Disclaimer: Don't own Twilight.

Gonna try and juggle ITOK and CS. It's working so far. WOO!

Revised!

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Aubrey kept quiet for a month. A very, very long month. She didn't mention her little excursion with Marek to the lunch table crowd. What surprised her was that she did this because she did not want to think about what Jessica might ask. The fact that he was a possible vampire had nothing to do with it...or little to do with it at least. Once the initial shock had passed completely, she was possessed more by interest and numbing curiosity than anything else.

Marek didn't bring it up again. He acted as he had since her first day, teasing her and questioning her about little aspects of her life. Their project came along slowly, filled with amazingly detailed, sporadic descriptions of various events in their fictional lives. Aubrey had to keep critical control of her facial expressions as Marek read out his vow he had put in the chapter of their future wedding. She felt that she would have begun crying had he not then teased her for having, as he put it, "tomato ears". Aubrey retorted that she'd probably be up all night working to write a vow that came even close to his. That had sent him laughing, causing Mr. Mason to prattle on to Aubrey about not being a class clown. Aubrey didn't bring up the name she'd seen on the mailbox. She liked having Marek as a friend. If she accused him of anything she wasn't sure of, no doubt he'd begin to ignore her like the other Cullens.

But her questions, despite their everyday conversations, remained unanswered. Marek gave no inclination that he even remembered that day, and Aubrey, confused as to what he was expecting, didn't bring it up, falling steadily back into the course of their normal correspondance. Maybe he had just told her as an fyi, just so she'd be aware...but then...why the strange moment...She put it out of her mind when the questions began to rise, putting the memory in the back of her mind, leaving the events in the past.

Edward Cullen was as much of an enigma as the others, as Aubrey found soon after he showed up to school again. He always sat as far away from Marek as was humanly, or inhumanly, possible. He had glanced at her a few times, a frustrated expression always in his eyes. Then he would turn and glare at Marek. Aubrey noticed that Bella had become increasingly frustrated as well. She was always glaring back at the Cullens' table, her eyes centering on Edward Cullen. Aubrey didn't ask her about it.

Eventually March came, and the latest gossip zeroed in on one upcoming event. A dance. A dance where the girls asked the boys. Aubrey really couldn't think of anyone to go with...well, anyone who would say yes anyway. Mostly the boys seemed interested in Bella, and Aubrey wasn't holding it against her. She never liked to stick out in a crowd. Bella was unique. She deserved the popularity.

Bella didn't seem to be enjoying her popularity, though. In the course of a day she turned down three guys, two of who asked her even though the girls were supposed to ask. Apparently she planned to go to Seattle that weekend. Mike was still planning his trip to the beach, which Aubrey declined, thinking she would try and get some homework done instead.

One day, Aubrey walked into lunch after a particularly uneventful English class, sitting down next to Bella and Angela. She chomped into her usual apple and let her eyes roam over the high ceiling. Jessica's voice interrupted her peace of mind.

"Does he mean you?" she asked Bella incredulously. Aubrey followed their gazes to see Edward Cullen sitting at an empty table separate from his siblings. What was even more surprising was that he was motioning for Bella to join him.

"Maybe he needs help with Biology," said Bella, walking over to his table and taking a seat.

"What are they saying?" asked Jessica eagerly, turning to Aubrey.

"I don't know, I can't read lips," said Aubrey, smirking. "You seem very interested in them."

"Who wouldn't be?" asked Jessica, still staring over there. "The Cullens never talk to anyone, let alone sit with them."

"Well...enjoy your show," said Aubrey, standing and throwing the rest of her lunch away. She continued to chew her apple, however, walking out of the cafeteria to watch the rain fall outside. She didn't know how many more weeks she could put up with Jessica's prying nature.

Aubrey walked home again that day. She finished her homework and watched TV, ordering a pizza later on. Jack arrived after a few hours and launched into his recount of the various operations done during the day. Aubrey half-listened, her eyes still on the screen. The phone rang and Jack answered it.

"Hello?"

Aubrey watched him from the couch, her brow furrowing as he shot a smirk at her.

"Really now? Well I've heard quite a lot about you. Something about you being my academic son-in-law."

"Give me the phone!" yelled Aubrey, vaulting off of the couch. She tried to grab the phone away from her father, but he held it out of her reach, still talking.

"Well I'm her father, and if you are planning on having kids anytime soon, just consider that I would like to know. I mean, I already missed the wedding." Aubrey snatched the phone from him and kicked him in the shin, sending him cackling back to his room. She closed her eyes and took a deep, horrified breath, and then put the phone to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Your father seems like an enjoyable fellow," said the musical voice of Marek Rhodes.

"Uh huh...sorry about that..."

"I needed a laugh." Aubrey glared back at the hallway, making a mental note to get Jack back later. She cleared her throat.

"So uh...why are you calling?"

"Are you going on that trip Mike Newton has been talking about these past few weeks?"

"No, actually," said Aubrey.

"I'd like to talk to you," said the lovely voice. "Meet me in the student lot Saturday at eleven in the morning."

"...Sure..."

"See you there."

He hung up.

"See you..." said Aubrey to the silent phone. She hung it up and walked to the couch. She couldn't imagine why Marek had asked her over the phone and not at school...where Jack couldn't have interfered.

Questions buzzed through Aubrey's mind as she gave up on TV and retreated to her room. The incident at the house was the last time Marek had wanted to talk to her about something unacademic. Was he going to explain what he had been so cryptic about back at the house?

Aubrey went to bed, ignoring Jack's continuous laughter echoing out of his room. She slammed her door in response. She pulled on her pajamas and brushed her teeth before walking back to Jack's room. She needed at least one sort of revenge before sleep.

"Dad! Come here!" she called from the far end of the hall. She hurried quickly and quietly to his door then, standing behind it as her father came in sight of the hallway.

"What?" he asked, starting out of his room. Aubrey pushed hard on the door, hearing it smack into the side of his face. He cried out and she ran back into her room, locking the door. She was laughing so hard; she couldn't get to sleep for several minutes. Then, when the amusement had died off, she slipped into troubled dreams.

The next day seemed to fly by. Marek was absent, and that ruined Aubrey's plans of a classtime interrogation. Aubrey was preoccupied through all of her classes, awarding her a detention for after school that day, ruining her evening. Bella seemed a bit preoccupied as well. Mike continued to talk about the trip the next day, however, there wasn't much to be said.

Then, it came. Aubrey awoke around nine, courtesy of her cellphone alarm. She dressed and grabbed an apple on her way out of the door. Jack was making rounds at the hospital, so Aubrey had left a note with details of her plan to hitchhike to Thriftway. Of course she wasn't really going to Thriftway; she was off to school on a Saturday. Her cell was on just in case her clown of a father had a worry fit.

Aubrey found Marek in the deserted student lot and walked over to him. He opened the door for her and she climbed into his car wordlessly. Marek seemed different, cooler towards her than she had ever seen him. He didn't spare a glance at her as he climbed into the driver's seat and stomped on the acceleration, sending the car hurtling out onto the road. He maintained the reckless speed once on the street.

They rode in silence at over 120mph. The speed and mute interior of the car clashed horribly. Aubrey glanced up at Marek. He looked as though he had just come from a magazine photo shoot in Milan. Stunningly attractive as usual.

"Where are we going?" she asked. The driver didn't look up.

"Just outside of Forks," he said. Aubrey clamped her mouth shut, accepting this as the best answer she would receive.

They soon passed the welcome sign. It seemed like ages since Aubrey herself had passed it, staring glumly out of the window while Jack tried to encourage her, though it had been only a few weeks. Marek didn't stop at the sign. The car continued to speed along until it reached a crossing with a deserted dirt road leading off into the woods on one side. This road he took, driving along at reckless speeds until the main road was no longer visible through the mossy trees. He stopped and turned off the car, but did not look at his passenger.

"Have you figured it out yet, or did you just not bother?" he asked, an icy edge to his voice.

"Find out what?" asked Aubrey, confused. Marek rolled his eyes.

"What I clued you in on a month ago in that house," he said, his voice hard. Aubrey frowned at his tone.

"Yes..." she mumbled. Marek's expression changed almost immediately as he turned to look at her, eyebrow raised.

"You didn't disregard it?" he asked, eyes full of curiosity.

"No...I looked it up. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get to sleep," said Aubrey. Marek seemed greatly cheered by this news.

"I thought you would have ignored it completely. You never said anything." He paused, frowning in confusion. "I'm surprised you came back to school at all; if you truly know, that is. So, what is your hypothesis?" Aubrey blinked, caught off-guard.

"My hypothesis?"

"What do you think I was trying to tell you?" Aubrey hesitated. It sounded silly now, so long after the event, to state it aloud to him. When she looked back on the event, she considered she may have been imagining, though it seemed impossible that she had. Aubrey shrugged.

"It probably not right..." she mumbled. Lie, it fit perfectly, only it just seemed too unlikely to be right.

"Tell me," said Marek encouragingly, his voice totally irresistible.

"Well...are you, uh, vampires?" she asked, looking up at him slowly, bracing herself for the teasing. It didn't come.

"Very good," commended Marek, leaning back in his seat and looking satisfied. "Of course you cheated, using the internet, but you got it right none the less." Aubrey blinked. He wasn't teasing. He was praising.

"You...you can't be serious though. I mean..." she laughed, gesturing vaguely. Marek smirked at her.

"You figured it out and you don't believe it?" he asked. Aubrey dropped her hand.

"No. Well, yes, but...well, you could be trying to make me seem crazy, you know. Don't deny it's something you would do," she said.

"You think I would do something like that to you?" asked Marek, his hand going to his chest. "I'm hurt, Aubrey, I really am. What do you take me for?" Aubrey narrowed her eyes, crossing her arms. Marek sighed at her lack of humor. "Do you want proof?"

"...What kind of proof?" asked Aubrey warily. Marek looked thoughtful.

"Well, you could run me over, but that may be asking too much of you. Here, I have a better idea." He exited the Trans-Am faster than Aubrey could have believed and, before Aubrey could protest, the entire car was lifted about eight feet off of the ground. She let out a squeal, clutching at the seat's edges. Marek's voice echoed up from the ground as the car rocked a little. "Believe me now?"

"Yes! Yes! Put me down!" shouted Aubrey, and the car was lowered back to earth. The next thing she knew, Marek was back in the car, a wry smile twisting his lips.

"Proof enough for you?" he asked. Aubrey's heart was racing. She didn't answer, breathing slowly. Marek frowned, his eyes flickering. "What? Aren't you going to scream some more?" he shot, voice suddenly angry. Aubrey furrowed her brow, looking at him in confusion.

"What?"

"Go on, the door's unlocked. You can get a pretty good head start if you run off now, and I'm sure a car on the highway would stop for someone in hysterics," Marek glowered. Aubrey blinked.

"What are you talking about? I'm not in hysterics," she said slowly. Marek raised an eyebrow.

"Oh yeah? Well what was all that screaming about then?" he spat ruefully. Aubrey scoffed.

"Well I think I am allowed to scream if the car I'm in suddenly flies off of the ground without warning!" she shot back incredulously. "And the only reason I'd run out of here to the highway would be if you suddenly tried to assault me or bite me, or something." Marek regarded her for a moment, his eyes narrow, then he sat back in his seat and rolled his eyes.

"I'm not going to bite you," he said, much more softly. "We don't do that here."

"We? What, you don't bite people?" asked Aubrey, her frustration melting into curiosity. Marek shook his head.

"No...the Cullens and I live on animal blood," he said, drifting his butterscotch gaze over Aubrey's emerald eyes. "Human is our preferred food source though."

"What's stopping you then?" asked Aubrey.

"A treaty," said Marek.

"Treaty?"

"Yes, a treaty with the Quileutes," said Marek. "I wasn't actually a part of it, but the Cullens are. And, if I am to stay in Forks, I must obey it as well." His eyes flicked to his window and he looked out, his golden eyes brooding.

"Have you ever...well...fed on human?" asked Aubrey. Marek nodded.

"I used to more often, but since I met the Cullens I've experimented with both, and living here I stick to their vegetarian diet," he said.

"How does it compare?" asked Aubrey. Marek chuckled dryly, looking at her.

"Like rice cakes to steak," he said. "You humans are just too delicious to ignore."

"I can't say that doesn't make me a bit uncomfortable," said Aubrey, leaning back a fraction. Marek laughed.

"Oh please, Aubrey, if I wanted to hunt you I would have done it a long time ago, and much more creatively than just asking you to meet me somewhere." Aubrey hesitated, her heartrate increasing as she thought over his words. He could actually be serious about this...hunting her...he'd already gotten Sarah Barnes, she realized. Maybe he had a taste for project partners...

Marek seemed to notice her change in disposition, and his amused expression dropped as he looked at her, concerned.

"Ah, I don't mean to make you upset," he said. "I forget how easy humans are to intimidate." He blinked, thinking. "I see how I can be disconcerting right about now..."

"It's alright," said Aubrey, mildly reassured by his sudden apologetic statement. "So...you told me all of this, why?" Marek shrugged.

"Just playing with my food," he said nonchalantly. Aubrey chuckled, then paused, wary. Marek glanced at her. "Kidding." Aubrey smirked.

"You'd be kicked out of Forks for hunting me anyway," she said. Marek nodded.

"True. But I could technically if I could keep it a secret. And that shouldn't be too hard with me. Still, those Quileutes might hear something..." He drifted off. Aubrey frowned.

"But what about--" She cut herself off mid-sentence, forcing her eyes to stare at the steering wheel. She felt Marek's eyes on her.

"What about what?" he asked, his voice suddenly low. Dangerously low.

"What happens if you defy the treaty?" asked Aubrey. She could see that the subject of Sarah Barnes's abrupt 'move' was not on the top of Marek's list. He pursed his lips.

"The Quileutes kill us," He replied calmly. Aubrey stared at him.

"Kill you? But you're--"

"Immortal, yes," mused Marek. "But we have two enemies. Other vampires, and werewolves. Though none of the Quileutes have had the werewolf potential in two or three generations."

"First vampires, now werewolves," muttered Aubrey. Marek snorted.

"Don't worry about it," he muttered in return.

"And if I threw a few cloves of garlic at you? Or a cross?"

"Superstitions held over centuries," said Marek, waving carelessly.

"Do you need coffins? Can you turn into a bat? What about the sun?"

"No to the first, I wish to the second, and the sun does have an effect," replied Marek in order.

"Do you burn up?" asked Aubrey. Marek shook his head.

"Imagine a golf ball made entirely of mirror. Someone puts it in sunlight. What happens? It sparkles brightly, reflecting the light," he said. Aubrey nodded. It made sense. "Now picture me as the golf ball." Now it just sounded completely insane.

"Right...I can't imagine it," said Aubrey. She hummed to herself thoughtfully, then turned suddenly to Marek. "How old are you really?" she asked quickly.

"I was born on October 18, 1887," said Marek calmly. Aubrey quickly subtracted in her mind.

"You're...you're over a hundred years old?" she gawked. Marek nodded.

"Yes. Now that I've answered all of your questions, it's time you answered mine."

"What? We didn't have an agreement!" argued Aubrey.

"Well, we do now," said Marek. Aubrey glowered.

"Fine," she said. "What do you want to know.

"Where is your mother?" asked Marek. Aubrey paused before answering.

"You don't really care what you say, do you?" she asked. Marek frowned.

"Why?" Aubrey shook her head dismissively.

"I...don't know where she is," she said finally. "We think somewhere in France..."

"And your siblings?"

"One sibling. My brother, Guy. He moved out a little before Mom did. He was 18. Kept in touch for the first two years, then he just kind of stopped calling." She hesitated, then added coldly, "He put Dad through hell...and I'm not going to forgive him easily for that."

There was an ominous silence. Then Marek spoke.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Fine," snapped Aubrey, not looking at him. The silence began to ring in their ears. Marek watched Aubrey as she stared out of the window at the forest. "My turn."

"Ask away," said Marek.

"So you and the Cullens can't die of anything besides your own kind or werewolves, you can't get sick or hurt, you can lift two ton objects, you look incredibly sexy, you drink blood, you move extremely fast, and you have no human weaknesses?" she asked.

"How do you know we can move extremely fast?" asked Marek.

"Guessed. I've seen a lot of vampire movies and that's always a factor," said Aubrey. "Was I right?" Marek nodded, then a teasing smirk spread mischievously across his face.

"You think I'm incredibly sexy?" he asked.

"Well...yes!" exclaimed Aubrey, incredulously blushing. He laughed.

"I know, I know..."

"Oh, modest too I see."

"No, no, it's a proven fact. We look attractive to our prey. It's a predator factor. We draw our food in close," his face moved closer to Aubrey's, "and then when the moment is right," she could feel his sweet breath on her face. He held her gaze for a few seconds, "we tell them to stop gawking at us." Aubrey's awe was replaced immediately by a roll of her eyes.

"Very funny," she said. Marek grinned, leaning back.

"Thank you."

"So are the Cullens like you?" asked Aubrey, changing the subject.

"Every vampire is unique in his own way," replied Marek. Aubrey raised an eyebrow curiously.

"Unique like how?"

"Some of us have...abilities that are based on our strengths from our human existence," he said. "Jasper, for example, was very influential in life. Now he can control the emotions around him in...well...death."

"What do the others have?" asked Aubrey.

"Rosalie has her...supremacy, Emmett, his strength, Alice can see the future, and Edward can read minds."

"He can read minds?" repeated Aubrey, unsettled.

"Yes."

"Can he read mine?"

"Yes. He can read everyone's," said Marek. He paused. "Except Bella Swan's. For some reason her mind is shut off to his power. He blamed me, of course, but then I managed to convince him that it wasn't my fault her mind blocked his power..."

"Your fault? Why would it be your fault? What can you do?"

"In my human life, my personality specialized in what you would call a poker face," said Marek. "I block my thoughts from being read, and, in some cases, I can block others' minds too. You could say I'm Edward's opposite in a way."

"And you've been blocking mine?" guessed Aubrey.

"Well, not entirely. I can block it only if I'm nearby, and only if I know what thoughts I'm blocking unless I know the person well, in which case I can block their entire mind" he said.

"Do they know you've been telling me all this?" asked Aubrey, fearing the worst.

"No," admitted Marek. "So it is imperative that they not find out. I will block when I can, but just stay away from Edward. Or, if you can't avoid him, try not to think of us. Focus on other things; common things."

"Or else I'll have a pack of angry invincible vampires after me," grumbled Aubrey, putting a hand to her forehead. Marek looked at her.

"No," he contradicted. "I'll have a pack of angry invincible vampires after me, seeing as it's my fault you know any of this."

"Oh, and that's such a worrisome problem," said Aubrey, rolling her eyes. "You can survive the Cullens."

"Not if they all worked as a pack," said Marek. "Together they could kill me."

"How would they kill you then?" asked Aubrey. Marek snorted.

"You think I'm going to tell a little human girl that? What if through some unpredictable chain of events you end up hating me with a vengeance? Then you could just waltz up to the house while I'm, well, you'd come up when I was distracted and just kill me. I mean really, you don't just flaunt this information around." He crossed his arms, as if that settled the matter. Aubrey looked out of her window. A thought occurred to her.

"You were born in 1887?" she asked.

"Yes."

"And how old are you forever?"

"Eighteen," said Marek.

"Then you were...created in 1905?" asked Aubrey after a moment of subtraction. Marek nodded. "How?"

"It's incredibly rare," he said.

"That doesn't answer the question," said Aubrey, staring him down. Marek sighed.

"A vampire is created when an already existing vampire bites a human. Bites, but does not kill, which is extremely rare. They tend to suck the human dry, unless something happens. Carlisle is the only vampire I know to create vampires willingly without needing something to tear him away. With great force, I might add."

"So if you were to bite me right now--"

"I'm not able to control the bloodlust," said Marek, shaking his head. "And anyway I wouldn't turn you even if I could."

"Yeah right. You just don't want to drink the blood of another project partner..." muttered Aubrey, looking out of the window.

"What was that?" asked Marek, raising his eyebrows.

"Nothing," said Aubrey, not meeting his eyes. There was a silence between them as Marek's eyes narrowed on her and the light mood faded considerably.

"I think it's time...to take you home," said Marek, starting up the car and backing up to the highway. Aubrey didn't reply.

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