Ahh...the continuation you've been waiting for. Hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long. I had to sort of my writers block and where I wanted this story to go. I think I know now. I really think this idea is original. But I haven't read every fanfiction ever written, so I really don't know.

A thanks to my awesome reviewers. You all deserve a computerized hug. Thank you to AriesFireQn, Edward-Lover-Forever-1901, Gothic Saku-chan, TwiLightFics18, and Sierra Sierra. You all rock.

Those Red Eyes

By Zephyr

A vampire. Everywhere I go, they seem to follow. I am a danger magnet. The one thing I ask for is that vampires leave me alone so I can recover from the second heartbreak I got from Edward, but I can't even have that. Not even in Phoenix—one of the sunniest places a vampire could possibly live in.

What was even worse—I didn't have the luck to get a veggy vampire standing in front of me. No. It just had to be a red eyed, human killing, vampire. At least it wasn't a newborn. I would certainly know if he was. First from my own experience with them and second, well, he wasn't attacking me without a second thought. And he spoke to me. Definitely not a newborn. He was probably a hungry vampire who was looking for a meal and I happened to stumble across his path. Again, lucky me.

I locked eyes with the vampire, shaking my head slightly, unable to hold back a small smile. Despite everything, I couldn't help but find the situation humorous. Edward left to protect me, yet I would still be sucked dry by a vampire. The world was seriously against me.

The vampire tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowed, confused by my smile. I took a small step back, not for fear, but to take him in. How I missed him, I would never know. He was standing directly in the line of a streetlight, very noticeable. The vampire was tall and impressionable, his height resembling Emmett's, but was more of Edward's or Jasper's build. I pulled my line of thoughts away from the vampires I once might have considered my family and sighed loudly. This was going to be difficult.

All in all, he was not a sight for sore eyes. His long black hair hung just below his eyes, but did not block the eyes staring back at me at all. If not for the fact that I was still undeniably in love with Edward, I might be attracted to him.

But what was I going to do to get out of this little situation? A full grown vampire, even if he wasn't a newborn, could overpower a pitiful human like myself and my indifference to him probably wasn't going to help any either. Talking would probably help. "Vampire..." I said low, under my breath, though I knew he could hear it as clearly as anyone would had I shouted it. Immediately after saying it, I scolded myself harshly. That was not going to get me on his good side.

He tensed as soon as the words left my mouth. In an instant, moving so fast I couldn't follow, he was in front of me, not two feet away with his lips twisted into feral scowl. Bracing myself wasn't an option, so I stumbled backward in shock. When my back hit the brick of the building behind me, my mind went into overtime. There had to be a way to get away. Vampires were not perfect; Edward had showed me that.

"You're a vampire." Way to state the obvious, I know. Talking might buy me some time to think out a plan to get away. Or it might just annoy him enough to kill me right off without too much torture. "Ishouldhavestayedhome. Ikeepforgettingthisisn'tForksandsincePhoenixissuchabigcityI shouldhaveknownsomethingbadwouldhappentome. Italwaysdoes. I'madangermagnetevenCharlieandReneeandEdwardandJacobandevenMike. I hitMikewithatennisracketoncesohewouldknowIguess..."I wasn't quite sure what I was rambling near the end, but it did seem to get on his nerves. I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing in my situation.

(Translation: I should have stayed home. I keep forgetting this isn't Forks and since Phoenix is such a big city. I should have known something bad would happen to me. It always does. I'm a danger magnet, you know. Everyone tells me that, even Charlie and Renee and Edward and Jacob and even Mike. I hit Mike with a tennis racket once,so he would know I guess...)

"How do you know?" He was looking borderline between angry and intrigued.

"Know what?" Stupid question, Bella, really stupid question. What else could he possibly be talking about other than—

"How do you know," he restated, "that I'm a vampire?" He gave me an expectant look, as though he was expecting me to be shocked that he really was a vampire and had just admitted it. Well, he was in for a shock.

"Your eyes. Their red, which means you drink human blood. You're not really hungry right now, since their bright red and not black. I suspect that's why you're not attacking me right now." I stood up, brushing off my jeans which were torn from my forceful fall. I tried to resist the lure of looking in his eyes again, but I couldn't.

He was motionless, eyes glazed over in thought. Running now would be a stupid move; he was just as alert as when he was looking straight at me. "How do you know?"

What did I honestly have to lose by telling him? Now that I was doomed to live a short life without the one person I love, what was the point in keeping Edward and I a secret. "I knew some of your kind where I lived before I moved back here with my mother. Have you ever heard of Forks?"

"The utensil?"

"No, the city." I rolled my eyes until I realized he truly didn't know. "Finally," I mumbled, "a vampire who doesn't know absolutely everything."

He waved away the conversation, disinterested already. "You knew vampires who told you their secret without having to kill you? I'm intrigued. I thought the Volturi killed any humans who knew the secret."

I winced unintentionally, remembering my own encounter with the Italian vampire leaders. "They do know I know, believe me. I had to face them once and it took Edward promising to change me to keep them from killing me right there. It wasn't a pretty sight."

"Edward?" He tested the name. "One of your vampire friends?"

"Edward Cullen," I corrected, "My ex-fiancé. Before he left me and told me to forget about him. I wasn't about to stay in Forks and allow the Volturi to find me defenseless. Sunny Phoenix seemed like a better option." I inserted a little humor in my voice, but it didn't seem to have any effect on him.

"You were a fiancé to a vampire."

I closed my eyes, telling myself I had to occupy him long enough to get away. Unfortunately, that meant I would have to give him a lot of information. That information could always help him trace him back to myself, my family, and friends. "Until two months ago, yeah."

"Aren't you afraid? Afraid of the Volturi coming after you eventually?" Was that concern in his voice?

"No, not at all. He was right on one thing—they won't look for me for years. I'll think of something by the time they show up." It was all false confidence and he knew it too. I was terrified of what would happen when they figured out Edward never changed me liked he'd promised.

"You are." He stated firmly.

I decided not to deny the truth. "What's your name?" I asked curiously, not trying to be subtle.

He motioned towards the end of the alley where a small grafity covered bench was practically falling apart. "Let's talk somewhere comfortably. Or at the very least, somewhere you can sit."

"Aren't you going to kill me?"

He laughed softy. "I was, but not now. It's not everyday I meet a little human who knows what I am. The name's Alex, by the way. Alex Micheal"

"Alex Micheal." I sat down as far away as I could, knowing he would respect that. He couldn't honestly expect me to be comfortable sitting next to a strange vampire in the middle of the night down a dark alley. "It fits you. I'm Isabella Swan. Bella, actually. Don't call me Isabella."

"Bella, then." He didn't smile. It was then that I realized his face seemed to be set in a permanent mask of neutrality. "Will you tell me what you know about my kind? I've been living in the shadows of Phoenix my whole life...and afterlife, you could call it. I know nothing about being a vampire other than I have to drink blood, and I can't go in the sunlight."

"Tell me your story and I'll tell you everything I know. Everything." I kept myself serious. I suddenly felt the need to help this vampire...Alex. Alex needed help. "How long have you been a vampire?"

"I was nineteen when I was changed fifty-one years ago, in 1955. I can't remember much of my human life. It's all fuzzy." I nodded, signally him to go on. "I was dying from a disease they had no cure for then. I can't—I can't remember what it was. They didn't expect me to live too long. My parents were always there, one of the other. They would never let my brother or sister in to see me, fearing they would catch it too. It wasn't contagious, but not even the doctors knew that. It was new, never before seen. I was pretty much a walking time bomb. That's when it happened. In the middle of the night, I was doing really bad, so bad my parents weren't allowed in my room. They were sent home together to go get Cierra and Jaxon, my sister and brother. Neither of them made it home. They just disappeared into thin air. But there was a note in scratchy letters dotted with blood the doctors gave to me. It was from my mother saying they were being followed by something and I needed to get better so I could take care of Jaxon and Cierra. I couldn't though and I remember being so frustrated.

"That's when he came. I never saw his face and I can only just bring up the memory of blonde hair before everything goes blank. I woke up in the dark, feeling so alive. And hungry. You can never prepare yourself for the intense hunger, burning its way up your throat." He shivered at his memories. "I got out of there fast. I was careful not to be caught by the vampire that changed me. Instead I—I went on a massacre. I didn't mean to and it was mostly common beggers, but I couldn't help myself." Alex looked away in shame. I felt a rush of sympathy. How could Edward possibly believe vampires have no soul? If they had no soul, there would be no shame.

"After that year, I managed to control myself decently enough to search for my brother and sister, both of whom had been taken due to being underage and without a responsible adult to care for them. It wasn't difficult to find them. They were older and had been sent to separate orphanages nearly thirty miles from each other. I kidnapped them from the cruel facilities, though I suspect the owners were glad to be rid of them. I explained to them what had happened to me and they accepted me. Eventually, I changed them too, so I could protect them like mother wanted me too."

Keeping my focus directly on him, I took a deep breath. "You don't know who changed you?" He shook his head no. I didn't press him—I could tell he was thinking about what he'd revealed to me, a human. "Is there anyone in your clan other than you, your brother and your sister. It seems like a fairly decent sized coven."

"No, No one else. I would never dare try to make someone a vampire. I was hard enough not to kill Cierra and Jaxon with mother's message engraved in my mind."

"Do any of you have any powers?" Curiosity filled me. This was a vampire who didn't know what being a vampire really was. He only did enough to keep his family alive.

"You mean the odd things we can do. Our abilities?" When he got my confirmation, he shook his head while growling. " I can't reveal so much information. It could put us into danger."

"I understand." taking a short glimpse around, I stood shakily. " Can I leave? I promise I'll come back soon, but I'm not a vampire so I have to sleep. My mom's probably worried about me enough as it is. I was supposed to be back before her."

"Sure Bella." He said softly, a hint of a grin. Unable to help myself, I beamed. Him smiling already seemed like an accomplishment to me.

"Goodbye, Alex."

One thing was for certain; I would meet up with Alex. Maybe he would help me forget about Edward in return.