EPOV

Hundreds of years worth of information and nothing. Absolutely nothing. I groaned and threw another book into the pile of worthless knowledge. Carlisle had once been proud of his collection, a supernatural encyclopedia if you will. And yet, even he had to admit he was disappointed in the multiple holes it caused.

"Let's go through the list again." Jasper suggested. A collective groan echoed through the house. We had been at this all day. Where we would normally spend a day of sunshine hunting, we stayed holed up in the house researching and speculating every page of every book in our possession. Alice and Jasper were on tech duty, putting in every possible Google search imaginable. Carlisle was making as many contacts as he could, trying to find any information anyone may have come across. Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie (the latter two were now caught up in their own curiosity and frustration) were in charge of pointing out anything that may have been missed.

And we still had nothing.

"List of characteristics or ideas?" Emmett asked, rubbing his temple. Yes, this mystery was giving even us major headaches.

"Start with characteristics."

"Firstly she knows of our existence." Esme started, wringing her hands as she paced the living room. "Which may or may not contribute to her personal knowledge of us."

"She is able to manipulate an entire school community." Jasper added.

"But that may be just her whoring around." Rosalie cut it, bitingly. I ignored the lick of protective instinct that flared, settling for digging my fists tiredly into my eyes. "We can't add that to a list of supernatural characteristics without more information."

"Umm she disappeared in front of us." Emmett was in a small amount of awe at that particular power.

"She can block my sight." Alice muttered, kicking the table leg soft enough to leave it safe from any damage.

"And turn her thoughts on and off," I added.

"Her father smells like a corpse." Carlisle noted from his office. Though I don't know how to add that to her list of characteristics seeing as we ruled out witchcraft and necromancy.

"That really just leaves her physical characteristics: she's slightly more agile than a human, we could tell that from when she was jumping on and off of that tombstone. I don't think she experiences cold the same as a human, she was half naked that night too. Also, I witnessed her eyes shifting colors in seconds, not at all like how ours do." I finished.

I wanna talk about how you have paid so much attention to her physically, Alice thought, raising her eyebrows. I can't decide if I should be happy or disgusted… I'm going to go with happy, because that's a much more fun emotion. I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, list of possibilities." Jasper continued. "Let's start with what she isn't: succubus, witch, necromancer, Emmett she is not a leprechaun, werewolf-it was a full moon in the graveyard, obviously not a vampire-"

"Can we just skip to what she may be?" Rosalie interrupted, eyeing the long list of No's. Jasper sighed and picked up the tiny sliver of paper. Emmett had been in charge of documenting the list of possibilities.

"We have: Edward's wet dream." The familial eyeroll was nearly tangible, but that didn't stop Emmett from folding over in laughter. I growled and threw a book at his head. On one hand, I was relieved that Emmett no long wanted to kill me. On the other, this running joke was getting old quick. I was intrigued and curious about her. Strictically a scientific curiosity that I cannot physically walk away from and am willing to tear my family apart for.

Not that big of a deal.

By the time the new day had dawned and it was time for us to depart for Forks High again, we were nowhere near closer to an answer. Alice had monitored the weather channel religiously and was about 73% confident that the sun would not be an issue today, so we decided to table the mystery and try and observe some more. Maybe she would slip up and let a sliver of a hint through. The roads were clad with snow as we drove into the school parking lot.

Man, unless something freaky happens today, I am calling a family snowball war! Emmett thought, already dividing us up into teams. I smiled. A snowball war would be perfect for diffusing the tension that had settled over the house. Besides, I always loved seeing Carlisle and Esme fall under the attack of their children. Maybe it was the rebellious teenage boy inside of me that enjoyed it so much.

The few students already in the parking lot were enjoying the snow, throwing balls of ice at each other and laughing loudly with each hit. Snow held a magic all its own: everyone enjoyed it, human or not. Emmett quickly made a small snowball and threw it at an unsuspecting human, who automatically assumed it was Mike Newton (no one was paying attention to us, so no one knew any better) and started plotting revenge.

Bella pulled in on her motorcycle, easing into a spot easily, but grimacing as she looked around at the snow. "I hate snow," she growled to herself, kicking a pile of snow away from her before stepping off of the bike.

Edward, Alice called with a gasp, her eyes far away. Something is going to happen. I...I don't know what, but…

"Ah, dammit," Bella sighed from across the parking lot. Her eyes widened, shifting to honey brown as she looked toward the entrance of the parking lot. A dark blue van was just turning in, the driver beating a tune on the wheel. It happened quickly, a human wouldn't have been able to notice it. Bella's finger twitched, the driver suddenly sat straight up, his eyes unfocused, and he jerked the wheel to the right careening directly toward her.

I moved without a moments hesitation, and suddenly she was in my arms, her warmth a fire against my side. I reached out and swung her bike around us, putting it in between us and the van before turning my back and bracing myself, my arms shielding Bella to my chest. The motorcycle was crushed and contorted easily by the van and did nothing to deter the vehicle. The van only stopped when it reached my back, launching us forward just a millimeter before the stopping the motion of destruction completely.

Screams filled the parking lot soon after. People were calling 911, and trying to get to us from around the van. I ignored them all and just focused on the woman in my arms. Her body heat, her beating heart, that luscious scent that had once made me crazy, all now were signs that she was alright. Being so close to her, holding her to me, currents of electricity flowed through me.

"You can let go now." She whispered quietly. I didn't want to release her, but slowly I pulled my arms away from her. She shuddered once and scurried as far away from me as possible, never once looking at me. The crowd reached us then, no more than three seconds had passed since the van hit us.

"Bella?!"

"Oh my god are you okay?!"

"Don't move!" Sirens filled the chaotic air. I knew that my family had already left the campus, heading to the hospital to debrief Carlisle before both Bella and I were transported. Someone was trying to get the driver out of the van, the faint scent of blood escaping as they pried the door open. Tyler Crowely was pulled from the crumpled van, severe cuts decorating his face. He groaned, disoriented before turning toward us, his face suddenly contorting to horror.

"BELLA?!" He struggled against the EMT's as they tried to secure him to a gurney. "No, forget me! Go check her!"

"I'm fine, Tyler." Bella called, waving him off. The EMT's wheeled him away, ignoring his insistence to get closer to Bella. She sighed and pulled herself up.

"Ma'am, I'm going to need you to sit down." another EMT ran over to her. Man, this is the most action I've seen all year! And with a gorgeous girl involved, too! She rolled her eyes, but sat back down anyway as he checked her eyes and asked routine questions. I was surprised that she didn't get her way for once. Absentmindedly, I went through the same examination as she did, while she was being escorted to another ambulance.

"Uhh, we only have the two vehicles," I heard the EMT's point out.

"I'm okay riding with her," I offered, standing up slowly. They debated quickly, but eventually nodded their heads and escorted me to the ambulance where Bella was waiting. Annoyance flashed through her dark eyes when she saw me, but she didn't say anything. She was lying on a gurney, a neck brace secured around her neck, her eyes fixated on the ceiling, but her eyelids were heavy. She looked exhausted, very opposite from how she had looked upon her initial arrival. But, I guess near death experiences can do that to a person. I gently declined the need for a neck brace, my fathers name working for once, and simply sat against the wall of the ambulance, staring at Bella Swan.

The ride to Forks Hospital was deafeningly silent and awkward. The EMT's that had accompanied us breathed a sigh of relief as soon as the doors opened. I hopped out of the vehicle and watched as they removed Bella.

"Bella!" That pungent smell suddenly appeared as Chief Swan ran to her side. She barely registered him, her eyelids closing momentarily. She is really drained. He reached out and grabbed her hand "Listen honey, I know you are in good hands and me being here is just embarrassing to you so… I'll see you at home." That will help her. Let's just hope I actually get home first...With a nod to the EMT's and a surprising glare toward me, Charlie Swan turned on his heel and jogged to the cruiser. A small, tired laugh came from Bella as we entered the hospital.

"I'll go alert my father to her arrival," I told the EMT's, heading toward his office before they answered me. I checked around for Carlisle as I made my way to his office. As suspected, he was already in the ER with Tyler. He will need stitches and will probably have some scarring, but otherwise he will be fine. Carlisle thought, threading a needle. I entered his office to find the rest of the family waiting. Esme immediately stood from behind his wooden desk and enveloped me in a hug.

"You did the right thing, son." She said.

"Though she did say to not interfere," Rosalie added, inspecting her nails.

"So I was supposed to let her die?" I asked, venom pooling as my heart ached slightly at the idea of her death. If she had died in front of me, what would have happened? Her blood would have been spilt, and I would have exposed us for what we were. Yet, when I actually saved her I was not consumed with bloodlust over her smell. I stopped thinking before I could analyze that further.

Rosalie shrugged her shoulders. Life would be easier.

Rather than risk throwing her out of the window, I peered into Carlisle's mind. Bella was in a bed, her eyes closed. Her face was drawn with exhaustion and pale. Her heart monitor was beeping unnaturally slow. She must have fainted from shock, he thought. Suddenly, her heart rate jumped dramatically and her color came back instantaneously, a shift so fast that even we had trouble catching it. Her eyes opened wide, two black holes boring into Carlisle. They immediately shifted to the impossibly light honey brown before settling in the middle. So that's what Edward meant.

"How are you feeling Miss. Swan?" He asked, professionally. She blinked her eyes losing focus for a moment.

"Peachy keen, doc." She swung her legs off the bed and stood up, her heart monitor shutting off as she removed the clip from her finger.

"Bella, you should probably rest a little." Carlisle insisted. She rolled her eyes, and continued to strut out of the room. Carlisle followed her, although his better instincts knew that she truly was fine. She strutted through the hospital as if she owned it. A few nurses gave her an odd look, but never stopped her. She walked down one hall, before turning down another, no longer heading for an exit. As soon as she marched into an abandoned corridor, she spun around and galred at Carlisle, her eyes a black fire.

"Listen up, because I only have the patience to say this once, so Edward: Go ahead and pass the message on because I know you are watching." I shouldn't have been shocked that she knew, but still the familiar jolt of surprise came. Knowing that they were just out of ear-shot amongst the jumbled chaos of the hospital, I began relaying her words. "I told you not to interfere, that was my one rule. And I am slightly insulted that you think a beat up vintage van could kill me. Regardless, there was no right for him to interfere with my life, and then for your family to try and use that as leverage for gaining information is despicable."

"A normal person would feel indebted after today." Carlisle pointed out, trying to explain his family's thought process. He had been against it from the beginning, but knew that it was our best bet at gaining any insight.

She laughed bitterly. "We all know I am far from normal. But you know, it's a good day when my clothes aren't stained with blood, so I'll throw you a bone. I won't make your pathetic lives a living hell and I'll give you a little vocabulary lesson." She took a menacing step toward Carlisle. "To owe: to have an obligation to pay or repay in return for something received." she paused, allowing her perfectly verbatim definition to settle. Her dark eyes bore holes directly into Carlisle's very soul.

"Stopping a van is nothing-nothing- compared to the gift I gave you. Understand this: if it were not for me, you and your little family would not exist. So who owes who?" She sidestepped Carlisle's frozen form, and stalked out of the corridor and out of the hospital.

A/N: *drops mic*