Chapter 1

I prowled around the edge of the small town. I could smell other vampires here but the humans were so close. Maybe I could sneak around them, grab a human and get out of here. No, that was too dangerous; they'd be able to follow my scent until they tracked me down.

I groaned at the thought of human blood; my throat flared up and made my venom fill my mouth. I spit it out on the dirt ground and continued to pace. I could feel my energy pumping through me but I couldn't use it until I knew it was safe.

A breeze blew in my direction, making me stop my pacing at the scent that I caught. I growled and punched a tree that was closest to me. Four vampires were heading my way fast and there was no way I could out run them.

I turned in the direction that I heard them coming from and spread my legs and crossed my arms. I made sure that when they came that they would get a good view of my muscles that I had worked so hard on as a human.

A blond vampire with golden eyes broke through the trees first flanked by a big vampire with muscles that matched my own and a tall, lean boy with bronze hair and last a tall blond haired vampire with scars all over him came to a stop in front of me.

I felt myself relax immediately even though I was ready for some food then a fight with Mr. Butch over there. The scarred vampire gave satisfied look at the other blond male, who stepped forward.

"Hello, my name is Carlisle Cullen, it is a pleasure to meet you," he said, sticking his hand out for me to shake. I stared at the hand for half a second before putting my large one in his.

"Name is Daryl, Carl. Where can a fellow go to get a bite to eat?" I said; my burning coming back slightly.

"His name is Carlisle, not Carl and you can't hunt on our territory," the bronze haired boy said. My hand tightened on a reflex around Carlisle's as my anger flared a little.

"It's okay Edward; he can call me Carl if he wants," Carlisle said, pulling his hand out of my grip somehow. I grinned.

"And I'll call you Eddie. I think I'll be leaving then if I can't hunt around here. I've got myself a large appetite and I need to take care of it quickly," I said, taking a step back from the group.

Mr. Butch snorted and smirked. "What, you're not even going to except our challenge?" he exclaimed. I scowled and stepped forward automatically. I grinned and flexed my fingers.

"What kind of challenge?" I asked, staring at his freaky golden eyes. He smirked even more and exchanged a look with the scarred one.

"Let's see how long you can last on animal blood," he stated.

I opened my eyes and stared over at the noisy children that had broken me out of my memorizes. They were giggling and jumping into rain puddles. I frowned and got up from the bench that I had been sitting on.

I didn't mind the rain like the humans did but I kept my hood up so I wouldn't draw attention to myself. I had already caught myself two humans from this small town and I was ready to move on before someone got suspicious of me.

I liked this place though. It had a lot of woods for me to go prowling in if I didn't want to deal with humans but there was food for me also; animals if I got desperate enough and humans when things cooled down enough for a snack. I liked running through the corn fields and the fresh air that was in this area.

"Juliana, please, come back inside, you'll get sick!" I looked up from the sidewalk that I had been staring at to see who was yelling. A middle aged woman was standing on a creaky old porch with a shawl wrapped around her, yelling at a young girl that was running around in the front yard trying to catch a small kitten.

I rolled my eyes and stalked over into their yard. I swiftly bent down and scoped up the damp kitten and pushed it into the hands of the girl. The girl looked up at me in surprise and held the kitten protectively to her chest.

I suppose girl wasn't the right word. To a human she would be a young adult or commonly known as a teenager. Compared to my age she was a girl though.

She had curly black hair that fell to her waist. It looked soft and pleasant to the eye, even a vampire eye. Her hair was damp also and stuck to her forehead and neck. Her eyes caught my attention next. They were a gray color. Gray is normally a dull color but her eyes seemed so full of life and youth. The teenager was slightly on the small side; probably stood around 5'2 and had a very petite figure like she never had a full meal.

"Thanks, Puff Daddy is always hard to catch," she said, smiling up at me. Her breath hit me in the face and my throat gave an irritating flare but I easily ignored it. I smiled back at her, showing all of my dangerous teeth. Her smile flattered for a moment.

"Puff Daddy the kitten, nice name," I exclaimed. I glanced back down at the kitten. It didn't look so puffy now with its fur clinging to its small body.

"I think so too. Well, thanks again," and the girl headed towards the woman that had been watching us talk with a disapproving look on her face. I smirked at the lady before heading on my way towards the closest corn field.

Once I got to the corn field that was half a mile away from the girl's house, I glanced around to make sure no one was looking before plunging into the field. I made sure not to break any of the stalks while I ran. I enjoyed the husks hitting my arms and legs as I raced against time.

I stayed out in the corn field for the rest of the day, relaxing in the center of it or prowling around the edge, watching people drive by or walk. I listened to mice run around me and the birds scrounging for food. I liked being out in the country; it reminded me of when I was human.

When it was dark enough, I left the field and headed back towards the girl's house. She had captured my attention. I believe she would be my last meal before I left this town.

I hid myself in a tree next to the house. A window was across from me and the woman that was on the porch earlier today was sitting in her bed reading what looked like a romance novel. I waited until she turned off her bedside lamp before jumping out of the tree.

I circled the house once before entering through the back door that was unlocked. I guess a small town like this you didn't have to worry about your neighbors breaking in. I crept through the kitchen and went up the stairs. The upstairs was a same hallway that led to three different rooms.

I caught the girl's scent and followed it to the last room in the hallway. Her bedroom door was cracked open and I quietly pushed it open, making sure it didn't squeak. There she was lying with her back to me on top of her covers with a fan blowing in her direction. I couldn't really tell what the temperature was but it must have been uncomfortably hot for her.

I stopped moving as the fan blew her hair around. Her fresh scent blew around, making my throat ache in need for blood. I still didn't move though. I couldn't bring myself to kill this girl. Her physical appearance had caught my interest and if she was dead then I couldn't look at her anymore.

I quietly walked around her bed until I could see her face. I crouched down and stayed like that so I could study her. Her face was relaxed and looked peaceful. She must be having a good dream. The girl's hair was still flying freely around but I ignored her scent this time. Her hair looked so soft and I wanted to reach out and touch it.

I looked around her room for the first time. The walls were bare and there were no decorations anywhere. I spotted two suitcases in front of the closet. So she doesn't live here; she must be staying with a relative, which would the lady in the next room.

I stayed crouched for half the night until I became too curious. I stood and went over to her suitcases. The first one I opened held her clothes so I quickly closed that one back up. The next one held more interesting things. It had DVDs, CDs, books, and one diary that I was planning on reading right now. I flipped open the little green book and started with the first entry.

Dear Stupid Diary,

My mom bought this thing for me so I could write down anything interesting that happens while I am visiting with the family. I really wish she would have gotten me a camera so I could show her what a crappy time I am having here. It's not like I don't want to see my family but they're so boring! They don't have TV or any sense of humor. I should be at the lake with my friends celebrating that my high school years were over but my mom wants me to visit. I wish my mom would listen to me when I say I don't want to go to college; that I want to stay on the farm and help out with the horses and the crops. She says that I should think about reality. Mom says that I couldn't live on the farm forever with her and dad. How said anything about forever? I just don't want to go back to school to train for a job that I'll end up hating. Why can't she let me do the things that make me happy?

May 28

I grinned. This sounded like any other teenagers life. She had written this over three months ago. I skipped a few pages and picked another entry to read.

Dear Stupid Diary,

I'm staying with Aunt Stacy for a while. Mom called and said she doesn't want me to come back home right now. I'm starting to get worried. I don't think our horse farm is doing so well and my parents are trying to hide it from me. They told me that I didn't have to go to college this August that I could go next semester or even next year. I don't think we have the money to let my go though, no matter what they say. I'm getting on a bus in a while to head over to Aunt Stacy's house. I'm going to start working at her art store that she owns so I can make my own money. I'd send the money to my parent if they needed it and if not then I'd use it to buy myself some clothes. I'll write later, the bus just pulled up.

July 7

I hurried and put all of her things back inside her bags. The girl had started to move around a little and I didn't want her to wake up and find me lurking in her room. I took one last look at the girl and slipped back downstairs and out of the house.

Once I was out of the house I was suddenly aware of the intense burning in my throat from smelling the girl's scent for so long. I didn't want to feed off of human right now; I'd make do with an animal for now. If I killed a human now then I'd have to leave this town and that meant I couldn't watch that girl anymore.

I knew it was dark enough that no one could see me so I took off running towards the woods that was close by. I let my sense of smell take over for just a few seconds so I could smell any likely prey. One lone bear was up ahead so I headed that way. I charged in that direction, not even bothering to be quiet. That bear didn't have a chance no matter what. After I was done with the bear I felt a great relief on my throat but I drank a deer's blood as well so I'd last longer.

The sun was starting to come up so I waited in the woods to see if it would be cloudy today. Rain started to come down hard like it had done yesterday, proving that it would be cloudy for a few hours. I headed back out of the woods at human pace and started to look for the town's art store.

I don't know why I wanted to see that human again but I'm guessing it was because she held my attention, which was something that rarely happened for vampires. Maybe I wanted to keep her alive so I could read some more in her diary. I'm not really sure.

It was very easy to find the art store in this town. The store was on Main Street with most of the other stores that this town had. I waiting across the street for thirty minutes before the girl's aunt came scurrying down the street with an umbrella and she unlocked the store.

I didn't have to wait that much longer until I saw the girl jogging into the store with a newspaper over her head. I got up from the bench I was sitting on and went into the flower shop right beside the art store. The old lady behind the counter smiled at me before looking back down at the folder she was reading from.

I pretended to be interested in a few daisies but left the flower shop once I heard the girl take her place behind the counter. The old woman didn't even look up when I left and slipped into the store right next to hers.

The girl didn't notice me slip in so I took the moment to look at her. She was wearing a gray sweatshirt and I noticed she wasn't wearing any jewelry. Her curly black hair was tied in a ribbon at the base of her neck but a few pieces were loose already. Her gray eyes were focused on the book in front of her which I noticed was her green diary.

I made sure to make some noise as I walked over to a rack that had sketch books on it. I watched the girl look up from her writing in surprise. She probably didn't get costumers that much.

"Oh, hey, you're that guy from yesterday," she exclaimed, smiling at me from her stool that she was sitting on. I nodded and gave her a small smile making sure not to show her my teeth. That had seemed to frighten her slightly the other day.

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked, watching me curiously as I pretended to look at the different types of sketch books.

"Yes, which of these is best for detailed drawing?" I asked, leafing through on of the books. The girl walked around from the counter and came over to me. She looked at each sketch book carefully before giving me an answer.

"This one will be good. It has thicker pages so you can use darker colors without it seeping through," she said, handing me one of the books.

"Thank you," I replied, holding the sketch book carefully and taking it up to the cash register. The girl rang me and I gave her the little amount of money that I had in my pockets. I'd have to remember to stop by one of the banks around here get a few thousands out.

"Thanks again," I glanced down at her name tag," Juliana," I grinned at her and strolled out of the art store. I walked around the back of the store and climbed onto the roof, making sure no one heard or saw me.

I pulled out my new sketch book and started to draw Juliana like I remembered her when I saw her when she writing in her diary.