Chapter 1 title: Where is Superman when you need him?

The wind rustles the last of the brown, crumpled leaves as winter makes its way in. I'm positive that there is a crisp breeze, though it doesn't chill me. As the sun falls slowly into the blanket of night, I close my eyes. I smile into the bright, orange light of twilight. As I turn aways from this wonderful scene, I think to myself, What now? What am I going to do in this new town? In this terribly gloomy little town? I smiled again. I won't tell anyone, but anything morbid or gloomy or dark pleases me. Our family had no history here-this practically uninhabited city in the Northern woods in Britain. I sigh. "What will happen now?" I ask into the emptiness. Of course, no reply came. I jump on my bike and pedal away. Leaves flutter down all around me, as if unveiling a path just for me.

I jump off my bike as I arrive at our new gravel driveway. I stop to take another glance at the house. It actually fit more of a "cottage" description. With its little windows all over and its tiny front door and its worn brown porch, it stared at me. I could get used to this. I slowly walked up the creeky steps and put my hand on the doorknob, turn it, and pushed open the door.

Our entire house of furniture had been moved. All of our possessions from the States were in the perfect place. Not one detail was missed by the perfect Alice.

I left my shoes and socks at the front door and made my way slowly across the wonderfully fuzzy carpet. I love being alone. Who needs friends? I definitely need someone to stab me in the back, oh yeah. Someone to lie to me, someone to spread gossip about me...I need none of that. I prefer sitting in my room rereading my favorite books. Who needs email or myspace? In just years they will be dead-obsolete. Wasn't it just yesterday, for our kind, that they invented the radio? What could be next? Not televisions. And certainly not a video camera that most households have. I haven't been around that long, but I'm old enough.

I'm one year old. Well, I'm really sixteen, but I was born about one year ago. Grandma Bella and Grandpa Edward suggested that our family try out a new continent, so our entire family moved. Three generations of vampires under one roof. Dinner time is a mess to clean up.

I chuckled darkly to myself as I made my way up the stairs. But as I turned the corner to go to my room...I felt her.

"Nice try, Alice." I said.

"Oh, darn. And I was really hoping you were distracted enough not to feel me." She smiled at me.

"Aunt Alice, I'm just too good." I flipped my hair and bragged about my power. She frowned as she let out a giggle and turned around, defeated. But nonetheless, her fluid movements resembled those of a ballerina. My powers are quite unique(not like any of us have the same power).I can feel people. I can tell where they are and what they are doing. I think of it is feeling them while anticipating their movements. For instance, I can basically understand how people think. I understand what would make enough sense to them. I understand people. Grandma was kinda like me, a freak. She, while having no powers of her own, is impervious to others. She is my favorite person in the family. She understands me. She thinks it okay for me to spend time to myself. After all, I am most like her-I am intrigued by humans. Yes, my family had already told me the story of how she had left all of her friends to marry Grandpa Edward. Mom said that she didn't have one friend at all. I am so much like her.

After walking around and surveying my room, I found it satisfactory. I sighed for the fifth time today.

"What do I do now? I'm going to save going to school until tomorrow, when I have to. So what now?" My life consisted of two major questions: Why me? And What now?

I found myself repeating them on a regular basis. I decided a quick run to a valley for entertainment.

I always enjoy running. It is one of the few joys of being alone. I ran, feeling the wind run through my medium-length brown hair. I felt it ruffle my black shirt. I felt the thump, thump, thump of my necklace against my chest. My high tops hit the ground at a fast-paced rhythm so that I soon found what I was looking for. The beauty of nature compares to nothing. The tall, dead trees stood there. They didn't talk to me, they didn't ask me what my business was there, they didn't restrict me. I closed my eyes and let the wonder of this new world come over me for the second time today. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as I thought it would be.

I took a step forward. And slipped. Uh, oh. Another reason I was a lot like Grandma? I was just as clumsy when I got distracted. As I was falling down the steep embankment, I thought to myself, Where is a friend when you need one? I was startled by the thought. I hit the bottom just as soon as the thought came out.

I stood up while I continued moaning about bad luck.

"Ah! Of all the rotten...AH!" Why me?!" I started picking out the dried and broken leaves from my hair and clothes.

"Could you possibly make any more noise?" I had become a statue and had stopped brushing myself off. I was alone, right? Right?

"Hello? Pretty lady, are you alright?" I didn't feel him. He's a human-I can't feel them.

"What...did you say?" I managed. Wait a second, handsome princes don't just appear. And they don't call you pretty. "Wait...Who are you? What are you doing here?!" I looked him over. He was a prince. He had wonderful dirty-blond hair that shielded half of his face. He had wonderful eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of hazel. And as I was falling into those eyes...

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said defensively. "Why wouldn't I be?" Oops. Wrong answer.

"Well...for starters, you just slid and embankment, and you're not hurt. And next...you're...kinda staring at me." He just gave me a taunting grin-like he gets this look a lot. How smug-but oh so cute.

Ah! Was I really staring at him? Bad Sarah, BAD! I didn't need to fall for a guy. And especially not a human guy. I sighed and brought my stare down to my shoes. My superman was right here when I needed him. Too bad I couldn't I have him.

"Well," He helped me up, "I'm Dominic. Dominic Black." He was like a ray of sunshine, blotting out and completely dwarfing the miraculous sunset.