A/N: Hello.. This is PepsiBlue updating.. J.S.O.P is currently unavailable, When RL kicks in, It really kicks.. haha.. Please review..

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 13: Looking Glass

The next day me, Alissa and Christine were walking down the hallways at school talking about Marie and her "Arrival" at the Jones' house. We all can't seem to get over the fact that after she disappeared and, at the state I saw her in, she just came back like that, like nothing happened. Now nobody seems to know all the details about her coming home except for her family but it sounds and is totally weird to hear that she just came back, I mean where did she go? What happened to her and her wounds?

As expected, the news spread fast. Some people were just passing on what they heard and others stretching the truth into some strange rumors. Just then, we saw Marie walking down the hallway towards us, wearing an all black turtle-neck long sleeve shirt and dark washed jeans.

She looks different; almost bitchy, well more bitchy than before, and cold and distant. For a second people stared then moved on as normal while some lingered, a little wary. Marie didn't look well, her face and any other showing skin was a sickly pale.

Seeing her now like this and remembering the state she was in the last I had seen her was unnerving, it gave me goose bumps and an icy spine tingle.

We moved a little to side, pressing close to the walls. "Okay, am I the only one freaked out here?!" Chris asked me and Alissa as Marie walked past us.

"Nope." I answered easily but there wasn't anything else I could say, because seriously, is there?

"Okay then, and you," she stands on her tiptoes and points at Alissa's face, who frowned slightly at the action. "Why aren't you talking much?"

"Stop pointing at me and get off your toes, you look ridiculous" she points out, "and I'm not talking much because I am worried about Ryan, you know about how he feels about this and stuff."

"No knocking on the fun sized girl, I don't look ridiculous, you look ridiculous because you look like a giant standing next to me." She said with a huff. Always so sensitive about her height.

"You're getting out of topic," I told Christine, "Don't worry about him so much Ali, he'll be fine, he'll cope." I said to Alissa with a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." Chris tried to sympathize as well.

"I hope so, when I was talking to him last night, he sounded off… like he couldn't believe what was happening, he tried talking to Marie or his parents but they were too busy fussing over her so he called me instead. I'm really worried." she explained. I looked back down the hall as the retreating Marie moved towards her classes with the other seniors.

The bell rang and startled the three of us, we didn't notice we were standing on the side of the hallway and blocking some people off their lockers.

"Shoot, I have to get my stuff at my locker. I'll talk to you guys later." Chris said and she surprised us as she hugged Alissa tightly and pulled her head down so she can kiss her on the cheek before running away.

"Did she just…?" Alissa asked.

"Yeah" Was my intelligent reply.

I guess this day is going to be full of weirdness..

~*~

Christine and I met at the lockers to go to our second class together, and as we approached near the classroom we heard several students whispering.

"… yeah, she just, like, came home last night, no scratch, no scars, nothing.."

"Really? I heard she came back with a tattoo… "

"… said she joined a cult or some shit like that…"

"She is more bitchier now than before, she acts like she fucking owns the halls…"

I looked at Chris when I heard her snort lightly at the last comment, I knew she was listening too. I raised my eyebrow at her in question.

"What? I was just amused." She answered defensively. I just shook my head and we went inside the classroom and sat in our seats.

I saw Chris take down her hair and put her earphones in. I wish I could do the same, I wanna get lost in my own thoughts, but I can't do that because they said school is important, but cant people realize, I'm still in shock and seeing Marie now, just adds to my trauma?

I heard Ms. Jane enter the room and I silently prayed that she wouldn't make us do much activity today.

"Buenos Dias, Zao Shang Hao, Kali Mera, Aloha Kakahiaka, Buon Giorno, Good morning everyone, How the feck are all of you!" she exclaimed, not asked. "So today is a special day so were gonna have this activity I thought of." Everyone, except Chris who looks asleep, nodded and Ahhuhed.

"It's called doing nothing activity! Doesn't it sound great? All you have to do is seat down and do nothing." She said and I thanked any deity out there who answered my prayer. Superman, Buddha, Green Lantern, whomever, thanks a lot!

"Oh, and you can use your phones and whatever you have. But no drugs!" Ms. Jane said.

"But I thought were supposed to do nothing?" a student a few rows behind me asked.

"Seriously? Are you a teenager? Are you even human? I gave you guys a chance to use your electronics freely and you question me?!" Ms. Jane replied.

"Fine, whatever!" the student huffed.

"Good, now that's settled, everybody, shut up and let me go, Hey!" Ms. Jane laughed. Wow, she really is weird.

As everybody quieted down and started bringing out their gadgets, I just sat there and got lost in my own thoughts, just the way I liked it.

I'm not sure how it happened or how It started, but I think I fell asleep…

I was walking down hallway after hallway in what looked like my school, but it's deserted, I can't see any other living, breathing soul near me. I just kept walking and walking, I feel a pull somewhere near me, something wants me to go to them.

I walked past an empty classroom, then that's where I felt the pull strongest, I opened the door, afraid of what I might see but I couldn't help myself.

I opened the door wide and saw that it was my biology classroom. And there on one of the tables near the back was Edward Cullen. He was staring down and was writing furiously on a piece of paper, he didn't even bother to look up when I closed the door and it sounded with a click.

"Edward?" I called to him. He didn't look up and just kept writing rapidly. I walked towards him slowly.

When I was just a few feet away, Marie came to stand in front of me. I was shocked and was forced to back away some.

It was like she came out of thin air.

"And where do you think you're going?" she asked me menacingly, "Can't you see his busy? And you're just going to disturb him?" She pushed me against the wall, and leaned down to whisper in my ear. I can hear my own breathing, I was panting and scared. The nearer she was to me, the more air I lose and the more I have to breathe hard.

"If I were you, I would be careful." She whispered in my ear in a very hollow tone. I didn't know if was warning me or just scaring me, but truthfully, I am really scared.

Then she leaned back and smiled at me. It wasn't a friendly smile.

Then she disappeared. I was still pinned on the wall, yet no one was holding me. That's when I realized I was weak, my knees are shaking, I was breathing hard and I was relying on the wall to stay up.

"Hey, I drew something for you." I heard a voice say in front of me. When I cleared my thoughts, my mind registered that it was Edward's voice. And he was standing right in front of me.

But he looked different, he was very pale, wearing an all black outfit, and he looked lifeless. He wasn't the Edward I liked, this was the Edward I dreamt of before, the one I was afraid of.

"Wanna take a look? It's a picture of you." He said.

Without waiting for my answer, he showed me his drawing; it is a picture of me.

But it wasn't beautiful to look at. It was detailed and drawn with a careful hand, but what made it not beautiful is that it was a gory picture. Of me.

I was bloodied and had a lot of wounds, blood was gushing out of my arms and legs and my clothes were torn. But the detail I noticed the most was my face, It had a lot of lines drawn in it, it resembled shattered glass, and I also had a very defeated look on my face, and tears were falling from my cheek.

It was scary to look at. I couldn't look at it anymore so I just closed my eyes.

I felt something near my ear when I heard, "This picture is going to happen soon." Followed by an evil laugh, not evil laugh like doofenshmirtz, but the evil laugh that will make you whimper and cower just by hearing it.

After that I felt something gooey behind me. I regained my strength and whirled around to face the wall, and there I saw that the wall was full of blood and the room was turning to ashes.

There was nowhere I could go.

"Don't worry, its painless."

Then everything went up in flames.

I was torn from my dream when a hand shook me on my shoulder.

"Oh my God Bella, are you alright?" I heard Christine ask me frantically. There were murmurs all around. I was losing my focus.

"Bella, breathe with me. Inhale, exhale, come on Bella, breathe, just breathe."

I realized I was hyperventilating. I did what Chris told me and started breathing in and out.

When I was finally able to calm down, I looked around me but they were blurry, I wiped at my eyes and saw that I had tears in them.

When I looked around again, I saw many concerned faces surrounding me. Chris and Ms. Jane were in front of me.

"Are you alright? Do you need anyone to bring you to the nurse's office?" Ms. Jane asked.

I couldn't speak so I just shook my head.

"Alright. Everybody out now, Christine sweetheart, stay with Bella until she calms down and could stand up, I really think we need to bring her to the nurse." Ms. Jane instructed.

"No! No. I'm fine, I just need a minute." I finally found my voice.

"Okay, stay as long as you need, I don't have a class for the next hour anyway." Ms. Jane told me and asked Christine to stay with me.

"Are you sure you're fine?" she asked me with worry in her eyes, she handed me a bottle of water.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." I said as I took the bottle and drank it straight.

"Let's go." I told her and stood up. My knees were still wobbly but I could manage. Chris was instantly by my side and helping me.

"I'm fine." I told her to ease her worries, "Thanks you Ms. Jane, but were going now."' I called to my teacher.

"Oh sure, you're welcome. Take care now, alright." She said to me with a genuine smile.

"Bye." I answered her and Chris and I walked out of the room.

~*~

"Alright, everybody settle down now." Mr. Stevens told all the students in the lab room. It was another project meeting.

Me and my group are already settled in one of the lab tables. Marie was sitting at the head of the table and everybody was gawking at her. She didn't even bat an eyelash at all the attention she was getting.

"If I could have all of your attentions!" said Mr. Stevens. "I understand we have had some 'disturbance' recently." A quick glance over at over table wasn't mixed. "I know some of the groups have had some problems but that is no reason for the rest of you to slack off." A quick glance at Team Ripper wasn't missed.

"This club was set up for students serious about their work in this subject and for those of you who joined believing this would be a doss lesson you are very wrong. Just because you're not serious doesn't mean others want to be dragged down. There is only a few weeks left and expect you to all get on with this. I understand that some of you need to continue filming on school property, all I ask is you keep it down."

People were quick to fill out, Team Aswang and Ripper leaving first. Oliver West shouting something about the science labs as he held up canisters of fake blood and a box full of cling film wrapped objects. I wasn't too sure I wanted to know the subject of Team Ripper movies.

Others left I think for free opportunity to wonder the halls with an excuse to make noise and mess about. In the end few groups were left, most of Team Skeleton gathered around one computer as Jason and Jackson fussed over a memory stick. It turned out the two brothers had spent the weekend trying to recover some of the footage we had lost to the police. They had pieced together the opening titles and what we would be using as the end credits.

I leaned in towards the screen as Jason tried to put it on full screen view and I was quick to be flanked either side by Mike and Marie. Neither of them made me feel too comfortable.
Christine on the other hand, short height didn't mix with the taller group members and being trapped at the back had to squeeze her way into the front beside Mike and Ryan. She didn't seem too pleased either.

The screen flickered a couple of times, writing blurred its way into view as well as a Mikes mock up of our logo.
I tried to pay attention but it was a little hard with two people breathing down my neck. Marie ,way to close for comfort and Mike being Mike. Marie shifted beside me. I turned to look at her, she brushed a dark price of hair behind her ear, a delicate act that somehow stood out in the gloom. Noticing my stares she sent a brief smile in my direction, not a pleasant one but not quite Marie either, all teeth and smirking. No one else seemed to interested, all focusing on the screen - I was glad that I wasn't, a blonde girl in a pair of very small shorts was being chased by an axe murder down a deserted street - and soon Marie was too.

There was something defiantly different. Marie had never been one of the most likeable of people, she gained her respect through fear. Her dark attitude and wit helped her get by. Some people just knew to stay out of her way but now she just seemed something else entirely.

Small differences; her eyes are sharper as though she was always on edge, always suspecting, and she appeared a rather sickly pale. Don't get me wrong Marie was a little ghostly before but this tone to her skin gaze the illusion of sickness. Then again she had almost died, that had to count for something.

The clip was over, I hadn't paid it much attention. As the others moved back to our desk I moved to the chair next to Jason. Opting to assist editing rather than sit next to Marie.
Jason didn't seem too shocked by it. He opened up a computer program and began to import the footage from his memory stick.
"So, is she a... Vamp or something?" He asked, a brief glance over at Marie.
"I," was not sure how to answer his question. The Little twins had been quicker to dismiss my theory than the others. They hadn't wanted anything to do with our investigation, they panicked - well Jackson did - and left before they got too involved. How did I know he wasn't mocking me. "That's stupid, vampires don't exist."

I spared a look at Marie. A sly smile on her face as if she owned the place, I was glad I didn't have to work with her and the others and, judging on how he looked at her too, Jason was also a little wary of the girl who appeared to have come back from the dead.

After Mr. Stevens last announcement, everybody started filing out the door.

Me and my group were the last to stand up and walk out.

"Marie!" Ryan shouted at his sister's retreating form. "Marie!"

Ryan ran after her and when she reached her, She pushed him away.

Ryan held on to her shoulders and spun her around to face him. "Marie, what the hell? What the heck happened to you?" Marie hissed at him and had pointed look on her shoulders. Ryan saw the gesture and let go.

"None of your business now get away from me." She answered her in a threatening tone.

Ryan was shocked to say the least, he and his never got along but she wasn't this openly hostile to him either. Everyone was watching their display and I noticed Lorelie on one corner, she closed her eyes and started murmuring something, she was holding on to some kind of medallion in her hand.

I stalked towards her and shook her a little.

"Lorelie what are you doing?" I asked her.

"Nothing." She answered nut she had that guilty look on her face, so I knew she was lying.

"Your lying. You know something don't you?" I asked her with a slightly high tone in my voice.

Her face blanked out for a minute and looked at me straight dead in the eyes. "They think I'm crazy. I'm not, they just don't understand. They only see what they're told to see, they don't look hard enough for what's hidden. That's why when something new comes along they don't want to accept it unless enough people tell them too."

"Bella, none of these people know what's happening. They don't realize the significance of everything that's happening, but you do don't you?" I didn't answer but Lorelie continued.

"There is danger everywhere, look around you, be careful you're being watched and followed. She must sacrifice someone's blood to save her hounds and she must be stopped before she gets on thousands. No one is safe, this place is the last stop, everything will happen here, prepare yourself, it might not be the end of the world, but it might be the end of humanity." She said then took my hand. She shoved something in it and ran away, fast.

"Well that was cryptic." I heard Chris say to my right. I didn't know she was listening as well. "She ran like her ass was on her fire, what did you do?"

"Nothing. I only asked her if she knew anything." I told her honestly, "then she gave me this."

I held it up and saw that it was some sort of necklace with a tiny bottle tied to it. When I looked more closely, I saw that it was salt.

"Is that salt?" Chris asked with her face only a few inches from the bottle and her eyes almost crossing.

"Yeah, I think." I took away the necklace and Chris almost fell face first. I giggled. She glared at me.

I put in on and it ended right on where my heart was beating.

"Hey, I have an idea." I told Chris, "I think we need to visit the manor house."

"oh shit! Yeah, we'll talk later. Bye!" Chris said hurriedly before running away, and I quote her, 'like her ass was on fire'.

I was confused with her actions before a panting Aiden stops besides me, "damn, she runs fast." He said to me before running towards Christine's general direction again.

'okay' I thought to myself. We'll either talk later or I'm going alone to get on with my idea.