EPOV
Alice nearly jumped out of her seat, anticipating the arrival of Isabella. But several things happened in a matter of seconds that changed everything. Right before she opened the door, Alice had a vision of all five of us jumping up from our seats and launching at something, and then it faded away instantly after that. "Nobody breathe." Alice whispered.
It was too late though, because we had already caught her scent before Alice had said anything, and it was the most delicious, intoxicating thing I had ever smelled. Never before in my existence had I smelled any human that potent, it was like her blood was begging me to drink it. It completely caught me off guard when I heard my family struggling as well, telling themselves not to murder this human in the middle of the cafeteria. We sat there, motionless, with pools of venom in our mouths, just staring at her. I have never in my entire existence had such a hard time not breathing. She immediately looked at us as she entered, and she was angry, furious even. She opened her mouth to say something, closed it again, and then she looked…confused. And even though I was focusing on not killing her, I noticed that something about her eyes changed, like something left them.
I heard Jasper struggling to stay in his seat, thinking about breathing in her scent again, and as Alice put her hands on his shoulders, she had another vision. It was us, sitting at the table, being able to breathe without attacking her. Alice didn't act on it or say anything, and although it was very dangerous, I prepared myself and took a small breath. The scent was gone. Everyone, including Alice, snapped their heads and glared at me, silently screaming.
"Don't Edward! Are you insane?...
"What is WRONG with you, Edward? Do you WANT to murder her?...
I filled my lungs very slowly, breathing in but willing my body not to move. Nothing! It was like she wasn't even in the room anymore, but she was walking right past us. "It's safe now" I whispered.
They each looked at each other, then at me, and took tiny breaths, finally letting out heavy sighs.
"What the HELL was that!" Emmett boomed and smacked his hands down on the table.
What's up with the Cullens?...
Crap! That hurt my ears…
"Stop Emmett! You're drawing attention." I whispered harshly.
"Sorry bro, but that was intense," he whispered, shaking his head. "I mean, was it just me, or did anybody else wanna eat her like crazy just now?"
"That's the understatement of the century." Rosalie sneered.
"Intense for you?" Jasper said to Emmett, "when she came in, her emotions were impossibly powerful, as well as her blood. I've ever experienced anything like that, even with a vampire."
"Powerful how?" Alice asked, trying to comfort him.
"Well, as soon as she walked in, I instantly felt rage and hate towards everything. Alice," he looked into her eyes intently, "I could never hate you. It was just…it was like her feelings took up my entire emotional bank. Even under the most horrible circumstances, I've always been able to keep a hold on my own emotional state. There's no way she can be human."
Isabella looked at us from her table then, and I had the distinct feeling that she could hear us. As I listened to confirm my suspicion, it shocked me to my very core to realize that I couldn't hear her mind. What? No, no, no, this is impossible! I looked at her then, concentrating, but I wasn't getting anything.
"I think she can hear us. We should wait and talk to Carlisle when we get home," I said. They nodded silently, questions flooding their minds as they moved food around on their trays.
How can something just turn off their own smell?...
How is it possible for five vampires to have the SAME singer?...
I can't believe I didn't eat her…
I drifted out of their heads, returning my gaze to her. She turned her head quickly, hiding her face with a veil of brown, cascading curls.
"Were you staring at the Cullens, Bella?" Jessica asked her.
"Maybe," she replied "who are they, anyway?"
"Well, their family just moved here from Alaska not too long ago. They're all adopted, and like, together. You know, together together."
"But there are five of them." Bella replied.
"I know that! They're all paired up except for the bronze haired one. His name is Edward, and he's gorgeous, obviously, but he doesn't like ANY of the girls here. They're really creepy anyway, they only talk to each other."
"Huh. That's too bad," she replied.
"Well, I think the Cullens are a bunch of freaks if you ask me," Mike Newton chimed in.
"Well, nobody asked you, so drop it," she quipped.
For reasons unknown to me, her response to Mike's annoying ramblingssss made me smile. She was actually defending us, even though she had never spoken to us. People have always talked about us, and we're never bothered by it, as long as they're not too suspicious about our true identities. And sometimes, people stick up for us, which is flattering, but we never really care about that either.
But when she stuck up for us, it was different. It felt different. I had an indescribable desire to talk to her, to know what she was thinking, to know…her.
Hey Edward, you better wipe that silly smile off of your face…
I looked at Alice quickly, snapped out of my daze.
Thank God you looked at me in time. I saw Jaz and Emmett making fun of you for weeks for how you looked staring at her…
"Thank you," I mouthed. I got up then to dump my tray, and she quickly followed me.
It was sooo cute though! I've never seen you look that happy, Edward…
I shook my head, a little embarrassed.
I'm serious! I might not be able to see visions of her, but I know chemistry when I see it, and you two definitely have it, Edward…
"Shut up, Alice," I said as I flicked her little pixie ear, and walked out the door.
OoOoOoOoOoO
When I got to biology class, there was a book assignment written on the board. I started immediately, wanting to get it done quickly when I saw Bella walk in, followed by Mike Newton. When she turned to adjust her guitar case, I noticed that he was staring down her beautiful blue blouse. I had a sudden urge to pull him back by his hair and slam his head into his desk, finally ridding her of his awkwardly intrusive presence. He didn't deserve to be in the same room with her, let alone gawk at her inappropriately.
She looked up and caught him, scowling as she walked over to Mr. Banner. He gave her a book, and then pointed to the seat next to mine. "You can be Edward's partner," he said. "He hasn't had one the entire year."
"Thank you," she said, and turned sharply, walking to my desk. She leaned the guitar case against the wall next to us, and sat down.
"Hello," I said, "my name is Edward Cullen. You must be Bella."
She blushed then, the most delicious shade of rose on her cheeks, and replied "Yes I am. Nice to meet you, Edward."
God I love the way she says my name.
"The pleasure is all mine. So…you play the guitar?" I asked.
She giggled, and looked at me with her chocolate brown eyes.
"Did I miss the joke?" I said in amusement.
Her smile fell a little, and she turned her head back to her book.
"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?" I asked, confused.
"No, it's nothing. I'm fine."
I watched her for a few minutes as she worked, and noticed something. She didn't have a heart beat. It was more like a humming sound, something vibrating in her chest. What was she? It was driving me absolutely insane! Why can't I just hear her thoughts? I struggled silently and viciously not to ask her inappropriate questions, but it was just so ridiculously frustrating not to hear what she was thinking. After Mr. Banner checked on our work, I finally broke down and asked her the first thing that came to me.
"What are you?"
She blushed instantly, and glared at me.
"What do you think I am, vampire?"
I stared at her, stunned. How? How could she know after talking to me for only five minutes?
"That's ridiculous," I said as I turned back to my work.
"Oh really?" she replied. "Okay, let's just say that you were a vampire…hypothetically. Why would you want to know what I am?"
Hmmm…she was clever.
"Well," I said cautiously, "I find you rather intriguing. You're very difficult to read…hypothetically, of course."
She stared into my eyes for what seemed like eternity. And then, a smirk slowly appeared on her face.
"Okay. I can see that your desire to know is based on sole curiosity." She became serious then, and I leaned forward. "But I'm only giving in because it feels like…you're supposed to know."
She took a deep breath, and leaned in close to my ear.
"I'm a Siren," she whispered.
