Summary: AU! Instead of Edward leaving Bella in New Moon, she left him when she realised it was too dangerous to be around a family of vampires. Edward and the Cullens relocated to a small, rainy town in West Virginia and enrolled in a new school as juniors and seniors. Meanwhile, a mysterious new girl has moved to town. And she has a big secret.

"Have you seen the new girl?"

"Elizabeth is extremely hot."

"She looks like she could be Alice Cullen's sister."

Edward massaged his temples, sighing as he tried to block out the thoughts of dozens of horny boys and jealous girls. Things like a new student were big news in Elkins, West Virginia. The Cullens had moved there after things hadn't worked out with Bella, senior year. Elkins was their kind of town. Small, secluded, with only about 50 days of sunshine a year.

"Have any of you had a class with this new student, Elizabeth?" he asked his siblings at lunch. All answers were in the negative.

"Why do you ask?" Alice inquired, interested. Edward never paid attention to anyone, new meat or not. Especially not since Bella.

"Everyone is thinking that she looks like one of us," he replied. He let the full weight of the implication sink in. His siblings looked around at one another, slightly anxious.

"Another vampire?" Alice whispered, eyes wide.

"I don't know for sure. I haven't smelled anything," Edward told them with a shrug. "I think we should keep an eye out. If she is a vampire, we need to figure out if she's dangerous before anyone gets hurt."

**********

For the rest of the day, Edward kept his eyes open. He didn't notice anything different until he walked into his history class last period. In the chair right in front of his usual seat sat a girl he'd never seen before. She was slightly taller than average, maybe 5'6". Her hair fell to her navel in dark, shiny waves with the occasional glitter of red and gold highlights. She wore dark jeans and a deep red sweater. Not much of her skin was showing, but what little Edward could see was paper white. He took all this in in the 3 seconds it took him to reach his desk. He didn't see her face, though, until he sat down.

She turned to look at him and he saw a beautiful, heart-shaped face with small pink lips and a thin, aristocratic nose. Dark lashes framed... moss green eyes. Edward breathed a sigh of relief. 'Good. Not a vampire,' he thought.

"Hi, I'm Elizabeth Sutton," the girl said, offering him her hand.

"Edward Cullen," he said, shaking the proffered appendage. He was surprised to find her skin was cold, even to him, gasping as his fingers closed over hers. He looked sharply at her hand, then back to her face. "You're cold."

Elizabeth let out a little laugh while quickly withdrawing her hand. "I know. I have terrible circulation in my extremities."

Edward concentrated on listening to her thoughts, but noticed for the first time that he couldn't hear them. He sniffed the air inconspicuously. She didn't smell like a vampire, but she didn't smell human either. He couldn't hear a pulse.

"What are you?" he whispered, just as the teacher entered the room.

A/N: I love cliffhangers, don't you?
PS, this story needs a better title. Any ideas are welcome.