Six months later. . .

Lex stomped through the doorway, ignoring remarks from Nessie, Bella, Edward, and Jake. She ran to her room and slammed the door behind her. She twisted the door locked angrily and slid down the door sobbing while her hand fumbled for her cellphone.

Directly after the Jurassic World catastrophe (referred as just 'the Catastrophe' amongst the other Cullens, who chuckled about how humans would get over it in time) the Cullens hadn't gotten sued a bit, although InGen and Masarani Co. were. That wasn't keeping either company that down, though. Carlisle swore that he was working with Dr. Wu on a project with both companies that would restore them to their former glory. Lex couldn't care less about what InGen did now.

Lex, true to her word, called Zach until they both got new cellphones, and then they continued to text each other. It was often reports of traumas the other had suffered, although Zach was often speaking for himself and Gray. She listened, and sometimes came up with solutions around everyday occurrences that might trigger them.

It had been difficult to return to ordinary life. People just assumed she started wearing cat-eye contacts for a while. Until the park footage after dark had been released, revealing her communicating with the raptors and taking out the Indominus. She remembered walking into school shaking after that report had been released.

Every footstep of her Mizunos seemed to echo as she struggled not to vomit with fear. She looked down at the floor, shoulders hunched, her hair hanging over her face, her hands squeezing the ball her therapist had given her so hard she thought she was going to pop it. My third one this month, she thought as she tried to tone it back a bit.

She made it into homeroom and had just taken out Dr. Ian Malcolm's latest book when Cameron Andersen and his group of friends walked up to her desk.

"So you speak raptor, huh?" he'd asked.

"Yeah," Lex said so quietly she was sure he didn't hear it.

"That was really cool though, you fighting that big dinosaur," he said with a grin. "You should tell us about that some time. Some of us were going to the rolling rink tonight. Wanna come?"

"I'm actually not that comfortable talking about it," Lex corrected in as polite of a voice as she could manage as she tried not to hear the roar of the Indominus and the waterfall roaring together, tried not to look to the ceiling for pteranodons.

"That's okay," Cameron said. "The offer still stands."

"Sure, I'll go," Lex had said, a big grin spreading across her face.

She knew she'd been lucky to be accepted. That she now had more friends. She entered the passcode to her phone and quickly typed a text to Zach.

Another reporter came up to me in the school parking lot today.

She breathed easy once it was sent. She hated it when the reporters tried to talk to her about it. Whenever they asked their questions, she was staring up at the Indominus again, trying to talk it down to save lives but miserably failing. She felt the jungle humidity and heat, her pulse raced, and her breathing became heavier. She felt the need to run again, run as fast as she could, run straight home without stopping.

There came a knock on her bedroom door.

"Sweetie, what happened?" Bella asked though the door.

"I don't want to talk about it!" Lex shouted angrily. "Go away!"

"I just want to talk," Bella said in a sobbing voice.

Lex felt a stab of guilt, but her anger rose above it, along with a dark satisfaction with hurting her.

She reluctantly got to her feet and opened the door.

"Please, talk to us," Bella pleaded. "We want to know what's going on. I thought you were getting better!"

"I am," Lex said coolly. "That doesn't mean that I don't still get triggered."

"Was it another reporter?" Bella asked.

"Yes!" Lex snapped.

"Sweetie, you know they just want-"

"I don't care what they want!" Lex shouted. "You'd think they'd know better than to trigger a MINOR! Besides, they could just ask Carlisle if they wanted details, couldn't they?"

"That's not fair," Bella said, her ghostly face turning ugly. "Carlisle's doing what's best for all of us!"

"By making more Indominus Rexes?" Lex demanded. "And selling those things to the military? Yeah, it's the best for our paycheck. But think of how many more people are going to die because of us!"

"It's a matter of war!" Bella cried.

"Doesn't make it right!" Lex cried right back. Her phone chimed, distracting her briefly. "Now if you're done defending Carlisle, I've got a text to reply to."

"Oh no you don't!"

Bella tugged on Lex's arm, making her stop and whip around.

"I just want my daughter back," Bella said. "You've been so different. You don't talk to us anymore and you're out all the time."

"That's because I have friends," Lex insisted. "You wanted me for years to get out more-well now I do. I'm finally living! Unlike you, I'm going to die someday. Well, I've finally realized with InGen around, that might not be long."

"We might not be around that long either," Bella said quietly. "Not since we found out dinosaurs are serious threats to the vampiric race. Remember all the Volturi that got killed?"

Lex felt a lurch of guilt, remembering Jane, only for her trusty anger to surge back again. She remembered when the Volturi had come for her because they thought she was too dangerous, being part raptor. They'd fought for her like they had Nessie, but she was done hanging around vamps. They might be her family, but they weren't there for her on the island. Zach's was.

"No thanks to Carlisle," Lex said quietly. She turned around and closed the door behind her. She opened her phone to see a response from Zach.

That sucks. Want to Skype tonight?

Lex found herself smiling.

Sure.

They'd begun long-distance kinda-dating a few months before. Just a small thing, playing video games together, skyping, and planning for if they would ever be in the same town.

They weren't exactly the type of people you imagined being date friends. Her becoming a bit of a bubbly socialite, him becoming more reclusive and withdrawn. But they made it work. Besides, it was just a whatever type thing.

Lex looked up at the mirror on her wall and eyed herself. Her raptor eyes would not define her. She was never going to obey her 65 million year old instincts. She wasn't okay, but she would be someday.

Lex pocketed her phone, put on some jeans and a tank top, laced up her Mizunos, and began to run outside, finally feeling free.