Chapter 4: Cullen

However, as preoccupied as I was with staring at the girl in the mirror, another part of my brain was still listening to Charlie's heartbeat for indication that he has woken up. Something was going on in Forks and I planned on finding out what it was. Charlie may not approve of it but what he doesn't know won't hurt him. I looked at the mirror once more before turning my back to it and heading towards my closet.

Since it seemed to be a bit colder today, I decided to wear a long sleeve black crew t-shirt, dark blue skinny jeans with rips on the thighs, black boots and navy jacket. Grabbing my school bag, I walked past Charlie's door freezing when he started to shift around in his bed but settled back down into sleep. Instead of taking the steps, I leaped from the staircase down to the landing silently making my way towards the back door and out to the backyard. As I reached the forest, I could hear Charlie stirring and waking up, with one last look towards the house, I made my way through the dense forest, hoping to catch one of the scents from yesterday.

The further I walked into the forest, the more I started to lose hope of finding it and if I didn't start going towards the school, I will be late for first period. I veered off my course and decided to head to school when I came across the scent. I followed the scent for about 15 minutes before I heard a set of feet running towards my direction at a fast pace. The speed indicated that it wasn't a human and since I could only hear one set of feet then that confirmed that it wasn't a shifter, so what could run at such a fast pace?

I slowed down and pounced on to the tree branches above hoping whatever it was wouldn't be able to detect my presence. I carefully crept forward dropping onto all fours, laying flatly against the branch, slowing my heartbeat to the point where it wasn't audible, I waited for the individual to pass through. A figure broke through the clearing, a blonde-haired beauty. As I looked closer at the figure, I realized that I was looking down at one of the Cullen girls, Rosalie I think was her name, but what is she doing so deep in the forest at this hour and was she who was running at such an inhumane speed?

"Come on Emmet, I have had enough of your childish games. We need to be heading back to the house." She said taking off into the forest away from me. A growl came from the direction she had originally came from followed by a huge figure running across the clearing after her. Was that Emmet? How are they running so fast and why were they in the forest? How did I not hear him approach?

Once I was sure that they were gone, I leaped down from the tree branch crossing the clearing following their scents not sure what I was looking. As their scents got stronger, I came across a bile of overturned dirt, crouching down I stuck my hand in moving the dirt off. Underneath, there was an animal carcass a bear, it seemed to feel warm still indicating it had died recently. I heaved the body out of the grave feeling how light it was, lighter than what a normal dead animal should feel like.

I placed the dead animal back in its hole, ready to bury it again when I noticed the bite marks on its neck, it seemed familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen it. Burying the carcass back, I ran through the trees, shifting as I processed what I had just discovered. What in the world were the Cullen's? And why is a dead bear buried in the forest?

When I had gathered my thoughts and finally reached school, I realized that I missed half of my classes, Charlie won't be happy with me. I was a ball of nerves when I walked through the cafeteria, following the body of students waiting to get something to eat. Acting as though I was looking for Jessica or Mike, I let my eyes drift to the table in the far corner. He and his family were sitting at the same table, looking utterly perfect and out of place. None seemed to have noticed my entrance. Looking towards the blonde bombshell, it appeared that they didn't know what I was, but that didn't lessen my anxiety.

I refused to look at any of the Cullen's, although my entire being wanted to look at them, especially a certain copper haired one. Finally, they all got up to leave, and regretfully I watched them exist.

He was already seated and waiting at our table when I entered biology. His scent was stronger in the small, lab room. Taking the seat next to him, I angled my body away from him trying not to acknowledge his existence. How could someone have this great of an effect on me.

The teacher decided to walk in before Edward could say anything, it looked like we would be doing a lab today. Working as partners we needed to separate the slides into the phases of mitosis. "Get started," he called over the class once done giving instructions.

"ladies first, partner." Edward said. I looked up to him, seeing his crooked smile caused my thoughts to scatter, making me look like a dim-witted air head. "Or I can start, if you want." He tacked on, smile fading. "No, I'll go ahead." I said blushing crazily. Since I had done this lab in my old school, it wasn't hard for me to identify it and having a perfect eyesight doesn't hurt too. "Prophase." I said once I was done assessing the slide.

"Do you mind if I look?" He asked as I started to remove the slide, his hand catching mine, to stop me from removing it. When our hands met, it was like a jolt of pure electricity, traveling throughout me. He removed his hand from mine instantly, not sure if he felt the current also, mumbled out an apology. He continued reaching for the microscope, taking even less time than I did to look through the lens. "Prophase." He said as he wrote it down. Edward and I were finished before anyone else were close to being done. Most of the class seemed to be having a hard time identifying the slide. Mike and his partner had their book open under the table.

Just when I thought things couldn't get worse, Edward shifted towards me sending a new wave of his scent towards me, causing me to stiffen and grip the table top as the urge to lean towards him and place my face in the crook of his neck became too damn much. Why is his scent affecting me so much?

Mr. Banner came by our table looking over our shoulders at the worksheet checking the answers. "So, Edward I hope you allowed Bella Identify at least one." He said pointedly. "Bella actually identified three of the five" he informed him. "have you done this lab before, Ms. Swan?" he said turning to me. "yes, with whitefish blastula." Mr. Banner nodded. "Were you in an advanced class before?" Looking down at the table, I mumbled out a "yes, Sir." Hoping he would move on to another group. "well, it's good you two are partners then." He mumbled moving away.

"How do you like Forks so far." Edward asked trying to make small talk. "Not sure, it's cold and rains constantly, there's not much to like about it." I commented, not looking up. "you don't like the cold then." It wasn't a question. "Or the wet." I tacked on. "Forks must be a difficult place for you to live in." He mused. "You have no idea." I said darkly. For some unknown reason I couldn't stop myself from answering him back. "Why did you move here then if it bothers you so much?" he asked. "It's complicated." I didn't want to answer his question, but I was also realized i didn't want to deny him anything.

"I think I can keep up." He mused. "My mother remarried, and he travels a lot but with me there it was difficult for her to go with him, so I decided to give them a chance to travel together." I said not wanting to reveal too much. "But you're unhappy now." He deduced. "Doesn't matter, I wouldn't have been happy there knowing how much they feared me." Dammit! Think before you speak. "Fear you?" he asked softly shifting forward, causing his smell to waft towards me. Leaning away from him I could see he was still staring at me waiting for an answer, but Mr. Banner called the class to order, and I turned in relief to listen.

When the bell rang, I fled the class as fast as humanly possible, no need to reveal myself to everyone. His scent is hard to describe, it was almost like wildflowers and the sun mixed together. Irresistible.

I went straight to the locker room to change for gym. Jessica went ahead to talk to Mike Coach placed us in teams to play a game of dodgeball. Since I couldn't use my full strength, I needed to be careful not to hurt anyone by accidently hitting the ball to hard. For the most part it was a good game, Jessica and Mike kept aiming for each other running back and forth.

Once gym was over, I walked to the parking lot feeling happier and lighter than before. It was just starting to rain and as I looked around the lot I noticed the pale figures walking towards a familiar looking Silver Volvo. Not wanting to be caught staring I veered off to the left heading for the forest hoping to get home. Once I was under the cover of the forest, I looked back towards the lot, I was pleased to see Edward looking towards where I was standing. It felt as though he could see me but was it possible, could he see me?

I strode further into the forest before letting myself shift, knowing that I had some explaining to do when I got home but I couldn't bring myself to head there just yet. I raced towards the cliffs overlooking the sea, stopping at the edge letting the wind whip through my fur. I stared out into the sea, hoping that all the answers to my questions would appear magically.

I sank to the ground, laying my face on the edge, concentrating on the crashing waves, letting it lull me to sleep. I woke up in darkness, sitting up slowly and glancing out into the forest. I knew I would be in trouble when I made it home, stretching out I started heading in the direction of Charlie's house. I had to face him sooner or later.

Charlie was waiting for me inside when I got home. I glanced towards the living room hoping he wouldn't be to upset. "Bella, what happened today?" Charlie asked as he turned from his game to look at me. "Sorry dad, I know the school called and I won't let it happen again. I just needed to figure a few things out for myself." I said as I turned around heading for the stairs, my heart pounding hoping he wouldn't ask more questions, for I had no answers to offer. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep that night. That was the first night I dreamed about Edward Cullen.

Edward and I were standing in a meadow, the sun shining down on us. It felt peaceful and amazing being in his arms, but it seemed as it wasn't meant to last. I could see figures hiding in the forest advancing towards Edward and me. As the figures emerged, I realized that they weren't people but were Werewolves. These were the children of the moon, they were different than me. "Why are you here?" I said trying to keep the fear at bay. I needed to get Edward out here. He wouldn't be able to survive if this turned into a fight. The Alpha of the pack stepped up looking from me to Edward. "I am here to bring you home sweet Bella and help you take your rightful place amongst us."

"Home? What do you mean rightful place?" I couldn't understand what this man was saying. I need to get out of here fast. I wouldn't be able to fight them off for long. More and more Werewolves emerged out from the tree lines closing in on us, "My dear brother has not told you about the family history? What a shame." The Alpha said looking from me to Edward. "I don't know what you mean, but we should be heading back now." I said as I instinctively reached out for Edwards hand, leading him away from the Wolves towards the tree line but before we could run, All the Wolves lunged towards us. "We are coming for you dear child!" was the last thing I heard before I was thrown clear across the forest, slamming into a tree. All I could think was "please god let nothing happen to Edward." as I blacked out.

I jolted back awake, breathing heavily yelling out Edwards name into the darkness. Charlie came through the door looking worried, "Bella, are you okay?" it seemed as though I had just fallen asleep but looking at the clock it was five o'clock. "Bella, what is it? You are scaring me now." Charlie asked sitting on the edge of the bed. "It was just a nightmare dad, it wasn't real. Sorry I woke you up." I said looking towards him. We lapsed into silence until he retreated back into his room. Laying back down, I couldn't figure out what that dream was about. Why were we in a meadow together? Who was the Werewolf? Was he just a figment of my imagination or did he exist in real life?