Chapter One

Edward Anthony Masen Cullen stared blankly at the board in English class and for the umpteenth time he listened to the style of writing explained to a group of 17-year-olds. How I wished I was as naive as my peers. Childlike to the depravity and dangers of the world, like the vampire I am. Lethal and hungry for human blood but unlike most, I can hear all their thoughts. Every single mind was open to me. Right now Mr. Mason, the English teacher, was mentally berating himself for not getting pastrami for lunch. Humans could be just unusual or irritating. Annoying like Jessica Stanley, who was thinking disgusting thoughts regarding her and me in a bubble bath. I shiver in repulsion and decide I need to go home and take a shower, with lots of bleach. Humans like Jessica should be grateful I was not a human drinking vampire. No, I drank the blood of animals. My creator, Carlisle Cullen had taught me the diet and together their family or coven had grown from three to seven: Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Rosalie, Emmett, Alice, and Jasper.

A knock sounded on the closed door, and an old redhead is wearing a soft green sweater with blue jeans, and boots came in quickly. "Mr. Mason, may we speak in the hall." Her voice was sweet and endearing but authoritative. I mentally pushed back the voices of the other students and singled out her mind. My curiosity intrigued by the sudden interruption in the middle of boring-as-mud Forks, Washington English High school class. One new student and two new teachers! Oh my goodness, I am so excited! Immediately after the door closes the pair walk out of earshot and I am bombarded by the thoughts and sounds of teenagers wondering what is going on. Ten minutes later Mr. Mason walks back in, and class continues like normal. As school lets out, I walk towards my car and meet up with my family. My siblings, all vampires like myself, just as dangerous as I am who nod towards me. Rosalie's thoughts are about how her red shirt was the envy of nearly all the senior girls. Emmett's thoughts turned towards what pranks to play on our brother Jasper who sat beside me. Jasper's thoughts were on seeing the ocean soon while Alice focused on what book to read first.

I took the driver seat, and as we pulled out, I broke the silence in the car. "We are getting a new student and two new teachers. I don't know when but I over hear one of the advisers telling Mr. Mason."

"A new student!" Alice's bird-like voice rang through the air.

"Two new teachers?!" Rosalie screeched loudly.

"Yes so keep an eye for them." I pull up to the house and park in the garage. My siblings jump out of the car and race up the stairs to the house towards Esme.

"Hello everyone." Esme smiled sweetly at us.

"ESME WE ARE GONNA HAVE A NEW STUDENT AND TWO NEW TEACHERS, AND I AM SO EXCITED!" Alice said as she launched herself into a dance across the room and dragged Jasper with her.

Esme laughed, and Rosalie preened. Emmett and I decided to give the pair some music, so I went to the piano, and he went to the saxophone. We played "Dream a little Dream of Me". Two chords into the music, Rosalie hummed indicating she would start doing lyrics if we wished and Emmett nodded. She waited for four beats and then her soft alto voice cascade over the room.

Stars shining bright above you

Night breezes seem to whisper "I love you"

Birds singing in the sycamore trees

Dream a little dream of me

Say nighty-night and kiss me
Just hold me tight and tell me you'll miss me
While I'm alone and blue as can be
Dream a little dream of me

Stars fading but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn dear
Just saying this

Sweet dreams till sunbeams find you
Sweet dreams that leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
Dream a little dream of me

Stars fading but I linger on dear
Still craving your kiss
I'm longing to linger till dawn dear
Just saying this

Sweet dreams, till sunbeams find you
Gotta keep dreaming leave all worries behind you
But in your dreams whatever they be
You gotta make me a promise, promise to me
You'll dream, dream a little of me

Carlisle and Esme's applause were met with laughter from Rosalie as Emmett pulled her into a romantic embrace. Alice and Jasper had already disappeared towards their private room.

I hope Edward finds someone who makes him that happy. Esme thought as she sighed contently at the sight of Rosalie and Emmett's retreating backs. After years of solidarity, I was used to my family's thoughts and wishes of me finding a mate. I closed my eyes and Stared at Carlisle, who smiled brightly at me.

"I have an apprentice." He stated only and in his mind I saw the flash of a redheaded girl with bright green eyes and a sharp mind.

"Oh, Carlisle?!" Esme could not contain her excitement. "I would love to meet…"

"Willow Rosenberg is her name. She came with several letters of recommendations and her knowledge is sharp as a knife." Carlisle smiled brightly.

"I look forward to meeting her then!" Esme said as she twirled out of the living room. Already I could hear her planning a day to meet the girl and what outfit wear.

Carlisle and I shook our heads, and he clapped me on the shoulder. "Want to go for a quick hunt?"

We smiled wickedly at the idea of a nice hunt to satisfy the blood lust. The woods of Forks were always full and bountiful with woodland creatures that quenched my thirst. Two hours into the forest went by, and I had drained three delicious deer. Carlisle had indulged a bit with four large deer as well. We dusted off the dirt from our jeans and strode through the foliage. Carlisle talked about his day and then going into details on Ms. Rosenberg's Cambridge recommendations and California background. He seemed genuinely excited about a pupil who had a thirst for knowledge that matched his own. As we made it back to back to the house, I noticed a police car parked out front. I looked at Carlisle, and we moseyed towards the front of the house. We could hear Esme laughing from the porch, and Emmett's booming laughing sounded off as I stepped onto the first step.

Charlie Swan stood next to Emmett, and he smiled brightly while holding a glass of water. He sipped it and handed it to Esme as Carlisle, and I walked up the stairs. "Mr. Swan, to what do we owe this pleasure?" Carlisle asked as he shook hands with Charlie.

"Hello, Mr. Cullen and Edward." Charlie Swan, Chief of Police, is the pleasantest human. Often I find his thoughts to charming and kindhearted especially when he thinks of my family. "I'm sorry to drop in on you all so unexpectedly, but I wanted to inform you that you have new neighbors moving in tonight and more tomorrow." He handed his water back to Esme and nodded towards the darkening road.

"Really? I didn't realize there was a house close to us for some miles." Carlisle voiced but inwardly I could hear his thoughts thinking of the houses closest to us: there was a small subdivision seven miles to our southern right but to the southeast there was an empty house. Built in 1985, the house was pale blue with white shutters and overgrown with shrubbery in Carlisle's mind.

"Yes, the owner of the house passed but the son, Alexander Harris, has come home to stay. Some of his friends will be moving in with him, so I wanted to let you know in case you wanted to meet them. From what Harris has told me, there will be a high schooler joining him tomorrow. Her name is Dawn Summers." Charlie's mind has always been intriguing to me. He has a natural immunity that allows him to block me out at times but as he thought of Alexander Harris a flash. A man with dark brown hair, one light brown eye, and an eye patch covering his left eye. The man was laughing when the image whisked away from me. I gazed at Charlie and realized the man I saw must have been of Alexander Harris.

"We will, of course, make him feel right at home." Esme gushed. Her mind racing with recipe ideas to make for the Mr. Harris in under thirty minutes. "In fact, we can bring him dinner tonight."

"Oh, I wouldn't bother with that. Me and Mr. Harris went and had dinner already. But if you want, I know he'd be genuinely happy for something tomorrow when his family comes to town. He's been working on the house all day, and I suspect he will be working on it all day tomorrow as well." Esme's put on a fake pout and Charlie chuckled before turning towards Carlisle. "Doc, your apprentice is staying with Mr. Harris by the way. Apparently they are childhood friends. Ms. Rosenberg is her name, correct?"

"That is correct. Well, it is nice to know she will be close by." Carlisle smiled. I should have checked her address on her file earlier, Carlisle thought.

Charlie had chatted for a few more minutes before a radio call came in and he sprinted to his car and peeled out towards town. The seven of us stood on the porch for a moment and listened to the quiet sounds of Washington. The sun finally descended, and we stood glistening in the moonlight like wet opal monuments. After an hour had passed, Rosalie insisted her and Emmett need their alone time and the pair vanished.

Alice and Jasper started bickering on who would win in their online campaign in World of Warcraft. We had all played the massive online game before, and it was a fun game to pass the time when you have eternity. I smiled and flashed upstairs to grab my laptop. As I grabbed the computer, I looked out my window. In the forest of Forks, I could be the predator, the vampire but at home, I could be Edward. I smiled and flashed downstairs to join my siblings in our night-long raid. We played until five in the morning which allowed to amass a plethora of coins and experience. We raced upstairs to our separate showers and started to prepare for school.

Thanks to Alice's clothing obsession, I had a surplus of clothes to choose from. Grabbing a random combination, I quickly dressed and turned towards the mirror and inspected my choices. I had picked slimming beige pants with a white t-shirt and green sweater. I run to my bathroom and fix my hair quickly. I walk back to my room and put on my sneakers and grab my favorite jacket. I smirked as I picked up my school bag and car keys and from the garage I could hear Emmett yelling for me to stop playing with my hair and to hurry up. I flashed down to the garage, and we piled into my Volvo. Rosalie was singing show tunes in her head while Emmett was thinking about former wrestlers. Alice was thinking about her favorite French designers and Jasper was thinking about different video games as we pulled up to the school.

The school parking lot was nearly filled as well pulled up, and students heads turned as we arrived. The thoughts turned from upcoming assignments to our physique and beauty. I chuckle softly at the students' innocence as they are but a flock of lambs being led to what could be a slaughter if I lose control. I head to the home room where the class is already talking about the new student Dawn Summers. Mike Newton was gushing to some of his friends how she was going to the prom with by the end of the year. They were even taking bets on if Mike would fail. I rolled my eyes and focused on the windows outside where I could view the parking lot. I saw two figures walking from the administration door, and as I focused, I saw they were both women. One of the women was a beautiful young girl with chocolate long hair. She had an olive complexion and wore blue jeans, a black t-shirt, and tennis shoes. Her eyes are a striking cobalt that light up as rays of sun peek through the clouds and highlight them. She's breathtaking, and her voice is like a soft flute. "Buffy, this school is tiny! I bet everyone knows what everyone ate for breakfast two weeks ago." The girl whined.

"Dawn, would you rather go back to Sunnydale?" The other speaker was blonde with tanned skin. She had her back to him, but she was tiny compared to the new student. She wore a long black coat and blue jeans with Doc Martins. Alice would flip if she saw this girl fashion choice; I cringed. "Besides, I think you will fit in nicely here. Now get going to your homeroom. I'll pick you up after school, ok?" The pair embraced and Dawn ran off towards my building. I watched as the one, Buffy, walked towards a red Nissan Altima and pulled out of the parking lot.

Just as the last bell rang for homeroom, a flushed Dawn Summers skidded into the classroom and slammed straight into Jessica Stanley. Both girls landed onto the ground with grunts and an eerie silence fell across the room.

Word from the Author

Hello! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy the many more chapters to come! Please feel free to review or just leave me a comment on your general feelings on the story so far.

Stay 5by5,

AndroidScout