Bella's Point of View

There was a sense of tense caution as I stepped down the stairs, my heels clicking dangerously on the carpeted steps, sound accentuated to my supernatural sense of hearing compared to the inaudible sound humans experience. My skin tight, dark skinny jeans gathered slightly around my ankles with the extra length, and the plunging V-neck of my lacy sleeveless tank top exposed my chest somewhat more than usual. The dark gray long, "boyfriend" style sweater I wore over the tank would pretend to keep me warm against the cold weather, but it was unnecessary. I didn't expect to feel anything but cold today.

In the car on the way to school, I brightly told Alice that maybe we should go hunting together today after school.

"I kinda wanted to go to the mall, Bella. But... you could come?" The suggestion framed as an uncertain question bounced around inside my skull before I could answer; it took me longer than it should have to process it.

"Why not?" I replied, shrugging. Alice's eyes widened almost imperceptably, and I looked ahead at Emmett, who was driving.

"You guys know that soon it will be Fall Holidays, right?" Rosalie interjected after a half minute of silence.

"Carlisle wants to go on a family trip." No one said anything else, but I could hear the silence like a buzzing.

"Sounds fun," I commented, a smile on my face. "Where to?"

"Greece."

Third Person Narrator

The stares from students at school did not subside over the next few days, and Bella's bright new demeanor was the topic of discussion. Rumors flew around campus, that she was pregnant and Edward left and abandoned her, that he had died, that a relative had died, that they'd kicked him out after he slept with a girl from Creekview High across town... the list went on and on. Bella never seemed to notice the talk, and her conversation was happy and behavior accomodating. She shopped with Alice, did her nails with Rosalie, and hunted with Emmett and Jasper. She did her homework, was well behaved, and rarely socialized with anyone from school. More pairs of eyes than ever followed her with her new attire, which grew more and more flamboyant and revealing as the weeks went on. A new rumor circulated that Bella was "screwing" someone on the side. None of the Cullens ever seemed to notice, and soon the only talk was the typical subjects about the Cullens. Edward Davis was only an undercurrent of conversation that touched someone's thoughts whenever Bella seemed especially bright or exceptionally cold on the rare day.

After Bella arrived at school in her own car, separately, the Thursday before Fall break, she leaned against it to avoid going in to class. The weather was uncharacteristically warm, though clouds still covered the sky. Bella leaned her head back against the car door, eyes closed.

"Excuse me, do you know where the front office is? I'm afraid I'm not sure how to get there." She lifted her head and opened her eyes, shocked at the sight that greeted her: a vampire stood before her. He was not tall, perhaps 5'7" (though compared to her 5'2", that was quite a height), and thickly muscled. Brilliant blonde hair glimmered in the filtered light and gave his skin an eretheral glow. The vampire's ocher eyes were somewhere between golden and black, indicating his recent lack of food. He had an odd smile on his face, not quite a smirk, but not insincere either.

"The front of the school," Bella replied edgily, wondering why Alice hadn't mentioned this before.

"Tart. Nice. I was actually wondering if you'd show me." His expresion never changed.

Pushing off the car, Bella clasped her books tighter in her arms and walked silently toward the front office.

"Who are you?" she demanded, edge not receding.

"I'm called Ryan. And you're Bella." Casting a subtle side-glance, Bella merely said, "Yes," in response to the question that was more of a statement.

"Don't worry. I'm no threat. And I'm alone," he added. "I'm an 'emancipated minor'." A chuckle ran through him. His voice was deeper than... another's, and there was no honey in his voice, but it was not unpleasant, as no vampire's was.

"Good for you. Abusive father?"

"Of course. And I had to get away from the town he's in, so I moved here." In a lower tone, he added, "I'd heard of a large clan of... what is it?... vegetarians?" Bella nodded, and another chuckle ensued.

By that point, they reached the front office, and Bella started to leave after showing him in the door. But no sooner did she get into first period than Ryan appeared behind her. "What a coincidence. First period together." Bella ignored him and took her seat, smiling brilliantly at David, who gazed at her for an instant before the teacher grabbed his attention by barking his name.

"Class, our new student, Ryan, has just transferred from Minnesotta (sp?). Give him a nice welcome." Ryan was shown a seat, another coincidence, right by Bella.

Looking at her, he held out a hand. "I think we're going to be good friends," he said with another smile.