Hale knew vampires weren't perfect. He stared in the face of that evidence every day. It was apparent in Jasper's poor control, in Rosalie's bitter and stuck up personality, and in Edward's switching tempers and gloomy disposition. However, Hale never thought any of them would have imperfect memories, which they would then lose to forget they had another son and brother named Hale Cullen that they had adopted sixteen years ago.

He swallowed down the hurt resting in his throat and curled into himself a little. He didn't know how to feel about being abandoned like that. He knew it was a stressful situation, but that reason didn't soothe the hurt feelings rising in his chest. He… hurt. He felt heartbroken. But most of all, he felt unwanted, as though he just didn't belong. Hale hated that feeling.

He sighed heavily, stopped, and wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and in the process, wiped away a couple tears. He was starting to sweat. The trail was tedious, and the cold air, which would normally have made Hale comfortable, did nothing to cool him down now. He wasn't afraid to walk back alone, he knew the way, made apparent by the jeeps heavy and large tar tracks. He was worried, however, that he wouldn't make it before dark. His house was about two hours away, give or take eight miles, and while he was in relatively good shape from soccer, he didn't know how to find his way in the dark, and the sun, always much closer to the horizon these days now that the days were shorter, was threatening to settle down for the night.

Hale continued, silently praying that someone would remember him shortly. He wondered bitterly who would, if they remembered him, get stuck with the task to bring their annoying little brother home. Hale knew that his brothers and sisters probably liked him in their own little ways, but he never thought that they loved him. Well, maybe at one point, when he was still very little and naïve like that. Hale sighed again, and swatted away a dead hanging branch before picking his way gingerly along the path.

It curved this way and that in a most peculiar fashion, but since he was following the tracks made from the jeep that would have had to have taken a more turbulent route to make it around the trees, he wasn't too concerned or surprised. For the most part, Hale allowed the past events to fade from his mind, as much as they hurt him, and instead focused on his surroundings. Hale had always liked fall. He liked the crisp air as it settled into your lungs. And now in November, the weather was reaching its peak before if finally began snowing.

Hale thought back; in all the places he had lived in the short span of his sixteen years, Forks was his favorite. The air just seemed much cleaner and fresher than anywhere else. In the summer, rainy as it was, the wildlife still teamed and the forest grew lush and beautiful. The fact that it was quiet and offered Hale the chance to explore without Esme's fear that he would get hurt was the cherry on top of his sundae.

Hale suddenly glanced up as a cold drop of water landed on his nose and was pelted again with another raindrop on his chin. He hunched over, folded his arms close to his body, and proceeded to walk faster as a downpour started swiftly. Maybe he didn't exactly love everything Forks had to offer.

The next hour passed slowly, Hale knew it was an hour by the watch on his wrist that he had won in a contest a few years ago. He cursed himself again that he hadn't brought his cell phone, but had figured since he was to be with his family anyways, there wouldn't be a need. It wasn't like he had any friends to call anyways. He was very cold, very wet, and the rain seemed unrelenting in its quest to drown him. He jumped as a bolt of lightning lit up the sky in a brilliant white, followed by a strong roll of thunder. Hale kept a larger distance from the trees in the off chance that one would be hit by a bolt of lightning.

From the distance, another flash of lightning illuminated the sky, followed again by a grumble of thunder. Hale's heart suddenly started thudding as he came to the abrupt realization that the jeep's tracks had been lost in the rain shower. He stopped, unsure of what to do, before he heard a deep, animalistic growl. Panic froze Hale's movements before his body started shaking. He didn't move as branches and rocks were kicked or broken behind him, a sound which had been muted before was now much louder. Time seemed to slow, so that the rain drops descended at the rate of a feather before Hale saw out of the corner of his eye to see through the gloom of the dusk a large black animal. It's fur was wet and straggly, and it was roughly the size of a horse, but shaped like a wolf.

It bared it's fangs at him and let out another snarl. Hale's wide eyes were pinpointed on the tip of its nose, where its sharp fangs were on show. Hale let out a small cry before trying to run. At that point, Hale had no more over his body as a rock had over where it was placed. He sprinted through the trees, his vision blurry from his watering eyes, the rain, and the dark. Everywhere he looked, the trees looked like other monsters sprouting from the ground, grabbing his clothes with their branch like hands and tripping him on his flight. Hale turned and looked behind him as a deep howl was let loose into the night. And then, in the dark and the rain, Hale tripped over himself and rolled down a deep and muddy incline before hitting his head. Pain blossomed behind his eyes in an eruption of bright colors before he gained his momentum and opened his eyes. He looked up from his position on his back to see the same wolf, hackles raised, right in front of him.

Hale's body shook, both from the cold and the fright, and he silently started crying. He wondered how much it would hurt, how much he would feel before his life was snuffed out before him in the form of razor sharp teeth and powerful jaws. He closed his eyes, shaking and alone in the dark and dank forest with a horse-sized wolf. When after a minute or so of waiting and feeling the rain continue to pour on him, he opened his eyes for a peak, to see that the wolf was now laying beside him, eyes closed, and for all intents and purposes, asleep.

Hale felt confusion rise up and take over his panic. 'What was he supposed to do now? What did the wolf want?. He slowly tried to raise himself up on to his elbows without alerting the sleeping animal. The only reaction he received to his slow movements was a twitched ear that held perfectly still in Hale's direction.

Hale felt his confusion growl as he slowly started to pull himself away from the animal with his elbows. Hale started thinking on escape routes. If he could maybe find and wait in a tree until help would come he could make it out of this. Hale swallowed over the dryness in his mouth and started his journey to a tree. From the distance, a small crash was heard, to which the wolf raised its head and started growling. The next crash was much closer, and sounded as though a tree had been knocked down. The wolf had now stood up and, before Hale could do anything, ran by him, rubbing its body along his own, and took off into the darkness of the forest.

Hale let out a large gasp before falling backwards onto his back again in relief. He brought his hands up to cover his eyes as they started to water, before his human ears detected a voice shouting his name. Hope built in his chest before he tried to yell through his chapped lips and his hoarse throat, "HERE! I'M HERE!"

His voice sounded scratchy, and his body ached and shook, but the relief that flowed through his body was like hot chocolate on a cold, winter night. The next few moments passed very quickly. He suddenly felt very warm. He closed his eyes for what felt like a second, and when he opened them again he was looking up into the worried face of Jasper, his wet hairy hanging in sopping strands and clumps against his head. Distantly, Hale could feel himself shaking. It became worse the next moment as Jasper picked him up, bridal style, and starting running through the woods. The flashing dark figures of trees made Hale sick, so he allowed himself to close his eyes and everything went dark.

The next time Hale opened his eyes, he was groggy, hot, and trapped under multiple layers of blankets. His chest felt heavy and his eyes burned. He let loose a subdued cough and the next moment found himself face to face with the worried expressions of his parents. Hale didn't quite know what to say to them. 'Hey, thanks for leaving me. I was attacked by a giant wolf. Great time.' So he closed his eyes again, and was slightly startled as a cold hand pressed against his forest. It felt wonderful to Hale's overheated skin, and he quietly pleaded that the hand would remain there.

It did, and the next moment Hale heard a quiet voice murmur, "Hale? Hale, sweetheart? Please open those beautiful green eyes for mom." But Hale didn't want to open his eyes. Hale didn't even want to see them. They had left him, left him for two hours in the woods, with rogue wolves, frightened and alone. Hale could feel a lump building in his throat.

"Please, Hale, son. Open your eyes for us. Come on, now." So Hale opened his eyes, very slowly at first, as the light burned his retinas.

"There we are," Carlisle murmured, before continuing to stroke his hand through his hair. "All safe."

Hale took in his bedroom, with its muted browns and greens, and the two anxious faces above him, both sitting on either side of him on his bed. If Hale would have to describe two heartbroken people, full of guilt and anguish for their actions, he would have taken a picture at both Esme's and Carlisle's faces. It was clear to Hale that they were sorry, but that did little to soothe the little sharp piece of glass embedded in his heart and messing up his breathing.

"Oh, sweetheart. We are so sorry. There is no excuse, I know, but it was all very quick, even for us. We had to make a plan. Bella was in danger, you know, and Edward was very frightened for her." Here she stopped, and Hale really believed that Esme, against all the odds and facts stating she couldn't cry, was about to burst into tears. Carlisle didn't fare much better. Agony marred his perfect features. Hale felt a sob gush forth before he was crying. He was quickly swept up into cold arms and held against a strong chest. As he cried, under the tears of insecurity, heartache, and torment, a bitterness the likes of which he had never felt, started to build up.

Hale just wanted to sleep.

When he next woke, it was now dark, and the house was very quiet except for the buzz of the TV downstairs. Hale quickly looked around to see if he was alone before he began to struggle to set himself free from the hoard of blankets. He succeeded in wearing himself out. He caught his breathe and tried again, before breaking himself free. He allowed the slight dizzy spell to pass before sitting up slowly. By degrees, he ended up on his butt, arms bracing him from behind him, before slowly proceeding to stand up and make his way to the bathroom.

Once there, he grabbed the cup near the sink, filled it up four times, and proceeded to chug down every one of those four glasses till there was nothing left. He then relieved his bladder and started the shower. He felt cold and brittle. He curved in on himself as though a strong wind could come by and break him all apart. He felt very lost. As the shower started, he walked back into his room to grab some clean clothes. His lungs still felt sore and he shook a bit, but it was nothing compared to the rest of his emotions.

For the first time since he put aside his feelings while walking back home in the forest, he left himself consider what had happened, and how he truly felt. He could understand the slight slip of one's mind, but since Bella had come into the picture, it was like he just didn't exist. Hale felt bad being so mean about it, but it was very true. He had always been the odd one out. In growing up, that meant that he didn't get along with his brothers and sisters.

In fact, they did their best to avoid him. He didn't know if it was because they just didn't like him, or because they feared losing control around him. He thought it was the former, contrary to the adamants Carlisle tried to use to argue against Hale's line of thinking.

The fact that they always moved around and were a coven of vampires also made finding friends difficult. Now, at age sixteen, he was socially inept and very lonely. He didn't know how to interact with peers his own age. He thought them to be immature, and they thought he was weird. He was picked on it for it. The fact that he was also short and a little bit feminine didn't help him out much at all.

The only people who he had any sort of relationship with were his mom and dad, who he knew loved him, although that love seemed to be waning as they started to forget all about him. Hale loved his family, they were everything he had ever known, but sometimes, he really wished he hadn't been adopted by them. Sure, he got the best of everything, but he was a social outcast in a world where who you knew and how you behaved were more important than good grades and a mature attitude. And he was clearly unwanted in his own home.

Hale sighed again, a touch brokenly, and jumped into the shower, letting the pounding water wring the rest of the aches and pains from his body. He let himself stand there, head under the spray, before washing his hair and body quickly and jumping out. His stomach growled as he was putting on his shirt, and he quickly exited his room after brushing his hair to go find something to eat.

As he walked down the well known steps, he simply focused on his feet. He didn't want to see his family, or look at them. It was embarrassing enough to walk into a room knowingly acknowledging that everyone in that room really didn't care about you a lick. Hale swallowed tightly as he descended the last stair into the living room before briskly entering the kitchen. He looked up only when he walked into his mother, who grabbed him softly by the shoulders and looked at him.

She tried to give him a gentle smile, but Hale couldn't seem to muster up an answering one. She gave him a sad look before running her hand down his cheek and kissing his forehead. She led him over to a stool near the counter and had him sit down. The next few moments Hale let his mother take care of him and get him his food. He was surprised to see that she had actually made knoephla with ham, as Bella was a vegetarian, but didn't complain.

As he set about eating his soup, he looked around the kitchen and living room. The two rooms were connected together in an open floor plan, which gave him a good view as to what was going on. Edward seemed tense, next to an equally stoic Rosalie. Both looked to be having an argument, with Rosalie thinking horrid things, and Edward giving her glares and looks back. Emmett was trying to ignore the strained silence by watching a comedy, but from the subdued and quiet laughs, it wasn't working.

Alice and Jasper were sitting side by side on the other white suede couch. Alice was quiet and introvertive, while Jasper sat by her worriedly. As Hale let his eyes rest on them, Jasper looked up at him and nodded. Hale nodded back, a silent thank you for the rescue in the forest. Carlisle was nowhere to be found, before Hale realized that he was probably working the night shift. Wondering what time it really was, as he hadn't checked, Hale looked up at the clock on the microwave, to see the growing green numbers flashing 3:23.

It was when Hale looked back to Esme to take in her worried expression that he remembered what had happened with Bella. He figured, by the way that it was so quiet and the worried faces, that there must be something much bigger going on.

Hale wasn't dumb enough anymore to think that it was him they were worried for.

His appetite dwindled away before he was looking into the golden yellow of his soup. The silence was oppressive. In a house where noise never seemed to stop, the room was quite wrong. Hale rapidly got down from his stool before making his way over to the sink to put away his bowl. Esme snapped out of her still position at the sign of his movement.

"Would you like anything else to eat, sweetheart? I made some chocolate chip cookies. I know how much you love those. Would you like one?" Hale felt anger build in his stomach before he pushed it back down. Did she think cookies would make up for this mess? In his mind, he also knew everyone was busy with the Bella situation, but he felt bitter.

He shook his head no, before quietly asking, "Did I miss any school?" Esme shook her head back.

"It's Monday, today. I can call in and tell them you're sick?"

"No. I miss enough school as it is," Hale abruptly stopped before realizing what he had said, and the fact that he hadn't censored it. Esme stopped and looked at him in shock. Hale knew it was a horrible thing to say. Carlisle and Esme felt bad enough about making him miss school so often. It would have been suspicious if the family went camping but let Hale go to school, and so if the family went camping, Hale went 'camping' as well, although that roughly translated to making Hale stay at home while everyone else went out for the day to feed.

"Never mind, I'm going to go to school tomorrow. Night."He almost ran upstairs before being stopped by deep "eh, hem."Hale looked up to see Emmett looking at him, mouth pulled in a frown, and suddenly, all eyes were on him.

"You alright, Hale." Hale's face, without his permission, contorted into something that must have been confusion mixed with equal parts surprise, and not a little bit of suspicion.

"What" Emmett questioned, trying to laugh and break the awkwardness of the situation. "Can't a brother wonder about his little brother? Jasper said you were in rough shape."

Hale couldn't understand why he would care. He looked around the room to see that all his brothers and sisters had worried expressions upon their faces, although he studiously avoided looking at Edward. Hale shrugged. "I'm fine. No worries. Night."

"Hale-" Edward's voice piped in as Hale reached the first step. Hale stopped breathing. There was a long silence. Hale could see Esme exit out of the kitchen to watch the scene from the corner of his eye. "I want to apologize for what I said in the clearing. I was rather… concerned about Bella's safety. I hope you can forgive me?"

For a long moment, Hale didn't say anything. There was no, I'm sorry I said that Hale, I didn't mean it, or, I'm sorry I said that Hale, you know that we all love you. Hale swallowed before continuing up the stairs.

"It's fine, Edward." Silence reigned after him.

He quickly ran the rest of the way upstairs, pretending as though he wasn't watched the whole way back up to his room. It was only after he shut his door behind him that he felt the eyes on the back of his neck stop watching him. Hale thought it was weird that they would all start caring now. He hated the fact that they had all instilled hope in him again.

The next day was bright and sunny, and as Hale was going to school, the camping excuse couldn't be used again when Esme called in to the school to give her excuses as to why they wouldn't be coming in. Instead, the excuse was that all the teens had caught a food bug from a restaurant in Seattle that weekend and were very sick. Hale told Esme it made sense because all the teachers knew that Hale's older brothers and sisters never hung out with him, so the chances of Hale being with them in Seattle was nil. Esme looked a bit sad about this, but Hale just shrugged. Who can argue with the truth?

So Carlisle took him to school that day. The ride was awkward, as Hale didn't know what to say, and so, to every question Carlisle asked, Hale would give him short, clipped answers back. Hale didn't want be like that, but he just couldn't seem to get over the fact that they had all but abandoned him the night before.

When they finally reached the school, Hale quickly exited the car, shouldered his bag, and didn't look back. He had a war to prepare for.

Hale was the least popular kid in school. It was a simple fact, and was made worse by the actuality that his brothers and sisters were easily the most beautiful people in the whole school and didn't communicate at all with anyone else but each other. Their family was termed as stuck-up, and because of this, Hale was teased even worse for being "too good for everybody" or the "runt of the family". He was called "the Ugly Duckling".

The part that made everything that much worse was that his other brothers and sisters let this continue. He didn't know if they didn't know about it, but knew that was a lame excuse because they were vampires with superhuman hearing. The fact that they had a mind reader was just the icing on the cake.

As he was slammed into the lockers by a passing senior for the fourth time that day, he felt the same bitterness he had felt the day before settle in. This time, he let it.

Hale should have known that Carlisle would forget to remind Esme to pick him up. Or remind anyone at all, really. The fact that there was still no car forty-five minutes after school had ended for the day to pick him up told him that clearly. And so far, no one had answered their cell phones. Hale felt his eyes sting again before kicking a rock away from him hostilely.

Hale decided to walk. It was less of a walk than from their house to the clearing, and he estimated that it would be about an hour. There were also no killer wolves on the loose prepared to gobble him up and eat him. Now that Hale thought about it, however, it was weird that the wolf hadn't done anything but growl at him. There was no reasonable explanation for why it chased him and then appeared to fall asleep. It had just sat there, almost as if it were keeping watch… The roads were empty and deserted as people were at home or at jobs. The few remaining leaves blew by on the empty streets, and Hale slid his hands into his jean pockets and thought on it.

A honk sounded behind him and startled him out of his thoughts. He turned around to see a black pick up drive by before parking in front of him at the side of the road. A teenager, a little bit older than Hale, jumped out before walking back towards him. Hale seized up, ready to run if he had to, but was a bit disarmed by the sweet smile that graced the boy's mouth. He had brown hair that fell in layers around his face and that ended at the ear, while the ends curled at the bottom. He had dark brown eyes, which were very warm, and his high cheekbones complimented his smaller nose well. He stood at an average height of 5'8", or so Hale thought, and had smaller defined muscles along his arms that were emphasized by his white t-shirt.

"Hey," he said, stopping in front of Hale and smiling. "Sorry to startle you, but it looked like you could use a ride. I just got my truck today and I want to take her for a spin. Need a ride?"

Hale felt his cheeks warm as the man gave him a crooked grin which reminded him of the one Edward seemed to sport around Bella. "Sure," he stuttered out, before receiving an even bigger grin.

"Cool," he answered, "Names Deric. Live a little ways out of town on a farm with my parents. Moving away soon, though, found a job in Seattle that I want to try out. Come on, hop on in." And with that he turned around and headed back towards his truck before hopping in. Hale swallowed tightly and proceeded to copy Deric's movements to get into the pick-up. It was a very nice vehicle, Hale saw as soon as he got it. It had plenty of room, and the black interior fit the sleek design well.

"So what's the address?" Deric questioned, looking over at Hale. For a moment, Hale thought that his eyes seized him up before he grinned again. Hale blushed but quickly sprouted off the address and they were off.

"So what you walking for?" Deric broke the silence by asking. He added, "it's a bit chilly out, and all."

Hale swallowed the well known lump in his throat before responding, "My parents were a bit busy, and no one could pick me up."

Deric seemed to sense his need for silence, or the fact that it hurt Hale, for he shut up about it, and instead started talking about the weather, the town, and that new restaurant being built a couple towns over. Hale let his voice soothe over him and, before he knew it, Deric was parking in front of his house.

"Well, thanks for the ride." Halle said tentatively. "It was nice of you to do."

"Aww, man. Ain't no problem. Anytime, really."Hale gave him a hesitant smile before opening the door. "Oh, what was your name?"

"Hale. Hale Cullen."

"Hale, huh? That's a cool name. Listen Halle, you ever need a lift or are ever bored, give me a call."That said, Deric quickly took out a piece of paper and a pen from the cubby situated in front of the passenger's seat and wrote down seven digits on a piece of paper. Hale gave him a bigger smile this time, which Deric seemed to like as he let loose a laugh and another large grin.

"Thanks. Here's mine." Hale tore off a bit of the sheet Deric just gave him, took the pen Deric handed out, and wrote his as well.

"No problem, now, you better get inside. That woman over there looks a bit worried." Hale glanced over to see Esme standing near the window, looking out, a fretful expression marring her features.

"Talk to you later, Deric. And thanks again."

"No worries! Have a great night." Hale nodded and stepped out of the truck before turning and watching as Deric gunned his engine and drove off.

For the first time in a long while, Hale felt like he belonged.