A/N: No, faithful readers, don't think less of me for succumbing to a Twilight fiction. This has little to do with the main guys of the Twilight story, you must understand. The concept and idea was just too tempting to pass up. Enjoy!

~RR~

Chapter 1: Upon First Meeting

~RR~

There was a time when I didn't care much. I didn't think too hard, or worry. I just lived my life, pretty happy, I thought. But I didn't truly live, because there was nothing I was really living for. In a single day, all that changed…

I pressed my palms together gently, breathing in and out slowly, as I finished my yoga vinyasa stance. It was a peaceful Saturday morning, nothing too different about it, down to the normal thundering rainstorms outside typical to Washington. Luckily, the inside of the yoga studio was kept to a warm medium, between that and the nice workout she was receiving, she was sweating with heat.

I took a quick glance at Leah Clearwater to my right, who never spoke during the exercising, or even otherwise. I liked to pretend I was her friend anyhow, knowing she was part of Jacob Black's new rogue pack, while I was remained a nobody in the background of the Quileute tribe.

"Nice workout today, huh?" I offered to Leah. Her eyes remained closed, and she was unresponsive. I frowned in dismay at being outright ignored.

To my left, a girl who didn't think I was invisible: my best friend, Madison, waved Leah off and answered my question in an attempt at remedying my looming embarrassment.

"I thought it was a nice workout," she said snottily. "I'll be feeling it tomorrow for sure."

I smiled in visibly fake gratitude. Madison was a great friend, always there as my support and backup. She was quite the commodity among the boys, having changed a lot in looks since grade school. She seemed to have dropped her many pounds of weight from her stomach only to relocate them to her chest. And upon the discovery of conditioner and a flat iron, her frizzy red locks had become like the perfect velvet curtain in front of a stage—always flowing out to open or close the scene.

But she was also an outsider. I'd only met her since I started going to this community college. And she was completely clueless as to the real me and what went on in my head. It was how it had to stay.

As soon as the teacher properly dismissed the class, Leah hurriedly gathered her things and left without a single word. I sighed audibly in frustration and bent to roll up my yoga mat.

"Forget her, Raven," Madison assured me. "I don't understand why she gets to you so bad anyway."

"I envy her," was all I replied. I was never specific as to why. I couldn't be, not even to my best friend. Leah was a werewolf, the only girl wolf known in our tribe. I wanted to have powers, to be that kind of special with every fiber of my being. Truth was, I wasn't near that brave to stand out or have that kind of responsibility. Yet still, it was my secret to keep, for the sake of the rest of us.

"So… We doing some coffee shop time, or what?" Madison nudged me with her shoulder as we walked out of the classroom together.

"Sure, I could use a hot cocoa," I agreed, as I released my much-to-thick black locks from their harness of a hair-tie.

"You mind if I invite someone?" Madison coaxed.

I gave her a sly look.

"A guy someone?" I fished.

"Maybe…" she laughed.

"Who the hell is this?" I demanded to know. "Why haven't you told me about him?"

"Well, it kinda just happened yesterday, and I wanted you to see him for yourself."

I nodded in compliance.

"Keep an open mind," Madison ordered. "You're gonna love him."

~RR~

When we got to the coffee shop, I could hear some acoustic jazz coming out from the inside. It was an especially cold day in winter, and when we stepped out of Madison's Lexus, it hit me like a hard punch to the chest, making me gasp. First the cold, then something else: A feeling of great discomfort, a churning in my stomach, and a very unsettling sense of dread.

I fixed my bright yellow scarf around my contrasting dark neck and tried to ignore it, especially when Madison showed concern. I assured her it was nothing and led the way inside the shop.

The dread only grew when we entered fully through the door, like a black cloud hanging close over my head. The air seemed thick, like a hot, muggy day in the pits of the South, so thick I could barely breathe. My heart began to skip beats, and I instinctively started to search the crowd for the source of this strange unexpected sickness. Somehow I just knew it was coming from someone, or something, in this room.

My eyes honed in on his. That pale face, those bold eyes- it was a wonder everyone around didn't question his presence here. It was so painfully obvious to those that were properly informed on such matters.

A vampire. Sitting innocently amongst us mortals, drinking coffee.

Besides that Cullen group, I hadn't seen many of them. Not the carnivorous ones. They gave off such a different aura about them. A bigger and broader sense of danger.

Suddenly, I feared for my life. My forehead and palms grew sweaty, my heart raced and my breath drew out longer. My mind was everywhere at once, formulating escape plans for me and Madison whilst drawing the least attention to ourselves, what excuses I could concoct to make Madison go along with it most willingly… and another part of me was wondering if there was a way I could dispose of this guy without harm befalling myself.

My mind started to slow down to a halt when I realized that Madison was leading me by the arm straight towards him. I began to put two and two together, realizing this man-sorry, this vampire- was who we were hanging out with tonight.

~RR~

Please review! I miss getting them, so much.
Signed,
-RedRogue