Chapter 1

BPOV

Lonely. Alone. Unaccompanied. Solitary.

No matter how you spin it, it is me. I am alone and nothing gives you time to think about that like a sixteen hour ride in a car…by yourself.

I hadn't always been alone. In fact up until two days ago I had a family – or at least as close as I ever thought I'd get. I had a mother and father, or sorts.

Nina and Neil had cared for me like their own since the day they found me deep in the woods outside of what was then Charleston, South Carolina. I was lying in the arms of my biological mother while she struggled to stay alive when they stumbled upon us.

Renee, my biological mother, requested Nina care for me and give me the life she would be unable to. From my mother I received two things.

A locket that held a picture of her and her fiancée, Charles Swan. And a name - my name, Isabella Marie Swan.

Charles is not my biological father. In reality I don't know who my biological father is. All I know about him is that he's a vampire. My mother was human. I am a half-breed and the only one in existence that I know of.

Nina and Neil were also vampires. A different kind of vampire though. They fed on animals and not humans. They drank the blood of only animals. They raised me to be the kind hearted creature they were.

I couldn't have fed off of humans though no matter what. I am part human after all. I have a heart beat. I breathe. I cry. I can eat food. I can sleep. But I can't die (easily) and I quit aging after five years of development. I'm forever doomed to look the way I do. I am human but I am also still a vampire.

The human part of me longs to be able to be…well…human. I wonder a lot of things about my mother. I wonder if I look like she did or if I look like him. I wonder what color her hair was. I wonder what her favorite thing to do was. I wonder if she was witty and sarcastic or flaky. I wonder if she would have loved me knowing I was part monster. I wonder all of these things, but I'll never get to find out the answers.

I would never know. She's dead.

Nina and Neil are dead.

Everyone I had ever known in my life was out of it and I was running away from it all. I was hiding. It was no longer safe for me to stay in the home we had created in Northern Canada. I had been able to escape the house with only a few treasures. I didn't have time to consider a destination or even what way I was headed. I just drove until I couldn't drive anymore.

Sixteen hours. It took sixteen hours for the road to end on a cliff over looking the Pacific Ocean. I really couldn't tell you what state I was in. I knew I had crossed the border into America though because border patrol stopped me. Luckily I had remembered to pack my passport otherwise I'm afraid to think of how that would have gone down.

Judging by the late summer temperature, the beaches, the trees…my guess is that I appear to be in Washington. I sat on that cliff for probably another good hour before my car beeped at me.

Low fuel. Damn. I thought as I pulled back onto the highway and headed south a little further. I drove for about fifteen miles before coming up on a sign.

'Welcome to Forks.'

Forks? Well it was an interesting name to say the least. The town immediately struck me as your typical small town. Everyone stared at my car knowing it was a stranger and everyone continued to stare as I pulled up to the only gas station in town to refuel.

I started to pump the gas and my mind started wandering to the thoughts surrounding me. Just your typical thoughts really. Nothing surprising. Nothing alarming. And of course they all had a common theme. Me. But none of the thoughts were malicious. In fact everyone seemed very friendly…gossip hounds but friendly.

Maybe I could stay here.

Now there's a thought. It would be the perfect place to hide really. A town this small didn't offer the cover a big city did, but it would be easier for me monitor everyone here. Easier to keep an eye out for trouble.

I started imagining how things would be for me a town this size – if I could even make it work. Yes, I do believe I could make this work. Everyone would expect me to hide in a big city. They'd look there first.

"I wonder what such a young girl is doing on her own." A woman's fleeting thought crossed into my reverie.

They, like most humans, think I'm young. I do look young, maybe about eighteen or so. In reality I'm about a hundred years old. I listened closer to try and figure out what exactly they thought about my age. It became quite clear pretty quickly that everyone apparently saw me as a high school girl.

I had wanted to just get a job and live a life of a single female. But why would a single female settle in a town this size? No, I would have to play the role of a high school senior. Of course that brought on a plethora of additional issues. Parents? Money? And high school itself.

I hate high school. I've played this role a few times in my existence and each time it was the same bullshit; cliques, drooling boys, and stupid teachers. But I could do it for a year and then move on. I would probably need to do so anyways by then.

I'll never be able to stay in one place long anymore.

"Excuse me miss?" I asked the woman who had thought I was a young girl. My voice startled her but she recovered quickly.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Hi. My name is Bella Swan and I'm looking for a house in your lovely town. Do you have a realtor you could suggest?"

"Um well…I'm the local realtor actually but are you old enough to be purchasing a home?"

"I am eighteen. See I'll be enrolling as a senior in high school this year. My parents are in the Peace Corps and so when I turned eighteen I emancipated myself. They agreed as long as I promised to finish high school in a small town." I said shrugging. She still looked skeptical. "I have cash."

Her face lit up. Humans were so ridiculous. "I have the perfect house and you could move in immediately."

"Like in an hour?"

"I suppose but where are all your belongings?"

"In my car. I don't have much. No furniture. I'll be needing to buy some of that too. Can I follow you to the house?"

"Of course." She said then headed towards her car.

Two hours later I was sitting on the floor of my new house. Its small compared to the house I had left in Canada, but it would work for a supposed eighteen year old living by herself for her senior year of high school. It's a two story white house with the picturesque white picket fence around it and a cute little porch with a swing. There was a garage, for which was a necessity for me. It would house my baby…my Audi R8 and other items that I needed to hide from prying human eyes.

The backyard butted up against the woods, which could be helpful if I need to run, but again posed a threat.

I would need to watch that area closer than any other area.

My first item on my "To Do List" was to set up an internet connection. Seeing as it was Sunday I wouldn't be able to get the technicians out until tomorrow, but I found a wireless connection coming from a nearby house and piggybacked my way into it.

Once my connection was established, I ordered my furniture. Luckily I was able to get it all from a store relatively close and by paying extra, secured delivery the next afternoon.

While on the internet I did some research on the local school. It seemed that school had only started a week earlier and so that worked in my favor. I jotted down the address and enrollment information I would need for tomorrow before shutting down.

It was a relatively warm evening, not that it really bothered me any to be cold but it was nice nonetheless, so I grabbed one of my favorite books out of the confines of a box and headed to find a spot on my roof.

Sitting on the roof was something I've been doing for my whole existence. It relaxed me and in a world where relaxation was damn near impossible, I took every opportunity I could to find it.

I could keep a closer eye, well actually a closer mind, on the things surrounding me. I guess that's one thing I can give thanks for. I have the ability to read minds. It's a selective power for me. I can turn it off if I want to and I can "tune-in" only one mind if I'd like to. I really like that I can stop it if I want though. That's got to be the best thing about it. Sometimes you just don't want to know what someone is thinking.

The biggest perk of being a vampire for me is my shield. I can block anyone's mental powers, which is a lot because most vampires' powers are solely mind games. Only a few have actual physical powers. I have had to use it more recently than I want to think about but I had a sneaky suspicion that I would be using it more. Nina had always told me I was damn near invincible. I am hoping she was right.

But I don't want to think about why I might have to use that particular power; instead I settled deeper into my spot leaning against the chimney and started reading. It was now 2am and I would be staying awake through the night just to make sure no one had followed me. Also not sleeping tonight would make it easier to take an hour or so nap tomorrow night before starting school on Tuesday.

I was already dreading high school and I hadn't even seen the campus yet. I would be able to form a more stable opinion tomorrow morning when I went to register but I was pretty sure this school was going to be no different than the others I had attended in the past.

---

"Good morning dear, how may I help you?" A plump older woman greeted me when I walked into the front office of the high school. It was after 9:00 so all the students were in class, which is how I planned it. No need to get the rumors started before I even actually attended.

I opened my mind to read her thoughts knowing that hearing her make an opinion on me would make the story I told for enrollment without parents easier to come up with.

"What is she doing here? She's not old enough to be the mother of a high school student but she surely isn't enrolling. Where are her parents?"

Hmm…not helping me much but we'll go with it.

"Good morning." I greeted back. "My name is Isabella Swan. I'm here to enroll as a senior in your school."

"Where are your parents dear?" She asked with a look of surprise on her face.

"Oh they're overseas. They're in the Peace Corps." Might as well keep with the story I told the realtor. With the gossip in town it'd be sure to come out if I told two different stories."So since they're overseas and I didn't want to go I emancipated myself. Of course they only agreed to this because I'm eighteen and it's my senior year of high school. Their only request was that I find a small town to finish up in. I think they thought this would help me stay out of trouble." I laughed. The woman behind the counter smiled lovingly.

"Well you certainly picked a small enough town. Where should I pull your records from?"

"Oh I was homeschooled before coming here. I have the paperwork from my mother here." I said as I pulled out a manila envelope. "It should all be there." I added as I handed it to her.

"My, you have perfect grades here Isabella."

"Thank you and please call me Bella." I smiled genuinely. I spent the next half hour enrolling and getting a schedule of classes. By the time I left the office I knew Mrs. Cope's entire life story. How she met her husband, how old her sons were…of course she made a point of making sure I knew she had grandsons "my age".

Humans are supposed to be afraid of my kind. Unfortunately I don't look like my kind. My human traits soften my appearance. It makes me look more like a human and therefore makes them more comfortable around me. Most of the time it is bearable, like with Mrs. Cope.

Other times I really wished they'd just find me scary and run away like they did with Nina and Neil.

After getting home from the school, I only had to wait about an hour until the delivery men knocked on my door. Watching them struggle with bringing in the furniture was extremely humorous. I really wanted to help them but the fact that I could single-handedly pickup the couch would probably look odd. It took them almost two hours to get everything in. I told them to just put things wherever. I would take my evening rearranging and decorating.

---

5am my alarm woke me from my short nap. Sleeping was something I did like. It was always something Nina would yell at me for being able to do. All she ever wanted to do was dream, just once. But vampires can't sleep and I don't have to sleep but I can and it does make me feel more rested. I try to sleep a couple hours each week, but I can't always do that. My nap this time was the first time I had slept even a little bit in almost two weeks.

After my morning bathroom routine, I found myself standing in front of my relatively empty closet. I had been so caught up in buying my furniture I forgot that I had run out of the house with only a small suitcase of clothing.

That made this decision easier.

I grabbed a pair of skinny black jeans and my favorite inside joke t-shirt; my vintage designed black shirt with white bold lettering reading 'MIND READER.' Definitely my favorite shirt. I laughed every time I wore it.

I threw on a pair of basic black Manolo Blahnik stiletto pumps. I double checked my hair, although it was just straight like always, and headed out towards my car.

It only took me five minutes to pull into the parking lot. And it took me less than two seconds to realize I should have bought a new car too. My Audi drew attention…way more attention than I wanted to draw just by pulling into the parking lot.

By the looks of things, the majority of the student body was already at school and in the parking lot. I parked in the back to help hide but it didn't seem to help. Everyone was looking at me, well my car. They couldn't see me. My tint on my windows was too dark.

I took a deep breath and opened the door. There was no since in prolonging this moment. I stepped out and shut the door behind me as I swung my messenger bag over my shoulder.

I knew when I had come into view of the students because I heard gasps.

Most of the faces staring at me were adorned with open mouths watching me walk across the parking lot. Not talking, just staring. And we all know that just because a human isn't talking doesn't mean they're not thinking.

I opened my mind for the first time since I pulled into the parking lot. It would be the only time I would do it today otherwise I would likely go insane with their endless chatter. But right now I need to know what their thoughts are.

I was not at all surprised with what I found. I found admiration. I found jealousy. I found inappropriate fantasies.

I quit searching. There was nothing harmful here in these thoughts. No one thought I looked odd or scary. I was just a beautiful human to them.

I made my way to my first class, English, and introduced myself to the teacher. He directed me towards a chair in the back row next to a brunette who was anxiously staring at me.

"Hi!" She bubbled. "Like, welcome to Forks."

Great. She would annoy the hell out of me if she kept up this 'like' shit.

"Hello." I smiled nicely.

"I'm Jessica by the way."

"Bella." I responded then the teacher started the class. Being that they're only a week into the year, I haven't missed much but it really wouldn't have mattered. I have read every book on his syllabus at least twice, some more than that.

English would be boring.

My next class, which I was informed was with Jessica also, was Calculus. I quickly discovered that I could teach the class better than the dumbass who was currently trying. Hell, I am pretty sure Jessica could teach it better and she looked lost.

Calculus would be boring.

History was next. It was without Jessica but she was next door in Spanish so I was told I would be walking to lunch with her. But this class would prove to be more tedious than the prior two. It was strictly history from the 1900s up to today. I lived this. I would know more than this poser would ever be able to teach the students. I would have to keep my mouth shut when the book lied or the teacher was wrong. I'm not sure, but if a supposed eighteen year old spouted off about how insane Woodstock really was or who really killed JFK, it might cause a problem.

History would be annoying.

And speaking of annoying…

"You ready for lunch Bella?" Jessica asked she greeted me in the hallway. It wasn't that she wasn't a nice girl. She was and her thoughts were relatively innocent except for the occasional twinge of jealousy. But she had that voice that just grated on my nerves. Her vocabulary was less than thrilling. Not someone I could see me spending an abundance of time with.

Not something I should do with any human. I may not feed off of them but I was still dangerous.

"Yep. What kind of food does this place serve anyways?" I asked not really interested. I would suffer through lunch everyday for my role but it would probably always be an apple and water.

"Not good food." She laughed.

"That's encouraging." I said as another girl approached us. She was grinning from ear to ear.

"Hello. I'm Angela Weber. Are you sitting with us today?"

"Hi. I'm Bella Swan, and yes I do believe I am." I smiled.

"Good." She returned the smile. "So you'll never believe what happened Jess."

Angela and Jessica are apparently friends but they seem nothing alike. Jessica Stanley is obviously your cheerleader type. Bubbly and flaky. Her curly brown hair was dull and frizzy with over processing and products. Angela seemed to be your typical girl next door and smart. The vibe she was giving me was a breath of fresh air. She was naturally happy and peppy. The way her black hair swings when she walks in proof of her pep.

"What happened?" Jess asked.

"Well in French I was talking to Eric…oh Bella, Eric's our friend. You'll meet him at lunch. Anyways, I was talking to Eric when…" Angela started telling some in depth story about people I had no idea about. I was trying to pay attention to the story because I like Angela and I wanted to know what had happened to make her so excited but I jut couldn't focus on her.

We had walked up to the cafeteria doors and even without entering, the scent hit me like a ton of bricks.

Not the smell of the awful food.

Not the smell of blood.

It was the smell of vampire.

I froze. I wanted to open my mind to search the thoughts in the cafeteria before entering, but I couldn't. I had no idea what to search for and I knew as soon as I walked into that cafeteria every thought would be focused on me so that wouldn't help me.

I have to go into the cafeteria blind. I have no idea what is waiting for me on the other side of the door. Or even if the smell is coming from the cafeteria. Although I'm pretty positive it is.

And there is the definite scent of vampire. Their sickeningly sweet smell could be picked out anywhere.

Fear set it and I was pretty sure I was about to have a full blown panic attack…not sure if I could even have one, but that's what it felt like. My head was spinning, my breathing increased, and I know my face got whiter than it already was. I couldn't focus on anything except putting my shield up and in full force.

But there wouldn't be a fight or anything because we couldn't do that in front of the humans.

As soon as that thought raced through my mind, I began calming down. Yes, this fight would wait until we were alone.

"You okay Bella?" Angela asked me touching my shoulder.

"Huh? Oh yeah I'm fine…I'm just nervous I guess. Everyone's going to be looking at me." I spouted off.

"Well duh! Soak it up girl. You look smoking hot. Let 'em look." Jessica said grabbing my hand and pulling me into the cafeteria. I could have fought her but I was afraid if I tried to fight her, my fear would come out in my strength and I'd kill her so I swallowed hard and let her drag me.

I didn't have to wait long to find out where the scent of vampire was coming from.

As soon as we were through the doors, I was standing directly across the cafeteria from their table. And none of them had even noticed me enter. They weren't here for me. They hadn't picked up on the slight smell of vampire. I was all but invisible to them.

"She's already staring at them." Angela whispered as she giggled.

"Uh…what?" I asked.

"The Cullens; you're already staring. It's okay. We all still do it and we've been going to school with them for three years…well four if you count this year." Jessica said as we walked towards the lunch line.

"Um…I'm not sure I know what you're talking about. Who?"

"That table you were staring at when we first walked in. They're like Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's kids. They're all adopted or something like that." Jess shrugged. I nodded hoping one of them would continue thinking maybe the local gossip would help be figure out the group of vampires.

"So that big burly looking one with the dark curly hair is Emmett Cullen." Angela started pointing out the members of the Cullen family as we headed towards the lunch line on the opposite side. "The blonde knockout next to him is Rosalie Hale. They're together."

Emmett was definitely big. One of the biggest vampires I had ever seen but something about his face made me think of a giant teddy bear instead of a ruthless killing machine. Judging by the shivers that ran through Angela and Jessica with just the mention of his name, I was pretty sure they didn't see him as a teddy bear though. Rosalie was obviously a bitch of massive proportions. She had the typical vampire features that made her irresistible and then add in that blonde hair…yes Angela described her perfectly as a knockout.

"Next to Rosalie, the pixie looking creature is Alice Cullen. She's always bouncing around like she's on a major coffee high. Her boyfriend, Jasper Hale, is next to her. He and Rosalie are twins that Dr. Cullen took in after their mom died, or something like that. Anyways…no one's real sure what's up with Jasper but he always looks pissy or like he's in pain." Jessica explained as we sat down at the table where three other people were already sitting.

"Obsessed with the Cullens already?" the blonde smarted off as she glared at me. I would not be getting along well with this one that was obvious. I just gave her the sweetest smile I could muster.

"Lauren, this is Bella. Bella this is Lauren Mallory and that's Mike Newton and Eric Yorkie." Angela did the introductions ignoring Lauren's original attitude.

"Nice to meet you all." I said to them then turned directly to Angela. "Who's the boy with the bronze colored hair?"

"Oh that's Edward Cullen. He's…perfect." Jessica sighed earning an eye roll from Lauren and Angela. She was right, he is definitely perfect but we're made that way – to draw in our prey. His bronze hair was highly disheveled but yet somehow looked put together. His features were almost sharper than most vampires I'd seen. He was breathtaking and I hadn't even really seen him yet.

His eyes…their eyes. I need to see them. I need to know what color they are. I am pretty sure I know what color but I need confirmation.

And now that I've found what I'm looking for, I should open my mind and see what I can find out from our five resident vampires. I was just about to when Lauren opened her damn mouth.

"Quit staring. You're just wasting your time with him. He's apparently too good for every girl in this school."

Her whiny voice made me jump and I closed my mind off. I glared at her then turned back to the table to begin where I left off. However, when I looked back to the table I saw the eyes I needed to see. In fact I saw all five pairs of eyes.

Five pairs of confused topaz colored eyes.