Love to Courtney for betaing this chapter.

First Sight

"Remember your role, Bella." Victoria warned me just as the sign announcing Forks flashed past us.

I nodded, too weak and lightheaded to think of anything.

When we had packed up that morning, I expected us to go to an airport and then hire a car exactly like Victoria's. To my surprise, though, as soon as we drove out of the forest we came across a sign that said Seattle was barely ten miles off. From then, it had been a tense ride, where Victoria had interrupted the silence only to fire a question at me to check if I had remembered the fake story yet.

I didn't know whether I did well or not, but I got the gist. We'd done our road trip. It was fun.

My memories of that week were not entirely complete. There were some episodes where I passed out from exhaustion and fear, but also some places which I didn't want to remember again. I was good at suppressing bad memories – already some of the more vivid and gruesome images became blurry. But I had become jumpy and peevish, my skin always seemed to be covered in goose bumps, and I was afraid that she might do something horrible whenever we stopped for a break.

Actually, the last couple of days in the cabin were almost friendly. Victoria let me out of the debtor's chair and let me walk around the house, partly to get some blood in my legs and partly because I was supposed to begin my training.

"Now here's the plan, dearest." She told me the first time she let me out. "We will go to Forks on the appointed day, and I'll let you off at your father's house. You will meet Cullen at school. Your job is to make him fall in love with you, as it is supposed to happen, and make him trust you enough to expose himself to you as a vampire. When he does, when you could give me solid evidence that he would do anything for you, I will make a blood oath never to harm your parents or any of your friends." Her smile was vicious "You have no reason to doubt me – we take our oaths very seriously. As for you, you will put an effort into seducing him, or else there will be consequences. Maybe I will decide not to kill you."

She hadn't killed anyone at the cabin since Wednesday night, but she didn't need to. Her message had been clear.

In two days, I did my best to make her believe I was following her ideas. She had already seen my entire wardrobe and deemed it impossible for seduction, so she had gone off into town to get me other things. I learned to walk in heels and skirts, even though I felt uncomfortable to no end, and got the hang of putting on basic make-up. My first attempts were so horrible I ended up getting splashed with cold water again, or threatened that she would lock me up in the bathroom with another snake. In the end, fear was the reason why I looked more feminine than ever. In any other circumstance, I would have been proud to be treated a little like Cinderella or Jane Eyre. Now, however… I never hated Charlotte Bronte more for writing that book and giving me the association.

My plan was to tell Charlie as soon as she was out of sight. She had told me (demonstrated, she claimed) that vampires have superior senses, could run incredibly fast and had immense strength, but whatever that lunatic thought couldn't withstand my father's guns. I was sure of it. Charlie would know what to do. He had to.

We entered the city, and for once I didn't stop to think how much I hated that place. Right now that town was where my father was, and I couldn't help but feel elated to be with him. I didn't wait for the car to be fully stopped in front of our driveway; I ripped the door open and ran up. He was there, waiting for me, looking guff and awkward as ever, but when I hugged him and felt him hug me back it was like coming home to a safe, safe place.

My whole body went slack with relief.

And then Victoria cleared her throat.

"Ahem…" she said as she opened the trunk of the car "A little help here?"

It took them a little longer than it had taken me and my mom to unload my bags, but soon they were out, thanks were exchanged, and Victoria drove off as fast as she could. I waited a few extra minutes for me and my dad to be inside the house, and hoped to hell that she was far enough.

"Dad…" I began, but he was already hauling my things up the stairs.

"You're early, Bells." He said "I was planning on going to get us some dinner to greet you, but now that I think about it, I don't know what you like."

I followed him up to the second floor, where he opened the door to my childhood bedroom. It was almost the same since the last time I'd seen it – the rocking chair in the corner, the old desk, my kindergarten drawings still pinned on the board above it. The only difference was that the crib had been replaced by a real bed. Charlie settled my things on the floor and looked around nervously.

"I err… I got you some new things for the room…" he said, gesturing at the curtains and bedspread "I'm not sure if you liked orange or not…"

"Orange's cool." I nodded, and suddenly felt how nervous he was. He was probably excited to have me around and anxious not to screw things up. I smiled, trying to be reassuring, but the more we stood in that uncomfortable silence, the harder it got for me to tell him what I wanted.

"Good. That's err… good. So… do you want me to order out, or do you prefer coming to the diner with me?"

"I prefer to stay in." I said quickly. No doubt he had already told the whole town I was coming to live with him and they'd be curious to see me. I didn't know what would happen when I told my dad about Victoria, but I would rather have everyone stare at me like an animal in the zoo later rather than sooner.

Dinner began awkwardly. Charlie had never been the one for small talk, like myself, but he felt obliged to ask me all sorts of questions about Phoenix, my friends, my mom. His enthusiasm about having me here was obvious, but it irritated me slightly. How could he sit with me, looking so happy and cheerful, when I had just passed the most nightmarish week of my life, and didn't let me tell him what had happened. With every moment, my resolve slipped.

"So…" he began "This Victoria woman… she's your mom's friend, huh?"

My head whipped up and my heart beat faster. There. That was my opening. All I had to do was open my mouth and say: "She's a psycho. She thinks she's a vampire from the future and has threatened to kill everyone I love if I don't make some guy at school fall in love with me."

I imagined what he would say if he heard that. He'd probably think I was crazy. Hell, it was crazy. Not to mention that she had delivered me to the front porch on time, as per agreement. My stomach clenched as I realized I'd never be able to tell my father the truth.

"Yeah. But I don't like her." I said. That much was true.

"Oh? Why?"

"Um… she scares me a little. I don't know why… it's just a feeling." I shrugged, while my mind screamed with panic at me. Flashbacks from the week came – the cold water, the darkness, the dying man. I shivered.

"Well, she was nice enough to drive you here." Charlie shrugged, before he noticed my discomfort. "Bells, she didn't… say anything to you, did she?"

Oh, she did much more, I thought sourly, but out loud, I just said: "No. She just… makes me uncomfortable. She's too pretty."

He smiled at my childishness. "It's ok, Bells. You won't be seeing her again."

I nodded unconvincingly, but instead of calling me in on my lies like any cop would do (Charlie was the police chief in Forks), he said I was probably tired from the journey and didn't make me stay up with him until late. I dragged myself up to my room, miserable, and slept with my lights on.

Because I had barely gotten more than twenty hours of REM the previous week, I managed to sleep undisturbed by the rain and the wind until my alarm clock woke me up at six in the morning. I dragged myself out of bed sleepily and went straight into the shower, scrubbing my skin until it was raw, hoping to erase all memory of what had happened to me. I paused in front of the mirror, regarding myself – my skin was paler than normal, and though the black circles under my eyes were mostly gone, there was a blue-ish tint to my skin that didn't look healthy at all. My hair hung, limp and brown, and eyes of nearly the same color looked back at me hauntingly. I shivered; hoping to regain a sense of normality by the end of the week, but when I walked into the room all thoughts flew out of my head.

An outfit consisting of a pink denim skirt and black V-neck blouse was laid out on the bed, as well as stockings and a pair of kitten heels. Over it stood a small note, written in an elegant hand: "Wait for me by the trees."

My heart shriveled in my chest and I looked around. My room looked just like I had left it, and yet I knew I hadn't laid those clothes out. I picked up the skirt in disgust – it was shorter than anything I had ever worn in my life, barely brushing the tops of my knees. There's no way in Hell I'll wear that, I thought, but just as I was thinking that I imagined Victoria's cold smirk and the man's dying eyes.

Thoroughly disgusted with myself, I put on the outfit and the appropriate underwear. The heels weren't too high, thank God, but they made me appear much taller than I was, not to mention they worked wonders on my usually unimpressive legs. I just hoped I wouldn't trip over my own two feet on the way to school.

My dad had shown me my car the previous night – a rusted old Chevy truck, which was big and sturdy and looked perfect to me. Only when I got down the stairs and walked up to it, I felt freakishly small in my girly clothes next to the monstrosity.

Charlie had already left for work, so I wasn't worried about him thinking I was weird when I loitered around the trees near the house. I hadn't been waiting for a full minute when Victoria appeared.

She looked strange to me, and it took me a minute to figure out why: "Is that my father's jacket?"

Victoria smiled demurely and produced a make-up bag. "Don't ask questions you already know the answer to, little one. Now sit down."

It was my dad's jacket, the one he always wore on fishing trips. He usually went around in his uniform, which was why he hadn't noticed its disappearance, but my blood ran cold. So she hadn't only been in my room…

Victoria hummed a tune as she put foundation and continued to instruct me as she whipped out all sorts of products to put on my face. "Now, remember, be friendly, but not too friendly. Look mysterious. Edward's been alive for a long time, so he needs to be really surprised in order to get interested in you." She paused "It's such a shame you're no beauty, but he did fall in love with you, so I guess he'll fall in love with you faster if you act more like a girl."

Doing my make-up, giving me pointers… She was acting less like a sadist planning horrible deeds and more like Renee the first (and last) time she sent me to the homecoming dance. I tried to stay still and keep my answers satisfactory before she finished, but my heart was thumping wildly in my chest. As if she could hear it, she smirked.

"Remember, Bella – do this right, and all will be safe. Fail, and there will be consequences."

She patted my cheek for good measure, and in the next minute, she was disappearing into the woods.

I drove to school with my heart beating a thousand miles per hour.

The first half of the day passed uneventfully. The rain wasn't strong, so I ran around without an umbrella without being afraid of messing up my make-up. The woman in the office, Mrs. Cope, gave me a map and a chart for my classes, and then, as soon as I went out again, I was accosted by some guy named Erik Yorkie. Looking every bit like the chess club nerd, he all but tripped over himself to offer me his services. I made it very clear that all I needed were directions, but he made such a show of it that it made me feel like I already owed him my firstborn.

Forks High was almost embarrassingly small – there were less people in the whole school than my junior class in Phoenix. Even so, I couldn't remember half the names of the people that approached me that day, and, even when I made an effort to listen to the teacher when he called the class into order, there was not a single Cullen in my class.

By the time lunch rolled around, I had gotten rid of the tension in my shoulders and managed to learn the names of some of the people that seemed to flock around me. Jessica Stanley. Mike Newton. Erik, of course, was there like a bad case of herpes. Angela Webber, she was a nice girl. They seemed to form a rather diverse group, so I sat with them in the cafeteria. I was in the process of getting the juiciest gossip from Jessica when I noticed them.

Oh, fuck. I thought. And there I was actually convincing myself that there were no Cullen's, vampires or not, in my school.

There was no way I could have missed them, sitting in a faraway table, not eating and avoiding all eye contact. I knew who they were even before Jessica noticed my stare and, giggling, started to shoot out the information about them. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's kids. Moved a couple of years ago from Alaska. All adopted. All of them together. Her tone was accusatory, as if they were the scorn of the community. Oddly enough, they seemed to be wrapped up in a cocoon of silence. Whoever had the misfortune of sitting too close to them also looked away and didn't talk.

Victoria had described the family to me, in case I didn't notice them. Rosalie – the blonde model. Alice – the black-haired pixie. Jasper – tall and blond. Emmett – the burly man built like a wrestler. Edward – the boyish one with red hair. I knew it all, but I had to make sure anyway.

"Aren't the Hales a little old to be foster children?" I asked.

"Yeah. They were with Mrs. Cullen since they were like… eight or something." Jessica said flippantly.

"That's awful nice of her, taking care of all of these kids." I commented, wishing absent-mindedly that I had a mom like that.

"Yeah. But I think Mrs. Cullen can't have children." Jessica said, as if that somehow lessened her goodness.

I looked at her. She had brown hair and blue eyes and her features were average looking, but wore a little too much make-up for my taste and her shirt dipped a little too low. As girlish as my own clothes and make-up were, Victoria had at least had the common sense not to take something too risqué. Jessica, however, was just begging for a detention.

I didn't understand why my hackles seemed to rise whenever she opened her mouth. She was nice enough, and extremely friendly to me, but her negative comment about Mrs. Cullen immediately made me defensive, even though I'd never met the woman in my life. But when I looked into her eyes… I just saw the answer. They couldn't hold a candle to Victoria's satanic gaze, and yet there was a smidgen of selfishness in them that gave her away.

Oh, I had to applaud Jessica for doing such a good job at hiding her emotions. Maybe at some other time, we could have been friends. But I was too scared, and frankly, too peeved by all the attention I was getting, to actually consider spending too much time with her.

I focused back on the Cullen's.

"Who's the boy with the reddish-brown hair?" I asked, trying to get something, anything to counter Victoria.

Mockery flashed into Jessica's eyes, as if she thought "Oh, good luck, sucker!" before saying. "Oh, that's Edward Cullen. He's single, but don't waste your time, he doesn't date. Apparently, nobody here is good enough for him." Her tone was casual, even condescending, but I detected the case of sour grapes in her tone. I wanted to ask her when he had turned her down (therefore establishing myself as the new bitch queen of Forks High), but I had more pressing matters to attend. I tuned out the rest of her triad and looked at the table. Edward Cullen wasn't looking at us, but the corner of his mouth was upturned, as if he was laughing at some private joke.

Oddly enough, Jessica's affirmation that he didn't date was comforting. I had already been wondering what had possessed Victoria to think that I would ever give up college for a guy, vampire or not, but seeing Edward Cullen in the flesh gave me reassurance that she was probably wrong. I had crushed on some boys in Phoenix, but whenever I tried talking to them, we ended up chatting like friends at best, and things almost never got steamy. How was it possible that this handsome boy would have even the remotest interest in me? It was impossible.

He suddenly turned and caught my eye. Usually, I would have blushed and looked away, but I was too caught up in my thoughts to notice. His eyes were dark, with bruise-like shadows underneath, as if he was recovering from a black eye.

A faint frown creased his perfect brow and he looked away. When I turned my attention back to my table, I noticed that Mike was talking now, and Jessica was staring at me with some strange mixture of wonder and resentment. What? Had I just broken some unspoken rule to avoid the Cullen's eyes at all costs? She didn't clarify because the bell rang I gathered my things for my next class.

Angela and I walked to Biology. She was shy, just like me, so silence wasn't a problem with her. I made a mental note to spend more time with her, when we walked into the room and I froze in my spot.

The place was packed. The only free spot was at the back, right new to a boy with a full head of red hair.

I gulped and focused on other things, like giving my slip for Mr. Banner to sign, and getting my books. When he sent me to the back, I focused on not tripping anywhere while maintaining an easy gait in my heels. I saw him, looking straight at me, and plastered an easy, friendly smile at my face.

However, what I considered to be a nice gesture apparently had the complete opposite effect on Edward, who stiffened in his seat, eyes widening in sudden panic. His face contorted and his hand flew up to his face, as if he had just smelled something foul.

I sat down, frowning a little at his reaction. He wasn't looking at me anymore, but his hand was gripping the edge of the table so hard his knuckles turned white. I wondered if it had something to do with me, but… no, it couldn't be. I was perfectly decent, pretty even. Well, pretty-ish. And I smelled good. I was sure of it.

I just thought it was something else. There was still time until class began, so I decided to be friendly.

"Hello." I smiled pleasantly. He turned and looked at me with such unadulterated hatred that my blood froze in my throat.

Luckily, Mr. Banner called the class to order at that very moment and spared me the humiliation of having to be nice to him while he glared at me as if I was a piece of filth stuck to his shirt. I kept my eyes focused forward, but from time to time, when I had to look down to write in my notebook, I noticed him – sitting as far away from me as the table would allow, not looking at Banner but at me, jaw set firmly and eyes obsidian with anger.

The look on his face was positively murderous – it was frighteningly similar to the one Victoria wore, and yet it was different. He was struggling to remain calm, yet I could see the intent in his eyed, as if he was fighting the desire to rip my throat open with his bare hands.

A smirk. Victoria biting that man's jugular. His eyes on me as he died.

A violent shiver went through my whole body, just as the bell rang. Edward was out of his seat before I realized it and was bolting out the door. I took a deep, fortifying breath and stood up.

Mike, who was also in my class, was at my side the very next second, offering to take me to gym. "Did you stab Cullen with a pencil or something?" he asked when we left the room.

"No." I said grimly "I didn't do anything to him."

He looked sympathetic. "Don't worry. They don't like anyone."

"Oh…"

Luckily, I didn't have a gym uniform yet, so the coach made me sit through the class. I used that hour to mull over what had happened in biology and wondering how to break the news to Victoria: Edward Cullen was a conceited bastard who, if we were the last people in the word, would rather fuck a sheep than fall in love with me.

I suppose she was going to dress me up as a sheep then.

From one perspective, it was a good thing. It just proved to me that everything she had told me was a figure of her sick, sick imagination. It was optimistic, because if it was something she came up, then the whole vampire thing wasn't real as well and I could get Charlie to help me deal with her.

On the other hand, however, Victoria was dangerous. Hell, I had seen her kill a human being right in front of me. I didn't know how she would take my… my what? What had happened? All I did was say 'Hi' and the guy looked at me like I was Satan himself! It was hardly a failure if the guy was a prick to begin with!

I mulled over this as I headed for the office to hand over my slip. I was so absorbed into my own thoughts I failed to see Edward Cullen leaning across the secretary's desk until I had already entered the office.

Stilling with shock, I shrank into the farthest corner as I waited for him to get whatever he came for done. And since the office was empty other than the two of us and Mrs. Cope, I couldn't help but overhear him. He was arguing in a quiet, urgent tone about his schedule. Apparently he was trying to get out of sixth-period Biology.

I was so startled I couldn't move. That prick! He wasn't even trying to hide his distaste when Mrs. Cope kindly told him that everything was full and he couldn't get out of it. I was fully planning on going up to him and ask him what the fuck his problem was, when the door opened behind me, bringing in a gust of air, as a girl slipped in and out of the office. She said nothing, but Edward Cullen's back stiffened and he turned around to look straight at me, as if he had… I don't know, smelled me from across the room.

The look on his eyes was as murderous as before and sent shivers down my spine. Not waiting for Mrs. Cope to be done, without so much as a thank-you, he stormed out of the office as if the Devil himself was on his heels.

Unbelievable! What the hell was wrong with this guy? Was he sick? Was he gay perhaps? Or was he just plain chauvinistic? Did everything remotely feminine insult him to the point where he was too angry to speak? I suddenly wished I had stabbed him with a pencil, at least then I'd have some explanation for his strange behavior.

"So, how did your first day go, dear?" Mrs. Cope asked, seemingly unabashed by Edward Cullen's rudeness.

"Perfect." I hissed through clenched teeth.

A/N - Well, we finally have Edward. But where are the rest of you, I wonder?