Nathan

Life in Forks was exactly as I had imagined it. Dull, repetitive, and incredibly wet. It felt as though Forks was everything that Hong Kong was not. While that would have been perfect for someone who wanted to avoid the incessant noise pollution, large crowds, and bright lights, those were things I had come to accept and love about my home. I was now confronted with a dreary excuse for a town; if you could even call it that. Maybe time would change my opinions on this place, but that seemed to be growing increasingly unlikely with each passing day.

I woke up with a gasp when I glanced at the clock and it was definitely not ringing. The bright red numbers blinked 8:15. I could do this, I had ten minutes to get dressed, have everything prepared for class, and drive to school. Possible. Although I knew it wouldn't likely to happen that way. Running around the house as fast as I could, grabbing and slipping on anything that even resembled clothing, it must have sounded as if there was a hurricane passing through the house. After shoving my papers into my backpack, I couldn't help but rush to the bathroom and finish the rest of my morning chores.

While this routine did consist of the average brushing my teeth, washing my face, and fixing any other vain details that were off; there were some extra tasks I needed to add onto my list. Staring into the mirror, a pair of gold and green eyes greeted me. My eyes had three different irises that blended together fluidly in a melting of color. I couldn't help but sigh. Since I had left Hong Kong, there was no avoiding this fate. Before at home I was able to be myself in my own house. That was a luxury I could no longer afford.

These eyes of mine were not human at all. Down my family tree, beginning with my mother, my grandmother, a human, had two children with a Sidhe (Prounounced SHE). That was the proper term, although I think most humans would probably use the term faerie. With every generation the blood got weaker and weaker, so I am some sort of diluted form of a freak. I have no siblings with whom I could discuss this bizarre connection, and it was typically taboo with my mother who carried the same blood in her veins. I'm not sure what its like for people who are closely linked with their heritage since my mother avoided any discussion of it. The only time it was brought up was the subject of hiding our uniqueness. Other than my eyes – my hair was also very unnatural. I suppose you could call it brown, but my mother described it as amber with splashes of honey. There was no doubt that I could have kept my natural coloring and just credited some top salon, but I tried to avoid the spotlight when I could. I hated lying, so I tried to give people very few reasons to question me. This is why I had to go through such a daily ritual. Especially in a place like Forks it was vital to my survival that I remain as ordinary as possible.

Closing my eyes, I sighed, concentrating on the subtle changes I was about to put my body through. In my head there was an image of me – a different me- everything that was extraordinary was dumbed down into an ideal sort of mediocrity. Opening them, I watched as all of my features became less pronounced. The best way I could describe myself once the golden irises had turned into a pale green, my amber colored hair a dull brown, and gave my skin the smallest splash of color to avoid the moonlit glow of my skin. The changes were incredibly subtle, it was like watching a flower bloom, You could always see the changes day after day yet you were never quite able to catch the stem actually moving. I could maintain this façade indefinitely as long as I continued just the slightest bit of concentration. It was like people who choose to suck in their belly every moment of the way – except I was sucking in a bizarre, otherworldly belly day after day.

I never slipped up. Never lost my concentration, only once had it happened. Of course it happened in this small little town where I was certain secrets were impossible to keep once one had escaped. When Edward Cullen and I made eye contact. Everything seemed to disappear in that one moment that I hadn't even realized I lost control. His expression was blank as he stared at me. Eventually I decided to look away and not risk a second encounter, no matter how badly I desire to look in his direction. If he had noticed, which he probably hadn't, most humans would talk about it. Or at the very least seek out a second encounter. He did neither of these that I had noticed, instead Edward Cullen reacted differently than I would have ever expected.

He looked at me as though I had done something imaginable to him. There was such an intense hatred in his eyes it made me incredibly uncomfortable. I'm not sure why…The only logical reason was that he was furious about when he saw my eyes. Did he think I was an alien or something? Probably for the best – I suppose. Surely he would be too embarrassed to spread this theory amongst the students at the school. With a great sigh at my mediocre image – I toward my car, my socks slipping on the hard wood floors. I only slid once on our freshly waxed hard wood floors, however somehow managed to catch myself before reaching the level of disaster.

This experience of being a foreign exchange student had been forced upon me as a practice in living amongst humans, as a human. For that reason multiple steps were taken to ensure I appeared to be just like any other student in Forks – ranging from the clothes I wore to the car I drove. I'd been given a black Saturn Ion for the duration of my stay. I've been getting used to driving everywhere rather than public transportation. I expected to dislike this change, however it was a welcome one. There is a new sort of freedom being separated from the schedule that is mass-transit. While driving (much faster than I should have been) I found myself conflicted. Part of me hoped desperately that Edward Cullen would not be in biology for the 2nd day in a row, however, I wanted to see if he acted differently toward me today. If I didn't know myself better, I would have planned to call him out on his rudeness. I laughed at the thought. Edward's murderous glare as I desperately tried to see what was wrong, yea…that most certainly was not going to happen.

Once I pulled into the parking-lot I noticed everyone had already gone in. Shit. Glancing at my cell phone I was already late. I groaned miserably, this was not a good impression to make. It felt like I was still being judged by most of my teachers, I knew they had expected some entitled rich brat. I'd done my best to abolish this notion – at this point all I wanted was to fall under the spotlight.

I quietly opened the door to my English class and made several small bows out of habit before I had a moment to realize where I was, and what I was doing. Both the teacher and most of the students just stared at me for a couple of seconds and began laughing quietly. By now I had no doubt my ears and cheeks had began to flush as I fought with myself to suppress it so no one would see. I could still feel the warmth in my cheeks but was relatively confident I had hidden it effectively. The class went by glacially slow. Jessica Stanley was still making passes at regardless of how oblivious I had acted. All I could do was hope she would give up eventually.

I chose my seat next to Eric, he seemed like a nice guy. I hadn't met many people who seemed cool so far, all they saw me as was a student from Hong Kong; one of the most exciting things to happen to Forks High School in years. I hadn't decided if he was just like the rest – but he seemed excited at the aspect of being able to speak Cantonese. I couldn't really blame him, Forks was quite the homogenous town. I doubt he ever spoke it since he said his parents preferred to speak English. People would give me weird stares when I spoke Chinese was an undeniable downfall of doing this, so I'd resorted to speaking it quietly when Eric and I chatted; or if I was feeling particularly embarrassed, replying in English. It was comfortable knowing everyone wouldn't be listening to my every word.

Time passed slowly the rest of the day too. Funny how time passed so terribly slow when you had a destination at hand. My destination was to see if Edward Cullen was here today. Sure, there were plenty of distractions. Actually a little too many distractions. I felt like whenever I had a chance to relax my thoughts there would be a face infront of me eagerly asking questions. It was incredibly draining, I found myself wanting to take a nap half way through the day. However, half way point was good. I walked over to the cafeteria while talking with Eric feeling that hope in the bottom of my chest. Why was I so excited to see someone who obviously hated me? I wasn't excited! Just curious, yea, curious. I shrugged off the thought and scanned the lunch table where the Cullens sat.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw him. It took me a moment before I noticed Eric was still talking "Dude, what's up?" he must have noticed I had stopped. Out of instinct I stopped looking toward the Cullens and turned to Eric with a tired expression while I scratched my head "Oh. Uh, I'm just starving. I'm gonna go get some food now, later." I waved while heading off toward the food line using all of my willpower to avoid looking toward the Cullen's table. I tapped my foot anxiously; impatient with the slow moving line. I could look over my shoulder casually and no one would notice, right? It took a little more convincing before I finally looked over my shoulder first to the table with Eric, Angela, Jessica, and Mike making a slow and careful transition to the Cullens. Who to my absolute horror, were all staring in my direction in the midst of what I thought was a terribly clever move. I immediately turned my head infront of me, my mouth gaping open in embarrassment. "oh my god." Repeated over and over in my head.

All I got was a salad and orange juice. I didn't even want the salad at this point; my stomach was feeling a bit queasy. Eric and Mike were fighting over something that seemed a little trivial and stupid. What brand of hiking boots were best or something. I don't know, I tried to remain as absorbed in my salad as I could without eating it. Angela poked my shoulder in a friendly way to get my attention and asked

"How are you adjusting?" her voice had a reassuring tone to it.

"Uhm, everything is really. A bit of culture shock…I bowed when I entered English class today." I said in an embarrassed tone.

"Oh jeez" she said with laughter in her tone. "I'm sure that was a fun experience for you."

"Just a little mortifying, that's all." I joked – taking a swig of my orange juice, I couldn't help but notice everything tasted different in America. Not better or worse, just different.

"Hey, we're all going to Bob's tonight, want to come?" I was beginning to realize I really liked Angela. She was a genuinely kind person and had probably helped this transition into small-town life much easier. The big question was…Who was Bob? I looked around the table to see if there was someone I hadn't noticed.

"Uh….Who's bob?" I asked ignorantly.

Both Jessica and Mike laughed and then quickly replied "Its not a person…It's a restaurant."

Obviously embarrassed I just nodded and said "Sure" quietly.

The rest of them talked about plans for the fall dance that was coming up. They called it a 'Turn a bout' which meant that it was the girl's turns to ask the guys to the dance. So the girls did not normally ask men to the dance then? The thought made my skin crawl. It was only a matter of time before someone asked me. It felt arrogant and narcissistic to think in such a way, but I was simply being realistic. I knew I was the prize for no other reason than I was the new student at Forks High School. Thinking like that bothered me. Avoiding the topic I couldn't help but drift to the Cullens which had become my recent obsession. One in particular, although I didn't dare think of him and risk the desire to look and see what they were doing.

I decided to skip Biology, sure I could face Edward Cullen, of whom I'd been obsessing over since our initial encounter, or I could sit in my car and listen to music. Coward, who? Me? I'd also heard word of a blood-typing which was a something risky; my sidhe blood didn't work out too well in human blood-work. I can only be grateful that I haven't had to go to the hospital or heaven forbid need a blood transfusion for any reason. Yes, that would be a very bad situation. An arguably bigger problem was I didn't know where to go. There was literally nowhere to escape from people in Forks, nowhere that I could go without being noticed from someone. Unknown faces are so rare here I draw just about as much attention, if not more, than someone who was known by everyone in town.

I shrugged and got up from my seat and waved to everyone with a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes "See you." As I placed my tray in its allotted place and walked toward the parking lot.

A small part of me was afraid that a teacher or the principal would reprimand me as I left the building, but my worries were in vain. I was in my car in less than five minutes. The weather was pretty typical for Forks, must have been around 50 degrees with a light drizzle. The sun seemed to be teasing us, peeking out for only seconds at a time. Really though, the rain didn't bother me. I enjoyed overcast, and found that part of Forks to be a relief. Sitting in a car with no destination, let alone movement was frustrating to me. My hands played idly with the CD rack on top of my visor until I picked out a CD from Reflector; a Chinese punkish rock band. Greenday reminded me a lot of them.

I closed my eyes and let the music relax me as if I was back home. In Hong Kong where there were no cultural faux-pas, small town atmospheres, or unnaturally attractive and mysterious men staring at me. The music buzzed quietly, barely loud enough to drown out the sound of the drizzling rain. I was finally reaching a point of peace when a tapping against my window made me jump and stare alarmingly out my window. I'm not sure which was scarier, the sound which had made me jump, or the fact that it was Edward Cullen tapping on my window. Definitely the latter.

My pulse sped up as I sat there nervously uncertain of what to do. Didn't he hate me? Why was he here right now, maybe I was getting in trouble for skipping class. Rolling down the window I looked at him with suspicious eyes until I finally said "Yea?"

My infatuation quickly moved to irritation as I remember the glare he was shooting at me the other day. I should have given him the benefit of the doubt but I wasn't feeling particularly generous. Then he smiled, his golden eyes looking at me with an amused expression. "You should come over here." He motioned innocently toward a silver Volvo that I already knew was his. I couldn't help but be initially suspicious, but decided that it would be better to just go along with it. This was what every girl and child was warned not to do. Sexual predators much?

Well, I wasn't a girl or a child, and I also wasn't human, and could most definitely protect myself from whatever Edward Cullen was willing to throw at me. Maybe then my questions would be answered. He seemed surprised when I turned my car off and walked toward him and his car without any more interrogation. He had already entered his car without another word, I continued behind him without another word. He opened my car door just slightly as an indication for me to get in.

My first thought was Nice car. After sitting down and taking in all of the features inside I looked toward Edward with a confused expression. He seemed to take this as his cue to speak, at that point I hadn't realized I'd never heard his voice before.

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen." He said while maintaining a perfectly neutral face.

"Uh…" I was speechless. All of this to introduce himself? It seemed like a bit much.

"I'm Nate." Was all I said, probably best to keep it simple at this point.

"Sorry for my behavior the other day…I was very tired and uh…In a bit of a mood…" Edward explained. A mood was putting it very lightly.

"Its okay." I noticed his body had gone rigid like the other day. Although he didn't look quite as murderous as last time he seemed to be hiding some sort of pain. He didn't do it very well. "So what's up?

"Just looking forward to getting to know the "new guy" he said in a casual tone as he put the keys in the ignition and turned on the car. Before I knew it we were pulling out of the parking lot. Where the hell were we going? Paranoid, me?

"Where are we going? I have class." I said trying desperately to keep my frantic mood from showing in my voice. I must not have succeeded in this task, since his lips curled into a curt smile.

"Weren't you just skipping class?" He looked me in the eyes when he spoke. While driving. If I wasn't going to have a heart attack from this entire experience it would be a great surprise to me. But, he did have a point. So I just shrugged it off.

"Where are we going, then? And why are you doing this?"

"You'll see. We'll be there soon. And…I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing this. I find you to be a very confusing individual; I'm trying to make sense of you."

I laughed. Probably not the most tactful thing to do. But was he entirely delusional? I didn't even have a chance to finish my thought before he asked "What's funny?" seemingly genuinely curious I decided to answer truthfully.

"Honestly this all seems a bit bizarre. Most people don't take strangers they've never met on joy rides."

"I suppose you're right." Edward chuckled to himself before beginning with the questions "So why did you move here to Forks? It isn't a very…known city, to say the least."

"It's a long story."

"I have time" he said with a grin.

"You know 'It's a long story' is code for 'I don't want to talk about it' right?" I said to him in a joking tone, except that I was being somewhat serious. Maybe I could avoid this entire conversation. His mouth moved in an impatient smirk as he looked at me with pleading eyes. What the hell was going on here? I sighed which was apparently a sign of defeat because he turned back facing the road with a smug grin on his face.

This was always a difficult question to answer. Unlike humans, the Sidhe never lie. Despite my mixed blood I still never dared utter a straight-faced lie; but it was half-truths that made the Sidhe so adept at avoiding the truth. I'd mastered this skill early on out of mere survival, and had every intention of employing it during this conversation.

"My mother felt the need for me to experience the world outside of Hong Kong; but she isn't able to leave herself because of work." There, that was kind of true.

"So why Forks?" Edward asked – giving me only a moment's breath.

I shrugged, "Does it matter?"

Edward grinned, still giving me his undivided attention "It must be tiresome living with a host family."

"I guess. I don't like living with a stranger, but it is what it is."

I didn't like talking about my family. I also had the feeling that Edward would continue to ask my questions until there was some sort of distraction. Through the car conversation I couldn't help but notice the color of his eyes. In fact, his entire family seemed to have this bizarre golden tint in their irises. The thought made my imagination race – especially since weren't they all adopted from different families? Was he one of my kind? Maybe this is why I found myself so mesmerized by him. The thought was more exciting to me than anything I could have imagined, maybe I wouldn't be alone on this journey. It seemed almost unbearable with the option of telling someone.

"Your eyes are a really interesting color. I've never seen them that shade." I remarked, working hard to maintain a casual tone of voice even though I was fishing. He was quiet for a moment before finally answering me.

"Its not my natural color, they're contacts."

"Oh wow. The rest of your family uses the same colored contacts too?" I was pushing it now. If he was one of my kind he would start to feel cornered – and who knew how he would react. If he wasn't, I was pressing the topic too far anyway.

"Yes." Was the only answer he supplied me. I had pushed too far. The silence would probably bother him more than it bothered me so I chose to keep quiet and enjoy the scenery. It would be better if he chose the topics. Also, where on earth were we going? We had been driving for at least twenty minutes at this point. I noticed his hands were clinging to the driving wheel as if he were afraid to let go. There it was again, the burning desire to turn from the window and look into his face. This time I would fight it, nothing good ever came from looking over.

"You have weird eyes. Who has a three-colored iris?" he said in an irritated tone. He had seen my eyes. It couldn't have been long, the light was playing with his eyes. Yes, that's what I would say.

"Three colors? What colors were they?" I laughed casually, trying with all my being for it to not sound forced. Even my own thoughts were confusing me these days – I didn't have time to deal with that at this second though, Edward would need to be convinced first. Yea. That was the crisis at hand.

"Gold, and two different shades of green." His voice didn't sound as certain as it had just a moment ago. This was good, crisis diverted.

"It must have just been the light." I said. "The lights in that school are dismal. I look like the undead whenever I see myself in the mirror" I joked.

Edward seemed to find this joke more amusing than I thought he would. Point for me. I noticed he wouldn't look me in the eye anymore; suddenly focused the road. Had I hit the target? Or maybe he was afraid of seeing my eyes. It would be for the best if he was afraid, the less I had to hide the closer I could get to him."Okay. Where are we going?" The wait was starting to bother me. We were definitely out of Forks at this point. I wasn't familiar enough with the area to have any idea of landmarks or points of interest, it was possible we were heading toward Seattle, but being kept in the dark was beginning to make me uncomfortable.

"It's a surprise." Edward said in a tone different before; his hands were gripping the steering wheel fiercely.

"I'd really like to know where, though." I pressed, feigning curiosity rather than the increasing anxiety that was beginning to build up in my gut.

"Relax" Edward said, flashing me a charming smile. It wasn't the charming smile that grabbed my intention though, rather, the darkness hidden within his eyes chilled me to the core.

"I'm relaxed, just want to know what this is all about" I said in a well-acted voice.

"Don't worry about it – We'll be there soon" He assured me.

As he spoke I reached out to him – not with my body – but with an energy that was a part of me. It was as easy as breathing, allowing part of myself to cover and coat Edward while he spoke; his eyes flicked nervously for a moment once it made contact, but quickly recovered.

I was Sidhe – a Sidhe of a certain flavor – I could feel and provoke the most innate desires of all beings. My ancestors were worshipped as fertility deities in the past, and had been kind of enough to pass along some abilities onto my mother and I.

With much practice I masked my face from all emotion, even as images of Edward with my bloody corpse invaded my mind. It wasn't the murderous intent that fluttered through me, but something innately sexual about the process – These were his desires. This is what Edward wanted, with me.

"Edward, stop the car." I said with a seriousness that just bordered human.

My question was met with silence - am I going to die by the hands of Edward Cullen?