A/N: I'm so glad that many of you are interested in my newest story. i wanted to make it very much Twilightish, but I wanted to come up with my own little twists. (Bella belonging to James's coven. James's coven staying with the Cullens for a while.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter. More is on its way, of course.

Disclaimer: I'm not Stephenie Meyer. I do not own Twilight.

CHAPTER 2: CURIOSITIES

Bella's POV:

As the four of us ran, we seemed to slowly pass into a city I didn't recognize. Everything was wet, the trees, the ground, the air, even the four of us as we ran through the evening mist. There were ferns taller than I and green moss covered everything in sight. This place was green, too green. An alien planet.

"Where are we?" I asked James in a low monotone voice. I didn't want to show any of my curiosity. I didn't want to seem too eager to look around, though I was. I guess you could have called me stubborn.

"Washington," he replied. His voice carried the same uninterested pitch, but I was sure he wasn't hiding anything. "We are passing through the Olympic National Park."

I nodded understandingly as I peered at the beautiful soggy growth all around me.

The forest smelled of wet grass and early rain; fresh and sweet in its own way. The mist twisted around the trunks of trees as the day grew coder. It was beautiful and welcoming, especially to someone with skin as cold as mine. The cold wouldn't bother me.

"It's wonderful here," Laurent mused, reading my mind, as we passed through a tiny opening in the forest. "The evening sun cannot pass through these clouds. Our skin isn't glowing."

I glanced down at my bare hands. Laurent was right. The sun didn't glare off of our skin. No rainbows, no diamonds.

"He's right," I said loudly to the others. "The light doesn't—"

But I was suddenly interrupted mid-sentence because a loud crack echoed far off into the East. All four of us froze in amazement. We all noticed the way the sounds appeared right when the distant clouds cracked with thunder. The sound in the distance, not made by nature, sounded like two metal boulders that had been smacked together at a hundred miles an hour. Or maybe just two bodies made as hard as granite. Two vampires.

James turned to peer at me.

"Let's find out where that sound is coming from," he said. I could see the exhilaration building in his eyes. He was curious. "I wouldn't be surprised if vampires linger near here. It wouldn't be dangerous to the human eye." James turned his attention strictly to me, ignoring the others. "Bella, we don't know if these vampires have any special talents. Be sure to spread your protective circle around us if they become unsteady. We wouldn't want to lose a member of the coven, would we?"

He placed the back of his hand against my cheek and stroked the length of my face. I nodded once and turned my eyes back to the ground, not meeting his—or Victoria's furious eyes.

James shifted slightly in front of me before turning and leading our way to the East. I set my pace behind him and continued to peer curiously at my surroundings. As we got closer to where the sound was coming from, we came upon a certain scent. A vampire's scent.

As we grew closer to a clearing were at least five vampires stood, James immediately stepped out of the front of the line and Laurent took his place. The usual cautiousness of James. I knew how his mind worked: if one had to die, it would be Laurent. I frowned at the thought.

As we reached the edge of the wide piece of flat land, the four of us slowed our run into a gentle jog and finally into a walk. We didn't want to startle the other coven. Slowly and cautiously, we passed through the trees.

The five vampires standing in front of us all turned to greet Laurent, Victoria, James and I. Laurent spoke first, taking his role as the leader.

"We thought we heard a game," he said to the obvious leader in the opposing coven. The young blonde man. "I am Laurent. These are Victoria, Bella, and James." He gestured to each of us individually.

"I am Carlisle," said the blonde man. "This is my family, Emmett and Jasper, Rosalie, Esme, Alice and Edward."

My eyes darted to each person as Carlisle said their names. There wasn't five like I had thought, but seven. A large coven, I thought to myself, and he called them his 'family?'

I peered curiously at each of the white, beautiful faces and once my eyes came upon Edward's face, they lingered. He was tall, with a lean muscular build and dark bronze hair. But that was not why he had my attention. A strange expression twisted his face. He looked confused… his eyes were questioning. He watched me as I watched him.

Quickly, I shifted my eyes away from the blonde boy to gaze at the others in front of me. There was a tall beautiful statuesque blonde woman, an extremely tiny girl with cropped black hair, Carlisle, the blonde leader and wiser of them all, a large young man with curly hair and huge tight muscles, which he continued to flex menacingly, and another young blonde man. This vampire held my gaze also.

He was watching me analyze his family, and as I looked closer at him, I noticed many half-mooned shaped scars all over his face, neck and arms. I frowned, confused, and returned my eyes once more to bronze haired young man. His eyes were on me still, searching my face. I became restless from his piercing stare and shifted uncomfortably. James eyes darted from me and then to Edward, glaring menacingly. I winced.

"Do you have room for a few more players?" Laurent asked. I swallowed my sigh. I didn't want to play with strangers. I never wanted to play any sport, ever.

I continued to gaze at my dirty sneakers, curious glances at my face, not to mention one uncomfortable everlasting stare. What did he want from me? Why was he so interested?

--

Edward's POV:

I was concentrating as hard as I possibly could on the spot where she stood, but her mind didn't make a sound to me.

Why is he starring at my Bella? Does he think I wouldn't notice, the man named James yelled into my head. My eyes darted to his as he displayed a short but rather vivid memory.

His memory consisted of: Bella's face. She wore a frown as he glided his hands up and down her pale arms, leaning in for a kiss. And then the memory switched. Bella was now lying at the base of a tree, her back against the soft green grass beneath her. James was beside her, and their bodies were glistening in the bright sun. James turned over and reached for her face with both of his right hand… but she turned away.

I felt uneasy listening to his memories, though they only lasted for a second. I couldn't help but notice how much he must love the young woman in front of him. But she, Bella looked troubled. In both memories belonging to him, her face was looked blank, dead of all emotion. She didn't love him back? I wonder why—

Why is he still starring at that wretched girl?!The redheaded woman shrieked in my mind. Her voice surprised me. It was high and girly. It didn't match her appearance. Glancing towards her, I noticed her eyes were on James.

I sat quietly listening to both James and Victoria bicker obnoxiously in their minds, mainly about each other and the poor girl, Bella whom was caught in the love triangle. Bella. Though I didn't know the girl, I pitied her. Why had she chosen this coven? Why didn't she continue as a nomad on her own? Why has she stayed with these two if she was unhappy?

Slowly Bella hunched her shoulders, and I instantly felt the need to run to her side and comfort her. A strange feeling for me to feel towards someone I didn't even know. But still, a part of me felt protective of her. She seemed so fragile, even for a vampire. So innocent. She was so young, possibly my age. It was unfair that someone so young would be turned into a vampire. I momentarily wondered if she was given a choice. My eyes darted once more to James.

He was watching Carlisle intensely, his mind blank of all other thoughts. It was only then that I noticed I didn't catch the remainder of the conversation between Laurent, the fake leader, and Carlisle. I listened to the thoughts around me to catch up.

…four nomads running together. That's strange…

…they seem interesting, and clean. A nice hot bath would be lovely…

…I don't trust them. James should do something…

…if Laurent wasn't a part of my coven I'd rip his head off…

...if they feed from these parts…

…come to our home? Is Carlisle crazy?...

So the nomads were going to visit our house, I concluded. My eyes lingered once more, on the youngest girl named Bella, before I turned and darted off into the trees after Alice. She was leading the way back to the house, taking appropriate turns to keep the nomads far from the people in Forks. After a few minutes, we reached our porch at last.

"Won't you come in?" Carlisle asked generously. They look well fed, should I have offered Mt. Rainier as a place to snack?

Snack. The word caught me off guard. I paused slightly, mid walk, towards the back of wall of the house.

As I leaned quietly against the thick glass of the south wall, my eyes darted once more to Bella's. Her eyes met mine. Deep burgundy wide eyes in a pale face surrounded by long messy brown hair. She was utterly beautiful, and I felt my stomach tighten nervously from her stare. She looked just as confused as I felt. But this time she didn't look away.

Again, I began wondering why I couldn't hear her mind. Was she thinking? The crease between her thin eyebrows told me she was. But of what? And why couldn't I hear it?

I shifted my eyes back towards James, while arranging my face into my most accurate content looking mask. From the side of my eye, I saw Bella cock one eyebrow as she studied my expression. I felt nervous with her eyes on me, but continued to act nonchalant.

James was seated in the long white couch, with both Bella and Victoria on each side. Victoria's hand was placed gently on James's thigh and Bella sat with a straight back, her hands on her knees facing away from James. I half smiled at her obvious unwelcoming posture.

Why is Edward starring at her so much? Rosalie thought suddenly. I dropped my eyes from the group on the chair and pretended to study my scuffed shoe. Rosalie chuckled smugly in her head before thinking, keep dreaming, Eddie boy.

I clenched my teeth firmly together, preventing myself from yelling crewel curse words in her direction.

Strange eyes of gold, Laurent thought suddenly, distracting me. I wonder if the humans here give them that color. And the way they dress, and live. Very strange, yet very interesting.

"So," Laurent began again. "What is your hunting range?"

Carlisle thought for a moment before answering. He was cursing himself for not bring up the conversation earlier. "The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion. We keep a permanent residence nearby. There's another permanent settle like ours up near Denali."

No human blood? Amazing. "Permanent? How do you resist feeding from humans?" Laurent pressed.

It was then that I noticed Bella too was interested in the new conversation. Her eyes widened in wonder as she gazed at each of our faces, her eyes lingering on mine.

I offered a soft smirk.

Just to clear some things up. Edward is beginning to feel interested in Bella. Bella is beginning to feel interested in Edward. haha

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-PuppetStrings19