*A/N: As with every chapter, we don't own anything Stephenie Meyer created, but we do like to play with her characters oh so very much :D

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Chapter 3

BPOV

I didn't know how long I'd been running, but I could feel my legs starting to falter under me as I raced through the halls. I didn't know where exactly I was; the only thing I was sure of was the monster I had encountered, and that it wanted me dead. I heard the beast coming closer, my strength and speed waning with every second the clock ticked. I saw an open door, and for some reason I knew it was my sanctuary from the evil creature on my tail. Relief gave me a burst of adrenaline, causing me to rush through the door and lock it shut before the monster could get in. Loud banging and wood creaking echoed throughout the room. The darkness was thick as the only light cast was from the moon shining through a small window in the corner. The moment I started to survey my surroundings I felt a presence in the room with me. Frightened, I slowly turned around only to see the shadow of a person. It looked to be a man, but I couldn't tell in the darkness.

"Hello? Who are you?" I called out to the stranger lurking in the shadows. He said nothing, but quickly looked at me with the most piercing green eyes I'd ever seen. They cut the darkness in the room like a knife and made me speechless.

"It's you. Finally you." The man's voice was barely audible over the rumbling of the door, but the whisper caressed me like a delicate breeze. While his alluring eyes were drawing me closer to him, his words confused me and kept me where I was standing.

"What do you mean? Who are you?"

"You finally came." Every whisper he breathed lead me further into confusion. The banging increased in sound as the wood began to splinter and break under the pressure of the monster's blows. Frightened, I backed away from the green eyed man and the door, preparing to protect myself.

"Only you Bella, only you."

"I don't understand, what do you mean?" I screamed at him, but before he could answer, the door keeping the monster from coming inside broke at the hinges, and I was staring face to face with the beast.

******

I shot up from my seat, a sheen film of sweat covering my body. After a couple of seconds, I regained my senses and realized everyone was shouting.

"I can't BELIEVE you got us lost! How does one get LOST on a trip like this?! It's ONE fucking highway all the way to New Jersey!" Alice's face was beat red and her death stare was pointed right at the driver of the car, Jake.

Groggily, I looked at her. "Where are we?"

She quickly turned her glare onto me, her eyes wild with annoyance. "Bum-fuck-ville Pennsylvania. Seems genius boy here can't fucking read a map and got us all kinds of lost in the middle of Pennsylvania."

"Alice, quit it! God, I said I was sorry!" Jake looked frantic. His hair was tussled wildly and he looked like he was only surviving on Caffeine.

"So, what happened?" I rubbed Jake's shoulder, trying to calm him down, but he shrugged it off.

"Well, we were running out of gas, so I pulled off the interstate to get some. It wasn't right off the road, so I had to travel a little ways to find a gas station. I thought I was going exactly the way I came when I was full up, but I guess I must've turned on a wrong road or something."

"Well, do we have any ideas as to what town we're in?" I questioned the group.

"Well, we just passed a sign for Endeavor, but the city isn't on the map." Jacob explained. Alice slightly growled and leaned back into her seat.

Trying to fix matters, I came up with a simple solution, "Well, next time we see any kind of store, we'll just stop and ask for directions."

"I second that!" Quil shouted, finally coming into the conversation. "I'm so fucking hungry. If we don't get me some munchies soon I'mma start going all Donner on all y'all." Alice and I stared at him incredulously.

A confused look came upon Quil's face, "…what?"

"Dude, you ate like 5 hours ago!" I looked towards Jake to see him staring at Quil through his rearview mirror.

His confused deepened. "Your point?"

Jacob just shook his head and went back to concentrating on the road. "Anyways, Bells, it's close to Midnight; I don't think anything on this road is going to be open this late." The moment he uttered those words, a dim glow could be seen down the highway. Coming closer to it, the building started to take shape, with gas pumps outlining the property and a convenience store with a neon "open" sign towards the back. I gave a smirk to Jake, who in return rolled his eyes and started heading for the store.

"It's a good thing this place is a gas station; I dunno how much longer we would've been able to go on that road." Jake mumbled while stumbling out of his car. Quil, supposedly starving, leaped out of the car to follow Jake into the shop.

"Bella, come back here right now! I need to talk to you!" Alice scolded. Wondering what I did wrong, I started to climb out of the car and into the backseat.

EMPOV

Tonight was boring, just like every other night. Being a gas station clerk on a desolate highway was a pain in the ass. The only people that ever came in were weird kids obsessed with the fact that they were driving Route 666 or people who were lost. I tried to keep my pessimism to a dull roar though, knowing that it'd just drive me insane to mope about my boring life all night. I started cleaning the coffee pot when Jasper rolled onto the sales floor.

"Hey Em, I think there's people outside." I looked to my left to see two young guys coming up to the store. The girls must be waiting in the car; guys don't usually come in for directions on their own accord I thought to myself. I walked back to the counter as they opened the door.

The scrawnier of the two boys spoke first, "Yo Gomey, y'all got an IHOP near here, cause I HUNGRY and pancakes sound fucking delicious."

The comment seemed to make his irritable looking friend that much more annoyed, "Shut the fuck up Quil, and what the hell is a Gomey?"

The one named Quil started to walk towards the chip aisle as he explained, "You just wouldn't get it J-dawg. You just wouldn't get it."

The annoyed one glared at the back of Quil's head before turning his attention towards me. "Hey, my name is Jake and I'm looking to get back on the 80."

BPOV

Alice practically dragged me into the seat the moment I opened the door. She reached over me to close the door, almost slamming my leg in the process.

"Jesus Alice, what's wrong?" I stared at her, confused by the bizarrely frantic look on her face.

"You and Jacob, that's what's wrong!" She gestured toward the seats we'd been occupying for the nearly 38 hours we'd been driving.

"What do you mean? Nothing's wrong." Although I'd meant it, I couldn't help but feel that the words were insincere. The moment I'd said that nothing was wrong, things just started popping up in my mind. Why is he always pressuring intimacy? Why does he get mad at me because I want to wait? Why does he always get what he wants?

"Please, I can tell that something is wrong. What he said in Tony Packo's? Completely inappropriate! I mean, I understand that he wants sex, but come on. I don't know Bella, I just don't think he's the one." I glanced out my window into the darkness of the Pennsylvania wilderness. Maybe she's right… the moment I thought that, I simply banished it away. What was I supposed to do without him?

"Bella, I know you're thinking I'm wrong, but I'm not. I can just tell the way you look at one another that you don't mesh well anymore. You guys have nothing in common, and he's turned into a selfish asshole. You're my best friend and I know that at some point down the road you're going to regret being with him if you stay in this relationship. You guys aren't even friends; you're just in this weird quasi-relationship where you just go along with whatever he says because you don't want to be alone." Her words hit something inside of me, causing traitor tears to leak down my face. I knew what she was saying was true; I just wasn't going to do anything about it.

"Alice, I love him, and he loves me. I just don't know why I would leave him if he's done nothing wrong."

"He HAS done things wrong! There's no compromising with him, he yells at you, he forces you into situations you don't like, and he makes you unhappy. Being happy is the most important part of a relationship, and you seriously lack in happiness at the moment."

Annoyed with her assumptions, I quickly snapped at her, "I've been in a small car driving for days, how do you expect me to feel? Do you expect rainbows and sunshine to follow me wherever I go?"

"No, but I expect you to want to be near your boyfriend. I expect your boyfriend to kiss you goodnight even if he's not getting his way. I expect your boyfriend to treat you with respect and not talk rudely about you in front of your friends. I expect you to respect yourself more than this, and not just take it in stride when he does. I know you're a strong woman, so act like it; stop being a little baby and demand happiness. It's the only way you're going to get it." At that, she quickly jumped out of the car and headed to the store. I sat there for a few minutes, letting everything slowly sink in. It felt awful.

EMPOV

"The 80? Well, you're gonna wanna go east on the 666-"

Quil interrupted me with a frightened look on his face, "Did you just say the 666? We're doomed! We're gonna die! I knew I shouldn't have come on this trip. My mom knew too. She told me before I left 'QUILLIE BOY, YOU SHOULDN'T BE DRIVIN' THOUSANDS OF MILES IN A CAR, DANGEROUS PEOPLE AND PLACES ARE EVERYWHERE' and she was right! This is all YOUR fault Jakey, ALL your fault."

Jake smacked Quil, causing him to drop all the merchandise in his hands onto the floor. "Dude, calm the fuck down, you're being a girl. So, I go east on the 666, and then?"

"Well, you go east on 666, turn right on Byromtown Rd, turn right onto the 66, turn left onto the - why don't I just write this down for you, just in case you forget?"

Jake chuckled and leaned onto the counter, causing his hair to fall into his eyes, "That sounds perfect."

As I was writing the directions down, a small figured girl started to jog towards the entrance. She looked fine, but I could tell she was slightly upset.

"Dude boys, what's takin' you guys so long? Bella and I want to find some place to sleep SOON. It's tiring having the person you trust to drive the car correctly to totally fuck up everything." She placed her hands on her hips as she stared directly at Jake. I looked away from her and glanced out the window to find another girl walking up to the store. She was taller than the girl glaring at Jake, and looked to be womanlier than her as well. Her long chestnut hair swayed slightly in the breeze, causing it to delicately caress her cheeks. What caught me were her lovely dark chocolate eyes. While clouded with fatigue, I could still see an inkling of sorrow in them. The moment I saw her I knew she'd be perfect.

"It's a long drive from here to New York though; there's a bed and breakfast just up the road you guys can stay at. I know the guy, and I could give him a call to say you guys are on your way."

The beautiful girl stood near the door, slightly leaning against a rack of magazines. She peered at me with her sad eyes and stared before she spoke. "Won't that be bothersome? It's getting to be pretty late."

"Don't worry about it, he stays up really late anyway. So, you guys want me to call?"

Jake nodded his head, "Sure, that'd be good. Thank you so much for everything; you've been a lifesaver." I looked over to Jasper, slowly shaking his head. He had been helping Quil hold his items, but almost dropped them when I mentioned the B&B. The tiny girl offered a smile to Jasper and I, grabbed Bella's hand, and started to race back to the car. Jake shook my hand and followed suit. As I was ringing up Quil's purchases, he turned to Jas and patted him on his back.

"Thanks for the help Wheels!" Jasper lowered his head and glowered at the kid while I tried to conceal my laughter. Quil ran out of the store and Jasper's glower went from the kid to me. I took a step back, clearly affected by the glare.

"Why are you doing this again?" He turned his wheelchair towards me so he could look directly at me. "Why did you do that?"

I had no reason but the truth, "I think she's the one."

He slammed his hands down on the counter and growled, "Damnit Emmett! You ALWAYS think you've found the one and then look what happens! I mean, I want him back just as much as the next person, but this is just not the way to do it."

His anger lit my own, causing me to snap back at him, "At least I'm trying to fix him, unlike everyone else in this fucking world that just abandoned him. I will do everything in my power to make him better, even if that means I direct every fucking girl that walks in here to his door." With that I walked briskly around the counter and went into the back. I didn't need Jasper's glare to burn my skin anymore.

BPOV

As Jake talked to the man behind the counter, I could feel the man staring at me intensely. I felt like I was being examined, like I might be the answer to something. I tried to look away from him, but his intensity drew my vision back to his eyes. Whenever I looked into them, it felt like he could read all the sadness and problems in my soul. The whole situation was making me uncomfortable, so I was glad when he suggested a Bed and Breakfast to stay at, and a safe trip to New York. Alice smiled at the man, grabbed my arm, and drug me out to the car.

"I'm not mad at you Bells, I just want what's best for you, and I don't believe that's Jake. I know you won't change your mind because of what I say, but I want you to think about it. Think about what you want in life and if Jake is a part of that."

I looked into her eyes and saw sincerity and love in them. It caused my eyes to well up a bit, but I quickly blinked the tears away.

"Of course Al. You know I love you, and I know you only want what's best for me. Like you said, I just need to figure shit out on my own." I gave her a hug, and a giggle erupted from her. I gave her a quizzical glance and she just giggled again.

"That guy in there was TOTALLY staring at you!"

A smile broke on my face and a small laugh escaped from my lips, "I know! It was super creepy!" The tension from our earlier conversation was over, which was a relief. I heard two footsteps quickly catching up to us as Jacob ran by us and hopped into his car.

"So, do you guys want to stop at the B&B or do you want to keep driving?"

Alice smacked the top of his head and ruffled his hair a bit, "Jakey boy, we've been in this car for HOURS and it's almost 1 in the morning. We are GOING to stop this car to sleep whether you like it or not."

Quil jumped into the car and gave a thumbs up, indicating he was ready. "You guys can breath now, no worries of cannibalism tonight!" We rolled our eyes and headed east on the road.

"He said it was on Hazleton Hill Road a ways, so let me know when you see it, ok Bells?"

"Ok Jake." The car went silent besides the crinkling bag of Quil's chips after that. I stared out my window, hypnotized by the darkness the trees gave off, as well as frightened by it. It's Blair Witch status here… my head thought, but I quickly cast that thought away, worried that I would freak out more if I dwelled on that fact. The road started to get much more windy as the minutes passed, and a bead of sweat started to form on Jacob's forehead. On a huge turn, a loud smack was heard from the backseat.

"Stop touching my thigh Quil!" Alice screeched from the backseat. I heard Jake mumbling under his breath, but I couldn't hear the words he was saying.

"Yo, I didn't mean to shawty, you know you've got a magnetic pull on me baby!"

"Eck, I'm not your baby. How much further is this place?" Alice started whining at Jacob about how far it was when it happened. His hand swung backwards as he tried to bat Alice away, causing him to lose some of his control over the car.

"Jake watch out!" was all I was able to scream before we skidded off of the road, slamming into a tree. The only noise that could be heard was the groaning of the car right before Quil's overdramatic agony.

"OH GOD IT HURTS! I THINK MY ARM IS BROKEN – NO WAIT – IT'S MY LEG! HELP, SOMEONE PLEASE!"

"Shut up Quil." Jacob snapped with a deep growl to his voice. For once, Quil actually shut up. I looked at Jacob, who was bleeding a little on his forehead. He turned to stare at me, but a look of anger filled his eyes.

"I can't believe this. My CAR! What are we going to do?" Everyone besides me started shouting at the same time about aches, pains, and annoyances about our collision.

Trying to calm the group down, I silenced everyone with a "Shh!" and spoke as softly as I could considering the situation. "Let's just get out of the car and see if we can find that Bed and Breakfast that the guy from the store was talking about." Everybody agreed in unison and slowly made their way out of the car.

"What about our stuff? I have thousands of dollars in clothing that I don't want to leave on the side of the road!" I gave a small glare to Alice, who surprisingly also shut up. The moment we made it back to the road a huge mansion loomed in the shadows on a hill. The estate was intimidating in the night, causing my breathing to catch for a moment. It was pitch black besides a small light above the large double doors that led into the house. We walked up the steep driveway, only to be frozen by fear while looking at the house up close. Jacob, being the brave one of the group, chuckled at our frightened states and told us to "come on" and follow him. We walked up to the huge doors, and Jacob rang the doorbell. We stood there in silence for a few minutes before the knob on one of the doors began to creak. The door slowly opened, the darkness inside of the house seemingly more dangerous than the darkness outside. It opened a slight bit more, which allowed me to see the brightest green eyes I'd ever seen. Flabbergasted by the man's eyes being so close in color and brightness to the one's I'd seen on the man in my dream a few hours ago, I barely heard him speak.

"Good evening."

*****

Yay! The 3rd chapter is up! Go to my (ohdisco) profile for the link to Edward's house.

We hope you enjoyed it, and hopefully you keep reading!