2. SECRETS

**Max's POV**

EVERYONE LOOKED NORMAL — EXCEPT WITH BETTER CLOTHES. THEY ALL looked as relaxed as I felt. The flock looked good in their new clothes which would hopefully last us awhile. Fang looked...stunning — and stunned. His mouth was slightly open and he was staring at me. He noticed me looking at him and closed his mouth and turned away. Edward looked disgusted. Apparently, he hadn't liked what was going through someone's — probably Fang's — mind.

"Oh, good. You're finally down here, Max. I have some chicken and baked potatoes made up. Would you like one?" Esme would be an awesome mom. I wish I even knew where my parents had lived. The only adults that have ever been in my life have been the scientists at the School and Jeb, who helped us escape and then abandoned us. I shuddered thinking about them and pushed all those thoughts from my mind. Focus on staying safe and living in the present.

"Of course, Esme. I really appreciate your hospitality. I wish I had a mother like you." That was true, although I really wanted to hear about their secret.

"Okay, if you're going to be that impatient, I may as well start now. Or would you prefer to get your food first?" Edward was being pretty impolite.

"Food of course. It looks so delicious." The rest of the flock had food and it did look good. They weren't eating it yet. I felt so proud, my heart almost burst out of my chest. They practically starved and they still wouldn't eat anything that was made by people that we don't know. Especially those who are extremely secretive. Esme got me a potato and some chicken. I took a cautious bite of chicken. It tasted good—better than good, it was terrific. The flock took the fact that I didn't collapse in five seconds as a good sign and began to dig in. Once we started eating, Edward began to talk.

"Okay, so can you guys first tell us what you heard?"

"I heard lots of tearing below us while we were flying and then we came closer. Angel said that all she heard in your minds was 'Blood, blood, blood, blood!'. Then you heard us when we came down. I assume you already told your family all of this." He nodded. "Okay, well that's all." I sat back, having already finished my food, and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Oh. Well, do you have any guesses as to what we might be?"

I did. One word came to mind when I thought of blood. Erasers, but they couldn't be Erasers; they had no idea what Erasers were. Then I really thought.

I got another headache — though I thought I had made it clear to the Voice not to do that. Think hard, Max. Remember your time with Jeb, it said. I tried.

Jeb had been reading a book once, Dracula. It was about a vampire. I had asked him what a vampire was and he said it was a creature that survived on human blood; this had to be what it meant. "Vampire," I whispered.

In that moment, I knew it was true — I couldn't picture motherly Esme drinking someone's blood, though, or tiny Alice.

"We don't feed on humans. We drink animal blood. It doesn't taste as good, but it keeps us satisfied." Oh.

"Oh. My. GOD! You guys are vampires? Like Dracula and stuff? Do you burn in the sun? Why didn't anyone see any coffins while were in here?" Iggy was firing off questions like an idiot.

"Iggy!" the flock hissed. "Be quiet!"

He looked towards the floor. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay Iggy. We haven't told anyone before, but I guess if we ever have to, we'll know what to expect. I guess that answers your first two questions. And to answer the others: no, we don't burn in the sun and we don't have coffins because we don't sleep."

"Then what are the —. Oh." Wow, Iggy is...seriously sick. Can we say 'sexist pig'? I guess Edward agreed, judging by the look on his face. Then it changed.

"How did you see the beds?" He was incredulous.

"Fang and Gazzy described the house while we were changing." Oh. I was really hoping he had been able to see something. That would have made anyone happy — I mean, wouldn't it be awesome for the blind kid to see?

Okay. Now, why aren't we running? Is it just because they gave us awesome food — or do we really feel safe? I glanced at Fang; he seemed just as nervous as me. "Haven't you ever...made mistakes?"

"Some of us have...some of us haven't." He grimaced in disgust. "Carlisle has never made a mistake, although I had a...darker time at one point. Poor Jasper thought that creating vampires and killing them once they no longer had newborn strength was normal." He looked so sorry for Jasper — who seemed to be having the most trouble here.

"There's no reason for you guys to be so nervous. I may be new to the vegetarian diet but I'm doing very well, and Edward's 'darker time' was decades ago. Besides, he never killed innocent people," Jasper assured me. He had a soft Southern accent and I felt a wave of calm wash over me when he spoke. Wait — why am I suddenly calm? I was panicking not two seconds ago. I should be panicking now because I can't panic. I looked at Edward who was smirking.

"I forgot to mention that Jasper is an empath; he can feel and manipulate emotions." Oh. That explains a lot.

"How could you forget? You're a vampire," Alice teased.

Carlisle, I noticed, was bouncy as a kid on Christmas morning. He was extremely excited to meet us — or study us.

"Yes, Carlisle really wanted something new to study, and you're new." At this, Carlisle looked ashamed about thinking of us as some sort of science project. Lab coats — dog crates — needles — creepy scientists messing with our blood. These pictures ran through my mind when I thought of someone studying me. Edward looked confused as he saw this but the flock and I all shuddered at that thought.

"I guess we should explain how we got our wings. We were born as regular kids — we think, we might have been test tube babies — but the whitecoats grafted bird genes into us and bam! Wings, fast heartbeat, hollow bones, all ours. Well, okay, it took a little time, but the whitecoats kept track of us until about four years five years ago when Jeb Batchelder managed to get us out of the School somehow. Then, about a year after that, he disappeared and we've been on our own since then," I explained.

"Interesting. And what brought you here?" asked Carlisle.

"I got a really bad headache — like my head was exploding — and I heard a voice. It said that someone here would need my help soon. Then we were searching for a house and heard the ripping and tearing. Then we met Edward, Emmett, and Alice and I guess they already explained what happened after that," I concluded. Carlisle nodded.

"You are plenty welcome to stay here, dears," Esme said.

"Thank you, Esme, but we'll only stay if everyone here is in agreement."

All the vampires — surprisingly including Rosalie — agreed that we may stay as long as we needed.

"Thanks, everybody. We're all glad that you're willing to share your home with us. Right guys?" The flock nodded in agreement.

I yawned. Esme and Alice led us to two different rooms. Nudge, Angel and I would sleep in Alice and Jasper's room. Fang, Iggy, and the Gasman would sleep in Carlisle and Esme's room. Man was I glad that these people didn't need sleep.

Oh, right, we have to go to school tomorrow.

Edward saw my discomfort at this thought and offered for us to go to school with them since they were in the same school as most of us. The Gasman and Angel had each other and we had the Cullens. So we would sit with them at lunch. Yeah, that made me feel so much better — actually, it did. At least we'll have someone to eat with. Well, we'll eat, they'll just sit there.

Tomorrow, we're starting school as junior's; surprisingly, we were mature-looking enough to pass as being older than we were. Fang, Iggy and I were juniors, Nudge was a freshman and Angel and Gazzy were playing fourth-graders. We could pull off the looks, but we're definitely not smart enough to last a week of this. Or more.

**Edward's POV**

MAX LOOKED SUSPICIOUS AND ON EDGE, WHICH WAS PRETTY MUCH THE ONLY WAY I'D EVER SEEN HER. AND THE rest of the flock. They looked better in their new clothes. Max was hoping that the clothes would last them awhile. Which they wouldn't. Alice would have them thrown out by tomorrow, as she did all of our clothes. She only let us wear them once; the weekly shopping trips were annoying after a few decades. Fang was staring gap-mouthed at Max in the dress she had borrowed from Rosalie. I didn't like the way he was thinking about her so I attempted to tune him out. I already thought of Max as my little sister — although I hadn't know her long — and I wouldn't like anyone thinking about my sister that way—and it was especially odd for it to be Fang thinking of her that way because she thought of him as her brother. Angel didn't know the advantage she had; she could actually choose not to listen to people's thoughts, unlike me, sure I could tune them out, but that was not nearly as effective.

"Oh, good. You're finally down here, Max. I have some chicken and baked potatoes made up. Would you like one?" Esme, being Esme, was providing food and shelter for six strange kids who wanted to know our secret. I couldn't remember my real mother, but if I could, I would have hoped she was as great as Esme.

"Of course, Esme. I really appreciate your hospitality. I wish I had a mother like you," Max said. She seemed like she had never had any parents at all. Regardless, she was quite anxious to hear our secret.

"Okay, if you're going to be that impatient, I may as well start now. Or would you prefer to get your food first?" I asked. Alice was really concerned that I wasn't acting like myself.

"Food of course. It looks so delicious." Max felt proud as she looked around and saw that the flock hadn't yet taken a bite, despite the fact that they were all starving. She hesitantly took a bite of her chicken. After a few seconds, the flock began eating, obviously enjoying Esme's cooking.

Now that they seemed ready, I supposed I should begin.

"Okay, so can you guys first tell us what you heard?" I asked, might as well find out what they know first before giving any outright information.

"I heard lots of tearing below us while we were flying and then we came closer. Angel said that all she heard in your minds was 'Blood, blood, blood, blood!'. Then you heard us when we came down. I assume you already told your family all of this." I confirmed her suspicions. "Okay, well that's all." She had already finished her food so she sat back and crossed her arms, waiting for me to start.

"Oh. Well, do you have any guesses as to what we might be?"

She had one guess at first: Erasers. I saw another flash of fur and fangs and heard screaming in her mind. Then she realized that we couldn't be Erasers because we didn't know what Erasers were.

She thought back even harder. I saw a man — the same man that had been with them when they escaped wherever they had been — reading a book. The book was Dracula. She had asked him what it was about and he told her about vampires — at least that we lived off human blood.

She whispered one solitary word. "Vampire," she said.

She knew it was true then. She tried to picture Esme or Alice that way, but couldn't.

"We don't feed on humans. We drink animal blood. It doesn't taste as good, but it keeps us satisfied," I explained.

"Oh. My. GOD! You guys are vampires? Like Dracula and stuff? Do you burn in the sun? Why didn't anyone see any coffins while were in here?" Iggy was busy asking questions, acting idiotic to the flock I guess.

"Iggy!" they all hissed at the same time. "Be quiet!"

He turned his sightless eyes towards the floor. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay Iggy. We haven't told anyone before, but I guess if we ever have to, we'll know what to expect. I guess that answers your first two questions. And to answer the others: no, we don't burn in the sun and we don't have coffins because we don't sleep."

"Then what are the —. Oh." Can we say "sexist pig"? I heard from Max. I wholeheartedly agreed with her. Seeing the pictures in Iggy's mind really ticked me off. Then I realized something. He knew there were beds. Had he seen them?

"How did you see the beds?" I asked.

"Fang and Gazzy described the house while we were changing." Oh. That was sad. It would've been nice if he could see them.

Max was getting confused as she glanced at the others, seeing how they felt. Fang was as nervous as she, the others... not so much.

"Haven't you ever...made mistakes?" she asked hesitantly.

"Some of us have...some of us haven't." I grimaced as I remembered my dark past. Remembering the sight of those innocents — okay, not so innocents — dying at my...teeth nearly made me cringe. I tried explaining to them.

"Carlisle has never made a mistake, although I had a...darker time at one point. Poor Jasper thought that creating vampires and killing them once they no longer had newborn strength was normal." Jasper remembered his past as well. As far back as his time with Maria; the time when he still lived in the South and helped her create a newborn army.

"There's no reason for you guys to be so nervous. I may be new to the vegetarian diet but I'm doing very well, and Edward's 'darker time' was decades ago. Besides, he never killed innocent people," Jasper said, using his ability to feel the emotions of those around him; he was an empath. Max wondered why she was no longer panicking. And tried to panic more.

"I forgot to mention that Jasper is an empath; he can feel and manipulate emotions."

"How could you forget? You're a vampire," Alice teased.

Max noticed how anxious Carlisle was to learn about them.

"Yes, Carlisle really wanted something new to study, and you're new." Carlisle seemed bashful when I said this. Why? After all, he was a three hundred-year-old doctor, he seemed a bit tired of the same old same old.

I saw a flash of pictures going through the flock's mind. All the same pictures, just a different order. Lab coats — dog crates — needles — scientists messing with their blood. They all shuddered. I apparently looked confused so Max explained the pictures.

"I guess we should explain how we got our wings. We were born as regular kids — we think, we may have been test tube babies — but the whitecoats grafted bird genes into us and bam! Wings, fast heartbeat, hollow bones, all ours. Well, okay, it took a little time, but the whitecoats kept track of us until about four years ago when Jeb Batchelder managed to get us out of the School somehow. Then, about two years after that, he disappeared and we've been on our own for the two years since then."

"Interesting. And what brought you here?" asked Carlisle.

"I got a really bad headache — like my head was exploding — and I heard a voice. It said that someone here would need my help soon. Then we were searching for a house and heard the ripping and tearing. Then we met Edward, Emmett, and Alice and I guess they already explained what happened after that," she concluded. Carlisle nodded, showing his attentiveness.

"You are plenty welcome to stay here, dears," Esme said, again, being Esme.

"Thank you, Esme, but we'll only stay if everyone here is in agreement."

We all agreed that they could stay — though it surprised me that Rose would.

"Thanks, everybody. We're all glad that you're willing to share your home with us. Right guys?" They nodded.

Alice led the girls to hers and Jasper's room as Esme led the boys to hers and Carlisle's room. I would have offered my room, but there was no bed in it since I had no need for one, just my couch which wouldn't be comfortable.

Max seemed discomforted by the fact that she and her family were going to school tomorrow, so I offered for us to go with them.

She nearly mental laughed at the fact that they were probably going to be sitting in the cafeteria at lunch, wolfing down our food as well as theirs while we just sat there.

Though I'm sure that Alice and Jasper wouldn't have minded not having their room originally, I was surprised at the fact that Alice seemed happy. Until I found out why. Yes, the girls were going to drag us shopping because it was only five in the afternoon — I guess flying really takes it out of you if the flock was willing to crash this early. We were going to buy entirely new wardrobes for all of them and we were buying them a car. I guess you can imagine how well that went over with us guys. That's right not well — at least for the clothing. It was the car they said were dragging us along for, although I'm sure Rosalie could manage — she knew cars as well as any guy I had ever met. I suspected that they were really using it as a ploy to get some new clothes for us as well.

Sure enough I was right.

**Bella's POV**

I WAS VERY WORRIED ABOUT MY FIRST DAY AT FORKS HIGH SCHOOL. THEY ONLY HAD A TOTAL OF THREE hundred fifty-seven — I mean fifty-eight — students! Way smaller than in Phoenix.

I've never even fit in — anywhere. As a girl from Phoenix, I should be athletic, blond, tan, probably a volleyball player or something.

I am pale-skinned, brown-haired, brown-eyed, and completely un-athletic. If you put me anywhere near a volleyball court, or any place where you need some kind of coordination, you'd better stand back and watch out. There is no way that anything good could come of me being near anything that can hurt people. I'm a natural klutz.

I went to put necessities in the bathroom and when I looked in the mirror, I looked very sallow and unhealthy. Maybe it's just the light. My skin could be pretty — or look ugly and translucent — depending on the lighting.

Who am I kidding, I don't fit in at all — not just physically. I just don't relate well to people my age. Not even my mother — my best friend on the planet — could relate to me. I cried myself to sleep that night as I dreamed about the strange girl, who she was, how she got like that...