A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Clyde. Wish this chapter was more exciting for you, buddy, but it's kind of a filler.

Shoutout: To Alessandrakatrina, Wickedgal08, and sw1m4l1fe for their reviews. And, as always, to sw1m4l1fe for her beta'ing and her encourangement when I feel like I suck.

Disclaimer: Maybe, by some miracle, I now officially own Twilight. Let me go check...nope. Still belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Damn. I also don't own the Oscars in case you were wondering.

Chapter Three (Rhiannon's POV)

My arms were folded across my chest as my left foot tapped up and down on the ground of the dark Washington forest. "So?" I asked, eyeing James impatiently.

James, however, was not paying any attention to me. His eyes were closed and he was focused on deep breathing, like he was meditating, and had been doing so for about five minutes now. Finally, he snapped out of it.

His dark eyes locked on mine. "He's headed north. Far north." He took another deep breath. "Probably Alaska," he added with a nod, sounding confident.

See? That's why I keep him around.

I clasped my hands together in excitement. So far everything was going according to plan. The image that Edward was desperately thirsty had implanted in his brain and he was going far away from Forks to hunt. Nothing would stand in the way of me getting to the girl now.

"That couldn't be more perfect," I said, unable to keep the giddy grin that was threatening to appear off my face. "Where is the girl?" I asked, wanting to move onto the next phase.

He looked at me curiously. "Why are you asking me?"

A flash a fury flooded throughout my body. "Esta estúpido?" I asked, my hands flying to my hips as I shot him a death glare. I couldn't believe this.

"I know I don't have a strong handle on Portuguese or anything, but I'm pretty sure you just called me 'stupid.'"

I had to give him some credit. At least was as intelligent enough to pick up on what I said. "Well, maybe you aren't as stupid as I thought, but still an idiot none the less," I said, rolling my eyes.

"You asked me where the girl was. How the hell should I know?" he asked, crossing his arms defensively.

I stared at him. I knew he was seriously asking me that question. There was no hint of sarcasm in his voice and that frustrated me beyond all belief. "You. Are. A. Tracker." I said slowly, enunciating each word like a teacher would to a kindergarten student.

And yet, apparently, I still wasn't clear enough. He continued to look at me as if he had no idea what I was saying to him, let alone the point I was trying to make.

I clenched my jaw tightly, trying to resist the urge to beat him silly. "You just did it with Edward. Do the girl," I said through gritted teeth, keeping my cool.

He considered this for a moment. "Do you want me to roll over and beg too?" he asked, curling his upper lip into a sneer, exposing his gleaming teeth to me. He was attempting a sign of dominance.

My previous anger immediately disappeared. His sharp remark amused me greatly. Stupid boy, actually thinking that he was in control.

I moved up closer to him so that we were standing there, face-to-face. Well, as face-to-face as we could have been considering he was a good 8 inches or so taller than me. "Not now, James. There's a time and a place for everything," I said, patting him on the shoulder condescendingly.

I kept my hand on that shoulder and grabbed hold of it. I pushed down, forcing his body down, his knees buckling until his eyes were level with mine. I then placed my lips to his ears. "But ask me again tonight," I purred seductively before releasing him and backing away.

He sprang back up to full height. "Hilarious," he said, rolling his eyes.

How cute. He thought I wasn't serious.

I raised an eyebrow. "Who's kidding?"

He looked at me inquisitively. I could practically see the wheels in his brain turning, trying to decide if I was actually being serious or not. After all, he still didn't know that he would be getting more than just revenge on this mission. But I decided not to press the issue any further for the moment.

"Now, I need you to focus," I said, boring my eyes into his. "Where's the girl?"

"You know, it doesn't really work like that. I can't see where she is," he said scathingly. It seemed as if he thought it was his turn to talk to me like I was the idiot. "I have to follow her smell."

I smiled sarcastically, letting him know that his pitiful attempt at belittling me did nothing to faze me. "Great. So pick up her scent. You do remember what it's like, don't you?" I snapped sharply.

He seemed to miss my latest dose of sarcasm and sat down on a large rock. His head hung low, eyes cast downward and he ran a strong hand over his hair. "Of course I do," he said harshly, speaking to the ground. I could see the muscles in his arms contracting from the tight fists he was making. He was becoming angry just thinking about the memory. "It's been haunting me for over a year now. I could never forget a smell that strong…or that sweet."

That last statement must have triggered something inside of him because his head suddenly snapped up and his eyes immediately found me. "Wait a minute. Are you sure this a good plan?"

I sighed and sunk down onto a rotting tree stump that was next to his rock. "How many times am I going to have to explain this to you, James?" I asked him, exasperated. "I already thought of a solution to everything that could possibly go wrong."

"Absolutely everything?" he asked stubbornly. He seemed proud of himself, like he thought he found yet another loophole in my plan.

"Absolutely everything," I replied. And I believed it too. If James thought he found a flaw, which was highly unlikely anyway, I was sure as hell going to come up with a reasonable excuse. I was quite a quick thinker.

He sardonically held his index finger so it was barely above his thumb, making a sign for "small." "If you ask me, there is one teeny, tiny, insignificant detail that you failed to explain to me."

Yeah right.

"I'm waiting…" I said with a smirk. This ought to be good.

"You're a vampire."

His "flaw" was so ridiculous that I almost fell off of the tree stump in disbelief. "Okay, I officially retract my previous statement saying that maybe you weren't stupid," I said, throwing my arms out to the side to steady myself.

He leapt up from the rock. "Hey!" he exclaimed defensively.

When I saw that he had jumped up into a sanding position, I immediately followed his actions. I wasn't about to let him be in a position where he might be able to overpower me.

"I mean, seriously, James, if you're just noticing the fact that I'm a vampire now, then-"

He put a hand on my shoulder, stopping me in the middle of my sentence. "No, you didn't let me finish. You're a vampire. Bella is a human," he said. As if that made any more sense.

I shrugged his hand off of me. "Nothing gets by you, does it?" I asked, glaring at him as my eyelids narrowed over my dark eyes.

He simply smirked at me. I cannot even begin to tell you how irritating he was being. Here he was, making the most obvious statements ever and he was trying to make me out to be the idiot. It took every ounce of restraint I had in me not to knock that stupid grin right off his face and teach him some respect. But I did nothing, and waited for him to continue.

He must have been feeling confident because he walked around me in slow, patronizing circles, while I just stood in the middle, fuming. He made a few circles, just studying me, before he spoke. "If her blood is so irresistible to me, what makes you so positive you'll be able to control yourself in her presence? I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, I would say that she might not take too kindly to her new 'friend' trying to drink her blood upon your first meeting. If you want my advice, I'd wait until at least the third date. You want her to respect you."

That was it. There was no way I was going to let him go along with his little façade any longer. No reason to delude him into thinking he was in control. In an instant I had appeared directly in front of him, stopping him in his tracks.

I glared at him, my eyes shooting daggers. "Is that you trying to make a joke? Is that what that was? Because you and I both know that I'm the smart-ass of this operation," I snapped.

That goddamn smirk on his face stayed exactly where it was. "You're avoiding the question. You didn't think it through."

He had pushed me too far. I placed both my hands on his shoulders and used the bit of newborn strength I had left to push him all the way to a sitting position on the ground. I immediately got on top, straddling him. Taking his face in one of my hands, like an obnoxious great-aunt would do to a child, I pulled his face close to me.

"Correction: I did think it through," I hissed sharply. "I just wanted to make our roles in this little relationship obvious. I make the plans and the witty, sarcastic comments and you do what I say."

I released his face and stood up, freeing him. "Clear?" I asked, one of my eyebrows rising.

I finally got through to him. "As mud," he spat as he pulled himself up off the ground, wiping the seat of jeans.

Guess I hadn't knocked all the fight out of him after all, which was good. I wanted him to know exactly where he stood, but at the same time, it wouldn't be any fun if he was completely submissive. It was a fine, fine line I was flirting with.

I nodded, satisfied. "Perfect. And as for your question, it's not something you have to worry your pretty, little blonde head about. I can handle it," I said, turning away from him to continue through the forest. It was time to head into Forks.

He grabbed my wrist before I could make it very far, and pulled me back to him. When I collided with his bare chest, it sounded like a thunder clap. Maybe he had more fight left him in then I thought.

"How could you possibly be sure about something like that?" he asked, sneering at me. Yup, definitely more fight than I gave him credit for. "You're only a little over a year old."

"I was incredibly stubborn as a human. I never did anything I didn't want to do. And I feel I retained that trait when I…changed," I plainly told him. I thought that was that and tried to pull away from him so I could continue through the forest.

However, his grip on my wrist remained firm. "I'm telling you,you've never smelt blood like hers." The tone of his voice had changed. It was no longer cocky, but serious instead. His eyes searched mine, signaling that he knew from personal experience and worried about what I would do when I got my first whiff.

"And I'm telling you that I'll be able to resist," I said, staring him straight in the eyes, felling confident.

He finally let go of my wrist. "Yeah, we'll see," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

This was getting ridiculous. I had to show him who was in control once and for all. "All right," I said, a new plan formulating in my mind. "If you're so sure, would you like to make our plan a little more interesting?"

"What, like a bet?" he asked, surprised at my sudden suggesting.

"Exactly like a bet."

He ran a hand over his chiseled jaw, thinking over my words. "What are the terms?"

I thought for a moment as an evil smile appeared on my lips. "Well, if you win, you get the satisfaction of saying 'I told you so' anytime you want and I won't be able to say a thing. And I'll stop with the sarcastic comments."

"That sounds too good to be true," James said, eyeing me curiously.

I shrugged, acting like it was no big deal as I waited for him to contemplate my offer.

When I didn't continue, he asked, "And if you win…what do you get?"

I smiled slyly. This was exactly the question I was waiting for.

"You."

His eyes got wide. "Excuse me?"

I smirked. "You heard me. If I win…you will be at my disposal to do whatever I please with," I said suggestively, choosing my phrasing carefully.

"Like a slave?" he asked, not quite grasping the implication in my words.

His naiveté was endearing. "If you want to look at it that way…sure."

James scoffed. "How is that any different than now?" he asked. Guess he knew where he stood after all.

I played the innocent angle, not letting him in on the second meaning behind the terms of this part of the bet. "Don't know," I shrugged. "Guess it's pretty much a win-win for you then, huh?"

He pursed his lips together, starting at me. "There has to be a catch," he said, looking for any sings in my face to show that I was bluffing.

I stood my ground. "If you're so sure that I'm going to lose, you don't have to worry about it, do you?" I asked, playing the mind-game card.

I worked. "I guess not," he admitted, defeated.

"Then do we have a deal?" I asked, extending my hand to him.

He didn't say anything more. He simply took my hand in his and shook it, letting me know that he was agreeing to the bet.

"Fabulous," I said, clasping my hands together. "Now that that's settled, let's go get the girl," I said, my dark eyes shining.

It took us a while to get into town from the forest. James had to stop every few minutes to take a deep breath, smelling the air to make sure we were going in the right direction toward the girl. But finally, we found her, strolling idly down the main strip of the town. She was alone.

Once we found her, James left me to go back to the woods to hide out. God forbid the girl, or any of the Cullens, saw him. We would be exposed immediately.

I crouched behind a building, waiting for her to get closer. Pulling a map I had acquired out of my pocket, I stepped out from around the corner right in front of her. I caught her in my hands before she could slam into my hard body. I didn't want to expose myself right away.

"Oh, excuse me!" I said apologetically, keeping a hold on her until she could steady herself.

She looked up at me, a red flush in her cheeks. "Don't worry about it. It's my fault," she said genuinely. "I usually can't take more than three steps without running into something or falling down. It's kind of a curse," she said with a slight laugh.

Just then, the wind blew softly and ruffled her dark hair. Suddenly, I caught a whiff of her smell. James was right. The scent was incredible, nothing like I had ever experienced before. I immediately felt my throat beginning to dry up. I curled my hands into fists, my nails digging into my palms as I took a few moments to collect myself. It wasn't going to be easy, but I knew I could do it.

I think I may have taken a few moments too many because she was looking up at me curiously, waiting for a response. I forced a smile on my face. "You really shouldn't be so hard on yourself," I finally said.

She smiled as well, but stood there slightly awkwardly until she caught sight of the map in my hand. "Are you new in town? I don't think I've seen you before," she said, not really looking my in the eye. Good thing I had been warned she was shy, otherwise I might have been offended.

Mercifully, the wind chose that moment to stop blowing. That would make this a bit easier. "I'm visiting from Brazil," I said, cringing slightly at the sickeningly sweet tone of my voice. "My name's Rhiannon."

"Bella," she said, offering me her hand.

I took it. "Muito prazer em conhecê-la," I said, instinctively reverting back to my native Portuguese.

She finally looked up at me, a curious expression on her face. "Oh, sorry," I said, faking a laugh. I was really getting into this character thing. "Habit. It's nice to meet you."

"You too," she said, shaking my hand.

The look on her face grew even more curious. As she studied me, her eyes almost seemed to glaze over. She was definitely taking in my appearance, making connections in her mind.

"Do I have something in my teeth?" I asked, suppressing a laugh.

"What?" she asked, coming out of her daze. When she saw me eyeing her curiously, she blushed again, casting her eyes toward the ground. "No, sorry."

She looked back to me. "It's just…wow. This is going to sound weird, but you have…similar features to people I know."

"Why is that weird?" I asked, still feigning innocence. This was fun.

She paused for a moment. I could tell she was trying to think of an answer that wouldn't make her sound utterly insane. "They're not exactly common features."

"Such as…?" I asked, egging her on.

"Well, dark eyes. Bruises under the dark eyes. And…" she paused again. " …extreme beauty," she said, sounding embarrassed.

I raised an eyebrow. "And that's a bad thing?" I asked with a smirk.

She went over to a nearby bench and took a seat. "Well, the people I know, aren't exactly…normal."

"How do you mean?" I asked, going over to sit beside her.

She flushed again. "No, it's stupid."

I bit the inside my lip to keep from laughing out loud. I knew exactly what she was trying to say, obviously, but I decided press her a little further. "Try me."

She blew a stray piece of hair out of her face. "If I tell you, you're going to call in the guys in white to come take me away."

She had a point there. But this was beginning to drag on too long. I had to get it over with. "If I tell you something crazy about myself, would you tell me your theory?"

"That sounds fair," she said, nodding in agreement.

"You have to keep an open mind," I said cryptically.

She laughed softly. "I like to think I'm a pretty open-minded person," she said, obviously thinking of Edward.

I sighed, pretending to be hesitant about the news I was going to tell her. "All right, I'll tell you. Try not to be scared though, okay?"

"I doubt that anything you can say will scare me. My boyfriend's told me some pretty shocking secrets. After those, I'm pretty sure I can handle anything."

I paused, trying for dramatic effect. "I'm a vampire," I announced, pretending to be embarrassed.

Bella's eyes grew wide and her jaw dropped. She didn't say anything.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"You're a vampire? SHUT UP!" she exclaimed incredulously, jumping up from the bench.

"You actually believe me?" I asked, suppressing yet another laugh. This was too easy.

She sat back down sheepishly when she noticed she was attracting the attention of other people. "That was my theory," she said, lowering her voice.

"You're not serious. You thought vampires existed?" I asked, feigning shock.

"Yes, actually."

"And you're not terrified?"

"Well, you know my boyfriend's shocking secrets?" she asked, motioning for me to lean in close to her. It was probably a bad idea, considering her irresistible scent, but I braved it and leaned in. "He's a vampire," she whispered secretively.

Obviously, I knew this, but I let my jaw drop slightly anyway. "Wait. Your boyfriend wouldn't happen to be to a Cullen, would he?" I asked in amazement.

If this performance wasn't worthy of an Oscar, I don't know what was.

"Edward. Do you know the Cullens?" she asked, her eyebrows knitting together curiously.

Damn straight I knew the Cullens; at least one of them. But wasn't going to let her know that. Instead, I simply shrugged and prepared for the most critical part of my act. "I've heard about them. You see, I've just recently grown out of my newborn phase, and now, looking back, I feel awful about the heinous crimes I have committed. I heard about the Cullens and their alternative lifestyle, and I was hoping that they might be able to teach me.

I bit my lip, hard, trying to bring tears to my eyes. Until I remember that, as a vampire, that was impossible. But I didn't let that little detail deter me. "If I have to be condemned to this life, I would rather not go through it as a monster," I said softly, my voice quivering.

I looked at Bella sheepishly. It looked like her heart was breaking for me. She took my hand in hers sympathetically. "If you'd like, I'd be happy to introduce you to them. Edward's not around, but the others are."

And the winner of the Best Actress goes to…Rhiannon!

"Really? You would do that?" I asked, wiping my nonexistent "tears" from my eyes.

"Of course!" Bella exclaimed excitedly, jumping up from the bench. I allowed myself to be pulled up with her. "It'll be fun to have a new girl around. Alice is great and all, but she can be a bit overpowering at times, and Rosalie is, well…Rosalie. Did you want to go right now?"

I concealed the urge to let an evil smile settle on my lips. Instead, I forced it into a shy smile. "Absolutely," I said.

Bella looked at me with genuine excitement. I almost felt bad for her. Almost.

"Great!" she said, her eyes gleaming. "They're going to love you," she said as she led me down the street, toward the Cullens.