Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except for my own little plot line and any characters you may not recognize. Everything else is property of the genius Stephenie Meyer.

A/N: There are several things I would like to address in this note, so bear with me here. But before I get into all of the serious business....

I want to say THANK YOU for all of your kind words *hugs times a million* Seriously, I struggled with the last two updates and your reviews made me feel incredibly overwhelmed and happy. I never have enough time to respond to you all but I do read all of your reviews and your words do not go unnoticed. Thank you so much for the support on this story, everyone. :) And, just because I felt like it, I've made a new video for this story. (Think of it as a gift from me to you). You can find it in my profile, titled: "Secret Prophecies: Nightmares." - basically, this touches a bit on Bella's nightmares, things that will happen in the future of this story, AND you get to hear a little bit of Gabriel. ;)

Okay, on with the nitty gritty stuff...

Firstly, I apologize for the long wait for another update. *sigh* But, I thank you all again for your patience. Also, it's been one of those days where I just wanted to get this posted for you all and I've been through it time and again. So, if I missed a typo, etc., please forgive me. lol

Secondly, several of you have been asking me questions that I always fail to respond to, so I thought I'd make things easier and answer them here:

1) Will Bella be able to stay with Edward now that she is part of the Guardiani de Trevia? I don't know. No really, I'm not telling you that... yet. ;) But, for those of you wondering why she hasn't asked that question yet, she will. Trust me, I have this whole scene in my mind that I'm sort of building up to, so just give me a bit of time to get to that.

2) Why isn't Bella more confident? OK... let me just make this clear (if it hasn't already been made - and if not, I apologize) but Bella hasn't exactly been an immortal figure for that long. She's still trying to get used to everything and in the next couple of updates, I'll focus on her training, etc. a bit more. Also, keep in mind that she can manipulate minds if she chooses too (which again, she's still learning how to do). I'm not saying anymore than that, b/c that last part is sort of explained in this update. Think of it like this... if Bella is consciously focusing on doing something it's more difficult for her. But if her emotions get the best of her, sometimes she does something powerful (like kicking Alex's bootay) without realizing it. It's something she still has to master.

3) Wouldn't the Cullens be able to recognize Bella even if she were in disguise? Yes, some of you think a step further ahead than I can write. ;) I'm not answering this as this update basically gives you that answer.

4) Does Edward know it's Bella? See above question. lol

5) Can Bella hear Edward's thoughts? She can if she chooses to hear them. Her ability to read minds is different from Edward's. Edward is always hearing voices in his head but as the years have gone by, he's been able to tune them out. However, that doesn't mean that they still aren't there. Bella, on the other hand, can read someone's mind if she purposefully taps into it. It's like a switch flipping on and off. She makes the decision on whether or not she will read someone's mind. So, she's not constantly hearing people's thoughts and then chooses to zero in on one. Does that make sense?

Thirdly, like I said above, I made a new video. And no, I'm not making a miniseries!! LOL So many people have asked me this on YouTube. I do not have enough clips to make a miniseries (if you haven't noticed, most of my videos contain a lot of the same footage... haha). I just like making them ;P But seriously, thank you for the comments on them. I'm glad you all enjoy the vids so much :)

Lastly, I would like to dedicate this update to a truly amazing girl named Molly. She has been a longtime reader of twi-ction's work (as have I, b/c let's face it... twi-ction is pretty amazing). Molly, twi-ction brought your story to my attention and I can't even begin to tell you how much it touched me. I am thoroughly honored that you and your mother read this story. Your strength has truly inspired me. Thank you so much for being apart of this journey with me! I hope you continue to keep writing and I send you all of my love and best wishes. :)

Alright, kids, on with the story!

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Edward's POV:

I walked the halls of Forks High, my head down as I concentrated on the floor beneath my feet. The speckled tiles ran into each other, a white haze speeding past my eyes.

Brown. Her startled gaze entered my mind. The colored contacts she wore masked her true nature as if she were concealing my sight from her very soul, from even the others that surrounded her. She had said my name like a prayer, spilling forth from her tongue, flowing out of her lips. The sound pierced my heart. It was as if a choir of angels had been singing; their heavenly song spreading through every fiber of my being, coating the vessels and nerves that still allowed my monstrous body some capable form of touch, sight, smell – all of the things that were human. There was only one person who could make me feel that way.

Whispers of a name floated through the air. Marie Rigas. She was on everybody's mind.

Just moved here… She's from Jacksonville apparently… Did you see her car? I want that car… Hot blonde babe… Is she going to that party?

I wonder if she knows Bella? Oh look, it's Edward. He'd be far better off with me…

I shut my eyes tightly as I passed by Lauren Mallory. She turned around; her fake blonde locks sending a wave of cheap perfume under my nose. Gritting my teeth together tightly, I quickened my pace.

My family and I had only been back for a week and already I was beginning to hate it. Our excuse was simple. A family member in Denali was deathly ill and we went back there to visit them. It was what Carlisle told the hospital and the school board, so Alice and I followed suit with the plan if anyone asked. Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper spent most of their time at home with Esme, usually keeping watch over the area for any unfamiliar faces.

Leaving Volterra didn't necessarily mean leaving its occupants. We were never safe from the Volturi, even with Aro's permission to let us leave.

Carlisle was especially both interested and concerned about Alice's visions. The violet-eyed beings merely fueled his thirst to know more about the Guardiani de Trevia.

Personally, I was ready to have all of this finished. I didn't like being away from Volterra but that didn't mean that I wanted to be there either. Aro was hardly one to trust and with Alec around, it was increasingly more difficult to get inside his mind. There was no way of knowing if Aro was speaking the truth or not. And if he had his way, there most certainly would be a war – a war that would end in death. Several deaths. It wouldn't just be supernatural beings in danger. Humans wouldn't be safe either. More importantly, Bella wouldn't be safe.

And as I walked these halls, passing by the mere mortals who used to know her, I felt useless. Hollow. Everything that I had lived for seemed to be for Bella alone, but now she would never return to me. How could I have been so naïve, so childish to even think that she would have been waiting for me? I was cruel to her. My lies were poison that slowly killed her heart and with that the beautiful soul that I had been privileged to know. Luck hardly described the chance meeting between she and I. Now there was only regret. Pain. Doubt. But I knew that even if she moved on, I would always love her. And when she passed, so would I.

My life would no longer have a purpose if she were not a part of this world.

So, what do you think about her?

Alice stood near my locker, inspecting her nails idly as I approached, her thoughts slowly bringing me out of my own. "Who?" I asked, quickly spinning the lock until the metal door popped open. I reached inside to grab my books for fifth period.

"The new girl," she said, adjusting the strap of her bag. "Oh you're going to need a second notebook."

I glanced at her curiously, hoping to see what was inside her mind. Instead, I received an explanation of binary numbers. "Alice…"

"I'm not telling you a single thing. Now, come on, we'll be late for lunch."

"Oh the horrors," I muttered, closing the locker shut.

She looked at me pointedly as I tucked my books beneath my arm; her tawny eyes boring into my own. "So?"

Oh right, the new girl. "She's a terrible driver but apart from that I don't know anything more than what others have thought."

But wouldn't you like to? my inner self taunted. The memory of the girl swerving off the road this morning, flashed before my eyes. Again, I recalled her saying my name before her wheels began to turn. It wasn't the fact that her speaking my name unnerved me. It was her voice.

I knew that voice. But there was nothing about this girl that belonged to the owner who should be speaking with that voice.

"I like her," Alice chirped, skipping lazily by my side. "True, she gets easily distracted but there's something…" She screwed up her face for a moment, thinking, which allowed me access into the several images of the blonde that raced through her mind. "Familiar."

Frowning, I refrained from saying anything more. If Alice thought she was familiar, then there was definitely something about this girl. What it was, I couldn't say at the moment, but I would be sure to find out.

Alice breathed in deeply as we neared the cafeteria doors. "Mmm… pizza. Who's hungry?"

I sighed, rolling my eyes as she giggled and reached for the door. Ever the optimistic one of the family.

"What?" she asked, grinning cheekily. "I could have liked pizza when I was human."

"You wouldn't have remembered," I pointed out.

"Well, I can always dream."

"No, you can't."

Alice merely snickered and opened the door. "Always finding a way to dash the mood, Edward," she teased before entering the cafeteria.

I stood outside the doors for several moments, my body tense. As Alice made her entrance, a waft of several different odors engulfed the air around me. I could pick out every spice – or lack thereof – that was used in the school's food. Then there was the smell of each individual human; their blood all unique and equally tempting. I could even pick up the sent of Clorox that the workers used to clean the kitchen counters. But there was something else that stood out.

Something… familiar.

The scent was close – very close. It was as if a strange magnetism pulled me towards the very door that my sister and so many others had walked through. I wasn't thinking. My mind could only register the heavenly aroma that guided my feet. I clasped the handle tightly within my hand, pulling the door open.

"And that's Edward Cullen." Jessica Stanley's voice pierced my ears. That smell was here, right underneath my very nose and yet as I looked up to see where it belonged to, my sight fell on that of the new girl's. Her brown eyes were striking, not nearly as beautiful as I had remembered. The fine lines of her contacts were clearly noticeable, but as to what her true color was, I could not be certain.

She stared back at me, her skin flushing a beautiful scarlet hue. It only brought forth the smell even more. Freesias… roses… lavender… Still, that scent – which awakened the monster within me – was not as strong or as potent as I had once remembered it. The fact that I even smelled it alone startled me. Even then, there was something about her, the look in her eyes, which made me want to be near her. To touch her. To feel her warm skin beneath my fingers.

Edward, come over to the table, Alice pressed. Now.

Her thoughts were urgent, and so I quickly looked away from Marie, shoving my hands deliberately into my pockets as to keep them from twitching at my sides. Furrowing my brow, I began to grow agitated with my feelings as I stalked towards Alice. More importantly, I was agitated with the person who caused these feelings – the new student. I only ever felt this way about one person, and she most certainly was not her.

"You smell it too, right?" Alice asked quietly as I sat down across from her.

I held my breath, afraid of what would happen if I gave in to that delicious scent. "How could I not?"

"It's coming from Marie." Her eyes narrowed as she sneaked a glance towards the blonde. "Curious name, isn't it?" She turned to me then, her eyebrows raised as if trying to prove a point.

My jaws clenched and I tightened my hands into fists beneath the table. "She's not her," I hissed. "She's not Bella."

"Smells like her," Alice commented, her tawny eyes alight with wonder. "Blushes profusely when she sees you and I still can't shake the feeling that I know her somehow."

A low growl rumbled within my chest. I had been reminded countless times of how I had lost the one girl I had ever loved. But knowing that there was someone else on the school grounds, someone living, breathing, who reminded me, in all the little ways of Bella Swan, made my skin crawl. Was she some demon here to torture me? Better yet an angel just out of reach? How was I supposed to handle being around her?

"What bothers me," Alice spoke quickly beneath her breath, effectively interrupting my thoughts. "Is that I can't see her."

I turned to her sharply, troubled by this information. It was rare that Alice ever felt this way.

An anxious expression crossed her face for the briefest of moments before the usual stone mask clouded her elfin features. She's blurry to me.

"He's really quiet and hardly gives any girl the time of day, so don't even think about it," Lauren commented loudly, enough to capture my attention. Alice stared straight past me, her arms crossed, but I knew she was also listening.

I turned my head a fraction of an inch in the direction of Lauren's table. It was then that we heard her voice. Every muscle tightened, constricting my body until I was frozen – a stone gargoyle perched on the edge of his precipice, forever tortured. My world came crashing down in a matter of seconds at the breathtaking sound.

"Wouldn't dream of it…" Marie murmured.

Her eyes were on me and I couldn't help myself from looking up at her. A bright red blush spread across her cheeks as she quickly glanced away, ducking her head.

Memories of a shy, quiet Bella in Biology class flashed before my mind.

"Do something," Alice hissed, her gaze directed at Marie.

I blocked off everyone else's thoughts, intent on focusing solely on Marie's mind. She glanced down at her food, a half-bitten apple, and looked over to Jessica as she squealed, "Oh my God! Yay, new gossip!"

"What is it with the new girls?" Lauren whined, her nasal voice reaching greater heights within my ears. I winced slightly.

Damn Cullen… Mike seethed quietly, smashing chip after chip against his lips. Stupid, freakin', idiotic, low-life, asinine, son of a –

"Uh… Mike?"

"I'm fine," he spat. Still, regardless of the many curses Mike Newton threw in my direction, I received not one thought from Marie Rigas.

"What's going on?" she asked. "What new gossip?"

God, this girl needs some major help, Jessica inwardly barked but soon took it on as a challenge for herself. It'll be like helping the homeless, she thought. "You."

Marie stared at her blankly and by this time I was sitting on the edge of my seat, straining to hear something, anything…

Nothing.

Jessica beamed. "Okay, don't turn around, but Edward Cullen is totally staring at you."

I shifted my gaze down to the floor, pretending to be interested in the brown stained tile. If Marie were going to think anything, it would be now. When I was met with more silence, I finally looked up. She was staring right at me again but this time she didn't blush. In fact, her face became rather pale.

Very pale.

A wave of nausea hit me then, a feeling that I had not experienced in quite some time. I shut my eyes tightly as if concentrating would make my discomfort go away. When I finally opened my eyes, the room rocked back and forth for a few seconds, enough to disorient me. I glanced back towards the table as Marie swiftly exited the room. What had I just thought about her? Why did I suddenly smell freesia? I placed my head in my hands, acutely aware of the room beginning to spin. It was as if I had blacked out for the last few minutes, for I couldn't remember anything past Alice leaving me to enter the cafeteria.

What is it? Alice thought, her eyes now boring into the side of my head. When I turned back to her, I caught an image of myself through her mind. My eyes were coal black.

"Get me out of here."

~*~*~*~

Bella's POV:

Tears. Hot. Smooth liquid streaming down my face. It tasted like salt.

The halls were silent and the further I ran, the softer the resounding noise from the cafeteria became. Still, the voices were there, mimicking the crescendo of a thousand buzzing bees.

I felt sick. The watery fluid that covered my eyes acted as a thin veil, masking any defining features of the objects ahead. Yet I could still make out the outline of a door that led outside, just beyond the math department.

But I knew my limits.

I slowed to a gradual halt, my fingers lightly splayed across the handle of the door, ready and willing to push it open… and I froze. Waves of rain slowly drifted across the horizon, covering the lush forest in a misty haze. I stared blindly through the miniscule droplets that imitated my tears.

I had hurt him. Verrin was wrong about the Cullens. Though they had their doubts, they were certainly aware of my presence. It would have only taken them a few moments longer to figure it out. Though I had tried to block it out, eventually I did catch on to Alice and Edward's conversation. How ironic that I was finally able to make out the words that streamed together in their lightening fast hisses. Alice couldn't see my future, and therefore that held to my advantage. But Edward… he didn't need special gifts or powers to figure out who I really was. He was the only one who ever truly knew me.

When Jessica had pointed out that he had been watching me, I was naïve enough to turn around. How stupid of me. It was as if I was reliving my very first day at Forks High where I was drawn to a dark angel whose eyes penetrated right through me. There was no warmth in his gaze, only the cold blackness of his hostility. Though, it was different this time. I knew it was not hunger that influenced his reaction, yet it was still inevitably me.

I told myself that I would never access his thoughts and yet what did I do? I manipulated him into forgetting our silent encounter in the cafeteria. It was a temporary solution for my panic. He was too close to figuring it out and yet I blindly reached forward, gripping anything and everything to fight him off. In the end, I watched his face contort with pain, confusion, sadness…

"You always hurt the one you love." Wasn't that an old song? It was supposed to be harder for me to manipulate other minds - not easier. Somehow, despite my resounding guilt, I felt like he and I were even. He hurt me, and now I hurt him and undoubtedly would end up hurting him even more. I wasn't proud of it. I didn't get some sick, twisted pleasure out of watching him suffer. More than anything I wanted him to figure out the truth. There were people who I could turn to when my world spun in a blur. Verrin… Jacob… Yet neither of them were who I wanted to console me. I wanted the vampire – the one with the golden eyes and the soft, bronze waves that crowned his head. I wanted Edward.

But I couldn't have him.

A sharp pain coursed through me then as I closed my eyes, silently letting the last of my tears drip down my chin. When I finally looked outside, the reflection in the window that stood before me was foreign. I hadn't changed my appearance and still the only thing I could see was a broken girl who was too damaged inside to find her way out of the darkness. The only light came from the violet eyes that hid behind her contacts. But it was a false light. It was the train at the end of the tunnel, waiting for her to end her miserable life. How foolish she was.

I sighed, knowing that at some point today I would see Mike or Jessica, maybe even Lauren, and they would ask me about my sudden departure. As the end lunch bell rang loudly throughout the school, an explanation already played through my mind. Slowly, I turned around and walked towards my fifth period class, robotically putting one foot in front of the other.

Students passed by me, whispering animatedly, their eyes always glancing in my direction. Trying to distract myself from the attention, I swung my backpack around so that I could retrieve my schedule as I continued to move through the hall. I quickly skimmed through the list of classes until my eyes landed on the next one.

Human Anatomy and Physiology with Mr. Banner.

Fabulous.

You know that feeling where you think the world is out to get you just because you were having a shitty day? Well, that's exactly how I felt and I began to believe that theory even more as I realized that I had forgotten to stop by my locker after lunch to switch out my books. There was no time for me to run back and make it to class without being late or drawing even more attention to myself, so I reluctantly continued on my route to Mr. Banner's classroom.

The walls were white. A poster of a dissected frog hung on the far side of the square room. Three large windows stood opposite me, staring out onto the main parking lot of the school. The rain pelted the thick glass, easily matching the frantic beating of my heart. This room, smelling of formaldehyde, leaking a cool breeze from the vent that swept past my face, held some of the most important of memories that I had of Edward. My gaze drifted to the seat where we once sat in Biology. His black eyes accosted my mind, slowing turning to gold, which instantly brought a thin layer of tears to cloud my sight.

"Miss Rigas?"

Startled, I turned to look at Mr. Banner. He stared at me curiously and it wasn't until then that I noticed the line of students standing behind me as I unknowingly blocked off the doorway. Quickly I stepped forward, swallowing the lump in my throat.

"Y-Yes, I'm Marie Rigas."

Mr. Banner smiled at me warmly, his dark eyes twinkling from behind the round glasses that sat atop his nose. "Well, from the looks of your transcript, you've already been through most of what we have covered in class." He handed me a textbook and the class syllabus. "I trust that you'll be able to catch up. We'll be starting on the circulatory system today." Absently, he adjusted his glasses as he looked down at a seating chart on his desk. "You can sit over there."

I turned to where he outstretched his arm, pointing his thin finger directly to the table I sat at last year.

My eyes widened as I fixed my gaze on the blacktopped table. I barely registered the rest of the students passing by me.

"This actually works out perfectly," Mr. Banner continued, the sound of a smile in his voice. "I had an odd group of three in here for lab, but now I can split them up. Your lab partner will be Edward Cullen."

Ringing. It was all I heard as every other noise slowly began to drift away. My gaze was still focused on the table where I would sit. I let my eyes travel over the harsh outline of the desk, noting how sharp the corners were. Didn't they say that the devil lived in corners? I swallowed hard as I realized I was living through my own personal hell.

Without responding to him, I walked away from Mr. Banner and towards my seat. The chair was cold as I grabbed the back of it, scraping the metal legs across the floor. Numbly, I sat down. More stares. More whispers. I didn't look up to acknowledge my other classmates. Not even when Mike walked by me, bidding me a friendly hello, nor when Angela smiled my way. And as my back stiffened, my eyes widening minutely as the familiar electricity shot a static frequency through the room, I didn't even look up at the person who walked towards me. I could feel his cold eyes on the side of my head. I heard every soft thud of the soles of his shoes as they hit the ground, the barely audible gush of wind as his arms moved by his sides. But most importantly, his heart was the only one not beating. His lungs were the only ones unwilling to fill with air. His eyes lifeless. His body stone. My mind grew fuzzy as the sound of the chair beside of me scuffed across the floor.

All I had to do was turn my head and I would see him. Though, my body sat frozen in place, my muscles clenching tightly beneath my skin. I felt trapped inside a cage of bone; a body that was not mine.

"Alright, that's enough chit-chat," Mr. Banner sighed, eagerly opening his textbook. The class instantly quieted down. "Today, we're going to begin the circulatory system. Can anyone tell me what systemic circulation means?"

Thankfully, Mr. Banner didn't want to waste time with having me introduce myself. My book sat unopened as I stared down at my outstretched arms. Slowly, I felt Edward stir in his seat. Snow-white skin entered my sight. My heart stuttered within my chest as I watched him carefully lower his arm to the table – next to mine.

The muscles were taut, sculpting his forearm into stone, as if he were a creation from Michelangelo himself. His fist was closed shut, making the blue veins stand out beneath the cold pallor of his skin.

My fingers twitched.

"Mr. Cullen," Mr. Banner called out. "Would you care to tell us what systemic circulation is?"

Edward never missed a beat. "It is the circulation that directly feeds the heart."

My mouth ran dry as I sucked in an inaudible gasp. His voice. I had heard the whispers issue from his lips in the cafeteria, yet they barely held a flame next to the sweet cadence that had just assaulted my ears. My dreams and memories didn't even suffice. I wanted to laugh hysterically. I wanted to cry until my tears pooled on the table before me – maybe even both. Quickly, I flicked my eyes to the right. Edward's right knee bounced up and down repeatedly while his other hand was clenching the edge of the table, his knuckles a stark white.

"You shouldn't clutch that so tightly," I murmured.

It was my mistake. I watched in shock as his body froze. Slowly, he turned to me, his eyes as black as night – two ebony pools that threatened to burn my soul.

However, I didn't shrink away from his frightening gaze. If anything, I was more attracted to it, like a bug drawn to a light.

"What did you say?" he hissed.

"Lab work," Mr. Banner bellowed, waving a stack of papers in the air to gain the students' attention. A resounding groan echoed throughout the room. "I want you all to work with your lab partners on labeling these diagrams. Each of you will receive three copies – one that each partner can keep and the other to turn in to me by the bell. Also, before you leave, I want each of you to write a short paragraph summary on the blood flow as it goes to and from the heart."

I saw nothing but the onyx hostility that spilled forth from Edward's eyes. I was frozen, unable to move even if I wanted to.

And I did want to.

Thankfully, Mr. Banner's voice broke Edward's penetrating gaze. "Mr. Cullen, I assume you know who your new lab partner will be."

Edward turned to the front, scooting his seat as far away from me as he possibly could before nodding curtly.

"Good. I hope you two don't have any problems." Three sheets of diagrams were placed down on our desk as Mr. Banner continued to move around to each table.

I glanced quickly at Edward as I numbly reached for my book. His fists were clenched, hidden beneath the table as he kept his gaze fixed to the floor. The topic of today's class couldn't be that easy for him to bear but I knew his reaction was caused specifically by me. Clearing my throat, I divvied out the papers and opened up the textbook, my fingers easily skimming through the pages until I found a similar diagram.

I was nervous. My breath was uneven and my hands shook, but somehow I was able to speak to him again. "I think that one here is the coronary artery," I said, pointing one finger at our diagram and another at a picture from the book. When I received no response, I turned to him only to find him in the same position. "What do you think?" Yet, he said nothing.

Suddenly, I found myself back in time to a day where I was still human, still awkward and afraid of this perfect creature beside of me. And then something within me snapped. I wasn't inferior to him and if anyone deserved to feel his wrath, it shouldn't be me. He had no right to be cruel to me then, and he certainly didn't now.

"Is there a problem?" I spat, shocked at how clear my voice sounded. Outside, I felt strong, ready to take him on with my words, but deep within me my heart faltered violently.

I refused to infiltrate his mind to read his thoughts, but as he turned his head slightly towards me, I found that I was struggling to resist the urge to do so. Still, not one single word escaped him.

I was infuriated.

"I'm not one to do all of the work on my own," I huffed, hardening my gaze. "Clearly you already hate working with me, so I'll spare us both the trouble and go ask Mr. Banner to change our partners."

Standing up suddenly, my chair scraped loudly against the floor, catching the attention of others. Leaving the diagrams behind, I briskly walked around him, even when my heart shattered at the thought of leaving his side.

"I don't hate you."

It was so quiet, that had I been human, I may have not heard it. I halted my steps, carefully turning around. I had only made it just past our desk.

Edward sat there, his face contorted in pain. Though his eyes where still the color of night, anger no longer resided in them – only sadness, torture. "I… I don't hate you," he repeated, sounding as if it physically hurt him to say the words.

"I never said that you did," I murmured, turning more towards him. "I only said that you hated working with me."

Edward scoffed, his lips twitching upwards into a lopsided grin.

I nearly fell to my knees before him.

"It's the same thing, isn't it?" he asked me, finally looking up to meet my gaze. "Not once have I asked you your name. I haven't asked you where you came from or how you got to be here. You're new and the last thing I should be doing is making you feel even more of an outcast than you surely already feel. Trust me, I've made that mistake once." He sighed, furrowing his brow. "I'm sorry."

I wanted so badly to wrap my arms around him, whisper in his ear that it would be okay and that I was here with him. Instead I moved back to my seat, the urge to touch him dancing across my fingertips.

We were silent for a few more seconds before Edward straightened up in his chair. "You… remind me of someone," he whispered. "Someone I lost."

Tears threatened to leak out over my eyes, but I bit the inside of my cheek, desperately trying to keep them at bay. Shakily, I drew in a deep breath. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you like that."

He shook his head forlornly, the muscles in his arms still tight but gradually relaxing. "It's not your fault. It was mine."

"Can I ask who it was?" I barely dared to breathe.

His face slowly contorted into a mask of undeniable pain, but in an instant it was gone. "Someone who no longer goes to this school, so really I shouldn't be so concerned over it should I?" He glanced over at the diagram before us. "And yes, that is the coronary artery."

Startled by the change in subject, I quickly wrote down the label on our paper. He gasped slightly and I turned to him, shocked to see recognition cross his face. He swallowed thickly before looking away. My eyes widened as I turned back to my scrawled writing on the paper. How stupid I was. Of course he would recognize my handwriting. "Um… w-would you like to write?" I stammered, handing him my pen.

It seemed to take him several moments before he cautiously lifted the pen from my grasp and spun the paper around on the table so that it faced him. Even though I knew that he could have filled out that diagram in less than two seconds, he waited for me to find him the answers.

Still, my brain couldn't function. I couldn't handle the tension between us anymore. "You said that you didn't ask me what my name was, though I know you probably already know it." He looked up me, his black eyes slowly fading to a muddy brown. Mustering up all of my strength, I outstretched my hand to him. "Marie. My name is Marie Rigas."

His eyes deliberately traveled down to my slightly trembling hand. No matter how strong I was, I would always succumb to him. He could have told me that he was going to end my life and I would have let him. Because in the end, there was only one person who claimed me, and that was Edward Cullen.

The pen dropped, bobbing from one end to the next as it hit the table. And then there was cold. I released a shaky breath as I glanced down at our clasped hands. His skin was like ice against my own, sending wave after wave of delicious chills throughout my body.

"Edward Cullen," he muttered. I looked up to find his face much closer. "My name is Edward Cullen. It's nice to meet you, Marie Rigas."

I was lost – wandering through a sea of darkened dreams that matched the intensity of his gaze.

"I do hope they call this work nowadays," Mr. Banner scolded, stopping at our table.

Edward's fingers quickly moved to my wrist, effectively sending my heart into overdrive. "I was just checking Miss Rigas' heart rate. She was a little confused on the difference between systolic and diastolic flow. I was merely demonstrating the difference in the beats."

Anxiously, I glanced up to Mr. Banner who seemed to believe Edward's lie. "Very good, Mr. Cullen. But seeing as how we are focusing on writing about the flow, I trust you can stop feeling it."

My cheeks flamed a vibrant red as the rest of the class snickered in their seats. It didn't escape my notice that Mike scowled from the table ahead of us. Edward quickly released my hand and returned to our diagram that somehow had been miraculously filled in. Even with my acute senses I still managed to miss him writing everything down. Mr. Banner eventually walked away and I watched in a daze as Edward lifted out a notebook from a small stack of books on the table. "I guess we still need to write that summary."

Awkwardly clearing my throat, I turned back around in my seat. "Um… right." Reaching down to my bag, my hand stopped just above the zipper as I reminded myself that I hadn't been to my locker to switch out binders. Not that it would have helped, seeing as how I was lacking paper in all of them.

"What's wrong?" he asked me.

I kept my head down, afraid of how I would react if I looked into his gaze once more. "Oh, I forgot that I don't have my notebook with me." But that magnetism, that electricity, made my body act against my wishes. When I looked up at him, a wry smile graced his lips.

"Well, you're in luck," he answered, shuffling through his supplies once more. "I happen to have an extra one that you can use for this class."

For the first time that day, I didn't have to force a smile. "Thank you."

We sat silently for the rest of class, working on our summaries. Naturally, we were the first to finish. Edward didn't speak with me as we waited for the bell, and I didn't speak to him either – though I wanted to. After several more minutes, our work was finally collected and as the bell chimed, I glanced back to my side to see that Edward was already gone.

~*~*~*~

The rain had eventually stopped. Water splashed up against the car as I turned into the Blacks' driveway. Bumping along the gravel, I gradually pulled to a stop. Verrin was already waiting for me on the front porch.

I grimaced as I opened the door.

"How dare you almost wreck my car!" she screeched, her hands resting firmly on her hips. "Damian followed you this morning to make sure you'd be okay, but clearly you almost lost it! I could have raced over there and strangled you myself!"

"He followed me?" I spat, my voice livid. Slamming the door shut, I trudged past her, tired of her whining already. "If you were so angry with me that you wanted to strangle me, then why didn't you?"

"Excuse me?"

I turned to her, already changing back into my natural appearance. Long ago, I had taken out my contacts, as my eyes were already growing agitated by them. Our violet stares locked. "I didn't wreck your car," I stated, my voice loud and clear. "There's not even a scratch on it, but if he follows me again, you can kiss your little Audi goodbye. It won't be anything but a pile of scrap metal by the time I'm done with it."

She silently fumed as her body began to tremble.

"Hiya, Bells. What's going on out here?" Jacob opened the front door, carefully eyeing the two of us. Eventually, he turned towards me but my gaze was still fixed on the pixie-like demon behind him. "Um… how was your day?"

Maybe it was his nonchalant attitude that set me off. Maybe it was the fact that Verrin was wearing her Alice-like disguise or the fact that neither she nor her brother trusted me. But eventually I felt myself begin to explode. "I can't handle this," I hissed, shoving past him so that I could drop my stuff off in my room. Within seconds I was back at the front door. Neither Jake nor Verrin had moved an inch. "I'm going out."

Jacob took a step forward, reaching his hand out to me. "Bella – "

I turned my head to the side sharply, effectively cutting him off. "Don't follow me."

Moving past the two of them, I jogged down the stairs and began walking towards the outskirts of trees. Being as tall as he was, Jacob merely took a step off of the porch and he was already on the ground. "Bella, wait," he called out after me. "What's going on?"

I turned my head just enough to see that he was close behind. Too close. And so I ran. The sharp air swept past me as I pushed my legs, beckoning them to take me further away from this place. Jacob didn't follow after me, because he knew as well as I did that he could never match my speed. So I continued to run as their voices lingered in the air.

"Where's she going?" Jacob asked Verrin urgently. "Where is she going?!" he repeated again. I could hear Verrin swivel around and take off in the opposite direction without even giving him a clear answer.

His heart picked up as he turned back to where I had gone. "Bella!"

Blood. It ran through my body, pumping through the arteries, feeding the muscles, which helped me run away from my present. I concentrated on the way it would flow, pulsing and hot from the heart. And the more I thought about it, the more I thought about Edward.

A flock of crows flew overhead as I leapt over a fallen tree. Apart from their caws, the woods were silent. I didn't know how fast I was going only that I kept running further and further away from Jacob, away from Verrin and her brother, away from what I had become – the violet-eyed rogue. She waited for me at the front of Jacob's home, beckoning for my return. "Come," she whispered. "You belong with us."

Faster I ran, hardly growing tired. The sun had begun to drift from its highest peak and it wasn't until I slowed my pace, glancing up at the sky, that I realized it was twilight.

"We don't know who she is," a voice echoed around me. I stopped, frozen in place as my sight zeroed in on every minute detail around me – the fine hairs of a rabbit feeding near my feet, the tiny ants climbing a tree as they burrowed into the pinpoint holes in the bark, the slightest hint of a green bud poking out from its confines on a branch twenty feet away.

"She's nothing to worry about, Alice."

I snapped my attention to the side, turning completely around. There, almost fifty feet away, through the low tree limbs was the outline of a house. Silently, I stalked forward, bringing myself to a stop behind a tall pine.

"You said she was wearing contacts?" another voice said.

"Yes. I could see the rim around her irises," said the other.

"I don't like this," a new voice sighed. "What if she's a spy?"

"She's not a spy!"

My heart fluttered within my chest as I quickly climbed the tall tree, hiding myself behind its thick foliage. Through soft green needles, I was able to see into a window of the familiar home. Had I kept running, I would have truly exposed myself. Inwardly, I cursed my stupidity. They all stood in a circle, Alice at the center, her arms crossed as she glared at Edward. "We don't know that."

A woman walked past them, her palm resting on the side of her face as lines of worry creased her brow. "Esme," I breathed.

"No," Edward clarified, taking a step towards his sister. "You don't know that and that's what's bugging you isn't it? That you can't see her."

"Wait," Esme interjected, turning back around to face them. "I thought you said that Alice knew to have you bring a second notebook."

"She did," Edward stated simply. "But that was just it. She didn't know why I'd need the notebook." He kept his gaze on Alice, his voice treacherous as he spoke to her. "I've been around her long enough today to know that she's not dangerous."

"And how long was that?" A flash of blonde came into view and for the first time since seeing any of the Cullens, I shrunk away. Rosalie stepped in between Alice and Edward, her golden eyes flaming with anger. "How long does it take you to know if someone isn't dangerous, Edward? Especially someone who you can't read. Didn't you just tell us that it felt like you blacked out earlier today? What if she had something to do with that?"

"Babe, come on," Emmett sighed, gesturing for her to step back. She turned to him, her gaze almost becoming violent. Emmett backed up, holding his hands in the air as if in surrender. "Listen, I'm not saying that we shouldn't be cautious, but I don't think she's a spy for the Volturi. We would know that by now."

"Not necessarily," Carlisle interjected. They all turned to him as he stared thoughtfully towards the floor. "She wouldn't have to be a vampire. And if she were she could have far greater powers than any of us have encountered before. But seeing as how she has a heartbeat..."

I let my sight drift from each vampire to the next as the verbal match continued. Alice… Edward… Rosalie… Esme… Emmett… Carlisle… Edward…

Wait.

Seven Cullens there were and yet I only counted… six.

A tree limb snapped loudly from behind me. Startled, I turned around, gripping the branches above me for support. Blackened eyes embedded in a mask of white, surrounded by a halo of blonde waves met my sight. A low growl issued through his lips as he bared rows of sharp teeth.

And in an instant, the feral aggression in his stance faded into confusion… fear… recognition…

"Jasper," I whispered, shocked.

He clung to the branches before me; his body merely inches from my own in his predatory crouch. Yet, all I could see were the emotions battling in his gaze. He swallowed, though he had no reason to. His lips parted…

Silence engulfed the air…

And finally he spoke.

"Bella."

-

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Yeah, I ended it there. haha *cue in onslaught of questions* More than likely you're questions will be answered in the following updates, but feel free to keep asking them. I'll probably put up some answers to them in my next author's note. Also, if your questions pertain to why the Cullens still couldn't figure out that Marie was Bella, all I'm going to say is that Jasper will be telling you a nice little story in the next update. ;)

Reviews are love! Thank you again for reading :)