A/N: This one was pretty simple to churn out. It's basically just one long conversation, which I've seen shows like Outlander throw in from time to time.

Song of the Episode: Freaking Me Out by Ava Max

EXT. STREET, PORT ANGELES - NIGHT [ESTABLISHING]

The street is deserted except for the silver Volvo, which speeds down the road incredibly quickly.

INT. EDYTHE'S VOLVO

BEAU SWAN and EDYTHE CULLEN are driving down a dark and deserted street. Edythe wears jeans, a white turtleneck, and a grey motorcycle jacket. Beau has a bone-colored infinity scarf on. Edythe drives.

BEAU
Can - can I ask just one more?

Edythe shakes her head.

EDYTHE
We had a deal.

BEAU
Just a clarification of something you said before.

EDYTHE
Make it quick.

BEAU
Well...you said you knew I hadn't gone into the bookstore, and that I had gone south. I was just wondering how you knew that. I thought we were past all these evasions.

EDYTHE
Fine, then. I followed your scent. Your turn, Beau.

BEAU
But you didn't answer my other question.

EDYTHE
Oh, come on.

BEAU
I'm serious. You didn't tell me how it works - the mind-reading thing. Can you read anybody's mind, anywhere? How do you do it? Can the rest of your family do the same thing?

EDYTHE
No, it's just me. And I can't hear anyone, anywhere. I have to be fairly close. The more familiar someone's..."voice" is, the farther away I can hear them. But still, no more than a few miles. It's a little like being in a huge hall filled with people, everyone talking at once. It's just a hum - a buzzing of voices in the background. Until I focus on one voice, and then what they're thinking is clear. Most of the time I tune it all out - it can be very distracting. And then it's easier to seem normal when I'm not accidentally answering someone's thoughts rather than their words.

BEAU
Why do you think you can't hear me?

EDYTHE
I don't know. Maybe your mind doesn't work the same way the rest of theirs do. Like your thoughts are on the AM frequency and I'm only getting FM.

BEAU
My mind doesn't work, right? I'm a freak?

EDYTHE
I hear voices in my mind and you're worried that you're the freak. Don't worry, it's just a theory... Which brings us back to you. I thought we were past all these evasions.

Beau looks away, only to notice the speedometer.

BEAU
Holy cow!

EDYTHE
What's wrong?

BEAU
You're doing one-ten!

EDYTHE
Relax, Beau.

BEAU
Are you trying to kill us?

EDYTHE
We're not going to crash.

BEAU
Why are you in such a hurry, Edythe?

EDYTHE
I always drive like this.

Edythe turns to smile at Beau.

BEAU
Keep your eyes on the road!

EDYTHE
I've never been in an accident, Beau - I've never even gotten a ticket.

Edythe grins and taps her forehead.

EDYTHE (CONT'D)
Built-in radar detector.

BEAU
Hands on the wheel, Edythe!

Beau watches as the speedometer drifts to eighty.

EDYTHE
Happy?

BEAU
Almost.

EDYTHE
I hate driving slow.

BEAU
This is slow?

EDYTHE
Enough commentary on my driving. I'm still waiting for you to answer my question. I promise I won't laugh this time.

BEAU
I'm not worried about that.

EDYTHE
Then what?

BEAU
That you'll be...upset. Unhappy.

Edythe holds her hand up for Beau to take.

EDYTHE
Don't worry about me. I can handle it.

Beau takes her hand. Edythe curls her fingers around his hand for a second, then drops her hand onto the gearshift. Beau places his hand on top of hers.

EDYTHE (CONT'D)
The suspense is killing me, Beau.

BEAU
I'm sorry. I don't know how to start.

EDYTHE
Why don't you start at the beginning? Is this something you thought up on your own, or did something make you think of it - a comic book, maybe, or a movie?

BEAU
Nothing like that. But I didn't think of it on my own. It was Saturday - down at the beach. I ran into an old family friend - Jules, Julie Black. Her mom, Bonnie, and Charlie have been close since before I was born. Bonnie's one of the Quileute leaders... There was this Quileute woman on the beach - Sam something. Logan made a comment about you - trying to make fun of me. And this Sam said your family didn't come to the reservation, only it sounded like she meant something more than that. Jules seemed like she knew what the woman was talking about, so I got her alone and kept bugging her until she told me...told me the old Quileute legends.

EDYTHE
And what were those legends? What did Jules Black tell you I was? (beat) What?

BEAU
I don't want to say it.

EDYTHE
It's not my favorite word, either. Not saying it doesn't make it go away, though. Sometimes...I think not saying it makes it more powerful.

BEAU
Vampire?

Edythe flinches.

EDYTHE
What did you do then?

BEAU
Oh - um, I did some research on the Internet.

EDYTHE
And that convinced you?

BEAU
No. Nothing fit. Lots of it was really stupid. But I just -

Beau cuts off.

EDYTHE
You what?

BEAU
Well, I mean, it doesn't matter, right? So I just let it go.

Long beat. Edythe glares at Beau.

BEAU (CONT'D)
Um, Edythe -

EDYTHE
It doesn't matter?

BEAU
No. Not to me, anyway.

EDYTHE
You don't care if I'm a monster? If I'm not human?

BEAU
No.

Edythe is silent, staring straight ahead.

BEAU (CONT'D)
You're upset. See, I shouldn't have said anything.

EDYTHE
No, I'd rather know what you're thinking - even if what you're thinking is insane.

BEAU
Sorry.

Edythe sighs. Beau strokes his thumb slowly up and down her hand.

EDYTHE
What are you thinking about now?

BEAU
Um...nothing, really.

EDYTHE
It drives me crazy, not knowing.

BEAU
I don't want to...I don't know, offend you.

EDYTHE
Spit it out, Beau.

BEAU
I have lots of questions. But you don't have to answer them. I'm just curious.

EDYTHE
About what?

BEAU
How old you are.

EDYTHE
Seventeen.

BEAU
How long have you been seventeen?

EDYTHE
A while.

BEAU
Okay.

Edythe looks at Beau like he's lost his mind.

BEAU (CONT'D)
Don't laugh - but how do you come outside in the daytime?

Edythe laughs anyway.

EDYTHE
Myth.

BEAU
Burned by the sun?

EDYTHE
Myth.

BEAU
Sleeping in coffins?

EDYTHE
Myth. I can't sleep.

BEAU
At all?

EDYTHE
Never.

Beau and Edythe stare at each other. Edythe looks away.

EDYTHE (CONT'D)
You haven't asked me the most important question yet.

BEAU
The most important question?

EDYTHE
Aren't you curious about my diet?

BEAU
Oh. That one.

EDYTHE
Yes, that one. Don't you want to know if I drink blood?

BEAU
Well, Jules said something about that.

EDYTHE
Did she now?

BEAU
She said you didn't...hunt people. She said your family wasn't supposed to be dangerous because you only hunted animals.

EDYTHE
She said we weren't dangerous?

BEAU
Not exactly. Jules said you weren't supposed to be dangerous. But the Quileutes still don't want you on their land, just in case. So, was she right? About not hunting people?

EDYTHE
The Quileutes have a long memory. Don't let that make you complacent, though. They're right to keep their distance from us. We are still dangerous.

BEAU
I don't understand.

EDYTHE
We...try. We're usually very good at what we do. Sometimes we make...mistakes. Me, for example, allowing myself to be alone with you.

BEAU
This is a mistake?

EDYTHE
A very dangerous one.

BEAU
Tell me more.

EDYTHE
What more do you want to know?

BEAU
Tell me why you hunt animals instead of people.

EDYTHE
I don't want to be a monster.

BEAU
But animals aren't enough?

EDYTHE
I can't be sure, but I'd compare it to living on tofu and soymilk; we call ourselves vegetarians, our little inside joke. It doesn't completely satiate the hunger - or rather thirst. But it keeps us strong enough to resist. Most of the time. Sometimes it's more difficult than others.

BEAU
Is it very difficult for you now?

EDYTHE
Yes.

BEAU
But you're not hungry now.

EDYTHE
Why do you think that?

BEAU
Your eyes. I have a theory about that. Seems like the color is linked to your mood - and people are generally crabbier when they're hungry, right?

Edythe laughs.

EDYTHE
You're more observant than I gave you credit for.

BEAU
So everything I thought I saw - that day with the van. That all happened for real. You caught the van.

EDYTHE
Yes.

BEAU
That's pretty badass. How strong are you?

EDYTHE
Strong enough.

BEAU
Like, could you lift five thousand pounds?

EDYTHE
If I needed to. But I'm not much into feats of strength. They just make Eleanor competitive, and I'll never be that strong.

BEAU
How strong?

EDYTHE
Honestly, if she wanted to, I think she could lift a mountain over her head. But I would never say that around her, because then she would have to try.

Edythe laughs.

BEAU
Were you hunting this weekend, with, uh, Eleanor?

EDYTHE
Yes. I didn't want to leave, but it was necessary. It's a bit easier to be around you when I'm not thirsty.

BEAU
Why didn't you want to leave?

EDYTHE
It makes me...anxious...to be away from you. I wasn't joking when I asked you to try not to fall in the ocean or get run over last Thursday. I was distracted all weekend, worrying about you. And after what happened tonight, I'm surprised that you did make it through a whole weekend totally unscathed. The possibility that it could have been horrible tormented me the entire time I was away. It was a very long three days. I really got on Eleanor's nerves.

BEAU
Three days? Didn't you just get back today?

EDYTHE
No, we got back Sunday.

BEAU
Then why weren't you at school?

EDYTHE
Well, you asked if the sun hurt me, and it doesn't. But I can't go out in the sunlight - at least not where anyone can see.

BEAU
Why?

EDYTHE
I'll show you sometime.

BEAU
You could have told me.

EDYTHE
But I knew you were fine.

BEAU
Yeah, but I didn't know you were. I -

EDYTHE
What?

BEAU
It's going to sound stupid...but, well, it kind of freaked me out. I thought you might not come back. That somehow you knew that I knew and...I was afraid you would disappear. I didn't know what I was going to do. I had to see you again.

Beau glances up to see Edythe's expression.

BEAU (CONT'D)
Edythe, are you okay?

EDYTHE
Ah. This is wrong.

BEAU
What did I say?

EDYTHE
Don't you see, Beau? It's one thing for me to make myself miserable, but a wholly other thing for you to be so involved. I don't want to hear that you feel that way. It's wrong. It's not safe. I'll hurt you, Beau. You'll be lucky to get out alive.

BEAU
I don't care.

EDYTHE
That's a really stupid thing to say.

BEAU
Maybe, but it's true. I told you, it doesn't matter to me what you are. It's too late.

EDYTHE
Never say that. It's not too late. I can put things back the way they were. I will.

BEAU
I don't want things back the way they were.

EDYTHE
I'm sorry I've done this to you.

BEAU
Will I see you tomorrow?

EDYTHE
Do you want to?

BEAU
More than anything else I've ever wanted.

EDYTHE
Then I'll be there. I do have a paper to turn in.

EXT. CHARLIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT

The Volvo pulls up to the silent house. The cruiser is in the driveway.

INT. EDYTHE'S VOLVO

BEAU
Save me a seat at lunch?

EDYTHE
That's easy enough.

BEAU
You promise?

EDYTHE
I promise.

Beau leans in, trying to kiss Edythe. She puts her hand up between them and cringes back against the door. Beau jerks back.

BEAU
Sorry!

EDYTHE
You have to be more careful than that, Beau.

Edythe picks up Beau's hand and lifts it off of hers.

EDYTHE (CONT'D)
Maybe -

BEAU
I can do better than that. Just tell me the rules and I'll follow them. Whatever you want from me.

Edythe sighs.

BEAU (CONT'D)
Seriously. Tell me to do something, and I'll do it.

EDYTHE
All right, I've got one.

BEAU
Yeah?

EDYTHE
Don't go into the woods alone again.

BEAU
How did you know that?

Edythe touches the tip of her nose.

BEAU (CONT'D)
Really? You must have an incredible sense -

EDYTHE
Are you going to agree to what I ask or not?

BEAU
Sure, that one's easy. Can I ask why?

EDYTHE
I'm not always the most dangerous thing out there. Let's leave it at that.

BEAU
Whatever you say.

EDYTHE
I'll see you tomorrow, Beau.

BEAU
Tomorrow.

Beau opens the door.

EDYTHE
Beau?

Beau turns. Edythe's face is inches from his.

EDYTHE (CONT'D)
Sleep well.

Beau stumbles out of the car and up the stairs to the porch.

EXT. CHARLIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT

Edythe drives away, and Beau turns to see her round the corner. Beau reaches for the key mechanically and opens the front door.

INT. LIVING ROOM

Beau enters the living room. CHARLIE SWAN sits on the couch, watching TV. Charlie doesn't turn.

CHARLIE
Beau?

BEAU
Yeah, Dad, it's me.

CHARLIE
Movie over so early?

BEAU
Is it early?

CHARLIE
It's not even eight yet. Was the show any good?

BEAU
Er, not very memorable, actually.

CHARLIE
What is that around your neck?

BEAU
Uh - I forgot a coat - and someone lent me a scarf.

CHARLIE
It looks goofy.

BEAU
Yeah, I figured. But it's warm.

CHARLIE
Are you okay? You look kind of pale.

BEAU
Aren't I always kind of pale?

CHARLIE
Guess so.

BEAU
I, uh, didn't sleep great last night. Think I'm going to hit the sack early.

CHARLIE
`Night, kid.

INT. EDYTHE'S VOLVO - NIGHT

Edythe sits in her car, driving.

EDYTHE (V.O.)
A million thoughts chased each other through my head as I drove aimlessly into the night. For a long time I circled through the streets, going nowhere, thinking of Beau and the incredible release of having the truth known. No longer did I have to dread that he would find out what I was. He knew. It didn't matter to him. Even though this was obviously a bad thing for him, it was amazingly liberating for me. More than that, I thought of Beau and requited love. He couldn't love me the way I loved him - such an overpowering, all-consuming, crushing love would probably break his fragile body. But he felt strongly enough. Enough to subdue the instinctive fear. Enough to want to be with me. And being with him was the greatest happiness I had ever known. For a while - as I was all alone and hurting no one else for a change - I allowed myself to feel that happiness without dwelling on the tragedy. Just to be happy that he cared for me. Just to exult in the triumph of winning his affection. Just to imagine day after day sitting close to him, hearing his voice and earning his smiles. I didn't see where my thoughts were leading until it was too late. As I dwelt on that devastating vulnerability, new images of his face intruded on my fantasies. Lost in the shadows, pale with fear - yet his jaw tight and determined, his eyes fierce, full of concentration, hulking forms that gathered around him, nightmares in the gloom... I was alone. Beau was, I trusted, safe inside his home; for a moment I was glad that Charlie Swan - head of the local law enforcement, trained and armed - was his father. That ought to mean something, provide some shelter for him. He was safe. It would not take me so very long to avenge the insult... No. He deserved better. I could not allow him to care for a murderer. But...what about the others? Beau was safe, yes. Allen and Jeremy were also, surely, safe in their beds. Yet monsters were loose in the streets of Port Angeles. Human monsters - did that make them the humans' problem? To commit the murders I ached to commit was wrong. I knew that. But leaving them free to attack again could not to the right thing, either. The host from the restaurant. The waiter I'd never really looked at. Both had irritated me in a trivial way, but that did not mean they deserved to be in danger. Either one of them might be somebody's Beau. That realization decided me.

EXT. CULLEN MANOR - EVENING

ARCHIE CULLEN sits on porch stairs. Edythe walks up to him, holding her car keys and her phone in her pocket.

ARCHIE
Carine's in her study.

EDYTHE
Thank you.

Edythe pushes Archie's head as she walks past him.

ARCHIE
I tried to call you earlier. Sorry, by the time I saw what was going to happen, well, you were already on your way.

Edythe pauses by the door and pulls out her phone to check it.

EDYTHE
It was close. But it's okay, everything worked out. I know you can't catch everything.

ARCHIE
Thanks. Even though you would have come back and killed me if something had actually happened to him.

Edythe puts her phone away.

EDYTHE
Did you see that, or is it just a hunch?

ARCHIE
Hunch. But my hunches are pretty good. Anyway, I'm going to keep a closer eye on that kid from now on. He needs it.

Edythe sits down next to Archie.

EDYTHE
Thanks. I'll be counting on that.

ARCHIE
I was paying more attention after that. Are you going to tell them that he knows?

EDYTHE
Yes, I will. Soon. But maybe not just yet.

ARCHIE
Don't worry, I won't say anything. I'm outside, so they can't hear me now. Do me a favor and tell Royal when I'm not around, okay?

EDYTHE
I'll try to remember that. (beat) Ah, tonight...

ARCHIE
He'll be fine. Like I said, I'm keeping better watch now. I'll watch him tonight, while you're gone. It won't take you long. You want to talk to Carine now?

EDYTHE
Yes.

Edythe stands.

ARCHIE
Get it done quickly. Then you can go be where you want to be. Stalker.

Edythe starts to walk inside.

ARCHIE (CONT'D)
Course, according to Carine, angels supposedly follow people and watch over them too. So maybe you're more like his guardian angel than a stalker.

EDYTHE
A vampire-angel. Now, who wouldn't feel safe with that?

Edythe closes the door behind herself.

INT. CARINE'S OFFICE

A desk sits in the middle of the room, two chairs in front of it and bookshelves on the wall behind the desk. Paintings and old photographs crowd the other walls. DR. CARINE CULLEN sits at her desk, a large manuscript open before her. She glances up at the door. Edythe knocks and comes in slowly. Edythe collapses in a chair across from Carine.

CARINE
I heard Archie tell you where to find me.

EDYTHE
I need help.

CARINE
Anything, Edythe.

EDYTHE
Did Archie tell you what happened to Beau tonight?

CARINE
Almost happened.

EDYTHE
Yes, almost. I've got a dilemma, Carine. You see, I want...very much...to kill them. So much. But I know that would be wrong, because it would be vengeance, not justice. All anger, no impartiality. Still, it can't be right to leave a serial killer wandering Port Angeles! I don't know the humans there, but I can't let someone else take Beau's place as their victim. Those other people - someone might feel about them the way I feel about Beau. Might suffer what I would have suffered if he'd been harmed. It's not right -

CARINE (V.O.)
(smiling)
He's very good for you, isn't he? So much compassion, so much control. I'm impressed.

EDYTHE
I'm not looking for compliments, Carine.

CARINE
Of course not. But I can't help my thoughts, can I? I'll take care of it. You can rest easy. No one else will be harmed in Beau's place.

EDYTHE
I'll show you where to find them.

CARINE
Let's go.

Carine grabs a medical bag as she and Edythe exit.

INT. EDYTHE'S VOLVO

Edythe and Carine drive along a dark street, headlights off. Edythe drives.

CARINE (V.O.)
I didn't foresee that he would be so good for her. That's unexpected. Perhaps this was somehow meant to be. Perhaps it serves a higher purpose. Edythe deserves happiness. She's owed it. There must be a way.

Edythe pulls up to the side of a bar, clenching the steering wheel tightly.

CARINE (V.O.)
Go, Edythe. I'll make the rest of them safe. You go back to Beau.

Edythe nods and exits the car. She begins running. Carine exits the car.

EXT. CHARLIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT [ESTABLISHING]

The house sits silent, Beau's truck sitting on the curb and the cruiser in the driveway.

INT. BEAU'S ROOM

Beau walks to his room and sits down at his desk. He opens his laptop and begins typing.

BEAU (V.O.)
Tuesday, March twenty-third: There were a few things I knew for sure. For one, Edythe was an actual vampire. For another, there was a part of her that saw me as food. But in the end, none of that mattered. All that mattered was that I loved her, more than I'd ever imagined it was possible to love anything. She was everything I wanted, the only thing I would ever want.

A/N: And he knows. That's one hurdle down.

I'm currently writing an episode for season four that's all about the wolves, and it's seriously the most fun I've had writing these in some time.