AN: Hah! Finally - Edward makes his appearance :P this too shall be a two-part spiel.

Edward Pt 1

Emmett, Jasper and I ran through the woods searching for predators. Emmett was particularly on the lookout for bears, as was his habit, while Jasper and I were trying to beat each other at finding a lion first. He was within my mental monitoring range, and if I lost and lied about it, he would be able to tell. It was a simple way to keep bets honest. Today I was determined to win, with a passion I rarely threw into feeding. My brothers could tell that I was distracted, my focus far away instead of on our trip, and I was trying to prove them wrong. I was running through the greenery, ignoring the scenes I normally found so distracting and beautiful. My thoughts were instead focused on a pair of deep brown eyes, set in a pale, flawless face, framed by long locks of curly brown hair. My feet slowed as I caught the scent of a predator of some kind. Was it a lion? I started lazily following the trail to the east, re-living my last few weeks in my head.

The first time I saw her I had hated her with every fiber of my being. It was as if she were the ultimate temptation. Her blood called to me as a siren lured a sailor to his demise. It was a very dark hour. Only the face of my father had kept me strong, kept me unbreathing, and unmoving, until I could safely break away. I should have left the instant I smelled her.

But I was at war.

Half of me wanted to stay, to lure her to her death, the other half wanted to run, straight to Carlisle, and Esme, the two people I could trust with such insecurity and weakness. The internal war I waged was a ferocious one, strengthened by the fact that my sister Alice, had come running to my rescue, waiting outside the classroom door if I needed her. She showed me every vision, every flip-flop of the futures I was deciding. She focused extremely on the pain our family would be caused if I did slip. The kindness, and understanding that Carlisle would show. It sickened me. I felt physically ill knowing that I could disappoint him again as I had in the years I had rebelled, and he would still welcome me back with open arms. At the moment the bell rang, the side of the faithful son was winning. I rushed out of the classroom, Alice barely at my heels, and I sped off towards the woods to cool off. It took me an hour to decide that I could switch classes, but stay in school, escape this girl in the future. Alice had stopped her pursuit, after seeing my plan.

Be safe. She had called to me. I had nearly killed the Swan girl again when as I had returned to the office to switch my class, she had followed me in. The scent that pummelled me where I stood was beyond imagining, beyond description. It had taken the visualization of my father literally standing protectively in front of her for me to move beyond her. And then I had fled.

It took me a week to collect myself under the dark sky of northern Alaska. I had come back to prove to myself that I could resist the temptation she presented. To prove that I could be everything Carlisle had put faith in. I had expected to find my family confused, and to have to explain to them why I had disappeared. I had expected their support and in some cases annoyance. What I hadn't expected to find was my own insatiable curiosity. Bella Swan was a silent enigma to me. A quick-witted, strangely responding, intelligent, selfless, mental mute. There was so much to be curious about. I had a never-ending line of questions, some arbitrary, some personal. Most were based off of observations I had made about her rather than admissions she had made herself. Most could never be answered. The first day back that we had conversed she had only left me confused, and a mentally entertained at the thought of having such a stimulating partner to talk to in biology for the rest of the year. But our second meeting was not as sweet.

I was temporarily distracted from my musings by Jasper's victorious mental voice, a lot closer geographically than I had thought he was. Damn. I had been too wrapped up in my thoughts to properly try to catch the predator that I had been inadvertently stalking towards my brother. I redirected myself further north and continued reflecting as I hunted, less efficiently now.

Our second day of contact had not been as I had planned. I had planned to continue to ask her questions, figure out her answers, try to understand the little puzzle she presented. Instead, inclement weather had mashed our fates together, potentially irreversibly. My family had arrived at school, and we were still arguing about my decision to remain in school, despite the risk of being so close to such a large temptation. I was arguing a point with Rosalie, when Alice saw a terrifying scene: Tyler Crowley's van speeding into a parking lot, hitting the ice at a terrible angle and careening off, towards Isabella Swan. My head snapped up to look at her, and I noticed immediately that she was watching me. She turned away from me, not reacting to the screeching sound of the brakes Tyler was futilely pressing, and before I realised what was happening, I was beside her, tackling her away. Although the carnage didn't end there, and before I knew it I had forced the van away with my hands, and braced, too quickly, over her to protect her from the shattered shower of glass.

"Are you alright, Bella?"

"Pardon?" she had responded. Her breath hit me like a sledgehammer and I swallowed convulsively. I made it my primary directive to ensure that she was alright, and had leaned away from her, watching her eyes for signs of dilution – a good indicator of concussion. I tried to ignore my siblings as they shouted furiously in my mind. No one was particularly happy with me, but Rosalie would have murdered me where I lay on Bella given half the chance. I re-directed my thoughts to the woman beneath me.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. I honestly didn't even figure out what was happening at first." She had tried to wriggle away, and I held her firmly, she had hit her head on the ice, I had heard, and swore at, that crack. I did let her up when she finally admitted that she was cold. Sandwiched between a vampire and an icy asphalt was not going to be good for keeping her out of shock. My worst fears were shortly after realised. She had seen everything. She had even noticed that I was arguing with Rosalie before inexplicably teleporting to her side. She looked so determined to prove that she was right, an uncommon braveness about her. Humans rarely had the courage to stand down a vampire. It was in their genes to avoid, to agree with, to be amicable. Apparently Bella had missed that memo. She was so annoyed she threatened to bite one of the medical professionals when they reached her, something Emmett and I got a kick out of.

When we had finally gotten to the hospital, I had gone straight to Carlisle to confess. He had been open, cautious and understanding as before, and yet we were interrupted by Charlie Swan, coming to request my father look at her. I tried to give the some privacy, but as I left I noticed something I had been idiotic to overlook before. Charlie's thoughts were not clear. They were present, but it was more as though I could make out the tone, but not the actual thoughts. I could tell he was worried about Bella, grateful towards me, and almost embarrassed and nervous about talking to my father. But I couldn't tell why. If Bella's mother had a similar level of murkiness about her thoughts it may explain why Bella was invisible to my mental probes.

I had walked away, focusing on Tyler Crowley, who was annoying Bella, and the nurses that pestered her as she lay scowling at them. I had found Bella, who kept up her tirade of sarcasm and annoyance for me, while my father followed behind. His thoughts light as he skimmed her file.

Interesting. So much physical damage in her history. Also – Edward – please if you can, I'd rather you keep out of my thoughts for the next few minutes while I try to collect them. Focus on the others. See if anyone else saw your miraculous appearance. I remember frowning at my father. He was not always so direct with asking me to try and not hear. He understood that it was something I couldn't turn off, but he was right about the fact that if I focused elsewhere I would be able to keep away from his thoughts. I would have to inquire as to why he wanted me to actively turn a blind eye. And then suddenly he confirmed that her x-rays were fine, and no concussion was evident. A sigh of relief I hadn't realised I was holding had escaped me. And that worried me more than anything. I surely had been wanting the opposite? Confusion due to concussion would be the easiest way to explain away her 'ignorance' of my appearance, and yet, I was relieved that I hadn't hurt her, that she was fine, and feisty, as ever.

Despite my extreme lack of focus, I managed to find the trace of a wolf pack, and followed it until I was close, lifting myself up into the trees to watch and wait for the opportune moment. I found and proceeded to hunt two down. My memories flitted to the front of my mind once my thirst was sated.

"Honestly, I'm fine. I'm going. I'll sleep. Thank you." She had dismissed my father's concern, and concentrated on me. I hadn't yet figured out what I would say. "I would however like a quick word alone with you."

We had walked out to the hallway, my father's mental voice urging caution and not to reveal, just to twist what she remembered if I could. I tried to redirect her attention by drawing it to her father. My attempt was extremely weak, and unsuccessful.

"What do you want?"

"You stopped a van today. With your hands."

"You hit your head. You have no idea what you're talking about." I had hoped with every fibre of my being that the things that made us such deadly predators would waive her resolve now. I was wrong. Particularly because she chose not to meet my eyes. Her gaze seemed fixed on my mouth, perhaps my teeth? Had I been too intimidating, baring them enough that she worried even then?

"Your own father just disproved that theory, there's nothing wrong with my head. I saw the dents. I saw you lift it as it came for my legs. You got over to me from across the parking lot in a matter of seconds."

"Nobody will believe that you know."

"I don't care, and I'm not going to tell anyone." She sounded more condescending than I had ever heard her before. As if I should have guessed that she wouldn't be spreading the news of my apparent teleportation and potentially her insanity. How could I possibly have known she wouldn't go and talk to her friends at lunch, telling them everything she saw – like most human females did? "But you still owe me an explanation."

"I saved your life. I don't owe you anything." My mouth had retorted before I could stop it. I saw the pain flicker across her face at my statement, and then her angry resolve diminished. Apparently kicking a dog while it was down did indeed work. My stomach however felt knotted in guilt. Her eyes reached mine, and she hardened again. Not angry, but logical perhaps?

"Fair enough," she had nodded, "But if I'm going to keep this a secret there better be a damn good reason. I want to know why I'm lying to people."

"Well then I hope you enjoy disappointment," I stared at her imploringly, trying to convey the depth of my need for her to drop this investigation.

"Why did you even bother?"

She had left then, turning away before I could even manage a response. My first thought that responded to her question had only posed more questions in my head.

Because I wanted to.