AN: Okay I know it's short, butI haven't updated in a while so I thought that I be nice and give you guys this in case I don't update before the new year. Happy Holidays! ~ Scarlett
Smoke. Heat. Everything was burning around me. The smoke forced the breath out of my lungs, along with the smoke there was a sickeningly sweet scent in the air. I lay crumpled, bloody, broken on the floor. The shadow above me was laughing in a demented fashion. In victory. He had finally won; he had finally killed everyone-anyone that mattered to me. And I was next…
I jerked awake. The screams of those in my dreams haunted my walking memories. The clock next to me read four-thirty. I knew that I wouldn't be getting anymore sleep tonight. I might as well start getting ready for the day.
Preparing for the day I let my mind wander, to anything but my horrible night mare. My mind flittered across various things, but namely my special would be neighbors. I thought of everything.
I had been in Forks for about a month now, as well as school. In that month things had fallen into somewhat of peaceful routine. Rosewood was under reconstruction, and was coming along beautifully. I would probably be able to move in as early as the next month-and-a-half. With everything that was going on I could not forget my first day of school out of my mind. Well no, it was not necessarily the first day; the most vivid memory of that day, the one that was forever implanted in my memory was his reaction.
Edward Cullen. His name reminded me of days gone by; the days of gentlemen and ladies. It suited him well, for all that he played the part of a modern teenager; the light in his eyes gave way to the truth of the age of his soul. A soul, like mine that had seen more than its fair share, more than one person was meant to see in one life time.
The day had been going on well, slow but well there wasn't much to do for me anyway I was more than capable of handling myself in a crowd of teenagers. The only concern at the moment being keeping awake in my classes and trying not to correct the teachers that thought that they knew everything. It was routine, then lunch came around. Lunch was when I realized that living in Forks was going to be a little more complicated than I originally thought. Once I sat down next to a girl from Spanish instantly heads turned toward the door, and in walked the Cullens.
Jessica was kind enough to give me the town gossip on them. All orphaned and adopted by Dr. and Mrs. Carlisle Cullen because obviously they were too young to have teenage children.
"The weirdness only begins there," Jessica said "they're all together; Emmett the really big guy is with Rosalie the blonde girl, and Jasper the guy who looks like he is in pain is with Alice the short little dark haired girl."
"How is that weird?" I asked "What if people just know who they belong with? And it's not like they're related by blood." My question may have been too much for her because the look she gave me was as if I had lost my mind. So to change topics I asked her about the bronze hair boy she had yet to mention.
"Oh him that's Edward. Edward Cullen. He's obviously gorgeous, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date" I had to bite back a smile; she was obviously speaking from past experience.
I looked up and caught his eyes, Edward had a beautiful symmetrical face even here from a distance I could tell that he was exceptionally beautiful. Though I knew the truth that his face was just another one of his weapons if you will, not that he needed it I'm sure, but something in my gut told me that they were something different than what I had met before, these were no normal vampires. There was something fundamentally different in them that would never be seen in the others of their kind. They had kept their humanity, they had kept their souls.
The bell rang and went rushing to the next class. I had biology and so did a quiet girl from my table who kindly reminded me that her name was Angela. We walked together in relative silence, not saying much, but not finding the need to fill the silence it was refreshing from all else that had been going on today. It seemed that not much happened in this small town because they were all anxious to speak to me even though I really didn't have much to say. Angela went and sat down at one of the black top desks that her partner was already sitting at. It seemed that there was only one free seat in the whole class and that was in the middle of the room next to Edward Cullen. I walked to the teacher and had him sign the pink slip of paper; thankfully he had no tolerance for classroom introductions that they were simply a waste of his time. I walked off to the only free seat, next to him. Next to the vampire.
Seating down next to him I took in his rigid posture and his glaring at me from the corner of my eyes. I knew that deep down no matter what he may seem, no matter how different he may be from the others of his kind he was still dangerous; and my luck had never been the best. I only hoped not to do anything to provoke him, but then again maybe I've already done something.
The entire time while the teacher lectures; something on worms or other, we sat rigid keeping as much distance as possible from each other. He had the desk gripped tightly, so much so that I felt it breaking under our arms. I could see the saw dust that fell to his feet from where he tried to hide the evidence of his strength, for no mere human could break these desks. For my part I sat still looking forward and tried not to move too much. I was gripping my arms to my self. Ready to defend myself if the moment arose. Then it happened, the outside world made us interact with one another. Mr. Banner, the teacher, made us turn to each other and work on some menial lab.
I turned to look at him and then I saw his black eyes. They were dark, deep and dangerous because they meant that he was thirsty, and my kind usually ended up dead around thirsty vampires. There was no telling what would happen next. Then the bell rang.
Edward POV:
Here she was again, I knew to expect her but seeing her here at the school made things a little more real. She was the constant thought of almost all the students. The new girl, in a town where not much happened the arrival of a new person made things roar alive like wildfire. Not only was she new, but she was alone. Her family had not come with her but rather the family's lawyer had arranged everything for her, so the town talk was of the rich little princess. She was everywhere in the thoughts of others and it was fairly easy to follow her around. To see her before actually laying eyes on her, and I was not disappointed. She was the same woman I remember from nights prior, from nearly crashing into her twice, but in the minds' eye of others she became someone else. It the minds of the males she became an object of lust, of desire. In the females she became a new rival or someone worth listening to and befriending. She was a curiosity for sure but what did she think of this new place. What brought her here? This strange human that knew that there was something more to us, to me.
"Anyone seen the new human they've all been talking about?" my brother Emmett was the first to ask of course. He simply didn't know when to stop talking the big oaf. Then again it was nice not to be the center of the towns' gossip for a change. She certainly did make a bigger stir moving here than we did, what with buying the falling mansion up a ways from us.
"No, but honestly these humans are all so interested in her. They must be lacking in serious entertainment." Rosalie was straight to the point.
"Rose, babe don't be like that, no matter what she is she's nothing on you. They're probably interested because now maybe they think they've got a shot."
'Always placating her isn't he? Well have you seen her? Wait never mind that she'll be sitting with the Stanley girl when we walk in.' Alice was forever on my side
"Eddie here will give us a look into her head and then we can forget she ever came ere just like all the others, right Eddie?"
"Emmett how many times have I told you to not call me that? And don't I always tell if there is anything worth saying?" he annoyed me to no end with that nickname. He just snickered at my annoyance.
We walked in and went to get our props; or as some would call it, lunch. Sitting at our usual table in the back no one bothered to look at us or try and talk to us we kept to ourselves and everyone else kept away. I could feel eyes on us and I saw the new girl, Bella. Like Alice said she was sitting with the Stanley girl and it did look like she was giving her the local gossip on the Cullens.
"Well?" Emmett asked impatiently.
"Jessica is giving her the run down of the town gossip, you're all together, we're all adopted…that sort of thing."
"Yeah I can hear that much, but what can you hear?"
I focused on her I had heard her voice when she was speaking to Jessica and usually people thoughts sound similar to their voice; yet I heard nothing from her. Thinking that maybe I wasn't focused right I listened in on Jessica's thoughts 'Of course she's fallen for Edward who wouldn't? He's gorgeous! And of course she's got all the other boys drooling over her why not set her sights on him! Well good luck with that!'
Nothing but her bitterness and jealousy over the new girl I looked to her again and tried one more time to see if I could get anything from her, but once again I found nothing. So I looked at her. I could see her holding back a smile; I could see her turning her head so that only the curve of her neck was visible to me. She was talking to Angela Webber; I didn't like to listen to Angela's thought because she was one of the few who didn't think of us badly, or at all. She like all the others kept her distance, but she also gave us our privacy so I gave her hers; but still I was curious to see what she was thinking.
'We have a test today in geometry; I hope I do well on it. Bella looks like she wants to laugh, I wonder if she remembers my name, with all the people she's met today probably not. If I see her again later I'll remind her after all, first fays are confusing enough even when you know everyone!' not a mention of us or Bella. Now I was getting annoyed. She had peaked my interest; but I didn't know what she was thinking it made me feel…well…human.
"I can't hear anything. It's like she's not there." I finally told my family. Emmett only laughed.
"Losing your touch there Eddie boy?" he kept on chuckling till Rosalie smacked him upside the head.
"No she's just not there. And stop calling me that." There was more that had to be said but the bell rang at that moment and we had to leave.
I headed toward Banner's Biology room trying to block all the voices that were getting into my head. I didn't want to hear them. I didn't hear them. I was thinking on the puzzle that Bella was presenting me, and to be honest I did enjoy a good challenge.
Making my way toward my seat I kept thinking on her, when she walked through the door almost as if my thoughts had conjured her up. She walked to the teacher's desk handing him the customary new student slip and then it hit me. The air carrying her scent swept toward me, hitting me like a wrecking ball, almost throwing me from my seat. Yes I had gotten a whiff of her before, but never like this. Never. Even when I had hunted humans I had never come across a scent that had impacted me like this. I clung to the table and I could feel it give way to my fingers. Quickly I followed one of our rules; leave no evidence behind, so I got rid on the finger shaped imprint under the desk.
I had stopped breathing; it was the only thing that kept me in my seat. That and the sad but understanding look on Carlisle's face when he found out what I had done because now there was no helping it. They would die, she would die. It was only a matter of how.
Then she turned and I saw her face.
