AN: I am still pleasantly astounded at the number of reviews I receive for this story! Thank you to those who have reviewed! And if you have not, I ask you to please take the time and do so! 8-) ... Only 2 weeks 'til New Moon comes out! I have 12:05 midnight tickets to go see it and I am majorly excited! 8-)! Hopefully this one will be absolutely mind-blowing; if it isn't I might cry.

Disclaimer: Twilight isn't mine, but I am proud to say that my BB is reading it now!

A minute later, I was lying in bed and the covers were over me. I was drenched in sweat and sleep overtook me.

Wait. No it didn't.

It should have. That would have been ideal.

Charlie was snoring in the other room. Well, there is the vampire hearing. At least the sense of smell went away. I did not need that right now.

Why am I not sleeping? I am exhausted. Was it something to do with the sporadic vampire senses that came along when I didn't expect, or want, them to? Was I in-between- exhausted but unable to sleep? That is an awful place to be. I literally could not go to sleep. It couldn't get any worse.

I was wrong.

This was only the beginning of my end.

13. Bright and Early Monday Morning

Sleep never took me, though, I did try very hard: I begged and I pleaded with my consciousness to pull me down into a dark pool in oblivion, but it wouldn't. I was so, so very, extremely tired. Never in my life did I wish for a nightmare more than I did then; at least I would be sleeping, but a nice dream would be pleasant, too, after the activities of the night before. Nothing could pull me under, however. I counted the sheep that jumped through the strangely familiar meadow I had created in my mind, but after forty-two thousand eight-hundred eleven sixty-nine, I stopped counting. It had become painfully clear that I would not be getting any rest.

The pure weight of it was like turbulence when a plane is crashing and you are falling headfirst. That hasn't actually happened to me, but it did feel like I couldn't move. I was purely paralyzed by my exhaustion. It was the worst kind of headache, the worst kind of any ache.

I wanted so badly to slip into a slumber, but the wanting only increased the weight forcing me down.

The next day, I couldn't keep my eyes open, and it wasn't entirely due the blinding sunlight streaming in from outside my bedroom window. I tried desperately to sleep for a minute, a second, but not even a fraction of that time was spent in unconsciousness. Unfortunately for me, it was Monday.

I considered skipping school. Skipping would be nice.

This too, it was sunny. That meant the Cullens wouldn't be going to school; they couldn't risk exposure if a human saw the sparkling glint to their skin. That would be off limits, a definite "No, no". The one rule for their- my- world would be broken: keep the secret. If they were to expose themselves- us- the Volturi would be sure to come for them- me.

No, the Cullens would not be in school today.

I could really skip, I thought. Maybe if I didn't go to school I would be able to find time, and a way, to sleep. It would fit in nicely with my behavior last night if I didn't show up for classes today. Jessica, the school's biggest gossip, would surely tell everyone that would listen to her that I had almost puked and had strange seizures outside an abandoned, haunted warehouse. I mentally rolled my eyes- doing so physically would take too much energy. Hey, Jessica might even go far enough to say that I almost died. Being sick would definitely be an excuse. Also, what if the bloodlust came back while I was in a small classroom? What if I slipped and killed one of my classmates? I couldn't let that happen.

For me, it was an easy decision: I was not going to school. End of story. When Charlie heard that I had missed school I would simply tell him the truth, that I was sick. And in a way, I am.

This change that is happening to me, to my body, I don't understand it. I wish it would just end painlessly and quickly as it came. It wasn't uncomfortable, truth be told- a little redundant and quite annoying, but it wasn't painful. I had heard that the change was very frightening and was very painful, the worst imaginable pain, but I had yet to experience it. So far as I knew from the outside of my body, nothing was happening to me. But things are always much deeper than they appear.

As promised to myself, I didn't go to school. The day passed slowly as I begged for sleep to take me. It was worse than when I was little and waited for Santa to come to the house, fighting sleep the whole night so that I could catch a glimpse of him. Only now I wasn't trying to fight the sleep; I was trying to welcome it. But no matter how many invitation I sent out, no response.

The Cullens did not come by.

They didn't know about what happened to me the night before; Alice couldn't see my future, especially when I was manipulating time. Another thing, they wouldn't have even known about me using my ability because they were further than a mile from me while I had been using it. My ability only directly, physically affects those within a mile radius of me. I didn't expect the Cullens to make an appearance today. As earlier theorized, they wouldn't want anything to do with me now; I wasn't a mystery for them to solve anymore. I was glad they didn't come by, but that was only if I wanted to fool myself. Actually, I was quite lonely. And I couldn't sleep.

My nose itched, but I couldn't bring my hand up to scratch it- too much effort, too little energy.

The hours passed as I just lay there. I pictured Edward's face and tried to pass the time by watching his lips move as he talked about something that didn't even make sense. I really wanted to see him, but he probably hadn't even thought about me since the kiss on my cheek. Well, aside from coming by and asking me to be his partner on the Biology project. It probably didn't even mean anything to him; he was probably only asking me because he was feeling sorry for me. And suddenly I felt awful for thinking of him that way.

"I'm so tired," I angrily mumbled. My voice sounded different. I was able to blink my eyes, now, and I could move my mouth, too. Maybe that's a good sign, I thought.

More time passed and I actually dozed off for a minute! I was elated… until the doorbell rang at the front door. I groaned loudly, but when I tried to get up I couldn't. This was great, just great! What if it was Edward at the door? What if it was any of the Cullens? Get up, Bella! But I couldn't. I tried to move my knees, to bend them, but they wouldn't budge. It seemed the only parts of me that could move were my mouth and my eyes.

Apparently, Charlie had left the door unlocked downstairs because I heard the door open and Angela's voice called out, "Bella?"

"Yes?" The change in my voice was more pronounced now. It sounded… bell-like. It sounded kind of like a mix of Edward's velvet timbre and Alice's tinkling tone. I heard Angela make her way, tentatively, up the stairs and saw her stick her head into my room. I tried again to move my arms or something, but all I could manage was the lift my thumb.

"Hi, Bella. How are you?"

"Hey. I'm exhausted. I can't sleep," I said, and it was the truth. She gave me a sympathetic look and nodded. "Do you want to sit down? There's a rocking-chair," I just faded out.

"No, I'm okay. I just wanted to come by, you know, see how you're doing. I was worried when you didn't come to school today," she said. She was looking at me strangely. Again, I felt as if she knew something about me. And, again, I shrugged it off.

"I am just really, really tired," I said.

She assessed me. "Why is it that you can't sleep?"

"I don't even know. I have tried clearing my mind and all kinds of mojo with sheep and whatnot. I just can't sleep," I explained. She laughed, but still had that look in her eyes. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing," she said, realizing she was staring. "You look different," she added shyly.

"How different?"

"I'm not trying to offend you or anything," she said.

"I know, but I haven't been able to move all day. I am so tired. I didn't know if I was still alive or not."

She laughed a little at that and widened her eyes with a small grimace. "You look like a Cullen." That struck me. I didn't feel any different. I hadn't felt the pain of the change. My heart was still beating, but I hadn't had a chance to look at myself. Could I really change so much in less than twenty-four hours? I decided to shrug it off. If Angela did know something, I would have to push her away from it- for her protection. But it was doubtful in the highest degree that she would know anything. She couldn't, not about anything that was happening to me.

"How so?" I laughed out.

"You look… prettier. I mean, you were very pretty before," she was struggling not to upset me. I felt badly. "You just look more like a Cullen now. You have been pale, but now you're white. You don't have gold or black eyes like they do, though," she said. So she did realized things about their appearance. She was smart, observant.

"Well, I'm flattered," I smiled. It was a tight smile. "To be compared to a Cullen does wonders for my self-esteem. They are beautiful." She just laughed a tiny laugh. She definitely knew something. "So, it's nice to see you, but what are you doing here?"

Angela looked uncomfortable, looking around my room. "I brought your homework to you. Jessica volunteered, but I said I would do it. I wanted to see how you are," she said.

"Awe, Ang, that's sweet of you. Thanks."

"It's no problem. Do you think you will be going to school tomorrow?" she looked suspicious.

"I'm not so sure. I am absolutely exhausted. I just can't sleep!" I yelled. It sounded like a hiss and I saw Angela cringe a little bit. "I'm sorry," I said. I must be scaring her.

She took a seat on the edge of my bed and we talked for a while. I slowly got feeling back into my toes. Then my hands. Then my knees. An hour later, I was sitting beside her on the bed discussing the upcoming Biology project. She hadn't known about it, and she wasn't even in the same class as me, but I told her it was a partner project. When asked who I thought my partner would be, I just lowered my head, blushing, and grinned.

"My, it's Edward Cullen, isn't it?" she guessed. She was smiling now, too.

"He came over yesterday, before you came to pick me up, and asked if I would like to be his partner," I grinned. I couldn't help the blush. She laughed.

"You have it bad, Bella."

"I know, but I don't think he likes me that way. I think he just feels sorry for me."

Ang looked thoughtful at that, way too informed. "Jessica has seen him staring at you," she offered. "Actually, I think you are the only one not to notice him staring at you. All the Cullens do," she said. This revelation made me smile.

"Really?"

"Yes, really," she confirmed. "I know Edward must like you."

Charlie came home from work and Angela told me she was on her way to Ben's house. Making sure to give me my homework, she hugged me and told me she missed me today. She mentioned the sun and how the Cullens weren't in school today, either. I acted as if it didn't mean anything to me, the significance, when it really did.

That night, I slept, and I slept hard, thankful to my brain for putting me under, finally.

Edward's lips weren't only talking as I watched them this time. They were kissing me. This dream was special somehow. I got a feeling about it, but I didn't know how to explain it. Maybe it would be the future, I hoped it would be. That wasn't what made it special, however.

It felt like the last time I would ever sleep.

The last time I would ever dream.

AN: Remember, you don't have to have an account to review for my story, but if you have one, I would also really appreciate hearing from you! 8-)

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~Sylvia~