(A/N): This story is (re)titled "Inside Out", based on the CD by Emmy Rossum. As I was writing this story, I realized that all the songs coincided with the different chapters! So I decided to name each chapter after a song on the CD that went with it.

Chapter One… Rainy Days and Mondays

"Funny but it seems I always wind up here with you. Nice to know somebody loves me. Funny but it seems it's the only thing to do. Run and find the one who loves me."

…

It all started with one of those "in the wrong place at the wrong time" situations.

My boyfriend Josh had left Forks for the University of Oregon the day before, and I was feeling a little lonely, so I took my best friend Chelsea, who I lovingly referred to as "Ace", camping for what was supposed to be a week in the mountains.

"Do you even know where we're going?" Ace called out from a few feet behind me. She held out an unfolded map and twisted it side to side as we walked up the mountain. "This map… is defective." She grumbled.

"I most certainly know where we're going. I don't even need a map. I just feel it." I smiled, hopping over a log like it was a pebble. "From the spot I'm going to take you to, you can see the entire valley. It's beautiful at sundown."

I bounded up the last hill at top speed, the light rain whipping at my face. And then there it was- the beautiful place Josh and I had spent many nights star gazing. It was a large, open area at the top of the mountain, and our fire pit we'd created from loose rocks and brush was sitting, untouched. It was going to be amazing.

"Hurry up, Ace!" I cheered. I tossed my bag next to my feet and sprinted toward the other end. I could hear some kind of raucous going on from beyond the edge, so I inched up.

As I reached the edge, my heart skipped a beat. There were people down in the meadow. There were probably forty or fifty total, all running far too fast, fighting each other. Not to mention, there were ENORMOUS wolves. And they were mauling each other.

I could hear Ace finally catching up, her slow footsteps crunching across the rocks behind me.

"Ace, STOP." I growled. "Do not come over here."

She stopped at the tone of my voice. "What's wrong? Do you need the rope? Is the edge crumbling?" she said slowly.

"NO." I said in a hushed tone. "We need to go back. Right now. There's some kind of… fight going on down there. And it's not fight to win, it's fight to kill. There are so many people…" I trailed off, fear filling my voice. "We have to go before they find us. We might be next."

Her face turned pale white. "Oh my God."

"Go! Right now!" I spat at her.

"You're coming, right?" she cried, terror breaking her voice.

"I'll be right behind you. I'm going to get pictures for proof. And identification."

"I don't like this, Mel-"

"Go now, damn it!" I hissed. "Be safe! Love you!"

"I love you, too. You're my best friend."I waited for her to disappear from sight before I walked to the edge with my digital camera. I stood near a large rock and started aiming and clicking.

"Oh shit," I whispered over and over as I snapped the photos.

Then I zoomed in on a hand crawling by itself. It wasn't connected to anything. Just… creeping along on its own. Then the hand crawled past something. My camera took a moment to focus, but when it did, I had to stifle a scream. Two of the people caught in battle were engaged in a fist fight. But the guy with the bright blonde hair swiped his mouth across the other's neck, and his head snapped completely off, like a piece of rock crumbling away from a boulder.

I dropped my camera and fell to my knees, my stomach lurching. I puked on the grass, narrowly missing my camera. I shook violently with terror.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" a sinister voice trilled out behind me.

My whole body jerked in the direction of the voice.

A young boy in strange, old clothes stood fifty feet away, arms crossed. He was staring at me intently.

"Those people," I cried, "They're-"

"Winning, surprisingly." He smiled.

The way he smiled… it both scared and excited me.

"But they're… not…" I fumbled for words as I felt the bile rise in my throat again as I recalled the image of a head being pulled from its body.

"Not human?" he glared at me, and I noticed his eyes for the first time. They were blood red.

I knew from the way this boy stood that he was a killer. And he knew what was going on down in the meadow. I needed to plead my case if I was going to get out of here alive. "I'll destroy the photos. I-I-I'll forget what I saw!" I pleaded. "Please don't-"

"Don't beg for mercy, Mel." He said, suddenly irritated. "It's unbecoming of you."

"How do you know my name?" I tried to stand, and failed as my legs gave out.

"I've been following you since you started up the mountain. You're just so… appealing."

"Um, I have a boyfriend." I choked out, masking the fear that overcame me after hearing that he'd been following me.

He laughed. "Physically attractive? Perhaps, yes. But I was referring to your delicious scent." He grinned again.

"Huh?"

"Alec," a young girl, almost too similar looking, appeared next to him. She, too, had piercing red eyes. "I said, 'Grab a bite while we wait', not 'play with your food'."

A bite?

…

….

…..

OH.

MY.

GOD.

It made sense. The eyes, the speed, the strength, and the thing about my "scent". Her quirk about a "bite" made everything so very clear.

"You're… vampires!" I gasped, unable to control myself.

The boy gleamed. "So smart."

"So dead." The girl took another step closer and the look on her face terrified me.

"Please," I begged, holding my hands in defense before my face.

"Jane, NO." the boy named Alec snapped. "You'll give us away, with her screaming. Go wait with Felix and Demetri- I won't be long."

She gritted her jaw, took a short, angry breath, and walked back out of sight. She could hunt anyone in these woods…

Oh no! Ace… I prayed to God she made it to safety. My attention diverted as Alec approached me.

"Now," he said, slowly pulling off the black leather gloves he wore, "How shall we do this?"