Okay, I know it's been a little while since I updated this particular story, but I promise I've been working on it - along with everything else, and there's a lot where that came from, believe me.

If you're still reading, you know what happened in the last chapter, and there shouldn't be a need to explain things so far, except to say there's the massive of all vampire explanations coming up in the next chapter, so stay tuned.

Also, there will be some French in this chapter, but don't worry, translations will come at the bottom.

I really appreciate everyone who's read, but I'd really like to know what you all think, and this story has been seriously lacking in that area. I'm glad people are reading, but I need to know if you want more of this story.

Please?

Oh, and the other vampire's thoughts are in bold and Italics. ;-)

Now, go on! Read!

Lecture

October, 1945

Edward

In the moments before dawn, I took my leave from Keira's room to run back to my house where her bike was still resting against my porch. I was back before she woke, leaving the bike in a spot that looked appropriate enough before I climbed the trellis to her room with enough time to spare the sun creeping over the tops of the trees in the distance. Her room was just brightening up with the pale white light of morning, and I knelt at her bedside as I had the night before to watch her as she slept. I'd never done it before, and she was an intriguing human to watch sleep to say the least. She thought while she slept, and when she dreamed in the final seconds before she woke, I was surprised to discover it was about me — but not in a way any other girl would have at this point.

To say she was still working over this new mystery in front of her was a bit of an understatement as she now dreamt of me shimmering in the yellow light of midday as I raced through the woods toward an unseen destination. I wasn't an oddity to her, nor was I some unattainable male god from Greek Myth. I was just me, and I was more relieved to see this part of me inside her head than I think I ever had been in a very long time. I'd wished for this for so long — someone who could see me, and not what I was or what I'd been.

I watched the images in her mind dim completely until she was opening her eyes gently. Light shining through her window touched my face then, and I could see relief in her eyes as she extended her hand to touch my face the way she had the night previous. She was still so warm, a little warmer than I'd expected, and she rubbed the pad of her thumb over the top of my cheek as the thoughts she'd had before falling asleep again became prevalent.

"You're still here," she whispered.

I took her hand in mine, grasping onto it gently. "I told you I would be. But I must leave before your parents wake. You'll have to ride to school with Fisher, and then I'll see you."

She rose to her elbows, still looking over my face and wondering silently how all this was possible.

"Carlisle will be able to answer all your questions," I promised her. "If you can, tell your parents my family and I came back early, and you saw me in town yesterday. It should be all right with them for you to come to my house after school, and then Emmett and I will bring you home."

"Can he really tell me everything in a couple of hours?" she asked softly.

I leaned as close to her as I could, inhaling and allowing her scent to fill my lungs as I pressed my forehead to hers. "He'll tell you everything you need to know for you to be safe," I whispered even as a series of noises sounded off outside her room signaling that her father was leaving his bedroom down the hall. I leaned back to look at her. "Your father's coming," I revealed, to which she turned her head to the door and gave me an opportunity to leave before being caught.

I was out her window and on the ground away from the house before the door to her room opened, and I listened to her talk to her father.

"Hey, you're awake. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Better," she responded, still thinking and wondering where I'd gone.

"Well, why don't you get ready, and we'll all eat breakfast."

"I'll be right there," she promised.

He closed her door then, and I watched her hurry to her window to look out into the yard where I was still standing. I nodded that everything would be okay, and she stepped away from the window then to start her day.

From there, I ran back to my house, reaching the front porch before five minutes could pass and then hurrying through the house to my room so I could change. I wondered what would happen at school now that Keira knew things about my family that no one else knew, but I wasn't worried. I knew I could trust her, and I would make sure no one would hurt her. I didn't know anything beyond that, and I found myself giving in to the change I could feel myself experiencing. All because of a human. Unbelievable.

I was changing shirts when Emmett poked his head into my room with a small smile on his face. He was back to his normal self, thinking something inappropriate about the fact that I'd spent all night in Keira's room.

"You ready for school, man?" he inquired with a soft chuckle.

"Give me a few more seconds," I hedged, unconsciously pursing my lips and listening to him toss around the few things he was wondering about as he left with the door cracked open. I finished dressing, grabbing my journal and following him downstairs where Rosalie was waiting impatiently. She looked at me indignantly.

I can't believe you're all so excited about this! She's a human, for goodness sake!

I chose not to respond, facing Esme and Carlisle as they waited.

"Everything went all right?" Esme asked of my vigil.

"I didn't see and hear anything out of the ordinary," I promised her.

"And you were a gentleman?" she pressed.

I would've blushed if I'd still had a pulse. "Of course," I swore.

"We'll need to talk this afternoon when you come back," Carlisle added. "With Keira, of course. We need to be delicate with this, Edward. If there are other vampires in the area, it will alert our neighbors to the dangers of their presence."

I nodded. "I understand," I assured.

"Let's go," Rosalie demanded, turning to the door and leading the way out onto the porch and then the car as it waited.

The ride to school was filled with Rosalie's incessant complaints about how I'd messed up our existence here and that we were likely going to be leaving soon now that a human knew about us. She was also gloating about how I'd been the one to attract this particular human after all the times I'd admonished Emmett for his indiscretions. Emmett, on the other hand, couldn't stop thinking of all the things I could've done while I'd sat in Keira's room watching her during the night. He'd already completely brushed off the encounter from the day before, but I was going to have to make it clear to him that Keira wasn't a typical human. Other than that, I left them to their thoughts, knowing that as soon as Carlisle explained everything to Keira, they would both see how easy it would be to go back to way things had been. But I had to admit to myself that I was a little worried.

We arrived at the school at precisely seven-thirty, when only half the student body was actually at the school. Keira and her brothers were nowhere to be found, but it was early still, and I wasn't worried with how her father had behaved upon discovering her awake when he'd checked in on her. As much as I hated to admit it, I'd been observing humans for a long time, and even though I'd never really met anyone like Keira, I'd met a lot of people like her father. He was the kind of man you expected to find in a small town, even if I knew the only reason he'd moved back here was to keep his children safe. I had to admire him for that.

"You know this isn't going to work," Rosalie informed me, and I looked at her from my side of the car. "It never does. That's why we don't interact with them this way. And you know that. Why are you even attempting to do this?"

I glanced at Emmett, but he said nothing, and I looked out across the parking lot. "You've known me for ten years, Rosalie," I reminded her. "You should know I'm not embarking on this lightly. And it's not just about her. This is about me too. Emmett was human when you saw him the first time. How is this any different?"

"He was dying," she hissed at me. "And I didn't carry on a dangerous relationship with him for two months before he was attacked. You have no intention of allowing her to become what we are. That's how it's different! And if you don't hurt her, someone else of our kind will when they find out about her. Is that what you want?"

Emmett snickered, and I looked at him less than a second before Rosalie shot him a murderous glare. "You said 'relationship'," he chuckled. "He hasn't even gone out on a date with her. How can he be in a relationship with her?"

"You know what I mean," she accused. "She's human! It's not safe for him to be anywhere near her, and he knows that. He knew that before he even spoke to her. And he's endangering all of us by continuing with this stupid escapade. It's not just about the people in town," she barked softly. "If there are other vampires in the area, they'll smell him around her. Again, I ask you," she looked at me, "is that what you want? If you seem to care something about her."

"Of course, that's not what I want," I stated incredulously. "What? You think I haven't thought of every horrible thing that could go wrong because of her? You think I don't know Emmett could've killed her yesterday, or that I could have? You think I don't know how dangerous this is for all of us? Well, you're wrong. I thought about it all night. And the plain truth is that I will not leave her unprotected with other vampires on the loose, because they will smell me around her. They'll smell you and Emmett, and they'll smell Carlisle and Esme, and if they don't confront us, we'll all be lucky. We're the monsters here, remember? She's innocent in all this, and if I have to tell her what we are to keep her safe, then that's what I will do. Regardless of how you feel, and it's probably better that you aren't so hostile toward her."

Rosalie lifted her chin defiantly. "And exactly why is that?" she demanded.

"Because it's part of how she realized something was different about us. I can take care of myself," I reminded her. "I might not look it, but I am older than you. I can control myself around her. I don't need you to guard me or her."

Emmett laughed again, but Rosalie didn't take her eyes off me. She moved around the end of the car to face me. "I wasn't doing that for your benefit," she snapped. "I was watching the human you chose to bring into our house. And I will continue to do so until I know I can trust her, which I don't see happening any time soon."

She walked around me then, and I glanced at Emmett, seeing him shrug as he followed her, and I exhaled loudly as another car pulled into the lot. I looked to see it was Keira and her brothers, and despite the argument I'd just had with Rosalie, I was even more resolute about this new development than I had been less than two hours earlier when Keira had awakened in her bed. If she was in danger, I was the only person who could protect her, and that was exactly what I was going to do, regardless of Rosalie's negative feelings on the subject.

With that, I stepped away from Emmett's car and made my way toward Keira as Fisher helped her out of the back seat. He nodded once, nudging Keira toward me as she blushed. Kyle still eyed me suspiciously, but he said nothing, leading the way into school as Keira and I trailed them slowly.

"I take it they've approved of you coming to my house this afternoon," I said softly, unconsciously guiding her toward the doors.

"I told them I would be home for dinner," she acknowledged.

"And?"

She blushed deeper, bowing her head. "I thought Fisher was going to do a victory dance," she said, obviously embarrassed by his jovial behavior.

"What about Kyle?"

"He scowled," she said simply.

I smiled. "So he's warming up to me, I take it," I teased, and she laughed softly.

Most of the student body, it appeared, had noticed my, Emmett and Rosalie's absence, and it was a little disconcerting to know that we'd elicited so much attention. The teachers in my first three classes didn't know what to do with me, especially when I actually participated in Advanced Mathematics with Abigail and Keira. I thought Mr. Clarence was going to have an stroke right there in the middle of the classroom when I answered his most difficult mathematics problem yet. It was amusing to see I still had him flustered.

Mr. Filmore had to take a double take to make sure it was actually me walking into his classroom behind Keira, and when he asked about our project, I was the one to tell him that we would be gathering more material for him that afternoon. I wasn't really lying, considering Keira would be going to my house to talk with Carlisle, and Keira easily confirmed this for me when he turned to her and asked her the same question. She didn't struggle with the truth at all, and I was astonished at how calm she was about everything that had happened. I didn't know if she was purposefully hiding anything, but as far as her thoughts, she was calm and collected. For that, I was grateful.

Through Social Studies and then P.E. with Emmett, I was again made to explain to my teachers that through circumstances out of my control, we'd all been forced to come back from our camping trip. It wasn't totally untrue, but I felt strange having to do it with Keira nearby. She knew the truth, and she didn't seem to mind me telling little white lies to the teachers who asked what was so important that I'd had to leave school. A little at a time throughout the morning, she was beginning to understand. I tried not to be anxious about that, but by the time we got to lunch, I think it was showing on my face, because she called me on it.

"I know you're worried," she said. "I'm not scared. Not of you."

I spotted Emmett and Rosalie at our normal table, but I opted for an empty one since it appeared Abigail had found a harmless group of girls to sit with. I sat down with the food in front of me, knowing I wasn't going to eat it, and Keira followed me.

"You should be terrified," I informed her. "Because I could hurt you without meaning to, the way Emmett almost did."

"But you didn't," she reminded me softly. "You stopped him. And I know you would stop yourself before you could do anything to hurt me."

I sat back in my chair, folding my arms over my chest and pursing my lips slightly. "Then what exactly are you afraid of?" I asked her pointedly. "If you aren't afraid of me."

She lowered her eyes to her plate, nibbling on the carrot in her fingers. A half a minute later, she glanced around and then scooted closer to me. "What killed those campers?" she asked softly so no one would hear her. "I know that's why you stayed last night."

I didn't want to have this conversation with her here, but I didn't want to lie to her either. "We're not sure," I said as honestly as I could. "But Carlisle thinks it could be others like what we are."

"And what are you?" she asked, the same as she had the night before.

I glanced around, seeing several of the students staring at us and lowering my voice even more. "We shouldn't talk about this here," I told her. "And I shouldn't be the one to tell you. Carlisle's had more experience with this, and I don't want to say anything to frighten you. But you're safe with me. I promise you will be as long as you need to be."

"And I need to be right now?" she inquired a little more softly than she had before, her face closer to mine than it had been since the afternoon previous.

"Yes," I nodded. "And I'll keep you that way until Carlisle says it's safe. All right?"

She smiled, folding her arms over the table in front of her. "All right," she agreed with a light chuckle.

"Is something funny?" I asked curiously.

"I wouldn't say funny," she amended. "Endearing, maybe? I can still remember when you wouldn't talk to me at all. And now you're protecting me from whatever's out there threatening other people. I should be scared for them. I am scared for them. But I'm scared for my own family. And you're going to keep us safe. I know no one else would be able to do that."

I grinned slightly, the humor in her voice eliciting a strange reaction as I unconsciously leaned closer to her and laid my hand over hers.

"Get any closer, little brother," Emmett teased as he and Rosalie came closer to sit down with us, "and you might attract the attention of the principal."

Keira blushed as she sat up straight, and Emmett chuckled softly.

Rosalie was still angry with me, badgering me with her thoughts and promising to make it as difficult as she could for me to be around Keira without her very close by. I sat up then, resuming my former posture with my arms over my chest. I didn't exactly glare at her, but in less than a second, I reminded her that I was older than her and more in control of myself than she or Emmett were at the moment. I could certainly handle myself around one human girl.

"So are you getting stared at in class?" Emmett joked though I knew from his tone that he'd experienced the same thing I had from his teachers.

"Slightly," I confirmed. "But it's not anything I'm concerned over."

He nodded, pretending the finger the vegetables on his plate, and for a long, awkward moment, nothing was said. Rosalie was still being difficult. I was honestly suggesting she and Kyle start a club, but it looked like Emmett and Fisher could possibly be friends if they ever met one another. I made a mental note to see about that possibility.

After lunch, Keira and I walked to French class together while Rosalie and Emmett went in their respective directions. I tried not to think about all the things that had just happened, especially all those things going through Emmett's head when he'd sat down at the table with me and Keira. Several of those images weren't really horrible, but watching me sit so close to Keira and seeing it from Emmett's perspective, I could understand why he was still teasing me. It was sort of one of the good things about being able to do what I did. Sometimes, even if the person in front of me didn't know they were doing it, I could see the most colorful collage of memories being around me tended to stir up. And Emmett and Rosalie were no exception. Even in her hostility, there was something between me and Keira that made her remember the first time she'd seen Emmett. It was clear they both saw something happening between me and this human girl, and while Emmett was trying to be amusing about the whole thing, it was obvious that Rosalie was fighting the things she was seeing — the things threatening to change her world the way she liked it.

Keira didn't seem oblivious to any of the happenings in the lunch room either, unable to really meet my eyes and blushing whenever she did. She was remembering a human boy with blond hair and brown eyes from the time when she'd lived in Seattle, but her thoughts told me that she'd only really seen him from a distance, as she still thought of herself too young for such things. I wasn't certain she wasn't wrong, but the way she carried herself and the way she behaved whenever she was approached by any other boy made me think she wasn't only ready for it, but she also didn't really want it yet. With me, it was different. I didn't exactly make her nervous, but I wasn't like any other boy she'd ever known, and it prompted her to behave differently. I was smarter and usually more mature than most other boys, and Keira noticed, actually amending her behavior accordingly. No human had ever done that around me before, and it was a little disconcerting since I didn't really know what it meant just yet.

Ms. Lockhart, like all the teachers before her, was a little shocked at my appearance in her class when Keira and I entered together. She'd heard the gossip surrounding my surprise return to school a day early, and as with everyone else, she was unable to hide it from her face. But she said nothing, simply acknowledging me and then returning to the work on her desk. The annoyance on my face was enough to keep everyone else in the classroom from speaking to me, and when all the students were in their seats, Ms. Lockhart began her lessons.

"Midterm tests last week were dismal," she announced. "And semester exams in eight weeks will improve, or you will spend the time after Winter Break working through all your basic pronunciation all over again. There were only a few good test scores," she revealed, her eyes settling on me, Keira and a girl a few seats in front of me. "The rest of you have a lot of work to do. When I return your test papers, I want those of you with poor scores to look over the papers to see the marks I've made and study them to understand what you've done wrong."

She proceeded in her task, and when that was finished, I had the fullest intention of paying her every bit of my attention, but something strange caught me attention.

The town's thick with another coven.

I tried not to look around the room, knowing this thought could not have come from any of these students. I used my sense of smell and the tenor of the thought to sniff out the other vampire whose thoughts I'd just heard. It was a male, and he wasn't alone. He'd come close enough for me to hear him, which meant he was definitely within a couple of miles of the school, and that worried me more than it had the night before.

"Quel est le problème?" Keira's voice snapped me out of my own thoughts, and I made a point of switching gears, if not to keep our conversation private, then to keep from alarming her in the middle of class.

"Je peux entendre un autre comme moi à proximité," I whispered softly.

Unlike the first conversation we'd had in French where she'd been unsure and a little irritated by my behavior, this time, she understood me perfectly as I glanced around the room, and she was doing the same thing though not as unnoticeably. Immediately, I tried to keep her calm.

"Tout va bien. Tu es en sécurité. Ils ne vous approche, si je suis avec vous," I promised. "Relax," I whispered in English.

Having me in the room with her seemed to make her do just that, but then I heard more.

So many unsuspecting people. This coven must have a spell cast over the town. Guess I should introduce myself so there's no confusion.

I glanced at Keira, seeing her eyes still blanketing the room, and she looked at me after a few seconds. I tried to look like I hadn't just heard this new vampire, and I grinned forcefully even though I think it made things worse.

Finally, class was over, and as soon as I got in the hallway with Keira, I pulled her around the corner and spoke as urgently and calmly as I could.

"I have to find Emmett and Rosalie," I whispered. "We have to make sure the school is safe, and then I'll come back for you. If they're close, you're not safe."

"What about Fisher and Kyle?" she pleaded, her forehead creasing deeply. "My parents. Abigail."

I glanced around, noticing the hallways filling even more and moving her further into the corner to lower my voice even more as I lowered my lips to her ear. "You're the one who's been to my house," I reminded her, aware of her hand as she lifted it to my arm. "They'll smell me on you, and these . . . people are more interested in my family than the others I've merely had contact with. Your family and Abigail are safe. You are not. Go to study hall. I'll be back."

She lifted her eyes to mine, and for several seconds, neither of us moved. Then she bowed her head, and I allowed her to move further down the hallway to the study hall room. I glanced around the hallway, spotting Fisher and a few other students whose eyes also found mine. His was the only pair I was concerned about, and even though I'd just put his sister in danger by being near her, I nodded in his direction, and he nodded back. With that, I moved off in the opposite direction to find my own siblings.

I knew Emmett would be on his way to his own Advanced Science class, and I moved through the hallway to an exit as inconspicuously as I could to run around the outside of the school to the side of the building Emmett was supposed to be on. I found him easily as he exchanged books for his next class, and I tried not to appear out of nowhere as I reached his side and whispered urgently.

"I just heard one of the others," I told him, immediately garnering his attention. "I think they're nearby, and if they are, we can't linger here — especially with Keira. Whether Rosalie likes it or not, we have to keep them from finding Keira."

He looked around, and I did too. Then he spoke. "What should we do?"

"We have to make sure the school is safe, and then we have to get Keira away from here. It seems our afternoon is going to be starting a little earlier than expected."

"I'll get Rose. We'll check around the south end and meet you in the woods behind the school."

I nodded, and he moved off in the opposite direction to find Rosalie while I walked back in the direction I'd come from to start my search.

I'd never had to look for another vampire before, but I could use my smell and the thoughts I'd heard to know if he was any closer than a couple of miles. I could smell Emmett and Rosalie to the south even though they weren't downwind, and I could smell several other things — including Keira as her scent wafted through the air gently. I used every sense I had at my disposal, listening as hard as I could, looking as far as I could and smelling the air every few seconds to detect as hint of another vampire smell nearby.

At first, there was nothing. The area felt and appeared to be clear. I started to relax, and I was about to go back inside for Keira when the wind shifted from the northwest, bringing with it a new smell. At first, it was light, merely carried by the wind as it reached me, but then, it became much more prominent like it was coming closer to me. It smelled nothing like Emmett or Rosalie, nor did it smell anything like Carlisle or Esme, and I knew it was because this vampire was more than likely the kind that fed off humans. As a result, his smell was horribly hearty and thick, warm even though there was an icy, sweet tinge to it that overpowered whatever natural smell he might have developed while on a diet like ours.

The more I smelled, I realized how far away he was, and he was considerably farther away than I'd initially thought. I knew that would give us an advantage, and I looked up at the sky to see that nearly forty-five minutes had passed since I'd begun my search. I knew I had ten minutes to get inside for Keira, and I hurried to where I could meet Emmett and Rosalie in the woods behind the school. They were waiting for me, Rosalie holding an almost smug look on her face. Emmett was on point, worried like I was even though he only showed a fraction of it on his face.

"Did you smell him too?" Emmett asked.

I nodded. "We have to get Keira away from here," I insisted. "He's coming closer, and he knows we're here. He can smell us just like I said he would."

"And exactly how do you propose we remove the human from the inside of the school?" Rosalie asked incredulously, like I hadn't already thought of how to do that without anyone missing her.

I smirked, leaving them there and running back to the school as all the other classes remained in session. After having walked these halls for the last two months, I'd been able to memorize many of the exits in case of a need to leave quickly, and I'd also spotted a few of the fire alarms that didn't happen to be in plain sight where nearly anyone could pull one even though only a small number of students had actually thought about doing so.

I looked down every line of sight I could, easing along the wall toward one of those fire alarms, and without so much as a second thought, I broke the glass and initiated the alarm in the same hit. A loud, old brass bell began ringing above my head, and I ran in the direction of the study hall as all the sprinklers in the hall sprang to life in anticipation of a blaze to be put out. Instantly, students from inside the rooms rushed into the hallways, some more wet than others, and I made it to study hall just as the door opened. I kept my eyes open for Keira, spotting her as she followed Fisher out of the room, and without thinking, I grabbed them both to keep them from getting lost in the sea of people.

Keira was immediately pressed to my right side, somewhat drenched on her left side, and Fisher turned to see me there. But he said nothing. His thoughts were more on the fact that the sprinklers had all come on for what appeared to be no reason at all, and before he could question my presence, we all moved in the opposite direction of everyone else to leave through an open exit as the teachers inside also began moving other students out of the school.

"Are you okay?" Fisher asked as soon as we were outside, and I knew he was talking to Keira.

"Yes," she said softly. "Soaked, but otherwise all right. What was that?"

"I'm not sure," he said, obviously noticing the fact that while I was wet, I was also somewhat unaffected by the fire alarm being pulled. "But we should get around the front where everyone else is."

"I'll be right there," she nodded, allowing him to squeeze her hand before he looked at me and then turned to hurry to the front courtyard where everyone else was waiting.

As soon as he was gone, Keira spoke softly to me. "What's happening?" she pleaded.

"Another one is close," I told her. "We have to get you away from here."

"So you pulled the fire alarm?" she inquired, laughing softly.

I shrugged. "It was either that or call you from the principal's office," I revealed. "And this way, school will be out the rest of the day, which would've only lasted another hour, so they shouldn't miss you. The principal's already upset that the papers all over his desk are completely soaked through, and he couldn't possibly get anymore work done. Cover already in place."

"What about Fisher?" she asked earnestly. "What am I supposed to tell him?"

"We have a few hours to come up with your excuse," I promised her. "Right now, we've got to move. Emmett should be coming with the car soon, and we'll be at the house sooner than you expect."

Her lips twisted into a small smile, and when I reached for her hand, she allowed me to pull her along to where Emmett was supposed to be meeting us. He arrived on time, and I helped her into the back seat before looking back at the school. Instantly, I knew Fisher was watching us leave, but I didn't say or do anything, sliding into the car and nodding for Emmett to go. It appeared even he could see something happening between me and his sister, but I couldn't see anything strange of us really coming to his thoughts. So for now, until Keira got home later, we were all safe.

I've got a few ideas for this mysterious vampire, but I'm still working out a few details. There will be more of that later.

Again, I really want to thank everyone for reading, and I hope you'll tell me what you think of it so far, even if you don't like it.

And now for the Translations!

"Quel est le problème?" - What's wrong?

"Je peux entendre un autre comme moi à proximité." - I can hear another one like me nearby.

"Tout va bien. Tu es en sécurité. Ils ne vous approche, si je suis avec vous." - It's all right. You're safe. They won't approach you if I'm with you.

- These are approximations and translated from a website, so if they're wrong let me know.

Also, I didn't add this new development to get readers, just so we're clear. But it would be interesting to see what you think.

Anyhoo! See you next time!