DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS FROM TWILIGHT. THEY ALL BELONG TO STEPHENIE MEYER… WHAT A LUCKY GIRL!

I heard the enormous piece of trash come along the road even before I could see it with my enhanced vampire vision. After several attempts to get her a new one, she had made it pretty clear that she didn't want anyone's help. She was self-sufficient.

I smiled at the thought of that.

I had known her since she was five. On one of her visits to her divorced father, chief of police in a little town in Washington, she had managed to get lost in the woods. I was just passing by on my way to Canada when I heard her heartbeat The hunter in me reacted instantly to her scent and drove me to her. I was ready for the kill and there was nothing stopping me. My eyes found my prey. Soft brown hair that fell past her shoulders, thin and pale skin that let me easily see her veins. Then I met her eyes. They were a deep brown, like pools of mysteries and truths that led directly to her soul.

I just couldn't strike.

She was not scared by me. Rather curious, I'd say. And that made me more curious. We actually spent a couple of hours talking.

I learnt that her name was Isabella, but she'd rather be called Bella. She was turning six the following week, but didn't want anybody making a big fuzz about it. She was just learning how to read, and was very excited about it. She loved cooking with her grandmother and for her mother, who seemed to be a rather bad cook. She also asked a lot of questions about me, and I found myself wanting to tell her as much truth as I could.

I talked to her more than I had talked to anybody in all my life. When I told her so, she gave a carefree laugh and hugged me. A human. A child. Hugged me. She said she always got bored with her father, especially when he was away on duty and that she was glad she had found a friend.

I was her friend.

I told her that people couldn't know about me and that we'd have to keep our friendship a secret. She didn't fully like the idea, but went along with it anyway.

I carried her onto my shoulders all the way back to her house.

A week later, I left her a book on her little night table. I had specially ventured to a bookstore, against my blood-thirst and better judgement, and informed myself on the reading skills of a six-year-old little girl.

And before I realized it, we had developed a comfortable routine.

I'd go on with my normal life during the year. I'd wander the world, see what was to see and hunt what was to hunt. And then I'd return to the little house I had found and restored in Forks, Washington, to see my little human friend.

I don't know exactly how she found out I was a vampire. Maybe she was too observant. Maybe I had got careless through the years. Maybe, deep inside, I wanted her to know. On one of her visits to her father´s house, while I was making her a sandwich, she simply asked me whether I was a vampire or not. In the same nonchalantly tone, I told her that I might be one, carefully watching her. She just shrugged her shoulders and told me to spread the mayonnaise over the bread so that it tasted better.

Once, when she was fifteen, I asked her about that reaction. She said that I was still her friend, the same as always, and the fact that I was a vampire didn't change our bond.

We were still friends.

So, when this semester she told me about her mother remarrying and her plans to move permanently to Forks, it was bittersweet news for me: I knew her kind heart would miss her life at home, but I was really happy to be able to see her more often. Phoenix was not an ideal place for a vampire to be, what with the sunny days and the over-tanned people that made us stand out. In Forks, I'd be able to finally go out with her as friends.

Yeah, her humanity was rubbing off on me. Sue me.

Along the years, she had grown accustomed to my lifestyle; she understood my need to feed from blood and enjoyed watching me use my "superpowers". I had grown accustomed to her bodily reactions and now I'd know when she was hungry, tired, sad, or happy.

But today, as I heard her overused and ancient truck pull over at my house, I heard something different:

Her blood was running faster that ever before.

Her breathing was ragged.

When I saw her, I saw her skin had grown even paler than usual and her pupils were dilated.

I inhaled deeply.

Fear.

She run straight into my arms and hid her face against the crook of my neck. I was frozen about what to do. After so many years, I had overcome the scent of her blood, so that wasn't an issue. But for the first time in my existence, I felt uneasy. I wanted to protect her and to make her feel better, but how?

"Bella, please… Talk to me…" I tried my tone to be soothing.

"It's just that… Today, at school" She blushed and couldn't finish her sentence. I was boiling at the idea of some child bullying her on her first day of school. Teenagers should be beyond that. She seemed to be out of words, so I knew it would be easier for her if I asked her questions while I guided her to the living-room of my house.

"Did anyone bother you, darling?"

She shook her head no and, taking a deep breath, she looked at me in the eye.

"Imetsomebodytoday"

Wow.

I was stunned.

Of course, I knew that Bella was beautiful. She was fresh and sweet and really nice-looking. However, it was hard for me to see her as something else than the little six-year-old girl planning tea-parties with me.

As realization hit me, my face broke with a wide grin. I was really happy for her. I knew she had never really been interested in boys and always felt like the odd-one-out at her high school back in Phoenix.

"That's great news, Bella! I bet he is a really nice boy." Of course he would be. She was beautiful and smart. She would never settle with a loser.

Her eyes widened and filled with tears. My dead heart broke.

"That's not it… It's not possible…" She struggled to control her sobs. "I'm sorry… It's just that he tried to walk me to all my classes. And then my truck wouldn't start and he offered me to take me home and I got really scared."

Ok. I was lost. I quirked an eyebrow to ask her to continue.

"He's like you." Even though she barely whispered her words, they automatically triggered a feral growl in me.

"A vampire in Forks? At high school? Damn it! Did he try to hurt you? I'm going to kill him. I swear, Bella, if anything happens to you…"

"He didn't try anything" Great. Now she was soothing me. "He just got very insistent and I got very scared. I mean, I saw him and just knew he was a vampire, but his eyes were a different colour, and I knew there was something wrong with him because he's not like you".

Her fearful brown eyes met mine and she said in a whisper:

"James, Edward's eyes are golden!"