whenever I'm alone with you
you make me feel like I am free again
whenever I'm alone with you
you make me feel like I am clean again
The Cure – Love Song
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked as he walked out of the hospital in a pair of jeans and a white undershirt. He smiled, mussing my hair.
"Of course," Caleb replied. It had been only three days since the accident. In those three days I didn't leave his side…not once. I knew I probably seemed like some love struck teenager, but I didn't really give a damn, now that I thought about it. He was holding my hand, like he seemed to always do now. Today was Monday. I knew we had about thirty minutes to get to school. Seeing as he had been hurt Friday, it had worked well in the school schedule. I was amazed, though, that there wasn't a single scratch on him. Everything healed miraculously…of course there were a few scars on his shoulders and definitely a big one on his side, but it was a constant reminder of…how far he was willing to go to keep me safe.
I smiled, realizing that. He was willing to die for me. Keira had said it a few days ago, and over the three days, she and I had become fast friends. Lucy was a sweetheart as well, and Clark and Micah were definitely on my good side immediately. The only one who didn't seem to like me too much was Rosie, and yet even she was still civil towards me. I didn't mind, of course. I had my best friend and I had my…boyfriend…and I had the members of his family as friends now. My father had drove my motorcycle up here the other day while Keira had left Caleb's Viper in the lot.
"See you there," he said, kissing my cheek as I pulled the helmet over my head and watched him walk towards his car. He had asked me countless times why I wore a helmet. Honestly, I had no real answer. It used to be that my mother would make me; I guessed it was reflex now.
I sped out of the parking lot and was at Forks high school before anyone else. It was nice, being at school early. I always got a good parking space. I sighed and waited as the Viper pulled in beside me. He smiled as he got out and I dismounted my bike and pulled the helmet off of my head. He grabbed my helmet and tossed it inside his car before closing the door. And then I closed the gap between us.
His arms wound around my waist, his hands staying on my hips as mine twined up around his neck, playing with his hair in the back.
"Are you absolutely sure you're okay?" I asked, still a bit worried.
"Claire, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm okay?" he said with a roll of his eyes. I smirked at him and batted the back of his head with my palm playfully. I knew it didn't hurt him.
"Hey," he objected, moving one of his hands free and poking the tip of my nose.
"You have issues," I said jokingly, releasing him and falling backwards into his hands. I laughed as he pulled me back onto my feet, never letting me fall.
"Let's go," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Oh, by the way, Keira says she likes you." I smiled. I had been right. I laughed.
"Tell her the feeling's mutual," I said with a smirk before grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the front doors. Morgan was there waiting, tapping her foot.
"You two completely ditched the last half of the day on Friday. The teachers are going to kill you!" she almost yelled at me.
"Morgan…we have notes," I said, holding up the piece of paper signed by my mother stating that my absence was excused and I was on a family tragedy…apparently my Uncle Harry, who we were very close to, had died. Caleb held his up too, which was a doctor's note that said he was attacked by a dog and was recovering from numerous bites over the weekend. Carlisle had signed the bottom of it. Morgan seemed appeased as we walked with her to the Attendance office and dropped off our notes. By the time the day had begun, Morgan skipped off to her first period, leaving Caleb and I to head off to the only class we had together.
With our hands twined together, we walked off to English and took our usual seats in the back of the room. The bell rang minutes later as all the desks in front of us filled up quickly. The teacher went to talking incessantly and lecturing about the book I had read this week for class. The Lord of the Flies, which had to be one of the most gruesome books in history. It was about ten-year-old children going after each other and killing each other when their plane crashed on an island. It was meant to display the flaws that take over society when there isn't an authority there. It shows how unruly and horrible society would be without authority and laws and structure. All in all, it was a terrible book.
"Claire?" called the teacher. I looked up from where I was doodling on my spiral and did a quick glance through the teacher's mind.
"Ralph," I said, looking back down as my eyes met the spot where my hand sat on the desk, my fingers intertwined with Caleb's. I smiled and noticed his smile out of my peripheral vision. He rubbed the back of my hand with his warm thumb and I felt myself shiver. The warmth wasn't something I would easily get used to. I have his hand a gentle squeeze as I grabbed up my pen and began doodling again. He laughed and grabbed the notebook, looking at what I had been drawing. It was a pair of angel wings, spread out on the paper, perfect and angelically white.
"Why angel wings?" he asked in confusion.
"I don't know. I think they're pretty. They remind me of something…like a really far off memory. It's like when you have some song stuck in your head but you can't sing it because you have no idea how it goes…you know?" I said softly.
"Yeah. What do you think it is?"
"I don't know, human memories coming back maybe," I said with a shrug. I looked up when I heard a new set of thoughts enter the classroom. I felt Caleb stiffen next to me and then a scent wafted through my nose. It was one of us, a vampire, entering the classroom. I froze in my seat. Caleb instinctively clutched the edge of the desk. I noticed his strain and his fight for control. It was something he never had when he was around me. What was different about this one? I noticed it then, those red eyes in that perfect face. I grimaced as my blue eyes refused to betray my status, my species. Caleb raised a hand tentatively and I could feel Alice's thoughts close by, along with those of Carlisle and Emmet. That meant that this was the one.
"Yes, Caleb?" asked the teacher.
"May I go see a teacher? I forgot I was supposed to see him before school and it's urgent. I have no idea how long it's going to take," he said earnestly, his voice not betraying the emotion I knew he was feeling. The teacher nodded reluctantly and Caleb left the room quickly and hastily. The new kid raised his hand then. I saw the teacher's mind and his name was Blake or at least it was what he was being called. The teacher allowed him to leave the room too. My curiosity was piqued and I made the excuse of needing to see the counselor. Of course they believed me. They had to, seeing as the world believed my uncle had just died in a drunk driving accident. As soon as I was released from class, I bolted to where I could smell Caleb and there they both were, in the parking lot.
"Caleb, don't do this," I said softly.
"Claire…this is the guy who's been ripping up Port Angeles," Caleb argued, not taking his eyes off of the vampire before us. He was very beautiful, his eyes a vibrant red in a pale face that was topped with brown hair that fell gently over his eyebrows. He was built like a runner or a swimmer and was a little taller than Caleb, but not by much.
"The others are coming. He's a newborn, right? So, that means that he won't be hard to beat. Jasper knows exactly how to deal with things like this," I argued. I saw Blake's eyes fall on me for the first time and his red irises smoldered into my crystalline blue ones.
"You're one of us. Why are you helping his kind? You're a Cullen vampire," he said in a voice that was far older than his body. He seemed ancient, his papery skin not reflecting the light of the sun as it hid behind clouds. "You're different though."
"Believe me, I can still kill you," I said harshly, through gritted teeth.
"You can try," he said, smirking. "Odds are I'll be the one killing you. You may have more coming soon, but so do we."
"We?" I asked skeptically. "Who are you here on behalf of?"
"The Volturi. It has come to our attention that the Cullen family has gotten too large. A few boundaries have been overstepped and we aren't willing to look it over anymore. Last time we were generous, this time the Cullens cannot be trusted."
"Too large a coven? The Volturi are three times the size!" I objected loudly.
"Yes, but the Volturi enforce the laws, the rules, and are above those."
"No one is above laws that they make."
"Listen, just point me in the direction of the new Cullen family member and it will all be over," he said, pressing his fingertips to his temples as though to rid himself of a headache.
"You're looking at her," I said, placing my hands on my hips. He sighed and pushed the sleeves of his sweater up to his elbows.
"The werewolf will stay out of this, then?" he asked with a smirk.
"Caleb will not interfere unless necessary," I said, stressing the name to get my point across. Caleb, seeing my determination, took a few steps backward, toward the school. He began pushing cars out of the way. This was going to make a mess. I could tell, by now, this one wasn't a newborn. If he was, he was very well trained. No newborn would be able to walking into Forks High School without murdering everyone in sight. I groaned and also rolled up my sleeves.
"Well, then. Let's get this over with. As soon as you're ripped to shreds then the problem is over. I hope you don't mind never seeing your family again." I smirked and nodded at Caleb as he took a few steps back.
"Why pretend to be a newborn?" I asked in curiosity.
"We thought, with the history the Cullens have, that it would lure you out, but I got bored with waiting so…I came up to Forks of my own accord."
"I'm sure there are a shit load of people who won't appreciate that at all," I said with a smirk. I could feel the ground beneath my feet, the vibrations in it. I was building up power, the one power that made me possibly more powerful than any other vampire. I knew I was special. I had always known that. With a light smirk, my fast eyes were trained to follow his every movement, and they did. I could hear the other members of my family approach, could hear Caleb tell them to stand back. And then Blake was in front of me. I ducked, rolled, bounced back up on my feet perfectly ready to fight. He smiled. This would be a better fight, more fun for me, if the sun was out, but I could still get to the light around the campus. The lights in the school flickered and then went out. The sky seemed to open up as I called to the light energy. I could hear Emmett laughing behind us.
The predator seemed to realize what was going on very quickly as my hands began to glow a vibrant white. He charged at me, with complete intent to grab my throat, but my hand clasped over his wrist and a pulse of pure energy shot through his entire body, welding him to hands as I pulled him to the ground and fired my knee into his stomach. He coughed once. Clearly he hadn't mastered the technique of not breathing while fighting. Emmett was nice enough to teach me that one. I smirked as he shot off my knee and into the dirt. I wasn't done though. Before he could stumble back up and recover, I was behind him, and I fired a kick straight into his back, sending him stumbling forward a few more feet. I was fully aware that the students in the school were wondering why the lights were out and all other electricity was working fine. I didn't care at the point.
He threw a punch.
I dodged it and got him in the temple with my elbow.
He stumbled and I was beginning to get cocky. I could feel the energy fill me, and I knew that with this much I was a lot faster. Light charged me, made me more powerful. I was getting addicted to it, slowly but surely. I heard every light bulb in the school burst at the same time. I smirked and then something gripped me. It was strong and pulling and I couldn't fight it. It was as though there were invisible hands around my neck, choking me. Not that it mattered much, but I couldn't fight. I wasn't hurt or dying or anything of that sort. I stared down at the vampire with red eyes. He smiled and I noticed his hand cupped like something you would see in a Star Wars movie. I felt my body lift from the ground.
Telekinesis.
That was one I wasn't used to…at all. I had never heard it.
Well, it definitely changed a few things.
"Claire!" I heard Caleb yell. I knew someone had just stopped him from coming to help me. In anger, I raised one of my hands and a jolt of energy shot straight at him, making him stumble backwards, loosen his hold, and I was free. He moved his hands incredibly fast now, and I saw things flying at me from all angles. Cars, pieces of cars, anything that someone could find in a parking lot at a high school. I saw a slew of CDs threaten to slice me to ribbons as they spun at me. I glared at him in anger as one hit me and fell to the ground. It didn't hurt at all. I crouched down, on the balls of my feet, looking more like a jungle cat than I had right to. He moved his hand and I was behind him in an instant, his hand held behind his back. He smirked. My free hand fought his other hand as he kept trying to get a hold of me. He threw me off quickly and took a few steps backward, panting slightly.
"Thanks. This research will be very helpful for those paying me," he said with a wicked smile. He strode forward for a second, meeting my eyes, and then was gone. I was aware of how ragged I probably looked. My hair was more than it's usual messiness and I could see a few rips and tears in my clothes. As soon as he was gone, my family rushed upon me.
"Why did he come into the city?" my father asked me, grasping me by the shoulders. I inhaled sharply.
"He was after me and only me. The Volturi know about me…they think with my addition to the family that you are too strong to be allowed to stay like that. What are they going to do with me?"
"Revenge," Alice whispered softly.
"What?" I asked in confusion.
"A long time ago, one of the Volturi asked Edward and me to join them. When we said no, they were very miffed, except Jane of course. Anyway…we think that they're going to try and take you away from us," Alice said softly. I saw her scan ahead, visions of the future pouring into her mind. She grimaced at one and I dove into her thoughts. I saw myself being pulled away from Caleb as I boarded a plane to Italy. It was sad, horrible. I couldn't imagine choosing to be without him. My family was all around me, looks of sadness and determination on their faces. Another vision was of a pile of ashes on the ground and my mother on her knees over top of it, my father trying to comfort her. I couldn't take anymore and I left Alice's thoughts alone.
"Can they really do that? They really think they rule the world?" I asked haughtily.
"They sort of do, Claire. You should never irritate them. Claire they almost killed your mother when she was human. Your father asked to die once because he knew they might do it for them. They're incredibly powerful because of a few additions. I think, though, with your mother's help, it is possible to destroy them."
"What do you mean? Are you talking about how my mom's power always seems to block everyone else's?" I asked, falling into Caleb's arms as he came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.
"Yeah. Claire, I know you won't like this, but I think for now you need to keep a low profile…possibly leave Forks altogether while we take care of this. Whoever that guy was, he was under the employment of the Volturi, not a member. His fighting style was far too sloppy. Though they would love to have him on their side. Odds are he's just a mercenary," said my father thoughtfully.
"Leave Forks? How, with who? Why?" I asked angrily.
"You would need a body guard and I trust Caleb and his family. If it gets to a point when the Volturi themselves enter Forks, we will have to stop them some way or another. Aro won't be part of this movement, but Caius probably is. I have no idea what Marcus is thinking," said Carlisle, tapping his index finger against his temple as he contemplated.
"So, I can't go to school anymore? I can't go outside anymore or anything like that?" I asked in frustration.
"I'm afraid not. Not until we get this all sorted out, Claire," said Esme softly.
"That makes no sense! I can help, I can fight. I'm one of the strongest. I may not have as much experience but I'm fast and strong and my powers will come in handy!" I objected loudly.
"Claire. If you're the one they want, they won't hesitate just to take you away from us. They might not kill you but they have ways of subduing you," my father said softly. I reached into his mind only see that he had first hand experience to Jane's death glares. I shrunk back, seeing just how much pain she had made him feel. "You see, we don't want that to be you."
"It won't be. I can fight, I'm strong enough," I argued. By now, people were beginning to pour out of the building to go home. No one could have school if there was an unexpected loss of power. I sighed, realizing I hadn't released that energy yet. I opened my closed fists and focused and all the lights flickered back on. A teacher ran out and yelled that classes were still in session.
"Let me go take care of a few things. Caleb, do you want help if you're going to be Claire's caretaker for a little while?" Carlisle asked as he began to walk towards the school.
"I can take care of her perfectly fine," Caleb said, sounding a little miffed that Carlisle thought he would need help. Carlisle shrugged and entered the school. I listened carefully as he told the office that Caleb and I had been checked into the hospital today with some disease I didn't know. Apparently it would be a few weeks before we both got back. I rolled my eyes as Carlisle came outside. Without a second glance at my family, but one quick glance at Caleb, I mounted my motorcycle and sped off down the street. As soon as I got to Carlisle's house, I threw my helmet with enough force that a huge spide web crack appeared in the back of it. I didn't care. There was no point to me wearing the helmet anyway.
With a roll of my eyes I walked inside to the room that used to belong to my father. It had a few new additions for when I came to stay here every once in a while. The giant Sound System had gotten an update, which I didn't mind. Whatever projected music better was fine with me. The gold had become silver gray, the carpet, the paint, anything gold was now a soft silvery color. I didn't like gold at all. There was a TV on the wall, a really nice one actually, that was hooked to the sound system to allow surround sound if I wanted it. I threw myself on the bed and grabbed one of the bed rails, the twined laurel pattern made in wrought iron. I yanked a huge flower off of it and held it in my hands for a few seconds.
I was angry, of course. I would be watched wherever I went and I was being treated like a little girl. It wasn't fair at all. Did they think no one would find me here? I would be better off fighting. It wasn't that I didn't trust Caleb with my life or anything, it was just that I hated this idea of hiding when I was stronger than Emmet and faster than Edward and more beautiful than Rosalie. It wasn't fair to make me sit here on the sidelines and watch.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
I looked up at the door, knowing it was Alice. She entered.
"I knew you were going to say come in, so…I just came in." I smiled at her. Alice sometimes knew what would cheer me up. She never failed, with her quirky personality, to put me in a better mood.
"What is it, Alice?" I asked, not really caring, for once, what she wanted to talk to me about.
"Claire…throughout your life you've had no excitement until now, when all this happened. I understand why you're so angry. You really don't want to have to sit by and watch everyone else have all the fun. We probably won't end up fighting. Carlisle is taking a plane to Italy tomorrow morning and he'll be back in three days. He just needs to talk to them. He was a very good friend of them once and he thinks he'll be able to convince them we aren't a threat. If Marcus and Aro can outvote Caius, there won't be a fight. If they try to take you, we will not let them."
"Why won't you let me fight them?" I asked angrily.
"Your father, I believe, showed you the very reason why," she said softly as she sat down on the bed next to me and touched my hair. I squirmed out of her reach and sat farther back on the bed. I wanted to be angry right now.
"I don't care. I can still fight them. It's not real pain, if I just remember that then how can it affect me?" I asked harshly.
"Believe me, it feels very, very real," Alice said in wonderment. "I saw it happen to Edward. Picture your father writhing on the ground in pain. There's Jane's brother, Alec. Something about him is far, far more powerful than Jane. We have no idea what he can do and it's best not to put you in a situation that would test that."
"You know I hate this," I said angrily, crossing my arms across my chest.
"You're just like Edward and Emmett. You like taking risks too much. Calm down. Think of it this way, you'll be spending about a week alone with Caleb."
"Alone? But…you guys are all going to be here," I said in confusion.
"Well, we know they'll come here looking for you first and we have some old friends coming to help out. We can't afford to have you here when we know this is where they're going first. We booked you a hotel room in Port Angeles." She smiled, dropping a small card key into my hand. You already checked in, so as soon as you're ready to go, leave. I felt my eyes widen.
"Your parents definitely trust you," she said with a smile. I sighed and heard another knock.
"Come in," I called, my voice barely audible because I knew whoever it was would hear me. The door opened and it was Caleb. I smiled at him as he came and sat down next to me, placing his arm around my shoulders, instantly calming me. I leaned against his soft, warm body, my head resting on his chest. "Well…did they tell you?" I asked with an awkward smile.
"Yeah," he said, sounding equally as awkward. "We're not leaving yet. I want to meet them, Alice."
"Meet who?" I asked in confusion, lifting my head to look at him.
"Alright," Alice said with a light and musical laugh. I glared at them.
"Meet who?" I asked angrily.
"The Quileutes," said Caleb, smiling. "All werewolves are descended from them. I can trace my ancestry back to Native Americans. The reason I'm white now is because of the gene carriers marrying whites." I fell off the bed then, surprise gripping me.
"Does my dad know about this?" I asked Alice in shock when I had gotten to my feet.
"Yeah. It was his idea actually. If anything, Bella doesn't want them here," Alice said with a smile.
"Alice, you can't be serious. They'll be so much older," I said, shocked.
"No, actually. If they continued to shift after we last saw them, they wouldn't have aged a day. I think Sam may have taken that step to not changing but the others were so damn immature especially that Quil. Of course, assuming Leah is still alive, there could be some trouble."
"Oh, calm down. I'm sure they won't have a problem with my family at all."
"Your uncle?" I asked, holding my breath.
"He and I had a nice and long talk when he came to the hospital. He doesn't want to rip you apart and burn you alive. I promise. Now that we know who's killing people around here, he will be civil with you." I still was worried, though.
"Bella!" yelled a thundering voice form downstairs. It was a deep and husky voice that I knew perfectly from the things I had seen and heard in the minds of my family. I winced, knowing exactly who it was. Apparently he had put the whole Bella not loving him thing behind him. That was good, then. At least he wasn't going to try and eat me.
A/N: So, I got a request form someone to try and fit the little Quileute boys in here. Though I hate Jacob with a fiery and burning passion stronger than the heat of the sun, I am still doing this. I like all the other Quileutes…just not Jacob. Anyway, review please. I know this chapter is a little weird and has a lot of different stuff happening, but I'll clear it up for you. Oh, and FYI...I want lots of reviews this time. So, readers, if you are reading it and not reviewing like a slacker, you don't get a smile form me. I won't update unless this chapter gets...eight reviews. So ha!