Bella

I was staring at the ceiling when my alarm went off, not daring to move. I kept replaying that moment of terror over and over in my mind. What had I actually seen in the bathroom stall? Had I hit my head harder than I thought, driving me to full-on hallucinations? There was no other explanation. What I had seen- thought I had seen- was impossible. I tried to convince myself of this, yet still I could not move a muscle. Every time I blinked I saw those eyes, blood red and hungry. I started shaking again, cold sweat beading on my forehead.

I knew what I had to do. The only way to convince myself that what I had seen wasn't real was to go back to school and see Evie Cullen again, to prove to my terror-driven mind that she is nothing more than a regular high-school student, not some kind of monster hiding out in bathrooms preying on unsuspecting teenagers. Once I arrived at this conclusion I felt a fresh wave of terror pulse through me, debilitating my mind again. So I took a deep breath and forced myself to a sitting position on the bed. I knew that if I didn't get out of bed right now, I never would. I slammed down on the button of my alarm and with great effort I stood up, determined not to let this fear control me.

The hot shower soothed much of the tension from my muscles, and by the time I was dressed I felt as ready as possible to face my fear. The short walk to school undid everything the shower had done to help me relax. By the time I arrived I was shivering, my breath coming in shallow gasps. I was early again, so I found a bench in the corner of the quad and sat down to dry off and warm up. I felt somewhat safer with my back against the wall, and I had a good view of the main entrance.

Soon the other students began filing in, laughing and rough-housing as they slipped and slid along the wet floor. My nerves were reaching their limits as I waited, until finally I saw them. Rosalie entered first, her linebacker boyfriend still attached to her waist like yesterday. Behind them Jasper entered alone, walking stiffly and not looking at anyone. Finally I saw the girl who must have been Alice, her petite frame dancing gracefully across the slippery tile, dark eyes fixed on Jasper's back as if deep in concentration. She walked arm-in-arm with Evie, who was scanning the room anxiously. My breath stopped short and I could feel my heart hammering in my chest. Her eyes came to rest on me as I hunched in the corner, trying my utmost to blend into the wallpaper. She squinted as if she couldn't see me clearly from across the room. I waited, not breathing, for her face to change into the horrific visage from yesterday. It didn't. I should have felt relieved that my vision had all been in my head, but as she continued to stare at me I felt the exact opposite. I didn't know if what I had seen had been real, but now I knew this: Evie Cullen was definitely not just a regular high school student.

I wandered from class to class oblivious to my surroundings, jumping out of my skin every time a locker slammed or the bell rang. My new group of friends were also oblivious, chattering at me in class and through the halls as we went about our newly established routine together. I was now painfully aware that Evie was in every single one of my classes, making it impossible to concentrate on anything. I sat as far away from her as possible each time, gathering what comfort I could from the distance between us, yet I found myself glancing over my shoulder every five seconds. Each time I did, I saw her face across the room. Still normal, still staring at me with brows furrowed in… concentration? Frustration? Her dark eyes were completely inscrutable. Today, my fear of my fellow students discovering my true self yesterday seemed trivial and silly. Today, I had caught the attention of someone dangerous. She obviously knew I had seen her yesterday. That must mean that I hadn't imagined the events in the restroom at all. This knowledge chilled me to my core, and I suddenly realized how truly stupid I had been to come here today. I wasn't supposed to have seen what I saw. I sat forward, forcing myself to stop looking at her. Now more than ever, I needed to keep a low profile.

I wasn't able to eat anything at lunch, in spite of having skipped breakfast once again. I ordered a soda and sat at my friends' table, nervously twisting the bottle cap between my fingers, determined not to look over at the table where Evie sat with her group. This action was so similar to my efforts yesterday when I was trying not to stare at Rosalie, and yet so completely different it was almost comical. To keep myself from bursting into a random fit of laughter, I tried to concentrate on the conversation. Then Jessica suddenly turned to me and whispered "Evie Cullen is staring at you!"

My instincts betrayed my better judgment and I slowly turned my head to look. I was shocked and utterly confused by what I saw. Evie sat at the far table with Alice, Jasper, Rosalie, and Rosalie's boyfriend whose name I still didn't know, and they were laughing. The big guy was shaking his thick, curly hair and sending droplets of rainwater in every direction. Evie, Alice, and Rosalie were attempting to shield themselves from the deluge while Jasper smacked the guy on the shoulder with his lunch tray. They looked like a regular group of kids having fun. It was so completely opposite of how Evie had looked all morning that I couldn't begin to connect the two. Maybe, in addition to imagining the face in the mirror yesterday, I was also imagining Evie's eyes following me everywhere I went? I started to wonder if Forks was having a bad effect on me.

"No she's not!" I whispered back at Jess.

"Oh. Oops, my bad." Jessica shrugged. I was more confused than ever. If Jessica had seen Evie staring, then it wasn't all in my head. But if she had made a mistake, and hadn't seen Evie staring at all… I sighed. This uncertainty was almost worse than the paralyzing fear I had felt this morning.

By the time the lunch hour ended, I knew the only way to know for sure if something was going on would be to confront Evie face to face. I did not like this prospect one bit, even though at lunch she had appeared entirely normal and non-threatening. I headed toward Biology, grateful that my companions were so utterly unobservant. When I entered the room, I immediately saw Evie in her seat at the back, next to the empty chair where I would have to sit. I took a deep breath, then another, and another. Finally everyone else was seated and I no longer had an excuse to linger at the front. I forced one foot forward, then the other, and slowly made my way to my seat. Every muscle in my body screamed at me to stop and run the other way, but I persisted, stubbornly refusing to let this fear- rational or not- get the best of me.

I took my seat, trying not to look at my lab partner but knowing I would have to. I had no idea what to expect when I turned toward her. Hostility like yesterday? That same curious expression from this morning? Or something entirely worse? But nothing could have prepared me for what actually happened. When I raised my gaze I saw that she was sitting sideways in her chair, facing me. Her bronze-colored curls fell around her shoulders, framing an oval-shaped pale face with a faint hint of freckles across the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheekbones. Her eyes matched her hair, a shade darker than ochre and flecked with gold, somehow reminding me of fire. But most inexplicably, her lips were turned up at the corners. The smile transformed her face into an expression of such innocence and beauty that all thought of malice toward her vanished.

"Hello," she said in a smooth even voice, "my name is Evie Cullen."

I gaped at her stupidly. Finally my brain kicked into gear and I cleared my throat, embarrassed.

"Hi. I'm Bella." I studied her face, searching for any sign of the frightening creature I'd seen just yesterday. But her eyes were bright and clear, her skin a soft alabaster that almost shone under the florescent lights. She was probably the only person in school more pale than myself. Nothing about her features suggested anything… unnatural. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my head. When I opened them again she still looked just the same, only now her pleasant expression looked more confused. She must be wondering if I was mentally stable, the way I kept staring at her. I looked away unwillingly to listen to the lecture that had already begun. Mr. Banner was passing out microscopes. When our table was called I started to stand up to walk over and retrieve our microscope, but before I had even taken a step Evie was returning to her seat, microscope in hand. How had she done that so quickly? I shook my head, now thoroughly convinced that my imagination has been running away with me. Obviously the stress of the past few months had taken their toll on my mental and emotional state, causing me to hallucinate. It wasn't that this girl sitting next to me could move faster than any human, it was that my brain was moving slower. I was sure of it.

Pull it together, Swan! I told myself to snap out of it and stop trying to look for things that simply aren't there.

"Want to go first, partner?"Evie asked me, still trying to be friendly.

"Um… sure." I pulled the microscope closer and looked into it. All I could see were a bunch of misshapen blobs. "What are we looking for again?"

"Phases of Mitosis." She answered slowly, as if I were a person of limited mental capacity.

"Oh, right." I looked again. Now I could see it. "Anaphase."

"Mind if I double-check?" She asked me, without even a hint of mockery. I slid the microscope over to her side of the table so she could have a look. She quickly confirmed my answer and moved on to the next slide. We continued with the lab in silence for a while, and soon we were finished, well ahead of the rest of the class. I was pleasantly surprised that there was at least one other student here in Forks who actually valued learning. Evie was obviously an accomplished student. So different from Phoenix.

Without the lab work to distract us, I was once again compelled to study Evie's features. This time I tried to be more subtle, letting my long hair fall over my shoulder and peering at her from behind it. If I was completely honest with myself, the mystery of this girl had begun to fascinate me. Once again, she was sideways in her chair looking at me as if puzzled by something.

"So why did you move to Forks, Bella?" It was the same question I had been asked over and over yesterday, but something about her tone made me feel like she was asking because she genuinely wanted to know, not because she was just trying to make conversation. I swiveled in my chair and swung my hair back over my shoulder.

"My grandparents passed away a few months ago." I told her. I wasn't sure why I had decided to tell her the truth right away. None of my new friends here knew the real reason for my move. Her eyes darkened in empathy at my answer.

"I'm so sorry." She told me, and I believed her. Her face looked sad now, like she had experienced something similar and knew exactly how I was feeling.

"Thank you." I replied.

"Were you close to them?" She asked, not insensitively but directly.

"Very. They pretty much raised me, since my mom was always working odd hours."

"What happened?" She got right to the heart of things.

"Car accident. It was horrible. My mom was driving us all home from dinner. She never even saw the other car, but she blames herself every single day." My voice wavered as I explained. I still couldn't believe I was telling this stranger my life story. I couldn't remember being so open with someone since… ever.

"That must have been incredibly difficult for both of you."

"I don't know if she'll ever get over it. She's… not doing very well."

"Is that why she sent you to live with your dad?"

I frowned. I didn't remember telling her I had moved in with my father. She must have overheard the other students talking yesterday.

"No. She never would have wanted me to leave her. I sort of moved away without telling her." Saying it out loud made me sound like a horrible person. I hung my head, ashamed.

"You didn't want her to have to worry about you when she was going through something so terrible." Evie said. It was a statement, not a question. I gaped at her. How could she have understood me so quickly? She doesn't even know me. She leaned forward to meet my lowered gaze.

"Hey, don't feel bad. You did what you thought was the right thing. That takes a lot of courage."

"You're very perceptive." I told her, my guard coming back up. I didn't want anyone to understand me, let alone this perplexing person sitting beside me.

"It's a gift." She shrugged and turned away as if she also felt suddenly vulnerable.

As the bell rang to dismiss the class, I decided that I still needed to be wary of Evie Cullen, no matter how trustworthy she seems. I watched her disappear out of the room as if in the blink of an eye. I would wait and see.

As it turned out, I didn't have to wait long.

This time the gym teacher let me sit out rather than injure myself or someone else trying to play volleyball. As I sat alone in the corner watching the others, I found myself wondering about Evie Cullen. If she had never spoken to anyone in school outside of her family, why did she speak with me today? How had she so easily reasoned out my motives for moving here? And what had really happened in the restroom yesterday?

I was so lost in thought that when the bell rang I wasn't ready at all. I shoved my things back into my pack and hurried to grab my coat off the hook. As soon as I exited the gym I looked for her. She was at the far corner of the parking lot, leaning up against a shiny silver Volvo and staring right at me. This time I met her gaze to be sure I wasn't imagining it. I wasn't. Our eyes locked for a full moment before I was distracted by the high-pitched squeal of brakes and the crunching and grating of tires skidding across ice. I watched as Evie's expression changed to horror before I turned to face the sound. A van was barreling toward me, out of control. I was frozen where I stood, unable to force myself out of the way. Before I could even blink, someone's arms circled my waist and pulled me around to pin me against the parked car next to me. I braced myself for the impact, but it never came. Instead the van curled around me, crunching against the car on either side of me. The sound was deafening. Eyes open wide, I whirled around to see what had prevented the van from flattening me like a pancake. It was Evie Cullen.

My mind could not make sense of what had just happened. One minute Evie was across a large parking lot, the next she was using her body as a human shield against a moving vehicle. To protect me.

"Evie, what-" I tried to ask. Her hands were still on my waist. She jerked them away and glared at me. Icy tendrils of fear curled around my spine.

"Don't say anything to anyone." She warned me. Then she was gone.

Evie

I was running as fast as I could through the forest. Again. What just happened? One minute I am plotting my most potent meal ever, the next I am saving said victim's life. In front of all of the humans. She saw me this time, I know it. I was supposed to take care of this, but all I did was make everything exponentially worse. I let a tree break my momentum and I sat down, knocking my head against the rough bark. The sound it made echoed back to me… why?... why?... why?...

I have no answer. Sure, today was the first time I conversed with someone other than my family in a very long time. Sure, I'm completely infuriated by my inability to read this insignificant girl's thoughts. And yeah, maybe I am a little bit fascinated by her mental silence, being that I have never encountered this in all my years. But none of these facts explain why I so willingly flaunted the strict code of my kind that forbids us to reveal our true natures to the humans we hunt.

The truth is I acted without thinking. Something I never, ever do. I saw the projectile of the van and there I was, shielding her from certain death before I even knew that I had moved. The expression in her eyes when she turned to face me had made it clear: she knew I shouldn't have been there. Now I have a serious problem.

I made my way slowly back to my family's home, already knowing what awaited me there. As soon as the front door closed behind me they descended. Rose was first in line, her beautiful face twisted with pure rage.

"What have you done, you unconscionable lack-wit?" she screeched.

"Save it, Rosalie."

"Rose is right, E." Emmett chimed in from behind her. "You seriously screwed us."

"Well, out with it." Rosalie continued. "What was she thinking when you saved her? Is she rushing home to daddy Sherriff to tell him all about it?"

"I… I don't know. I can't… hear her at all." I finally admitted.

Rosalie was now in full fume mode. "Well, that explains why you've been even more surly than usual today!"

Alice spoke up then. "Evie, something is going on. I didn't see that anything was going to happen to the girl, and I've been watching for her all day." She was even more upset today than yesterday about her lack of sight.

"Wonderful. You're telling me that this human is completely immune to all of our abilities? Evie, why in the world would you risk all of our lives to save her? She is a liability and needs to be dealt with." Rosalie's words scathed.

"I have no idea why, Rose. It just happened." I tried to explain, but I didn't even know the answer myself yet.

"Maybe one of us should… take care of this." Jasper's eyes glowed red at the thought of hunting her. I listened to his thoughts, and though they were incredibly similar to the ones I'd had just yesterday, I felt suddenly revolted.

"That's out of the question." Carlisle stood at the top of the staircase, looking down at us. "This girl is an innocent. Jasper, I know how far you have come. It would be a shame to ruin your progress." His tone was kind, but Jasper hung his head in shame.

"Don't worry about it Jazz." I told him. "I thought about it too." I peeked at Alice from the corner of my eye, knowing how she must feel about being left in the dark about my previous plans for the girl. Her usually angelic face was crestfallen.

"You… you were planning to hunt her today? I should have let you run away like you wanted. Like the coward that you are!" She turned and ran, shoulders shaking with tearless sobs. Jasper looked at me sympathetically before turning to follow her.

Esme came up and hugged me. "Don't worry dear, you didn't do anything wrong. You saved this girl's life after all. We all have thoughts that… stray from time to time. It doesn't mean you were going to act on it. Alice is just upset, you know how she hates not be able to see. She'll come around."

"You're right, Mother. Thank you." I decided not to mention how I had fully intended to act out my plot today. But that was before…

"Didn't do anything wrong?!" Rosalie's shrill voice cut across my thought process. "We are all at risk now! Am I the only one concerned about that?"

Carlisle joined us in the great room then. "It will be okay, Rose. We will figure this out together, as a family."

"Carlisle, I like it here. We can go outside almost every day. If we have to move again, we have to start all over. Again."

"That may not be necessary. First, we need to determine what this girl knows, and what she plans to do with the information."

"And how are we to do that, without Alice's sight or Evie's mind-reading?"

"Well, we'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way." Carlisle grinned as if he were talking about an exciting puzzle, rather than the interrogation of a high-school girl.

Emmett leaned forward eagerly. "So what's the plan? Stocks? Water torture? The rack?"

Carlisle coughed a laugh. "No, Emmett. Not quite that old-fashioned." Emmett looked disappointed. "I meant we will just have to talk to her." He turned to me. "Are you up for it?"

I gulped. Was I? Could I spend more time with this girl without wanting to rip her throat out? I controlled my thirst in class today, after glutting myself last night, but how long could I last?

"I'll try." I finally told him.

"Good, thank you. Let's go."

"What, now?"

"Of course. They'll be needing me at the hospital, and this Bella is sure to be there after the ordeal today."

Half of me shuddered in dread at the thought of having restrain myself yet again, and the other half reveled in the prospect of giving in to my darkest desire. This was getting exhausting.

"You had better not make this any worse." Rosalie spat at me as she turned to leave with Emmett.

Esme squeezed my hand. "I know you can do this." She smiled at me in her motherly way. I had to believe her. I had to try. Otherwise I was no better than the blood-thirsty beast that still existed deep inside of me. I would not let this inconsequential human prevent me from being the person I choose to be, rather than the monster I was forced into becoming so many years ago.