DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The legends of the Quileute belong to them. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to Mrstrentreznor and SanoraElle, for betaing and pre-reading this story.

A/N: Back to the 1930s. This story from here on will be chronological, and event based. So I won't be going year by year or anything, a la Harry Potter, but rather writing chapters for each plot development. And now that you know where we're headed, hope you enjoy the ride.

1936

EPOV

I was heading off for my first day at Forks High School today. Since Carlisle had changed me, we had moved around quite a bit, and then there was my rebellious phase, where I left him and Esme. I had been a vampire now for as long as I had been human, so it should be possible for me to mix with the students at the school and not want to drain them.

To me, the bigger risk was that some of the students might notice that I was not like them. Carlisle had been "born" into this world in an earlier and more superstitious time. It was likely that at least some of the people that he came into contact with in his early vampire life either knew what he was, as he had known what his sire was the moment he saw him, or felt on an instinctive level that he was different and steered clear of him. And his time with the Volturi might have given him contacts with vampire royalty, but they sequestered themselves beneath Volterra and didn't interact with humans other than as predator and prey.

I had spoken to Carlisle about it, but as usual he brushed it off. For him, his hospital work, dealing with those who were ill or dying gave him an insight into human nature. I don't suppose it ever occurred to him to think that somebody who is afraid of dying doesn't care who treats them.

I grabbed my bag, and headed out to the garage, and my car. I loved my Volvo P36, it was sleek and fast. If you were going to be an immortal, might as well do it in style. I backed out of the garage, and turned, then peeled off down the highway towards Forks, driving as fast as I dared. In next to no time it seemed, I pulled up outside the school.

After parking the car, I headed inside to the school office to make myself known, and get my schedule and maps. Walking past some students, I caught glimpses in my mind of their thoughts.

"Who is he? I've never seen HIM before...he's handsome, but there's something strange about him..."

"He's as pale as a ghost..."

"Just what I need, competition for the best girls. Bet he's an athlete too..."

I turned to look at them, and there must have been something in my expression that intimidated them, because they scuttled away, leaving me to my devices.

I arrived at the front desk shortly after, and did my level best to charm the ladies into smoothing my path with the classes I would have to take. Not hard when you're a vampire, admittedly. I wished they wouldn't look at me like that though, they were even older than I really was and their thoughts were most unladylike. Paperwork in hand, I headed to my first class, English.

The teacher and the other students were already at their desks when I entered the room. Even without my vampire hearing, the buzz was audible. I handed my slip to the teacher, Mr Collins, and looked around for a spare seat. There was one near a tiny blonde girl, so I walked towards her, lifted an eyebrow in query, and when she nodded, sat down.

So far so good, there was nobody here whose scent called to me. I could feel a burn in my throat, but I had hunted last night and drunk so much it was sloshing around inside of me, so I was confident that I could see out the day. I introduced myself.

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen."

"Hello Edward, I'm Eleanor Henry."

I was going to talk to her some more, but I looked up and the teacher was beginning to speak. We were going to be studying Shakespeare, and I hoped that it would not be Romeo and Juliet. What a waste of time that story was.

"This term we are going to be studying Hamlet. You will need to have the play read, as soon as possible, so that we may begin to discuss the major themes, and the strengths and flaws of the major characters. Perhaps somebody would like to read a quote from the play to the class. Miss Henry?"

Eleanor opened her copy of the play, and quickly found a passage that she wanted to read. She must have prepared for this class and read the play already.

"Alright I will read this scene from Act 1."

"Hamlet: Swear by my sword, never to speak of this that you have heard."

"Ghost (beneath): Swear by his sword."

"Hamlet: Well said, old mole, canst work i'th'earth so fast? A worthy pioner! Once more remove, good friends."

"Horatio: O day and night, but this is wondrous strange."

"Hamlet: And therefore as a stranger give it welcome. There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

Eleanor turned to me. "I love that passage, I truly believe there is more in this world than we know of. Don't you?"

I really didn't know what to say to that, maybe I could stall until the teacher spoke. But reading her mind, I could tell that the more things in heaven and earth that she was contemplating included my golden eyes and pale skin. Perhaps we were not going to have as easy a time of it here as Carlisle had hoped.

Of course with some, the instinctive reaction of prey to a predator will persuade people to keep their distance from us, but in a classroom there's no escape from that. It only takes one or two to start to see the differences with us, and we would be in trouble.

I decided to talk to Carlisle about it that night. And read the teacher's mind so that I could collect myself before he asked me a question.

"And what would your interpretation be of that passage Mr...er, Cullen?"

"Hamlet means that the humanist philosophy he and Horatio embrace is not enough to account for his father's appearance to him as a ghost. That supernatural beings exist."

"And what do you think, Mr Cullen?"

"It's possible that supernatural beings exist, but it would be difficult for the human race to interact with them, so who would really know?"

"On the other hand, you could be sitting in an English class in Forks next to a vampire..." I snorted, but nobody heard me.

"Thank you Mr Cullen." The class continued on in similar vein for a while longer, and then thankfully, the bell rang. I was never so happy to leave a room in my life.

I decided not to go to the cafeteria today, that could start tomorrow when I was feeling less rattled. I went from one class to the next, and waited impatiently for the school day to end so that I could go home.

Later that evening, when Carlisle had arrived home from the Hospital, I took him aside and spoke to him.

"How did your first day go Edward?"

"Not as well as I would have liked, the thirst was manageable, but some of the students there noticed that I was a bit different to them. And then one of them recited the 'heaven and earth' passage from Hamlet. I'm nervous Carlisle. I doubt that we can be here for 5 years or whatever it is that you want without exposing ourselves."

"OK then, I'll take that on board and think about it a little. There's probably a solution to the problem that we haven't thought of, but of course we can't tell anyone that we're vampires. If the Volturi were to ever come through here and touch anyone, our lives and theirs would be forfeit."

"I'll think about it, too. Whatever we come up with, it will need to be both plausible and completely different to what we actually are..."

"I agree. I'll discuss it with Esme, and see what I can come up with. I have to admit some of the patients and staff at the Hospital since I started there have given me more than one look as well."

I laughed. "Are you sure that's not because you're so good looking? You know women fall at your feet."

"I'm sure. There were some looks like that, but there were also some questioning looks, as if I was too good to be true."

"You are."

Carlisle quirked an eyebrow at me, as if to say, what, that again? It had to be a trial for him, he had conquered his thirst long ago, but the proximity to blood and female pheromones on a daily basis would test the patience of a saint. And he was as saintly as a vampire could possibly be.

I smiled and left to go to my room. Even with my vampire memory I still needed to read my texts in order to remember their contents, albeit for all time. And there were homework assignments to complete.

CPOV

I had feared that my dream of living in the one place might not be able to be realised, but I wasn't ready to give up on it just yet.

A patient at the Hospital had given me an idea, and Edward had unwittingly put flesh on it. I remembered the day when I changed him into a vampire and his mother, Elizabeth, who even as she lay dying, had somehow known that there was something different about me and that I could help her son, if help was the right word.

There were more things in heaven and earth; vampires and shapeshifting wolves for starters, and humans themselves in various parts of the world also believed in ghosts, zombies, demons and any number of other phenomenon. In Aro's lifetime he had seen humans who literally believed that the Gods walked among them and interfered with their lives on a daily basis.

The immortality that we had been gifted with, and the powers that we possessed, made us Godlike beings in the eyes of the humans here, or would, if they were ever allowed to bear witness to them. It was a fine line, and it would not do to frighten everyone by openly declaring ourselves to be other, but questions would arise and hints could be dropped. Nothing that would bring down the wrath of the Volturi, but enough to give them some comfort in our presence in their community, and perhaps even a source of pride in what we could do for them.

It was better than running away every five years, leaving a paper trail that had to be expunged, new identities that needed to be created, and new encounters to be managed with humans. Soon we would be like a tribal witch doctor, part of the furniture, and valued for the contribution we could make. We would just need to ensure that the secret was not compromised, and that knowledge of our presence did not extend beyond Forks. Easy to do, when Edward is around to read minds, and any one of us could dazzle a human into forgetting their own name.

I wanted this new start. I wanted it so badly I could taste it. And nobody was going to take it away from me. I would think some more on it and then we could have a family meeting to work out what to do.