AN: So as you will no doubt learn soon as you read on, I have changed a lot of how things work, and how I write. It will become clear, but if there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask. As long as it does not spoil certain plotpoints later, I will try my best to answer.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

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Deadly Affection – Reimagined

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of it's characters. I just make them do what I want.

Chapter 2: Fields of Strife

Bella PoV

As I got onto my bed that night, feeling stuffed from eating way too much food, I finally got time to work through what had gone down today. I wasn't feeling all that sad about the punishment in school, or at home, but rather disappointment in myself for reacting the way I did. I couldn't remember ever losing control of myself like that. I held my left hand up and looked at it as if it was alien, because it almost had been in that moment.

I had pushed him in the ribs, with outstreched fingers, so hard that flew into the table next to him. And I hadn't even felt like I had done it, initially. With a deep sigh I let my hand fall to my side and looked up at the roof of my room, familiar lines and small cracks still there which is strangely comforting. Atleast some things don't change.

Mom had also taken away my internet access for the week along with the grounding, so Audrey and I had to resort to talking on the phone for almost an hour after I had gotten home. She was a bit of a chatterbox when she first got started, but I enjoyed that. She never got boring to talk to. I felt that nagging thought creep up in the back of my mind again. That little fear that she wanted to be more to me, than I did for her. I kind of needed her, if only because I needed atleast one friend I felt I could trust, but I had never felt that way for her. And I felt guilty that I might be stringing her along for my own selfish reasons.

With a deflated sigh I got back up and undressed, kicking my clothes into the corner, before climing under my blanket and trying to not think about how much of a piece of shit I was. It didn't work. It felt like it took hours of tossing and turning to finally fall asleep.

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With a groan, I woke up and slammed my hand on the snooze button of my alarm clock. 5.30Am again. I didn't feel nearly as rested today as I did yesterday, infact it felt like I had barely gotten any sleep at all. And my body ached all over for some reason, which is odd, as I did not do anything strenous yesterday.

I could hear the birds singing clearly outside, something that got my attention, and I looked over to my window which was open. Something it had not been when I went to bed, and it made me suspicious. I looked around in my room, checking if anything else seemed out of place, and found that my clothes from yesterday was gone. I was also buck-naked.

In confusion and growing anger I stomped over to my dresser and got on some underwear, before walking over to the window and looking outside. My bedroom was on the second floor of our little two story house, but I could see deep grooves in the grass below my window, and the wooden backyard fence had a section where the top plank was broken. Someone had been in my room in the middle of the night. The thought scared me a little, how the hell did someone get up to the second story, open the window and get in without me even waking up. And I was a really light sleeper!

I chose to forgo my usual morning run, instead going out the back and investigating whatever the hell had happened. Getting dressed in a hurry, running downstairs as silently as I could as to not wake mom and Phil, stepping into my shoes and running out the patio door. Just below my window I found footprints in the grass, probably from the landing as they were extra deep, and pointed away from the house. I could almost fit my shoes into the grooves, although it didn't seem like whoever had made them was wearing shoes from the look of it. The grass also looked slightly... brown-ish.

As a matter of fact, I could make out all the footprints along the lawn, as each one of them had left the grass brown in small patches. But the strides inbetween each patch was huge! I tried to take as bigs steps, but almost ended up doing a split on my lawn. I had to take almost two full steps to comfortably reach each patch. It also seemed as if whoever it was favored running on the front of their feet, as the patches was slightly more brown on the front end of each step.

I followed the patches all the way to the fence, more specifically to the part where the top of the three wooden planks was broken. It was broken a little off center, directly infront of the patches of brown grass, but I noticed the nails had not been bent out of the posts on either side of the break. The edges of the break also seemed shriveled on both sides, which was odd as the fence itself was only a couple of years old.

My mind was spinning with confusion, fear and even curiosity. The latter made me jump over the fence, carefully testing it with my weight so as to not have it break on me with each step on the planks. Outside the fence the grass quickly stopped and sand took its place which made it harder to follow the trail as the sand had not been discolored. I could see atleast a few different pairs of footprints in the sand though, and when I tried to measure two steps inbetween each mark, there was only one of them that matched.

I followed the path away from the house a good couple of hundred meters into the desert, almost poking myself on the cacti a few places. It seemed whoever had left the trail, didn't bother running around the small bushes and cacti though, as several were left broken and strewn on the sandy desert floor. That was not the wierdest part however.

When I walked into a particularly dense set of bushes, a bad smell of rot and decay hit my nose, making my gag and hold up my sweater infront of my face. A large swathe of bushes and cacti and shrubs were completely wilted. The trail ended in the center of the dead plants, whatever the hell had left them, seemed to be an animal. It looked like two large five taloned feet in the sand, which looked almost like it had started to melt. Standing in the middle, I estimated the area to be almost a three meter in diameter circle of dead plants around the wierd footprints.

Cacti were a ugly green-gray mix, with white goo pouring out of the cracks. Small shrubs were completely wilted and gray, breaking apart when I touched them. Little tufts of grass that was poking out of the sand was almost a yellowish color and was sagging into the ground. A branch of a small tree on the edge of the circle had bark falling off of it, all the leaves gone.

I bent down to look more closely at the marks in the sand, and found small fragments of blue fabric around them. I picked the biggest strip I could find up with my fingers and tried to pull it appart, which confirmed my suspicion. It was denim, like the jeans that had gone missing yesterday. Looking around a bit further away, I could see small strips of red fabric mixed among the blue, and feeling the cotton, I would hazard a guess that this was whatever was left of the tee I had worn yesterday.

What in the actual fuck was going on here?! Before panicking completely, I took out my phone, placed my right foot besides the footprints in the sand, and take a picture of it. Then I stepped back to the edge of the circle and took a few pictures of the dead plants. My mind was whirling with a jumbled mess of questions as I stumbled my way back to the house. Mom and Phil hadn't gotten up yet as I got back inside, kicking off my shoes in the living room.

I walked back into my room in a daze, closing the window and sitting down on my bed, grabbing my knees and hugging them to me. Who, and what, the fuck had been in my room last night? And why, what did he or she want with me? Why the fuck had whoever it was ruined my clothes outside in the bushes? And why me?

I didn't noticed that I had started rocking back and forth, the questions running circles around in my head over and over with no answers, before mom shook me out of my daze. I jumped with a startled cry when I felt her hands on my shoulders, which she quickly withdrew. I could see the concern and pity clearly on her face as I focused on her.

I closed my eyes and exhaled, trying to calm my mind, before looking back at her, somewhat more in control again.

''Sorry, I didn't notice you come in. I was kinda lost in thought.'' I explain quietly, hoping she wouldn't dig too much into it. There is no way I could tell her what I had found earlier. She would freak the fuck out, and probably demand that we move far away from here, with armed guards standing by as we packed our shit.

''What's on your mind hun? Are you worried about going to school today?'' She asks, putting her right hand on my left shoulder with a small squeeze. That's right, I got more shit to deal with today than just a scary somehow supernatural stalker in the night. Yay me.

''Uhm, yeah, something like that.'' I respond unconvincingly with a shrug. I'm thanking my lucky stars for her aid in coming up with an excuse though. I'm not sure I could have come up with one, with how much of a mess my mind is right now. ''Hey, what time is it?''

''It's 6:45 dear. I was a little worried when I found your shoes in the living room. You are usually out running by now most days.'' I could tell from her voice she wasn't completely convinced by my excuse, but she didn't push it any further. ''I'm going to make some breakfast for me and Phil. You want some?'' She asked, standing up and making to leave my room. I shook my head.

''No I think I'll just take a shower and head off to school, I don't really feel hungry today.'' I answered with some pep, to dispel her concerns. I bounced off my bed and headed for the bathroom. The hard streams of water didn't seem to be able to easy my aching muscles, but I suppose I wasn't entirely surprised by that. I didn't even notice how long I had been standing in the shower thinking about it all until the water started getting cold.

After I got out of the shower, I grabbed some dental floss and two small strips of medical tape from the cupboard, and went into my room. Attaching the one strip to the bottom of my window sill with the string of floss, and the other strip on the window itself. Atleast now I would be able to check if anyone had opened my window.

Looking at my phone, I saw that I was getting short on time, so I grabbed my bag and ran out of the house just in time to make the bus.

Neither Dustin nor Justin was on the bus today for some reason, though I didn't really mind that terribly. It was quiet on the bus, but my mind was still buzzing with the same questions, so doing some homework on the way was out of the question. Looking out the window into the desert as we drove by, I tried to find anything out of place, though it proved to be a useless endeavor. I decided that I would use lunch period today to go into the library and use the computers there to search the internet for any clues later.

I had english with Ms. Reed the first double period today which I shared with Audrey. She caught me off-guard at my locker as I was getting my books with a cheery smile.

''Good morning Ella-Bella!'' She almost half-shouted while hopping up and down in one place. I cringed at the nickname, and at the fact that her books she was holding infront of her were threatening to cause an accident to come out of her top with how they were positioned. The nagging feeling came back, but I quashed it without mercy and returned a smile.

''Hello Audrey. What's got you in such a good mood?'' She stopped bouncing and flashed her pearly whites in a wide grin.

''Why I've got a class with the school's hottest topic of the day of course!'' Audrey chirped, grabbing my arm after I closed the locker, and dragging me towards the classroom. I could see her expression deflate when I tried to free my arm, which she released reluctantly.

''Well isn't it nice that someone is having fun from my stupidity. About that, is Dustin in school today? I didn't see him on the bus.'' I asked her, looking to the side at her when she leaned into me to whisper back.

''They are both here, Justin and Dustin were driven by Justin's parents. Dustin had to get eight stiches in his head, and from what I heard Justin's pissed off at you. I heard Monika say he was looking forward to confronting you about it.'' I sighed loudly enough for Audrey to look at me funny.

Why was I not surprised that Justin had taken this as a slight towards him. I had more pressing matters to deal with damn it. Why could that boy not just leave me alone.

''Well whoopdidoo I guess. What is Justin's deal anyway, other than being a lying sleazeball.'' I asked her, wondering a little how much I should care about the creep. The look I got from her surprised me a little.

''You mean you don't know? Really?'' Her brows were raised in a look of shock, and her voice two octaves higher than normal.

''No, I didn't even know his name until after I rejected his offer of a date. Why? Should I care?'' I responded quietly and I was starting to get concerned. Audrey was not easily scared, but I could see that she was now.

''Should you care? Should you care?! His family is like, made of money. His dad's a lawyer. I thought you had a plan for how to deal with him, like you usually do.'' She had stopped infront of me and was talking rather loudly, which had caused a small set of onlookers. Yay me.

''Don't worry about it Audrey, I can handle one little brat.'' I answered back quietly, grabbing her arm and pulling her along the hall with me, away from the crowd. She didn't talk to me after that, choosing to sit quietly next to me all class as Ms. Reed droned on about some big test that was coming up soon.

I didn't really manage to follow along that well, instead thinking about the two conundrums I would have to deal with in the near future. I luckily didn't have a class with either of the two boys that the smaller of the two problems before after lunch, and since I was planning to spend lunch in the library I probably wouldn't have to deal with them until after third period. I was looking forward to finding some if any answer about the bigger of the two problems during lunch, and tried to refocus on Ms. Reed and follow along with the lecture.

Aparently we were going to study poems in the foreseeable future. I was wondering which would be more agonizing, doing that for an extended amount of time, or gouging my own eyes out.

Somehow time managed to dredge is feet along, and the bell rang it's unpleasant cry, signaling my freedom to go to the library. As I was packing my things I heard Audrey leave with a huff, not even saying goodbye before she stormed out of the room.

I went by the vending machine in the hall on the way to the library and got an energy bar that I started munching on the way there. It looked empty when I got there, although I could hear someone in one of the aisles shuffling books, which I figured would be the librarian.

The computers were stacked in the far corner, behind a few aisles, and even they were unoccupied. I figured it would be though, there wasn't many people that used the library during lunch hour. I logged in with my school account and started searching for anything like circles of dead plants, or any freak occurrences in the nearby area, but other than a few articles about crop circles and UFO sightings I didn't find anything.

I read post after useless post about useless conspiracy theories on everything from the government making frogs gay with chemicals, to the droughts in California being some government plot. Until I found an article dating from 2001 that was about a UFO cropcircle up in Nevada which had a almost perfect circle of dead and rotting corn, and the pictures in the articles sent chills down my spine.

The damages to the crops looked almost identical to what I had seen close to my house this morning, only this circle was massive. Almost fifty meters in diameter of rotting husks of corn and brown and wilted stalks that seemed to have broken from a light breeze. The aerial photo of the scene almost made me balk.

This was so much bigger than what I had found, but it looked to similar to be a coincidence. I had no idea why the field today was so much smaller, so many years later, but it had to be the same thing.

My train of thought was abruptly broken when I heard the door open with a squeak, followed by two pairs of feet walking in what sounded like my direction with a purpose. It seems I wouldn't get to wait until after third period to have this little showdown, and with only four people around I wasn't sure how well this was going to turn out.

I quickly closed the browser and logged out of the computer, before turning and standing up just as Justin's ugly mug came around the aisle, followed by Dustin who had a large bandage on the top left side of his head.

I could tell Justin was mad from the look in his eyes, scowling back at me. Dustin was looking intently down at the floor, like he didn't even want to be here.

''Well look what we have here. A little coward hiding away in the library.'' Justin hissed and I had to stop the urge to roll my eyes. This kid's ego seemed to be bigger than I had imagined. Instead of answering his verbal jab, I looked over at Dustin who was still looking at the floor.

''Hey Dustin?'' I prompted quietly, which got the reaction I wanted as he looked up at me.

He made a point of clearing his throat before speaking. ''Yes?'' Atleast his tone of voice wasn't hostile, so maybe there was hope.

''I wanted to apologize to you for hurting you yesterday. I don't know what came over me at the time, but it does not excuse my actions. I'm sorry that I pushed you, and I hope you can forgive me for being an idiot.'' I say sincerely, keeping eye contact the whole time.

He motions up to his bandage. ''Oh this? Don't worry about it, it's all good. I heard about how you are with animals, so I wanted to apologize too, for being such an ass.'' He seemed more embarrased than mad which was a relief. The same did not apply to Justin however.

''No it's not fucking okay!'' He barked sideways at Dustin, who cowered and took a half step away from him. ''And you!'' He growled, pointing to me. ''You don't just get to say you're sorry! You put my friend in the emergency room!'' I could imagine seeing him foaming at the mouth like some rabid dog.

''What's your problem Justin? Can't handle it when a girl doesn't fall into your arms every time you speak?'' I taunt, crossing my arms infront of me. I am suddenly acutely aware of a slight predicament. They are blocking my path out of the aisle, and the librarian can't see what's going on back here.

I can see from the way his body tenses that I got the reaction I wanted from that, but he does not make a move towards me.

''Come on man, let's just go.'' Dustin tried to reason with him, grabbing his left arm, only for Justin to half-turn and push him into the aisle next to him. The wood creaks from the impact, though Dustin seems mostly okay.

''No, this bitch needs to learn her place!'' He shouted in anger, and I could hear the librarian gasp out loud and start to make her way to us.

''My place is where ever the fuck I want to be you jerk.'' I respond as I walk past him, shoulder checking him. I don't get two steps before his hand is on my shoulder, grabbing on tightly.

''What, you're gonna run back to your carpet muncher friend all of a sudden?'' He tried to sound glib, but only came off as whiny. It did serve well to piss me off however.

I turned around quickly, dislodging his arm in the process. ''What did you say.'' I growl at him, and for a brief second I see fear in his eyes.

''I'm saying you're a coward that is running back to her dyke.'' He taunts with glee. It seems it amuses him that he finally found something that got me mad.

''Maybe you should have yourself checked out, girls seem to be turning gay left and right around your sorry ass.'' I growl back, knowing how stupid it was to hurt his ego at this point. There was probably no way this didn't end up in a fight at this point.

I saw the change in his expression as he caught my meaning, and his jaw tensed at about the same time as his right hand was coming towards me in a fist. I felt a jolt of adrenaline as I bent my knees slightly, and was lifting my left hand up to shield my face, which seemed to be where he was aiming. I stepped in towards him with my left foot and brought my right arm up to my side, forming a fist and aiming for his ribs. Hopefully I could knock the air out of him long enough for the librarian to get here.

His hand glanced of my upper arm and shoulder just before my own connected to his ribs, and was surprised when I could feel two, no three ribs breaking, and my hand was still going. He exhaled sharply, and that was when I first noticed that time seemed to have... slowed down. I pulled my hand back to avoid breaking any more of his ribs, but even as I did so I noticed his body was pulling backwards, his shoes slipping off the wooden floor. It seemed like he was floating backwards slowly, his eyes shut and a pained cry leaving his lips.

I looked down on my hand at my side, bringing it up to chest level. My skin almost seemed to be... shimmering in the light. I heard the librarian shout behind me as Justin was mid-flight, on collision course with the shelves he had shoved Dustin into not a few minutes prior.

As I watched Justin hunch up, preparing for the impact with the aisle, time seemed to return to normal. With a loud 'CRACK', he hit and broke a few shelves on impact, before falling to the floor in a heap. His right arm looked like it might have been dislocated by the odd angle it was sticking out at.

Dustin just stood there mouth agape, staring down at his friend, and the first person to speak was the librarian.

''What the hell did you do young lady?'' Her nasal voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. ''Boy, go get a teacher. You stay right here missy!''

Dustin made to leave rather quickly, sparing one last look at Justin. I groaned as I realised how fucked I was. This was bad. I knew I had broken several ribs. I could feel them shattering under the pressure from my fist when I punched him. I didn't feel any pain in my knuckles for some reason.

I looked back down on my arm, noticing that the shimmering... thing, was gone. There was also no redness or bruising on my knuckles.

The librarian bent down next to Justin and took his pulse, though I could see him breathing so I knew he was fine. Probably just knocked out from the impact.

I sat down in the chair I had occupied earlier next to the computer, as I heard the commotion of people rushing in the door to the library.

With a deflated sigh, I picked up my phone and called mom.

''Hello hunny! What's up champ?'' Renèe answered with a happy trill. Someone was having a good day of doing nothing. Bummer.

''Mom... I fucked up. Badly.'' I reply with a groan, putting my other hand up to my face.

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Lying in bed I wondered how I managed to get myself caught up in so much bullshit these last couple of days.

I had been suspended and was sent home from school before third period was over. And we, me and mom, had to go back to have a meeting with Nina again tomorrow after school. Neither Renèe or Nina were happy with me pulling a stunt like this the very next day, but was a little more lenient when they heard that Justin had thrown the first punch.

And I was hating my own guts when I heard that Phil had finally gotten down on one knee and asked for my mothers hand in marriage, less than one fucking hour before I had called her. He had asked me for my blessing almost two weeks ago, but didn't seem to find the right time. And when he did, I happened. I felt like I was just a raincloud, spreading misery and problems on everyone who gets too close.

Mom did look really happy whenever I saw her looking at her new ring, it looked good on her, and I was happy that I had helped pick it out with Phil. Renèe had barely gotten her eyes off of him during dinner earlier. They were really great together, and even though they would never admit it, I could tell they would like some space to themselves. As the noise from the other room could attest.

I hadn't seen or talked to Audrey after what happened, and I was kind of worried that Justin had gotten to her at lunch, before they came to me. That could even be the reason she denied my call earlier, now that I think about it.

I flipped over to my nightstand and get the remote for the radio and turn it on, to block out the other noise. My mind was buzzing with uncertainty and worry, so I tried to focus on the music, slowly feeling sleep come to me.

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I woke with a start completely in the buff, with even my bedsheets missing. I was drenched in sweat and cold. The window was open again. I looked around the room in a panic. It was dark out, probably the middle of the night, but I could see even the shadows clearly. It was empty, I was alone.

Fearing the worst, I concentrated on my body, feeling for any pain or oddities. I found I could feel my body a lot more clearly. As if it was... 'louder' in a way. And I could feel strength. I got out of bed with an ease that felt really strange.

The floorboards creaked under my weight, but it almost felt as if I was gliding. I went over to my dresser and put on a big t-shirt, before I went over to the window. The tape I had attached to the windowsill was suspended in the air by the string, with a corner folded ever so slightly.

Looking outside I could see the sky was cloudy with the barest evidence of the moon hiding behind them, yet I could see the plains as if it was a clear moonlit night. Everywhere, apart from over by where I found the rotted plants yesterday.

I could see the patch of dead plants, or lack thereof. It looked pitch black, as black as I would imagine this night to be based on the clouds. And not 50 meters further, at the start of the hill, a second dark patch, bigger than the first.

Jumping back, I found myself almost crashing into my door. I breathed heavily, after noticing I had been holding it in for however long I was looking out the window. Closing the window, putting on the latch, and heading for the bathroom. The doors creaked as I opened them, but I didn't care as I went to the mirror.

What? Red?

I jumped back to the door and hit the light switch, wincing as the light forced me to close my eyes. I fought through the urge to keep my eyes closed. I had to check again.

Staring into my reflection I looked at my reflection again. Chocolate brown.

With a gasp I grabbed onto the sink with my hands. Damn I was hungry. And tired.

I felt woozy as I stumbled back to my room and fell onto my bed.

Then darkness.

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AN: I hope you guys liked the chapter. It's coming up on christmas, and I have some free time from now until new years, so I hope to get atleast one more chapter up before end of the year.

Hit me up if there are any questions or concerns with the story!