AN: I know, I'm very irresponsible. I just got this idea, and had to make a story. I know EXACTLY where my story is going, but I don't think I can write too fast. Maybe another chapter in say... 24 hours? Only if you review, of course. Make me happy, and I'll work my very hardest to keep up with demands.

Chapter One: Thrill

I peeked a portion of my face through the silk curtains of my tiny changing room. My hands were busy smoothing down the thin fish-net silk front of my costume, gliding over the occasional spray of exotic design. There the fabric was a rough leather. Sometimes my nimble fingers got caught playing with the tiny sequins and beads. I shifted my legs a little, stretching the sleek fabric loose, simply to get more comfortable.

My eyes roved over the stage. In the corner, a sound guy was turning knobs on his sound board and frequently giving the band a thumbs-up. The band members were flexing their arms and hands, taking deep breaths.

The man at the center of the stage was fiddling with his microphone. Unlike the sound guy and the band, he was illuminated by dim, purple light. That didn't change how I saw his appearance, though. I could see the clean folds on his refined suit, his large bowtie, his tall and round top hat, and the content expression his face was hardly without. This man, on stage and off, was Mr. Albert Applegate, respected ringleader of the circus acts and amazing acrobat trainer.

I heard a fussy pout from behind. My head turned slightly.

Somewhere behind me, Aisha was busy frantically smoothing her hair. It was pitch dark to her, but not to me. My sensitive eyes caught the light glinting off her costume. My ears amplified the tiniest sounds she made while hurrying to fix the small details. And she smelled nice. I could block out the tart smell of hairspray and just take in the warm, sweet smell of…

My breath hitched. I stayed reluctantly motionless staring at her. I wasn't supposed to breath; I wasn't supposed to smell. I'm not that kind of… I'm not that kind. That's what I'm trying to be, isn't it? I've sworn off of…it. I live to entertain them, and maybe protect them as well. I made a promise to myself. I mustn't forget that promise.

"Are you ready?" I asked in a low whisper. She probably couldn't understand my words, but still heard me. I caught a "yeah" and a wide smile dawned on my face. And it wasn't just because of her.

"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls," Albert's super suave voice floated in the air. His talent was his voice. Something in the way he spoke could tame the wildest of tourist crowds, the rowdiest of kids - especially acrobat kids, and the most anxious of performers. Those performers included myself and Aisha. Yes, his voice even affected me. It was like a wave of calm swept through me whenever I heard him give my intro --- or anyone's intro.

"…From the endless space of beyond the sky, the essence of the wondrous celestial world. We bring you a wonder of dazzling splendor, of swift anonymity, of mysterious wild." He could have hit a nerve with that last word, but its all just the creative work of a writer. Coincidentally, he happens to be that, too. He could possibly exaggerate me a little, annoyingly-so, but his flattery could only go so far. Who could ask more from a boss?

"…But these creatures are nothing to fear. We brought them over for your enthrallment. For your own enchantment, we've transformed them from impenetrable cosmo beauties to serene brilliance of the circus!" Aisha and I were still in the dressing area, peering out at him, waiting for our cue.

"Circus" was the light man's cue. Up in his little booth above the seating area, he flipped a switch and beams of light flashed on. They danced in colorful circles first over the audience, then focused onto two trapeze swings. They looked plain and boring, merely differently built park swings, as Albert once told me. I knew the crowd was disappointed and wondered when the enchantment would start.

Circuses weren't invented to bore people. "How did we do that? Easy, with a small shimmer and a glimmer of magic."

By the time he said that last part, we had already left for the stage. On "magic" the sound guy created a chiming melody, the drummer tapped the cymbals, and the light man did his job with the pretty white, blue, yellow, purple lights, creating a mirage. Albert had vanished and Aisha took his place, entering in a cloud of sparkle. There was applause for her. She began dancing, slowly and elegantly, hushing the audience with her grace.

I was hidden from the audience in the shadows. Though I wasn't far back, there was no clue to what would happen when a sudden toot came from a trumpet.

So quick, just a shiny silver blur, I swooped on the trapeze bars. Yes, being as small and short as I am, I jumped up to it.

I could hear the scattered gasps of fleeting awe. For a trapeze swinger, I am exceptionally fast. The light man created my very own mystical entrance lighting. However, as only a handful know, its not only the fluorescent light or my costume that sparkled.

Albert was the one who dubbed me "Shooting Star." I'm there, and then in a flash of radiance, I'm not. Aisha did her very own sparkling show on and off the swing, flying up, swaying, and dropping to the floor and twirling.

I interrupted the audience's captivation by her darting over the stage and over the audience. There was a clear line between the dark and the light. I crossed that line multiple times, each swift movement was another stunned gasp.

I darted here and there like a shooting star. Sometimes I glided in an arch, others times I was a straight ray.

Aisha was "gorgeous", as one audience members said. She was. Her long blonde curls were decorated with pretty white hair clips and her comely face shimmered with glitter. Her silver, gown-like costume was made of sheen fabric that hugged her shapely figure. She had more dangling beads than I did, and they moved perfectly with her movements. The crowd was obviously dazed by the sight of the "Moon Maiden."

But if you wanted to know how I looked like, you had to wait.

"Sh sh," I heard a mother say to one of her dazed children, "it's coming. It's coming. Oh!"

I glided over them, taking them all by surprise each time. My costume was gold. I showed much more skin than Aisha did, but I was decent enough. Each time I neared the crowd, I would spin. I would vanish into the darkness an explosion of light. Listening closer, I found I was being compared to fireworks.

Dazzle.

Vanish.

Dazzle.

Vanish.

Collide with Aisha. This was when I got closest to her, maneuvering myself around her in a way an Olympic gold-medalist in gymnastic could only dream of. I was even turned facing the awe-stricken people the. If they were lucky, they caught a glimpse of my face --- my sparkly, sparkly face! Because the light effects on both of us was blinding and phenomenal…or so I have heard.

I was savoring the glorious sound of appreciation emanating off the crowd. On my face was a true smile. It's this kind of thing I lived for. Gratification for my hard work. Applause. I devoted my life to that sound, the sound of a job well done. I could only wish for my head to stop swirling like it did after each performance. This was the only time I was ever thrilled, exhilarated, intense, whatever you want to call it. This feeling was the most powerful of things I ever felt.

And then I saw him.

I don't know why I hadn't noticed him before. In the sea of regular humans, he was somehow hidden. Not now, though. Now I could see his inhumane beauty and his impossible size. I could see his shocked eyes, a deep ochre almost identical to mine, shining conspicuously.

He shocked me so much I almost made a mistake when I disappeared! The lights went out and I landed in a faulty crouch. There was an eruption of applause and hoots and cheers. I could have savored it all, if only I weren't so occupied with straining my eyes searching for that man. He looked young, maybe nineteen or twenty. He struck me with a force stronger than lighting. My insides churned, but I wasn't repulsed. I couldn't feel my legs or my head when I crossed the stage. My hands were sweating, turning the chalk on them a sticky goop. I think I was trembling, too.

I hadn't seen another one like me in such a long time. One hundred and twenty-one years to be exact.

AN: Okay, this is my FIRST Twilight fic, so please just review and tell me how I'm doing. Please?