So this is kind of short. Sorry about that. It's not that I meant it to it's just that I wanted this info in there plus the info for the next chapter and if I did that all in one it would have been REALLY long.

Anyways, here's chapter 6. Song by Lifehouse.

R&R

Chapter 6

The Joke

There was a pounding in my ears, like the constant beat of a drum and it throbbed in an erratic rhythm all around me. Where I was, I didn't know. My eyes were closed tight trying to block out the piercing pain in my head and grasping the numb blanket that had slowly started to take over me again; it felt good not to feel anything. The pounding in my head didn't allow for any more rest and before I knew it my mind relayed everything to me at a faster pace than I'd have desired.

Andrew. Everything was focused on Andrew. His marble-like stature, his ice-cold grip, dark black-red eyes, amazing inhuman speed and the way he'd grazed his mouth over my neck and how he'd bared those fangs in full view before he'd turned and disappeared into a forest. Leaving me. Not alone, in the company of a male who was just as much a Roman god as Andrew was.

His name was Edward it seemed fitting on someone as beautiful as him, just like the name Bella had fit Mrs. Cullen so perfectly. The ringing of their names in my mind made me cringe and I fought to keep my eyes closed. Behind my lids there was a light threatening to blind and awaken me, I didn't want that to happen so I dug my face into the sweet scented fabric beneath me.

"What?" I jolted upward very suddenly when I'd come to realization that my head had been pressed into a pillow, that the soft pressure of numbness I'd before wanted to welcome was a soft comforter, and the light trying to push past my eyelids was coming from an extremely tall window in an exceptionally large room. Everything seemed costly: the four-poster bed, white carpet, and clear shinning glass.

Standing up I took a moment to balance and compose myself.

There was only one reason I was suddenly somewhere I didn't recognize and happened to be taking a somewhat-needed rest. I'd gone into shock and blocked out, it must have looked pathetic. After trying most of my life to keep up a tough persona I'd let it slip; who wouldn't let it slip when someone is suddenly trying to kill or rape? I think. Still, it was, in my mind, not a good enough excuse.

About half a second after I took my first step forward there was a knock on the large door before it opened very slightly. Framed in the door way was Mrs. Cullen –no, Bella, that was her name, it fit her better than Mrs. Cullen ever did. Her golden eyes searched me for something, I didn't know what it was but she never seemed to find her answer and very cautiously opened the door wider. I took a step back and she froze looking at me with concern that I could see she was struggling to hide; Bella was probably one of those people who weren't very good at hiding their feelings.

"Claire?" she questioned, opening the door a little wider, I responded by taking another step back and knocking myself back onto the bed with an 'ump'.

"Where am I?" I asked, finally summoning enough strength to do so. She seemed a little relieved that I spoke, or maybe it was because my voice was even instead of shaking in fear, something I was doing on the inside as I tried to imagine Bella with those same red eyes that Andrew had possessed. Would she try to pull the same thing he did?

It didn't seem likely, her eyes were a beautiful golden color, not anywhere close to how dark Andrew's always seemed to be.

"My home, or the Cullen's home you might say." She said leaning against the wall next to the door. "How are you feeling?"

I turned and rose a brow at her, "I'm almost positive I was this close," I brought up my hand pinching my fingers together narrowly, "to dying a while ago and you ask me how I'm feeling?"

Her gaze dropped, I hadn't meant to sound mean or snap at her but I honestly wasn't feeling good, I didn't know what had just happened.

"A little shocked but fine otherwise." Murmuring the words I was sure she heard them because her gaze rose again to look over at me. Bella seemed sensitive and a lot more vulnerable than she usually did in front of a classroom, the make-up she wore to school was washed off and I could see all the natural beauty she kept hidden. I was a plain Jane next to her.

"You have questions?" she snapped me out of a silent reverie and I looked at her a bit dumbfounded. I did have questions but I wasn't exactly sure where I was supposed to start with them, there was always that 'So you're not human, are you?' –approach, but I wasn't up to looking like a fool if it all turned out to be a really big misunderstanding.

Instead I shrugged my shoulders and turned my head down to look at the white-carpeted floor.

For what felt like eternity we were quiet and I sat there feeling like a child who was prepared for a scolding. There was nothing for them to be angry about, if anything I should have been the one that was angry. I couldn't find the strength or the heart to make myself angry with Bella, if anything I was scared and perhaps a little confused about the whole situation.

I looked up and noticed she wasn't standing in the same place anymore; she was by the window letting the little sun outside leak in and onto her glittering skin. My brow quirked without my knowing while I looked at her, I hadn't noticed before but the sun hit her like it would a diamond and it looked like maybe Bella was inset with millions of the world's shiniest crystals. Admittedly I was staring but it was hard not to.

"We're different." Said a voice from close beside me, I nearly jumped out of my skin while I turned around quickly. I did so fast enough that I clumsily fell to the carpet landing on my rear none to gracefully. I'd made a fool of myself twice in ten minutes now, how wonderful!

"Edward, I can take care of this." Bella said; she came to stand over me offering a pale hand in my direction.

"You'll need my help." He replied, stubbornly.

I took Bella's ice-cold grip, a lot like the one Andrew had offered me when I first met him. She pulled me up with ease and I sat back down, my legs were hardly able to take a step let alone keep me standing. It grew quiet for a moment and I watched as Edward stared intently at Bella as if he were listening very hard to something that displeased him. I furrowed my brows unable to comprehend just what was going on.

"That was different, this is different." He finally muttered, impatience thick on his voice. It grew quiet again.

"No! That was love, this…this is lust, hunger." He growled, an inhuman motion that I'd heard from Andrew some time ago. "If only you could hear him Bella, you would understand, you would see why. This is my fault, I could have stopped it when he first started thinking about it but I thought it was enough."

The two in front of me fell silent again and I came to my own conclusion right than and there. Taking a long deep breath and letting it out I stood keeping myself strong and steady hoping to at least prove I was worthy of some credit, I was a girl that had been through a lot this couldn't be much more different; or so I'd hoped.

"Ahem," I asked for attention. "Really, I don't care what you guys are, who you guys are. I'm not going to tell anyone anything, but if you'll just point me in the direction of home I'd gladly oblige to get out of your hair." I wanted to put some kind of sarcastic grin at the end but I could hardly manage all that eloquent speech and just stuck with a kind of shrug and twitch of the lip.

"Anything?" Bella asked me. I turned to her and let my gaze fall. I felt myself blush under her eyes and nodded. She turned to Edward who seemed unsure about letting me go.

"You're sure you don't want to know anything?" she asked as if she were surprised as if this were a secret anyone would kill to know. It probably was for all I knew.

"My life's been pretty weird Mrs.-"

"Bella." She interrupted, much like I did when trying to state my identity.

"Bella. But my point is I don't think I need to add anymore to what a freak I already am. An orphan in a small town where everyone knows just about everything about everyone, except me, I'm just the new Newton; as surprising as it may seem, I think I want to keep it that way."

Bella turned to Edward as if to prove that there was nothing wrong. He grimaced, his lips a straight line, he didn't approve it wasn't hard to tell. Since I was still standing I sort of shuffled my feet not really knowing what to do in the situation. My breathing was even but I could ear my heart in my head pounding in the silence I was sure they could hear it.

"Edward…" Bella said, her features soft as she placed a hand on his shoulder. He sighed and took a step toward the door.

"I'll take her home, Andrew's waiting in the backyard for you Bella."

"Me?" she questioned, looking a little shocked but didn't take a moment longer to depart. She did however take one quick moment to give my shoulder a gentle squeeze and than she was gone; leaving me with Edward who looked to be trying to compose himself.

"Let's go then." He motioned for me to follow him and I did, he seemed frustrated, composed, and even a little happy? I think that was it but I couldn't pin anything on Edward he seemed to switch through moods or something like that.

The house –or was it a mansion- seemed rather large as we walked through the hallways. Painted in white it was an exquisite almost Victorian-like structure that fit with its beautiful occupants.

On our way down to the second floor we passed a window overlooking the back of the house. I paused to look down at the slight figure of Bella standing, arms crossed, over Andrew who had his head in his hands shaking his brown hair this way and that, I thought for sure he must have been crying. Next to me Edward sighed for the second time and leaned against the window, the warmth of his breath should have left a lingering mist on the glass but there was nothing there at all.

"He's new to our lifestyle, well as new as new can be to our kind." He said. I didn't know if he was trying to get me to understand because truth was I got about the jest of it.

"So you're not human?" I went out on a limb there, I felt myself bush a crimson red saying something so ridiculous.

"Correct."

"Magic?"

He chuckled, "No."

"Than what?"

"Our kind just is, it had been for years. The origin isn't exactly known to any of us."

"There's more like you?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

"Too many."

"And do you all drink," I gulped, "from humans?"

"No. Andrew, Bella and myself are like vegetarians of our kind."

This surprised me. "How does that work?"

"Animals." He stated simply and matter-of-factly, his golden-topaz gaze turned to look at me, I could tell out of the corner of my eye he was staring at me but I couldn't tear my gaze from Andrew looking so broken sitting on the grass. Bella was speaking and from where I was I could see her lips moved a mile a minute. It was a beautiful picture despite the pain they both held on their features; was it my entire fault?

I turned away to look at my scuffed up shoes. Guilt was heavy on my chest, I'd convinced myself that there was no reason for me to feel that way, and yet I did. People had always reassured me I was never a burden to them even though I knew I was, this feeling that I had caused some kind of conflict that I had stumbled across something that wasn't to be known by anyone made me feel terrible.

Next to me Edward didn't budge an inch. He seemed captivated by the scene unfolding as if he could hear them all the way from up on the second story. Somewhere in my mind I processed that it must have been at least somewhat possible.

"Claire?" he put a hand on my shoulder making me jump slightly.

I turned to him. "Yeah?"

"I don't know how you seemed to have come to a conclusion without any help, or how you're dealing with it vaguely well, but be aware that there is more to it."

"My mind is different, I don't know either, it's like I'm insane without knowing it. The conclusion comes from –well it comes from Andrew. I-I also loved horror stories when I was younger." I felt silly admitting that to Edward who did chuckled a bit at my words. "And, well running around in hysterics has never been much my thing so I'm just saving the shock for later."

Edward chuckled again and than nodded toward the window. Andrew was sitting up right now nodding every so often while Bella spoke –in a way that reminded me of the time she caught Taylor in the cafeteria about to throw mashed potatoes into Kylie's hair, not that she didn't deserve it.

"You don't have to talk to him today, or ever for that matter, but I assure you this mistake of mine will never happen again."

I didn't respond. I didn't know how to respond. "I just want to go home right now."

He nodded and started down to the first floor again. I followed still admiring the home but with not as much intrigue. Edward had such ease about him, much the same way it'd been with Bella when I first met her at school. The only problem I saw with him was how much he seemed to stiffen around me –the ethereal beauty part didn't per say strike me as much as his persona did. Than again Bella had the same problem, I knew now what Andrew's problem was but I didn't understand the other two.

We reached a garage where I noted Andrew's and Bella's cars, they were exquisite and almost as flawless as there owners. I stalled for a moment just to look but Edward had already pulled the passenger door open to the sleek, silver one.

I didn't notice anything about the car ride home, not his speed, not the scenery, not Edward. My mind was wandering, it was only when we pulled in front of the house did I look at the glowing blue digits on his dashboard. 4:37 P.M. it flashed.

"What are you thinking?" he asked just as I clicked the buckle from around my waist.

"Honestly?" I asked looking up into his topaz eyes, as I was about to open the door. He nodded.

"My explanation to Jessica about how I got in this car." I stepped out chuckling a bit under my breath, he did too.

His smile was beautiful, Bella was exquisite and Andrew was superb, how did anyone overlook the question of their humanity?

"The Newton's are good people," he started as I looked at him through the lowered passenger seat, "You're lucky to be with such a good family."

I smiled, the window came up and he drove off leaving me to make my way to the front door. When I opened it I had a pair of twelve year old arms around me and Jessica peeking out the door down the road where Edward's car had just been.

I hope you enjoyed it!

:x:Anna Craft.