Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns. I just like to take her characters and put them in distressing situations.

A couple of you have asked and I can tell you that the majority of the story will be in Edward's point of view. Bella's will be included sporadically, but not too often. Hope you're not too put off by that but that's the way the story is.

Edward

When I woke up the next morning, my mood was still as foul as it had been the previous night. I rolled over, starting slightly when I saw Jasper sitting over by the window in what was obviously my bedroom. He and Emmett didn't need places to sleep, considering the action wasn't available to the two of them.

"Good morning." He said softly, not turning to look at me.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked quietly, rubbing the sleep from my eyes, still slightly – well no, make that majorly – confused.

"I wanted to talk to you before you had a chance to run off again." I rolled my eyes. Are we still on that?

"Don't be that way, Edward." He sighed, sounding slightly like an authoritative figure. I couldn't help it though, he just wasn't to me. He was Jasper, my friend. Although in the eyes of the human world he was Nathaniel, my cousin and one of my guardians. "You know why Emmett and I worried when you disappeared last night. We didn't have a clue where you went. I mean, what if there had been other vampires around-"

"There are." I stated, wondering where the hell that had come from. I had meant to wait until the three of us were together before telling the two of them about Carlisle and Esme.

"What?" He stood up, his eyes going wide as he stared at me, shocked. "What are you talking about, Edward?"

"There are other vampires around." I explained, sitting up, resting against the pillows behind me. "They live in a house through the woods. There are two of them."

"Emmett." Emmett was in the room before I could even blink and I realised he must have been waiting for Jasper to call him in here. There was no doubt he had heard what I had said. No privacy in a house of vampires.

"What the hell, Edward?" He stood on the other side of my bed, practically boxing me in. I guess it was a good thing I'd gotten over the claustrophobia whilst in Italy, right? "Are you saying that you've met other vampires?" I nodded slowly, not wanting the retribution that was sure to reign down at my admission. "How could you be so stupid, Edward?"

"Gee, thanks." I muttered, running my hand down my face, sitting up and resting my elbows on my knees. I ran my hands through my hair, curling my fingers and tugging on the ends loosely. Somehow, it always reminded me of my mother when I did that. That small action would take me back to when I was a little boy and couldn't sleep through a thunderstorm. She would allow me to curl up in her lap and she would hum to me, a gentle tune whilst running her fingers through my hair.

It made me miss her all the more.

"He's right, Edward." Jasper closed his eyes and I felt him trying to calm himself down. I wasn't sure how that was going. I didn't want to ask. "It was incredibly stupid and reckless of you to find them."

"I didn't do it on purpose."

"That's not the point." Emmett was seething. I'd never seen him that angry before and I didn't really care for it. "You shouldn't have been out there on your own."

"I told you we shouldn't have let him go." Jasper wasn't even looking at me. He was staring at Emmett, who was staring straight back.

"Well, he's not going again." That was it.

Were they really going to stand there and talk about me like I wasn't there? How much more degrading could you get? I can understand discussing my actions while I was out of the house or asleep – which was aggravating in itself – but speaking as though I wasn't even in the vicinity pissed me off.

"Hello!" Startling them both, they looked down at where I was sitting on my bed. "He is here! He can hear you and he is going to do whatever the hell he wants to!" I glared at the both of them, getting off of the bed and pushing my way past Jasper. I pulled on a t-shirt, turning to face the two of them again. "What are you two planning to do, huh? Keep me locked in the house until I turn eighteen? Watch every little thing I do? Because if you do, you're no better than Aro."

Seething at the two of them and knowing that I had dealt a low blow I stormed downstairs and out of the door. I ran a few feet into the woods before launching myself into one of the sturdier looking trees surrounding me.

I knew it was wrong of me to go off on the two of them considering all they had done for me. They had released me from an imprisonment I had done nothing to deserve. They had granted me my freedom by risking their own lives. I knew that if we had been caught escaping or even if we were caught now, no harm would come to me. I was too valuable to Aro for him to hurt me. But Jasper and Emmett. They would be torn apart and burned right in front of me. Just like . . .

"Edward." I turned to face the two of them who were sitting across from me in another tree. "Look, we're sorry man. We didn't mean to make you feel like that, but you telling us that you'd met two other vampires that may or may not have connections with the Volturi scares the shit out of us. What if they did? The Volturi could be on their way here right now and we wouldn't have a clue."

"They're not." I shook my head, leaning against the trunk of the tree and resting my chin on one of my knees. "Their names are Carlisle and Esme. I didn't get what their last name was but they're married. It seems that they just want to stay away from anything like that."

"But how do you know they were being honest?" Jasper sounded as though he was practically pleading with me to answer his question.

"They didn't know that I'm a mind reader, let's put it that way." I closed my eyes, taking in the scents around me.

"I want to meet them." Emmett stated simply and I knew there would be no swaying either of them on this subject. "Now."

"Alright." I sighed, jumping down from the tree, hearing the slight thuds of Jasper and Emmett landing behind me. "You've got to follow me, though. There's some kind of line in the woods that apparently we're not allowed to cross. Something like that, anyway. I'm not entirely sure. I wanted to ask Carlisle and Esme about it."

"How do you know that?" Jasper asked, stopping next to me on the porch by the back of the house.

"We'll the less than friendly thoughts of whoever was on the other side of the line kind of gave that away. Don't say anything!" I stopped the two of them going off on another tirade at me, making me feel like even more of a child. It wasn't bad enough that I felt like I was a misbehaving child, grounded and not allowed to see his friends. They didn't have to add to that.

I dressed quickly, meeting Emmett and Jasper in the kitchen. We started out on the same route I had taken the previous day. The two of them were following me closely, keeping an eye out for anything that was likely to jump out at us.

I stopped as a vile smell struck me, making me almost double over. Jasper and Emmett had the same reaction so I knew it wasn't something up with me.

"What the hell is that?" Emmett choked out, waving a hand in front of his face. I shook my head. I hadn't smelled that yesterday and we were right where I had been the previous day when the voices started in my head. We were close to the line we weren't supposed to cross.

Turning away from the direction the smell was coming from, I started running towards where I knew Esme and Carlisle's house was. Jasper and Emmett caught up quickly, their minds filled with confusion over my sudden departure. They followed without question though, trusting that I knew where I was going.

Just like the day before, the clearing appeared in front of me and I stopped. The others stopped behind me, their eyes going wide at the garden in front of them.

I took a breath, making my way across the garden towards the house. Esme had the door open before I was halfway across the garden, her smile wide and kind as she saw the three of us approaching.

"Hello, Edward." She stepped back from the door, allowing us to enter. "I'm guessing these are the friends you mentioned yesterday." I nodded, glancing at the two of them.

"Yeah, this is Emmett and Jasper." I gestured to the two of them, who were now gaping at me for giving Carlisle and Esme our real names. "The fake names were just to get us in the country unnoticed."

"And stay unnoticed!" Jasper seethed, earning a disapproving look from Esme. She reminded me of a mother that could command respect from anyone no matter their age. Apparently it was true, though.

"Jasper," she shook her head, her tone laced with disappointment. "You can't seriously be angry at Edward for telling the truth. Don't you believe it would be better for Carlisle and I – as the only other vampires in the area – to know the truth about the three of you from the start? Or would you rather lie to us only to have us find out the truth – which we will have done, so don't argue," Damn, she's only known him like two minutes and she knows Jazz already. I had to agree with Emmett's current thoughts. Esme had Jasper down to a T already. "And ruin the trust Carlisle and I would have built up in you?"

"Well . . ." he looked between Emmett and me. Emmett just sat there and grinned at him while gave him a smirk and shrugged. It was all him. He turned back to Esme, who was sitting there with a knowing smile on her lips, hands folded over one knee. Clearly a habit brought through from her human years.

"I thought so." She sounded slightly smug as Jasper sat there, his mouth hanging slightly open as he floundered for something to say.

"Where's Carlisle?" I asked, looking around for the friendly, blonde-haired vampire. Surely he would be here.

"He's at the hospital?" Doing what? What could he possibly be doing there? "He's a doctor there." Huh? "I know it seems strange, a vampire helping human patients, bleeding and sick, but it's what he loves. He was born to help people, in every way. Everywhere we've gone in the world, he has helped people. It's his calling. He should be home soon. He's just about to finish up his shift."

"Shut your mouth, Jazz." I told him quickly and he did so without thinking about it. I had been slightly mean there and used the tone that always got a response. The tone that reminded the both of them subconsciously of who I was. It was mean, but hey, I don't get to do it often. I'm going to take my chance while I've got it. "Esme, I was wondering if you could explain something to me."

"What's that, dear?" She turned to me with a wide smile on her face, her eyes gentle and soft. Favourite, Jasper's thoughts made me grin and feel slightly smug.

"On the way here today, there was . . . I don't know how to put it . . . um, something smelled as though it was rotting and had been hurled through a pig sty numerous times and yesterday, in the same spot, I heard voices that were urging me closer to some kind of line?" It came out as a question. "I was wondering if you could explain a little. If you know, that is."

"It seems like you've had an encounter with the wolves." She replied solemnly, not liking this topic at all. Through her mind's eye I saw images of wolves reaching approximately ten feet tall.

"Merda." The word came out of my mouth before I could stop it and Esme's brow furrowed. I shook my head, trying to get rid of the images, but now that I knew what it was that had been following me yesterday, I was slightly on edge.

She does know about the whole telepathy thing, right? I shook my head slowly and Jasper let out a breath, turning to face Esme again. "Edward has something he needs to tell you." He smirked smugly at me and I distinctly got the feeling he was trying to get me in trouble. Why did I feel like I was six years old again?

"Thank you, Jasper." I replied sarcastically as Esme looked between the two of us, clearly confused. "I was going to get round to it." I just made it happen faster. "Shut up." It came out of my throat as a growl and his eyebrows shot up, nearly disappearing into his hairline. I stared at him, unblinking as he sat there watching me closely. He let out a breath, turning to face Esme, who was still sitting there, watching the two of us with interest and confusion etched on her face. It looked like she could use the trick of a telepath.

"What did Jasper mean, Edward?" She tilted her head to the side slightly, her golden eyes imploring. ""What did you have to tell me?"

"I, um . . . you know how some vampires have gifts?" She nodded, her brow furrowing further. "Well, I have one. I'm a telepath." A look of surprise morphed in her expression. "I meant to say something yesterday, you know, to make sure that the two of you knew. I just . . . didn't know how to bring it up."

"Thank you for telling me." She smiled at me, sweet and maternal and it made my heart ache. I hadn't seen anyone look at me that way for years and sometimes, it was all I wanted in life.

A mother's hug.

A mother's love.

"Carlisle will definitely be intrigued." She smirked, her eyes glinting slightly with some sort of hidden message. Her thoughts were flitting through visions of Carlisle and another vampire with slightly olive skin and dark hair. They were talking about gifts and being able to foretell them in humans. Strange. "He's always been interested in gifts. Sort of a secret passion."

"He'll have a field day with these two, then." Emmett chuckled from where he was relaxed in the corner. Jasper and I both glared daggers at him, not really caring for his laughter at our expense.

"What do you mean?" She looked at Jasper, slightly wary. After all, she had just found out that one of the three strangers – because though I had met her before, I was still essentially, a stranger – was a telepath. And now she had just heard that there might not be something completely right with another one of them.

"Telepath." Emmett pointed at me, smirking. "Empath." He pointed to Jasper, who nodded slightly. "I can't win."

"I'm sure you could if you tried." She giggled slightly, a sound that seemed a little adolescent for Esme.

"Don't give him ideas, please." Jasper moaned, running his hands through his hair as we all laughed.

"Um, I don't mean to be the party pooper here, but would you mind explaining about the wolves?" I asked and Esme gave me a sympathetic smile.

"Of course. When Carlisle and I first came here almost a century ago, we didn't realise that there was a tribe Quileute's living just down the road." She started to explain and I knew that, like me, Jasper and Emmett were hanging off every syllable. "We were out in the woods, hunting and they, sort of, ambushed us. They wanted us to leave and never come back. It was only after a lot of negotiating, Carlisle and the Quileute leader, Ephraim Black, managed to draw up the treaty. We cannot cross onto their land and they cannot cross onto ours. It doesn't matter if there's another vampire in the vicinity, if it's on our side of the treaty line, they are not allowed to cross."

"That's why they didn't attack me yesterday." She nodded, something in her expression. I wanted to say worry, but why would she be worrying about someone she's known for less than a day. Could it be because she knew who I was and what I was worth?

Make's me sound like a goddamn possession, doesn't it?

Maybe that is all I am.

A prize to be passed around from vampire to vampire.

"I don't understand when you mentioned wolves, though." Jasper caught her attention, pulling us out of the small moment we'd been having. I wasn't sure what it was, but there was something within Esme that I hadn't felt for a long time. "It doesn't sound as though there are any wolves around."

"But there are." She smirked, slyly. "They're just not wolves all the time." In her mind, she ran through the times she had seen the wolves appear. Each and every time, there would be a boy standing there, looking no older – if not younger – than myself, and in the next second he would begin to shake and it was as though watching him burst out of his skin, an enormous wolf taking his place.

"Werewolves." She nodded and Emmett blew out a long whistle. "I thought Caius had hunted all werewolves to extinction."

"Not all of them." I nodded slowly, knowing that she was obviously right considering it was running through her mind this very instant.

"What would they do if we crossed the line?" Emmett sat forward in his chair, his gaze resting on me. He knew what a stickler I was for curiosity. Trust me, Emmett. This is one place I would not be investigating.

"They'd kill you." She responded simply, a warning to the three of us. One we would most definitely be listening to.

"Okay, no crossing the line." I nodded, glancing at the other two, who nodded their cooperation as well. "Would you be able to show us where it is?"

"Of course." She grinned at me and the smile that appeared on my face seemed to do so of its own accord. "I must say, I'm surprised you've made it this far without being found." She looked mildly impressed and yet concerned with this small fact.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you about that." I turned to the other two, watching them carefully, thoughts and all. "How come Demetri hasn't followed us out here? I mean, it's not as though he'd take too long finding us."

"It's kind of hard for him at the moment." I narrowed my eyes at Emmett, wondering what the hell he was on about. "He's dead." I felt my jaw drop as Jasper nodded. "Before we grabbed you, we cornered Demetri. We knew that he was going to be a problem when we got you out, so he was the first thing that had to go."

I remembered how unique and exact his gift was. It should have occurred to me that he was no longer alive if he hadn't been following us. Using his gift he could pinpoint an individual's location – human or vampire – and determine where they were headed. It would have been no surprise to him that we were travelling to England. After that it might have been a bit more problematic for him because of the possibilities for travel. But that being said, he could have located us in the middle of the English Channel and known we would be arriving at Dover.

He would have reached the country a lot faster by air than we had by water.

"It doesn't matter now." Jasper shook his head, a calming wave steadying my rushing thoughts. "He's gone. You're free. He can't find us. That's all that matters."

"So are any of you going to be attending the school?" Esme asked, looking around at the three of us. "You all look young enough to attend."

"Edward is." Jasper replied instantly and I looked at him.

"Uh, that was never agreed." I shot back and he narrowed his eyes at me. Too late now. We sent the forms off before you woke this morning. "You did what? Why? Why would you do that?" Because. "Not an answer."

"Hey." Emmett called, breaking us out of the staring contest we were having. "Some people not in on your little convo here." We shrugged, both giving Esme a sheepish smile as she chuckled at the two of us.

We talked for a little while longer before Esme offered to show us the entire boundary line, claiming that it didn't run in a straight line, rather weaving, ducking and dipping along with the contours of the forest floor. The line was long, but the four of us running at a slow jog, it didn't take us very long to travel it end to end.

We showed Esme where our house was and she'd claimed that she'd known this house was here, but didn't know if it was owned by anyone. She told us that she was actually an interior designer, along with Carlisle being a doctor – kind of added to the extravagant lifestyle the two of them led – and if we wanted her to, she would make some adjustments – well, her word was 'improvements' at least in her mind – then she would do so for us.

I couldn't help but feel slightly smug about the fact that Jasper and Emmett had gotten on so well with Esme. They still had yet to meet Carlisle but in their thoughts, he couldn't be that bad if he was mated with someone like Esme.

But then Jasper had to come out with the 'it could have easily gone the other way' line and made me feel shit again. He couldn't leave it alone? Just once?

. . . . . .

It was three days after the second meeting with Esme and Jasper had informed me before I went to sleep the previous night that I was required to start school in the morning.

Why the hell did I have to go to school?

Jasper and Emmett claimed that it was to stop the people in the town from asking questions, but honestly, unless they came out this far into the woods, there was very little chance that I was going to be spotted anyway. Who would know that there was a seventeen year old living in the woods outside of the town?

We had all been a little testy over the last couple of days, the reality of having to switch our diet making us slightly more irritable. Animal blood was definitely not as appetising as human.

Although it left a lot to be desired and I'd had to practically gorge myself when we went out last night to soothe the burn in my throat, we didn't have much of a choice. It wasn't as though we were in a big city and people wouldn't be noticed if they went missing. We were in a town of about three thousand people and we had to stay under the radar as much as possible.

Jasper and Emmett had gone out into the closest town which was Port Angeles and picked up some notebooks, pens and a messenger bag for me to use. I still wasn't happy about the fact they had enrolled me in school without even consulting me first. Who cared what the rest of the town thought? I certainly didn't and the usual Jasper and Emmett I knew never did either.

I think this whole 'hiding from the Volturi' thing is driving them both over the edge.

We were several thousand miles away from them now and who knew how long it would take them to find us, considering they no longer had Demetri.

I didn't doubt that they would find us, because it was evident they would at some point.

Our main aim was to make sure that was after my eighteenth birthday. There wasn't anything they could do to me after that.

I decided to walk to school, saving the one of the others the job of driving me in. It took a lot of persuasion for them to realise that it was about a mile down the road and that I would be fine. I was going to school amongst humans, so I didn't think that there would be much there to threaten me. Some might try but they wouldn't be getting very far.

Getting to the school was easy, but the pushing my way past the buzzing of teenage minds was not. It seemed that the closer I got to the school, the louder the buzzing was. I hadn't really ever dealt with this many thoughts in this close a proximity before. The only time I had was when I was on the ferry from Calais to Dover and I had had Jasper there to keep the anxious feelings away. The same with the flights over here. But now I was completely on my own and some of the things going on in the average human teenagers mind are not things anybody else wants to know.

I registered the slight lull in thoughts as the students of the school noticed my approach, trying to catalogue me in their minds. They all seemed incredibly excited when they realised that they didn't know me, instantly labelling me as the new boy, or as I'd heard in many minds this morning: new meat. Whatever the hell that meant?

Trying to tune out the females was harder than the males. A task I was not enjoying.

The males were sizing me up, clearly intimidated and wanting to protect the claim they'd staked on the girls in the school. The faces of several females unknown to me ran through their minds, wanting to keep me away from them in case they wanted me instead of their current partners.

Personally, I didn't really understand the fickleness of human mating. I mean, for vampires, you find your mate and that's that. You're together forever. Nothing can tear you apart. But with humans, it was as though you had to be flitting from one person to another.

I'll never understand them.

Emmett and Jasper always had a better understanding of humans than I did. Well, considering they used to be human that's not really surprising, is it? They always knew the best ways to act in a situation that called for it. I was never one hundred per cent sure.

Which is why I was slightly out of my depth when a flirty blonde human came up to me, practically rubbing herself all over me as I stood by the locker I had been assigned. The only reason I knew how to get into this thing was because I'd seen it over and over in the five minutes it had taken me to walk from the front office to where it was situation.

"Hi," she smiled at me, though it looked more like a predatory baring of teeth. "I'm Lauren." She twirled a small tendril of hair around the index finger of her right hand, looking up at me through her eyelashes. I knew from what I'd seen in the minds surrounding me that she was attempting to flirt, and please, I didn't know squat about all that, but even I knew that she was pathetic.

"Anthony." I offered, giving her the fake name I would be using while in school. We had decided – well, Emmett and Jasper had decided and I had (for once) agreed – that it wouldn't be safe for the humans of the town to know my real name. Esme and Carlisle were a different matter, of course.

"Wow, I love that name," she bent her knees a little before straightening her legs out in some kind of little hop thing. What the hell was that? Actually, the most worrying thing was that there wasn't that much going around in her head at all. It was one or two thoughts while she was standing there. Most minds I had become familiar with were bustling and always busy. Hers . . . was not.

"Jeez, could Lauren look more desperate?" A soft voice was followed by two sets of laughter, one a tinkling sound, not unlike something you would hear coming from a maiden in a Hollywood film. The other was sultry and sexy, exuding femininity whilst sounding strong and in control at the same time. It was clear that the voice did not belong to one of those laughing, which meant that there was another girl with the two chuckling individuals.

"So, Tony-"

"Anthony." I corrected, trying to find the soft voice that had spoken again. It appeared she had disappeared. It shouldn't take too long for me to find her. I mean, this school only had something like three hundred students or something ridiculous like that. "I don't like Tony."

"Well, Anthony, I was wondering if you wanted to do something on Friday? You know, I could show you around the town." She bit down on her lip, her blue eyes wide as she watched me. How to let a girl down gently.

"I appreciate the offer Lauren, but I'm just trying to get used to being in a small town at the moment. I'm having to adjust quite a bit, so I'm going to have to decline." She looked at me confused slightly, as though she had never heard of being turned down before. Maybe she hadn't.

"Alright, maybe some other time." She smirked, walking away. He may have said no now, but it won't be long. Now that was a disturbing thought.

Memo to self: avoid Lauren.

I made my way towards English where I handed the teacher the slip I had been given from the office. He signed it and pointed to a seat near the back of the class. I was thankful that I didn't have to introduce myself to everyone, because I wanted to stay as low profile as possible. Though that wasn't happening too well so far.

Oh wow! If I'd known the newbie was going to be such a hottie I would have made more of an effort this morning. Brunette sitting in the back corner.

Damn, there goes my chances with Rose. Blonde guy the row in front of me.

Uh-huh, who would've thought we'd get some talent in this town. Fake blonde two seats to my left.

Finally, someone who can turn that skank down. This came from the blonde sitting next to me. I rested my head on my hand , tilting my head slightly, watching her out of the corner of my eye.

She was stunning. Who knew what she would look like as a vampire? She'd be even more stunning than she was now. She wasn't my type though. Her beauty was too 'in your face' as some phrased it. She was more Emmett's type than mine.

What caught my attention about her was she was the only one in the room not imagining what it would be like to have sex with me. Which was disturbing and gross.

There was even one girl in the back that wanted to use restraints.

Ew.

English droned on and I found myself wondering more and more about the voice I had heard this morning. I wanted to know who it belonged to. A fact that was actually rather ridiculous considering I had never met the girl before and probably wouldn't meet her at all.

Well, who knows?

I found myself being ambushed again as I stood up to leave English. This time it wasn't that Lauren girl, but a short, chubby girl that looked as though she should be sitting on a swing-set and sucking on a lollipop rather than in high school. Her mousy hair looked as though it had been back-combed to within an inch of its life and she had gone overboard in her make-up and perfume. The smell of the cosmetics and artificial scent was almost overpowering.

"Hi, I'm Jessica." She grinned at me, biting on her lip and tucking her hands behind her back. What is it with girls today?

"Anthony." I replied shortly, packing up my bag. She seemed to think that because I had told her my name, there was no doubt that I was 'into her', whatever that meant. I really needed to talk to Emmett and Jasper about this whole school thing. Maybe there was a way around it.

"I was wondering . . ." You were? That thought came from next to me and I saw the blonde I had been sitting next to, watching the girl closely, a smirk playing on her lips. That's a new one. I liked this girl. She had a fire that not many human girls possessed. I think Emmett would fall in love with her in an instant. "Did you want to go out on Friday? There's a new film coming out and I was thinking we could go to Port Angeles and I could show you around."

"No, thank you." I shook my head, realising that I would have to be more direct with this one than the previous. Personally I wanted to get out of this place and back to the safety of our small house in the woods. At least there I knew how things worked. "I already have plans on Friday and I seriously doubt that I'll be needing a guide to navigate my way around a town as small as this."

She stared at me, open-mouthed before storming over to her desk and storming out of the room. Several people chuckled, including the blonde next to me.

"That was good." She laughed and I turned to face her, meeting a pair of ice blue eyes. "I like you." The smirk on her lips was distinctly sneaky and cruel as her gaze flicked towards the door. I hoped it was directed at the girl that had just stormed off and not me. "I'm Rosalie. Don't call me that, everyone calls me Rose." She offered me her hand, her smile warming up slightly.

"Anthony." I took her hand, shaking it lightly. I had to be careful about how much pressure to apply, considering I had very little to no experience with humans. Who knew what they could take. "Please, don't call me Tony. Hate it."

"How about Ant?" I could feel the scowl appearing on my face and she laughed. "Okay, Anthony it is." She walked off, waving at me slightly. "See you later."

Of course, Rosalie would stake her claim on the new guy. Bitch.

What a skank! She can have anyone she wants! Why him?

Ugh! I'm going to get him! He'll forget all about Rosalie Hale in no time.

What was with the people in this school? Why did they assume that because a male and a female were talking, they were together? Are the different genders not allowed to communicate anymore?

The rest of the day droned on as I had expected. I was in AP everything, which wasn't surprising. I had gone over most of this stuff whilst locked up in Volterra so nothing was new to me. The only thing I preferred about learning on my own was I didn't have to suffer through the endless attempts at flirting that came my way.

By the end of lunch I was certain that it was completely because I was new and not because they thought I was actually attractive. It was more of a 'who can bag the new guy' situation.

Well I knew the answer to that one: none of them!

Walking into Biology, my second to last class of the day, I handed my slip to the teacher. He signed it as all the others did and pointed me towards a desk near the back, saying that my partner would be here momentarily. I sat down, hoping that my partner had a basic knowledge of Biology and that I wouldn't have to do all the work in this class. Not that it would be too hard, but it was the principle of the thing.

"Hey," I looked up to see one of the boys that had been trying to get close enough to talk to me all day. He and his friends had been shooting glares at me all day. Why? No idea. "I'm Mike."

"Anthony." I had said that name so many times over the course of the day, I think I was actually starting to believe it was mine.

"Listen, Tony-"

"Don't call me that." I stopped him and he looked at me, taken aback. "My name is Anthony. Not Ant. Not Tony. Anthony. I refuse to answer to anything else."

"Whatever." His tone was pissed and I really couldn't find it in me to care. What was he going to do? Start a fight with me? Tell you what, my teeth would love that. "Listen, I know that you've got all the girls pining after you, only after one day and personally I don't see why," because they're seeing the vampire beauty, "but I'm going to tell you one thing. Your Bio partner, Bella, is mine. Stay the hell away from her or I will fuck you up."

I knew that the whole point of us being in a small town was to blend in and hide, but I couldn't help the cocky smirk that spread across my lips.

"Like to see you try." I replied and his brows furrowed. It was clear that he'd never had anyone talk back to him like that before.

"You better hope I don't." He sneered before walking off towards his own desk.

The rest of the class was pouring into the room now, hoping to get into the class before the bell rang, save them from being marked as tardy.

The last person to walk through the door was a small brunette girl. She was approximately five foot four. Her hair was a deep mahogany colour. She was pale, like the rest of the population – which was good for the three of us considering our chalky complexions – and her eyes were a deep chocolate brown.

Mike turned around, glaring at me pointing to himself. 'Mine' he mouthed, his gaze flicking towards the girl and then back to me.

I guessed that this was Bella.

She wasn't overly gorgeous as some of the other women I'd met had been, but she had a sort of ethereal look about her. As though she belonged on a higher plane than playing human.

Her eyes scanned the room as she made her way towards the desk I was sitting at. The side of her mouth turned up slightly in small smile as she saw me sitting there. Was it because she had a Biology partner at last, or because that Biology partner happened to be the new kid? Not too sure.

All of the female minds in the room were jealous of Bella as she walked towards me, wanting to sit next to me. There was only one mind that wasn't spewing hate at the girl and that seemed to be a timid brunette sitting at the front of the class pouring over notes from classes, worrying about tests and homework assignments.

All of that was pushed out of my mind when Bella walked in front of the vent that was blowing heated air in my direction.

Her scent hit me like a wrecking ball and I stiffened. The fact that the vent was directly behind her as she walked towards me was only making matters worse.

For her.

All thoughts of the voices running through the minds of the others in the class were forgotten. My throat flared up, the thirst clawing at me as venom pooled in the back of my throat. I felt my muscles coiling as her scent continued to swirl around me, intoxicating and polluting the air.

There was only a handful of facts that I knew in that moment.

One: I was a predator.

Two: She was my prey.

Three: I was a vampire and she had the sweetest blood I'd ever smelled.

Four: I was completely and utterly fucked.