And now, finally, welcome to New Moon! We have reached the second book, and I must say, I rather like this chapter. So I hope you'll like it, too!

I'd like to thank everyone who either reviewed, alerted or favorited the story so far, you are the girls (and guys? Probably not ;)) that keep me writing!

Bella Drama

Ring ring.

What was that?

Riing riing.

That couldn't be my alarm clock, could it?

Riiing riiing.

Gah! I wanted to sleep! It couldn't be morning already!

Riiiing riiiing.

Wait. That wasn't my alarm clock. That was my cell phone!

Riiiiiiing riiiiiiing.

I jumeped up and grabbed my cell from my nightstand. I could see the time – quarter to midnight- I had been so tired today that I had gone to bed at around nine o'clock. And now somebody was calling me.

"Yes?", I answered and yawned.

"Leah!", an almost terrified voice said. I needed a few seconds to realize that it was Jasper.

"Hey!", I said, a little confused, "Are you okay?"

He sounded very much as if he was trying to calm himself when he answered:"Leah, I am so sorry... I am... I didn't know who to call... I'm so ashamed of myself..." "Shhh", I muttered, "Everything is fine. Shh. Where are you?" "In the forest. Not too far away from your border, I think... I can smell the wolves..." He choked. "God, what am I? Leah, please... I am so sorry... I feel so... I am..." His voice trailed off, but I was awake now. Something was seriously wrong. "Alright, Jasper, wait a moment. I'll come to you." That seemed to frighten him. "No! Stay where you are! Don't come anywhere near me!" "Bullshit", I said, "Give me one good reason why I should leave you alone." "Because I'm a monster", his answer was. He sounded so convinced that it broke my heart.

I sighed. "Jasper, are you alone?" "Yes", he whispered. "There's a reason why you're calling me." "Yes", he whispered again. "And I think it means that you are alone, but that you don't want to be alone, is that correct?" "Yes",he whispered a third time, "But-" "None of your family is with you?" "None", he said. "Alright, then it's set. I'm coming." "Leah-", he moaned, but he sounded much less convinced than before.

"Tell me exactly where you are", I demanded. His resistance crumbled, I could feel that. He really seemed to be desperate. "I don't really know myself. Maybe I can... no, I can't come anywhere near people. Leah, you really shouldn't-" "Shut up!", I exploded, but fell silent right away. I couldn't risk anyone hearing me. "Wait for me at the cliffs right outside Quileute land." When he didn't answer, I bellowed:"Understood, Major?" "Yes, Ma'am!", he answered quickly, and I grinned to myself, "Yes, I'll be there."

I hung up and opened the window next to my bed. Right in front of it was a tree – the one Sam had always climbed when he hadn't been allowed to visit me. I took a deep breath and looked down. Gosh, how I hated heights. I felt dizzy. Tears stung in my eyes. But then I reminded myself that something was wrong with Jasper. I grabbed my car keys and my cell phone and put both into a small bag. Then I climbed onto the window sill and took another deep breath. I grabbed the two branched that were the closest, took yet another deep breath and climbed out of the window. The tree was perfect for climbing – it had many branches, and Sam had once shown me how to climb up and down. I tried to remember his steps, and very carefully I climbed down the tree.

I exhaled relived when my feet touched the ground. After one quick look at the clock on my cell, I tried to walk as quietly as I could around the house to get to my car. Suddenly I realized that I was still in my pajamas – a pair of Seth's boxershorts and a short top. I also wore no shoes. Stupid, stupid, stupid me! Maybe it was better if I headed back to get dressed properly. But something was seriously wrong with Jasper. He sounded almost depressed. If I went back into my room now, it would take another twenty minutes until I could start looking for my vampire friend.

That would be too late. Go now, my light, nice side said, and for once, Darth Leah didn't argue.

It was raining, and I had already started to freeze. I could kill myself for not getting dressed. I would get sick. Or probably not. I rarely got sick.

I reached my car and got into it, praying to every imaginable force the engine wouldn't be so loud. I turned the keys, and the noise of the engine almost left me deaf. I knew I was just imagining my car to be so loud, but it still almost gave me a heart attack. I hoped that Mom and Dad wouldn't go into my room while I was absent.

I drove out of the village and through the woods. I was nervous. Never before had I snuck out of the house so late at night, and that for an unknown and inexplicable reason. When Sam had been my boyfriend, Dad had at least known where I had gone to.

I drove past Forks and sped up. I wanted to know what was wrong with Jasper. Something really bad had happened, if he was out there alone, with not even Alice by his side.

The road ended suddenly, and I stopped the car. Great. Now I had to walk through the rest of the forest. And I had no jacket and no shoes! I was so getting sick this time.

I ran through the thick forest. I didn't care at all about the wooden splinters and pine needles, but I could feel them piercing my feet. Branches whipped against my face, and it was raining cats and dogs now. I really hoped (for his sake!) that it was something important. Why hadn't I asked on the phone? Right, because he had sounded as if he needed someone with him, not on the phone.

I found my pace and rushed through the forest, a little stunned by how well I could run. Was I dreaming? Yeah, that was the only possible explanation. I was dreaming, and soon I would wake up in my warm and cozy bed.

I slowed my pace. I was really freezing now, although I had ran for some time, and I had tears in my eyes. What if I didn't find Jasper? The huge dark forest wasn't exactly friendly-looking, either. I remembered the strange smell and the red blurr I had seen in the forests around La Push when I had hiked there with Liev, and suddenly, I was very scared. I started shivering, and not only because of the cold.

I stopped and looked around. I couldn't see much, though. It was really, really dark. "Jasper!", I called out, "Where are you?" I hoped that vampires had good ears and continued walking.

Suddenly a strange feeling crept up my back. A feeling of danger. I supposed that Jasper wasn't too far away from me now. At least I hoped so. For any other dangerous creature in this forest I was a welcoming and easy-to-get meal.

Please, let it be Jasper, I prayed.

I almost shrieked in horror as I passed the same sweet scent I had encountered in the forest of La Push. That couldn't be... this other vampire couldn't be here... and then I sniffed again. With a sigh of relief I noticed that this smell was different. It smelled a little like chocolate and peaches – while the one in La Push had smelled more like ginger. It was NOT the vampire from La Push. It was Jasper.

I followed the trail, and soon stepped out onto the cliffs. The ocean was roaring against the rocks, and in the darkness I could see a faint shadow, standing right at the edge.

"Jasper!", I said loudly. The shadow turned round. "You shouldn't have come", Jasper said. His voice sounded much different than usually. It was deeper and hoarser. I shrugged and walked towards him. "It's too late now." Jasper looked at me. "Is it?"

His eyes were totally creepy. They looked like pitch-black holes. I had seen him with black eyes before, but this- this was different. This was dangerous. A little small voice that became louder every second told me to run.

We're not running from Jasper, a voice inside of me told me. It weren't my two normal competing voices, I knew that. It was something different. And it was stronger than the voice that tried to talk me into running.

So I ended up ignoring it and focussing on my vampire friend.

He touched my face with his ice-cold fingers. "You have scratches." I tried to smile. "I hope I'm not bleeding."

Jasper shrank back in horror. "You should thank God for that! Oh Leah, why have you come? I'm so... thirsty." He said the last word with a weird expression on his face. A hungry look was in his eyes, and when he looked at me again, I realized that he was trying to figure out whether he could drink my blood.

I slung my arms around my body because I was shivering again, and to be honest, it wasn't only because of the cold and the rain. But I'd have never admitted that to Jasper. But in wrapping my arms around me, Jasper snapped out of his hungry trance and said with a rather normal voice:"Oh, Ma'am, you must be freezing. Here, take my jacket." He got out of his light grey jacket and handed it to me. The jacket was cold – of course, Jasper didn't have any body heat. I got into the jacket and hoped that it would warm up soon. It had a furred hood, too, which I quickly pulled over my wet hair. That felt much better – although my feet were still cold.

"Jasper, what's happened?", I asked, making a step forward to take his hand. He backed away. "Don't touch me! I'm a monster, Leah. I don't deserve all this. I don't deserve this money, this family. I don't deserve you being my friend. I don't deserve Alice! I'm a monster. I can do nothing but kill." I took another step forward, and this time he let me take his hands. He looked at me with a horrified expression, but didn't move. "Jasper", I said with a calm voice, "Tell me what's happened." Jasper nodded and closed his eyes as if to concentrate.

"Today – now, now it's already yesterday – was Bella's eightteenth birthday. September 13." I kept myself from rolling my eyes. I didn't like Isabella. "Alice had planned a party. She loves to do that, you know? So she had decorated our living room with roses in glass vases, and with hundreds of candles, and she had even bought a cake big enough for a huge family, which is very strange since we all don't eat that. Except for Bella, that is." He smiled shortly at me, and although it looked more forced than real, it calmed me. "We had bought presents for her, and although Bella doesn't really like being the center of attention, she came. I could feel that she was a little nervous, but also happy. She doesn't want to get older, but I think she still was happy about her birthday. In any case, she started opening her presents. Because I was curious, I came closer than I usually would do. You know, Bella has an extraordinary scent, so to speak. It's", he choked once, "delicious. I hope you can forgive me for my choice of words." I didn't say anything. I wanted him to continue. "Well, because of that scent, I usually try to stay away as far as possible without being impolite. But I wanted to see her opening Edward's present. She was about to open the paper when she-" He hissed and stopped. A very sad look lay in his eyes. "Leah, I am so sorry! I shouldn't have called you! You had to sneak out of her house, and now you're here with me – a dangerous, blood-drinking monster! I am endangering you! How could I have been so stupid? You're so precious to me, and yet I make you come to me in the middle of the night to a place far away from the next town or even street-" "Jasper", I said, and when he didn't listen, I repeated, "Jasper, stop. I told you to wait here for me, just as I told you I would come, no matter what. Stop worrying about me. I'm worried about you." "Leah", he said, and it sounded as if he was crying, only that I could see no tears. I felt helpless. Poor, poor Jasper. I slung my arms around him and pressed him close to my body. He stiffened, and a quiet growl escaped his throat. "You shouldn't-", he began. "Shut up", I told him. "You don't know what happened!", Jasper said desperately. I rolled my eyes. "Well, it's pretty obvious, isn't it? Paper cut."

Jasper nodded. It felt weird to have him so close. His body felt ice-cold, and my instincts told me to run. But there was something different, too... not only a frightened feeling, but a feeling like being – being okay. Being safe. Being home. But it felt as if this wasn't exclusively mine, but somebody else's. Like I had two personalities, and one was feeling totally fine with hugging a vampire.

"It wasn't only a paper cut", Jasper then said and pushed me a little away from him. I looked at him. He looked as if he was doomed. "It wasn't that I hadn't drunk anything for almost two weeks. I should have gone hunting before the party. Before Edward tried to keep me away from Bella, he pushed her further away into a table with crystal vases, and she fell right into the shards... Emmett held me, and then I was escorted out of the room. Bella had a huge cut in her arm, and it was practically...", he started panting, as if the memory made him thirsty again, "... flooding out of the cut. Her... blood, I mean." He exhaled, and I suddenly felt very, very vulnerable. "Delicious... warm... red... blood..."

He wasn't himself anymore. His wild eyes suddenly looked very unfocused, but he stared at me, and all of the sudden, I was very frightened. Then I remembered that he could feel what I was feeling, and that it would hurt him to feel I was frightened. I calmed down and looked fiercly into the thirsty vampire's eyes.

With all my strength, I hit his cheek. "Major Whitlock!", I said loudly, "Pull yourself together now, sir!"

His unfocused, wild eyes focused on me again, but instead of wild, he looked horrified now. He backed away. "Oh God! Leah, have I hurt you? Are you okay? Should I bring you to the hos-"

"JASPER!"

He fell silent.

"Calm down! Everything's fine, I'm not hurt at all. I'm worried about you."

He looked at me. "You are worried? Not scared?" I smiled. "Not scared at all. And now please calm down. You haven't hurt anybody." He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then opened them again. "Alright, Ma'am, I'm calm."

I exhaled. "Good." We both were silent for a while. Then Jasper asked with a voice that sounded much more like his usual voice:"Why are you worried?" I rolled my eyes. "You are calling in the middle of the night, telling me that you're sorry, telling me that you're a monster, and now you're asking me why I am worried? I thought you knew me..." Jasper stared at me. "How can you be so... so nice to me? How can you talk so... so ironically about all that?"

I made a step closer again. "I'm not talking ironically. I'm trying to ease the situation." I pulled him into another hug. Jasper didn't seem to mind, and he pulled me closer. He really seemed downcast and sad. Did he really think that he was a monster?

"I'm a beast", Jasper muttered desperately into my ear, as if to answer my question, "I'm a blood-thirsty beast. I'm not supposed to exist. I should not be. That should not have happened. I'm a monster. I am-" "Shh." I pressed my fingers on his lips. "You're not a monster, Jasper. You're no beast. You are just a vampire, Major, a Confederate who was barred from returning home by vampires. It is not your fault something's happened today. Edward just shouldn't have fallen for a human."

"Leah", Jasper moaned, "You can't say that. You can't decide for who you fall. It's me. I can't control myself. I'm bad." I shook my head. "No, Jazz." He looked at me with a confused expression. "Jazz?" I shrugged. "I needed a nickname. Anyway, you're not bad. Things like that can happen. That's the risk when you go to a house full of vampires. Don't blame yourself. Will you promise me that? Don't blame yourself." He looked at me, and his eyes didn't seem so wild anymore. He didn't smile, but somehow I knew that he felt better.

"Alright, darlin'. I promise." I smiled:"What do you promise?" And now finally he flashed a thin smile at me. "I promise to you that I won't blame myself. Thank you for coming. Really, thank you." His cold lips touched my forehead, and he said:"I'm going to bring you back to your car now. I am sorry for having called you in the middle of the night." I smiled. "Don't be. We are friends, right? I would do this again anytime."

He smirked and then said:"Alright, climb on my back. You'll be at your car right away." He winked at me and pointed at his back. I took a deep breath and climbed onto it. "Keep hold of me, and don't let go. Oh, and hold your breath", Jasper chuckled. I nodded, held my breath, and then all of the sudden, Jasper grabbed my legs and started running.

My eyes widened in shock. The trees were only a grey blurr, and it was as if a big rock lay on my chest and kept me from breathing. I was glad Jasper had told me to hold my breath.

And then he stopped, and I realized we were directly in front of my car. Jasper let me down and kissed my hand. "Goodbye, Leah. I hope to talk to you soon." He started to walk away, but I called him back. "You've forgotten your jacket!", I shouted. He came back. "Keep it, darlin'. I don't want this lady friend of mine to be cold." He winked at me, and then he was gone.

I stared after him, standing there with my naked, ice-cold feet and my boxershorts, and only Jasper's jacket provided a little warmth. I could feel that this time, I wouldn't get lucky with getting sick. I could already see the flu waving at me. I nodded a friendly hi and got into my car.

Lady friend.

Weird phrase, in my opinion. And why was this sounding so familiar coming from his mouth?

The next morning, when my alarm clock woke me up, I thought for a second I had just dreamed. Only when I saw the jacket on my floor, I realized that last night really had happened.

I couldn't really remember how I had made it back home. I only knew I had been back in my bed at three a.m., but that my heart had been pounding so fast that I hadn't been able to fall asleep until 4 a.m. I just hoped no one had realized I had been gone.

I was tired – no, exhausted – and my legs felt sore. I could feel that I still had needles and splinters in my feet, and my nose was running. Great. I had a cold at the least.

Gosh, I was sooo tired! I wanted to sleep. Stupid alarm clock. I wouldn't go to school today. So wouldn't.

Mom knocked on my door. "Leah, are you up already?" "No!", I yawned loudly and pulled the blanket over my face. I could hear Mom opening the door. "Leah, come on. Are you alright?" I pulled the blanket down a little and looked at Mom. She looked worried suddenly. "Oh, dear, are you sick? Do you have fever?" She rushed over to my bed and pressed her palm on my forehead. "Mom!", I complained and yawned again. "You're not going to school today", she concluded with a serious look on her face, "I'll drive Seth and Jacob, don't worry. Now get some rest, I'll come back later." She smiled and left the room.

I turned round in my bed. Had I really walked into the woods yesterday night? To meet a vampire? Had I wanted to die? Jasper could have killed me!

I almost hit myself. I couldn't say that. Jasper could never have killed me. Besides, it wasn't his fault that he reacted to blood. That was a vampire's fate. He was a great friend, not a monster. I felt more than sorry for him that he felt that way.

I rolled around in my bed for five minutes, and then fell back asleep.

On Thursday I went back to school. I was still feeling sick, but I didn't want to miss too much subject matter. Everyone was looking forward to the study trip. Just a week to go! I didn't care much about it, though. I was still worrying about Jasper. He hadn't called again, and when I had tried to call him, only the mail box had answered. I had the slight feeling that something was about to happen. Something I wouldn't like. What would the Cullens make out of the situation with Bella?

Then, on Thursday night, my cell phone finally beeped. I answered immediately and was relieved to hear Jasper's voice. But when I heard what he was about to tell me, I suddenly became very, very nervous.

"Leah, we're leaving."

I couldn't believe it. Had he really just said that? "Why?", I asked confused.

"We've stayed here for far too long now. Besides, the... incident on Tuesday has shown that we should not, under all circumstances, search close contact to humans." "But where will you go?", I asked desperately. Jasper cleared his throat. "We're moving to Alaska. Without Edward. He's going somewhere else. He hasn't decided yet." Now I was even more confused. "Why isn't he coming with you? Have you had a fight? Doesn't he want to leave?" "No, we haven't had a fight. Although Rosie is very angry, that is true. But it was Edward who almost pushed us to leave. It's because he feels responsible for what's happened on Tuesday. He doesn't want to jeopardize Bella even more, so tomorrow, he's going to break up with her and meke her forget us. He's heartbroken himslef, but he has no other choice." I snorted. "Make her forget you? Can he do that? I thought he could only read minds?" Jasper had told me about the Cullens' abilities once. Jasper chuckled. "He will just remove everything in her surrounding that would remind her of us. And our house will be empty. Which brings me to another point- oh, wait. What is it, Alice?" I couldn't hear what they were saying for the next couple of minutes, but my mind was trying to process what Jasper had said, anyway. They were moving? Jasper would leave Forks? I understood why they felt they had to do that, but I didn't want Jazz to move. I needed at least one friend I could tell really, truly everything. I needed Jasper.

"Leah", Jasper was back on the phone, "Alice wants to talk to you." "O...kay?" I could hear how the phone switched hands, and then I heard Alice's soprano voice:"Leah, it's so nice to talk to you again! I hope you haven't gotten into trouble for sneaking out at night?" "No", I smiled, "Don't worry, nobody knows." She exhaled relieved. "Good. Thank you so much for doing that. Really. Jasper, you know, he's a little lonely sometimes. I'm there to help him, but sometimes it's better if he has someone else... Someone he can count on, apparently. I can't thank you enough for Tuesday night. There are things where even I can't help – where he won't even believe me... because I'm a vampire myself, you know? But you, you're a human, a human he can stand being around, and when you tell him he's not a monster, it's a lot more helpful. Really, Leah, I am forever in your debt. Thank you so much. If there's anything, ever, that I can do for you, just let me know. I'll hand Jasper the phone back now. Goodbye!" And with that, she was gone. I stared at my cell phone for a few seconds. She hadn't even left me some time to say something in return. "Hey, Leah", I heard Jasper's voice. He was laughing. "I am sorry. Alice is really impressed, you know." I bit my lip. "Well, can you just tell her that she doesn't have to do anything in return? And that I wish her all the best?" "Sure", Jasper said, and I could hear that he was grinning, "But back to what I was saying before Alice interrupted. Could you take care of the keys to our house, please? You know, we've lost the keys to our last house, and even Carlisle agreed that that was very annoying." I looked confused at my reflection in the mirror. "Why? I mean, why would you leave me the key to your mansion?" Jasper chuckled. "Because I trust you. If we ever want to return, we will at least know where the keys are." I snorted. "Right, unless you come back in a hundred years, then you'll have to look in my grave." Jasper fell silent right away. "Don't- please, don't say that, okay?", he whispered after a few seconds. "Please, don't say that ever again." "Okay", I agreed, having realized that it was pretty stupid to tell a friend he would most certainly outlive you. "Anyway", he continued, "I'll leave the keys in the mail box." "Alright."

We both were silent for a while. Then I said:"I don't want you to leave, Jasper." Jasper chuckled, but it sounded sad. "I've never had more trouble leaving a place, darlin'. But I can't help it. I'm sorry." "But I don't want to lose you! You're one of my best friends! You're the only one I can tell everything!" I suddenly realized that I was at the edge of crying. I hadn't known Jasper had become so important to me.

I could hear Jasper chuckle again. Was he making fun of me? "Leah, no one said that I was going to do what Edward will do. I'm not so foolish as to lose my best friend. My cell phone number won't change, I know your e-mail-address, and we can still meet in Seattle once in a while. I'm not going to abandon you. The night after Bella's birthday has proven to me that somehow, I need you. I cannot afford to lose you. Promise me to call me once a week. If you don't call, I will." "But... your family..." "They know I won't let you fall. Rosalie is the only one who doesn't understand, but I'd bet my state's honor that she is just a little jealous. You know, because you're so courageous. She calls it foolish, but I know her. She likes you, too. She hasn't had a serious bitch fight in years, so she enjoyed prom." I remembered the Forks prom this summer. Rosalie and I had thrown nasty comments at each other, but I had rather enjoyed it, and I also remembered having the slight feeling she had enjoyed it, too.

I didn't know what to say. I didn't want him to leave. He had to stay. If he was gone, there would only Jacob be left as my best friend – but Jacob didn't know about the wolves, or about Jasper. Jasper had become too good of a friend to leave me now. I started sobbing quietly. What had it been I had written down on my first day of senior year? Right:"I have a feeling that this year is gonna be much better than the last."

Well, probably not.

"Leah", Jasper said softly, "Don't cry. I won't be gone. I'm just moving. Take care. I love you." I nodded, although, he couldn't see it. "Take care yourself. Love you, too." And he hung up.

I stared at my cell phone and wiped my tears away. Something was going seriously wrong. Two of my best friends weren't around anymore. Stella and Jasper had both left. And although I was able to contact them via phone and mail, I felt left alone. When Stell had left, I had been happy that at least Jasper was still in Forks. Now my vampire friend was gone, too.

Fate was mocking me. What had I done to make her hate me?

Friday after school I went to Jacob to watch him building his car and to do our homework together. Although Jacob put all his effort into making me smile, I felt sad. It was cute though to see how ridiculously Jake behaved to get me to laugh. He tried to juggle with the tools I had given him for his fifteenth birthday and spoke with a very weird and very funny accent that was supposed to be Indian. When the hammer fell onto his left foot and he said "Ouch" in this accent, I actually did have to laugh, but still I had to think of Jasper.

"Oh, Lee!", Jacob sighed after one hour of making a complete fool of himself, "Isn't there anything I can do to cheer you up?"

"I'm fine!", I hurried to say, but I could sense he knew I was lying.

He threw the hammer away. "I'm the mighty Thor!", he exclaimed and grinned goofily at me as we were walking back to the house to make us some hot chocolate. This time I really laughed. "Yeah, right, a Native American Thor with long black hair." He petted his pony tail. "My hair is awesome, Lee. Here, feel it. It's soft." I chuckled. "Yeah, because it's hair. What did you expect? Wire?"

He grinned. "Yeah. Awesome Quileute wire. We could try and sell it on ebay." He suddenly looked at me as if he had some stupid idea. "You know, maybe that is what Sam, Jared and Paul have done to their hair!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Please what?"

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! They sold it on ebay as wire, for fences and stuff like that! Come on, that's possible, isn't it? Or they sold it so someone could make an awesome toupet, what do you think?"

I snorted, but had to laugh. "Yeah, right, and still they walk around as if they didn't have any money, sure."

Jacob bit his lip. "Okay, maybe you're right. But still – they are weird! I mean, what is going on with the three of them? Are they in some sort of gang, or what? I mean, they have the same tattoo and stuff..."

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe. Could be. Yeah, why not? But what kind of gang should that be?"

"Drugs?", Jacob proposed. It was meant as a joke. I rolled my eyes and laughed with him. "I mean, remember prom?", Jake continued, "Where the three of them were arguing with that meth seller?" I nodded, although that memory was part of my subconsciousness. What I remembered much better was the kiss – and the fact that Paul (and Jared and Sam) could turn into a wolf. But yes, there had been some problem with a drug dealer, I did have a faint memory of that.

"Maybe they are some sort of protectors", I proposed, trying to keep Jake from assuming something completely wrong, "You know, to protect the tribe's children from any harm. Coming to think of it, I heard that they called themselves 'Protectors', too."

Jacob chuckled. "Yeah, right. Sam's favorite role. The protector. I think he's been exaggerating ever since he's become a member of the tribal council. O, hey Dad!", he greeted Billy, who was just entering the house.

Billy just nodded once with a very concerned face and moved his wheelchair to the phone. Jake and I looked at each other, and the both of us crept to the kitchen door to listen what Billy was so worried about. We could hear that Billy was dialing a number. Jacob put an arm around my waist and grinned at me, and then we heard Billy say:"Hey, Charlie. No, she's not here. Yes, they're gone. A note? Oh, shoot. Of course I'll help you searching. Yes, yes, I'll call Harry. Don't worry, we'll find her." He hung up and turned round to face us. "Bella has disappeared. We are going to look for her now."

Jake and I stared at each other. Bella had disappeared? Suddenly I remembered what Jasper had said:"... so tomorrow, he is going to break up with her..." Without really wanting to, I felt a little sorry for Isabella. I supposed she hadn't taken it so well – or Edward had made a really bloody mistake.

"We'll help", Jake and I said simultaneously.

Half an hour later, we were standing nearby Charlie's house, with a map and lanterns. Charlie was with us, really desperate, and Dad tried to calm him. I felt so sorry for Charlie – the woods on the Olympic peninsula were huge, and if Isabella had gotten lost...

I walked to both of them. "Hey Dad, hey Charlie", I greeted both of them. Dad laid an arm around my shoulder and pressed me close. Charlie smiled at me, but he looked very, very concerned. I really hoped we would find Isabella, but the searching party had only just formed, and it would take ages to search the forest around Forks. I looked at Dad, and he gave me a reassuring smile. Then he wrinkled his nose as if he was sniffing something, and I understood. The wolf pack was searching. That made sense. A lot of. They had really good noses, and they were fast – with them, we were bound to find Isabella.

I gave Charlie a pitying look and then asked Dad:"What's happened exactly?" Dad took a deep breath, but it was Charlie who answered me. "I came home from work, and Bella wasn't there. I found a note in the kitchen." He held up a piece of paper with a very messy handwriting that reeked of vampire. Apparently Bella had written it – and still, I wondered how it could smell so badly of vampire. Charlie gave me the note.

'Going for a walk with Edward, up the path. Back soon, B.'

Why hadn't she written out her name? I gave the note back to Charlie and waited for him to continue.

"I called the Cullens, but noone was there."

Obviously. But then Charlie probably didn't know much about the Cullens. I doubted he would have let Isabella date Edward if he had known Edward was a vampire.

"Then I called the hospital, and Dr. Gerandy told me that Carlisle – Dr. Cullen – is gone. Apparently he took a job with a big hospital in Los Angeles."

I kept myself from laughing out loud. Los Angeles, sure. Sunny California was the last place the Cullens would move to.

Charlie took a deep breath. "I think Edward left her alone in the forest", he said angrily, but he was talking to Dad again, who had let go of me and was looking at a map on a computer.

Being free of Dad's arm, I looked around for Jacob, but he was with Billy nearby Dad and Charlie, occupied with the search.

I walked a little further into the forest. It was completely dark, no moon lit up the sky.

A new moon.

For a second I thought of the white moon wolf woman. According to legend, she was now roaming the forests in search of her lost love. I half expected to hear a wolf howling. Then I began feeling sorry for Isabella. It was utterly dark in the forest, and if she really had lost the path, there was no way of finding out of it.

Something moved in the bushes, and the next second, the head of a wolf appeared. I hadn't seen that one before. It was one of our tribal wolves, of that I was sure, but it were neither Sam or Paul. The color of the fur was different, I could see that even in the dark. That left Jared.

"Hey, Jared", I greeted the big head. The wolf nodded. "Have you found her?" The wolf shook its head. "Clever idea, to look for her in your wolf form." It seemed as if the wolf was smiling now. I raised my hand and petted the wolf's head. "You have to find her, Jared. I don't want to see Charlie unhappy." Jared winced, but then he made a sound as if he was happy. "You're glad that the Cullens are gone, aren't you?", I asked, and it didn't surprise me that Wolf-Jared nodded.

"I've got her!", I suddenly heard Sam's booming voice. I jumped. Wolf-Jared nodded at me and disappeared into the forest. I ran back to the searching party, where Sam was holding Isabella in his arms. I could see that Charlie was asking something, and then I could hear Sam answering:"No, I don't think she's hurt. She just keeps saying 'He's gone.'"

I was now next to Dad, who quickly laid an arm around me again. Charlie asked:"Bella, honey, are you all right?"

She seemed to be confused. "Charlie?" Wasn't she calling him 'Dad'?

"I'm right here, baby", Charlie answered. Sam handed Isabella to Charlie, but it had been easier for huge Sam to hold her than it was for Charlie now. He staggered a little, and Sam said:"Maybe I should hold on to her." But Charlie, who was holding on to his daughter protectively, shook his head and said:"I've got her." Dad pressed me closer to him.

"I'll go with him", Sam told Billy and followed Charlie into the house. Billy and Dad looked relieved at each other, and then Dad said:"Come on, honey, we're going home. Bella will be all right." I nodded and gave Jake a hug and a kiss on the cheek before I drove home with Dad.

At home, Dad made us a cup of hot tea, and we both sat down in the kitchen. "The Cullens really have left Forks, haven't they?", I asked after a while. Although Jasper had told me so, I couldn't really believe it.

Dad nodded. "We can only be happy about that. It means that Sam, Jared and Paul can return to a normal life soon. It is always good when the vampires are gone – why are you looking so sad?"

I looked at Dad. I was confused. Was I looking sad? "I'm great, Dad", I said, but I didn't sound convincing.

He raised an eyebrow. "Honey, is something wrong with you? Are you worrying about Isabella? She will be fine."

I seriously doubted that.

"It's better for her, anyway. Going out with a vampire is more than dangerous. She will be sad, but then she'll be fine."

For some reason, Dad thinking that going out with a vampire was dangerous made me angry. "How is a vampire more dangerous than a wolf?", I growled.

Dad looked at me, uncomprehending at first and then furious. "You know very well the difference there is!", he said in a very strict tone, "A wolf cannot kill you. With a vampire, you just need to cut yourself and you're dead, no matter whether they are vegetarian or normal vampires."

I snorted. "And with a wolf, you just need to annoy him long enough and he'll explode out of his skin. If you're near enough, that'll kill you, too. Just look at Emily!"

I could see on Dad's face that my assumption that Emily had been injured by one of our wolves - most probably Sam - was right. "And Sam would have killed himself for that! Leah, you cannot compare us to them."

I stood up, glaring furiously at Dad. "You know, Dad, in myths, vampires and werewolves are both monsters!"

I had gone too far, I knew it. Dad's look changed, and he was now examining my face. "Leah", he said, and his tone was calm, but full of worry, anger and also disappointment, "Since when have you become a defender of vampires? Is there something you want to tell me?" His eyes narrowed.

I rolled my eyes, quickly trying to find a good answer. Finally I said:"No, there isn't. It's just that you and Billy always preach tolerance and acceptance and equality, and I was just pointing out that we're not just the good guys."

"But we are!", Dad said desperately, as if he was trying to prove a point to me, "We have never killed-"

"Oh, bullshit!", I exploded, "What about Utlapa and Taha Aki? What about all the wars? Granted, we did not drink our victims' blood, but we killed them, anyway. There are no people that are better than others. There aren't. And there aren't any groups of people that are better than others, either. I'm going to bed now. Good night."

And I stormed upstairs before Dad could say anything else.

We made up the following day, but I was still angry with him. I knew that Jasper was dangerous, but that didn't mean that it had been bad for Isabella to go out with Edward. People were falling in love, and when you were falling, you couldn't control whether you fell onto your knees, your hands or your head.

The next Monday the teachers continued talking about the study trip, although we probably knew about everything. The only new information was that we were supposed to pack our swimsuits – I hoped they didn't plan on throwing us into the Pacific as a surprise.

The teachers who came with us seemed very nervous. I could understand that. After all, the senior high of La Push was home to the most chaotic group of people in the world. There were Jacob, Quil, Embry and Seth. No more words needed. Then we had Kayla, the school's very own barbie, and of course pack members Jared and Paul. We weren't many students after all – and that meant more chaos.

Mr Cauldwell told us again that two buses would come and get us on Friday, "at five a.m., and if you're late – we don't wait for anyone, not even for you, Kayla!" - that had been Mr Cauldwell's words.

At lunch, I met Jacob. At the moment, he always seemed so happy to see me, that I was beginning to ask myself what was wrong with him. "Hello, Lee!", he greeted me with a big smile on his lips, "You look great today!"

Confused I said:"Thanks... Are you okay?"

"Sure!", he grinned and began eating his lunch. After a few minutes, he stopped eating though and asked me:"Have you seen the bonfires?"

I looked even more confused now. "What bonfires?"

"The ones on the cliffs on Friday night."

I hadn't seen any bonfires. "Why would anyone make a bonfire?"

Jake rolled his eyes. "Because the Cullens are gone, silly. Apparently some people find that awesome enough for a bonfire."

I looked at the table where Jared, Kim and Paul were sitting. Jared saw my gaze and stared back. I just raised an eyebrow, but he shrugged and winked at me.

I sighed. "And?", I asked Jake, "Are you glad that the Cullens are gone?"

Jake looked at me in silence for more than a minute. "What answer do you want to hear?"

"You have more than one?"

Jake nodded. "One for everyone and one for you, my greatest and very beautiful friend. The one for everyone is that I don't care at all, and the one for you is that – well, I don't care much. Isabella is now available again, but I don't think I'm in the mood for playing the shrink for a lovesick girl when I can sit here and have fun with my crazy Lee", he winked at me.

Damn, was he cute sometimes. "Thanks, Jakey, that's really kind of you", I said, only half-ironically. What had happened to him? Was he in a good mood today? He actually was flirting with me! Was that possible? Why would he do that? What had changed his mind? I was confused. Maybe it was just today. Maybe he just had an awesome day. Maybe tomorrow he would lash out at me. I hoped so. A flirting Jacob was kind of scary.

Jacob hit my shoulder. "Hey, Lee! Who's with you in your cabin?" Great, I had been daydreaming. A little confused, I looked at Jacob before I understood his question. "In my cabin... Jessica, Kim and Abby. In yours?"

"Me, of course, that's the only person you need to know about", Jake grinned, "And then Quil, Embry and Seth. It's gonna be so much fun. By the way, can we sit next to each other on the bus?"

I looked even more confused now, but nodded. "Sure", I said, a little shy. He'd change his mind, anyway. He'd rather sit next to Quil and Embry, I was sure about that.

Suddenly Jake bent towards me and whispered:"Dad told me Sam tried to convince the principal of taking him with us to Nootka land. The principal said no, though. Fortunately."

I nodded. "Sam would only have played our babysitter. I would have killed myself if the principal had allowed Sam to come along." Nothing worse than your ex-boyfriend playing your babysitter.

Quil came to our table, carrying his tray of food. "Paul just told me he'd have a special eye on us. For safety reasons. Apparently we're troublemakers, in his opinion. I told him he was a troublemaker and that he should mind his own business, that stupid clown, and then he did something really weird. He began shaking, and then he ran away. I can't believe he can get that mad! Paul is a strange one..."

My friends all nodded in agreement, but I couldn't help it and rolled my eyes. I had learned that pissing Paul off really wasn't the most intelligent thing to do. Except for people who liked to be chased by wolf-men.

When I came home, I found a thick letter on my bed. Apparently Mom or Dad had put it there. I wondered who would send me such a letter. I turned it around. Ah, it was from Shaun of the surfers! What a surprise! But why would he write to me?

Carefully I opened the envelope and pulled out a letter and some papers that looked like newspaper articles.

Oh right! Hadn't he told me that he would send me copies of the newspaper articles concerning the Carrizo Springs murders? So that was what the letter was about! I couldn't believe he actually had remembered that. Shaun really was a nice guy.

I went downstairs into the kitchen to get something to drink and to eat. Then I went back into my room – with a glass of iced tea and a plate with two turkey-lettuce-sandwiches – and made myself comfortable on my bed. I took a bite of my sandwich and a gulp of my iced tea before I started reading the letter.

Hello, Leah!

How are you? I've finally managed to copy all those newspaper articles for you, although I still have no idea why you would want them in the first place. Well, maybe my storytelling was just so awesome that you couldn't forget about it... who knows! But I can imagine what's going on in your mind. When my sister first heard of the story, she searched the whole archive to find every relevant information. So, it wasn't too hard to find all that stuff to copy it for you.

Anyway, I transferred to another college now, to the same where the rest of my surfer gang is going to. And you might be surprised to hear that Anna and I are together now!

So... that's all about me... I hope you'll find what you are looking for.

Have fun with the articles!

Best wishes,
Shaun

I smiled and then took a look at the articles. They were pretty long – obviously. In such a small town, things like that made headlines the size of Texas. I looked through the articles. The first was from Tuesday, the 17th of May 1921. Headline: Jenna and William O'Connor found dead in their bedroom – housekeeper under suspicion. Oh great, the poor housekeeper. But of course, the first one who were accused were the poor and the servants – that hadn't changed much over the decades.

I only scanned the article and found the description of the dead bodies.

The police has informed us that Jenna and William are completely bloodless. The bodies are white , and the most gruesome detail: Their throats are ripped apart, as if some animal has killed them.

Well, that probably meant they had let the housekeeper run free. After all, they couldn't have assumed that she killed like an animal.

The next article was from Thursday, the 19th of May. This time the headline was much smaller, announcing only that the Gravedigger has been found dead. I realized that a gravedigger had been someone who had been on the same side with the poor and the servants in a town like Carrizo Springs – not accepted, possibly feared and always mistreated. His death had been far less important than the deaths of the O'Connors.

The third article was from Monday, the 23rd, and was about the deaths of an old couple who had been found by their granddaughter in the garden. According to the article, they hadn't only been pale and bloodless, but they also had been found with broken bones, as if something very strong had tossed them around. This detail really gave me the creeps.

The articles from June affirmed what Shaun had already told us – six people had died in the second week of June, and in the third week five more had died. The last article from that week stated the police was now looking explicitly not for a serial killer, but for an animal that could be ferocious enough to kill all these people.

According to the articles, in the last week of June four people had died, and in the first week of July, eight more people had been found dead. At the end of the killing spree, 42 people had died, and all of them had been found with ripped throats, white and bloodless. Many had been found with broken bones, as well, and there even had been five corpses that had been ripped apart in the middle. To me, that meant that the culprit must have been extremely strong.

The scales fell from my eyes. I had been so stupid! That I hadn't understood when Shaun had told us this story! Stupid, stupid me. It was so easy that I couldn't help but laugh. Well – it was easy for me, I realized after a second. For people who didn't believe in superstitious old legends, it wasn't easy at all. But for me, it was pretty obvious, now.

A vampire.

Or rather, vampires. I doubted one vampire drank the blood of 42 people in just two and a half months.

It was so easy, and I had missed it.

The victims had been bloodless – of course, because vampires drank blood!

Their throats had been ripped – of course, because the biting the carotid artery was the easiest way to drink all the blood of a person.

Broken bones? Could easily happen when a vampire was after you.

Corpses had been ripped apart? No problem for a strong vampire. Maybe two vampires had fought over one person.

Vampires. Cold Ones in Carrizo Springs. What had the shaman of the local tribe said again? - Right: The Mexican and her blond General. Could that be the two vampires that had brought so much death to the town. The Native Americans there had thought so.

And if the true culprit had been the two vampires, the light grey wolf had not been at fault. Somehow, I found that relieving.

I wanted to read the articles about the wolf when my cell phone rang. "Yes?", I answered. I hadn't paid attention to the number on the phone.

"Hello, darlin', this is Jasper speaking. How are you?"

"I'm okay", I said, "And you?"

"Everything is fine. Are you looking forward to your study trip?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. Can I call you when something goes wrong?"

Jasper chuckled. "You can call me anytime you want, dear. And don't forget to call at least once a week."

I yawned. "You just have to give me a chance to do so! If you call, you will never know if I'd call, too."

Jasper laughed. "You're right. I just can get impatient quickly. What are you doing right now?"

"Oh, just reading some newspaper articles."

"And? Something exciting in it?", Jasper asked interested, and suddenly I had an idea.

Jasper was a vampire. A Texan vampire, to be exact. And he had told me he'd joined Carlisle's family in 1950 – so that meant he could have still been in Texas in 1921. Which meant that maybe he knew about Carrizo Springs.

"Leah?", Jasper asked because I didn't say anything, "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm great. Anyway, listen, Jasper. I need to ask you something."

"Ah'm listenin'."

I had to smile at his accent. "Jazz, do you have any idea how 42 people could have been killed in just two months by vampires in one little town?"

Jasper cleared his throat. This obviously wasn't his favorite topic, but I hoped he'd answer me, anyway.

"Well, a large group of vampires could have done something like that. Maybe about 10 to 20 vampires. It depends on their age and self-control how often they need how many humans. Why are you asking?"

"A surfer friend of mine lives in Carrizo Springs, Texas, and he told me this strange story of 42 deaths in 1921. He's sent me the newspaper articles of these days, and I sort of assumed that vampires satisfied their thirst there. Do you know anything about the Carrizo Springs murders? Because I really need to know."

There was a long pauseon the other end of the phone line, and then Jasper finally said:"I have heard about them, Ma'am. The rest of us Texan vampires were very shocked that a group of our kind could make their existence so obvious. But thank God they accused that poor little wolf." For some reason, his voice sounded very sad at that point. "I know nothing specific, though. I will think about it, maybe I will find something helpful."

We continued talking about this and that, and then hung up soon because I had to do my homework, but I couldn't stop thinking about what Jasper had said about the Carrizo Springs killings.

So a group of vampires had killed all those people. A rather large group, in my opinion. I didn't know how big vampire families were, but 10 to 20 vampires sounded like a lot of mouths to feed. It was kind of creepy, too, to think about such a large gathering of blood-drinking creatures – it felt very unsafe.

And then there was this small fire of doubt in me that told me that Jasper hadn't told the truth.

By the way, I've watched Breaking Dawn part 1 at the movie theatre. Have you already seen it? Are you going to? I must say that there were many, many, many beautiful little scenes, but that on the whole, I was a little disappointed. I liked Eclipse better! Although in BD, we finally see more awesome Leah!

Well, good night to everyone – in Germany, it is twenty past one a.m. right now :)