Not all the Cullens have come with me. They were actually planning on moving soon, so Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, Edward, and Bella stayed back to help with that. So its just me, Alice, Jasper, and Everett touring the world. Alice said my every capital of every country plan meant we would have to go to way too many places with no cool sights and, most importantly, no good shopping, so we are only going to the places she picks out. Places she has already been thousands of times before, of course.

We abandoned America, and headed to Vancouver, Canada. Alice says there is some boutique there that she absolutely adores, and Everett loves to snowboard. I went snowboarding with Mom and Dad (who I miss with a gut-wrenching intensity) once in the Alps when I was like six. The snow is especially cold against my sizzling hot skin, but its really not that much different than being in the arms of a vampire.

So right now, wearing a black and purple snowboarding outfit, I am strapping my feet into the board I just bought. Everett and Jasper are doing the same, while Alice is adjusting her skis. We're just in a random patch of mountain, totally uncivilized. Its not like any of us are going to run into a tree or anything, and if we did, it wouldn't hurt. Besides, the rocks and trees make for a wicked obstacle course.

"Last one to the bottom has to go shopping with Ali tomorrow." Jasper says before shoving himself down the side of the mountain. Ev and I speed down, leaving Alice looking hurt and appalled back at the top.

Jasper might be only a tad stronger than us, but it gave him the upper-hand, so it really came down to Everett and I. Side by side, we plow down the mountain, snow spraying up around us. Cold wind nips at my bare cheeks, and the whole world is tinted in darkness because of my black glasses.

"Damn." I growl as Everett gets a foot or two ahead of me after I dodge a tree. I eye a slanted rock up ahead, a plan forming in my mind. Everett, seeing where I'm headed, realizes I could win if my scheme works. He intervenes, trying to cut me off. I slide around him, and we are soon neck and neck.

We grate against the rock, and then spring into the air. Me being lighter, I soar ahead of him. He begins falling before I do, so he grabs me by the waist, dragging me down with him.

"Let go of me!" I shriek, trying to undo his arms. Since I drink from humans, I would have a bit of strength on him, but his muscles make up for all that is lost by his disgusting diet.

"Never." I can hear the smile in his voice as his arms tighten around me.

EVERETT POV

Ryan and I crash into the drift of powdery snow. There is no telling how deep it is, but it made for a soft landing. Ryan is still in my arms, trying to brush the snow off of her.

"EJ Everett Cullen, if you ever do something like that again I will tear you apart limb from limb. That was totally cheap and mean. I had you and you kn-" I cut off her rant by pulling her close and placing my lips against hers. She tastes like a cherry lollipop, sweet and rich.

I pull back to see her reaction. Her eyes are wide, her cheeks flushed pink from a mixture of cold wind and heated passion. Without uttering a single word, the brunette beauty puts her arms around my neck and kisses me again, this time with more intensity.

Suddenly, the cold disappears. I open my eyes without taking my lips from Ryan's. Her eyes are still closed and seems unaware of our new surroundings: a completely black room with a giant heart written in what looks like silver Sharpie and a single, naked bulb hanging overhead, flickering slightly. I slowly pull away from her and her eyes spring open. I turn my head around and see another heart, this one broken in half. The floor is covered in withered rose petals. There is something hanging in the air around us, an invisible cloud of misery, longing, and sorrow. It makes me feel dead inside.

"Are you doing this?" I ask her. Her face, already a dull pink, shifts to a bright scarlet. She clears her throat and the room, the hearts, the roses, the feelings, they all disappear as she shifts her eyes away.

"Sorry. Accidents happen." She shrugs, using all her vampire strength and agility to jump gracefully from the snow, over the snow drift, and ten feet away. She immediately begins riding again. I thrust myself up, joining her as we fly down the mountain.

"Ryan, wait, what was that?" I try to catch up, but she is gone, racing with a new kind of determination now. As if she is trying to outrun life itself.