Hello! I'm sorry this update took a while. School is killing me and my life, kind of, not really. I wanted to get this chapter out before my audition for the school musical (Little Shop Of Horrors). I'm so excited for it. I have never seen it staged, but I love the movie. I'm just thankful it's not a Disney musical.

And a special happy birthday to Bella Cullen! And Renesmee's birthday was a few days ago. Happy birthday chicas! Aaaaand, a special thank you to those who reviewed the first chapter. I still feel bad for throwing Edward down the stairs…

Disclaimer: Yeah…no.

BTW! Renée is kind of OOC (about Forks). Get over it.

(…That was kind of bitchy…)

Chapter 2: The Noise

The Girl;

"Oh, it's been so long! I hope not too much has changed!"

"Renée, sweetie, calm down, it's only been what? Sixteen years? How much could have changed?"

"Oh Charlie look! It's the 'Welcome to Washington' sign!"

"You know, we still have roughly about five hours left in the car…."

I groaned from my place in the back seat of my father's jeep. After the first two hours, I just wanted to get out of the car and never return to it ever again for the rest of eternity.

"Oh Bella, don't worry." My mother, Renée, said. Her soft smile almost made me feel better. "The time will pass by, and soon we'll be in Forks before you know it."

"Yeah, kiddo." My father, Charlie, added. "It'll go by fast."

I stared out the window, not really knowing what to expect in Forks. Both of my parents grew up there, met in high school, but soon after I was born my mother wanted a change of scenery so we moved down to Phoenix when I was merely six months old. Now, both of them were dying to move back, and how can I deny them their happiness? Despite my huge disliking for a town that normally has two days of sunshine a year, I kept my mouth shut. I didn't want to spoil my mother's fun and excitement.

The car quickly zipped pass trees, lots and lots of trees. The only type of forestry I've really ever seen before were palm trees and ficuses.

My iPod had died somewhere in northern California, so I was left with my own imagination. I continuously stared out the window thinking about the sun and all the warmth it used to give…

"Bella? Why don't you lie down and take a nap?" My mom suggested from the passenger seat where she sat. I shrugged, why not? I had nothing else better to do, anyway, besides stare out the window at the zooming trees.

I reached into the trunk and snatched my fluffy blue pillow. I rested my head atop its feathery softness. Unbelievably, sleep overtook me quite faster than expected.

I could not recall any specifics of my dream…just a lot of green.

"Bella! Bells wake up!" Renée was shaking me awake. I groaned and turned away from her. "Come on Bella, we're here!" She squealed.

For a woman who was well into her thirties, my mother acted more like a seventeen year old than I did. I had inherited most of my looks from her, but personality wise we were polar opposites.

My head lifted from the comfort of the pillow and looked outside. The jeep was parked in the driveway of a beautiful classic looking two-story house. The outside was freshly painted white with dark green shutters. There was a large front yard, with freshly cut grass. A thick deep forest surrounded the house. I could almost make out a small trail. On the porch, my father and a woman in a dark blue business suit were discussing something. I figured she was the realtor.

I climbed out of the car, my eyes couldn't focus anywhere else but my new home. It was beautiful, I had to admit, but the house felt like it was hiding something…I quickly shrugged that thought away, it was probably just my nerves.

A tiny water droplet landed on my forehead. I wiped it off, only to have it replaced by another one. Here comes the rain, right on cue…

"Let's take a look inside." The realtor said. "The rain is catching up on us." She smiled a very cheesy commercial-like smile, like she was still trying to sell us the house, ignoring the fact that we had already bought it.

I followed my parents inside. The interior of the house was utterly beautiful. Just as breathtaking as the exterior. The hardwood floors looked to be freshly polished. The walls painted a light tan color that made it seem a tad bit brighter inside. The kitchen was recently redone, with new-looking counters and appliances. The living room was fair sized, it was nothing special.

"And I'd like to show you the upstairs." The realtor, whose name I had learned was Tina, said leading us up the staircase.

"And this is the master bedroom," Tina showed my parents their new room. I wandered off onto my own, to discover my own new room.

I opened the door to the second bedroom. The walls were painted a light blue, with a white carpet. In the corner sat an ancient looking rocking chair. The cushion on the seat was the same color as the wall. One thing caught my eye though, one of its legs was severely scratched. My best guess was a dog, but that wasn't a fact. Outside the windows, there was a lovely view of the front yard. The rain was tearing down the windows; the pitter-patter the falling water made was something I would have to get used to.

"Oh, this is a wonderful room!" My mother awed from the doorway. "Don't you love it, Bella?"

I nodded my head and gave her a thoughtful smile. So far, so good. Perhaps Forks will not be as awful as I thought it would be.

With all of our muscle power pulled together, Charlie, Renée, and I unpacked the Uhaul that was connected to the back of the jeep. Charlie ordered pizza as Renée and I started to put together the big furniture.

The hours crept by in record time. In my room, my bed was set up and made, and most of my things were unpacked. I checked my clock, 6:13pm, I crashed on top of my bed and closed my eyes.

The annoying clicking sound of the rain was going to drive me to an asylum, sign me in, and tuck me into bed.

"Bella!" My mother's voice echoed from downstairs.

"Yeah?" I shouted back.

"Come down here! We have some people who you want to meet!"

I sat up and straightened out my clothing. Meeting with old friends already? Boy, Renée doesn't waste any time, now, does she?

I carefully walked down the stairs, I was as my father once jokingly called a 'klutz-o-maniac', and could fall flat on my face even when walking across a smooth surface. Stairs were basically my worst enemy at this point. I'd rather not ruin the first night in Forks by being rushed to the emergency room.

Downstairs, there was a dark skinned man with long straight black hair and black eyes sitting in a wheelchair talking with my father. Behind him, a boy, a few years younger than myself maybe, stood with a smile plastered on his tan face. He too, had long hair like the older man and black eyes. He was extremely tall, but with a childlike quality to his face. He could not be older than fifteen or sixteen.

"Bella, I'd like you to meet my old friend, Billy Black, and his son, Jacob." My father said, introducing us.

"It's nice to meet you." I said as I stood awkwardly by the bottom of the stairs.

"Jacob's a few years younger than you, Bells, I'm sure you two will get along." My dad said, patting Jacob's shoulder. Jacob looked sort of embarrassed. I felt sorry for him.

"Are you boys hungry? We still have some pizza leftover." Renée offered the two guys.

"Sure, I'll take a slice." Jacob said as he happily raced into the kitchen. I suppressed a small laugh at his eagerness.

The night progressed, and we all ended up sitting in the living room, the adults catching up and talking about old times, as Jacob and I just sat there in silence, watching the adult's gossip like a bunch of middle school kids after summer vacation.

"So, Jacob, you go to Forks High School?" I asked, trying to strike up a conversation. I was never good at doing that. I was the shy quiet type, that kept her nose in classic novels.

"No, I got to the school down in La Push…me and my dad live on the rez." I stared at him blankly. "You know, the Quileute Indian Reservation?" I shook my head. "Well, it's about a half hour from here, most kids from Forks go there when they have bonfires at the beach, it's cool."

Before I could respond, my father was calling me. "Bella, you know how you've been looking for a car?"

"Yeah, dad…" I wasn't sure where he was going with this. It was an extremely random outburst from Charlie.

"Well, I have an old Chevy truck that I can't drive anymore," Billy said as he pointed toward his wheelchair. "And Jake's not that interested in the thing, so maybe you'd like to stop by tomorrow and take a look at it? It's runs great and even has a working radio"

"Sure." I said with a smile. "I'd really like that, thanks."

The night went on just like that. The adults were reminiscing, and Jake and I babbling on about unimportant issues. I actually found him to be a really easy person to talk to. He could be a possibility for a friend here. But it was getting late and Jake and Billy left at around ten, this left my parents and I alone watching some pointless sitcom on TV. Although, none of us were really watching it. I was still getting used to the new house.

"I think we should all head up to bed," My mother said. "We had a long day." We did have a long day, indeed. And still, not all the boxes are unpacked. I'm sure my mother will spend all of tomorrow setting up things to look like we have been living here for years.

"Long doesn't even begin to describe it." I muttered.

Before another word was said there was a loud clash heard from downstairs…downstairs? I didn't know we had a basement…

"What was that?!" My mother jumped.

"I didn't know we had a basement…" Charlie murmured. It was as if we shared the same mind sometimes. I take after him like that.

"Charlie! What if it's a robber!?" My mother had a look of panic on her face as she jumped up and started frantically shaking my father by the shoulders.

"Mom, it's not a robber, it's probably just the furnace or something…they said this house was old, right dad?" I said, trying to calm down my overactive mother.

"They said it was built in the early 1900's…" He said, calming removed Renée's hands from his shoulders. "Bella's right, it's nothing…at most it might be some mice."

"I'm calling an exterminator first thing tomorrow morning." She said, making her way up the stairs. Charlie and I rolled our eyes and followed her. Truthfully, Forks was such a small town, I doubt they even had an extermination service.

My parents muttered their goodnights as I retreated to my new room. The rain had slowed down to a soft drizzle. Thank God for that. It would be impossible to get a wink of sleep with the audible 'whooshing' of the wind on my window.

I unmade my bed and settled myself underneath my puffy purple comforter. Nevertheless, I could not shake the feeling that I wasn't alone…

I sat up in bed and looked around my room. It was hard to see with all the darkness, the fact that the clouds covered up the moon didn't help with illuminating the small room. My eyes adjusted themselves to the darkness. There was nothing out of the ordinary. I shook my head and fell back onto the pillow. I was slowly drifting away, my thoughts becoming cloudier as I edged toward a well-needed good nights rest.

Then I heard it.

It sounded like a soft growl. But not just an angry growl, it was more like a moan of agony. It was soon followed by an aggravated hissing sound. My eyes opened wide. My body jerked upright as I sat up once more.

I knew for sure I heard something. And the barely audible drizzle outside could not possibly make a noise like that. It sounded like…an animal. I was never one for believing in 'monsters in my closet'. Even as a child. I knew that such creatures ceased to exist. I did hear a noise, though.

"Hello?" I whispered into the darkness of the shadows in my bedroom. My voice held a strange range of emotion. Mostly containing fear and curiosity.

The silence replied nothing.

It was probable that I was just hearing things. After all, I am in a new house, in a new state, which is the opposite of my last residence. It was just my nerves getting worked up, or it was my own reaction to my lack of sleep during the car ride here. Yes, that was it.

My eyelids began to feel heavier and heavier as I rest my head back to my fluffy blue pillow. This time sleep overtook me before I heard any more strange noises from the shadows of my room.

Just before I had fallen into my dream state, I could have sworn I saw a flash of pale white from the reflection of my window.

The Ghost;

Human life was insignificant.

Their only purpose was to satisfy the thirst from the animal that lies beneath my granite skin. They were naïve and clueless to the threatening existence that stalks all around them. They all believe the myths of garlic and dungeons. They have no idea.

It has been nearly ninety years since the very day I had awoken to this new way of living. Ninety years since my former self died. For ninety long years, I have been to different parts of the world, seeing places I could have never imagined in my wildest dreams. I do not dream anymore.

I make my frequent visits to return to my first home in Forks, Washington just to prove that I used to live a life that wasn't damned like this one.

Of course, I was not the only one of my kind. That very thought was unbearable. I've met many others. Most of them were nomads, much like myself. Our only difference was that I came back to Forks every now and then. None of them have ever been to a single place twice. Some of them I have seen more than once, like Jasper. I met him when I was traveling around Mississippi we traveled for a couple months before separating. We met again a year or two later we met again and journeyed for a while, once more.

I've also been acquainted with a few other vampires, including a good friend, Garrett. He and I traveled for almost a year before setting on different paths. I have not seen him since. Also, the small coven of James, Victoria and Laurent. I never traveled with them, three seemed to be enough, and I thought James was a bit psychotic in the mind. All he cared about was the hunt; I felt pity for his mate. Once I met a rather strange coven. They, unlike the rest of us, drink from animals. The leader, Carlisle, and his mate, Esme, asked if I would like to join their lifestyle. I refused, I'd rather walk alone.

I have now made my annual return to Forks. Oddly, for me, someone has updated the house and there was a sold sign in the front lawn. I shook my head and sneaked inside at nightfall.

I bolted shut the basement door and made it look like there was absolutely no door at all. The only entrance would be the outdoor entrance, which I have made hidden. Whoever was the consumer of the house, my personal suggestion is that they stay out of my path, unless they want their neck snapped.

I spent my days in the cold, dark basement. Well, it was not cold and dark to me. The blackness of the lack of illumination felt almost comforting in a sense. I liked the silence. That is why I never stayed with a companion vampire. The last thing I needed was extra baggage to follow me for all of eternity.

At night, I traveled to nearby overpopulated cities and fed. I was the predator and they were my pray. It was somewhat disappointing how weak and defenseless my pray was. I wish I could have more of a challenge. For once, I would love to see them put up a fight and try to stand a chance against me. However, the satisfaction of blood was not worth watching them attempt to attack me with pepper spray or basic karate moves.

Come Saturday was the day this so-called family arrived. I used my mind reading expertise to get my hands on this information. There were a male, a female, and their teenage daughter. Very promising…

Killing them right away, though, would raise some suspicions. The first family that ever moved here after my rebirth were lying on the floor, lifeless, within two hours of their unpacking. This brought on rumors of a killer ghost inside the house. Their small ignorant minds made me laugh. A ghost? They were all imbeciles, superstitious fools. Those remarks still live in the minds of the 'good people' of Forks today. I'm sure the teenager will be hearing all about in when she goes to school.

To sustain myself I escaped to Seattle for the day while the new family moved into my home. The girls were the easiest to get to follow me into dark alleyways. They were so gullible for my so-called 'beauty'. I saw nothing beautiful in myself, only a dark demon from the fiery depths of hell.

After feeding off a couple young women I ran my way back to Forks. Outside of my childhood home sat a black jeep. All the lights were on inside. I could hear three distinct heartbeats. It was almost ten thirty, why weren't these vermin souls sleeping already? I searched their minds for a source of personal entertainment.

I have to remind myself to call Billy in the morning to plan to watch the game tomorrow...The male's thoughts were bland and very vague.

Oh, I can't wait to see everyone! And I wonder if they have children, hopefully Bella would make some friends with them. Moving here was the best idea yet, Bella is just going to love it here…I think I may want to paint this room though, maybe I'll call home depot tomorrow…And I can join the PTO and help with fun things like bake sales and…I tuned out of the older females thoughts. For a grown woman, her mind resembled the one of a young child. I think she may have attention deficit disorder.

I focused in on the third occupant.

Nothing.

Blank.

Nonexistent.

I furrowed my eyebrows and I recounted the heartbeats. One, two, three. In addition, I could smell three different scents. There must be a logical explanation to this. And I would figure it out. I climbed in through the outdoor entrance to the basement and settled myself on the damp floor. I tired harder and harder to focus of the third girl's mind. I had no idea why this was bugging me so much.

"I think we should all head up to bed," The older woman said. "We had a long day."

"Long doesn't even begin to describe it." The daughter said. My ears perched up. She could talk, but she could not think? This made me angry.

The unknown frustration caused me to hit the closet thing next to me, which was an empty tin trashcan. It fell over creating a shattering noise. I cured under my breath. They probably heard that, despite how dull their hearing was.

"What was that?!"

"I didn't know we had a basement…"

"Charlie! What if it's a robber!?"

"Mom, it's not a robber, it's probably just the furnace or something…they said this house was old, right dad?"

"They said it was built in the early 1900's…Bella's right, it's nothing…at most it might be some mice."

"I'm calling an exterminator first thing tomorrow morning."

There conversation was quite amusing. Their sudden sense of fear brought a smirk to my lips. I have them exactly where I want them….No! Not tonight. But soon.

Tonight I was to investigate the daughter, and figure out a plausible reason as to why her mind is silent. I heard the blankets shift as they crawled into bed. Lucky bastards, they have no idea what it's like to be stuck in constant reality with no temporary escape from the real world. Dreaming is one thing I wish I could have back.

I left the basement and climbed up the side of the house to find where the girl was sleeping. Hah, she was in my room. I peeked inside. She sat up in her bed and looked around the room as if she knew I was there. I ducked my head out of her blurred vision. I heard the covers rustle as she settled down. I slowly cracked open the window, surprised at how it slid smoothly without much force.

That's when it hit me.

The scent coming off this little girl was the most mouthwatering, delicious aroma I have ever sensed in my entire ninety years of existence. I felt the venom begin to pool in my mouth. It would be so easy, she was so weak and breakable, and it would only take seconds.

I inched open the window a little more, letting the scent hit me more strongly. I let a growl-like moan escape from deep within my chest. I hissed as her body sat upright again and I ducked down from her eyes.

Her mind was still disturbingly blank. I wanted her blood so badly right now.

"Hello?" Her soft voice was barely above a whisper. I couldn't have her, now. I would have to wait for a better moment. It will be much easier if she was alone or away from this house.

She eventually laid herself back onto the bed. I slowly inched my head into the window and gently pushed it back down to its closed state. Her eyes were heavy with exhaustion. I knew I could not be here tonight. I jumped down from the second story and began to run. I ran anywhere my feet took me. I had to clear my head; this girl was going to make me go insane.

The Girl;

I didn't wake up to the normal bright sunshine in my eyes. No, there was no sunshine here. My windows were fogged with the morning dew that this moistened wasteland presented. The windows cast an eerie gray light into my room. I groggily sat up from my bed and rubbed my eyes.

The smell of eggs entered my nose as I opened the door and –carefully- walked down the hallway and stairs. This was odd because I was basically the only one who cooks in this house. Sure, my mom helps me out when she is free, but still, that was a very rare occasion.

"Mom?" My voice was barely audible considering I just woke up.

"I'm in the kitchen!" She shouted back in a cheerful tone. What in the world was making her so happy at nine in the morning? I turned into the kitchen and saw an unbelievable sight. My mother was making eggs and my father was sitting at the table reading the newspaper and drinking coffee.

"When did we become a greeting card family, and take the rightful roles as mother, father, and daughter?" I asked, standing in the doorway.

Charlie chuckled. "You know, we do look like we were scripted."

"Both of you hush," Renée warned. "I just wanted to make breakfast."

"Yeah, mom, you can barely make a bowl of cereal…" I stifled a giggle. She ignored my remark and finished up with the eggs. I sat down at the table across from Charlie. The eggs my mother made looked edible. And they didn't taste half bad either. Of course, I did not have high expectations at all.

"So, Bells," My dad started. "I was going to head up to Billy's house today to watch the game, you still want to look at that truck?"

I nodded my head eagerly. I desperately needed a car. I was certainly not walking back and forth in the rain, and I flat out refused to have my mother drive me. I was a junior, not a third grader. Afterwards, I dashed upstairs and took a shower with my delightful strawberry scented shampoo. The shower was where I did most of my thinking.

All my thoughts sprinted toward the growl and hiss I heard last night. It could not have been the wind or the rain, no it was too quiet. My senses have never failed me before; maybe the moistness in the air is seeping into my brain…

I quickly got myself dried off and dressed before I scurried downstairs to meet my father, whom was already set to go. I hoped into the Jeep. I was about to roll down the window, but the rain reminded me where I was. This was going to take some more time to get used to.

The drive to La Push was roughly about twenty minutes. The scenery didn't chance much on the ride. Everything was green. Every shade possible. Even the trees were covered in bright green moss. I stared out the window and looked up at the sky. The sun was not even visible. I sighed and leaned back on the seat.

We pulled up to, what I was guessing, the Black's house. It was a tiny little home, but it did have it's certain charm. Parked in the driveway was a rusted old truck. Its red paintjob was peeling off the sides, and it looked like it could run over a tank. Oddly enough, I thought it was perfect.

"Hey Bella!" I was greeted by Jake, and his childlike innocent smile. "Hey Charlie, Billy's been waiting for you, he's in the house, go on in, and I'll show Bella the truck." He offered. My dad nodded toward him and walked inside the small house. I turned my full attention to the truck. "It's a dandy piece of work, isn't it?" Jake said.

"Mmhmm," I nodded. "It's the kind of car that was build for gravitorally challenged people like myself." I smiled to myself.

"You wanna' take it on a test drive?" He asked dangling the keys in front of him. I smiled and grabbed them from his tan fingers. We both hopped into the cab. The roar of the engine startled me and bit, and make Jake laugh at my reaction. I glared at him and set the truck in drive.

We drove around the La Push area, past the cliffs of First Beach and all around the small Indian reservation. By the time we got back, the game was about half way done. I told Jake I wanted to get ready for my first day at Forks High tomorrow. He understood and told me to come and visit again soon. I agreed to stop by this weekend and go to the beach if it wasn't raining too hard.

After getting a little lost, I made it home. My mother was placing a 'Welcome' mat on the foot of the front door. I rolled my eyes. "Mom, why bother? It's just going to get soaked?"

"It's water resistant." She said in a 'matter-o-factly' tone.

I pushed past her and ran up the stairs to my room. The rain had begun to pick up and it was now blowing the tiny water droplets through my window.

Wait…my window was closed before I left. I have not even tried to open it, the rain hasn't stopped since I got here. It must have been my mom trying to get some fresh air into the stuffy house. I knew she didn't like to be condescended in places. But couldn't she open her own window?

I shut the window and pulled the curtain over it, not needing a visual reminder as to where I was. I could still hear the annoying tapping of the rain. I opened my nightstand and grabbed out my iPod and headphones. I put on some relaxing acoustic music to calm my nerves. I fell back on my head and closed my eyes. I thought about the warm sun on my skin, the orange and tan color of everything. I thought about seeing the stars and the moon. They were impossible to see here with all the cloud coverage. I thought about wearing tank tops and shorts and not even owning a heavy jacket.

I smiled to myself as I drifted into a deep sleep.

The Realtor was named after my mom. Hi mommy!

OMG! I saw a silver Volvo today. I totally flipped out and started squealing. My mom threatened to commit me. I guess she disagrees with everyone who said I didn't belong in a looney bin.

I just want to clear some things up, even though it may be explained in further chapters; The Cullen coven consists of Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett. Jasper is a solo-nomad. And Alice…you'll see. After all, this is a mystery. And I didn't want to make Charlie and Renée married still, but it wouldn't work as well if they were divorced.

Uhh…PLEASE review. It will give me motivation to update faster. Trust me, it really does. I love hearing everyone's opinion.

Thank you, spider-monkeys!

(I hate the word spider-monkey…)