Prologue:

It became real. The texts, the files and the game took on a whole new form of reality. I couldn't find a way out, he knew where I'd be. I couldn't run, he'd find me. I couldn't tell without risking the life of another person. I looked up into my best friends eyes. Alice, the only one who knew what was going on... The only one who I could relate to. Fear shone on her once innocent face. I was sure my own reflection revealed the same emotion. No, we needed to compose ourselves. We couldn't raise eyebrows, we couldn't afford questions. I gave her the look, the look that said this wasn't the time to panic... We needed to keep a straight face. They would know we were lying. They could see it on our faces. I close my eyes, willing to compose my features. When I reopen them, I notice the same look of concentration on Alice's face. A deep breath. An opened door.

"Miss Dwyer, Miss Brandon, please come in," Charlie Swan, the chief of police opened the door wider, inviting us into the small confines of his office. I took a deep breath. I was far from ready, but I can't back out now. Giving Alice a pointed look, I take my first step into Chief Swan's office.

Chapter 1:

"Are you going out tonight?" I heard her voice before I see her enter the room. Not that that should have been surprising; my back was turned to the doorway. I look up from the peanut butter and jelly sandwich I was making and faced my mother.

"Yeah, Alice and I are gonna catch a movie," I explained as I cut the sandwich in half. "Want some?" I aske offering her the second half of my sandwich with my arm outstretched in her direction. A small smile played on her lips as she reached out and accepted the food I offered her.

"Thanks Bells."

"No problem. Will dad be back soon?"

"Doubtfully. The team's only a week away from finals. He's got the boys training harder than ever. He believes they've actually got a chance this year."

"Hmm," I mumbled without much interested. Phil was the coach of some major league baseball team. I found the whole thing to be ridiculous. I constantly made fun of him, saying that coaching baseball was his feeble attempt at reliving his glory years. Not that they weren't worth reliving; he was once a great baseball player! It wasn't until his car accident shortly after his 24th birthday that things changed. His contract with the Seattle Mariners became void and he could no longer play baseball the way he once could. But, like a true athlete, he just couldn't continue to live his entire life without the sport that he'd always loved. It became his motivation, his support. Most would say that during his trying times, he would have fallen onto the shoulders of his loving and supportive family. But no, not Phil. Family was never much of a concern for him. He was more or less an absent father, hardly home on birthdays or holidays. I may have seen him two or three times a week for the last four years. He's never been one for father daughter dances, and wasn't even there on the night of my first date to give the boy I was currently seeing, Mike, the usual lecture about taking care of his little girl and what awful things he would do if she came back in a less then perfect condition. I really shouldn't complain, I suppose. He has never once been abusive, nor has he ever become addicted to any illegal substance. That was the problem with Jessica Stanley's father. After years of being physically abused by her dad, who was addicted to cocaine, she ended up running away to live in some remote city on the outskirts of Seattle. There, she was struggling so bad that she had to sell herself on the streets. Three years after she ran away from home, her life became a blur of sex, alcohol and cocaine. So, like I said, I shouldn't complain. Things can always get worse.

After finishing my sandwich, I grabbed the keys to my truck and headed for the door. It was just after seven in the evening and our movie didn't start until 8:10. The plan was to catch a bite to eat and then go to the theatre. I opened the door to my red, rusty but beloved truck. After a fifteen minute dive, I ended up in the driveway of my best friend, Alice Brandon's house. She was outside waiting for me when I arrived.

"Took you long enough," she complained as she climbed into my abused monster of a truck. "And when are you gonna replace this damn thing?"

"I'm early!" I said, exasperated. Alice, being the impatient diva that she is, always thought that she never had to wait for anyone. Of course, it was her fault for coming outside early. "And I'll have you know this thing is an antique. You'll never find one like her!" I smiled lovingly at my steering wheel.

"Maybe that's a good thing," she mumbled.

"Quit bitching, if you wanna ride in style, get your own car. As long as your mooching rides off of me, you have no place to complain." She grinned at that, then the truck was engulfed in a pleasant silence.

"I thought we'd ditch the movie date tonight," she said after awhile. "I'm not in the mood for zombies eating each other."

"What did you have in mind?" There was a wicked look in her eyes that made me nervous. Instead of answering, she grabbed her purse from the floor and started digging through it. After a minute or so of searching, she found was she was looking for.

"Ah hah!" She exclaimed, producing what looked like two drivers licenses. At a closer inspection, I realized that they were, indeed, drivers licenses. My face on one and hers on the other. One with the name Lauren Mallory and the other Leah Clearwater. The age of both being 21.

"Fake I.D's?"I asked in disbelief. "How the hell did you accomplish this, Ali?"

"Never doubt my mad skills, Bella boo," she laughed. "Jasper actually got them made for me. They weren't all that expensive, especially considering his cousin is the one who made the I.D's. They've got a 96% success rate. He said as long as we don't try using them against the FBI, we shouldn't run into any trouble with these."

I held onto my I.D as if it would disappear in thin air. There was no way she was serous. "What are we doing?" I asked warily. The cards made us look 21, the world now opened up with possibilities.

"Trinity," she smiled. "We're celebrating tonight in style, even if our ride is less than glamorous."

"Seriously? But that's a nightclub. You've actually got to be 21 to enter since they sell alcohol."

"Look at the I.D, you dumb bitch," she laughed hard at the glare I sent her. "It says we're 21."

"Yeah, I'm aware of that. But we don't look 21."

"Who cares what we look like? We've got enough proof that they have to let us in. Plus, Jazz is in with the bouncers at the club. He's put in some words. If he was right on the phone earlier, which I have enough reason to believe he was, we shouldn't even have to wait very long in line." Risking a glance at my best friend, I could see the excitement buzzing off of her. It was contagious and soon enough, I am bouncing up and down in my seat with excitement. Maybe what we are doing is illegal, but this club was one of the hottest things in the Seattle area. I would be considered a social piranha if I gave up an opportunity like this. Although, as we got closer and closer to our destination, my excitement reached an all new level. I was high on anticipation, ready to get inside and kick my shoes off.

"Ready?" Alice asked as she reached in her purse, grabbing her wallet. She set the bag aside and put her wallet inside the inside pocket of her jacket. "We're right about on time."

"Yeah, I'm definitely ready!" Alice beamed, sensing the excitement that I'm sure was radiating off of me. Her spirits picked up as we got closer to the line. Looking to the front where an exceptionally tall, tanned skin and visibly buff enough to notice from a far away view, Alice nodded briefly with her head.

Quicker than I would have thought possible, the man showed up beside us. "Ladies," he acknowledged us both with a swift nod of his head.

"Dimitri! This is Bella. Is Jazz around?" He nodded his head again and ushered us to the front of the line. There were a few grunts of protest from the partygoers who had already been waiting for possibly hours, but they were ignored by the giant of a man who took quick looks at our fake I.D's, stamped our hands with the words "21 and up", and lead us inside of the club. As we made our way through the narrow hallway that expanded into the room full of sweating bodies grinding and dancing on the dance floor, I feel a sudden anticipation, although different from the way I felt in the truck. Suddenly, the blue and black lights that lit up the room feel eerie and foreign. The people throwing themselves around in an attempt at looking sexy for their dates seemed too animalistic. The music coming from the bass made the room bounce and the floors to shake uncontrollably, causing me to lose my balance on a couple of occasions, quickly catching myself before I had a chance to fall. A cold breath breathed down my neck. Jumping back, I couldn't see anyone.

"Bella?" Alice asked, bringing me back to reality. "What's up?" Her eyebrows crinkled together in confusion. "You okay?"

"Huh?" I looked at my best friend, trying to remember what she asked me. Her face was engulfed in darkness, her clothes taking on a new effect in the blue lights. Jasper Whitlock, her boyfriend of three years had his arms around her waist. His eyes, too, were on me. They displayed a sisterly affection and definite concern. "No, of course not," I said, coming back to myself. "I'm fine. I was just overwhelmed there for a second." She smiled at me, reassured.

"Come on, Bells. Let's dance!" She grabbed a hold of my hand and led me to the floor of people who I was just ogling moments before. Unlike before, their movements didn't scare me, the music didn't bring out fear or anticipation. My mind was spinning, but I didn't let myself think about what just happened. For now, I would dance. I would have fun with my best friend and forget about the unanticipated turn of events. Just as I made my resolve, I saw him. His eyes were trained on me as I walked behind Alice. A small, dangerous smile played on his lips, but the rest of his features were obscured in the darkness. I didn't recognize him, but his presence sent chills down my spine. With my attention elsewhere, I almost didn't notice the couple dancing wildly in front of me.

"Sorry," I quickly apologized after I bumped into the woman. Before I could control my eyes, they went right back to the area in the corner where he once stood, but he was gone.

Authors Note: Hey guys! Just so you know, this is actually my second account on fanfiction, so don't be disheartened by the fact that I'm considered a "new author". I once wrote a story from a different vampire series on fanfiction, but it's an old ass account and I wanted a fresh start. I've been working on this story for the last few days and I'm about to start on the sixth chapter, so I'm a little bit ahead, meaning you can expect frequent updates. Please let me know if you like my story(: I'd love to get some feedback from you guys. Also, AN's from me will probably be pretty rare unless I have something of any real importance to say. I put the first couple of chapters up together so that you have enough material to decide whether it's worth reading or not. I hope you like it!

xoxox

Stephanie.