Author's Note: I updated! It's a miracle, I know! I'm just going to skip the reasons of why I haven't updated and go straight to the apology. I am so sorry! But thank you all so much for the reviews demanding me to update, they really made me hurry. I should probably have my chapters up a bit quicker now because I actually have a study hall to work on it this semester! Anways, I shut up now and let you read.

IMPORTANT

News On The Voting: Idea #1 (the one with Edward's niece blah blah blah) has gotten more votes than idea #2. I'll still write #2, but I'll just do #1 first. Of course, unless you want even slower updates on this story, I'll probably write it after this story is finished.

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or New Moon; it all belongs to Ms. Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 7

Finding Out

Bella's POV

"What's not there?" I asked, trying to recall if I had taken anything out of it last night. No, I hadn't. I looked over his shoulder to make sure everything was there. Nothing had moved the slightest inch.

"The pictures, they're not here." He said as he flipped through all the pockets to se if he had missed something.

"What pictures?" I asked, confused. "There were never any pictures in there."

He finally looked back up at me. "What?"

"There were never any pictures in there. All that's been in there these past years is some old change, some cards, and my ID." I said, more slowly than I had before.

"Yes, there were." He said forcefully, hitting his fist on one of the tree trunks, causing it to shudder violently. "I remember you putting them in here. I remember perfectly." He seemed to be trying to convince himself moreover than me.

"It doesn't matter. You can help me remember my memory without the pictures." He seemed to relax a bit more as I said this.

"Alright. But I still want to know what happened to those pictures." He said quietly. I grabbed his arm and dragged him a little deeper into the forest where it was quieter and it would be easier for us to speak to one another.

"Okay, so what was it about my life as a vampire did you want me to tell you about?" I asked after we went a good distance into the forest.

"Well," He smiled sheepishly, "Everything. And what did you want me to tell you about your human life?"

I laughed, "Everything."

"Okay," He said smiling. "I'll ask you a question about the fifty years I haven't seen you and then you can ask me a question about you're human life."

I thought about it and then nodded my head in agreement. "Sure."

"Alright. Who's your family and what are their powers?"

"Well, there's Christiana, who's sort of the leader of our coven, and she can control water, Simon – the older one with the brown hair – can replicate things, he's also married to Christiana, there's Henry can become invisible, and Peter – the youngest looking – can control the weather." I figured he already knew who Henry was because of my mentioning him yesterday.

"Wow." He muttered under his breath, which didn't surprise me because that was the usual response we got from other vampires when they found out what our powers were. "So what's yours?" He asked.

"I can control people and vampires." His eyes widened at that.

"Was that you controlling my legs, making me walk into the cafeteria, yesterday?"

"Yes," I said, then added with a smirk, "You were getting on my nerves."

"Well, I couldn't help it. I hadn't seen you in forever, and it was very shocking to see you again. Especially as a vampire."

I nodded and asked the question that had been bugging me the day I had seen Edward. "So, how did we know each other when I was human?"

"We had a close relationship." He said and I could tell he was leaving something out. "We both went to the same high school in a town named-,"

"Forks" I finished for him. He nodded, but before he was able to ask I added, "That was where Christiana and Henry found me when I was bitten."

"So, how-," He was about to ask another question before I cut him off again.

"Nope, you asked two questions in a row, so that means I get to ask another. What's you and your family's abilities?" I asked, this was my chance to se if I was right about Jasper's power.

"Well, I can read minds, Alice can see into the future, Emmett's strength was enhanced, the same with Rosalie's beauty, Carlisle – our father figure – brought his compassion over, Esme – our mother figure – brought her ability to love passionately, and Jasper is able to manipulate and feel others emotions." He finished. So I had been right about Jasper's power. Strange…

"Bella?" I heard Edward's voice from a distance away and I realized I had run away with my thoughts again.

"Sorry. What were you saying?" I asked.

"I was asking you about how you were bitten."

"Oh, well I don't remember it at all. But Christiana and Henry told me all that they saw. I suppose I was walking through the forest one day and a vampire attacked me. Before he killed me, though, Christiana and Henry showed up, they were living in an old manor that was in middle of the forest, and they had gone hunting. Christiana chased after the vampire after they pilled hum off of me, but she couldn't track hum any farther after a while. Henry took me to their home so they could explain everything to me. After the transformation, he said I had been muttering things while I was being changed, but he said all he could hear were little incoherent mumbles when I asked him about it."

"I wished you remembered what happened, or, at least, the date it happened." He said sadly.

"September ninth." I answered automatically. "I woke up on September twelfth. It'll be exactly fifty years that I've been a vampire tomorrow. A birthday for the undead, if you will." I smiled and laughed faintly, but it slowly faded as I saw his face filled with sadness and self-hatred.

"What is it?" I asked, putting my hand on his arm.

"The day I left." He whispered more to himself than to me. "You were bitten the day I left." His voice turned from disbelief to outrage at himself and he slammed his fist on the dirt and leaf covered forest floor we were sitting on. "I should've been there to save you! I should've been there to suck the venom out again. If only I had been there to save you again, you-,"

"I would be dead right now." I finished the sentence for him, though he probably wasn't going to say those exact words.

"What?" He asked, his face full of confusion again.

"If you would've been there before I was changed or even went into the forest, I would still be human and dead right now."

"You're over-exaggerating. You'd only be sixty-seven years old, it's the same age as you are now. You'd just look like you were, but you wouldn't be dead." He rolled his eyes.

"Well, even if I wasn't. I'd be closer to death than I am being seventeen."

"Not now. We're closer to death than anybody even should be."

"That's beside the point. The point is, is that you're happy that I'm a vampire and here with you. And don't even tell me you aren't, because I can tell that you are."

He nodded grimly, "I suppose that is true."

I smiled triumphantly at getting him to tell me the truth. My eyes scanned where we were once more and I noticed we were leaning into each other. I quickly leaned back and saw that the sky was cloudless and tons of starts were sparkling overhead. It was absolutely beautiful, but it made me worry about the time.

"It's twilight." I heard Edward murmur beside me.

"What time is it?" I asked as I jumped up from the ground and bent down to pick up my backpack, only to realize that I had left it in my locker. I hadn't had enough time to grab it after class because Edward had been too excited to wait.

Edward glanced at his watch. "Almost eight."

"Crap." I muttered under my breath. How was I going to get my backpack? The school was undoubtedly locked down by now. I could've picked the locks, but one problem. I seemed to be short a hair pin and all of my credit cards were in my actual wallet, which was in my backpack! I couldn't use my old ID or any of the cards, they were so worn that it was remarkable they didn't crumble into little pieces whenever I touched them. Breaking a window or bending any fences surely wasn't an option, Christiana would kill me.

"What?" I heard Edward ask beside me, oblivious that he didn't have his backpack either.

"Our stuff. Please tell me you know how to break into the school!" I said, turning around to face him.

He grinned sheepishly, "Well…um, not exactly. But I can get them early tomorrow morning before school starts."

I glowered at the ground. I knew I had tons of homework, and even I would barely be able to complete it in a few hours time, with or without vampire speed. I turned my glare up to him. "What about my notes?"

He seemed to think about this for a second before smiling smugly at me. "No problem. You can come by my house later tonight and read Alice's."

I considered it for a second. They were the only friends I had in my grade, and it would probably be a lot easier to do that than wait around all night getting anxious about the enormous pile of homework in my backpack being undone.

"Okay, I'll come by your house around ten." I said and watched as he smiled again, wider this time.

"Great."

Author's Note: So what'd you guys think? Worth the wait? Probably not, but still!!! Thanks for the patience and I'll be writing as quickly as possible so I can get the next chapter up before my birthday in March, so it'll be kinda likely that it will be. Anways, tada! Review!!!

Laine