Aiyanna didn't go home. She wasn't expected. For some miraculous reason she was actually allowed to sleepover Lark's house. Well, the reason wasn't that miraculous…her stepdad was out at a few parties – so her "services" weren't essential; he'd get his kicks from some other poor sap tonight.

She decided to stay the night in her neighborhood park; after all, it wasn't supposed to get too cold tonight. It was a beautiful, clear night – the kind of night where you can see a ton of stars and a full moon. Too bad Aiyanna couldn't enjoy it. Although she didn't feel she had said anything wrong, she still wishes she could have said it better. Lark was her only real friend in the world. Deep down, she knew that Lark looked out for her so fiercely because no one else would – not even Aiyanna herself. They'd known each other since they were toddlers, and Lark was made aware of Aiyanna's home life pretty early. It must have been a heavy burden to bear, to know that is and be sworn not to tell anyone. Aiyanna scoffed at that last part. Not tell anyone something that everyone knew…it was ridiculous. Everyone just minded their own business. They all saw the bruises; they all met her "parents" – if one could call them that. It was if people didn't want to go through the rigamaror of paperwork or the possibility of being called to a witness stand – oh yeah or the possibility of taking Aiyanna in after it all went down. That was what happened to her first and only relationship – the moment he began to realize the gravity of what she went through on a daily basis he split. He was one of the boys from earlier tonight – although he hadn't openly made fun of her, he sure as hell didn't stop it either.

All these thoughts brought her back to her original theory: she was an idiot. Lark was the only one who hadn't turned her back, and she had yelled at her and acted like an ingrate. Nonetheless, she couldn't bring herself to turn around back to Lark's house and beg forgiveness…not just yet anyway.

Aiyanna sighed loudly and plopped down on a bench, trying feebly to clear her mind.

"Penny for your thoughts."

Aiyanna nearly jumped out of her skin as a vaguely familiar voice broke the silence of the night. As she turned to her right, their stood the boy she had met earlier that night. "Alec, right?"

"Something must be really bothering you for you to be out in the middle of the night at a park crying by yourself. Do you, um, want to talk about it," Alec silently cursed himself for not sounding more convincing; but honestly he still wasn't used to caring.

Aiyanna gasped and began to wipe her cheeks, sure enough they were soaking wet. She had no idea she had started crying, she was so wrapped up in her thoughts. "I just got in a bit of a fight with my friend that's all. Silly really to be crying over it."

Alec pointed to the spot on the bench next to her, and she straightened while nodding that it was okay for him to sit with her. "Was it a big fight?"

"The biggest we ever had…I screamed at her, and believe me that's not like me at all."

"I know," Alec said simply, staring at his hands.

Aiyanna cleared her throat, "Um…how could you possibly know?"

Alec sighed internally, prepping himself for all the possibilities that lay out before him. "I've been watching you for a few weeks now…I only just tonight got the courage to come up and talk to you," he started trying to sound nonchalant.

It worked. Aiyanna blushed and looked to the ground as she responded, "How come I haven't seen you? I mean if there's someone knew at school, usually everyone knows."

"I haven't been at your school."

"Then how have you been watching me?"

He took a deep, unnecessary breath. "From Lark's attic…"

Aiyanna shot up from the bench. "I, um, think I have to, ya know, go now."

She ran with all her might deeper into the park, and in a split second she realize he was several feet in front of her – even though she hadn't seen or felt him move past her. Stopping dead in her tracks she couldn't help but ask, "How did you do that?"

Alec began running almost imperceptible circles around the park and then her, until he came to such an abrupt stop right in front of her that it almost made her head spin. "Well that's…not…normal," she managed to get out.

"Their not contacts."

"What?"

Alec internally kicked himself, of all the smart and witty things he could reveal about him being a vampire and he has to make a crack about contacts! He closed his eyes and spoke again, "These are my real eyes…unless I'm hungry. When I'm hungry they're black, but you don't have to worry I fed before I came here. I made sure of it, because I don't want to hurt you, I want to protect you. I can't explain why, but even though you just met me I've been slowly feeling something for you – and it gets stronger every day. I can't help it, and to be honest I don't want to."

When he opened his eyes he noticed that she hadn't moved, but had a very confused look on her face. "Um…no offense, because I'm sure most girls would find that very romantic – albeit unnerving about the feeding part, but you kind of sound like a creeper to me. So again, I think I'm going to go."

As she turned her back on him, he didn't know what to do. He had royally screwed this up, admittedly trying to say what he think Edward would in this situation. Then he noticed she was headed back to Lark's house, and something snapped. In a flash he was in front of her gingerly putting his hands on her shoulders. She jumped back from the cold and snapped, "Please let me go."

"If you go to Lark's house, you're going to die," he blurted out.

"What? We had a fight, she's not going to kill me over it," she moved around him and kept going.

"She might not, but my sister definitely will."

Aiyanna froze. "There are more of you?"

"We're everywhere."

"That's comforting; considering I don't even know what you are…some kind of super-soldier experiment or something?"

Alec laughed at the slight truth that was in her statement, well as it applied to Jane and him. She turned around and glared at him for laughing at her, and he immediately stopped. "I'm sorry, it's just in a way you're right. For the sake of time and your safety I'm going to tell you the truth so please listen and listen well, because I need you to trust me."

It was Aiyanna's turn to laugh, but she was cut short at the pained look he gave her. He nodded back to the park bench they had sat. Reluctantly she followed him back and sat with him. "You see there are two types of my kind: the kind who feed on humans and the kind who don't. The difference is visible through eye color – well the eye color when we're not hungry anyway. The one's who don't feed on humans, when their not hungry, their eye color is amber; and the one's who feed on humans, when their not hungry, their eye color is –"

"Red. Crap," Aiyanna figured out and started to stand up, but he put her back down as gently as he could.

"You don't get it. I don't want to hurt you. I've protected you so far," he pleaded for her to listen and believe him.

While she sat patiently for reasons she wasn't even aware of he explained everything. He gave he the run down of the circumstances of his and his sister's turning, the Volturi, his and Jane's powers, Bella and Edward, Renesme's murder, the new assignments for him and Jane, and how she had sparked several changes in him over the past few weeks. Finally he told her what Jane had said she was going to kill her the next time she set foot in Lark's house. "Lark," Aiyanna shot up when he was finished, "she's alone with your sister. She'll change her. We've got to go."

Shocked that she actually believed him, Alec got up as well. "Wait a minute, no. I can go and come back and let you know what's going on."

"No way! Lark's my best friend."

"Did you not hear me? Jane. Will. Kill. You."

"Alec, if you've really been observing me so closely the past few weeks, you should know that there's no way you can stop me."

"Well there are several ways that I could," Alec half smiled.

"Maybe, but you wouldn't use any of them, because you won't hurt me."

Taken aback by the truth in her words, as well as her acceptance of everything he told her, Alec sat back down. "Please, don't do this. We can figure out another way."

Aiyanna crouched down to be at eye level with him, "Perhaps, but we may be too late."

A/N Mature rating for next chapter