The Untouchable Element

Chapter 5: Port Angeles

Rated: M(For language and sexuality)

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight nor am I affiliated with Stephanie Meyer in any way. The ideas behind this story, however, belong to me.

A/N: I would like to thank all of you for writing such wonderful and insightful reviews, it's what keeps me inspired and I really appreciate your patience with the story's progress so far. This chapter hardly has any Rosalie/Bella interactions but to create more angst and drama, Jessica takes advantage of Rosalie's withdrawal from Bella. ;) I suffered from writer's block with this chapter so I don't like it much, but don't give up on the story! There's some loving in the next chapter so ignore your urges to kill me. XD

Bella's Point of View:

Procrastination. There's no excuse in the world for me to condone laziness when I prefer to keep my mind and body active at all times but in the last two days, I've done nothing to distract myself. Ever since I left the hospital, I'd been trying to stray away from all sorts of attention, especially when it concerns Tyler throwing constant apologies at me. Even though I've relentlessly told him that he was not at fault for what happened, his incessant need to make it up to me has been getting on my last damn nerve.

He didn't need to make up for anything since it was an accident, and it wasn't like there was some force out there attempting to convince him to kill me that day. Even if there was, Rosalie was there to protect me. God, I still haven't begun my research on "her kind" yet. I don't even know how to go about it actually so I haven't bothered asking around. It wasn't like anybody in Forks knew anything about them anyway since the Cullens appeared to have lived very private lives. It's just so odd how a small town could be inhabited by people who knew everything about one another with the exception of a particular pale, golden-eyed family. What could they possibly be that no one else was aware of?

The million thoughts that flew in my mind suddenly terrified me. If they were anything but human, what brought them out here in the middle of nowhere? They weren't exactly dangerous as they seemed since they were attending public school like nothing out of the ordinary, and their father was peacefully working with people at a semi-large hospital. Another thing that puzzles me is that even though they were supposedly not related, they all shared the same genetic traits. Was it because of Dr. Cullen and his wife? It was certainly none of my business how they all carried their adoptive parents' traits but the mystery couldn't be dismissed either.

I found it peculiar that all the students at Forks didn't seem to respect the Cullen students but perhaps it was because of their reserved nature that didn't draw much attention to anyone. From Rosalie's perspective, it was important that they held some ground rules for interacting with anyone else besides each other so I couldn't blame her for behaving like she did. How would anyone else react to what Rosalie did for me? They'd be questioning their sanity, or worse; exposing the sacred gifted nature that belonged to the Cullens without remorse. I knew everybody had their suspicions as to how I was saved from that accident that day but it didn't take long until they finally bought the same lie I told my dad.

Rosalie Hale, for some unknown reason, risked this important secret she and her family shared to save my worthless ass. She used impressive agility to reach me in time, focused her energy on the incoming van without having Tyler to worry about since he was cowering underneath his steering wheel, and simply stopped the van with her palm. It sounds unbelievable but thinking about it now freezes me up, forcing tears to well up in my eyes since I nearly experienced death. I do not cry, however, because I'm still alive. What Rosalie told my father that day in the hospital only gave me questionable hope for the future though and I wasn't sure for what reason either.

There was some truth in her statement when Rosalie said she couldn't bear the thought of allowing anything to happen to me. At first, I thought it was weird but as the day progressed, I accepted that from her because she admitted to wanting friendship with me. She was battling something, that I knew because it wasn't hard to notice that she was struggling but what was it that had her caught up in a web of confusion? I hope it wasn't regret.

Just thinking about the recent events that have taken place has kept me tossing and turning all through the night. I couldn't sleep; there was just so much to figure out and it was stressing me out. Jessica didn't like the fact that Rosalie touched me but was grateful that she was there to save my life. Tyler was riding on my back desperately seeking forgiveness even though I had already given it to him and Mike would not stop with all of the lesbian knight in shining armor jokes! It was all getting to me, and I was pissed off that they wouldn't leave me alone. The only people I appreciated included Angela and Eric for being so polite and calm about everything, and Rosalie for keeping her distance.

As I remembered her face that moment she literally swept me off my feet, I shifted onto my back on the comfortable mattress my father bought for me. I glanced at my ancient cheap clock and it read three-thirty in the morning. I sighed into my yawn and pulled up the satin sheets to cover my face. Tomorrow was definitely going to be a long, dreadful day since Jessica forewarned me that she would be asking me an important question. If it has anything to do with the homecoming dance, I'd purposely cripple myself that way I wouldn't be asked to participate in such highly retarded events anymore.

I quickly drifted into a different state of consciousness after a few minutes but before losing all awareness of my surroundings, I felt a breeze brush over my sleeping body gently. My midnight stalker was watching me again, I think, but I couldn't protest since I suddenly felt much safer with my guardian looking out for me. Even before the accident, I had been dreaming of several different figures breaking in through my window where they stood by the foot of my bed every night and observed me with no intentions of affliction. It felt so real for some reason but why would anybody invest some kind of obsession with me anyway? I must be distressed from misplaced, severe paranoia.

When I awoke around six-fifteen in the morning, I heard Charlie's footsteps shuffling down the hallway before he reached my doorway on the other side and knocked. "Morning Bella, everything alright?" He asked, turning the knob to invite himself in. This was not habitual, and very uncharacteristic of my father to check in on me like my mother would. Oh…I forgot he and Renee talked for the first time in many years after the accident. She must have put him up to this, and for some reason, I felt really bothered about it.

"Good morning, dad. Everything's fine here, but what's going on?" I ask calmly as I could. Studying his facial expressions for many years, I could tell he was genuinely concerned with something. "Just checking in on you, sport. I've been receiving some complaints from the neighbors that somebody's been seen checking out the house and climbing that tree in front of your window at night." He flat out told me with brutal force.

The news sent tidal waves of panic flooding through me, my heart turning into a block of ice and dropping to the floor. Were the images of the mysterious figures watching me sleep at night definitely real? I know I couldn't tell Charlie about these dreams or else he'd turn this lovely house into a prison. I had to make it my priority to catch the culprit in the act and having some sort of blunt weapon ready would suffice for protection.

This town had just transformed from a shitty small town to one of those generic cursed small towns you'd read about in a Stephen King novel.

"Really? That's weird, I haven't heard anything unusual at night. Maybe it's one of my friends trying to pull a prank or something?" I suggested, not really meaning to throw my small group of friends into the fire. Charlie huffed before taking a sip of his coffee and relaxing his tense body. "If they are trying to be wise asses, I would recommend you tell them-no, remind them- that I'm the chief of police. I have to go to work now Bells, so if you hear of anything that might pertain to this situation, let me know. See you later." He replies, storming out of the house in a hurry. If there's anything out there in the world that really pisses off Charlie, it's people who challenge his authority by fucking around with his territory, property, or family.

Carefully glancing out the window, there was nothing there as I should have expected but there was a new growing fear that involved my personal safety. If there was some creep sneaking into my window, I'd have to kick his ass for invading my personal space. Plus, it would be better for him if he faced me first rather than Charlie because if my temperamental father caught him, the guy would have a shotgun rammed up his ass. "Whoever this jerk off is, I'll fuck him up. Let him try and mess with me!" I yell cockily to no one in particular as I got up to get dressed for school. As soon as my foot landed on something soft and slippery, I fell backwards and hit my head on my end table. Smooth move, ex-lax. What a way to start the day as I always say.

When I sat up, I began rubbing the back of my head to soothe the pain I felt when I was momentarily distracted by a small red petal on the floor. I picked it up and realized it was a fresh rose petal. It immediately reminded me of Rosalie. Wouldn't it be the damnedest thing if she was involved in all of this? Not likely. There was a rose bush in front of the house so the wind must have picked some rebellious petals and tossed it into my room. The contradictory part of the theory was that the flowers in front of my house were mostly pink and yellow. Where the hell did this red rose petal come from then?

----------------------------------------AFTER SCHOOL-The Parking Lot------------------------------------------

It brought me a great deal of grief knowing that Rosalie and her family were pointlessly avoiding my gazes again. They aren't at fault, however, since I witnessed something I shouldn't have the other day. There was a good reason why they didn't interact with the "normal" kids here at Forks High but to go to great lengths to ignore a particular somebody frustrated me. I wanted to look into Rosalie's eyes and read all the emotions that they spoke, but no, she never dared to look at me. I guess she really meant it when she told me that we could not come into contact with each other unless I had come up with some theories about "her kind."

As I was pulling out of my parking space, I drove towards the main exit of the school when I found myself wedged between the Cullens' shiny silver Volvo and Jessica's piece of crap. Fuck. I had managed to avoid my friend all day in the false hopes of not being asked to go to the stupid homecoming dance on Friday. I waited patiently for the driver in front of me to move but he didn't budge. Edward Cullen was looking at me curiously using the rearview mirror and smirked. Rosalie was in the passenger seat and I found her intently staring at me as well with a huge smile planted on her face. If I rammed your small vehicle from behind with my gigantic truck, I bet it would wipe off the stupid smug looks off your faces.

Were they aware of my uncontrollable road rage at all? The confusion I felt in the back of my mind revolved around Rosalie and her family, the hypocritical behavior that Rosalie displayed lately had me flustered, and now that she was sitting in a parked vehicle in front of me taunting me with her wickedly beautiful smile pissed me off. That's it. I punched the horn of my beat up truck and the result was worse; the weak sound emitted from my truck had the Cullens laughing up a storm. Oh, I'm glad I could be some form of entertainment. Jackasses!

Just then, I noticed Jessica walking out of her vehicle and I could only assume that she was going to take advantage of the hold up to ask me a question. Ugh. I punched the horn again and leaned back into my seat, rolling down the window to finally face what was coming towards me. "Hey Bella, I finally caught you. I wanted to ask you something, but I'm hoping you don't automatically reject me. Just listen, okay?" She pleaded, creasing her forehead with cute wrinkles. I couldn't help but give in to those beautiful blue eyes. "Alright, go ahead and ask. I'm stuck behind…the Cullens." I spat out impatiently, watching Alice, the big burly one in the middle known as Emmett and Jasper throwing themselves into a fit of hysterics in the back seat.

Jessica grinned when I disrespectfully stated the Cullens' last name and continued. "Well, since you don't want to go to Homecoming, how about you, Angela, and I head out to Port Angeles tonight to go shopping? You told me once that you love reading and there's this awesome bookstore you should check out. Will you come?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as she reached out to clutch my shoulder. Since Rosalie found my anger amusing, I decided to test her since I knew she didn't like Jessica Stanley much. "I would love to come with you Jessica. Maybe tonight we could also eat out together?" I suggested, waiting for some kind of reaction from Rosalie. I couldn't help but notice how pink Jessica's cheeks turned as she hesitated with a response. Pervert. Haha! "S-sure, there's a good ho-erm, restaurant down there as well. I'll pick you up around 5:30. See you!" She replied, swiftly giving me a friendly kiss on the cheek.

This must have set somebody off in front of me because I heard a loud cracking noise and looked over to the front of me only to find shattered glass on the sidewalk and a speeding silver Volvo.

----------------------------------------Port Angeles- Clothing store-------------------------------------------

"Bella, what do you think of this dress? I love the color, but it's not very…conservative." My shy friend Angela asked, twirling herself around in a body mirror. She was a petite girl, both in height and weight, but the dress she tried on accentuated her curves beautifully. It was a fierce magenta color, silky and smooth, but it was a little too sexy apparently since her cleavage was in full view. I loved how it complimented her body though, she should definitely wear it to make Ben weak in the knees. "Angela, you look absolutely gorgeous. Since you were blessed with nice breasts, you should boast about your body for this special night. I think you should buy it." I tell her earnestly, my overeager eyes giving her a once-over.

She blushed furiously and placed her hands on her hips as she gazed at me with an appreciative but modest look on her face. "I like you Bella, you aren't crude and are ever so sweet." She said, before jumping at the sound of Jessica's humorous booming voice. "So do I have more competition to wipe out?" She joked, dancing into Angela's dressing space in the fitting rooms. The blue dress she wore caused my jaw to involuntarily drop, her beauty radiating before me.

Jessica was indeed a voluptuous young girl, her confidence thriving when she noticed how my mouth was watering over her. Don't get me wrong, she was beautiful, but there was only one person she couldn't top; Rosalie Hale. I was mad at her, however, so I indulged myself in Jessica and Angela's company instead.

"Jessica, you're absolutely stunning. Where'd you find that dress?" Angela inquired, her face also displaying incredible awe. I nodded in agreement, trying to get Rosalie off of my mind. It was her fault that she chose to avoid me in the first place, right? "I found it in the clearance section actually, and when I picked it up, I couldn't resist trying it on. How do you like it, Bella?" Jessica replied, giving me an obvious look asking for approval. "It looks fantastic on you, Jessica. I honestly don't know what else to say." I say, trying to contain the disappointment in my voice. I wish Rosalie would make an honest effort to impress me….Wait, why I was thinking this now? What the hell?

Angela and Jessica ended up purchasing the dresses I liked so much, and they were supposed to buy some "delicious" stilettos to go along with their formal wear but decided against it. We walked out of the store and headed for Jessica's car when I suddenly remembered the bookstore I wanted to check out. "Hey, why don't you two head to the restaurant and reserve some seats? I wanted to go buy some books at the store Jess mentioned." I said, checking my cell phone for the time. It was going to be seven o' clock in a couple of minutes. Hmm, Jessica and Angela were very fast shoppers and I was totally inclined to be grateful for that.

"Sure thing, Bella. Just make sure you're careful around here, and don't take too long either. You'll see the book shop just around the corner of Shadow Leader Avenue. It's not too far from here." Jessica assured, pointing her finger in the direction I was heading. I thanked the both of them and promised them I would be quick just like they were. I didn't want them hovering over me while I was searching for books that explained Rosalie's nature.

When I arrived at my destination, it was a small but cozy book shop that offered free internet and craptastic versions of Starbuck's coffee. There was only one cashier available and it was an attractive young woman with cropped black hair and deep brown eyes just like my own, and her skin was a darker shade of tan. She was obviously bored with work since there were hardly any customers around this time so she kept herself busy by reading a book. Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed a lean, muscular, familiar looking boy with the same skin tone as the woman and long jet black hair that went past his shoulders. He had been staring at me with slight interest and it was already making me uncomfortable.

As I was browsing through the remarkable selection of titles, I felt a familiar presence surrounding me from behind. "Well if it isn't Bella Swan. What brings a girl like you to a place like this?" I turned to find Jacob Black smiling from ear to ear as he pulled me into a friendly embrace. He had grown into a handsome young man, and even though we weren't exactly the best of friends when we were children, I was happy to see him again. "Jacob? Holy crow, look at you! How have you been?" I asked, and from there we spent ten minutes catching up with each other. Turns out that he was dating the cashier, and her name was Leah Clearwater. When he introduced us, I noticed a glint of admiration in her eyes when she looked me over. I groaned on the inside. Not another one, Bella. Hey! Just because my gaydar worked extremely well, it didn't mean that I was egotistical. I can just simply tell that Leah was bisexual and liked what she saw. I can't help it, really.

Anyway, Jacob and I talked about silly things, which led to the point where we apologized to each other for becoming bitter rivals at the tender age of seven. When I happened to mention that a girl named Rosalie Hale pushed me out of the way from the incoming van accident Charlie briefly told Billy about, Jacob's eyes darkened menacingly. "That's really unusual, Bella. The Cullens don't interact with anyone else but themselves. They aren't supposed to get close to humans…" He whispered audibly, ignoring the look of horror that must have been written in my facial expression. "I mean, considering what they are, I'm shocked that one of them would come into close contact with you without hurting you." He continued, almost stunning me to silence.

"Wait, what are you talking about, Jacob? Are you implying they aren't human…at all? What do you know that I don't!" I demanded, reaching out for his hand and locking my fingers with his own in order to place trust between the both of us. Jacob's reaction was that of bewilderment but he surprisingly agreed to tell me more. "I'm assuming you only want to know because there's something else you aren't really telling anybody." He guessed, raising an eyebrow cautiously. That was one hell of a presumption. I couldn't think of any other logical reason so I nodded my head. Since he was accidentally spilling secrets, I decided I could trust him enough to let him know what really happened the day of my accident. I recounted my horrifying tale, and when I finished, he clenched his fists and let out an angry sigh.

What was going on?!

"Shit, Bella. Of all the rotten creatures in the world, you want to befriend a filthy fucking bloodsucker!" He cried out, emphasizing bloodsucker with unshakable rage. I was speechless. What would be the proper response to something like that? He released my grip on his hand and shook his head with disproval. "Listen to me, Bella. I'm about to tell you a very scary story that is completely relevant to the Cullens. I'm not making this up to frighten you, but to let you know of what their true nature is. I can't tell you to stay away from them since it's not my choice to make and besides, you're telling me that Rosalie Hale wants to be your…friend. If that wasn't true, you wouldn't be sitting here right now."

I didn't have much faith in anything. There was never a reason for me to doubt the existence of a higher being, but I just never believed in God. I always believed that if I lived a clean life by being a decent person, then I would just die peacefully without having to be judged on whether or not I would be admitted to the kingdom of heaven. Now I was sitting here at a bookstore talking to Jacob about the supernatural creatures that exist in this world. What the fuck does that tell me, huh?

He began by talking about how the Quilette tribe was one of many tribes that were descendents of wolves. When his great grandfather Ephraim Black was born, his family was bestowed a special gift that could only be passed along from father to son but he didn't really elaborate on what this special gift was. All I had to know was that it was against the law to kill a wolf in the states of Washington and Oregon. That wasn't suspicious at all…Anyway, I would do some research on that later but I wanted to pay attention to Jacob's story.

"The legend of the cold ones begins with the story of how Lucifer, the rebellious archangel, disobeyed God and attempted to take over the throne in heaven. My father says that when a group of angels followed Lucifer, they were banished from the kingdom and were sent to live on Earth as punishment. Because these fallen angels were used to a rich, fulfilling lifestyle, they struggled quite a bit living in unfamiliar territory. A dozen of Lucifer's worshippers died prematurely, but Lucifer never surrendered to the temptation of death. He and a few of the other fallen angels eventually became cannibals, and this empowered them very much when they eventually earned abilities and unusual traits that belong to creatures like the Cullens."

"What I'm trying to tell you Bella is that these fallen angels transformed into…vampires. I know it sounds ridiculous, but Lucifer was the first known being to have become immortal on Earth. The traits I'm talking about include snow-white pale skin, crimson red eyes that can turn pitch black, two rows of sharp fangs that hide behind blunt human teeth, and although all vampires lost these unique parts, Lucifer and his followers were the only known vampires to have black demonic wings that protruded from underneath their shoulder blades. They were also nearly invincible, like their skin was made up of hard, granite rock. They worked hard for many years to earn extra abilities like extra agility, super strength, and a shit load of other heightened senses. So when my grandfather met the Cullens, he knew what they were right away but Carlisle revealed that his family were unique amongst their own kind. You see, other parasites still like to feast on innocent human beings since that belongs in their nature but it seems like the Cullens have denied their evil counterpart's wishes. I wish I could tell you more but that's all I know. If you aren't freaked out by now, I'm sure you could pry this information from Rosalie or her siblings. They can't hurt you since they have to abide by the treaty my grandfather created for them since they are permanent residents on our land. We gave them the right to live here since they don't drink human blood. It's uh…kind of their thing." Jacob finished, nearly breathless from talking non-stop.

I was paralyzed with fear. Vampires existed in this day and age? Not only that, but they were direct descendents of Satan and his followers? I had never felt so nauseous in my entire life up until this point. My forehead dominated by beads of sweat, warm bile working its way up towards my esophagus and uncertainty explaining my silence, my moment of unease was interrupted by Leah's rough but kind voice. "We're not bullshitting you, Bella. They are what they are but so far, they prove to be entirely harmless. That's why they keep to themselves since this secret is sacred and they don't want to risk hurting anybody else. I'm surprised it was Rosalie who saved you since she was a newborn when I met her and newborns are kind of…well, dangerous." She said, dropping a few heavy hardcover books on the table me and Jacob were sitting at. I looked over the book titles and they were enough to almost make me purge the disgusting elements from my body.

"These books will help you understand vampires since this is what you came here for, right? It's a bit weird that Rosalie wants you to figure her family out, but what do I know? I could care less about them. You just have to promise that you'll be careful around her, we don't entirely trust them nor do we like them." I wanted to ask Jacob why they're allowing them to live here if they don't like them but there was that same nagging suspicious voice that told me it had to do with that wolf thing he mentioned earlier. Could werewolves possibly exist too since Lycanthropes were the natural enemy of the vampire? And what did he mean when he said that the Cullens don't drink human blood? How could they survive then?

When I got up to leave, I didn't say anything to Leah or Jacob when I walked right up to the counter to pay for the books they half-heartedly threw in my face. I picked up my cell phone and began dialing Jessica's number. I wasn't feeling well, I needed to go home now and let myself process everything I heard tonight. I can't believe that vampires could exist but what else could explain the hardness of Rosalie's skin, her strength, the graceful way she moved, and the color changes in her eyes? Jesus. What was this world coming to?

"Hey Jess, it's Bella. I'm sorry I took so long but I met up with an old friend at the bookstore. Could we possibly postpone dinner for some other time? I'm feeling nauseous. Okay, you'll pick me up? Great, I really appreciate it. Thank you!" I said to her, not hiding the trembling in my voice. I hope she didn't question me or else I'd lose my composure. Everything just seemed so blurry now. I didn't know what to make of my life anymore. Was I really going to pursue a potentially dangerous friendship with Rosalie?

---------------------------------------------------Author's Note-----------------------------------------------------

If there was a lot of swearing in this chapter, I sincerely apologize. Writing this chapter got me all frustrated so I don't like how it turned out. There are some biblical references and I hope it doesn't offend anybody; it's just something I thought would be perfect for this story so wait until the last couple of chapters. I hope you'll dig it. :)