A/N: Hey, kids. I'm in class right now, but I got bored... so happy Chanukah!

This chapter is the set up... next chapter's the reveal. So read this and review it. The more reviews I get, the quicker the next chapter goes up.

Chapter 10

Edward's creek felt more like a small river to me. We sat there in tall, yellowing grass, watching the water slip over the smooth, protruding stones of the riverbed, watching distant trees as they swayed in the wind. The peace surrounding us was stifling, the sense of tranquility acutely uncomfortable. With the amount of inner turmoil roaring through my body, it seemed unfair that nature could simply carry on as though nothing was wrong. I felt exposed. I felt lost.

I shifted uncomfortably, crossing my legs in front of me and lifting my gaze to the line of trees beyond the riverbank. From someplace in the shadows, I watched as a deer moved gracefully from the cover of the woods, lithely approaching the water in front of us. Fascinated, I reached out and tugged on Edward's sleeve, trying to soundlessly alert him to the rather magical display before us. He tensed immediately at the touch of my hand, tensing further when he noticed the deer in front of us. An almost primal sound emerged from his chest, a rumbling growl that spread goosebumps across my skin and made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The deer froze across from us, staring directly at Edward for a moment before tearing back into the forest as though the devil was on its heels.

It was... well, strange doesn't even begin to cover it.

"Edward," I said softly, turning to face him. His eyes were fixed on the trees, seemingly focused on the spot where the deer had disappeared. There was no trace of the lovely butterscotch gold that normally held me in its thrall. They were black. Black as the day I met him. "Edward."

Slowly, he moved his gaze from the woods, taking in every inch of space before him before locking eyes with me.

"Yes, Isabella?"

"What was that?" I asked, gesturing back towards the trees.

"Animals do not like us," he replied cryptically, his voice hypnotic, his eyes drawing me in.

"Us?" I breathed, leaning towards him without meaning to do so.

"My kind."

"Your kind."

"My family."

His family. His kind. Us.

"Why is that?" I asked, blinking, trying to concentrate on his words, trying to break the spell that his mere presence had cast over me. "Are you hunters or something?"

"Hunters. Yes. Something like that," he replied archly, chuckling humorlessly.

"Something like that," I repeated to myself.

His family. His kind. Hunters. Something like that.

Us.

"Edward, you wanted to talk."

"You're right. I wanted to talk."

"Then talk," I insisted weakly.

"I'm afraid that may be difficult for me at present, Isabella. Perhaps you should begin."

His eyes never left mine. I felt trapped. I felt terrified. I felt... exhilarated.

Something was happening with this boy. Something wasn't quite right. Something had been troubling me since that day when he saved me from the bike. No... since before that. Since the day I saw him. Since the day I met him. Since the day...

I reached out and grabbed his hand, ignoring his flinch as I drew it towards me. Breaking our stare, I looked down at his palm, flipping his hand in mine and trapping it in my lap, tracing his icy, smooth flesh with the tips of my fingers. He exhaled sharply but said nothing, did nothing. He just watched me. Watched me as I watched myself explore the marble of his skin.

When the clouds above us broke for a fleeting moment, throwing a shard of sunlight upon us and making his hand glisten like it did on that day, that day when my life changed so thoroughly, I pretended not to notice it. I didn't pause. I didn't flinch. I didn't breathe. I just kept exploring. And he did not acknowledge it, except to eventually trap both of my hands between his own, squeezing gently, before drawing them away.

"I would like to know your secrets, Edward. And I would like for you to know mine," I whispered after an age.

And after another age, he replied.

"I am sorry, Isabella, but they are not my secrets to tell."

His family. His kind.

"No. You're right," I agreed. "They're not."

They're not.

"So where does this leave us?" I breathed, mostly to myself.

"Nowhere I'd like to be, I'm afraid," he responded gently, a look of utter pain crossing his face before he arranged it once more into an expression of indifference.

"Nowhere."

Slowly, I stretched my legs in front of me, straightening them as I lowered myself backwards onto the grass, turning onto my side and cradling my head on my arm.

And he followed me, moving gracefully to mirror my position, looking into my eyes as I looked into his.

We were lost. Both of us. And there were no maps, no breadcrumbs. No north star to show us the way.

I took in every detail of him, tried to commit this moment to memory. So beautiful in its pain. So perfect in its agony.

I watched his chest as it rose and fell rhythmically in time with my own. Observed how his hair shone, even on such a cloudy day. How his eyelashes fluttered every time he blinked. How his mere presence made my heart race and my skin flush.

And I knew, just like I'd always known, that this was love. The true kind. The fairy tale kind. The Shakespearean kind. The kind Jane Austen wrote of.

But were we Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy? Or were we Romeo and Juliette?

My eyes began to close and I let Edward's scent, his presence, his existence cradle me, comfort me, protect me. His very being protected me from my anguish. And as I drifted to sleep, I began to understand how my blessing could also be my curse.

Nowhere. We were nowhere.