I stood frozen in fear, how on earth was he here? Why was he here? Not wanting to face him right now, I quickly turned around trying to figure if I could make it back to the restaurant,

"don't" his voice boomed, almost snarling at me, fear ran down my spine, I slowly turned back to see him still stood there against his truck staring at me, I thought he couldn't possibility know what had happened tonight,

"oh hi Emmett, what are you doing here?" I said trying not to sound scared,

"get in the truck" was his response as he pushed himself off the truck,

"well actually, Bella is waiting" I said gesturing back round the corner,

"Liliana. Get. In. the. Truck" Emmett said, even with the darkness I could see his pitch black eyes staring at me, I sighed there was no way I was getting out of it, I slowly walked towards him, he opened the door and stood by it, I kept my eyes on the ground as I climbed in the truck, he slammed the door and walked round to the drivers side, not once glancing at me, I sat there staring forward with my hands clasped together, Emmett got in and slammed the door shut.

The silence could have been cut with a knife, Emmett didn't start the engine just sat staring forward with his hands clenched on the steering wheel,

"Emmett?" I whispered not daring to look at him,

"why?" he demanded, I was confused,

"I. . . I don't know what you mean" I said genuinely as I glanced at him,

"after everything, you were going to go back out. Alone" Emmett said very quietly but deadly, he turned his head to look at me, the pitch black eyes staring into my soul,

"how did you?" I asked confused, wanting nothing more than to disappear into thin air,

"I asked you to be careful this weekend, first you decide to walk alone to a bookstore, then put yourself in danger by trying to stand up them, and finally after you were saved decide to walk ALONE AGAIN" Emmett said quietly at first but then shouted the last part, I jumped at his tone,

"sorry I'm just so angry with you right now, and I want to kill them" Emmett snarled, I took a deep breathe and tried to think of an answer,

"Bella was in danger" was the only answer I had, Emmett suddenly hit the steering wheel, making the car shake,

"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT HER! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN TO YOU! I COULD HAVE LOST YOU!" Emmett shouted, I felt the tears in my eyes, nothing could have prepared me for this side of him, I quickly put my arms around myself,

"Emmett I'm fine" I whispered, not knowing what he meant by the comment by even I wasn't stupid enough to ask at this minute, suddenly I shivered with the cold, Emmett quickly reached to the back of the car and handed me a jacket,

"you're cold, put it on" Emmett whispered, I put the jacket on and Emmett's smell instantly comforted me,

"thanks, I'm sorry for upsetting you" I whispered not daring to look him, I heard him sigh,

"Lil" Emmett said softly, I didn't look scared he was going to shout again, a cold sensation came across my hand and I realised when I glanced my it was his hand,

"I'm sorry for shouting, you just really scared me" He whispered, I glanced up at him,

"I'm sorry, I know I shouldn't have said anything to them" I whispered, Emmett sighed,

"at least we agree on something, we should get out of here before I decide to track them and kill them" Emmett joked, I gave a little smile,

"okay" I said, Emmett took his hand off mine, I missed the touch already, he started the jeep and headed out of town, I kept my eyes forward but often found myself stealing glances at Emmett,

"I'm sorry I ruined your night" I whispered as we sped along the highway, Emmett glanced at me,

"Lil, you didn't" he said softly, his hand reached for mine again, I smiled,

"plus I wouldn't rather be anywhere else, If I hadn't met you there I would have turned up to your house, I had to know you were safe" Emmett admitted, suddenly I saw him turning off the highway,

"erm, Em? Where are we going?" I asked confused,

"you need to eat" was his only statement,

"Em, I'm fine I said to Bella and Edward I was going home" I said panicking in case they got back before me,

"Edward knows don't worry, plus it's your favourite" Emmett said as he pulled into a olive garden parking lot, I looked at him intrigued,

"okay I have lots of questions, the main being how did you know this was my favourite?" I asked bewildered,

"lucky guess?" Emmett said joking as he turned off the engine, I shook my head but Emmett was already out of the jeep and was jogging round to open the door for me,

"my lady" Emmett joked, I laughed and got out and went to take the jacket off,

"don't it suits you" Emmett said pulling it back around me, I smiled and tried to hide my blush.

Emmett walked me inside with his hand on the small of my back, I couldn't help but notice the butterflies forming in my stomach, Emmett quickly found us a table at the back of the restaurant and he pulled the chair out for me which made me blush again, we quickly ordered drinks, and Emmett ordered me a chicken salad and thanked the host when he brought the drinks over,

"drink" Emmett encouraged smiling at me, I sipped at my soda obediently, and then drank more deeply, surprised by how thirsty I was, I realized I had finished the whole thing when he pushed his glass toward me.
"Thanks," I muttered, still thirsty I took another few sips before leaning back in the chair
"That colour blue looks lovely with your skin" Emmett commented, watching me. I was surprised by the sudden compliment, I looked down, blushing of course.
I couldn't lie it smelled amazing. I inhaled, trying to identify the delicious scent. It didn't smell like cologne. The sleeves were much too long, I shoved them back so I could free my hands.
He pushed the bread basket toward me.
"Really, I'm not going that hungry" I protested, he laughed,

"please, I'm still waiting for you to go into shock from earlier" Emmett commented, I noticed how his eyes seemed to darken a bit thinking of it,

"Em, I'm fine, no shock I promise" I said smiling,
"You should be any normal person would be, you don't even look shaken." He seemed unsettled. He stared into my eyes, I blushed a little again,

"I feel very safe with you," I confessed, mesmerized into telling the truth again.
I picked up a breadstick and began nibbling on the end, trying to measuring his expression as I wondered when it would be okay to start questioning him.
The waitress strode over to the table with my food. I sat up and realized we'd been unconsciously leaning toward each other across the table, because we both straightened up as she approached. She set the dish in front of me and turned quickly to Emmett

"Did you change your mind?" she asked,

Isn't there anything I can get you?" I may have been imagining the double meaning in her words, this made my mood a little sour,
"No, thank you, but some more soda would be nice." He gestured with a long white hand to the empty cups in front of me,
"Sure thing" She removed the empty glasses and walked away.
"You were saying?" he asked grinning,
"I'll tell you more about that in the car. If…" I paused,
"There are conditions?" He raised one eyebrow, his voice ominous but with an edge of amusement,
"I do have a few questions, of course" I said smiling
"Of course, you do" he laughed
The waitress was back with two more Cokes. She sat them down without a word this time, and left again.
I took a sip, still keeping my eyes on Emmett,
"Well, go ahead," he pushed,
I started with the most obvious question, Or so I thought,

"Why were you in Port Angeles? I thought you were camping" I asked,
He looked down, folding his large hands together slowly on the table. His eyes flickered up at me from under his lashes, the hint of a smirk on his face.
"Next" he said smiling, I shook my head,
"But that's the easiest one" I objected pouting, he laughed,
"Next" he repeated grinning,
I looked down, frustrated. I unrolled my silverware, picked up my fork, and carefully speared a bit of chicken.
I put it in my mouth slowly, still looking down, chewing while I thought. I swallowed and took another sip of Coke before I looked up.
"Okay, then" I glared at him, and continued slowly. "Let's say, hypothetically of course, that…someone… let's say Edward. . .could know what people are thinking, read minds, you know, with a few exceptions" I challenged,
"Just one exception hypothetically of course" Emmett interrupted me, I was thrilled that he was playing along, but I tried to seem casual,
"All right, with one exception, then, how does that work? What are the limitations? How would… that someone… find someone else at exactly the right time? How would he know she or they were in trouble?" I wondered if my convoluted questions even made sense, I bit my lip waiting for an answer,
"Hypothetically?" he asked looking at me,
"Sure" I nodded,
"Well, if… that someone…or some people" Emmett started,
"Let's call them Joe and Ted'" I suggested grinning, he laughed a little,
"Joe and Ted? Well If Joe and Ted had been paying attention, the timing wouldn't have needed to be quite so exact." He shook his head, rolling his eyes,

"Only you and Bella could get into trouble in a town this small, you would have devastated their crime rate statistics for a decade, you know" Emmett said smiling a little, I pouted again,
"We were speaking of a hypothetical case" I reminded him frostily knowing he was blaming me a little again, he laughed at me, his eyes warm.
"Yes, we were" he agreed, I smiled thinking I had won this one,

"Shall we call you 'Jane'?" he asked me smiling,
"How did he know?" I asked, unable to curb my intensity. I realized I was leaning toward him again.
He seemed to be wavering, torn by some internal dilemma. His eyes locked with mine, and I guessed he was making the decision right then whether or not to simply tell me the truth.
"You can trust me, you know," I murmured. I reached forward, without thinking, to touch his folded hands, but he slid them away, dishearten I pulled my hand back.
"I don't know if I have a choice anymore." His voice was almost a whisper. "I was wrong, you and Bella are much more observant than I gave you credit for" he said to me,
"not used to being wrong?" I said trying to lighten the mood, he smiled,
"not really, I was wrong about you on one other thing, as well. You're not a magnet for accidents that's definitely Bella, you Liliana, you are a magnet for trouble. If there is anything dangerous within a ten-mile radius, it will invariably find you" Emmett said frowning,
"Edward and I followed you and Bella to Port Angeles "I've never tried to keep a specific person alive before, and it's much more troublesome than I would have believed. But that's probably just because it's you. Ordinary people seem to make it through the day without so many catastrophes."
He paused, I sat there wondering if it should bother me that he was following me, instead I felt a strange surge of pleasure. He stared, maybe wondering why my lips were curving into an involuntary smile,
"Did you ever think that maybe my number was up the first time, with the van, and that you've been interfering with fate?" I speculated, joking a bit,
"That wasn't the first time," he said, and his voice was hard to hear. I stared at him in amazement, but he was looking down,

"Your number was up the first time you decided to wonder off in the woods. Alone" he stated. I felt a spasm of fear at his words, and the abrupt memory of that day in the woods, the banches… but the overwhelming sense of safety I felt in his presence stifled it. By the time he looked up to read my eyes, there was no trace of fear in them,
"You remember?" he asked, his angel's face grave.
"Yes, was you there?" I was calm, he nodded,
"And yet here you sit." There was a trace of disbelief in his voice; he raised one eyebrow.

"Yes, here I sit… because of you and your brother. . . because somehow he knew how to find me and Bella today… ?" I prompted, I watched as he wrestled with some internal fight.

He pressed his lips together, staring at me through narrowed eyes, deciding again. His eyes flashed down to my full plate, and then back to me.
"You eat, I'll talk," he bargained, I nodded and then I quickly scooped up another piece of chicken and a bit of salad and popped it in my mouth,
"It's harder than it should be, keeping track of you. Usually he can find someone very easily, once he has heard their mind before." He looked at me anxiously, and I realized I had frozen. I made myself swallow, then stabbed another piece and tossed it in.
"he was keeping tabs on Jessica, not carefully, like I said, only you and Bella could find trouble in Port Angeles and at first we didn't notice when you took off on your own. Then, when Edward realized that you weren't with her anymore, we went looking for you at the bookstore he saw in her head. I could tell that you hadn't gone in, and that you'd both had gone south… and I knew you would have to turn around soon. So I was just waiting for you, Edward randomly searching through the thoughts of people on the street — to see if anyone had noticed you or Bella so I would know where you were. I had no reason to be worried… but I was strangely anxious…" He was lost in thought, staring past me, seeing things I couldn't imagine.

"we started to drive in circles, still… trying to find you. The sun was finally setting, and we was about to get out and follow you two on foot. And then…" He stopped, clenching his teeth together in sudden fury. He made an effort to calm himself.
"Then what?" I whispered. He continued to stare over my head.
" Edward heard what they were thinking," he growled, his upper lip curling slightly back over his teeth "he saw your face in his mind." He suddenly leaned forward, one elbow appearing on the table, his hand covering his eyes. The movement was so swift it startled me.
"It was very… hard, you can't imagine how hard for me to leave them… alive, that's why I wasn't in the car, I couldn't be trusted" His voice was muffled by his arm. "I could have let you go with Jessica and Angela, but I was afraid if you left me alone, I would go looking for them, I was going to join you, Bella and Edward at the restaurant, but then you being you, left again. Alone." he admitted in a whisper.
I sat quietly, dazed, my thoughts incoherent. My hands were folded in my lap, and I was leaning weakly against the back of the seat. He still had his face in his hand, and he was as still as if he'd been carved from the stone his skin resembled.

Finally he looked up, his eyes seeking mine, full of his own questions,
"Are you ready to go home?" he asked in a whisper,
"I'm ready to leave" I qualified, overly grateful that we had the hour-long ride home together. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to him, I needed more answers, The waitress appeared as if she'd been called. Or watching.
"How are we doing?" she asked Emmett,
"We're ready for the check, thank you." His voice was quiet, rougher, still reflecting the strain of our conversation. It seemed to muddle her. He looked up, waiting.
"S-sure," she stuttered. "Here you go." She pulled a small leather folder from the front pocket of her black apron and handed it to him.
There was a bill in his hand already. He slipped it into the folder and handed it right back to her,
"No change." He smiled. Then he stood up, and I quickly scrambled to my feet,

"You have a nice evening" she smiled invitingly at him again,
He didn't look away from me as he thanked her. I suppressed a smile, he walked close beside me to the door, still careful not to touch me.
He opened the passenger door, holding it for me as I stepped in, shutting it softly behind me. I watched him walk around the front of the jeep, amazed, yet again, by how graceful he was. I probably should have been used to that by now, but I wasn't. I had a feeling Emmett wasn't the kind of person anyone got used to.
Once inside the jeep, he started the engine and turned the heater on high. It had gotten very cold, and I guessed the good weather was at an end. I was warm in his jacket, though, breathing in the scent of it when I thought he couldn't see.
Emmett pulled out through the traffic, apparently without a glance, flipping around to head back towards the freeway.
"Now, it's your turn" he said significantly, I looked at him,

"Can I ask just one more?" I pleaded as Emmett accelerated, He didn't seem to be paying any attention to the road, he sighed,
"One," he agreed. His lips pressed together into a cautious line, I smiled knowing I had won,
"Well… you said you knew I hadn't gone into the bookstore, and that I had gone south. I was just wondering how you knew that" I asked curiously, he looked away, deliberating.
"I followed your scent" He looked at the road, giving me time to compose my face. I couldn't think of an acceptable response to that, but I filed it carefully away for future study. I tried to refocus, I wasn't ready to let him be finished, now that he was finally explaining things.
"And then you didn't answer one of my first questions…" I stalled answering his question, he looked at me with disapproval.

"Which one?" he finally asked,
"How does it work, the mind-reading thing? Can Edward read anybody's mind, anywhere? How does do it? Can the rest of your family? can you?" I felt silly, asking for clarification on make-believe.
"That's more than one," he pointed out, I simply smiled intertwined my fingers and gazed at him, waiting,
"No, it's just Edward, he can't hear anyone, anywhere. He has to be fairly close. The more familiar someone's… 'voice' is, the farther away he can hear them. But still, no more than a few miles." He paused thoughtfully,
"Why do you think you can't hear me or Bella?" I asked curiously.
He looked at me, his eyes enigmatic.
"I don't know," he murmured,

"my only guess I have is that maybe yours and Bella's mind doesn't work the same way the rest of theirs do. Like your thoughts are on the AM frequency and he only gets FM." He grinned at me, suddenly amused,
"My mind doesn't work right? I'm a freak?" The words bothered me more than they should, probably because his speculation hit home. I didn't want him to think I was a freak,
"Edward hear voices in his mind and you're worried that you're the freak," he laughed,

"Don't worry, it's just a theory…Which brings us back to you" His face tightened
I sighed. How to begin to answer, I looked away from his face for the first time, trying to find words. I happened to notice the speedometer,
"Jesus! Emmett Slow down!" I shouted,
"What's wrong?" He was startled. But the car didn't decelerate.
"You're going over a hundred miles an hour!" I was still shouting. I shot a panicky glance out the window, but it was too dark to see much. The road was only visible in the long patch of bluish brightness from the headlights. The forest along both sides of the road was like a black wall, as hard as a wall of steel if we veered off the road at this speed.
"Relax, Lil" He rolled his eyes, still not slowing.
"Are you trying to kill us?" I demanded suddenly worried,
"We're not going to crash" He said and laughed, I gave him a serious look, he sighed, and I watched with relief as the needle gradually drifted toward eighty,

"Happy?" he asked me,
"Almost" I replied,
"I hate driving slow" he muttered.
"This is slow?" I asked laughing,
"Enough commentary on my driving," he snapped. "I'm still waiting for your latest theory of me" he said smiling down at me,
I bit my lip. He looked down at me, his eyes gently, I lip my lip,
"I won't laugh" he promised.
"I'm more afraid that you'll be angry with me" I admitted,
"Is it that bad?" Emmett asked,

"Pretty much, yeah" I admitted, he waited. I was looking down at my hands, so I couldn't see his expression.
"Go ahead" His voice was calm and soothing,
"I don't know how to start" I admitted.
"Why don't you start at the beginning, what got you started a book? A movie?" he probed, I shook my head,
"No, it was Saturday, at the beach." I risked a glance up at his face. He looked puzzled.
"I ran into an old family friend, Jacob Black his dad and Charlie have been friends since I was a baby" I explained, he still looked confused.
"His dad is one of the Quileute elders." I watched him carefully, his confused expression froze in place.
"We went for a walk and he was telling me some old legends, he told me one…" I hesitated not sure whether to continue,
"Go on" he said.
"About vampires." I realized I was whispering. I couldn't look at his face now. But I saw his knuckles tighten convulsively on the wheel.
"And you immediately thought of me?" Still calm, I took a deep breathe,
"No. He… mentioned your family" I said honestly, he was silent, staring at the road. I was worried suddenly, worried about protecting Jacob.
"He just thought it was a silly superstition," I said quickly. "He didn't expect me to think anything of it" I said quickly,
"What did you do then?" he asked after a minute,
"I did some research on the Internet" I admitted,
"And did that convince you?" His voice sounded barely interested. But his hands were clamped hard onto the steering wheel.
"No. Nothing fit. Most of it was kind of silly. And then…" I stopped,
"What?" he said firmly,
"I decided it didn't matter" I whispered,
"It didn't matter?" His tone made me look up, I had finally broken through his carefully composed mask. His face was incredulous, with just a hint of the anger I'd feared,
"No," I said softly. "It doesn't matter to me what you are."

"You don't care if I'm a monster? If I'm not human!" A hard, mocking edge entered his voice
"No" I said honestly, He was silent, staring straight ahead again. His face was bleak and cold.
"You're angry," I sighed. "I shouldn't have said anything."
"No," he said, but his tone was as hard as his face. "I'd rather know what you're thinking, even if what you're thinking is insane."
"So I'm wrong again?" I challenged,
"That's not what I was referring to. 'It doesn't matter'!" he quoted, gritting his teeth together.
"I'm right?" I gasped my head suddenly a bit light,
"Does it matter?" he whispered, I took a deep breath.
"Not really." I paused. "But I am curious." My voice, at least, was composed.
He was suddenly resigned. "What are you curious about?"
"How old are you?" I asked curiously,
"nineteen" he answered promptly.
"And how long have you been nineteen?" I enquired, he paused
"A while" he admitted at last.
"Okay" I smiled, pleased that he was still being honest with me. He stared down at me with watchful eyes, much as he had before, when he was worried I would go into shock. I smiled wider in encouragement, and he frowned.
"Don't laugh — but how can you come out during the daytime?" I asked confused,
He laughed anyway. "Myth."
"Burned by the sun?"
"Myth"
"Sleeping in coffins?"

"Myth." He hesitated for a moment, and a peculiar tone entered his voice. "I can't sleep."
It took me a minute to absorb that. "At all?"
"Never," he said, his voice nearly inaudible. He turned to look at me with a wistful expression.
"You haven't asked me the most important question yet." His voice was hard now, I blinked, still dazed

"Which one is that?" I asked confused,
"You aren't concerned about my diet?" he asked sarcastically.
"Oh," I murmured, "that." I felt quite stupid now,
"Yes, that." His voice was bleak. "Don't you want to know if I drink blood?"
"well Jacob said you didn't… hunt people. He said your family wasn't supposed to be dangerous because you only hunted animals" I said looking at him,
"He said we weren't dangerous?" His voice was deeply sceptical.
"Not exactly. He said you weren't supposed to be dangerous. But the Quileutes still didn't want you on their land, just in case" I said trying to remember it all, he looked forward, but I couldn't tell if he was watching the road or not.
"So was he right? About not hunting people?" I tried to keep my voice as even as possible,
"The Quileutes have a long memory," he whispered, I nodded, I took it as a confirmation.
"Don't let that make you complacent, though," he warned me. "They're right to keep their distance from us. We are still dangerous" he warned,
"I don't understand" I said looking at him curiously,
"We try," he explained slowly. "We're usually very good at what we do. Sometimes we make mistakes.
"Tell me more," I asked desperately, not caring what he said, just so I could hear his voice again. He looked at me quickly, startled by the change in my tone,

"What more do you want to know?" he asked, I thought for a minute,

"your eyes, what's the difference between golden and black?" I asked, he sighed,

"golden is when we have fed and black is when we are hungry" he admitted watching my face,
"Were you hunting this weekend, with Edward?" I asked when it was quiet again.
"Yes." He paused for a second, as if deciding whether or not to say something. "I didn't want to leave you, but it was necessary. It's a bit easier to be around you when I'm not thirsty" he admitted
"Why didn't you want to leave?" I asked,
"It makes me… anxious… to be away from you." His eyes were gentle but intense, and they seemed to be making my bones turn soft. "I wasn't joking when I asked you to try not to fall in the ocean or get run over last Thursday. I was distracted all weekend, worrying about you. And after what happened tonight, I'm surprised that you did make it through a whole weekend unscathed" He shook his head,
"Tell me something," he asked after another minute, and I could hear him struggle to use a lighter tone,
"Yes?" I said,
"What were you thinking tonight, just before Edward came around the corner? He couldn't understand your expression, you didn't look that scared, you looked like you were concentrating very hard on something" he asked,
"I was trying to remember how to incapacitate an attacker, you know, self-defence. I was going to smash his nose into his brain." I thought of the dark-haired man with a surge of hate.
"You were going to fight them?" This upset him. "Didn't you think about running?" he asked seriously,
"I couldn't Bella falls down a lot when she runs" I admitted.
"What about screaming for help?" he asked, I shrugged
He shook his head. "You were right — I'm definitely fighting fate trying to keep you alive" he laughed, I smiled and then sighed, when I saw we were slowing, passing into the boundaries of Forks. It had taken less than twenty minutes,
"Will I see you tomorrow?" I asked almost scared of the answer,
"Yes, I have a paper due, too." He smiled. "how about I save you a seat at lunch?" he asked, It was silly, after everything we'd been through tonight, how that little promise sent flutters through my stomach, and made me unable to speak.
We were in front of Charlie's house. The lights were on, my truck in its place, everything utterly normal. It was like waking from a dream. He stopped the car, but I didn't move.
"Do you promise to be there tomorrow?" I asked quietly,
"I promise Lil" he said grabbing my hand, I smiled and almost melted into his touch, I considered that for a moment, then nodded. I pulled his jacket off, taking one last whiff.
"You can keep it, I prefer it on you" he reminded me, I hesitated, my hand on the door handle, trying to prolong the moment,

"does Bella know?" I asked quietly, wondering what to do if she didn't, Emmett sighed,

"Edward was going to tell her tonight" he admitted, I nodded,
"Lil?" he asked in a different tone, serious, but hesitant.
"Yes?" I turned back to him too eagerly.
"Will you promise me something?"
"Anything" I said, and instantly regretted my unconditional agreement. What if he asked me to stay away from him? I couldn't keep that promise.
"Don't go into the woods alone again" he said looking in my eyes
I stared at him in blank confusion. "Why?"
He frowned, and his eyes were tight as he stared past me out the window.
"I'm not always the most dangerous thing out there. Let's leave it at that."
I shuddered slightly at the sudden bleakness in his voice, but I was relieved. This, at least, was an easy promise to honour.

"okay I promise" I said smiling,
"I'll see you tomorrow," he sighed, and I knew I had to leave now.
"Tomorrow, then" I opened the door unwillingly.
'"Lil?" I turned and he was leaning toward me, his pale, glorious face just inches from mine. My heart stopped beating,
"Sleep well," he said and touched my cheek, I grinned and shut the door and waved as he drove off.