~Disclaimer: The story, characters, and plot are all mine. Stephanie Meyer did influence my take on vampires, and Edward and Bella, who may be mentioned or may pop up in my story, belong to her.~

Chapter 1

The group chattered along, breaking the soothing silence of the park. Blue Christmas lights twirled and stretched up the bare branches of live oaks and pecan trees, giving the park an enchanted feeling. Gaps in the branches revealed a moonless but starry night. Silver pinpricks over an ink blotted sky.

One of the girls let out a giggling squeal that made the whole group peal into laughter. I sighed. All I wanted was to admire the beauty of the park in silence. I pulled my dark, grey trench coat tighter around my shoulders, watching my breath swirl around my face. The night was absolutely perfect. Except for my youth group in front of me. One of the girls turned and looked at me, smiling.

"Come on, Rebecca," Veronica yelled. I winced as the noise echoed through the trees, but I smiled and shook my head. Veronica shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the boy she had been flirting with. Embri and Lacy both looked back with apologetic smiles. I just smiled back and rolled my eyes. Both of the girls laughed quietly. At least they understood me. Veronica was too impatient to admire the beauty of the park, and too shallow to worry about anyone else but herself.

I drifted farther and farther away from the group, desperately trying to find an escape from the noise. And there it was. A small stone path wound its way deeper into the lighted trees, winter shrubs lining the walkway, creating a sheltered getaway. I sighed in relief as I stepped onto the walkway. Hands in pockets, I started off at a brisk walk, just trying to get away from the chattering. I realized the voices had soon faded away and the glowing trees had thickened. Just as I was starting to get worried, I saw a bench hidden by bushes. The bench hadn't been used in a while. Rusty, green iron curled and twisted as sculpted vines. Wooden slats that had grayed with age were covered in dead leaves. I brushed the leaves off on one side and settled down onto the ancient bench. Luckily, it didn't fall or break when my weight settled in.

I watched the people through the opening of the bushes, past the walkway, noting that none of them were very interesting. Then a lanky man walked out of some bushes not far away. At first he just stood there, then he started to walk this way. I probably should have gotten up right then, but I wasn't particularly worried that he was coming over to the bench. But as he started to get closer and closer, I realized the bench is exactly where he was headed. Instead of fleeing like I normally would, I settled in deeper into the seat. I had staked my claim and once the man realized that his seat was taken by an overweight teenager he'd probably skedaddle.

The man wasn't walking particularly fast so it took him a little longer than necessary to get over here. When he reached the bushes he stopped and stiffened. Looking up his eyes locked on mine. I couldn't see his eyes, they were covered by shadows, but the rest of his face showed surprise. I did not feel exceptionally friendly this evening, so instead of giving him my customary smile that I reserve for strangers, I stared him down, a slight frown on my face. Confusion flittered across his face. Poor man. It wasn't his fault that he happened to meet me when I was in a bad mood.

I sighed, then lowered my eyes to the ground. I thought I heard him make a move to leave, but then he stopped. Silence for a moment, then he started forward. Surprised that he decided to stay instead of leave made me look up right as he was passing under the glow of the blue lights.

I had to be hallucinating. No man could look like this, could be smiling at me like that, and he was smiling at me. His skin was chalk white, faintly shimmering under the soft, blue glow of star and Christmas lights. His hair could have been brown, but under the cover of night and blue lights it was hard to tell. As he walked towards me I noticed that he wasn't as lean as I first thought, but he wasn't bulky either. But when he walked the first thing I noticed was that he walked with a predator's grace. Like a lion stalking its prey. That in itself should have unnerved me, but I was unusually calm as he came to stand a few feet away from me.

"May I sit with you?" He asked politely, still smiling a bit, but not showing his teeth. My eyes narrowed. A little voice inside of me was telling me that this man was dangerous and I should just get up and leave. I ignored them.

"Sure," I replied a little tartly, "it's not like I own the bench." I didn't feel afraid of this man, but I was a little surprised to hear the annoyance in my voice. Seriously, I had better manners than this.

His eyes widened a bit in surprise and confusion again, and I bet he heard the tone of my voice as well. He hesitantly walked over to the bench, standing there awkwardly for a moment, before brushing the rest of the dead leaves off the bench and sitting as far away from me as he possibly could. Now I felt guilty. He shifted around for a moment, getting comfortable.

"A beautiful night, isn't it?" He said it softly, glancing my way briefly, then turned to look out into the park. I still felt a little guilty for being rude, so I tried to give a semi-polite answer.

"It truly is," Semi-polite was layered with a hint of irritation. I sighed. Apparently I just wasn't up to being polite tonight. I decided if I couldn't look at him then I wouldn't have to make conversation. He didn't try to pick up the idle chit-chat.

He stayed silent as he surveyed the park, watching some passersby that were oblivious to are presence. His face, which I could see from the corner of my eye, was an interesting contrast of smooth lines and sharp angles, his nose perfectly straight. Aristocratic and rugged at the same time. His hair, brown or black I still could not tell, was flung carelessly about, as if the wind had gotten a hold of it, but it still had the look of being styled. His eyes were still covered by shadows, so as he watched the park I couldn't see what color they were.

"My name is Darien," he said suddenly. Caught by surprise I could only turn and stare at him for a few moments. He spoke quietly, softly, as if reluctant to break the silence. His voice was musical, I thought for a moment, then I mentally shook my head. When I answered him I spoke softly in kind.

"I'm Rebecca." He quirked an eyebrow and I fought to keep a smile off my face when I realized he was surprised that I had given him a polite answer. And for some reason that I couldn't explain, I felt unsatisfied by giving him my first name only. And I hardly knew this man. "Rebecca Wright." He gave me a small smile.

"And your middle name?" I could here the amusement in his voice, and I couldn't help but flirt. What happened to my sour mood?

"I'll let you guess," I teased, turning away from him to stare out into the park. He pursed his lips, turning away as well. He was contemplating his choices. For the first time this evening, I felt the first stirrings of hope that this Darien could actually like me. The hope faded fast though when I remembered reality. This man was like a living Greek god, at least, from the features that I could see in the dull light, he looked like one. And I was nothing but an overweight, teenager that no guy ever looked at twice. Why would Darien be interested in me?

"Give me a hint?" Darien asked, still looking outwards at the park. I had lost the mood to flirt, but I played along anyway.

"It starts with an A."

"An A, hmm…" He stared off into the night and I could practically hear the wheels in his head turning. Even though I had lost my desire to flirt, this was still fun.

"Anny," he guessed.

"No, but close."

"Anna."

"Nope, but still closer." I couldn't keep the smile from my face.

"Hmm…" He pursed his lips again and turned and looked at me. Almost as if he was studying me. I could feel the blush heating my skin and thanked the stars that the moon wasn't shining.

I saw when he got the answer. He visibly straightened and I saw a small confident smile playing on his lips.

"Anne, it's Anne isn't it." It wasn't a question. Yes, he was definitely confident. So I decided to play it up a bit. I shook my head and clucked a little. I saw his face go from confident to dismay. All of a sudden I lost all interest from playing the game. So instead of leading him along any further I gave him his answer.

"Yes, it's Anne," I said, and even I could hear the depression in my voice, "Rebecca Anne Wright." He looked confused in the sudden change in my voice, and he looked like he was about to ask what was wrong, when he froze, his eyes trained on something behind my back. I froze as well when I heard the bushes behind me move, and I heard something big take a step. Then something growled.

I lurched over to Darien, burying myself in his side. It was almost an instinctual move on my part, something telling me that even though I did not know this man, he would protect me from whatever the heck that was in the bushes. Darien put his arms around me, pulling me with him when he stood. I looked over at the bush that had moved and saw green eyes glowing. I heard a hissing sound from Darien, looked up at his face to see what was the matter, and saw that his eyes were faintly glowing as well, but were gold instead of green.

"Do you mind, very much, if I escorted you back to your group," Darien said suddenly, still looking into the bushes, his arms still around me.

"Not at all," I answered, my voice a little too high, "be my guest." I was too preoccupied with the bush to fully notice that he shouldn't have known I was with a group, but the sudden trembling and growling within the bushes thoroughly cut off my train of thought. I cringed closer to Darien and he tightened his arms around me, shifting so that he was more between the beast in the bushes and me.

The trembling intensified, loud snarling seemed to make the ground quake. Then I realized, horrified, that there was more than one of the things in the bushes. I heard a struggle, some more snarling and the snapping of teeth. Then I heard a loud thud and something like a bone breaking. Silence blanketed the area, and then a sound like something being dragged away broke the silence.

Darien and I stood there, staring at the bushes for a while. Darien never released me from his arms, and I never complained. The fear and adrenaline had faded away, leaving only questions behind. I had many questions and curious thoughts to voice but a more immediate thought came to mind.

"My friends will probably be worried," I whispered, still not making a move to get out of his arms. Darien only nodded, studying the now quiet bushes. Abruptly, he turned, pulling me with him along the pathway. After a while he released me but held out his arm like a gentlemen. I tucked my hand into his elbow and put my other hand on top of it. He seemed relaxed, but the slight turning of his head from side to side let me know that he was watching for something.

I wanted to ask Darien if he knew what that beast was in the bushes. And it was a beast. No dog, no matter how rabid or crazy, growled like that. And dogs eyes didn't glow green.

"How old are you, Rebecca," Darien asked, looking straight ahead. Distracted I answered him.

"Seventeen."

He looked down at me then, a disbelieving frown on his face.

"What?" I challenged. I didn't like to be second-guessed.

"You don't seem seventeen." His frown disappeared and he was smiling. I gave a rueful grin that made him smile wider, showing perfect white teeth.

"I get that a lot," I said wryly, "What about you? How old are you?" He had to be in his early twenties at least.

"Eighteen," he replied. It was my turn to give him a disbelieving frown. As I studied him I realized he did look like he was around my age. He looked down at me again, and I realized for the first time that night, that Darien was a lot taller than my five foot ten frame. He was obviously over six feet tall, maybe six three, six four.

"What?" He asked, a brilliant smile lighting his face.

"You don't act like an eighteen year old boy," I managed to get out when I could breathe again. This was ridiculous, I thought, I never act like this around a guy, much less one that I hardly know. It wasn't like me at all. His smile got even wider. I cursed the moon for not giving me its light tonight. I would have killed to see what was in his eyes.

"Would you prefer I do some macho act to impress you?" I could hear the outright amusement in his voice. "Or maybe you would prefer me to sit on some sports cars hood and flex some muscle?"

I couldn't help it. The image he gave me of himself sitting on the hood of a Mustang flexing his biceps, had me put my hand over my mouth to keep the hysterical giggling from escaping in full force. I could not picture this man, and he was a man, doing something like that. He laughed quietly at my reaction. Wait, I thought, did he say impress me? Why would he want to impress me? I almost voiced that exact question, but phrased it differently.

"You don't have to impress me," I said softly, a small smile on my lips. I liked the idea that he wanted to impress me, but I didn't dwell on it. He had already proved himself in my eyes when he stood between me and the beast in the bushes, readying himself to defend me. He turned his face back to the walkway, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Don't I?" He said it so quietly that I almost missed it.

We were in the parking lot now, and I could see my group gathered around the church van. Embri and Lacy looked anxious as they were talking to Mrs. Jeannine. Embri happened to glance our way, and when she saw me she let out a huge sigh of relief, which Lacy echoed when she turned to see what had caught Embri's attention. Both turned and started walking our way. Darien tensed but didn't miss a stride or let go of my hand. Embri was going to let me have it, I could tell. When she knew I was within hearing distance, she opened her mouth.

"Do you know what we…" Embri cut off abruptly, audibly gasping when she saw Darien. Even level headed Lacy gasped. Alright, I was embarrassed enough for the both of us. I looked up to Darien to see what his expression was. It was then that I realized that we were standing under one of the lamps illuminating the parking lot.

I didn't gasp, but I did stop breathing.

Darien was looking down at me, his face expressionless. I had already guessed that he was handsome by the features I could make out under the low light of star and Christmas lights. Under the bight light of the street lamp, however, he was beautiful. His hair was a deep, chocolate brown; a sharp contrast to his chalk white skin. But it was his eyes that drew me in. The eyes that I had been begging to see all evening. They were a dark, golden, amber color, and the hint of luminosity I had seen when the beast was in the bushes, was lurking beneath the surface. And where his face was expressionless, his eyes were anything but. They were intense, all but screaming in their emotions. Deep sadness permeated all other emotions, but I could see determination, deep and steady, and a hope he could barely keep contained. And an odd emotion, almost like sad expectation.

He is waiting for my reaction to him. That's why he tensed up when we were getting close to the van. He knew he would be under stronger light and had not wanted me to see him fully exposed. He was waiting for my reaction and he was expecting me to be afraid of him. Fat chance.

"Well," I said drawing in a steadying breath, "Embri, Lacy, I'd like you to meet Darien. I got a little lost in the park and he escorted me out." I was looking up into Darien's face as a said this, a comforting smile on my face. Watching his reaction was priceless.

Darien's face stayed expressionless for a few seconds, then turned incredulous. And slowly, but surely, a breath taking smile took over his features.

Danggit, I didn't know this man from Adam and he was already making me go weak in the knees. I was going to have to do something about this. But as I looked up into his smile I thought to myself, maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't have to.

"It appears that your Ms. Rebecca got turned around on the pathways, so I offered to escort her back." Darien explained, his brilliant smile now aimed at my paralyzed friends.

"T-that's very kind of you," Embri managed to stammer out. Lacy had closed her gaping mouth and taken a deep breath to compose herself.

"Umm, Rebecca, Mrs. Jeannine said we need to leave soon, so…uh" Maybe not as composed as I thought. I was fighting a smile when I untucked my hand from Darien's elbow and turned to face him.

"Thank you very much Mr. Darien," I said formally, "It has been a pleasure talking to you."

"The same goes for you, Ms. Wright.," Darien said, "Goodnight, Rebecca." His eyes softened when he said my name, and a small smile was playing at the corner of his lips. Turning, he looked at Embri and Lacy. "Goodnight ladies." Then he turned and walked down the path that we had just come from. I stared after him, watching him until he went around a bend in the pathway, disappearing behind the bushes.

I let out the breath I'd been holding and I realized that my heart was beating frantically. My hand came up to rest on my throat by its own accord. Thoughts that I did not want to think were beginning to click together. Thankfully, my friends saved me from having to think too hard.

Together, they came rushing up to demand answers to their questions. The whole hour long trip home was spent telling and describing how I'd run into Darien. Though I left out the beast in the bushes. I didn't think Darien would appreciate me telling them about that secret. Or how his eyes glowed golden when I was gathered protectively in his arms.

So it wasn't until I was home and taking off my coat did I notice the folded piece of paper sticking out of my pocket. With suddenly shaking fingers, I unfolded the sheet of paper. In black flowing letters was a cell phone number and a short note:

Call me if you need me, and next

time we meet, you can guess

my name.

-Darien

To be continued…

I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter!! Please review and tell me what you think.