This has got to be the best dream ever. Or…is it even a dream? It sure feels like a dream…I guess I'll just have to wait for-

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

Aria Swan groaned in her sleep and one slightly tanned hand came out from under her gold satin blankets to hit the snooze button with as much force as she could summon up in her half-dead state. The hand was motionless at the side of the bed for a moment, and then it moved, a matching one coming up from the depths of the comforter to push it off an equally tan figure of a girl underneath with dark, auburn colored hair that was splayed out behind her on the pillows she was so desperately clinging to. She slowly slipped out from her bed and stumbled around in the dark before flipping on the light and recoiling from the sudden fire her eyes were experiencing.

Her eyes soon adjusted to the light and she very slowly and methodically began to get ready for school. She walked slowly over to the window first, trying to sum up what the weather would be that day. It was overcast, not a big surprise for the Olympic Penninsula, and it threatened rain by the shade of the cloud cover. So she picked a pair of old, faded jeans with rips in the knees and a black tank top that she settled over the same shade of bra.

She then went into the bathroom and pulled her waist-length hair out of it's ponytail and draped it over her back as she brushed swiftly through the silken tangles. When she was done, her hair was once again smooth and straight. She pulled out her curling iron and tried to make it more presentable…which worked somewhat. The majority of her hair was straight, but there were curly sections placed throughout it that made her hair look a little cuter than normal. She brushed her teeth, put in her contacts, which she couldn't live without since she'd recently broken her glasses and finally begged her father to get her the damn things so that she didn't feel like a total nerd. The girl had lived in Phoenix for most of her life with her mother and her new husband while her sister, Bella, had lived here, and moving here, to this place that in her opinion was way too green, hadn't made her outlook on things very good, her sister didn't even live in the house anymore. So she was stuck with Charlie while her sister was off with Edward, her new husband.

Her eyes now were a startling shade of blue, thanks to the contacts. And with a swift dab of mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow with a touch of clear lip-gloss, her look was complete and she quickly hurried back into her bedroom, grabbing her jacket and sliding on an ancient pair of chucks that she'd had since the eighth grade and tied them tightly to her feet as she hurried downstairs, meeting her father who was just leaving. "Ari, you're going to be late for school." he told her sternly, "Stop cutting it so close will ya kid?" he asked her as she grabbed a granola bar. "I'm not going to be late dad. Promise." she said as she rushed out the door, going back toward the house as her father handed her a set of forgotten car keys. She smiled weakly as she ran to her small, fixed up, 63 Bug and started it up, the engine snarling as if it were a bulldog that had been jerked out of a doze.

She quickly took off out of the driveway and drove a few miles over the speed limit and pulling into a parking spot at the school. She sighed a bit and stopped her car and pulled her backpack out of the trunk before slamming it shut and hugging her jacket closer to her body as she slowly walked into the school, her shoes squeaking on the wet pavement.

She walked very slowly into the school, and then walked to her first period, feeling embarrassed as the teacher introduced her to the class. She sat down next to a girl who seemed to be more excited for her to be there than she was. They also had their second class of the day together and Jessica chattered through the whole thing, ignoring the dirty looks the teacher was giving her.

"I've got all of the time in the world… to do with what we please, if it were up to me, we'd have all of the time in the world-" "Alice, please, I'm begging you. Do stop. You're tampering with my nerves." The slightly annoyed voice came out from gritted teeth of Tristan Cullen, who was now standing outside of Ms. Espinoza's Spanish class, with his younger sister in tow. It wasn't that he was angry with her, which Alice understood perfectly well, as she could easily sense his true emotions. "Oooh! Someone's nervous! Don't worry. Aria is really fidgety. She wants to see you!" The small black-headed "nineteen" year old had intended on making her older brother, Tristan feel better, but she was confused to find that what she had said had instead caused Tristan pain. "That's what I was worried about… Alice, I don't think you realize how truly disgusting this is. On my part, I mean. I shouldn't be doing this…" "But it's love! And Edward did it too!" Tristan cringed at this reply, though he couldn't argue. There was no point. Alice knew just as well as he knew that he was falling hard for Aria. Before Alice went on, she made sure to whisper to the point where no human would know. "Who you fall in love with doesn't matter! It's love. You can't fight it, Tristan, and if you even try, I will take charge." "How lovely…" Tristan murmured darkly, but his mood turned to that of curiosity when his sister started walking away right when the students of Aria's class started heading out the door.

"I'm not going to intrude on both of your alone time! I'll find something else to do!"

When Alice was out of sight, Tristan sighed, collapsing against the wall. Messy brown bangs fell in his golden eyes, but he didn't care about that. He shoved his hands in his blue jean pockets, which was paired up with his sneakers, and his white long sleeved button up shirt and black jacket that contrasted deeply with his extremely pale skin, which came naturally with being what he was- a dirty, disgusting vampire. His eyes shifted to the door, and he grew tense when he saw that Aria had yet to come out. He had seen her earlier today. How could he not have? It was impossible to miss such a beauty, even if you ignored women for most of your life. And such a scent… Oh God, it was so alluring. Everything about her was alluring, but if he had to choose his favorite parts about Aria, it would have to be her scent, and her long, lovely hair that he desperately wished to run his fingers through. Tristan gave a grunt, shifting his eyes to the floor. How could he think such things? He was lucky enough to get this close to Aria, to be able to sit close to her without killing her. He could never, ever get as close as he truly wanted to. Never. He would surely kill Aria, and he couldn't ever live with himself if he were to harm such a precious being in any way. No, he certainly could not. He gave a more restless grunt as he looked at his watch, but then looked back at the door to see Aria slip out. He had smelled her inside the classroom, so he knew she was in there that whole time, but he couldn't see how she had taken so long, even if she was a human. Tristan immediately walked towards her, taking her arm and gently pulling her away from the doorway before flashing her a sparkling smile. He couldn't help but feel so much better when Aria was in his presence. "Here, let me see those." Tristan, ever the gentleman, couldn't help but take anything and everything out of Aria's arms. His own bag filled with his books and things was probably by now in his car, as Alice had ran off earlier with his stuff. "Are you ready for lunch, Miss Swan?" He said in his silky voice, a voice that most girls melted over. Truth be told, he usually found that annoying, but if Aria were to act that way around him, he'd be far from annoyed- he'd be thrilled, even though it was wrong of him.

Aria's face instantly filled with color as he took her books. She seemed a bit flustered. "Umm...yes...sure." she said quickly as the scent coming off his skin hit her nose and she had to shake her head to clear it enough to walk without stumbling. She looked up at him and smiled a stunning smile of her own. Her mother had paid for laser bleaching back in Phoenix so she had a pearly white smile and very straight teeth thanks to braces as a child. She could feel the eyes of many girls in the hallways staring at her. "Yes, I am ready for lunch. I didn't have time to eat breakfast this morning. My alarm clock didn't go off on time." she told him softly as her stomach gave a low growl, nothing compared to the constant thudding of her heart accelerating at his very touch. Her eyes scanned the lunch room and then she quickly went to stand in line with him, keeping her gaze on the floor. "I've been wondering something..." she told him slowly, twirling a strand of her dark, brownish red hair around her finger. "You always buy a whole tray of food, and yet you never eat a thing. Now, I know I'm way too observant and if you don't want to answer I get it. But...why do you do that? I mean, it's a waste of money." Her face went red again. She was a frugal person, and in her eyes anyone to spend five dollars on lunch and not eating it was quite appalling. She stared up at him with her contact blue eyes and her expression was embarrassed, but curious.

Tristan gave a disapproving glance towards Aria, but that was all. He had been completely happy, lost in her smile, up until she had told him she hadn't had breakfast. That wasn't healthy. Breakfast was, after all, the most important meal of the day, and he couldn't stand the thought of his Aria missing that. Okay, so she wasn't his. But still, he could dream, right? That was all he could ever do… dream… Standing in line, Tristan was silent, just simply staring at Aria. He had never felt the way he did now. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to touch Aria again. Earlier had been pure bliss. When he had taken her arm, warmth immediately flooded through him, and her soft skin was tantalizing. And though he hadn't been able to touch them, her lips had been just as bad. He had to fight himself not to lean down and… Oh, with the scene playing in his head at that moment, he could barely answer Aria's question, a question which he would have to answer extremely carefully if he didn't want to give anything away. "You see, I have a big breakfast. I'm never hungry come lunch time, but I don't want cause even more attention, so I just buy something so no one will question me. I don't have to worry about the money. I can afford to waste it." He gave her a small smile. He hated to bring up money, but it was true. He could afford it. The line moved, and Tristan moved forward, knowing that Aria would follow. He had a desperate need to touch her, but he knew that his cold skin would just attract more questions. This wasn't good. He was falling hard for her, and with love, he was also subjected to the feeling of lust. He was a man, so of course this would help, and this also meant that the lust would be hard to control… But he'd have to find a way. "Here. Please, let me buy you lunch. I'd feel much better if I spent my money on you than if I just wasted it."

She quickly went red again. "Oh no, Tristan, I couldn't possibly ask you to do that. My father gave me lunch money today." she said quickly. She flipped her hair back away from the face, making a small whooshing noise as it moved back behind her shoulders. She then reached out and pulled her top down over her stomach, carefully avoiding the eyes of a jock that had taken to staring at her lately. She stepped up to the window quickly and ordered her food, stepping to the side to wait for them to get it before taking out a five dollar bill from her pocket and whistling, some of her minty breath moving toward Tristan's face, as he was standing so close to her. She looked up at him finally, sighing. "I...I suppose that's probably a good explanation of why you don't eat..." she still had a curious look on her face, as if she had quite a different theory on her mind, but she didn't speak. Her thoughts were interrupted by the lunch lady, pushing a tray out under the open window. "There you are sweety." she said softly, smiling at the girl. "Thanks." she said quickly, taking the food and moving to hand her the money.

Tristan grimaced, stopping the slow rhythmic pattern of his breathing, which he wasn't really required to do, since technically, he was already dead. Her hair flew back behind her shoulders, and that caused a huge wave of her irresistible scent to flood through his nose. Oh God… He had to control himself… He had to. If he didn't, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. The thought made him angry, and Tristan turned his anger to the same jock that Aria had looked at before. He threw him a death glare, and he knew that his message was successfully sent. If that boy ever stared at Aria that way again, there would be blood. Tristan then turned his attention back to Aria when he felt as though he was under control, and he let himself breath again. He saw Aria reach out to give the lunch lady her money, but Tristan caught her hand just in time and gently squeezed it, bringing it back down towards her side. It was his attempt at catching her off guard and momentarily dazzling her while he fished for a five in his pocket. Thankfully, he found one, and he handed it to the woman with a smile. He couldn't help it. Tristan let Aria take her food and thus let go of her hand, but he still had to touch her, somehow or someway. So, he placed his hand on the small of her back and led her towards the back of the cafeteria, finding his usual spot, which was empty, of course. "I'm sorry, Aria, but I just had to." He made it seem like he was talking about the money, but in truth he was also talking about touching her like he did. He was sure Aria didn't mind, but he knew that it had been stupid and dangerous of him, and honestly, he was apologizing mainly to himself for putting the girl he loved in danger. Tristan pulled out a chair for Aria and then walked on the other side of the table, sitting directly in front of her. When she was seated, he studied her silently for a few moments. Earlier, when he had replied to her question, she had seemed hesitant to accept his answer. It was if she had a completely different theory to her question. That wasn't good. He'd have to question her about that later. First, he wanted her to eat.

Aria watched him carefully, watching as he stopped breathing for a few moments. She pretended to have her eyes on the ground the whole time, catching glances, waiting for him to start breathing again. Either he was really good at holding his breath or he was a very silent breather, either way it was sort of unsettling. When he grabbed her hand with the money in it she shuddered as always at his ice cold skin. When he released her wrist and then pressed his hand against her back she was also startled, blushing furiously as the normal wave of curious eyes followed them to the table, staring shamelessly at the beautiful boy and the ordinary girl. She slowly took her fork and started picking at the taco salad she'd ordered. "I have a theory." she started, very slowly. "I know...I know there's something different about you...something...strange...not normal..." she took a deep breath, her eyes locking on his for a moment before she looked away. "This is so dumb...I can't believe I'm actually thinking about...never mind..." she said quickly, shaking her head. "I'm a complete idiot." She took a bit of her food, then a sip of her lemonade, her eyes shutting at the feeling of her own stupidity.

He didn't like where this was going. Aria…Aria was suspicious. Oh God. The worst possible thing that could happen to him had just happened. Tristan shut his eyes as she rambled on, clearly embarrassed, and went back to the conversation he had had with Carlisle previously. "Your situation is very… unique… Tristan, just like Edward's. I trust you. You know this. I want you to do what you think is right. Aria seems like a lovely girl, and she's Bella's younger sister. I think you'll make the right choice." With a sigh, Tristan opened his eyes again to find Aria taking a sip of his lemonade. It was over. From now on, he'd either have to ignore her completely- the thought of that broke his dead, silent heart- or he'd have to tell her. How long had she been blind? At least two or three months. He had gone on with this charade for far too long. Tristan gazed intently at Aria, making sure he caught her eyes. Any normal girl would be rendered powerless at such a gaze, and he was hoping Aria would instead focus on what he was saying, instead of his eyes, which he knew many girls called hypnotic. "Aria… Aria… Would- Do you think you'd ever be able to fall in love with someone whose… different…? Someone who… Someone who was dangerous, dangerous and different, but they still loved you. Please, answer this honestly." This would help him make his decision…

She stared at him intently. "Hmm...well...it would have to depend on the person. If he was dangerous for reasons he couldn't help...like...like mental disease or..." she stopped talking, but then went on. "Yes." she said with a nod. "Unless he was only in love with me because he was trying to have sex with me, or he was just trying to kill me." she looked down to the ground, her hair falling over her eyes. She rolled her eyes and then pulled out a hair tie, pulling her hair up into a ponytail and securing it with the black rubber band. "Why do you ask?" she asked him slowly, twisting her fork in her fingers as she spoke. "Dangerous how exactly? I mean...there are a few exceptions to..." she took a deep breath and then quickly reached out and pulled his hand closer to her eyes. "See...that's the problem..." she said in a whisper, more to herself than him. "There has never been one person in the world I've met with skin like yours...it...it's like you're made of rock...and...it's so cold...and..." she stopped talking, taking a deep breath, then letting his hand fall from her grip. "You're not human...are you?" she asked him in a slightly tiny voice.

If Tristan were human, his heard would be pounding out of his chest by now. But, if he were human, he wouldn't be in this predicament. Just now, when Aria brought his hand up and closer to her vision, he groaned. Her touch was amazingly comfortable… The feeling now inside him was far greater than anything he had ever experienced. This feeling, combined with the tension that was now in the air due to the direction their conversation had taken… This feeling was going to drive him mad. Now, more than ever, he needed to touch her. He was such a horrible, disgusting, dangerous, good for nothing- He stopped, and his eyes suddenly flew up to her own again. She had guessed it. Why did he have to fall in love with such a perceptive woman? Why did he have to fall in love at all? He had never wanted to. Never. Not since he was changed… The look in his eyes seemed pained, and you could see the sorrow build up. "Aria, I l-" He stopped just then, realizing he was just about to blurt out his feelings for her. He took a deep breath, turning his gaze to the table, and then looked back up at her again. "There are a few things that we need to talk about. It can't be here. It's too dangerous. I would suggest skipping next period, but… I want you to be comfortable. If you don't feel right talking to me alone, then… I'll do whatever you want. Just please, please realize that I'd never, ever want to hurt you. Ever."

Surprisingly, she let out a soft giggle. "Skipping my next class would be fun. We've just got to make sure that my dad doesn't find out or he'll be after my blood." she told him softly. She finished eating as fast as she could. "Come on." she grabbed her purse and stood. "We can drop my car off back at my place...and then we can go...wherever you want. Somewhere secluded I'd imagine." before he could even answer she'd grabbed her car keys and scurried out the door to the cafeteria. Her heart was fluttering in her chest. She was crazy. She was a complete and total idiot. She'd just found out that her best friend in the entire world, was not human. Shouldn't she be freaking out right now? Yes, of course she should be...but she wasn't. Why? She stopped at her car as she opened the trunk and shoved her things inside. She stopped after slamming it shut, her hands planted on the lid of the trunk as she finally stopped to think. She would have told herself to calm down, had she not already been just as calm as she had been this morning. She took several deep breaths, closing her eyes tightly. She suddenly felt hands on her shoulders…and she screamed.