Mate. Ma-te...what sense of the word could it mean? It could mean...friend. A bud you hung around when things were slow or you felt low, someone you could depend on. Or it could become a contraction, as 'soul-mate' but...what did soul-mate really mean?

"What would you define Soul-mate as?" I was speaking to air this morning since my mother was in town to grab our guest's some breakfast and everyone was asleep in the Gray House. Sometimes it helped me to speak aloud, it was like when I wrote my thoughts down into an essay.

"Probably someone you were meant to spend the rest of your life with?"

"Holy fuck!" I gasped, my hand flung a piece of toast into the air of it's own accord at the fact that my question had been answered. My eyes darted up to the sound with terror and confusion, how the holy hell did he sneak up on me like that?

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry." I slapped a hand over my mouth at the expletive I'd just let fly in front of a guest, but he didn't seem to be upset. If anything, he was amused as he shrugged through a sip of his coffee.

"Its all good." He set his coffee down, leaning over to pick up the toast turned projectile off the floor before he stood again. I took him in warily, noting the controlled chaos of his hair and the way his eyes crinkled of their own accord as he yawned. Again, he struck me as easy on the eyes but I couldn't get a read on him. He was...blank.

"Thanks." I mumbled as I took the piece of bread and spun around to drop it into the trash. I checked my phone for the time and decided I didn't have enough to actually make another piece or even get some water. I didn't drink coffee in the mornings, neither did my mother. It was something about the caffeine that messed with us. One gray woman on coffee was chaos, two was a full on threat to society as we know it.

"I've gotta go." I sighed as I stood from my place, I needed to get dressed soon and it looked like this morning was going to be a rough one just from how it'd started out. I needed to sleep more...Maybe a bike would be a good investment? It'd save me some of the time it took to walk to school.

"Uh...its only 7 am. Does your school start super early?" I paused at that, considering what I should actually say to the stranger that was currently in my kitchen while I stood there in a tank top and a booty shorts.

This wasn't how I wanted to start my day, ya know? I was thinking I'd day dream a bit, maybe grab some toast, waddle my way to high school and chill out. But no. Not today. I'm starting to seriously wonder when I'd have a day go as planned, everything was fine last week, before the Cullens got here...before they got here. Interesting.

"OH! Uhm...no. Its just going to rain and I walk to school." I mumbled, glancing at the window where it wasn't even light out yet. I needed to focus on my environments better, I kept spacing out.

"I can give you a ride? I've gotta head to town anyways." His offer was something that I hadn't hoped for but once I considered it, I loved it but it was sketchy.

"How old are you...Tommy?" I tilted my head, grasping at a name when I stared into his eyes. He'd been introduced yesterday but I'd skipped dinner in lieu of finishing overdue homework, something that my mom was okay with. So I was playing catch-up here, which normally I was good at.

"You know, I haven't been called that since I was 10. I'm 20." He stared back for a moment before he laughed a little and took another sip of his coffee. Was his name Thomas? Why did it feel like it'd been Tommy? He had the opposite feeling of the Cullens, where they were chaotic and fast, he was slow and almost...blank to me when I tried to search for his intentions, or feelings, like literally anything at all.

"Promise not to kidnap me?" I raised a brow as I tried to crack a joke. Ironically, my alarm bells for danger were entirely silent with this guy. When I'd gotten into the same vicinity as Jasper they wouldn't shut up and that was a guy that I knew from high school, one that my own mother had met and liked well enough.

"Scout's honour." He nodded before he stood with his coffee, I took that as a motion to go upstairs and I did so with the feeling of his eyes on my back. He felt not blank but...fuzzy. Like he was hard to read some how, I don't think thats even possible. Is it? Can people block me? But they'd have to know in order to do that, right?

"See you in 30?" He raised a brow in a lowered voice as I nodded, not really considering the man in front of me as much as I was considering what homework I had done. I shivered, why did I feel cold all of a sudden? Maybe I'm sick. It'd explain the sudden chaos of my mind right now.

I turned quickly, almost skipping into my room as I dove into the closet for a sweater. I felt the cold that kept pushing it's way in and frowned to myself as I pulled out a pair of jeans too. Sliding those on, I considered just laying back down on my bed and going back to sleep but decided against it to just pull the covers up higher on me.

Laying there allowed my mind to just sort of melt away until the cold feeling left, getting farther and farther away from me until I heard a knock on the door. Right! I still have to go to school. Lovely.

"Ready?" My eyes swept up and down Thomas's figure to take in the darker jeans, and big fleece jacket that seemed to have a t-shirt underneath.

"Yeah." I nodded, grabbing my backpack He was casual, more so than Jasper ever could be...did I just seriously compare those two?

I unlocked the front door and stepped outside, waiting for him to do the same before I locked it behind us. I need to get a grip. Just because these were like the only males in my life didn't mean they were suddenly in competition. Why would they be?

"So you'll have to give me directions, if thats cool." He was friendly enough when we both got into his car, making me want to blush at the fact that I was in a car with a 20 year old guy that wasn't treating me like a child. He was almost four years my senior, and he wasn't being an outright dick! The wonders of graduating high-school seemed to be at work in full swing here!

"I kinda figured you wouldn't suddenly know all the directions." I snorted, clicking my seat belt into place after I'd sat my backpack in front of me and the door shut. I frowned to myself for a second as I realised I felt almost...blind? Deaf?

"Thats fair." He laughed lightly, more alert than most people I knew on vacation at almost 8 in the morning. I can't be either, I could see and hear fine.

"So how old are you...Naoma?" He seemed to struggle with my name for a second, making me smile to myself as I stared out the window.

"You can just call me Naomi, you know. I'm 16, going on 17 in a week or two." I shrugged, forcing a look of seriousness as I focused back on the road. It hadn't started raining yet but it would soon...maybe a few more minutes.

"Oh, thats cool. I just turned 20, actually." He nodded, as I glanced over at him. So, he was only three years older than me. Normally age gaps like that weren't so weird for a conversation but it got really strange when one of you was under 18.

"Oh?" Curiosity was going to get me smacked in the face one day, I swear. Well maybe not smacked but possibly hung in the the town square, and then what was I going to do? I just wanted to know more about him, I have a right considering hes sleeping maybe 10 feet away from me.

"Yeah, this trip was for that actually. I go to college in Seattle and its our fall break." He seemed to almost vomit a slew of information at me and I wasn't sure if that was on purpose or if he was nervous or something.

"Turn right up here." I leaned forwards, one hand on the dashboard while the other pointed at the familiar turn right.

"Doesn't look like its raining, may-" I could tell he'd nodded from the corner of my eye and almost grinned when the rain itself cut him off.

"I'm rarely wrong." I was smug with myself as his mouth closed and his brows furrowed.

"How'd you do that?" His eyes peered at me, glancing between the road and my face. Oh jeeze. Right, people couldn't usually do that. Uhm, think of something, Naomi.

"We do have weather channels here, y'know?" My shrug was robotic but he appeared to be somewhat satisfied with that answer.

"Damn...Well I'm stupid! Just ignore me." He laughed loudly, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while he drove.

"Left and then we're right in front." I pointed again, getting a little nervous that I'd be late by now...wait, he said he needed to go back into town right?

"By the way," He began when we came to a stop in front of the high school's sign.

"Its just down the street and then a left. You'll be in the center of town!" I bobbed my head up and down rapidly, trying to hurry up and grab my bag while I popped the seat belt out of place.

"Thanks for the ride!" I shouted back at the guy while I closed the door. I wasn't paying to much attention but he seemed happy enough with that answer because all he said afterwards was a "Thanks."

"Hi Alice!" I called to the small girl whose mouth had been opened but then shut with a miffed expression, like she'd wanted to beat me to something but it didn't happen...now that I think of it, have I even ever actually met the girl? Wait, I hav-! No. Not officially anyways.

"Jasper!" I nodded to him while I practically dashed past the Cullens in my hurry to get to my locker. I glanced at him for maybe a second but his pinched expression came across all the same.

"Angie." I was huffing by the time I greeted the quieter girl standing by my locker. She looked excited more so than I was.

"Oh my god, Jasper Hale is coming down the hallway!" She was squeaking while I struggled to breath and coordinate my hands well enough to open my locker. I hadn't realised how slow Thomas drove until right about now.

"Thats terrific, Ange." I nodded to her, not really listening to what she was saying. I was too focused on grabbing books at random, hoping I'd have the right one in a panic-actually.

"Hes so cute." She was mumbling to herself again as a wave of cold and calm passed over me, I stared at the back of my locker in confusion. Bells ringing in my head that something was off again. I should be freaking out, I had a feeling I was late and here I was. Just freaking staring at the back of a locker.

"I've...gotta go Ange." I blurted out, slamming my locker shut with enough force to startle her and snap me back into the present. It'd been like a drug in my system somehow, the calm had come in unannounced and faded out as soon as I found enough will to focus on it.

"Bye!" I shouted as I ran past her in a full out jog, the bell rang above my head with a shrill sound that felt like it shook all my fillings loose.

I struggled to breath but felt some relief when I finally got into my Math class, but my relief didn't last all that long. The class had already begun, leaving me the main attraction as silence rolled on and everyone's eyes turned to stare at the late person. This is what I was afraid of, like exactly this scenario.

"Sorry." I cleared my throat awkwardly and took a seat in the back, flipping open my notebook after I'd grabbed it.

"Now then..." I focused in on the teacher, Miss Read at the front of the classroom as she continued her lesson after a dirty look thrown my way.

I hate it when teachers used social pressure to shame you.

I know this is going to sound crazy paranoid but I swear to god that the Cullens were gossiping about me during lunch. It was the way they'd all glance at me then say something, and I get freaked out then they wouldn't stare at me at all until the next five minutes.

I almost pounced on Jasper when he sat down next to me in history...almost.

"Naomi." He bowed his head, accent coming in a little thick with his shoulders tense. His expression was just as pinched as before and I had no idea what to do about that.

"You okay?" I raised a brow, ignoring the habit we'd developed in lieu of checking on him.

"Terrific," He nearly grunted, leaning a little closer to me as he eyed me. My brow stayed raised as his eyes darted about my figure. "I saw you got a ride to school."

"Yeah...He was fun. Scared the shit out of me this morning." I nodded, snorting a bit. It was funny now but in the moment, it was terrifying.

"Oh? He looked a little old for ya." His head tilted, the accent got a little thick as I furrowed my brow. There was that feeling again...but what was it? It was like a mixture of...of something.

"Naomi?" I blinked as I realised I hadn't actually answered him and shrugged.

"Hes 20, but either way, hes off-limits." I chuckled, turning to face my notebook again and glance over my notes.

"What makes a guy not off-limits for you then?" It felt like he was teasing me again, looking for me to say something so he wouldn't have to continue this on but I was mainly just distracted. Well, I was distracted by trying to not blush at him.

"Are you interested in applying for the position?" I tried injecting humour considering how quickly he was getting deep with me. He did this a lot, I'd noticed, the whole going from joking to sudden life or death vibes.

It was ever so slightly uncomfortable, not because of him though I noticed he kept inhaling deeply which was a touch bizarre. It was more that I felt...okay with it. Like I wouldn't mind him being around for forever, but I wanted to get to know him more. I wanted to figure out what made him tick.

"I think it's a little early to apply." He raised a brow. He seemed apprehensive though interested nonetheless.

"How so?" I eyed him, considering if I'd some how misinterpreted him up till now.

"Well...haven't taken you to dinner yet, have I, Darlin'?" My body almost backed away of it's own accord when he leaned down a little farther, I stared into his eyes for a good 30 seconds before I realised they were bright gold once more.

"Your eyes..." I frowned as I stopped.

"Yeah?"

"They're uh, unique." I swallowed, turning away from him to stare at the board once more. It felt frustrating right now, me dancing around his assortment of oddities but that was just my nature. If I chased after every odd thing I'd ever seen or heard, I'd know almost every secret this town could offer.