Chapter 3 - The Beast Inside

"How was your first day, Bells'?" Charlie called from the living room.

After scuffing my boots on the mat and shaking out my raincoat I stepped through the front door.

I sighed, ringing out the damp ends of my hair.

I didn't even know how my day went.

It was one big sloppy mismatch of emotions, thoughts, and blurred faces. Alice's face, as far I could tell, the only one standing out. Pristine. Every detail polished and in its place.

"It was... alright I guess. Anyway, you're home early?"

Now thinking about it, Dad would stay out 'til six most workdays when I used to visit. It was barely scratching four. Perhaps things had changed?

"Clocked off early," He called, the faint sound of a crowd's cheers traveling down the hall, "Wanted to make sure you got in safe and everything went well. It wasn't busy down at the station. The boys can handle it."

I shirked off my coat and hung it up on the rack by the door. I tried not to jump, Charlie's gun belt dangling so casually on an adjacent rung. I guess Charlie wasn't quite used to cohabitating just yet...

"Do you need me to put something on for dinner, or?" I made my way into the living room and leaned up against the back of the couch, gesturing to the kitchen.

"Well, I sort of ordered pizza. You still like pepperoni and olives, right?" Charlie glanced up, his dark eyes reflecting the game. A hesitant smile tugged at his mouth.

I guess I was going to have to make a concerted effort if I wanted to kick Charlie off of his takeaways and TV dinners.

What with the trashcan full of takeout boxes and plastic packaging from frozen meals, and now pizza for dinner, Charlie clearly had a problem.

"I didn't know there was a pizza place in Forks?" I mused, mindlessly watching large burly men ram shoulder guards and kick mud.

"This one just opened. Thought it would be exciting to try. You know, support local business and all that," Charlie mumbled, returning his attention to the screen.

"Mm, I have some homework to do so just call me down when the delivery guy gets here," I patted him awkwardly on the shoulder and then headed up the stairs.

Stepping into my room, my eyes washed over the furniture and colors that'd characterized my childhood. This was going to take some getting used to.

The rows of dark-stained bookshelves Charlie built for my fourteenth drew my eye first. Each shelf brimmed with books, old and new, but mostly old. I still had some more left in my suitcase that I needed to cram in somewhere.

I flicked my eyes to the much newer desk and the ancient computer that sat atop of it.

Even though the computer was slow and the desk chair creaked with even the smallest of adjustments, I loved it. Saved me going down to the library every time I needed to do extra research for my assignments.

I pulled my books out of my bag and slapped them down onto the desk. I pressed the power-on button and sat down, patiently waiting for the old computer to whir into life so I could get a head start on schoolwork.

I preferred reading the days away so was always incentivized to jump in early so that I could indulge wholly in my favorite form of escapism.

I glanced forlornly at Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire and Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, both resting neatly on the shelf behind me.

I'd of course already finished both. Numerous times.

They were my favorites and would repeat their yearly siren's call without fail - beckoning me to stand at their shrine and pay homage with yet another enraptured reading. Now, more than ever, I was hearing that call.

With reluctance, my computer offered up its log-on screen. Touching my fingers to keyboard I was just about to begin typing but, as per usual, I was waylaid by my own pestering thoughts.

The mysteries from earlier in the day had crept up on me so quietly, and with such suddenness, that, upon entering my world once more, they pounced mercilessly.

I gritted my teeth, annoyed with myself. They were impossible to shake off.

I failed to ask Alice about the incident in the cafeteria. How could I be so stupid?

Sure, my table had offered up their excuses and rationales, but I'd wanted the truth. I wanted to know why she had seemed rooted in place. I wanted to know whether I'd been at fault.

I still remember it all so vividly. Her eyes were fixed on me. I swore if I'd looked hard enough I could have spotted her very soul fleeing its body - only spilled food, and a clattering tray, left in its wake.

I smacked my head back into my chair, nearly toppling myself over. Damn it.

And what about Emmett's comment?

She'd been right there in front of me leaning there on my truck. It would have taken just a few words, and I would have gotten some answers!

I could pretend all I wanted. Pretend that Alice's... episode, whatever it was... and Emmett's odd teasing during gym class, were the only curiosities. But I would be lying.

More than anything, I desired to understand the last and most peculiar event of them all.

What on earth was wrong with Edward?

He had turned into some sort of seething, writhing, beast as soon as Alice approached. What could she have possibly done to antagonize him so much that all humanity went out the door?

What puzzled me perhaps the most - the very thing that left me gnawing anxiously at my lower lip - was the memory of Edward's eyes.

They had been trained on me like a hawk.

Such hatred. Such consuming rage.

He looked at me like I was to blame for all wrongs - I was the one, and only culprit, for the entire world's despair.

I replayed it again and again in my head - the Cullen family shoving him into the backseat in an attempt to quickly contain his mania with controlled and practiced dignity. The anxious looks they shared between themselves. Alice's fleeting glances.

A shiver rippled unforgivingly down my spine.

Suddenly homework seemed like a faraway daydream.

I guess, if I wanted to get Edward out of my mind, I had to find a more adequate distraction. There was no way I was going to be able to focus on my schoolwork when his menacing snarl haunted my every move and every thought. There was just no way.

The crinkle of yellowed paper and the musty smell of old books filled the air; Anne Rice my companion for the evening.

I fell comfortably into another world, the hours slipping, and my burden, thankfully, easing along with it.

The creeping light of morning was the first thing that alerted me I'd fallen asleep - clothes still on, and book weighing heavily on my chest.

I propped myself up onto one of my arms, reaching around to scratch the back of my neck which was now caked with a thin sheen of sweat.

I vaguely remembered Charlie coming up to offer me a few slices of pizza. I looked down over the side of my bed, spying the remnants of a half-eaten slice still laying where I'd left it on a plate on the floor.

Leaning back, I took in a long and deep breath, and smacked my lips. My mouth tasted like the Sahara desert and my head ached like hell. I looked to the clock on my bedside table and watched the bold print blink back at me in its blinding viridescent lustre.

Hmm, six o'clock. Could be worse.

Slipping out of bed, I tiptoed to the bathroom, and let my clothes pool on the floor around me before I stepped into the steaming shower.

A sigh of relief came quickly when the first few droplets scalded my pale flesh.

I rinsed my body thoroughly, and shampooed and conditioned my hair with slow and deliberate hands. There was time to luxuriate this early in the morning.

When I finally stepped back out into the cold dryness of the bathroom, my skin was smooth - freshly shaven and lotioned - and my hair smelled of strawberries.

It's amazing how a good shower could make you feel like you can conquer just about anything.

Maybe it would even drum up the strength for me to hold it together until the next time I saw Alice.

Alice.

The name sent a thrill jolting through my body.

I'd never contemplated my sexuality before. But it was becoming more apparent by the second that it was about time that I finally gathered the courage and did just that.

I'd never had feelings like this for anybody. What was I meant to do? Should I confide in someone? I swallowed audibly. No. I'll wait. This is so new, so fresh. Perhaps it will pass?

God, I hoped it passed.

I stepped up to the mirror and wiped the fog away with the palm of my hand. There I was. As normal and unremarkable as ever. My almost-translucent skin, heart-shaped face, and brown eyes.

Nothing worth writing home about.

I puckered my lips, my eyes creasing in concentration.

At least my mouth wasn't too thin and was a nice enough shade of pink? Whether or not that was the result of the heat from the shower, and they'd soon pale into something more ordinary once I left the humidity of the bathroom, I couldn't tell.

I let out a weighty sigh. Who was I kidding?

Of course I was a nobody next to Alice Cullen.

She was an ethereal beauty. A fairy from distant hills, sent to remind me of how little I had to offer - haunting me with sweet sweet irony.

God.

I desired her more than I'd ever desired anything or anyone.

Tears prickled in the corners of my eyes.

To think I was too plain to even claim the first thing, the first person, who actually made me feel something!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *. .* : ﾟ. ───

"Why would you dare hold her, Alice? I could have torn her to shreds. I could have revealed what we are! Has everything we have built for ourselves, all the years of restraint, meant nothing to you, now that you have finally gotten your hands on that ephemeral human?" He spat, his sharp canines bared in a snarl that would leave most human beings in a cold sweat.

Thankfully, I was far from human.

"Quit it, Edward. Just because you cannot read Bella's thoughts does not mean you cannot read mine. You know full well that if I had seen it, I would never have touched her! I- I love her. Do you really think I would jeopardize this? Jeopardize her? You? Our family?" I gazed around us, my eyes flicking to our siblings and to our Mother and Father, all of which remained inhumanly still as they watched on serenely - waiting for the disturbance of peace to end, "It all happened so quickly and I... I do not know! I was not looking to the future because I had just found mine. After all this time, I found her. So sue me for succumbing to my happiness. Sue me for not wanting to mope around for the rest of eternity like you, Edward!"

This was unusual for me.

Anger.

It was especially unusual that the rage burned towards Edward, the brother that I had always felt the closest to.

Our gifts separated us both from the family in ways that they could never understand. We had found solace in each other's company. Edward's moodiness a soothing counterpoint to my bubbling optimism.

Now, however, his melancholic apathy stirred up every brutal and barbed thing inside of me, until a stormy seething fury clawed at my insides, demanding to get out through my clenched razor-sharp teeth.

I held it back.

I would show Edward the meaning of restraint. Prick.

He sneered, hearing the obscenities bouncing around inside my head.

"Well, that is just great. No, fantastic! Let us all just drop our guard as if we do not have to constantly watch our backs in case a persistent or far too observant human comes along. Oh, wait, you have walked right into the arms of one!" He threw his hands up in exasperation, pacing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of our large white-washed living room, "Do not think that we all have not noticed how quick Bella has been to scrutinize us. Our very existence is at stake here. I will give credit where credit is due, I cannot read her mind, but she looks too smart for her own good. It has only been a day and it is more than obvious she is collecting questions like they are dearer to her than gold. Rest assured our time is limited before she starts knocking at our door, stake in hand!"

A snarl ripped out of my chest before I could quell its fledgling rumble, "What, do you think I MEANT to let the tray slip through my fingers? That I MEANT for her to be your singer and send you into a blood-fueled frenzy? And so what if she figures us out? She is my mate. It is bound to happen. It is predestined. You never had a problem with any of this before!"

"You cannot be serious, Alice?" Rosalie interjected, rising from her seat on the couch and slipping free from Emmett's arms, "You cannot possibly be considering revealing yourself to her?"

My responding silence did nothing to dissuade her ire.

"Well, I guess we should all go and get the streamers and party balloons right this instant, then! No need to worry. I will personally get the banner that says, 'Welcome, dear Bella, to the blood-filled belly of the earth. Enjoy your fragile life while it lasts!'. Hmm, should we offer red wine, too, or will that be just a little too clichéd?" She all but snarled, her lips curling over her teeth.

"Rosalie, just relax. Please," I squeezed the bridge of my nose.

Vampires did not get headaches but it sure felt like I was going to develop one if this onslaught continued.

"Again, if I must repeat myself all night, it is not as if I chose this. Chose her. If anything, fate did! All I can do is my best. Attempt to protect her and our family. I am trying, okay?" I let my hand drop and whimpered.

Why was all of this suddenly my fault?

I was not the one who had prompted Carlisle or Esme to lead us back to Forks. I had no idea, just like everyone else, that she would be here!

My visions of her had always been blurred. The one certainty, the one life-saving pillar, the outline of her soft features and watchful chocolate eyes.

"Oh sweetheart," Esme appeared at my side, her arms instantaneously wrapping around my waist, her honey-brown waves falling in sheets down my shoulder.

Her affectionate embrace flicked a switch and provided a silence - although not an entirely peaceful one - to settle in the room. Everybody's serene austerity, or their thinly veiled anger - Edward and Rosalie's in particular - disappearing into a pool of apologetic concern and shameful self-reflection.

Even Edward unclenched his jaw. The frustration burning like hot coals in the back of his eyes melting away to mere embers.

It was about time they realized that I was not the enemy!

"Well, my dear Alice, what is it that you suggest we do?" Carlisle rose from his armchair and joined his wife, placing a comforting hand on the smooth of her back.

"I honestly do not know, Father. I am just as scared as all of you. One thing I do know is that she is, without any doubt or uncertainty, my mate. She is the face I have seen - that I have always seen - since my turning. Edward can attest to that whether he likes it or not. And, as we had all feared while we awaited her arrival, she is... human," The last word crept out like a whisper, dejected and bereft of hope.

How could I, a vampire, love a human without so completely and utterly bruising her beyond repair?

"There is a way, Alice. There is always a way," Esme soothed into my ear as if, like her adopted son, she too could read thoughts.

Her arms gently squeezed in reassurance, but her embrace was of little comfort to me.

The thought of destroying what I loved most pressed upon my mind, an unbearably heavy weight.

"We could just leave Forks? Possibly return to Alaska to recoup and orient ourselves? We need a plan. Here, we have nothing. Who knows? If we leave for Alaska you may find another mate, Alice. It is not as if such a possibility is completely unheard of?" Jasper broached in his customary southern drawl.

Although his eyes were tender and I could see that he only sought to help, his words elicited a low, disparaging growl.

"I see. I apologize for speaking out of turn," He retracted back into a reserved, contemplative, quiet.

It cloaked the room.

Calm.

Its forcefulness, abruptness, the sole indicator that Jasper were its cause. I withheld my criticisms, the guilt of my first outburst holding me back from repeating another.

"If we cannot leave, then... What about me? What am I to do?" Edward muttered.

"Maybe, just for a moment - a week the longest I could bear for my beloved son to be away - you should journey to the Denali's. To Alaska. Just as Jasper suggests? A short trip, long enough for you to restore your confidence and overcome Bella's blood, nothing more, nothing less," Esme lifted her head.

Her words ached, the sorrow of her son also finding its perfect mirror in her voice.

Edward looked at Esme, seemingly aghast, before beginning pacing about the room anew.

"It is not that we do not trust you, Edward," Carlisle continued, standing in solidarity with his wife, "It is just that we want you to be able to trust yourself again, too. I know that this is hard for you. Incredibly so, in fact. And I know that you think that your strength will wane and that you will succumb to the beast, but I know better. You will not harm that innocent girl. You will not harm your sister's mate. You are a good son. A good brother. A good man."

All Edward could manage was a resigned nod.

He paced back and forth for some time before breaking the silence.

"It is settled, then. I will leave immediately. I beg you all to excuse my lack of manners; Please do not hold the abruptness of my departure against me. Especially you, Mother. Simply put, I cannot bear it. Being so close to her... Her scent still lingers in my nose and burns its way down my throat and I-. I cannot shake it."

"Alice?" He turned to me, his eyes softening, "I am so sorry."

And with that, he was gone. The frenzied stirring of air and the hint of lilac and honey all that was left to grasp onto.

"How long will he be gone?" Esme turned to me worriedly.

"I do not know."

I reached out into the unknown - the ether. Grappling with a conglomerate of shifting and ever-changing futures. Some stood fixed, tangible, and made plain under my searching gaze. But others? They were formless wisps that slipped through my fingers like smoke.

"His future keeps changing. He is so unsure of himself. He- he does not even know if he will make it back to Alaska. I keep seeing-... Oh god."

I buckled under the weight of the visions. Some were free of bloodshed and rife with Edward's moody drifting in the Alaskan snow. But others I dared not breathe aloud in fear that they would materialize right before my eyes.

"It is okay, shh. It will all be okay," Esme cooed, surrounding me in her arms once more, all in an attempt to shield me from everything that I had seen and continued to see.

The future was like a broken faucet. Once you turned on the tap, it was near impossible to turn it back off again - The never-ending stream of endless choices demanding attention until the anxiety of it all consumed its host.

Madness was always one small jump - one tentative leap - away for me. Oftentimes, it was excruciating, practically unfeasible, to wrench myself away from the bottomless cliff.

"I have to follow him. I cannot deal with this uncertainty when he is so unsure of himself. She is the one on the chopping block - the truest victim of his indecision. I must protect her."

I sliced through the air. In an instant, trees were all-encompassing.

I leapt into the boughs and followed his scent - his path unfocused and disjointed. He veered one way, then to the other.

The perpetual allure of Bella's blood, and the juxtaposed desire to remain morally superior to the inner demons that ruled our basest of natures, left Edward stuck in a constant state of escaping and returning.

Ebbing and flowing.

Fleeing and falling.

As I sprinted through the forest - either the branches my tendriled stepping stones or the dirty earthen floor my racetrack - I frantically traced Edward's future just as vehemently as I tracked his physical scent.

I was caught in the most torturous struggle of my life; I was trying to save my brother and, all the while, save the love of my life.

It was a fine line that even I did not know if I could balance and walk on.

I did know one thing, though.

I could not let it all end so soon. I could not lose her when I had just found her.

I would do whatever it takes.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ : *. .* : ﾟ. ───

"Where are they?"

"Who?" Jessica pulled away from her conversation with Angela and Ben, "If you're talking about Lauren, I heard she broke her arm in cheer practice. Pretty funny if you ask me. The cow had it coming."

"Jessica!" Angela scalded.

Jessica just shrugged and smirked, completely unabashed.

"No. I meant Alice and Edward?" I flicked my head back, gesturing towards the Cullen's table behind us.

Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie.

They sat resolute, immovable. Picking at the food in their trays with indifference.

They looked exactly the same as ever - their diminished numbers the only flaw in their façade. The only thing denoting a perverse change.

It had been a few days now since Alice had disappeared. Edward's corresponding truancy undoubtedly connected.

I'd tried to keep my mouth shut, afraid that questioning their absence would leave my blossoming feelings found out. I was still trying to avoid thinking about them - those tempestuous desires and dreams that sought to utterly consume. But, the days were beginning to drag and I couldn't keep the depths of my curiosity hidden any longer.

"Oh," Realization dawned on Jessica's face, Ben and Angela both peering around her to get a better view of the empty seats at the Cullen's table.

"I don't know. Sometimes their parents like to take them all out hiking?" She offered, "But, to be honest, they usually all go together so I'm not sure. Plus, it's not even sunny. They flee to the hills when the sun's out. Never seen them miss a day when it's as cloudy and gloomy as ever."

Huh. This was only getting weirder and weirder.

"Hey, Bella?" Angela called, diverting the conversation before it could slip into gossipy conspiracy theories, "We're headed to La Push tomorrow. I don't know if you've been there before... or if you even like the beach... but it's pretty chill. Wanna' come?"

"Um, I'm not the best swimmer," I admitted, looking down at my half-eaten chicken sandwich, "Plus I don't even know who's going."

"We all are," Mike piped up, "Ben, Angela, Jessica, Tyler, obviously Eric. And, most importantly, muah," He smacked his lips and pointed animatedly to himself, a sloppy grin plastered over his face.

"Don't worry about Mike. He'll be in the water for most of the day surfing," Angela glared daggers in his direction before turning back to me, her expression softening.

At least someone could pick up on how Mike made me feel - Uncomfortable and, if I'm being entirely honest, more than a little nauseous. It didn't help that he followed me around like some sort of golden retriever every chance he got. Thank god we didn't share more classes.

"Yeah, I guess I'll go. Not much to do on the weekends around here, after all ," I forced a smile.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd been to the reservation. I must have been just a little girl.

I wasn't exactly excited that all the boys were coming along but at least I could take refuge in Angela's company whilst I reminisced, and Jessica's, if she wasn't resigned to one of her bouts of spiteful jealousy.

Although, to be fair, I think she was starting to get the picture that I wasn't much of a threat.

"I know, right? I'm always so bored," Jessica sighed dramatically, "I can't wait to go looking for prom dresses. Angela and I are going to Port Angeles, right, Ange'? Nothing here in this God-forsaken town."

"I still don't understand why you're shopping for prom dresses so early," I mumbled, not sure if I really wanted to broach the subject.

"Mom suggested it'd be a good idea," Jessica shrugged, "Might be able to pick up some bargains, or find a great dress or two before the mania sets in, apparently. Personally? I think it's a load of bullshit. But at least it'll be fun to get out even if we don't find anything cute."

"Oh. That makes sense," I smiled feebly, shredding the bun of my sandwich between my fingers.

"Actually, do you want to come? Honestly, it'd be great to have another opinion," Jessica's eyes lit up, "More the merrier, y'know?"

"Uh...," My eyes widened, mouth going dry, "I'm not sure... I'll, uh, have to think about it. See what Char- Dad has planned."

The conversation devolved. The usual affair. I zoned out, pitifully interjecting with mm's and ah's when it seemed appropriate.

If Alice herself couldn't be here to actively preoccupy the mind and senses, then it was as good a time as any to try and figure out her baffling family while everyone else was distracted.

There was something more to them. They couldn't be ordinary high school students. They just couldn't be! And they couldn't all be adopted, either. Their shared elysian beauty and inhuman grace leaving all of their explanations thin like gossamer.

My puzzling continued on well into the day, and then it continued some more - leaving time a formless blur in its wake.

Days passed - disjointed and illusory - until I was forced away from my meandering thoughts. All of which centering on the contradictory information I tried persistently to understand.

We were at the beach.

The pungent salty air infiltrated my lungs, leaving a slightly sour, acrid, taste in my mouth. I felt like I had one foot in the present and one foot in the past - not quite sure how I managed to let the time get so away from me.

I watched Mike and Tyler rough-house on the sand, their wetsuits dripping with the freezing ocean water they'd just been surfing in. Jessica stood to my left by the open van, eyes fixed on Mike. She looked so helpless and lost in those moments where her gaze drifted towards him.

It made it easier to forgive her bitterness whenever his misguided affections came my way.

And then... Just like that... Mike, Jess, everyone... They didn't matter.

They appeared out of nowhere, pushing through the fog.

Their russet skin blazed in stark contrast to the cool overcast hue of the yellow sand and muted green ferns ensnaring the coast.

"Hey, Bella."

He leaned up against Tyler's van to face me, his white teeth shining out from beneath pink lips.

"Hi," I returned his crooked grin, "Everybody, this is Jacob and his...," I looked at the two gangly teens that loitered just a few steps behind him.

One was definitely a lot taller and scrawnier than the other - clearly the recent aftermath of a growth spurt.

"Embry and Quil," Jacob supplied.

"Embry and Quil," I repeated awkwardly before continuing introductions, "Uh, this is Jessica, Angela. Um, and the two boys back there," I pointed further down the beach behind the van, "Are Tyler and Mike. Also, that's Eric by the rock pool with Ben."

"Cool," Jacob nodded appraisingly, "Nice to meet you, ladies".

It was interesting to watch both Jessica and Angela flounder under the gaze of the native boys. Perhaps they had an exotic allure that I failed to recognize? All I could see was my childhood best-friend, Jacob, and his dorky accomplices.

"Well, it seems like everybody's here now," I chuckled warmly, my eyes flicking between friends, "Well, nearly everyone. Who knows? Maybe even the Cullens might make an appearance."

"The Cullens don't come here," The boy named Quil was quick. Too scathing.

I was taken aback by the resentment dripping off his words faster than the water sliding down Mike and Tyler's wetsuits.

"What, why?"

He'd said it so definitively.

So unwavering.

A harbinger of the law - matter-of-factly establishing a truth so well known that its dismissal ever the impossibility.

"Hey! You want to go for a walk?" Jacob broke the tension, thumbing behind us, his smile tight yet hopeful.

"Yeah, sure..." I muttered, eyeing Quil who, for whatever reason, avoided my gaze.

I turned to Angela and Jessica and they both gave me encouraging looks, perhaps in a misplaced attempt to stand as personal wing-women.

I followed Jacob up the sandy slopes until we drew nearer to weather-scarred rocks - mountainous cliffs standing phlegmatically to our right, the churning ocean to our left, and small pebbles crunching underfoot.

"So, what was that about?"

I wasn't going to let Quil's outburst go. Jacob's distraction, if that was what it was, had done nothing more than pique my curiosity.

"Caught that, huh?" He grinned sheepishly.

"Yeah, I caught that," I laughed in disbelief, "He was speaking directly to me, Jacob."

"It's stupid, really. I'd just drop it, Bells','" He rolled his shoulders beneath his heavy black raincoat. He pulled his hood taut, eyeing me from behind its lackluster protection.

"C'mon, Jacob. If it's so stupid what's the harm in letting me in on the joke?" I leaned over, brushing our arms in an intimate yet desperate act.

I'd never tried to manipulate a boy before - my sexuality previously so far from my own mind I'd rarely contemplated its capacity to affect others - but here I was, dredging up a primal flirtatiousness that even I couldn't fathom. I guess Alice had awakened much more in me than I'd initially thought.

Surprisingly, as goofy as my flirting felt, it seemed to be working.

Jacob's tanned skin darkened, red worming its way up his cheeks. His dark eyes flickered to mine, excited and giddy, before his thick lashes concealed them once more.

"I mean," He breathed nervously, "It's not even true. Any of it. It's just our stories. Quileute secrets, I mean. Our, uh, traditions."

"The Quileute's have secrets?" I probed, all the more curious.

"Well, more like histories" Jacob continued, "Traditions that are supposed to protect us and safeguard our tribe - reminding us of what was so we can understand the now. A lot of it's just myth, though. Like, for instance, did you know my tribe's supposed to be descended from wolves?" Jacob laughed, strands of long black hair falling free of his hood.

"But what about the Cullens? I don't get why your stories would have anything to do with them. Jessica said they're new here. She said that they'd just moved down from Alaska. Why would your tribe..." My words faltered, trailing away.

"Or, they just moved back?" He smirked, his eyes glimmering mischievously.

"What do you mean?" I replied coolly.

"What the guys were talking about back there?" He hummed, a sly smirk gracing his cheeks, "It's true. They're not allowed here. On the reservation, I mean. Yeah, well that... It's all because my great grandfather, Ephraim Black, made a treaty with them. A treaty with the cold ones."

"Jacob, you're going to need to stop talking in riddles. Cold ones? Really?" I stopped in the sand and turned to him, frustration and impatience getting the better of me.

"Okay, okay," He laughed, hands up in mock surrender, "I'll drop the act. I just thought the mystery of it all would be fun. Add suspense, you know?"

"Well it's not fun. So, like, let me get this straight. The Cullens, the kids I go to school with, are these 'cold ones' and, somehow, your great grandfather made a treaty with them? How's that even possible?" I looked past Jacob, hoping the lapping of waves would somehow bring with them some much needed clarity.

"See, this is the crazy part. Even my dad believes this crap. The stories say, well..." He drifted off, trying to collect himself.

We started walking again as he grappled with his thoughts.

"They say," He sighed, succumbing to the notion that - no matter which way he framed it - it would always sound crazy, "They say they're bloodsuckers. That's why my great grandfather, along with Quil's great grandfather and Levi Uley, made the pact, or whatever. They were different from other cold ones. Other bloodsuckers. The Cullens weren't a threat. So, as long as they didn't hurt anybody, or step foot on our land, the tribe would keep their secret safe from the pale faces. You know, the normal folk."

He gave me a punctuating once over.

"Bloodsuckers?" The word slipped, hard and fast.

A slow compounding shiver rippling its way down the length of my body.

"It's just a story, Bella," Jacob chuckled, amused by the glint of fear he'd found hiding behind paling cheeks and instinctive swallowing.

"Mm, yeah. You're right. So silly" My forced laughter was unnatural and strained.

Although it would have been so easy to join Jacob in his disbelief, something he'd said - something I couldn't put my finger on - provoked an eery feeling deep within me.

The puzzle pieces were starting to slot into place. The problem was that I didn't know how, or in what ways, they were coming together, but I just knew that they were.

As soon as the sky began to grow dark the day at the beach inevitably had to end; Heavy storm clouds, and the dwindling light, forcing Jacob and I back to the van.

He returned to his friends - once more fading into the fog. It was almost like the forest itself beckoned them all to return, their forms dissolving into the leafy canopy and bracken-stained floor.

They belonged to the land, and the land, seemingly, belonged to them.

Bumping around in the back of Tyler's van, everyone chatted away about things that seemed far more inconsequential than what I wanted to talk about. I knew, though, that if I broached the subjects that were on my mind, it would only bring funny stares and loaded silence.

I resigned myself to gazing out the window, watching hemlocks and firs bristle under the wind's icy touch.

It wasn't a long trip back into town.

Tyler dropped me off at the diner just before the clock on his dash crept past seven. I watched as he swerved out of the car park, fretting about what such a maneuver would do on a rainy day when the roads were slick with the beginnings of ice. I turned away, disgruntled at both the deadliness and intrusiveness of the thought.

I could see Charlie waiting for me through the windows, a beer in his hand and the sports channel keeping him blissfully occupied. It's a wonder that I'd managed, so far, to keep Charlie at home with just a belly full of vegetables and lean meat, instead of grease and bud light.

With beer on tap, steaks just the way he likes it, and a television set, I'm sure he'd never want to leave the diner if he could help it.

"Hey, Dad," I slid into the booth and took a seat next to him, facing the windows and avoiding the flickering of the TV that hung above the counter where Sheryl, the owner of the diner, busy-bodied.

He grunted before he hesitantly pulled his eyes away from the screen, a slurp of alcohol his much-needed compensation.

"How was the beach? Boys behaved themselves, I hope?" He crinkled his bushy brows.

Dark brown probing eyes revealed both the hint of fatherly concern, along with its accompanying wrath.

"Yeah, they did. And it was pretty fun, actually. I ran into Jacob, funnily enough," I smiled.

"Old Jakey', eh?" Charlie's eyes glazed over fondly and he leaned back in his chair, "You know, he's a good kid. He'd uh, he'd be good for you."

He dragged the words out slowly, almost testing them as they rolled around in his mouth.

"You could do worse."

"What?" I inhaled sharply, the revelation, especially coming from Charlie, an overpowering shock to the system, "You've got to be kidding me? What, he's like, fifteen, Dad?"

"So? Anyway, pretty sure he's sixteen. That's what... so, you're seventeen now and he... yeah that's only 1-2 years, Bells'."

"Dad, just- just quit it. This conversation is so inappropriate and, starting now, it's over," I shook my head, trying to fling the thought as far away from me as possible.

"Okay, sheesh. Don't sweat it, Bells'," He raised his hands in surrender, "I was just saying, is all. I didn't mean nothing."

Before the teenager in me could bite back with something snide and disproportionate, Sheryl steered away from the other fellow diners and headed over to take our order. Charlie, of course, steak, chips, and salad, and me, a burger.

"Look," Charlie mumbled after swallowing a few mouthfuls of steak, "I only mentioned it because Jake's been talking about you - well, that's what Billy's been saying, anyhow. It got me thinking. You are so much older now, Bells'. Time has gone by so fast. You're at the age where uh," He sighed heavily, his shoulders sagging, "You are at an age now where you're figuring things out. I don't like the idea of anybody taking advantage of that. I know Jacob. He's a good kid. I just want you to stay safe because I can't imagine what I'd do if something ever-. Hmmph, just forget it."

He ground his teeth behind his mustache, his jaw clenching as his knuckles whitened around his steak knife.

"Dad, I get it. I'm not going to do anything stupid so don't worry about it. You don't have to set me up with Jacob to stop me from getting into trouble. I can take care of myself. I also don't care about... boys... right now. So, again, please just drop it."

I picked at my food until Charlie's plate was near enough licked clean, and then asked to go home.

I didn't want to sit around for longer than I needed to. What with Charlie's presumptuousness and Jacob and I's earlier conversation, I just wanted to escape to my room. I was still buzzing with energy - the direct result of words that I begged to speak yet couldn't. At least not yet.

The idea that I was somehow getting closer to some real answers excited me.

I needed more proof. I needed more information.

I needed the truth before I dared to utter what I'd been feeling from the very start.

As soon as I'd laid my eyes on the Cullens, I'd known something was horribly wrong. Or, beautifully so, depending on how you looked at it.

To think Charlie thought I'd be concerning myself with boys, when all I could think about was one ghostly girl!

The ride home in the cruiser was pleasantly quiet, at least for me - I suspected that Charlie's guilt kept his mouth tightly shut. His fear of digging a deeper grave offered me the bittersweet reprieve that I desired.

"Bella," He called before I reached the last few steps up to my room, "I just wanted to say sorry. You know. About back at the diner. I just want you to be happy."

I turned to look over my shoulder, my fingers still clutching the banister. Charlie's brown eyes were uncharacteristically soft, and he fidgeted with the belt loops on his pants.

"It's all good, Dad. Just... no more dating advice, alright? I don't even know if I'm ready to date yet. So, for now, it's a black-carded topic."

I moved to leave, catching myself on the second last step. I lurched forward, holding tight to the railing.

I slowly looked over my shoulder, embarrassment licking its way up my stomach as Charlie bolted forward.

"You okay?" He reached out preemptively, as if ready for me to keep on tumbling down the rest of the stairs.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I bit my lip, gingerly making my way up to the landing.

"Gotta' get that step checked out. Must be off by an inch," Charlie grumbled, letting his hands drop, "You sure you right?"

I nodded again, eager to disappear.

With his concession - a hesitant returning nod - I made my escape, the sigh of relief from my Father carrying its way up into my room before I'd gotten the chance to close the door.

I collapsed into my computer seat, the chair groaning and creaking under my weight. I was less patient this time waiting for my computer to boot up.

I was nervous. Excited.

I didn't know what I thought I'd find on the internet but it was a start.

Jacob's story was still ringing in my ears. The provocative images it elicited glistening behind my eyes.

The cold ones.

With a loud rumbling hum and a few strangled whirs, the computer eventually came to life. Charlie still used dial-up so it was slow going. My fingers raced across the keyboard and my web browser sluggishly loaded, eventually taking center stage after a chorus of frustrated groans and grunted insults.

The first thing I searched for was the odd name Jacob had called the Cullens. 'C-O-L-D O-N-E-S'. Each key-cap that I pressed intensified my trepidation. My hopes.

I took a deep breath and then proverbially jumped off the cliff, my finger slamming down onto the 'enter' key.

Oh.

There was nothing.

Some winter jackets and an article or two about frostbite and chilblains. Gross.

I stretched further into my desk-chair, drumming my fingers impatiently against hardwood. What about 'cold ones' and 'pale faces' together? I typed in both search terms but still no luck. Even the images section revealed very little.

Okay, I guess I'll just bite the bullet, then. It's not as if I even believe it, anyway; A half-truth, a half-lie.

'Vampire'.

The word came slowly, but so did my strength to type it out.

It was as expected; shock horror, movies old and new, costume outfitters. But as I scrolled, the articles and web pages started to change. From mockery, to genuine investigation of the absurd and supernatural.

The images and passages swirled in front of my eyes, disorienting and unfathomable. Each country seemed to have its own myths about blood drinkers. Their own ideas on what qualified the vampiric and the damned.

But four themes repeatedly emerged.

Four things I knew that had to be true for one to be a vampire.

Strength. Speed. Beauty. And, without fail, blood. Endless rivers of flowing, warm, sticky blood.

That night I dreamt of her.

Her eyes glowed a bright red - a far cry from the honeyed warmth I'd known them to be. Her mouth was slick with pooling crimson that dribbled down her chin. She stalked forward, her lips pulling back into scarlet-stained contempt; The snarl of a predator. My feet were glued to the floor. I couldn't move. I tried and tried but she only crept closer and closer - my increasing panic in unison with each one of her monstrous steps. My fingers found their way to my neck, and when I pulled away, my hand was covered in my own blood.

Hey guys! This one was a bit of a rollercoaster - clearly I had a lot of ideas and just wanted to pack them into one update. Still, even with all of those ideas, it's a pretty slow one and really just about build up, so if it's no one's fav I don't blame ya. Hopefully no one's missing Alice too much. She'll be back to torment Bella soon enough, don't worry! Also, I've decided to update twice a week. Not so sure of the schedule just yet, but if you subscribe or bookmark etc (I upload on Wattpad, AO3, and Fanfiction,net, so pick your poison) you'll get the updates when I do post! Oh, and again, thanks so much to all those who comment and show their enjoyment - I know a lot of you prefer to just read and keep your thoughts to yourselves and cbf leaving kudos/liking etc - but to those who bother to share and show their enjoyment, it's really heartwarming to see :) I'm actually surprised how many people in this fandom are still into Bellice and reading fanfictions about it - thank god I'm not alone! Edward can suck it, honestly.

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