Time marched on. As I lay in bed on Sunday, I sighed heavily. I would allow sleep to take me, and I would try, yet again, to approach my fears.


So it began:

The darkness wasn't so dark in this open room. Not like it used to be in my dreams. I started out facing the wide window, watching the calm outside, but something different happened this time. Before I could turn around I heard a noise. It wasn't Jasper's voice. It was the piano playing something indescribable behind me. It wasn't a professional playing a phantom melody. Someone was on Edward's grand piano, tinkering on the higher notes like someone who had no other experience than playing "chopsticks."

"Remember what I said about a military perspective?" Jasper said.

I nodded, hoping the disembodied voice could somehow see my response.

"Think of a spy, someone behind enemy lines," Jasper said. Behind enemy lines... How on earth did Cullen territory become enemy lines?

I watched the figure. When he paused he so still at the large black piano that I wasn't sure if he was just another shadow until the silhouette raised its head, hearing my sudden appearance. "You have to act. You have to lie. You can't show hesitance."

How would I do that with the red eyes staring into me? Or his crooked smile that showed that he wanted to kill me, one way or another. How could I do anything but stand there like an idiot when I saw the hope he had for a power that I did not possess.

"You have to be aggressive. You have to be confident in this power because you do know the future. Like Alice," Jasper said. I blinked still staring at the dark shape on what I assumed was Edward's piano. "It will be one moment out of your entire life. And you will still have your life by the end of it."

The tall, muscular shape started to turn around, to face me from across the room. His white face shown in moonlight. He smiled, and I nearly collapsed in relief. He didn't have any odd additions to his appearance like he had with the strange shark teeth from my last dream.

That feeling was shocking. Relief? In my Laurent nightmare?

I very nearly smiled as my courage was somewhat lifted.

"See?" I heard Jasper say. There was an echo of my own pride in his voice. "Now approach him."

My relief faded as easily as it had come. I felt my brows go up in response to the request though I could not take my eyes off of him. He was just sitting there, staring at me from the piano. And he wanted me to approach him?

"Cammy, you're hesitating," Jasper informed. Suddenly in a burst of spontaneity, I took a step forward. I stopped breathing at that movement, and Laurent spun himself around the bench in one fluid motion to face me completely.

"You know you can do this. You've done it before," Jasper said.

"Hello," I squeaked. Laurent's smile grew wider.

"I was wondering when you would show," he said. "What took you so long?" I could not move and speak at the same time. I had to forfeit one action for the other. I hoped my lips weren't trembling with my stuttered breathing.

"I wasn't supposed to meet you until now," I said. I started to walk toward the piano. The looming figure seemed much bigger than I remembered, even sitting down. He was strong looking, even through his tattered coat. His cocked his head slightly, black tendrils of hair falling slowly in the direction.

"I foresaw it," I said. Laurent blinked his red eyes once in response.

He didn't leap up and snatch me out of the blue, his hard hands holding me still too easily. He just watched me. This was easier. He was at a distance, not sneaking up on me in a pitch black room. It was comforting to know where I was, what was coming.

The lack of action wasn't unnerving. It was just still.


I woke up to my alarm clock. I was surprised at this. There was something odd about it. Then I realized that it had been literally months since I'd woken up to my alarm instead of my own screaming. I hardly recognized the sound, its sharp obnoxious noise jolting me awake.

I stared up at the ceiling. Then sat straight up in bed.

This felt very different. Very odd. I reached up and touched my face. Then I realized what was so different. I wasn't panicking. I hadn't been sobbing out of fear. There were no horrifying pictures from my dream haunting me.

"That's weird," I mumbled to myself.

I tried to remember if this had ever happened before in the past six months as I got ready for school. The mood in the morning had set my whole day off. Was I really that used to panic that it felt strange to be content? Everything around me felt so different. I wasn't sure if it this difference was good or not.

I got to school, out of habit noticing that Bella's truck was in the parking lot. I walked by it, staring at its ancient style with some familiarity. I couldn't figure out if this feeling I had was wrong or not. It didn't feel bad or good. Just different.

Then I got to class and was even more confused. Bella looked terrible! And by that, I mean that she looked for terrible than usual. Her eyes were sunken with dark bruised-looking circles underneath. She must have forgotten to put on make up, because her eyes were dull and her skin was blotchy and uneven.

It didn't look like she was getting much sleep.

Poor girl.

Then the week passed on with a stunning amount of normalcy. I went to school, hardly turned in my work at all, and was still passing with flying colors. In fact, I'd received word from my mother that she was planning on sending up some checks from my grandparents, as if the fifty dollars would mean something next to bottomless treasure chest that was the Darlene debit card.

It was a nice gesture though. They were proud of me.

When I got home on Tuesday it started to sink in. It wouldn't be long before Bella started to look for some dangerous activities to hear that Edward's voice. Now that Jacob had phased Bella was going to start branching out to ease the hole in her chest, the scar Edward had left her. I shuddered to think of the hole like that.

Mistake, after mistake. It wasn't as though Edward wouldn't pay for that and the chunk of sanity he'd also ripped from her.

It's almost over, I had to remind myself to keep myself from another hour's worth of self pity.

Not really though. There was still the ultimate task to perform.

It was time to check the schedule for it, to see how much time I had left. I had to get the facts down from New Moon, but every time I sat to do it, I remembered something else I could do.

By the end of the day I had done everything I could. I even got my Calculus homework done. Well, sort of. More like I finished copying the answers in the back of the book and materializing some work to make it look like I had come up with them on my own. If I was lucky, Mr. Varner wouldn't be paying too much attention when he was grading. Then I had a sudden craving for caffiene, and decided it was time that Edward treated me to a cup of coffee. I ran out and got a nice hot cup of white chocolate mocha in the cold rain. Perfect. This then made me think of a book I wanted to read, something my mother had read and decided I had to read.

Unfortunately this made me think of New Moon. Right. Now I could recognize when I very conveniently found reasons to avoid anything to do with Laurent.

I couldn't put it off anymore though. Not with the clock running down. I needed to do the research and find out just how much time I had left.

Then to my horror I realized that Bella was meeting Laurent Saturday.

This Saturday.

When I was reading this I was sitting in my room cross legged with the book in my lap, staring at the words. The same words over and over. Bella was desperate to get a hold of Jacob again, but unable to. Paul had been awfully quiet lately. It sounded like they were pretty busy. The sequences matched today's perfectly.

"Crap."

Laurent was already giving them trouble no doubt. Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bob came home, after they greeted me, I could hear them chattering about the "bears." They both were pretty outdoorsy. It didn't surprise me at all that they sounded appalled by the hunters out there.

If I wasn't positive that the Pack would be fine, I would be worried too.

But the boys could take care of themselves. I had the utmost confidence in them. Anyone who could take out Laurent had nothing to worry about from some guy with a gun.

What was Laurent doing out there anyway? Trying to hunt? Seattle wasn't that far of a run for a vampire. Surely it would be much safer to hunt there. He must know that there was no way of getting past the wolves. Why was he provoking them? Was he that desperate to get to me? Was he trying that hard to find an opening to get to Bella for Victoria?

Now that I had to think about this, I was starting to lose that wonderful calm I'd had.

I didn't know when to meet him. I only knew when was going to be too late when he approached Bella. When would it be too early for me to go him? How would I make sure he got to the meadow?

Familiar panic began to rise again now that I actually had to face these questions. There were several points during the day that I had to make myself stop and breathe.

"Soup's on!" I heard my uncle call out loudly from the kitchen. I marked my place in New Moon and dragged my feet into the dining room. I wasn't very talkative, my thoughts were reeling. From fantasizing about Paul, to being depressed about how much time was stolen from us because of my stubbornness to stick to the books, to wondering if we would ever have more time.

What if Laurent made me a vampire? Would he still love me if I wasn't able to stop him?

"Camburger," my aunt sang at me to get my attention at dinner. Now I knew that I wasn't hiding my panic very well. No one had the nerve to call me that but my mother. I looked at her, stifling a glare. Uncle Bob smiled at the nickname over the dinner he made for us.

Aunt Debbie cocked her head, showing concern. "Are you okay?"

I dipped my spoon back in the thin mixture of watery stew. When I looked up my aunt and uncle were both more concerned at once. I forced a smile.

"Yeah. School's got me down," I lied. Funny, how natural that lie had come.

"I thought you were doing well," Uncle Bob said. He dipped his spoon again. "And you've got that outstanding scholarship. Your family must have flipped when you told them about that."

College. Ha! What a silly concern.

Actually, I hadn't told my family about the Pacific Northwest Trust Company scholarship. I probably should. They would be proud of me. You know, in case the worst happened. I suddenly had an overwhelming emotion struck me.

My family would have to hear about my death, or rather, my unsolved disappearance.

Don't think about that, I quickly ordered myself.

My emotions belayed that order mutinously. Even when I hadn't liked the werewolf characters, I would never wish something terrible to happen to their imprints for their sake. My mind immediately conjured up the mental picture of the third wife, her husband whining sadly in the form of an oversized wolf on the beach beside her body.

I forced myself to take in more of the experimental stew to help swallow the lump in my throat. It worked, if only temporarily.

"No. Just some stupid high school drama," I said when I could talk about it. Aunt Debbie raised her brows.

"Does it have to do with Paul?"

"No," I said. "Its not really a big deal." My aunt and uncle glanced at one another and then luckily decided to drop it, being some of the few not-so-nosey folk of Forks. The night dragged on as I contemplated what I actually was going to do watching the television screen that might as well have been off for all the attention I was paying to it.

I even let Uncle Bob watch CNN so that he could watch some stock market segment he'd been meaning to see. And still time dragged on, pulling me along despite me digging my heels in the ground. This inevitably led to more dreams.


Jasper had showed me not to wait for Laurent, not to hesitate. When I didn't do that he didn't turn into an impossibly creature that somehow knew what I was up to. So in the wide open space I was in I had the window to my back. The Cullen's living room was impossibly wide, the exact mental picture I had when Bella first visited there in the books.

This time it started with Laurent standing right in front of me.

I stared back at him, stunned and dazzled at his shocking sight that somehow I still hadn't gotten used to. But I didn't react. I allowed myself to take in this sight of him for a moment. What else could Laurent expect from a human?

"Where's your mate?" he asked.

"Running probably. With the others," I made myself answer.

"Good," Jasper praised. I stared at his eyes that were dark, but not black with thirst.

"You would betray him so easily?" Laurent questioned.

This question stunned me.

Of course. It was unbelievable that I would just turn my back at him. I was in love with the wolf. I staggered over my words. I felt the clock running as he awaited my answer, looking more and more curious with each passing moment that went by.

"Hesitating," Jasper reminded me. Then, very naturally, I remembered that the last Laurent had seen me that I was betraying Paul. The crow bar. With that realization, Laurent's question almost seemed like a silly one.

"I betrayed him a long time ago," I said. I looked up at Laurent trying to make my expression blank of emotions. Laurent moved to my side. This was another unfamiliar part of my dream. It was strange that my dreams were suddenly, after months, becoming so different. Was it really just realizing that I had been pushing Laurent away from my conscious thoughts on purpose that was making this... well not easier, but tolerable?


Again, abruptly I woke up to my alarm. It was no less strange than before.

I threw off my covers and started the routine again. No terrors to haunt me, just reluctant anticipation. And as the hours went by, it because painfully obvious that there was a literal countdown. The number of hours until the moment in the double digits now.

Meanwhile, Bella was slowly getting worse and worse, losing herself like the hole in her chest was a black hole sucking her in. Maybe I only noticed because I was used to paying special attention to her, but I had how no one else was seeing her falling in. All because Jacob wasn't here to save her from drowning in the blackness.

Speaking of which, there was still no sign of Paul. It was Thursday, though, and until I heard otherwise I was going to assume he was going to meet me at the border like always.

I hadn't gotten any calls from him or any of the other wolves. Not even Quil. Laurent must be really running rampant out there. As I drove home from school I noticed something stopping at a stop sign while I was taking a shortcut to avoid the student traffic. There was a paper stapled and taped over for waterproofing on one of the streetlights.

I looked behind me to make sure no one there. It was raining and the tape luckily seemed to be losing its adhesiveness. I double checked to make sure that I wouldn't be blocking traffic and put the car in park. I ran across the street and ripped off the majority of the paper.

There was a picture of a ferocious bear on it.

"Warning! There have been a number of vicious attacks in the area surrounding La Push and Forks. Please stay on the main trail when hiking. Overnight camping will be suspended until further notice."

Suddenly I had visions of Charlie leading a group of hunters into the wilderness with long shot guns. It took me a moment to exhale.

"They'll be alright," I remembered out loud. Worrying about him was so stupid when I knew exactly what was going to happen. I took that notice and went back to the Audi. I didn't really want to wait a while before heading to the border after seeing that.

I was glad to see Paul waiting for me. Or rather his car waiting at the side of road. He'd always arrived before me when we met at the border. I had no idea he got here this early. Unless this was a one time thing that I just happened to witness. His car was technically on the other side of the border and I saw his silhouette through the back window.

I parked the Audi on my side, careful not break any rules and ruin anything that had gotten rebel Paul back. He didn't move. I wondered if he'd seen me. My hand hovered over the steering wheel a moment, considering the use of the horn. Then all of the sudden, his door opened and he ran out into the rain.

My smile took hold before I could control it again. I was giddy at the sight of him as he jogged lightly over to the Audi. He made it to the passenger door in record time and hopped gracefully into the passenger seat. His huge body never ceased to amaze me. He made the Audi look like a clown car.

Then after his shook the rain out of his short hair he turned toward me, white smile ready. He looked just as giddy as I felt.

"Hi," he said. There was something slightly off about his voice that I was so attuned to that I could notice small afflictions in one word. That one word seemed to sag, like his drooping eyelids. I knew instantly that it was lack of sleep. I must have made a disapproving face, because his thousand watt smile faded. "What?"

"How hard is Sam working you? You look like a zombie. No... You look worse. You look like Bella," I commented. Paul's grin softened to a tight lip smile, guilty of my suspicions. He sighed heavily.

"It's okay, really," Paul said. I groaned.

"Oh Paul..." I said. I could hear the disapproving whine in my own voice.

He shook looked away and shook his head.

"Really, I have way more energy than you. A little cutback in my sleep is nothing," Paul said. I sighed. That smug smile returned, softening my annoyance. He looked at me from his seat, relaxing again. His smile was still there.

"How's Jake?" Paul frowned a little.

"Okay. He's adjusting still," Paul said. He looked out the window at the rain splattering on the windshield. Then he shot me a look. "Did you know about him?"

"What about him?" I asked Paul.

"That he's like... a werewolf prodigy?" Paul questioned. He looked thoughtful, like he was trying. I stared at him for a moment. What one earth was he talking about. Paul sighed again, looking at the gray clouds. "It's amazing. His restraint was immediately better than mine. I mean, even I had Embry beat for a little bit. And Jacob can phase back and forth at the drop of a hat. He's... I don't know. Gifted."

I stared at him, and then at the steering wheel.

Gifted? Paul noticed the look on my face.

"I guess not," Paul said. I thought a little bit harder about that.

"I think someone comments on that somewhere in the book, but I never thought anything of it. That's weird," I thought out loud. Then something suddenly came to mind, as something wasn't right with that sentence. I shot a look at Paul. "Wait a minute, if Jacob's already under control then how come you said he's still adjusting." Paul nearly rolled his eyes.

"Jacob's head does not have a lot of variety," Paul said. He frowned out the window, narrowing his eyes. Then he turned to face me. "It's like watching the Bella channel." I giggled at that. Paul was still frowning, his eyes dropped to the gadgets in between the seat.

"It's weird you know. He hates what he is, but he loves it at the same time. He thinks that Bella has already chosen a side, the vampire side. He thinks she'll hate him for being their enemy. He's tormented."

I stared at Paul and then followed his gaze, looking at the knobs of my radio.

"I know how that feels," I whispered. Paul looked up suddenly. I made myself look him in the eye and tried to sound stern. "For the millionth time, there are no sides. It's not werewolves versus vampires, its good monsters versus bad monsters." Paul looked like he was resisting the urge to scoff.

"What's the difference?" he asked seriously.

I groaned loudly and rolled my eyes, placing my hands on the wheel in frustration.

"Anyway," I said raising my voice. I was not going to get into that argument now. When I looked at him I couldn't be angry for that outburst. Not when I was guilty of so many myself. He was still smiling his funny sleepy smile. His hand reached out and took mine over the space between out seats.

The touch of his hand over mine was like glove right out of the dryer. His thumb traced over my skin.

"How have you been?" he asked me then.

"I'm fine," I said, dodging the question. I was when I was with him, I couldn't think of Laurent with Paul, my personal werewolf. "You?"

"I had to pull a triple shift," he said. I cocked my head to the side.

"What exactly counts as a shift, anyway?" I asked.

"Six hours of running the border," he said. I raised my brows.

"You were running for eighteen hours?" I asked.

"It was the only way I could get this whole day off," he said defensive. I stared at him. "Sam was not happy about the Jacob-stalking. Neither was Jacob by the way." I felt my brows together in confusion. I haven't even met Jacob yet, well as Cammy anyway. How was he already mad at me? Paul answered me before I could ask,"Jake's convinced that you're spying for the Cullens."

"If I were it would have been helpful for them to leave a number for me to reach them at," I responded immediately over defensive.

Great. Jacob and I were already off to a bad start.

I looked out the windshield thoughtfully and then turned looked at Paul. He was leaning into the seats, trying to make himself comfortable in the chair as he looked sideways at me. He sighed heavily.

"He doesn't like to keep things from Bella," Paul said. I thought about that for a moment. Then gasped as I suddenly realized what Paul was trying to say.

"Jacob can't say anything about me!" I cried. Paul shook his head.

"Don't worry. Sam made it an order. No one is allowed to mention you or your existence if she ever comes around. She can't even know about us being werewolves. Sam's trying to make Jacob forget all about her. She's just too close to the Cullens," Paul said. I sighed with relief. Saved by Sam. I gave a short laugh at the irony of it. Maybe Sam had more respect for what I was doing than I'd thought.

"Tell Sam I said thank you for that," I told Paul. Paul smiled a little before leaning in to kiss me once. His hand touched my hair and his face was too close for an awkwardly long time. His movements sluggish with his grogginess. "You need some sleep."

"I want to stay here," Paul murmured. I wanted the same thing, but Paul was practically making a pillow out of the glove box. His dark eyes pierced through me, wide and puppy-like. "We're so busy, I don't know when I'll see you again."

I don't know when I'll see you again.

That struck home. I stared at him for a long moment. He smiled when I unbuckled my seatbelt and he wordlessly understood, pulling me across the emergency brake and compartments between the seats. His way was much more efficient than me climbing over all of it to share his seat.

He pulled me into his lap, wrapping me with his arms. I could barely get my arm through his hold to turn off the heater in the car. It took only minutes for the two of us to fall asleep. Thankfully, my dreams stayed at bay the duration of the visit.


Time continued to drag, and so did I. School, home, worry, phone calls from my family and Donna. That was my life now, it felt like. But before I knew it, it was Friday. The entire day I was jittery with nervousness, my knee bouncing in my seat, irritating the students around me. I felt like a soldier waiting to be sent on a suicide mission.

I couldn't stop thinking.

Should I go to Laurent now? What if he wasn't there? What if he realized I'd been stalling to meet him and he'd lost his patience with me? What if I did something that was a classic Cammy mistake that got me killed? That last part frightened me the most, because I knew just how possible that was.

Bella was going to meet him tomorrow. How long could I put this off?

I had absolutely no idea how I managed to fall asleep, but I must have, because the next thing I knew I was standing in the Cullen house.


The drop off point of my dream was in the middle of the Cullen living room. Wide like an studio with no walls or supports. I walked around searching for Laurent as though he could hide in such an open space. I was alone here it seemed. Even though my heart was pounding, expecting the usual horror to happen I was more comfortable in this space.

I wondered briefly if my imagination was right about the blue prints of the house. When I actually did get there was it going to look like this? I walked around the piano gliding my hands across the glossy black finish. I was attempting to be casual, but I was convinced now that no matter how many times I relived this dream, I was not going to get any better at meeting a vampire.

They were too stunning, too breathtaking every time you saw them. To know what they could do, the over enhancements they possessed was too distracting to take in, let alone their scent and beauty. The only way to make it so I would never have to do this again was to do what Jasper had instructed me.

So I approached him.

"Hello?" I called out.

Suddenly the ceiling lights turned on. The white walls were blinding and the squares of white carpet on top of the wooden floor were like stars against the black sky. It was too orderly in here. No pictures or decorations. Just the blank canvas of a house, plus a piano.

It was like an empty art studio.

"Cammy," said a voice. I spun around too quickly and was not confronted with Laurent. I saw the graceful, lean figure of another vampire descending the staircase one step at a time. His pale hand glided down the banister that hung limply on it, using it out of habit than necessity.

I felt a wide smile fall across my face as I was met with Jasper Cullen at the foot of the stairs.

"Jasper," I laughed relieved.

Nothing bad could happen with Jasper here. Laurent could do nothing when I had my best friend, my defender, and the best vampire to have on your side in a battle. It was when I saw him that I was positive that Laurent would not be making an appearance in my dream tonight.

I started toward him, but in his usual vampire speed he was already across the room at the piano bench. His pale hand gestured to the space beside him as he sat. I walked quickly, attempting to match his effortless speed and sat beside him.

It was funny how unaffected I was by his appearance, other than the instantaneous comfort, the nostalgia of seeing an old friend even if he was a vampire. Looking at him I just wanted to spill out the events that had happened in his absence. I wanted to apologize for what had happened at Bella's birthday. I wanted to tell him that this book would be over soon, and let him know about Eclipse.

I wanted to tell him how much I missed him sneaking into my room in the middle of the night, and that I'd left his corner that Alice had made him in perfect order despite Edward's ravaging through my house in a desperate attempt to find New Moon.

But the blonde, beautiful face I was looking at was not really my friend, just like I wasn't really in the Cullen house. This was my dream, my subconscious. It would do me no good to wrap my arms around him and tell him to come home.

"You know you can do this, Cammy," Jasper said, his golden eyes unintentionally locking all of my attention. I stared at him. Of course I knew that. Otherwise I wouldn't be dreaming it. "The dogs are reliable. So are the books. The odds are in your favor."

I nodded dumbly. Jasper smiled a little bit.

I smiled back. Somewhere in the house a phone rang. It was a jolting sound that seemed to shake the scenery. Something told me the end of the dream was coming. Was it morning? Was it Saturday already? My heart started its rhythmic panic all over. I looked back at Jasper. I wanted to grab hold of him and pull him into reality with me. I wanted him to be with me when I faced him.

"I miss you," I said to Jasper. Jasper looked like was going to say something to that, but instead he said something else.

"Answer your phone, Cammy," he said. My brow furrowed. I felt the my consciousness slipping back to reality.

"What?"


My phone was ringing. I looked around the room seeing familiar shadows draped from the windows. It was still night time. In fact it was 2:12 in the morning according to the clock on my nightstand. Who was calling this time of night?

Maybe I'd accidentally set some alarm on my phone. I blindly scrounged around the neighboring nightstand until I found my phone I held it up to my face so I could see the caller identification. When I looked at the blinking number, indicating it did no recognize the caller.

Then it hit me all at once. The weird phone number, with the Forks area code. The one that I had dutifully ignored for the past few weeks. The number that I somehow had known wasn't someone who had the wrong number, though I didn't realize it at the time.

There really had been a reason I was avoiding that call. How did Jasper know? Or rather, how did I know? As my thumb hit hovered over the 'send' button I could only pray that my instincts were wrong. Maybe, just maybe, this would be a wrong number.

I pressed it, heart hammering loudly in my chest against my sternum. I could feel the reverberations of my heartbeat thudding through my entire chest.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Camille? It's about time. I was beginning to think you were avoiding me," said an all too familiar red velvet voice.


Sorry about the cliffhanger. I couldn't help myself. Don't attack me! I'm working on the next chapter now!