Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns Bella and Edward and all things Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended by my little twist on the story.ers

"Hello Edward," she said as she moved closer.

"Be..lla," I stuttered aloud, only realizing after I said the words that her greeting had been only in my thoughts. Emmett, Rosalie, and Lauren who had been looking at Bella snapped their head in my direction. Jacob too was watching our interaction with interest but I saw nothing more than curiosity in his expression.

Bella slowly walked out of the immediate bonfire circle and my eyes followed her. "Follow me Edward," she beckoned, but only for me to hear. I didn't care how it appeared to any of the others as I strode off toward her. She could have told me to jump in the ocean naked and I would do anything she asked.

She waited just outside of hearing distance from the others. She didn't speak or make any sign that she noticed I was there. I felt such a surge of energy from her – more like a swell of electricity – that was nearly intoxicating. I had to break the silence or I would reach out and touch her and I wasn't sure how she would react.

"You weren't at school."

"No…I had some things I needed to do. I had to clear my mind. Edward," she answered in her beautiful voice but the last word, my name, she only thought.

"Can you hear other people's thoughts or just mine?" she asked, the glow of the fire reflecting off the dark pools of her eyes and I felt lost, swimming in them, hypnotized. I shook off the trance and answered, "Just you. I can only hear your thoughts."

"Well, I'm going to have to be careful what I think around you, aren't I?" she said. And then, surprisingly, she laughed. It was so unexpected that I didn't respond at first. But her laugh and smile were infectious and I found myself smiling back at her.

"Walk with me, down by the water?" I asked her. She nodded and then I heard, "okay" in my head. She began to hum a random tune in her mind and I was suddenly struck by the familiar melody. This was the same song I'd imagined as I was relaxing on the back patio earlier. She had been there.

"Were you at my house this afternoon…in my backyard?" I asked, trying not to sound too accusatory, but unable to hide my deep interest. Even by the light of the moon I could tell that she didn't appear shocked by my question. But she didn't answer. Instead, she asked one of her own

"Did you come here with Lauren Mallory?" She asked quietly but her malice was clear. Before I could answer a barrage of images attacked my brain. Flashes of Lauren and other girls walking down the hallways of school. And then there was blood and sunlight and a blur of trees and bare feet rapidly hitting the forest floor. Then I saw myself stretched out on my back patio as though seeing out of someone else's eyes.

I searched her face for a sign of recognition that she was revealing this vision to me. But her eyes were full of mystery and I found myself easily getting lost in the depth of her unwavering gaze. I was pulled in by an undeniable attraction and without any realization of movement I found myself within a breaths' distance from her deep red lips.

I didn't want to resist the overwhelming allure that she held over me and I leaned in, searching for her lips in the darkness. With a jolt of disappointment and mortification I sensed her recoil. Faster than I would have thought possible on the mushy sand underfoot she had moved a stealthy step backward out of my reach.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I thought…It's just this connection that I have with you is so intense. I just thought you might be thinking the same thing as I was."

Rather than answer she just stood stoically still as though carved in the sand. I had the eerie sense that if I blinked she might drift away in the salty wind. "Bella?" I pleaded with her. I wanted, no, I needed to hear her speak – to hear whatever it was that she would say.

We stood there fixed in our stances, neither one of us speaking nor moving. The wind shifted, carrying in our direction smells of smoke and snippets of conversation from the bonfire. I distinctly heard Emmett's loud laughter reverberate down the entire stretch of beach. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself. As I did, I saw a change in Bella's expression as she tilted her head toward the sound.

A broad smile stretched across her face and I smiled in return at the amazing beauty of her face as it was animated in a way I had never before experienced. The wind shifted again, blowing from behind me and I saw Bella breathe deeply as though she were inhaling my scent. I felt a surge of desire fill me at the thought and fought the desperate urge to touch her again.

But as soon as this thought filled my head, Bella's hand reached out and grasped mine with a whisper of a touch. Before I was aware of my body's own reaction, I flinched and snatched my hand away. She was so cold, like ice, and somehow her skin felt unnatural though I couldn't have explained how or why.

I looked up at her in horror that I had reacted so abruptly, but she didn't seem at all surprised or even concerned by my reaction. "Your hands are so cold," I blurted. She just furrowed her lovely brow and turned her head away so I couldn't read her expression further. But my head was filled with a myriad of images and feelings – Bella terrified and running from someone, tripping and clawing in the dirt to escape her evil pursuer. The feeling of terror was devastating and I felt it acutely as though it were my own.

I collapsed on the sand and covered my head with my arms, trying to stop the fear from invading my psyche. I began to shudder and convulse with the power of the emotion. Then I saw Bella in my mind again – her body being thrown by some invincible force, blood trickling slowly down a deep wound on her forehead.

And then I was accosted with the most excruciating image of all – a dark shadowy evil enfolding her struggling, weak body. When I thought that I couldn't take one more second of this horrific scene I felt her pain – a searing, burning agony as a dark beast ripped a ragged gash on her fragile, pale neck. Then there was blood, lots and lots of blood.

I shook off the vision and immediately felt the loss of Bella's presence. My eyes searched for her and I saw her silhouette in the near distance down by the water and a tall figure that I assumed was Jacob was leaning over her. I took a step in her direction but froze as Jacob transformed before my eyes. One minute he was a man, the next, some kind of massive beast. His loud feral howl sliced through the sound of the waves. I felt the urge to run to Bella, to help her but her head snapped in my direction warningly and again I stopped. I frantically wiped the salt and moisture from my eyes but it did not change the horrifying vision – the large beast circled Bella, craned its beefy neck back, howled and ran away.

I was only vaguely aware of a loud moaning that began to grow and grow in volume. It wasn't until I felt hands grasping me roughly and I found myself looking up at Emmett from the sand that I realized that I was the source of the wailing sounds. Large hands yanked me to a standing position. I searched the darkness for Bella but I knew that she was gone – my mind had gone silent.