Chapter III

Edward Cullen

I had managed to run to civilisation in one night before the werewolves found out I was running in their forest as a short cut.

The closest time I was near a werewolf was at one in the morning.

I had ran past a grove and saw a fire. There were a couple of werewolves (in human form) sitting around it and cracking jokes.

I had stopped running and walked silently and slowly past them.

They were laughing so hard that they didn't notice me.

Hopefully Alice can't see my future now that I'm in Forks. I had rent a small house close to the Southern end of Forks near werewolf territory in case Carlisle sends Emmett and Jasper to hunt me down. I made sure I had a dagger in my pocket.

Vampires can't be killed with daggers and guns, but they can be knocked out for half an hour at the most. Especially if the wound is deep.

I rested for an hour and watched the clock tick.

Once it reached eight thirty in the morning, I stood up and repacked my backpack. It's time to stalk my future dinner: Angela Weber.

I changed my clothes, dyed my hair red and wore blue contacts. I'm not taking any risks in allowing any of the Webers or any vampire in discovering my true identity. I'm determined in drinking Angela's blood and I won't leave Forks until I do!

I walked to Forks High School with my enrolment sheets.

Before I settled in my rental house, I had enrolled myself back into Forks High School (in disguise and none of the office ladies recognised me) and persuaded the office ladies to allow me to take the same classes as my 'cousin' Angela Weber. Now I can spy on Angela during schooling hours! I had to be a Junior again, but it was better than nothing.

I arrived at Forks High and went into the administration block.

I handed the enrolment sheets to the office ladies and went off to my first class (advanced maths) without wasting anymore time.

Half the class were already there.

I noticed Angela sat in the front row, right in front of the board.

What a tempting meal she is.

"Yes?" said the teacher, looking at me. "Who are you?"

"Thomas Willoughby," I answered.

I sat in the back row and stared at Angela while the teacher began the lesson. Advanced maths was pretty easy for me.

This would be an easy walk in the park.

Jasper Cullen

I stared at Thomas Willoughby when he sat at the back.

Why does he look so familiar?

Before our maths teacher Mr Burns began explaining today's lesson, I quietly moved to the back and sat two seats away from Willoughby.

Willoughby must be very sick to achieve such paleness! But why does he have muscles? He can't get sick by working out over time. Who can have hair that red? Looks like a wig or something. Could Willoughby be…bald?

He must've realised I was watching him, because he glared at me threateningly.

I quickly looked away and copied what Mr Burns wrote on the board. I felt Willoughby's eyes on me. I tried to ignore him the best I can.

I leant back on my chair as casually as I can, and concentrated on my work.

A few minutes later, I glanced at Willoughby and saw him eyeing Angela again.

Willoughby's a new dude at school and he's already eyeing one of the cutest girls at school? What kind

of guy does he think he is?

There's already a mile of guys wanting to hook up with Angela Weber, and there's no way they'll let Willoughby jump the line.

Once class was over, I hoped Willoughby was in my next class (science).

That way I could spy on him some more. I knew I had no chance to date Angela (being a vampire), but I still liked keeping tabs on her and finding which guys are interested in her. Willoughby just might be on the list of guys who have a crush on Angela Weber.

Willoughby was in my next class.

Excellent.

During science, I noticed again that Willoughby sat a few rows behind Angela and was constantly watching her again.

What's he planning to be? A stalker?

The rest of the day passed in a blur and I met Alice at the school gates.

"Hey," greeted Alice. "Something's bugging you. I don't need to see through the future to tell. And you're frowning."

"Have you noticed the new guy?" I said, glancing around.

"Thomas Willoughby? He's in my PE class. What about him? He seems to be always staring at that Weber girl, Angela. His hair is a mess too. How can his mother let him go to school in such a mess? His clothes don't match either."

"Does something about him bug you?"

"Well, yeah! His paleness and his aura sense. For most of the humans, I can't feel their aura sense or see their future very well, but Willoughby's aura is strong."

"Like a vampire's?"

"No. Not as strong as a coven vampire's."

"How about a loner vampire? Maybe his aura's the same as a loner vampire's? That's in between a coven vampire and human, isn't it?"

"Maybe…I'm not sure. I never felt the aura of a loner vampire before. No Jasper, I'm not going to hunt for a loner vampire just to sense his aura."

I laughed lightly.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Willoughby walked past us, not giving us a second glance (or first glance as a matter of fact).

Alice and I both watched him go.

"You know," I said, after a while. "As far as we know, Willoughby could just be a guy who's infatuated by Angela at a first glance and is rather sickly and uses bad perfume. We should leave him alone. He's new here after all."

Edward Cullen

Things were not as I expected.

Angela Weber and Jasper are in the same classes, except when Angela has PE with Alice! When can I ever dodge those two?

I continued following Angela and hid behind a bush as she went into a house. I glanced around and realised I was in a suburban area. I remembered I used to walk past this street when I was bored or truanting from class.

I watched Angela leave her house with a brother or sister.

Devilstein Weber, I realised.

Her older brother.

I stealthily followed them to their destination, glancing in every direction (in case a nosy vampire decides to snoop on me).

After a while, I knew they were going to KFC.

Probably for a brotherly-sisterly talk.

I went into KFC and sat two tables away from them. I ordered two drumsticks, small chips and a bottle

of coke while keeping an eye on my potential victim and her brother. Being a vampire, I hated fried food, but I had to endure my disgust for the oily cuisines in order to spy on my dinner-to-be and lure her into my intricate dinner web.

Two hours passed.

I grew tired of playing with my already-cold chips and I threw it in the bin and ordered another one. I wished Angela would get a move on.

Just as my chips arrived, Angela and Devilstein stood up and placed their rubbish into the bin. I grabbed my chips and quietly followed them out. It was dark and almost six in the evening. Tonight, I must somehow catch Angela alone…

I hid behind a tree while Devilstein and Angela walked slowly back to their house.

How slow do they walk?

I got impatient and ran up to them.

"Excuse me!" I called. "I'm sorry to barge in on you, but I need your help! I just moved here and I'm kinda lost! Can one of you please help me?"

Angela and Devilstein looked at each other.

"Hey!" said Angela suddenly. "You're the new guy at school! Thomas Willoughby isn't it?"

"Yeah," I answered. "And you?"

"I'm Angela Weber, and this is my brother, Devilstein. I'm sure one of us can help you find your way home, don't worry."

"Yeah," said Devilstein cautiously. "Not to be rude, but I can't help you. I promised my parents I'll go straight home and help Hellena with the dishes. Maybe you can, Angela? I'm sure your friend won't mind if you're a little late to her sleepover. Our parents can deliver your sleepover gear to your friend's house while you take Thomas home."

"Sure!" said Angela brightly. "I'm certain that my friend won't mind if I'm a tad bit late! Don't look so suspicious and cynical Devilstein! I'll be fine! Tell mum that Vicky's mum will take me home tomorrow and she won't have to pick me up."

"Sure…"

I watched Devilstein leave, a glint of triumphant in my eyes.

Finally.

Angela will be mine.

"Let's go," said Angela, interrupting my thoughts. "Your parents might get worried if you don't go home safely. Where do you live?"

I gave her my address.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed. "That's such a coincidence! Your house is straight passed my friend's house! Come! I know a short cut!"

I followed Angela as she 'led' me back to my house.

"Just wait a sec," she told me as we stopped in front of a different house. "I'll tell my friend Vicky that I'm taking you home. She might get impatient with me for being late. You can come and see her if you want to. If you don't want to, just don't wander off."

She knocked on the door and it was opened at once.

My heart missed a beat when I saw the boy who answered it.

The boy has a spitting image of Carlisle.

Dr Carlisle Cullen

I summoned Alice into my office.

"Alice," I said calmly. "I'm glad you can come today. I received a call today from the principal of Forks High School. Don't look so nervous Alice. It's not about you, Jasper, Rosalie or Emmett. It's about Edward, who we heard nothing about for around two years."

"What about him?" asked Alice.

"The principal asked if I won't mind withdrawing Edward from the school for a new kid who was just enrolled into Forks High School a couple of days ago. I asked why and he told me that this kid is very intelligent and didn't seem to be the type of kid that'll play truancy twice a week. He even offered me two thousand dollars as a bribe."

"And?"

"I accepted and wanted to know who the new kid is and I requested a photo of him to be sent over to my computer. The principal obliged and sent me a picture. Maybe you already saw him? Here's a picture of him. A certain Thomas Willoughby."

I watched Alice examine the photo I placed in front of her. Her face expression changed a couple of times. Is she hiding anything from me?

"Well?" I inquired. "Is there something I should know?"

"No," said Alice hastily. "I had never seen this boy before."

I leaned forward.

"Are you sure?" I said, looking at her straight in the eyes. "You don't seem to be telling the truth. Did you forget our deal already? How long has it been? A couple of decades? Tell me the truth and I'll let this matter…slip."

"It's not part of our deal," said Alice weakly.

"Oh really? You know that lying to your parents is bad, don't you? Esme and I nurtured and looked after you since you were born a vampire and you repay us by this? I can tell you're lying. What is there about this boy that you need to hide from me? Did you already see his future and discovered it was something bad or something?"

"No, it's not that-"

"Then what are you hiding? If it isn't bad, then there's no need to lie to me. You'll make it easier for yourself if you tell me the truth."

Alice was silent.

It was getting harder to control her than I thought.

"This guy's in my class," Alice said quietly. "And Jasper's. Jasper grew suspicious of him and told me about him. He wanted me to see Willoughby's future, but I couldn't. There was something about his aura that felt different."

"Jasper knows about him?" I said, my eyebrows raised. "Why didn't he bring it forward? Why didn't you say anything about it earlier during the day?"

"I didn't know it would be necessary to tell you! I mean, Willoughby's human! He's not a threat to us vampires! He's absolutely human!"

"Alice. You're lying again. You said that there was something suspicious about his aura. Humans don't have odd auras. Only supernatural creatures like vampires and werewolves have odd auras. Humans are known to be aura-less."

"Humans do have auras! Faint ones at least."

"Get Jasper for me."

I watched Alice leave the room.

There's something going on under my nose which she isn't sharing with me. I'm head of the Cullen coven and I deserve to know everything! If I didn't take Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett and Edward under my wing, there would've been five wild, untrained, unprotected, lost vampires wandering around Forks, drinking human blood!

It should be obvious to them that they owe their allegiance to me and Esme and should know better than to keep secrets from me!

I felt angrier and betrayed by the minute.

If I had given Edward the same paperwork deal as I've given Alice, he wouldn't have turned rogue and this would never have happened!

"Carlisle," said Jasper calmly, as he entered the room. "Alice said that you wished to see me? What is it that you need me more?"

I showed him the photo of Thomas Willoughby.

Jasper's face expression didn't change.

"Alice said that you've seen this boy before," I told him. "She also said that he's in your class and you're suspicious of him and asked her to see his future. Is there something you'd like to share with me? I suggest you tell me what it is before I do some digging and find out you're lying. You wouldn't want to be caught lying, now would you? Oh, and control the warmth and fuzziness. If you don't, I'll turn on the air condition and the fans."

Jasper's face expressions remained calm and still.

For some reason, that just pissed me off.

Here I was, losing patience and about to explode while Jasper remained ever so calm and composed like he was listening to a class lecture.

This can't go on!

The warmness and fuzziness was still there. I stood up and switched on the air condition and two fans in my room. Vampires can feel weather and climate change, but it doesn't affect us like it affects humans. A strong wind might be just a small breeze to vampires. The fans and air condition won't affect me, Alice and Jasper, but it will affect Jasper's ability.

To my annoyance, Jasper was still so calm!

Can't that vampire ever be provoked?

"Do you know this boy?" I repeated.

"You already know the answer," said Jasper steadily. "You said so yourself. You said that Alice told you that I know this boy. Why do you want me to repeat what you said? For your satisfaction in hearing the same answer being said by a different vampire?"

"Just answer the question!"

"What's the question? You had come to the conclusion that I do know this boy and is hiding something about him and Alice had told you about the boy being in my class! What's the question? Is the boy in my class? Yes!"

"Why did you ask Alice to look into his future?"

"There's something suspicious of him. That is all."

"Like what?"

"And why should you monitor everything I say and do? I might prefer to keep secrets from you than share them for humiliation."

"Humiliation? Who the Hell's being humiliated here? You or me?"

"Me! You're not my master and it's not my job to tell you everything I know! This is not the Middle Ages and this is not court! I won't be a pawn in your ambitions!"

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO ME? I raised and nurtured you and your siblings since you first became vampires and this is how you repay me? I'm being humiliated more and more by the minute! Edward's grades slips and he turns rogue and runs away, you are keeping secrets from me and being disobedient and Alice had broken her promise to me she made decades ago! The only obedient and loyal vampires that I know are Rosalie, Emmett and Esme!"

"You can't make us your spies! All the things you've done aren't for us! Relationships with the werewolves hadn't improved either! They deteriorated! The only things you've done is everything Esme asked for both of your benefits!"

I had enough.

Angela Weber

After telling my friend Victoria (Vicky) Wellington that I'll be a little late, I felt a little edgy of leading Thomas back to his house.

For one thing, the sky was getting even darker than I thought.

Thomas was also more silent than he was before, and that sent shivers down my spine. As I led him to the address he gave me, I noticed the trees and gardens were more wild and residents there were giving us dark, creepy looks.

"Can you take it from here?" I said nervously.

"Yeah, sure," replied Thomas. "Can you just come the whole way with me? I'm sure that my parents would want to thank you for taking me home."

"Um, sure…how much further do you have to go? I don't really want to work the whole way back, and

it's getting a little dark. I'm a bit scared of the dark, you know."

"Of course, of course. It's not very far. Maybe half a kilometre or less? It's very close. Be prepared for a hug and gratitude."

He gave me a smile.

I attempted to smile back, but I felt uncomfortable around Thomas. The longer I was with him, the more uncomfortable I felt. The quicker I can get rid off him, the quicker I can forget about this. Hopefully he won't talk about it in class tomorrow.

We approached an old house.

It was oddly quiet when Thomas unlocked the door.

"Come in," said Thomas, opening the door. "I'll get my parents. Just make yourself at home. It won't take very long at all."

I entered the house and sneezed.

"Bless you," said Thomas, switching on the light. "We didn't have enough time to clean the house yet, so it's still a bit dusty."

It's not a bit dusty, it's very dusty!

Suddenly, the lights switched itself off and I was in the dark.

"Thomas?" I said nervously. "What's going on?"

I felt cold metal against my throat.

In a few seconds, the lights were switched back on.