Even though it's early in the morning, half the world has already been awake half a day. And here I am posting a new chapter for all of you still keeping up with my story. I hope you're all keeping up, because a lot of time is going to start passing after this chapter.

There's a few important things that happen in this chapter, so I hope it doesn't surprise any of you when it happens. Not much else to say except I hope you like it.

So go on! Read!

Feats of the Imagination

November, 1945

Keira

Though my mother wasn't very well-known for driving our family car even in the direst of times, that's exactly what she decided to do the Saturday before the Fall Dance when I woke after the longest week I'd had since starting school in Hoquiam. After Edward had been suspended, Fisher and Kyle had seen to fit to increase their "older brother" duties, walking me to class and sitting with me at lunch. Ethan hadn't approached me since Monday, and I hadn't wanted him to. Every one of the people who mattered to me all knew Edward had been treated unfairly, and they all made their opinions known whenever anyone asked them. It wasn't difficult to convince a few other girls in my grade of Edward's innocence, but there was nothing to be done about it. No one tried to argue with the principal, but a lot of students wanted to. Whether he'd meant to or not, Edward had generated more sympathy for himself by causing trouble than it seemed should've been possible.

When I woke on Saturday, it was different then every other Saturday since I'd started going to Edward's, and it wasn't just because he wasn't in my room when I woke. The day before, I'd told him my mother wanted to go to Seattle to find a dress and other things for the Dance, and even though I knew he wouldn't be able to leave the house unprotected, he'd stayed outside so my mother and I could primp the night before. We hadn't done that since before my grandmother had passed away, and it felt good to spend time with just my mother without also cooking dinner or doing chores around the house. And this morning, my father was relinquishing the car to her capable hands so we could spend the day together. He hated shopping, and neither Fisher nor Kyle seemed enthusiastic about accompanying us. Edward didn't want to let me out of his sight, but he'd been doing a lot of tracking the few days he'd been away from school, and he was sure everything was safe now. And he didn't want to completely isolate me from being able to do the things I wanted to do, so he agreed to stay in Hoquiam while my mother and I drove to Seattle.

I hadn't been back to Seattle in almost five months, not since we'd left with everything we owned to move into our new house which was quickly becoming my new home. I wondered if the city had changed since we'd left, and I thought about asking my mother if we could walk through our old neighborhood to see if any new families had moved in since we'd left. It was a silly idea, but I was so curious. In our absence, it only made sense that some other family could've taken our place.

It was sunny and a little warmer than it had been when I got out of bed that morning. Edward said it wouldn't rain again for another week or so, but it was getting colder, signaling that Winter was right around the corner. I found my nicest dress, a light blue A-line made out of the softest cotton my grandmother had been able to afford. The neckline and hem were lined with a bright white lace, and the three-quarter sleeves were also bright white. I hadn't worn it since before my grandmother had died, but it still fit, proving I hadn't grown an inch since then. My mother let me borrow her white flats, and she helped me twist my hair into a knot since I would be wearing a light jacket.

"You're so beautiful," she commented while brushing my hair as we sat in her room. "You remind me so much of Angeline. If she were here now, she'd say the same thing."

I smiled slightly, glancing at my mother. She'd been telling me this a lot the last several months since my grandmother's death, whose name I'd been given when I was born. Most everyone called me Keira, since it was my given name, but my grandmother had called me her Angel, since my middle name belonged to her. A normal girl would've been slightly embarrassed to possess such an old name, but I wore it with pride, like Fisher and Kyle who'd both been named after men in my father's family.

"This is going to be so much fun," my mother said as we rose from her bed and left her room together. "We haven't been shopping in so long. And for a Fall Dance. Keira, this is going to be something you'll remember for the rest of your life."

I blushed, descending the stairs with her. "It's just a Fall Dance, mom. It's not the prom."

She laughed softly. "Oh, I know, but that's just around the corner," she teased.

I chose not to respond to that, merely wanting to eat breakfast before we left for the day.

My father and brothers were all sitting at the breakfast table when my mother and I came down, and Fisher stood the moment I was close, pulling my chair and smiling widely.

"Good morning," he greeted, kissing my cheek. I blushed.

"Good morning," I laughed softly. "Are you okay?"

He sat down as my father also sat down from pulling out my mother's chair. "Can't I be just a little happy about my baby sister going to her first school dance?"

My father chuckled softly, and I bowed my head as low as I could without saying anything. Thankfully, or rather as annoyingly as he could, Kyle chimed in right about then.

"All right, come on," he complained. "She's going to a stupid school dance. Big deal."

Fisher passed me a platter of hash browns then, and breakfast proceeded as normally as possible.

We were almost finished eating when my father spoke over his plate. "I made a phone call to Harvey Peterson at the station in Seattle," he began, "so if you two need anything, just call the station and ask for him. He'll help you."

My mother smiled, but I could tell she was a little dismayed. "Well, thank you, dear," she chuckled softly.

"I just want to make sure you two have somebody up there to call if you get where you can't get home," my father continued. "It's been a long time since you were by yourself in the city, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you if I could help keep you safe."

"Thank you, daddy," I nodded.

My mother lowered her eyes to her wrist where she was now wearing a thin, jeweled watch. "Oh! It's already 8:30," she exclaimed. "We should get going. We have an appointment at the beautician at 11:00, and it takes a little while to get there. I told her we wanted to look at a few hair styles before we settled on one for your dance. She said she could show me how to do it."

My father stood up then. "Well, then you should get going," he agreed. "We wouldn't want you to miss your appointment."

I blushed, glancing at Fisher and then rising as my mother also stood and moved to kiss my father's cheek. He embraced her gently, whispering and then turning to face me.

"You know what you want to wear, right?" he asked, slightly teasing.

I smiled. "I do," I nodded.

"Then don't let your mother convince you to buy anything but what you want. Okay?"

I laughed softly, and so did my mother as I wrapped my arms around my father's shoulders. "Yes, daddy," I whispered.

He squeezed me tighter than he had in a while, and when I stepped away from him, he also kissed my cheek before letting me go.

My father followed me and my mother outside to where the car was parked. Kyle had "graciously" moved his car to the curb in front of the house, and once my mother and I were inside the family car, my father leaned over the driver's side door.

"Now, don't drive too fast," he advised. "We just got your license renewed. Just be careful, and we'll all see you when you get home."

"Enjoy your day with your boys," she suggested, turning the engine over and then putting the car in gear as he stepped back from the car.

For a woman who rarely drove, my mother was exceptionally calm and confident as we left our neighborhood and got on the road out of the town. I'd brought a book for the drive there and back, but I was so intrigued by her calmness that I watched her for almost ten minutes before she looked at me with a smile on her face.

"You didn't think I've never talked your father into letting me drive his most precious possession, do you?" she quipped.

I laughed softly. "Of course not," I insisted. "I'm just remembering why I'm lucky to have you as my mother."

She laughed then, keeping her eyes on the road as we drove through Aberdeen. "Oh, honey. I'm lucky to have you as a daughter."

I chose not to reply, pulling out my book and opening it to where I'd last read. I looked up one last time, seeing a sign to the hospital and thinking of Carlisle. He and Edward were doing sweeps of the area even now that they were sure the other vampires were no longer in town. Rosalie and Emmett were going to be laying false trails for any stray vampires that might come close, even if they were both saying the likelihood of it happening again was very small. Emmett said vampires who weren't in the same coven rarely strayed into another vampire's territory. For now, he said, this place was his family's territory. I hoped they were all being overly cautious, but something kept nagging at me that everything they were doing was very necessary.

It took just over an hour to get to Olympia, and my mother and I stopped for a short bathroom break before getting back on the interstate. She overwhelmed me with her ability to keep her cool around all the other cars. I'd never known she was capable of anything like this, and I'd known her all my life. I got almost halfway through my book when a stray ray of sun caught my eye from the moving car I was inside. We were still half an hour from Seattle then, but I couldn't take my eyes off this glittering sun ray that was off to the south end of the interstate.

At first, I thought it was Edward, and I was inwardly annoyed that he was following us away from the house. But my instincts told me this wasn't Edward. He'd promised to stay in Hoquiam, and while he was a little overprotective, I knew he wouldn't break a promise like the one he'd made to me. He knew how important spending time with my mother was to me, and he knew I trusted him to trust me just this once. Surely, no vampire, the one in particular I was thinking of, would approach us in broad daylight in a city full of people who could see him and expose him. I was a little curious as to how anyone would know what he was if he did in fact show himself to me, especially since just about everyone I knew all thought vampires burned in the sun.

The stray ray of glittering light was gone almost as soon as it appeared, and with my heart in my throat, I leaned back into my seat with my book clutched to my chest.

"Honey, we'll be there in a little bit," my mother announced, startling me out of my trance.

"Hmm?"

She laughed, still grasping onto the steering wheel. "We're almost there," she repeated. "Keira, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."

I exhaled softly. "I'm okay," I assured her. Not a ghost, but a vampire. Maybe.

The beautician my mother had made an appointment with was across the street from the dress shop where we would be buying my dress, and when my mother parked on the curb in front of the beauty shop, I actually felt myself get a little nervous. I wondered why kind of hair styles we would be able to find, and I wanted so much to look beautiful for my first school dance. I hadn't ever really cared, but now that I had a good reason to go, I found myself caring more than I ever had before.

The inside of the beauty shop was laden in shades of pink and green, and a tall, black-haired woman with tan skin and high cheekbones smiled the minute she saw us.

"Annabeth!" she exclaimed, and she and my mother embraced immediately.

"Tamara," my mother gushed, holding the woman in her arms a few extra seconds before she stepped back to look at me. "Keira, this is Tamara Lee. We went to school together. Tamara, this is my baby. She's all grown up and going to her first school dance."

Immediately overwhelmed, I bowed my head even as Tamara stepped to my side and draped her arm around me. "My gosh, you do look like Anna! You're gorgeous. You can call me Tammy."

I smiled. "Okay," I nodded.

"Now," she said, looking at my mother. "Let's see what we can find, and if we finish early enough, we can all go to lunch, just us girls."

"That sounds wonderful," my mother agreed.

With that, Tamara guided me to a salon chair and sat me down while she retrieved a collection of books from the back of her shop.

We decided on something simple, opting out of the big curls and keeping my hair down since my mother insisted it looked better that way. Tamara agreed that it framed my face and made me look a little older. While I wasn't exactly in agreement that I wanted to look any older, I did like the way my hair looked when we left the beauty shop for lunch. Even with my best dress, having my hair done made me feel like I needed a fancy dress to go with it. I was actually looked forward to picking out a dress for the dance.

Lunch went by a little too quickly with my mother and Tamara catching up over the last few months they hadn't seen each other, and I was content looking around the restaurant since I'd never been inside it before. It was a typical uptown diner, with a counter and leather stools. The walls were decorated with photos and memorabilia from local musical acts, and at first, it looked like a place the local teenagers would visit. Then as I looked around the restaurant, I saw him again. His hair was windblown, but his suit was immaculate. He looked exactly the same as I remembered him. I had to be imagining this.

"Keira, honey, are you ready to go?" my mother asked suddenly.

I inhaled glancing at her. "Hmm?"

She reached out to touch my face. "Are you ready to go?" she asked softly. "You have that look on your face again. Are you feeling okay?"

I looked around the restaurant, but he was gone. "I'm okay," I lied. "I'm ready to go. I actually can't wait to pick out a dress."

My mother smiled then. "Well, then let's go," she urged. "I'm sure Tamara has a customer she has to get back to."

We all stood up together with Tamara leading the way out. I reached the door last, looking around again. I had one foot out the door when I heard his voice again right behind me.

"I don't want to hurt you," he whispered. "I'm just curious about you."

I hurried away without thinking, finding my mother and Tamara as they said goodbye. They embraced and wished each other well, and my mother turned to me with a curious grin on her face.

"Well, come on, sweetie. The dress shop is just around the corner."

I inhaled as deeply as I could, allowing her to take my hand and pull me along while Tamara crossed the street to get back to her shop. I glanced behind me, but he was gone.

"This is going to be so much fun," my mother gushed. "I can't wait to see what kinds of dresses we can find."

I bowed my head, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

The dress shop had four different dresses displayed in the front window, and when my mother saw them, she immediately laughed and glanced at me, pulling me inside as three or four other girls around my age browsed with their mothers. It seemed Hoquiam wasn't the only school having a Fall Dance — or a dance at least.

"Oh, this looks wonderful," my mother gushed as she stood in front of a mannequin wearing a brilliant green chiffon dress.

I also gazed at the dress, noting the shoulders a little too sharp and the hem a little too high. "It's beautiful," I agreed. "But I don't think it's right for me."

She sighed softly. "All right. Well, we have a little bit before it's time to go home. Look and see if there's anything you like."

I stepped away from her then, looking around the store and seeing dresses in red, pink and yellow, but nothing really caught my eye. I wanted something blue, and I didn't really want the shoulders dresses these days tended to have. The dress I was wearing now had very soft shoulders, and if I could find something like that or maybe even something with thin straps, I could probably talk my mother into buying it. My father would be the one I needed to convince to let me wear it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a teal lace and tulle dress with a beaded bodice and thin shoulder straps. I was immediately drawn to it.

My mother apparently saw me, and she moved to my side almost immediately.

"Oh, now that does suit you," she insisted. "You should try it on."

I didn't argue, finding my size in the rack and then looking around for the dressing rooms. My mother squeezed my shoulder, pointing off to the very back of the shop. "You go on," she pressed. "I'll keep looking just in case."

I bowed my head then, moving off to the back of the store to get a dressing room. The saleslady smiled when she saw me, guiding me to a room and then leaving me alone.

The bodice of the dress was difficult to fasten, but as soon as I had all the hooks in place, I turned to the mirror to see what the dress looked like. I jumped when I saw the brilliant ruby eyes staring back at me from the back of the dressing room. My heart jumped into my throat, and I turned to see him there with a small smile on his face.

"You're not supposed to be here," I exclaimed even as my voice trembled.

He was instantly too close for my own comfort, laying his fingers over my mouth. "Shh. We don't want to alarm anyone do we?"

I pressed my lips together, clenching my fists at my sides even as he slid his hands down my arms. I shivered still looking at him.

"You look beautiful in this dress," he admired. "He'll love you in it."

I shook again, bowing my head and praying I was dreaming. This had to be a very vivid, very disturbing dream. I was still at home in bed, and my mother hadn't woke me yet. Then he lifted my chin to make me look at him. His face was much closer now than it had been a moment ago.

"I promise I won't hurt you," he whispered, the tip of his nose touching mine gently. "I told you. I'm only curious about you. I've never met a human like you in all my 300 years. He obviously senses this difference in you. You're very beautiful, Keira."

I couldn't stop the tears leaving my eyes, and I was suddenly scared. How did he know my name? Carlisle hadn't said my name when he'd been at the house that night, and Edward had been watching me the whole time afterward. There was only one way he could've found out my name. He'd only made Edward believe he was gone. He'd followed me here.

He stepped away from me then, sitting over the bench in the corner just as my mother knocked on the door.

"Honey, I found a few more for you to try on," she announced. "You wanna open up?"

"Um, I'm not dressed. Just lay them over the door."

My mother paused, and I glanced at him as he sat by quietly. Then she spoke. "Okay, sweetie. But I want to see you in them, all right?"

"Okay," I stuttered.

She moved away from the door then, and he spoke softly.

"She cares for you a great deal," he commented. "But she's not the source of your uniqueness. That much I can sense just from her smell. Shall I close my eyes and give you some privacy?"

I mustered as much strength as I could at the moment. "I think you should leave," I ordered.

He smiled, making me feel more helpless than I'd ever felt in my life. He stood up slowly, reaching behind me and lifting the dresses over the door to hold them in front of me. After a glance over the dresses, he held up a cream-white satin dress with cap sleeves. "I think you should try on this one."

I took the hanger, allowing more tears to fall from my eyes. "Please," I whispered. "I won't tell him you were still here. He won't know about any of this. Just please leave me alone."

He laid his cold fingers over my mouth. "Shh. I won't hurt you," he said again. "Why would I do that? Someone as unique as you. I wouldn't be able to hurt you even if I wanted to. I can still be a gentleman. I won't look. I promise. Try on the dress."

The fear I'd felt was replaced by an overpowering need to do what he said, and he closed his eyes a moment before I took the cream-white dress and began to take the blue dress off. Though I was usually horribly self-conscious around boys, I felt no embarrassment whatsoever in disrobing to my slip and then pulling the white dress over my head. He seemed to know when I was covered, rising easily and then zipping the side from my hip to under my arm.

"It doesn't seem to matter what you wear," he commented. "You look stunning no matter what. Your mother is right. But you do look much better in the teal. It brings out the color in your eyes brilliantly."

I shivered again, squeezing my eyes shut and still feeling my heart in my throat. This couldn't be happening. Why was he here? What could I say to make him leave me alone? What could I do? Why hadn't I asked Edward to come with me, when I'd known something wasn't right about how easy this had been for him? He turned me to face him then, lifting my chin again.

"You're still afraid," he whispered. "Have I hurt you? Have I threatened to harm you in any way? You aren't a prisoner to me. I only wish to know something about you that draws him to you. I watched you with him a few times. It's almost like . . . he loves you."

"That's crazy," I argued. "I've only known him a couple of months. He's my friend. Edward is just my friend," I insisted.

He smiled. "And yet he was persistent to protect you from me. He guards you like a precious treasure. He knows you're different, but he hasn't told you. And he wants to protect you from every little thing there is out there, but he knows he won't be able to for long. That's why I made him believe I'd left. I knew I wouldn't be able to get close to you unless he let his guard down. You have a strong mind of your own, Keira. It's what sets you apart from everyone else around you."

I couldn't speak, still trying to muster whatever strength I could despite him being so close. Whatever he wanted from me, he had to know doing something like this wasn't the way to find out what he saw in me even if it made me different. I didn't understand that at all, especially since it made no sense to me. All my life, I'd felt the same as everyone else, and I'd looked the same as everyone else. I hadn't really started to feel different until I'd met Edward.

He grinned turning me back to the mirror. "I've probably lingered long enough," he whispered. "I should be moving on, and he'll need time to accept this. When your mother comes back, tell her the other dresses don't fit, and you want to wear the teal one. You won't remember me the next time we meet, but here's to the hope that you will eventually."

He caressed my cheek then, and before I could look behind me, no one was there.

I looked at the mirror, seeing the cream-white dress and feeling the fabric pull on my hips and across my chest. I pulled it off then, and my mother knocked on the door again.

"Baby, are you okay in there?" she called. "What do they look like?"

I opened the door with a crack, seeing her there with a worried look on her face. "The other dresses don't fit. I think I really want to wear the teal one."

She smiled slightly. "Well, all right. Show it to me, and we'll look at shoes."

I nodded. "Okay. I'll be right out."

I quickly pulled on the teal dress, replacing the straps and fastening the back before I stepped out to show my mother. She smiled as soon as she saw me, rising from her seat and moving to my side.

"Oh, that looks beautiful on you," she gushed. "That color really brings out your eyes. How does it feel? The fabric's not too scratchy?"

"No," I said shaking my head. "It feels really good. Now all I have to do is convince dad to let me wear it."

She laughed softly. "Oh, he'll take one look at you, and it won't take any work on your part. You're his baby, honey. He knows you're growing up, that's all."

She turned me to face her, and the saleslady came closer.

"That's a lovely choice," she commented. "Have we made up our minds? Is this the dress you want?"

I nodded. "Yes, it is," I confirmed.

"We should look at shoes," my mother announced.

We were in Seattle another hour, looking at shoes and hair accessories, and when we got on the road back home, I sat in the passenger seat with my book wondering what my father would say when he saw my dress. I thought about spending the night at Abigail's so we could talk about everything that had happened during school.

"You know, based on how long you were in the dressing room, I thought you might've picked another dress," my mother said as she drove.

"I didn't know I was in there very long," I insisted.

"Honey, are you okay?" she asked softly. "You've been acting strange all day. You've been a little distracted, and I just want you to know if there's anything you want to talk about, I'm here."

I was a little surprised at her, wondering exactly how long I'd been in the dressing room for her to think something was so wrong. "Mom, really, it's okay. I didn't mean to seem so distracted, but I promise you, I'm okay. I had fun today. We should do this again before Christmas, only next time, Edward should come with us. I think he'd like to see the city after spending so much time in a small town."

She laughed softly. "Well, that does sound like fun. We'll have to ask your dad for the car again, but if we have another man with us, I think it'll be easier for him to agree to that."

I laughed with her, returning to my book and wondering if it would still be light out when we returned to the house.

My mother and I got back into town with just enough time to stop at the grocery store and get dinner for everyone, and it was a little colder now than it had been all day. I carried my dress up to my room, laying the box down and then turning to go back downstairs only to see Edward there with a hard look on his face.

"I felt something wrong," he hissed, moving closer and taking my arms in his hands. "Are you okay? Did anything happen while you were in Seattle?"

"No," I answered softly. "Of course not. We were completely safe. How long have you been here?"

He exhaled heavily, loosening his grip. "Just half an hour or so," he promised. "I heard you and your mother buying groceries, and I ran here to make sure. I was so worried something would happen, but nothing happened." He paused, lifting his eyes to my forehead, and I knew he was checking my thoughts to make sure.

I backed away from him then. "Stop doing that," I pleaded. "Don't you think I would tell you if anything happened other than what I say?"

He looked a little wounded at my tone. "I'm sorry," he swore. "I'm just trying to keep you safe. I don't want anything to happen to you."

"And you've been watching me this whole time," I reminded him. "I'm fine. You should go. I'm helping my mother with dinner."

He bowed his head then, moving to the window. "I'm sorry," he said again, opening the window and turning to leave.

For a minute, I felt horrible for being short with him. "Wait," I pleaded. He stopped. "It's okay. You're only doing what your instincts are telling you." He turned back to me, and I moved in front of him. "But you have to trust me. I took care of myself a long time before we met. I know it's different now, but please. Relax. I'm okay."

He stepped a small inch closer. "I do trust you," he insisted. "More than I've trusted anyone in a long time." He paused, lifting the tips of his fingers to my cheek. "I don't know what I would do if anything happened to you," he whispered.

I shivered beneath his touch, but before he could say anything, foot steps outside my room caught my attention, signaling someone was coming. Edward moved faster than he had in the several days he'd been staying in my room, dropping to the ground less than a few seconds before my father stepped into my room.

"Your mother said you bought a really nice dress," he commented.

I inhaled deeply, moving to my bed and lifting the dress from its bag so he could see it. The smile on his face was undeniable.

"Oh, that's beautiful," he appraised. "And it'll look beautiful on you."

"Really? You don't think it's too much?"

He leaned closer, kissing the side of my face. "It's perfect. Come down and help your mother when you're finished, okay?"

I put the dress down then, turning to him and wrapping my arms around him as tightly as I could. He seemed surprised, but he held on to me just the same. "I love you, daddy," I whispered, uncertain why I felt the need to tell him at that moment.

He lifted his hand to the back of my head. "I love you too, sweetheart," he promised. "Are you all right?"

I leaned back, looking up at him. "I'm all right," I assured him.

He smiled then, turning to leave, and as soon as he was gone, I hurried back to my window to discover Edward waiting on the ground.

"I'll see you at school on Monday," he swore.

"Monday," I confirmed.

He ran away from the house then, disappearing into the darkness as it crept closer to the house, and I stepped back into my room, closing the window.

I knew Edward was only trying to keep me safe. But I'd taken care of myself before he'd come along, and I knew I could take care of myself now. I realized as I descended the stairs to the kitchen that I'd never seen anyone look at me the way Edward just had. And it brought a strange thought to mind.

It's almost like . . . he loves you.

And you all thought Edward wouldn't be in this chapter at all! What do you take me for? Anyway, I hope you weren't surprised with this newest development. I wanted to show how vulnerable Keira was by herself. She's not clumsy or absent-minded. She was in real danger, even if she was told no harm would come to her. And I promise, it was all planned ahead of time, not to draw in readers.

The next chapter should be up in about three weeks. Keep your fingers crossed.

See you next time!