I was on the dance floor. If that's what you could call it. Really, it was the school gym. It was the 'Winter Festival' dance. Why the dance committee would name it that was beyond me. I was dressed in an emerald green dress that had spaghetti straps and fell to my knees. It clung to me from the bodice to my hips. From there it hung loosely in an elegant way (in my opinion, anyways). My mother had forced me into a pair of strappy heels that were the same color as the dress. This, in my opinion, was a bad idea. They had a two inch heel, which any accident prone klutz knows is not a smart move. None the less, here I was in the dreaded shoes. My hair, I actually liked. It was a medium brown color and hung in loose waves down my back, ending at my waist. My greenish gray eyes were accentuated by silver eye shadow. That was the only bit of make-up I wore.

The song that was currently playing came to an end and a new one picked up almost instantaneously. Changing my movements to match the beat of the new song, I continued to dance and sing through the crowd. I was dancing with no one in particular, just dancing in the moment.

Edward's POV

I was dancing with my wife, whom I had to pretend was my adoptive sister and my girlfriend. My brothers and sisters were around me, all dancing with their significant other. We had all been watching Artemis dance through the crowd, singing along with the song. My brother Emmett and his wife (and my sister) Rosalie enjoyed playing pranks on her. What they hadn't expected was for her to fight back. What threw them, and my other siblings –Jasper and Alice- as well as my wife, Bella, and myself off was that we could never see them coming. Even with my mind reading abilities (which strangely didn't seem to work on her) or Alice's seer like powers (which also never seemed to really work all that well on her), she still managed to get them –and the rest of us when we'd pull a casual prank on her- every time.

I decided to listen in to my siblings thoughts to see what they thought of her.

Rosalie was jealous of how free Artemis seemed to be. Emmett was watching to see if there was some way he could prank her tonight. Jasper's thoughts were calm as he felt the happiness and enthusiasm radiating off of her. Alice was admiring her outfit and planning yet another shopping trip. Turning to look down at my wife, whose thoughts had always been hidden to me, I found her watching Artemis like everyone else in the gym. Bending my head down to her ear, I whispered "What do you think of Artemis, my love?" Bella turned her face and smiled up at me. "I think that she is beautiful in a careless and free way, that if it weren't for Emmett's continuous pranks and what we are, that we could be really good friends." Chuckling Bella added "And I bet she despises shopping, too." I couldn't help but chuckle at that myself.

Ryan's POV

I was watching her weave her way through the crowd. I had smelled her blood over and over again during school, not believing how strong the call of it was to me. Now, in this hot and enclosed space, the smell was even stronger. It mixed with all of the others, yet I could still pick it out as easily as white is seen against black. She was a mere human, and I a vampire. I knew it was impossible to be anything but that, but I could not help but be fascinated by her.

I saw the Cullens watching her and couldn't help but feel protective. I knew I had no right to, but that didn't mean that I didn't try to protect her from their pranks. What shocked me most was that she tended not to need help. Somehow, she was able to perceive the pranks before most hit her.

I heard what the Cullens' were thinking, all except Bella which was nothing normal. I shared the same gift as Edward did. Though we were all vampires, we did not live together. We did, however, both feed on animal blood instead of human. The Cullens' had moved here about three months before I had. We had had a meeting concerning diets, length of stay, and such. We had come to an agreement to watch out for each others' backs while here.

Artemis passed close by me, the sweet vanilla lavender fragrance of her shampoo and blood hitting me like a ton of bricks. I momentarily stopped breathing, closing my eyes in an attempt to calm the monster within me that craved her blood. It was helping a little, but not breathing only did so much good when the memory of her scent was still strong and fresh in my mind. I heard Edward's thought break through my mind.

-Cool it. You know that you don't want to do that. The consequences aren't worth it. Besides, you and I both know that there are other plans for you and her.- I knew that he was right, but that didn't make it any less difficult. –Remember what I told you about me and Bella. Think of how things could turn out between you and Artemis if you don't do what we all know that you are so tempted to do.- I did know what Edward and Bella had gone through; the struggles and the love. To be able to find something like that would be amazing. The possibility in finding that love in Artemis was the one and the only things that stopped me from killing her and just about everyone else in this gym.

Artemis' POV

I was still dancing through the crowd when I saw him. Looking at him made me stop dead in my tracks. He was staring back at me. He was tall, about six foot two- a whole foot taller than me when I was flat foot, with black hair that was a shaggy sort of mess. It looked almost as if he had just crawled out of bed. His skin was paler than any other I've ever seen- except for the Cullens'. What captivated me most about him were his eyes. They were a golden topaz color, but as he continued to watch me I could see them darken- turning almost black.

I had long ago figured out what the Cullens were. I had moved here at the start of my sophomore year and they moved in about two months later. I was now in my senior year and had kept the secret since I figured it out over Christmas break of my sophomore year. The man standing in front of me must go to this school; how I never noticed him before I'll never know; especially with my observant tendencies. I also knew just by looking at him that he was a vampire. That didn't scare me at all. The Cullens didn't scare me either, no matter how hard they tried.

Taking a deep breath, I walked over to him. He stared down at me. The look on his face told me that he was shocked to find me walking up to him. I smiled up at him, hoping to ease his tension. It worked a little bit: he gave me a small smile.

"Hello." That one word was all he said. I knew instantly that I would be seeing him again.

"Hello." I said in return. The smile he gave me was breathtaking. I had to take a deep breath before continuing. "I'm Artemis. Would you like to dance with me?"

Ryan's POV

I could not believe that she would actually want o dance with me. I was shocked enough that she actually approached me. Most humans avoided my kind by all means necessary. Yet she came right up to me and asked me to dance.

-Well don't just stand there! Dance with her!- Alice's voice echoed through my head. I couldn't help but let a small smile slip through at her words as well as the other forms of encouragement that came from the others. Even the unknowing humans around us were silently egging me on. So I did the only thing I could. I smiled at her and nodded my head.

The smile that graced her face seemed to light up the whole room as I took her hand and led her onto the 'dance floor'. "I'm Ryan by the way." Before she could answer the song changed from a fast one to a slow song. I looked at her, a silent question in my eyes. I wanted to know if she wanted to continue dancing with me. She must have understood the look in my eyes because she pulled her hand from mine. I momentarily missed its warmth, but I didn't miss it long as she placed her hands on my shoulders; consequently stepping closer. I placed my hands on her waist.

Though I reveled in her warmth and easiness to accept me, I couldn't help but being afraid. I was scared that her blood at this close proximity would push me too far. I didn't want to hurt her, but I didn't know if my self control could take it.

Artemis must have seen the fear in my eyes. "What are you afraid of?" I didn't understand how she so easily read me. I was afraid that she would be able to tell what I was and would run away from me. Apparently, Alice (probably with help from Edward, the mind reader, and Jasper, the empath), had foreseen this.

-Stop panicking. She's observant. That's how she saw your fear. She already knows that we are all vampires. It doesn't scare her. She's known since we moved here. She doesn't know about our gifts though –at least as far as any of us know.- Jasper decided to add to that. –She's attracted to you. Right now she's concerned for you. Just tell her that you're okay and that you were thinking of something else. Tell her that you like dancing with. Just make some small talk. She wants to get to know you better.- Edward decided to add encouragement as well. –She won't say anything. She wants you to be comfortable enough to tell her yourself. She's not going anywhere.- There encouragement gave me some hope. I was shocked that she knew about what we were and still stood here in my arms.

I decided that I needed to address the problem now. I didn't want to get in too deep and then be hurt, no matter what the others said. So, taking a deep breath I dived in head first –so to speak.

"You know, don't you?" I knew she knew but I needed to do this. I needed to hear it from her lips.

Artemis' POV

"I do" was all that I said. He stared at me shocked. I presume it was at how calm I was over the subject. I knew that Alice had foreseen it all, that Jasper knew how I was feeling, and that Edward was trying to read my thoughts to help Ryan.

My cool composure over the situation caused Ryan to freak. He let go of me and he ran. I knew that he was only going at a human pace until he hit the parking lot. From there I knew he was gone.

The fact that he ran hurt. I didn't let it show though. Instead I took a deep breath and returned to dancing through the crowd while singing along to the song that was playing.

Bella's POV

We all watched as Artemis went back to dancing by herself. I couldn't believe that Ryan would run like that. I would have thought that after he had heard Edward's and my story he would have known better then to run. 'But' I reasoned with myself, 'Edward did run from me at first, too.'

"He is such an idiot." Alice was clearly unhappy with Ryan. He didn't live with us, but it was hard not to become close with him when we all lived in the same town.

Ryan lived by himself. He had become very good at hiding that fact from the human population of the town (although we did suspect that Artemis knew). Ryan often went hunting with us and visited us at our house. Our 'parents', Esme and Carlisle, had suggested more than once that Ryan move in with us. He turned it down each time though. I knew his refusal wouldn't last long (thanks to Alice), but I would just have to be patient until Ryan was ready and he could accept that it was ok to live with us and date Artemis. I knew I wasn't the only one impatient with Ryan. It was clear to me that my brothers and sisters, as well as my husband, were upset that he ran away from Artemis.

"We need to go talk to her." I was shocked that Emmett would be the one to say this. He was usually the one that wanted to make Artemis' life a living hell. It was clear that I wasn't the only one shocked.

"YOU want to go talk to HER?" It was clear that Edward was very shocked. I felt a wave of calm and knew that Jasper was trying to ease the tension and our shock. I smile at him in thanks.

"I think we should go and talk to Ryan first." Jasper always was the voice of reason among us.

"I agree with Jasper. There's no point in going and talking to Artemis about this when we don't even know what's going on through Ryan's head. I think we should find him and talk to him. Then when he's ready, all nine of us go and talk to Artemis." I knew my idea was sound. The others nodded in agreement.

We continued to dance and watch Artemis until the end of the dance. As the final song came to an end many people groaned. Some started chanting for one for song. The DJ just shook his head and started to pack up his gear. Realizing it was pointless, the students that crowded the gym started to file out. I watched as Artemis pushed her hair from her eyes as she exited the gym, a few people in front of us.

Out in the parking lot, we watched as Artemis headed towards her metallic green Harley Davidson. I couldn't help the slight pain I felt at the sight of the motorcycle, a reminder of a friend from my previous life. We watched as Artemis climbed on the bike, grabbed the clutch and kick started the bike. She gunned the throttle a little bit before tearing out of the school parking lot. A few people watched as she left, but my family just climbed into our cars and headed toward home.

Ryan's POV

I was running through the many woods that northern New York provided. I was running from everything at this point: her, my thoughts, and the Cullens who I knew would eventually come looking for me. Unfortunately, I didn't get very far before they caught up with me.

-Ryan! You have got to stop running!-

-Artemis is worried and hurt by what you did!-

-Come on, man! Calm down so we can talk this out like normal vampires!-

I laughed internally at that last one. Since when were vampires ever normal? But I knew what they were saying made sense. So against my better judgment, I stopped and waited for them to catch up. I didn't like standing still. It was making me antsy and it wasn't long before I was dying to start running again. Before I could, the others were in front of me.

"Ryan," Alice started. "Artemis is worried about you. She knows that her acceptance of you scared you. She doesn't want to push you, but she's hurt that you ran away from her and worried about what you may do. Please come back. We can talk with Carlisle about his and then go and talk to Artemis." I knew that Alice was trying to persuade me to go back to talk with Artemis. I didn't know her exact thoughts though. She was blocking them from me.

"Alice, how long have you known that she knows about us?" I couldn't stop the bite behind my words. Jasper sent a wave of calmness over us all.

Here is where Alice looked disappointed. "Since October, just after her birthday." Alice was ashamed that she had been unable to realize it sooner.

"How has she managed to avoid your knowing eye for so long?" I couldn't understand how one small, beautiful, frail, extraordinary, human girl could manage to not be seen by Alice's gift.

"I don't know. My only guess is that she's so impulsive, that her future is never locked. She doesn't really make decisions so much as split second, last minute choices. Nothing that ever goes through her head is set in stone until it happens." Alice didn't like this. It was clear she wasn't used to her gift not working 100.

"Does she know of our gifts?" I had to ask that. If she did, that may be why our gifts didn't work on her. She could have found a way to avoid them.

"That's the thing," Jasper said. "We don't know." It was clear that we were going to have to talk to Artemis.

"One last question," I said. "How come you guys didn't talk to her when you first realized that she knew about us?"

"Carlisle had decided that since she hadn't said or done anything about it before that we didn't really need to worry. As mad as Emmett made her with his constant pranking and teasing, she didn't seem to pose a threat to us." Bella knew that the fact that they hadn't done anything to her about her knowledge was important to me. I didn't want her hurt in the slightest bit. It was bad enough that I couldn't really ignore her.

"Well then, let's go straighten this out with Carlisle before we go and talk to Artemis."