Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Title: Whispers In The Dark

Rating: T

Summary: Bella always wondered why Edward refused to change her. She wanted nothing more than to be like him, so that they could be together forever. What happens when another vampire shows up in Forks and agrees to change Bella? Will she let him?

A/N: Takes place after Twilight, but before New Moon.

Chapter 1: New Friend

I wasn't sure why I'd agreed to go to the homecoming dance. Dancing meant moving, and moving was not something I excelled at. It was actually one of my weaker points. Maybe it was the fact that Edward asked me. Or because Alice would have killed me if I'd said no. But with her there staring at me like that, I could tell that my dress was much too revealing.

"I'm returning it." I mumbled, pulling at the hem of my dress.

"No way, it's perfect!" Alice declared, continuing to stare at me.

I looked in the mirror. The white dress fell plainly on my skinny body. Besides the fact that almost my entire leg was showing, I wasn't too disappointed with how I looked. Sneaking past Charlie with it on was going to be the difficult part. I glanced at Alice who hadn't spoken in a few minutes. She wasn't staring at me anymore, but staring into nothing, like she was in a daze.

"Alice?"

Her head jerked towards me, "Sorry... I was having... a vision."

"Really?" I hoped it was a good vision, although she seemed reluctant to talk about it. "What did you see?"

"It wasn't clear enough to tell," Alice explained. "Anyway, I'm going to put my dress on now."

I watched Alice skip into the bathroom. She was back in my room within a few minutes wearing a ravishing, navy blue dress. Her make up was already applied. It looked professionally done.

"I wish I could get ready that quickly," I told her, as I played with my stubbornly straight hair.

Alice smiled at me, walking behind me and touching my hair with her slender fingers. She pulled half my hair back, leaving a few stray locks to outline my face. It didn't look half bad. Next she did my makeup, and although she finished in less than a minute, it looked like she'd taken a good twenty.

"We'd better get going," Alice suggested.

I agreed. It was easier than I thought it'd be to slip past Charlie. He'd fallen asleep on the couch, and even after I tripped and fell in the kitchen, he didn't so much as stir. He was out cold. My shoes annoyed me the entire time I walked. I didn't take kindly to high heels. Actually, they didn't take kindly to me. The ride to the school was fast, but slightly slower than Edward's driving. Alice and I were meeting Edward and Jasper there. It was when we found Jasper outside alone that my stomach lurched.

"Where's Edward?" Alice asked, gracefully stepping out of her car.

I got out of the passenger seat, eagerly awaiting Jasper's response. He looked at me, then back at Alice, "He's running late."

Running late? Edward? It didn't make any sense. But all I could do was take his word for it.

"You coming?" Alice asked as she headed toward the entrance of the school.

"I think I'll wait outside," I answered, although the cool air was beginning to bother me. Or were the chills running across my skin from something else? "Till he gets here."

"Okay," Alice smiled at me. Then she disappeared inside the school with Jasper.

I watched a bunch of couples arrive and hurry inside to escape the cold. An hour must had passed before I realized that my body was becoming numb. The cold didn't phase me much longer. I was too worried about Edward. He was never late, and even if he was, he made up for it by quadrupling the speed limit. I sighed and began walking down the sidewalk. It was too depressing to stay at the dance, so I decided to walk home instead. During my walk, all I could do is ask myself the same question, over and over and over again. Where was Edward? It began to frustrate me. Scare me even. He had to be okay though, he just had to.

I stared at my feet as I walked, taking careful steps so that I didn't trip. The hope of this only lasted a few more seconds as I walked straight into something and fell backwards onto the ground. Obviously when your as clumsy as me, you should always watch where you're going. I sat up, slightly disoriented from hitting my head. When my eyes focused, I saw what it was that I'd walked into. It was a person.

"I'm so sorry!" I blurted out, attempting to get back on my feet. But I was too busy staring at him. He had black hair slicked up into tiny spikes, dark mysterious eyes and strong features.

He lent me his hand and helped pull me up, "That's quite alright."

When I was on my feet again, I suddenly realized how tall he was, towering over me. It was intimidating, and slightly discomforting. But his face was so handsome- his expression soft and kind.

"I'm Bella," I told him, glancing down at my attire. "I'm coming from a school dance."

"Nice to meet you Bella," he smiled, shaking my hand that he was still holding. His skin was hard and cold. My pulse rate began to rise just as quickly as my suspicions. Was he a… "I'm Kaevan."

"Kaevan...that's not a name you hear everyday." I said, hoping he didn't take it offensively.

"My mother had issues," Kaevan replied, nonchalantly.

"Oh." I didn't know how to respond. I decided to change the subject. "So, are you from Forks? I haven't seen you around."

"No." Kaevan answered, almost too quickly. "I'm from Salem, Massachusetts. I'm just here in Forks visiting family."

Without realizing it, we began walking together down the sidewalk.

"Salem huh?" I'd read about that place in History class. "Are there really witches there?"

"Nope," Kaevan replied. I couldn't tell if he was amused or not. "No witches."

"Do I know your family?" I asked. Everyone knew everyone in Forks.

"I doubt it," Kaevan said, looking at me. The pale moonlight reflected in his dark eyes. "They don't associate much."

"What's your last name?"

"Brimm."

"Do you-"

"What is this, twenty questions?" Kaevan asked, interrupting me. But he didn't look irritated, just bombarded by my inquisition.

I felt my cheeks warm, "Sorry."

"That's okay," Kaevan smirked. "I don't usually give out this many answers on the first date. But I'll give you one more."

"Okay," I tried to be surreptitious as I looked him up and down. "How old are you?"

It wasn't the most interesting question. But it surprised me when he didn't answer right away.

"I'm eighteen so if your worried-" I paused, hoping he realized where I was going with that sentence.

"I'm a lot older than you," Kaevan stopped walking, as if he'd suddenly decided that talking to me was a mistake. "But we'll just call it twenty-two."

"Somebody get this guy a wheel chair…" I laughed nervously, and he began walking again. He didn't even crack a smile.

We continued to talk as he walked me home. He spoke smoothly as I stumbled over my words. By the time we reached my house, Kaevan had me breaking out into hysterical laughter, although he always kept a neutral expression. It was only when I spoke that he smiled.

"Well, Bella." Kaevan spoke, his voice much too harmonic to be human. I was pretty positive that he wasn't. "It was a pleasure."

"It was." I replied, suddenly wondering if I'd ever see Kaevan again. I'm not sure why, but I definitely wanted to.

"Until next time." Kaevan gently lifted my hand and kissed it, his cool lips sending shivers down my spine.

A moment later, he was gone. I looked around, spinning in a complete circle. He was gone. I quickly gave up and walked down the driveway. When I looked up, I saw a silhouette sitting on my front steps. As I got closer I recognized who it was, and I realized that he'd witnessed my goodbye time with my new friend.

"Edward?"