A/N: Hello all. I'll start by introducing myself; I'm RayVera, a new writer here of Fanfiction. So, I've been reading for a while and thought I'd try my hand at writing my own story and thus, here I am, typing away at my computer :)

Oh, and forgive me for my atrocious geographic skills. The story is based in America, and I found the town in a website 'cus I don't know anything about America (I live in the UK ~) so… there will be tons of errors on high school layouts, places, etc. I'll try not to dwell on location names too much though.

Ok then, let's start!

Fear. Raw, unbridled fear.

That's the emotion that was in the green eyes of the man in front of me. He was about 25, with long, unkempt blonde hair that stuck to his forehead due to the sweat he was breaking out in and stubble across his chin. He backed himself up against the brick wall of the alley, cowering away from me.

"L-Listen, I'm sorry for touching you. Just please, please don't hurt me..."

For a moment I feel sorry for him; his face was drained of colour and he was struggling to get his words out. But then I remember the way he'd leered at me, his eyes roaming up and down my body before coming to a stop at my chest, the way his disgusting breath had washed over me, saturated with alcohol as he whispered for me to come with him for a 'good time'. And finally the way he had grabbed my ass, squeezing it and laughing as he led me out the back door of the club.

No. This man didn't deserve even a shred of pity.

"Why? Didn't you want me a few minutes ago?" I couldn't help the sneer that came onto my face as I mocked him, bringing my face closer to his, my mouth centimetres from his.

He gave a whimper and I couldn't resist rolling my eyes. Humans were so weak, so pathetic.

'Is that what I seemed liked to them? To him? Was I really this pathetic?'

The thought made its way to my mind before I could stop it, and I felt a familiar feeling in my chest; the feeling that I was being torn apart and my heart was being taken away from my body.

I flinched and curled up my hands into fists, my arms shaking as I remembered the day 10 years ago; they day when all of them had left me, alone in the woods as I cried out for them, hoping – praying – that it was all a dream. But it wasn't.

A growl escaped my lips, causing the man's eyes to widen and he whimpered even more, trying to shield himself with his hands. I smirked. Grabbing his wrists, I locked his hands above his head as I brought my face close to his, our lips almost touching.

"P-please, I-I have a family. Two kids… please don't-"

"Well, if you have kids and a family, what were you doing trying to get girls at a club? Hmm?" I couldn't help but taunt him as my lips curled into a grin.

His eyes widened even further, looking like they'd bulge out from their sockets if he widened them further.

He opened his mouth in an effort to start another plea but I cut him short. Opening my own mouth, I proceeded to suck out his life force – his Chi.

If some other human had been watching this from the far side of the alley, they might have mistaken it as a kiss. My lips were nearly touching his, nearly, but not quite. If they had bothered to come closer they would have seen the whispery, glowing blue string that was coming from his mouth and into mine. The Chi was addictive, it was like taking drugs, it took you to an all-time high and you could never get enough. I felt his body go limp and had to hold him up by the grip I had on his wrists. Just a little more. Just a little more and this bastard would be-

"That's enough, Bella."

A strong hand found its way to my shoulder, holding me in a firm grip. I stopped to look around at the tall man who had interrupted me and raised an eyebrow.

"If you continue to suck out his Chi he'll die," he stated, looking at me with a tired expression.

"So? This guy's nothing but a creep who sleeps with any and every girl he can get his hands on. He doesn't deserve to-"

"Bella," Kazuya's voice was calm, patient as he spoke to me, "I know you're angry at this man, but killing him would do no good. I know you're better than that."

I looked him in the eye, his steely grey orbs locking with my chocolate brown ones and sighed. He was right, he always was. Giving the drunken man a disgusted look, I let go of his wrists and let him collapse onto the ground. I turned to face Kazuya, whose facial expression was unreadable and so I bit my lip, thinking of the right words to say.

"I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost my temper," I said, averting my eyes from his face to his battered boots.

I heard him sigh.

"It's alright, you stopped quickly enough so that no real harm was done," he said, giving me a smile as he looked over at the crumpled heap behind me, "but I think you gripped his wrists a little bit too hard. It looks like he'll wake up feeling half-dead, with a killer headache and bruised wrists."

I laughed at his comment, waving it off with a flick of my wrist, "Nothing he doesn't deserve."

Kazuya shook his head at my comment. The action let some of his thick, black hair cover his eyes and he pushed them back with his hands, "Come on, let's get back home."

He led us back to our car which was parked a few blocks away. If anyone found the green-eyed man's body, they'd just assume he'd passed out from drinking too much, but Kazuya liked to be careful anyway. As I got into the passenger seat I noticed that Kazuya's lips were in a firm line, his expression was as if he was deliberating whether or not to tell me something.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him. Kazuya trusted me; he didn't ever keep secrets from me.

"Well…" his voice was hesitant as he started the car, flicking his eyes to me as he drove, his face illuminated by the streetlights, "there are rumours that a new family is arriving in a few days…"

I rolled my eyes at him, "Kazuya, a new family arriving in Riverside isn't exactly shocking news…"

He grimaced, eyes never leaving the road in front of us as I looked at him curiously, "Yes, but… Bella, I've heard that they're a family of seven; two parents, one of which is a doctor and five kids, three boys and two girls, all of which are adopted."

I froze and my breathing stopped. My eyes widened and the familiar feeling of my heart being ripped out returned. I could no longer see the face of Kazuya, the man who had saved me from death. Instead I saw them. They're faces were forever etched into my memories. I saw Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett… Alice.

Her face, laughing and happy and perfect made me squeeze my eyes shut as tears threatened to come out. She had been my best friend.

And finally; Edward appeared before my eyes, his hair style still in the same, gravity defying style as he told me that he didn't love me. That he had never loved me. If thinking of Alice had been bad, this was worse. It felt as if someone had knocked the breath out of me and I felt tears running down my face.

A warm hand wiped away the tears and I didn't resist as I was drawn close to Kazuya's body, instead I cried into his shirt as I remembered the memories.

"It might not be them, Bella…" he whispered, running his hand through my hair and rubbing my back soothingly. I shook my head. It was them. It had to be them, there were too many similarities. Wiping my tears away, I sat back straight, "Sorry, I ruined your shirt…" I mumbled.

"Bella, it's just a shirt," he said, smiling softly at me, "Do you want a tissue?" he asked, grabbing a packet from his pocket and offering me one.

I thanked him as I took the tissue to wipe away the tears and got myself together. Kazuya didn't say anything for a while, and when he did, it surprised me.

"Do you want to move?"

I looked at him, my eyes wide. His voice had been soft, caring. I bit my lip. We could move. Then I wouldn't have to face them – I wouldn't have to face him. But – but that would be selfish. I glanced at Kazuya. His face was hard, probably thinking about the complications that would with moving so suddenly. It would be hard for him to move just like that, and I couldn't give him any more trouble. He was the one who'd helped me, the one who'd saved my life after I'd been mugged, stabbed and left for dead on the cold, hard streets of Port Angeles. No, I couldn't burden him further.

"No," my voice came out firm and Kazuya raised an eyebrow at me, surprised by my answer, "I don't want to run… I'm not weak anymore, let them come."

"Are you sure?" he asked softly.

"Yes, besides, it's like you said; it might not even be them. But if it is… I want to let them see me. I want to let him see that he didn't completely break me back in Forks. That I'm not that weak anymore."

Kazuya parked the car and I realised that I'd been too preoccupied to notice we'd arrived home. He turned to look me in the eye, his face serious.

"Alright then, if you're sure about this. But…" he lowered his voice, and I furrowed my brows as to why, "I'm not going to be the one to tell Renesmee, you'll have to do that yourself," he whispered, giving me a smirk as I groaned into my hands, this was why he'd whispered; to stop her overhearing.

Renesmee was going to be very… difficult to convince. She was the first person who Kazuya had saved – about 3 years before me. She'd been at my side ever since, and was fiercely protective of me. Yeah, it was going to be hard to stop her from killing the Cullens – if it was even them. Getting out of the car I walked to the door of our house. It was modest; with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and was surprisingly spacious inside. The blinds were closed on every window; they always were. Our home was the one place we could relax and we really didn't need someone staring at us through the windows.

I lifted my hand to knock but the door opened before my hand reached the hardwood, revealing a frowning Renesmee on the other side.

"What took you guys so long?" she asked, her voice layered thick with worry, "And why the hell were you whispering?"

I smiled nervously at the girl. Her long, wavy brown hair was up in a ponytail and she was dressed in a T-shirt and sweatpants.

"Erm… sorry, I lost track of time…"

Yeah, the lie was lame, and I could see from her face that Renesmee didn't believe it for a second. She pursed her lips and glanced over at Kazuya, who merely shrugged at her questioning gaze. Sighing, she held the door open wider to let us in.

Once I'd taken off my coat she faced me again, this time in the living room.

"Okay, so you won't tell me whatever happened tonight, but why were you guys whispering?"

I took a breath and looked at Kazuya for support and he nodded at me in encouragement, "Renesmee… you remember how I told you about the reason I was the way I was when Kazuya found me?"

I saw her green eyes darken and anger flooded them like a tidal wave. Without waiting for confirmation, I continued.

"Well… there's meant to be a new family moving into town, and Kazu- we think that-that it might be them," I said hesitantly, glancing up I saw that she was still. Her jaw was locked as she looked at me, her gaze so intense that I looked away.

"You mean the Cullens? Their family name came from her mouth in a hiss and made me flinch. I could see her body from my peripheral vision, and it was clear that she was shaking.

"It's not that bad, I'm okay with it – I swear. It's nothing. Besides, it might not even be them. Could be a coincidence," I said, trying to laugh it off and failing miserably as my voice cracked.

"Bella… Those – those bastards! How dare they? Don't they know how much they've hurt you already?" she snarled and I gave a shake of my head.

"Ren, they don't know what I am – what we are, so they don't know I still go to high school," I said while taking her hand in mine and trying to calm her down, "besides, I'm fine with it, okay? I'm not so weak anymore. I want them to see that," I said, hoping, begging that she would calm down. Renesmee was known for having a fiery temper.

But her anger faded as she looked at me, her features softening as she gave my hand gentle squeeze.

"You've never been weak, Bella. You're one of the strongest people I know," she said softly, and I smiled at her.

"When will they be here?" she asked, this time it was directed at Kazuya, who had watched us in silence until then.

"Day after tomorrow, I think. The kids will probably attend school with you two on Monday," he answered.

On the inside I wondered how he'd known about them, but he'd probably heard it from Chief Clarke. In a small town, it wasn't hard to know everything.

Renesmee gave a nod and then turned to look at me, "Listen Bella, if you're sure about this then I'm not gonna stop you, but if any of them give you a hard time just tell me, okay? I'll make sure to beat the crap outta them."

I chuckled and I heard Kazuya doing the same. Renesmee never thought things through, going for violence first, thinking later, but she meant well.

"Promise?" she asked, looking me in the eye.

"I promise."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Monday came sooner than I expected, and as we stepped out of the car I started to panic. I wasn't ready. I couldn't face them again. Not after-

"Bella?"

Renesmee's quiet voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I realised that she was looking at me worriedly. Taking a deep breath I smiled at her reassuringly. It didn't look like she believed me but she let it go as we headed through the doors of Riverside High School. We kept together as we pushed through the throng of students that crowded the hallway until we reached homeroom. Without pausing to look at any of the other students we made our way to the back of the class; I sat at the window while Renesmee sat to my right. I glanced at the clock; there was still ten minutes until homeroom started. Would any of them be in my homeroom class? Would any of them be in my year? I felt my throat tighten as I waited in anticipation.

When the bell rung though, and our homeroom teacher – a tall, balding man called Mr Jones – came through the door and told us to sit down, I let go off the hope – or was it fear? – that one of them could be in my homeroom. I ignored whatever he said, and sighed in relief as the bell rang again, signalling the end of homeroom. Giving a small nod goodbye to Renesmee, I made my way to my first period class – Maths. Wonderful…

Once again I made my way to the back, not taking notice of anyone as I settled myself down. When my maths teacher came in, I zoned out again. Looks like none of the new students were in my first class either. I sighed to myself. Maybe Kazuya's source had been wrong. Maybe there wasn't a new family that just moved in-

"Excuse me, is this Mrs Williams' class?"

The musical voice interrupted my thoughts, my breathing hitched in my throat. The voice was musical, captivating, something you could listen to for years and not get tired of. I knew, without even having to raise my eyes from my desk, exactly who the owner of said voice was. I took a deep breath.

'Calm down, Bella. You'll be fine. You'll be fine.'

In the distance I heard Mrs Williams telling her to sit in the empty seat at the back – the one beside me. I heard footsteps – light and graceful – as she made her way over to the back.

Then they stopped.

I could feel her eyes on me. I could see her feet – covered in designer heels – rooted to the spot a foot or so away. The whole room seemed to have lapsed into silence. Slowly, I looked up at her face.

As a human, I must have had very, very poor eyesight. No memory could have ever done her justice. Her skin was as pale as ever, without a single blemish and was almost luminous in the light of the room. Her hair was still cut short, coming down a few inches before the tips were spiked into perfect, beautiful chaos that framed her face. Her mouth, with those soft, full lips was open in shock. And her eyes looked at me wide and confused.

Standing in front of me, looking like she'd just seen a ghost, was Alice Cullen.

A/N: Well, that's the first chapter. I'll leave what Bella is a secret for now, but you can try guessing if you want :3 So, how was it? Didya like it? Hate it? Love it? Really hate it? Whichever reaction it was, please leave it in a review. Oh, and if you hated it, do please tell me what you didn't like and hopefully I can get better.