Chapter Two

The day was off to a bad start. I was going to be late and I hate being late. It's not like I sleep, so I can't use that as an excuse and there is nothing but time on my hands, so that is not an excuse either. I am normally totally prepared and on time, but I find myself easily distracted lately.

The last few years have been some of the most tumultuous of my entire life. My long, long life. I would have never thought I would be where I am today. Alone, no family, no friends. My family and I had mutually decided to part ways. It was a tough and extremely painful decision, but one that was a long time in the making. I would always love my family as, I am sure, there would always be a place in their lives for me, but it was time for me to break out on my own. I no longer felt like I was on the path that I was supposed to be on. Life, as it was, had just become too difficult. I felt like I was trapped in a fishbowl, constantly going in circles and getting nowhere. So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and make a change.

Today is a big leap for me. I have decided to go back to school. Not that I need another degree or, am I particularly interested in obtaining another one, but I am tired of the traveling. The endless passing of days, the loneliness, the lack of companionship. I never thought I would say it, but I missed being around humans. I also missed learning. The decision to go back to school was one that I thought about long and hard. Still, I was not sure I was ready to attend classes alone and be out in the public extensively. Perhaps baby steps were needed, but I decided to jump head first into the deep end and attend school. I could always pull back if necessary.

I drove like a madman toward Dartmouth. I acquired a nice place of my own in Woodstock, Vermont. It was secluded and allowed me to go out in the daytime whether it was sunny or not. It is a bit of a drive to school, but I love to drive, and the faster the better so, I don't mind being so far away. Plus, there is a large National Park close by which makes for great hunting.

I parked the car and walked across campus as quickly as I could without drawing any attention to myself. As I approached the door to the auditorium, I paused momentarily to take a deep breath to calm myself, not that I needed to breathe, but the action itself calmed me nonetheless. I quietly opened the door and let it close on it's own behind me. Just my luck, the door slammed with an ear shattering bang, which caused 90 percent of the students to turn and look my way and earned me a smart remark from the professor. Not off to a great start thus far.

I quickly grabbed a seat in the back of the room in order to keep from drawing any more unwanted attention to myself. Pulling out my laptop and text book, I got down to business when a very familiar scent hit my nose. Freesias. My head snapped up and I quickly began scanning the bodies in front of me.

I knew that scent. I would never forget it. It was the scent that changed the course of my life. The scent that put me on the path that I was currently travelling. My senses were on high alert as I continued to look for the only person to whom that scent would belong. I had never in my life ever encountered two people with the same scent. I knew it had to be her.

As I scoured the students in front of me, the scent continued to tickle my senses. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply in order to separate it from all the others that had mingled in the air. It had been years since I had smelled anything so tantalizing.

My eyes landed on the back of a female with long brown hair that sat a few rows in front of me. It had to be her, just had to be. I watched her intently as she began to fidget. The female turned slightly in my direction and I got a clear shot of her profile. Bella Swan. I couldn't believe it, it was such a shock. I never thought I would ever see her again. I watched as she quickly gathered her stuff together, shoved it into her bag and started to make her way to the end of her row. As she turned in my direction, our eyes met and I was blasted by her instant recognition, I could hear her quick intake of breath and then felt as her emotions turned into all out anger.

She lowered her head and rushed past me out the door. Even in the darkness, I could see the familiar rosy hue from her blush start to creep into her cheeks as she stormed by me, refusing to give me a second look. Immediately, I grabbed all of my items, hastily threw them back into my bag and followed her out the door.

"Bella, please wait," I yelled after her. She started to walk faster. "Bella, stop, I am not going to hurt you. Please, I just want to talk!"

She slightly shook her head, more in a response to something in her own head, I'm sure, than to my shouting after her. She actually started to jog a bit in an effort to get away from me. People were now starting to stop and stare at us as I continued to follow her, trying with all my might not to break into full speed, grab her by the arm and spin her around to face me. Great, this must be quite the picture, here I am chasing after a girl yelling that I wasn't going to hurt her. Way to not draw attention to yourself. I decided to stop following her. Bella was well aware of my speed and I am sure she knew that I could catch her if I wanted to. However, if I had any hope of salvaging any type of relationship with her, I knew it best to let her go. I'd have another chance to see her, especially now that I knew she was here.

I thought back to the last time I saw her. I remember vividly the hurt that I had caused to both her and to my family. Would she ever forgive me? Could she ever accept the new me, Jasper Whitlock, as a friend?