I wasn't really sure why I was back, or what my plan from here was. All I knew was that I was interested in this strange girl and her family. As I entered the school, I quickly went through the different smells around me, searching for the familiar one that matched my own. Following my nose, I found myself outside the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was loud and smelled like vile human food, and I tried to avoid it at all costs. I didn't have to stay long, I just had to find the girl and convince her to come speak to me. I braced myself mentally for the stares I'd receive as soon as my presence was known by the whole cafeteria, stares were hard to get used to. "Looking for me?" Startled, I whipped around quickly to find Laura leaning casually against the wall, her red side bangs covering the complete right side of her face. Idly, her fingers toyed with a red apple; tossing it up in the air over and over again. Her gaze never left my eyes, even as mine swept over her to take in her calm posture.
"Actually I was." She laughed, her eyes gleaming with ease. Her calm made me uneasy and I internally wished Jasper was here to control it. "Well, you found me Edward; what can I do for you?" I just stared at her, unsure of what to say. I didn't really give much thought as to what I planned on saying to her after I found her. 'You don't have an actual reason for looking for me, do you?' She smirked at me as I shrugged. "To a degree I do. I'm curious about you're family," I answered, which was true. She looked at the apple in her hands and sighed. "What would you care to know? There isn't much to tell," she said quietly. "As you know, me and my family have lived here on and off or generations, having your clan around may cause problems for us." For the first time since I saw her this morning, a look of unease crossed her face for a split second; but it was gone so fast I wasn't sure if I'd imagined it or not.
"Well, we didn't come here to cause problems for you and your family, and I apologize for intruding on your territory; we didn't know you lived her prior to choosing to reside here. We're not even sure how long we will be staying, but for now this is the best place for us. Though I a sure you, we wont be stepping on your toes."
"How many of you are there exactly?" I asked her after a moment of silence. "11 in total, I know that sounds like a lot; but it's not common knowledge that we're one big family. We have a very tight façade we keep up. That's where I come in, I'm the public one who attracts the attention; that way the rest of us can fly under the radar, so to speak." Eleven was a large number of vampires all living together. "How many are in your family? I already met Alice, and I'm pretty sure I've seen Emmett, Jasper, and Rose." I was taken back that she already knew all of our names. "You've spoken with them all already?" She pushed off the wall and took a bite of the apple and tossed the rest in the garbage. I was stunned again, and the look I gave her made her laugh. "Oh hush, I eat a lot of human food; I've gained a taste for it, in a way. And no, I haven't spoken with any of them but Alice, but I've seen and heard of them all."
"There's my mother and father, Carlisle and Esme. That's it. You're the first of our…kind that's come to these parts looking to reside. We have the occasional nomads that come through and reek havoc on the human population here for awhile, and then they take off like the rest. We've never met any other vegetarians before." She grinned at me, "Vegetarians, huh? Very clever, indeed. I am curious as to why you suddenly wish to hold a conversation with me, now. You didn't seem to interested when we had class together earlier." Her smile faltered slightly, but not enough to betray whatever she was thinking. And that's when it hit me. She was…silent. "I can't hear you." I knew she knew what I was talking about. "Very good, I'm glad you can state the obvious. You can hear me, I can just block my thoughts from you whenever I please." 'See? I can come in as clear as an FM frequency when I choose.' "But how? I've only known of one other person who I couldn't hear…" Her gaze shifted to over my shoulder, "I'm not sure exactly, but I read minds too; along with other things. I read minds and emotions and body language. I can't influence them, but I know exactly how you're feeling and what you're thinking."
I wasn't sure what to make of it, yet I knew she was something special. "That's actually very interesting." She laughed that musical laugh of hers and shook her head, "I've heard I'm an interesting character before." With that she flipped her bangs to the side, out of her face. "What's with the hair exactly? If our kind is supposed to blend in for protection, you're not doing a very good job." I was met with an eye roll. "I'm a non-conformist. I don't believe in societies pathetic pecking order that is based on how you dress and act. I'm completely accepted as is, and it's called a statement."
"Vampire's shouldn't be making statements that cause them to be a speculate of the public eye." She bit her lip, "Correct, but vampires also should eat humans, live in caves, turn into bats, and wear capes; according to the humans, that is. But that's obviously a myth, so there's no laws. As long as they don't start suspecting anything, I've done nothing wrong," She said defiantly, rendering me at a lose of words. She seemed accomplished by it and her smile returned.
Before I could think of something else to say, the bell rang. "Well Edward, as much as I don't want to go to class, I--."
"Don't go then," I heard myself saying before I could think about it, "I'm just going to ditch the rest of the day anyway. I can bring you back to my house to meet the rest of my family and we can decide how we are going to work this whole sharing territory thing." She took a deep breathe and offered me that sly smile of hers, "Sounds like a good plan to me then Edward, lead the way."
