Scott was so, very, very bored. So bored it made him consider going to talk to the others. As sociable as he might be, he didn't really want to consider having to talk to the future in laws, not when they had the tendency to be so...gracious. Gracious seemed patronising while he was in his...delicate state.

It had been 4 days, and so far he'd abided by their meals, their rules, spoken to just them and the family when they were visiting, which was every evening for Alenia. He kept in contact with his friends only through social media, but he craved to go out. The Cullens didn't even trust him to go out hunting; he had the blood brought to him.

He sat on his bed for a small while, and then lay down, propping his head up upon his folded arms. Within seconds he was up again, pacing restlessly. Scott checked the time; 11:03 pm. He exhaled all the air from his lungs, walked to the huge floor to ceiling window and rested his forehead on it.

"How long does it take for a vampire to die?" He whispered to himself, and then realised that someone could have heard that. Damnit! He hated living with vampires, with their stupid hearing and their damned politeness.

Oh crap, there's a mind reader...

"I need to get out," he decided, this time intending Edward to hear it. Where to exactly, he wasn't sure. That would be to his advantage.

He turned and swiftly made way from his room, and found Edward waiting for him on the landing. "Are you sure you're ready?"

Scott nodded, making sure to clear his mind. "Staying isolated is only going to make it easier for me to kill someone," he commented, a dry joke. Edward didn't seem to appreciate it. "This is serious, Scott. You have to be certain that you're safe around others, that you're not going to kill the first human you come across."

"Hey, I appreciate the concern but if you remember," he said lightly as he passed him, "I didn't kill my mom. Strong emotional bond or not, she's still alive because im just not feeling it for the blood." He was at the bottom of the stairs, and Edward didn't even move from outside his door. "I love fast food too much to give it up."

"Be careful. Any bodies reported and ill tear your head off."

Scott nodded, and left the house. He never knew it would be so easy. He zoomed away before the mind reader could reconsider. Of course he was okay. Kill someone? Hell, he was still essentially a human himself. That would never change. He was still human. Still...partly...human.

Within seconds he emerged from the trees, not a single hit on the branches. He knew just what to do, and he realised all the little decisions his mind would make for him when he entered the second patch of woods. He would move, jump, hop, speed up and switch to the side before his brain registered that it was directing his limbs to do so.

"Still human. Pretty badass human," he whispered, and pushed harder. He was racing simply for the fun of it now. Running, just for fun. Who knew?!

Finally, he came to round off, on however many laps of the woods he'd made, and stopped to a sudden halt at his sister's school. The darkness made it look sinister somehow. He wondered if there was anything going on in there, right now. He'd never been able to handle the thought of a building that could be so busy, being completely dead and lifeless the next moment. As he strolled past, making a conscious effort to keep it slow, he wondered whether ghosts existed. Vampires did, and ghosts always seemed to much more realistic.

Within minutes he was in a town he'd only been to once. A fishing town, a few miles out of Forks. Riddled with bars filled with men full of alcohol. His feet began taking him in no particular direction, a leisurely tour. He'd probably be here now, under different circumstances, with his friends, desiring the social benefits of alcohol rather than feeling repulsed, walking along without a companion. He felt lonely, and he couldn't get the idea from his mind.

He thought the streets were empty, but he heard the distant sound of voices, a small group of men from behind. As they became closer, they became distinctive and almost recognisable. They were voices he knew, quite well.

Scott pivoted on the spot, and his eyes, despite the oppressive darkness, found the faces of a 2 of his friends and new guys, a couple laughing while making boisterous jokes about the others. One spotted him, told the others, and soon he was being summoned by a chorus. "Scott! Hey man, where you been?"

He grinned, and made his way over. "Alright guys?"

The sub unit of friends exchanged looks. Daniel, tall with blond hair and tired eyes frowned. "You look weird. You been away?"

"Oh, have I caught a tan?"

Matt, the shortest one giggled, and I clapped him on the shoulder. "Take that as a no, then." He stumbled beneath my hand, and rubbed the area. "What you guys up to?"

"Oh, just showing these guys round. New colleagues at the store, don't know the place very well."

He nodded, but as he tried to maintain easy going, one of the guys, a skinny tanned kid, was glowering with intensely brown eyes at him like his face offended him. I could end you, his mind whispered automatically. He smelled exactly like Jacob.

"I've just been spending a little time with the in laws, Ali's just got engaged." He tried to discontinue the uneasy tone the reunion had taken. Matt nodded. "To that Jasper Cullen, right? Mike said he was at the party."

"The Cullens?" the tanned boy pursued. Daniel nodded. "Enough said. They actually socialise and stuff?"

Their eyes widened as Scott nodded. "They're pretty cool, actually." He almost wished he'd stayed there; this was painful. He needed to end this, quick. He felt a little sick, and a tightening, pulling sensation within the pit of his stomach. "Look, i'd better be off."

"Hey, you could come with us you know, what're you doing out here anyway?"

"I don't know really, just fancied a ride out." In a place full of low lives no one would miss if I-

"Awesome! Come on, we're just heading over there, coming?"

He gave it consideration, but his limbs deflated before he answered. He was fine in the night light, he looked just like a pale face with no more strange details. In the warm, cosy lighting and the many pairs of eyes, his own might betray him as something else, not quite the same. "I'm good, thanks though."

As they walked away in a distinct hurry beyond the call of alcohol and easy women, Scott felt as though something had ended. Or at least stabilised itself. Something waiting, something that couldn't be right there and then.

Something was taken, not just then, but something that had been there last a few months ago, and he was just realising it was missing.

His humanity. His mortality. That was gone now. And he couldn't pretend to be human until he learned from the one's who'd been doing it for along longer than he'd been alive.

On his way back, he heard a small whimper. Looking down the opening to the side of a liquor store, he found a small, hunched shadow. "Hello?" He pursued the figure, shivering in the questionable temperature. He felt neutral, but was it really that cold?

A small girl with bright blond hair was sat on the floor, shaking despite her thick rain coat. She looked like a hiker. There was dirt in her braids and caked around her boots. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly as he crouched down. She was about 17, maybe, her eyes wide and tired.

Her voice trembled as she spoke. "I-I was separated from the rest of the group. Where am I?" Her eyes stared wide at his face, glowing in the moonlight that somehow appeared upon them. He wondered what she must be thinking about it, whether It was strange or scary or just plain handsome. He wanted each of them, and that surprised him.

"When did you last eat? Or drink?"

"This mo-morning."

He helped her to her feet, and she was a lot shorter, thinner, than she looked before. Just coming up to his shoulder. "Come on. I think I saw a diner over there. I'll give you some money."

She shook her head. "I just need a phone. I can't t-take your money."

"Yes you can. I don't need it." Although he was feeling a little hungry. "Please. Just take me up on the offer and you can borrow my phone."

She thought about it, and her eyes found his. Scared but smiling. "Thank you."

"Nay problemo." He motioned with his head, and led her to the diner. He wondered whether he should risk being in there for the sake of keeping her safe. Of course, he said to himself sarcastically, and entered the little building. He ordered them both food, and decided to eat in so she could warm up. She was frightened, not cold, but it helped him keep focused.

He found her in one of the booths and sat opposite her, her dull hazel eyes following his every move, attached to his bright green orbs. He felt self conscious.

"What are you doing around here then?"

He wasn't expecting the question, or her to be so bold. "Im eating and helping a damsel. You?"

"Being helped by a guy who looks high."

He recoiled and choked on air at the comment. "S-sorry?"

She giggled. "I'm sorry, its the only way I could describe your eyes without it being a complement. They're really bright."

"Thanks. I don't know what to make of them."

"How do you mean? Are you British?"

"That was a very sharp swerve of subject. Yes I am."

She laughed again, and blushed heavily beneath her peaky cheeks. "Sorry, adrenaline. Makes me hyper."

He nodded, and smiled kindly. "I don't mind." He reached into his pocket for his phone, and placed it on the table, pushing it across to the girl. "Go ahead."

The food was brought over, and to his annoyance, his mouth didn't water at the double chicken burger. She, however, dived straight into hers. She kept looking up at the phone. "Know any taxi numbers?"

He frowned, and looked between her and his phone. "I thought you were going to call someone from the party you were with?"

She shook her head around a bite of her burger. "I was hiking alone, just didn't wanna sound stupid and pathetic."

"Why would you?"

She shrugged, and took another bite without swallowing. She was cringing behind the burger. "Sorry. Just, young girl in this place, strikes me as pretty rough around here."

"Would appear so, where do you come from?"

She swallowed, like it hurt. "Forks. You?"

He smiled at the familiarity. "Same."

She smiled back, and finished the burger. Silence ensued for a small while, before he dared one of his few questions. "What about your parents?"

She stopped wiping her hands on the napkin. "What about them?" She resumed wiping her hands again, looking into his eyes again. "I live alone."

"Really? You look-"

"Too young? I'm 22," she stated, laughing but probably used to the assumption. "I know, its a curse to look eternally youthful."

"You have no idea," he teased, keeping the sarcasm in his voice, rarely removing it these days. "Done?"

She nodded readily, the colour back in her cheeks. They left in silence straight away, and emerged out into the night. She wasn't shaking anymore, and they began a slow stroll.

"You know, you seem different." He turned to her statement. Was she always this blunt? "What do you mean?" He knew exactly what she meant. Was she that sharp? She couldn't be. She wondered around in the world into somewhere like this, and then she took the help of a stranger without once asking his name.

"You just seem...I don't know, again I don't want to be complimenting you. But then I sound rude if I try not to."

"Go on, I don't mind." She turned and met his eyes. "What colour do you call your eyes? Theyre impossible." Her voice sounded slightly whispy, and he noticed the red rising in her cheeks again. His eyes moved down across her face, past her jaw, slowly to her collarbone. "You seem...I don't know...like youre trying too hard."

"Are you...always so truthful?"

He found her eyes again, across the foot space between them. She shook her head. The tightening sensation tugged again, as though it was always there, the whole time. It was strong now. Strong as the burning in his throat. For some reason he looked around for any others lurking about.

He started to walk again, knowing she would follow. Did she trust him? Could she?

Of course. That was why faces like that were exclusive to them. Trust was a thing to be used.

She continued to follow, the small, insignificant, adrenaline pumped, unattached human.

He never met her eyes again as his consciousness turned away.