I'm seriously sorry for the delay, guys. But here's the new chapter! I hope you like this one.

Phenomenon

Bella Swan

As annoying as it might have been, at least I know he's alright. Even if he turned the attitude on me. Which is still annoying. I opened the driver's door and then started the engine. I was not surprise to see Jemina already in the passenger seat. She was wearing big, black sunglasses and a scarf around her neck. She said it seemed chilly for humans at this time of night so she wanted to wear it so she could "fit in." As If that would work. By the moment people see her, they would know we're different. Different.... people who didn't belong.

I shook out off my trance and tried to concentrate on driving and I also tried to drown out Jemina's talking.

"Oh, yeah... Bells... I forgot about Hazel. She's already in Seattle right now. She said you seemed slow today so she took off a few hours ago," Jemina explained as she fidgeted with her scarf. She was also wearing big aviator sunglasses for an effect. Whatever that meant, anyway.

I stopped the engine when we reached a boutique Jemina liked.

She got out hurriedly, not bothering to wait for me. Good. I did not really want to shop. I heard a familiar vibrate in my pocket. I took my Sidekick out(Jemina insisted I have it personally designed by Swarovski. Sheesh.) and checked my message. The screen name was a dead giveaway. I already knew who it is.

2kul4u: C'mon Bells. Just get out off the car. Hazel is going to kill you.

_walkingdisaster: What's she going to kill me for? You two know I hate shopping.

2kul4u: Srsly, Isabella. Just get out. I have something that you would certainly love...

2kul4u: Sorry, that was Hazel. She's right about the "something."

_walkingdisaster: What the hell are you two talking about? You sound like a teenage girl.

2kul4u: Bcoz I am.

_walkingdisaster: Human age doesn't count.

2kul4u: At least I'm younger. I gotta go. SRSLY, GET OUT

_walkingdisaster: No.

_walkingdisaster: Hellloo??

_walkingdisaster: Ugh. Fine.

I got out off the car, making sure everything was locked. I opened the door to the store and then stepped inside. It was worse than I imagined. It was like living hell. Only more coloruful, expensive and my two sisters are holding up something they know I would love. Which, they're right about.

I quickly went towards them and Jemina smiled when she saw me. She held up the dress. It was cream colored, smooth and has a lacy detail on the waist line.

"Where did you guys get this?" I demanded as I took the dress out off her hands.

Hazel smiled smugly. "The manager gave it to me. And to quote her, "A shame you're not a brunette. It would have looked perfect on you." But seriously... I don't like old-fashioned things. And anyway, it's too blandly colored for my taste."

Well... I do have to admit the color is too simple.

"Of course," Jemina suddenly said as she held up a pink fluffy skirt, "I can help you with the color to make the cream look beautiful. The neckline is something alright."

I thought for a moment. "What are we going to use dresses for anyway?"

Hazel laughed. "Conner told us there is going to be a prom. Junior Prom, actually. And there is a theme. Old-class style masquerade. You know... Marie Antoinette, that sort of thing." She waved one hand dismissively.

"Ah, you are perr-fecct!" A voice drawled from behind me. I sniffed the air and suddenly, I whiffed a ghastly smell. Perfume mixed with blood that burned my longs.

"Um, I beg your pardon?" I said.

"You're figure and face is perr-fectt for that dress!" She exclaimed as she took the dress from my ahnds and held it up to me body. She examined it on the long mirror standing before me.

I examined it myself. "Well... I like it."

"You must buy it zenn!"

"Err... okay then."

She gave me a discount because I was so "stunning and gorgeous". I did not even know there was such a thing.

Hazel smirked when she saw me with the bag. I held up one finger. "Don't say it."

"Well, I will anyway. You see? I told you people treat us differently in a good way."

"Yeah, for shopping discounts."

Hazel shrugged. She took a knee-length backless dress that I knew will fit her snugly. She sighed. "Ugh. Certainly, middle ages don't have these on the market just yet."
I nodded. "More lace and light colored."

Jemina took another dress from the rack. It was blood red and off-shouldered. She examined it for a moment. "No. Certainly. But here, Hazel. I'm sure this would look great on you."

I watched them go over and over the dresses and how many the pile of rejection grew. I looked at the time. It's still early.

I stood up. "I'll help you guys. And Hazel, you should consider the red dress."

I took out a pile of light colored dresses for Jemina to try on. All varied colors; white, ivory, beige and all those other colors.

While for Hazel I got her the dark colors; red, black, violet, deep blue... She didn't want any blue. Said it's too... "baby colored."

"Jems, the dust colored red looks great. Just the one shoulder thing doesn't do. And Hazel... seriously, old fashion doesn't have no shoulder stuffs. Well... if you don't count the corset anyway..."

After a few more hours of bickering and exasperation,. they finally decided. Jemina got the floor-length gown with layers and layers of sky blue chiffon. Hazel got the red fiery off-shoulder dress.

"Now... where the hell are we going to find masks?" I asked. "And who the hell thought of this theme anyway?"
"Your new boyfriend, Erick," Hazel said.

I smacked her on the arm. "He is not my boyfriend, Hazel. Shut up. I don't even like them that much."
"Then why were you considering to sit with them?"

"That's because I thought you guys were running late. Or rather, skipping classes."
"Preposterous."

"Guys," Jemina groaned. "Shut the crap up."

We both did. I opened the car door and then started the engine. I went in the directions Jemina showed me and then we were in another shop. This time, a costume shop.

She dragged me inside with Hazel following us. Her eyes ran critically ahead of herself, though. The shop was definitely old. Possibly older than me. The paint was chipped and there was a graffiti on the door that said... Err, never mind.

"Jemina, the hell---" I started, but she shushed me.

"I know this place," she informed me. "I went here before. It may look bad on the outside, but the inside is way more than that."
"You mean aside from the paint?" Hazel muttered. I chuckled at that and Jemina glared at both of us. That silenced us.

When she opened the door--- the bell ringing as it indicated a customer. A short plump man wearing glasses suddenly appeared and a smile replaced the scowl forming in his face.

"Miss Jemina!" He exclaimed.

"Mister Cougar!" She said happily as she bent down to kiss the old man's face.

Cougar? I thought. It sounded like something you eat, rather than say it as a name.

Hazel choked back a laugh.

The man finally noticed us. "Ah, this must be the Swan twins; Isabella and Hazel. Nice to see you girls, nice to see you. Jemina told me all about you girls." He paused and then sweat trickled down his forehead. "Please don't fight too much. I just had the kids from the alley quiet down."

I raised my eyebrows at Jemina. She shrugged. Surely, she liked this man.

And then he cleared his throat. "Now what brought such beautiful ladies inside my store?"

Jemina smiled. "I'm glad you asked, Mister Cougar. We're here to find masks."

"Masks?" He repeated doubtfully.

"Yes. We heard there will be a ball in Forks High School, so we thought to plan ahead."

"Ah... you are positively right. And you three girls are particularly lucky. There are only three masks left. I do not know if this fits what you girls are looking for." He walked towards a cabinet and opened it. It revealed boxes and boxes labeled with different kinds of names. ORNAMENTAL, MASKS, GLUE, GLITTER, FAKE BLOOD, VAMPIRE'S TEETH.

He took out the box marked MASKS and then placed it on the glass table. He opened it and then it reveled three masks. The first mask I saw was white. It will hide the eyes. It was covered in gold glitter giving color to it. It is also supported by a handle. A wire painted black. The second mask is black. Black as the nighttime sky. The elastic around it is also black. The only other color on it is white. And it was painted to trace the holes where the eyes are supposed to be. The last one is daring. Around the left side, there was a colorful feather. The mask itself is not colorful but rather plain. The main color is white and yellow was dotted around the mask.

Jemina clapped her hands together. "Splendid! The masks will suit what we wear."

Cougar smiled. "Splendid, indeed."

"How much?" Jemina reached towards her purse, but the he stopped her.

"No, no, Jemina. This will be for free."

"For free?" Jemina said, aghast. "But I'm sure these cost a lot! Just the designs say it."

But Cougar shook his head. "No, no. It is the least I can do for what you did."

Jemina grinned. "Thank you so much!" She bent down and hugged him. He flushed, but said, "No problem. Now off you go girls. It is almost ten o'clock and Mr. Arquette would be particularly upset."

Jemina nodded. "Okay. Bye Mister Cougar!"
"Good-bye Miss Jemina."

We said our good byes and then left.

"What did you do, Jemina?" I asked as soon as we were inside the car.

She shrugged. "I helped him with some stuff. It's nothing. He's a nice guy."

"Well... I guess he is," I admitted as I passed the first shop we entered. "But I'm not gonna lie... he looked creepy."
"And also the outer part of his shop," Hazel added from the backseat.

"Yes," I agreed.

Jemina rolled her eyes.

As I passed a dark alley, somebody jumped in the middle of the street. I stomped on the break just in time. I stared.

"Bella... go," Jemina whispered. "I can't feel his aura!"

I ignored her. I got out off the car and then went towards the guy.

"What the crap is that for? Do you want yourself to be killed?" I exclaimed as I grabbed him by the collar. He was nicely dressed, I'll give him that.

The guy looked up and then I stared into the face of a human boy. A human boy that is smiling.

"No. I don't. I just want a ride is all," he said simply. He reached towards his pocket and something clicked. I knew what it was. I knew it before he even took it out. A pocket knife.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," he whispired hoarsely. "Give me the car. The keys. Everything."

I narrowed my eyes and then laughed. "HA! As if that knife can penetrate through our skin."
He seemed momentarily confused by me. I took it as a sign. I kicked him on the stomach and then grabbed the knife out of his hand. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Leave. or I'll kill you."

Afraid. He was powerless. And I was glaring at him. My glare was sharper than the knife I held. He ran out off the way and then I stared after him.

I pursed my lips. I disposed of the knife and then got back in my seat.

"Are you crazy?" Hazel hissed. "You could have exposed us!"
"No," I responded calmly. "He's drunk. I don't think he doesn't even know what's happening. Just the smell of him indicated it. His blood is filtered. Drugged, I presume."

Jemina shook her head. "Just get us out off here."
I did as she said and before long, we were infront of the house. They waited for me to park it in the garage and then they climbed out. Jemina took the shopping bags and Hazel led the way out. I locked the car door and then proceeded to shut the garage door. When I was sure everything is okay, I turned towards the front door.

I quickly ran up the stairs and then shut the door behind me. The dress and mask was already there. Jemina made sure the dress is put in a hanger to ensure I did not just stuff it in my closet space.

I took it off the couch and then examined it. It looked nice. But why did I feel like I already wore this before? I shook the feeling out and then took the laptop from under floor.

I opened it and typed .PH. It appeared and then I typed CREAM COLORED LACE DETAILED DRESS.

A few articles appeared. One was about a donation to Dresses Foundation... another is the definition of cream colored. One article found my interest. Heiress, Murdered By Her Own Fiancee. I clicked it open and it showed an article about the girl.

I gasped. Oh my f.....

"WILFRED!"

My scream was loud. Really loud. I can say the Cullens heard it too.

The door burst open, Wilfred in the lead with Keira, Jemina, Hazel, Eldridge and Conner behind him. All of them were worried. Even Hazel is. Though, there is a touch of annoyance.

"Is that me?" I hissed. I pointed to the screen, ignoring it when it had an effect to my cold skin.

Wilfred's eyes widened. He did not expect this. Keira gasped. The others just looked simply... confused. Except for Conner. Who shook his head in astonishment.

"Wilfred, what's going on?" Jemina asked.

"Conner... if you must," Wilfred pleaded as he paced back and forth.

Conner sighed. "Well... I saw this... happen. Just yesterday. I was going to ask if it was true---"

"What?" Hazel demanded, irritated.

"Isabella's past. She did not die by a car accident and Wilfred found her when he was driving. No... he made that up. To tell you the truth... you were murdered," Conner grimaced at the last word.

"Murdered?" Jemina whispered.

"MURDERED!" Hazel gasped.

"Damn," Eldridge muttered.

"Damn is right," I agreed. "It's a couple of crap. How can I be murdered?"

"Read it," Wilfred ordered.

"What?"

"Read the article," Wilfred repeated, more clearly.

I did as he told.

The death of Isabella Marie Swan, 17, has shattered, not only her family but also everyone from the city of New York's Upper East Side. Sources tell us, Swan, was found last night by her lady-in-waiting. As we all may know, Miss Swan is also the Heiress. Daughter of Leonardo and Elizabeth Swan. She was severedly injured given by the multiply cuts that surround her body.

The criminal is already captured and questioned. The murder was done by her fiancee, Henry West, 19. When asked why he did such a thing, he answered by saying, "She was a liar. A cheater. I caught her red-handed kissing another boy late last night. She could not deny that. She even told me that." But when we asked who this man is, he did not know who the mysterious man is. "He's tall that's for sure. Brown or red hair, white skin and strange eyes."

Also, when the police investigated, they came upon a book classified as her diary. It did not say anything about the mysterious man. Although, it did say she ended the engangement with him five days before the murder. He is sentenced to prison and to quote Leonardo Swan, 58, "When hell takes him in."

I was astonished. "Me? Murdered?"
Wilfred looked as astonished as me. "What? You still cannot remember?"
I shook my head.

He paced again, thinking. "How did you find this, anyway?"

"That dress," I pointed to the one on the couch, "reminded me of something."

"And?" he pressed.

"I googled it."

He picked up the dress and then he dropped it.

"What is it?" Eldridge demanded.
"Of course, of course," Wilfred was muttering.

"What?!" I demanded.

"This dress is the one you wore when you were murdered, Isabella."

Well, that's that. If you're wondering when this is set up, it's just like Twilight. Early 2005 or something.

And thanks justjeeessieee for liking this story.

Review review review! Reviews always makes me smile (:

-NYX.