Wow, like, right after I posted this I went to find it, limiting the search to just the book section, and it was already thirteenth. That's crazy! It makes it hard to get hits and reviews. – Sigh

And sorry this took so long! I swear I didn't forget! It's just, like, a week after I posted this story I came down with a nasty week long cold. No joke, I was out of school for the entire week! It was even on my birthday! And then the following week we went to Florida for my aunt's wedding. Then last weekend was my rescheduled birthday party, and this weekend was my cousin's fiancée's bridal shower. I've been busy as hell! I'm also working on a trailer for this story!

Sighing, I tossed my battered copy of 'Pride and Prejudice' onto the dusty nightstand. It landed on top of 'Crime and Punishment'. There are only so many times you can reread something before it gets old; especially with a picture-perfect memory like mine.

Dejectedly, I picked up the TV remote from its own place on the nightstand and began flipping through the limited supply of channels. The only stuff even halfway decent were the reruns playing on DisneyChannel.

This is life with Derek

This is life with Derek

This is life with Lizzie, Edwi-

"Next."

"Uncle Eddie, please -"

Finally realizing the television's evil plot to destroy what little sanity I'd managed to obtain over the course of five years, I pressed the red button, grinning in victory as the machine zapped off. A bit immaturely, I stuck my tongue out. My reflection mirrored back to me through the blank, dark screen.

I looked over at the clock. It read six thirty.

"Well, with my slow vehicle I won't be too early today," I mumbled to myself, walking over to the small dresser on which the television rested. I sent a brief glare at its screen before I opened the top drawer and grabbed a clean bra and panties, followed by a random shirt and jeans combo from the bottom drawer. Then I sidestepped over to the table and ran a brush through my hair with help from the slightly cracked mirror above it.

Even as a vampire, I decided, I looked plain. None of my clothes were extraordinary like the- like other vampires I'd seen. I didn't exactly have the most pronounced assets. And sure, my face was beautiful like everyone else's. But it was far from being considered exceptional. Not for my kind, at any rate.

Just before I stepped out of my motel room, I slipped on the pair of black converse sneakers that I had kicked off haphazardly earlier in the night-or rather last night-after hunting. I shuddered at the memory of the flavor. Ick.

I grabbed the keys to the truck off the end table. I couldn't really call it my truck, seeing as I wasn't the rightful owner.

It looked almost exactly as my old truck had, only a slightly more present-day body and a little less rusted paint. In actuality, the technical owner probably thanked me in the long run. He was a kid, no older than seventeen, that lived in the town I had been working in. He'd stopped in the store on a regular basis to flirt with me. This really pissed me off more than anything, only adding to my decision of grand theft auto.

The multiple times he'd asked me out, I would look at that truck of his in the parking lot before rejecting him. That clearly didn't help his overall appreciation of the vehicle.

I'd planned out the whole ordeal very precisely. At four thirty in the morning, I silently crept into the house and nabbed the keys. After testing them each in the door of the truck, and finding the correct one, I snuck back in and replaced the other keys. It seemed very unusual that any human should leave their door unlocked, but I didn't question it. Clearly it was a sign that I was destined to steal the thing.

Of course even a vampire, with all their stealth and speed, couldn't prevent the roar of the engine coming to life. I had only just made it down the street when I heard the shouting of the father behind me.

But that was only part A of my master plan. The father of my admirer was a very strict man. He didn't want his son to think he could get anything in life just because they had a little cash. So he'd generously handed the car down to his son as a present the day he got his license. So I could expect nothing less than him calling the cops to report it stolen. And, with all the power and influence he had in the small town, it wouldn't take long for the police to catch up with me.

So I drove my newly acquired form of transportation for a good two hours before stopping in my desired town.

Sticking to my careful scheming, the woman at the counter was practically asleep on her propped up hand. I cleared my throat when I reached her.

"Huh, what?!" she cried, her eyes snapping open as her head whipped around. I plastered on my best polite smile and batted my lashes a few times. "Oh, um, how can I help you?" she asked, blinking a few times at the change of lighting. Clearly she missed the dark comfort of her eyelids.

"Hello," I began with the utmost of manners. "My name is Bella Swan. I'm here to pick up my new license plates." I let my ears wander to the streets and beyond, listening for the sound of a siren or something that would convict me of the crime I had committed.

"Uh." It was always painfully obvious when the beauty all of my kind were cursed with had affected our supposed 'prey'. "Right, of-of course. Right away Miss Swan."

She turned to the computer and began typing my name, I could tell from the keys she pressed. I smiled patiently when her eyes turned to subtly glance at me. They didn't stay on me for long.

After momentarily reading the screen, she ran into the back and immerged a few minutes later with two license plates in a small plastic wrap. I read over the writing inscribed in the metal. Bells. I wasn't exactly the most creative of vampires.

I grinned, flashing my teeth a little dangerously to the woman whose name I didn't particularly care to learn. "Thanks." I handed her a small amount of cash.

"No problem."

I sped away as quickly as I could in the noisy old truck. I was suddenly aware of why my truck had annoyed-others. It was agonizingly slow.

The minute I pulled into the parking lot of the local Howard Johnsons I pulled out my new license plates. I wasted no time in replacing them on the front and back of the truck, barely maintaining human speed.

Now, as I drove down the slight damp dirt road, I realized that the crime had been necessary. And as far as my species goes, it was barely even a sin.

I reached the neighboring town and quickly spotted the Cub Foods. I never ceased to chuckle at the irony; a vampire working in a human food source. Shaking my head, I pulled into my usual parking space and checked the clock. I still had five minutes. I toyed with the idea of turning on the radio, just to check the weather and see if I'd need to leave work early, but rejected the idea. I had no clue what the weather station for the radio was around here, but I was certain it would entail sifting through many stations of sappy love/breakup songs to get there. I chided myself internally for not checking it on the TV. Knowing my luck, though, the weatherman would more than likely have the most perfect of names. And I wouldn't have been able to handle that.

I had managed to kill almost a minute of time with my ponderings, and looked up from my lap to see that the spot next to me had become occupied. Cheryl was just unlocking the door when I popped up behind her.

"Morning, boss," I greeted cheerily, chuckling at the spike in her heart beat and the jump she took.

"Oh, Bella. You know I can't stand when you do that." But the corners of her mouth had turned up into the slightest of smiles. I grinned back.

"Note to self, don't greet boss," I teased as the two of us entered the store. She chuckled briefly, each of us grabbing our mandatory red aprons. "So is Jared coming in today?" I asked hesitantly. Jared was yet another hormonal teenage pursuer.

"Nope. I hired a new girl."

And that's when I heard it.

"Good Morning Mrs. Harmon!" a delightfully melodic voice addressed from the entrance of the store. I turned to see a beautiful, tiny, pale girl standing in the entrance to the store.

(I so desperately want to end the chapter here! But I can't. It's too short. Consider yourselves lucky!)

"Good morning Sara!" my boss welcomed. The girl, Sara, grabbed the third apron in the entryway. "Bella, this is the new girl, Sara. Sara, this is Bella."

We shared a knowing look, Sara and I, silently agreeing to meet up later and chat. We extended our hands, shaking them in polite greeting. Up close, she wasn't as tiny as she had appeared. Of course she had perfect bone structure, same as any of us, but she really was only an inch shorter than me.

The day passed by irritatingly slow, even as far as most days go.

"So, Bella, how about we go out to lunch together and get to know each other?" Sara asked, much louder than the other questions she'd been asking me over the course of the morning, at exactly noon-the end of both of our shifts. Clearly she was setting up our excuse for leaving together.

"Sure." We walked over and, just as we were about to hang up our aprons, noticed the sun shining in all its trapping glory. We shared a brief look of panic before an idea struck me. "Or we could just eat here. There's an employee lounge in the back." I noticed Cheryl was staring strangely at me. "The food here is just too good to pass up," I explained, grinning. And I'm sure the residents of the hospital I donated all the food I bought would agree.

"That sounds like an excellent idea," the red-eyed vampire agreed. We walked to the back of the store, stuck at a human pace due to Cheryl's lingering.

"Well, I'm going out to eat, and I'm locking up while I'm gone," she announced, more loudly than necessary. At least for us.

"Sure, sure," I called back. I smiled slightly at the old expression I'd picked up from Jacob Black. It had been a while since he visited. I'd have to call him soon.

We entered the back room and I flipped on the light-an old habit-nearly screaming as I turned to see two blonde figures already sitting at the table.

But Sara's tone was merely scolding. "What are you two doing in here?!"

"We came by to warn you about the weather," the female stated casually, unfazed by Sara's harsh tone. "Then I decided it would be more fun for you to find out on your own, but when we turned to leave it was too late." Then she turned to me. "I'm Wendy, by the way."

"Bella," I offered as we shook hands.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. This is my brother Devin." And it was obvious that the male and female were identical looking, even as far as vampires go.

He jerked his chin at me and I smiled slightly.

"So, Bella," Sara started off after we took the two vacant chares left around the table. "I've noticed something rather curious. Your eyes…" she drifted off, knowing she would need no more explanation than that.

"Why are they gold and not red?" All three of them nodded. "I don't drink human blood," I informed them bluntly. I watched as three pairs of red eyes bugged out at me. I was used to this. I had run into a nomad or two on occasion.

"How could you possibly survive?" the male, Devin, asked incredulously.

"On animal blood. I-I knew a coven once that did that, so I decided to try it," I explained using half-truths and evasions. "Um, so what brings you guys here?" I asked before they could notice my hesitation in the answer.

"Trying to earn some money, you?" Wendy responded, then asked.

"Same. Where are the three of you staying?"

"We got a nice little house on the outskirts of town." It was Sara who answered this time.

"Yeah, our background story is that we came home from a boarding school for the summer and need tuition money for next year," Devin added.

"Oh. Mine is that I moved in with my grandma during the year and needed the job to help pay her hospital bills. She conveniently dies just before the start of the following school year." 'And also a week before my human birthday,' I added as an afterthought.

They nodded. "So where do you stay?"

"In the next town over, at a motel."

"You should come live with us!" Wendy exclaimed.

"Oh, um, that's ok, thanks," I declined. I didn't really want to get attached to anyone again. Especially not vampires. They don't tend to cling to certain things for very long. No, I was much better by myself.

"Oh come on! It would be so much fun! And then I wouldn't be stuck as the third wheel to these two," Wendy jabbed her thumb in the direction of her brother and Sara, who I only just realized were holding hands.

"Really, I'm fine," I assured.

"Why, you like staying in motels?" Devin asked.

"No, it's just-" and that's when I noticed the look on Sara's face. "Why is she glaring at me?" I asked worriedly.

"What are you thinking about right now?" she asked, ignoring my question and not breaking her concentrated gaze.

"I'm wondering why you're staring at me."

"That's it?" she questioned, sounding bewildered.

"Yea," I confirmed after searching my brain for a fraction of a second.

"Huh."

"What?"

"She was trying to convince you to come and stay with us," Wendy explained.

"By glaring at me and asking me random questions?"

"No, by influencing your thoughts."

"You can do that?!" I asked, my turn to sound bewildered.

"Yeah. As a human I'd always been very persuasive."

"And it didn't work on me?" I guessed.

"That's the first time!" she exclaimed, suddenly very frustrated.

"Yours isn't the only ability that hasn't worked on me," I admitted, turning away so they wouldn't notice the pain in my eyes. But apparently, they bought tickets to my train of thought.

"Is this about that other family you knew?" Wendy asked? I nodded, not trusting my voice but feeling no need to lie to them. "What happened?" I shook my head.

"Why?"

"Too painful," I gasped, already losing the control over my memories. Instead of dulling along with the rest of my human memories, the pain that shot through me whenever I thought of… them, was sharper than ever. Only magnified because it had traveled with me on my path from mortal to immortal.

"What'd they do?!" Wendy asked, now very intrigued.

With a sigh, I decided to let these three strangers in on my most painful thoughts. Why not?

I began the story, talking at an inhumanly pace so that we wouldn't still be talking when Cheryl returned, of my mother leaving Forks with a baby me. I continued to her wedding Phil, followed by the pain I saw whenever he left for baseball while she stayed behind with me, and how that led to me moving back to Forks.

This was the harder part. I slowed my pace slightly, clutching my sides so the hole in my stilled heart wouldn't tear me to shreds as I told of my first glimpses into this supernatural world. Dry, vampire crying escaped me, and I felt like blushing from embarrassment. But none of them looked scornful, but instead each face and voice held an air of concern for my feelings. Nothing more. And that felt… good.

The tale continued its painful path, leading to my disastrous eighteenth birthday party, followed by the three days of seclusion I received from-my boyfriend. (Even those words stung.)

I suddenly wished that one of these three vampires could read minds, so I wouldn't have to put in words the pure agony of the next chapter in my story. My last memory of him.

It took a good five minutes to quiet the sobs erupting from my chest, Sara and Wendy each holding one of my hands while Devin glared silently at his shoes.

"Wow, he did all of that?" Sara asked confoundedly. I nodded, not yet regaining control of my voice.

"But that's so…" Wendy searched for the right word, "mean! You should listen to some music to calm down," she offered, already reaching into her pocket and retrieving an iPod.

"NO!" I immediately protested, my head shaking back and forth violently.

"Trust me, it helps." At my terrified look, she added, "Just try it."

With a shaky, uncertain hand I grabbed her offered music player, sticking one of the buds in my ear. After another hesitant second, I pressed play.

A soft, but not slow, guitar sounded automatically, followed three seconds later by drums. I knew the song, but couldn't place words with it. That is, until they started after the six and a half second musical introduction.

You took my hand

You showed me how

You promised me

You'd be around

Uh huh, that's right

I felt the torture rip through my heart once again, but Wendy's look of assurance saved me from another episode.

I took your words

And I believed

In everything you said to me

Yeah huh, that's right

If someone said three years from now

You'd be long gone

I'd stand up

And punch them out

Cuz they're all wrong

'More like five years, but yeah' I agreed in my head. P!ink had a very solid point.

I know better

Cuz you said forever

And ever

Who knew

I was strongly appreciating the sarcasm in her voice. No one deserved what I'd been through. I just hadn't realized it until I opened up. I began to bop my head to the beat of the song.

I smiled and laughed at all the sarcastic jibes, which conveyed perfectly how I had honestly once believed in those exact words. And I could feel something inside me changing. I'd always been 'self-sacrificing', and where had that gotten me? Scrounging for dollars in the smallest and cloudiest towns in America, limited amount of thoughts allowed in my brain. Well, it was time to change that.

Who knew?

Ok, so I randomly got inspired to write this chapter after, of course, finding that P!nk song. Thanks to Cherette and her story Guarding It All. Unfortunately, I didn't fully listen to it til about ten o'clock my time, and then both my parents felt the need to spend an excessive amount of time on here. It gave me time to plan, but I wanted to WRITE! So, here's the product. More exciting things happen in the next chapter, but I need reviews before I can get to them. So please type away!

Luv Wendy! :)(: