Chapter Two
NEWBORN

"But…you have a heartbeart." Edward said, incredulous. "And you smell like a human."

He squinted at me.

"And your hands," Edward grabbed my wrists, "They're…"

"Lukewarm." I rolled my eyes, "I know, right? I just say it's bad circulation."

"Lukewarm." Edward frowned. "I thought there might be something a bit weird, you know, about you. But a vampire?"

"Hit me," I dared him, "Go on. I won't feel a single thing,"

Edward hit me, limply, on the arm. At least his hand felt limp. It was probably a punch that a normal human man could have given me.

"So you're a vampire," he said.

"Yes, I'm a vampire."

'It makes sense. She's beautiful, too smart, I can't read her mind, she doesn't feel pain… but she breathes, and she eats, and she has a heartbeat. She blushes and falls into things. That can't be right.'

"But how…?"

"We were living in England. I was the fastest runner at school, a real athlete. It was a dark night, and I was walking home from an athletic competition. It happened pretty quickly. I fell, and I felt a sharp pain in my wrist. I ran all the way home, I wasn't sure what happened. I was sick for three days straight, then when I'd changed I wanted to kill my family and run really fast. I did a lot of research, but I could only do it at night when my family was asleep. I got as far as the edges of Moscow, trying to find others like me." This time, it was my turn to frown. "I'm not like other vampires, though. I can eat without having to choke it back up. I can go without blood for months on end. I don't need it like you do, but I can have it if I want."

"I think you need to talk to Carlisle." Edward sighed.

'This is huge.'

"I know," I got up to leave.

"And you can read minds?"

"Yeah. It's kind of a gift. I can make my mind impenetrable too."

"So that's why I couldn't read yours." Edward marvelled.

"I taught myself."

"Can you teach me?"

"I hope so." I looked at the clock on the wall. Ten minutes until the end of lunch. "I'll have to tell Bella, I suppose. She'll wonder why I'm spending so much time with you."

"What's it to Bella?" Edward half-smiled.

"You guys are together,"

Edward paused for a moment.

"How did you know?"

"Bella doesn't stop thinking about you," I chuckled, "Surely you'd know that."

"You can read Bella's thoughts?"

He seemed angry.

"You can't?"

"No."

"Ah."

"I think maybe you should go home." Edward gripped the table so hard I thought he might break it.

"But it's my first day of school! And my family will wonder why I'm home…"

"Come to our house." Edward stared at me. "I assume you can run?"

"Faster than a speeding bullet." I grinned.

"You'd better get your running shoes on."

The Cullen's house was quaint, hidden in the woods that Forks were surrounded by. We arrived about five minutes after setting off from school, and Edward was surprisingly impressed by my speed.

"Nobody in this coven can keep up with me," Edward whistled as we made our way through the front door.

"Coven?"

"What, you don't have a coven?"

"Well, no. I told you. It's just me, and my family…"

"Your human family."

"Yes." I shrugged. "They don't know."

Edward laughed.

"What?" I demanded.

"You keep surprising me."

"Well." I frowned. "I suppose that's OK."

Their home from the inside was shockingly normal, a dining table all set out and a piano in one corner. I sat down at the little stool and began playing a melody I'd once heard. I'd always meant to get piano lessons, but in the end I just taught myself, sneaking into music shops at night and playing their grand pianos.

"That's lovely," I heard a female voice call to me.

'Such a beautiful tune. Is it Edward?'

"Thank you!" I called back.

"Esme, Carlisle," Edward shouted. There was no point in yelling, I knew, vampires could hear a pin drop from miles away.

Esme and Carlisle appeared, two beautiful people as I'd expected. They frowned.

'Another human, Edward?'

"No, Carlisle."

They looked even more confused.

"There's no point in trying to have a conversation like that. She can hear you,"

I nodded.

"She can hear thoughts?" Esme spoke, her voice soft and gentle.

"Yes." I smiled.

"No offence meant, Miss…"

"Spencer." I offered.

"Miss Spencer," Carlisle continued, unabashed. "But you are human,"

"Mr. Cullen," I smiled, "I am far from human,"

"But she has a heartbeat," Esme widened her eyes. "I can hear it,"

"So you can hear how faint it is," I said.

"I don't understand," Carlisle frowned. "But I'd love to."

We sat around the dining table. Esme fixed me a mug of hot chocolate and I told the tale of my transformation.

"It wasn't as painful as I'd heard," I took a sip of my hot chocolate unhappily. "And I still have a heartbeat, so something happened that shouldn't have."

"You're suggesting something went wrong in your transformation?" Carlisle mused.

"That's possible?" Esme asked.

"Yes," Edward said, "Very possible."

I caught Carlisle's thoughts.

"You have a theory?" I asked him.

"Yes." Carlisle said, "Although it needs investigating, might I suggest that perhaps you fell on a set of fangs."

"I thought that was already clear," Edward said. "Unless…"

"Unless they were merely a pair of fangs, almost drained of venom."

"Not enough venom to fully transform me, but enough to change me?" I asked.

"Yes." Esme sat back in her chair. "It makes sense."

'So you resist the smell of blood better than vampires?'

It took me a while to realise that Edward was thinking directly at me.

'Yes, I suppose so,' I thought back.

That was cool. Edward and I had our own language.

'What I wouldn't give to swap places with you.'

I stared at the table, and pity washed over me. Poor Edward.

'Thinking about Bella again?'

Edward's sigh answered my question.

"So what do you suggest I do?" I asked Carlisle. "Carry on as normal?"

"Yes. There doesn't seem much else you can do." Carlisle replied. "You never told us. When were you transformed?"

"Two months ago."

Edward's jaw dropped open.

"Two. Months?"

Carlisle and Esme looked alarmed.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You're a newborn," Edward stared at me incredulously.

"It's been two whole months," I laughed.

"It takes three years to get used to being a vampire," Carlisle exhaled noisily.

"What?"

"Maybe you should stick with us," Carlisle frowned, "Until we know you're not dangerous,"

"I'm really not dangerous, guys." I slammed my mug down. "Really."

I watched Edward smirk, and looked to see what he was smiling at.

Of course. I'd slammed my mug down so hard that my hot chocolate had splashed all over the table, and my mug had shattered into pieces.

"Really?" Carlisle smiled.