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The rain fell heavily, indiscernible through the dark but she could hear it. Cindy clutched herself, the cold seeping into her bones and mingling with the dread she felt. She shivered lightly and peeped up at Doctor Cullen.

She was anxious; he stood composed with his eyes trained to the dark night.

"It's about to arrive" he told her ominously and she looked back out to the wet darkness and saw nothing.

A moment went by, and through the terrifying sound of the storm she made out a sirens crying. The frantic red lights of an ambulance peeled through the dark and not long, a second ambulance was behind it. She unclutched herself and began to shiver insistently; she knew it was no longer just the cold. There had never been a serious emergency since she had started working at Forks General.

The ambulance pulled up in front of them and Doctor Cullen-who was still brand new to Forks-took charge with ease. She assisted him silently over the panic and loud voices, through the thunder; on the strainer was Billy Black, and all over Billy Black was blood.

"My wife…" Billy's usually deep russet skin was pale, his usually rich voice feeble. The eyes that Cindy had always thought to be piercing were unfocused; he looked like an old man badly injured about to die…

They pushed him through the wide corridor, a few nurses that caught glimpse of who had been in the horrendous crash gasped.

"Cindy, can you do this?" Doctor Cullen asked her seriously. Tears were in her eyes, she hadn't let them fall but her hands were clutching Billy's larger worn hands. She chocked back a gasp, Billy had gone unconscious. She looked up at Dr Cullen and met his strange eyes and nodded shakily.

"First surgery, yes…" she breathed "I would have liked…" she stopped, shaking her head "No, not liked… but, I mean…"

"Not someone you know" he finished. "Well, today you get to save the life of someone you know… how about that?"

He gave her a small smile, she returned it and let go of Billy's hands. She closed her eyes but she could still see the black bag that had been pulled out from the other ambulance.

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She had lived in Forks since she had been a teenager. It was a huge contrast to Texas, an even bigger juxtaposition to what she had been rescued from. The past has a way of sneaking back, Cindy thought. The house was quiet except for the whirring of the refrigerator. She only had the kitchen light on and she hadn't drunk her tea as yet. The heat from the cup was soothing. The silence and darkness in the living room peaceful.

She closed her eyes and saw everything. With a sigh, she brought the tea to her lips.

Billy Black would never walk again, she thought. She felt ashamed for her worries before that evening. She felt so selfish it wrecked her core; her and her mother had escaped the abuse of her father when they had left Texas.

But they had left others to it.

Couldn't be helped, Cindy thought but that little feeling of selfishness came back into her heart; she would have liked the peace their escape had brought to have remained forever but the reminder of that hell slept upstairs, worn out from its own escape from Thomas Nebari; her cousin, Danielle.

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I opened my eyes slowly.

The blankets were over my head, tucked around me. I was cocooned in darkness. I was almost afraid to let out the breath inside my chest; relief could be sin. Relief could be my undoing but it passed between my lips and my chest rose and fell wearily.

All I could hear was silence and once again, I feared the relief this brought. I feared emerging from my cocoon; I could still be shattered, I could be blown away into a miserable nothingness…

But I pushed the blankets down. The ceiling was smooth, a light piece hung from its center. I remembered it easily although it was hidden in the dimness now, it was pretty. It had twirling designs and purple wisps. When the light was on, the whole roomed seemed to be covered in an enchanted bliss.

I listened hard, I heard the silence and felt the quiet but still the memory of Thomas' rage roared through it.

It's funny how fresh a memory can be; even now, as I moved my tongue over my lower lip, I could taste the blood … I could taste it, I could feel the dull pain from his strike, and my body was moving through the air…

"Dani?" it was Cindy, in the background of my memory. She knocked on the door, twice and I remained silent. The door opened and she stepped into the dimness.

"Dani, are you awake?" she said again and I had to answer her.

"Yes" my voice cracked.

I couldn't only see her outline and she wouldn't be able to see my face. I hoped she wouldn't switch the light on, as pretty as it was… I wasn't really something to be looked at right now. She moved to the curtains and I was afraid again, would she open them? Would she look at me that way like she had when she picked me up from the bus station?

"I have to go to work and you have to go to school… like we talked about" she said. The curtains were not opened and she walked out of the room without a goodbye.

This didn't sit well with me for so many reasons but as I listened through the quiet and heard her car drive out, relief crept in again; she hadn't told me to go back to my grandmother and Thomas… and that was all that mattered in the present. She had got me into school… she was helping me.

That was all that mattered.

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My body aches, the hot shower soothing.

The sound of the water is not relaxing, I want the silence back. Dead silence, no noise; just my heart beat. I want to be able to hear him coming… would his feet fall in tune with my heart?

The shower had to come to an end. The space is filled with mist. I clear the foggy mirror with the edge of my hand and there I am.

Blue eyed, brown skinned disaster.

My sleep had been restless; nightmares and recollections; Thomas' anger and those red eyes I had seen in the club. I had wanted to be normal, a night out but of course I should have listened to my social anxiety in that moment… stay home, watch Thomas get drunk… don't sneak out like any normal sixteen year old. Stay home, stay hidden…

I could see the man from across the dance floor, through the mingling bodies; I could see him seeing me, looking at me like I had never been looked at before. Looking right at me, through me… seeing me, with those red eyes.

School would be a welcome distracton.

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It felt like I would reach eternity's close seated in this godforsaken cafeteria.

I wanted to be freed from this purgatory, I wanted to just die and be swallowed by hell if only to be away from it all. The guilt I felt craving such an end equaled my disdain at finding myself back in the life of a teenage boy.

Teenagers, you see, were possibly the worst kind of human. They leaked hormones all over the place and their thoughts, their nasty thoughts…

This generation had possibly the worst and the most depraved minds of all the generations I had been cursed and forced to pass through. But nothing could be done of it as the circle of immortality went on, and here I was… lost in the chatter and smell of teen drama…

He always looks bored… and yummy….

Jessica, a hyper active girl's unpleasantly familiar stream of thoughts perforated the numbing hum of telepathic noise. The lust she felt disgusted me and the shame I felt at having such a sentiment to a child, for she was but a child, equaled that disgust. At times I thought it could not be helped, it was what we were; a tainted drug to them, calling to their sensibility and virtue. A Venus fly trap, an alluring damnation…

At times I thought I may not fully understand it either; for I saw it around me in different doses; lust-and yet the concept of it was somewhat understood. I listened in on her thoughts, curious a little; I looked her way. Her mind was a flurry of feeling; fair skin, my imagined warmth and my hair in her hands.

Hmm, we would be dripping in your blood, Jessica.

"You too?" Jasper sighed. He had a hard time with the thirst and, after momentarily feeling my own wave of it, sought solace in being reminded that we were all damned. Some of us simply put off the fact a few weeks longer than others.

I smiled my support, redirecting my focus to picking at the bread before me.

There truly was an aspect I had not understood on what the Jessica's of the world saw; Lust and Attraction had seemed simple for so long but the concept of it eluded me trying to connect what the prey was drawn to and what drew one to love…

Was love a predator?

I had been plucked too early from this lesson and not by the damnation of vampirism; my own mortal ambitions had consumed me, as frivolous as they now appeared before me… in retrospect. Lust could be a good sort of distraction or an evil one, possibly useless too… but a distraction nonetheless from dreaming of hell.

It could explain Rosalie's happiness in finding Emmett…

I surprised my siblings when I let out a chuckle, a questioning eyebrow raise from Alice; even with the anomaly of immortality, I took the trophy of freak.

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I envied them.

Sitting in this pathetic gymnasium; it is all I can think about. Having a set time and moving around with no thought to every action-it is all I want. It is my third week at Forks High, the second time I have been in this little town in two human lifetimes… and I can't say I appreciate the new changes.

If there were giant wolves I could move about with a little fear; a little more emotion to everything. If there were humans who still believed in the old tales of men and women…? I could have more than admiring looks filled with lust. I could have suspicion and doubt. I could have excitement.

Is he doing okay?

I nod once; a slow movement that could have easily been contempt to my surroundings but Alice understands. Jasper is barely managing but I have no idea why they want to test him. It is possible that he won't ever have it in control as we do. It is possible that he may need to feed a little more.

Edward Cullen

Reflex reaction. I turned to the sound of my name being called, though it wasn't being called just thought. It was Mike Newton who had decided to find interest in me, although with more venom than was his usual tenor.

He was telling two new girl-yes, they were the reason the 'Cullen interest' levels had dropped-about us, before pointing us out and before as was normal for human girls, they had been taken.

I met Mike's eyes and he quickly looked down, whispering hurriedly to the one girl, "Bunch of snobs. They think they are better than everyone because they are rich. Well, my dad owns a chain of…"

I couldn't help but chortle, taking a look at the girls who had almost caused me to inadvertently ruined his day. My eyes locked with brown eyes. The girl was pale, with deep brown hair. She blushed furiously, her hand absently going for that long hair and playing with a strand.

God, Cullen can't just lay off for a second. All the girls are in love with him…has to give others a chance man

"Bella" Mike said slightly irritably "Do you play any sports?"

"Uhm…" Bella stammered "No"

I hadn't noticed that I had been staring at the girl or her staring at me until I heard Eric Norton's internal groaning. I tore my eyes from the girl and met Norton's own pale boring blue ones for a second. I quickly directed my eyesight back to my invisible patterns on the wall. My sudden shock had been too quick for the two humans to notice but Alice had noticed.

She gave me a questioning look and I shook my head slowly. If the others were here they would have questioned my sanity but Alice and I looked out for each other. The two freaks among freaks. Hearing thoughts and having visions of the future was not considered normal even with vampires.

I hope she isn't already crushing on the Cullen freak, God she is so hot.

My shock intensified as I tried to block out the thoughts of those around her; I couldn't hear a thing.

What's wrong…? Alice asked and I saw my puzzled expression in her mind.

"Nothing" I said softly, trying to scan through the girls thoughts again but this time encountering a low humming sound similar to the sound one gets when stuck between two frequencies on a radio. A white noise but it wasn't coming from Bella's completely mute mind. I had to look up now, my insides clenching in fear; what was this?

The other new girl, whom everyone had forgotten about, had slinked away from Bella, Mike and Eric and was standing on her own. Her head was bowed, her arms wound over her front.

"Alright, everybody…" the coach says, arriving late "Badminton today!"

"I see everyone has managed to get some rackets" he looked around at everyone, ignoring the fact that not everyone had followed instructions.

"Let's…" he begun looking around at the bodies crowded unwillingly around him. Keep this interesting and quiet. Put these kids in different pairings…

"Hi…"he said, peering at the girl with a strange mind as she tried to hide behind Angela Weber. "You are new… right?"

She nodded once, looking around at the curious stares and shifting further behind Angela.

"Daniella…right?" he asked, squinting at the register in his hand.

"Danielle" the girl murmured, too low for even Angela Weber to hear her and she was right by Angela's ear. Too low for human hearing but I caught her low husky voice.

She has interesting eyes, right Alice thought, watching me as I stared at the girl. I looked away quickly, smiling a little to Alice and trained my gaze on the floor instead. What was going on with these girls?

"Danielle and…Isabella" he held the register up in the air "Can you two come to the front and lets partner you up" Coach Robson put his register down and motioned for them to hurry forward.

"We need to sever some of these noisy pairings" he muttered to himself. "You kid's need to get out of your comfort zone"

Isabella had a lot of people smiling eagerly at her. I couldn't tell if she was happy at this or not; her mind silent and her eyes sneaking glances at me. I felt like if I could pierce through her eyes I would hear something, but all I got from that was further hatred from Mike Newton.

Coach Robson caught my staring of Isabella and snickered to himself. Cullen with the girl, Pricilla says the kids a "know it all"… bet he knows how to play…

"Right, Edward Cullen" he murmured, looking up at me uneasily. It always bothered me how the teachers felt they had to say our names with the inclusion of the surname… I already knew where he was heading with this so I moved forward, towards the girl… who was not Isabella and had the grating white noise layered over thoughts. I felt as though Isabella was somehow the bigger problem in all this mental mystery.

"Partner up with Daniella over there" he said, looking down his register again and began randomly selecting names. The children snickered at his lack of effort with the new girls name and she frowned again. All I saw from her mind was the image of me frowning as I walked towards her; but this was a first step. The white noise was silencing.

We walked in silence to one side of the gym, her following me and we awaited the arrival of our Badminton foes.

A fleeting image of termites eating the wood of the gymnasium flipped easily through her mind-imagined termites I suspected and then a sad wistful tone. That was all it was-a tone with no actual voice-like a silent movie that was only dictated by a skilled orchestra.

I could vaguely hear Alice's shouting…internally…at her irritation at being split up by the coach. I couldn't be bothered to console her right now, Danielle looked up at me; her eyes a startling blue against her dark brown skin.

She looked terrified.

He reminds me… it had been the first worded sound in her mind but it was short lived as the scratching sound hid her thoughts before flinging a memory of red eyes. She missed the birdie and I caught it, tossing it easily back to our opponents.

It was my turn to be terrified.

She shook the memory away and concentrated on the game as best she could-I tried to do the same but the panic in me was prominent. Her thoughts mellowed, growing clearer but void of words; she dispelled her fear and soon-somehow, she forgot the red eyes and played badminton alongside me in silence.

I watched her furtively as she flung her racket with disdain; not caring to run for the little plastic ball. She was frowning in the end, squinting her eyes slightly and sighing.

At the end of P.E, she all but ran out while rubbing her temple and complaining of a headache.

"Don't you have an art class to get to?" I asked Alice absently before she could badger me on what was wrong.

"I do, don't I" she sighed, very suspicious. "When one can draw like Da Vinci…"
"Almost like Da Vinci" I tried to laugh but everything was wrong and she shot me a questioning look but skipped off to her art class without another word.

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