Chapter 3

Have I mentioned lately that I can't stand the greenness of the Olympic National Forest? Well I do, and it looks almost greener at night than it does during the day. It was a good fifteen minutes from the diner to his humble house. Compared to my old apartment and Harry's basement it was a mansion. There was of course no driveway, but who needs one of those, he pulled up next to a pickup that looked like it had been through World War Two and lived to tell the tale. The house itself looked well kept; it was a small two story piece that was dwarfed by the trees and the green around it.

I know I've said it before but I want to see another color besides green. I'll say it again I want another color here! Maybe blue or red. Yes, definitely red. Anyway I digress.

I grabbed my suitcases and other crap out of the back of the cruiser and followed Charlie into the house. He indicated for me to put my stuff down just inside the front door.

"Bella," He called, "could you come down here for a minute." Oh god, here comes an awkward introduction. I don't think this is going to turn out well. I heard a clearly audible "ugh." Obviously we were interrupting something. The hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood up, something was seriously not right. I touched the wall and extended my sense outward, I'm the first to admit that my magical sense isn't the strongest, but something this obvious I can normally pick up on. Upstairs there was a void, I can't quite explain it, but there was a space of nothingness I could sense the TV, the lights, the people, but there was a giant cold spot that I couldn't explain. I didn't dare use the sight, the sight is incredibly powerful tool that wizards can use to find the true nature of a person, but there is a downside what is seen won't be forgotten. If I were to see something that terrifies me or disgust me I can see it clear as day, a week, a month, a year, or a century later as if it happened five minutes ago. The sense on the other hand is a lot less sensitive it's a feeling as sense, you don't forget them either, but who hasn't been completely terrified at least once their life.

I heard a minor shuffle that Charlie was oblivious too. Anyone can hear the way I do, but all too often people rely on their sight. I just taught myself how to tune out the background noises one at a time and listen only to what I find relevant, a voice, footsteps, etc. Then the handle turned and someone walked out.

Sometimes I wish real life was more like a movie. Just the way that house and living room were set up it would be perfect for a slow motion shot of someone walking down the stairs; I guess if that happened in real life no one would go to the movies, again I digress. Bella, I'm assuming, came into view. She wasn't strikingly beautiful but she was pretty enough. Chestnut hair hung straight and limp past her shoulders, she was also very pale (a terminal condition from living where the sun only dreams of shining.) She might be one of the vampires I was looking for; maybe she was the one causing the cold spot. Whoever she was she seemed really extremely familiar

"Bella, this is Aaron…" he hesitated obviously forgetting my fake last name.

"Brown," I finished for him, "Pleased to meet you Bella." I said putting my hand out. Apparently I'm pretty smooth when I'm English; maybe I should do this full time. Think about the possibilities. Oh yeah that would be fun. I smiled to myself.

"Hi." She said taking my hand. I noted two things about her right away: one she wasn't much of a talker, and two clearly more importantly she wasn't one of the vampires I was looking for. Too warm. Damn, nothing is ever easy. An awkward silence crept into the room.

"Oh, I should have mentioned that Aaron will be staying with us for six months." Charlie stated matter-of-factly, "he's a foreign exchange student." He concluded. I'm no family therapist but I think this family has some serious communication issues. Not one word was wasted on pleasantry.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked somewhere between surprised and pissed.

"I didn't know until today. Paperwork was lost between here and there." Charlie said trying to smooth things over.

"Oh," she said with resignation "I thought this was a lame attempt to set me up." I pretty much stopped paying attention to the conversation at this point although it seemed to go on for a little while longer. I couldn't get over that cold spot earlier. The cold seeped into every part of my body before I knew it my chest had begun to shiver. Still I had to find exactly what caused it, it seemed magical but I can't rule anything out until I get closer. With that realization I came to find I was the object of two rather interesting looks.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "long day." I tacked on a tired smile, "you were saying?"

Before either could answer a cell phone rang, considering the proximity to me it was a minor miracle. "Swan," Charlie answered, "Ya right away. Sorry I have to go; Bells help Aaron get settled in. I don't know what time I'll be back. Good night." He added as he walked out the door.

"Sure, see you tomorrow." Bella replied. I'm not sure I like her, she seems too moody. "Charlie asked you if the den was alright."

"That's perfectly fine. Would you mind giving me a hand?" I asked slinging my messenger bag over my shoulder for the, hopefully, last time this evening.

"Sure." She answered taking up one of the suitcases in both hands. Definitely not a vampire. I followed down a very short hallway into a room that could not only be described as a den, but also as a living room. Not what I would like in terms of privacy. Bella set the suitcase down in the middle of the room and I followed suit (even tired I can still get a good pun in.) "Where is the washroom?" I asked hesitating, trying to keep my fake British modesty in my voice.

"It's upstairs, I'll show you." Ok this girl is seriously put off by my presence. Clearly I'm interrupting something.

"I apologize for interrupting whatever you were doing." I hope this works; it would be nice to have a contact at the high school after all at least two of the vampires look like high school aged kids.

"What? Oh it's no problem." She hesitated before answering.

"I should have called last week to tell you and Charlie that I was coming, it was terrible for me to assume everything was all right." I hopped that by apologizing she would open up enough for me to get inside and pry her open.

"Really, it's ok. I just don't open up to people." She responded. Okay close enough no to go for the throat.

"So did we walk in on you and you're boyfriend?" I said with a nice wry smile.

"What!" she exploded. Great now I opened up the hole time to explore.

"I'll take that as a yes." I paused. Her look told me I was right. "I'm sorry that was really none of my business I just wanted to gauge an emotional response from you." I gave a wide smile this time.

"Anyway, bathrooms on the left, there's an extra set of towels below the sink; my rooms straight ahead please stay out." She added icily, before storming off and slamming the door. Damn that went over about as well as I thought.

I went into the bathroom, toiletry kit in hand, and quickly went about doing my erm, business. After brushing my teeth, I thought about the cold spot again if I was right the cold area should be just on the other side of the shared wall.

I extended my sense through the wall trying to get a better read on what was going on. Nothing, that's what it was, it was a void sheer nothingness like something had sucked up all the energy from that area. That's it, it has to be that way, the cold wasn't added, it was made the same way you can make ice by removing all the heat from the water. Oh shit! There were so many things wrong with this picture I couldn't connect the dots fast enough. I needed to talk to Bella immediately.

I held my breath and knocked on her door, I'm civilized enough that I don't go barging into girls' rooms faux English or not. After what seemed like an hour she opened the door. Of course before it opened there was another round of shuffling, and a whisper or two. I couldn't make out any of the words.

"Bella about what I said earlier." I hesitated, "well let's just say that I like to test new relationships with the emotional equivalent of an atomic bomb. I shouldn't have done that after knowing you less than fifteen minutes." I was more sorry that I almost lost my contact in town, than about what I said.

"I can be a little touchy sometime. I accept your apology." She was slightly impatient.

"Do you mind if I come in? I want to talk to you, get some information about the town, people, school; you know the basics." I prodded; I really wanted to see the cold spot with the Sight to confirm my suspicions. I know she's not a vampire, but it seems more than pure chance that there are vampires in the area and there's a supernatural anomaly here. I stopped believing in coincidence a long time ago.

"Sure, come in." She gestured to a desk chair, "you can sit if you like."

"Thank you, and again I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

"So what is it you want to know about Forks?" She asked as she sat cross-legged on her bed.

"Just your basic survival guide. You happen to be one half of the people I know in town." I replied. "Maybe something about the school, people, the basics."

"Well no one knowing your coming might give you an advantage, when I transferred here I was an oddity. The town is really small and anything to break up the monotony is welcomed and swarmed at the same time." As she talked I took the opportunity to listen and open my 'third eye' to get a look at her closet. I exhaled focusing on opening the sight, the familiar pinch in my forehead as it opened. I quickly focused on the closet, and what do you know I was absolutely right there was a void.

How do I describe it to someone who has never seen it? Imagine that there is a blue light superimposed over everything and in that light is everything magical that is normally invisible to the naked eye. With it you can see what a persons' psyche looks like and psychic damage; as well as seeing traps and other things concealed by veils and glamours. But this, this was sheer nothingness; it unnerved me that something could absorb that magic for such a long time. At the edges of this void magic was slowly making its way back inside, I consider that a good sign. Of course anything that sucked magic up would be particularly hard to kill.

Bella was still talking, but not in a giddy schoolgirl kind of way about what teachers were good, who to sit with at lunch, exactly the kind of stuff I had asked her. When she had finished her rambling I had asked the question I wanted too and where she never went, "Are there any people I should stay away from, anyone strange?"

"Well that would depend who you ask, most people around here would say that the Cullens should be avoided." She answered, softly.

"I'm not asking most people, I'm asking you" I replied with the same softness in my voice. The way she sounded it was clear that she was close to the Cullens'.

"I like the Cullens. They're good people, but they insulate themselves and people find it creepy that Dr. Cullen adopted some really distant relatives on two different sides and some of them are 'together' if you know what I mean." I could tell she wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Well, it's late." I said getting up, there was nothing more she would give me tonight. "I'm going to bed, I don't sleep well as it is and I do have to get up eight hours early tomorrow. Good night." I said walking out.

"Good night." She said.

I learned a long time ago that when you get a chance to sleep take it. At least I have a name to go on, Cullen.