Chapter Six

I want to break free
I want to break free
I want to break free from your lies
You're so self satisfied I don't need you
I've got to break free
God knows, God knows I want to break free
I've fallen in love
I've fallen in love for the first time
In love with a world that's real
I've fallen in love, yeah
God knows

God knows I've fallen in love

~I Want To Break Free by Queen (We Will Rock You Musical Version)~

The weekend began and I finished Lord of the Rings, feeling rather pleased with myself, I mean, it only took me a decade. I spent a little time hanging out in Jacob's garage. He was a good kid and I liked his company, although I didn't touch him again. I watched TV whilst Charlie went fishing and told him off for coming home stinking of fish and dirt.

I spent way too much time thinking about the Cullens.

It got to half past two on Sunday afternoon when I broke into the public library and turned on one of the old computers as I considered what to search for.

Not human

Don't eat.

Pale and cold.

I entered it into a search engine and rolled my eyes at the random results that came back, from video games to people having issues with their babies refusing to eat. I needed to narrow it down. I went over everything again, wondering if I could research the name 'Cullen', but that wouldn't narrow it down enough.

Something prickled at the back of my head and I cast my mind back to that first evening that I'd spent at the Black house. Something in Billy's conversation with Sue. They'd talked about meeting with the Cullens, about a treaty. Pack members, whatever that meant.

He'd referred to the Cullens having been in Forks before, but that can't be right. I mean, Edward and Alice are seventeen or eighteen. I'm twenty-eight, so they would have been in town whilst I was here and I certainly didn't remember them. New people in town made the gossip soar and I would have noticed. He'd also referred to them as leeches. Were their parents lawyers? No, he had definitely said that one of them was a doctor.

I tapped idly at the keyboard, searching for 'leeches' without any real intention of finding anything. The first result that came up was a wikipedia article and I clicked on it, reading the opening paragraph.

Some, but not all leeches are hematophagous.

I didn't know what that meant so clicked on the link again.

Hematophagy (sometimes spelled haematophagy or hematophagia) is the habit of certain animals of feeding on blood (from the Greek words, haima "blood" and phagein "to eat").

"Holy shit!" I sat upright and accidently knocked a pile of books off of the desk beside me. The motion sensor activated and the alarm went off. I darted to the wall and disconnected it quickly. See, this is why normal ghosts haunt old houses and castles – no motion sensors and burglar alarms! Those dead-folks at the Tower of London never had to deal with this crap.

I left the library and began to walk, running my hands through my hair.

Leeches drink blood. The Cullens have the body temperature of dead people.

Dead. Drinking blood.

"Holy shit…" I came to a stop in the middle of the street, barely noticing as a car went straight through me.

Dead people drinking blood.

The Cullens were freakin' vampires.

Damn, this blew being a ghost out of the water.

~*~

It took me a good fifteen minutes to calm down after this revelation. I walked home slowly, trying to think of everything I knew about vampires. They slept during the day (the Cullens didn't though), they couldn't go out in sunlight (probably why they moved to Forks, when did the sun ever shine here?), they drank the blood of humans…

I froze. They drank from humans. Everyone at school, their families, Charlie… were they in danger? Had the Cullens killed people from the town?

A list of possible vampire defences ran through my mind, using my carefully gathered knowledge garnered from Buffy reruns and the essay I'd written on Dracula in tenth grade... stakes, garlic, holy water, crosses – what would work? Would any of them work? I had no idea how much of the vampire myths were true, it was impossible to say. Still, I had to try.

I ran home and dived into the kitchen. Charlie was still fishing so I didn't have to worry about him coming home to find a haunted spice rack as I hunted for the garlic, pushing aside the dusty tubs of paprika and tarragon. OK, so it was ground garlic, but it was still garlic and Charlie didn't exactly keep a stock of Holy Water lying around the house. I wasn't sure exactly how to use the garlic so I rubbed some into the wood around the door frame, hoping Charlie wouldn't notice the smell too much. Would the presence of the garlic keep the vampires away? Where the hell would I even get Holy Water?

Charlie came home reeking of fish again so I sat on the porch for a couple of hours that evening, trying to figure out how I could get answers to the million and one questions that were racing through my brain.

The most obvious answer was to go straight to the source, but that seemed like a bad idea. I was used to being impermeable to everything around me but these… people, for lack of a better word, could touch me. They could hurt me. They couldn't kill me, it was a little late for that, but still.

I made a conscientious decision, there and then, to talk to the Cullens at school the next day. Using actual words, not a piece of paper. Time to be a grown-up Swan and start acting your age. Of course, if I started acting my real age, it would be totally lame that I was still in high school, seeing as I was closer to thirty than twenty.

I went for a walk up to La Push, knowing that I couldn't help Charlie further, wanting to check on Jacob. He was still working on his battered old car, a Rabbit that he was ridiculously proud of. But I remembered my first car and then I couldn't blame him. That Chevy truck had been my most prized possession, despite it's less than stellar performance. I watched as Jacob whistled under his breath, fiddling with the mysterious pieces of metal with the care of a surgeon.

A couple of voices sounded, Jacob's best friends, Quil Jr. and Embry. They were good kids too, although the three of them tended to be a little immature when together. Still, they were only sixteen, so I could hardly hold it against them. God, was I getting old? Next thing I'd start grumbling about the damn kids being on my lawn and complaining about the loud music.

"How's it going, Jake?" Embry asked, leaning in to examine the engine. I listened with interest as they discussed engine parts and horsepower. Maybe I'd head over to the community college next fall and see if I could take a course on mechanics. It sounded interesting and high school was wearing my patience thin.

"How's your Granddad doing, Quil? Dad said they had a council meeting the other day." Embry asked suddenly and Quil groaned.

"Geez, I don't know what's going on with them, but Granddad's all up in arms about some new family down in Forks. Wants me to stay out of town and avoid them at all costs, I don't get the deal."

"Oh, is that the Cullens?" Jacob asked curiously, "Yeah, Dad said the same thing to me. He didn't say why though."

"One of their great-great-grandfathers probably insulted one of ours." Quil said dismissively, "Whatever. How are you going to get your hands on a carburettor for this car?"

~*~

I avoided the Cullens all day on Monday until lunch time, when I walked slowly to the deserted table I'd occupied on Friday. I watched everyone else come in for lunch, talking about their weekends, discussing Lauren's disastrous dye job and bemoaning unfinished homework.

I took a couple of deep breaths, clasping my hands in front of me on the table as I waited patiently.

Jasper was the first to arrive. He sat down with his tray and lounged back in his chair, watching me unashamedly with piercing eyes. He lounged like a cat, graceful and poised; I half expected a tail to start flicking back and forth and I felt strangely like a mouse. Alice arrived shortly after and tossed me a dazzling smile. If Jasper was a cat then Alice was a bird, singing with the dawn. I examined my hands carefully as Emmett sat down and winked cheerfully. When I looked up he gave another little wave, being careful to be subtle so it didn't look like he was waving at an empty table.

I hesitated for a moment and then waved back gingerly. His grin widened and he nudged Jasper in the ribs. Jasper sighed and gave him a 'yes, I saw you wave at your new friend' look. Alice giggled as Rosalie sat down. Rosalie gave me a disinterested look and returned to looking bored in general, staring into space as though nothing in the room could possibly be as interesting as she was.

I chewed my lip, glancing over at Angela. She was watching Ben talk about some videogame with Eric Yorkie and looking wistful. I sighed, wondering if I could help to influence her in some way. Ben was too shy, he was never going to ask her out of his own accord.

I looked back at the Cullens. Edward had arrived and was watching me. I took a deep breath and stood, walking towards the table. They were all careful to keep looking calm and not to stare directly at me. I paused by the table, shifting uncomfortably.

"Uh… OK, so I need to talk to you." I began before my voice gave out. Edward's eyes were fixed on mine and I tore my gaze away, looking at my feet.

"Can I come over tonight? To your house? I won't stay long, I just want to get a few things cleared up."

Alice smiled and Edward glared at her. I hesitated at his dour expression but Alice looked up at me with a cheerful expression.

"We'll see you at 7:42."

"OK…" I turned and shuffled away, bemused at her precise time of arrival.

"See you later, Bella!" She called quietly after me and I glanced over my shoulder uncertainly before half-running out of the cafeteria, feeling like Frodo as he faced down the Ringwraiths.

Go me.

~*~

I was so distracted that I let Charlie burn his dinner. I hadn't even noticed that he'd had the burner up all the way instead of on a low heat and we noticed the smoke at the same time. He swore loudly, I told him off for his foul language and then went upstairs to get changed. It was kind of a good thing that Charlie never checked my wardrobe. I put the clothes I'd been wearing in the bottom of the closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a button up shirt. No need to look like a ghost-hobo. I put on a pair of flat shoes and brushed my hair, plaiting it so it wouldn't look too windswept by the time I go there.

Charlie had situated himself in front of the TV, ordering pizza. I scowled at him.

"You're a step away from donuts, Dad, and then you're going to be wondering why the bad guys get away so easily!" I warned before taking off at a run. I knew the vague direction of the Cullen's house and figured I'd find it eventually, having sneaked into Charlie's office and looked up the address on his work computer. I didn't want to be too late though. Did they sleep? I mean, how was I to know which of the vampire myths were true? They came out in daylight and I had yet to see any of them grab a freshman and start chomping. God, that was a scary thought. It scared the life out of me.

Oh, look, it worked.

Heh. OK, Swan, focus and stop kidding around.

It took me almost forty minutes to find the road to their house. I didn't have a watch but as the enormous, beautiful house came into view, I was willing to bet that it was around 7:42. The house was painted a faded white, several storeys high but not overbearing for its size.

There were three figures stood on the porch and I took a deep breath before walking over the perfectly cut lawn until I could see them more clearly, willing my nerves to cease their rampage of my stomach. One figure was Edward and another was Alice. The third figure was a man, maybe in his early twenties (or possibly early hundreds, how was I to know?) with pale blonde hair and the same beautiful golden eyes as the others. He was stunningly good looking, also just like the others.

I paused a few feet away and Alice smiled brightly, bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Hi Bella!" She said and I nodded mutely. Edward looked at me for a moment, before gesturing to the blonde man.

"Bella, this is Carlisle. Our father, for all intents and purposes. Carlisle, this is Isabella Swan."

I jolted, staring at him in surprise.

"How did you-?" How the hell did he find out my name? Edward gave a slight smile before looking at Carlisle.

"Bella is dead."

"So are you, what's your point?" I said abruptly and Carlisle laughed, his smile dazzling. I swear, I almost swooned. I can't swoon, I'm dead. But he almost made it happen. I bit on my lip, shifting uncertainly on the spot. I hadn't meant to be rude, but I was so freakin' nervous.

"Bella, please, come inside. We can talk there." Carlisle gestured to the house but I paused, not feeling that I could go inside without assuaging some of my fears first.

"Wait… I just wanted to…" I hesitated, a little uncertain on how to continue.

"Please feel free to ask us anything." Carlisle said earnestly and I met his eyes.

"You drink blood."

"Yes." He didn't shy from the answer.

"From people?" I enquired delicately and he smiled warmly.

"No. My family and I do not feed from humans. We feed strictly from animals."

I was silent for a moment, staring at him. He inclined his head as though to respect that I needed some time to take this in. After a few seconds Alice smiled and gestured to the door. I followed them inside, blinking at the beautiful interior. So this was how other dead people lived? In serious style and here I'd been slumming it in my Dad's house for the past decade.

The others were standing, waiting for me. Emmett waved cheerfully and Rosalie ignored my arrival altogether. Jasper nodded and a beautiful woman with soft features and caramel coloured hair stepped forward, smiling brightly and holding out her hand.

"Bella, I'm Esme, Carlisle's mate. I'm so pleased to meet you." She said in a lovely voice.

I stared at the extended hand. Oh my god, she was going to touch me. Oh no. I mouthed wordlessly, my gaze fixed on pale fingers. After an uncomfortable moment, Carlisle stepped forward.

"People… humans… can't touch you, can they, Bella?"

I shook my head, not trusting myself to speak and frozen to the spot. Esme's mouth formed an O and she lowered her hand immediately, looking horrified at herself, her eyes darting from Carlisle to myself.

"I'm sorry, Bella. Alice said that Edward had-"

"I don't know why." I interrupted, being rude again. "I don't know how. No one's been able to since I died."

Rosalie flinched at my casual reference to my own death and I looked at her curiously. She ignored me, her gaze on Carlisle.

"I'm going to look at the Mercedes." She said flatly and turned, marching out. Emmett threw me an apologetic look and followed her. Alice sighed.

"Never mind Rosalie. She doesn't like change. Anyway, come and sit down so we can talk." She skipped to a sitting room and I followed, taking a lone armchair whilst Esme and Carlisle shared a sofa and Jasper and Alice a small divan. Edward remained standing by the mantelpiece and I was aware of all eyes on me. I chewed my lip, tapping my fingers against my thighs. Carlisle leaned forward, eyes gleaming with friendly curiosity.

"So, Bella… you're deceased?"

"Yes." I said, as though I were on a game show. Correct! You are deceased! Ten points to the ghost!

"I hope you won't think me insensitive, but-"

"Ten years ago and hit by a speeding car." I said bluntly and Carlisle smiled, "I hit the pavement and then I got up and walked away. Part of me, anyway."

"You remember your own death?" Jasper asked and I smirked.

"It's kinda hard to forget, to be honest. One of those pivotal moments that tends to stay with you. Like the first day of high school, only messier."

Carlisle considered me for a moment and I averted my eyes, looking around the pretty room. I wondered who had decorated it, it was incredible. My attention was called back when Esme spoke softly.

"If you don't mind me asking, what do you do? Edward and Alice said that you're in high school, but that's only six hours a day."

"I take care of my dad." I said calmly, "Charlie Swan, he's the Police Chief in Forks."

"I met him just two days ago," Carlisle said with a pleased smile, "He's a good man. He came to check on someone who had been in a car accident."

"That sounds like him." I agreed, "Anyway, I keep an eye on him. I read a lot. I've been spending some time up in La Push lately…"

I paused, waiting to see what their reactions would be. Edward's eyes narrowed and Carlisle paused, unsure of how to approach the subject. I smirked again.

"Yeah, they're not so keen on you guys up there."

"No, they wouldn't be." Carlisle said lightly, "They know what we are. I doubt they're spreading it about, but the council certainly know."

"Vampires." It was the first time that I'd said it aloud and Carlisle nodded.

"Yes."

I fell silent, leaning back in the chair. They waited for me to take this in and I scratched my chin.

"OK, I know I should probably be fine with this. I mean, I'm a ghost so technically I shouldn't exist either but… you're vampires." I said disbelievingly and Alice giggled endearingly, perched on the edge of her seat. Carlisle smiled.

"Until now I'd believed ghosts to be mythical also. I think this is a surprising situation all around."

"Carlisle, I've got to say, I've got a lot of questions." I warned and he nodded.

"As do I."

"And I'd like to start by asking him how the hell he found out my name." I said, turning my head to look at Edward. He at least had the decency to look abashed.

"I went through some old yearbooks in the library at school." He admitted and I shrugged.

"Fair call. I didn't exactly give you a lot to work with so I guess you deserve props for the initiative. How'd you figure out I was dead? I mean, before I started walking through walls? You were all acting weird before I ran off."

"You don't have a heartbeat. We have excellent hearing but there's nothing coming from you internally. Edward can't hear your thoughts and even Alice had trouble seeing you." Carlisle and I frowned at Alice.

"What? You were the first one to see me. I thought I was going crazy."

"I can see the future, Bella." She said cheerfully, "And I couldn't get a fix on you at first. You kept flitting in and out. Maybe it's because you're…" She gestured at me and I nodded.

"Living impaired?" I suggested.

They chuckled, apart from Edward who gave a slight smile. I took another deep and unnecessary breath.

"OK, so… I don't have audible thoughts, which I'm kind of relieved about because I spend a lot of time thinking about utter crap. And I don't have a fixed future."

"You do now." Alice assured me, "Now that I can see you interacting, your future has started to settle down in points. It's like I can only see your future when it ties up with other peoples." That made sense but Carlisle was clearly impatient, eager to talk about my existence.

"After you died, did you know what had happened?"

"Oh yeah. My biggest clue was seeing my body right next to me," I grinned and then shrugged, "I was freaked out at first. I kept screaming at people, trying to get someone to see me but… well, nothing happened, obviously. I tried to get back into my body and that didn't work either. Then I started thinking about 'unfinished business', but no joy there either. So I just accepted it."

They seemed stunned by my nonchalance and I grinned.

"Hey, it could be worse. I don't have to drink blood and I don't catch fire in sunlight, right?"

They all stared at me, utterly astonished and I wondered for a panicky moment if I'd pissed them off. Good going, Swan, piss off the houseful of vampires who can actually hurt you.

Then Alice started to laugh. Thank hell for that.

A/N: (trumpets sound) 100 reviews! You are all officially super awesome and deserving of cookies! And in order to treat you, I have supplied a chapter that has some interaction! Huzzah!

I Want To Break Free – I chose this version of the song for two reasons. The first is the line 'I've fallen in love with a world that's real'. Bella doesn't understand her situation but accepts it. Her world now has vampires, her world has people who can see and speak to her, making life more real. She has also 'broken free' from her own stubbornness that kept her from accepting the Cullens.

The second reason is that my beta and I are utterly obsessed with We Will Rock You. We saw it three times together this year. I know, don't you all wish that you were as cool as us? It's OK to be jealous, so many are.

Reviewers will receive their chosen Cullen/Werewolf and some fireworks for the New Year. Or you can always make your own, nudge nudge wink wink.

Love

Katie