Chapter Four

Somewhere in the dense forests of British Columbia the nocturnal creatures of the forests shrieked and gave flight, while others burrowed further into their nests, attempting to protect their young. A variety of fir, pine, and spruce trees came crashing down as an angry vampire stormed through them. Edward was running so hard and fast that he kicked and punched right though them as if they were nothing more than sheets of tissue paper.

The time he spent brooding in his room after the altercation with Alice and Esme's stern disapproval made him feel restless. Increasingly agitated, he needed to get away from home for a couple days, just to get away from everyone, and try to find some way to vent his brewing temper. So he just ran and kept on running until he found himself well across the Canadian border.

Being thwarted from his pursuit of Bella after Alice ran interference and scolded by Esme left him feeling more frustrated and angry than he's felt in a very long time. He was unused to the intensity of these emotions, for years now he mostly just felt dead inside. When he first noticed Bella he started to experience feelings long forgotten. Curiosity, fascination, attraction, even a little excitement. He started doing things he hadn't before; from attending her bedroom during her sleeping hours, anticipating going to school - where he could more openly look at her while sitting next to her in the single class they shared, and while she ate as she sat at the table with the usual small group of friends during lunch. He even took greater care in his dressing and grooming habits. He began taking more time with his usually bed-head hairstyle, brushing so it'd be a little poofier, and took more notice of the latest fashions.

During lunch Edward would sit across the dining hall at the usual table that he shared with his vampire siblings, with their food trays sitting untouched in front of them. Although he tried to be subtle whenever he looked at the brown-haired girl, it didn't take long for them to notice, there isn't much you can hide from other vampires. Emmett would snicker and make dumb jokes, Rosalie would scoff and look a little disgusted, while Alice would just roll her eyes and turn to the others and start making small talk.

Then came a few occasions during his Bella watching when he picked up on a few thoughts from Alice..

There goes Eddie again...staring at Bella like she's a piece of meat...why can't he just ignore her and leave her be...

she is pretty cute though...

Edward would just tilt his head and look curiously at her, she'd quickly look to the other two and change the topic in her mind while joining in whatever conversation Emmett and Rosalie were having. After living together for many years Alice had become quite adept at getting around his abilities, though she still occasionally slipped.

At the time he just shrugged it off, though he now realizes that there was another who shared his interest in the beautiful brunette. Probably for as long as he has.

His eyes narrowed and a small twitch glanced across his face as his blood thirst awoke. He detected the scent of a cougar a few miles off. Within minutes he tracked his prey, flung himself upon the creature and with a quick break of its neck killed it, and drained it dry. He had a momentary mental image of a smooth, pale human neck flash through his mind as his fangs extended and tore into the animal's neck and took long deep gulps of blood. He shivered as the image flickered with the warm liquid flowing down his throat.

The hooting of a great horned owl miles away sounded in the cool night air, as he rose from the dry limp body of the dead animal, and wiped his blood stained mouth. His sharp eyes caught a shooting star blazing across the celestial night as it sparkled with innumerous stars.

What was that saying about shooting stars...that if you made a wish when you saw one it's supposed to come true?

The lanky vampire with torn, blood stained clothes pondered a while as he looked up at the night sky. He silently dismissed the silly superstition, reminding himself that shooting stars weren't even really stars, it was nothing more than bits of space dust from an asteroid or comet burning up in the earth's atmosphere. He briefly recalled a time when he was much younger and still held onto such naïve and romantic notions, but this only made him feel more depressed so he shook himself out of memories of the long dead past.

His thoughts returned to more recent events. He couldn't understand it. How a seemingly insignificant human teen-aged girl affected him so much. And why was she seemingly so unaffected by his beauty and immune to his charm and abilities? Yet she readily accepted to go on a date with Alice...that little imp... She must have utilized all her vampiric charms to pull that one off he thought. Granted, she was cute and had a certain allurement about her, but how can that little pip-squeak hold a candle all of his six feet and two inches of dark brooding handsomeness that girls always fell for before? And how could his own sister intervene when she knew of his interest in the strangely attractive human girl? His feelings of betrayal and jealousy started to consume him.

Maybe I shouldn't have waited for Bella to show interest in me. If only I did what Alice did, and boldly made the first move, it would be me she went out with, not my sister.

This thought filled him with a sense of hope and determination. Edward told himself that he had to at least let Bella know what her options were. He turned and started running towards home. Come Monday at school he would make his move.