tyler, both of who were walking in the opposite direction – the wrong one unless they planned on not eating. I could see that I wasn't the only one who was suspicious of the two, as Mike bent down to gather mush for his own ball.

"Okay, have fun," I said. If they were going to start a mush ball fight, I was going inside. I powered walked to the cafeteria, keeping myself ready in case someone tried to lob one of those balls at me. Jessica, who'd followed, thought this was funny, but something in my expression seemed to tell her that it wouldn't be a good idea to test what I'd do if she decided to lob a mush ball at me.

Mike, who apparently decided to either postpone his revenge or had gotten enough of it, caught up with us as we were walking through the door, looking as if he'd been hit by even more mush balls before getting to us. I took a glace at the table the Cullens tended to commandeer, not expecting anything to have changed. So I was rather surprised when I saw that there were five people at the top, almost freezing when I noticed it. Luckily, I had enough sense to keep walking and acting normal, so that Mike and Jessica didn't wonder what was wrong.

I kept an eye on the table as we headed to the usual table we sat at, purposely taking a seat so that I could look at them without problem. I only took my eyes off of them for a second, long enough to pull out the food I'd brought with me, before looking back at them. Ignoring what was going on around – though I vaguely heard disbelief from Lauren about what I chose to eat – I continued to watch the Cullens.

Unlike how they usually were – still and unmoving – they definitely weren't today. It was obvious that they had enjoyed the unexpected mush – I couldn't call it snow, really couldn't – as much as everyone else seemed to. Because of my focus on them, nothing they did escaped my eyes, which was how I was able to see what happened next. Emmett held out something in his hand, which turned out to be a compacted chunk of ice, flicking it towards Alice. She flicked it away from her, and I followed the chunk of ice across the room, where it hit and broke against the wall, causing the wall to crack as well.

I looked back to the table, my eyes narrowing at the careless action they'd just done. Anyone could have seen that, which wouldn't have been good. They were lucky that I was the only who did. In all honesty, it seemed rather idiotic of them to do that, making me wonder if, perhaps, some words were said that made Emmett and Alice almost show off the fact that they weren't human. Not that you would suspect that, for, within moments, the scene changed. Emmett was now leaning towards the girls, shaking the mush from his hair onto them, causing them to lean away. There were obvious smiles and laughter on their faces.

A frown crossed my face. While the scene looked innocent enough, it looked as if it was staged as well, as if it was a scene for a movie. It make me wonder if, perhaps, they expected someone to look over towards them, to see if they were like regular teens. Or, maybe, I was just being paranoid. I didn't expect them to know that I knew what they were, as I hadn't given them any idea towards it, nor did I expect them to know that I was watching them, as I doubted that Emmett and Alice would have done what they did before if they did.

Shrugging my paranoia off, I looked at Edward, trying to see if there was any indication that he was doing better. The dark circles that had been underneath his eyes before were definitely lighter now, and, even from where I sat, I could see that there was a definite difference in his eyes. He'd fed before coming here. That was good, at the very least. It meant that he should have some more control over himself than he did before.

"Bella, what are you looking at?" Jessica asked me, interrupting my thoughts. She followed my gaze to the Cullen table, where I know sat in a staring war with Edward, who'd looked over when she asked for my attention. I felt him brush against my shield, and withheld a sigh. Instead, I slowly looked away, turning towards Jessica.

"Just daydreaming," I said, shrugging. I started on my food, eating it quickly without being rude about it.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," she whispered, giggling a bit in my ear. I noticed that everyone else had quieted down, and were looking at us.

"Why is he looking at you?" Lauren sneered, jealousy evident on her face.

"Don't know," I said. "Maybe he's wondering if he should ask that question that seemed to have been bothering him last Monday."

She gritted her teeth for some reason, but didn't say anything else, and, not long afterward, the conversations started once more. I listened in this time, which turned out to be a good thing, for Mike was making plans to have a mush ball fight after school. Silently, I made contingency plans to either stay behind in Mythology, or get to my truck before the mush balls started flying.

Once I finished my food, I planned on heading straight to class. I didn't want Mike to walk me to French – he was a popular target for the mush balls, after all – but, when he saw me getting up, he immediately stood as well, and, though I tried to tell him that I didn't need him to walk me to my next class, he was insistent in doing so that I finally gave up on trying to convince him otherwise. Thankfully, as we went to leave, I saw that the rain was washing away the mush, which, while it disappointed Mike, made me really happy.

In fact, I was still smiling once I got to French, something that Jasper noticed.

"Salut," I greeted.

"Tu sembles vraiment contente qu'il ait fini de neigé," he said, and I wondered how he knew that the missing snow was the reason for my happiness. However, I didn't ask him about it.

"Je suis contente. J'avais peur de finir au milieu d'un tire-croisé de boules de neige puisque Mike ne semblait pas saisir mes tentatives pour lui faire comprendre que je ne souhaitais pas qu'il m'accompagne en classe,"I said instead.

The bell rang then, and Ms. Beniot call the class to order. She went over the day's lesson, ending with the fact that she wanted a five page essay on any topic, done in French, and due in two weeks. She then gave us free rein to talk for the rest of the class – all of ten minutes. I pulled out my shopping list, deciding to check it again since I had time to do so. Jasper saw what I was doing, and looked at it.

"Qu'est-ce que c'est ?" he asked.

"C'est une liste d'articles que je dois me procurer au magasin. Mon père souhaite me faire rencontrer quelques uns de ses amis de La Push, et il a été décidé que la petite soirée aura lieu aujourd'hui, en grande partie dû à mon insistance,"I told him

"Pourquoi à ton insistance ?" he asked.

"Oh, avoir beaucoup de temps pour planifier les choses ne me réussit pas. Je finis toujours par tout saboter, en grande partie parce que je ne peux pas m'empêcher de changer sans cesse d'avis," I answered.

He laughed at that, and then left me alone. I finished checking the list, seeing nothing that needed to be added, and put it up, thinking about what I'd write my essay on. I thought about some of the other essays I'd done in the past, wondering if I could – or even should – just translate one of them, but figured that I was taking a big enough risk at using them for their actual classes. While I'm sure that Ms. Beniot wouldn't care if I did that – I mean, after all, having given permission to write anything could also be taken as permission to just translate another essay into French, but I was sure she'd prefer seeing something new.

Of course, as an idea formed into my mind, I wasn't sure she'd appreciate what I was planning on writing about. Still, it was the only idea I was getting, and I did have information on it easily in reach. I'd be able to easily write a five page essay on it.

Angela and I walked to Biology together, as we normally did, and were among the first to arrive at Biology. I saw that there was a microscope and box of slides on each table, and wondered what we would be doing today, but my mind didn't focus on that for long. I was keenly aware of my surroundings, waiting for Edward to come in, so I definitely heard when he did so, noisily moving the chair next to mine to signal that. I resolutely kept from looking at him, to keep myself from seeing what his reaction was like. I wasn't going to be the one to make the first move, if he decided to make one at all.

"Hello," he said. I looked towards him, glad to notice that, unlike before, there seemed to be struggling in his expression. Though, as I studied him – and noticed that he seemed more open than before – I saw that his eyes showed carefulness, as if making sure he didn't give anything of himself away. I was tempted to tell him that he didn't have anything to worry about, that there was nothing he had to be careful not to say in my presence, but that would probably do more bad than good.

"Hi," I said.

"Sorry I wasn't here the rest of last week," he said. "I was...indisposed."

"It's okay," I said. "There weren't any labs, so it wasn't like I was forced to work on something that requires two people."

The bell rang then and Mr. Banner started the class. Of course, he only did long enough to tell us what we were to be doing, and then set us off to work.

"Ladies first, Bella?" he said, giving me a crooked smile that made my heart skip a beat and made me forget to breath. He waited a few minutes, his smile disappearing as an uncertain look crossed his face, and I quickly made myself move.

"All right," I said, reaching for the microscope. I snapped the first slide in place, and adjusted the microscope to a 40x objective. I studied the slide rather briefly, grabbing a pen and the worksheet that Mr. Banner had passed out beforehand, and went to write down what it was when Edward stopped me. I looked at him.

"Can I..." he started to asked. I raised an eyebrow.

"You don't trust me?" I asked.

"No!" he said, then paused, frowned, and added, "well, I just want to check."

"You don't trust me," I said. "It's 'prophase'. Check it if you want."

I quietly steamed as I freed my hand from his and wrote it down, while he checked the slide himself. I didn't like it when people doubted my abilities, particularly in school. Despite the fact that the Xavier school was mostly a school for mutants, in order to attain the level of privacy and ability to call itself a school for 'gifted youngsters', it's class program were very advance from the bat. This lab we were doing right now was one I'd done only four years ago – of course, this was during summer school, since I was at Hogwarts during the regular school year at the time. And I did it a few time, too, so that the knowledge of how to tell what the phases of mitosis looked like was ingrained in my head.

So it was insulting to know that someone doubted me.

"Prophase," Edward said. I glared at him, letting him know in no uncertain terms that I wasn't happy with him. He flinched, and gave me an apologetic face. I sighed, letting go of my anger. I doubted that he really meant to imply that I would be wrong. After all, I doubted this was the first time he'd been through high school, and I had the feeling that, like my classmates back at Hogwarts, most of his other 'partners' either weren't right or were content with just letting him do all the work. Though I hoped that he got a wrong answer every now and then – getting perfect scores would probably end up causing him trouble at some point.

"It's your turn," I said, handing him the next slide while giving him the worksheet. He switched the slides while I placed the one he'd been looking at back in the box.

"Anaphase," he said as he wrote it down. I nodded, grabbed the microscope, and began switching the slides once more. He looked at me, confused.

"Did you want to check?" he asked.

"No," I said. "I'm actually trusting that you got it right."

I pulled the worksheet towards me, checking the slide, and writing down what it was before pushing the microscope and worksheet towards him. I waited, seeing him check my answer, and expected him to need to check the microscope himself, only to be happily surprised when he didn't do that, just switched the slides himself, and check the new one.

We did this until we were done, setting the slides back into the box and putting the microscope and worksheet side by side on the table. We were the first to be finished; in fact, it didn't look like anyone else was close to it. I could see several people looking between two slides, and I saw that Mike had his book opened on his lap. I shook my head – Mr. Banner had specifically forbidden the use of books in this lab. I wonder what Mike would do if he ended up caught.

I felt a brush against my shield, and resisted the urge to sigh. Of course he'd try to get into my mind. I looked over at him, seeing the frustrated look that crossed his face as he expectations to get into my mind were dashed.

"Something wrong?" I asked. He shook his head. Mr. Banner came by then, seeing that we were done and looking at the worksheet rather intensely. He frowned, looked at the table, and then seemed to get an idea of what we did. Or, at least, he seemed to.

"So, Edward, did you give Isabella a chance with the microscope?" he asked.

"Bella," Edward said. "And,actually, she identified half of them herself."

Mr. Banner turned towards me, his expression skeptical.

"Have you done this lab before?" he asked.

"Four years ago," I answered. I saw his surprise at that, and I was reasonably sure I knew what caused it. This lab was considered advanced for junior Biology II, so telling him that this was considered an old lab was probably surprising.

"Were you in an advance placement back in Phoenix?" he asked.

"No," I said. "Considering that I didn't go to school in Phoenix, it's impossible to have been in an advance placement there. And I wasn't at the school I did go to, either." I didn't bother mentioning that it was because the school itself was advanced anyway. If he was willing to make a mistake about where I went to school – particularly considering that my school records clearly stated were I went to school exactly – I wasn't going correct it for him. He could look it up himself if he wanted to know.

He thought for a moment, then set the worksheet back down and said, "Well, I guess it's a good thing that you two are partners," before turning and walking off. I got out a notebook, not sure what I was going to do with it, but feeling the need to do something rather than just sit there.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" Edward asked, gaining my attention once more. I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering why he was being talkative.

"Not really," I said. "But then, that wasn't snow, that was mush."

He smirked.

"Now, you want to ask what's really on your mind?" I asked him, rather bluntly. His smirk disappeared as a flash of surprise when through him before he let his face settle into a politely confused face.

"Why do you say that" he asked. I snorted.

"So you really do want to talk about the weather?" I said, slightly incredulous. "Come on, you obviously want to start a conversation, or at least start an interrogation. So, here's your chance. Now, either ask me what question it is that you really want to know, or don't bother me."

He thought about it for a moment, then looked away, giving me the impression that he wasn't going to ask. I flipped open the notebook, looking for an empty page so I could get started on brainstorming for how I was going to write my essay for French, mentally sighing since I had been hoping to get a hint of what was on his mind about me. However, he ended up surprising me, turning back towards me with a determined expression on his face.

"Why did you come here to Forks?" he asked. I was a bit taken aback at how forceful the question was; I was also surprised that he had asked if, because I didn't think anyone else would ask.

"Because I could," I said in a offhanded way. I looked at him, seeing him blink at my answer, and gave him my own half smile.

"It's...complicated," I said, actually being truthful this time.

"I think I can keep up," he smirked.

"I...I wanted to get to know my father," I said.

"You wanted to spend time with him," he said, not quite repeating what I said, at least, not the right way.

"No," I said, looking him straight in the eye so that I knew he'd understand. "I wanted to know him."

His eyebrows furrowed for a moment, then he looked at me, clearly wanting to ask what I meant by that but also not wanting to push too much. I bit my lip, and looked away for a moment, closing my eyes as I thought about it for a moment. Then, reaching a decision, I looked back at him.

Chapter Text

"My mother, Renée, took me away from here before I was even a year old," I said. "I never saw my dad afterward, up until now."

"Why?" he asked. "I mean, based on how he was when the news came, it's not like he didn't want to see you. I don't think there is a single person around who didn't hear news of your homecoming. He was ecstatic to know you were willing to come live with him for a while."

"My mother is the reason," I said, sighing. "She...well, she's a bitch, to put it bluntly. She apparently told Charlie that she'd let him know where we'd settle down when she left, only she never did. And, as I grew up and started asking about him, she told me, well, horrible things about him, so, eventually, I started not wanting to try and see him, much less talk to him."

"And yet your here..." he said. I gave a humorless chuckle.

"Yeah, I'm here," I said. "While it was only recently that I actually started thinking about it, I've known for a lot longer that what she said about him was wrong, subconsciously, at least. It's kind of hard not to when you think..." I stopped, not having meant to go that far. My trailing off was caught by him.

"Think about what?" he asked. I sighed. While I didn't owe him any answer, having started to talk about it kind of compelled me to continue.

"When you think about what she did to me," I said. Confusion showed on his face once more, with hints of worry, which led me to be able to have a hint of what he was probably thinking. I was proven right when he asked his next question.

"Bella, did she...abuse you?" he asked. I shook my head.

"I said she was a bitch, not an abuser," I told him. "While, to some people, there isn't a difference between the words, to me, there is. I think the best word to say is that she...was neglectful after a while. She apparently decided, not long after I turned six, that she no longer wanted to take care of a child." I was actually fibbing there a bit, since my mother had loved children at the time – a bit too much, if one took the way she tried to keep me from ever seeing Charlie. Still, the real reason for it was something that I wasn't going to be telling him at the moment.

"So she ignored you." He said it as an assumption, not a question. I guess, if you looked at it, he was partially right, though he wasn't fully.

"No," I said. "At least, not the way you're probably thinking. While she just stopped taking care of me at first, she came up with a better solution later. She ended up packed a bag of my clothes, gave me a bit of money, drove me through several cities in the state we were living it until she found a good place, handed me the bag, booted me from the car, and told me not to bother coming to look for her before leaving. She basically abandoned me."

He looked horrified at the knowledge. I shrugged, having gotten over it years ago.

"I wasn't alone long," I said. "I met my best friend – my, sister in all but blood, actually – not long afterward. And then we met Logan, who took care of us until we ended up at the Xavier school, where I met the rest of my friends, so, really, it wasn't that bad."

He looked as if he wanted to disagree with me, but didn't say anything.

"I would have thought that you would have come here sooner, then," he said.

"Yeah, well, like I said, I knew that she'd lied subconsciously. However, it took me a while to consciously think about. I was kind of too busy to do so before a few months ago," I said. "And, even with what she did to me, it was easy to believe her because he never seemed to try and look for us. I know why now, of course, but, at the time, I didn't."

"I see..." he said. I was curious as to what it was that he was seeing, if he understood what it was that made me the way I am.

"Do you?" I asked, needing to know.

"Probably not all that well," he admitted. "Your rather difficult to read, and I can't tell if what your mother did bothers you all that much or not."

"Most people say I'm rather easy to read," I lied. While I could be like an open book at some points, I was rather good and deceiving people, which served me well in the last few years.

"I find you rather difficult to read," he said. I realized then that he was mostly talking about how he couldn't get into my mind more than anything. I shrugged, choosing to answer the unasked question he mentioned

"As for if I'm bothered by it, not really," I said. "Her neglectfulness kind of kept it from hurting a whole lot when she did abandon me, and the rest of the hurt faded years ago. Now, I'm just glad that I didn't stay with her." I bit my lip, carefully censoring my words. "From what I remember of her, she was rather childlike herself, just barely able to take care of us. Had I stayed, I'd most likely had ended up the mother at some point, and be all motherly because of it. In fact, I'd probably be at a point where I wouldn't care to have my own child because of it."

"It was rather...unfair of her to do that to you, though," Edward said. "not just the abandoning you, but lying to you about your father and taking you away when she obviously couldn't take care of you two."

"Haven't you heard. Life isn't fair," I answered back, figuring that, if anyone, he'd definitely know this little fact. I saw it on his face his agreement over the statement, as he chuckled humorlessly.

"I believe I have heard that before," he said dryly.

"So that's it," I said. I became a bit...disturbed by the look that he leveled at me. I waited to see if he would say anything – maybe make an assumption that I wasn't as over it as I said I was – but he didn't. Maybe he saw something in my face or maybe my tone was enough, he I think he could tell that I truly meant what I said, that I wasn't hurt over her actions. And I wasn't.

Did I care for her? No. Would I go back to her if she wanted me back? Not a chance. Did I hate her? Yes. Still, I was content with never seeing her again – or thinking about her, but I haven't really been able not to since dragging her from my past when talking with my father.

"Who's your 'sister'?" he asked, letting the topic go. I grinned at him.

"Elena," I said. "Elena Petrova. It was her town that Renée left me in. She had some trouble with her adopted parents, and ran away. I was more than happy to stay with her and have her company. When we were given the option to legally change our names, we decided to take the same one."

"How did you decide on 'Petrova'?" he asked.

"Before that, we did a family tree deal, and discovered that there was a problem in her tree," I said. "Turned out that one her ancestor's mother had been barren, but they still somehow had a kid. It struck her as odd, so she did some deeper digging, discovered that the ancestor's journal was put on displace somewhere, and read it. We learned that the ancestor was found on the parent's doorstep, and that the mother figured out who it was that had the child after seeing a supposedly dead girl leaving the town not long after finding the child."

"And she figured this, how?" he asked.

"The girl, Katerina Petrova, apparently drowned around nine months previously," I told him. "Between the mother seeing that, and seeing a painting of Katerina, it's kind of easy to see that they have some relation between them."

"How so?" he asked, sounding fascinated. I couldn't blame him – Elena's family history really was fascinating to learn, more so than mine ever was. I wondered what he would think if he knew what her ancestor had become. After all, while of a different species, they were both vampires. Of course, until, or, rather, unless, he found out that I knew what he was, I couldn't exactly mention that.

"They look a lot alike," I answered. "Almost like identical twins. In fact, the only difference between them, particularly once she hit the age that Katerina was in the picture, is that Elena's hair is almost pin straight and she also has a streak of white through her hair like I do. Plus, we also found the Petrova family diaries, and the father's even mentions that Katerina had gotten pregnant and that, once the baby was born, he brought it to the barren woman's doorstep. It took a lot of digging to find this all out, though."

"Sounds like it," he said. I almost expected him to ask what caused us to do all this digger, but Mr. Banner called the class to order then, and our conversation ended. I expected to be...uncomfortable having told Edward a bit about my life before being at Xavier's, but I wasn't. I wasn't completely okay with it – Edward was still a stranger to me, after all – but him knowing didn't bother me at all. As Mr. Banner showed, with transparencies on the overhead projector, what I'd seen easily through the microscope, I pondered over my strange acceptance of him knowing.

When the bell rang, I gathered my things, expecting Mike – who had also taken up walking me to my next class after this one just as he did for French – to come running over to me like the little golden retriever he'd begun taking on qualities of. I could even picture a wagging tail as he did so. However, I was surprised – but not displeased – when Edward offered to walked me there. Pretty much forgetting about the fact that Mike was indeed walking towards me, I gave Edward my permission to do so, leaving with him before Mike could get to my seat.

There was no talking as we walked, which was okay with me. I wasn't clamoring to talk to him some more, since I really couldn't think of anything else to say. Not having to try and think of answers for any question he asked – particularly if I had to hide the truth – like I did with Mike was a welcome change, and I found myself hoping that this would become a regular occurrence. However, before we got to class, a thought occurred to me.

"Hey," I said. "Can I ask you to do something for me? It's nothing to hard – at least, it shouldn't be too hard – to do."

"It depends," he said, his face guarded. I had a feeling that he didn't want to commit to doing something until he knew what I wanted – understandable, considering what he was.

"Could you, could you not tell anyone what I told you. I mean, about my mother. I don't want Charlie knowing," I told him.

"He doesn't know," he said.

"Not everything," I answered. "He thinks that Renée dropped me off at the Xavier school and just never bothered to come back for me. He doesn't actually know the truth of how she abandoned me. I don't think he could actually handle knowing that, since I get the feeling he hasn't completely gotten over her."

"I won't tell," Edward said, his face pensive as he thought of...something. I wasn't sure what – he was hiding it very well. However, I did wonder if, perhaps, he thought the fact that I'd lied to my father wasn't a good thing. Having arrived at my class right then, I wasn't giving a chance to ask what he was thinking.

I ignored Jessica's attempts to get me to explain why Edward had walked me to class, simply saying that he was being nice, and was kind of glad that class didn't seem to drag on because of it, as she wasn't excepting that answer. I managed, when the bell rang, to lose her in the crowd, and headed straight to my truck. Unfortunately, Mike's class was between mine and my truck, and, upon seeing me, he hurried over to me.

"Why didn't you wait for me back in biology?" he asked, his tone demanding an answer. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"I was unaware that I wasn't allowed to do what I wanted," I said coolly, my eyes narrowing. He flinched, realizing what an ass he sounded like. "Edward asked if he could walk me to class, and I let him. Simple as that. And, next time, don't demand anything of me, nor act as if I have to let you want me to classes, got it?"

He nodded quickly, hearing something in my voice that warned him that he was treading on dangerous ground at the moment. He frowned, thinking for a moment as if to get into a conversation that didn't end with me mad at him.

"So, wasn't that lab awful," he finally said, turning to the subject of our bio II class. "They all looked exactly the same. You're so lucky you had Cullen as a partner."

"Considering that I could have done the whole thing by myself without a problem, I really didn't need Edward's help," I answered back, rather stiffly due to his assumption that I couldn't do the lab. "In fact, I found it to be rather easy."

He paled, realizing that he insulted me, but before he could say anything, I walked away, heading to my truck. I didn't feel like listening to him repeatedly bumbling in attempts to woo me when I wasn't interested in him, and had no desire to waste anymore time. I did have things to do, after all. Plus, with it raining and being rather chilly, I was anxious to get into the cab of my truck.

Getting into my truck, I turned the engine, pushing my hood back as the heater came on. I pulled my I-pod from my pocket, hooking it up to the radio to play, quickly selecting something to play. Then, I went to leave. However, before I did so, I felt someone's eyes on me, in an intense way that caught my attention. I looked up, out of the window to discover that, while leaning against his car, Edward was looking at me.

I looked away quickly, backing out rather quickly before driving off, eager to be away from that intense stare. After my quick stop at the store for what I needed – which, after thinking about it, included some drinks so that there was more than just water to be served – I got home, doing my homework before making sure that the house at least looked clean. I cleared off the long table against the wall in the living room, planning on using it to place the food on. I was beginning to become nervous, so much that I accidentally spilled some water onto my shirt. Frowning, I headed up the stairs, mentally telling myself that I really ought to calm down so I don't do something like this again.

Going through my closet, I grabbed the first long sleeved shirt my hand touch, which turned out to be a tunic that was white with images of black trees along the top that faded to being completely black towards the bottoms, save for the hem, which was a light gray with the black tree images as well. Heading back down, I started setting up the plates for the meats and cheese slices, placing them, covered, in the fridge so that they stayed cold. Once that was done, I had nothing else to do but wait until the guest and Charlie got here, so I headed back up to my room, picking up the clothes I'd left on the floor and putting them into my laundry basket before starting a game.

The doorbell rang two hours later, just as I had saved and was turning the game system off so that it had a chance to cool down. Standing up, I headed downstairs, noticing that it had gotten dark without my notice, and headed towards the door.

"Who is it?" I asked, calling through the door. It was probably one of Charlie's friends, but I wasn't about to take a chance that it wasn't.

"It's Billy, Billy Black," called a male voice. Turning on the outside light – for it was rather dark at the moment, I peered through the side curtain, revealing a wheelchair bound man, with a face that I recognized from a picture that Charlie had. His face seemed to overflow, with cheeks resting against his shoulders, creases running through the russet skin like an old leather jacket. His eyes were black, and seemed young and old at the same time, while his hair was long enough to be pulled back into a pony tail.

Next to him was a young man...no, boy, actually. He had some similar features to the man in the wheelchair, leading me to believe that they were related. The boy couldn't have been more than fourteen, maybe fifteen at most. His hair was long, tied in a ponytail with a rubber band to keep it out of his face. There was a childish look to his face, made all the more pronounced by the look on it, as if he was a child forced to do something he didn't want. Behind them, coming up the drive, were two more boys, though I couldn't see their features quite well in the light.

"Whose with you?" I asked. I hadn't bothered to figure out all the names of everyone coming, but I figured I'd make sure that everyone with him was indeed with him. I heard the boy next to him mutter something, and saw Billy's sharp glance towards him.

"This is my son, Jacob, and his friends, Embry Call and Quil Atera," Billy said. Satisfied, I unlocked and opened the door.

"Come in," I said, doing my best not to laugh when Jacob saw him. He looked a bit thunderstruck when he saw me, and his friends weren't any better. Now that I could see them better, I could tell that the one Billy had introduced as Embry was the tallest of the three boys, not by much, but just enough. He was the slenderest of the boys as well, with chin length black hair that was evenly parted down the middle, one side tucked behind an ear while the other was left to hang freely. The other boy, Quil, was burly, sporting a haircut that was almost like a buzz cut.

Billy wheeled his chair in, chuckling over the face his son was making, and holding out a hand towards me.

"It's nice to meet you, Bella," he said.

"Nice to meet you as well," I said. Then, I turned back towards the boys, who were still just standing there.

"Are you going to come in anytime soon?" I asked, as headlights turned onto the street and another car came pulling up to the house. Two males and one female stepped out as Jacob and his friends finally shook themselves out of their stupor and stepped into the house. I heard the older male who'd just arrived yell out "Hey, Billy," to which Billy answered back with a "Hey Harry, Sue," showcasing that they were the the next arrivals for this little soiree. The one boy who arrived with them bounded up to the house, entering it right behind Quil.

The boy looked a bit younger than Jacob, yet was tall and gangly. It was his face that seemed to give away his age, being more youthful than anything. His brown eyes were sparkling with excitement as he stopped right in front of me.

"Hi," he said to me. "I'm Seth Clearwater. You're Charlie's daughter Bella, right?"

"I'm the only girl in the house right now, so I do believe your right," I said, causing him to laugh. "Nice to meet you, Seth."

"Likewise," he said, moving into the house and Harry and Sue came up. Like everyone so far, they had russet colored skin. Harry had grey streaked black chin-length hair with dark brown eyes. His face was full like Billy's was, but looked a bit more wrinkled than Billy's was. Sue had a thin face, with black eyes and black hair that fell past her shoulders. There were laugh lines around her eyes, but, other than that, her face was wrinkle free.

Once everyone was in the house, I went to close the door, only to have two more cars pull up. The one I recognized as Charlie's cruiser; the other, I didn't recognize at all, but figured they were a part of the party based on how Charlie greeted them.

Seeing that Charlie was now here, I figured I could abandon my post as door hostess at this point. Heading into the kitchen, I started pulling out everything that I'd set up earlier out form the fridge. I was distracted, however, when the crystal I'd enchanted heated up, alerting me to the fact that someone not quite human had walked through the door, freezing, and resisting the urge to grab my wand, I was startled when Charlie entered the room, calling my name.

"Bella," he said, causing me to jump. "Oh, sorry."

"It's okay, I said, turning around. Behind him stood two more people, a male and a female. I could see the male clearly, for he was facing me, while the female was turned, looking back behind her. She was also carrying something in her hands, a dish of some sorts. I looked at the male, seeing that he was a tall male, quite muscular, and had an air of seriousness about him. He wasn't quite as old as Billy or Harry were, but he was definitely older than Jacob, Seth, and the other two boys.

The woman, from what I could see, was rather pretty, with a sheen of shiny black hair falling halfway down her back. The side of her face I could see showed that she was definitely a beauty, an exotic one at that. Then, she turned to fully face me, and I had to bite back a gasp. The entire right side of her face was scared from hairline to cheek by three thick, red lines, one line pulling down the corner of her almond shaped eye, another twisting the right side of her mouth into a permanent grimace.

The seriousness of it wasn't what surprised me. I'd seen worse scars than that – Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, our fourth year Hogwarts DADA teacher immediately sprung into my mind. No, what surprised me was that I recognized the type of lines those were. They weren't exactly like the scars of Bill Weasley or Morgan, but they were pretty close to the ones of Professor Lupin, the only person I actually knew who had been attacked by a fully transformed creature. Her's had actually been done by an animal, and, with the shape looking were too close to the ones Professor Lupin had, they had to have been done by a wolf.

I realized I was staring, making her uncomfortable, as she looked down. I saw the guy next to her glare at me a bit for doing so, and quickly looked to what was in her hand.

"You brought something?" I asked, regaining my barings.

"Oh, yes," she said, holding out the dish to me. I took it from her, seeing that it was simply a plate of chocolate chip cookies.

"Thank you," I said. "And sorry about the staring."

"It's okay," she said, though I could tell that she wasn't comfortable about it.

"Oh, I'm Emily, and this is my fiancé Sam," she said, motioning to the man next to her.

"Hi," I said.

"Hello," he answered back. The two turned around, heading back out to the rest of them, clearly not all that comfortable being around me. I felt a bit bad about my staring, and Charlie looked confused at me.

"I guess I should have warned you not to stare," he said. I frowned, not liking that he was blaming himself.

"I should have known better myself," I told him. "I know several people who are self-conscious of their scars. I shouldn't have to be told or warned about it. It was rather rude of me to do so with her." I shook my head. "Anyway, help me bring this out? I cleared off the table behind the couch so that people didn't have to come into the kitchen to make their food. It would get pretty crowded in here otherwise."

"Okay," he said, grabbing a platter. I directed him where to put it, and heard the sounds of people 'mmming' at the sight of the food.

"I take it that we just have to make our own sub?" Jacob said, salivating at the moment. I had the feeling that he was imagining just what kind of combinations he could make.

"Yes, but do be conscious of everyone else. At least try and not hog one of something," I told him.

"Can't promise anything," Jacob said. I rolled my eyes, moving out of the way so that everyone could get something. As I did so, I noticed that Billy and Charlie seemed to exchange a look that made me immediately suspicious. I really hoped that Charlie wasn't attempting to set me up with his friend's kid – I'd have to make something up about why I wouldn't date him if Charlie did. After all, it wasn't like I could actually say that dating him would have to endure a touch free zone unless I wanted him to end up unconscious and unlikely to ever wake again.

Once I was sure that everyone had at least gotten one sub, I fixed my own, taking a seat near Emily. I wasn't comfortable in a setting like this. Everyone wanted to know something about me, whether I had liked the schools I'd gone to, to who my friends were while there. It didn't help that Jacob and his two friends were looking at me in a way that showed obvious interest in me, more interest than I was comfortable with. I was glad when Charlie – who seemed to tell that I was getting uncomfortable – finally shifted the conversation away from me, giving me a chance to finish eating and leave.

I knew that Charlie wouldn't begrudge me for doing so – he'd even mentioned that having this meet and greet here at home meant that I could escape at any time I wanted. And I had stayed long enough so that it wouldn't appear rude for me to leave at the moment.

Heading up the stairs was easy. No one seemed to have notice me not returning to my seat after I got up to put my plate in the sink, stealing the cookies while in the kitchen. I hoped no one would mind me not sharing them – they looked too good to do that, though I would be nice and save Charlie at least two...or one, if I remembered to. As I was heading up the stairs, I heard someone – not sure who – cheering at something on the screen. I shook my head at what seemed to be such typical male behavior, as every male I knew seemed to do that when watching sports and their team won. Even Harry was prone to do that from time to time, only his preferred sport was Quidditch – the only sport in the wizarding world.

As I was about to close my door – thinking of what I'd be doing up here, as I wasn't sure of what to do – I realized that Jacob, his friend, and Seth had all followed me.

"Is something wrong?" I asked them. Jacob shook his head.

"No, we were just wondering what you're doing," he said.

"I hadn't decided yet," I said. "I might throw on a movie, I might call one of my friend, or I might even check my e-mail, since I haven't done that yet..." The last bit was said quietly, as that thought only occurred to me just now, especially since I hadn't done so the previous day either – in fact, I hadn't logged onto my computer since the day after my first day of school. I really hoped that no one really needed me the last few days.

"Well, can we join you?" Jacob asked. I paused, thinking about it for a moment. Having them in the room would seriously cause me some problem, especially if I wanted – or even needed – to call one of my friends, for I would have to be careful not to let them hear things that they shouldn't hear. And if I tried to check my e-mail, they might try to peak over my shoulder to see what I was doing, and read something they shouldn't.

However, it would be extremely rude of me to say no when I made it clear that I wasn't doing something that would require privacy.

"Is something wrong with staying downstairs?" I asked, to buy me some thinking time.

"We just don't want to hang out with the older folk," Embry said. I snorted at his blunt comment.

"Well, all right. Come in," I said, having a thought as I did so. I might just be able to at least do my e-mail without trouble if this plan coming into my mind went well. Based on the sounds of awe coming from my room as the boys caught site of my entertainment area, I got the feeling that it wouldn't be too hard for it to go well. Seth coming to me and asking if they could play my Wii pretty much sealed that option.

"Okay, but I don't have many multiplayer games," I warned them. "I also only have two remotes."

"That's okay, we'll take turns," Embry said.

"What multiplayer games do you have?" Jacob asked.

"Um, I can't think of them off the top of my head," I said. "The games are there, though." I pointed to one of the shelves next to television. "They're on the middle shelf, to the right."

"That's not a lot of games," Quil said as he studied them. "Most of these are one player."

"I tend to only like certain things," I answered. "And I'm usually the one playing them, so it's not like I have need of having a lot of multiplayer games."

They nodded, satisfied with my answer, before grabbing one of the games, and setting it up. The wound of Mario Kart Wii filled my room as I grabbed my laptop, and set myself up on my bed, letting Seth – who was one of the ones playing right now – have the chair at my desk. Embry – who was playing against Seth at the moment – stood while Jacob and Quill all sat down, focused on the game. Glad to know that they wouldn't wonder what I was doing, and attempting to look over my shoulder. I sat near the wall so that I'd have something to lean against, logged on, and immediately went to my e-mail.

Luckily, there weren't too many things on there. I had a few messages that simply said 'hi' and were mostly their comments on how my first day went from Aura, Hermione, and Clarissa. Kitty, Tristelianna, and Azure all wanted to know what Edward looked like, something that had me rolling my eyes. I doubted Edward would be comfortable with me taking his picture to send to my friends. As for Morgan, well, she was curious to know which type of vampire Edward was, and also sent and update of her own status, letting me know that she had successfully settled into an apartment, once that was above a quaint little shop called Practical Magick. She also sent several pictures of her new place. I had to admit, the shades of red were rather beautifully done.

Finally, I clicked on Elena's message, which had been sent two days after our conversation.

Bella

Sorry I haven't message or called you yet. I've just been a bit
busy. If your wondering, I have indeed been allowed to settle
into the boarding house. Of course, there was a little problem at
first. But, I'll tell you about that later, because there is a bit of
information that is more important to say. What information is
it, you're probably wondering. This: the owner of the boarding
house and his brother are vampires.

Yes, just like you, I to have run into vampires here in Mystic
Falls. Of course, unlike you, I was kind of expecting it, considering
what a hotspot for vamps Mystic Falls is. But what really gets me,
and makes me feel so dumb for no having thought about it, is
the fact that they're vampires we've heard about. Remember
when Professor Lupin mentioned those brothers known as the
Salvatore brothers? Turns out that they're the brothers who own
this boarding house, and that they're actually from this town. I don't
know why I didn't think or even wonder if they might be related.
I mean, there's nothing that points to it, but still...

And how do I know that they're those brothers? The rings they
wear, for one It's a dead giveaway to any witch like us (and the
servant witches, who, apparently, have a sort of base in this town).
I can actually see the protection rune glowing on it. The other
thing that gives them away is their names. I mean, how many
Salvatore brothers out there are named Damon and Stefan?
I don't think there are that many.

But the biggest thing that gives it away is the way that they
acted around me. Remember, it was Katerina who turned the
two of them – I still think that was a bitch move from her, though
not as much as I used to, now that I've seen what they look like.
Well, considering that I'm her doppelganger in almost every way,
you can guess a bit on how they reacted when they saw me. I
kind of pretended not to notice it, but both of them looked a bit
stunned to see me, and I know for a fact that Stefan called
me Katherine, the name Katerina took upon coming here to
America.

I have to admit, it's kind of interesting to meet people turned by
my own ancestor, in a strange sort of way. I'm sure that, if I
said that to anyone, they'd look at me weirdly, but you have to
admit...

Anyway, the main problem that we had was, for the most part,
Stefan. He was so against me moving in here, I'm not completely
sure why, either. I mean, the way he was acting actually almost
ruined my chances of getting a room here, for Aunt Jenna had
been very uncomfortable with me being around someone who,
in her own words, was obviously crazy. Luckily, Stefan's girl-
friend, Caroline – the sheriff's daughter – came by then, and
he left, so, after some sweet talking to Damon, I was able to
get a room here.

And it's so lovely. It has it's own sitting room, a bedroom, a large
bathroom, and a little room off to the side that I can turn into an
office or mini library. In truth, it's more like a suite that a room.
I got the feeling that this room was probably the master's room
before the house was turned into a boarding house. I mean,
there's really no way for it not to be. At least, that's what I think.

Of course, the best thing about this room isn't the fact that it's
just so big, but what's next to it. I'm pretty sure you can guess,
but, as this is e-mail and not the phone, I won't know what your
guess is, so I'll just say it. Damon's room is right across from it,
to the point that, if the doors are left open, I can see into it. I'm
really hoping that, at some point, he'll leave it open so that I can
watch him undress, and, if this wasn't you, I'd feel really embarrassed
to admit that.

Anyway, now that I'm done being a completely pervert – and the fact
that I'm doing that should tell you exactly why I'm not half as mad at
Katerina anymore – I suppose that I should tell you some other, less
exciting news.

I may end up killing Jeremy. Why? Because the little idiot decided
that, as I was born a Gilbert, I should take part in the Miss Mystic
Falls competition, despite the fact that I told him I didn't want
to be in it when he asked. I think he's getting back at me for the fact
that I was kind of rude to his girlfriend. It wasn't on purpose, I just really
didn't like her. And I do have a good reason for not liking her – she's
playing him, and part of the reason why he's doing drugs.

I can't get out to the competition. Even though I mentioned that I am
no longer going by the Gilbert name, the arguments that Jeremy used
are kind of hard to dispute, so I'm stuck in it. I have about three months
– the main part of the competition is during spring break – to find an
escort, find the appropriate dresses, and learn what I'll need to do
in order to make it through this. Hopefully, I won't win. I really don't
think that it would be fair to those who want to win if I did, since I
don't want to be in this.

But, when I get the date of when this thing is, do you think you might be
able to make it over here? It would be a relief if you could. I'd love to
see you, and I know that you'd enjoy seeing Aunt Jenna and meeting
Caroline and Damon. You could even bring your dad – I'd love to meet
Uncle Charlie.

Oh, I started school today, which is also why I'm sending this. It was
okay, like any day at school is. I met a few people though. I already
knew Caroline and Stefan, and they invited me to sit with them, so
I met their friends Matt Donovan – my brother's girlfriend's brother –
Tyler Lockwood, and Bonnie Bennett.

I have to admit, I'm not sure I really care for Bonnie all that much.
She just rubs me the wrong way, and she's way too intrusive.
Remember when I mentioned that the servant witches have a
base here? Well, she's apart of them, and I'm on her list of
people to distrust because I kept her from getting a read on
me.

Oh, here's some pictures. The first one is Damon. God, I'm
hoping that he's open to having a girlfriend, because I so would
like to be it. And I think it would be safe. I mean, he is a vampire,
but then, it's not like it's been tested before...

The second picture is Stefan and his girlfriend Caroline, and the
third is Jeremy and his 'girlfriend' Vicki. The fourth is Vicki's brother,
Matt and Tyler. The dark-haired guy on the right is Tyler. The fifth
picture is Jeremy's history teacher, Alaric Saltzman. I have to admit
I can see why she wants to date him. He's kind of hot, if you're into
older men like that.

Anyway, that's the update here. How is everything over there?

Miss you,
Elena

I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. I didn't want to attain the attention of the guys in the room, because I got the feeling that if I did, they'd ask what I was laughing about. Still, I found her message to be completely funny. I also wasn't surprised that she was being pervy. Between the two of us, she actually was the more daring one, willing to date other mutants who knew about her ability, and were willing to take the risk. Those relationships didn't last long, and they were few and far inbetween, but she still had them.

I was a bit surprised that she was actually meeting some vampires who'd been turned by Katerina, and didn't want to kill her. That was a big surprise, especially considering that, since she really started looking like Katerina, it seemed vamps with a beef towards Katerina were popping up all over the place. Of course, I got the feeling that, because of why the Salvatore brothers turned to begin with, was the reason why they didn't want to kill her. And, thinking about that, made me worry for Elena.

Shaking my head as I made the decision to call her the next day to talk about that, I decided to save the pictures for another day, though I just had to see what was so special about Damon's picture, and opened it. My eyes widened, and the first words out of my mouth were "Yummy." I immediately blushed as I caught the attention the game players, who paused in order to look at me.

"What's 'yummy'?" Jacob asked.

"Nothing to interest you," I said, giving him a glare that said not to continue asking. He shrugged as he turned back to the game, but still looked suspicious. I grabbed a cookie off the plate next to me – having almost forgotten about them – and went back to look the picture. I immediately saw why Elena was interested in him. He was handsome. He wasn't quite as handsome as Edward, but definitely among his league. He also looked like a Prince of Darkness, wearing all black. His hair was dark colored, going just past his earlobes and arranged in a casual way. But it was his eyes that caught my attention. They were such a intense light blue that just promised a good time to any lucky lady.

It made me worry even more after seeing that, because, again, I didn't want to see Elena hurt.

Clicking out of the picture, I wrote a quick e-mail to Elena, mentioning that I'd call her after school the next day if I remembered – I didn't know if something would come up or not – and power down the laptop just in time to see Seth kicking Jacob's ass at the race they were doing. Standing up, I announced that I would play the winner next race as Seth won his race.

Taking the controller from Jacob and unhooking the nunchuk from it and set about choosing my character. I chose – as I always did since unlocking her – Rosalina, who was paired with one of her motorcycles. I looked at Seth, a challenging look on my face. He returned it, and we both looked at the screen, going for what was supposedly the hardest track in the game, Rainbow Road.

It was pretty easy for me to do this track. Being my favorite and most played track, I easily outran him, though he did put up a fair fight. He pouted when he lost as I powered the game system down, returning everything to their correct place, including the controllers, and then shooing the boys out of the room. It turned out that it was just the right time, for Emily was coming up the stairs.

"Oh," she said when she noticed that all of us were coming out of my room. "I was just coming to get you all. It's time to go."

We headed down the stairs, saying bye to each other as they walked out of the house. Charlie, who'd called bye to them so that he could just ignore the fact that Jacob was the person who'd be driving the truck, waited until I closed the door.

"So, what did you think?" he asked.

"They seemed nice. A bit intrusive, but nice," I said.

"What did the boys do up there?" he asked.

"Played my Wii," I told him. "I mostly read my e-mail before wiping the floor with Seth. After that, we started heading down here."

He seemed indecisive for a moment, then seemed to decide to take the plunge, and I got a curious foreboding feeling that made me feel like I should turn and head straight up to my room before he could ask his question..

"What did you think about Jacob?" he asked, and I realized why I felt the need to run. My father was indeed going to try and set me up with Jacob. Oh, how I wanted to laugh. Me, date Jacob? Yeah, he seemed nice, but he was not my type at all. First of all, he was human, which meant a probability of going into a coma with bare skin contact between us, and next, he was younger than me, by just a few too many years. I have nothing against women who liked to date younger men, but I prefer, if I did date in general, that those I dated were either closer to my age – like, only a month or two younger than me – or older than me. My mind immediately flashed to Edward at that, for some reason, and I mentally shook his image away.

"Jacob?" I said, thinking fast. "He's nice, but I'm going to have to nip his attraction for me in the bud before any friendship could be had."

Charlie looked a bit taken aback at my words.

"Um...why? Is there something wrong" he asked, sounding surprised.

"I don't date guys younger than me, at least, not that young," I said. "He's what, fourteen, fifteen at most?"

"He's fifteen," Charlie said.

"Yeah, meaning he's no where near the range of guys I'll date age if they're younger than me," I answered. "I'm very picky about the guys I date." I prefer then mutant or knowing that I'm one and not disliking it, and, oh yeah, preferable able to stand my ability without them going into a coma. I didn't add that last part out loud, knowing that Charlie would get confused. Again, like with the whole Renée think, he didn't know about my abilities or the fact that I was a witch. I didn't know why I didn't tell him yet, except for this little fact: Renée had rejected me after learning of my mutant abilities. I didn't want to chance that Charlie would do the same.

"Anyway," I said, yawning. "I'm going to get ready for bed. Night."

"Night," he said, still looking a bit shocked at my blunt confession that there would be no Jacob and Bella dating in the future. Hopefully, that would make sure that he knew I wasn't kidding, and not to attempt to try and set me up on any dates with Jacob. I'd hate for Jacob to be hurt emotionally by me because our fathers decided to attempt to control our love lives.

The next morning was different. It was the light, which appeared much brighter than I'd seen so far, though it wasn't quite pure sunlight. Excited at the idea that I could ride my bike today, I hurried to the window. And groaned when I realized that, sometime during the night, all the rain from yesterday had frozen over, making the roads pretty treacherous to drive through. There would be no way I could drive my bike in this.

Frowning, I went through my closet, choosing a black shirt that had long sleeves and was was cold shouldered as well, with a picture of a Franken-bunny-bear on it. There were two thin silver chains over the open part in the shoulders on each side. A pair of elbow length gloves went on before it, of course, and then I pulled on a pair of regular blue jeans, my knee high heeled boots being hidden under the flared legs, the hems of which just barely kept from touching the ground.

Charlie was still there when I went down stairs, my bag in hand, though he was near the door, getting ready to leave.

"Good morning," he said.

"Morning," I told him.

"I'm probably going to be late getting back today. I'm heading down to Masen Country. A security guard down there got killed by some kind of animal," he said.

"An animal?" I questioned.

"You're not in New York anymore Bella," he said. "Don't worry, though. I don't think it'll get close to town. When things like this happen, multiple search parties are set out to keep it from happening again."

I nodded, though I wasn't fully convinced that it would be safe. Still, in all honesty, this was actually something that he was probably used to doing, and I doubted he wouldn't have a group with him, as it would be stupid if he didn't.

"All right, then?" I said. "What time should I expect you home, then?"

"Probably around dark," he answered, walking to the door. "Bye."

"Bye," I said, heading to the kitchen to get something to eat. It was still pretty early, but I wouldn't be able to drive my normal speed because of the ice, so I'd have to leave earlier than I usually did.

Heading out with a Pop-tart in my hand, I gave my bike a mourning glance before getting into my truck. I slowly made my way to the school, not having much trouble driving the icy road. I turned into the parking lot and found a spot, about three cars down from Edward's Volvo. As I got out of the truck, something on my tire caught my eye, and I leaned over to see what it was. It was some snow chains. Charlie must've put them on. I felt my tears begin to sting my eyes at the unexpected sight. I hadn't expected Charlie to do that. I mean, who knew what time he actually got up to do it, since I doubted this was an easy thing. I wasn't completely used to an older male caring for me like that who wasn't Logan.

I shook my head to keep from letting the tears fall down, beginning to walk away as I thought of how to repay him for doing that. I had just caught sight of Angela, and was about to head on over to her when a horrible screeching noise pierced my ears. Everything seemed to slow down for a moment as I looked around. I caught sight of Edward with his sisters and brothers, all looking calm as Rosalie and Alice grabbed a hold of Jasper and began herding him away. Then my eyes caught a blue van – one that I recognized as being Tyler's – skidding across the parking lot after hitting a patch of ice way to fast. Following it's path with my eyes, I felt horrified when I realized that it was going to hit a tan car, and that Angela was frozen between them.

I didn't think, my reactions immediately reverting to those I'd developed during the blood war last year. I didn't bother to remember that I was trying to keep a low profile, and that I shouldn't do what I was going to. All I knew was that I couldn't let Angela die. I liked her, and she didn't deserve to die because of idiot who thought driving fast on icy roads was a good idea.

Using a mutant ability I'd borrowed and kept from one who could run real fast, I launched myself at Angela, reaching her before the van did. I wrapped my arm around her waist, practically throwing the two of us away. However, it seemed the van was, for some reason, wanting to still hit Angela as it hit and bounced off of the tan car, one end still swinging towards us. Without thinking again, I held out a hand to stop it, bracing Angela up so that she didn't end up hitting her head against the ground. I felt her eyes on me as the van hit my hand, stopping it's movement as a dent formed in the metal.

As what I'd just done caught up to me and I looked at Angela's face, seeing her surprise as her eyes darted to the dent in the van where my hand was still laying. Then, she looked at me, and what I'd just done began filtering through my mind. How was I going to explain this to her?

Chapter Text

It seemed almost as if ages had passed before the screaming started. I had straightened the two of us from our crouched position by that time, shielding Angela's mind within the same moment, aware of the fact that Edward would have most likely been reading it, enough to have noticed what I'd done. However, on the off chance that he hadn't been listening to her – and, if I was lucky, he would have been more focused on his siblings than Angela – I didn't want him to know just how I'd been able to save Angela as I had. I just wasn't ready for him to know much about me at the moment – I didn't know if I ever would be ready for such a thing, though, if we continued talking together a lot, I had no doubt that I would eventually tell him about knowing what he was, among other things.

Since we weren't completely wedged in, I pulled Angela's unresisting body with me as I made my way to my truck. As we were seen, everyone seemed to surround us, asking if we were okay. Just over the questions to us, I heard someone mention getting to Tyler – another person yelled out for someone to call nine-one-one. I pushed my way through the crowd, still pulling Angela with me, saying that we were okay repeatedly. Some people tired to stop us, not listening to my words as they tried to force me to stop and sit down to wait for the ambulance and police. I pushed them away, telling them that we were okay and to move when they continued to try and stop me.

Finally, though, as Tyler became more focal in the minds of everyone, I was able to get us through the crowd and to my truck, pushing Angela to the passenger door. As I was walking around to the driver's side, I happened to look over toward Edward, a strange scene meeting my eyes. Before, just before I realized that Angela was about to be crushed, they had looked as though they were going to shepherd Jasper away from the scene, before it could happen – understandable, considering that they'd somehow knew that there would be blood spilled. Now, though, they were no longer holding onto Jasper. Instead, they were surrounded and holding Edward back, who was looking straight at me, his eyes wide with shock. I saw them flicker between me and Angela, who had started to shake as she sat in the passenger's seat. I knew immediately what was wrong; he's always been able to hear Angela before, but now, since I was shielding her, it was no longer possible.

And I knew that he knew that I had something to do with it.

I had bigger things to worry about, though. Since his eyes hadn't once moved to the van, I was hoping her hadn't actually seen what had happened through her eyes, before the crash or after it. So, hopefully, he was unaware of any of my other little talents – talents that I shouldn't have, but did because of my true mutant gift. And, in all honesty, I was hoping that I was right; plus, I was a bit more concerned with Angela at the moment than him. And, as I got into my truck, I saw that she was starting to shake. I needed to get us away from the school before she became hysterical. It wouldn't do to have anyone hearing what she may or may not say – it would defeat the purpose of not letting people know about me. While I knew that I couldn't hide it from Angela – unless I wanted to Obliviate her – that didn't mean I was all for everyone else knowing.

Hopefully, I could convince her not to tell others. I didn't think she would, but just because someone was nice to you when they thought you were normal doesn't mean that it's the same when they do know that your not. It was nothing against her, but I'd seen others deal with something like that too many times not to be wary about it.

I had to admit, I was surprised about how quickly Angela got out of her shocked state. I wasn't sure what caused it or anything, but I was glad that she was clam as she did so. She didn't freak, or become hysterical. Instead, she took deep breaths, letting her mind process everything that had happened within that short space of time – basically, she was acting like I would in a situation like this. Then, as she got control of herself, she, rather calmly, asked, “What was that?”

I bit my lip, my grip on the wheel tightening a bit as I thought about how best to phrase it.

“It's...not something that can be told while driving,” I finally said, chickening out a bit. I was deathly afraid. Most people who were non-mutant were often hostile to mutants like me. Even magicals could be like that as well. And, while Angela seemed to have an open mind, that didn't mean that there wasn't a limit. For some people, hostility towards mutants was ingrained, to the point that they'd turn against someone at the slightest hint of them not being normal.

“When can you tell me?” Angela asked. I thought for a moment.

“Are you willing to come over to my house after we're done at the hospital?” I asked her. She thought for a moment, then nodded. “I'll tell you there, then.”

“Okay,” she said. I had to admit, her willingness to come was surprising, as it would have been smarter for her to refuse. For all she knew, I could be someone who was willing to become hostile at the moment, as I was feeling threatened at the moment. Of course, the fact at I'd just saved her life might have something to do with it. After all, it would be wasteful to save her if I was planning on killing her. And, perhaps, she was one of those who were genuine about not having any prejudice, towards anyone one. Maybe it was a combination of those two things that afforded me her trust.

As we turned into the parking lot of the hospital, I was surprised to see a doctor already standing at the doors, looking as though he was waiting for us. It was easy to tell ho it was straight away. He was handsome, more so than any movie star I'd ever seen, but it was his beyond pale skin, the slight bruises underneath his eyes, and the golden toned eyes that told me who he was exactly. I had to wonder why Dr. Cullen was the one who was greeting us, for, as I parked, he stepped towards my truck.

“Hello,” I said as I got out.

“Hello,” he said. “I'm Dr. Cullen. My son Edward called, said that you two had a small mishap.” He sounded a bit confused at that, probably wondering why Edward had bothered calling him about this, and I got the feeling that Edward hadn't actually told him what had happened either.

“Oh,” I said, following him inside with Angela. “It's nothing, really. One of the other students just thought it would be a great idea to drive into the parking lot going fifty miles an hour, and hit the ice wrong. Angela and I were in it's path, but I managed to pull her out of the way. I don't think we have any scrapes, bumps, or brui– “

I was cut off by the door opening, a small cry of “Bella,” coming from that direction. I turned around to see Edward standing there, looking worried. I was surprised to see him – he must've gotten into his car and drove over here straight after we left.

“Edward,” I said, giving him a fake smile. Not that I wasn't happy to see him, but, at the moment, I didn't want to see him. I was more concerned with getting Angela and myself out of the place and over to my house, so that Angela could ask her questions, and I could know if I was keeping or losing a friend. I knew that I could always modify her memory, but I liked her too much to do that and besides, that would be the old British Wizarding World's answer, meaning that it would be wrong to do.

However, I saw that Dr. Cullen was leading Angela away – probably to check and make sure that she was okay – and Edward grabbed my arm, pulling me to a quieter hallway.

“Is there something wrong, Edward?” I asked him. He didn't stop to answer my question, continuing to lead me until he found what he was looking for. Afterward, he turned toward me, gripping my shoulders carefully.

“What were you thinking, putting yourself in front of the van like that?!” he said, looking at me wide-eyed, obviously frantic. I reached up, grabbing his hands and, forcefully, pulling them off of my shoulders.

“I don't know what you're talking about. I was standing right next to Angela when the van came. If anything, I made sure to try and pull myself away from it,” I said, lying through my teeth. He frowned at me.

“No you weren't,” he said. “You were by your car when the van came into the parking lot. I saw you.”

“No, I wasn't,” I told him, giving a loot that suggested that I thought he might've hit his head on something.

“Bella,” he started, but, before he could say anything, he looked over my shoulder. I turned to see Dr. Cullen and Angela heading our way. I smiled, relieved to see them, as it meant that I could leave and get out of this interrogation that Edward was performing. I went to walk towards her, but Edward grabbed my hand to stop me.

“Bella, I know that you weren't near Angela at the time,” he said quietly. “However, I don't want to argue with you about that. What I want to know is how did you do it? How did you get to Angela so fast, and stop that van from crushing the two of you?”

“Edward, I told you already,” I said, sounding cross.

“I watched you,” he said insistently. I mentally sighed. Why couldn't he just realize that I did not want to talk about it, that what I was saying was the story that needed to get around? Why did he have to be so persistent? I conveniently ignored the fact that I would be like that as well had it been me in his or Angela's shoes.

“Look, I've got to go. I drove Angela hear, and neither of us are going back to school. I've got to get her home,” I said, before he could continue his questioning. Then, I bit my lip, deciding to give him a small bit. “Look, I need you not to question me about this. The reason why I did what I did is because I wasn't going to let Angela die or get hurt, and that's all you need to know. As, as you can tell, obviously I'm fine. She's fine as well, and nothing bad happened.”

I yanked my hand out of his, walking away before he could do anything else. “Bye,” I muttered to him, rejoining Angela where she stood with Dr. Cullen.

“It was nice meeting you, sir,” I said, motioning with my head for us to head out. She gave me a curious look, as if wondering what Edward wanted, but followed after me without asking any questions. I took a glance behind us to see Edward standing there, looking towards us with a mixture of emotions on his face, curiosity among them. Dr. Cullen was standing next to him, also watching us. I waved to the two of them before they disappeared from my sight.

The drive to my house with Angela was quick, much quicker than I really wanted. I really didn't have any time to prepare myself with what I was going to tell her; then again, I doubted this was really something that would be easy to say anyway. After parking and letting her into the house, I headed straight upstairs, motioning her to follow.

“Nice room,” she said as she walked through as took everything in.

“Thanks,” I said, walking over to my bed. I motioned for her to take seat at my desk chair. I waited for her to say something.

“So, can you tell me now?” she asked.

“I'm a mutant,” I said.

“I thought that would be it,”she muttered. “So, I take it that you have the gift of being extra strong or something like that?”

I shook my head. “No, it's just a bonus due to what I can do,” I said. “There really isn't a term to what I can do. The basis of it is that I can absorb the psyche and abilities of any human being, including mutants, though skin contact. I absorb memories, knowledge, talents, personality, and, sometimes, physical traits of someone, which I can duplicate in myself to change my appearance slightly, and, even if the contact is brief, I will keep almost everything I absorb.

“What I am mostly unable to keep are personality and physical traits of a person, as we as any mental ability that a mutant may have – I only keep those for a certain amount of time. However, I can let some things go by choice, if I don't want or feel that I need them. Again, I do have to keep them for a certain amount time, just like the things that I am unable to keep – I think the ratio is every ten seconds of skin contact equals one minute of me being able to use anything I absorb.

“The ability is active constantly, and I do not know how to not have it that way, meaning I can not touch a single human being without this happening, and, in the cases of non-mutants, if I keep skin to skin contact with one for a certain amount of time – and it's not a very long one – they tend to end up in comas. In fact, though it hasn't be proven yet, it is suspected that I can end up killing someone because of this, so I tend to avoid skin to skin contact with others, particularly non-mutants. In fact, the only person I willingly have skin to skin contact with is my best friend/sister Elena.

“I also have one other, natural, ability, though it kind of pales in comparison to what I consider to be my main ability. I have this mental shield around my mind, which is also active constantly, which protects me from pretty much every mental ability out there. The only thing it doesn't protect me from is when someone telepathically talks to me.”

I stopped there, a bit shocked at how easily and freely I had given the information. I hadn't actually meant to say it all, just give a hint of what it was that I could do, but then, I suppose, by telling her as much as I did, she'd understand it a bit better, and have less questions to ask about it. It seemed that I was right.

“So, that's why you wear the gloves?” she said. I nodded.

“How does you mental shield work, exactly? I mean, how do you even know it's there?” she asked.

“I know because I know quite a few mind readers, all whom ended up confused when they couldn't read my mind,” I said. “As for how it works, it's basically two layers. One is always around my mind. I can shrink it down to open my mind to others if I wish, but that's all I can really do with it. As for the other layer, I can only stretch it, to include others within in it. I can pick and chose who I protect – I liken it to a rope with a lasso at the end. I can by-pass others to get to one person and protect them, even if there's several people blocking the person from my sight, and there's a certain distance from me. And I can do this to an unlimited number of people.

“In fact, I'm actually doing it right now, to you. I have been since before we left the school, truthfully.”

“Really? Why?” she asked, and I could see that any apprehension she may have been feeling toward me was gone.

“Well, I won't name names, because it's not my secret to tell, but there is another mutant at the school,” I said, lying a bit. Edward wasn't a mutant, but I wasn't going to tell her that. “And, well, they know about the mental shield, but they don't know about the other talent, and I would rather they not know it, in all honesty. So, after I rescued you, I shielded your mind right away, so that they wouldn't know.”

Angela looked thoughtful, as if wondering who it was, before shaking her head.

“Why are you willing to have skin to skin contact with Elena?” she asked, sounding as though she just remembered that it was mentioned.

“Elena's abilities are like mine, only, where I'm able to permanently keep physical abilities and block mental abilities from being used on me, she's the opposite. Mental abilities are what she can permanently keep, while she had a physical shield around her body. And, while it's two layered like mine, she actually has to concentrate a bit to keep both layers around her. The inner layer can only be used to protect her, while the outer can be expanded to protect others, but while the inner one can be called up quickly, the outer one takes quite a bit of concentration to use,” I said. “It's why she rarely uses it, unless it's absolutely needed.”

She nodded, and went quite, thinking. Silence lasted for a while, and I wondered what she was deciding.

“I won't tell,” she said. “And I still consider you my friend. I won't and say that I might not be a bit...wary every now and then, but, for the most part, I don't really care that your a mutant. You're still my friend, plus, considering that you just saved my life today, it would seem pretty horrible of me to just brush you off after that.”

I smiled at her.

“Thanks,” I said, truly meaning it. She ended up hanging out at m house for about an extra hour before I drove her home. It was as she pulled up that she realized something.

“Oh, no,” she said.

“What?” I asked.

“My car, it's still at the school,” she said. “Plus, I don't know what damage the van did to it.”

“Well, if you can get dropped off at my house, I'll take you to school tomorrow. After all, we wouldn't want everyone to think that there actually was something serious that happened during the accident,” I said.

“My Dad does pass by the street,” she said, thinking. “I think I can get him to at least drop me off at the end of the street. It'll be early, though. He tend to go in around six-thirty.”

“Charlie will be up by then,” I said, shrugging. “If he's not, the key is under the eaves, so you can just let yourself in. And I'll let Charlie know so that he doesn't freak out if you do show up. Just call if you will or not tonight, so I can tell Charlie if it's a definite that you'll be there tomorrow morning or not.”

“Okay,” she said, hopping out of the truck. I waved bye to her before heading back home. As it was still pretty early, I didn't feel a need to rush to do anything, and headed up to my room, pulling out my phone as I did so. Immediately, I pulled up the option to send out a new message. There was no way I was keeping the fact that Angela knew from my friends, no way at all. Besides, since she knew about me, I wanted to make sure that they wouldn't mind if I accidentally let it out that one of them was a mutant as well. And I knew that I most likely would end up mentioning it to her, if she asked.

Once I finished typing out my rather long message to her, I sighed, setting my phone down next to me, and fell backwards onto my bed, thinking about all that had happened today. Strangely enough, I didn't feel anything but relief that Angela knew about my abilities and had accepted them. And I didn't feel any fear that Angela might change her mind, mostly because, in the last few weeks of knowing her, it seemed like something that was out of character for her to do.

After examining what happened with Angela, my mind immediately went over to Edward, and his over reaction, for that was what it was. I didn't understand it. Sure, we were friends, but that really didn't explain the reaction Edward had. The way he acted was as if there was a bigger connection between us, much bigger than there actually was. I wasn't sure of what to think about that, at all. And, at the moment, I didn't want to. So, after checking to make sure that there were no responses to the text I'd sent to my friend, I headed down the stairs, deciding that, with the extra time I was suddenly given, that I could afford to take the time to make something really good for dinner, and set about working on it.

About ten minutes after school would have ended, while I still working on the meat for what I had decided to make, a knock came from the door. I paused, my hands still in the meat as another knock sounded.

“Hold on,” I called, cleaning my hands off before heading to the door. I pulled on my gloves as I hurried over to the door. Opening it, I was surprised to see Jasper and Edward standing there, Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett still in their car. I looked at the two guys confused.

“Um...Hi,” I said, not knowing what else to say. I leaned against my door, looking from one to the other. Edward kept his eyes on me, still worried about what had happened earlier. Jasper, however, was looking at the doorway, and I knew that he had seen one of the sets of runes I'd used there, for he was studying one of them. I didn't worry about his figuring out why it was there; I couldn't see a reason for him to do so, as the runes I'd used weren't common ones. The worse that would happen is that he might know what they were.

I waited for either of them to say something, but neither seemed inclined.

“Hey, guys, what are you doing here?” I finally asked, after another two minutes had passed without any sign of anything happening. That seemed to get their attention.

“Oh, I came to let you know what we had to do in class today,” Jasper said, handing me what he was holding in his hand.

“Thank you,” I said, glancing down to see that it wasn't anything hard. I turned to Edward, ignoring Jasper for the moment.

“Mr. Banner asked that I come and give this to you,” he said, handing me a form. “You need to get your father to sign that, in order to go with the rest of the class to a plant nursery.”

“Oh, okay,” I said, taking the form from him. “Thanks for bringing it by.”

“No problem,” he told me, and I saw Jasper look at Edward a bit suspiciously for some reason. Edward looked as though he was about to start asking me questions once again, but an impatient beep from his car kept him from doing that as we all looked to see the fact that his siblings were becoming impatient with us, based on the fact that Rosalie had been the one to honk the horn.

“Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow,” I told them. They returned the sentiment, saying bye as they turned and headed to their car. I saw Edward glance back at me several times before I close the door. Walking back to the kitchen, I placed what I'd been handed down, wondering vaguely if Angela had been brought a permission slip or not. I hoped that she did, since I didn't think that it would be very nice if no one brought one to her.

Charlie, having heard about what happen, was in a bit of a panic when he came home that night. It was only the fact that I was obviously fine – and that I admitted that the reason that I didn't go back to the school was because I didn't want to deal with the crowd I'd most likely have around me if I did – that calmed him down. He wasn't all that upset over my ditching school, though I knew it was mostly because he was relieved that I was all right. Once he had calmed, and I told him what actually happened – his panic had apparently become bad because of all the gossip and rumors about what had happen, which had been twisted until it was mostly untrue, just additions to make it much more interesting – I told him what happened.

He was of two minds about my rescue of Angela – both proud and scolding. While he was glad to know that I was willing to do what I could to save a friend, he did not like the fact that I had almost put my own life in danger – as far as he knew – to do so. That resulted in a slightly comical lecture from him, as he alternated between scolding me and praising me. I finally escaped to my room to keep from laughing out loud in his face because of it.

Once I was sure that I had myself under control, I headed back downstairs, just as the phone rang. Picking it up, I realized that it was Angela who had called, informing me that she would need a ride to the school tomorrow. I said alright, then asked her if she had gotten a visit from someone, mentioning that there was apparently a permission slip that she one of her parents to sign. She told me that her lab partner had brought it by just moments after I left. We talked for a bit before saying bye, and I headed to the living room.

“Hey, Dad,” I said as I entered. He turned his head to me. “Angela's going to be here tomorrow morning. She'll most likely be here before you leave or arrive just as you're leaving. I'm giving her a ride to school, so don't be surprised when if you see her. I told her where the key is if no one answers the door when she arrives, so she won't have to stay outside while waiting for me. Okay?”

“Yeah,” he said, turning back to his game as I headed up the stairs.

“Night!” I called.

“Night,” he answered back.

As I was pulling into the parking lot – a bit later than I should have been – we saw that Angela's car had been towed away, just as Charlie had informed her about this morning, when she arrived just as he had come downstairs to eat something before leaving. We also saw two school buses, which would be taking us to plant nursery. Angela and I got out of the truck, and she walked over to Jessica and some of the others, who immediately wrapped their arms around her in a hug upon seeing her. She shook them off for a few moments, handing in her and my permission slips to Mr. Banner, which I had given her before we got out of my truck. I yawned, leaning up against my truck tiredly.

I hadn't slept well the previous night. And it wasn't my normal nightmares that kept me up – in fact, it wasn't even a nightmare. No, what I had dreamt of was something rather unusual – at least for me. I looked over to the area where the van had almost crushed Angela before I had come, seeing the skid marks left from it. As I did, parts of my dream floated back to me.

Me being the one standing there, instead of Angela... Edward saving me the way I'd saved Angela... Us at the hospital, where he did his best to convince me that I hadn't seen him actually save me, the way I had tried to convince him that I had been standing next to Angela the entire time... Him walking away after telling me that he hoped I enjoyed disappointment in response to my statement of not giving up on trying to figure him out...

However, it was none of that which had freaked me out. No, it was what happened next, after the last bit. I had dreamt that Edward had been able to get into my room, me waking to discover him standing at the foot of my bed, just staring at me, as if he was merely a statue. It didn't freak me out in my dream, as if I had been expecting him to be there. No, instead of freaking out, I had leaned forward, sitting up and reaching for him, grabbing him by the shirt he wore and pulled him down to me on the best, our lips connecting in a kiss that had quickly become passionate.

Just thinking about it had me groaning softly, wondering what was wrong with me. I didn't dream about guys – of course, there had never really been a guy I was interested in... No I told myself sternly, erasing the rest of that thought from my mind. Still, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if we had skin to skin contact. Would he be affected the same way a human would? The idea was laughable, and yet, I was afraid that it might actually be true.

“I need everyone's permission slips, okay?” I heard Mr. Banner say as my eyes found their way to where Edward – with two of his siblings – was at, walking towards everyone else. I saw Edward look at me for a moment as they came closer before Mike stepped in front of me, blocking my view of them.

“Look at you, huh? You're alive,” he said, his voice changing slightly at the last phrase, indicating that he was joking as he said it.

“I wasn't in any trouble,” I told him. “I have good reflexes.”

I notice Edward seemed to pause slightly, not moving an inch.

“Yeah,” he said, suddenly becoming nervous. “Now I wanted to ask you, you know, if, you know...”

I tuned him out, my eyes on Edward, who had turned towards me slightly, looking at me.

“So, what do you think?” Mike ask, bringing me back to the conversation at hand. I forced myself to focus on him instead of Edward.

“About what?” I asked, feeling a bit apologetic for having ignored him. He was very nervous, and I knew that making him repeat whatever question it was that he'd ask wasn't what he wanted to do.

“Do you want to go?” he asked again. “To the dance? With...me?”

The last bit was said kind of haltingly. I was crafty in hiding my horror. I despised dances, and had actually forgotten about this one – the Spring Dance that was to start off the spring vacation for this school. I thought about it, trying to figure out an excuse, when I realized that I already had one – and it wouldn't be a complete lie.

“Oh, I... Actually, I'm have something that weekend anyway. I have something that entire week, in fact,” I said. “I'm...I'm going to Mystic Falls that weekend.”

Mike looked dishearted.

“Y-you can't go another weekend?” he asked, hoping to change my mind.

“Non-refundable ticket,” I lied. I had no plans of flying out there, but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Plus, I really didn't want to explain the reason for going there, either. He gave a understanding though disappointed nod.

“You should ask Jessica,” I said. “I know she wants to go with you.”

He perked up a bit at that, looking over to where she was standing. She waved to him with a smile upon noticing him looking at her. He looked back at me, smiling a little bit, though there wasn't much happiness to it.

Mr. Banner called all of us at that moment, motioning us over.

“Hey, guys, come on,” he said, “We gotta go. We gotta go. Green is what? Good.”

I rolled my eyes as I followed Mike over to the first bus, climbing into it as I heard Mr. Banner direct the rest of the people over to the other bus. I mentally sighed when I noticed that Edward was among though a part of me was relieved that he wasn't, having the feeling that he'd most likely ask questions that I didn't want to answer.

As we were led through through the plant nursery, I barely listened to what Mr. Banner was saying, looking at all of the plants instead. As I moved from my current position, walking around Edward – who had somehow come to be in front of me, despite having been near the back when we first arrived – suddenly spoke.

“How did you stop the van?” he asked.

I looked over to him.

“Hi, Edward, how are you today?” I asked, my tone mocking, making it clear that I found his lack of manners horrible.

“Are you going to answer my question?” he asked.

“I had an adrenaline rush. It's very common. You can Google it,” I told him. He frowned, but didn't press it, clearly hearing that I didn't want to talk about it.

“What's in Mystic Falls?” he asked instead. I looked over to him, confused.

“How do you know about that?” I asked, then remembered the fact that he had been there in the parking lot this morning. He must've, for some reason, been listening in on the conversation I had with Mike.

My question seemed to stump him. He finally just said, “You didn't answer my question.”

“Well, I think you're being rather rude right now. I mean, I have no obligation to answer your questions anyway. Plus, you haven't even bothered to say hi, so...” I trailed off.

“Hi,” he said. I rolled my eyes.

“Why do you want to know, anyway?” I asked. He shrugged, and I shook my head.

“Virginians. That's what's in Mystic Falls,” I said, turning to him. Unfortunately, I hadn't been looking where I was going, and my foot ended up getting slightly tangled in a hose that was on the ground. I stumbled, about to fall, when Edward grabbed onto me, keeping me upright. I looked at him, to say thank you, when he snapped, “Can you watch where you walk?”

I looked at him, confused, and slightly angered by his manner.

“If you hadn't distracted me, I would have been able to avoid it,” I snapped back at him, turning away, intent on ignoring him as I quickly waked forward, a gap having formed between us and those in front of us.

“Look, I'm sorry I'm being rude today,” he said. “I just...think it's the best way.”

“For what?” I asked, confused at to what he meant by that as I turned to him. However, I wasn't given an answer, for Jessica came bounding up to me.

Bella!” she said excitedly, not seeming to realize that Edward and I had been talking in her excitement. “Guess who just asked me to the spring dance.”

“Who?” I asked, already having a good idea. I watched as Edward walked away, a frown on my face as I tried to decipher the meaning of his words, wondering if they had to do with him being what he was. Jessica also watch him, confused, before turning back towards him once he was out of sight.

“Yeah, I actually totally thought that Mike was gonna ask you,” she said. I shook my head, not wanting to hurt her with the fact that he had asked me. We started to walk as she continued to talk, up until she rejoined her other friends. The tour of the nursery finished, I made my way outside, figuring that I would wait on the bus until it was time to leave. As I walked passed Eric in a slight tiredly daze, I was startled when a worm was put in front of my face, Eric acting as though he was younger than he was.

I shook my head, ignoring him as I walked past, making my way to one of the buses. Just as I got to them, I heard someone behind me, walking quickly, and I turned around to see Edward there.

“Bella,” he said as he got closer, and noticed that I had seen him, “we shouldn't be friends.”

I looked at him, surprised. However, right under the surprise was hurt. I didn't know why he would say this. I thought – despite the secrecy between us – that we were doing pretty well on our way to becoming friends. My hurt feelings began to turn mad, especially when I considered the fact that I had him something that was private.

“You really should have figured that out a little earlier,” I told him, glaring. Then, I shook my head. “You know what, whatever, Edward. If that's what you want, then suit yourself. But I do have to say, next time you do this, try to make a decision before you begin ask personal questions that you have no need to know.”

Then, because I was very angry, I was unable to keep myself from showing it in another way, and, without thinking about it, I balled my hand into a fist, punching him just hard enough that he would be able to feel it – in fact, if he was human, where I had hit would have begun to swell and turn colors.

He stumbled, shocked that I had been able to do that, but more so when he noticed that I wasn't jumping up and down in pain after doing that. What was more, I was sure that he had also realized that there was something else missing; the fact was, I shouldn't have been able to hit him hard enough to make him move, and he should have been able to hear bones breaking in my hand from the actions. The fact that it hadn't happened most likely filled him up with more questions, but his brother and sister arrived then.

“Hi,” Alice said, smiling. I couldn't see anything that would suggest that she had seen my actions, though I knew that she could have easily composed herself before walking over here. Her eyes flickered between me and Edward, who was standing straight once again. She turned towards me. “Are you going to be riding with us?”

“No,” I said. “My bus is full.” I stalked off before anything else could be said, over to the other bus, giving the door a sharp hit so that the driver would open it so that I could get on. Before I did so, I sent another glare to Edward, who hadn't moved from where he stood.

Charlie stayed home the next day, having it off. He was in the kitchen, reading the newspaper when I came downstairs. Angela was at the table with him, eating some of the food that I'd made when I'd gotten up this morning.

“Hey,” I said to her.

“Hi,” she answered back, once she finished swallowing. I could tell, by the look on her face, that she was enjoying the breakfast I'd made.

“You should hurry up,” I said. “We've got to leave in a few minutes.”

She nodded, finishing up her last bites, before standing.

“Bye Chief Swan,” she said.

“Just call me Charlie,” he told her as he waved bye to us.

“Your father's rather nice,” she said.

“Yeah, he's cool,” I said. “Been real great since I've been here, too. Of course, I think my food might have a bit to do with that.”

She could tell right away that I was just joking about the last bit.

“Do you like it here so far?” she asked.

“It's been nice. Different, but nice,” I said. “I can't say I like it completely, because I miss all my friends, who I've considered to be my family for most of my life, but it's a bearable ache. You help quite a bit.” Edward had helped as well – it was even easier to forget myself around him – but I wasn't going to mention that, especially considering his words the previous day. Just like the previous night, I had dreamed of him again, only this time, it was more like a nightmare. (I had been in a forest, and seen him turning and walking away from me, not seeming to notice the fact that I was repeatedly calling to him, and trying to follow him. I really didn't want to think about what that might mean.)

“Well, glad I could help,” she said, smiling.

The day went pretty fast, up to lunch. I was a bit late, having taken a small shower after PE and needed extra time to put on my clothes afterward – it was a much more active day today, and the fact that I was wearing sweats over the favored shorts really hadn't helped me out all that much. Walking into the cafeteria, I could easily hear Eric talking about something from across the room. I paused for a moment, feeling eyes on me, and looked behind me suspiciously. I didn't see anyone actually looking at me, though; in fact, the one I thought had been looking at me was talking – no, arguing seemed to fit better – with the rest of his family. He looked at me briefly, not long enough for me to get a hint of his mood. I turned after seeing Jasper looking to where he was, hitching my bag back up onto my shoulder properly as I walked over to the lunch table with the others.

“Hey,” Eric said upon seeing me as I placed my bag in an empty seat between Angela and Jessica. Mike and Tyler (sporting a small, white bandage on his face from the accident, which I hadn't seen the previous day) gave me a small wave. Eric commanded my attention almost immediately, before I could actually sit down.

“La Push, baby. You in?” he said. I scowled a bit.

“Should I know what that means?” I asked.

“La Push Beach down at the Quileute Rez,” Mike explained. “We're all going tomorrow, after school.”

“Yeah, there's a big swell coming in,” Jessica added.

“And I don't just surf the Internet,” Eric chimed, trying to sound cool. There were some chuckles.

“Eric, you stood up once, and it was a foam board,” Jessica said, rolling her eyes.

“There's whale watching, too,” Angela said, looking up at me. “Come with us.”

I stole a cucumber from her plate, thinking.

“La Push, baby. It's La Push,” Eric said. I rolled my eyes.

“I'll think about it if you stop saying that,” I said. The others laughed. “And don't call me baby, okay?”

I didn't think anyone heard the last bit, though, as Mike immediately followed up with saying, “Seriously, dude. It's creepy.”

I walked away then, barely listening to what they were saying as I headed to the salad bar to get my own food, since I didn't think Angela would appreciate me taking all of hers. Not feeling in a hurry to go back to the table, I played a bit with my bowl.

“Edible art?” I suddenly heard from beside me. Startled a bit, my hand accidentally hit the apple I had grabbed, rolling it off the counter. Edward kicked it slightly, enough for it to bounce off of his shoe. It flew upwards, and landed into his hands perfectly. I looked up at his face.

“Bella,” he said in greeting, holding out the apple. I took it from him.

“Thanks,” I muttered, grabbing my bowl and moving to the other side of the bar. “What are you doing over here, anyway? I mean, did you forget what you said yesterday? Did you forget my answer?”

He came a little closer to me, just enough that he could talk lowly and I'd still be able to hear him over the crowd.

“I only said that it would be better if we weren't friends, not that I didn't wanna be,” he said.

“No, you straight up said that we shouldn't be friends, nothing about how it would be better not to be,” I corrected him. “And my answer still stands. Do you need a reminder of it?”

He shook his head, and I went back to making my salad. However, while he continued to stand next to me, and my curiosity over why he thought that it would be better not to be friends grew, I finally sighed, looking back at him.

“What does your whole 'it would be better if we weren't friends' mean, anyway?” I asked.

“It means that, if you were smart, you'd stay away from me,” he answered. I scoffed.

“Wow, how nice. Didn't know that insulting a person's intelligence was the best way to go around making friends,” I said, shaking my head. “Okay, well, let's say, for argument's sake that I'm not smart. Would you tell me the truth about why?”

“No, probably not,” he said. I nodded, hearing the blank honesty in his voice.

“Why not?” I asked. He didn't answer, though I wasn't really expecting him too.

“All right, you can keep your little secrets,” I said, turning back to my food. I popped a carrot into my mouth.

“It's not like I'm the only one with them,” he said, and the tone of his voice had me looking at him again. “I know that you weren't telling me the truth yesterday. Care to explain why?”

“No, not really,” I said.

“So, can we agree on the fact that we both have our secrets?” he asked.

“Yes, but that doesn't mean that I won't figure yours out. I'm good at that,” I told him. “And don't bother trying to tell me that you're not going to try and figure mine out. I can see it in your eyes that you want to know. And I don't think you have the control not to try and figure them out. In fact, I'm kind of curious to know what your theories are already.”

“I looking at either radioactive spiders or kryptonite,” he answered. I snorted.

“Reading a few comics lately,” I said. “Sorry to disappoint you, but it's neither.”

He shrugged, and I got the feeling that he hadn't been serious anyway. We were silent for a few moments.

“You know, I'm not going to tell you what I am, though I won't deny it if you manage to figure it out yourself,” I said. “And, if you want to try this whole being friends thing, why don't we hang out sometime soon. Everyone's going to the beach tomorrow. Come with us.”

He looked as though he was thinking about it. “Which beach?” he asked, a smile playing around his lips, which had started when I'd asked him to hang out.

“La Push,” I answered, seeing his face change immediately.

“I don't know,” he said. “I just...”

“Is there something wrong with that beach?” I asked. He didn't answer right away, and I got the feeling that he was looking for a quick answer to my question, which just made me more suspicious about it. He looked behind him, and, when I leaned over and looked myself, I noticed that Eric and Mike immediately looked away, not wanting to be caught watching us. When I looked back at him, he was looking back at me.

“It's just a little crowded,” he answered.

Chapter Text

Crowded my ass I thought to myself, looking at the beach. Except for those of us that had come straight here from the school, the beach was completely empty. I scanned it, noticing that, while not the usual beach I was used to, it wasn't the worse looking one. In fact, it was rather beautiful in a way. Cliffs stood on either end, trees growing high on them. Huge rocks laid scattered around the cliffs, while the area we were at was mostly smooth, save for the movement of the sea, and what looked like some sort of landmass in the very distance. The shore was nothing more than a slightly narrow strip of sand, stretching from one cliff to the other. The screeching of seagulls hung in the air.

Two of the boys who'd come with us were already on their boards in the water, and I frowned. It wasn't a good day to go into the water, gray clouds cover the sky just as they had been every day since arriving. In fact, it looked as though it would start raining soon as well, maybe even snow, as there was a slightly chilly wind blowing.

Angela and I sat in one van, my heaviest sweater (I'd been feeling rather cold upon waking up, and the ocean air was doing nothing to help lessen the feeling) on while Angela was wrapped in a blanket. Across from us, in the other van, Mike and Eric were getting dressed in wet suits, Jessica standing next to the open passenger door doing the same. Right in front of the vans, three more of our group – Lauren, another girl whom I rarely talked to, and yet another boy – were waxing their boards, about ready to head out themselves.

"Hey, it's freezing," Jessica said in response to something that Eric had mentioned, which I hadn't payed attention to.

"I'm padding out, Coats," Tyler said to us, having just finished getting ready himself. He headed out with the other three who'd been getting ready themselves.

"I don't know if it's worth it anymore," Eric said, looking nervously at the water as a slight shiver shook his frame. I wasn't all that surprise that he was nervous, having heard more of his surfing exploits from the others – apparently, Jessica wasn't just being a bitch when she'd sad that he'd only ever once stood up on a foam board.

"We drove all the way out here," Jessica said, zipping the back of her suit up as she frowned at him. "I'm at least padding out."

"Yeah," Mike agreed. I just shook my head at them, wondering just how many days they would be out of school because of this. While they had asked me to go out with them, I had firmly mentioned that I didn't surf, nor did I plan on starting to, and that I would be just fine saying out of the water; Angela had looked relieved to hear that, and I found out later that it was because of the fact that she had no desire to go out in the water herself.

Ignoring them, I turned to Angela, who had been talking to me while we were in the van on the drive down.

"So, I keep thinking that Eric is going to ask me to the dance, and then he doesn't," she said, frowning as she looked over to where he stood, talking to the other two – arguing a bit, from the sounds of it.

"Why don't you ask him?" I said, holding the bag of Twizzlers I'd brought with me out to her. She reached in and took one. "I mean, there's no rule against it. Just take control. You're a strong, independent woman who doesn't need to wait around for a man to gain his courage."

"You think so?" she asked.

"Yes," I said, nodding. She smiled at me, and then Jessica came over to her.

"Hey, will you do me up?" she asked, Angela, presenting her back to her.

"Yeah," Angela said, her hands immediately doing what Angela asked. As she did so, three guys came up, and I immediately recognized two of them: Jacob Black and Embry Call. The third, though, I couldn't place at all.

"Bella!" the one said.

"Jacob, Embry, hi," I said. I made a motion to Angela and Jessica. "Guys, this is Jacob and Embry."

"Hey, guys. How are you doing?" Jacob said, sounding as though he already knew who they were and giving the impression that they already knew whom he was. I felt stupid as I remembered that, having grown up near each other, they probably already knew each other. As Jessica and Angela both said hi to the trio, I studied the third one. He was rather burly, like Sam had been, with his hair cropped close to his head. His eyes were dark, and his skin was the same russet-color as all of the Quileutes that I'd met already.

Seeing my puzzled look as I studied him, the unknown one stepped forward, offering me his hand.

"Hi," he said. "I'm Jared. You must be Bella."

"Yeah," I said, reaching out my own gloved covered one to give him a light handshake. "That's me."

The moment we let go and let our hands fall away, Jacob cut in front of him, crossing over to sit in the empty spot next to me.

"So, are you stalking me?" I asked Jacob jokingly.

He snorted. "You're on my rez, remember?" he answered, only to wince lightly at my puzzled looked. Somehow, I think he must've remembered that, unlike everyone else, I didn't know that little fact, having never been here before, nor having asking him anything that would give hints to where he lived.

"You live around here?" I asked. He nodded. "I didn't know that."

While I vaguely remembered that Charlie had mentioned having friends on an Indian Reservation, I hadn't realize that First Beach was apart of the reservation; in fact, I hadn't realized just how close the reservation was to Forks at all.

"Yeah, I live within walking distance of here," he said, pointing in the direction he'd come from. I didn't see anything, but that was due to the trees that blocked the way.

"That's cool," I said, looking down. It was silent for a few moments, neither of us really having an idea on what to say, most likely for different reasons.

"Are you going to be surfing?" he asked me.

"Uh, no, definitely not," I told him, holding holding out one of the candies I had to him, silently offering him one.

"Thanks," he said, taking it.

"You guys should keep Bella company," Jessica chimed in. "Her date bailed."

"What date?" Eric said, both him and Mike showing a hint of dismay over this fact. I rolled my eyes at their reaction, while Jessica started laughing a bit, mostly over the look on Eric's face. I would have done the same, had I not listened to Angela fears about whether Eric would notice her or not a few moments before.

"She invited Edward," Jessica said through her laughter. I rolled my eyes over her reaction; she seemed to be unable to not crack up whenever it was mentioned for some reason.

"To be polite," I said, shrugging as if it wasn't any big deal; which, to me, it wasn't. While I did have a bit of an alternative motive for doing so – it would have been nice to hang out with him – it really wasn't any of their business of I did or not. Of course, I was sure that, if the others had been listening better, they would have noticed that I hadn't discounted it as being a date.

"I think it's nice that she invited him," Angela commented. "Nobody ever does."

"Yeah, 'cause Cullen's a freak," Mike said. I frowned at him, having the feeling that he wouldn't have said that comment if it hadn't been Edward we were talking about – he didn't seem to like the closeness that the two of us had. I was pretty sure that, had I invited either of his sisters, he would have never said that.

"You got that right," Jared said. My gaze shifted to him, my face hiding the surprise at his words.

"You know him?" I asked, Jared's smile faded as a serious look took over his face.

"The Cullens don't come here," he said He did it in such a simple way, yet I couldn't help feeling that there was more to it. The way he spoke seemed to belay something else, painting what appeared to me an ugly picture in my mind. It made me think that they weren't allowed to go there. However, I didn't question it; or, rather, didn't question him. I didn't think it would be worth is, especially since I didn't think I'd get a straight answer from him.

I looked at Jacob from the corner of my eye. I was pretty sure that I could get an answer from him, though I'd have to be careful on how I did it. While I knew that flirting would be the most effective method, I wasn't going to be so cruel as to make him think that he had a chance with me, especially when he didn't. I knew that, if I did flirt, his crush would continue, probably intensifying upon getting a hint that it might be reciprocated. So, flirting was out.

Taking the information I wanted using my mutant abilities could appear to be good way of doing it, but I'd not only would I need privacy for that,but I had no clue of what, exactly, I needed to look for, nor how far back in his mind the information was; chances were, I wouldn't be able to get it would taking everything else – and doing that would lessen his chances of ever waking up again, or even remembering certain memories, ones that he just might need. So, using that ability was out.

Perhaps I could use a magical method. I'd need privacy for doing that as well, but not as much as I would using my mutant abilities. Unfortunately, there were only two methods I could use. The first was using Veritaserum, the only truth potion there was to get it. That option wasn't an option, however, due to the fact that it took months to brew, with several ingredients to brew it were heavily regulated; it had to be used more cautiously when it came to using it in non-magicals; and I didn't have any on me at the moment. The second method I could use was Legitimacy, but I was wary of doing it – while not illegal, the mind magics were very frowned upon. Add in the fact that I was technically not supposed to use magic any magic, other than Obliviate on mundanes...

No, now thinking about it, it wouldn't be a good idea to use magical means. Maybe I should just straight up bully the answers from him...

As I thought about this, I realized that I liked the idea, a lot, but decided that actually beating him up wouldn't work all that well. Thinking about it some more, I decided that I should just ask him about it, pressing for the information should he not want to answer me. I doubted he'd actually keep from caving if it came down to it – even without me flirting, he'd probably be willing to talk about it, if only to try and impress me.

"Hey, do you want to go for a walk?" I asked him, knowing that I couldn't implement my plan while near the others. Not just because I had the feeling that Jared would stop him from answering me, but because I didn't want any of them to get suspicious about Edward and his family if they heard what Jacob said.

"Sure," Jacob said, a bit too eagerly – I knew that I had the right idea about not flirting with him for answers. Of course, I did have the feeling that I might have to still verbally discourage him, something that I would do that later, if it did indeed need to be done – finding out what I wanted was a bit more important at the moment. We walked along the shore, and I waited until we were quite a bit away from the others before speaking again.

"What did your friend mean, when he said 'the Cullen's don't come here'?" I asked. He snorted, giving me a look that seemed to suggest that he'd just realized why I wanted to walk with him, though there was also a bit of hurt in his gaze as well.

"You caught that, huh?" he said, looking away.

"It was kind of hard not to," I said, stopping for a moment as I looked at him.

"I'm not really supposed to say anything about it," he said.

"I can keep a secret," I said immediately. He laughed.

"Really. It's just, like, an old scary story," he said, trying to brush my question off. To bad that he didn't know that I didn't give in all that easy when it came to things I wanted to know.

"I like scary stories," I said. "And, well, I really want to know."

He looked contemplative for a moment, thinking, glancing at me twice before seeming to come to a decision.

"Okay," he said, slowing down for a moment as he looked around us. "Do you know any of our old stories, about where we come from – the Quileutes, I mean?"

"Not really," I said.

"Well, there are a lot of legends," he said, "some of them claiming to date back to the Flood – supposedly, the ancient Quileutes tied their canoes to the tops of the tallest trees on the mountains to survive like Noah and the ark." He rolled his eyes, showing just how much stock he was putting into that legend. "Another legend clames that we descend from wolves – and that wolves are our brothers still."

"Wolves?" I asked, a slight chill going down my spine at the implications that left to my mind. "Like real wolves?"

"Yeah," he said. "That's one of legends that are taken very seriously around here. It's even against tribal law to kill them.

"Then there are the stories about the cold ones." His voice dropped a little lower upon the last two words.

"The cold ones?" I said, finding the name strangely appropriate for them.

"Yes," Jacob said. "There are stories of the cold ones as old as the wolf legends, and some much more recent. According to legend, my one great grandfather knew some of them. He was the one who made the treaty that kept them off our land." I could tell by his voice that he was of the belief that whoever had told him this had been smoking weed.

"Your great grandfather?" I said, interested. I wondered if that part was actually true or not, though I got the feeling that it was, as it being true would explain Edward's reluctance to come here when I had invited him.

"He was a tribal elder, like my father," Jacob explained. "You see, the cold ones are the natural enemies of the wolf – well, not the wolf, really, but the wolves that turn into men, like our ancestors."

"Werewolves," I stated flatly. It was the best I could do while holding back the hate I felt at the mere thought of them. I didn't think the werewolves that Jacob was talking about were the ones I was thinking, but having dealt with quite a few of them trying to kill me and my friends had left me with less than pleasant feelings towards them. As it was, there was only one were I even cared about.

"Werewolves," he repeated, nodding his head. "So, you see, the cold ones are traditionally our enemies. But this pack that came to our territory during my great grandfather's time was different. They didn't hunt the way other of their kind did – they weren't supposed to be dangerous to the tribe. So my great grandfather made a truce with them. If they would promise to stay off our lands, we wouldn't expose them to the pale faces." He made a motion to me, telling exactly who he was talking about when he said that last bit.

"I take it there's a reason why they had to promise to stay off 'your lands'," I said. "I mean, if they weren't supposed to be dangerous..."

"There's always a risk for humans to be around the cold ones, even if they're civilized like this clan was. You never know when they might get too hungry to resist," he said, working a thick edge of menace into his tone.

"What exactly do you mean by 'civilized'?" I asked.

"They claimed that they didn't hunt humans, that they were supposedly somehow able to prey on animals instead," he told him. If I was a bit less controlled, I would have snorted over the way he said 'supposedly'. I could tell that, even though he didn't actually believe the legends, he also didn't believe that vampires could survive on non-human blood.

"Okay," I said. "So, what does what you just tell me have to do with the Cullens? Are they like the cold ones your great grandfather met?"

"No," he said, pausing damatically. "They are the same ones. They're more of them now, a new female and a new male, but the rest are the same. In my great grandfather's tme, they already knew of the leader, Carlisle. He'd been here and gone before your people had ever arrived."

I nodded absentmindedly, my mind going over the story. Well, I guess I could see why Edward had refused to come. I had no doubt that the treaty was honored by the Cullens. From what I knew of Carlisle, and what I'd seen of Edward and Jasper, they were very honorable, and I doubted the rest of them were all that different.

I was quite glad for that fact as well, since I knew what would have happened if the wolves had revealed their secret to the town. There would have been a blood bath, since regular, non-magical humans were not allowed to know about vampires. I didn't doubt that it would have have gotten out to the Volturi – the vampire royalty – if they'd done that, and I knew what they would do. If the wolves had revealed the secret to the town of Forks around that time, it wouldn't exist anymore, nor would they. If it wasn't for the fact that all Indian tribes had legends like that, there would be trouble for Jacob and the other Quileutes about these legends. As it was, being able to pin the Cullens down as their cold ones could cause problems for them, if it came down to it.

Of course, if Jacob actually did know what the truth from the fiction about the kind of vampires the Cullens were, his life was in danger, especially if it got out to the wrong people. Unless, of course, there was some truth to the wolf thing... And I remembered the fact that one of them had caused the ward around my house to go off...

"Bella," Jacob said, sounding worried. I jumped lightly, having gotten lost in my thought.

"Sorry," I said, not looking at him.

"Are you okay? You're pale... well, paler than you usually are," he said.

"It's nothing," I said, giving him a look to drop it. He did.

"So, what are they? What are the cold ones?" I asked, not really expecting an actual answer. He snorted.

"It's just a story, Bella," he said, clearly no longer all that willing to indulge my questions. "Come on, let's go."

He walked ahead of me, making it clear that he was done with me asking questions. I, wondering if I should follow him and continue our walk, when the decision was made for me as my cell phone rang. Looking down at it and seeing who it was, I turned, answering it as I headed back to the van.

Friday went by rather quickly, though I was very disappointed to discover that Edward wasn't there. I had looked for him, a frown on my face as lunch had drawn to a close and he was still missing – I did notice, though, that his brother Emmett wasn't there as well, though the others were. I mostly played around with my food as I wondered where he could be, and slightly mad at the fact that he hadn't thought to tell me that he wouldn't be there when we'd talked during Biology. Not that he had to tell me, of course. In fact, it probably would have appeared weird if he had, especially since I wasn't aware of what excuse was being used for his absence.

Still, if he had planned on not being there, it would have been nice to know in advance that I would be without my lab partner.

When I inquired about it to Jasper during French, though, I learned that he'd gone hiking with Emmett in the Goat Rocks Wilderness, which was just south of Rainier. I'd discreetly checked the area out on my phone during Biology, learning that it wasn't exactly the best place to go hiking at due to the presence of quite a few bears and realized that he had most likely gone hunting. I had frowned again, wondering why he hadn't waited for the weekend, being that it was just a day away, but decided that it really wasn't my business.

Nothing exciting happened during the weekend, either, for it was just as cloudy as it had been all week. I did explore the town a bit more, finding the sad excuse of a library, where I decided to get a card, despite the lack of books. I wondered if it would be worth figuring out a way to make a private donation to help stock the shelves up some more, and decided to look into it once I'd gotten home. As it was, I did find a few non-fiction books that were on subjects I was interested in, grabbing them to look through later.

Sunday was spent with me finishing an essay for English – or, rather, rewriting a previous one, as I had no desire to spend time writing something new. I also began researching a particular person for an essay that was for History, as well, as begin writing one for French as well. Basically, I spent Sunday doing homework, though I also thought about Edward, wondering just what his mood for the next day would be; while he had been pleasant on Thursday, he hadn't really gone out of his way to speak to me, as he had done so the day before. I didn't quite realize that my attempts to predict his mood would end up being quite useless.

Monday dawned brightly, and, almost immediately, I could tell that there was something different about today – the light seemed brighter than it usually was. Awakening, I was surprised to see a yellow beam of sunlight shining through my windows. Jumping up from my bed into the cold air, I hurried to the closest window, not believing my eyes until I saw that the sky was indeed clear of any clouds.

"No," I moaned, knowing immediately what it would mean. I'd have no chance to see Edward at all today, a fact that I did not care for. This, of course, shocked me, as I really shouldn't have a reason not to care. I barely knew him, and, with his mood swings giving me whiplash, I should be grateful for the break. Of course, I did enjoy his company, and speaking to him, but it was no reason to be upset over him not being able to go to school.

Shaking my head, I glared up at the cloudless sky, tromping away from the window to my closet. Going through my clothes, I quickly located a bright blue camisole with a see-through over blouse that flowed from one shade of blue to another save for the second strip from the top, which was white, while different symbols of brown decorated it.. I paired it up with a long skirt that started out greyish brown at the top before becoming blue for the majority of it, waves and sparkling sun spots, as though the skirt was indeed water, in lighter colors than those they rested upon easily seen. After pulling on a pair of white leather boots with three inch heels and a pair of thin, dark blue wrist length gloves, I grabbed my bag and headed downstairs.

Angela was already there, looking up towards the stairs upon hearing my bedroom door open and shut.

"Ready?" I asked. She nodded, walking out the door in front of me.

"It's so nice today," Angela said, looking upwards towards the sky.

"It's nice," I said, keeping from frowning. I could tell by her voice that she was excited for the unexpected sunny day, and I no wish to spoil her enjoyment. However, even though I did my best to hide it, I think she could sense that I wasn't actually all that happy to see the sun, though, as she eyed the long sleeves I wore, I got the feeling that she was guessing it was for the wrong reason. Thankfully, she didn't say anything, just mentioned that her mother would be taking her shopping for a new car this coming weekend, finally having found the time to do so.

"You excited to be getting a new vehicle?" I asked after hearing that.

"Somewhat," she said. "I have to admit, I will be glad to not wake up so early in the morning, but I do enjoy driving to school with you as well. And I love how comfortable the seats are in this truck as well."

"Yes, they are very comfortable," I said. We arrived then, and, upon looking around, I saw that we were among the earliest students there. Shrugging, I grabbed my bag, heading over to one of the rarely used tables in front of the school. Wiping off most of the water on the table, I made sure to sit on my jacket to keep my pants dry. I saw that Angela had headed over to Eric, speaking to him in a low voice. Shrugging as I realized that I was left alone, I grabbed a book from my bag, beginning to read it as I waited until it was time to go to class.

Of course, I was barely two chapters in when I was interrupted, feeling eyes focused on me. Looking behind me – where I felt the eyes – I couldn't see anyone looking at me. Still, the feeling didn't desist, and I huffed silently to myself, not really caring for it. When it was joined by another pair of eyes, I growled silently. Thankfully, unlike the first pair of eyes, this pair was more easily findable. Mike had arrived and, having spotted me, was walking towards me.

"Hey, Bella," he said as he neared, smiling at me.

"Morning, Mike," I said, giving a short wave. I couldn't muster up an answering smile, though. Between not liking the fact that I wouldn't see Edward, and not like how he was looking at me, I didn't feel up to faking a smile.

He came to sit by me, wearing khaki shorts and a striped Rugby shirt. A glance around showed that other students were just as dressed down as he was – I was the only one not showing off my arms and legs.

"I never noticed before," Mike stated, gaining my attention. I looked at him, slightly puzzled over his words. "Your hair has some red in it." He reached up to catch a strand that was fluttering in the light breeze.

"That's because it only really shows when the sun's out," I said, feeling uncomfortable as I slipped the strand away and tucked it behind my ear. He didn't seem to get the fact that I wasn't all that comfortable around him.

"Great day, isn't it?" he asked, looking up at the cloudless sky.

"It's okay," I said, movie just a bit away from him, as to not have him so close.

"What did you do yesterday?" Mike asked, looking back over at me and making me stop my slow procession away from him.

"I mostly worked on my essay," I said, leaving out the fact that I had finished it. I didn't see a reason to be smug, plus it wold give me a good excuse about what I was doing after school so that I could back out of any social gatherings.

He hit his forehead with his hand, I bit back a smile as I realized that he must've forgotten about the fact that there even was one.

"Oh, yeah. That's due Thursday, right?" he said. I shook my head.

"Wednesday," I told him, and he frowned.

"Wednesday?" he repeated, his frown becoming more pronounced. "That's not good... What are you writing yours on?"

"Whether Shakespeare's treatment of the female characters is misogynistic," I said. By the look on his face, I may as well have been speaking pig Latin for all he understood of my words.

"I guess I'll have to get to work on that tonight," he muttered, deflated. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to go out."

"I would've said no," I told him, straight up. He looked at me, startled. "No offense, Mike, but I think of you as a friend, and that's it. Unless it's a social gathering with the rest of our friends, I wouldn't have said yes. Besides, I don't think it would be a good idea to go out with you, regardless. I know that Jessica really likes you – I mean, you'd have to be blind not to notice it – and I knew that she's looking forward to the dance, and would love to date you."

"Really?" he said, and I nodded before getting up and gathering my things. He stood up as well, and we walked in silence to building three, his expression distracted. I hoped that whatever thoughts he was immersed in were leading him in the right direction.

The day seemed to flow by so quickly that, before I knew it, it was lunch. Being sunny today had at least one advantage that I hadn't expected – we were allowed to eat outside, at the rarely used tables that were set up near the cafeteria for this very purpose. Jessica and I – for Angela didn't have Gym before lunch as we did – found a table in perfect view of the sun, near where some guys were taking advantage of being able to be outside to throw around a football. Jessica didn't appear to be very interested in eating, wanting to catch as much Vitamin D as she could. Several other of the girls whom usually sat with us came over, Lauren unfortunately with them.

I ignored her as she sat down, just as she ignored me. Instead, I looked around, seeing what everyone else was doing. Jessica, who seemed to think that I was doing this for a different reason, spoke up then.

"He's not here," she said. I looked at her. "Whenever the weather's nice, the Cullens disappear.

"What, do they just ditch?" I asked, kind of curious to know what excuse they used to keep suspicion off of themselves.

"No. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen yank them out for, like, hiking and camping and stuff," she explained. "Tried that out on my parents. Not even close."

Angela came up, then, obviously excited.

"Guys, I'm going to the dance with Eric," She said, smiling as she sat down. "It just asked him. I took control.

"I told you that you were strong," I said, slightly startled when she gave me a short hug – being mindful not to make skin to skin contact.

"Are you sure you have to go out of town?" Angela asked.

"Yeah. It's a...thing I promised I go to," I said. Jessica then spoke.

"We should go shopping in Port Angeles before all the good dresses get cleaned out," Jessica said. Lauren, who had been listening in, nodded her head.

"You know I'm up for it," she said, while Angela nodded in agreement before turning to me.

"You'll come with, right?" she asked softly. "I'm going to want your opinion."

Lauren, hearing what she said, sneered slightly.

"Oh, you won't need Bella for that," Lauren said. "I can help you find the perfect dress. Besides, since she's not going to the dance, it'll be a waste for her to come along with us."

I didn't like the vicious light that entered her eyes upon saying that, knowing that no good could come from it.

"Actually, I will go," I said, ignoring Lauren. "It'll be nice to get out of town for a little bit. And I'll be glad to help you find something."

"Thank you," Angela mouthed as Lauren turned, displeased. I nodded to her as Jessica began talking to Lauren, gaining her attention and leaving Angela and I alone to speak to each other. It wasn't long after that, though, that the bell rang, and we all stood to head to our classes, the four of us staying together and walking slowly as to finalize our plans. After going through several options, it was finally decided that we'd go the next day, around three, as it was the first day we'd all have free to go, since Jessica – bubbling with excitement as she spoke – had a date with Mike that night. We also decided that it would be Jessica who'd take us, as Lauren's car wasn't suited for more than two people, Angela didn't have a car anymore, and I had no desire to contaminate my car with Lauren's presence – though I didn't quite say it like that, simply not offering my truck up as a ride.

As Angela and I separated from the other two, I began looking up bookstores in Port Angeles, figuring that I might get lucky enough to be able to visit one if there was. Of course, I didn't have much time to look before we arrived at class. Since Jasper wasn't there, I was given slightly different instructions compared to the other students, as well as informed that I wouldn't have to worry about collecting any notes or papers on what was discussed and worked on for the day, as she'd talked to Jasper's mother about what we would be doing this day.

Once I'd finished with my work, I continued looking for bookstores in Port Angeles, finding that there were three, though a look through the online inventory showed that only two were what I'd consider interesting – one book store which focused mostly on older volumes of books, while the other was focused on myths and things of that nature. Both stores held some interesting books, and I decided that I would have to make time to go to both stores. I planned on distracting myself from the fact that Edward wasn't at school during our one shared class by thinking about what I'd buy, when, as we passed by several students who'd just come from Biology, a faint scent of salt and rust made it's way to my olfactory senses. The scent was stronger than I cared for, enough to cause my stomach roll as I looked up, searching for where it was coming from I realized that quite a few students passing us scented of it and then my eyes saw Elisha frowning at her one finger, which she held a cotton ball tightly against.

"Hey," I said, gaining her attention as I paused for a moment; beside me, Angela did the same thing, looking confused over my actions. I discretely opened my mouth to breath that way upon noticing that the scent was just slightly stronger around her as opposed to the others.

"Hi," Elisha said, giving me a slight smile.

"What's up with that?" I asked, motioning to what she was doing. She looked down, frowning again.

"Mr. Banner decided that we're to do blood typing today, due to the fact that the Red Cross is having a blood drive tomorrow," Elisha explained. I grimaced.

"How fun," I said sarcastically.

"Yeah," she said, just as sarcastic. "And it really doesn't help the fact that my partner ended up overdoing the jab, and messed up just enough that I was bleeding pretty well."

"No, I supposed that it doesn't," I said, then said bye to her so that she would be able to get to her next class. As she left, I turned to Angela, who didn't look too thrilled in what we'd be doing in this class.

"You know, I think I'll ditch for this class," I said. "In fact, I think I'll be gone for the rest of the day, just so Mr. Banner doesn't discover that I purposely skipped his class. Want to come with?"

While Angela hadn't look all that comfortable knowing what we'd be doing, she looked even more uncomfortable at the idea of ditching straight up, for herself. I could see that she didn't really question why I wanted to ditch, though I couldn't tell if she knew I wasn't comfortable about blood, or if she suspected that it had something to do with what I was. I wasn't about to explain my reasons for not wanting to be there, though.

"I think I'll stick it out for the rest of the day," she said.

"Alright. Do you want me to come get you when school lets out?" I asked her. She nodded before continuing on her way. I walked off in a different direction, heading for my truck, glad for the fact that the school was the way it was, for I had no need to actually go through the office to leave due to the lack of fences to keep students from doing what I was about to. I thought about pulling out and going somewhere, but, with the town being so small and there being nothing to do around it, I realized that actually skipping for the rest of the day wouldn't actually be worth doing.

I ended up looking through more of the selection of books at the bookstores on my phone, realizing that that had a way to have book held by customers so that they could just walk in and pay if in a hurry. While I doubted that all the books on the websites were actually at the store, as well as doubting that all the books at the store were on the sites, I still decided to hold a few of the books, mentally keeping track of the price – not that it would be any problem.

Once I was done with that, I ended up playing my I-pod quietly while waiting for school to end, not at all bored as I begun to tackle what homework I had. In fact, I'd just finished when school ended, and I saw Angela heading towards me, spotting where I was immediately. The scent of rust and salt that had probably followed her after Biology was gone by the time she hopped in, making me glad to know that I wouldn't have to deal with the smell.

"Lauren tried to convince me to tell you that you didn't need to come with tomorrow," she said as she got in. "I have the feeling that she suspects that I'm the only reason why you decided to come."

"Not really," I said. "While I am going to help you find something, I was already thinking about going there myself, and, even if you hadn't asked me to come, I would have asked to go anyway."

"Really?" she said. "Why?"

"Feel like getting out of town for a bit," I said. "Though now, it's to go to these two book stores there. So, just so you know, I'll probably end up breaking off from you three at some point, though I promise not to do so until you find something."

"I'll probably want to go with you," she warned. "I know how Lauren and Jessica can be when it comes to shopping. Not only will they take for forever, but Lauren will probably repeatedly bug about whether I really should go with a dress I chose unless it's something that she's chosen for me."

"Let me guess, what she chooses actually isn't something you would have actually chosen for yourself, and not only makes you uncomfortable, but also doesn't actually look good on you," I said. She winced a my words, but nodded.

"I tend to realize that last bit a little late, though, especially since Jessica, who usually comes with, never says anything against what Lauren says and I'm left with just the one opinion," Angela said, and I could that she was hated that fact, because she truly wanted an honest opinion, not one fueled by jealousy riddled girls. I was a little disappointed to know that she tended to be easily swayed by another's opinion, but I also knew that, sometimes, another's opinion on a dress was needed – I'd needed the same thing quite a few times, after all. Only difference between us, it seemed, was the fact that I could truly trust those whom I got my opinion from – she couldn't.

I was kind of glad to know that she was willing to trust my opinion.

"Well then, I'll make sure you're not steered wrongly," I said, and we laughed for a bit after I said that.

It was sunny again the next day, a fact that I noted with another frown. It didn't help that I was dead tired, not having slept well the previous night. However, I still trudged out of bed, grabbing a long sleeved shirt of purple velvet, that had two pairs of ties along the sleeves, spaced several inches apart, and another that came just under my bust. I paired it with a pair of wrist length purple gloves and dark wash jeans. My heels were purple glittered Mary Jane styled.

I felt a bit more awake after downing some coffee, and, as the prospect of leaving town started gaining strength, I looked forward to when the final bell rung for the day. Not even the fact that Lauren was coming with us was enough to down my mood, something that Angela couldn't help but comment about as we headed to the school. Of course, as the day went by, even she started feeling excited, to the point that, like me, she couldn't wait for the final bell to ring. Not even the fact that Lauren was coming with us could dampen my mood.

When the final bell rang, Angela and I headed to my truck, having already made an agreement to have Jessica pick us up from my house. Angela placed her backpack in my room, with the other things she'd brought that morning – it had been decided, after securing permission from her parents, that she could spend the night, despite it being a school night. It helped that her parents would be super busy the next day, so this made it so that she wouldn't miss school the next day.

I switched my I-pod and wallet to a purse, making sure that I had the directions to the book stores I planned on visiting, and crawled into the backseat of Jessica's car with Angela. My excitement was paramount as we actually drove out of the city limits.

Chapter Text

The drive to Port Angeles was slightly shorter than it should have been, due to the fact that Jessica drove just a bit faster than Charlie did. We arrived at three forty, giving the others plenty of time to find dresses for the dance. I was glad to have arrived as soon as we did, disliking the whiny sounding songs that Jessica had playing. While I liked to listen to a plethora of music, I could also be pretty picky – none of the songs that Jessica and Lauren enjoyed were what I'd call good music. Add in the fact that neither of the two could stop talking about boys and gossip had me putting on my ear buds and listening to my music as loud as I could stand it.

Port Angeles was a beautiful little tourist trap, much more polish and quaint than Forks. Of course, it was only the main revenues that looked like this – as we'd been passing them by, I'd noticed that the residential area wasn't quite up to the standard that the main revenues were. And it doubted the industrial areas that I could just make out within the distance from the main area of the town were up to the standard.

Jessica, knowing the town quite well, didn't waste any time in letting up gawk at the picturesque boardwalk. She drove straight to the one big department store in the town, which was a few streets away, though still in the visitor friendly face.

The dance had been billed as semiformal, and none of us were completely positive about what that meant. It didn't make me feel any better when I revealed that I'd never gone to a dance back at my old schools.

"Didn't you ever go with a boyfriend or something?" Jessica asked dubiously as we walked through the door.

"No," I said. "I really don't date."

"More like no one asked you out," Lauren muttered lowly; based on the looks on Jessica's and Angela's faces, they hadn't heard what she said like I had.

"Did anyone ever ask you out?" Jessica ask as she led us to the women's clothing area.

"Yeah. Still didn't go. I don't care for dancing – it's why I didn't ask anyone this time around," I said. I decided not to mention the fact that I had been asked by Mike, knowing that Jessica wouldn't really care for that fact. We stopped in a second of clearance racks that were laddened with dresses.

"Like you told everyone here," Angela said. She was well aware of the fact that Mike had asked me; plus, she had overheard some others talking about asking me as well, though she'd dissuaded them from doing so after informing them that I wouldn't be available.

"Well, except for Tyler," Jessica corrected her. Lauren scowled as she stalked off, clearly not wanting to waste time talking with us anymore – or rather anger with what Jessica had just said. As for me, I was just a bit stunned.

"What?" I asked, thinking I had misheard her.

"Well, Tyler's told everyone that you agreed to go to Prom with him," Jessica said casually, looking through some dresses on a rack near us.

"He was what?" I said, sounding as though I was choking. Angela gave Jessica a scowl.

"I told you it wasn't true," she said, shaking her head.

"Exactly when did he start saying this. I mean, other than friendly conversation, nothing about dances has been mentioned between us," I said.

"Well, he mentioned that you'd agreed to go with him after having to turn him down for this dance, because you'd already made irreversible plans for the one coming up," Jessica said.

"No, I never agreed to that. I despise dances. I've always made sure I had plans on the nights there was one, so I wouldn't have to deal with them. I mean, the one major attendance was required if you stayed at school during winter break, I purposely went home because I wasn't going to be dealing with it," I said, anger clear in my voice.

"So, does that mean that you're definitely not going with him?" Jessica asked, sounding unaffected by the anger I'd been showing.

"Yes, that's exactly what it means," I said.

"Well, that should make Lauren a bit warmer to you," Jessica said. "That's part of the reason why she doesn't like you all that much, you know."

I doubted it was the actual reason, but I didn't say anything. Instead, I turned to look at the dresses myself, glancing at Angela every now and then as I did so, trying to decide if it was worth having her try on. Jessica disappeared in the direction that Lauren had gone – probably to find her and look for more dresses. I knew that Angela would prefer to stay within this second, but, seeing the very limited choices, I had the feeling that we'd find something better on another rack. Still, I did grab a few dresses that I figured would look good on her.

I went over to her, looking through the rack that she was, and finding nothing that I could see her actually wearing – in fact, I noted that nothing on the rack were something I'd suggest to anyone.

"Come on," I said. "Let's go look at some of the other dresses."

She frowned but nodded, putting down a hideously bright yellow dress back on the rack before following me. We made our way to where Lauren and Jessica were at, going through any racks that held some dresses on our way. I threw some more choices over my arm before turning to her.

"Here," I said, handing her several of the dresses I'd grabbed, while keeping some in my arms, being that they were for myself. "Try these ones on."

"Okay," she said, taking them and the two she'd found herself, into the dressing rooms. Lauren and Jessica followed, carrying their own piles.

Angela tried on each dress she had, finally deciding on a navy dress that had a runched look to it, as well as cascading ringlet sleeves. The dress went an inch past mid-thigh on her, showing off her legs. I smiled when she finally decided that it was the one she wanted – it had been one of the ones that I'd picked for her. She went back into the dressing room to change just as Jessica came back out, fully dressed.

"I found the one I want," she said, motioning to a nude and blue dress in her hands. Lauren seemed to have chosen which dress she wanted as well, for, when she came out, she only carried one of the choices she'd brought in with her.

"Angela not find her dress yet?" she said snidely, only to see Angela come out with a dress hanging on her arm. I saw her face pinch in disbelief and slight jealousy when she saw which one Angela had decided on. Somehow, I had the feeling that she knew that Angela would look good in it, because she started to make subtle hints to Angela that the dress would be horrible. As it was, since Angela was somewhat expecting this, and trusted my judgment, she let the comments slide right away, walking towards the shoe section of the store with Jessica. I made a small stop to grab a dress in the same style as Angela's for myself – to go with the ones I'd already grabbed for myself – before following the group myself.

We checked out fifteen minutes later, a lot sooner than we were all expecting to have done. While we had plans for dinner, it wasn't anywhere near time for that, nor were any of us all that hungry yet. Plus, none of us really wanted to head back to Forks anytime soon. It was deciding what to do that we ended up running into a dilemma. Jessica and Lauren wanted to go walk along the bay boardwalk. I – and Angela – however, having already decided on what to do if there was time, wanted to go check out the bookstores, something that neither Lauren nor Jessica could understand, not being big fans of books.

It only took a few moments to get the two – or one, really, since it was only Jessica not wanting us to separate – to be convinced to just let us go, provided that we arrived in time to eat. Since I doubted we'd take that long, especially since the sun was beginning to be low in the sky, I had no problem agreeing to that. I made sure that Angela had her receipt for her dress, making sure mine was tucked into my purse, before we left – I didn't want to chance Lauren being so much of a bitch that she'd take advantage of our absence to return Angela's dress for something else.

We went to the nearest bookstore, which was the one that sold older editions of the books. On our way there, I let my mind drift, thinking about the one person who hadn't crossed my mind since waking up. As I was almost expecting, disappointment rose up in me as I wished that it hadn't been sunny today. This point was driven more to hope when I saw a silver Volvo. Stupid inconveniencing vampire I thought to myself upon seeing it. Of course, as we got closer, and my eyes saw the plate, I couldn't help but become a bit suspicious. I shook it off, however, as we arrived at the first bookstore I planned on going to.

While Angela looked around at he choices, I went up to the counter, giving my name to the proprietor so I could pick up my order. On the way to the counter, I grabbed several more books. Once I'd paid for my order, I waited to see if Angela would get anything, and, when she didn't, we headed to the next bookstore.

It was quite a bit away, and our shadows began to lengthen as the sun got lower in the sky. Still, there was enough sun left by the time we arrived. This time, I didn't go straight to the counter, checking out the other books that where there instead. I was intrigued when I saw a book about Quileute legends, grabbing it along with several others. It wasn't until I looked at my watch, seeing that it was getting a bit later than expected, that I went to the counter, paying for the books in my hands along with the order I'd placed. Angela decided to get a few books herself this time, and, when we finally let, there was hardly any sun left.

I wasn't too worried about it, though, not until I got a bad feeling. I felt eyes on us, which I considered stranger – the bookstore wasn't in the tourist friendly part of town, in fact, it was in a pretty empty part of town. We were pretty much surrounded by brick walls sported boarded up doors and windows. Perhaps it was this fact that had my nerves on edge. However, ahead of us, I suddenly heard loud, rambunctious laughter. I saw Angela start from the corner of my eye as I looked up, seeing a group of four men walking our way, making noise. I transferred my bags to one hand to free up a hand to grab Angela's arm, pulling her closer to me as I crossed the street, putting more distance between us two and the four. I expected them to ignore the two of us, so focused as they were on each other, but my instincts were saying something different.

"Hey,there!" one of them called as they hit the point where they would have passed us had we been on the same side. I didn't say anything; neither did Angela. Instead, I resolutely ignored them while picking up the pace slightly, enough to get us away from them much more quickly. I accidentally missed turning at the corner I was supposed to in my hurry, though, especially since I was on the wrong side of the street, but I was sure that I could find my way to where I needed. At the moment, I was more concerned with getting as much distance between us and the males as I could.

I turned the next corner we came upon, slowing down once I had done so. That was when I saw that I had gone the wrong way. I but my lip, my ears straining to listen around us. Hearing nothing at first, I had us begin to walk forward. I made sure to keep listening, my senses still on alert. That was why I wasn't all that surprised to pick up a set of footsteps from behind us. I saw Angela look behind us, eyes widening as I also took a look back. Two of the men that we'd seen were now following us, at a distance. I turned forward, biting my lip wondering where the other two were. I wasn't stupid enough to think that they weren't somewhere else.

The guys behind us didn't make any moves to come closer; in fact, as I turned another corner, I heard them fall further back. Angela let out a breath of relief upon hearing the same thing, but I wasn't going to get my hopes up. I didn't think that they had been hoping to just scare us – I had the feeling that they had wanted something else, plus there was the mystery of where their other friends had gone. Thankfully, upon turning yet another corner, we could see a more lit area a few more blocks ahead of us, coming closer to the more busy part of the street. It was as we were about halfway there that we stopped.

Just ahead, next to a the second of the two final buildings that we needed to go past, were the two missing members of the party of four. Behind us, the other two had sped up a bit. It became clear what it was that they were doing – we were being herded. I looked over Angela, who had gone pale upon reaching the same conclusion as I had. Then, my eyes darting around, I grabbed her arm once again, and pulled her after me, ducking around a different corner, pulling us through the dark walkway and emerging on a different street.

"Bella?" Angela asked, hushed. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure that they can't surround us," I whispered, a plan forming in my mind as I looked behind us. I could see the two that had been following us still doing so. Pulling Angela to the next corner, I went the opposite way than I had before, beginning to lead them on a wild chase. I knew that I wouldn't be able to do this forever, but I wasn't about to let them be in a position to split up. Upon turning another corner, I paused, picking up Angela fairly easily, and and having her wrap her arms around my neck and legs around my waist.

"Hold on," I whispered, picking up my pace until I was running, much faster than a normal human should. In my mind, I was rather thankful for the fact that I was able to even do this. I ran until I found a dead in. It was next to another bay area of the town, this one clearly not meant for tourist to see. Crossing the parking lot near it, I set Angela down next to the fenced area leading to the piers where several boats were moored.

I looked around as I placed the bags down, about to tell her to stay back while I took care of the men when I remembered the Volvo I'd been suspicious about earlier. A new idea came to my mind, cementing when I spied a street sign not to far from us.

"Angela," I said hurriedly, my straining ears hearing the soft thuds of running foot steps coming closer. "Listen to me very carefully. See that street sign? I want you to repeatedly scream, in your mind, what it says, alright?"

"Why?" she asked.

"Just trust me," I told her, hearing several sets of heavy foot falls. I turned, stripping off one of my gloves, as the group of men found us coming from three different streets – clearly, after I'd started running, they'd done whatever they could to lesson our chances of escaping unharmed.

"Well, looky here, boys," one of the guys said. He was tall, muscular built with dark hair and the beginnings of a beard growing on his tanned face, and, based on the way the others stood around him, was the leader of this little group. I would most likely have to take him out first, having the feeling that the other three would scatter without him, especially when they realized that I wasn't an ordinary human girl. I took a quick glance at the other three. A greasy blond with a zit-covered face and pot belly; another blond with gelled back hair, a tan, and wiry muscles; the third, red haired that was receding and wearing a crumpled business suit, as if he'd gone straight to the bar instead home.

"Hey, sugar," the tanned blond said, eyeballing my body lustfully, a fact shared by the others as well. Okay, maybe they wouldn't be scattering if their leader was down. I was sure that I would be able to hold them off, especially if what I had Angela doing panned out.

"Go away," I said lowly, dropping the glove I'd stripped off. The four laughed.

"Now, don't be like that," the guy I suspected to be the leader said, raucous laughter beginning again. I glared at them, much to their surprise, their laughter dropping as they realized that I wasn't cowering as they'd hoped. Anger flashed across the leader's face; he wasn't happy that I wasn't playing his little game properly. Obviously, I was ruining the mood. However, just as quickly as it had come, the anger disappeared, leaving him with his pleasant features once again.

He stepped forward, figuring that I'd loose my bravery once he got closer. It was would turn out to be his biggest mistake, and I brought my ungloved hand out from behind my back in a flash, connecting to the bare skin on his face. He froze as I soundlessly gasped, vein-like rises flowing towards my hand, his eyes widening as his body stiffened. I started shaking as his memories, starting from when he he saw me flash my hand out and going backwards from their, flashed through my mind, anger beginning to fuel me as they played in front of my eyes.

I didn't let him go until I couldn't stand the memories I was seeing, wrenching my hand from him, causing him to drop like stone, completely unconscious and unlikely to awaken again – he'd live, though, as I hadn't taken everything. I looked at the other three, who were standing where he'd left them, shocked and horrified to see what I'd done to their leader. However, as they glanced at me, and then looked at Angela behind me, I could see that they weren't about to let us go – or, rather, it was unlikely that they'd let her go.

I saw the tanned blond look at the other two, making a small motion at them before walking towards me, pulling out a switchblade as he did so. I almost felt insulted – did he really thing that would help him? Apparently, he did, for he tried to attack me with it. I grabbed the hand he held it in with my gloved one – I had no desire to see his memories, on top of the ones that I'd already saw. Squeezing with just a bit of strength, I easily broke bones in his hand, much to his surprise.

I saw movement from behind him; the other two had begun to move towards Angela, taking advantage of my distraction. I didn't hesitate, bringing up my leg and sharply kicking tanned blond's chin with a high kick – his head snapped back quickly, too quickly, a squirt of blood fly up from his mouth as the bones in his jaw and neck snapped loudly. I let him drop, snatching the knife from the air as it slipped from his limp hand. I quickly flung it at the balding business man, where it found it's mark just above his knee. I watched him drop to the ground in pain before turning to the zit faced one, whose face had drained of all color upon seeing just how easily I had downed the other three.

He swallowed harshly, looked at me with fear in his eyes, before his gaze looked at Angela once again, as if he was calculating if it was worth trying to go for her. I didn't give him a chance to even try, walking straight to him and backhanding him across the area, straight into a light post, which his legs hit harshly. The action of his legs hitting the light post was illuminated by a set of headlights that had suddenly appeared, belonging to a silver Volvo that was speeding towards our direction, and, for the first time since I'd seen the men, all tension left my body.

I hurried over to Angela, stopping for a moment to pick up the glove I'd dropped so that I could replace it. I noticed that she was no longer looking at the street sign as I had instructed – instead, her eyes were wide as they took in the scene I'd left. Three unconscious men and one injured that was pitifully crawling away from the scene, a slight trail of blood being left in his wake.

"You okay?" I asked. She nodded faintly, looking as though she was barely holding up. I extended my mental shield over her as I heard the door of the car open.

"Bella, Angela," the male voice of the car owner said, and I turned for a moment to glance at him, seeing him take in the scene around us as well.

"Edward," I said, bending to grab the bags I'd set down. I made sure to grab the ones that Angela had dropped as well, not wanting any hints that we'd been there. The two guys who were still alive and able to awaken may be able to describe us, but I doubted it would do any good once their DNA was matched to those of unsolved cases. They'd most likely realize that the results of their injuries were more than deserved.

I placed a hand around Angela's arm, pulling her over to the Volvo, and pushing her into the back seat with the bags before getting in myself. Edward followed moments later, a puzzled expression on his face as he took in my too calm expression. Still, he backed up and turned the car around, heading towards the public area of the town.

Now's not the time to ask questions, Edward I mentally told him, before he cold open his mouth. He glanced over at me, clearly not liking that he wasn't allowed to as anything, but didn't say anything. Just head to La Bella Italia. We were supposed to meet Jessica and Lauren there, and we're probably very late. I sighed, another thought occurring to me. They've probably already eaten, too, which means that we'll be heading straight back to my house after that... Oh, that car ride is not going to be pleasant.

Edward pulled up to La Bella Italia, right as I saw the backs of Lauren and Jessica walking away from the steps leading to the door. Pushing open the door, I called to them, gaining their attention. They turned, Jessica relieved and Lauren mad, upon hearing my voice. The expressions fell from their faces as surprise took over to seeing who was with me as Edward and Angela – looking more composed, though I doubted that she was actually reflecting what was going on through her head – stepped up behind me.

"Hey, guys," I said. "Sorry about losing track of the time. We just ran into Edward, and I started talking."

"Oh, it's no problem," Jessica said, while Lauren sneered at at me; I got the feeling that she not only didn't believe what I'd just said, but that she wasn't happy to know that Edward had been willing to 'secretly meet with me', as she was probably thinking as what had happened. I didn't care if she thought that, though, as anyone with an ounce or brains would realize that, if I was trying to set up a secret date with him, I would've tried to talk Angela out of coming with me.

"I hope you don't mind if I join you guys," Edward said in a silken, irresistible voice. I could see, from the staggered expressions on their faces, that this was a side of him they'd never seem.

"Sure," Lauren said, a new look crossing her face as she eyed Edward like he was her favorite meal.

"Actually, we already ate while we were waiting," Jessica said, slightly more coherent than Lauren.

"Well, I'm kind of hungry," I said, frowning lightly.

"So am I," Angela said.

"Do you two mind if I drive Bella and Angela home tonight? That way, you won't have to wait while they eat," Edward offered.

"Um, no problem, I guess..." Jessica said slowly, biting her lip as she tried to figure out whether I minded the plan or not.

"That's all right with me," I said. "Let me just go get mine and Angela's things from Jessica's car."

"Okay," Edward said. Angela just stood there, letting the two of us decide on what was going to happen and not arguing. Perhaps it was because her emotions were on edge at the moment; maybe it was because she knew that the two would try and grill her about what actually happened, and she didn't want to think about what had almost happened. Goodness knew what it was that she actually saw me do – I had no idea at what point she'd stopped doing what I'd said and begun watching me. I didn't know what of it that she even saw; that was something that I'd have to find out.

I followed the two over to Jess's car, grabbing the bags from the trunk and said bye to Jess as I turned and walked back over to Edward. He took the bags from me and placed them in the car while Angela and I walked up the steps through the front door of the restaurant.

It wasn't very crowded – it was the off-season in Port Angeles, so there were only a few others dining at the moment. The décor of the place was pretty tasteful, all full of soft colors and dark lacquered wood tables. The main dining area was set up in three different sections, with a slight cloud of smoke floating over the section the nearest to a set of doors that led to an outside pavilion. Clearly, that was the smoking area.

The host for tonight was female, so I completely understood the look she gave Edward once he arrived and ushered us in front of her. She glanced at both Angela and I dismissively, as if judging us and deciding that neither of us were with him as she greeted him a little bit more warmly than necessary. I hid a scowl, looking her over instead. She was several inches taller than me, closer to Edward's height, with unnaturally blonde hair in need of a touch up – I could see the dull brown near her roots.

"A table for three?" Edward asked, his voice alluring, whether he was aiming for it or not. Her eyes flickered to the two of us again, and I took Edward's hand with my own in a rather bold move, entangling my gloved fingers with his cold ones. If he was surprised at the motion, he didn't act like it; he simply closed his fingers over mine in a gentle hold.

"Please make the table a private one," I said. "We don't want any unnecessary interruptions."

Her eyes widened, and I almost laughed, able to tell what it was that she was obviously thinking. As it was, I did roll my eyes, putting my other hand on Angela's shoulder and leaning in to say something to her seeing that she was confused by my words as well.

"It's so that we can talk without worrying about someone undesirable overhearing us," I whispered to her, as the hostess shook off her shock.

"This way," she said, leading us past the first section. I saw her glancing at one of the tables big enough for a family of four to sit at as we passed it; clearly, she wanted to seat us there. However, since it had already been aired, she knew that she could, not unless she wished for us to have a cause to speak to her boss. Instead, she led us around a partition to a small ring of booths, all empty.

"How's this?" she asked, motioning to the first booth, right behind the partition.

"We'd like that one, actually," I said, pointing to a corner one, where there would be no way she could spy on us without being seen. She frowned, glaring at me, making it clear that she had been thinking about doing something like that. I ignored her, though, walking over to the booth I'd chosen with Angela and Edward following. The hostess reluctantly followed as I let Angela slide in first before sitting down myself at one end, leaving Edward to take the opposite end.

"Thank you," Edward said, flashing the hostess a gleaming smile, dazing her momentarily as she set the menu's down.

"Um," she said, shaking her head, blinking, "your server will be right out." She walked away unsteadily, and I laughed lightly once she'd disappeared.

"That wasn't very nice of you, Edward," I said, still laughing.

"It wasn't all that nice of you to do what you did," he said, though his eyes showed that he was amused over the way I'd taken control. I shrugged.

"At least I didn't dazzle her," I said. "And even you have to admit, she wasn't planning on putting us anywhere where we could speak without worrying about being overheard. Admit it, she was thinking about how she just had to keep an eye on you."

He looked confused at my words as I passed a menu to Angela and took one for myself. However, in his confusion, I could see that there was also a guarded look.

"I dazzle people?" he said.

"What did you think you did?" I asked. He didn't answer, and I looked over at Angela to see how she was fairing. She looked a bit better than she had outside, looking over the menu in her hand. I wouldn't lie; I was bit amazed at how she was handling what had almost happened and what she'd seen – even if she hadn't seen what I'd done, the aftermath wasn't exactly pretty to look at either. When she looked at me, I saw that she wasn't freaked out at all, and was about to ask her about it when I heard footsteps heading our way.

My head spun to see a server walking towards us, her face expectant; clearly the hostess had dished about Edward. This new girl didn't look the least bit disappointed as her eyes raked Edward. She flipped of strand of short black hair behind one ear and smiled with unnecessary warmth; I also noticed that she ignored Angela and eye resolutely.

"Hello, my name is Amber, and I'll be your server tonight," she said, introducing herself to Edward and Edward only. I caught the slight emphasis on 'your' when she spoke. "What would you like to drink?"

Edward pointedly looked at me, and I looked over to Angela.

"Um, root beer," she said, making it sound a bit like a question.

"Two root beers," I told the waitress. She ignored me.

"Three root beers," Edward said to her, still looking at me. I saw her write something down.

"I'll be right back with that," she told him, another unnaturally warm smile on her face. His eyes didn't even flicker to her as she left.

"Amber better learn some manners when she comes back," I said. "It's rather rude of her to ignore a customer – I wonder what her boss would think if they knew that she was doing that."

"You plan on causing trouble for her?" he asked.

"Not if she get's some manners," I said, shrugging. "It won't bother me if she loses her job because she was hoping to score with you."

I bit my lip after that, slightly startled to hear the slight jealousy in my voice at the idea of that happening. Thankfully, Angela then spoke, saving me from whatever Edward might have to say.

"So, you're the mind reader that Bella mentioned was at the school," Angela said. Edward turned to her, a look of shock on his face that had me wanting to laugh. I couldn't help but like the blunt way she had said that, especially when faced with Edward's expression. As it was, I could see that he wanted to deny her words, but I spoke before he could.

"Yes, he is," I said.

"Well, I guess that explain why you never dated anyone at the school," she said. I could tell that her calm acceptance staggered him, since I had the feeling that he hadn't realized that his mind reading could be attributed to something other than him being a vampire; in fact, I had the feeling that he was just waiting for her to mention something about being that next, but she simply began looking through her menu, probably to find something to eat. I did the same, waiting for Edward to shake off his shock.

Since it didn't take me long to find what I wanted to eat, I was able to watch as her exact words – as well as mine – made their way through his brain completely, for he turned to me then.

"I've known that you were a mind reader from the first day of school," I told him, before he could do anything to deny what I was saying, or ask me how I'd found out. I would have continued, but the server started heading back to us, and I looked over at her as she placed all three cokes in front of Edward, not bothering to give the individual cups to the other two people at the table.

"Are you ready to order anything?" she asked Edward, once again ignoring Angela and I. Edward, however, didn't answer her, looking pointedly at me.

"Bella? Angela? Have you decided yet?" he asked us, forcing the unwilling server to turn in our directions as well. She let a scowl cross her face as we ordered, having both decided on the four cheese ravioli with sauce, which she wrote down quickly before turning to Edward, the scowl gone.

"And can I get anything for you?" she asked him, suggestion dripping from her words, as she leaned forward an inch, trying to draw his attention down her shirt, which had been unbuttoned at the top, allowing a hint of cleavage to show to anyone who may want to see. Edward didn't even look at her as he said no, and she pouted and stalked away, clearly unsatisfied. I wondered exactly how many others had taken the invitation she'd offered – from the way she was acting, I had the feeling that Edward was the first not to take advantage of looking over her bared skin.

"How did you find out?" Edward asked me, once she was gone. He spoke low enough that only those at the table could hear. I snorted at him.

"You actually thought that you hid it?" I stated, then shook his head. "The mental shield around my mind can feel attacks to it. I could feel it every time you tried to enter my mind. And I know that it was you, because you'd also react every time I let the down."

He sighed.

"And you told Angela?" he said.

"Only to explain why I was spreading my shield out over her," I said. "I ended up having to tell her after mentioning that I'd been shielding her since the accident when I explained everything else to her."

"Everything else?" he asked. I sighed. It was clear that, by the tone of his voice, he was thinking about how I'd managed to save Angela and I from both the van, and those men – obviously, he had seen, through Angela's mind, what I'd done. At least, I suspected it.

"Yeah," I said. I didn't say much more, though, making it clear that the ball would be in his court. And he'd have to ask if he wanted to know – my shield was still around Angela's mind, so he couldn't get his answers from her if he tried to.

I could see that all of this had occurred to him, and he seemed to understand that what his only choices were. His eyes glanced around quickly, and he looked at me.

"Bella, what was that that you did to the one..." he trailed off, not quite sure what to call the guy.

"To the one bastard?" I suggested helpfully, and he nodded. Another sigh came from me, before I began explaining my unique primary ability, and how it worked. He looked fascinated upon hearing it, especially when I mentioned that the ability allowed me to copy those of others. I could see, in his eyes, that he was beginning to put together the pieces of just how I'd managed to stop Tyler's van, and cause him to stumble and not hurt myself when I'd hit him. Of course, I doubted he'd actually mention the last bit out loud, since it was clear that he was able to understand the fact that I'd painted him as another mutant like myself.

I could tell that he didn't realize that I'd done so because of the fact that Angela wasn't supposed to know about that. As far as he knew, I didn't have a clue on what he actually was, which relieved him.

"Bella?" Angela asked, once I'd finished telling Edward everything. I looked over to her, seeing an anxious expression upon her face.

"Yes?" I asked.

"What did you see?" she asked me, slightly haltingly. "What was it that had you so...angry back there?"

I froze, not having expected the question. A glance at Edward showed that he was just as curious for the answer.

"I pretty much saw all of his most treasured memories," I said, the disgust in my voice making it clear what I thought about them. "And lets just say... We wouldn't have been any of their first victims. In fact, I'm sure that, once the police find them, they won't be seen in society ever again." Especially the two.

"But what if they get away from there?" Angela asked.

"The one I touched most likely won't ever wake up, the second one I went up against, the one who originally had the knife, he's...well, when I kicked him, I put way to much force in it. It snapped his neck; he's dead. The third one, the one I threw the knife at, with the way the knife went through his leg... even if he manages to move far away enough, he's going to leave a trail of blood leading to wherever he stops at, as the knife wound it too deep to heal alone . As for the last one, he's most likely in shock right now; the angle at which he hit the pole not only shattered the bones of his hips and thighs, but the fall to the ground probably cracked a few others," I told her. Her eyes widened upon my admittance that I'd killed at least one of them, but she didn't appear too freaked out over it – I suspected that, knowing what it was that they would have most likely done to us, was what was helping keep her from freaking out over what I had done to them.

Amber walked up then, giving Angela and I our plates before turning to look back at Edward, smiling invitingly at him once again.

"Are you sure that you don't want anything?" she asked him, her voice heavy with suggestion upon the last word.

"No, thanks," he said, his eyes still on me as he all but ignored her. She glared at me upon realizing that he wasn't paying her any attention, the stomped away like a spoiled princess not getting her way.

"I really don't think that she liked your answer very much," I stated, picking up my fork to begin eating.

"She doesn't," Edward answered automatically. I rolled my eyes as I took a bite, glancing out from the corner of my eye to make sure that Angela was still doing all right. Thankfully, she was, though I noticed that she had attacked her soda without me realizing it, the empty glass pushed towards the center of the table. She was also shivering from the cold that the coke had caused.

"Here," I said to her, looking around for her sweater. I was confused when I didn't find it, until I remembered that I hadn't grabbed it. Once I realized that, I pulled off my own sweater, handing it over to her. She took it and pulled it on, her shivers stopping as the warmth from my body helped heat up her own. I was the one shivering now; the restaurant was a bit on the chilly side, which I wasn't expecting.

"Here," Edward said, handing me his own jacket, which I took. It was cold, as though he hadn't just been wearing it, and I shivered for a few moments until my body heat got rid of the chill within it. I didn't really pay attention to that, though, my eyes roving over Edward instead. I'd never really paid attention to what he wore before, more interested in his face than clothes. I rectified the fact now, though, taking in the light tan turtle neck shirt that silently emphasized his slight muscular form. The shirt, though plain, looked to be of designer origin, as did the beige jacket I wore. It looked good on him, though I wondered why he wore such a light color.

"Bella," Edward said, and I looked up to his face, holding back a blush at the fact that he might have caught me. "How come you had Angela do what she did while you faced those monsters?"

"You mean, why did I have her screaming out where we were in her mind?" I clarified.

"Yeah," he said, nodding.

"I thought I saw your car earlier, while we were on our way to the first bookstore," I said, shrugging. "The license plate, from what I could see, looked the same, anyway. And, since I knew that you were a mind reader, I hoped that you were not only still around, but that you're range was pretty large. I'd also hoped that you would pay attention if you caught the sound of someone screaming in their minds. I know that it's probably something that isn't a usual thing, and it would make me curious if I had your ability."

I shrugged, taking another bite of my food.

"So that's why you were looking at he Volvo the way you were," Angela said. I nodded my head. "It didn't even occur to me to think that it might be Edward. I mean, considering what a tourist trap Port Angeles is, I just assumed that it belong to either a local or someone from out of town or state."

"It wasn't like I said anything," I said, shrugging. "Truthfully, the only reason why you now know that it's Edward who's the mind reading is because there really isn't any way to hide it anymore."

"I know," Angela said. "I remember what you said when you first mentioned that there was a mind reader at the school."

"What did you say?" Edward asked.

"I told her that I wouldn't tell her who it was," I said to him. "It wasn't my place to do so. However, because I'd rather had not have you asking about my abilities, I would shield her mind so that you couldn't."

"Oh," he said, and it was silent once again. It stayed that way up until Angela and I had finished our food – Edward, not wanting to waste the glass of Coke he'd gotten, gave it to Angela once he not only noticed her empty one, but the fact that our server was ignoring the fact that it was there. The look I gave Edward when he did that told him that he had better hope the girl didn't piss me off anymore.

Don't bother tipping her, as she had not earned it I sent to him as he waved her over.

"Check, please?" he asked, before she could continue her 'offers' to get him anything he wanted.

"Here you go," she stated, handing him the receipt book over placing it onto the table – I got the feeling that she'd written down her number on the receipt, and wanted to make sure he got it. She was disappointed one again as he took a card from his wallet and placed it in the book, handing it back to her without looking at it. She growled quietly before stalking away, this time in a way that suggested that she was giving up on trying to get him to notice her.

"Okay, I have to know. What was she thinking then?" I asked him.

"She's decided that I have to be gay to have not only been ignoring her, but also because I didn't bother taking her offer of her phone number," he stated. I rolled my eyes.

"And the fact that you're here with two girls..." I stated.

"Oh, she's already decided that there's no way I'm going out with either of you two," he said. "Not only because of the way we have been interacting with each other, but also because of the fact that she can't see anyone going out with either of you two, or choosing either of you over her."

"So, she's a bitch with a complex stating that there no way any man she find worth herself would chose someone other than her," I said.

"Pretty much," he said. "Not that I can understand it. The both of you are a lot more beautiful than she is."

"Thank you," Angela stated, while I blushed, not expecting the compliment. I could see it in his eyes that, while he hadn't been lying about Angela being beautiful, he believed that I was even more so that she was. I was glad he was kind enough not to actually say that out loud.

"So, I guess it's time to head home," I stated, as Amber came back out, handing Edward the check again so that he could sign the receipt and then leaving, all without any attempt at flirting as she'd done before.

"Yeah," he stated. We all stood up, heading to his car, where I got into the front seat while Angela got into the back.

"Just head to my house," I told him. "Angela sleeping over at my house."

"Will do," he stated, and we were off.

Chapter Text

The drive back to Forks was much faster than Jessica had driven to Port Angeles. The black forests surrounding the roads look like a wide, impenetrable wall of black steel, and my body was tense as I fought not to look at the speedometer, knowing that I'd freak if I did. Instead, while the calming music of Claire de Lune played through the car, my mind pretty much wondered, going over what had been spoken about in the restaurant. I was kind of glad to know that he didn't freak out over knowing about me being a mutant, nor did he freak out at learning that Angela knew about his talent.

Still, I couldn't help but wonder what he'd do if he knew that I knew he wasn't a mutant. The idea played in my head, my mind repeatedly reminding me that I really didn't have to hide that fact from him. By law, I was allowed to know it. Of course, I couldn't really blurt any of this out with Angela in the front seat, and I wasn't all that comfortable with telling him through my mind. Besides, if I did do that, he might lose control of the car, and I had no desire to discover what hitting the impenetrable wall of black steel that trees appeared like would be like. I figured that I would have to figure out a way to tell him sometime soon, preferably without the rest of his family hearing – I didn't think any of them would be happy to hear what I had to say, and besides, I'd wanted him to know first.

And, at this point, truthfully, I didn't want any secrets between us, especially one that was so one sided, and pointless to keep from him.

As I was trying to figure out what my plans would be, flashing red and blue lights caught my attention, and I looked up to see that we were coming close to passing by the police station. My eyes furrowed as I took in the flashing lights. It was rather busy at the moment, more busy that I'd ever seen the the station being. Edward slowed down as we came near to the turn off into the parking lot as if having realized that speeding by a police station, especially one so busy, wasn't the best idea. If he had sped by here, he'd be the first mind reader I knew to get a ticket.

"Whoa. What is going on?" I questioned, sitting up as I looked over everything that was going on, seeing what had to be almost every cop cruiser in the Forks Police Force and an ambulance, among a few other cars. I was given more time to look at the busy parking lot as Edward slowed down more when a cop vehicle pulled out, so he didn't rear end the cruiser. That was when I saw Charlie's cruiser.

"My dad's still here," I said, my surprise obvious, though, with how busy it was, there really wasn't any need for it. Once I'd mentioned the fact that Charlie was still here, Edward automatically slowed some more, pulling into the parking lot without the need for me to ask him to do so. From the corner of my eye, I saw Angela lean forward, confused at all the activity.

"Something big has to have happened," she mentioned. "I wonder what it is."

"I intend to find out," I said, as I saw Edward seem to focus for a moment on a car at the end of the row in front of the station.

"That's my father's car at the end," Edward stated as he pulled into the empty spot right in front of the station. "What's he doing here?"

We all three got out of the car, just as Carlisle Cullen walked out of the building.

"Carlisle, what's going on?" Edward asked as he let the door of his car shut behind him. He looked up to see the three of us, his face not showing a hint of confusion at eh presence of Angela and I, like I would have expected. Unless he was just hiding it from us. Instead of saying anything about the two of us having been in Edward's car, he sighed instead.

"Waylon Forge was found in a boat out near his place," he stated, his voice low and tired sounding. "I just examined the body."

"He's dead?" I stated. I didn't know Waylon all that well, having only really met him the one time, at the lodge where Charlie had introduced me to some of his friends in town at. Carlisle nodded his head. "How?" I asked.

"Animal attack," Carlisle said, and I would have taken it seriously had he not done it so quickly, as if it was an answer he was used to saying. Besides, I couldn't see how an animal could attack Waylon if he was in his boat – of course, since I didn't really know how most animals acted, I couldn't really say this for sure. The glance Carlisle gave to Edward, though, was a bit of a clue to the fact that he wasn't being entirely truthful.

Suddenly, I remembered something – Charlie had gone to Mason County several days ago, having warned me that he'd be late because he'd be helping the police there. When I had asked why, he had mentioned that a security guard had been killed by some kind of animal. I hadn't really thought much about it, figuring that, being as we were in Forks, it would be something common. I couldn't help but wonder, though, if I was wrong to think that.

An animal attack, especially out here, would be a perfect cover for a vampire attack, though it would also cause problems as well.

"Was it the same one that got that security guard down in Mason?" I asked.

"Most likely," Carlisle stated; another glance to Edward told me tat it was more than likely.

"Well, it's getting closer to town, then," I stated.

"Bella," Carlisle said, probably before I could ask another question, "you should go inside. Waylon was your father's friend."

I got what he was saying between the lines – Charlie was most likely devastated.

"Okay," I stated, making a small stop to grab the Angela's and my things from Edward's car – a minor thing, as I was sure he wouldn't really mind us leaving it in there, but I didn't want to impose on him with that. Carrying my bags, I walked between Edward and Carlisle, right behind Angela. As I went up the steps to the door, I turned back for a moment.

"I'll see you later," I said to Edward, before turning back and finishing the walk up to the door. A small glance back showed Edward heading back to the driver's side of his car. Angela took a seat in the lobby, agreeing to watch our things, while I got permission from the woman at the counter to head to the back. I could see Charlie at his desk, just staring at his computer screen. I walked over to him, skirting around the edge of the desk until I stood behind him. He didn't seem to notice that I was there, and I saw that he was looking at a picture of him and Waylon together, in fishing gear.

"Hey," I stated, causing him to jump. I leaned down, until I was more level with him.

"Hey," he stated, his eyes dull and face expressionless, grief pouring off of him in poignant waves. He turned to stare back at the picture.

"Dad," I started, "I'm really sorry."

He glanced at me once again, then looked back at the picture. He was silent for a few moments, then spoke.

"I've known him going on thirty years," he told me.

I didn't quite know what to say about that, knowing that there really wasn't any words that could be said. Instead, I placed my gloved hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly. He was still for a moment, then brought his hand up, patting mine and then lightly grabbing it. He held it for a few moments, then, as if to cover up for his emotional grief, he tried to distract himself, closing down the browser that had opened on the computer, and letting go of my hand.

"Don't worry, we're gonna find this thing," he told me, though it sounded as though he was trying to convince himself more than me. He reached over to grab something off of his desk then. "Meantime," he stated, and he looked over at me, holding out what he'd grabbed, "I want you to carry this with you."

I looked at what it was, seeing that it was a can of Mace. I made a look on my face, about to deny it, when he added in, "It'll give your old man some peace of mind."

I didn't deny him after that, reluctantly taking it from him and slipping it into my pocket.

"Let's go home," he said, after seeing what I did.

"I go let Angela know," I said, straightening. He looked startled for a moment, then seemed to remember about the fact that Angela would be staying at the house with us tonight. I walked in front of him as he stood, shutting down his computer and grabbing his jacket. I walked over to Angela, grabbing the bags in front of her and walking out in front of her. An ambulance was now parked in front of the station, and, as we headed toward Charlie's cruiser, a gurney baring a covered body was being rolled passed us. Angela gasped upon seeing the pale, almost bluish skin that peaked through the blanket covering the corpse.

"Come on," I said, gently grabbing her arm and pulling her after me. Charlie was behind us by now, and opened the trunk so that we could place the bags in there. I let Angela have the front seat, riding in the back behind the bars. It didn't take long for us to get to the house, and, after getting Charlie something to eat while Angela took a rather long shower, we were soon settled into my room.

I let her have my bed, sleeping on the floor, waking up several times that night due to a few nightmares she had. I had the feeling that the nightmares were about our almost attack, as well as what happened to Waylon. As it was, my sleep was in short intervals until three in the morning, where I was finally able to actually drop fully into sleep.

The awake intervals of my night, however, allowed me to think, and come to some rather important decisions. The first was that I no longer wanted to hide what I knew about Edward from him. The next was that, so he didn't end up freaking out over me knowing what he was, I'd tell him the final secret I was holding from him. Whether he'd believe me or not would be a mystery, but I had plans on how to make sure that he did.

After all, a wand and the use of some spells should be a pretty good incentive.

Angela was still tired when she awoke the next morning, slight bags underneath her eyes. Seeing them, I turned, rooted through a bag of rarely used cosmetics, finding the concealer that Elena used – we had the necessities for each other in case it was needed and only one of us, usually her, had their bags – and handed it to her. She and Elena were nearly the same in skin color, so it wouldn't stand out to much on her.

"Here," I told her, "to hide the bags under your eyes. I don't think you want Jessica or Lauren to try and pry answers from you as to why you look so tired."

"Thanks," she said, standing and heading to the bathroom. I walked into my closet, grabbing the first shirt my hand fell on – a blood red blouse with a sweetheart neckline, off-the-shoulders long sleeves, corset lacing on the front, and most of the sleeves cut out, with roped-like strips of fabric crisscrossing throughout it, giving it the appearance of also having been laced up, though very loosely. It wasn't a shirt I normally wore out, as it could really only be worn with gloves that went to the wrist, but a Jacket would hide the bare skin from accidentally being touched, as it was cool enough here to get away with wearing one.

Gathering a pair of black jeans and my undergarments, I headed straight to the bathroom as Angela came into the room, the bags under her eyes seemingly gone. I took a quick shower, blow drying my hair before dressing. Coming out, I checked to see that my room was empty, Angela's things neatly gathered next to the bed. I quickly grabbed my school things, heading downstairs where I saw Angela pouring herself a bowl of cereal.

Breakfast was eaten in silence, the both of us quietly lost in our own thoughts. The silence continued all the way to he school, where Jessica met us, holding Angela's jacket – she'd called last night, having found it in her car and wanting to know if it was mine or not. I let Angela and her meander ahead of me as they talked about something – what I wasn't listening to. Instead, I didn't move very far from my truck, eyes wondering as I tried to find Edward in the mass of students. I knew he was here – his car was, anyway, and I didn't see a reason why he wouldn't be here.

Not finding him in the parking lot, I made my way up to the quad, still looking. The amount of people standing around talking made this hard, but I eventually found him, standing next to a group of tables alone, looking as though he wasn't paying attention to anything around him. I walked towards him, lowering my shields as I did so.

Edward I mentally spoke to him when I was but a few steps away. He looked over at me, a questioning look on his face. There's something I need to talk to you about, in private. Follow me?

I walked passed him, not sure if he actually would follow me, but suspecting that he would. A glance behind me told me that I was right in what I suspected.

I walked into the forest that surrounded the school. Once I was sure that we were at a perfect distance from the school – as well as his siblings, though I wasn't completely sure about that little fact – I stopped and turned. Edward stood a few feet away from me, watching me with undisguised curiosity.

I turned away from him again, taking a deep breath before I turned.

"I know that you're not a mutant," I told him, "and that your abilities have nothing to do with being a mutant. I know that you're a lot older than you look. You never eat, you never drink. You were gone the last few days, the very days that the sun was actually shining. Your skin is icy cold, you're extremely pale, your eyes change color. You also speak with a cadence suited better for a past era." I paused there for a moment, gasping a bit when I felt that he was standing right behind me.

"How old are you?" I asked. The question wasn't all that relative, nor was it really related to what I was talking about.

"Seventeen," he answered, and I held back a sigh. Of course, getting him to admit that I was right wouldn't be that easy.

"And how long have you been seventeen?" I asked, this time making it clear that skirting around my questions wouldn't work. He looked uncomfortable at my question, as if realizing that I really did know that he wasn't human, and then sighed, a slight look of defeat on his face.

"A while," he said. Silence reigned for several moments, the sounds of the forest seemingly copying the silence just as much. The only sound that could be heard was my breathing, which was embarrassingly loud as my heart pounded against my chest and my nerves had butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

"I know what you are," I said, and it was almost as if I could feel him stiffening behind me. The silence came again, broken a few moments later by him this time around,

"Say it," he said, his tone forceful. "Out loud."

"Vampire," I said, my tone neutral. He exhaled, seemingly shocked and defeated.

"Are you afraid?" he asked. I turned, not able to simply tell him my answer to that question without looking at him. I had to show him that I was being serious and truthful. His face guarded as I faced him, body tense.

"No," I said. He looked shocked at my answer, but then seemed to be a bit angered.

"Then ask me the most basic question of all," he said, holding back the anger in his voice. "What do we eat?"

"I don't need to ask," I said. "I know what you survive on. It's blood, animal if you need me to be exact."

He looked at me in disbelief.

"How do you..." he started to ask.

"I've known what you were since my first day of school," I told him. "I recognized what you, and your siblings, were upon first seeing you. Truthfully, it was really only hearing the name of your 'father' that had calmed me – your father was a friend of the headmaster at my school in Scotland."

"How did you know what I was? And how do you know that my father was a friend of your headmaster – we haven't been to Scotland in years," he said. I sighed, biting my lip, as I looked away, shifting my feet.

"That's because the old headmaster of the school met him in the late eighteen hundreds," I told him. "Professor Dumbledore, our headmaster, was almost two hundred before he died – even then, he didn't die of natural causes. He could have easily lived for longer had he been more careful. And there is a reason for his longevity, and why I know this."

I took a few steps away from him, turning as I held up my hand.

"What do you see?" I asked him. "Around my wrist."

I saw him look.

"I don't see anything," he said.

"What do you feel?" I asked, holding out the hand to him. He carefully felt my wrist, frowning as he looked at me, wondering what it was that I was trying to get to. His answer was the pretty much the same as his previous one.

"Watch," I told him, then, murmuring a word, I flicked my hand, grabbing onto the stick of wood that came shooting from the invisible and seemingly non-existent holster I had wrapped around my wrist. He stated, unsure of what I was going for, but also wondering where the stick – as I had the feeling he thought of it as – came from.

"I can tell by the look on your fact that you don't know what this is," I said. "It's a wand. Now – " I held up other hand, stopping him from saying anything, as he'd opened his mouth to do so – "I know I sound crazy in saying that, but it's the truth, and I can prove it."

With that, I flicked it, mentally saying the spell I wanted, watching the results once I finished the incantation in my head. His body immediately turned upside down, one leg behind held straight up as he hung as if caught in some snare trap. He was shocked once again as he hung there. I let the spell go, watching as he crashed onto the floor – there really wasn't any way to change that effect from happening.

He looked at me, mouth slightly opened as he picked himself off from the ground.

"What are you?" he asked.

"I'm surprised you didn't realize with that little demonstration," I said. "I'm a witch, quite literally. This is one of my wands; it's always a good idea to have more than one, just in case it's needed."

He nodded, still shocked. I didn't say anything else, simply pushed the wand back into the holster as I waited for him to unfreeze.

"Why are you telling me this?" he finally asked. "And how is it that I've never...that I've never heard any thoughts that would even suggest that you're what you are?"

"To the second question, there's several answers. First off, Magicals tend to be a bit more isolated from non-magicals, mostly because of the slow aging. There's also the fact that the few who don't completely stay away from non-magicals are the ones who live in large cities, and work in things that would make what they're thinking just seem normal for them – movie directors, writers, people like that. Then there's the fact that there is a mind study that can help shield a persons thoughts called Occlumency. While it doesn't work completely with natural mind readers – it's mostly to help shield the mind against it's opposite, Legilimency – it does work enough that it can block some thoughts from mind readers – people who practice Occlumency always drove Tristelianna nuts because of that. While you might have found more thoughts about people like myself in Britain, here in the States, it's standard practice for people to learn it, as it helps the mind organize itself better.

"Then there's the fact that, like myself, they'd be able to recognize you if they saw you, and most would go away upon seeing a vampire. You wouldn't have time to hear their thoughts, nor would you be able to realize that someone was actually thinking about you if they mentioned vampire in their thoughts because they'd be gone.

"As for why I'm telling you this, well..." I shrugged. "I don't want any secrets between us. I don't know why, but it's something I feel strongly about. I didn't want you to feel you had to continue hiding a part of yourself from me, especially since I already know what that part of you is. It's not really fair to you, having to watch what you say around me in hopes of not giving yourself away, when I already know it. As for telling you I'm a witch, that's because, now that you know, if you try to attack and attempt to kill me, you'll sign your own death warrant. It's basically a safety feature, because the Volturi rules of keeping the secret exclude keeping it from witches and wizards."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked me, sounding curious. He seemed to have filtered everything through his mind and accepted it.

"There's a treaty between vampires and magicals," I said. "In this treaty, it basically states that neither sides are allowed to kill each other unless it's done in self-defense – as in, I'd have to attack you or you'd have to attack me. We magicals have a way of knowing when a vampire kills a magical, and the Volturi are informed of the infraction when it happens. Truthfully, when a magical dies of a vampire attack, the vampire doesn't live very long afterward, as the Volturi often carry out the execution of the vampire for the infraction. They take the treaty very seriously, just as witches and wizards do. The reverse happens as well, though not as often – like I already mentioned, magicals tend to avoid vampires, so chances of a fight are very slim. The few times it can't be avoided, the magical rarely dies because they can prove that it a vampire killing was done in self defense. That's not to say that all magicals are found innocent, as they're not, but most are – truthfully, most vampires seem to believe they're above the law when it comes to things like that, because, while we're not completely normal, we're still human, and, therefore, a meal."

He nodded.

"So, basically, Volturi law protects you from being killed," Edward said. "Which means that, none of my family can harm you without bringing the Volturi down on them, thus making it so that, when they learn that you know about us..."

"They can't kill me to try and comply with Volturi law, because they'd be breaking it instead," I finished.

"You know that none of my siblings will actually believe this without proof," he told me.

"Yeah, but I have the feeling that they'd believe Carlisle, and since he's very well aware of the witches and wizard, as well as this particular part of the Volturi law, he'll be able to help you. And I'm sure that it won't take much to get Jasper on your side – just mention my dulled scent being that way because of a spell and he'll probably realize what I mean," I said. "If that's not enough to convince them, then let them try to kill me. I'll be waiting in my room for them to do so. Of course, I doubt they'll be able to get into through the windows or door to my room."

He got some sort of look on his face at that, which was gone before I could actually figure out what it was.

"I take it that this is your way of saying that you give me permission to tell the rest of my family," he said.

"Yes, because this way, if I'm just taking to you, and no one is really around us, I don't have to worry about them freaking out right there in school because I mention something they think I'm not supposed to know," I said.

"Okay," he said, and it went silent for a few moments before he spoke again.

"What about your friends, the ones you had at the other school, Elena and the others...are they witches as well?" he asked. "And is Charlie and your...Renée magical as well?"

"My friends were like me, and no, neither of them are magical," I told him. "It's not uncommon for magicals to be born in mundane families. Myself, Elena, Tristelianna, and several others are like that – at least, we think it's like that for Tristelianna and her sister."

"You think?" he asked. I sighed.

"None of us, themselves included, have any idea on who their parents are," I told him. "All Tristelianna has for clues on who her family was is her name and an inheritance that was left for her via lawyer who contacted Professor Xavier upon his adoption of her. As for Alexandra, her backgrounds even more of a mystery. She was left with, quite literally, nothing except the fact that she was sold to some guys by her parents for money. She didn't even have a name, as she was usually referred to by a number. Tristelianna's the one who named her."

Edward's face was stony upon hearing that; probably wondering how her parents could do that. We'd wondered the same thing as well, when we learned about it. The only fortunate thing about the whole thing was that we were able to gain a wonderful friend, and, if her parents even tried to insert themselves into her life, doing so would only result in them wishing they hadn't, as there was an outstanding warrant for any of the people who had willing given children to the men as they had. And, though this was years ago, with Tristelianna's ability, bringing it back to the fore thoughts of the police either involved or aware of it would make sure that would happen.

"What about the rest of you?" he asked, breaking the silence and turning the subject away from the horror that was Alexandra's past. "You said that several of the others were like you, which suggest that not all of you are magicals born in a mundane family."

"That's because there's not. While the majority of my main friends are like myself – with the possibility of the two I mentioned not being so – the rest are not. All but two of them are considered half-bloods, while the last two are purebloods," I said.

"How is it that they're considered half-bloods and purebloods?" he asked. I started walking back to the school after checking the time on my cell – it was nearing lunch.

"The pure-bloods are considered that way because they can traced their magical genealogy pretty far back. While you only need to be able to trace it as far as five generation, in the strictest sense, there are those who believe that you have to trace it back even further to qualify as being pure-blood. Not that Erika or Aura really need to worry about that – they can trace their genealogy to at least thirty generations back before they run into a half-blood, which keeps it from be considered pure any futher, despite the fact that they can trace magic in their even farther back despite that bit.

"As for half-bloods, that just means that one of their parents is either half-blood (which can actually be both parents, truthfully), mundane, or mundane-born, like myself. Stupid, truthfully, but that's the how it is. Oh, and they can also be considered half-blooded if one of their parents is a magical creature, such as Veela, giants, and goblins. I know at least one half-blood from every category, except them having both parents as half-bloods."

"Veela?" he asked, confusion evident on his face. I smiled.

"Think of your sister Rosalie, and you wouldn't be too far off," I answered, not joking. "Basically, they're extremely beautiful women with an affinity for air and fire magics, have the ability to shift into avian forms, and have an allure that calls men to want to do things to impress them, this latter ability causing them to have bad reputations by many people – mostly women. Half and quarter Veela, while they don't have the avian forms, are still just as beautiful as full Veela, as well as having the affinity for the two elements, and the allure, though it's not as powerful as that of a full Veela."

He nodded, and I smiled, just as I heard the sounds of the school bell ringing that another round of classes had ended, which also had the effect of ending Edward's questions towards me. I didn't know if it was because we were definitely in the hearing range of his siblings or if it was something else, but, despite the numerous questions I was sure he still had, he kept quiet, at least, at first.

As it was lunch time, people were milling around, so the fact that Edward and I were walking together from the forest caught quite a few people, and I realized my error in not arriving before they did or not making sure that Edward and I weren't actually seen together – god knew what rumors the others would come up with upon seeing us together.

"Everyone's staring," I whispered to him, giving him a look that told him that I was sorry for not thinking about it. He gave me a small smile, coming closer.

"No, that guy...wait, he just looked," he said, his eyes looking around at the others and seeing that everyone was indeed looking at us.

"Well, since I'm already going to hell," he muttered, swinging his arm around my shoulders, reminding me instantly of his brother Emmett's actions that first day of school. The thought of him acting possessive of me sent slight pleasure running through me, but I was more focused on his words. What did he mean, he was already going to hell? I couldn't see, in any way, how he'd be set to be sent to hell, for any reason.

I figured that I'd ask about it later, maybe before I let him being his questions, as it most likely would end up taking quite a bit of time for all of his questions to be answered, assuming they were asked in one go.

Jessica was surprised to see me as I entered the lunchroom, especially when one considered how I'd skipped every class before hand, making it appear as though I hadn't been at school. Her eyes widened even more upon seeing Edward enter behind me. She wasn't the only one who noticed: the others at the table also noticed, each with varying degrees of emotions crossing their faces. Lauren's face was completely green with jealousy upon seeing Edward next to me, which seemed to darken as she saw his arm around my shoulders. The guys, however, were in disbelief over the action and my lack of stopping it. I could see that they weren't happy that I was letting Edward get away with throwing his arm over my shoulder.

I expected Edward to let me go after I got my food, having thought he'd go back and sit with his family, so I was pleasantly surprised when he didn't. Instead, he steered me to an empty table, holding the tray of food I'd gotten, and setting it down in front of me. I couldn't help but look over at the table his siblings were sitting at, wondering what they thought of this new development. Like the rest of the room, they were looking at us with bewilderment on their faces, though Jasper's face also held some suspicion as he looked between Edward and I. I had the feeling that he was wondering about what was going on between us, as this was definitely a new development.

We talked a bit while sitting there together, thought we didn't stray into any topics that would cause his siblings to wonder about us, and what I might know. We stayed in safe topics, such as books and music. He was rather surprised when I mentioned how I never really cared about only listening to one genre, preferring to listen to multiple ones. He admitted that he rarely listened to anything that came after the late fifties, early sixties, as he didn't really care for the music that was considered popular now. Truthfully, I didn't disagree with him on that – while I would listen to anything, I tended to like more of the non-popular songs than those that were popular. Of course, that wasn't to say that a popular song couldn't become one I liked, but it was rare when that happened.

He ended up walking me to French, leaving me at the door with a whispered promise to meet me outside the room after class ended. I waved to Angela as I walked to my seat, seeing Jasper enter just behind me, the suspicious look still on his face. I just smiled brightly at him, waiting for him to start asking questions, but, for the first time since got here, Ms. Beniot actually kept our attentions the entire class period, not allowing for any free time for partners to talk to each other, and, with the promise that Edward would be waiting for me, I kind of hurried out the door when class the released. As he promised, he was indeed there, waiting for me.

Angela had gone on ahead of me when the bell rang, leading me to believe that she somehow suspected that Edward would be waiting to walk me to Biology II. I hope she wasn't upset about the fact that it seemed as though I was ignoring her, for I wasn't trying to do that. I just had a really good reason for going and talking to Edward earlier, and, due to the fact that he had obviously still been wanting to spend time with me – well, his reasons for sitting with me at lunch were either that, or he just didn't want to deal with his siblings questioning him on why he was with me out in the woods – was really the only reason why I hadn't sat with her at the lunch table.

I'd asked her after school if she had minded.

When we arrived, I immediately noticed an old television and VCR on a cart in the front of the room, which Mr. Banner was fiddling with. I wondered what it was that we'd be watching, for he had several different tapes on the cart next to the VCR, the titles obscure from my view.

"Any idea what enjoyable movie we'll be seeing?" I asked Edward. He told me the title, having read it from Mr. Banner's mind, and I sighed. I remembered watching the movie, several years ago, and knew just how boring it would be. Laying my head down onto my desk, I looked over to Edward.

"If I fall asleep, wake me before Mr. Banner notices," I told him, and I saw him hold back a laugh.

"Will do," he stated, and I closed my eyes, letting the sounds around us lull me to sleep. However, as I heard Mr. Banner ask for everyone to be quiet, and the lights darken through my eyelids, the possibility of falling asleep disappeared from my mind as a strange electricity seemed to flow over and through me. I sat up, suddenly more aware of Edward that I'd been before. The strange electricity that seemed to flow through me appeared to originate from him. The urge to place my hand on him became strong, almost overwhelming, and I eventually had to cross my arms to keep from giving into the urge.

I glanced over at him, scowling since it was his fault, when I noticed that he was mirroring my position. Obviously, he was feeling the current just as I was. When he caught me looked, he chuckled a bit, and I rolled my eyes, looking back to the front of the class. I couldn't concentrate on the movie, just on the electricity, which seemed to increase the longer we sat there. Finally, I couldn't take it any longer. Slowly, so that I didn't actually reach for him straight up, I placed my hand on the table, palm up, and glanced towards him, opening up my mental shield to him.

Place your hand in mine I said, closing my shield after delivering that message. He look at me, curious, from the corner of his eye, but he did as I said. Immediately, there was a difference in the electricity. It was calmer now, softer, though still irritatingly strong enough that it would be hard to ignore. I was still hyperly aware of Edward sitting next to me, and frowned, having hoped that this would have calmed the electricity down a bit more than it actually did. Perhaps if I were to take off my glove...

The idea, which seemed to have snuck it's way into my head, wouldn't let go, but I managed not to give into it during that period. I was beyond relieved, though, when the lights were finally turned back on, and the electric feeling disappeared. Edward and I glanced at each other, our hands still together. We were silent as the sounds of everyone gathering their things to get ready to leave echoed around us, and then he spoke.

"Well, that was interesting," he said, and a snort of laughter escaped me.

"I wouldn't quite say that it was interesting," I told him, standing up as I grabbed my bag. I didn't realize that neither of us had actually let go of each other's hands until I went to turn, my hand not exactly turning with me, but being pulled behind my back. When I looked over confused and saw the reason or this, my cheeks went red, and I let go, but he kept his hold on my hand.

"Um, can I have my hand back?" I asked him, feeling a bit shy as I did so, which confused the hell out of me. I didn't get shy around guys – of course, I also didn't hold their hands and forget I was doing so, either. It seemed that I was doing more than one new thing right now.

He seemed reluctant to release my hand, but eventually did so, picking up his own bag just as the bell rang. We were among the last ones to leave, and, once we'd cleared the door, he threw his arm around my shoulder once again as he walked me over to my next class. People still stared at the action, just as they'd done earlier, and Edward seemed to be a bit disappointed in noticing their preoccupation with us.

"So, when would be the best time to ask those questions you told me to ask at a later time?" he asked, and I realized what it was that had him disappointed. I thought about it for a bit. Considering that I now had a question I myself wanted answered, and the fact that I didn't want to wait all that long to get it answered, I wasn't really willing to wait until a non-school day to schedule time for a Q and A session between us. However, I also didn't think that skipping classes would be a very good idea to do two days in a row, unless I actually skipped the entire day, which I didn't want to do, since I would still have to bring Angela to and from school unless I simply gave her the keys to my truck, which did not sit all that well with me. I liked Angela a lot, but that my baby, and the only people that I trusted to drive it, other than myself, were Logan and Elena.

I then remembered that Angela wouldn't be staying over at my house after school, as she usually did since our agreement was struck. Her mother needed her for something back at her house, so I would need to take her straight there. This mean, of course, they I'd have plenty of time between school ending to when Charlie arrived home to be able to have any talk with Edward that wasn't appropriate for others to hear.

"You can always come over to my house after school," I told him. "You can either drive there yourself after dropping off your siblings at your house, or you can just come with me straight away after school and I'll just drive you home when you're are ready to leave." The tone I used when I said drive made it clear that I wasn't actually offering to drive him back, since I knew that he could run all the way there much faster than I could drive, even going at the fastest speed I was willing to do.

He looked thoughtful for a moment, obviously weighing each decision. Unfortunately, he hadn't come up with an answer when we arrived at my next class.

"Can I get my answer back to you when school ends?" he asked.

"Sure, I won't be leaving straight away, after all," I said, before parting from him.

I couldn't pay attention in this class anymore than the previous one. Now that I wasn't distracted by Edward, I had to wonder about the electricity that I'd felt flowing between Edward and I. The event seemed to trigger something in the back of my mind, but try as I might, I couldn't think of what it might have been. Eventually, I decided not to attempt to force the information into my mind – if I didn't do that, I might get lucky and have it come to me at a later point in time.

I wasn't surprised to see Edward waiting by the door when class ended, having almost expected it. Looking at him, I wondered what his answer would be, and was answered, not verbally, but by the fact that he followed me to my truck, asking if he should get into the passenger seat, or the back.

"The back," I told him, gifting him with a smile. "So, who's going to be driving your siblings home?"

"Jasper," he answered. "I have the class after Biology with him, so it was easy to give him the keys and inform him of this fact."

"He must have been curious over that fact," I said as I started the truck, pulling out my I-pod to find

"Oh he was, but, thankfully, he accepted my answer that I'd explain everything later," he said.

"That's good," I told him, just as Angela arrived. She was a bit surprised to see Edward, but took to seeing him alright. Once she had closed the door and slipped on her seat belt, I pressed play on my I-pod, starting to bob my head as I heard opening chords to Demon by Jay Park, starting to sing the lyrics when they started. As I pulled out, I noticed that Edward had a strange look on his face, and thought about asking, but decided not to at the moment.

Edward moved up to the front seat once we'd arrived at her house, as I was waving bye to her.

"Interesting song," he said, as I pulled out form Angela's driveway.

"It's one of my favorite Jay Park songs," I said. "The other one I like is Abandoned."

About halfway to my house, the music changed again, turning into an f(x) song, La Cha Ta. I think he was a bit surprised when, upon the lyrics starting, he realize that the song wasn't in English, but Korean; he was probably equally surprised when I started singing it without a problem as well.

"You know Korean?" he asked. I nodded, not stopping singing to the song, and I think he realized that he wasn't going to get to ask me a bunch of questions at the moment. I managed to get to the end of the song just as I pulled into my driveway, where I turned off my truck and grabbed my I-pod in one hand while opening the door with the other. I led the way into the house, throwing my bag onto the couch as I walked into the living room. Edward was right behind me, looking around with interest.

I waited as he had his fill, where he finally took a seat in the chair that Charlie usually sat in. I took my seat on the couch, looking over to him. I quickly spoke before he could.

"You know, there is something that is kind of irritating me a bit. What exactly did you mean, 'since I'm already going to hell'?" I asked him. He frowned, then sighed.

"I meant that, if I am ever killed, that's where I'm going to end up at, so acting on my selfish desires wouldn't cause a change in my destination," he said. The look on my face suggested that I wasn't quite getting what he was saying, which was pretty true and he decided to elaborate. "Since I don't have a soul, Bella, that means that I'm already destined for hell."

I blinked, sure that I had misheard him with the last bit. When the look on his face didn't change, I realized that he did mean what he was saying. And I couldn't help the reaction I had to hearing that.

Chapter Text

I felt it begin to build up in my stomach, clawing it's way to my throat. I pressed my lips together, determined to keep it in, but a snort managed to get passed, and I couldn't stop it after that. I began laughing, falling off the couch as I lost control of it. I didn't have to look at him to know that I had to have confused the hell out of his with my reaction. I just couldn't help it – what he'd just said was so funny.

"Um, Bella?" he said, questioning. I fought to regain control over myself, finally managing to, despite how hard it was. I finally managed, breathing heavily from my laugh fit.

"Sorry," I said, shaking my head as I forced the laughter back. "It's just, I don't think I've heard a funnier thing in my life."

"I just told you that I didn't have a soul and you think it's funny?" he asked, almost sounding offended. It was clear that I definitely needed to explain my actions.

"I think it's funny that you believe that," I told him. "Especially since I know for a fact that you do have a soul."

My words, as my reaction had, confused him once again, and he asked how I could be so sure of that.

"Well, first off, outside of anything to do with being a witch, I know because you wouldn't be on your animal diet if you didn't have a soul. You wouldn't care about what you hunted, you'd just hunt whatever you wanted when you were thirsty. If a passing scent caught your fancy, one that smell better than anything you'd ever smelt before, you would go after it without a thought, and kill without having a problem with it," I said. "And the same goes for your family as well. If any of them were truly soulless, then your father wouldn't be a doctor, and care about saving people.

"However, when you put in the things I know because I'm a witch, it means that I have an even wider array of knowledge that helps me know this. And I can say without a doubt that you have a soul, because I know vampires are affected by Dementors." I said the last bit as though I expected Edward to know what those creatures were.

"Dementors?" Edward said, making it clear that he'd never heard of them before. Lecture time I mentally thought to myself, not letting him have a peak at it.

"Dementors are among the foulest magical creatures of this world," I started. "They infest the darkest, filthiest places, they glory in decay and despair, they drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the very air. They're so good at doing this that even mundane, non-magical folk, can feel there presence. Get to near a dementor, and every good feeling, every good thought, every good memory will be sucked out of you, with all the bad, horrid memories push to the forefront of your thoughts. Stay near one long enough, and you will begin to lose yourself, going insane as your forced to watch your worse memories over and over again, while your good memories are lost forever. You'll be left with noting more than the worse experiences of your life."

I couldn't help but shiver myself at that, remembering the few times I'd been in their presence. I knew just as well as any other magical that had been at Hogwarts during my third year just how horrid their presence was.

"However, that is nothing compared to what is considered the final punishment you could be granted from them. Get to near a dementor, and you can be rescued from it by a friend, or the use of a handy, though not easy to master spell. However, if they use this final punishment on you, then you have no hope of surviving them. This punishment, as I'm calling it, is called the Dementor's Kiss. It's where they clamp their mouths upon their victims, and...well, they suck out their souls."

Edward looked horrified by the information, as well as sick. I didn't blame him. Dementors were among the magical creatures that deserved to be terminated completely, though there were no methods to actually do so existing at the moment. As it was, even after their actions in the previous two and a-half years, they'd been regulated back to guarding the wizarding prison, though with a few modifications to the wards to make sure they stayed there this time. Unless the wards were destroyed – which were pretty impossible at this moment, with the spell protecting them – they wouldn't be able to leave without the express permission of the Minister for Magic.

"And they also don't effect people who are either soulless or have a broken soul, and yes, those people like that do exist," I added, before he could say anything. "They only effect things with a full, complete soul in them. If you don't have one, or you've torn and hidden pieces of your soul in other objects, you won't be effected."

He looked as though he wanted to question me on the last bit, but the look on my face probably told him that he'd get no answers, and he stayed silent, thinking over what I'd just said. I wondered if he was taking it to heart, or if he was having trouble doing so. I would imagine that spending years thinking you were soulless wouldn't be solved within a few minutes. He'd probably have to get used to the idea before he really accepted it.

"Okay," he finally said, after being silent for ten minutes. "All right. Based on what you say, I have a soul. However, that still doesn't stop the fact that I'm going to hell."

"Oh, and why's that?" I asked.

" 'Thou shalt not kill' is one of the more common known commandment, Bella," Edward said.

"Really?" I said, then shrugged. Being both a mutant and a witch, religion really didn't have much of a part in my life.

"Yes," he said. "And, as I have killed people in the past, that means that I'm not getting anywhere near heaven," he told me.

"Well then, you'll have my company in hell then, won't you?" I said lightly. "If, by what you say, anyone who kills goes to hell, then I certainly am not going to heaven."

"What do you mean by that? Of course you're going to heaven," he said.

"No I'm not, because I have killed in the past," I told him. "And I'm not talking about that one guy you wanted to rape Angela and I, either. I've killed more than one person. So, based on what you're saying, that must mean that I'm going to hell as well."

He looked at me wide eyed, having not expected that. I wondered how it was that he had managed to forget about the one, at least, because he didn't seem to have remembered that one either.

"Who have you killed, anyway?" I asked him, wondering about it. He stayed frozen for a moment, then shook his head.

"I went off of Carlisle's diet about ten years after he turned me," Edward began. "A bout of teenage rebellion, if you will. I wasn't completely sold on the diet, and I resented him for curbing my appetites. So I left, started hunting humans. I figured, with my abilities, I could just bypass the innocent, and go after those who truly deserved to die, that it would keep my conscious from bothering me. It didn't work. I returned to Carlisle and Esme after five years, recommitting my self back to his diet. I haven't been off it ever since."

"Do you regret having gone off of it the first time around?" I asked. He nodded.

"While I'm glad to have been able to stop them from harming someone else, I don't think that what I did was right, and I believe that I never should have done it," he said.

"Seems we have a difference in opinion about that, then," I said. "I don't believe that you should regret it at all. Those whom you killed obviously had hurt other people, or planned to do it, and I don't believe they should have been left on the street to be allowed to do it. I don't think that wishing you hadn't taken them off of the streets should go through your mind at all."

"Do you regret any of those you've killed?" he asked me.

"Nope. In fact, for one of those kill, I personally am glad to have done it," I said. "I know that probably sounds a bit cold, but if you knew what that woman had done, what she enjoyed doing, and what she most likely would still be doing if I hadn't killed her, you'd agree that she needed to be taken off the streets."

"She could have gone to jail," Edward pointed out.

"She had been in jail," I said. "Still didn't change, either, just became worse. And she should have been sentenced to death even then. She was a rabid dog that needed to be put down. I'm just the one that happened to do it, much to the regrets of several people who wished to have done it themselves."

Edward just stared at me, clearly at odds with the coldness in which I spoke of. I looked away, knowing that it would be hard to explain my reasoning for this fact to him. I pulled off my jacket, using the shirt's unique sleeves to show him the scar on my left arm. I saw him notice it, coming closer to look at it.

" 'Mudblood'?" he read slowly, questioningly. He looked at me, clearly wondering what that was.

"It's an insult to mundane born, like me," I said. "Remember how I mentioned the different blood statuses the wizarding world goes off of. Well, mostly in Europe, there are those who think that being pureblood means they're superior to others, and that mundane born, like me, don't deserve to be able to do magic. More than that, they didn't believe we should even be allowed to live, and that mundane themselves are nothing more than animals, only good to slaughter sport.

"Everyone single person I've killed, with the exception of that rapist, were among these purebloods who believed this, which is why I have no regret in killing them, because they would have done the same, or worse, to me. And, at the time, they would have also gotten away with it, even if they were caught by the 'magical police'. I do, however, take pleasure in the one kill, because even if the climate wasn't what it was, I'd still have killed her. She deserved it that much."

"Who is this woman, and how is it that the rest would have been able to get off?" he asked, and I got the feeling that he was not only beginning his questions that he hadn't been able to ask, though he was starting out with the new questions that what I'd just explained churned up.

"For the latter question," I started, "it was because most of them had enough money to grease the hands of the higher up, who'd just turn their heads and let them do whatever they wanted, unless they happened to attack a family that was just as rich and was also pureblood. It's what happened before I even went to school, back when I was just a few months old. There had been a war in the wizarding world, that had ended up stopping when the leader of the guys who were pretty much attacking and killing everyone ended up disappearing, and was supposedly dead himself. And, instead of throwing the criminals into prison, most of them, particularly those with money or friends who had money as well, were let free with a weak excuse, and were able to walk around doing whatever. Hell, the Minister who'd been elected the year before my friends and I started Hogwarts took advise from one of those who had been let free, and often followed his advise.

"As for the woman, she was one of the few who did go to jail, only not for being one of Voldemort's followers. She was one who either hadn't been suspected to be one, or had bribed some officials, I'm not sure which it is, and she – along with her husband, brother-in-law, and one other – were caught having done a crime using a curse that earns life in prison. When I killed, I didn't do it so much as for me as I did it for those she's has harmed, would have harmed, and one of Hogwarts friends, whose life she ruined when he was just fifteen months old. That is why I do not feel any guilt over having killed her, and I would do it again if given the chance."

"Who, exactly, was she, and what was it that she did to this one Hogwarts friend? And how did you kill her?" he asked.

"You want to know how I killed her?" I said, sounding incredulous. He kind of gave a small shrug, and I shook my head at him, bemused.

"Her name was Bellatrix Lestrange, nee Black," I said. "She's my friend Azure's father's cousin. She's also related distantly to my friends Hermione, Aura, and Erika, as well as related to my friend Harry – his second cousin once removed or something like that. Harry's grandmother on his father's side was her great aunt. And that's just my close friends. I happen to have know her actual cousin, two sisters, and niece and nephew – I went to school with her nephew. Not surprising, of course, since, as a pureblood, she was related to any other pureblood with long roots, or half-bloods with a parent that has those same long roots as well.

"As for what she did to my one Hogwarts friend, she took away his parents. Neville Longbottom – that's my friend's name – was raised by his grandmother, who didn't seem to understand that he was his own person, and caused him a lot of confidence problems because she kept trying to turn him into a carbon copy of his father, and would openly show her disappointment when he didn't measure up, in her opinion. He wasn't able to be raised by his parents because of her, as he should have had the option of being."

"So she killed them," he said.

"No," I said, confusing him. "She drove them the to insanity, using an unforgivable curse known as the Cruciatus Curse, or Torture Curse. They reside in a permanent ward at St. Mungo, the wizarding hospital. He goes to visit them every holiday, but I don't think it does any good. They don't recognize or even know who he isl – of course, being that they're practically locked within their own minds, it's not surprising, since they don't even know where they're even at, or that they are actually not under the curse anymore. Tristelianna couldn't stand being around them when we discovered this fact, as Neville tends not to talk about his parents all that much – of course, considering what happened, who could blame them. The students of Hogwarts are idiots when it comes to things like that, unless it's about their own families. They don't bother to be careful for the feelings of others – I know Harry hated how callous they were when it came to his past. So it's not surprising that Neville wouldn't want to talk about his parents.

"As for how I killed her, well... It was last year, back in...early May...no, late April. A megalomanic who styled himself the name Lord Voldemort, which was a partial anagram of his actual name, had managed to take over the Ministry of Magic, and implant his own people and his own laws back in August of the year before. One of these laws was that all mundane born must register, in which case we'd them be put onto trial to explain who we stole our wands and magic from. None of us who weren't pureblood or half-blood could go back to school, and we really weren't safe in our houses – well, we would have been, since we live in America, but we do have friends at Hogwarts, and we wouldn't abandon them. Plus, it became mandatory for all magicals to go to school – everyone but mundane born, of course. So, Hermione, Azure, Aura, and Erika all had to attend Hogwarts, in order to keep Voldemort from sending people to bring them to the school by force – not that it would really work. Technically, Harry should have gone as well, but since Harry was Voldemort's rival -"

"How was it that Harry was his rival?" he asked, and I realized that I'd gotten a bit off track of what I was actually trying to explain about. Of course, I was also just trying to make sure he had the full picture at the same time, so I really couldn't be blamed for having gone off track. I also realized that this was a question that I needed to answer now, rather than put off for later, as it would probably drive him insane trying to figure out the answer to it otherwise.

"Voldemort attempted to kill Harry when he was fifteen months old," I said. "He fail, with the curse backfiring and hitting him instead. Since then, he's been determined to eliminate Harry, so Harry couldn't go to Hogwarts. Nor could I, Elena, Tristelianna, Alexandra, and three of our other friends. Of course, a group of eight of us together would have most likely gotten us attention, especially since we needed to be cautious, so we split into two groups. I was with Elena, Tristelianna, and Harry, while Alexandra, Morgan, Kitty, and Clarissa were a group. We ended up being separated from them in November of the year Voldemort managed to take over, and didn't see them against until May.

"Anyway, after we separated from them, we were searching for items called Horcruxes, which were the reason why Voldemort had managed to survive the night he attempted to kill Harry, and, well, we were tired, hungry, and the one Horcrux we had found had sapped a lot on energy and patience from us up until we managed to destroy it. We had just finished packing up the campsite, about to move again, when Harry, Elena, and I all got into an argument, and Harry mentioned Voldemort's name, which had been tabooed – which means saying it would caused whoever was monitoring the equipment for the taboo to be able to find us, while also destroying any and all protections against being detected of surprised around us.

"Because the name had been tabooed, we were discovered and caught – our only stroke of luck was that Harry was in disguise at the time, and had been living that way since the ministry was taken over, so he they didn't know who he actually was. However, of the rest of us, we were well known to be his friends – Tristelianna and I had even been featured in several newspaper pictures during our fourth year due to an idiot of a reporter who mistook us to being his girlfriends. Anyone who had seen those would know we were close to him, and they used that fact as a reason too not just treat us like they usually did with the 'mudbloods' they'd caught beforehand. While Tristelianna could have taken control of their minds, she didn't – I don't know why exactly, but I suspect it was because of where they decided to take us.

"Because they had two of Harry Potter's possible mudblood girlfriends, who supposedly were always in his company at school, they took us to Malfoy Manor, where Voldemort had made his headquarters. Of course, we were almost turned away when our classmate Draco Malfoy played dumb and acted as though he didn't recognize us, and his mother, who had only met Tristelianna once, and never met me before, wasn't sure we were who those that caught us were saying we were, but we were still brought into the house, where Mr. Malfoy, all eager to get back on the good side of his master, recognized us.

"Unfortunately, his sister-in-law, who was acting just as eager, decided to hold back on calling Voldemort to the house, saying that it would be better if they could lure Harry to the house, and decided that one of us mudblood girlfriends would be good bait for that lure. I don't know why she chose me – if Tristelianna planted the suggestion or if the fact that the papers speculation that I was the one he was with at the moment had anything to do with it. Either way, she decided to use me, while the others were sent to the dungeon – during this, on the inside, I was laughing because Harry was one of those she'd just sent away.

"I will admit, I didn't expect her to use the knife, as most magicals seem to believe that mundane methods don't work all that well, no matter what the method is. So it did surprise me when she pulled the knife. She had one of the others, one of those that had brought us there, hold me still while she carved this into my arm." I indicated the scar. "Then, once she was done, she had the other one let me go, and pulled her wand out on me. Of course, before doing this, she made the mistake of placing the knife on the table right next to me, within easy reach. I didn't quite grab it at that time, of course, as I knew she'd curse me before I could, probably killing me. Instead, when she did curse me, it actually gave me the chance I was waiting for."

"What curse did she use?" Edward asked, his voice low. I had the feeling that he probably had some idea of what curse it was, especially since I'd already mentioned what type of curse she'd used earlier.

"The Cruciatus Curse," I said. "Of course, it didn't quite effect me the way she had been expecting it too. Turns out , the curse's actual effects weren't documented all that well, so what people believe happened underneath it wasn't actually right."

"What do you mean?" he asked. "What does the curse do, and how could it be hard to document it?"

"What the curse does is send pain through your body. According to those who have been under it that can tell others, they say it's like every nerve in your body being lit on fire while simultaneously being shredded with a rusty knife. Be under that pain long enough, you start to want to retreat into a safe spot in your mind, with it being impossible to come back from the longer your. Longer still, you no longer have a mind, and are a vegetable – I'm pretty sure you can guess which one is what the Longbottoms are under," I said. "However, what people don't seem to realize is that it's not your actual body under attack – it's your mind. Your mind is forced to think your body is under attack, as if your pain receptors are reporting an attack to it, and, therefore, you brain's normal reactions to such are sent in response. This, in truth, is actually why there are no potions including pain potions, that can dull the effects of the Cruciatus, because the people who have tried to make such focus on the wrong thing when doing so. It's also how people can be driven insane by it, because it's the mind under attack."

"But you have your mental shield," he said slowly, a small smile coming to his face.

"Exactly," I said. "Because of that, the curse doesn't work on me at all, and I think Tristelianna somehow found this out without telling any of us, which was why she didn't do anything to keep us from being brought to the manor. Either way, because I didn't start screaming within ten seconds of being under the curse, I confused and stunned them all, and I got the change I was waiting for. I kicked Bellatrix's legs out from under her, grabbed the knife, and then drove it through her throat, just under the ear up to the hilt, before outwards, away in the direction she was facing, causing the knife not only to go through the arteries in the throat, but through her windpipe as well. She bled out quite quickly after that.

"And, as I said, it's a good thing I did. I happen to know that she planned on murdering my friend Azure, as well as one of ex-teachers, Professor Lupin and his wife, because of who they were."

Edward's eye brows furrowed as he tried to figure out what I meant by that.

"Azure's father was her cousin, but her mother was mundane born, making her half-blood. Being a pureblood supremacist, that was just another sign of their being a stain on the Black family, which had already been stained – in her mind – by her sister Andromeda, who, like Azure's father, had also married a mundane born, and had a child. As for wanting to kill Professor Lupin and his wife, well, that wife was Andromeda's daughter Nymphadora Tonks, which was what marked her down for Bellatrix's wrath. However, what made her eve more determined to kill them was the fact that Professor Lupin is a werewolf, and the prejudice against them runs just as strong as it does for mundane born for pureblood supremacist. Of course, it's not just them that are prejudice against werewolves in the wizarding world. Professor Lupin is the only werewolf I'll claim as a friend. I do not like any of the others, particularly the one that turned him into what he is," I said simply.

He nodded his head, now understanding what it was that I was saying, before shaking his head, probably wondering how it was that the woman could want to kill her family. I let him have silence for his thoughts for a few moments before standing up and waving my hand in front of his face.

"Is that all you wanted to know, or do you have more questions, because we haven't even touched on the topic of my friends, which you were curious about earlier," I said. "And I doubt you'd want to be here when Charlie gets back – then I'd really have to drive you to your house. Plus, at this moment, I'd prefer not having Charlie see you here – I'd rather not deal with the questions I'm sure he'd probably ask if he did, especially since I wouldn't know how to answer them," I said, heading to the kitchen to begin looking for something to make for dinner. A glance at the time showed that I should start something now if I wanted it done in time for Charlie when he got home. Edward followed me into the kitchen.

"I'm do still have questions about some new things that you just revealed to me, but you are right, I do want to know more about your friends," he said.

"So, what do you want to know? How do you want to know it? Do you want to just go by name, and I tell you everything I'm allowed, or..." I trailed off, leaving it to him. He thought for a moment, went back to the living room, and came back with a photograph. A glance at it showed that it was a group picture of me and my friends, our faces kind of tiny within the frame.

"How about I point to each one, and then you tell me all that you're allowed to say about them," he said, shrugging as he added, "I don't exactly know all their names, and, this way, I'll know what each one looks like as well as their names."

"All right," I said, waiting for him to chose. He pointed to the only blonde in the group. "That's Tristelianna," I said. "You already know some of what she can do. Like you, she's a mind reader, only that's not the only thing she can do. She can also erase and implant memories, making you believe you see something or forcing you to forget something, project her voice into your head if she has something she only wants you to hear, and can control your body and voice if she has need of it. She's basically a mini-Charles Xavier, only not quite nice and sweet. She does have a kind of evil streak to her, and if she wants something, she tends to get it, though that's less about her abilities and more about the fact that she can be devious in general.

"She was adopted by Charlies Xavier when she was four, and has been his adopted daughter ever since. I've already told you about anything else of important...oh, she's the reason why I can walk perfectly in heels likes these." I showed him my shoes. "One of her little devious moments, though I am grateful for it...now. At the time, I really wasn't."

"What did she do?" he asked.

"Well, I used to be very clumsy when I was younger, and couldn't walk all that well, so, when she decided that we all needed to learn how to walk in heels, I rebelled against doing it," I said. "In fact, if I was able to get to them before the others, I'd end up stealing my friend Harry's shoes, up until she started hiding them away so that we couldn't do that. Then, I had no choice. I must've fell three times as much as I would've if I'd had my regular shoes. My face, knees, hands, and bottom were all sore for the next three months. Of course, now, I walk in them perfectly, the result of having to deal with that."

"You sound happy," he said.

"I am. She finally gave me back my regular shoes once she saw that I didn't trip in the heels, which meant that any activities in which heels are not practical in, I had the option of doing in regular shoes. By then, though, I was so used to wearing the heels that I kind of forgot that I had my regular shoes back, and didn't wear them ever again. Instead, I stocked up on closed toed heels, like all the boots I have," I said.

He nodded, turning back to the picture, and then pointed at another of the girls. I snorted.

"Alexandra Haliwell," I said, "and you already know what her history is."

"Is she a mutant like you?" he asked.

"We all are," I said, then, I realized that he had probably expected me to tell him what her ability was. I realized that there wasn't any reason not to – when it came to any of us giving away the fact that we were mutants, we tended to tell about our whole group, if it came up. I hadn't told Angela any of this, mostly because she hadn't asked about it. I wouldn't hide it from her if she had, and I wasn't going to hide it from Edward now.

"She's a cryokinetic," I said. "She has the ability to reduce the kinetic energy of atoms and thus reduce temperature. She often uses it to control, generate, and absorb ice. The cool thing about this is that, if she generates it, it's not exactly like regular ice. It's unbreakable,and doesn't melt when it meets fire. And, because she can absorb ice – she absorbs the cold in general – she doesn't actually need to wear heavy clothes in the winter, as the cold doesn't bother her or cause any problems like hypothermia and frost bite. And she doesn't get hot during the summer, either. Her body is maintained at certain level, and does not change from that level."

"Sounds interesting," he said.

"It is," I agreed. "Especially since she can trap someone. Though that can be dangerous. The ice is cold, and it's only her or those like her that it doesn't effect in the normal way, so someone can get hypothermia and frost bite from it if they're trapped long. If we need her to do that, we tend to let them free of the ice once we have the person secured in another way.

"She's also a bit of a hydrokinetic, in that she can control, generation, and absorb water as well. Not quite as impressive as her ice abilities, but it's something else that she can do, and it can be dangerous due to the fact that, because human bodies have ninety-eight percent water in them, she can effect them, and not in a good way either."

He nodded, going back to the picture, and pointing at the next person.

"Elena," I said. "She's like me, in a several ways. In others, not so much. Her birth parents gave her up for adoption, and her adopted parents tried to kill her when they realized that she wasn't normal. Like me, she has both a shielding ability, as well as the..." I waved my gloved hand at him as I struggled to give my other ability a name. "Touch-stealing thing. However, were I'm a mental shield who can permanently hold onto physical mutant abilities that I absorb, she's the opposite. She's a physical shield who can permanently hold onto mental mutant abilities that she absorbs. It gives her a bit more lee way over being able to touch people bare skin to bare skin. However, the physical shield, unlike my mental one, isn't constant around her. She has to concentrate slightly in order to have it. If she gets distracted and slips, then it's gone, and even then, it doesn't last very long – of course, we only discovered that she could do this several years ago, so she hasn't had much practice with it like I have with my mental shield.

"And, while we can exchange abilities between us if, say, I absorb the ability a mental ability and she absorbs a physical one, but neither of us can absorb the ability to work each other's shields. We don't know why, but we just can't."

"That's why your so close to her, isn't it? Why you consider her your sister," he said.

"Part of the reason," I said. "The fact that I'm just close to her in general is the main one."

Once I fell silent again, making it clear that I didn't have anything else to say about her, he pointed to the next person in the photo. It was then that I realized that he was going from one end to the other, having just skipped my picture, which had been after Elena's.

"That's Azure Black-Monroe," I said. "Her last name's hyphenated, mostly because at the school, her mother registered her as Monroe, but legally it's Black. Professor Xavier let her do that, though public results hold her real name. Her father died before she was born, not long after her parents were married, though it wasn't made public knowledge after Walburga Black, Bellatrix's aunt and Azure's grandmother on her father's side of the family, learned of this matter and tried to kill them both the one time she managed to get close to them. After that, Azure's mother brought them to live with her cousin.

"As for her mutant ability, she's a very powerful psychokinetic, or telekinetic, as more people would recognize it as being called. And I'm pretty sure that you don't need me to explain that ability, right?"

"She's basically able to move things with her mind," Edward said. I nodded, and began on the next person without him having to actually show me who he wanted to know about next, as smile crossing my face as I did so.

"Morgan Riordan," I said, as I started pulling out things from the fridge. "The one friend of mine no vampire in their right mind would go up against and attempt to kill. Her parents gave her up for adoption, and then were killed when they somehow became trapped in a burning barn about a year after she was born. The people who adopted her gave her back to the adoption agency they got her from after discovering that not only were her parents from families that had been long time practitioners of Wicca, but also because she had her mutant ability, as well as her witch ones. Luckily, the agency employed some mutants who tend to send mutant children either to families that are pro-mutant or to the school. Morgan ended up at the school."

"Why would no vampire in their right mind go up against her?" he asked.

"Because she'll win any fight with them, even if she doesn't have her wand on her," I said, expanding on my explanation when I saw that he was still confused. "She's the exact opposite of Alexandra, a pyrokinetic. She's able to increase the kinetic energy of atoms and thus increase temperature, as well as absorb, generate, and control fire. She doesn't need to even see you to turn you into a flaming match, and, unlike regular fire, only she could put out a fire she's made, meaning she doesn't need to tear you to pieces to burn you to death. She's one of my more formidable friends."

"Sounds like it," he murmured, his finger going over to the next person in the picture. I bit my lip to keep from laughing as an image of what his reaction to her name might be.

"Kitty Pryde," I said, turning to finish chopping the peppers before I could add them to the pan I had heating up on the stove.

"Wait, her name is what?" he said.

"Kitty Pryde," I said, glancing behind to see a bewildered look on her face. "I know, it's not exactly a name you usually hear, not without it being a joke or nickname. However, it's neither with her. It is her actual name. And she's one of those mutants who come from a pro-mutant family, meaning that her parents – or her mother, as her father died several years ago – kept in contact with her while she's at school, and know that she's going to a school for mutants, and didn't disown her. She goes and visits her mother every summer, usually bringing us all along with us. To the rest of us, her mother is Aunt Catherine, or Aunt Cat as we tend to refer to her as.

"As for her mutant ability, well, it's a physical one, and I'm not sure what you'd call it. We, however, call it 'ghosting'. She can basically change her molecules to allow her to go through anything solid, human included, as if she were a ghost. Her abilities are one of the main examples anti-mutant people give for trying to cause a need for us all to have to register who we are and what we can do, so that those in charge can decide what should happen to us, especially if they deem us too dangerous."

"That sounds like an interesting talent," he said. "No doubt Alice would love to be able to do that, as it would allow her to get into stores after hours."

I laughed. "Kitty doesn't do it for anything like that, though. She mainly uses it for other reasons, such as running through doors when her hands are too full of things to be able to open them, and walls if it helps make her journey shorter."

He smiled at that, his finger going to the next face in the picture.

"Harry Potter, my only close male friend," I said, before biting my lip. "His history is one of the more horrible histories among us. In fact, I think it's safe to say it is the worse to all of us."

"Even worse than Alexandra's?" he said. I nodded. "What is it?" he asked, a serious look taking over his face. It was clear that he could tell that whatever I was about to say wouldn't be a light-hearted story like Kitty's had been. I sighed, wondering where exactly to being.

"Do you remember when I was telling you about Harry being Voldemort's rival, and how he'd tried to kill him when he was fifteen months old?" I said. He nodded. "Well, before he tried to kill, he had killed both of his parents before hand, leaving Harry orphaned. Well, Dumbledore decided where Harry would be placed after that, going so far as to seal the Potters' will so that he had full control over what would happen to Harry, and he placed him with his mother's mundane sister, supposedly in order to keep him safe for Death Eaters who would be looking for him in order to avenge Voldemort's supposed death at his hands. According to Dumbledore, when Lily Potter died, the way she died allowed him to put wards based on family blood in order to protect Harry; truthfully, though, these wards didn't exist, because in order for them to work, love was a key factor needed, and there was no love between Harry and his aunt.

"I don't know if Dumbledore knew this for sure or not, but Lily's sister, Harry's aunt, was very anti-magical, as in, she hated them and anything to do with them. Add in the fact that her husband was the same in a way, being that he was a small-minded bigot that did not care for anything out of the ordinary, and Harry was about as welcomed into their house as dry rot."

"They abandoned him somewhere, like your mother did to you?" Edward asked quietly.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Part of the reason why I'm not sure if Dumbledore actually knew what they were like or not is because they did take him in...due to the fact that doing so erected wards around their house that would protect them from almost anything bad. I think it was mostly the aunt that wanted this, as it meant that their son would be protected as well as themselves. And, because of these wards, they allowed the Dursleys to do whatever wanted to Harry.

"They made him sleep in the cupboard under the stairs, starved him, made him work like a slave around the house and garden, and let their son use him as a punching bag. If he tried to complain, they'd hit him themselves and throw him into his 'room'. If anything went wrong around the house, or something they considered abnormal happened, the same thing would happen, only he'd end up in that cupboard for days with very little food or water.

"It wasn't until he started school that such punishments let up a bit, though they had plans to make sure he was never at the school during the days nurse examinations and pictures were held. The only time, that Harry has told us, they slipped after he started school was when they were forced to get him glasses – it was the only money they ever spent on him, and even then, they bought the cheapest pair they could find.

"And then, when he was just finishing first year, the end of the year reports came, and he got betters scores than his cousin – who was one of the lowest in the class. His cousin found out, and, after roughing him up a bit, he told his parents when he got home, having gotten a ride with one of his friends while Harry was left to walk home. When Harry got home, was tied to the banister, no shirt, and hit with a cricket bat several times before his uncle whipped him with a belt. They came very close to killing, because the bat already broken a few bones, and the uncle was showing no signs of stopping even after Harry's back had started bleeding. In fact, the uncle had specially ordered a studded belt just for the purpose of hitting Harry with it.

"The only reason why Harry is not dead is because Tristelianna was in town with one of the other professors at the Xavier school, and had noticed him when he was walking home. The thoughts of dread had her curious, and, after looking through his mind and discovering what his relatives were like, she memorized his address, called the cops, and then went over to the house herself, armed with an aluminum bat she'd gotten from the house they were visiting. From what I understand, she rang the doorbell, and, when the aunt answered it, swung the bat hard enough to break her hip, and then used the bat to take down the uncle and cousin, just a few moments before the police arrived.

"In truth, that's actually part of the reason why he's even at the school. Tristelianna refused to leave him while he was unconscious, and, once he regain conscious, and told the police all he knew about himself and his family – which, thanks to those bastards, wasn't a whole lot – Tristelianna convinced Professor Xavier to adopt him, like she'd down with Alexandra. He didn't refuse."

Edward was silent for a moment, his fist clenched.

"And this Dumbledore put your friend there without bothering to make sure it was a good thing to do, while also giving them protection for taking him in," he said through clenched teeth.

"Yes," I said. "In truth, I think Dumbledore did know what they were like, because he had to have met them at least once in order to know where they were living – being a Traditionalist, he wouldn't have been able to use mundane ways of doing it, so he's have to talk to one or both of them to be able to confirm who they were – and that he put Harry for a two-fold reason."

"A two-fold reason?" Edward said.

"Before Harry beat Voldemort that first time, he was the wizarding world's adored hero," I said, rolling my eyes. "When Voldemort disappeared, there were several hundred eye witnesses to where he was at, and the person he'd sent to get Harry upon receiving warning that the Potters had been attacked had blabbed about Harry still being alive, and having seen Voldemort's robes in a pile in front of the crib, leading people to know that Dumbledore had no way of being there to have gotten rid of him. Instead, just hows after that got out, the wizarding world is informed that Voldemort was dead, and Harry Potter was the reason for it, having lived through the Avada Kedavra spell, thus making him famous as well as painting a target on his back."

"Thus letting Dumbledore have his 'for his protection' excuse," Edward said.

"Exactly," I said. "And, the other reason was, if Harry hadn't almost been killed there, and had continued to live there, he would have seen Hogwarts, and, by extension, Dumbledore as some sort of savior from them which would have allowed Dumbledore to get close and mold him however he wished – we found out that he'd planned on having Voldemort kill Harry, which would have let Voldemort free to do whatever unless some one else came along and took him out."

"He planned on being the one to do that," Edward said. I nodded.

"The only thing that threw a wretch into that plan was that Harry didn't trust at all, so he didn't play by the script that Dumbledore wanted him to, and Dumbledore made a mistake that cost him his life, thus making it so that he couldn't orchestrate an event that would allow him to do what he wanted," I said. "Anyway, safe to say, because of that, nothing he wanted was able to happen, and, due to a little book that came out not long after his death, as well as several interviews with his brother – who hated him – his reputation is very ruined. Only those who are such idiots that they thought sun shone from his behind still respect him.

"As for what Harry what Harry can do, well, remember how I mentioned he was with our group when we were caught by the group and brought to the Malfoy's and Bellatrix?" I asked. He nodded his head. "Well, you know how I said that Bellatrix had decided to torture me in order to lure him out, how they basically didn't even realize he was there. That was due to his ability."

"He can turn invisible?" Edward said when I'd paused to work on the food a bit. I think he thought it should be obvious was the reason why I had stopped. I snorted.

"No, not without the use of a cloak or Disillusion Spell," I said. "They were aware of him the whole time, though they didn't realize it." I waited to see if he'd be able to get it, but he still looked lost, so I decided to give him one final clue. "Remember, I mentioned that Tristelianna started hiding Harry's shoes in order to get us to use the heels she'd bought. Well, what I didn't mention then was that she didn't give them back to him until after we'd all learned to walk in the heels, meaning he had to walk in them as well. And she didn't exactly get the right size for his feet, either." He still didn't get it, and I sighed, knowing that I'd have to spell it out for him.

"He's a human shape shifter," I said, and Edward's eyes went wide. "He can turn into anyone he wants, wearing anything he wants. And, more often than not, because it's a good disguise, he'll turn into a female. In fact –" I headed to the living, finding the picture I wanted on the mantle, and walked back to the kitchen, handing it to Edward. The picture I'd grabbed was of me with a pretty brunette girl not in the group picture in Edward's hand. "That's Harry's preferred female form right there. Kate Potter. When the professor realized what Tristelianna had done with the shoes, and the fact that Harry was forced to pretend to be female in order to even fit the shoes, he decided to create a female identity for Harry, one that came in quite handy during the run."

"Well, I guess I can see how ironic that could be. They have him, but they don't realize that they do," he said. "Did it ever become known?"

"Not to the bad guys," I said. "They never bothered to even think something like that could be possible. Unless they'd seen it with their own eyes, or it was mentioned in the newspaper, they wouldn't even think about it. None of them are too terribly bright; centuries of inbreeding tend to cause that. Add in the fact that none of them would disguise themselves outside the use of potions, plus they don't pay attention to the mundane world enough to even know about any of the issues about mutant, and you have a perfect way to hide from them."

"It definitely sounds like it," Edward said, looking back at the picture, done with prying into Harry's life. He pointed to the next person on the list.

"Erika Greenwell," I said. "She's a pureblood whose family keeps in touch with what's going on in the mundane world, and knows about current problems in it. So, when they noticed a rather interesting repeating theme within the 'accidental magic' she was having, they brought her to Professor Xavier, who confirmed that she had a mutant ability.

"She's a bit like me, Elena, and Alexandra, as she has two abilities, though these two kind of play off of each other. The abilities are electrokinesis, and magnetokinesis. This means that she can control, generate, or absorb electrical fields, while being able to control and generate magnetic fields. Before she learned to control it, she used to have to wear specialized gloves, because she'd keep short circuiting anything electric. And it was hell going hiking with her because the compasses wouldn't work properly."

"Those sound a bit tame, compared to the rest of you," Edward said.

"They do appear that well, but the electrokinesis that she can do allows her to make electricity into a weapon, one that can definitely be lethal," I said, pulling the meat out form the oven upon seeing that it was done.

Edward didn't look as though he believed me, but didn't say anything, simply moving to point at the next person.

"Aura Greenwell, Erika's twin sister," I said. "She's pretty much has the same history as her sister, only her parents didn't notice a repeating theme in her accidental magic, so they were surprised when Professor Xavier mentioned she was one as well. Her abilities, while doubled like her sister, are also different than her sisters. She's a geokinetic, as well as a chlorokinetic. Meaning she can control anything of the earth element, as well as plant life. She's a got a green thumb because of the latter ability."

"I would imagine that being able to control plant life has something to do with that," Edward said. I nodded, finally finished with dinner. I covered it all, knowing that it would be cooled by the time Charlie came home, and took a seat in a chair across from the one Edward sat in. I didn't need to see the photo in order to know that there were only two people left in my main group of friends to talk about, and I also knew the order in which they stood in the photo.

"The redhead is Clarissa Fray," I said, before he could move to point at her. "She's on good terms with her mother, though she doesn't see her that often because her mother's work causes her to often be away from her home in New York, and, in the last few years, when she was home, we were at Hogwarts.

"Clarissa's gift is interesting. She can...well, she can clone herself, make as many copies of herself as wants, with each copy being a bit more durable than the last. If we needed an army of five hundred, we wouldn't need to gather people, we'd just have her make up the difference. It's rather useful for her to do that."

Edward looked surprised and a bit amazed at the fact.

"That sounds as though it would be useful when you need a large amount of people to help, but can't get it," he said.

"That's one way to use it. Mostly, though, she tends to make chores go quicker using it," I said, shrugging as I waited to see if he had anything else to say. He didn't, instead moving over to the next person on the picture, the final person within the frame.

"Hermione Ravenblood," I said. "Half-blood whose mother has very long magical roots. She and the Greenwells are related – her mother was their father's cousin. Her father, on the other hand, is Wiccan blood witch – which is a different type of witch, just so you know – from the same coven as Morgan's parents, in fact, who were also Wiccan blood witches."

I paused there, waiting to see if he would ask me about that, as I could see that he so wanted to – he didn't, though, probably just to let me finish speaking about Hermione.

"That said, we think he might have been a mutant, because of what Hermione can do. While this isn't true for all mutants who are pretty powerful, it isn't uncommon for a child of two mutants to be a mutant, or for the child of one mutant and one non-mutant to be a mutant, and they do tend to be more powerful. Now, while the child of two mutants can have pretty much close to any mutation, the child of only one mutant tends to have a mutation closer to what they have.

"Now, we're not sure if her father even had a mutation or not. He was murdered before she was born, before her mother and him could marry," I said honestly. "We can only really guess over what it is based on what Hermione's ability is. The only thing we can guess for certain is that, if he did, it has something to do with the dead."

"Is your friend a medium?" Edward asked. I shook my head.

"No, we suspected that's what her father was," I answered.  "Truthfully, she's one of our more powerful members, considering what she can do. And it's not easy to explain in words, nor is there any term for what it's called. The only term that comes close is very offensive to her, and she hates to be confused with it, especially since it's obvious that there is a huge difference between her and someone who actually is that term.

"What her gift is...she can talk to the dead, as in, anyone whose died, not just ghosts, but those who have, for lack of better words, passed on. She's got, like, this connection to the other side. Like Tristelianna, she can learn anything she wants from them, the way Tristelianna will learn information from a person's mind. She can also ask them to spy on others, and let them take over her body for a few moments, in which, upon her taking her place back, she retains any knowledge of trades the person my have been able to do. She also has access to something she calls that Continuum, which, as she says, using mathematical codes that not you could figure out how to solve, allows her to go wherever she wants, as well as see whoever may be nearby. Apparently, she can learn their names almost immediately somehow. She won't really explain how it is that she can talk to everyone, no matter who they are, nor will she explain what the Continuum is like and how she can learn these names.

"However, all that pales in comparison over what is probably the most aggressive part of her ability. Keeping knowledge in what they could do if they were allowed a few moments in controlling her body, or having them give her the answer to anything she wants to know is nothing to what else she can do. And, in truth, it's this thing that would confuse people and probably label her as being evil, as well as calling her the term she hates being used in context to herself."

"What term is this?" he asked when I paused, getting up to get a drink of water – my throat was beginning to feel a bit dry at the moment.

"Necromancer," I said. "The term that she hates the most, while also being the only term that comes close to explaining it, is Necromancer. Of course, it's easy to understand why, especially since anyone with eyes can tell that there's a difference between them and what she does. A Necromancer raises a corpse to do whatever he wants, whether they want to or not, interrupting their sleep and forcing them to do his bidding, with no way for them to refuse. She, well, it's kind of two fold. According to what Tristelianna can get from them – she can't really hear what they say, but she can get some sort of feeling from them to how they feel about Hermione – they'll do anything for Hermione, no matter what it is. Sycophantic, I believe is the term she used.

"Because of that, all Hermione has to do is ask them to do something, and they will do it, even if it requires crawling out of their graves to do so. If she goes up against a necromancer, she'd win against them, because her the moment she ask, she could break the control the necromancer has on the corpses – more often than not, they tend to then return the favor of being used to harm by harming the necromancer. And what makes this so aggressive is the fact that she can do that, to anyone, including the newly dead. Imagine, you're up against her, and your best friend has just been killed. Then, quite unexpectedly, they get up, but they attack you over attacking her. Clarissa might be able to make however many copies of herself as she wants, but if there's anyone dead nearby, Hermione can just call upon them and use them. And they'll do it, no questions asked."

Chapter Text

Silence followed after I told Edward about Hermione's kind of unsettling ability. I wondered what he was thinking about that, if he found what she could do just as unsettling as I did. It was probably that he didn't. In fact, he probably thought that I was exaggerating. It wouldn't surprise me – I had never really been all that unsettled about Hermione's ability until I saw the full extent of them. Watching thousands crawling out of the ground while those freshly dead start standing and ripping apart those that had either killed them or been their comrades was a very unsettling event, one that had just brought home how powerful Hermione could really be.

I looked at the clock, not at all surprised to see that time had passed by pretty quickly. I knew that it didn't feel as though much time had passed, but Charlie would be home within half-an-hour, and I did have some other things to do, even if talking to Edward was nice. Besides, he himself had something to do; he had to inform his family about me, an event that might take a long while to explain in enough detail to satisfy them, as well as explain the fact that they couldn't kill me, as I suspected some of them might want to do. I really doubted that they'd just believe Edward that easily, though I did hope that, with Carlisle there to help him, they'd realize that he wasn't joking with them.

And I really doubted that Carlisle wouldn't help him – he knew about this, as well as the fact that he was supposed to already inform the others about vampires since they were turned by him, making it his responsibility to inform them of all facets of our world. One would think the fact that telling his family members about witches would have been among that list, though I had the feeling the fact that they didn't feed on humans probably made it seem like it wasn't something he needed to do. At least, that was my thought I had behind the fact that Carlisle seemed not to have informed them about magicals like me. Unfortunately, the fact was that it was something that needed to be done, no matter the reason for not doing so. With Edward's ability, it made it necessary to do so, because it would cut down on false alarms. Goodness knew what kind of problems it could have caused if they had run into a witch before meeting me.

I turned away from the clock.

“You probably should get going, because Charlie is going to be here soon,” I said. “Unless you really wish for me to have to take you home.”

He looked as though he was thinking about actually letting me do so, and I frowned at him.

“I will not be taking you home, Edward,” I told him sternly, my lips twitching with amusement when I saw his sheepish look. He stood up, grabbing his bag as he replaced the picture right were it belong, and headed out the back door, toward the forest that surrounded the back of the house.

“See you tomorrow at school,” he stated, then disappeared, becoming nothing more than a blur as he ran straight to the forest. I went back inside after that, pulling down some plate and silverware as I heard Charlie's cruiser pulling up. It seemed that Edward had just left just in time, and I was kind of glad for this fact – I had the feeling that, if Charlie had come home to him being here, he would have probably insisted that Edward stay for dinner, and then that either I, or he might have volunteered himself, take Edward home, which was something that I would prefer avoiding for the moment. Knowing Charlie, he'd probably ask Edward questions that I'd prefer not be answered at the moment.

“Hey, Bells,” Charlie called as he entered the house. “Smells good.”

I heard him placing his gun up as I placed the food on the table, and then he came into the room, sitting in the exact chair that Edward had just vacated. The different between him and the previous tenant was huge.

Dinner was eaten in silence, and I didn't volunteer any information about my day or the fact that Edward had been in the house, heading upstairs to my room once I finished eating, Charlie assuring me that he would do the dishes. I figured that I would check to make sure they were done before I went to bed.

Once I was in my room, I logged onto my e-mail, opening up a new message.

Hey guys I typed out.

Told Edward about myself, and about your histories – what
I was allowed to tell him,anyway. He's going to be telling his
family tonight.

Love,
Bella

I figured the message would be enough, and sent it to everyone. I didn't have to wait long before an instant messager popped up on the screen. Elena, Aura, Alexandra, and Morgan were all logged on.

Exactly what of our histories did you tell Edward was Aura's question to me.

Just about our abilities, and how you and your sister were considered pure-bloods I answered back.

Knowing how much of my history you have permission to tell, does he know the specifics about my life prior to being me Alexandra asked.

No, he only knows what your parents did, as well as the fact that Tristelianna named you I assured her.

Thanks she sent.

So does he know that Harry cross dresses Elena asked, and I snorted.

Harry doesn't cross dress. He can simply turn into a female I said.

Says the one whose ringtone for him is Dude Looks Like a Lady Aura sent.

So did you tell him how dangerous I was to vampires Morgan asked.

Yes, of course. I didn't want him getting on your bad side I said.

I doubt he would. Now, if he was a wolf on the other hand... Morgan sent.

Yeah, your reaction would definitely be different if that was the case. But then, I wouldn't be friendly with him if that was the case as well I sent.

Oh, is there something your not telling us Aura asked.

No I sent to them, but I answered a little too quickly.

Right Morgan said.

Spill Elena said.

And don't hold back on details Aura added.

Really, really don't hold back the details Alexandra agreed. I rolled my eyes.

Nothing's going on I said. We've only talked.

Sure, we believe you was my reply from all of them. It was clear that they didn't.

Okay, I'm going to go I said. Bye.

I logged off, shutting down my lap top before grabbing my bag. I pulled out what homework I had, and began working on it.

<hr>

Sleeping that night was kind of hard. I had trouble falling asleep, having expected a Cullen visit from one of the 'non-believers', since I suspected that, even with Carlisle's agreement with what Edward was saying, one would still at least attempt to silence me on knowing what they were. When I did finally fall asleep, however, the electricity that had appeared during Biology appeared once again, making my sleep restless. It didn't help that all my dreams were starring Edward, though in a pretty innocent way, for the most part.

Waking up the next morning wasn't easy, and I almost decided to go back to bed, but the fact that I would be driving Angela to school, as well as the lure of seeing Edward again, and discovering his siblings reactions, had me dragging my butt out of bed. Going over to the closet, I grabbed on over bust corset with a built-in bra and a column of hooks on the front. After putting it on, I also grabbed a stretch poplin puff sleeved babydoll blouse that had a v-neck, row of buttons on the front, and sacred heart, angel wings design on the back. A sheer red cheetah print tie was with it, made to wrap around the waist. Black wash jeans, my usual elbow length gloves, and heeled boots finished the outfit.

Angela wasn't there upon me coming down, though she arrived about five minutes later, and it was obvious that, like with me, she didn't get enough sleep. While she didn't have bags under her eyes like the day before, she was yawning constantly, and her clothes were rather mismatched, with her shirt being on inside out and backwards, and her pants having streaks of something white on them, with little hand prints as well. Not even her shoes were on properly – while both sneakers, one was her blue sneaker, while the other was purple.

I pulled her up to my room after seeing that, sitting her down on my bed before going into my closet.

“What's wrong?” she asked, in between yawns.

“Go look in at yourself in the mirror,” I told her, and, I heard her moving to do so, along with her gasp of “Oh, God,” at seeing her clothes. I heard her clothes rustling, as she did some checking, a sigh of relief coming from her as the rustling stopped. Then, an “Oh, no,” came from her.

“I don't think I can go to school like this,” she moaned, and I turned to see that she'd take off her shirt, and had turned it out, now staring at whatever was on it. I walked over, eyes widening as I saw the elementary design on it, and looked at her to see her blushing.

“It was a gift from my grandma,” she muttered, wadding the shirt up to hide the design. I headed back to my closet, returning to looking through it until I found a shirt that I thought would look good on Angela.

“Here,” I said, tossing it over to her. It was pale pink, short sleeved and without a design on it, one of my softer colored shirts. After finding it, I also grabbed the matching skirt, which was just a few shades darker than the shirt, as well as a pair of my slightly shorter heeled boots.

“Okay, I'll wait downstairs while you change,” I said, after handing the skirt and boots to her. “If you need some socks, there in the second drawer.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Angela said, right as I headed to the door.

“No problem,” I said, closing it behind me and heading down the stairs. I quickly heated up some pop tarts while waiting, a bit hungry. I was just finishing when Angela came downstairs, looking much better and definitely more awake now.

“Come on,” she said, grabbing her bag. “We're going to be late if we don't get going now.”

I nodded, having noticed the fact that it was getting closer to the time school would start, and grabbed my own bag, hurrying outside, locking the door after Angela closed it behind her. I drove a bit faster than usual to make it to the school on time, and, even then, we barely arrived on time. We weren't able to stop and say hi to anyone, as the bell literally rang as we were hurrying up to the school. Of course, during the ride there, Angela informed me that I would not be needing to take her home after school, as her mother had surprised her with taking her out to look at cars, to pick one. They would be dealing with the paperwork for it and picking it up before the school day ended, at which point, they'd drop it off for her to leave in.

During class, I noticed Mike sending me some surly looks from his seat, and sighed, somehow getting the feeling that he was not happy over my sudden pick-up in my friendship with Edward. Thankfully, the first class seemed to go by pretty fast, and I was able to get out of my seat and to the door before Mike could grab for me. I got a pleasant surprise, though, when I saw Edward there, just outside the door, waiting for me. At least, I assumed he was waiting for me, based on how he immediately sidled up to my side.

“I missed seeing you this morning,” he said quietly, reaching and taking my bag without asking. I let him, though, smiling up at him.

“Something came up that almost had us running late,” I simply said, not willing to embarrass Angela about her clothing situation when she'd arrived at my house. The idea of having her change was so that people didn't know about her clothing disaster.

“So,” I said, as I led the way to my next class, “what did your family have to say after yesterday?”

“Later,” he muttered, his eyes glancing to the right. I looked over out of the corner of my eye to see Lauren walking near us, acting nonchalant, an attempt ruined due to the way she'd repeatedly look at Edward and I, as well as staying close enough to us that she would easily be able to hear what we were saying to each other.

I nodded to him, and he asked me about what other Korean songs I liked. He was surprised at the list I gave him, jokeningly saying that he would have to check some of the choices out himself. I just shrugged, and told him he didn't have to. He was insistent, though, and I figured that if he really wanted to, he was welcome to see if he liked any of them. I doubted he would though, what with what he preferences were. He didn't seem to be the type to suddenly change his musical likes that easily.

We then moved from music to books, with him beginning on the subject, telling me some of his favorites. By the time he finished talking, we'd arrived at my next class, so he had to wait until it ended before he could ask me a question, which ended up being about what books I liked to read. He was slightly surprised over my my opinion about Anne Rice and Stephen King books, though he did agree with me on them as well. I was surprised when I learned that he really did agree with me about Anne Rice, though I also got the feeling that he wasn't all impressed with the fact that she wrote about vampires.

We continued on the subject of books, between my third, fourth, and fifth classes, with me admitting that several of my favorite book series were about vampires. I blushed a bit when, after mentioning what series they were, he asked what they were about, and I refused to answer, even after having him threaten to look it up himself. Truthfully, I would prefer if he did it like that – it saved me the embarrassment of having to do it myself. I also knew that, once he did, he's probably understand why I didn't want to speak about it myself, and probably wouldn't bring it up again.

Finally, it was lunch, and it was then that I became nervous, mostly with the fact that this would be the first time that I'd been in the same room as his siblings since they'd learned about me. Since he'd shot down my questions earlier – to make sure that we weren't overheard – I hadn't attempted to ask again, so I was walking into this situation blind. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves as we neared the cafeteria doors, causing Edward to look down at me.

“You okay?” he asked lowly, his worry evident.

“Yeah, just a bit nervous to know what your siblings reactions are,” I told him under my breath. He nodded.

“They're mostly bewildered,” he said lowly. “None of us had any idea that it would be possible for someone like you to exist, and to discover that those like you do...”

“It's a lot to take in,” I finished helpfully for him, giving him a slight smile. He returned my smile, throwing his arm over my shoulder once again, and walking into the room with me. Conversation seemed to fade the moment we passed through the doors, everyone looking at us. I rolled by eyes, wondering how they could be so surprised, and walked towards the salad bar, Edward following.

“Where do you want to sit?” I asked him after dishing out my food, giving him the option of where we'd sit at. He walked us over to an empty table, and I looked over at his siblings as we sat as we passed by them. They were watching the two of us, blatant curiosity on their faces. I looked away, back at Edward as we arrived at the table, sitting down across from him.

“So, I take it that they have questions?” I said, popping a baby carrot onto my mouth.

“Yes,” he said. “A lot of them, though they're not sure of where to start.”

“I'm slightly surprised that you didn't have us sit with them” I told him.

“I wasn't going to risk them bombarding you with their questions,” he said. I had to admit, I was grateful for the fact. He was silent as he left me eat some of my food, knowing that I, unlike him, actually did require it. It was nice break from the questions, though I knew that it wouldn't last. As I finished another bite, I looked around the cafeteria, my eyes immediately finding the table with my friends around it. They were all looking over at us, various expressions on their face. I looked over each one, studying it, and glad to see that those I considered my actual friends didn't show any hostility on them.

That was a good sign, and I turned back to Edward, who was looking at his siblings himself. I saw him roll his eyes, figuring that he'd heard something, and asked him what it was.

“Alice wants to come over here; she's the most curious about you, and is dying to ask you her questions,” he explained. I laughed.

“What type of questions?” I asked. “Do they have to do with the witchy thing, or with the mutant thing?”

“Bit of both, though she's more interested in the mutant thing,” he said, after a second, his eyes glancing over to her. I had the feeling that, having heard me, she used him to pass her answer to my questions to me.

“Why?” I asked him. I couldn't really see why that aspect would interest her over the other one. Then again, I also didn't know her that well, and what I did had been told to me by those who only knew the basic, what they'd been told information.

“I'll tell you later,” Edward said, looking over my shoulder. I turned, eye brow raising when I saw Mike and Lauren both heading towards us.

“Hey, Bella,” Mike said, ignoring Edward completely as he took the seat next to me. Lauren didn't say anything, just took a seat next to Edward, as if she had every right to do so.

“Mike,” I said. “Why aren't you back at the table?”

“Oh, no reason. I just came to see what you're doing,” he said.

“Talking to Edward here,” I said, “in a private conversation.” My tone suggested that I wished him to leave, but he didn't seem to get it, making himself comfortable and scooting his seat way to close to me, and beginning to babble about...something. I looked over at Edward, only to freeze slightly when I saw Lauren had moved closer to him, just moments away from actually hanging on him. I narrowed my eyes at her, visions of showing her why she shouldn't piss me off flashing through my head, before looking at Edward.

Seems our privacy has been breached. Want to get out of here? I mentally asked him, lowing my shield to do so. He didn't say anything, but his abrupt movement to stand gave me my answer, and I stood up as well. Mike's tirade stopped immediately, and he went to stand up as well. That pissed me off immensely, especially since I had also given him a clue that I didn't want him around me at the moment, that I had been talking to Edward, and I didn't bother to stem what happened next.

“Don't bother, Mike,” I said coldly, causing his movements to freeze as he looked at me. “As I said before, Edward and I are having a private conversation, which means you are not invited to join it or rudely interrupt, which you have just done. As such, since I would like to continue my conversation with him, Edward and I are leaving to do so. If you follow, you can kiss our friendship goodbye, because I won't have anything to do with you ever again. I don't like people who don't respect another person's personal space and conversations, and I won't be friends with them, either. So I suggest that you tread carefully for the rest of the day, if you wish to remain as one of my friends.”

I turned then, tray in and bag on shoulder, and walked away, Edward just behind me. We left the cafeteria, slowing our brisk pace once we'd reached the hallway where my French class was at. After looking behind us to see if Mike had ignored my warning, or if Lauren had decided to to follow and seeing neither of them, I looked back at him.

“So, why is it that Alice is more interested in my mutant aspects?” I asked again, slowing my walk so as to prolong the walk to my next class.

“Well, like me, she also has a talent,” Edward said.

“I take it that her talent is different than yours,” I said.

“Quite,” he said. “She has premonitions. She can see what's going to happen in the future, though the visions are subjective, mostly showing the outcome of the decisions that people come up with, and even then, those can be changed because of the unresolved decisions of others that may cause interference.”

“Ah,” I said. “So, she's a seeress. Yeah, I can see why she'd want to know, especially since a talent like that is very likely to have been in her human life as well. Of course, she might not have had it when human as well. Don't really know what the answer is – things like that are probably pretty tricky to figure out for sure about. Did she have the visions as a human?”

“We're not sure,” Edward said, and I turned to him, confused. “Alice doesn't remember anything of her human life. Her first memory is when she awoke as a vampire.”

“That...that's not possible,” I said. “Even if they dim and easily ignorable, vampires don't just forget about their human lives, as some have told me several times.”

“Well, she did,” he said, and my brow furrowed. It really didn't make any sense to me whatsoever. How could she not remember anything?

“Is that why she wants to talk to me, because she wants to know if it's possible she had these abilities as a human?” I said, realization coming over me. “She wants me to use my ability on her, doesn't she? She wants see if she can discovered her missing past through me.”

He didn't say anything, but his face showing that I was right, and I frowned. I didn't like using my ability unless I felt I had to – plus, if she couldn't remember, there was no guarantee I could see it myself. I've dealt with amnesia people before – I've gotten nothing about the things they didn't remember on their own. I've only ever gotten memories they do remember. Besides, I didn't even know if my abilities would work on a vampire – there were, after all, kind of dead. I really couldn't see why it would work.

“I don't think that I could help in that case,” I told him bluntly. “If she doesn't have the memories, I can't get them myself. She has to have the memories herself for me to be able to see them, assuming that my ability would even work on her. I've never attempted to see anything from a vampire before, after all, and, considering a part of what it is I do, I don't even think it would work on a vampire, at all.”

“I'll let her know that,” he said, not sounding too disappointed at having to tell her bad news – I had the feeling that he didn't really care for the idea of Alice using me anymore than I did, and I was glad to know that he did like the idea.

“So,” I said, casting my mind around for something else to say, but also unable to get my mind off of Alice's inability to remember her human life, “she really can't remember anything as a human?”

“Nope,” he said. “Her first memory is being a vampire – if it wasn't for her visions, she probably would have gone insane and rogue.”

“So, she had visions almost immediately upon waking up,” I murmured, then had a sudden thought. “Do you know what year it was when she woke up?” I asked him. He looked at me, wondering at my sudden urge to know that.

“She doesn't know the exact year, but we believe it was sometime in the early twenties,” he said. “Why?”

“Well, I was just thinking, if she had her visions as a human, then, well, depending on when she was human...” I trailed off. Edward looked at me funny, wondering what I was thinking, and I sighed, realizing that he wasn't getting it.

“If it had been any earlier, she most likely would have been burned at the stake as a witch,” I said, rather bluntly. “However, based on the time you say it was around...if someone found about them, chances are...chances are she was probably in an asylum. And, since torture was pretty big in asylums around the time, her lack of memory could easily be explained. If I remember correctly, electroshock therapy was a favored method. And since that can easily scramble the brain, especially in prolonged circumstances...”

“It could have easily caused her memories to be so damaging that not even the turning could bring them back,” Edward finished, sounding a bit grim.

“Yeah, especially since it most likely wouldn't take all that long for the scrambling,” I said. “In fact, she could have been put there only a few months before she was turned, might not have been there for that long. From what I've read, those treatments were very effective, to the point of making patient who went under it comatose within the first few sessions. In fact, some of what I've read about people placed under it suggest that it was also used to hide crimes, especially when it came to women. Some very innocent people were allowed to be experimented on because they saw or learned of something they shouldn't have. And with Alice, if she had visions, well, her reasons for being placed under the therapy could have been two fold.”

He went silent after that, thinking about what I'd just said, and I wondered if he would tell Alice my suspicions about why she couldn't remember her human life. While what I was thinking didn't look like it would be a good think to know – in fact, she might be lucky that she didn't remember anything if what I was thinking was true – at the same time, not knowing anything about yourself had to be hard, and she did deserve to know some of her past.

“How did she know?” I asked Edward as a vague thought came through my head. “That her name is Alice. How did she know? Or did she just name herself?”

He thought for a moment.

“I don't know for sure, but I think she named herself. She never really thinks about that part of her waking up,” Edward said. “And I didn't meet her until almost fifty years after her turning. She and Jasper just kind of...appeared and joined the family, while I wasn't even at the house, in fact. I was hunting when they came to the house, startling the hell out of Esme and Carlisle when she greeted them by name and wanted to know when she could move in. When I got home, all my things were in the garage.”

A startled laugh left me at hearing that.

“They stole your room,” I said, humor evident in my voice.

“Most like Alice did. According to her, my room had the best view,” he said, and I really did laugh at hearing that, which seemed to have been his intent, if the smile he gave me was anything to go by. We arrived at the door to my French class while I was still, and I turned to him, forcing myself to calm down. It wasn't easy – the visions of the story he'd just told me wouldn't leave me. I finally managed to do so,though.

“See you in Biology,” I said, right before I walked through the door, not waiting for him to say bye. I looked back to see that he was still standing there. As I walked away, my mind went back to Alice, and her lack of history. The ideas of what could have happened were beginning to grow, theories about how she could have ended up in an asylum – assuming I was right – running through my mind. I had to admit, now I kind of wanted to find out if I could help Alice, because, thinking about it, I couldn't help but continue wondering if I was right or not. Of course, I also wondered if Alice's name, wanting to know if it was her real name or not. After all, if it was her real name, then how she knew it could help her figure out her past...

I was still wondering about that when I saw Jasper walking to his desk, and my mind turned towards what his reaction would be. I wondered if he would ask me questions, but he didn't really get a chance to do so, for Ms. Beniot didn't allow for a talking period this time around. Instead, we were to study, by ourselves, for a test we would have at the end of the week.

With the lack of permission to speak with each other, class seemed to go slower than it normally did. It was annoying that it did, especially since I was looking more forward to going to Biology that was probably healthy for me. And, I had trouble concentrating on what I was supposed to be doing, instead wondering about Alice, when I was wondering what Jasper might have said if we were given permission to speak to each other. Mostly, I wondered if Edward was looking forward to Biology just as much as I was.

When the bell finally rang, I headed straight for the door. But, as I passed through it, something strange happened – Jasper caught up with me, surprise me with his appearance, mostly because I wasn't expecting it.

“Hey,” I said, very aware of just how different this was; normally, we didn't speak to each other outside of class.

“Hey,” he said, staring a bit intently at me. I got annoyed of that real quickly.

“Sorry,” he said, as if he realized that I was getting annoyed. “I'm just...I'm trying to figure out if something different about you, something that I didn't think about before...”

“You're not going to see obvious signs of it,” I told him. “I'm very human like.”

He laughed at that.

“So you are,” he agreed.

“So, what aspect about me interests you the most?” I asked him. “The witch or the mutant?”

“I'm not sure yet,” he told me, very honest about it. “But I do have a question?”

“What is it?” I said.

“Are you...I mean, is there...” he started, seeming to have trouble putting words to what he wanted to know. “Do you...is there a spell...”

“Oh,” I said, realizing what it was that was confusing him. “You mean about scent, don't you? You're wondering if I'm blocking it or not?”

He nodded.

“Yes,” I said. “I use a spell to do so. Did Edward not mention it to you? I already told him about it. I did it after lunch my first day here, knowing already that I'd be in close proximity to you. I prefer to be careful around...vamps.” I said the last word quietly, so only he could hear it. He smiled at me on that, nodding his head, seemingly understanding why I would want that.

“Well, that answers that,” he said. “Thank you for doing so, too. I mean, it's nice not to want to rip out someone's throat.”

I looked at him strangely.

“My upbringing before I joined the Cullens was very different compared to the others,” he explained, his tone saying that he wouldn't say more on the subject. I didn't blame him, particularly since several of the other students around us were now attempting to discover what we were talking about, while we were almost at my next class. I then saw Edward walking towards us, a slight frown on his face when he saw us though it cleared immediately when I gave him a smile.

“See you tomorrow,” I told Jasper, walking towards Edward and the biology class door.

“Hello,” Edward said, as if we hadn't talked yet today. A silly smile crossed my face as I said hi back to him.

“So, what were you and my brother talking about?” he asked as he led the way into the class; I saw that the VCR and television stand were still there.

“I would have thought you would have heard it,” I said, setting my bag down by my feet as I took my seat at our table.

“No, I didn't hear a thing,” he said, sounding frustrated at the fact. “I think you were blocking his thoughts.”

“Oops,” I said, pulling my shield back. My eyes gave me away, however, for I knew that they were showing the laughter I wanted to let loose. As Edward had said, I had been blocking Jasper's thoughts, had done so the moment he'd walked into class. I wanted to see if Edward would attempt to try and spy on me using his brother – and I had the feeling that he had been trying to do that.

“Very funny,” Edward said, then laughed when I just smiled like it was no big deal.

“Sorry, couldn't help it,” I told him, laughing as well.

“So, what did you talk about?” he asked.

“Oh, he just had a question for me,” I said, making it clear that I wouldn't be saying anything else on the subject. He looked as though he wanted to press for the information, but seemed to decide not to, probably figuring that he'd get the answer from Jasper at some other point.

Mr. Banner walked in at that point, so there wasn't a chance for speaking again between us as the movie was set up once again. And, again, the electric current between Edward and I started up the moment the lights turned off. Holding hands with Edward dimmed it slightly, but, again, it wasn't enough. This time, however, the idea to take off my gloves was stronger than before, and, strangely enough, I couldn't think of a reason not to take them off. After all, with the fact that my ability might not even work on Edward, I wouldn't really be risking anything if I went with the impulse. And if it calmed the electricity down...

I thought it would be worth it, so I removed the glove of my one hand, replacing it back into Edward's grasp. Immediately, the electricity faded to a hum. But what happened next had me believing that it would have been better to keep my gloves on.

Chapter Text

The moment my skin touched his, the electricity deaded to a low, easily dismissable hum. However, what happened next was unexpected to me.

'God, I wish I was sitting next to Bella. It would be so much better if it were the two of us. We could probably make out...' A dim piano, small fingers being placed upon certain keys... '...why is it that Bella gets to sit next to Edward, instead of me. And what were they talking about earlier...' A slightly whiny voice, young male, saying 'Mom, I don't want to do this'... 'This movie is so boring. I wonder if I could get away with taking a nap...' A beautiful woman with the most brilliant green eyes smiling humorously... 'My period is late. That's not good. God, if I'm pregnant, I'm going to...' Me, during the first day of school, being seen the moment the doors opened... 'I don't feels so good, I think'... A man with very familiar features walked through the door, immediately bending down and coming closer...

Thoughts, my classmates' thoughts, bombarded my mind, intersected with memories, both dim human ones and bright, clear vampire ones. It took me five seconds to realize what was going on, especially once I saw the woman with green eyes, who ha the same bronze hair that he did. I was not only hearing what Edward was hearing from our classmates; I was also seeing some of his memories, his memories of when he was still human. Particularly, when he was still a little boy. And the woman and man I saw, they were his biological parents.

Almost immediately, once I realized what was going on, I ripped my hand away from Edward. The inner voices of my classmates and memories I was receiving immediately stopped as the electricity returned, turned up to it's uncomfortable level. I became aware of the fact that I was trembling lightly, sweat pooling from my pores, my still gloved hand in a tight fist. I swallowed, my throat dry, doing my best to calm my nerves down. I hadn't been expecting anything that happened, so I hadn't prepared myself for any of it.

Edward seemed to realize something unexpected had happened, for he was looking at me with concern. He didn't try to touch me again, and I quickly replaced my glove with shaky hands.

“Are you okay?” he whispered, and I nodded.

“Don't think I want to do that again, though,” I whispered back. I saw the question in his eyes, and shook my head slightly. We went through the rest of the class with me calming down while Edward kept an eye on me. Luckily for us, no one seemed to have noticed anything strange, despite the fact that we were under pretty close observation from most of the class, who seemed to think our interactions were a strange specimen they had to view.

The electricity didn't abate until the lights were turned on, but I wasn't willing to try to cause it to disappear again, like I'd been several moments ago. Edward didn't seem to want to have a repeat experience, either – he could see that I hadn't reacted all that well to...whatever happened. I don't quite think he understood what it was, but I had understood it all too well. My mutant abilities had worked on him, not to the point they normally worked – I didn't seem to have mind reading ability needing to be used up like I would have had he actually been a mutant, and I don't think I actually took the memories I saw away from Edward. Nor do I think it effected him at all, at least, in the way it usually effected someone. In fact he didn't appear to have realized just how I had been effected, if his questioning look was anything to go by.

I think I would have cried, had I not been in the classroom.

Edward seemed to sense my down mood, for he directed me straight to my truck after class ended. I gave him a slight smile, sighed as I opened the door, and crawled in.

“What happened?” he asked, once he situated himself in the passenger's seat.

“It seems that my wonderful ability works on you,” I said, sarcasm clearly in my voice when I said 'wonderful'.

“You mean...” he started to say.

“I just got a hint of what your mind reading abilities allow you, along with a dose of some of your memories,” I said. “And, for some reason, unlike when I have skin contact with a human, I didn't see memories in order of most recent to least. I saw them in mixmatched order. Some were of you with your family, others were of me. I even got hints of your life before you became a vampire. She was very beautiful, by the way.”

I confused him with the last one.

“Who?” he asked.

“Your mother,” I said. “She was very beautiful. I see where you got your hair color from, in fact. I wonder if you had her eyes as well.”

He just stared at me, having not expected that at all.

“You saw my mother, my actual mother,” he said.

“I would say that she had to be. The memory of it was pretty dim, much like I've heard say about how human memories are to vampires like you, and, even if I'm wrong about that, her eye color wasn't red, black, or golden, so I don't think it was your adopted mother, either. Of course, I could be wrong, and it might have just been a woman you know, but you and that woman shared enough similarities that I think that you were more than just...aquaintances,” I said.

I could tell that he was beyond shocked to hear that. I knew that, while having heard about what I can do had to have been surprising, hearing about the result of it, especially when it came to the fact that they were his memories I'd seen, most likely made it more real.

We sat there without talking, while I recovered from the shock of having gotten a taste of his abilities, while he seemed to come to terms about what I'd saw.

“I guess, if Alice is able to convince you, you can at least see some of her memories,” he said finally.

“Only what she remembers herself. Remember, if she can't remember them herself, I can't know them,” I said, leaning back in my seat as I looked at the school. A frown of distaste crossed my face.

“I'm really not looking forward to going back in there,” I muttered, leaning against the back of my seat.

“Perhaps it's best that you don't. You look as if you're going to be ill any second,” Edward said, sounding concerned.

“Geez, thanks, just what I wanted to hear,” I said, smiling to show that I wasn't actually taking his words that personal. I knew I most likely looked like hell; not having expected for my ability to work meant that I wasn't prepared for it. Add in that it was just information over load, and it was a wonder that I only looked ill, and actually wasn't.

I settled myself back in my seat, planning on not moving until school officially ended. Once comfortable, I looked over to him.

“You probably don't need to ditch with me. In fact, it might be a good idea for you not to,” I said, shrugging when he showed no sign of moving. I shrugged in return.

“Your choice,” I said, closing my eyes. I didn't fall asleep, as tempting as it was to do so. Instead, I just stayed there, in place, not even turning on music. Instead, I went deep into my mind, to my...library, for lack of better word. While I actually didn't need it, I did participate and learn Occlumency (mind magic in which allows a person to shield their thoughts and memories from Legilimency). I never quite caught onto it fully, my mental shield making it unnecessary, but the lessons on organizing my mind were very easy to follow. And so, I learned it, organizing memories into individual little books, sorting and placing them based on others to my own, happy to sad, and all of those in between. It help me make sure I didn't forget anything that could be important, while also making sure that I could retain information much better, thus helping with schoolwork.

I retreated there now, taking the memories I'd gotten from Edward, and placing them where I wanted them – mostly out of the way. Once done, I felt calmer, more in control of myself, and I opened my eyes, looking over to see Edward staring at me.

“What?” I asked him, looking at the time to see that it hadn't taken me all that long.

“Nothing,” he stated, looking away.

“Sure it's nothing,” I said, but I didn't press for an answer. Instead, I pulled out my I-pod, and put on some music. For the rest of the time, while waiting for school to end, we didn't talk. Instead, I listened to my music, enduring his looks when something he didn't seem to expect me to listen to would come on. Finally, though, I stopped the music, looking over at him.

He was looking at me, and the look on his face confused me. It was part adoration, part...something else. I wasn't sure what, for his face went blank upon noticing me looking at him. I thought about asking him about it, but, seeing how he didn't seem to want to tell me what he was thinking earlier, I had the feeling he wouldn't tell me now.

“So,” I said, looking at the time – there were five minutes before the bell would ring – “are you planning on coming home with me again?”

“Am I allowed?” he asked. I thought about it, before frowning.

“I think I'd like to be alone, actually,” I said. “I've got some things to do, and –“

However, before I finished,I heard, in my mind, Hey, girl, is that Edward in the truck with you?

“No way,” I whispered, immediately looking out my window, just slightly behind me, a huge smile coming over my face as I saw a familiar car. Throwing open my door, I hopped out of my car, heading towards the car, doors on either side opening to reveal Kitty and Tristelianna, standing before me in the flesh.

“Oh my god,” I said, sounding delighted to see two of my best friends. I hurried over to them, meeting them halfway between our cars as I threw my arms around first Kitty, then Tristelianna.

“I can't believe your here,” I continued.

“Yeah, well, we were in Montana last time we checked in with everyone, but, being not that far from you, we decided to speed up a bit, and get here sooner rather than later,” Kitty said, before a huge yawn overcame her.

“Did you drive all through the night, or something?” I asked, looking between the two of them.

“No, but we did only stop late in the night, and then leave pretty early in the morning,” Kitty said. I was about to say something else, when Tristelianna looked over my shoulder.

“Hi,” she said, and I looked behind me to see that Edward was standing right there, just a few feet away from me. My eyes widened – I'd completely forgotten about him for a moment, being excited to see the two.

“So, I take it that this is Edward,” Tristelianna said, looking him up and down. Kitty did the same, and whistled.

“You certainly know how to pick them,” she told me. I blushed at her words as I watched the two study each other. They were silent, yet I had the feeling that they were speaking to each other using their gifts, and I felt a sudden jealousy towards Tristelianna over the idea that she could speak with Edward like this. Their silence was finally broken with Tristelianna smiled and turned to me.

“You've got a keeper here,” she said, and my blush went darker as she and Kitty turned to Edward as one.

“Well, I'm sure you were looking forward to spending some time with your girlfriend here, but I'm afraid that we're going to be stealing her away for the rest of the day. Catching up to do and all. Hope you don't mind,” Kitty said, while giving him a bright smile, and then turning back towards me. “Now, where's your new friend, Angela, was it?”

“Still in class,” I muttered, face still red. I peeked at Edward's face, seeing that he was a bit taken aback by the way Kitty and Tristelianna were acting. Still, he was nice enough to be polite to them, saying that it was night to meet you to them and then saying bye to all three of us. I turned to them, frowned a bit at how they'd just dismissed him – at least, that's the way it felt to me. However, the frown didn't stay on my face as a big smile crossed it once again, and I practically attacked Tristelianna with a giant hug.

“I still can't believe your here,” I said.

“Believe it, Bells, we're here,” she said, just as the bell for school to end rang.

“Oh, okay, now point out Angela to us, now,” Kitty said, jumping up and down to look at the students now pouring out from the school. I shook my head at her actions, but turned and looked at the students myself, trying to find Angela. I found her just as she was walking to her new car , which had been dropped at some point before school ended, pointing her out to the other two, who, faster than I would have thought, were on the move to her. The other students, who hadn't noticed the two yet, were suddenly stopping in their tracks, and I saw as they were given a once over by the other students. I could immediately that the males in the crowd would love to have to two attend, why most of the females would happily sell their souls to keep the two from ever attending Forks High.

I had to stifle a laugh as I saw Lauren's dismayed face as Tristelianna plowed right by here, jealousy and envy crossing over her face when she saw Tyler's face as his eyes followed my friend's backside. She didn't even notice when I went by her, so intent in her glare at Tristelianna for daring to catch Tyler's eye.

I hurried up to catch up to them as I saw them about to crowd around Angela, who seemed to realize that something was going on when she looked up and noticed everyone practically frozen in the parking lot. She turned, eyes wide as she noticed my friends, and then saw me behind them, her look becoming puzzled, especially when she realized that we were all heading in her direction.

“Hi,” Tristelianna said the moment she was close to Angela. “I'm Tristelianna, one of Bella's friends here, and this is Kitty. You're Angela, right?”

“Um, yeah,” she said, and she looked at me, confused as she wondered why Tristelianna wanted to know that.

“They want to meet you,” I said, coming to stand close to her. “They know that we've become a bit closer than any of my other friends here, and they're curious about you.”

“Yeah, and since Bella has been pretty closed lip about you, it's just increased our curiosity about you,” Kitty said, while Tristelianna, having realized something, frowned at me. I raised an eyebrow and glanced around, daring her to say something about the shield I kept over Angela in front of so many people. She sighed, but didn't say anything. Knowing what was going on in the minds of everyone around us, she most likely figured out how just about everyone was, as well as the fact that they were all pretty much listening in on what was being said between us.

“We decided to surprise Bella with a visit, and plan to stay the night,” Kitty said. “Think you could join us?”

“They want to interrogate you,” I told point blank, then leaned in closer so that I was sure only she'd hear what I had to say. “It's rare for me to be willing to tell of my abilities, so they want to know what makes you so trustworthy to me.”

A look of dawning crossed her face as she got what I was saying, and she gulped, kind of afraid to know what they were planning on doing. Tristelianna, seeing the look on her face, raised her hand.

“Don't worry, we don't bite,” she said. “Like Kitty said, we're curious about you.”

“Um, well, I can't stay the night, but I could probably stay for an hour or two,” Angela said, and Kitty smiled.

“Wonderful,” she said. “We'll meet you over there, then.”

With that, the two turned, Tristelianna looking over her shoulder at me to say, “See you at your house,” as she walked back to her car. I looked over to Angela.

“Well, guess I'll see you at my house in a few, then,” I said, and she nodded her head.

“See you then, she stated,” turning and getting into her car. I headed to my truck, pulling out and heading home, arriving after Kitty and Tristelianna had, by just a few seconds. Behind me, Angela pulled up to the curve, and we both got out of our respective cars at the same time. Kitty and Tristelianna did the same, going to the trunk to get their bags before following us to the door, which I had gotten opened while they did this. They entered the house, both nodding as they noticed the wards around the door, my necklace warming slightly from their presence.

I told them to go ahead up to my room, Angela going with them while I went and got something for us to drink, as well as some snacks. I also pulled out some meat to begin defrosting, making sure that I got a big enough package for all of us, since it wouldn't just be Charlie and me tonight. I vaguely wondered what Charlie's thoughts would be when he learned of our guests for the night, particularly since I had the feeling of just how Tristelianna and Kitty would introduce themselves to him. I sniggered as I thought of what his face would look like, then took the plate of snacks I'd fixed up to my room.

Tristelianna and Kitty had both made themselves at home, meaning one was playing on my computer, the other on my Wii, and both were interrogating Angela with all sorts of questions, some things that were just a bit too invasive. I cleared my throat loudly, gaining their attention, and raised an eyebrow at Tristelianna, the one who was being the most pressing of the two.

“What?” she said. “You've mentally blocked her from me, so I have to get my answers somehow.”

Angela jumped a bit at that, while I face palmed. While I had told her about my abilities, as well as Elena's, my other friends abilities hadn't come up, so she was unaware that they too were mutants.

“You...you can read minds too?” Angela said, looking surprised. Tristelianna got her own surprised look on her face, tilting her head as she said, “Yes,” almost questioningly. It didn't take her much to realize why Angela was surprised by the information, as she went, “Oh, Bella didn't tell you.”

“No, I didn't,” I said, causing Kitty to pause her game in order to look at me.

“I would have thought, finding someone who didn't mind, you would tell her all about us,” Kitty said, while Tristelianna nodded and Angela looked between us three curiously. I shrugged.

“It didn't really come up,” I said. “While she knows about Elena, I didn't get around to mentioning the rest of you to her.”

“She didn't straight up ask, so you didn't bother volunteering the information,” Tristelianna said, simplifying it. I nodded – that had pretty been the reason for it. It wasn't that I was hiding it from her, I just didn't see a need to mention it, and she didn't ask about it, so the information wasn't told to her.

Angela turned to me.

“So, are the rest of your friends from your other schools, they're mutants as well?” she asked, and I nodded my head.

“Yeah,” I said. “Most of them, anyway. I did make some friends at my school in Scotland, though their pictures are only here in my room. And none of them are mutants, but they are pro-mutant.”

I didn't add that, considering that they were wizards, they just took our mutant abilities in stride, and weren't jealous that we could do something they couldn't without a wand. That was something that I really doubted I'd ever let Angela know about – in truth, unless she met, fell in love, and decided to marry a wizard, the only way I would tell her about that part of my life would be if she discovered that Edward and his family were vampires, because then, in order to keep her from being killed, I would be adopting her into my family, in the wizarding world, thus making it legal for her to know without any actions against her being able to be taken. After all, by making her family in the wizarding world, she fell under the same protection laws as a magical when it came to vampires – it wasn't unusual for the non-magical members of a family to learn about some of the magical things in the wizarding world, including the creatures of it. It was, in fact, impossible for it not to happen, unless the family was one of those that had disowned their magical child because of a number or reason, most being because of religion.

Angela nodded her head, then turned to Tristelianna.

“So, you're a mind reader?” she said to her.

“Yeah, though it's not all I am,” Tristelianna said. “Truthfully, I'm more of a mind manipulator. Not only can I read minds, but I can implant thoughts and memories, speak to people mentally, and take away thoughts and memories. I can also take control of someone if I really want to, though I don't like doing that often – I've been taught to only do that in an emergency. And, if Bella is around, my abilities tend to become just being able to speak to someone mentally, because when she spreads her shield around, it keeps me from doing anything else – both useful and annoying, because while I do like the silence I don't get often, if I want or feel the need to do something to someone, I can't unless she retracts her shield.”

“And I don't do that often when she ask, unless it's a situation that I know needs it,” I said. I noticed that Angela looked a bit alarmed over how Tristelianna put her talent, though she didn't immediately turn to run away as some would do upon hearing that. While she was a bit uneasy about hearing what Tristelianna could do, I had the feeling that it wouldn't take her long to get used to the idea. She'd just need a bit more time to process it.

“And what about you?” Angela asked Kitty after a few moments.

“Oh, it's nothing to exiting. I can just basically become ghost like, and walk through things. I can also take other people and things with me when I do that, so long as I'm holding them,” Kitty said. “Truthfully, I'm the type of mutant anti-mutant people use as an example for why we should have to register and be treated like we're less than non-mutants.”

Angela nodded her head in understanding, and after that, we just talked, munching on the snacks I'd brought up before Angela had to leave. I walked her to the door, being that I needed to get dinner started. After waving bye to her, I headed straight to the kitchen, where I was joined by Kitty and Tristelianna a few minutes later.

“I like her,” Kitty said, and Tristelianna nodded her head.

“She's a genuinely nice person, which is kind of rare to find,” Tristelianna said. I nodded my head, and that was pretty much all that was said about Angela.

“So, what's your dad like?” Kitty said. I told her.

“Does he know?” Tristelianna asked.

“No. And I don't want him to, either,” I said, making it clear what my opinion about that was. She frowned, clearly not liking the idea, but I knew that she would be respective of my wishes. Even though she might not agree with my decision, she knew that it my choice if he knew or not. And I knew that he wouldn't be pushing it, either – I was just getting to know him, and just because I was finding out that most of Renée's lies about him were just that, lies, didn't mean that he wouldn't resemble her in some ways. And I had to admit that being rejected because I was a mutant and witch was one the one thing he would resemble her in.

“No mentioning anything about Hogwarts or being mutants, then?” Kitty said, and I nodded.

“He knows that I went to a school in Scotland, though he doesn't know the name, and he knows that I made a few friends there, so you can mention them, and just say at our school in Scotland or at the Xavier school, but nothing about magic or anything mutant related, okay?” I said, and she nodded her head.

We then gossiped for a bit, them telling me about all the sights they'd seen so far, me telling them about the last few days. They kind of shared this look together when I told them about telling Edward what I was because I didn't want any secrets between us, which had me a bit suspicious. Before I could question them, though, I heard Charlie pull up, just in time as I finished dinner. I pulled down the required number of plates as Charlie opened the door, entering the house.

“Bella? “he called.

“In here,” I said, and Tristelianna and Kitty both stood up from their seats.

“Do you know whose car it is parked in front of the...” he started, only to stop speaking as he entered the kitchen, eyes widening upon seeing Kitty and Tristelianna, who both smiled widely at seeing him.

“Hey, Uncle Charlie,” they both said, practically launching themselves at him, giving his stunned form a big hug. I turned away before I could begin laughing, both at their actions and at his startled face. It was clear that he hadn't been expecting this kind of welcome, especially since I wasn't the touchy feely type – which, truthfully, had nothing to do with being a mutant. I'd never really been the touchy-feely type, a trait I shared with Charlie, from what I'd observed so far.

The two came back to sit down, acting as if they'd done nothing out of the ordinary – which, I supposed, wasn't to them. After all, when it came to the family members that were nice with my friends, I considered them to be my aunts and uncles. So it made sense that they would consider Charlie – who I'd had nothing but good things to say about since being here – as their uncle. Of course, I didn't mention this to Charlie, so his surprise was warranted.

It took him a few minutes to get over his shock; if the doorbell hadn't rang, I had the feeling it might've taken a bit longer. He turned, half stumbling because of his lack of bearings, and went to get it. The moment he was gone, I couldn't help but let out the laughter that I had withheld before, though I did my best to keep it quiet.

“Oh my god, his face,” I gasped out as I let myself fall to the floor with my arms around my waist as I let the laughter go. I hadn't laughed this hard since my conversation with Edward, when he told me he didn't have a soul. Tristelianna and Kitty both let my laughing fit go on for a few more minutes before they interrupted it, Tristelianna coming and poking my side repeatedly to get me to stop. I did so, standing up just in time, for Charlie came back into the kitchen, moving a bit cautiously, as if afraid that the two would hug him again. I almost started laughing again, but didn't when I saw who was behind him, a puzzled look crossed my face as I saw Billy being wheeled into the room by Jacob.

What are they doing here? I mentally asked myself, wondering if I had forgotten about them coming or not. A quick look through my memories showed that it was the latter; this wasn't a planned visit.

“Hello, Bella,” Billy said, while Jacob, noticing the food, began to salivate.

“Hi,” I said, not sure of what else to say – I mean, should I mention that I didn't know they were coming over? Would it be rude of me to do so? Or did Charlie just not mention that they'd be coming over today? The look on his face wasn't surprise at seeing his friends, but then, perhaps, he was used to them just coming over whenever. These thoughts ran round and round in my head, but, thankfully, Charlie took charge.

“Billy came to watch the game with me,” he told me. “Who are...”

“Um, well, if you're all hungry, go ahead and dig in,” I said, interrupting what Charlie was saying.

“Dad, these are some of my friends from my other school. This is Tristelianna Haliwell and Kitty Pryde,” I said, pointing to them individually. “They came to visit.”

“Oh,” he said, as Jacob, noticing that there were even more people in the room, went wide eyed upon seeing the two of them. I had to hold back a giggle – much like when Jacob had seen me, he was now looking at them with the same look. And, unlike me, who ignored it when he had done it, Tristelianna didn't. In fact, she walked right up to him, leaned over – she was taller than him by several inches – and looked him right in the eye, before giving him a once over. She then looked over at the two of us.

“Not really impressive, is he?” she asked lowly, causing him to flush red with embarrassment and anger as she moved away, and I knew that she would ignore him on purpose now, as if to show just how unimportant he was to her. I felt a little sympathy for him over her her kind of harsh words and immediate dismissal of him, especially since I had the feeling that he didn't know exactly why she was like that. He didn't know that, while I didn't tell the whole story that he'd told me, I had told them about how they supposedly descended from wolves, and that some of them had been able to turn into wolves, using his word of 'werewolves' even.

I'd forgotten, at the time, just how prejudiced Tristelianna was against them, not because of preconcieved notions, but because of all of our experiences. Not even Professor Lupin – whom Tristelianna used to get along with pretty well – really escaped her frosty attitude. Of course, considering the fact that Professor Lupin had, after forgetting to take his potion that one night, back in third year, and almost bitten Harry, it was understandable why she wasn't all that nice to him. When it came to Harry, Alexandra, and Morgan, Tristelianna would become the fiercest protector of them, and would hold a grudge for life against anyone who slight or attempted to harm any of them, even if it wasn't on purpose and was actually the last thing the person wanted. It was the latter that had happened to Harry with Professor Lupin, but the fact that it had happened at all had earned him a black mark from her.

Of course, I was only feeling a little bit sympathetic towards him. Like Tristelianna, I didn't particularly care for werewolves, and while I was a bit more tolerant of the one's like Professor Lupin – there were only a few I truly hated – I was a little less tolerant of the other type. And, Jacob had pretty much hinted that his tribe was one of the other types.

After loading up a plate, Tristelianna and Kitty both headed up to my room. I followed them, only to pause for a second to tell Jacob that he wasn't welcome to follow – it was a girl's night, after all – before continuing up the stairs. Charlie didn't say anything about me not eating in the kitchen or living room with the others, most likely because my friends were here, and he didn't press from Jacob to be able to join – not only did what I'd said before mean he wouldn't push, but he'd also heard Tristelianna's rather cruel words, giving him the very obvious idea that Jacob would not be welcome up to my room right now. I also just knew that he would probably ask me about her brush off at some other point, probably after Billy left tonight, if we were still up.

Billy, however, didn't seem to really get that, for, as I was going up the stairs, I overheard his asking Jacob why he didn't come with.

“It's a girl's night, Mr. Black,” I said as I started up the stairs, earning a a startled look from him, as he hadn't seemed to notice I was there.

“Oh,” he said, then looked at his son. Though I didn't hear what he said, I did see Jacob's face go red at whatever his words were, and was chuckling as I reached the second floor landing, heading straight to my room.

“There you are,” Kitty said – I saw she'd already made herself comfortable in my desk chair, laptop open and running. In front of the television, a Wii controller in her hand, Tristelianna was starting a new file on my Legend of Zelda, Twilight Princess game. I just shook my head, going to the only other available sitting spot – my bed – before beginning to eat, watching as Tristelianna began playing the game out yet again, Kitty pulling up a walk through to shout out where bonus things were at every now and then – while not needing the walk through for the actual game itself, getting everything else wasn't imprinted in her mind already, and, being one of the people who liked to at least attempt to complete the game with a hundred percent, she wasn't adverse to having a guide to help her out.

A good hour and a half passed in this fashion, the three of us hardly eating as Kitty and I watched/helped Tristelianna play the game. Unlike Kitty, I too had played the game enough, and done so with the intent of hundred percenting it that I didn't need the guide in front of me. I remembered where almost everything was, and how to get a good bit of it as well.

Tristelianna only played long enough to finish the first three temples, as well as the cutscene after the third temple, just leaving Link standing in Hyrule field for a moment to let our favorite score from the game play a bit before turning it off, without saving – she liked watching that cutscene quite a bit. Kitty had shut down the laptop by then as well, and was very quick in choosing a movie to watch, picking one of our favorites and popping it in before coming to the bed to sit down, Tristelianna coming to do the same with her still mostly full plate of food – of course, all of our plates were like that.

“So, hear anything from England lately?” I asked them, wondering if they'd gotten more information about what happening there than I had. I wouldn't lie – the two, Tristelianna especially, were all closer to that group than I was, and, while I did e-mail them every now and then, I knew that they were busy, and wasn't all that surprised by the short e-mails I got back from them.

“Yeah, Harry's been keeping me updated,” Tristelianna said. “Apparently, they've been busy with the trials.”

“I would have thought they'd been done with them already. Has there been some sort of setback?” I asked – it had, after all, been more than six months since the war had ended, and, while it had been mentioned that the trials had begun, I hadn't heard anything else about them.

“Well, they have been busy trying to round up those that ran after the Battle at Hogwarts,” Tristelianna said, “and, though they don't have them all, they've got the ones stupid enough to stay in England, as well as the ones stupid enough to try and plead Imperius or bribe their way into a pardon.”

“Well I knew that,” I said. “Last I heard, the trials had started.”

Then, my face paled upon realizing the full extent of just what she said. I got a bad feeling about it, especially when coupled with the way she seemed to avoid looking at me, which caused me to wonder what it was that she was hiding. After all, due to some of my actions due to the blood war, I knew for a fact that there was price upon my head by more than one Death Eater – in fact, I was pretty sure that there was one who would do anything, anything, to kill me.

“Do we know any of the names of those who have managed to escape?” I asked slowly, and I saw her take a deep breath. I knew that I wasn't going to like what she was going to say next.

“Rodolphus Lestrange is the only name of real importance that we know has managed to escape,” she said, and I sighed. I should have known that he would be the one.

“What about his brother?” I asked. She shook her head.

“Dead,” she said. “Tonks managed to take him down during the battle.”

“Well, at least I'll only have to deal with one of them,” I muttered. “Of course, it has to be the one that's good with planning.”

Tristelianna snorted.

“Yeah, just your luck, huh,” she said. “Hopefully, you won't need to worry. As good as he is at planning, he has no hope of making all the way here to America without being caught – and, unlike in most of Europe, the Sentinals have been informed that he is a 'use excessive force on sight' level of security. While it's preferred he be alive, if they have to kill him, they won't hesitate to do so. Besides, chances are, if he discovers that Hermione and the others are there in England, he's probably going to assume you are too – we rarely split up, after all, and even when we do, we're still nearby each other.”

“So you're saying that because we seem to be predictable, he'll stay on that side of the ocean,” I said.

“Yeah, pretty much,” she said, and I couldn't help but laugh at the way she said it.

“While I have the feeling that's true, Rodolphus is one of the few that I can see willing to do anything to get his hands on me. Remember the reports of what happened after he learned what I'd done,” I said. “Even with him being a pure blood fanatic, I wouldn't put anything past him in his quest to kill me. He pretty much made it clear that he'd let nothing stop him from doing that.”

“Yeah, I know,” Tristelianna said. “I have the feeling that the only reason why he's not dead yet is because he was one of the ones caught with several stunners during the first wave of attacks. I don't remember seeing him in the final part of the battle at all.”

“I'd be surprised if you remembered any of the people we saw. There were so many,” Kitty said.

“She's right,” I added. Tristelianna did the mature thing to our ganging up on her – she stuck out her tongue at use before taking a bit of food almost defiant like.

“So, other than that bit of news, why is it that the trials have been taking so long. I mean, surely they can't have paused them to just look for escaped Death Eaters this entire time?” I said.

“No, of course not,” Kitty said, while also frowning at me, as if I should have known better. I just raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to remember that we were talking about British wizards here, who would procrastinate one objective until they completed the one they chose to work on first – if the DMLE decided to look for Death Eaters over doing the trials, then you could be sure the chances of the rest of the Ministry not doing anything else was high until they got the sign that it was okay to do something else.

“Hermione and Azure have had to write and vote in a new law to make it so that one couldn't deny taking the truth potion if proven to be lying while in front of everyone after swearing to tell the truth. There was apparently a law in place to make it so that the only way the truth potion could be used in a trial is if the person on trial is willing to take it. While they could have just ignored that, it wouldn't set a good example for what they were trying to do, so they wanted to make sure it was legal,” Tristelianna said. “So, while they did the trials they could, most of the trials in general were just pre-trials. After all, while knowing that the person is lying, doesn't do much good if something can't be done to stop it.”

“Too true,” I said, taking a bite of food and turning back to the movie. My mind wasn't on the movie, though, but on what I'd just learned about what was going on in England. While I knew that not every Death Eater had managed to be captured or killed – or those who were sympathetic to the Death Eaters' cause and had helped them in the final battle to attempt to get what they wanted (which would have meant those who weren't inbreed and with them deserved to die) – but I had hoped that those who were among the worst, the higher ups, had at least been taken care of. I probably wouldn't have slept so well if I had known earlier; in fact, I had a feeling my sleep might not be all that wonderful know that I knew the truth, especially within the few days after the battle. Especially knowing that Rodolphus had managed to survive – Bellatrix's husband hadn't been exactly happy to learn of her death from me, particularly consider how I'd done it as well. From the rumors, the only person angrier than him over the fact was Riddle, though, for Riddle, it had mostly been because she was his most fanatic supporter rather than anything else.

We didn't talk about anything overly important after that; instead, we annoyed Kitty by talking about anything and pretty much everything we could. I also confirmed with them that I was going to go to Mystic Falls to see Elena in the pageant, asking if they were going as well – the answer was an affirmative. About the only other thing of interest mentioned was that Alexandra and Morgan both seemed to have become twisted up in knots over a guy, respectively, of course. I was a little interested in this – after all, the two were hardly ever twisted up in knots when it came to guys. Their dating track, while not extensive, were pretty impressive, particularly Morgan's – and all because of just one of the guys she'd dated.

It was after midnight that we finally seemed to grow tired, Kitty and Tristelianna transfiguring to comfy beds for themselves as I made sure the door was locked – it wouldn't do for Charlie to feel a need to check up on me and see the beds, which would probably have him asking questions about it, questions I knew I wouldn't be able to answer without giving away my magical abilities.

“So, how long are you going to stay?” I asked as I crawled into my bed, my room dark.

“Um, we'll probably be leaving in a day or too – we thought we'd stay at least until the weekend; I was actually thinking we could visit the magic center in Seattle,” Tristelianna said.

“Yeah, that would be a good idea,” I said, yawning as I settled myself into my bed.

“Perhaps you can even invite Edward and some of his family to come along,” Kitty murmured, already falling asleep.

“Maybe,” I said, before I closed my own eyes to go to sleep. I didn't hear if Tristelianna had anything to add to that, falling asleep quickly myself.

Chapter Text

“Hey, Edward,” I said, the moment I spotted him in the parking lot the next morning, purposely parking my bike – Angela, having gotten her new car during lunch the previous day, as a surprise from her mother, meant that I could bring my bike today as opposed to my truck – next to his Volvo, which he'd just parked himself there a few moments beforehand. I gave short waves to his siblings, who looked at me with various degrees of curiosity as I walked up to Edward. For a moment, it looked at though they were about to converge upon me, their curiosity taking them over, but I really didn't give them much of a chance to even attempt it, grabbing Edward's arm and pulling him with me towards the school.

“So,” I said, once we were away from his siblings, “I have a question for you. How would you like to join me, Tristelianna, and Kitty this weekend? We're going to Seattle to hang out, and I'd really like it if you'd come.”

I put on a pleading face as I looked at him, hoping that he would come with. While I hadn't originally thought to ask him to come with – particularly as I was already planning to ask Angela if she wanted to come, for the one day, at least – when Tristelianna mentioned where she wanted to go on Sunday, the idea of bringing Edward along with became very tempting. I mean, since it was clear he knew nothing about witches, I knew that he'd never been to the Seattle wizarding alley, Kithic Avenue. I figured it would be quite an adventure for him to go with us – give him an insight to the wizarding world that simply talking about it wouldn't give.

“Um, what days?” he asked.

“Sunday,” I said. “We're going to have a girl's day with Angela on Saturday, but seeing that she can't be with us on Sunday, I figured that you could join instead. We plan on going to a place that we can't bring Angela with us to on Sunday, but we can bring you there. And I just know that it's somewhere you've never been, and would probably find interesting to see.”

He thought about it for a moment, probably wondering what it was that I wanted to show him, particularly since he'd probably been there quite a few times, enough to know if there was anything of interest, it was something that he hadn't known about until he met me. I wondered if he would realize this himself as I waited for his answer. Unfortunately, being that I wasn't a mind reader, I had no way of knowing what he was thinking when finally agreed that he would come.

“How do you plan on getting there?” he asked.

“We're taking my truck,” I said. “Neither of them really want to drive until they leave, and if they have to, they don't want it to be in Tristelianna car. They're kind of sick of being in there.”

“When are they leaving?” he asked.

“Monday morning,” I said. “I've got a few more days with them.”

“You sound rather happy to know that they're here,” he said.

“I've missed them,” I answered back, truth ringing out of every word. We were slowly walking towards my first class, unmindful of everyone around us. Since I had no intention of bringing up anything that shouldn't be heard by anyone other than him and his siblings, it didn't worry me about the fact that several of the people were most likely listening in on our conversation. There was nothing really interesting about what I was saying right now, and even if they'd caught what I'd said about Seattle, I still hadn't said anything out of order. In fact, the only thing that I could see some of them doing was trying to follow us, in which case, they wouldn't do to well at. The avenue was protected so well that no mundane could get there without the help of a magical, and following a magical didn't count. They'd have to be in the same car as me in order to get there.

“Are you going to be hanging out with them after school?” he asked, and I nodded my head.

“You can come if you want to,” I said. “While I am planning on asking Angela if she wants to spend the night, if she is able to, she would still have to go home and pack, and she wouldn't have to be there for at least an hour or two.”

“No, that's okay,” he stated. “I won't intrude on you time with your friends.”

I could tell that he wasn't exactly fully happy to say that, though not because he didn't want me to hang with my friends. It was more like he didn't like being away from me, a feeling that I could understand – after all, even though I would still be seeing him at school today, as well as for a while Sunday, it didn't feel like enough. I wanted more time with him – and it was a want that confused me, a lot.

“Well, I guess that means that I'm yours for the moment, then,” I said, then blushed as what I'd just said went through my mind. I hadn't quite meant to say that, though I wasn't about to take it back. I didn't mind the idea of being his, in all honesty, would love to belong to him for longer than just the moment, a thought that also surprised me. I didn't know why I was even thinking it; while I'd been at the school for a while already, my relationship with Edward was still in the 'starting to become good friends' stage. And, while I'd been attracted to him, I didn't quite want to ruin it by attempting to move it in a different direction. Of course, if it went in that direction on its own, well, who would I be to fight fate.

He didn't comment on my words, simply placed his arm over my shoulders once more as we walked towards the school. Being the third day that we'd been seen together, as well as the third in which his arm was thrown over my shoulders, we weren't stared at with as much incredulous as we had been the first day, but people still seemed a bit shocked to see us walking together, especially with him being possessive over me, and me allowing it.

Edward and I just ignored them, though, only careful not to say anything that they weren't meant to hear – we basically continued our talk from the previous days, only stopping and separating from each other when it was time to go to class. Edward was always there waiting for me at the end of my classes, walking me to my next one as he questioned me on my favorite things some more. It wasn't until lunch, when we were able to have a seat to ourselves – near his siblings, but still not at the same table – that we stopped talking about the 'safe' subjects, and started talking about the other things about me that he wanted to know. This time, he asked about the people I knew in the wizarding world, I started with the Professors, such as Snape, our hard, cold potions professor whom almost everyone hated at school, but whom my friends and I actually liked, despite being the Head of Slytherin house; Flitwick, our charms professor whom was a half-blood due to having a goblin parent, one of the shortest people I knew, a top rate duelist, and my Head of House (Ravenclaw); McGonagall, Transfiguration professor, Head of Gryffindor, deputy headmistress when I was in school, and a cat animagus; and Sprout, Head of Hufflepuff, our Herbology teacher, and the last person you should really anger, as my second year DADA teacher discovered the hard way.

In the middle of speaking about them, I also told him about a few...interesting moments I had with them, particularly with Professor McGonagall, back in second year. I couldn't keep from admitting the fact that I was a bit of a prankster back at Hogwarts, explaining it off as the fact that there just wasn't anything else to do. He gave that little half-smile when I said that, chuckling as I told him the prank I'd pulled off involving spelled catnip and a small compelling charm. I could tell he enjoyed the story – though I did have to explain what an animagus was when I told him about her being one. He looked a bit surprised to learn that some witches and wizards could turn into an animal at will, though it was set with specifics, and not everyone could do it. He was a bit relieved when I told him that I couldn't, though I did have an idea of what animal I would become if I could do it. I promised to show him later.

Before I could continue speaking about what other teachers I'd had, he asked about something different.

“Did you...did you have any boyfriends before coming here?” he asked. I paused at that, finding it a bit random of him to ask. I was about to answer when he suddenly sighed, looking over at his siblings table.

“What is it?” I asked him.

“I forgot to tell you that I won't be here the rest of the day,” he said. “Alice and I are skipping out the rest of the day – we're going hunting.”

“Oh,” I said. “Just you and Alice?”

“Yeah,” he told me. “I rarely just go with Rosalie, Jasper did a hunt last night, and Emmett, well, he's declared he's never going hunting alone with me after the last time we went.”

“Oh,” I said. “What happened last time?”

“He drove me nuts, worrying about you,” came someone else's voice from right behind me. I didn't flinch, despite my surprise as I looked over my shoulder to see Edward's siblings standing right behind me, having snuck up on me while I was speaking to Edward. I raised an eyebrow, waiting to see what move they'd make. They'd already dealt with their lunch – their hands empty – so I wondered exactly why they were all over here, seeing as only Alice would be going with Edward. My unasked question was answered when Jasper sat down, the other three remaining standing.

“Yeah, I could see how that would make you want to avoid going hunting with someone,” I said, holding out my hand to Emmett, who had been the one to speak before. “Bella Petrova,” I said, introducing myself to him.

“Emmett Cullen,” he said, shaking my hand. I nodded, having already known who he was, before looking over at his mate.

“Rosalie Hale,” she said, her voice cool but not entirely unfriendly. I got the feeling that she wasn't sure what to think about me, if she should see me as a threat or if she shouldn't. The fact that she still introduced herself to me, at least, told me that she didn't dislike me, at least, not to the point that she'd be rude. I had the feeling that she'd reserve judgment, for now at least. She didn't hold out her hand for me to shake.

“I'm Alice,” Alice said, holding out her own hand. I shook it, noticing that she frowned upon seeing that my gloves were still on, and I raised an eye brow at her, as if asking her if she had been expecting something different from me. She sighed.

“I had to try,” Alice said, and Edward gave her a bit of a dirty look.

“I don't really go anywhere without my gloves on,” I told her. “And I don't like being surprised by memories either.”

“So get your permission beforehand, is that what your saying?” Alice said.

“Yes,” I said, “and don't assume that you'll automatically get it, either.”

“Got it,” she said, before looking over to Edward. She must've asked him something mentally, because he sighed once again before standing up.

“Leaving now, I take it,” I said, and I knew that others could tell that I didn't particularly like the idea.

“Yes,” he said.

“You'll be back by Sunday?” I said, and he nodded his head.

“Okay. Um, just come by the house after Charlie leaves, and go ahead and run, too. We'll bring you home afterward,” I told him, gaining another nod from him. Then, before anything else could be said, he reached out, cupping my face with his hand, almost as if he'd forgotten what skin to skin contact did for me. Though it should have been an impossibility due to his hand being so icy, it felt as though I'd been burnt where he touched me, and though I should have been annoyed at the slight flash of his past I'd gotten – which featured the woman I suspected to be his mother – as well as the quick hint of the thoughts of those in the room, my heart began to pound so quickly in my chest that I really couldn't find any reason to be irritated with him for doing it.

The contact only lasted a few seconds before he left, but it took at least a few minutes before my heart decided to behave. When I finally came back to myself, I saw the other three looking at me, Emmett amused, Jasper amused and confused, and Rosalie seemingly to think I was acting crazy. I blushed lightly, but acted as if I wasn't embarrassed about my actions.

“So, any particular reason you came over here with Alice, or were you that eager to meet me?” I asked.

“I already know you,” Jasper pointed out.

“They didn't before,” I said, and he inclined his head.

“We just figured we'd come and say hello,” Emmett said. “Especially since, as you just pointed out, we haven't met you yet. And, as Alice was coming over to introduce herself, we decided to come join her as well.”

With that, they left.

“I guess that he wasn't kidding when he said they were just coming to introduce themselves,” I said to Jasper, who had chosen to stay at the table with me.

“No, they weren't,” Jasper said. We were silent for a few moments before he spoke, asking if he could inquire about some questions he had about the magical world. I didn't really see harm in answering him, though I did mention that I would reserve the right to decline answering if need be. He was alright with that fact, and began his questions, which were pretty simple, at least, to begin with, for he simply asked me what my school had been like, what the classes I'd done were, what they were... All pretty much simple questions, things that I didn't find to be to intrusive.

Being that we were speaking quietly to keep other from hearing, we were able to know when it was safe to speak and when it wasn't. Keeping an eye out around us while speaking was easy, particularly considering that he was more diligent in doing that than I was. Still, even as he did that, he took in everything that I said. He asked more indepth questions about Transfiguration and Ancient Runes than about my other classes, though he did show interest in Arithmacy as well. Seeing that most of his interest was about Ancient Runes, I told him that I would let him look over one of my books, just to see what he thought of it.

He couldn't help but laugh as I told him about Divination, or, rather, about my experience with the few actual classes I'd taken before deciding to do that on self-study. I didn't really blame him for that, though, seeing as how the professor for the class was a complete loon. The class itself, when not dealing with the teacher, was okay, but in all truth, the subject for the most part was kind of useless, especially for people who didn't have the gift of Sight.

While you could train yourself to see what was going to happen, you could only do that for a few moments, and dealing with the other things that were taught in Divination, well, for the things outside of crystal balls, weren't as easy to interpret as some people would seem to think. Truthfully, in school, with the loon of a teacher, Divination was considered a class those who wanted an easy grade would often take, especially considering that being truthful wasn't needed – in all honesty, the best way to get the highest grade from the professor we had was to put a lot of misery and death in your 'seeings' of the future, especially if you 'seeing' into your own future. In fact, the only reason why most others would take it was to gain the highest test scores they could, and they usually only did self study for it, so as to not have to deal with it taking up time they could have dealing with more valuable class work; then, they'd only dealing with taking the official tests, as in O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s.

Seeing his confusion upon hearing that last bit, I explained about what was basically the two major exams taken in the wizarding world, the first which cleared students to be allowed to continued to do the advance materials for every class, the second of which basically said what type of job you could possibly get, if the country isn't corrupted through idiotic things, like thinking the status of your blood was actually important.

“And what were your 'scores' like?” Jasper asked as we stood up and got ready to leave.

“Pretty good,” I said. “I haven't actually taken my N.E.W.T.s yet, due to certain...factors in the last year, as well as deciding not to go back to Hogwarts this year. I, um, I'm going to be applying to take my N.E.W.T.s during summer – it is allowed, after all. My O.W.L.s, on the other hand, well, I didn't have anything under an 'A', or, rather, a 'C'. The, uh, grading in the wizarding world uses different lettering than mundane. Instead of positive grades being 'A', 'B', and 'C' while bad grades are 'D' and 'F', they are 'O', 'E', and 'A', with bad grades being 'P', 'D', and 'T'.”

“Why the change in letter grades?” Jasper asked.

“I really don't know, other than the fact that they go to what they stand for. I mean, 'O' is for Outstanding, 'E' is for Exceeds Expectations, 'A' for Acceptable, that sort of thing,” I said.

“Really,” Jasper said, and I nodded. “So, what do the failing letters mean?”

“Poor, Dreadful, and Troll,” I said. He looked at me at the last one.

“Seriously? Troll?” he said.

“Yup,” I said. “And, in case your wondering, I've never had any of those grades.”

“From what I've seen so far, I don't doubt that,” he said. We arrived at our French class, then, and I was waiting for him to ask a question in French, which he did rather quickly, asking what the specific grades I'd gotten were. I just gave a little smile as I told him that he hadn't earned the right to know what they were quite yet. I didn't tell him that, if it came to it, Edward was going to know that before him.

After doing our work in class and speaking a bit more about my classes – this time about what my favorite classes were at Hogwarts – we quieted for a moment before he asked if it was possible to see some of what I'd learned. That was a bit harder to let happen, considering that it would have to be done without anyone who didn't know around. I'd have to figure out a place to show off some of what I could do later. Like Edward, he walked me to my next class, which had me jokingly asking if I should be expecting him after class as well, which puzzled him.

“Edward has taken to walking me to and from class lately,” I explained. “It was easy to get use to, plus, it kept the dog over there at bay.”

I made a motion towards Mike as I said that, and he laughed upon realizing that I'd just referred to Mike as a dog instead of a human.

“Would you like me to do that?” he asked once he stopped laughing.

“No, I haven't really had a chance to talk to Angela today, so I'm going to walk with her, since her next class after this one is just next door to mine,” I said. “She's my first actual human-slash-mundane friend, and I don't want to lose her, or neglect her, either. Plus, I haven't actually extended the invitation for her to join me and friends tonight and tomorrow, so...”

He nodded his head in understanding, leaving me at the door after that. I made my way to my seat, waving over at Angela as I took it. I settled myself in for a very boring lesson, for there was still some of the movie to watch. To keep myself from falling asleep, I put one of my ear buds in, turning my music up just enough for me to hear, and them positioned myself in such a way that I was easily able to hide what I was actually doing. I made sure, when Mr. Banner's back was turned, that I turned the music off and took the bud out before he turned the lights back on at the end of class.

Probably to Angela's surprise, I walked straight over to her upon the bell ringing, despite the fact that Mike, most likely seeing that Edward wasn't here, had started walking to me.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey,” she answered. We started walking out the door.

“So, I have a question for you,” I said, but, before I could say anything more, Mike caught up to us, immediately trying to interrupt us while also trying to throw his arm around my shoulders. I side stepped him, gently grabbing Angela's arm as I tugged her up ahead and away from him.

“Go away, Newton,” I said coldly as I did this, turning and giving him a glare for his presumptuous actions. He froze in his tracks, visibly scared, and I turned from him, satisfied and hoping I'd gotten my point across.

“What question?” Angela asked.

“Well, since you are officially free this weekend, Tristelianna, Kitty, and I were all wondering if you would like to spend the night tonight and go with us to Seattle tomorrow?” I asked. She thought about it for a moment.

“Well, I'll have to ask my mother, but I don't think it'll be a problem. I'll call and let you know,” she finally said, just in time, as we arrived at her class.

“All right,” I said, before leaving her at the classroom door, heading straight to my next class, making it there before the bell rang. Luckily for me, the class went by quickly, and I managed to avoid Mike on the way to my truck. I entered my house, blinking upon noticing that, probably for the first time I'd been there, everything was mostly spotless, and wandered into the kitchen, where I saw Tristelianna and Kitty helping themselves to something to eat.

“So, what did they say?” Kitty immediately asked – I'd told them, before leaving this morning, that I was going to see if Angela could spend the night and if she wanted to go with us tomorrow, and that I would indeed invite Edward for Sunday's adventure.

“Angela will call with her answer, and Edward will come with us,” I said, a slight smile on my face when I said the last bit. I knew that they did notice it, but, thankfully, neither of them said anything about it.

“So, how did school go today?” Tristelianna asked, moving out of my way as I went to the fridge.

“It was fine, up until Edward had to leave,” I said, sighing. “We talked quite a bit about my professors at Hogwarts, and I admitted to having been a bit of a prankster while there. Then, well, he then asked whether I had any boyfriends while there.”

“And...” Tristelianna pressed.

“His sister Alice interrupted so that they could get to their hunt,” I said.

“So you didn't get around to telling him about Fred?” Kitty asked.

“No, not that it's anything important,” I said, shrugging.

“Bella, you dated him for almost two years,” Tristelianna said. “I'd say it's important to mention.”

“It's not like we did anything other than plan pranks and hang out,” I said, almost defensively.

“And kiss,” Kitty added.

“Which were short and nothing to brag about,” I pointed out.

“Only because you were afraid of causing him to pain, despite the fact that he was showing more resilience towards being able to resist that part of your ability,” Tristelianna said.

“Come on, the only reason why I started dating him is because Morgan started dating George, Elena started dating Jordan, and I'm the only one who got along with Fred enough to even be willing to date him,” I pointed out.

“And you decided to take pity on him after the, what was it, thousandth time he'd asked you out after learning of the prank you pulled on Professor McGonagall,” Kitty said.

“And I also only did it because Ronald wouldn't stop asking me out, which annoyed me, especially since he was doing it while he was trying to get with Hermione as well,” I said.

“Take the Weasley you liked over the one you didn't,” Tristelianna said, “ and, concerning Hermione, that was because Mrs. Weasley wanted that to happen, not because of his choice.”

“Still, do you blame me for agreeing to go out with Fred when I had to deal with that?” I asked.

“No. I would have done the same thing. That said, it still doesn't explain why you stayed with Fred for almost two years,” Kitty said. “Especially with the fact that, mentally, he's about the same age that many of the males you happily, and a bit cruelly for some, shot down and made very clear you wouldn't date.”

“It was convenient at the time, it got him to stop bringing attention to me with his antics, Ronald, at least for a few weeks, stopped trying to ask me out; I had someone to prank and talk prank business with, and, unlike all those other males you were talking about, his immaturity was dealing with pranks. He never thought about me undressed or even complained when I didn't want to make out,” I said. “And considering just how much complaining you did with all those boyfriends you had, I think you'll say that I got the better deal with the one boyfriend I had, did I not?”

That shut the two up as they both looked away, knowing that I had the better boyfriend than they did, even if there was something concerning Fred and me that they didn't know.

“Okay, you've got a point there,” Tristelianna said. “But, still, the question does remain: are you going to tell Edward about Fred?”

I sighed, then nodded my head.

“I'm not going to lie to him,” I said, just as the doorbell rang. Standing up , I walked to the front door, where Angela stood, a bag on her shoulder, clearly having gotten permission to stay the night. I took her bag, telling her that the others were in the kitchen for food, and then went up to my bedroom with her bag, placing it onto a chair before turning, pulling out my wand, and making the beds that they'd been using to sleep in disappear, making a pile of blankets and pillows on the floor to make it appear as if they'd been using them instead.

Once I was done with that, I went back downstairs, opening and looking through the cupboards to pull out ingredients for dinner tonight. Seeing as I had several extra hands, and more than just Charlie and me to feed, I pulled out quite a few things, setting Tristelianna to cut up vegetables, Kitty to begin pulling out the pans I'd need, as well as boiling water, and Angela to help me to slice up the meat. Of course, Angela ended up doing this mostly herself, as I had to keep a close eye on the other two, seeing that they weren't as kitchen savvy as me or Harry – in fact, part of the reason why I had Tristelianna cutting instead of dealing with the stove was because I knew better than to let her do any cooking. I don't think that Charlie would like coming home to a partially burnt out house.

With my careful instructions, I managed to walk them through helping start the soup that was for dinner, before I told them they could go. If it wasn't for the fact that Angela was there, and had disappeared rather quickly with her, I'd swear that Tristelianna disapparated the moment I said they could go. I looked over to Kitty, who just looked back at me, and we both shrugged.

“I'll go make sure that Angela is okay,” Kitty stated, turning and walking through the door.

“I'll be up there in a moment,” I told her, turning and lowering the heat on the stove so that the food would still cook, but it wouldn't boil over – I added a small charm to ensure that it would cook properly and without problem. Then, I hurried up the stairs, where, once again, Tristelianna was on my Wii and Kitty on my laptop. Only this time, Angela was on the Wii with Tristelianna, playing a game with her.

I smiled upon seeing that, glad to know that they were all getting along, being that a part of me had been a bit afraid that they wouldn't.

I sat down on my bed, watching the game being played while talking to Kitty, going downstairs every now and then to check on the food. Once it was done, and Charlie came home, we ate quickly before the three were back in my room again while I did the dishes. Charlie, who was getting used to Tristelianna and Kitty being here, and had begun to actually like being called Uncle Charlie, looked a little disheartened when I told him that they were only staying for the weekend, and leaving early on Monday morning, as he hadn't been within hearing distance when this was mentioned.

Star Wars was playing when I got to my room after bidding Charlie good night, and I saw that the other girls had made themselves a comfortable little nest on the floor. I shook my head, going for me closet, where I quickly stripped and pulled on something to sleep in before going over to my bed. Considering that I wasn't wearing a body suit, it wouldn't be a good idea for me to join them on the little nest.

We almost got through the entirety of the Star Wars series, falling asleep one by one. I don't know which of us fell asleep first, me or Tristelianna, but we had to of done it close to the same time, considering that, upon awakening the next morning, the disc menu for the one that I fell asleep on was repeatedly play. Groaning lightly as I stood up, I carefully made my way to the door, slipping out and heading straight to the bathroom, taking care of my business before going downstairs, feeling a bit more awake as I got some coffee going.

Being awake, I started making breakfast, enough for everyone in the house, which included Charlie, whom I could hear waking up as I cooked. He came down, dressed for his fishing trip, and sniffed the air appreciatively as he did so. I wished his a good morning, and set a plate down in front of him.

“So, where are you guys going today?” he asked.

“Seattle,” I said. “We're going shopping and such. I do believe that Tristelianna will be paying for today.”

“For all of you?” he asked, sounding a bit dubious.

“Most likely,” I said. “And she can afford it, too. Her biological parents left quite a fortune for her. That, with the fortune that her adopted father has given her, well, she won't ever be hurting for money, so I say, if she wants to pay for today, let her. She kind of gets offended if you don't let her when she offers. She doesn't really believe pride should stop you from turning away a gift, which is what she'll automatically think if we do that. With her, if she offers to pay, it's because she wants to, not because she's trying to flaunt her wealth or is feeling sorry for someone because they don't have the amount of money that she does. She just does it because she has the money to use.”

He nodded his head, though he didn't quite look as though he really understood it. I didn't try to explain it again – I supposed that he was more used to people letting pride win when it came to dealing with money than just thanking someone for offering to pay for you. I, however, was used to letting one of my friends pay for things for me – Logan did it all the time while we were growing up, being my guardian, while about half of my friends often just did it because they happened to get to their money first. Even Harry, after learning about his vault left to him by his parents, had begun to do that – it was actually something he enjoyed doing, buying things for us.

I heard the sounds of the others getting up just a few moments after that, turning as I place more plates of bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and a few other things onto the table, along with a stack of clean plates and forks. Angela, with Kitty right behind her, were the first to appear, one heading towards the coffee I'd made while the other headed straight to the table. Tristelianna came down just as the two had both sat down at the table, greeting Charlie upon realizing that he was there, a greeting he returned, no longer stiffening when they gave him hugs, and a kiss on the cheek. Despite how freaked out he'd been over the way their first introduced themselves, he had, in the short time, gotten used to them – in fact, I got the feeling that he rather enjoyed their affection, and would probably miss it once they were gone.

After quickly eating, I ran up the stairs, hopping in the shower before the others could, taking a quick one before going to my room and getting dressed, wearing something comfortable in preparation for all the walking I would be doing. I'd just finished when I heard the shower going again, Kitty and Angela coming into my room at that moment, Kitty with a slight scowl on her face.

“I take it that you lost the race to the shower,” I said to her, and she grabbed the pillow from my bed and threw it out me. I simply laughed, especially as, about ten minutes later, as the shower turned off, I saw Angela, who had immediately grabbed a towel and some clothes upon entering my room, run out of it, the shower starting just a few moments later as Tristelianna walked into the room. She started laughing at the look that appeared on Kitty's face upon realizing that she had missed out on being the next person to take a shower.

“Damn, that girl's quick,” Kitty muttered, pouting.

“You might want to make sure you're ready for when she comes out,” I said. “I don't think that Charlie has gotten a shower in yet.”

I stopped right there, holding back a laugh as Kitty, a small look of panic on her face, immediately went into action, grabbing a towel and her clothes before running out the room to wait in front of the door.

“I wonder when she's going to realize that Charlie already took a shower this morning,” Tristelianna said, pulling the towel from her hair, and pulling a comb through it.

“Probably after he leaves,” I said, knowing that Charlie would most likely be doing that sometime soon. And I was right, able to hear Kitty cursing from the bathroom when she heard the front door opening and closing as Angela entered the room, her head looking towards where the bathroom was located as she walked into the room. She turned to look at us.

“She's realizing that she didn't have to stand out there the whole time while waiting for you to finish,” I told her, seeing the confusion on her face.

“Oh,” she stated, doing her best to dry her hair with the towel. We collected our things for the day, while Tristelianna began to 'plan' our day out, Kitty coming in with narrowed eyes at me, to which I just gave her a big smile. She shook her head, pulling her wet hair up into a bun before going and grabbing her shoes.

“So, are we ready to hit the road, or what?” she asked. I looked over to the other two as I shoulder my purse, gaining two nods from the others. With that confirmation, we all headed downstairs to my truck, Kitty and Angela in the back seat, Tristelianna in the passenger seat.

“Any preference for what to listen to?” I asked as I pulled out my I-pod, hooking it up.

“Let's do a mix,” Kitty said. “A little bit of everything.”

Tristelianna nodded in agreement next to her, and Angela just kind of shrugged, not seeming to really care all that much. With my own shrug, I pushed for one of my prearranged playlists, placing it to play on shuffle, and sat back as Amaranthe's 'Burn With Me' began to play, pulling out of the driveway just as it began. The beginning of the drive out of town was pretty quiet. It was only when we had turned in the direction of Seattle, and left town that we started to speak.

“So, did you want to do book, music, or clothes shopping first?” Tristelianna asked, directing her question right at Angela, who kind of froze upon hearing it.

“Uh,” she said, clearly not sure how to answer. “I don't know. I just figured that I would mostly follow you guys around.”

“Well, where do you think you'll get the most stuff at?” Kitty asked. “Don't worry about money – Tristelianna's covering this shopping trip. Just think of where you're most likely to buy a lot of things at, and where you'll buy the least amount.”

Angela looked a bit startled at hearing Kitty mention who was paying for everything, and she looked as though she'd complain – probably not used to having someone she wasn't related to buy things for her – when Tristelianna turned towards her. I didn't need to look to know what she was doing as she begged Angela to just let her take charge of buying everything today.

“Angela, look away now,” I tried to warn, but, a glance in the rearview mirror showed that I was pretty much too late as Angela got caught in her look.

“Please,” Tristelianna simply said, and I knew she was giving Angela her puppy dog look, which had been perfected for years, and had very few people say no to it – in fact, I think that Professor Snape is one of the few people who never succumbed to the face. I saw Angela quickly nodding her head, her face slightly panicked at the idea of causing Tristelianna to cry. I groaned softly as Tristelianna looked forwards, a slightly self-sastified smile on her face.

“What just happened?” Angela asked, sounding confused.

“She gave you her puppy dog face to get you to not complain about her buying things for you,” Kitty told her. “And, seeing that you've agreed, she's not going to let you back out on you word, meaning that you're going to have to deal with whatever it is that she gets you.”

“Oh,” Angela said.

“So, where do you think that you'll get the least amount of stuff at?” Kitty asked.

“Um, I honestly don't know,” she answered. It was clear that being told that she didn't have to worry about price had thrown her for a bit of a loop.

“How about we just go to the book store, then the music store, drop everything off here at the car, and then do the clothes shopping, seeing at we're most likely going to be going to a few stores concerning that as opposed to the one or two we'll go for the others,” I said.

“Don't forget the game and movie stores,” Kitty stated. “I want to go to them as well.”

“I think that sounds like a good idea,” Angela said; a look in the rearview mirror showed that she was grateful for me taking the focus off of her choosing the order of stores to hit first.

“Okay, how about this: we'll hit games first, followed by movies and then music, and end with books, come back to the truck, drop what we get off, eat, and then do clothes,” Tristelianna said. We all thought about it, agreeing that it would definitely work for us, and were silent once again. I turned up the music as one of my favorite songs, Deeper by Alexz Johnson, came on, singing to it along with Tristelianna and Kitty. I felt a bit sorry for Angela, who didn't seem to really know the song that well, nor most of the songs after it, but, with some of them, she got the gist of them pretty easily, as I could see her mouth moving along with the lyrics of some songs as well.

The day went by rather quickly once we made it to Seattle. Despite the fact that we were going to be ending at the book store before eating, I parked near it, knowing that the probability of any of us wanting to walk back to the truck after we were done at the book store would probably be low – I knew that I didn't want to do it, and I was sure the others wouldn't either. It seemed the the before lunch revenue choices had been chosen very well, for, as we went through each store, the amount of items we all got tended to increase each time. By the time we finished at the book store, we were all ready for a break from not only carrying things around, but to be off of our feet as well. The second half of the day passed by even faster, even if we didn't get as much stuff. Still, by the time we started back to Forks, we all had a few new clothing items, with Angela having the most, for Tristelianna seemed to take offense when Angela mentioned she'd never really gotten anything from several of our personal favorite stores. Thankfully, while overwhelmed, Angela seemed not to mind the clothes that Tristelianna picked out for her at these stores – in fact, somehow, I think she seemed to really like quite a bit of it, even if they weren't the exact style or color she normally wore.

By the time we arrived back in Forks, it was close to eight at night, and I was kind of glad that I'd had the foresight to make sure that there were easy to make things ready for Charlie in the fridge. We placed Angela's purchases in her trunk, right where her overnight bag had been placed earlier that day, and waved bye as she headed home, having church early the next morning. Once she'd disappeared down the street, we went inside, going straight upstairs, having eaten dinner while out. We all called out greetings to Charlie, who was on the couch watching a game, as well as bids of night as we headed up the stairs.

“How excited are you about tomorrow?” Kitty asked as we got ready for bed.

“Not sure,” I said. “I mean, while I'm sure that Edward is going to enjoy tomorrow, I'm kind of nervous at the same time. I mean, from the one time we've been there, Kithic Avenue really didn't seem like a magic avenue, at least, not the way that Diagon Alley in London is like.”

“Yeah, well, considering that England is so segregated from their non-magical neighbors, it makes sense that they would have such an ostentatious display of magic in the alleyway,” Tristelianna pointed out. “I know that Kithic Avenue, much like most of the magical avenues here in America, doesn't seem like a magic avenue when compared to Diagon, but it's still an impressive place, and without being so over bearing about it as well. Remember what Dr. Grey had said about Diagon when we went there that first time, how it was just too much?”

“True,” I stated, my memories of what Kithic Avenue was like several years ago kind of dim due to the fact that I'd only gone there once. Having been born in Forks, the wand that responded best to me had been at the wandmaker's shop at Kithic as opposed to the wandmaker's shops in Diagon Alley or le Fey Access, the magic alley in New York, meaning that we'd had to make a trip to it in order to get the best wand for me.

“I'm sure that Edward will still find it interesting,” Tristelianna pointed out, yawning as she slid underneath the covers of the bed she'd reconjured. “After all, he's never been there – that she be enough to at least have him interested.”

I snorted at the way she said that, but had to admit that she was probably right, it would be enough to keep him interested. I just hoped that he enjoyed himself as well.