Disclaimer: I do not own anything Twilight!!!!

I couldn't sleep that night; I was so hyped up, almost restless. And I knew the perfect cure for it, but my common sense kept pushing it out of my mind. I couldn't decide what I wanted to do more, defy my father, or see the love of my life, and I didn't wait to find out.

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Chapter One

I stared dazed at my trig homework, not sure if I spoke this language. After a while I started to daydream, as I usually did while trying to do math. My mind drifted somewhere far away, on a beach of some kind. It was beautiful, remote, and deserted, except for my family.

It was wonderful! We all walked together, shimmering in the sunlight, and for once, we weren't forced to hide who we really were; vampires…

"Melody!" My father's voice snapped me out of my daydream. It was when I noticed his annoyed expression that I realized it wasn't the first time he had said my name.

"Are you back," He asked, bemused, but hiding a smile all the time.

"Yes," I replied, looking down at the table; embarrassed. I heard him chuckle softly.

"I wanted to ask you a question," He informed me, a smile in his tone of voice.

"Go ahead," I replied still looking down.

"I was wondering if you would be interested in going hunting with your uncles and I this weekend," He said. My head shot up.

"Really?" He laughed again, and nodded.

"Wow," I said bewildered. He only allowed me to hunt with either him, or my mother. This was new. "Sure." I've never seen Emmett hunt before, I thought.

"I thought that idea would be amusing to you. Emmett is rather entertaining when he hunts," He replied to my unspoken statement. I hated when he did that!

"Does Mom know about this?" I asked.

"She was the one who suggested it actually," He sighed. "She thinks I'm sheltering you too much." He rolled his eyes, and I laughed. That was just like my mother, but I couldn't understand what my father would want to shelter me from on a hunting trip.

"It's different than what you're used to," He answered my mind again. "We'll be hunting fairly larger game, and your mother thinks you're strong enough to handle it, so…"

"You don't think I am?" I asked a little offended.

"It's not so much that," He replied. "It's more of my worry that you'll get hurt." He was always so over-protective. I was just as strong as he was, and just as fast; I'd be fine.

"You shouldn't be so sure of yourself Melody," He said. "You never know what might happen."

"Will you stop doing that?!" I snapped.

"Doing what?" He asked innocently.

"That stupid mind-answering thing! It drives me nuts!" He roared in laughter. I glared at him, and quickly left the table. He was next to me in a second.

"Melody," He said through chuckles. "I'm sorry. Truly I am, but I just can't help it! You might as well ask humans to go deaf, and dumb." I folded my arms across my chest, and looked around the house, suddenly noticing that we were alone.

"Where is everyone?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Rosalie, Alice, Esme, and your mother are all hunting," He answered. "Carlisle is working late, and Emmett and Jasper went to scout out a good area for this weekend."

"And you volunteered to baby-sit me," I sighed. "Dad, I'm almost seventeen, when are you going to let me grow up?" He smiled at me.

"Never, of course," He replied. "Isn't that a father's job?" I rolled my eyes.

"Why don't you get some sleep," He suggested.

"Not a bad idea," I murmured, wanting any opportunity to get away from him for a while.

"Goodnight, Dear," He called as I headed upstairs.

"'Night Dad!" I called back, speeding up my pace. I couldn't have made it to my room soon enough. I couldn't stand it when he treated me like a baby! I was old enough to take care of myself! In fact, I was only a couple of years from being a full vampire. I tried to calm myself, and got dressed for bed.

Though it was late, I wasn't all that tired. So, I just lied there in my bed, staring up at the ceiling. My mind began to wander, and I thought about my family's unique situation.

Being a half-vampire, I had all the strength, speed, and thirst as the rest of my family. But I did have two distinct differences: One was the fact that I had the need for sleep, and the other was my aging. I would age normally until I was about 18, and then I would "cross into darkness", as Carlisle had put it. He said I was a very rare exception to some kind of genetic vampire rule, since I had been born while my mother was still human.

It was a curse, and a blessing all at the same time. I mean, I was able to run at incredible speeds, lift things 10 times my own weight, and virtually live forever. But I was also cursed with these devastatingly good looks, and pale skin. Plus the strangeness of my diet, and the fact that I had no choice in my lifestyle. Half of me couldn't wait to become a full vampire so I wouldn't feel like an outcast in my own family, but the other half yearned for something different, something…normal.

Before I knew it, my eyelids began to feel heavy, and I reluctantly fell asleep on my deep thoughts, and worries, surely about to see them in my dreams.