I bet you all thought I had given up! Well I haven't and I garentee you I will not. My stupid broken computer was fixed soon after but of course it broke again soon after and I had to get someone to take it away. When they brought it back a week later all my lovely files were erased (including the half finished part of this chapter). I had to re-write it all, trying to remember if this is what I originally wrote. And just a note as to how much I love all you guys, I'm supposed to be working on a History essay right now (History, a course which I am FAILING) that is due tomorrow but I couldn't leave you all hanging for any longer. That would just be cruel.

Speaking of cruel, this story, plot, characters and all else don't belong to me. They belong to the wonderful and talented Stephenie Meyer and I'm just the lowly kid that playing with the Cullens. Mine is a sandbox, and hers is a desert. It's a cruel world.

I want to especially point out one person who I pretty much owe this story to and that is notdonebaking. She is the greatest Beta of all times and helps me get no Flames whatsoever by carefully editing each chapter. Thank her for the limited, if any mistakes.

Loves you all if you review!

Hayley

I rushed home that night, ignoring several stop signs

I rushed home that night, ignoring several stop signs, trying to get home before my siblings realized I was gone. Of course, I was too late.

By the time I parked my car in my space, Alice was sitting on the porch, her face in her hands and her arms on her knees, looking at me expectantly. When she caught me looking at her, her eyebrows shot up suggestively. I heaved a sigh and exited my car.

Before I could blink, Alice was by my side.

"So, where have you been?" she asked innocently.

Another sigh escaped my lips. "Alice," I warned tersely. I really wasn't feeling up to the mind games or torrent of questions that filled her eyes.

Her face automatically fell into a pout. She jutted her lower lip out and widened her eyes in a look I knew worked on Jasper, but wasn't working on me. That time at least. "Please?" Alice begged. I want to know what happened!

I rolled my eyes. If we didn't have to keep a low profile, Alice would have made the best actress. "No," I answered, my voice ringing with finality. I walked into the house with her following close behind.

"Edward! I supported you on every decision and you won't tell me even one little detail?" she asked, her voice changing from sulking to anger in an instant.

"Aren't you the psychic in the family? Didn't you see what happened?"

She sniffed. "I thought it would be more polite if I allowed you some privacy."

"And, yet here you are begging me for answers."

"But I want to know!" she began to mock-whine.

My thoughts raced, trying to figure out ways in which to make her be quiet. I could have just sprinted out the door and made a run for it, but I knew she would follow or wait, scheming and plotting ways to make me miserable for ignoring her. Alice didn't take being disregarded too lightly.

I spotted my piano in the corner of the large room and I ran over as fast as possible, Alice still pleading in my ear behind me.

"Edward, don't you dare tune me out. Don't you dare sit down at the piano bench. Don't you dare start…!"

I cut off her loud and pestering protests with a loud key. She warned me with her eyes, daring me to start playing. I accepted her challenge and started playing Esme's favorite, pounding my fingers into the keys a little harder than normal just to drown out Alice's voice. She glared at me before sticking her tongue out and crossing her arms before running back up to her room.

I let out yet another sigh, although this one was in acute relief. I continued Esme's song for a short phrase and then stopped abruptly. I began to get up from the bench but I saw Alice's head peak down from the stairs. I shot her a fierce glare, sat down and began to play Mozart loudly. I kept my eyes on the stairs, making sure that her head retreated fully but I never missed a note.

I slid smoothly into Beethoven's Piano Concerto number 3. The smooth ivory keys gave way easily to my equally pale fingers. My hands danced along the piano and my ears lapped up the smooth and haunting melody bringing fake tears to my dead heart. I stopped again quickly and the lingering music soon died away, leaving everything silent as the grave.

I scowled at the piano. Of course it wasn't the source of my unaccountable misery; it was only the instrument to express it. The source was my own heart and feeling that overwhelmed it. Behind that was Bella.

I placed my hands back upon the white bars.

My problems had grown exponentially since we Bella had moved to Forks. My control was no longer perfected and the monster that I hadn't seen in years visited me almost daily now. I loathed and dreaded our short meetings but I looked forward to them almost perversely because it meant I was talking to one of the few people worth talking to in the world.

Bella seemed to be the source for all my problems: misery, happiness, joy, anger. Instead of resent it, I reveled in it. For a century I thought I was complete on my own and that I needed no other by my side unlike my siblings who thrived on the love of their spouses. I believed that only satisfaction existed and I could only ever be simply content with the way things were. Happiness and true love didn't exist because the very idea of being committed to one person, caring for them more than yourself, seemed impossible.

I thought that until the day the world had shifted. My life, my universe didn't revolve around myself anymore, no, the sun of my universe belonged to Bella now. But the sun was no comparison for her. The moon was a far better example, radiant, glowing, pale and casting light upon my hapless darkness.

"That was beautiful."

My hands stopped moving. I hadn't been aware they had been playing on their own accord. I could barely remember what I was playing. I turned and saw Esme with a small smile on her red lips.

"It was too angry at first, then much too melancholy but the end," she sighed nostalgically, "was beautiful. It reminds me of a lullaby my mother used to hum to me. It's funny how I remember something as insignificant as that…"

I gave her a noncommittal answering smile and turned back to my piano. Esme understood perfectly. Everyone in the house knew I didn't like to be disturbed when I was playing.

I waited only a moment, just listening until I couldn't hear Esme's footsteps on the carpet before throwing myself back into the song I found myself composing. There was only one thought on my mind the entire time and nothing could break through the echoes of her name. The thoughts coming from my family dulled in comparison to her face in my mind. The roar of Emmett's jeep coming up the driveway was instantly quieted by her sweet voice resonating though my ears.

"Edward," a voice called me to the surface. I tried to ignore it and I concentrated on the smooth ivory beneath my fingers.

"Edward!" The voice called again.

I snapped my eyes open and the last whisper of music faded away. I searched for the source of the voice and I settled upon Alice's face. My eyes automatically narrowed. "What?" I snapped harshly.

Her face became hard with my tone. "I just wanted to inform you that you will be late for school if you don't start getting ready," she harrumphed and stalked away.

My apology caught in my throat and instead of calling after her back just to say sorry, I decided I would later when she had calmed down a bit.

"Thank you Edward, I forgive you," she called softly down the stairs, her musical laughter tinkling through my ears afterwards.

I rolled my eyes and glanced at the clock quickly. I got up abruptly and ran to my room. I only had half an hour to get ready. I turned around and was slightly shocked to see Alice sitting on my bed, staring thoughtfully at my closet.

"You should where your white button up shirt today. I think Bella would like that." She smiled in her annoying, I-know-better-than-you-because-I-am-psychic way. I gave her a terse smile before turning again to dig it out of my large closet.

"Alice, you buy me too many clothes," I said as I looked through the mountains of clothes that occupied the large space.

Silly brother, just ask me where it is next time. I could hear the smile in her thoughts.

"Okay then," I said through my teeth. "Where is my shirt?"

It's hanging up in the left corner. I ironed it yesterday for you. You're welcome.

I turned to face her so I could thank her properly, but of course she was already gone. With one more eye roll, I got dressed in a flash and faced myself in a mirror. Of course the vampire myths of our kind having no reflection were nonsense and it was clearer to me that ever as I attempted to control my unruly hair. No matter how much I played with, brushed, yanked or smoothed; it stayed the same bronze mop upon my head. After several seconds I gave up with an exasperated sigh.

I don't know why I cared so much about my appearance, I never had before. I simply wore what Alice told me to and went to school. Now it was different. I had someone to impress and worse, someone who would judge me. Worse still, I actually cared what she thought of me, though I couldn't lift it from her thoughts as easily of others. I had to ask her to tell me her thoughts. How mundane.

With one more glance at the clock I rushed to my precious car. I had only fifteen minutes to get her house and then to school. The moment the door closed, I pressed down on the gas pedal and floored it out of the driveway.

Once I approached Bella's street, I slowed down to a mere 20mph and searched for her father's thoughts. It might not start the Police Chief and I off on a good note if I picked up his daughter before he and I were even introduced.

Just as I came to the corner of Bella's street, I heard Chief Swan's thoughts as he walked down the driveway.

It's a good thing she doesn't have a date. The boys here aren't good enough for her. She can start dating in college. Or when she's thirty… No, I want to have grandkids when she's thirty…

Charlie's thoughts faded as his cruiser drove away from my 'hearing' range. The comment about grandkids continued to sting me as I crept around the corner and rounded the car into the Swan's driveway. If she, by some miracle, did want me the same way I wanted her and – in the best case scenario – we did spend the rest of her life together, children weren't even in the range of possibilities for my kind. The thought made me very sullen for a few moments.

I snapped right out of the surly attitude the moment I saw her face peak out the window in her room. The moment my eyes wandered over her face, even for the fleeting second, I lost my train of thought. Within the minute she had hurried out the front door and bounded towards me and the car, a smile plastered on her face.

I looked away and struggled to catch my breath and mind as she walked towards the car. I also prepared myself for the terribly wonderful torture I was about to endure…the moment…she…opened…the door.

And it hit me.

I tensed for half a second, much more quickly than her eyes could process and then I willed myself to relax. I looked over to her as she awkwardly got into the car, trying to manage her bag and feet without falling over, and smiled as she sat in the presence of a vampire completely at ease. When Bella was completely settled, she looked over to me expectantly. I noted the purple shadows under her eyes, something that could only come from sleep-deprivation. In a human at least.

"Good morning," I greeted, "how are you today?" My eyes roamed again over her features, noting the tiny worry lines over her forehead and slightly bloodshot eyes.

"Good, thank you," she answered truthfully.

I looked at her skeptically, staring pointedly at the dark shadows. "You look tired."

"I couldn't sleep," Bella admitted reluctantly. Her hand rose up and brought the hair over her shoulder to provide a curtain preventing me from seeing her face.

"Neither could I," I joked. I absentmindedly wondered what had caused her such a restless night.

Her soft laugh echoed through the small vehicle. "I guess that's right. I suppose I slept just a little bit more than you did."

My lips twitched a bit at her carefree comment, but I wished she would take the warnings I gave her about the dangers with a grain of salt. It was for her own safety. "I'll wager you did," I commented dryly.

She was silent for a moment before piping up. "So what did you do last night?"

I laughed at her subtle attempt to distract me. "Not a chance. It's my day to ask questions."

"Oh, that's right." She frowned but her tone implied she was giving in. "What do you want to know?"

What did I want to know? Basics…. "What's your favorite color?" I asked quickly, trying to come up with something on the spot.

"It changes from day to day." She hedged.

"What's your favorite today?"

"Probably brown."

I couldn't help but snicker. "Brown?" I asked. It was a strange colour to like – things that were brown were often dull and plain, the complete opposite of Bella – but what did I expect from she who never ceased to surprise me.

"Sure," she said indignantly before her expression turned wistful. "Brown is warm. I miss brown. Everything that's supposed to be brown – tree trunks, rocks, dirt – is all covered up with squashy green stuff here."

I stared at her, utterly fascinated by her speech. She stared back, enveloping my gaze with her trusting…warm…brown eyes. My eyes drifted to her long mahogany hair – which was still surrounding her face and covering some of it from view – that just seemed to scream warm. In that second, my opinion changed.

"You're right," I concluded. "Brown is warm." I reached quickly but still cautiously – testing my boundaries – to her hair, right beside her neck.

I could feel the warmth emanating, calling me from the jugular that pulsed just beneath the surface, in my hand.

It'll be so simple, the monstrous half of me taunted. A small flick of you hand is all it's take. Give into your desire, take what is rightfully yours. You can even do it quickly so she won't feel any pain. Won't that make it a bit better?

I ignored it.

The moment her hair was back behind her shoulder and her pale face in full view, my hand was back on the steering wheel, as far away from her delicate neck as I could manage in the small space.

I turned the car into the small parking lot at the school and pulled into an empty spot. I noticed that Rosalie's car was already there, parked a few spaces down from me. After glancing around quickly to make sure none of my nosy siblings were listening or watching, I turned back to Bella.

"What music is in your CD player right now?" I asked.

She looked very pensive for a moment before she answered. "Linkin Park."

So we did have things in similar. The thought that she and I listened to the same music made me feel strangle happy. I smiled and reached over to my very crowded CD compartment. I pulled out Linkin Park and handed it to Bella.

"Debussy to this?" I teased.

She ignored the comment and continued tracing the pattern on the cover with her slender flingers, her face astounded. Apparently she didn't think we had anything in common either.

I walked her to English and then from Spanish to the cafeteria, questioning her the entire time. During my classes while my teacher's talking blended into the background with the rest of the insistent chatter of minds, I thought of more questions I could ask. I was relentless in the interrogation process and refused to skip even one detail. Every aspect of her life was put under a microscope and every answer spawned a new question.

All of the questions were quite superficial. I didn't want to frighten her away with the deep questions of her home and life I longed to ask. Some of the simple questions made her neck turn a delicious colour of red and a few shot the red all the way up to settle in her cheeks. There was one response in particular which I enjoyed immensely.

After she had eaten a quick lunch, with me firing questions off during each bite, I had begun a more intense interrogation.

"What is your favorite season?" I asked

"Summer," Bella replied firmly but somewhat absentmindedly.

"What type of gemstone is your favorite?" I asked.

"Topaz," Bella replied but then did a double take. Her eyes widened in horror at her answer and a chagrin-fueled blush rushed to her pale face.

I gazed at her inquisitively, waiting for the explanation behind her blush but her eyes refused to meet mine.

"Bella," I whispered, trying to daze her into an answer. She refused to submit. "Please, I promise I won't laugh." She just shook her head and kept her red face hidden behind the curtain of her mahogany hair. I leaned back in defeat.

"Tell me," I asked in my most authoritative tone after several minutes of precious time were wasted.

She looked up weakly but saw my stony posture and a look of defeat washed over her features. "It's the colour of your eyes today," she sighed, sending a breathtakingly horrific wave of her scent towards me. I stiffened and stopped breathing for a millisecond while it passed. Bella looked down at the table and mistook my silence. "I suppose if you asked me in two weeks, I'd say onyx."

I made a note to feed more often and keep my eyes the golden colour they were today before I continued.

"What kind of flowers do you prefer?" I asked, smiling.

She let out another sigh and continued answering my never ending questions.

On the way to Biology, I breeched my favorite subject; books. Bella complied willingly, becoming much more enthusiastic about my questions and much more animated with her answers. At one point, while trying to illustrate to me the benefits of reading Jane Eyre, she began to describe with her hands which eventually lead to all of her books falling from her arms.

She blushed and stood among the mess of spilled papers and text books. I picked them up for her and continued questioning as if nothing had happened. Inwardly of course, I was laughing.

We walked into Biology and sat down at our desk. Bella didn't seem to notice the strange looks she and I were getting. No one had even seen me talk that much and to top it all off the fact I was talking to Bella was still the main gossip around the school.

Mr. Banner cut my questions short by wheeling the old television set into the classroom once again. As he turned off the lights, I moved my chair farther away from Bella than the class before. Sitting beside her in the dark with the strange electricity was too much to handle for my fragile control. I hoped distance would put an end to the bizarre sparks.

The moment the lights flicked off, the strange current began its circuit again. Bella leaned on to her arms which were rested on the table. Her posture conveyed that of any relaxed teenager watching a movie but her face was twisted into a look of pure concentration; it was almost as if she were restraining herself almost as much as I.

I turned quickly back to the television set. The effort it took to restrain myself this day was almost as hard as the very first. The darkness brought out my instinctual nature and Bella was right beside me, smelling delicious and utterly defenseless – my mind told me she would be the perfect prey. I struggled to ignore the whispering of the devil in my mind as I watched the old black and white film.

Finally, after half an hour into the period and the whisperings getting particularly violent, I looked over at the victim of my mind. She was sitting sweetly and just gazing at the television with empty eyes. My eyes upon her face took away some of the bloodlust that was clouding my mind and the thoughts of my usual sane mind broke through.

Months could have passed while I was staring at her face. My thoughts flickered between taking her in my arms and taking her life in a continuous circle. After an hour which felt like an eternity, Mr. Banner turned off the television set and turned the lights back on. I heard a sigh of relief escape Bella's full lips.

I didn't ruin the moment with words; words that would have been awkward and unsuitable. Instead I walked her silently to her Gym class. The halls seemed usually quiet that day and the voices that I usually heard were absent. The moment we came to the door of the change rooms, I repeated my action of the day before although this time I was less hesitant. I reached my hand to her face and made a long stroke with the back of my hand before quickly turning away.

As I was walking away, I could have sworn I heard a gasp of air and a slight stumble coming from Bella's direction.

My next two classes passed unbearably slowly. Time seemed to have almost stood still during those two long hours. I glared at the clock as if it would make it move faster. Unfortunately, it didn't. When the bell finally rang, I leapt from my seat, gathered my things and was out the door before anyone else had moved.

What's up with Cullen?

I heard thoughts commenting on my strange behavior coming from behind me. Rushing through the empty halls, I suddenly realized how wholly obsessed I had become. I willed myself to slow my pace and, with much restraint, walked the rest of the way to the gym. The hall was still relatively empty when I reached the exit to the change rooms and so I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath of the useless oxygen.

As I was waiting for Bella to exit, I scolded myself to become a bit more detached to save myself from the inevitable heartbreak that would come and to save Bella from the horrible fate that potentially waited for her. I pushed that out of my mind and told myself that it wouldn't happen because I wouldn't let it happen. For now, I would just concentrate on finding out everything I possibly could about Bella Swan.

I forgot all my chiding when she walked out the door. Her scent assaulted me but I pushed it aside the best I could and concentrated on the smile that had broken out on her face. My mouth grinned on its own accord in response.

On the drive home, I continued with my arsenal of questions. I cushioned the initial questions so she would feel more comfortable but eventually I found out what I wanted most. By the time we had gotten to Bella's house, she was using her hands to describe everything. The sun and it's far reaching light, casting pale shadows against a pitted and rocky ground; the endless blue sky that stretched for miles and miles, only fading when it reached purple volcanic rock of distant mountains; the pure smell of the dusty dry air. I tried to imagine what her world felt like but I knew in my heart that the sunny plains would always remain a mystery to me – it was either a life of night, or a life of rain and clouds.

Finally, I bit my tongue against the stream of questions that still remained after I took a slight glance of the clock. Not only would my family be wondering where I was, but Bella's father would be coming home soon. A look of pure relief washed over Bella's pale face when I finally hesitated.

"Are you done?" she asked hopefully.

"Not even close – but your father will be home soon." I said in a tone which I hoped concealed my disappointment.

"Charlie!" Bella cried out searching frantically for her father's car, as if she had only just remembered that he had existed. "How late is it?" she asked as she glanced at the glowing green letters on the dash.

"It's twilight." I mumbled as my eyes swept across the vast dark sky. The clouds revealed nothing of the time of day, but somewhere I knew that it was coming to a close. It was unfortunate that such a good day had to end and another day of my pointless existence had passed.

Bella stared at me inquisitively.

"It's the safest time of day for us. The easiest time." I added. "But also the saddest, in a way…the end of another day, the return of the night. Darkness is so predictable, don't you think?"

"I like the night," she countered. "Without the dark, we'd never see the stars. Not that you see them much here."

I laughed loudly and the tense atmosphere that I had inadvertently created lifted. "Charlie will be here in a few minutes. So unless you want to tell him that you'll be with me Saturday…" I teased.

"Thanks, but no thanks," she retorted as she gathered her books in her bag and flexed her stiff muscles. I hadn't realized how long I must have kept her waiting, but talking to someone without knowing what they would say ahead of time was refreshing.

"So," she started looking away from me quickly before gazing hopefully into my eyes. "It is my turn tomorrow, right?"

I struggled to keep a straight face. "Certainly not!" I said in a mock-angry voice. "I told you I wasn't done, didn't I?"

"What more is there?"

"You'll find out tomorrow."

I reached across the passenger seat to open the door. I smiled softly when I heard Bella's heart begin to beat a wild frenzy inside her ribcage at my close proximity. My hand had just brushed the metal of the handle when I heard unfamiliar voices.

Why are we driving all the way from La Push just so Billy can say sorry to Charlie? Hasn't either of them heard of a phone?

The moment I heard 'LaPush' my entire body stiffened. "Not good," I muttered. We weren't sure if the werewolf gene still existed amongst the tribe, but it might be best if we didn't push our relations with them as they were already strained enough.

Bella noticed my suddenly stiff posture. "What is it?"

I glanced up to her worried face and the glint of fear that showed behind her eyes. "Another complication." I answered.

I opened the door for her and the slight smell of the Quileute tribe floated to my nose. Because neither of them were true wolves, they didn't smell terrible but still unpleasant in a wet-dog type way. I cringed away from the smell that hung just outside the door. As if on cue, a car pulled up only meters away from the nose of my Volvo and parked on the curb. When it was closer, I could smell the faint smell of true-werewolf lingering around it. I could see the astonishment in the old man's dark eyes as they caught mine. I refused to look away as the amazement turned to fury.

"Charlie's around the corner," I warned, not taking my eyes off the old man's figure in the passenger seat of the car.

Bella jumped out quickly, somehow managing not to fall and looked to the other car for the source of my glare. As soon as she shut the door, I revved the engine and pulled away with a satisfying squeal of the tires as I peeled away from the house.

I had to get home as fast as possible and warn them that the werewolves of the Quileute tribe had returned.

Yes, I am aware that Jacob isn't a werewolf yet and Yes I am aware that Edward doesn't know about him being a werewolf until New Moon. Sam Uley on the other hand IS a werewolf, is he not? Either way, I'm getting to all this later (aka next chapter which will be out sooner than you think. I hope.) Review Review Review!

Hayley