I was so happy when I received a review commenting on my last message up here, but unfortunately, it was anonymous. I thought everyone was going to ignore me. Well, I'm just replying short and sweet right here. It kind of hurt me when you mentioned I wasn't allowing readers to have a sense of imagination when we use links. I think this is false. I never demanded you use them—they're just there for anyone who wants them. I'm not grabbing anyone by the ear and forcing them to click on them. I'm going to continue to put up links for anyone who wants them. Adiós.

This chapter is short, and I apologize for the long wait in advance.

Again, thanks to the most amazing people out there(a.k.a my reviewers) Nessie's bff,Gothic Saku-chan, abigail (anonymous), ju-juandellie, and sagaaddict

Oh, I haven't mentioned it yet, but this story is highly AU from the time Victoria was defeated and on. Pretty obvious, but I figured it couldn't hinder anything if everyone was positive.

Those Red Eyes

By Zephyr

After we split up—Ami's parents going one way, while Ami, Phil my mom, and I went the other—Phil drove us to one of the smaller McDonald's a few blocks from the theatre. It was a bit awkward while we were there because Ami and Renee were in dresses, and Phil and me in khaki's and fancy shirts while the rest of the customers were wearing holey jeans.

We got out of there fairly fast, thanks to Phil. Renee wanted to chat sitting down for a little longer whereas us teens just wanted to get out of such an embarrassing situation. I will never know why Phil sided with us nosy teenagers over his zealous wife. See my point?

The trip home was relatively quiet. Not even Renee was in the mood to talk to us, sighing over old memories and the cute things we did together when we were seven. Sometimes I wonder if she's even noticed I'm seventeen and almost an official adult. The fact that she wasn't talking surprised me for the first part of the ride home, but I wasn't about read to open my big mouth and spoil the moment like I always seem to do. Mistakes like that are a common occurrence around me.

All our quietness disappeared when Renee and Phil left us alone in my room to do whatever seventeen year olds do at a sleepover. At first, Renee attempted to stay with us and give us make-overs, but we managed to get her away before she caused any major damage. Luckily, we were still dressed up and our make-up lathered onto our faces, so it was pointless for her to even try. She left.

The door was barely closed before Ami pointed our the first problem of the night. "Umm, we planned this so fast, none of us noticed I'm still in a dress and have nothing to change into!"

"That's not a problem." I reassured her before she had a panic attack. "You can borrow something of mine to wear for tonight. We're probably about the same size."

I was prepared to dig deep into the clothes to find something suitable when a high-pitched scream came from behind me—Ami. Immediately upon doing so, I couldn't help but let out a groan. In the five seconds I'd been turned around, Ami had made her way across the room, opposite of my three newest vampires were standing. The one night I invite a friend, they show up. Lucky me.

"Alex, Jaxon, Cierra, what are you doing here?" I moved purposely in front of Ami so they wouldn't think she was a snack or they had some unwanted vampire moments. "Now is not the time for this."

I glared at Alex as he smirked, his eyes a very uncomfortable black color. "We see that now, Isabella." I seethed internally as he said my full name. "Shall we come back later?"

"Do I really have to answer that stupid question? Because if I do, then you obviously should learn the meaning of sarcasm." I added a bit of scorn at the end for good measure. Hopefully, they wouldn't get angry and decide not to come back. I was going to need them. But Ami is a friend and I have to protect her, even if I never see her again after tonight.

"We'll be back tomorrow." Jaxon stepped forward, leading away a very hungry looking Alex. Seriously, shouldn't he have hunted before coming to a human's house? Was he out of his mind? Could vampires even be insane? Doesn't the changing process heal all mental and most physical scars? Now would be a nice time to have Carlisle around. " I'm sorry, Bella, he insisted on coming. He's not the same when he's hungry."

The three of them left through the open window, a soft wind rustling through the room as they disappeared. I scowled in the direction of the window, walking over and shutting it as loudly as I could. Hopefully their vampire ears could hear it. "Sorry about them. They've got this really odd fetish with coming in through the window—"

"Bella," Ami hissed, making me slightly uneasy. " How do you know vampires. No wait. How do you know an entire coven of vampires on a first name basis!"

My mouth dropped open. How does she know what they are? Not much can surprise me anymore, but this certainly did. Can I have no normal friends? "W-What?"

She rolled her eyes, no longer holding anything back. " Don't try to avoid the question. You're smart enough to put all the pieces together. Someone like you can't be around them without finding out what their little 'secret'!"

"Umm...no?" Unfortunately, that wasn't a lie I could pull off convincingly. Who am I kidding. I can't pull off any lie convincingly.

Ami snorted, then forced me to sit down on my bed. "Stop it. I've known you for two hours and I already know how badly you lie. Tell me, why are their eyes red?"

"Contacts?" Smooth, Swan, real smooth. I had nothing else to say to myself. " And for the record, Alex's eyes were black, not red." I wanted to add on a ha, but that might have been overkill. Plus, it was a bit childish. That probably wouldn't have helped much either.

"Contacts, Bella? Contacts?" She shook her head quickly, sitting down in the only available seat—the desk chair. "Look, we're friends now, Bella, and friends tell each other the truth."

"I've only known you for a few hours, Ami. I don't know about you, but I don't trust too easily." I can't. Ever since Edward left, normal things like socializing were difficult. Simple things like walking in town was hard—too many happy couples, holding hands and being together. They were doing things I would never do again—because I could never love anyone more than I love Edward.

Ami gritted her teeth. I could practically feel the frustration coming from her.

And believe me, I'm no Jasper.

"Look, Bella, please stop avoiding the question. You know about vampires, just say it!I'm not going to tell anyone—I know about the penalties for doing something stupid like that."

I ducked my head, tears stinging in the corner of my eyes. I know the what will happen if I tell a fellow human about the existence of vampires, but could they really harm me if I was telling someone who already knows? Would the Volturi ignore her previous knowledge and hunt her down anyway. Whatever the case, I couldn't take that chance. "Ami, no—"

Before I could finish, Ami held up her hand, stopping me mid-speech. I hate when people do that. This whole don't-let-Bella-finish-a-sentence thing is really getting on my nerves. "Don't. You're going to say it's too dangerous, or something like that, but I already know! It can't get anymore dangerous than it is now."

Why does she have to make so much sense? I was having enough trouble trying not to spit out my whole stort as it is. She wasn't helping. "I-I can't."

She lifted her head a fraction, catching my eyes with her own. "Is it the Volturi?"

I'll never know why that single word was able to bust down by thick wall of lies, but it did. "How do you know about the Volturi?" I demanded, gaining my confidence slowly. It took me a few seconds to realize my mistake. "Crap."

"Finally," Ami smirked, relaxing into the chair. I thought you were going to go on forever. I don't remember you being so thick-headed."

"I don't remember you being so pushy."

She snorted. "Touché."

It took me a few moments to reply' she was so different from the Ami my parents saw, and now...she's a whole lot more mysterious.

Great. Yet another mystery to solve. I know I mentioned liking them once, but some of these things are so sudden—so new. So much is changing. My favorite mysteries are in books, not real life. Now the only thing I could do was hope these new changes come out good in the future.

Suddenly, her smile turned into a frown. "Just think about it alone for a minute. I'll take these," she grabbed a bundle of clothes still tucked under my arms—when had I gotten those? Was it before a trio of vampires entered my room? "and change. This dress is pretty, but it's getting a little uncomfortable. My mom'll kill me if she finds out I wore it this long after we got home."

She disappeared through the doorway into my bathroom, leaving me to think about everything she said. My only problem was, I wasn't sure why I was so avidly refusing to tell her anything. Her safety? Or was it pure pity for myself? The slip of the tongue was a stupid mistake—one that was going to hurt my argument. No, never mind. My petty words were already dissolved by her more thought out ones. How quaint.

See, I knew all this good luck would come back to bite me later. Only bad things have been happening ever since we got home.

"Have you thought on it?" Some part of me decided to be jumpy that day and I ended up on the floor—partly in pain, mostly in an overwhelming daze. It was like everything had a strange cloudy material draped over it. I shook away the feeling, not commenting on it. The fog would clear away—I hope.

"How'd you change so fast?" Way to change the subject, Bella. Real nice.

She sent me a look that lingered somewhere between confusion and contemplation, as she said each word slowly. "I was in there for at least five minutes trying to get this darn make-up off."

"You were? I wasn't thinking. My mind was on...other things."

Ami smiled sadly, reaching down to help me off the floor. That is going to leave a mark. "Other things? Vampires? The past? Or even worse, the future?"

I decided right then and there I was going to tell her everything. Who cares what the Volturi think? They're nothing but a bunch of vamps halfway across the world who are too lazy to get up and catch their own food. Actually, who cares what the Cullen's—Edward—thinks? Who cares what I think?

"Ami—"

"Hey! Hear me out for a few more seconds! I decided it was really none of my business, your past. If you want to hide it so badly, it can't be very happy. Despite what you say, I still think of you as my friend, so I won't push you to tell me." She paced anxiously, biting her lip. She and I were a lot alike...in several ways. "Ever since you quit ballet classes, I haven't had a real friend. Sure, I hung out with the 'right' people, said the correct things, been the person all the wannabes want to be, but none of the people I talked to were ever friends. More like acquaintances. But you, Bella, are someone I want to be friends with. I'm not going to let a bunch of annoying vampires get between that goal."

When she finished, she was breathing heavily and ready to take on a vampire in a who-has-the-palest-face contest. "Woah," I found myself saying. "Next time, remind me not to try to outwit you. That was intense." Iwas impressed.

Her face flushed, the odd paleness disappearing behind a tomato paste color. "Thanks...I think."

It was now or never. Never was starting to sound real good right now...Focus, Bella, you can do this. "I'm going to tell you."

"Huh?"

"My past. I'll tell you. Briefly. Even names, I will deal. Maybe I'll be able to tell you more when my heart stops aching so badly."

She just nodded. Somehow, she must understand what I feel and how much pain I'm really in. But she couldn't never know how I truly feel. No one can. Not many humans are stupid enough to fall in love with a vampire. "Shoot." Ami said confidently, crossing her legs Indian-style. I shifted away from her and let all my caution go for the first time in years. All my pent up emotions are freed.

So I told her.

I told her about moving to Forks, meeting Edward, falling for him, finding out what he really was and not caring, James's attack on me, being saved, Edward leaving for the first time, my depressed state-of-mind, Laurent being killed by the werewolves after he tried to kill me, the cliff incident, the Volturi, Edward coming back, Victoria's newborn army, and Edward leaving again. A few seconds in, I decided to just tell the whole story. Easier that way. I was trusting her with my deepest of secrets.

And I still don't know anything about her.

Somehow I couldn't bring myself to care. All the pain and guilt I've been harboring for months was gone—my heart was a lot less heavy. That confessing thing you're supposed to do really does help. Interesting. I would never have guess.

I almost felt like a new girl with a fresh start. Too bad I still have those haunting memories.

I didn't realize I was sobbing until Ami scooted over, drawing me into a hug. My energy was too depleted to push away and wipe the tears from my eyes. When I gained back my strength, I forced myself to let go. "And that's not even all." I muttered so low, I could barely hear it, but somehow Ami managed to.

"What else could there possibly be? Your story is sad enough already without the 'there's more' line."

"Thanks...I think." I mocked her earlier line, attempting to lighten the mood.

"No problem." She was beaming and, despite all the blended up sorrow and rage, it was catching. When a girl like Ami is happy, it's hard to be anything other than happy yourself. "Ets-lay ere-hay e-thay est-ray of-ay our-yay ory-stay en-thay." Her words—were they even words?--came out in a jumble of mixed up vowels and ay's.

"Um, say what?"

"Just trying to cheer you up." She shrugged. "Pig latin. I learned it in fourth grade when I got a teacher that always seemed to know what you were talking about."

"Ouch." I winced. I'd had a few nosy teachers in the past. Too bad I never had the brain power to think of speaking in a different language. "So how about an English translation?"

"Sure. I said, 'Let's hear the rest of your story then'.You can't just cut me off." She paused. "Well, I didn't say the last part in Pig Latin, but you get my drift."

I trusted her up to this point, so why shouldn't I trust her with my biggest secret?

I'm throwing everything else away, why not this too?

"Actually..." I bit my lip for the billionth time that night. I really have to get out of the habit...

"Come on, spit it out. We're friends."

the way she said it brought a small smile on my head. "Edward—he—I'm having his kids—my kids. I'm pregnant." Nice. Could I have possibly said it in a weirder way?

Ami's eyes bulged, her jaw dropping at the same time. "You're having mini-vamps?" Her eyes traveled to my stomach before looking me in the face. What has the world come to? Couldn't she at least be discreet?

"Way to make a girl feel better, Ami." There was no bitterness, only embarrassment.

"Oh, no you don't, Bella. I've known you for a day and I can already predict your thoughts. Let me guess. You think I won't want to be your friend because of this? Ha! I've always wanted more excitement in my life and now that I have it, I'm not going to let it go. Now, explain your plan, because I know you have one." She settled into the bed, her arms under her head as she laid back. "We've got a whole night."

"I plan to die." Ami's head snapped up, confusion clouding her features.

"Wha—"

"No," I interrupted. Playing the controlling role is fun. I really should do this more often. "Let me finish." She nodded like I knew she would. Ami likes to ask questions, but she also knows the right time to keep her mouth shut. "Alex—one of the vampires—is going to help me fake my death."

"Why? Why do you need to 'die'? What's that going to accomplish?"

"I'm going to have little half-human half-vampire babies. I can't expose my parents to that." I lowered my eyes to the floor."And then there's that little little fact that my mom will be ashamed of the position I got myself into. She always wanted the best from me—for me."

"I think I understand." She said slowly, testing the air. "But how are you going to fake your death? Where will you go afterwards?"

I tried hard not to smile at her curiosity. I can't remember having friends that let me do the majority of the talking. "I haven't gotten every little kink worked out yet. I haven't even asked Alex or his brother and sister. It's all just hope."

"If they refuse?"

"If they don't help me, I run as far away as I can from this place and never look back."

She winced. "Harsh. For your parents, I mean."

I wasn't going to argue. It was terrible of me to hurt Renee and Charlie like running away would. They'd think something was wrong with them. If I just died, they would cry, go to a funeral, move on, and get over it. They wouldn't hurt forever. "That's why." I mumbled under my breath, but she could still hear me. "I hope I can get on Alex's good side."

It was her turn to be quiet. "I'm helping." She stated firmly, a mysterious glint in her eyes.

Not the best chapter, but it will be important later on.

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