ONE

If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way.

- Bertrand Russell

I rolled out of bed, tangled in the sheets, and struggled to get out of bed. In a matter of human seconds, though, I was dressed and perfectly ready for school.
Walking out of my room, I skipped down the hall two doors down.

"Edward! Get up and get ready for school!" I playfully messed up his hair as I watched him lay there peacefully on his leather couch.
His eyelids slowly lifted, and his eyes focused on mine.
"You are fully aware that I don't actually sleep, and it takes me about two seconds-human speed-to get ready for school." He spoke softly.
This made me smile "Of course I know that you bum!"
I left his room and came down the stairs to find everyone waiting in the living room.
Rosalie was placed on Emmett's lap; Alice was sitting next to Jasper and holding his hand.
"Is he still in his room?" Emmett asked.
I nodded "Thinking hard about something I guess."
Alice shook her head, she had been worried about Edward for a while, we all had.
But Edward was right behind me as I grabbed my keys, and he grabbed his.
We had to take two cars to school because of how many of us there were. All of us grabbed our bags, and said our goodbyes to Esme who stood at the door. Carlisle wasn't by her side as usual- he had to leave for work early today.
Alice and Rosalie joined me today in my yellow SAAB, as Emmett and Jasper piled into Edward's Volvo.
Alice played with the radio as we raced down the road, turning on a CD.
We drove to Forks High School, not talking It's not like there was really anything to talk about. We didn't partake in school gossip, or discuss a book we had just read. We were vampires; we've seen everything before.
It was an average day for Forks. Overcast sky, moist air, gray and green every where. And no sun. It was very rare that Forks, Washington would have a sunny day. That's why it was such a great place for our kind to live.
I pulled into the parking lot, parking right next to Edward's Volvo.
Stepping out of the car, I pulled the strap of my bag over my shoulder, locking the car.
"What a lovely day!" I smiled walking next to Edward. I didn't know what was bothering him this morning.
He nodded, not eager to admire the "lovely" day with me. I sighed as I linked arms with Alice .
The warm air rushed past us, attempting to escape the building as we opened the door.
Two students passed us, walking across the hall, and at that moment, Edward became more alert.
"What's up?" I asked him, curious as to what could have caught his attention.
"New student. Isabella Swan." He stated flatly. He wasn't interested.
"Oh cool! Chief Swan's daughter! She'll probably be very nice." I encouraged.
I don't know why I even bothered. It's not like I was trying to get him to make new friends, we didn't have friends, we had each other.

He shrugged then turned to walk to our first class; Trigonometry.

We took our seats in the back, sitting next to each other. I sighed as I pulled out my notebook, waiting for the bell to ring so class could start.
It's not like I needed to pay attention. I didn't need to pay attention in any class. I've been through every class there is known to man. Well, close. I've been through school many times, but not as much as Edward - seeing as he was created later than me, and I was a girl, therefore I had to be put through what any girl would have to do in the early times of education. We've been to several different colleges. Edward has attended Harvard, and several other impressive schools. I have attended Yale, Princeton, and a few others. Each time I've gone to college I've majored in different things. Like theater, art, journalism, and a few others. That was one of the things that made me love being a vampire. I could study anything, for as long as I wanted. One of the cons, though, was not being able to keep a job at the same spot for very long. For me it was easier than the others though. I could change my appearance, therefore I could age. But the others had different talents, ones not affecting their looks. Edward could read minds, Alice could see into the future (though it changed frequently, due to different decisions), Jasper could affect people's moods, and Brooke was telekinetic. The rest of our family - Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett - only had certain parts of either their physical or personal traits intensified. Carlisle 's compassion; Esme's love for all things and motherly behavior; Emmett's strength; Rosalie's vanity.
The bell rang, and I took out a pencil, prepared not to write anything other than poems or little snippets of story lines that popped into my head. There was no need for me to take notes.
The class went on in a blur, and occasionally I would glance to my left at Edward. He was sitting silently, unmoving, staring at the teacher or the board. He was probably tuning out every one's thoughts like he normally did, and probably mine more than ever. It could be overwhelming to hear the thoughts of every person in the room, so Edward was able to just tune it out so it only became a low hum. No doubt he would tap into mine to see if I was worried, or who I was with the past night.
Finally the bell rang, and it was time for English. Even though I have sat through many English classes, I've never really grown tired of them. It was my favorite topic, and I didn't mind reading the books over and over again. I would smile when we were assigned a book that had come out around my time. Remembering when I would curl up in my father's library and read them.
History was another class I loved. Edward and I were particularly good at this subject, but not only because we have been studying it for such a long time. We could remember things of our past. The Renaissance was my strong point. The late 1800's, early 1900's where Edward's.
English was the last class I had with Edward for the day, so we parted and I made my way to Bio. This class was unbelievably boring. It was times like these that, once again, I was grateful for being a vampire. I didn't have to pay attention or anything, just get the homework assignments down.
I made my way to Spanish after the bell rang. Taking my seat in the back as usual, I became more alert. Something was different. I scanned the room; no one I didn't know was here. A quick moment passed, and that's when it happened.
A very shy, timid girl walked through the door with her head low. She was very small, somewhere around five four, straight brown hair, and wide brown eyes. I watched her carefully - as did the some of the other students - as she handed the teacher a paper, then took a seat next to Jessica Stanely.
I continued to stare at her with shocked eyes. Her scent was alarmingly powerful. It was the sweetest thing I had ever come across in many years. I had been around people so much I had learned to ignore their scents, but this one was very, very difficult to dismiss.
Quickly I looked away, hanging my head low. The scent was playing with my senses, but mostly with my control. I wouldn't lose control. There was only one thing I could do to make it all stop. I had to change my senses, and I couldn't do that here in the classroom.
The late bell rang, and a few tardy students hurriedly filed into the room, taking their seats. I raised my hand swiftly, and waited for Mr. Kugler to call on me.
"Yes Senorita?" He asked.
"May I go to the bathroom?" I asked calmly.
He did not answer me, he simply waited. I sighed. I was in a hurry, but I had been studying Spanish for the longest time, I was fluent.
"¿Puedo ir yo al cuarto de baño?" I asked
"Si." he replied.
I stood and left the room in a rush. Making my way to the bathroom, I hoped no one would be in there. Or, at least, not see me go in then come out a little different.
I entered the bathroom and went into a stall. Focusing, I closed my eyes. This wasn't a hard, noisy, or strange process. All I did was close my eyes and focus on what I wanted to change, and it would happen. My vampire sense of smell was what I wanted different. Stepping out of the stall I took in a deep breath through my nose. Excellent, all I could smell was what a human could: what a school bathroom smelled like. Normally I would be able to still smell Isabella's scent from here, but now I couldn't.
I smiled to myself as I walked back to Mr. Kugler's room, and took my seat.
It was at this point that I wish I had Edward's ability. People were staring at either Isabella, or me. They had a perfectly understandable reason to be starting at me, I ever talked. I only came to class, did the assignments, and answered when spoken to.
Opening my notebook, I went back to drawing until the class was over, and it was time for lunch. Mr. Kugler wrote the next assignment on the board, signaling class was coming to a close. The bell rang, and I shot up from my seat and to the cafeteria. Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie were already sitting at our usual table that was placed in the corner of the cafeteria.
"Hey guys, what's up?" I asked taking my seat next to Rosalie.
Rose sighed and leaned forward, cupping her cheek in one hand.
I nodded, would there ever be anything new?
We were silent for a little while, and it wasn't until I saw Alice and Edward coming that I decided to say something.
"So, I've got Spanish class with the new girl."
Alice took her seat next to Jasper, and Edward sat down next to me, uninterested in what I was saying. Alice smiled at me "What is she like?"
It's not like she had to ask me this question. If she wanted, she could ask Edward to tap into someone's thoughts and get a full description of anything this Isabella had done or was like.
"She seems nice. She's incredibly quiet. Her head was hung low the entire class, always had her hair in her face." I explained. I didn't know much about this girl, all I really knew was that she went by "Bella".
We were quiet for the longest time, none of us touching our food. Our filled trays only served as props.
I don't know why, but I always felt like making small talk. I longed for something to talk about, and I was usually the most energetic of the group. Brooke would talk with me, if she were here. Currently she was in Italy, visiting her part time lover. Sighing, I rested my head in my hands. This was so boring.
Edward kicked Jasper's chair.
"Sorry," Jasper muttered.
"You weren't going to do anything, I could see that." Alice assured him.
I looked up at Jasper. This whole time I'd been worried about Edward, I had forgotten about Jasper. How foolish of me.
Jasper had been having an even harder time adjusting to our way of eating. We were what Carlisle liked to call "vegetarians". We didn't feed on people, instead we hunted animals. We were all used to it, and of course it could be uncomfortable when the air pushed an alluring scent towards us, but we were accustomed to the dry throat, the excess flow of venom, the tightening of muscles. Especially me. I surround myself with mortals frequently. My extra sense helps a lot, but I don't use it when I'm out at night. Carlisle and I are two of the strongest when it comes to this craving. He doesn't even notice it really, seeing as he works in a hospital.
"It helps a little if you think of them as people." Alice began, trying to help Jasper.
"Her name is Whitney. She has a baby sister she adores. Her mother invited Esme to that garden party, remember?" she asked.
"I know who she is," Jasper's mood brought the conversation to a close.
His lips moved too fast for human ears to hear. All our conversations-, which weren't many- that were held at this table, were private from humans. So we talked at a pace they couldn't understand.
Alice sighed deeply and stood, taking her tray to the trash and leaving.
My head returned to my hands. I wanted to go with her, to talk about Jasper's condition. But I also wanted to stay here for Edward. I glanced at him, but he was looking away from me and into the sea of students.
"What?" I asked him. He never paid an ounce of attention to them.
"Jessica Stanely is giving the Swan girl all the dirty laundry on the Cullen Clan," He murmured.
My smile was small, not touching my eyes. It was always a little humorous when he used the word "Clan".
Emmett chuckled under his breath.
"Rather unimaginative actually. Just the barest hint of scandal. Not an ounce of horror. I'm a little disappointed." Edward replied to someone's thoughts.
Emmett and I waited for another response. Rose and Jasper weren't interested, as usual.
But Edward looked up suddenly, directing his attention back on Swan. He was quiet, and I watched him as he became uneasy for a moment.
After another moment, he turned his head back in my direction, hiding a smile.
"I heard it too." I noted. Jessica was telling Swan that probably no girl was good-looking enough for Edward. I found this incredibly funny, and tried to stifle a giggle.
Rose tapped her long, elegant fingers on the table, clearly becoming impatient.
"Shall we?" She asked quietly. She stood, and we followed her out the door.
"So, is the new one afraid of us yet?" Emmett asked as we walked down the hall.
Edward shrugged, and Rose, Jasper, and Emmett walked off after that. The three of them were "seniors", and Edward, Alice, Brooke, and I were playing juniors.
Edward and I wandered down the vacant hall together. We left the cafeteria a little early, so we had nothing else to do.
Examining Edward's stance and expression, I sensed something was bothering him.
"What's up? You seem a little miffed." I copied his posture, then straightened up again.
He didn't answer right away, but he knew my high level of curiosity. So I waited for his response, knowing I would get one.
"Katie, I've got something to tell you. I'm not sure what's causing it exactly. But it's strange."

END