Finally another chapter. I know I said chapter 5 would be called Missing. Well that's because I had a whole different path of the story that I was going to write but I thought about and I think I'll introduce that in about two or three chapters. This one, took me some time to finish because it's just so exciting. I think that it's my best and favorite chapter by far! For all my readers who have stayed faithful to this story and it's slow beginning I give you the beginning of your reward.

Enjoy Readers, don't forget to Review.

Chapter 5

Circle

Saturday morning Mike came to pick me up for an early shift at the hiking store he inherited from Grandpa Newton. I was good at sports but I admittedly preferred hiking than dribbling a ball down the court. Mike had approved of that and Grandpa Newton called me the perfect, but it only made me feel more distant from them –something made me think about a mother and a father taking their little girl, who just learned to walk last year, on camping trips.

Pamela and Dana were the only ones awake at seven in the morning so I made my quick goodbye to them and headed down to the first floor, smiling cheerily at a weary Nurse Laura, Dana's nurse; I had a feeling I'd be getting to know her a lot more in the future. It was an hour-long drive in which Mike kept up with small comments unless I was interested in saying more than one or two words.

"You have a nice time?" he asked.

I shrugged, "It's like any other hospital."

"True." He agreed, "So what did you girls do?"

"We played Monopoly." I said as if it might be something helpful to ease his mind of my good time. And it was a decent time, Pamela had one the first time as well as the second, Taylor got frustrated halfway through the third game and retired after getting sent to jail.

"You know Natasha missed you." He offered.

"Oh?" I wasn't used to hearing things like that so my tone was probably a bit more on the surprised side than the eager in which Mike had interpreted it as –so he talked about it until we were finally in the parking lot of the small store.

It was 8:30 when by the time I was sitting in one of the aisles arranging all the maps and compasses while Mike checked the rest of the inventory and by 11:30 he'd left so that by around 12:45 I was waiting for Mike to get back. My plan had been to leave and get lunch; along the way maybe I'd pick up Natasha and spend some time getting to know my little sister.

Just as I was about to doze off behind the counter I sat straight as a small bell chimed, I'd supposed it was Mike and said, "About time, I'm here starving and I had to wait for you." I joked about it so he didn't feel bad but the chuckle that responded wasn't Mike's booming drum it was a beautiful melodic strum. I had never been a poetic person but it seemed when Andrew Cullen was around there was no other form of speech to describe him. For example, his eyes, they must have been hazel but I had the urge to describe the way they changed colors –from a warm golden butterscotch with just a twinge of auburn caramel to a cold dark inky black; for that moment they were a soft medium between the two.

"Funny seeing you here." I said without thinking, trying to cover up how alert he made me feel.

"My family likes to hu-hike a lot." He said, drifting over to a pair of dark brown boots that I'd arranged earlier that morning. For a moment I'd stalled thinking over that slight stutter –which I'd thought him completely incapable of– in his speech but shrugged it off.

"Are you looking for anything in particular?" he looked up at me, I could almost see a flicker in his eyes that was trying to convey some sort of hidden message that I didn't get. One moment he'd been kneeling by a pair of boots and the next he was setting them on the counter in front of me.

"Found it." I couldn't help but stare I him, his voice was so alluring and I'd never been so close to him before when he usually seemed to have such a more stoic presence whenever I was around. For the moment though I could see the high marble cheekbones and dark circles under his eyes that just gave him a more enticing front. What beguiled me was the sweet scent of his cool breath that was almost as honeyed as each word he said –I needed to stop being such a poet; admittedly it was hard.

"Hey kiddo!" I quickly –albeit reluctantly– turned away from Andrew and busied myself with ringing up the fifty dollar boots while Mike came around back of the counter.

"You can go now Claire, I'll take it from here." I nodded and he boxed and bagged the boots before handing them over to Andrew with a courteous smile, "Happy trails," he said.

Andrew smiled something dazzling and walked out of the store. I stared after him much to Mike's disapproval, I knew because I could hear him muttering under his breath about hormones and teenagers. I didn't really pay any attention; I just untied the blue apron from around my waist and hung it in the backroom.

"You going straight home, Claire?" Mike called back.

"I don't know, I'm a little hungry. I was thinking I could pick up Natty and grab a bite." I walked out from the back room to see a smile on Mike's face while he reached out and ruffled my hair like a small child; maybe he was just pleased.

"Well whatever you do don't be out to late, you want to use my car?"

"No, I'm going to walk home and ask Jess- Mom." It was a nice day outside –well as nice as it gets in Forks– and I wanted some time to think.

"Alright, I'll see you later." He waved a small goodbye as I walked past two hikers outside.

I didn't make it more than two steps away till a beautiful, sleek dark red –almost black in the dank light- car began to cruise alongside me, I didn't know much about cars but I might say it was a and it was gorgeous. Ignoring it was a little hard to do and even harder when the tinted window lowered to reveal a head of dark brown hair. Andrew, I might have known such an odd boy would have something no one in this town could possibly afford in a million years.

"So, you're hungry?" he asked just as his whole face was finally visible through the passenger window.

I didn't know what to say, I didn't want to seem like all those other girls who would have yipped in girlish giddy, hop into the car and compliment his hair while he told me how pretty I was, no I didn't work that way. Still, it wasn't helping my situation kind of standing there looking down at him through the window with utter confusion.

"Claire?" he said, and I jumped feeling my face flush in embarrassment, I'd been pretty arrogant towards him and I wasn't about to embarrass myself. "You could accompany me." He said again, this time suggesting for me to step into the car. I noticed his words were a little old-fashioned, I wasn't used to a 'proper' gentleman; I don't think he even registered it.

"I was just going home, it's not that far." Maybe a block or four away, Forks was small enough for me to run across in about fifteen minutes if I went at a quick pace. Andrew didn't seem to buy it and frowned in a disappointed fashion that reminded me of a kid who'd just been shut down from ice cream.

"How about I promise you it won't take long, just a quick bite, to make up for being so awful to you that first week." He smiled; I was beginning to see Andrew as one of those people who charmed his way through life. The smile was genuine though, I didn't see it when he was smiling for Kylie or Jennifer; in fact most of the time it seemed a little forced but I wasn't trying to encourage those little butterflies that started in my stomach induced by a simple smile –or maybe it really was that I was just hungry.

I gave in and put my hand on the sleek handle of the door pulling it open to feel warmth emanating from the dashboard, something I wouldn't have been able to feel in contrast to the colder air. "Okay," I said as I sat down and pulled the door closed.

The car began to move and I could feel his eyes on me though it seemed they were on the road in front of him. All I could do was pull the buckle around my dark green sweater, an article that Jessica had said brought out the natural red highlights in my hair; to me it was just something else that made me different from the family, didn't make sense to accentuate it. Normally something like that wouldn't have bothered me for very long but because I could feel Andrew's cold gaze on me it clung to me mind more forcefully than usual.

Occupying myself I turned to look outside the window at the blurring green and color tones of other cars, my eyebrow rose; I didn't know where we were going. Trying to shake it off I continued to stare out the tinted glass and listen to the soft song coming from the stereo speakers, it didn't sound at all like Andrew. It was too soft, and a little sad, I thought that maybe it was country or something of that sort, but I kind of liked it.

"Pamela tells me you're an orphan." Andrew said, breaking the ice with a careless and somewhat rude statement. He didn't seemed phased by it however and just continued to stare out at the street making a turn that was smoother than anything I could have pulled at the speed he was going; something that I was sure was over the speed limit –it gave me a bit of a thrill so I didn't have the nerve to speak up about it, a speeding ticket was no problem with me if it wasn't mine.

"I can't really be considered an orphan if I'm adopted." I snapped back a little quicker than I'd first meant to.

"Right, I mean you don't really have any other family out there, like someone blood related?" He seemed to dance around something; I would hardly have noticed it at all if I weren't hanging on his every word.

"I don't know." Replying a lot calmer and quieter, at first I hadn't though he'd even heard me but he nodded anyways and made a turn. I wasn't paying much attention anymore as I'd turned my attention to my hands –painted in green and blue from the night in the hospital with the girls- rather than the window to see where he was taking me. He didn't seem to mind that I wasn't paying any attention though, but he seemed irked when a light tinkling sound interrupted the silence. The source was a small black cell phone that I knew was one of the more costly kinds than I'd ever seen, I only knew because Natty had been complaining to Jessica about one.

The car didn't swerve at all as he picked it up and grimaced in a flash before clicking the IGNORE button. I couldn't see whom it was that had called him, and admittedly I was a little curious but I kept myself calmly in my seat making it seem as if I could care less. I heard the tone that said he'd turned off his phone but I didn't take into account any meaning towards it. Maybe he'd just been annoyed by whoever was calling him and didn't feel like talking –maybe someone in France.

Once he'd carelessly tossed the phone into the backseat –I had to resist not catching it before it hit the hard leather in the back, who wouldn't? After all something like that would take Mike and Jessica quite a few customers to afford, and that's just one- Andrew seemed more relaxed and even sunk into the seat with an unspoken satisfaction. I realized now how closely I'd been watching him and decided that was enough of the analysis, it had only been maybe six or seven minutes since I entered the car, that was fine since the nearest eatery would take another minute to reach. Again I turned to look out the window at where we were and felt myself almost swallow my own tongue. The green was a blur and sparser than anything surrounding Forks immediately.

"Wh-where-" but I cut myself off as I had turned to him and than at the dashboard in from of him where I read something along the lines of 120 MPH. Swallowing hard I turned to his face and saw only a cool confidence, as if nothing at all were wrong. Something, however, was wrong, very wrong: for one thing I was in a car with the mysterious Andrew Cullen, secondly he was driving over 100 miles per hour and thirdly we were nowhere near Forks –or at least what I had seen of it.

"Just relax." Andrew said, snapping me out of a possible panic attack.

"Relax? Where are we going?" I all but yelled, biting on my tongue, a habit I'd picked up as a kid. He didn't answer and just grinned, his eyes were set on the road and I noticed an off tint in them. Where as they were usually a bronze-honey color they now looked dark, cold and black; no, not black, there was a tint to them, they were a deep, sinister crimson red. I felt my breath hitch while I contemplated opening the door; the problem with throwing myself out of the car was the velocity at which he was driving and of course the location, I didn't know where I was!

Andrew couldn't be a serial killer, of course not; he was a teenager and Mrs. Cullen…Than again Natty had said they were a mysterious lot, but who wouldn't know about a pair of serial killers that were both strikingly gorgeous.

"Andrew?" he didn't respond but I knew he heard me. "Where are we going?"

A smile so threatening and predatory it made my heart yank at how beautiful he made it came across his lips and I pressed further back into the cushions trying not to hyperventilate. One of his hands caressed the steering wheel and slipped onto the armrest that was closest to me, my mind clicked to something else. Rapist? Andrew didn't fit the criteria for a rapist but his every move just seemed to swoon me, like he was a snake charmer and I was the snake.

I don't know how much longer or farther he drove all I know is that when the car did come to a stop he was sitting there, quietly, as if contemplating something. Along the side of the desolate road was a wooded area I didn't recognize. I reached out for the door handle as discreetly as possible but in a flash he had my other wrist in a grip that was impossibly too tight and yet he seemed to put no effort into it.

"Andrew." I hissed trying to pull my arm away but his grip seemed determined to rip my arm from the rest of me.

He took a breath through his lips and a groan of frustration passed him that only made me feel like I should push further from him. "Claire…" he groaned again, pulling me effortlessly towards him, though my other hand had refused to let go of the door handle. His touch was like ice but his breath was sweet as he pulled me closer to him, I felt my breath shake almost wanting to cry at how odd this felt, yet he really hadn't tried to do anything.

Both of those dark eyes I had noted were closed as his breath danced around my jaw. The air cut off at my throat and I felt like I was suffocating when he pressed his stone cold, smooth lips against my pulse. He inhaled deeply and just stayed there for a moment. I had unconsciously pressed my other hand against his shoulder, and there I could feel as he stiffened at the sinewy muscles in his forearm seemed to contract as he resisted against something. By than I was afraid to move, to breathe, or even think. My mind was blank, I couldn't even scream, not that anyone would have heard me.

Something about it felt right, a small inkling in the back of my subconscious told me so, but I could also feel the danger in the air and all the neon caution signs in my head were flashing bright enough to blind.

What had I done that brought Andrews attention to me? Was it because I didn't have a real family? Maybe that was it, he would kill me or rape me because I wouldn't be missed. Being adopted didn't necessarily make me accepted by the family, and yet I'd felt as if I somehow was meant to be there, at least until I turned eighteen. Was all of it going to end?

"Claire." He mumbled, his lips barely parting as they were still pressed against my skin I could feel every motion. I didn't respond, too frightened, but I couldn't hold my breath any longer and finally took a long draw of air. I immediately regretted it because next thing I knew he'd gripped my other wrist and pinned me with force into the passenger seat. He was already thin, and because I never wanted to eat a lot we both fit perfectly into the seat his legs on either side of me.

However he did it so fast he'd managed to keep his lips pressed delicately against my neck. Unfortunately I could feel how my brain just disconnected from the rest of my body, I was paralyzed, helpless. Andrew wasn't heavy, but he was strong enough from moving a single inch, like having a marble wall pressed into you.

He was muttering under his breath incoherently, so fast and unmistakably un-English. In my state of mind I couldn't tell it was French all I knee was that I didn't understand. Andrew shook his head as he pulled away, though it seemed partially reluctant. When I thought I felt his grip on my wrists loosened up I sighed a breath of relief, a dismal decision.

Andrew snapped again and he was pushing down on me harder than before his lips parted. I hardly registered the way he barely traced his tongue against the hollow of my neck, like a kitten testing his milk. I was sure than that he had to be a rapist; there was no other explanation.

All I had to do was succumb to whatever he said and never open my mouth and maybe he'd leave me alone after it was all over. His lips parted wider and I could feel the cool extent of his breath against my flesh. There was something off about it though, he was being so hesitant and scared, like he was afraid and every so often he kept muttering to himself, hardly ever in English.

"Forgive me, Claire." He muttered before I felt him delicate scrape his teeth against my skin. I though for sure he was just going to get on with it, but he was so focused on my neck and before another action could be made I heard the piercing, sharp honk of another car.

He didn't seem at all to notice the sound and I kept resisting the urge to call out for help. I didn't have to wait for very long however when the door was ripped open –I was almost positive he'd locked it- and the pressure of someone atop me had been torn from me so suddenly.

Immediately my gaze turned to Andrew on the ground the white dark shirt he'd been wearing dusted with dirt now. He was crouched low, but it wasn't the fierce protective stance that caught my attention or the toothy way he bared his teeth at the other like a lion or something, it was the cold look in his eyes, the dark tinted red that had seemed almost black some time ago was now a murky, brighter red color that scared me to death and back to life in a matter of seconds.

"Leave, or don't come back." The voice was soft and silk-like, unlike the musical tone in which I'd grown accustomed to with Andrew. This was another male who could have, if it were possible, been more exquisite than Andrew could look on his best day. There was wisdom in his keen golden eyes and maturity beyond the looks of his age than I'd even seen in Grandpa Newton's eyes –and he couldn't have been more than seventeen or eighteen.

Andrew stumbled for half a second and than ran with a speed far beyond the human capability out of sight and into the woods.

"He didn't have to go so fast." The bronze-haired male said. Where as Andrew seemed very delicate and elegant with wavy hazelnut brown hair, this man was sinewy and had taught muscles in his arms, his hair spiked in a casual way that gave him a more youthful energy.

Quicker than Andrew had he was closer to me and holding me gently by the chin turning me this way and that, it was in a certain direction that I noted the a silver car that I couldn't precisely name –I really had to learn the makes of those things- there was no doubt it was his.

He sighed in relief and let me go just as a red Ferrari screeched against the gravel, I knew that car because I'd heard Jessica swooning about one with Lauren Crowely, her best friend.

"Edward! Is she alright?" I knew that voice and yet I couldn't compose myself enough to stand up from the car, my breathing was slow, almost calm but my heart was beating franticly.

Above me this Edward was looking down at me with the same type of grimace that Andrew constantly shared with me, and a guilty flicker in his eyes that I'd regularly associated with Mrs. Cullen. I couldn't help the staring, my mind was blank and frazzled, I couldn't make a clear coherent thought in my head let along out of my mouth. He shrugged and I suddenly felt a cold embrace around me that reminded me enough of Andrews touch to make me yelp, I immediately back away and curled myself up into the seat.

I didn't register who it was till she'd pulled away and Edward placed a hand on her elbow in a gesture of comfort. Mrs. Cullen was staring wide-eyed at me, all the kind and tranquil expressions I'd ever seen her with was completely gone.

"M-Mrs. Cullen?" my voice was soft to me I hardly thought they could hear me.

"Claire, Edward is she okay?" She turned back to Edward looking questioning and defeated, something I'd imagine a mother might look like if her daughter had just been attacked.

"I can't tell." He said.

"You mean-"

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Bella we should take her home." He addressed Mrs. Cullen with a different name, Bella, I was sure that meant beauty in some language; that's exactly what Bella was.

"What about Andrew?" she asked.

Edward paused for a moment and took a deep breath before turning back to her and nodding. "He'll come back when he's satisfied. He promises."

She seemed relieved and instantly composed herself. I was beyond words, there was something so wrong and it wouldn't click in my mind. I kept feeling Andrews breath at my neck, his grip on my wrists, the icy aura he held with him and the last image of crimson red eyes and barred teeth…no, fangs. What was he?

"Human?" I muttered it inaudibly, I couldn't even hear myself, but both Edward and Bella had, they instantly turned their matching golden gazes to mine. Their reaction when almost unnoticed by me, I was staring at them but I didn't really comprehend anything, I saw their movements and I heard their voices but my mind was working a different puzzle.

"She's highly observant." Bella said.

"Sounds like someone I know." Edward responded pointedly in Bella's direction, she grimaced.

"What do we do?"

"I don't know, it's different, you got it on your own. She, we don't even know if she'll come to that conclusion."

"She's already questioning humanity, Edward. You can't say she won't catch on."

"We'll take her home for now, I'll call Carlisle."

"Why bring him into this? It's like admitting I made the same mistake twice!"

"It's not your fault, Edward."

"I was the one who suggested putting him into school."

"He never had the chance to finish, it was a good decision, I just should have watched him closer while you were gone, if it's anyone's fault it's mine."

"Bella-"

"Not one more word, Edward." Unwillingly he gave into the brunette teacher, I could sense the conflict but I could hardly make heads or tail about what it meant. The words meant nothing to me but the plot forming in my mind was everything but nothing. Words of every kind, theories, possibilities, realities all raced through my head like it were trying to catch up with the rest of the race. But as suddenly as I came up with a conclusion it turned black and I felt my head loll to the side as my eyes fell shut, I knew I'd fainted, I'd never fainted before but I wasn't tired so I knew that that's what it was.

The song Circle is by Paramore, it refers to Andrew and after you're done with the story you should look up the lyrics and I'm sure you'll get it.

Can't wait till Chapter 6!

:x: Anna Craft.