EDWARD

The new girl. Everything was about the new girl. My mind was filled with the thoughts of her beauty, her big brown eyes, her body. Of course they were not my own thoughts. Upon looking at her I saw nothing outstanding. But then again, I had only seen her through other people's minds. Maybe she looked less . . . typical in person.

Today would be slightly different, which made me a bit more enthusiastic. I was getting bored of the same tedium, day after day. Already I could feel the change in the atmosphere, the excitement buzzing around about the girl, and I had stepped out of my car not ten seconds ago. Her monster of a truck was across the parking lot, but my keen eyes picked up how hideous and dangerous it looked. Next to me and my family, that car was probably the most dangerous thing to this new girl.

I smiled to myself, walking forward with my family towards the school. The gush of warm air hit me as I entered the school, along with a new wave of excitement. The girl was at her locker, getting bombarded with male and female admirers alike. Through the human's minds, I could see her uncomfortable, nervous expression. I saw the way she hunched her shoulders in like she was scared they'd all start jumping on her. Poor girl. But I saw, even through their minds, the layers upon layers of foundation, caked onto her skin. Did the humans really not find that disgusting? I could see her skin looked fine. If she had any blemishes I would have spotted them even under all of that makeup. So why bother covering up nothing?

I would never understand this generation of human, nor would I want to. I walked away from my family, towards my own locker, sighing as everyone seemed to step aside, forming a distance between me and them. It made it easier to walk, and easier to get through my high school life. Again. And then later I'd have to do it again. And again. And again.

I opened my locker for the thousandth time, taking my books out, and preparing myself for yet another day of the same thing.

…

BELLA

I walked through the halls, almost hyperventilating. Their souls, their energy, radiated off of their skin in different shades of color, calling to me in every which way. I gulped back the fire in my throat, clutching my books as I tried desperately not to kill any of them.

It had been over a year since the accident, yet every day seemed harder than the next. I thought moving in with Charlie, letting my mom travel with Phil, would help me and my mom alike. The school in Phoenix had too many people. The first day back to school, I almost killed dozens and dozens of people. That day, and the rest of the week, were the open door into skipping school. It became a favorite past time of mine.

So coming here I thought that I would be able to control myself better, with less people around. The only difference was that back in Phoenix, everyone kept their distance. I was the shy, weird girl. Here . . . I was bombarded with people and their energies calling to me and my hunger roaring. I fed last night, which meant it wasn't as bad, but still, my gut clenched and I rolled my hands into fists.

Did they not see how uncomfortable I was, how awkward this was for me? I answered questions through gritted teeth, trying to ignore the boy next to me. His energy was a warm green, and it seemed to have a direct link to my burning throat. The monster in me cried out, clawed at my insides, begging me to take the boy right now, in the middle of this hallway. It begged me to trap everyone else, feed on every one of them and leave non alive. But I fought it off. I would not do that. I would never, ever, hurt another human being. Last time I had no motivation. I was hungry, and I wanted to feed, and I had nothing to keep me back. Now I had Charlie. Now I had these decent people that I knew I didn't want to really hurt, no matter how much my insides hurt and burned. Eventually the burning would go away, or get so bad I'd starve to death. But no matter what, I was not going to feed.

I slipped into the girls bathroom first chance I go , locking myself in a stall for the next five minutes until the first bell rang. I took a deep breath, closing my eyes and tried releasing the tightness in every one of my muscles. Even my eyelids were clenched. I pulled out my schedule with shaking hands, scolding myself for being so weak, and quietly exited the bathroom once the crowds in the hall thinned out a bit. I moved towards my first class, my heart racing, already anxious to get out of here.

*******\

I skipped lunch completely, instead going out to my truck and lying down on the seats. I drank an entire water bottle in about five seconds, desperately trying to find relief from my burning insides. I placed my hands on the sides of my face, squeezing them until it almost hurt. I breathed in deeply through my nose, out through my mouth.

"I like the burn." I muttered to myself. "The burn feels good."

I discovered, about three months ago, that the consistent repeating of these words actually did help with the pain, the desperation I felt to feed. I could only imagine how difficult this was going to be next week, when I was really, really hungry.

I pulled an apple form my bag, forcing myself to eat it even though my stomach turned. I didn't throw it up, because I could still digest food, and I knew that afterwards, when I ate it all, it would actually end up helping me. Having something in my stomach eased the burn a little bit.

I lay there for a good half hour, until the bell rang through the school grounds and I was forced to drag myself out of the car.

"Bella!" someone yelled, almost as soon as I stepped down onto the pavement.

"Oh my god go away, go away, go away." I muttered quietly as I walked away, pretending I hadn't heard them.

"Bella, wait up!" they yelled, closer this time, and I recognized the voice. Angela. The girl was so nice. Her soul was so incredibly powerful, a soft red, like strawberries. It felt like a rope was pulled around my stomach, tugging and pulling and begging me to feed on her. I sighed, stopping and turning around to the girl as she ran towards me, her biology books in hand.

"Hey I thought we were going to lunch together?" she asked innocently, having no idea how much I wanted to kill her right now. Literally.

I smiled at her sweetly though, despite my hunger. "I felt a little sick so I laid down in my truck for a while. Sorry Angela."

"Oh no, I can't believe your sick on the first day of school." She said, sounding genuinely sorry for me. Her kindness seemed to intensify the strength of her soul, and it made me sick. "Well, we have biology together so shall we?" she asked, smiling.

I nodded, hiding the groan inside. I really liked Angela. If there was one person I didn't want to kill, next to Charlie, it would be this girl. But it didn't stop me from needing to feed off of her energy.

We walked across the campus, towards the biology building. The warmth inside gave some relief from the chill in the air, and I let out a breath. Already I could sense the souls inside the building, surrounding me, calling to me. Packed into a small, warm rooms like these, it made it worse. I gulped back my pain and entered the right room, holding my breath. Each inhale I took seemed to bring a new sense of need.

I avoided eye contact with everyone, instead walking over to the teacher and handing him my slip. His energy looked like bark, brown and rough. I smiled, suddenly making him my new favorite teacher. I barely even wanted to kill him and it felt so, so nice.

I turned around, my lungs tightening from lack of air and I inhaled deeply.

The feeling was like a wrecking ball, smashing me right across the head. I stumbled to the side, catching myself on the corner of the desk before I fell to the ground. My head spun and I felt nauseous as the hunger clawed at me like never before. It was like steel knives slicing open my throat. I could not tell where this energy that created my need came from. I didn't care. Suddenly all I wanted to do was feed. And feed. And feed. There were maybe fifteen kids in here. I could kill them all without breaking a sweat. It would give me time to find the one person who created this flavor in my mouth.

Being what I was, whatever the hell that was, I had this specific . . . ability, when the monster was let out. It was like I froze time for some people, made them stop in mid step and suddenly their motionless, unable to fight back against my power. But only when the monster was let loose.

So thinking about my plan, I could close the door with a kick of my foot, freeze everyone in mid thought. Their bodies were motionless, but their minds were wide awake. They could see me walk around the entire room, watch me as I found the human that belonged to this luscious energy. They could see the monster take their soul and then they would share the same fate. Fifteen people dead, and I'd be the poor little survivor, hiding in the cabinet while the scary little beast killed everyone. Would it be a bear attack? Rabid fox? Crazy murderer?

I knew off of the top of my head who the sweetest energies were, the best souls were. I could go down the list until I was filled with the energy. The glow I would have afterwards would be almost blinding, and I knew the beast in me would absolutely love it.

I felt a little tear in my mind as the monster tore through for a moment, just a moment, it came out and took over and it felt . . . it felt amazing.

But like always, like every other time where I wasn't necessarily hungry, just weak, I had some control over my actions. And Charlie's face, his sweet, innocent dad face, flashed across my mind like and electric shock and I was pushed back into my own body. The monster was slapped aside and it was just me again.

But the burn in my throat for that soul . . . oh that burn was like no other before.

It didn't hurt a specific area in my body. Instead, it seemed to coat my mouth with a sweet flavor, like honey and sugar. It filled my lungs and my heart throbbed with the aching need of it. And all of this, all of these mind blowing emotions and what was almost a horrible, horrible disaster, happened in the matter of about a second. Just one second.

"Isabella, are you alright?" my teacher asked, coming to my side and placing his hand on my shoulder.

I flinched. Of course, to anyone else, it would have looked like just a flinch. But to me, it was the moment I almost turned around and snapped his neck. I stopped myself, just barely, hanging on by just a thin string, smiling and nodding to him and avoiding the confused, slightly amused glances of my classmates.

The only available seat was towards the left of the room, next to some boy. I barely looked at him, just made my way over there.

The power of my hunger grew the closer I drew to that side of the room, and I almost groaned. Of course the human was going to be close to me. That's just how my luck went. I looked up, towards my destination, then at the boy who was going to be sitting next to me.

And then . . . time seemed down slow down for me. He was like nothing I had ever seen before. His face was perfectly chiseled from porcelain, his skin so pale, his eyes so black. His muscles rippled under his t-shirt, his hair bronze, every feature perfect on him, nothing out of place. And those eyes. Those black, black eyes, were on me, curious, confused, as I neared him. Those eyes. Oh god those eyes were what was calling me to him. His energy coated my tongue, my mouth. His soul made my lungs fill with sweet air and my heart ache with need.

And I sat down next to him.

I placed the book down on the table, and then immediately clasped my hands under the table.

This was it. This was my test. If I really meant I was never going to feed again, I had to prove it. But he would have been the best soul I ever tasted, the most energy I ever felt coursing through my veins . . .

I saw no way of getting through this class without having a mental breakdown.

…

AN: Okay so there you go, chapter 2. I didn't include Edwards reaction to their first meeting yet, because it's going to be different and I thought it would seem . . . more surprising in a different chapter. Hoped you liked it!

Please review!