Disclaimer: Twilight and its characters are all property of Stephenie Meyer. No profit is being made from this piece of work. No copyright infringement is intended.


2. Delivery

Alice was an unusual teacher in a number of ways.

Number One: she wasn't human. Though Vamps like to specialize in things like Music and History and so they usually did a few years teaching, being a teacher was a human's job. Most of the human teachers were Qualified as teaching required a degree and the only to get a degree was to go to University – which you had to Qualify for. Some slipped through the net in substitute teaching and things like that. Back in Phoenix I had two teachers for Mathematics; a Vamp who claimed to have been round when 'Mathematics was invented' and an unQualified human who took over when the Vamp couldn't be bothered making it in. He was, literally, the teacher's pet.

Number Two: she refused to be acknowledged as Mrs. Whitlock. We all had to call her Alice which was just as well because she looked too young to be married. It was creepy.

And Number Three: she liked to interact with the students which, obviously, wasn't great for me.

I spent the lesson with my head in my sketchbook, doodling ideas for the final project at the end of the year. As usual, it could be anything presented in any way. Alice may have been unusual but she was pretty unoriginal when it came to the curriculum.

"Hello, Bella," she said to me when she reached my desk. "I heard you're new in town."

I nodded.

"You're probably sick of people asking how you find Forks aren't you?" she asked, smiling.

I nodded again and she laughed, a high twinkling laugh. I folded my arms across my chest and leant further back in my chair. She must have been able to tell by my scars that I had been scented, that I had been attacked by a creature she was sworn to defend. What did the werewolves mean to the Vamps anyway?

"Can you stay behind after class?" Alice asked suddenly. "I have a favor to ask you."

Surprised, I found my eyes wandering over to the other side of the front of the classroom where Lauren and Jessica sat, glaring at me. No doubt they were jealous I had made Alice laugh, angry that Alice had asked me to stay behind and not them. This was probably the only reason they'd taken an Art class – because a good review from Alice would give them a better chance at a VQA.

"You don't have to," Alice said hurriedly, sensing my hesitation, "But I would be really grateful if you could."

I tried to avoid looking her in the eyes while she spoke to me but now I couldn't help but notice a pleading look amongst the ruby red. Her pale face looked desperate. I nodded again, communicating I would stay.

Despite the fact I had yet to utter a word to Alice, she beamed. "Excellent," she said before moving quickly onto the student next to me with whom she discussed the color of her boots.

I couldn't concentrate for the rest of class then, knowing Alice wanted to keep me behind. I tried to tell myself that Alice couldn't kill me. Heck, it was against the law for her to even feed off me but I also knew there had been Vamps in the past that had gone against the laws enforced by the Volturi.

Alice didn't look like the kind of person who could hurt a fly but, at the end of the day, she was still a Vamp. The question was: did I care if she killed me or not?

My mom and her husband were in jail. My life had been turned upside down by moving here. And, if the werewolves ever strayed near this town, I was putting Charlie in danger. Maybe my death wouldn't be such a lost cause after all.

When the bell rang for the end of class, everybody filed out without a backwards glance at me still sat in my seat. Lauren and Jess looked back though, their eyes filled with jealousy though I may have mistaken a look of awe in Jess'.

"Sorry to do this, Bella," Alice said once the room was clear. She shut the door and I felt my heart pick up, my palms grow sweaty. I had been so accepting of my death earlier yet now I was so afraid. Alice smiled gently at me, sensing my fear with her enhanced senses, like a tiger would its prey.

"It's okay, Bella," she assured me. "I only wanted to ask a favor and you are free to say no if you wish."

She walked over to her desk and, from behind it, produced a basket. It was a nice basket, one that might be found in a fairytale or used by children to collect Easter Eggs on an Egg Hunt. Two red bows were tied elegantly on each side of the handle. I couldn't see inside for the white cloth that was draped over the contents.

"I have a…friend who lives in the woods," Alice told me, half-confident, half-hesitant. "He's a bit of a hermit so I take things to him every once and a while to keep him entertained." She looked at me as if waiting for me to ask questions. When I didn't, she continued. "I was just wondering if, today, would you mind dropping the basket off?"

I cocked my head to the side, not quite believing what she was asking of me.

"Is this friend of yours a Vamp?" I asked, finally finding my voice.

Something close to anger flashed across Alice's eyes and I cringed as I realized my mistake. Before I could correct myself, however, Alice said, "He is a Vampire, yes."

"Would I be the treat along with the basket?" I couldn't help but snap.

Alice let that one go though, as if she had been expecting it. "You don't have to do this, Bella."

"Then why are you asking me and not the Groupies like Lauren or Jess?" I demanded.

"Because I know this will benefit you," Alice told me confidently. "But you need to take this chance."

I hesitated. On one hand, I didn't care about dying anymore as I had discovered during the lesson. But, on the other, I didn't fancy doing a Vamp's dirty work either. And, I must admit, part of me was extremely curious to see why a Vamp was hiding out in the woods. I knew there were some of their kind who preferred to live in secluded areas but they usually got their own things instead of having a friend deliver things to them via decorated wicker baskets.

"Where does he live?" I asked, sighing.

Alice hurriedly sketched a map on a piece of paper at Vamp speed. I tried not to let it show how much it fazed me. "Just drop the basket on the step and leave," she instructed me. "You won't see him today."

Today? Alice was starting to scare me but I had been rude enough to her today without asking more questions. She may have been a Vamp but she looked so fragile and small that I didn't have the heart to be rude. Besides, she had been nice enough to me.

I took the basket and the map and headed for the door. "If anything happens to me-" I began before I left but Alice interrupted.

"Nothing will happen," Alice said. "I promise."

"And you'll explain what all this is about tomorrow?" I asked hopefully.

"How about this time next week?" Alice suggested. "He'll be ready for another basket then."

I nodded, wondered – not for the first time – what I was doing, and left.

The truck Charlie gave me wasn't really built for the bumpy roads and pathways it took to get to the spot Alice had drew on the map. With each tree I passed I began to worry I would never find the house and would end up wandering around the woods, lost. It almost made me laugh the fact that I was more worried about getting lost than being trapped in the middle of the woods with a hermit Vamp.

When I did eventually find it, the house was more like a little cottage. Made of grey stone, it stood out amongst the trees, empty windows stared down at me like black eyes from grey sockets. I did as Alice asked. I dropped the basket on the porch and then found myself running to my truck. It felt oddly like a game of knock-and-run, something I used to play with the kids in my neighborhood before I became aware of how dangerous the world was.

Once I was safely in my truck, I stared at the cottage, wondering if there was any sign of life inside.

I screamed when I heard the bang on the roof. The metallic hit rang in my ears and I clamped my eyes shut, pressing my hands over my ears. After a few minutes of silence, I opened them slowly expecting to find the watery yellow eyes of the werewolf staring at me from the rusted red bonnet of the truck. But I saw nothing.

Nothing except for a slight movement inside one of the cottage windows.

I drove out of there as fast as I could, sure somebody was following me all the way home. I pulled up outside Charlie's house, and waited for my heart to stop hammering in my chest. I thought I had been ready to die but now I knew I was wrong, otherwise I wouldn't have been so scared. Right?

Once my heart rate had returned to normal, I hopped out of the truck and went inside. Charlie wouldn't be home until later. One of the many disadvantages of having a non-Qualified job was your working hours were completely out of your hands.

I decided to cook him dinner – it was the least I could do seeing as he was already risking so much because of me.

Over dinner Charlie asked me about my first day at school. I told him the good parts; how I had found my way around easily enough and how I had made friends with Angela Weber.

"Ah, the minister's daughter," Charlie said, his eyes looking behind me. "She's a good girl." The minister's daughter. Suddenly her hatred for Vamps made so much sense. I wondered if her father had ever tried an exorcism. Probably not given the way Charlie spoke of him, he sounded as though he was still alive.

I missed out the parts about Tyler, and Alice asking me to drop a basket off for her hermit friend – who I was sure by now had been the one to jump on my truck.

Charlie did ask how the truck was running though.

"It's great," I said, "Where did you get it from?"

"A friend of mine used to own it," Charlie explained, smiling at something. "His son fixed it up first. Apparently it was in pretty bad condition."

"That was nice of him," I said aloud.

"They're shape-shifters," Charlie blurted. At first I thought he had said it as a way to excuse their kind behavior but I then realized he had wanted me to know about them and just hadn't found the appropriate moment to tell me.

"I've got no problem with shape-shifters," I told him sternly. "They're the gypsies of the world," I added, quoting what I had once heard a shape-shifter say when a tribe had travelled through Phoenix when I was younger. "They stick to their own rules and don't harm anybody."

"Exactly," Charlie beamed. I think he was just pleased I wasn't going to start a hate campaign against his friends.

"So what is their Shape?" I asked.

Charlie froze. He must have been hoping I wouldn't ask that because his face contorted with disappointment and sympathy. At first I had thought the sympathy was for them but as soon as he said, "Wolves," I knew it was for me.

There was a loud metallic clanging as I dropped my knife and fork onto my plate.

"They're not the monstrous type," Charlie hurried to assure me. "And you being…as you are won't affect their view on you in the slightest." I continued to glare at him. He looked uncomfortable but held my gaze. "They're just like…big dogs."

At that I burst out laughing.

Maybe it was the stress of starting a new school, talking face-to-face with a Vamp, and then nearly having a heart attack whilst delivering a package for said Vamp but I couldn't stop laughing. In the end I had to hold my sides because they hurt so much.

"Bells, are you okay?" he asked uncertainly.

"I'm fine," I sighed after my laughter had ceased. "I think I just need some sleep."

"So do I," Charlie agreed.

The following week went by without incident though Angela and I grew closer whilst Tyler continued his short chats with me. The first time he had approached Angela had told him to back off but I told her to ignore him. I let him flirt with me to show I didn't care about what he said. He could carry on for all I cared, he'd get bored eventually.

What kept me going through the week was Thursday's last period Art class. My first delivery had sparked my curiosity; I'd been so worried about finding my way I hadn't even bothered to look inside the basket. I wanted to know who this hermit Vamp was and what Alice had to do with him.

So, with all that on my mind, I almost forgot the full moon on Wednesday night. Almost.

Charlie found me stood outside on the porch when he came home from his shift at the police station. I was too busy staring at the doorframe and the surrounding windows to notice him walk up behind me and place a hand on my shoulder.

I jumped, screamed, and backed into the wooden door making it shudder violently in its frame.

"Jeez, Bells," Charlie said, clearly not having been expecting me to be so jumpy. "What's the matter? Did something happen?"

Charlie's eyes filled with unmistakable fear as he glanced at the forestry surrounding his house. We were silent for a moment as I listened with him for the break of a branch or the snarl of a snout. But there was nothing.

"They won't come out here," he said with surprising confidence. "Not with all the Vampires."

Despite my fear, I quirked an eyebrow at him in surprise over his politeness to the dominant species.

Seeing my expression, he shrugged and said sheepishly, "I was with a couple of them today. You have to be polite, Bells."

"What do you mean you were with a couple of them today?" I asked more horrified than shocked.

"They have a hotel on the town borderline," Charlie explained. "You might have seen it when we drove in, it's just by the Forks welcome sign." I tried to think but I couldn't recall anything from that car ride other than being lost in my own memories. Nevertheless, Charlie continued, "I stopped by this morning and told them about your situation. I basically asked them to keep a lookout and I wanted to know how many Vampires were staying there. I haven't seen one of these beasts before personally but I know there's strength in numbers."

For a moment there was nothing but croaking of the crickets which surrounded us in the dark. I was shocked by a number of things; Charlie never seeing a live werewolf before; the Vampires owning a hotel; Charlie asking them for a favor.

"Come on, Bella, let's go inside," Charlie said, putting a fatherly arm around me. I walked with him but couldn't help but glance back once more at the unprotected doorway. "They won't come here; it's too cold," he assured me, closing the door behind us. "There's no need for any of that mistletoe stuff."

I nodded mutely.

Charlie led me into the living room where we sat for a few moments in silence – Charlie not even bothering to turn the TV on – before he thought of something to take my mind off the full moon.

"That hotel I was telling you about before is especially for Vampires you know," he said casually. I looked up to let him know I was listening, partly to distract me but mainly because I was interested. I'd never heard of Vamp-exclusive buildings before. Usually everything gave priority to the Vampires so it always seemed like they didn't need such things.

"Rosalie and Emmett McCarty run it," he went on, "Though they have a lot of help from Dr. Cullen's wife, Esme."

My eyes widened at how many Vamps he had mentioned in one sentence as well as how friendly he talked about them.

He must have seen my reaction because he said, "They're not like the ones you've met, Bella. I don't know what them Vampires are like down in Phoenix but I bet the heat's gone to their heads. The Vampires round here? Well, you can actually have a conversation with them if that's what you're wondering. They've been here since I was a kid. Dr. Cullen helped to deliver you."

I froze, feeling vomit rise up my throat at the thought of a Vamp assisting in my birth.

Charlie must have seen that reaction too because he quickly dropped the subject and switched the TV on. I went to my room in silence.

It was only when I was under my covers that I remembered the natural satellite outside my room. I couldn't help but stare at it from my position in bed and wonder how such a beautiful thing can turn people into monsters. Because it was beautiful, the way it seemed to light up the black blanket of the night sky, the way it glowed like a halo ran around its surface.

But still it made my heart beat faster in panic, made my palms sweat with fear. As I turned my back to the window in an attempt to get some sleep, I wondered if I would ever feel safe during a full moon again.