In response to the reviews, thank you! I hadn't expected to receive any feedback just hours after posting:) And...to the one anonymous reviewer who didn't like the way I had my paragraphs spaced, I apologize...but they're spaced almost the exact way you would find them in a book. Even still, I'll see what I can do, I suppose. I'll rearrange the 'first chapter' a little. (I also forgot to title that it was the prologue. That's fixed now! This is also why it was so short. )
One of my friends asked me about the rating. I've rated it 'M' due to the fact that I have no idea what sort of language is going to come out of this (Especially if said mystery character gets into a yelling match. Eek. I don't know if there will be any spicy scenes...but who knows, right?
I hope everyone's enjoying! Chrysta Bella)
Chapter 1: Guessing Games
If Edward had been a more violent person with me he probably would have thrown me into the vehicle right then and there.
Poor Tyler stood there, confused, as Edward just grabbed my arm and pulled me in the direction of where his Volvo sat in the parking lot.
"But..." I stared at the strange new student as he climbed into his gold Silverado, answering the questions of the anxious truck-obsessed boys.
"I can't believe this. I come to pick you up, figuring it would be a nice thing to do since you hadn't had the chance to see me today. And still you find trouble."
I looked at Edward, drawing my attention from the previous distraction. "You came to pick me up?"
His face remained hard and expressionless.
"Wait! My truck!"
"Don't worry about it."
How could I not worry about it? Did that mean we would have Alice or someone come and pick it up like before?
He opened the passenger side door of the silver car and practically pushed me into it.
"Hey," I protested, but he already had the door shut and was sweeping around the driver's side with that usual cat-like grace.
"What's going on?" I frowned, watching as he started up the car, already backing it out of the parking space. "What do you mean by trouble?"
Edward looked at me, lips in a tight straight line before he finally answered. "Bella, did you see him? Did you honestly not notice? Judging by the expression on your face I'd have to say I didn't believe you if you said you hadn't."
"Of course I saw him! He was talking to me."
He twitched the corners of his lips and looked back at the road. "I could smell him."
I folded my hands in my lap and looked at them. I knew Edward would have picked up on the stranger long before me. "He was a vampire, wasn't he?" My voice came out in more of a whisper than I had wanted it to, but I knew Edward would still be able to hear it.
"You're observant."
It
took a moment to hold my words back and retaliate to his tone of voice
and harsh words. I took a deep breath, telling myself I was being
foolish. Of course Edward would be upset. There was another vampire in
town, not to mention the fact that he must have planned on staying for
a while since he enrolled in classes. Unless there was another reason.
"Do you know him?"
"No."
"Oh. Do you think he'll be a danger?"
The car slammed to a halt. I was thankful I had my seatbelt on as I lurched against it. I looked wide-eyed out the windows to see what we'd almost hit, but we were pulled off the side of the road. Edward's hands gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white, and he was still staring ahead. "A danger? Bella, did you look at his eyes? Have you figured that out?"
"Yes..." I knew that the Cullen's eyes were only gold because of their diet. If one of them would feed on human blood then their eyes would change to a deep burgundy and stay that was until the black overpowered the iris.
"If he is feeding on human blood then everyone you know is in danger. Including you!"
I
thought back to Charlie telling us about the missing hikers and the
blood. Was this going to turn into another one of those episodes?
"No, there has to be a solution. All of you have to be strong enough to take care of him, right?"
Edward now looked at me, his expression a bit more calm. "I thought you hated the idea of us endangering ourselves for the protection of others?"
Damn. He knew me far too well.
"And
not only that, but there's the pack. There's the chance they might
chase him away before any of you could get to him, correct?"
Now his mouth pursed and he turned away again. His body was tense. I should know better than to bring up Jacob or any of the other werewolves around him. It was a silly precaution that I hated having to take, especially in situations like this.
"Seriously, Edward. I mean, if he steps out of line..." I wasn't used to being the calm one. Perhaps all the encounters I'd made in the past year were making me more confident.
"No."
"No, what? You don't think he will?"
He kept his eyes from meeting mine as he pulled back out onto the road, ignoring my question. The needle hit one hundred and ten, making me have to close my eyes to keep from yelling at him about it.
"Edward?" I tried again for an answer.
He was silent for a few more seconds, then murmured, "I mean that no, I don't think the pack will chase him away."
"What do you mean?"
Again
I was given only silence. I sighed quietly and watched the road in
front of us. It took me less than a moment to realize that we were
speeding along the road that lead out of Forks.
"Are we going to see the others?"
"Yes."
My eyes were wide and I strained against the seat belt again, putting a hand on his arm, gripping. "Edward! I'm grounded, remember?!"
"Shit," I heard his breath hiss, revealing the fact that he hadn't thought about that. Then his brows furrowed. "I thought Charlie was fishing today?"
"He is." I disliked the idea, anyhow. "But if he finds out that I was half a minute late getting home, I'll be killed."
Charlie was still upset about running off with Alice, and then the motorcycle incident. He still used that against me. The bike had quickly been given back to the Markses'. They had looked shocked that the shining red motorcycle was the same on as the pile of scrap that had been in their front yard.
"I'll make sure you're home before him, Bella. This is important."
Another sigh and I sat back in the seat again. If Edward said he'd have me home in time then I knew he would. Charlie wouldn't be back until later. The fish had been going crazy in population at his normal spot, so I had no doubt he would come back home just after dark with more fish than we could fit into the freezer. I knew what we were going to be having for dinner tonight. The relieving fact here was that I wouldn't be able to start cooking until after Charlie was home.
The car came to a
stop at the Cullen's home in an almost impossibly short amount of time.
Esme was standing at the door, smiling in her usual warm way.
"Hello, Bella. This is quite a surprise."
"Hello, Esme!"
Edward
slipped away as Esme and I exchanged our hellos, but she quickly caught
on to his troubled expression and grew concerned, following after him.
"Edward?"
"Just a moment," I heard him saying to her. "I want everyone to be here for this. I have news."
We followed him into the dining room, to the table that seemed to be used only for moments like these. Within seconds the entire family was in the room and seating themselves around the table.
"Edward? What's wrong?" Carlisle watched him pacing.
Rosalie looked between Edward and I, Emmett sitting beside her, looking concerned. Alice sat, waiting, holding Jasper's hand.
"We have another visitor," Edward explained, stopping to stand behind my chair, resting his hands on the back of it.
"Another visitor?" Alice blinked. I wondered if she hadn't forseen this and was puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Another. He seems to be posing as a student. I saw him after he approached Bella after classes."
All eyes turned to me and I nodded in response. "Yes. He had a strong southern accent. I never caught his name, though."
"The accent could be false. This might mean nothing," Carlisle explained, sitting back in his chair with a thoughtful look. "I'll look into it. Until then we should all be on the watch."
"What about Bella? Should we tail her?" Emmett questioned.
Carlisle shook his head, standing, his fingers on his chin, tapping a little. "Perhaps not. If this one is enlisting as a student then obviously he plans to make interaction with others. I think having Edward and Alice in classes with her will be safe enough for the time being." His attention turned to me. "He...did not express any specific interest in you that we should be aware of, did he?"
"Not really. I'd dropped my books. Well, actually Tyler ran into me, making me drop them..." I heard Rosalie sigh and returned to answering Carlisle. "But he picked up one of the papers that Tyler missed. He didn't really say much at all, actually...just looked at me. His eyes were dark red."
This did seem to surprise Carlisle, but not too much. He raised a brow and stopped walking. "Interesting. I wonder if he is intending on practicing restraint during classes."
I shuddered at the thought of anything else. I would want no one, not even Lauren, to become one of his meal victims.
"Edward? Alice? Keep a watch on him during class hours. Emmett, Jasper and myself will do our best to trace him afterward, tomorrow. Unnoticed if possible."
Emmett and Jasper nodded in agreement to the plan. Rosalie and Esme leaned closer to one another. I could tell they were plotting something between themselves.
I looked up at Edward with a bit of concern. He met my eyes, then nodded. "Right. I need to return her back home."
Carlisle seemed to hit a moment of realization.
"Aha. Charlie has no idea you are here, does he?"
"No..."
"Yes, do take her home then. It would be nice to see her more often than we do. And for that to happen I believe ungrounding must take place." Carlisle's eyes sparkled a bit as he spoke.
Alice gave me a hug, then Edward was ushering me out of the house. We climbed back into his car, myself thinking about what was going on with this whole situation. I pondered briefly if this strange new vampire was a friend of Victoria's. Carlisle didn't seem too worried, though, so I passed the thought away. What if he was just like Edward and the others, trying to find somewhere settle down for a bit. Even if that were the case it couldn't be forgotten that he was feeding on humans.
"What are you thinking about?"
I blinked back into reality, looking over at Edward. "Nothing, really. Just today."
"Ah." He just nodded a single time and kept driving.
Charlie
still wasn't home by the time we arrived. Edward got out and opened my
door in his usual gentlemanly fashion. I could tell he still seemed
troubled and took his hand, pulling him into the living room to sit on
the couch with me.
"Talk to me."
He looked a little confused and curled up against me.
"About what?"
"It's just that it still looks like something's bothering you."
Even
sitting on the couch with such a pensive expression Edward still looked
beautiful, godly even. His topaz eyes looked thoughtful as he debated
how to respond to what I said. Then he leaned over and pressed his lips
to mine in a gentle kiss before whispering.
"Something is."
"Oh?"
He rested his cheek against mine, closing his eyes. "There was something odd about him. Something that I suspect, but it seems impossible."
"What's that?"
Edward shook his head and nuzzled my temple.
"I
don't want to say anything until I know for certain. As sure as it
seems, I should still speak with Carlisle about it, first."
I shifted to look closer at him. He opened his eyes and met my gaze.
"Edward, you forced me to tell you my suspiciouns about you before I was sure. Tell me, please?"
That crooked smile played at his lips. "Forced you? How do you figure this?"
"Alright, so there wasn't much actual force, but still!"
He blinked, then chuckled softly and hugged me closer. "I really don't know if you would believe me, though. In fact, I'm not sure if I believe myself."
"Just tell me..."
Edward's eyes stared at the floor aimlessly, then he exhaled slowly and closed them. "If...my senses are serving me as they should be, I don't believe that unknown person is a full vampire."
"What? Do you mean he's only half vampire?"
"No, no," he mumbled. "Well, somewhat. I'm not sure. He seems to be as much a vampire as Carlisle or myself, but there's something else..."
"How?" How could someone be something other than a vampire.
"I think," he paused a moment, as if second guessing himself before speaking the following words, his velvet voice still peaceful, somehow. "I think...this person is part werewolf as well."
Now it was my turn to stare.
"Are you...serious? Is that possible?"
"I'm not entirely certain, Bella. I hope it isn't. But one thing is certain, unlike my assumptions. And that is that I have a feeling things are about to get very complicated."