Author's note: Thank you all for your patience and your kindness. It's taken me a while to feel something other than numb, but knowing my baby kitty is in a better place, a place where age and illness have no claws to scratch him with, is a comfort. I'm still not completely back to normal, but I am back enough to write some more, so here you go! I also have to apologize for the spelling errors in my last chapter (that have since been corrected). As anyone who knows me knows, I am a stickler for spelling, so it's a measure of my mental distress that I not only made them to begin with, but that I didn't notice them when I posted. At any rate, on with the show!

She'd come back late, her carriage defeated and her voice silent. Luc walked towards her as she stepped into the house, but her ice cold stare stopped him in his tracks. Without uttering a single word her glare told him all she wasn't saying, and she turned and ascended to her room - he'd begun to think of it as her room, even going so far as to stake his own claim, small though it was, on the master bedroom. All the warmth and joy he'd felt since he left Jessica's presence those few hours earlier slipped from him in the wake of her frigid silence. It was with sadness that he removed himself, going outside to the back steps and sitting there. He'd promised himself that he would give her whatever time she needed and accept whatever she was willing to grant him in return, if anything, but he hadn't counted on how utterly devestated he would feel watching his mate of hundreds upon hundreds of years turn from him in such a manner. And he didn't blame her in the least for her behavior.

The darkness of night offered no solace to him, nor did the gradually brightening dawn. Sometime later, after he'd watched the day slowly wake, he heard her soft movements behind him. Knowing she meant him to hear, he turned slowly, making absolutely no attempt to approach her. She had done a very good job of banishing the pain and anger from her features, though the depths of her eyes still glittered fiercely.

"I'm going to school now." There was nothing for him to say, so he simply nodded and followed her with his gaze as she spun away from him and, looking every inch the teenager she was going to pretend to be, strode confidently away from him. The sound of the front door was jarring in its solid finality, and Luc sighed mournfully.

~Oh, Lili...~

Angela got to school early and pulled into her parking space, unsure why she felt so...odd. Like something big was building. It was a similar sensation to what she'd been feeling the day before, but intensified somehow. More severe, more threatening. With an internal shrug she hefted her backpack onto her shoulder and headed across the perpetually damp parking lot and into the school. She had decided to try and get some quiet time in the library before classes started, see if she could work out what was bothering her. She walked through the quiet hallways, enjoying the low murmur of distant conversations far more than she ever liked the cacophony of sound that would begin as soon as more students began to show up. The librarian nodded to her with a smile when she entered, and Angela murmured a greeting before making her way to the back table. She loved this seat. It was right next to the reference section, which assured that no one would come sit near her idly - most of her classmates avoided research unless necessary. It was also the only table not within view of a window. For some reason today she didn't feel like looking outside. She pulled out her notebook and flipped it open, idly tapping the tips of her fingers against the words she'd written.

"Call Eric" had a check mark beside it. She had already spoken with her boyfriend about who he intended to put on the Cullen party guest list. After a few hours the previous night, they'd agreed on a simple group of about seventeen including themselves. Eric had been planning to invite the whole twenty, or as many as he could get away with, but she pointed out to him how rude that would be.

"After all," she'd said, "this is the first time they've invited anyone over at all. And they're entrusting you to choose. Wouldn't it be better to err on the conservative side, rather than go overboard and possibly make them uncomfortable? They're not usually a very social family from what we know." He'd reluctantly conceded her point, and they'd finished revising the list just before bedtime, with Eric both excited and nervous about handing it over to the people who still intimidated him a bit.

The next item on her list, "Talk to Jess," was made infinitely easier as the girl in question had just walked over to the table and plunked herself down across from Angela.

"I knew you'd be here, Ang," the blonde said, and looking up Angela was shocked to see her friend's eyes sparkling, a smile on her face that hadn't put in an appearance in months. The quiet brunette blinked in shock, unable to keep herself from grinning at the apparent good mood her lately-morose friend was in.

"You look like you won the lottery. What gives?" Jess sighed, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes. She stayed silent for a moment before dissolving into a giggle that shocked Angela to the core.

"I had a wonderful evening, Angie. It was incredible." She sat up and sighed, speaking in a voice Angela knew she wasn't meant to hear. "HE was incredible."

"He who?" Angela was curious now. "Not Mike?"

"Oh god no! NEVER Mike! No...Luc. His name is Luc."

"Who? What? Girl, you've got ten seconds to spill, 'cause you're freaking me out." Jess just laughed before leaning forward on the table.

"You heard about the new people in town?" At Angela's nod her friend continued. "Well, yesterday, I - well, I'd better go back a bit. A few days ago...rather, a few nights ago, I couldn't sleep so I headed out to the playground."

"Are you crazy? You know Mike's just waiting to get you alone again!" Angela was shocked and worried, but Jess just waved it off.

"Let me finish. I went and sat on one of the swings, and was thinking and talking out loud to myself, and a voice answered me. Shocked the shit out of me, honestly." She shook her head at herself and continued. "Anyway, he was very polite, and gorgeous, but I couldn't see him very well in the shadows - you know how dim those lights are out there. He was out there the next night, too, and we talked a bit more, but nothing much. Then yesterday I was heading out to the diner to get some lunch and he was walking right down my sidewalk, looking like a...like a lost soul, really. And before I could stop myself I invited him to lunch."

"So, you've talked to the guy twice, in a deserted playground in the middle of the night, and then you take him to lunch?" Jess nodded.

"I know, right? But he's so amazingly hot, and I just...the words came out before I planned to say anything. Anyway, his name's Luc-" Angela noticed the pronunciation, almost French in tone, and filed it away for later as her friend kept talking. "-and he's here because he's a scholar of religious beliefs and is hoping to learn some about the Quileute, and his sister's going to be starting here today, and he's got the most amazing voice, and these mahogany eyes I could just fall into, and I feel so SAFE with him, and we nearly kissed but didn't, and I took him around town, and Marlie tried to hit on him but he was horrified at the thought..."

"Back it up. You almost WHAT?" Angela was gobsmacked. "You've been depressed and moping for weeks, but one day with some guy you don't even know and you're Miss-Dancing-On-Clouds? Are you sure you're not on something?" Jessica at least had the good grace, Angela thought, to look slightly sheepish, but she noticed her friend didn't lose the sparkle that lit up her face.

"I swear, I almost kissed him. Or he almost kissed me. It doesn't matter, really. He's so hot. Seriously, Ang, you'd drool." The brunette shook her head.

"Hot or not, you don't know this guy. What if he's some kind of predator? How do you even know he's telling you the truth?"

"I just know. He's an honest kind of guy. And I can't wait to meet his sister. Her name's Lili. I hope I have some classes with her." Angela just sighed and sat back as her friend continued to babble, but all the reassurances in the world couldn't dispel the uneasy feeling she had as she listened to the other girl extol the praises of her handsome stranger. She sighed inwardly.

~I hope everything works out okay...~

Alice was all but bouncing with excitement when Edward and Bella pulled into the parking lot.

"Jeez, Alice, are you on something?" Bella said loud enough for the few kids nearby to hear. "You're so..."

"Annoying?" said Edward, shutting the door and grinning. Bella laughed as Alice whopped him on the shoulder.

"C'mon guys, there's a new kid in school today! You can't tell me that's not at least a little exciting. I mean, Bella, you were the last one, and you're awesome!" Jasper snickered from the other side of the car, coming around to give Bella a quick hug before looping his arm around his exuberant girlfriend. The quartet made their way up the steps accompanied by Alice's ever present chatter. As the guys split off and headed to their classes, Alice grabbed Bella's arm.

"I can't see anything," she whispered. "At all. So she must be really close." They made their way in and took their seats just as Jess saw them. She slid into the chair in front of Bella as the first bell began to ring.

"So, I'm sure you've heard there's a new girl in school," the blonde said, looking more cheerful than Bella had seen her in a while. Before she had a chance to comment on that, though, Alice spoke up.

"We heard there was someone new, but we haven't head anything else." Bella almost looked at her friend in shock before she realized that Alice was trying to glean what the other girl knew without giving away anything. It was no surprise when Jess started chattering.

"Her name's Lili - you know, I don't think I heard her last name - and she and her brother are here in town for his research. Bella, you have to meet Luc - he's wonderful and he wants to know about Quileute legends, so since you're on good terms with Jacob I thought you might know some things." Bella's blood ran cold at that and she sneaked Alice a concerned look, getting a quick reassuring smile in return as the vampire pumped Jess for more info on the new girl. Bella tried to keep track of what they were saying but it was difficult to think past the worry that was taking root in her mind. Giving up, she pulled out her notebook and homework assignment before the final bell rang. As the teacher stepped up to call the class to attention, the door opened and all conversation stopped.

~Jake was right, she is beautiful!~ she thought, taking in the image of the platinum-haired nymph that was currently handing her schedule to the teacher. With a nod, the girl was pointed to the seat next to Alice and if Bella hadn't been watching closely she would have missed the lightning-quick expression of shock that flitted across the newcomer's features, as well as the almost imperceptible widening of Alice's butterscotch eyes.

~Carlisle? Is this her?~ she thought quickly, making sure she was looking at the girl to send as clear a picture as possible from her thoughts to his. She didn't need to feel his surprised assent to know her hunch was correct. Carlisle's angel and Jake's obsession were one and the same, and it didn't take a genius to know that this girl was at least a huge part of the reason Alice's visions were dark recently.

"You're Lili?" she heard the blonde ask.

"Yes. Lili Noelani," the girl said with a smile. "And you are?"

"Jessica - just call me Jess. I told your brother I'd keep an eye out for you today! Welcome to Forks! How are you liking it here so far?"

Bella took advantage of the distraction to shoot Alice a glance. The pixie just nodded and began scribbling something on a paper. A brief second later and a note seemed to appear on top of Bella's homework.

She's not human, and she knows I'm not either. Bella wrote back, waiting until the teacher was turned before handing the folded note over.

Carlisle says she's the one he talked to. Alice nodded as though confirming her own thoughts, and the next thing Bella knew she was looking down at the paper once more.

Did you see how she tenses every time Jess mentions her brother? Watch carefully. Something's going on there. A slight nod to Alice and Bella was settling in to observe the newcomer as discreetly as possible. She noticed that Alice had been dead-on...every time Jess mentioned something about her brother, Lili would flinch a little before seeming to force herself to relax. It was quick, but Bella had spent too much time with vampires to not catch quick movements.

"Miss Cullen, would you care to volunteer the answer?" Bella snapped her eyes forward in an attempt to look as though she'd been paying attention as her best friend rattled off what was undoubtedly a perfect answer to whatever question had been asked. Resolving to not get herself in trouble, she determined that she should spend the rest of the class listening as much as possible and work on figuring out the puzzle that was Lili Noelani sometime when she was less likely to be put on the spot.