Bella Swan
Aw crap. I did not mean to say that.
"What do you mean you were that girl?" Julie demanded harshly, her temper flaring.
I was not ready to tell them. Maybe someday I would, but not now.
"I grew up surrounded by the supernatural," I said slowly. This was not a lie, so Julie would be placated.
"What. Do. You. Know?" Kyle said, enunciating each word, his expression livid.
I looked up at him with sad eyes. "You're going to love her Kyle. You can't fight it."
He stumbled backwards, his eyes wide. "W-w-what?" he stuttered.
"Think about it," I urged him. "Think about leaving."
He grimaced.
"Fall in love? With the girl he saved?" Emily asked, shock evident in her tone.
"There are only two ways for her. Either he'll kill her, or she'll be one of us one day," I said miserably. When she was one of us hopefully she wouldn't be like me, though.
A few gasps came from the room. I didn't even look to see who.
"How do you know? Are you psychic?" Carter asked skeptically.
I considered that for a moment. "Circumstantially."
"What is going on with you?" Julie said. "All of the sudden there's this mysterious past you always lie about, suddenly you're best friends with a werewolf, and now you're psychic?" her voice got higher at the end.
I turned away from her.
"What!? What Bella? What the hell is going on with you?!" She fumed.
"Easy Jules," Adam whispered in her ear.
I still didn't answer.
"I don't know what is going on but—" Julie started.
I cut her off. "No," I agreed, "you don't know. What right do you have to assume…" I choked off, unable to continue. I took a few unnecessary deep breaths to calm myself. "What is going on with me doesn't affect what's happening now. The point is that I know what I know and now you know. No one's going to hurt her. I don't want this to come to a fight."
"A fight?" Carter tried to keep his voice level.
I turned to him. "Do you think Kyle will just sit down and let you kill her?"
I watched as Kyle's eyes flashed when I said "kill her".
No one said anything.
"I think we're done here," I said authoritatively. "I'm going hunting."
"So am I," Kyle said absently. I glanced at him and nodded.
Kyle Peters
As we ran through the forest, my mind was reeling.
Did I love the girl?
I did not think so. Not yet, at least. But I could see how easy it would be to fall in love with her. Just like falling; effortless.
I could also see the two futures. Loving her would not keep me from killing her, but it would be a terrible accident; a slip up.
The only way she would become one of us was if she was changed, clearly. But changed by who? Was I selfish enough to change her for myself?
"Bella?" I said tentatively. She seemed to understand my reluctance. She put her half-drained deer down and raised one eyebrow.
"Have you ever…slipped up? You know…" I asked reluctantly.
Her eyes were suddenly pained. It took her a moment to answer. "Almost," she admitted.
I looked at her questioningly. She sighed.
"It was when I was only a couple of years old. There was fresh blood; a little girl fell out of a tree and scraped her knee. It was so powerful, so inviting that I just…I had her under me. I was going to…but then I saw the look in her big, brown eyes. I saw myself, the day I was changed. I know what it's like to be on the other side; to be the prey. I just ran away." She looked down shamefully.
"That's amazing," I said with awe. Not many had that amount of restraint. "Why are you ashamed?"
She looked up with a stubborn face. "Because I swore it would never happen. Ever."
I didn't say anymore and we both continued silently. Meanwhile I chewed over what she said. I know what it's like to be the prey. Most never knew what was coming until it was too late. Then I remember what she said about the werewolves; they existed to protect. Why would she need protection? Maybe if she was prey…
A piece of the puzzle clicked together and the mystery started to unravel.
Abby Wright
It had been six weeks since I had even talked to Kyle. We ignored each other totally and I wondered if he thought about it like I did.
I hadn't told a soul about what really happened, and yes, it really happened. We never made contact except when absolutely necessary, for labs and things like that. It was in these periods of time that I started to notice patterns. He often missed the days with the nicest weather. When I had asked someone about it they had said that when the whether was nice, they all went backpacking. His eyes were almost never black anymore; they were always the lightest shade of gold, whereas his families ranged frequently from pitch black to butterscotch.
It was pathetic.
One day in biology his sister, Bella came in with a slip of paper in her hand. She knocked on the open door quietly. Mr. Gordon turned mid-lecture to her and said, "Yes?"
"I'm here for Kyle," she said to the teacher. Then she turned to Kyle. "Mom called, said it was important. We're going home. I have a note from Mrs. White." She said the last part to Mr. Gordon and walked with a graceful lope that was so fluid I couldn't help but gawk and she handed the slip to the teacher. He read it quickly and grunted.
"You have the assignment written down?" he said to Kyle.
"Yes," Kyle said. His eyes flickered to the windows and he started packing up his books. I noticed he made an effort not to look at me as did I. I heard a quiet snicker. I looked up and saw Bella trying to cover up her smile. I blushed and looked down. I didn't even hear their footsteps as they walked out of the room.
Bella Swan
I couldn't help but laugh as I saw Kyle and Abby purposefully ignore each other. She looked up and I tried not to smile. She blushed anyway and looked down.
When we were out in the hallway I laughed.
"Are you guys having a fight?" I teased him, but there was an edge to my voice.
He smacked my books out of my hand and kept walking.
"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" I murmured to myself.
"Why are you so smug?" he turned around and demanded.
"Because it's funny how you two think that that'll work," I explained. I had gathered my books and was beside him again.
"Do you really think she even likes me? It's impossible even if she didn't know the truth," his voice was hard.
"It's inevitable!" I said, exasperated. "Jeez! She's thinking the same thing!"
"Oh, so now you're a mind reader, too?" he said sarcastically.
I winced at the painful memories that brought up and tried to fight them back.
"Sorry," he muttered.
We slid into the car where Emily and Carter were already waiting.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
The next day we were back at school, freed from the sunny weather.
When we were driving he had a frustrated look was on his face and he was hardly paying attention to the road.
That night he two of us went hunting.
"Who asked her on a date?" I asked.
He shot me a glare.
"You know…" I said, trying to get his attention, "she talks in her sleep. All of those unprotected secrets, a chance to hear what she's thinking about, they're just a quick jog away…" I let the offer sit there. He was internally debating—I could see it on his face.
"Get out of here. I'm sick of your moping anyway," I dismissed him with a wave of my hand. He gave me a grateful look.
I sighed and leaned against a tree.
What have I gotten us into to?
Kyle Peters
Bella had been right all along.
Since that first time I had heard her say my name in her sleep, I could no longer pretend I was only in danger of loving Abby.
As I felt myself gaining life and become more even-tempered, it was as if the life I gained was being drained out of Bella. Every day her smile became more forced. She rarely hunted, her eyes becoming a dull black. I wanted to know why. What could have happened to cause her so much misery?
I finally got my answer.
~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~
The day after my revelation, I was sitting at lunch with Abby. We had already covered that it was new and how she was tired of all of the answers I gave that made no sense, after she assured me that they did, in fact- make no sense to her.
She looked down at her water bottle cap and spun it on the table. I could see on her face that she was thinking very hard about something.
"What are you thinking?" I finally asked when I could take it no more.
She opened her mouth to speak but before she could, we both heard a shattering sound. I turned around in my chair and saw Bella looking down at the shattered remains of what used to be a glass of water. Both of her hands were clenched into fists, only one held fine, gritty pieces of the glass she crushed into a powder.
The whole cafeteria watched as she pushed her chair out as she stood up and walked briskly out of the cafeteria. No one noticed when she threw the powder into a small trashcan as she left.
"What…" Abby said, bewildered.
"I don't know," I said uncertainly.
Bella Swan
Whose idea of a sick joke was this? As I strode out of the room I could feel my body shaking and tried to conceal it. I walked up to the office window.
"Mrs. White?" I called the attention of the little woman.
"What can I do for you, Bella?" she asked in a kindly concerned voice.
"I'm not feeling quite well. Do you think I could get one of my siblings to drive me home?" I said in a strange tone I didn't recognize.
"Of course, dear," she said. "You feel better."
Emily and Carter came out of the cafeteria right on queue.
"Are you okay, Bells?" Emily asked.
"I'm not feeling well. Could you drive me home?" I said quietly.
"Of course," she said quietly, for the sake of Mrs. White. I would get hell for this in the car.
When we got in the car, surprisingly, Emily didn't say anything. And for that, I was grateful. As soon as she reached the top of the driveway, I ran until my sobs overtook me and I sank to the ground.
Kyle Peters
A soon as I got home, I ran to find Bella. I couldn't find her anywhere. Instead, I went up in the attic to look for my old pictures and things.
While shuffling around in the boxes I found a medium sized one that was unmarked and sealed. Curiously, I tore off the tape and opened it up, releasing a gust of dust.
Inside was a variety of things; CDs along with other things. Most prominent was a thick photo album sitting on top.
I opened up the first page and gasped at what I saw.
He was clearly a vampire. The pale skin and golden eyes gave it away. His hair was reddish-brown in color and styled in a casual disarray. Underneath the photo, in messy handwriting were the words: Edward Cullen, Charlie's kitchen, Sept. 13th.
I flipped to the next page. My eyes grew wide.
The heading of the two-page-spread was "The Many Faces of Edward & Bella".
In the first one, the one who must be Edward stood next to another vampire. This one was very short with black hair that spiked out in all directions. Edward was smiling widely and his hand was reached out. There was another arm reaching for it. When I saw the person attached to the arm, my jaw dropped. It was Bella; a human Bella. Her face was lit up like… I couldn't even explain. In a neat and curly script it said, The Love-Love. Under that in flawless handwriting it said, Edward, Alice and Bella.
The next picture showed Edward still smiling widely, the short vampire, Alice, had her head thrown back and it looked like she was laughing. Bella, however, had a scowl on her face, glaring at Edward. Under it read, The Love-Hate. I smiled.
The next one was at a different place altogether, a small kitchen. This time, Bella was the one smiling and Edward's eyes were narrowed into slits. The caption read, The Hate-Love.
I turned to the next page. I had lots of pictures of human faces. Some were in twos and threes, others groups of five and six. Under them were names like, Jessica, Mike, Angela, Ben, Lauren, and my personal favorite; Lauren when she found out this was Bella's camera. Lauren's face was pulled into an unfriendly scowl. I chuckled at that one.
There was one of Bell's room and The Cullen House and Forks High School. I turned to the next page and there were two more vampires. One had fair hair and was wearing a doctor's coat. He had his arms around one with a loving smile and soft, caramel hair. They were identified as Carlisle and Esme. After them was Alice perched on the back of a tall vampire with honey blonde hair. Both had golden eyes and brilliant smiles. The names scrawled under them were, Alice and Jasper. After them there was another couple. The male was huge, even for vampire standards. His arms were bulky and his curly, dark hair didn't fit with his goofy smile. His arms were wrapped round a beautiful blonde vampire who looked up at him like she couldn't help but smile. Emmett and Rosalie, was written under that. I turned the page and the next one was of Edward pressing his lips gently to Bella's. The last one had their foreheads leaned together with them gazing lovingly into each other's eyes. I turned the page and the spread was blank. The book had a few pages left so I turned to the next one to make sure. Surprisingly, the next page did hold a few pictures. One was of Bella with large burly boy. He had deeply tanned skin and short black hair. Then I looked at Bella and gasped.
It was Bella, but she looked so different. Her skin had a grey tint to it and there were dark rings around her eyes. She had a small smile on her lips, but you couldn't see it in her darker-brown eyes. It looked like she had lost a lot of weight and her hair was darker, too.
She was looking at the boy and had one hand risen to flick his ear. I leaned in closer and saw a silver crescent on the side off her hand. Of course I had noticed it before, but we all had our fair share of those. How could she have been bitten, but still be human…? Under the picture it said, Jacob Black and Bella. So that was Bella's best friend.
I turned to the next picture. There was a large russet-brown wolf that looked almost identical to the one we saw that day on the beach. It said Jacob under it, too.
The remaining pictures were two motorcycles and various different beaches and houses and places down in La Push. I closed the album and thought about everything I had just discovered.
My head was spinning with this revelation.
Her words echoed in my head. I was that girl.
She was; the girl who fell in love with a vampire.
I couldn't help but feel ecstatic for selfish reasons that maybe Abby could love me back.
It's impossible, I had said. It's inevitable! Bella had shouted at me.
Then I froze in place. The Cullens.
That's how she knew them.
Oh.
Oh.
Oh.
I placed the album back in the box and picked up the clear jewel CD case. It had no labeling, no indication of what was on it.
I stood up and walked to my room. I opened my CD player and placed it in the slot and closed it. I held my breath as I pushed play.
Soft notes from a piano came out from the speakers. The melody was slow and lulling.
It was a beautiful piece.
I heard everyone stop what they were doing. Julie stopped loading the dryer, Adam stopped talking to her and someone muted the TV. Then Julie, Adam, Emily and Carter appeared in doorway.
"What is that?" Julie asked.
"It's beautiful," Emily said in awe.
After a minute, I answered her. "It's a CD."
"My lullaby," Bella said from behind everyone.
We all turned around at the sound of her voice since none of us heard her entrance. She was leaning against the door jam, eyes closed and tears streaming down her face. There was a small smile on her face.
The song changed then. She opened her eyes. "Esme's favorite," she murmured.
"Bella," I choked out. She just shook her head and walked over to my stereo. She pushed eject and placed the CD carefully in its case. She walked slowly to the attic and jumped up into it. I heard the tearing of tape and I assumed she was resealing the box. Before I could say anything to her she was out the door and in the forest. The others were stunned because vampires aren't supposed to be able to cry.
"What happened?" Julie asked in a sad and guilty voice.
I told them everything I saw.
Julie looked extremely guilty, which she should have. She had distrusted Bella after everything she did for them.
None of us knew if she was coming back.
Wowza! (real word? Spell check doesn't seem to think so!)
There so much tension…and then nothing happened. But then something did happen!
So now they know what's been bugging Bella and Julie feels all guilty (which she should. She was bitching (funny word!) and never stopped to consider Bella's side =[ ).
Luv you guys who keep reviewing! Sorry it took so long to update, but it was a reeeally long chapter!
Hope everyone had awesome holidays! Unfortunately, I go back to school on Monday =( so the updates will be once a week if it's a good week. This coming week I have (for basketball): practice Monday and games Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday plus we're doing the eighth grade science fair so please don't give up in me!
Random question, but what does AWOL mean? Like what does it stand for?
Just wondering.
Please review!
~SuzieQ~
