Chapter 3

I awoke feeling as if my head were lying on a washing machine.

Opening my eyes, I stared blankly at the ceiling. What the hell?

My mind flashed James and Victoria, but dismissed the idea just as quickly. If they were here my telekinesis would have sensed them and woken me.

I switched from survival mode to the mundane mind of a normal teenager; it was then that I remembered the stupid alarm clock vibrator. Groaning, I rolled over and switched it off before I looked at the time.

I'd actually woken up early enough that I didn't have to rush in order to make it to school.

"Fantastic," I groaned. I wasn't the type of person who enjoyed free time. Well, I used to be, but now I was living in hostile territory, and hiding in plain sight. It was just more time I would have to worry.

I reluctantly got up, made my bed and got ready. I hadn't thought ahead and picked out my outfit, so I just grabbed whatever was close.

I ran a brush through my hair, and made sure to grab my wallet, jacket, and backpack before I left the house.

When I reached my Girl I paused to run a hand over the silver hood, admiring the glossy finish. She was beautiful, no scratches, dents, or dirt. I kept her in perfect condition. It was only fitting for something so rare.

Most people admired her because she looked cool. They awed over her and didn't even realize that the Mustang Eleanor didn't officially exist in the Mustang automotive line. My baby was an artificial car created for the movie 'Gone in 60 Seconds'. It was a Mustang created from parts cannibalized from a 1967 Mustang and the body of a 1967 Shelby GT500. The Mustang Eleanor was only vehicle in history to ever steal star credit in a movie.

It was only after the movie premiered and the Eleanor stole the show that it existed. Due to the popularity of the car, Mustang, in collaboration with Shelby automotive, created thirteen Mustang Eleanor's. They sold at auction for ridiculous amounts of money. My girl was number one and twice as valuable as the last twelve.

Smiling, I climbed inside.

I loved my car, the vibrations it made as I turned the key were fun for me. Most people wouldn't understand that.

When a hearing person heard that they tended to think science fiction, like a sixth sense and Daredevil. I, for one, had never understood how they made the leap from being deaf to a blind superhero, but they did, often.

It was always stressful to try and describe things like that to a normal person. That stress was made that much more difficult to handle because speaking wasn't a pleasant thing for most deaf people. It was uncomfortable not being able to hear your own voice.

There aren't many people who knew sign language. That meant that I had to rely on a speech-to-text converter, which served to draw even more attention. I hated that. It wasn't bad enough that they would be staring because I was the 'new girl'. They would also be curious about the 'deaf' new girl.

I sighed as pulled into the street, mentally preparing myself for the seemingly impossible tedium that was high school. Only it would be worse here because of Forks' tiny student body, and the coven of vampires I had to watch for.

Forks only had one real street so finding the school was extremely easy. Then again, not being able to find it in a town this size should result in immediate drug testing.

The hard part was finding a place to park; the entire lot seemed to be filled. My hope rested with a large vacant spot all the way in the back.

I was dismayed to see that none of the cars even resembled mine, of course you didn't see a lot like mine, but still. The newest vehicle here was a shiny, silver Volvo, and it stood out. I hadn't considered that my car would be one of the things that drew attention to me. Somehow Forks has even managed to turn my prized possession against me.

This is going to be a nightmare.

Not that it could compare to my actual nightmares. I shuddered slightly as I remembered the dreams that had plagued me for weeks after out last encounter with James. They were always the same, mom lying on the desert floor, staring unseeingly at the night sky, ribs protruding from her chest and pouring impossible amounts of blood into my lap. No matter how many times I'd seen it, I always woke up sweating, shaking and crying. Thankfully, I'd been free of them for awhile now. I couldn't imagine how Charlie would react to seeing me like that.

It had only been a four months since mom was changed. I'd tried my best to be there for her. To help her understand what her life was now. But it didn't take long for us to realize that my presence only hindered her in her new vegetarian lifestyle. She was adamant that she never take a human life, being constantly surrounded by my scent was too much for her to handle and eventually she wasn't able to resist anymore. She would attack and force me to defend myself.

In the beginning Phil thought that, since she was doing so well and seemed to be able to resist her newborn instincts, my presence would force her to become used to the temptation and gain full control much quicker than expected. It hadn't worked out that way.

I suppressed the tears pricking my eyes and forced myself to be calm. It wouldn't do to be caught crying on my first day.

I found an open parking space in the back, as far away from the school as possible. Which didn't really matter as it was under a tall, sturdy oak, and there wasn't another car within thirty feet of my precious paint job.

I shut off the car, grabbed my things and climbed out. I didn't leave immediately, just shouldered my backpack, and stood there studying the school.

It looked nothing like a school. Not like any school I'd ever seen, at least.

Where were the metal detectors, the guards or the chain link fences, at least some of the things I was used to? There wasn't even one large building, instead several small, brick buildings dotted a small piece of land. It also didn't help that that it was surrounded by deep, dense forest. The whole thing reminded me of a miniature Christmas village mom always put out during the holidays. Only the Christmas village had more buildings.

I smiled ruefully, they were even numbered; one, two, three... every single one, except for the last one that was simply labeled "Office."

I put my head down, and walked toward the office trying to ignore the stares. There weren't many students here, but the few who were seemed to recognize me as the new girl. They stopped and simply stared at me.

Thank God most of them are smart enough to get out of the rain. I didn't think I could have the entire student body staring at me without hyperventilating.

Not now, anyway. I want to save that particular pleasure for lunch. I do need something to look forward too, after all.

I quickened my pace, crossing the distance quickly. As I opened the door and stepped inside, I glanced behind me to see that every student hadn't moved, at all. They stood in the same places they had when I'd first seen them.

And it begins. These poor kids need something better to do with their time, a bowling alley or something.

I tuned my attention to the scene in front of me, not entirely surprised to see that the "Office" didn't look like an office.

Big surprise there, this entire place is at odds with my definition of normal.

Instead of desks, and the official feel you would expect, there was one large counter that halved the room, it sported dozens of multicolored trays that housed everything from paperclips to napkins.

My side of the room was completely devoid of anything except a few chairs that lined the wall beside the door.

Behind the counter were several tables piled with papers and folders. God, get a filing system, this is a disgrace.

The only person in the room, besides me, stood behind the counter. She was a large, red headed woman with thick, red rimmed glasses. I look a deep breath and stepped up. "Excuse me. I'm Isabella Swan. I was told to-"

I didn't get to finish, she nodded and cut me off. "Yes, we've been expecting you. I'm Mrs. Cope."She sighed, "I can't believe Charlie's little girl is finally coming home. We know abot your infirmity, and have tried to think everything possible to make things easier for you. "

I smiled politely. "What do you mean, Help me?" And so, it starts.

I told myself I'd endure it with a smile, because Charlie was an elected official around here and what people thought of him mattered. I've spent my entire life pretending to be normal, pretending to fit it. So pretending to be nice, for Charlie, wouldn't be going out of my way any.

She smiled brightly, "Well, we asked Angela Webber if she would help escort you around school, her little brother is deaf so she's skilled at sign language. And we've shuffled the kids around so that all your classes are in sequential order. Your first class will be in building one. Your second class is in building two, and so on."

I felt my eyes widen and my cheeks flame.

Unaware of my shock, she continued, "I have a map here for you. Each building is clearly marked and numbered. I've even drawn a line showing you the best way to get from one class to another. See, if you leave building 1 and need to go to building 2 you will have to walk straight past building 3 and then take a left before you pass building 5." She proudly held up the map, displaying a confusing series of twisted lines.

I clenched my fists and stepped forward quickly. I opened my mouth to tell her where she could put her sequential classes and her damn map when she said something I didn't catch, and pointed behind me.

I turned to see a pretty girl with soft features, and warm blue eyes glide through the door with a natural grace that made me want to switch her shampoo for Nair.

The second she saw me she raised her hands, "I'm so sorry about all this." She winced slightly as she signed to me.

She must be Angela. If her brother was deaf she would have a better understanding of what that was like, and the fact that being deaf didn't make you retarded. I raised my hand and signed, "I take it you are Angela Weber?"

She nodded. "I tried to talk them out of this, but they wouldn't listen," She signed, her expression troubled.

I sighed and signed, "It's not your fault."

Resigned to ignore Mrs. Cope, and her idiotic assumptions about my condition, I kept silent as she talked with Angela. I didn't particularly care what the woman had planned to help me, so I didn't pay any attention to the exchange.

Soon Angela was walking toward the door, motioning for me to follow.

We talked as she walked me to my first class and, much to my surprise, I discovered that I actually liked her. She was smart, funny, and kind. She loved her little brothers, and taking care of them. Most importantly, she didn't begrudge the task like most people would have. Instead she looked forward to taking them to the beach with almost motherly warmth.

When we reached the classroom door, she stopped. "I'll leave you here. But you could sit with me and my friends at lunch, if you want."

"Yes, thank you." I signed, smiling. I was glad I hadn't yet had the opportunity to put Nair in her hair care products, it would have been a huge mistake.

Now that I had spent a little time with her, I really liked her. She was already the only friend I had in Forks. Well, aside from Jake, but he didn't count, he was family.

She nodded. "You shouldn't worry about everyone acting like Mrs. Cope. Most people won't make the same mistake."

I nodded, and said. "Thank you." Although, I didn't really believe her, small town people often held the same perceptions of oddities, such as me.

She blinked when I spoke.

"Yes, I can speak. It's just weird, so I prefer to Sign." I said, smiling at her surprised expression.

Her face melted into warm understanding as she nodded and waved goodbye. I guess she knew more about my difficulties than I'd thought.

Keeping an eye out for my bloodsucking schoolmates, I entered the classroom and went straight to the teacher's desk. He signed my attendance slip, after gawking at my name for what seemed like an eternity. I blushed the entire time.

I wanted more than anything to take the empty seat in the back, where I could hide until the class was over, but being deaf meant I needed to be able to read the teachers lips, so I grudgingly took a seat in front.

I only looked back once, doing a quick scan of the classroom.

Seeing that I was a member of the only species in the room, I relaxed and turned to face the teacher. I refused to think of the students that were shamelessly staring at me.

I could feel their eyes on me as I took my speech to text converter out of my backpack, switched it on and placed it on the desk. Thanks to that tiny device I didn't have to pay attention to the teachers. I could hook it up to my computer at home and have the entire lecture at my disposal. It also eliminated the need to take notes. Although, I usually did anyway, just to have something to do.

It wasn't easy, but I made it through the hour by focusing on the teacher and pretending I was alone in the room. Pretending that the hair was standing up on the back of my neck because I was cold, not because I was being stared at like a carnival sideshow attraction.

I did the same thing through second period, and third and fourth and fifth...

I was more than ready for this atrocity to be over when the lunch bell finally rang.

I shoved my things into my bag as quickly as I could, but waited for the mob of students to charge the exit before I got up and left. A klutz and a mob of overexcited teens did not mix well.

I could use always use my telekinesis to protect myself, but sometimes it was best to take the pain rather than risk exposure. Therefore, it was best to try and avoid the injury itself.

I made it to the cafeteria in minutes and waited my turn in line. I looked around, noting the cracking plaster and water stains on the ceiling. I tried to pretend I was bored, really I was looking for the Cullen's.

Then I found them.

Five vampires sitting at a table across the room, they had to the ones Charlie talked about. True to Phil's word, three of the five had brown eyes, the other two had black eyes; meaning they hadn't fed in awhile.

I had to admit, they were all very beautiful, even for vampires.

There were two women and three men. The women couldn't have been more different. One was tall with long blonde hair and a body that would make any model jealous.

The other was, really short, about four feet I'd guess, with dark spiky hair that stuck out in every direction, and skinny. She was as small as a child, a young child at that. I'd seen, first hand, the strength a vampire possessed, but it was hard for me to imagine such a tiny thing displaying that kind of power.

The men were worlds apart physically, as well. One was huge, like six-foot-eight with short, dark, curly hair and the muscles of a serious body builder. He reminded me of the Brawny man.

Wow, serious Lumberjack qualities there. All he needed was a red flannel shirt, and an ax thrown over his shoulder.

The next was as tall as the blond man, with short, pale hair. He was lanky, but well muscled. The thing that stood out about him was the look in his eye, very alert. Like he was always prepared to defend himself, I'd seen that look before and it wasn't one I'd ever forget. He was a fighter. I'd bet Phil's entire savings account that he'd seen a lot of violence and killing, done a lot as well.

I looked at the last one, a male.

Hello, Beautiful.

He had to be the most gorgeous creature on the planet. I couldn't fathom a more exquisite creature existing. He wasn't as tall as the first two, probably a head taller than my own five foot two. His wild bronze hair seemed to have a mind of its own; most people would call it bed head. I'd never liked that particular hair style, but on him it looked natural. It gave him a cute, unkempt look that made me smile. I hadn't ever seen anyone or anything so attractive. Nothing about him was ordinary, he seemed to stand out even among his own kind.

I blinked slowly and focused on him again, unable to believe what I was seeing. It wasn't fair that someone that beautiful should exist. The view didn't change, so I assumed I wasn't hallucinating.

I was distracted from my fascination with the vampire Adonis, when someone nudged me from behind. I glanced up to see that I was making an idiot of myself by standing there ogling a total stranger. Not to mention, I was holding up the line, so literally everyone noticed.

Unable to stop the blush, I looked down and grabbed lunch as quickly as I could. I knew myself well enough to know that I was way too stressed to handle anything heavy, so I bought a yellow apple and a pineapple soda.

God, that's gross, I thought as I looked at the selection of food laid out. It was yellow, all of it.

There was something seriously wrong with the human being that would willingly consume the disgustingly yellow themed grog these people were trying to pass off as edible food. Yellow spaghetti, yellow chili, yellow bread, yellow cake-everything was bright yellow. I hoped it was intentional.

I shook my head as I paid for lunch.

The imbecile that spawned the yellow lunch idea should be taken out behind the school and savagely beaten. Preferably by the innocent people who suffers because of him and/or her. They could make an event of it, hand out bright yellow sticks and award gifts to the lucky people who landed the best blows. I'll bet it would be a huge boost for the school morale.

As soon as I received my change, I turned and started looking for somewhere secluded to spend the next hour.

That plan was ruined when I saw Angela waving at me and remembered my promise to sit with her.

I kept my eyes forward, never looking directly at anyone, as I made my way across the room as quietly as possible. I shouldn't have bothered, they all stared at me anyway.

I sighed in relief when I reached Angela's table. It would be so nice to have a distraction. I had never ever been comfortable with attention, and I'd never had this much interest paid to me before. It was nerve wracking.

Angela helped more than I thought she would, proving to be more than a distraction. She didn't treat me like the new girl or gape at me. She didn't even treat me like I was deaf.

It reminded me of living with mom, before she met Phil, when I was just Bella and nothing else was relevant. I felt like a whole person, even somewhat normal.

She introduced me to her friends, always careful to face me when she spoke without seeming to put any thought into it. Probably because of her brother, she was used to compensating for his lack of hearing.

I met a girl named Jessica, who I didn't like. She seemed artificial to me, like everything she did was carefully planned to accomplish something. I quickly learned that she loved the spotlight, and since I was the new girl, she wanted to be seen with me.

I met another girl, Lauren, who I instantly hated as well. She was unstable, bad tempered, conceited and bitter. If I was reading her expression and body language correctly, she hated me too. Not that I cared, if she had liked me I would have considered it an insult. Really, who wanted to be liked by that? You would have to be a veritable replica of her for that to ever happen.

I also met two boys. The first was Ben, a sweet, shy boy who threw longing glances at Angela when she wasn't looking. And If I was reading her expression right, she may have been a little smitten herself.

The last boy... Bambi with testosterone, His name was Mike Newton. He was undoubtedly related to the infamous Barbra Newton. I wonder if he knows his mom's a slut?

He stared at my chest enough to know he was a pheromone riddled, testosterone driven, and disrespectful little boy. Pretty much the normal condition for a guy his age, he was just much more obvious about it.

After the introductions, things settled down into what - I'm assuming - was their normal routine. They talked amongst themselves, laughing at things that seemed boring or ignorant to me. Occasionally they asked a question about what school was like in Phoenix or how I was liking Forks. I tried to be diplomatic, but mostly I just lied a lot.

Eventually, they seemed to forget I was there so I concentrated on eating my apple, trying not to think of the yellow food everyone shoved into their mouth, seemingly unconcerned with the fact that it looked like it'd been thrown up several times. I imagine they must have been desperate, either that or food themes were going to happen a lot during my stay here.

I was thinking of what would be needed to write a paper for English when Angela raised her hand for my attention. I looked up as she signed 'Edward Cullen is staring at you.'

Cullen? I'd noticed them when I'd first entered the cafeteria but I'd been distracted by the yellow insanity.

Hey, remember the plan? Study them, get to know their classes and the paths they take to get each one and then avoid them. How simple is that?

I forced my irritation away where it wouldn't distract me, turning to look at the vampires table, wondering which one was 'Edward.'

It was the Adonis, he was staring at me.

Why is he staring at me? Does he know?

No, no. Not possible, it'd been a week since I seen mom and Phil, there was no way he could smell them on me, and I couldn't think of any other way he would know. Unless he was gifted, there was no limit to the abilities he could have. Phil told me stories of vampires who possessed gift's that would make mine look less significant than a child's toy.

I studied his expression more closely... His eyes were narrowed and he looked into mine with a focused intensity. As I met his eyes, his brows drew together.

No, he wasn't aware of the fact that I knew what he was. He was searching for something. I just didn't know what.

My initial panic over, I got irritated all over again. What does he want? Why is he staring at me?

I raised an eyebrow questioningly.

He didn't respond, simply held my gaze.

Okay, Hotness. What's up with you?

I saw one of the others, his siblings, nudge his shoulder. Abruptly he snapped his mouth shut and swiftly turned around, back to staring at his food.

Wonderful work, dumb ass. I turned back to the table and clenched my teeth. I was supposed to pretend as if I were a normal human that didn't have an abnormal knowledge of the paranormal world, and here I'd somehow managed to unwittingly draw the attention of one of the very same people I was supposed to be hiding from.

Phil's gonna be so pissed.

I glanced up and caught Angela's signing. 'That was weird. I've never seen them pay attention to anyone before.'

Knowing the obvious question, I asked it. 'Who are they?'

Angela launched into a detailed intro, 'Well, the tiny girl is Alice, the blonde girl is Rosalie, the blonde boy is Jasper, the big one is Emmett, and the one who was staring at you, is Edward. They're Dr. and Mrs. Cullen's adopted kids."

I hadn't noticed, but she'd been speaking aloud as she signed to me. Jessica, apparently following the conversation raised her hand to get my attention, "The weird thing is that Rosalie and Emmett are -together-together, as is dating. So are Alice and Jasper. Edward's the only one who's unattached, but don't bother. He doesn't date."

I smiled slightly, when I saw her sniff delicately. Definitely a little unrequited affection there, I thought, trying to hide my smile. I wondered when he'd turned her down. Not that she should be so insulted, a dinner date with that guy would most likely result in her being dinner.

I didn't look back at the Cullen's until the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Even then I simply glanced toward their table out of the corner of my eye, as I made my way to the trash cans.

Not a single one of them was paying attention to anything or anyone but themselves. They stood trays of untouched food in hand, and one by one threw them in the trash before gliding out the door with an inhuman grace.

I followed suit, and threw my trash away before leaving for my next class. I don't know which one it was, but I knew it would be found in building seven, so I walked in that general direction.

When I got there the door was clearly labeled Biology: Mr. Banner. I'd been disappointed with the classes so far, and knew this one was not going to be any different. I'd been in the advanced biology class in Phoenix, so there certainly wouldn't be anything new here.

I sighed, preparing myself for the tedium as I opened the door and entered the classroom.

I took the attendance slip to Mr. Banner extremely grateful that I wouldn't have to do it every day.

Mr. Banner, being nicer than the other teachers, didn't gawk at me, simply signed my slip and directed me to sit.

I took the signed slip he handed me and shoved it into my pocket as I turned, looking for an empty seat.

There was only one... right next to the Adonis Vampire.

Edward.

I felt apprehension skitter up my spine, but I didn't allow it to show. Controlling every bit of my reaction, I created a shield with my telekinesis and wrapped it around my body. I walked as normally as I could and sat down beside him, attempting to act as if I was another dim-witted human.

He immediately froze for a second, before pushing his chair to the far end of the table and turning his head.

I glanced quickly at him, astonished to see that he was holding his breath.

I hadn't ever seen a vampire do that before, except for when mom was bleeding to death; Phil had held his breath then. I knew it was because of me-I'd somehow caused him to react like that.

But how? I wondered.

I made sure to angle my body away from his. It was a defensive gesture, I was aware of that. I just couldn't find it in myself to care.

I sat as still as I could, barely daring to breathe, least I provoke him. Soon after class began he turned to stare at me with hard, black eyes.

I held tight to my telekinesis, praying that would stop it from reacting on its own and stared studiously at Mr. Banner. I did my best to pretend I hadn't noticed the unstable vampire at my side, but I kept track of his every move by focusing my telekinesis on the space around him. That way I would be aware of his movements without having to sift through every single motion in the room.

I was right-he wasn't breathing. I racked my brain for a reason why he would do that. He'd been fine at lunch and he'd been fine here, at least until I'd approached him.

But I'm not bleeding like mom was, so why?

My scent could be stronger that the other humans. Phil said that human scents differed from human to human, but I hadn't ever caused this reaction before. If my scent was that strong wouldn't Phil have had the same reaction?

I thought over my day so far, searching for a way I could have hurt myself without knowing it. I hadn't fallen, or scratched myself or done anything that would result in blood loss. So that wasn't it.

I spent the next hour trying to find a satisfactory answer to that question. Trying being the operative word-I couldn't think of anything conclusive. I may have been more knowledgeable about vampires than your average human, but I didn't know enough to figure this one out.

I eventually had to shift positions. Humans didn't possess a vampire's ability to impersonate stone. Sitting so stiffly in one position for so long had created an ache that heated my back and shoulders. I'd endured it for as long as I could.

It wasn't a large movement, just a simple shifting of my weight from one hip to the other, but he growled. If I hadn't been monitoring him so closely I wouldn't have felt it.

As it was I couldn't stop my heart from stuttering. Fear tends to do that to a person.

Thankfully, I didn't have to respond in either words or action, at that very second the bell rang and he was gone. I know I'm not exactly an expert in human behavior, but I didn't think he was doing such a great job of pretending to be human. If anyone had been looking at him they would have instantly known he wasn't. It took him less than four seconds to grab his books and make it through the door.

I released the breath I hadn't known I was holding and slumped against my desk, my hands shaking and my heart pounding.

I stayed like that, attempting to calm myself, until Mr. Banner tapped my shoulder.

I looked up and focused on his lips, "Time for your next class, Miss Swan."

I nodded, grabbed my things and left.

I didn't have to look at my schedule to know what my next class was. There was only one left, gym.

I groaned aloud, not caring about the strange looks the nearby students sent me. I hated gym, and had thought that torture done with, but unlike Phoenix, where it was only required for two years, it was a prerequisite here for all four years.

I took my time getting to building eight. I wasn't in any hurry to humiliate myself. And with my legs shaking I was bound to be worse than usual.

I stopped behind a building, out of sight of the other students, and studied my trembling hands. I leaned back, resting against the cold concrete behind me. Closing my eyes, I forced myself to breathe deeply and evenly, clenching my hand to stop their trembling.

It took a few minutes, but it worked. To a degree, my hands stopped shaking, my breathing returned to normal and my heart rate slowed, but I couldn't rid myself of the sick, nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Pasting a calm, bored expression on my face, I pushed off the wall and proceeded to make my way to the gym.

Unlike every other class, gym was exactly the same as it was in Phoenix, it even looked the same.

We were playing volley ball today. I'd always thought volleyball was an apt name. It always called to mind the picture of a ship at sea, blinding firing volleys of cannon balls at its enemy, with no skill or tactical superiority, desperately trying to accomplish a goal it wasn't capable of.

Only I was the ship, my enemy was the net and I didn't have even a tenth of the skill and coordination it would take to hit the despicable little ball over the net.

After my third swipe at the ball, and my third -accidentally- wounded team mate, Coach Clapp came by and ordered me to sit it out today.

Smiling, I quickly made my way to the bleachers, and sat down well out of the way of any stray projectiles.

It wasn't what I would have preferred to be doing but it was better than volley ball, so it made me happy.

I watched the games mindlessly, thinking of Edward, and wondering why he hadn't attacked me when he so obviously wanted to.

O)O)O)O)O)O)O)O)O)O)O)O)O)O)O)

By the time Coach Clapp called an end to gym, I wasn't any closer to solving the mystery of his behavior, but one thing was for certain; he absolutely loathed me.

I walked to my car in a daze, wondering about the vampire's reaction to me. What did I do to inspire that kind of hatred? Why did I deserve that? I hadn't even spoken to him, he didn't know that I knew what he was, no did he know of my abilities. He had no reason to despise me.

So why does he? More importantly, why do I care? That one was easy to answer; if I was going to cohabitat peacefully with these vampires, I would need to, at least, avoid pissing them off. Not that I had done anything to anger him, I hadn't.

I wondered what his problem was, all the way home.